One-on-One Class with Professor Mehdun.
It took place at one corner of the Coliseum.
…In other words, it meant that the students watching could also observe the class.
Amidst the students’ subtle gazes, Sion looked at Professor Mehdun.
‘What kind of lesson is this going to be?’
Sion and Professor Mehdun were both dressed in robes and holding their staffs, unlike last week. The only difference was that Sion held a wand, while Professor Mehdun wielded a staff.
Surely, he wasn’t planning to fight me directly, right?
“Sion, what do you think is the most important thing in a wizard’s battle?”
Mehdun spoke to Sion from about three meters away.
A sudden question caught Sion off guard, but it wasn’t that difficult.
“It’s the speed of manifestation.”
“……Correct. The speed of manifestation. In battle, speed is fundamental.”
“I see.”
“There are three ways to increase the speed of manifestation.”
Snap!
Professor Mehdun hid his right hand behind his back and extended his left hand towards Sion.
Three fingers were raised, visible even from a distance. One of them was bent down.
“The first is the reduction of incantation time, or the use of silent casting. It’s a given, really.”
Naturally, reducing incantation time allowed for faster magic. All intermediate-level wizards strive to shorten their casting times. Of course, it’s not that simple. The methods of reduction vary from person to person.
“The second is imagination. A wizard’s magic is influenced by their imagination. You know this as well.”
“…Yes.”
Sion also understood the importance of imagination. The more concrete the imagination, the faster and stronger the magic manifests. This was also the reason Sion’s speed of manifestation was quick, having lived in modern society.
“The last is equipment.”
He raised his staff.
It was different from the wooden staff seen at the Magic Tool Shop. A gem-like crystal sparkled at the center of his staff.
…Now that I think about it, Professor Mehdun is from one of the Empire’s three great magical families. There was no reason to spare any expense on his staff.
“When I look at you, Sion, it seems you have all three. You’ve already matched the speed of manifestation with your wand.”
“…That’s right.”
“Then what I’m going to teach you now is the next step.”
“The next step? What do you mean…?!”
Whoosh—!!
Professor Mehdun’s right hand, hidden behind his back, stretched forward, stirring up dust.
In an instant, a cloud of dust obscured his view.
“Today, I will teach you how to fight when you can’t take advantage of your speed of manifestation.”
“…!”
“I will teach you that today!”
Whistle!!
A voice echoed from the dust cloud. At the same time, dozens of ice spears flew toward him. Random ice spears shot in from the cloud.
Seeing this, Sion drew up his magical energy.
‘If I don’t handle this properly, I’ll die!’
Chill.
Despite his body trembling with rising fear, Sion’s lips twisted into a grin.
…The class with Professor Mehdun Demurni had just begun.
An elite from one of the Empire’s three great magical families, Mehdun Demurni. He had dismissed the potential of the commoner Sion but revised his assessment after last week’s duel with Estroja.
‘He is still an unrefined gemstone.’
Even while unleashing magic with silent casting, he meticulously calculated the opponent’s movements. He hid his own moves while reading his opponent’s. Such abilities cannot be learned; they are purely innate talents.
Professor Mehdun wanted to hone him.
Having taught students as the number one in magical combat for over ten years, he felt more excited than ever.
The ‘gemstone’ he longed for was right in front of him; who could resist?
‘I’ll shroud the field with 3rd Circle Elemental Magic: Dust Cloud. And… I’ll send forth 3rd Circle Elemental Magic: Ice Lance. It’s a combo that is hard to deal with if you’re caught off guard.’
After creating a cloud of dust, he threw dozens of ice lances to create chaos. This is a favorite tactic for combat mages primarily using elemental magic.
The ice lances flying from unseen areas invoke the fear of death themselves.
But Professor Mehdun was not finished.
‘Strength Up, Eagle Eye.’
Whoosh!
Part of his magical energy flowed into his body, enhancing his physical ability. Even after using magic, a bit of energy remained in the staff. He used that for physical enhancement.
With Strength Up enhancing his entire body and Eagle Eye allowing him to see through the dust, he confirmed Sion’s panicked expression and smiled.
‘Now’s not the time to be flustered, Sion.’
The ice lances were still flying.
Crack!
Sion quickly raised a wall of earth to block the ice lances. 2nd Circle Magic: Earth Wall. It was excellent for blocking physical attacks like ice lances.
Mehdun also nodded at the choice of ‘Earth Wall.’
At the same time, Sion reached out toward where the ice lances were coming from.
“Wind!!”
