【44】
“Do you realize how absurd what you just said was?”
Shin Hooja asked with an expression that clearly conveyed his disbelief.
“In the entire history of magic, only one wizard has ever possessed Unique Magic of the kind that constitutes an entire sigil system.”
“Yes, Luna, the founder of the Star Cloud.”
The sigil systems used in current magic are, in essence, the legacy of the great wizards who lived throughout the ages.
And among them, Luna was the sole individual in history who independently achieved a feat comparable to this.
To declare the creation of a new sigil system was tantamount to declaring one’s intent to stand on equal footing with Luna.
“Do you think you’re a wizard comparable to the founder of the Star Cloud?”
As Lil narrowed her brows in question, Leo shook his head.
“Of course not. Luna was a far greater wizard than me—a magnitude that can’t even be compared.”
Leo, who knew Luna’s genius better than anyone, also realized how far he was from ever catching up to even Luna’s shadow in terms of magic.
“But creating a sigil system doesn’t necessarily require the same level of genius as Luna.”
At Leo’s words, Aiden laughed.
“If that’s the case, then why don’t you show us the Unique Magic sigil system you’ve created right now?”
In response, Leo raised his palm.
A thread of gray magical power emerged and began weaving into a sigil system.
The graduates watching the process let out exclamation of astonishment.
“Already, the basic framework of the sigil system is taking shape.”
“It’s not just a simple copy.”
Shin Hooja and Tilda began interpreting the magic sigil.
Even the freshman attempted to decode Leo’s sigil system as much as they could.
However, they soon started feeling as if their heads were spinning.
‘Exactly what kind of magic sigil is this? It’s so complicated.’
‘Does something this complex actually activate?’
‘Ah, no way. I give up trying to interpret this.’
The top students, on the other hand, worked diligently to analyze the sigil system that Leo had shown.
After a while, Aiden spoke.
“You said your goal was to create a sigil system that could manifest every attribute without penalty, right?”
“Yes.”
“From what I see in the structure of your sigils, it seems that you’ve managed to arrange for a system to use any magic without penalty.”
At Aiden’s words, the freshmen let out expressions of exasperation.
‘He understood the structure of the sigils just by looking at it briefly?’
“That’s right.”
“Insane idea.”
“Watching this now, it’s beyond insanity.”
As they listened to Leo, Lil and Shin Hooja muttered.
However, their eyes shone brightly.
Magic is a discipline that brings impossibilities into the realm of possibilities.
Attempts that overturn common sense are always worthy of praise.
“What was the reason for creating this magic system?”
“To be able to use all the magic in the world freely.”
“You’re also insane, huh?”
‘But the basic framework is already completed. Is this what you call genius?’
It’s uncertain whether Leo can complete this magic, given how absurd it is.
Still, it caught everyone’s attention.
‘An utterly insane junior has appeared. Now I understand why there was so much emphasis on this class.’
A being that can handle all spells – it’s something every mage dreams of, at least once.
However, since it’s such an unrealistic ambition, while people dream about it, no one actually dares to challenge it.
But now, a mage willing to take on that challenge stood right before them.
“What is the name of this Unique Magic?”
“The name of the magic is Bible.”
A magic system used only by the Great Hero Kyle in history.
At the mention of its name, Aiden smirked.
“Leo Flove, A+.”
“Surprisingly, you’ve managed to get an A+ with that crazy idea.”
“Ambition should be big, shouldn’t it?”
“No matter what, this is just a bit too much for you, isn’t it?”
Kal clicked his tongue.
Since the Bible magic system was already in use since Kyle’s time, Leo wouldn’t be starting from scratch.
‘I can’t use it completely right now with my current abilities.’
Even in Kyle’s prime, the system was completed to such a degree that it was only barely usable.
‘Besides, it ultimately ended up incomplete.’
Due to its instability, Leo couldn’t use it perfectly with his current abilities.
Even what was revealed in the exam was merely the basic sigil system of the Bible.
‘If I showed the original form, things would escalate too much, so I couldn’t anyway.’
Leo gazed at the podium.
At this point, only one final student remained.
“Presenter Chloe Mueller, please come forward.”
Ren called out the name of the last student.
“Man, I’m getting nervous for you, Chloe.”
So far, only Leo and Abad had scored an A+, and both had presented grandiose Unique Magic.
However, in terms of feasibility, Abad’s was bound to receive a higher score.
In such a situation, with Chloe, the top student of the first-year Department of Magic, preparing to present, all the students couldn’t help but be drawn in.
Kal was especially anxious, having already witnessed Chloe’s declaration against Leo earlier.
“Hello, seniors.”
Chloe gave a polite bow.
“Alright, Chloe. What is it that you’ve prepared?”
“My Unique Magic is a fire-based magic.”
At that declaration, murmurs sprang up around the hall.
“Fire element?”
“Chloe’s fire element?”
“No way… Chloe is ice, right!”
“Why pick an opposing element as your Unique Magic?”
“Quiet! Quiet!”
The grand hall became noisy, so Ren raised his voice to mediate.
He, too, had an expression of puzzlement, having expected something completely different from Chloe.
“I’ll demonstrate right now.”
Chloe quietly chanted a spell.
Fwoosh-!
A red flame hung silently in the air.
“What kind of spell is this?”
Kal swallowed nervously, focusing intently on the magic.
Whatever Chloe had prepared was sure to be extraordinary.
However, the flame did nothing but burn quietly, and nothing unusual happened.
“Isn’t it… kind of ordinary?”
Tilda asked with a lukewarm expression.
‘I thought Chloe was a genius comparable to Leo or Abad?’
Leo’s magic represented the dream and ideal of what a wizard aspired to be.
Abad’s magic symbolized the peak that a wizard could achieve.
