Another day at Aurum Academy.
It's my fourth day here, and I'm finally getting used to this place.
Thanks to my win against Teriris yesterday, I've had a completely peaceful day. No one has come up to challenge me to a duel.
But I can't just stand idly by and let days pile up. I need to prepare for the big events.
This weekend, the first storyline of the game begins.
Kaida finds a couple of bandits who've infiltrated Aurum Academy. She eventually gains help from a few of her classmates, recruits them, and finally stops the bandits.
As much as I want to help, I don't want to interfere with her development. She's the main character, after all — and if she can't grow into someone who can stand against evil...
[Dark Eclipse] will bring about an apocalypse that destroys the entire world.
While the group behind that event exists before the game starts, they don't actually appear until the end of the early game.
No matter how much I want to change the story for the better, I'm extremely limited in what I can do right now.
All I can do is attend classes and train, which is... frustrating.
So frustrating that I need to sigh to let some frustration out.
I guess all I have left is to attend my first ever Close-Combat Applied Magic class.
This was a subject you couldn't choose in-game, so I have no idea what to expect.
Arena Six, huh?
It's much smaller than the other arenas. Weirdly enough, it's not neglected — on the contrary, this place is extremely clean for somewhere that no one supposedly uses.
I don't even know who the teacher for this subject is yet.
...Oh no.
"I always used this class as a way to get some time for myself. When I proposed this class to Miss Goldenlaw, I never thought she'd actually approve it."
Those black, shar eyes. That long black hair.
"No student would be stupid enough to register for this subject, I thought. My own paradise to relax... or so I believed."
"But I was wrong..." He points at me, covering his face with one hand. "You had to be different."
I've already had two long, required classes with him today. I'm not ready to be stuck alone with him for the next few hours.
"You're approved. You don't need to come to this class."
Huh?
"I saw yesterday's duel, and I concluded there's nothing to teach you. You already fight exactly how this class is meant to train students."
No way...
"Wait! What do you mean by that?" I can't let him walk away that easily.
"I meant exactly what I said."
"There's got to be something you can teach me, right?" I won't let this opportunity go to waste. "Sure, my incantationless casting lets me fight better at close range, but that's not the be-all-end-all of combat."
"You can improve in some areas, but those are reserved for second years."
"Then teach me as if I were in my second year."
"Hahaha. Don't make me laugh..." he actually laughs. "It's impossible for someone like you to understand second-year content."
"Give me any task a second-year student should be able to do. In the two hours I'm supposed to be here, I'll complete it."
I don't think he'll accept my bet.
"But if you fail, I'll take away a large number of your points — enough to get you kicked out of this class."
Knew it wouldn't be that easy.
"You've got yourself a bet, Crowbell."
High risk, high reward. If I manage to pass this, my power will be far beyond what's expected for this stage of the game.
He just chuckles and tosses me a book.
"It's a magic book with spells second years are required to learn when starting their classes. Learn at least one spell — in all its forms — and I'll agree to train you."
The catch is... the lowest tier spell in this book is Tier Four.
And Alen could only learn up to Tier Two. This is way beyond what I can do — not just now, but likely even in the near future.
"Having a simple elemental affinity should mean it's easier to learn spells of that element than it would be for someone with dual or triple affinities," he says smugly, clearly enjoying this impossible task he's given me.
But I don't have time to complain. There has to be a way...
These spells are all far beyond anything I've worked with. And they're three full tiers above my current level. I haven't even learned Tier Two spells yet.
One spell, in all its forms...
I can't back down. Think. Use your memory.
There was something the main character did to force magical improvement... But it was extremely dangerous — she only survived it due to her special lineage.
I don't have that. I'm just a regular human.
But it's my only shot.
First, I need to find a spell that works with my current fighting style. Out of all the Tier Four spells, only one fits:
[Tailwind]
A buff that enhances the speed of the caster and their allies. Perfect for my close-combat magic style. Even better — it synergizes with Sandstorm, since Tailwind doesn't dissipate it.
The neutral incantation is:
"Winds that blow in all directions, change your course to benefit me and my allies. Bless us with incredible speed that'll change the outcome of this battle."
Right now, the neutral form is all I need.
"Simply chanting a spell won't work. You also need to do so much more," he says.
Ignore him.
Now that I've memorized the chant, it's time for the hard part.
Normally, a mage increases tiers when their mana levels are high enough. The game explained it like this:
The first time you control mana, a circle is instinctively formed inside you — that's Tier One. To move up, you have to control your mana to artificially create the next circle.
Creating a circle takes immense concentration.
But what if you have to advance without the required mana?
If you didn't train your main character properly, she'd never reach Tier Seven — a level required for plot reasons by the game's end.
The game offered risky methods to jump a tier ahead.
My problem? I need to jump three tiers instead of only one.
But maybe... I don't need to maintain a high tier.
Just like my fake incantationless casting, maybe there's a way to fake my way into higher-tier spells.
I've got an idea...
I run to the weapon racks and grab a random weapon.
I start chanting the strong incantation for Wind Infusion — the spell that burns the most mana out of all I know.
After casting it four times, it feels like I've run a marathon.
On the fifth cast, I drop to my knees. On the sixth... I'll pass out.
[Wind Infusion]
I cast it for the fifth time. I collapse, knees hitting the floor.
"What are yo—"
[Wind Infusion]
I cast it for the sixth time — stabbing myself in the thigh to stay awake.
It's just a wooden knife. It shouldn't hurt. But with strong Wind Infusion, even a plastic sword could kill a grown man.
Maybe it's disbelief, but Crowbell just stands there, frozen.
With the knife still in my thigh, I prepare another spell.
"Winds of olden times... that first spread when spirits roamed the land we walk on, bless my weapon with your... own blood and body."
The edges of consciousness blur. I can barely chant.
[Wind Infusion]
When a mage runs out of mana, their body begins pulling from the surrounding air.
But I won't reach Tier Four like this.
A razor wind wraps around my blade. It feels like a chainsaw is tearing open my leg — but it keeps me awake.
I somehow manage to cast Wind Infusion four more times.
My body's starting to adapt — just barely — to using ambient mana.
And with this much mana, if my theory is correct...
I could create an outer circle instead of an inner one.
Two... three... four...
"Winds that blow in all directions, change your course to benefit me and my allies, blessing us with incredible speed that'll change the outcome of this battle."
[Tailwind]
A breeze brushes my back gently.
And then...
I lose consciousness.
---
This wind current...
Impossible.
Goldenlaw told me he only knew Tier One spells. I could clearly sense the existence of a single circle inside him.
But this... just for a moment, I felt it — the kind of energy only second-year prodigies can achieve.
Second-years aren't even required to cast Tier Four spells at the start.
Only the most talented students reach Tier Four months into the year.
And he reached it — even if just for a second.
I expected him to give up. Maybe ask me to help him reach Tier Two.
But instead, he spent an hour just thinking... and then did whatever that was.
Hm?
I glance at my hand. It's bleeding — I'd clenched it so tightly my nails broke the skin.
Ding, dong, dang...
The bell.
He's still on the ground, bleeding and unconscious.