Chapter 259: Intro to Teacher Lexus’s Magic Class

“Then today’s class is over.”

After Instructor Quantro’s class ended and school was out, we gathered at the training grounds to practice magic.

Gathered here were Mortena-san and the students who had watched the duel with her; the students who hadn’t come to watch the duel had gone straight home, as if following Instructor Quantro.

I stood in front of everyone and looked around at the students participating in the training.

“ “ “ … “ “ “

The gazes returning from everyone were half-expectant and half-anxious.

“Well then, we will now begin magic training, but before that, there is something I want you all to learn.”

“Something you want us to learn?”

The students waited for my words with deep interest, wondering what on earth I was going to say.

“That being said, I think this will be easier to understand if you actually see it rather than me teaching it with words. Mortena-san, could you help me?”

“M-me, ish it!?”

Mortena-san, who had been listening to the conversation while peeking out from behind Mina-san, flinched with a start.

“Yes. Mortena-san, please cast the highest-powered spell among the magic you can use at me.”

“U-undershtood… fweh!?”

Upon receiving my instructions, Mortena-san readied her small wand, her magic catalyst, to cast a spell, but midway through, she let out a strange sound and her eyes went wide.

“I-ish it really okay to ushe attack magic!?”

“Yes, please do.”

“…U-understood…”

Mortena-san, who was initially hesitant after being told to direct attack magic at a person, must have made up her mind as she readied her wand once again.

“O dazzling one! O shattering one! O incinerating one! O merciful hellfire that burns all equally! Grant that one an equivalent peace! Unleash!! FLAME INFERNO!!”

What Mortena-san unleashed was the weed-cutting magic, Flame Inferno.

The fact that she chose this magic after being told to use her strongest spell means that Mortena-san and the others really must be bad at attack magic.

I focused magic power into my eyes and analyzed the approaching magic.

Confirming the amount of magic power infused, the bias of the magic power, and the control of the magic, I selected the appropriate level of magic to use and fired back.

“FIRE ARROW!”

“ “ “ “ “ Wha!? “ “ “ “ “

What I fired was an Arrow-type attack magic, the absolute foundation of basics when learning attack magic.

A simple spell that merely shoots out fire-attribute magic power.

That plunged into the muddy torrent of flame unleashed by Mortena-san.

Normally, it would end there.

The small arrow thrown into a great river was supposed to be swallowed up by its overwhelming power.

But that didn’t happen.

The arrow of flame swallowed by the muddy torrent of flame did not become a part of the torrent, but instead pressed forward straight through its interior.

And finally, it reached the magic core at its center and pierced it.

In an instant, the muddy torrent of flame lost its magic control and dispersed into mist.

All that remained was the arrow of flame I had fired.

“ “ “ “ “ Hah!? “ “ “ “ “

“No way!? He destroyed Mortena-san’s magic with a beginner spell!?”

“Impossible! That’s the secret technique of the Tchoroint family!?”

Voices of astonishment rose from the surrounding students.

Amidst all that, the arrow of flame flew into Mortena-san’s chest as if nothing had happened.

“Hih!?”

Mortena-san let out a shriek at the arrow of flame closing in right before her eyes.

But it was fine. The arrow of flame dispersed into mist right when it reached the very edge of her throat.

“Hahuu…”

Perhaps losing her strength because the magic didn’t hit her, Mortena-san crumbled weakly to the ground.

“Mortena-sama, are you alright!?”

The students nearby immediately rushed over to Mortena-san and supported her body.

Yeah, yeah, it’s nice having friends who worry about you when push comes to shove!

There were reliable people around me in my previous life too, but there were even more people who tried to kill me and steal all the credit once my role was finished, after all.

“So, well, it’s something like this.”

When I said that while turning back to the students who had been watching the series of events, everyone was staring at me with blank, dumbfounded faces.

And the next moment.

“ “ “ “ “ Haaaaaaaaah!? “ “ “ “ “

Loud voices that seemed to echo throughout the entire training ground rang out.

“What was that just now!? What did he do!?”

“Impossible!? The magic of Mortena-san, the ‘Scorching Flower’ who is best at fire magic, was broken that easily!?”

“Was it a trick!?”

“No, no, how could you trick something like that!?”

“But Mortena-san’s magic wouldn’t just end up like that without some kind of trick!?”

Oops, that student just said a good thing.

“Yes, there was a trick to the magic just now.”

“ “ “ “ “ Eh!? “ “ “ “ “

At my words, everyone immediately fell silent.

“First of all, the magic just now was undoubtedly the beginner spell, Fire Arrow.”

“B-But what could you do to destroy Mortena-san’s advanced magic!?”

Mortena-san only used a weed-cutting spell, so it’s not advanced magic, but… Ah, does he mean it’s advanced compared to Fire Arrow? If so, I guess he’s not wrong.

“It’s simple. I increased the magic power density.”

“ “ “ “ “ Magic power density? “ “ “ “ “

Everyone tilted their heads in unison at my answer.

“Yes, magic power is required to activate magic. Magic power for activation, and magic power to maintain the activated magic.”

“Ah, I’ve learned about that in class. I believe that’s the reason why those with little magic power can’t use magic, right?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s a bit different. The magical incantations generally in circulation have formulas constructed to be average so that an unspecified large number of people can use the magic with as little magic power consumption as possible. But if you customize that formula exclusively for yourself, you become able to use magic you originally couldn’t, or increase the power of the magic.”

“Customize magic!? Can you do something like that!?”

“You’re lying, right!? Magic is supposed to have its power and effects fixed! That’s why there are so many different types of incantations!”

