[42] Another Genius (4)
"Uh? Huh?"
Shirone froze, unable to finish his sentence, and Neid laughed awkwardly as he explained.
"Ha ha! Sorry. Actually, our research circle has a bit of a reputation, so it's a hassle to name members."
That explained why the prickly Iruki stayed friends with Neid. The problem, however, was the nature of their research circle. It was hard to understand why someone rational and cold-blooded would belong to such an unscientific group.
"Iruki was interested in this kind of thing?"
"On the contrary. He approaches it critically. Iruki believes there's nothing in the world that lacks a logical explanation. So what better prey than this?"
Iruki wandered around, muttering to himself as if he hadn't noticed Shirone. He glanced at Neid for a moment, looked surprised, and strode over.
"Oh? Shirone!"
Before Shirone could answer, Iruki marched up and, without warning, shook his shoulder.
"Perfect timing. I just thought of something incredible! So—what if you split the smallest matter? You think, how could you split the smallest thing? That's exactly it! If you split it, it's no longer matter! Then what is it? I calculated for three days. And amazingly—there's an enormous amount of energy inside. If this is possible, imagine what would happen. Huh? What do you think? Hurry, tell me."
He talked so fast Shirone couldn't take it all in. But under that burning look, Shirone felt compelled to respond.
"Well, I guess—energy would be released?"
"Exactly! A massive explosion! An explosion that could blow an entire city away! You can picture that, right? Huh? You can imagine it!"
Shirone was dumbstruck. Blow an entire city away? Whatever the feasibility, the thought was horrifying.
"But people would die. Everyone living in the city would die."
"What do you mean? I said explosion—explosion! The city would be blown away!"
"Right! If the explosion happens, what about the people living there?"
"Huh? The people living there?"
Iruki cocked his head as if he didn't understand. Shirone realized and asked again.
"You... you didn't even think about that?"
"Of course not. What matters is how much explosive power you can get. Do I have to think about that too?"
Shirone felt a chill. He might have accepted Iruki shrugging off human life, but Iruki genuinely hadn't considered it at all.
"How can you be like that? Is it reasonable for a mage not to consider the consequences of his magic?"
"You're talking nonsense, Shirone. That's the anthropologists' job. It's the duty of a genius to push what he can do to the limit."
"A genius who inevitably harms others is worse than a fool."
"A few geniuses feed many fools. History proves it. It's also the reality we live in. Shirone, I really dislike hearing about ideals."
"No—your logic is soaked in defeatism. Ideals can be realized!"
"They're ideals because they're ideals."
As Shirone and Iruki snapped at each other like sworn enemies, Neid cut in with an awkward, helpless smile.
"Now, now! Let's stop. Debate is good, but clashes are bad. Sit down calmly and let's discuss this."
"No. I have nothing to say. Neid, I'm leaving!"
Shirone spun and left the research circle. Neid hurried after him, calling out.
"Shirone! You have to come with us! How will you find your way back alone?"
"Leave him. The layout hasn't changed. He can remember the way he came. If he can't, then he's truly an idiot."
By the time they stepped outside, Shirone was already gone. Neid returned, frowning.
"Why like that? You could've explained it in a way he'd accept."
"Who knows. Maybe he's a rival, so it's like that. One of them has to fall."
It was rare to hear Iruki call someone a rival. His arrogance played a part, but more than that he simply wasn't interested in competition.
No woman, no wealth, no honor ever moved him. The only thing he was addicted to was formulas.
"Shirone's a rival? Are you serious?"
Iruki sank into the sofa, a puff of dust rising as his hip settled in.
"You saw it too, right? The teleportation test. The impassable bridge."
"I saw it. That's why he ended up in our class."
"A beginner learning teleportation to level ten—how fast must your thoughts be to navigate the Dragon's Maze?"
Iruki tapped his temple as he spoke.
"By my calculation, the unit of time Shirone split in that instant was at least one ten-thousandth of a second."
"One ten-thousandth of a second..."
Neid felt dizzy. Just imagining that sliver of time made his head swim.
Iruki let out a metallic chuckle.
"It's the mystery of insight. Faster than effort, more precise than knowledge. Any conscious calculation would be slower than intuition. But, Neid—"
A gleam of madness flashed in Iruki's eyes.
"I wonder... what if it were me?"
"..."
Neid swallowed hard at the thought of Shirone's intuition clashing with Iruki's calculation. Which would be faster? The shiver that ran through him felt ominous.
Limitless (1)
Summoned by Siina, Shirone went to the faculty office. Siina, who had been reading, led him to the teachers' lounge, offered him tea, and said,
"Well, last time you were treated, so this time it's my turn."
"Ha ha! Thank you."
Since moving up to Class Five, Shirone had become more outgoing. She'd heard he joked with his classmates more often these days.