Whistle—!!
Not just a simple gust of wind, but a sharp wind like a blade. It torn apart the dust cloud.
This wasn’t magic to block the ice lances; it was magic to attack Professor Mehdun hidden within the dust and to restore his line of sight.
However, Professor Mehdun had already emerged from the dust cloud.
Dashing with his body enhanced by Strength Up.
“Water Wall!”
“…!”
A Water Wall appeared in mid-air, obscuring his view. A wall made of water surged toward Sion.
“Rock Shot!”
Sion cast Rock Shot to break through the Water Wall. Although it shattered, the Water Wall effectively obscured his vision.
Water is transparent, but for an instant when it scatters, it becomes opaque.
‘Take five steps forward.’
Mehdun meticulously closed the distance.
Why was he closing in during a battle with a wizard?
It was for the purpose of teaching Sion the second lesson.
‘Today’s class has two objectives: responses to ambushes and hand-to-hand combat.’
In a one-on-one duel between wizards, the most important factor is the speed of manifestation. However, that only applies when both sides start simultaneously, as in a duel.
In real combat, the enemy would never wait.
Therefore, when ambushed unexpectedly, the ability to respond is crucial.
This was the reason Professor Mehdun suddenly attacked Sion.
Responses require quick judgment, reflexes, and understanding of magic…
‘Responding to ambushes and hand-to-hand combat are indispensable. But with just a wand….’
Sion chose a wand.
But Mehdun had opted for a staff that was two or three times longer and heavier.
Mehdun felt disappointed with Sion’s choice.
In the heat of battle, the reach and destructive power difference between a staff and a wand was immense.
Imagine a boxing match between someone with a one-meter arm and another with a thirty-centimeter arm.
It was obvious who would win.
‘Once the match is over, it wouldn’t hurt to gift him a decent staff.’
As he imagined what would happen after the duel, his staff gleamed.
This time, he cast ‘Wind’ to obstruct Sion’s line of sight.
The duration of Strength Up still had over five minutes left.
Five steps forward.
“Fire!”
A burst of flames erupted from Sion’s hands.
Not a simple Fire spell, but the radiating flames he had shown in the duel with Estroja.
It was an excellent original spell that could obscure vision and block approach.
Thinking solely about ‘advancing’ on the ground.
Whoosh!
“…!”
Professor Mehdun jumped high while gaining momentum.
With his body enhanced by Strength Up, he easily dodged the fire breath and charged toward Sion.
Though Sion hastily cut off his magic and reached out again.
“It’s too late.”
“…Gah.”
Whack!
Professor Mehdun slammed his staff onto the ground, aiming for Sion, who was already rolling to the side.
Sion realized too late that his response was slow and evaded the staff’s attack.
Ignoring the dirt on his uniform, Sion moved like it was a real fight.
His eyes were still shining like a wild beast.
Mehdun’s lips curled into a broad grin.
‘Yes, fight more fiercely. Grow from this battle with me!’
Whoosh!
Professor Mehdun leapt again, targeting Sion.
He wouldn’t give Sion any time to use magic.
‘This is the end.’
With Strength Up and wielding a staff, Professor Mehdun faced Sion, holding his wand with no support magic.
Furthermore, Sion was still rolling aside, still off-balance.
The moment he permitted proximity, the outcome was already determined.
‘I have to teach him a lot about hand-to-hand combat.’
Mehdun lightly aimed his staff at Sion’s solar plexus.
It might hurt, but even that would be an experience.
Avoiding striking a spot that could damage internal organs like the abdomen was… Professor Mehdun’s kindness.
‘Ah… this exhilaration. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this.’
Perhaps due to the extreme state of excitement.
Everything in Mehdun’s view seemed to move in slow motion.
Sion’s face looked panicked.
He desperately stretched out his wand to block Professor Mehdun’s staff, but it was much too slow to defend.
‘Is this it?’
Sion was pictured falling, struck in the solar plexus.
With no obstacles, Professor Mehdun’s staff stretched out toward Sion’s solar plexus.
Just before it reached him, Sion’s movements began to appear strangely sharp.
“…What?!”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Sion dodged Professor Mehdun’s staff with a bizarre motion.
He evaded the trajectory of the staff with movements as quick as a squirrel.
The moment Mehdun strained to retrieve his staff.
Thud!
Sion tripped Mehdun’s foot.
While thrusting, the center of gravity shifted forward, making Mehdun’s body start to float in the air.
‘…A throwing technique? No way!’