“That is a bit incorrect. If everything was truly fixed by the incantation, then the power of the magic should also be completely the same. But in the duel between me and Mortena-san, even though it was the same spell, the power was different, right? In other words, that is also a customization of magic.”

“ “ “ “ “ Ah. “ “ “ “ “

Everyone gasped in realization at my words.

“Now that you mention it, if it’s the same magic, it’s strange if the power isn’t the same too.”

“Right, if everything is decided by the incantation, it stands to reason that even a slight difference in power would make it a different spell.”

Yeah, beginners who rely on incantations tend to fall into this kind of misunderstanding.

But actual magic is much freer.

Otherwise, the existence of chantless magic would fall apart, after all.

“The advantage of incantations is that you can easily construct the composition of a spell. But to master magic, you need to go beyond that.”

“Beyond that…”

“With Fire Arrow, you can increase the magic power density like I did to make it a sturdy arrow that can pierce other magic, or conversely, you can decrease the density to make it a feint with reduced magic power consumption, or you can even intentionally loosen the composition of the magic to make it burst mid-flight and use it for intimidation.”

“I didn’t know you could do things like that…”

“Also, as derivative spells, you can increase the number of arrows, have them relentlessly chase a target, or make the shape of the arrows larger. These are called by different magic names, but in reality, they are customized versions of Fire Arrow.”

“Heeh, I thought they were different spells.”

“But hearing this now, I can certainly tell they are spells derived from the original magic.”

The students returned nods of understanding to my words.

“If it’s a spell that doesn’t differ that much from the original magic, you can customize it unconsciously, but if the nature of the magic changes significantly, you need concentration unless you’re used to it. Incantations are meant to assist with that image.”

“ “ “ “ “ Heeeh. “ “ “ “ “

“Normally, you deal with magic using higher-tier magic, and magic of an attribute with good compatibility. For example, water against fire magic, wood against water magic, and fire against wood magic, and so on.”

“The attribute compatibility between magics, right.”

Mina-san chimed in.

“Yes, it’s convenient to use magic according to compatibility because you can suppress magic power consumption. But just as you can’t use fire magic indoors, there are situations where you can’t utilize attribute compatibility.”

“That might be true. Mages chosen as Court Mages or noble escorts are often better at attributes other than fire.”

“Conversely, military mages often excel at fire attribute magic.”

“Yes, and depending on the situation, even when you can’t use magic with a favorable attribute, if you apply customizations such as increasing the magic power density, you can counter with disadvantageous magic, and even lower-tier magic will become able to overcome higher-tier magic.”

“ “ “ “ “ Oooooh!! “ “ “ “ “

“In this case, think of it as me hardening the magic by increasing the magic power density, and piercing a magic that would originally be harder than my own.”

“B-But even if you pierced the vortex of flame, I don’t understand why the magic dispersed into mist!”

A student asked a question, saying they didn’t understand why Flame Inferno dispersed into mist.

Yeah, having questions like that is very important when learning magic.

“Magic has a bias in magic power that serves as a core to construct it. Think of it as the torso of a human body. I pierced that, making it impossible to maintain the spell. Because without a torso, the limbs can’t maintain a human shape, right? Similarly, magic whose core has been pierced can no longer maintain its own shape, and its magic power disperses into mist.”

“By infusing a lot of magic power, you can give a beginner spell power rivaling an advanced spell, and depending on where you aim, you can even destroy it…”

“Su…”

It was at that moment.

Mortena-san, who had been completely silent all this time, raised her voice.

“Splendid!”

Mortena-san stood up, came over to me, and firmly grabbed both of my hands.

“To shatter my family’s secret technique with a beginner spell! Lexus-sama, you weren’t just capable of using strong magic!!”

“Yes, any magic depends on how you use it. If you only focus on learning powerful magic, you will suffer a setback against an opponent who has mastered lower-tier magic, like this time. This is a common story on the battlefield. That’s why I wanted you all to understand that first.”

“I understand, Lexus-sama!! I, Mortena, will deeply engrave Lexus-sama’s teachings into my heart!!”

Yeah, it’s great that she seems to have understood properly.

In reality, the magic Mortena-san used had quite uneven control, after all.

If she becomes able to control that solidly, Mortena-san will probably become an even better magic user than she is now.

Flame Inferno is a magic for weed-cutting, but depending on how you use it, it’s a spell that can hold its own even against somewhat strong monsters.

Mortena-san’s parents surely taught her that magic hoping she would do her best by starting with mastering a simple spell.

In that case, what I should do is understand her parents’ intentions and have her master perfect control of magic.

Besides, strong magic requires highly advanced magic power control.

If you learn it in a state where your control is sloppy, it’ll go out of control in the blink of an eye and cause a massive disaster.

“Mo, Mortena-sama…”

While I was thinking about such things, the two students who had been supporting Mortena-san were staring at her with somewhat teary eyes.

“M-Mortena-sama has returned to normal…”

“Even though she had regressed to a child just a moment ago…”

“ “ Mortena-samaaaaaa!! “ “

And the two of them hugged Mortena-san, seemingly overcome with emotion.

“Kya!? What is it, you two!?”

Mortena-san herself was bewildered, not understanding what was going on.

Or rather, I don’t really understand either.

“…I-I see! The mind that had regressed to a child due to two life-threatening crises returned to normal!”

“Wh-What did you saaaay!? Or rather, can emotional trauma be cured just like that?”

“Isn’t it more like she’s just covering up her emotional trauma with respect or worship?”

Eh? Regressed to a child? Emotional trauma? What on earth are you talking about?

“ “ Mortena-samaaaaaa!! “ “

“I’m asking what this is about!?”

W-Well, something good seems to have happened, so… oh well, whatever.