I’m Not Becoming a Graduate Student! – Chapter 9

“How big is the academy?”

“There’s a reason it’s called the Empire’s finest academy.”

Sion and Patrick moved to the classroom for their next lecture.

People were already gathered here and there.

Estroja, who was chatting with Geivolg, naturally left Geivolg’s side to join her friends.

‘What a scary girl…’

If Patrick hadn’t interpreted Estroja’s words for me, I might have continued to think of her as a ‘good person.’

I’ve never met anyone who could actually pull off that Kyoto-style speech in my life.

“Um! Looks like Estroja-chan left. Then let’s sit down. Should we take the front desks like last time?”

“Yeah, I prefer the front,” I replied.

“What a good attitude! To publicly criticize such a model student makes me reflect on myself.”

Geivolg laughed heartily as he claimed a front seat.

Admitting and accepting his mistakes, the more I saw Geivolg, the more I felt he wasn’t a bad person.

Conversely, Estroja seemed like a good person at first, but the more I looked at her, the more she seemed like a bad person.

“Hey Patrick, what was this class about again?”

“You have a student ID too, right? Check it on Bizanity.”

“Bizanity?”

“It’s short for Byzantium Community. It’s also the app’s official name.”

Patrick manipulated his student ID to show the screen.

The interface familiar enough to be used as a mobile phone looked very similar to the Axlitime I used in my previous life.

…The principal definitely came from South Korea.

“You can check it from the timetable menu, so just download it right away.”

“Sure, got it.”

“Oh! Gentlemen, since we’ve pulled out our student IDs, would you like to exchange contact information?”

“Sounds good.”

The three naturally exchanged contact information from their student IDs.

They could send messages or make calls to those far away.

It was an over-technology that didn’t fit a medieval fantasy world.

I was curious about the first principal who created these student IDs.

“Hello, everyone!”

A professor entered through the classroom front door.

She was a warm-looking female professor.

She looked to be in her thirties? Her expression was gentle, and it was hard to tell if her eyes were open or closed.

‘…Yang Su-in?’

If Heruj, the sword-fighting professor, was a squirrel beastman, this professor who just entered had horns swirling at her temples.

Now that I noticed, her hair looked fluffy too.

“I’m Professor Shabrina, and I’ll be in charge of today’s class. Nice to meet you all.”

Clap, clap, clap!

The class began with the customary applause.

It evoked nostalgia from my college days.

‘Yes, this is university class!’

After seeing Professor Lunia in the hut and Professor Heruj at the Colosseum, I couldn’t help but smile seeing a proper class setting.

…It seems Byzantium Academy has quite a few unique professors.

“My class is called ‘Introduction to Magic.’ You might wonder what the class is about just by the name without looking at the syllabus.”

With a light wave of her hand, flames blazed up on her palm.

“All of you seated here are students of the Magic Department. When you reach your second year, you’ll select your own major, and in this class, representatives from each department will come to introduce their respective majors.”

That’s right. Sion’s major was ‘First Year of the Magic Department of Byzantium Academy.’

A department is a concept that gathers similar majors into a group.

One department consists of various majors.

“Even though it’s orientation week, considering the number of departments, we’ll proceed with a light class. It will end within an hour, so please watch!”

She flashed a warm smile at the students.

The students were already completely absorbed in class.

Of course, it was due to the numerous spells being exhibited from Shabrina’s hands.

‘The magic is constantly changing, huh?’

The flames that had risen on her palm instantly transformed into water, swirling around as if in a weightless state.

It suddenly turned into dirt and formed a large rock.

Then, it converted into grains of sand and this time, transformed into wind.

The strong wind was enough to ruffle the students’ hair, and it gathered into her hand, making its movement visible.

All students, including Sion, couldn’t take their eyes off what was happening in Shabrina’s palm.

“I’m a professor in Elemental Magic. In this class, I’ll introduce the most popular and enjoyable elemental magic to you. By the way, the Magic Department at Byzantium Academy is the most sought after.”

Shabrina continued her explanation.

Elemental Magic utilizes the four great elements of this world: ‘water, fire, earth, and wind.’

It was a well-known branch of magic even to those unfamiliar with magic.

“Naturally, the Elemental Magic Department is also divided into branches. You can’t just lump it all together since there are four kinds. And within those, they can be further divided. For example, only within the water element, you can have subdivisions like ice, mist, purification, blood manipulation, climate manipulation, and so on. And—”

Her lecture was easy to understand.

Among the numerous lectures Sion attended in his previous life, this would definitely be counted as one of the best.

In fact, they weren’t very audible.

‘1st Circle Spells…!’

All the spells that she demonstrated ranged from the 1st Circle.

Though he couldn’t grasp all of them, luckily enough, there were plenty of 1st Circle spells.

Thanks to that, he was able to fill many entries in his Magic Grimoire.

[Magic Grimoire]

[Welcome to the Magic Grimoire!]

[You can check spells you have witnessed or can cast.]

[Currently available spells:]

[1st Circle Magic: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind]

[2nd Circle Magic: X]

[3rd Circle Magic: X]

[4th Circle…]

He learned the four most basic elemental spells.

Just by watching with his eyes.

‘I want to try casting them right away…!’

He learned as many as three new spells.

