Chapter 19 : Sincerity

It was dusk, but Daengdaengi was stuck in place and wouldn’t budge.

‘Does it think it’s some kind of Pichu?’

It looks like a killing machine, but its actions are no different from a certain yellow electric mouse in a cartoon. It hates being touched, it hates going back in. I’m annoyed. Class is about to start, but I can’t just leave it here, so in the end, I tied Daengdaengi with a rope and dragged it to the next class.

“Grrrrr…”

Except for the armor that makes up the appearance of its body, it’s actually an empty spirit body, so it wasn’t impossible to drag. However, it was attracting a lot of attention from other students.

I tried to ignore the stinging gazes and entered the next classroom, where the magic lecture was held. Naturally, everyone couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of me dragging my Osteon.

“What’s she doing? Could it be that she still can’t put it away?”

“I told you, she’s the commoner quota. She can’t even do something basic.”

I tried to ignore the insults. I looked around for an empty seat, and fortunately, Carne called me over, so I went and sat next to her. I know that Carne is actually a scary woman, but there’s no one else who greets me other than Carne, so I have no choice. As for Yuri… I still don’t know what she’s thinking.

“You’re late, Saya. You still couldn’t put Daengdaengi away.”

“It doesn’t listen at all…”

At that time, the middle-aged woman in charge of the magic lecture walked toward me and asked:

“Student, why did you come in with your Osteon out?”

“..It won’t dismiss…?”

“A spirit master can’t even handle their own Osteon?”

I can’t lift my face because I’m embarrassed, and Daengdaengi can’t understand the atmosphere and is biting the corner of the desk.

“Haa… Anyway, please make sure it doesn’t interfere with other students. This is the first time I’ve seen this since I became an instructor.”

“..I’m sorry, Instructor Audrey.”

“How do you know my name?”

Oops.

I often forget that the characters in the novel, I only know their names unilaterally.

“I heard about it before entering. You’ve been working here for a long time, haven’t you?”

“Hmm, anyway, make sure it doesn’t interfere.”

It seems I was properly marked from the first day.

Since it’s a magic class where it’s more important to learn through the body, after a brief theoretical explanation from Instructor Audrey, we immediately started casting basic spells.

When Audrey cast a spell, a fairly large flame rose from her hand. After showing a demonstration, she started to inspect the students one by one, walking around the classroom.

“The power of a spell is determined by two factors. First is the spirit master’s ability, and second is the condition of the day.”

She continued her explanation.

“Condition is the most important factor in magic. Even spirit masters who deal with top-level Sarkas sometimes struggle with the output of magic because of condition control.”

‘Condition..?’

What she said about the day’s condition influencing magic may not be entirely wrong. Because emotions often fluctuate depending on the condition. But, there’s something more important than condition.

The more I listened to the class, the more I became suspicious of the theory she was explaining. I couldn’t hold back my curiosity, so I eventually raised my hand and asked:

“I have a question.”

“..What is it?”

“When the power of magic is determined, doesn’t the power change depending on the change in the user’s emotions?”

“Emotions..? What does that have to do with it?”

Audrey looked like she couldn’t understand my question at all.

“I don’t know where you picked up that sophistry, but there is no such description in any book.”

In any book, it’s not written?

Then, what kind of feeling have spirit masters been using magic with until now?

“But, if you try it yourself…”

“I thought I already answered. Are you going to keep interrupting the class?”

“…No.”

I gave up trying to persuade her and sat down again. As soon as I sat down, I heard voices from all over.

“Did you hear that? She said the power of emotion.”

“Just looking at her makes me laugh so hard I can’t breathe, really…”

Judging from the reaction, it seems that they firmly believe that magic is determined by things like the condition of the day. Among the people sitting around me, only Carne and Yuri didn’t laugh.

‘Let’s not talk…’

If I say more, it’s obvious that I’ll be treated like more of a weirdo.

Starting from the front row, my turn was gradually approaching. While waiting for my turn, I watched other students cast basic magic.

The strange thing is, there were very few dark-type spirit masters among the many students. Including me, there were only about four. It was the turn of a male student who was a dark-type spirit master, so I carefully observed him.

“Scotadi!”

When the male student chanted the dark-type basic magic, a dark hemisphere of about 0.5m unfolded.

“Oh, you did quite well even in a place that’s not dark. Excellent.”

I thought it was small, but it seems that it wasn’t for Audrey and the other students. Everyone was adding admiration.

