[29] A Thorn in the Eye (2)
Etella toyed with her lips, lost in thought.
"Then do you want to demonstrate in the Image Zone?"
"Huh? Now?"
"Why? Are you not feeling well?"
"No, it's not that."
Etella blinked, puzzled. The eager student who had wanted to use the Image Zone from the first day of class had become unusually passive lately.
'What's going on? Her expression looks off. Are the other kids picking on him? He's more sensitive than I thought.'
Etella gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.
"If you're not up to it, we can do it next time. You're the only one in Class Seven who can convert the Fourfold Formation, so I wanted to see it."
"No, I'll do it. Please evaluate me."
Shirone changed his mind. Even if his classmates complained, he wouldn't turn down a chance to learn from Etella for that reason.
As Shirone stepped into the Image Zone, the verbal attacks flew.
"Oh? He's going to try again? Such an attention seeker."
"He's just trying to look good for his lover. Well, that's the only thing he's any good at. He can't cast a proper spell for the life of him."
Meanwhile, the upperclassmen stopped practicing and turned to watch. It had been a month since he succeeded with the defensive variant of the Fourfold Formation, and they were curious how much he'd improved.
"Teacher, I'll start."
"Alright. Let's go through them one by one."
Shirone demonstrated his specialty: the defensive form. A massive cube formed with imposing presence.
The upperclassmen murmured in admiration.
"Judging by the defensive form alone, he's top-tier. That's practically armor."
The students in Class Seven glared at Shirone like he was a public enemy. Even so, they couldn't deny his skill—he really was at an impressive level.
Shirone shifted the Fourfold Formation into an offensive form. The zone shrank, but countless spikes jutted out menacingly.
Next came the target form. The cross was impressively long, though it lacked rotational force for practical combat. Still, the improvement was undeniable.
Etella smiled in satisfaction. Shirone's skill was such that an early promotion to Class Six wouldn't be unreasonable.
He didn't stop there and attempted the separation form. If he wanted Etella's guidance, failure could be as instructive as success.
Trouble struck without mercy. The shape of the Spirit Zone warped; whenever he tried to move its center, the zone often burst just before separation.
Etella's eyes lit in surprise. She hadn't expected much from someone with a clashing temperament, but he was getting closer than she had thought.
The students from Class Seven—who hadn't even dared attempt the separation form—each breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hah, what is that? Is that supposed to be a Fourfold Formation? That's child's play."
"They called him a genius and it's nothing special. At least be good at one thing. With that, how does he expect to be a mage?"
Shirone felt stung. Not a single one of Class Seven could perform the separation form. He couldn't understand the mindset of people who set standards they themselves couldn't meet and then hurled them at others.
Losing his composure made his Spirit Zone wobble. The more it shook, the more his classmates riled up, spewing slander to drag him down.
Amy, who had been watching, frowned. The conversion to the Fourfold had been fine, but suddenly the zone was faltering.
"What the hell is going on? What is he doing?"
"The separation form is supposed to be hard. Maybe he's paying too much attention to everyone's reactions."
"No way. He's not the type to be that shaken. Isn't something really going on with him lately?"
"Oh, don't be so defensive. Well, he's the gentleman, after all—what else do you expect?"
Amy, cheeks flushed, silenced Seriel and fell into thought. It was odd. The endurance that had once resisted anti-magic seemed gone; his Spirit Zone lurched like someone drunk.
'Is there really something happening that I don't know about?'
Shirone fought to suppress his emotions. But anger, once kindled, feeds on itself and grows, and it's not easy to control.
'Why do they hate me so much? What did I do wrong? I'm just trying to study hard and get better. What's wrong with wanting to be a mage?'
His Spirit Zone began to quake as if it might burst at any moment.
"Hey, you're thinking too much."
Shirone snapped out of his thoughts. Someone from Class Five had spoken.
"If you want to do something, just do it. You're here to learn magic, right?"
Only then did Shirone clear his head and see how foolish his previous thoughts had been.
'What was I doing?'
He pushed away the distracting thoughts and tried the separation form again. Failure would be fine; success would be better. The important thing was taking the next step.
The forty-meter-diameter zone slowly began to shift from its center. As the center moved away, the diameter shrank exponentially.
Would separation happen first, or dissolution?
All the advanced students stared, riveted.
When the zone had shrunk to a two-meter diameter, the surface of the Spirit Zone peeled cleanly away from Shirone's body.
The shock to the Class Seven students was indescribable. Even the upperclassmen were stunned; a technique difficult even for them had just been completed.
The Spirit Zone began to whirl rapidly around Shirone. New information flooded in with every turn—the data was so massive his head felt about to split. When he opened his eyes wide, the Spirit Zone popped and vanished without a trace.
"Hah, hah."
He was out of breath despite no physical exertion.
"I did it. I actually managed the separation form… I succeeded."