Sion threw Mehdun over his shoulder.
The entire process moved as smoothly as a master of throws.
…Did he master throwing techniques with such a frail body?
‘This kid is insane!’
Mehdun was thrown backward with great force.
The thrust enhanced by Strength Up, combined with Sion’s skilled throwing technique, sent him flying at least ten meters.
Thud!
“Gahh!”
He rolled on the ground a few times after hitting the ground, and his back felt prickly.
Without the effect of Strength Up, he might have broken his spine.
When Professor Mehdun groaned in pain, trying to rise,
Boom!
The ground next to Professor Mehdun caved in.
As he snapped back to reality and looked up, Sion was already looming over him.
Beside Sion were massive rocks floating in the air.
The crater formed just moments ago was a trace of the Rock Shot he had unleashed.
“Did I win?”
“…Yeah, I lost.”
Professor Mehdun steadied himself with his staff and got up.
He felt humiliated by dismissing Sion’s abilities, leading to this unexpected defeat.
It was a disgraceful defeat.
‘No, maybe it’s not even disgraceful.’
Mehdun trembled at Sion’s capabilities.
Using silent casting beyond incantation reduction, along with exceptional imagination to wield 1st Circle Magic at the level of 2nd or 3rd Circle.
Not stopping there, he even showed competent hand-to-hand combat skills…
‘What a monstrous child.’
He had thought he found a gemstone, but this was more than that.
It was like the gemstone had cracks, and something was trying to emerge from within.
A monstrous being that could hardly appear once every thousand years, or perhaps only once in ten thousand years.
“Are you okay?”
“…I’m fine. But are you okay?”
“I’m fine. My magic is fine, too… By the way, I’m sorry for throwing you like that suddenly…”
“It’s my fault.”
Professor Mehdun expressionlessly brushed off his clothes.
Sion anxiously wandered around, his face still displaying nervousness.
‘I’m going crazy too. To throw my professor like that suddenly….’
A student had thrown a professor.
If it were in a past life, this sentence alone would have made headlines in the news.
Worried that he might have hurt Professor Mehdun because of himself, he was on edge.
Professor Mehdun lightly tapped his waist with his fist and asked.
“Where did you learn judo… cough, judo?”
“Oh, from the judo club.”
“…Isn’t the club still in its recruitment period?”
“Yes, they had judo experiences at the recruitment event…”
“……”
Professor Mehdun silently looked into Sion’s eyes.
‘What are you thinking?’
While Serenne always carried a sleepy look, Professor Mehdun’s expressions were always stiff and cold, making it hard to read his emotions.
It was impossible to guess what he might be thinking.
Yet, he could at least say this.
“…I learned a lot from the duel.”
“You learned a lot?”
“Yes, I did.”
Sion placed his hand on his left chest.
Thump thump thump thump.
He could still feel his heart racing.
Dueling with Professor Mehdun had that exhilarating flavor he hadn’t felt in a long time.
It wasn’t merely about moving his body; it was the use of magic that made his heart race.
‘This is the first time I’ve felt this excited in battle in this world….’
Until now, there had been no one worthy of being his opponent.
Goblin Dungeons, Slime Dungeons, duels with Estroja, and so on….
Sion had always won overwhelmingly, which made it hard to find enjoyment in magical combat.
That’s why the duel with Professor Mehdun felt different to Sion.
Stirring up dust, ambushing with ice spears, and genuinely attacking using a staff.
The struggle of calculating combat at the level of seconds and the fight of real wizards made Sion feel a thrill he had never experienced before.
“Please teach me again next time!”
“…Um, okay.”
On the other hand, Professor Mehdun felt hesitant.
“Are we going to keep doing this every week?”
“……Maybe.”
“Please let’s do it next week too! Or there’s still time left, shall we duel once more? Teach me a bit more!”
“…….”
“Okay? Professor!”
Professor Mehdun looked into Sion’s sparkling eyes and eventually averted his gaze.
Then he muttered.
“…If you want.”
“Yes! Then let’s do it right away!”
“No, wait, let’s take a five-minute break… Ahem, that’s not it… Don’t we also need to watch the other students who are dueling?”
“I see. Okay, I’ll wait!”
Sion headed toward the arena where the duels were underway.
“…Monster of a kid.”
Professor Mehdun was casting ‘Healing’ on himself in an angle where Sion couldn’t see.
Secretly using healing magic while pretending not to be in pain in front of Sion.
…Professor Mehdun, who had slightly, just slightly, regretted deciding to teach Sion.