“But, dark-type magic is not practical, so it’s better to practice moderately and focus more on combat.”

‘Focus more on combat..?’

I frowned slightly at Audrey’s words. Even if dark magic is not specialized for combat, telling me to do it moderately is not something a magic instructor should say.

“…W-why is this…?”

Carne, sitting next to me, looked at her hand and trembled.

“What’s wrong?”

“The magic won’t go out. It worked fine this morning…”

She’s sweating a little, and her complexion is pale. Maybe it’s because of excessive tension. Honestly, I don’t think very highly of her. Because I knew what she would do at the academy and what consequences it would bring.

Still, it was a little uncomfortable to coldly turn away from her, who had shown kindness first. I don’t know what her ulterior motives were, though.

“Carne. Shall I help you?”

“What? How?”

With a serious face, I tell her:

“..Do you know how the ground cries?”

“…How does it cry?”

“Dirt, dirt.” (It’s a wordplay in Korean.)

There was silence for a few seconds. When I thought it had failed, she burst out laughing.

“Puhaha, what is that? It’s so silly…!”

“…”

Fortunately. Fortunately, it seems that dad jokes like this don’t exist in this world yet.

While she was laughing, Instructor Audrey approached us.

“Are you ready, student?”

Audrey asked Carne.

“Ah, yes!”

Between me and Audrey watching, she casts a spell.

“..Fito!”

When she chanted the nature-type basic magic, a shining seed was formed on her hand and sprouted.

“..Not bad.”

Carne probably didn’t know if it would succeed. She opens her eyes wide and whispers to me:

“It worked! I couldn’t do it no matter how hard I tried until just now, how did you do it…?”

“…It’s a secret.”

The reason why Carne’s magic didn’t activate was probably because her mind went blank due to excessive tension. Emotions that are only anxious without composure do not become a catalyst for magic in any direction.

Now that Carne’s turn is over, it’s finally my turn.

“..Next. It’s the student’s turn.”

She’s probably the type who doesn’t like interrupting the flow of the class or expressing different opinions. Now I know for sure. No matter what I say, these people will only believe in the records left in books.

“Hey, show us the power of the emotion theory!”

The male student who had been sarcastic from the back seat muttered, looking at me. I was so angry that I decided to show him something really good.

“….”

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

I held out my hand to cast a spell but hesitated.

Yes.

If I spread widespread dark magic here, I can prove that my theory is correct.

If it’s proven to be true, the curriculum that teaches students will be reorganized, and the overall level of magic will dramatically increase.

But,

Why should I?

For guys who ridicule the knowledge that others have given with goodwill, proper theory is a million years too early.

If that’s the case, I thought it would be better to monopolize knowledge and gain an advantage in competition.

‘As calmly as possible…’

While chanting the national anthem in my heart, I casually spoke the spell.

“Scotadi.”

Starting from my fingertip, a dark hemisphere of about 0.7m was created, barely blocking my vision. Even though I tried to control my emotions, my ability had increased quite a bit, so it came out bigger than I thought.

It was the largest size among the dark-type spirit master students so far, so the other students were silent without any particular reaction.

“..It’s quite usable. But, as I said..”

“Dark magic is not helpful in combat, so I should invest moderately, right?”

I answered, interrupting Audrey’s words.

“..Yes. You know well.”

After that, it went smoothly. I didn’t take any other unusual actions, so the lecture ended quietly.

As I was dragging Daengdaengi and leaving the classroom, Carne and Yuri approached me.

“Good job. It’s the first time, so it’s confusing. Right?”

“..I’ll go first. I have something to test.”

Yuri disappeared first, and only Carne and I remained. Ah, and Daengdaengi.

“Thank you, thanks to Saya, I got through today safely.”

Carne smiles brightly and thanks me. But I didn’t react to it. Rather, I looked at her with cold eyes.

“..Saya, why do you look like that? Did something happen..?”

“Let’s stop. Carne Eckermann.”

“What are you saying to stop? I don’t understand..”

This time, so that she couldn’t turn the conversation around, I nailed it down clearly.

“Stop the clumsy friend act. Why are you trying to kill Yuri Freesia?”

“….”

She lowered her head.

“..How..?”

When she raised her face again, she was already wearing a face that was 180 degrees different from her previous impression.

“There was no reason to be caught, why was I caught?”

It was the appearance of Carne Eckermann, which only I knew.