It has been two weeks since I enrolled at Arcana.
And during this time, whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, nothing noteworthy happened after the weekend outing.
It was truly peaceful days, every single day.
Chatting about knights with Helen.
Having occasional meaningless chitchats with the Crown Prince.
I wanted to converse with Reina like before, but I figured she needed time to sort things out alone.
After all, at the end of each day of studying, I would go to the café to sip on sweet iced chocolate – those peaceful days.
But I already knew.
This peace was merely the calm before the storm that was about to hit.
“The professor of Elemental Magic Studies is said to be strict,” the upperclassmen told me.
“That’s why the class is difficult and dangerous. It’s to prevent accidents.”
At Arcana, while majors are divided, most classes are taken together as a cohort.
Since the average number of students enrolling each year is around 80, there’s no need to separate them.
The only differences according to majors are the exam content and priority for signing up for additional classes.
And the class I was about to attend, Elemental Magic Studies, was one of those additional classes.
Every human in this world has magical power.
Essentially, magical power has no attributes, and attributes are created by refining and transforming that power.
There are five types of attributes.
Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light.
Most commoners can only transform into one attribute from this list, while nobles can usually manage two. From three onwards, it’s entirely a matter of individual talent.
However, it’s not typically necessary to learn elemental magic separately.
Refining magical power alone is usually sufficient for most tasks.
Thus, investing time into the complex and dangerous field of elemental magic is often unnecessary.
Nonetheless, elemental magic studies progress because it can showcase tremendous power for those skilled in it.
For example, the original heroine, Sophia, demonstrates overwhelming talent in Light magic.
To use the basic healing magic of the Light attribute as she does, one would need to invest many times more magical power than her refined form.
Considering these aspects, elemental magic studies are indeed an essential field in this world.
“Did I sign up for this for nothing?”
Of course, that didn’t mean I needed the class.
After all, the original Aike didn’t take Elemental Magic Studies.
Whether he simply failed to sign up or had never intended to enroll, I couldn’t be certain.
But I could only predict it was likely the latter.
The attributes Aike could transform into were Earth and Wind.
However, he wasn’t particularly talented.
My speed in attribute transformation was incredibly slow.
Unlike widening my magical flow, this area is entirely reliant on talent, so I probably wouldn’t differ much from the original Aike.
Taking that into account, it was clear the original Aike had no reason to attend Elemental Magic Studies in the first place.
Yet, the reason I signed up was simple.
Elemental Magic Studies was the only additional class where Reina, Sophia, and the Crown Prince would all gather.
The clashes between Reina and Sophia.
The relationship between Sophia and the Crown Prince.
The misunderstandings between Reina and the Crown Prince.
The scenes of their relationships unfolding and twisting would almost certainly take place in this class.
Knowing that, I couldn’t just sit back and watch.
And today was the first day of the Elemental Magic Studies class.
“Does anyone know why Elemental Magic Studies is a difficult and dangerous class?” Professor Dande asked us in the classroom.
The one to raise his hand was the Crown Prince.
“Because improperly implemented elemental magic can cause magical surges.”
“Correct, Crown Prince Leon.”
Professor Dande slowly began writing the class content on the blackboard.
“Ordinary magic isn’t just power exceeding human limits. Physical Enhancement Magic most directly showcases one side of that.”
Professor Dande pulled a walnut from his pocket and squeezed it hard with his right hand.
After a moment, when he opened his hand, the walnut was completely smashed to pieces.
“And elemental magic is the power that creates miracles by passing through additional processes, pushing the limits of magic.”
Professor Dande quietly popped a piece of walnut into his mouth and continued speaking.
“However, conjuring miracles artificially means momentarily disregarding the world’s rules. Magical surges occur when one bypasses the world’s rules and goes through faulty processes. You’re all aware of the consequences that can arise from that.”
When magical power surges, it’s not just the caster’s magical flow tearing apart—it completely shatters.
The isolated magical power trapped in the shards of a broken magical flow struggles to circulate.
This gradually heats the body, and once it reaches a certain level, it literally explodes.
Just a small amount of magical surging could obliterate a radius of 100 meters without leaving a trace.
Thus, in a way, elemental magic, which can force magical surges, is quite dangerous.
“Regardless, elemental magic is the power to bring forth miracles. And to access that, we pay the price of magical power. To pay this price, the way to breach the world’s barrier is through incantations.”
Professor Dande wrote a sentence at the bottom of the blackboard.
‘Flames, engulf the enemy.’
“This is the basic incantation formula for the Fire attribute’s basic magic: Fireball.”
Turning to us, Professor Dande extended his right hand toward the wall.
“Flames, engulf the enemy.”
He quietly recited the incantation, and a fireball was conjured, shooting toward the wall.
I worried for a moment that an accident might occur, but his magic completely vanished before it hit the wall.