The upperclassmen buzzed.
This was a success incomparable to the defensive form. Not a single person in Class Seven, nor even Class Six, had succeeded with the separation form.
Seriel waved Amy's arm excitedly.
"Amy, Shirone did it! He really did it!"
Amy smiled as well. Whatever the emotions involved, as a comrade chasing the same dream he had talent worthy of respect.
'His growth rate is enormous. No—it's unbelievably fast. If he can pull off the separation form in just a month, then surely…'
A talent to rival me—or perhaps surpass me.
Amy felt a twinge of resentment. Shirone must have trained his mind without missing a single day. What about her? She had wasted time running the back alleys and playing the rogue.
'Why did I squander those precious hours?'
Having succeeded with the separation form, Shirone searched Class Five for the person who had spoken earlier to thank them. But he couldn't identify the voice; he hadn't had the chance to speak with the seniors.
'I wanted to say thank you…'
Etella watched the applause for Shirone and fell into thought. Everyone had been stimulated by his growth. She thought of a way to raise class morale even further.
"Hmm, you came earlier than I expected."
* * *
Lately Shirone had a private worry: he didn't actually know how to cast any real spells.
The knowledge required for magic wasn't something low-class students could pick up casually. For that reason, formal magical practice at the school began in Class Five.
But reality was different. Nobles received instruction from birth, so even lower-class noble students could wield at least one spell. Shirone, by contrast, had only studied for a year and a half under the Ozent household.
Shirone's dilemma was this. If he concentrated on one discipline, he might manage a simple spell. But he could never surpass students who had been educated from childhood by following the same path.
So he adopted a different strategy: study entire branches of knowledge derived from one discipline all at once.
That meant borrowing so many books he practically lived in the library these days.
The other students mocked him. They thought it foolish to study everything at random when he couldn't even keep up with the current lessons.
But Shirone didn't change his mind. With a backbone of knowledge, any subject could be arranged in chronological order in his head. In other words, the chance of forgetting material would drop dramatically.
'Immediate results might be small. But at the very least, two years—if I can study like this for two years, the core knowledge of each field will connect.'
That would build the skeleton of knowledge—an entire encyclopedia accessible in his mind.
Shirone steeled himself and buried himself in books again. When he looked up it was well past midnight. Only a girl from Class Six remained in the reading room.
As Shirone packed his bag and bowed his head, she shyly returned the gesture with a smile.
He left the library at two in the morning.
He could sleep for about four hours if he went straight to bed. But thinking he was behind the children of noble families made even sleep feel wasteful.
At times like that he remembered a book he'd once read, Conversations with Great Scholars.
The interview with the biologist Thorkcolin had been particularly memorable. He insisted people must sleep at least six hours, but at the end of the interview he made a joke.
"Of course, I only slept four hours as a student."
The author asked, "Then doesn't that contradict your research? You became an outstanding scholar sleeping only four hours."
Thorkcolin answered, "Ha! Teenagers aren't human. They're superhuman. Whether they sleep or not makes no difference."
To Shirone, always chased by time, that was great encouragement.
'Right! Work hard. If I do my best, the results will follow.'
The upperclassmen's building still had lights on. The windows glittered as if experiments were running late into the night. What new magic might be born in there?
Shirone's gaze rested on the senior building.
* * *
Near the end of lunch, Etella went to find Shiina. They were both twenty-six and had worked together for four years, yet still addressed each other politely.
"Teacher Shiina, could I have a moment?"
"Yes. But I have a Class Seven lecture, so I can't stay long."
Discussions about magic often ran over an hour, so Shiina asked for understanding in advance.
"Oh, I see. I wanted to consult about Shirone."
Shiina's interest sparked at the name. She'd heard Shirone stood out in Etella's practical class even though his theory performance was lacking.
"How is he these days? His practical scores are pretty high."
"That's true. He even managed the separation form recently."
"Oh? Is that so."
Shiina smiled with satisfaction. As Shirone's theory teacher, being praised by another instructor was a pleasure.
"So I have a proposal for you, Teacher Shiina."
"A proposal?"
It was rare for Etella to go to another teacher about a student's affairs. Shiina blinked, expecting something bold.
* * *
Chemical theory filled the blackboard of the Class Seven lecture hall. Students' eyes and pens moved busily. The lesson felt faster than usual. As expected, Shiina ended class about ten minutes early and stepped down from the podium.
"That's it for today. I have an announcement."
The students were magnanimous. If the teacher ended class early, they'd listen to any news.
"An early promotion has been decided. Arian Shirone, stand up."
Shirone flinched at the sudden announcement. His classmates wore displeased faces. Early promotions weren't unheard of, but the problem was that the recipient was Shirone.
"Shirone will be promoted to Class Five. Starting tomorrow, attend classes according to that timetable. Everyone, redouble your efforts to earn your own opportunity. That's all."