[22] Learning Magic (5)
Shirone focused even more. When he stopped paying attention to what the Image Zone showed and plunged entirely into the Spirit Zone, the already-large sphere swelled to nearly twice its previous size.
The upperclassmen gaped. The record sheet read a forty-one meter diameter.
Considering Class Four's average was twenty-seven meters, this was a figure approaching senior-level.
"What—what is that? What kind of Zone is that kid using?"
Etella was equally stunned.
Of course the Spirit Zone could be enlarged through training.
But it wasn't just the physical austerities a knight might undergo—mental growth, insight, and enlightenment had to come with it.
The body is honest: however grueling, steady training yields results. The mind is a battle against vague illusions with no single right answer. There are countless mages who spend their whole lives without achieving what they hoped, falling into despair.
That's why magic is considered a matter of talent.
"I've never seen a Zone so superior from the start. He must have been meditating on the world and exploring his inner self since childhood. But he's only eighteen—could that really be true?"
Unlike a moment ago, Shirone felt certain now. As the Spirit Zone expanded, he could finally feel its framework taking shape.
Oblivious to the many students staring at him in shock, he busied himself with stitching the framework of the Spirit Zone together.
"Don't fixate on one point. Tighten everything at once."
Gritting his teeth, Shirone opened his eyes wide. Switching the Fourfold Form into defensive mode, the large sphere constricted around him as if to crush him.
The pressure was so intense that the onlookers could almost hear a mental grinding sound—"gnnnn—!"
"Aaaah…."
A groan leaked out from somewhere.
Shirone examined the Fourfold Form he'd manifested with a strange fascination. It felt like being trapped inside a solid diamond crystal.
Like the cube Etella had shown earlier, it fit perfectly. The Zone's diameter was thirteen meters. From forty-one to thirteen—about thirty percent efficiency—but success was success.
"He actually did it! A freshman pulling off the Fourfold Form on day one!"
When the boisterous Class Seven kids made a fuss, some upperclassmen frowned.
Still, many people reacted with admiration proportional to the numbers. Most of them were girls.
Amy didn't belong to any faction. She was simply growing seriously annoyed with Shirone.
How had she forgotten? The very reason she'd vowed to learn magic was because Shirone had humiliated her before.
"What's his deal? Who's backing him?"
This wasn't a school you entered on talent alone. He must have a patron. Who was behind him?
"Teacher, the volume reduced far more than I expected."
"Hm? It had to. But durability should be much improved. It'll withstand a fair bit of physical shock."
Shirone agreed. He could feel the frame's solidity against his skin. At this level, even if he took a physical blow he wouldn't easily detach from the Spirit Zone.
Etella scratched her brow.
"So the rumors about startling the teachers during the freshman tests were true."
Of course, one success didn't prove everything. The insight was remarkable, she admitted, but the defensive success came from both a convergent temperament and an abnormally large Zone.
Realizing belatedly the crowd's reactions, Shirone returned to his corner bashfully like a shy boy.
Buried in everyone's gaze, he didn't notice Amy staring at him with an intense look.
Cold Boy and Warm Girl (1)
Shirone's days were hectic from studying a wide variety of subjects. Seniors could choose a major, but until then he had to take every course, and the scope was enormous.
First period was basic chemistry. When he entered Class Seven's hall, the students were already seated. A familiar face stood at the lectern.
Olifer Shiina, an authority on freezing magic.
The second daughter of the Olifer family and a member of the Olifer school. Twenty-six years old. A genius who'd reached certified Rank 6 on freezing magic alone. Pretty face. Icy personality.
Her chilliness during the freshman tests had left a strong impression on Shirone.
Surprisingly, she was popular with the boys. Beautiful, a teacher, and with that prickly older-woman charm—she embodied a common student fantasy.
With her long violet hair neatly pinned up, she adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses and said, "Hello. I'm Olifer Shiina. I'll be teaching Class Seven's chemistry from today."
Thunderous applause erupted. Some whistled or brazenly asked if she had a boyfriend.
Ignoring them, Shiina opened a book. Then she raised her head and looked out somewhere.
Shirone felt a chill. It felt as if she were looking directly at him.
He thought he must be imagining it, but the feeling was accurate. Shiina, who oversaw Class Five, had opened an extra course for one reason only: Shirone.
"Talent rots if it sits unused. It's best to advance it quickly."
Once talent is placed, it tends to follow. She intended to promote Shirone, dampen her rival Sade's spirit, and uphold her principles as a teacher.
Whatever her motives, students were thrilled to be taught by the most popular teacher.
"Teacher, is it true you're dating Sade? Right? Tell us about your first love—this is your first lesson."
"Please tell us, teacher. Please!"
As the students clamored, Shiina frowned. A thirty-centimeter ice crystal formed beside her.