“The incantation formula contains various meanings, and how accurately you understand that meaning can change a lot.”
Professor Dande then drew an X over the Fireball incantation formula.
“When you fully comprehend this incantation, using elemental magic becomes possible without the need for recitation.”
He extended his right hand toward the wall again.
This time, he remained silent, yet the fireball manifested.
As before, the fireball dissolved before colliding with the wall.
“That concludes today’s theoretical class. From now on, I will be distributing prints containing the incantations for basic magic suited to each individual’s attributes. We’ll meet again in one hour at the elemental magic practice area.”
Professor Dande passed out the prints, slightly bowed his head, and left the classroom.
“What on earth does this mean?”
Even after receiving the print that Professor Dande handed out, I couldn’t leave the classroom.
The Earth’s basic magic was ‘Gnome’, which summoned walls of earth.
The Wind’s basic magic was ‘Wind Walker’, creating platforms of wind.
And each incantation was ‘Earth, rise high.’ and ‘Winds, create a path.’
“…I don’t get it.”
Up to this point, it was obvious but there was nothing to memorize.
But the issue lay in grasping the meaning behind these incantations.
In this world, incantations can be said to be the translation of the world’s rules into human language.
Defining the world’s rules with words and offering magical power as a price to manifest miracles is what elemental magic is all about.
In other words, to use elemental magic properly, understanding these rules was necessary.
One could use elemental magic just by memorizing incantations.
However, doing that would significantly lower the magic’s performance and increase the chances of magical surges, so it was not a viable method.
Ultimately, to properly attend this class, it meant I had to fully understand the incantation.
“Why on earth is it connected to such incantations?”
Truth be told, the explanations for the incantations written on the print weren’t lacking in kindness.
It’s just that I couldn’t comprehend them.
“Damn it.”
Everyone else had already left the classroom, except for me.
I was starting to feel cold sweat from pondering whether I was the only one struggling in this class.
Of course, the biggest reason I attended this class was that it was the only place where Reina, Sophia, and the Crown Prince all gathered.
But that didn’t mean I intended to let this class drift by without paying attention.
Considering the various events that lay ahead, the more I could do, the better.
“Why is this so…?”
“Aike, my dear prince.”
While I was wrapped in my thoughts trying to decipher the incantations, someone spoke to me from behind.
“You seem to be troubled; may I help you a little?”
Turning around, I saw Reina standing there with a slight smile.
Our conversation, which took place about two weeks later, was surprisingly ordinary.
Reina appeared more peaceful than I expected, and she seemed more composed than when we first met at Arcana.
“You’re overthinking the incantation, Aike,” she began, after hearing my worries, and simply started to break it down.
“As Professor Dande said earlier, if you fully understand the incantation, you can activate magic without recitations. In other words, the incantation has a set answer within itself.”
“Does that mean it’s something to memorize?”
“Similar, but not quite. The answer in an incantation is personal. For instance, the interpretation written here differs from the image I conjure when using Gnome,”
As I listened to Reina’s explanation, I started to feel the clutter in my mind begin to clear.
“In other words, the interpretation written on this print is correct, but not the only truth.”
Though I still found it somewhat challenging, it was no longer an unknown difficulty.
“Professor Dande essentially means to derive your own answer and create your individual equation. Ultimately, what we need to do in elemental magic studies is invent new magic.”
Once Reina finished explaining, I closed my eyes and slowly extended my right hand forward.
And I placed the incantation on my lips.
“Winds.”
The transformed Wind attribute magical power began to flow through my body.
I completely erased the meaning of the incantation I had just read from my mind.
What I needed for the manifestation of this miracle was simple.
I just asked myself that.
What I needed was a platform of wind to go wherever freely.
“Create a path.”
And as I completed the incantation,
“Congratulations, Aike.”
The miracle manifested.
“A letter has come saying Anna has returned to Heros.”
“That’s good.”
After successfully manifesting Wind Walker and Gnome, we chatted in the classroom.
I had been curious why Reina, who was the first to leave the classroom, returned, but she probably wanted to discuss this news.
“Aren’t you surprised?”
“Actually, I got a letter too.”
I thought there was no need to hide it, so I revealed everything honestly.
Yesterday, a letter from Anna arrived while I was resting in the dormitory.
The content was just a simple note saying she had returned to the duke’s house and was writing a letter to Reina.
“Since I can’t return to Heros just yet, we’ll be seeing each other a little later.”
So, Reina continued.
“Thank you, Aike.”
At her expression of gratitude, I found myself at a loss for words.
While she didn’t specify what she was thankful for, I could roughly surmise the intention.
I had no doubt that Anna wrote about me in the letter to Reina.
She must have concluded the answer on her own.
“Don’t mention it.”
In the end, all I could say was this.
Upon hearing my response, a smile crept across Reina’s face.