Compared to those two, the fire spell Chloe had just shown seemed utterly normal.
“Why is this your Unique Magic?”
As Aiden seriously asked, Chloe responded.
“I will show you the true worth of this magic now.”
With that confident smile, Chloe quietly whispered again.
A blob of water appeared in the air.
“This flame right now is existing without any magical energy being supplied to it. If I pour water on it, what do you think will happen?”
“It’ll naturally go out, of course.”
In response to Shin Hooja’s question, Chloe grinned and poured water onto the flame.
Dousing sound-!
The flame flickered and seemed to go out.
Fwoosh-!
But moments later, it burned even more fiercely.
“…!”
“…!”
Not just the graduates, but the faces of the students changed drastically.
Leo’s expression turned rigid.
“How did you do that?”
As Tilda asked in surprise, Chloe explained.
“It’s my Unique Magic.”
Proudly, Chloe extinguished the flame with her hand.
“As long as I don’t desire it, this flame will not go out.”
“Wait! Wait! Chloe, you’re saying that… you’ve given permanence to this magic?”
Tilda asked, wide-eyed.
“Yes! As long as I do not wish for it, it will never be extinguished!”
Magic is a set of rules created by sigils; it’s immutable.
Therefore, absolute permanence can’t truly exist. Any magic would disappear eventually when magic power ceases to be supplied.
However, Chloe had created a sigil system with unchangeable properties.
Chloe began explaining her sigil system.
Everyone focused intently on her presentation.
‘Impossible.’
As Chloe spoke, Leo muttered to himself, thinking about the sigil system she described.
However, no matter how he attempted to recreate it in his mind, he couldn’t make sense of the flame that wouldn’t extinguish.
Even if it was solely due to Chloe’s unique magical properties, it seemed impossible.
After all, as far as Leo knew, there had been only a single being capable of spitting flames that burned eternally.
“Erebus.”
It was something that couldn’t be replicated through magic.
‘Something even Luna failed at.’
“Chloe Mueller, A+.”
“Thank you!”
As her presentation concluded, an image of the practical summoning examination naturally popped into Leo’s head.
“What kind of thing did she come up with?”
Kal muttered in bewilderment.
“Hey, Leo. Isn’t this incredible?”
Kal turned his gaze toward Leo.
“Leo?”
“Hmm? It’s impressive.”
“Why do you look so spaced out?”
“It’s nothing.”
Leo watched Chloe descending the podium.
‘Anyway… I should talk to Chloe at the very least.’
That evening,
After finishing his meal, Leo exited the boys’ dormitory and headed toward the girls’ dorm.
“Huh? Leo? What’s up with you coming all the way to the girls’ dorm?”
Celia, sitting on a bench with a friend near the girls’ dorm, curiously approached him.
“Celia, can you please call Chloe?”
“Chloe said she would sleep early today. She barely slept until dawn during the exam period.”
“Is that so? Then could you let her know I’ll meet her briefly before tomorrow’s exam at the main training grounds?”
“Got it. But why Chloe?”
“I want to have a conversation with her. That’s all.”
“Why are you asking me? Aren’t you closer to her? Shouldn’t you know more than me?”
“Chloe apparently got into a few fights with her classmates recently. Maybe it’s because she’s been more irritable during the exam period, but it’s getting worse. Plus, there’s talk that she’s hanging around with questionable people in the Department of Magic.”
“Chloe?”
Chloe was generally someone who cared for others.
At the beginning of the semester, she’d even helped Leo adjust to the modern magical system during their after-school study sessions.
Celia was initially upset when Chloe took her position as class leader but soon came to respect Chloe’s leadership.
It was difficult to imagine Chloe frequently getting into arguments with others.
‘After Kal and now Celia… Is something really up with Chloe?’
With Chloe on his mind, Leo returned to the dormitory.
He closed the window curtains and sat on the bed, raising his hand.
Fwoosh-!
A sigil of flames appeared.
The summoning sigil flickered, and Fiora peeked her face out.
“Could you call your mother for me?”
Fiora disappeared back into the sigil.
Moments later, Pina appeared.
“It’s been a while, Leo.”
“Are you doing well?”
Pina, in her human form, had Fiora settled on her head.
“Since she was summoned, she’s been telling me stories about herself when she grows up.”
Pina gently placed her daughter on Leo’s desk and watched as she toddled around.
“So, Leo, why did you call me?”
“Do you know about the incident during the summoning test when a monster appeared?”
“Yes, some monster tamer was messing around with the new students of Lumeran.”
Pina frowned.
To Pina, who was once a monster herself, monsters were highly unpleasant entities, and those who controlled them were individuals who ought to be eliminated.
“I heard that you’re staying here in Lumeran at the principal’s request. Is this incident related to that?”
“Hmm.” Pina rested her chin.
The attack on Lumeran five years ago, whose perpetrator still remained unknown, was a case that only a handful of people were privy to.
Currently, the higher-ups at Lumeran were investigating the potential connection between that old event and the current one.
‘I can’t tell this story to a freshman like Leo.’
“It’s still unclear if these events are related. Even if they are, I’m afraid I can’t tell you about it.”
“I understand. I just wanted you to pass this message to the principal.”
“What message?”
“That perhaps Tartarus isn’t targeting just Seon Riu but might also have extended their influence to other students.”
Pina’s expression changed dramatically.
“Do you know anything specific?”
“It’s not something I can confirm just yet, so I can’t disclose the details.”
Even if Chloe created an eternal flame, it’s premature to definitively connect it to Erebus.
Still, Leo believed it was critical to inform Lumeran’s higher-ups, as a precaution.
After hearing Leo’s words, Pina solemnly took her leave with Fiora.
“I’ll pass this information on to Kalyan.”
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