Slarararak! Slarararak!
The ice began to spin and shred, sending flurries scattering in all directions. Cold particles instantly dropped the classroom temperature.
At first the kids laughed, saying "It's a bit chilly," but their expressions stiffened. As the temperature plummeted, some became too frozen even to move their lips.
"Teacher! It's co—co—cold…."
"I will begin the lesson."
Shiina stepped down from the lectern and approached the students. As the ice's rotation slowed, the temperature rose slightly—but it remained below freezing.
"What principle is this freezing magic operating on?"
She floated an ice crystal on her palm.
"What is cold?"
As she asked, she clenched her fist and the ice crystal shattered into pieces.
"Cold is a state where energy is lacking. There is no such thing as 'cold energy.' Therefore temperature can be infinitely high, but it cannot be infinitely low. A state of zero energy. We call that absolute zero."
Shirone frantically copied her words into his notes.
"If you remove energy from the atmosphere, you can form an ice crystal—ordinary ice, of course. But if you break that down to the particle level and drive it with the wind, what happens? Even simple ice like that can lower temperatures enough to kill a human, as we just demonstrated."
Faces went pale at the word "kill."
"So how do you absorb energy? How does a mage cast magic?"
Shiina held up two fingers and pointed to them one by one.
"Omniscience and Omnipotence. Mages cast magic through Omniscience and Omnipotence. The Spirit Zone aligns a mage's mind with the world. Within that domain, the mage occupies a godlike position—that is Omnipotence. But Omnipotence alone cannot trigger magic. Wishing something to become hot does not raise the temperature inside the Spirit Zone. This is where the knowledge that raises temperature is needed. That is Omniscience."
Shirone nodded automatically. He finally understood why he had been unable to perform magic so far: he'd trained only for Omnipotence and utterly lacked Omniscience.
"You will, from now on with me and other teachers, be exposed to many disciplines. The Spirit Zone is only half of magic; without Omniscience you cannot become an excellent mage. Now, we will begin basic chemistry."
She finally turned to the board and began writing. The lesson was in earnest, and the students were more focused than ever.
Indeed—being pretty didn't automatically make a teacher trustworthy.
A teacher's credibility stokes students' ambition, and Shirone lost track of time in the class.
Some parts were hard to follow, but he didn't mind.
His backbone of knowledge was already formed; starting today, he intended to devour other disciplines.
* * *
5:00 p.m.
When class ended, students poured out of the hall. Shirone, his head heavy, headed back to the dormitory.
Students in study groups carried lunchboxes in small clusters. Having no study group, Shirone planned to grab a bite and head to the library.
"Huh?"
Suddenly his body felt light. Startled by the sensation of floating, he realized his feet had lifted and he was being hauled somewhere at high speed.
The force yanking the back of his clothes was so strong he could barely breathe—almost superhuman speed and strength.
After about three minutes of running, they arrived in the grove of the garden.
As the speed dropped, Shirone popped up and landed on his rear.
A jolt traveled up through his tailbone. After a moment of coughing to catch his breath, he looked up at the person who'd dragged him there.
A figure in a black mask glanced around nervously, confirmed no one was nearby, and then removed the mask.
"Uh—?"
Shirone's eyes widened. The masked stranger was none other than Karmis Amy. She'd been striking from afar, but up close her delicate features were truly beautiful.
Amy seemed to pick something up from Shirone's expression and raised her hand to conjure flame magic.
"I knew it. You remember me, don't you?"
"Huh—ah?"
"If I'd left you alone, it would've been a disaster. I'll scorch your lips and make you mute."
Shirone watched the approaching flames without dodging. Even madness needs motive—there was little plausibility for someone to burn a face at school.
As expected, the flames stopped short and vanished. Amy, who'd intended to terrify him into submission, knit her brows and asked, "You—what happened to you? Are you really the same coward as before?"
No trace remained of the pale boy who'd been caught by alley thugs and trembled with fear.
"You remember me, senior?"
Amy grabbed Shirone by the collar and hauled him up.
"Senior? Who do you call 'senior,' you brat! What on earth happened? You're of commoner stock and a total country bumpkin! How did you even get in here?"
Shirone didn't understand why she was so agitated. If his commoner status bothered her, she wouldn't have dragged him to such a secluded place in the first place.
"I have my reasons, but why did you drag me here first?"
"Huh? Why?"
Her reaction had been impulsive. At first she'd meant to ignore him, but she couldn't. Even a small secret exposed would make her uneasy and ruin things—Shirone possessed a bomb that could destroy his whole school life.
"Tell me honestly! How did you get into the school?"
This time the question felt like a punch that wouldn't stop, so Shirone blurted out the truth.
He explained that he'd entered as a guest under the patronage of the Ozent family. Amy released his collar.
"Oho! A guest of the Ozent family?"