"But why did you call me?"
"I looked at your grades. You're maintaining your growth. Especially encouraging is that your chemistry score—the subject I teach—is your highest."
"Heh, it was only by one point, though."
Siina hadn't expected Shirone's steady rise to last this long. Even while his average hovered in the mid-40s, having less than a two-point variance between subjects meant he could keep improving for a while.
"If you keep this up, starting next month you'll settle into the upper-middle ranks. Then the school will take notice of your study methods."
"I didn't mean to get attention."
"Of course I know. That's why I'm calling with a suggestion."
"A suggestion?"
"You know there's a practical exam every two months, right? This month there's a targeting test. Do you know what that is?"
"Yes. I saw it when Amy was in Class Four. It's the test to hit targets within a time limit. Amy was especially fast—she's target-oriented. She was amazing."
Siina smiled at Shirone's bright expression.
"Yes. Amy seems to be doing well with the graduating class. You must miss your girlfriend."
Because the upper-level classes and the graduating classes follow different curricula, meeting up was difficult. They could meet on weekends, but with different schedules it was hard to find the time.
"As long as I know she's working hard, that's enough. A boyfriend should cheer her on."
Few couples at the school had a relationship as wholesome as Shirone and Amy's. If they stayed like this, the school might even encourage dating.
"Okay, enough preamble. The reason I called you today is the practical exam. Aside from teleportation, do you have any other magic you've learned?"
"No. As you can see from my grades, I still don't meet the standard... Oh! Wait!"
Shirone suddenly realized. For the practical exam he needed an active magic. It didn't have to be offensive, but the only spell he'd learned—teleportation—was a passive spell with a lingering effect.
Active magics, on the other hand, are one-off effects: Fire, Wind Cutter, Healing, Ice Sword, Lightning Bolt, Atomic Bomb, and so on.
If he didn't have even one active spell that could hit a target, he couldn't take the test. Panic rose in Shirone.
"What should I do? I've been focusing on studying and didn't think about this."
"Don't worry. Since you've mastered Rainbow Drop, you should be able to handle a simple active magic."
"But my theory scores average in the mid-40s. You said activation is difficult unless the theory score is at least sixty."
"That's true. But there's one thing you do have. And it's near-perfect in theory."
Among all the theory tests he'd taken, he hadn't even topped fifty in any subject, much less scored a hundred. Still, Shirone immediately knew what she meant.
"Ah! Photonization Theory!"
"Right. I overlooked teleportation because it's a practical skill, but you've studied Photonization Theory enough that it can be applied as an active magic."
"I see! Thank you, teacher."
"As your homeroom teacher, it's my duty to advise you. No need to thank me. Come by any time if you have difficulties."
"Yes. Then I'll ask now. What active magics can be developed from Photonization Theory?"
Siina smiled as if she'd expected that.
"Have you heard of photon output?"
"I read about it in books. Emitting photons, right?"
It's the phenomenon called photon output—or photon emission. But since photons have no mass, simply firing them doesn't necessarily produce any notable effect. It might light the surroundings if you were lost in the mountains, but casting a simple illumination spell is far easier. Even a grand discovery like Photonization Theory shows a sharp split in efficiency between active and passive uses.
Still, the ivory tower that leads advanced mage society regards photon output as the future of magic. Nothing is faster than light. By using the direct-beam properties, innovations in information fields could follow.
Siina used these recent trends to persuade Shirone.
"The future of photon output looks bright. By the time you graduate, early results might already appear. It wouldn't hurt to learn it now."
"Yes. I'll practice."
Shirone agreed without hesitation.
After all, he needed an active magic for the practical exam, and the only one he could learn immediately was photon output.
After the meeting, Shirone headed to the training grounds. The exam was close, so even starting now left little time.
He reached out and focused his mind. Magic happens within the Spirit Zone, so no particular physical action is required, but reinforcing intent through movement boosts concentration. Mages call this a "magical action."
He tried to trigger the spell in a photonized state, but no emission occurred. Because teleportation was defensive, it had been easier; photon output was specialized for offense.
"I need far more focus than when I teleport."
After dozens of failed attempts, he slumped to the ground. Passive magics depend on how strongly you can sustain your mind; active magics demand an instantaneous compression of spirit.
The Spirit Zone doesn't actually shrink, but he felt as if he were squeezing it under enormous pressure. Its resilience was so great that it was hard to catch any sensation.
"So affinity really matters."
Etella had once mentioned, in passing, a technical way to strengthen the Spirit Zone, but back then Shirone had just enrolled and hadn't attended the detailed lessons.
"The Spirit Zone is an extremely sensitive mental state—the limit of concentration. How do you reinforce beyond that?"
With those questions lingering, Shirone trudged back to his dorm.