His fingers were itching, but it was class time.

Having suffered enough in several lectures already, he needed to avoid any sudden actions.

“—Well, that’s it. Feel free to ask any questions regarding elemental magic or the class itself.”

With a flash!

When Sion turned around, he noticed many students raising their hands.

It truly was the most popular department; the students’ interest was at its peak.

“I’m curious if we learn all four attributes in the Elemental Magic Department, or if we select a specialized element right away!”

“The Elemental Magic Department has specialized professors, so seeing each professor’s class before deciding is fine. Also, it’s okay to take classes for the specific attribute only~.”

“I have a question too! Regarding the Elemental Magic Department—”

The students continued their inquiries, and Shabrina answered without any hindrance.

After about five minutes, when the flood of questions slowed down a bit, Sion raised his hand.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Um… Is it possible to learn all four elements in the Elemental Magic Department?”

“…All four elements?”

“Yeah, I was just curious if anyone does that…”

Sion’s question froze the classroom.

Some students who had relaxed a bit were having side conversations, but now, no sound could be heard.

‘Wh-what? Did I say something wrong?’

As Sion glanced around, Shabrina smiled and responded.

“As a new student in the Elemental Magic Department, it’s common for students to sit in each professor’s class once. Some students do pursue double majors in two elements simultaneously, but… that’s quite a challenging task.”

Shabrina continued explaining.

The schedule for the Magic Department’s classes is quite demanding.

Selecting just one major to take classes for is challenging enough.

On top of that, it’s already assigned over 20 credits for new students since the timetable is rigidly allocated.

“Therefore, pursuing a double major is practically nonexistent. While it’s not entirely unheard of…”

Most students are too busy to attend classes properly for just one major.

Though there are students who double major, that is a domain reserved for geniuses or prodigies.

Normal students wouldn’t even dream of it.

“So it’s not too late to think it over slowly. You’re still a first-year, and you just got admitted. Was that a helpful answer?”

“Thank you.”

“Yes. Next question?”

Questions continued, but Sion didn’t listen closely.

He looked down at his palms.

‘Could it be… is it possible to double major after all?’

The ability to simply copy from what he sees.

He could only acquire spells that are equal to or lower than his Circle.


However, the ability to learn spells just by seeing them is an incredible talent.

‘Maybe I’ll have a lot to study this life.’

Sion smiled faintly.

The double major, a domain of the geniuses.

He felt a desire to aim even beyond it, to pursue multiple majors.

Since childhood, Sion loved studying.

Learning the fundamentals that make up the world and discovering what was once unknown was always thrilling for him.

However, magic, just using it brings a different kind of thrill to a man’s heart.

There are so many things he still didn’t know about.

So, it was no surprise his heart raced.

Sion’s eyes shone brightly.

He didn’t want to learn just one type of magic. He wanted to learn various spells.

And as a result, he wouldn’t mind if it became a double major or even multiple majors.

With this ability, nothing should be impossible.

*

After class ended, Sion, Patrick, and Geivolg left the classroom.

“Hey, guys! I’ll take my leave now. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“By the way, are you guys attending the opening ceremony tomorrow?”

“Ah… right. There is an opening ceremony, huh.”

Geivolg’s words reminded Sion about the opening ceremony happening tomorrow.

‘Oh man, an opening ceremony? When was the last time that happened?’

He had only attended the opening ceremony twice during his first and second year in college.

The first time was out of curiosity, and the second time he went because someone pleaded with him that it couldn’t be held due to insufficient participants.

‘Not that there’s much to do at the opening ceremony.’

The opening ceremony is simple.

Introducing the clubs existing within the department, promoting events for the semester, electing representatives for the first years… stuff like that.

In fact, the main event is the after-party that occurs after the opening ceremony.

“Sion, are you going to the opening ceremony?”

“Yeah, I think I will… what about you, Patrick?”

“Of course I’m going! The professors are treating us to food and it’s free. Plus, I might make some connections here and there.”

Patrick shrugged nonchalantly.

If he goes together, it wouldn’t be awkward at all.

“Haha! Then I’ll expect to see you at the opening ceremony. I’m off!”

Geivolg laughed heartily and walked away alone.

A free-spirited man who comes and goes like the wind.

…It really makes you doubt if he’s truly a prince of a small country.

“He’s gone. What will you do now?”

“I think I’ll do some magic training at the Training Hall. What about you?”

“I just plan to roam around the academy. Well, I’m off then.”

Patrick waved his hand and left.

Now Sion was left all alone.

But now, he wasn’t scared of being alone.

‘The academy is just like a university in South Korea. And it’s a place where people live.’

He felt an immense anxiety at first as he had dropped into a completely unknown world.

But after meeting Patrick and Geivolg, as well as various professors and taking classes, he realized this place was no different from a university.

So he decided to shake off the anxiety and focus on the life ahead.

Most importantly, as a student of the Magic Department.

He planned to focus on using magic.

Because of that, Sion decided to head toward the Training Hall, which he had heard about during the entrance ceremony; it was indeed said that private training halls could be reserved and used.

However…

“…Where is the Training Hall?”

The academy was a massive place with no proper map.

Finding the Training Hall in there wasn’t easy, and it took Sion quite a long time to find it…