Chapter 14 – Dungeon Practice (2)

A few days had passed since the semester began in earnest.

If there was one thing that I felt while attending Stella, it was that high schools and universities in Korea were so hard that it couldn’t even be compared.

If my stamina wasn’t good at a superhuman level, I might have collapsed right away.

“As you all know, 90% of the world’s population learns magic, but less than 20% of them can use offensive magic. This kind of attack magic should never be used without a ‘license’, do you know why?”

“Isn’t that because attack magic is dangerous?”

“Yes, that’s pretty much the answer. If there’s one bigger problem, it’s that you don’t know where the magic will go.”

Magic was dangerous. Incomparable to the Earth’s firearms, the misuse of flame-based magic could burn down an entire building, the mismanipulation of water-based magic could cause the collapse of an entire construction site; there was also an unfortunate accident where earth-based magic splattered on a passerby, killing him instantly.

“Attack magic needs to be manipulated more precisely than any other magic. That’s why you must take this class, ‘Mana Orbitology’.”

Mana Orbitology Professor Karleim wrote three words on the blackboard.

“Attack magic is divided into three main categories.”

‘Shooting’ fired from the caster’s body.

‘Target’ that creates magic by specifying coordinates,

‘Area’ that hits the entire area within a certain range.

“Each magic has its pros and cons. Shooting magic instantly modifies its trajectory and allows you to quickly fire at the enemy, but the enemy can see it and dodge or block it. Target magic can hit unconditionally if the enemy recognizes it late, but it is weak and the coordinates are very difficult to specify, so the casting time is very long. So, what about the characteristics of the area magic?” 

“We can attack the entire range, and we can hit several people.”

“Yes, but the efficiency of mana consumption is very poor, so wizards with a low amount of mana cannot use it well. There are downsides. Starting today, you will be learning orbital with a focus on shooting and targeting for interpersonal battles. You were bored of studying formula in middle school, right?”

‘Yeah!!’ students shouted because it basically meant that they wanted to stop studying and go into practice.

“Unfortunately, you have to memorize the orbital formula today.”

A sigh came out, but it couldn’t be helped. Because the professor has to train the students slowly by taking out the curriculum.

“Then, shall we solve this formula?”

Professor Karleim wrote the problem on the blackboard.

[There is Cheolsu running at a speed of 12.6% to the south from 760m to the north. At this time, find the trajectory and expected observation distance needed for Younghee to hit Cheolsu with the water flow magic ‘Water Air Force’.]

Yes. Orbital was mathematics.

“Anyone who wants to answer this question?”

It was not about a different attribute, but a water flow system. The students’ eyes frowned.

Water flow magic required formulas and fluid mechanics to explain flowing substances, but this study was notoriously difficult and difficult to the extent that all wizards were reluctant to do so, so only basic knowledge was known, and it was hardly touched unless you majored in water flow magic. 

You had to solve the problem yourself. That wasn’t a big deal; it was just annoying.

“Ugh……” 

“I feel like I’m going to vomit just looking at the problem…”

“What kind of superman is that cheol-su, how can a person run 12 meters per second….”

Most of the students turned their heads and looked away.

I stared blankly at the back of the professor.

‘The hairstyle is so amazing.’

Professor Karleim was bald with distinctive baldness on the back of his head, which was close to that of a ruler. To describe it more precisely, it was in the form of a y=ax (a>0) graph.

Expressing individuality in one’s head as a graph of a quadratic function in which the coefficients of the quadratic term are positive numbers.

He must have been born to do the math.

“Student Baek Yu-seol?”

“Yes, Yes?”

For a moment, I stuttered in surprise. Don’t tell me, Stella’s professors even use mind-reading skills?

Fortunately, it wasn’t a concern, Karleim said as he patted the blackboard.

“The only person who made eye contact with me is this student. Come out and solve it.” 

“…Yes.”

* 

* 

* 

“…Well, good job. You solved it so easily. Are you majoring in water flow?”

“No, I’m not.” 

“I can’t believe you’ve arranged the Lidier-Hibock equation so simply. It’s just great.”

“Yes.”

Baek Yu-seol solved the formula much more easily than expected.

Professor Karleim, on the other hand, was visibly embarrassed but did not hide his exclamation, possibly because he solved it so quickly that it was almost mental arithmetic.

Even in Stella, where geniuses gathered, it was an unusually quick solution to the problem. It was almost comparable to a college department at this point, if not a professor.

“Yes, I like it. Then, make these problems your homework until next time.” 

As soon as the lecture was over, Baek Yu-seol quickly left the classroom.

…And Eisel, who was watching him silently from behind, also followed him.

As a result of following and watching secretly these past few days, she was convinced. 

Although he entered last in the school year, he still seemed a little unusual.

….maybe a little too much. 

“Excuse me.” 

“…..?”

When she called Baek Yu-seol, he stopped walking in haste. Then, he looked at her and wrinkled his expression in annoyance.

“Why.”

“Do you get that expression when you look at my face?”

“What’s wrong with your face?”

“Every time I see your face, my stress is relieved.” “You were stressed…?” That’s right, because he had been feeling Eisel was secretly chasing after him for the past few days, so Baek Yu-seol was under a lot of stress.

“Okay, which lecture are you going to attend the next?”

On the contrary, when Eisel came out shamelessly, Baek Yoo-seol was rather dumbfounded. 

“Why do you keep asking me that? Are you interested in me?” 

“What? I’m offended.” 

“Because I feel worse.”

After saying that, as Baek Yu-seol started going his own way again, Eisel hurriedly blocked his way.

“Come on… wait a minute.”

“Why again?”

“Well, um, the classes you’re taking, I’ve looked into some of it”

“Even my background check? I don’t like to be a bridle by you.”

“…you’re also a high school student, aren’t you?””

I forgot. Baek Yu-seol, who recalled his shortcomings for a moment, did not answer and stood still, and Eisel continued.

“Anyway, when I looked at the classes you took, they were all easy to get grades for.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

It takes less time, and you can easily get grades, and it was Baek Yu-Seol who took those things. As a bonus, he took alchemy and magic engineering to raise his skill level.

“Where did you learn such a strategy?”

“Why do you need to know? You said you know mine, so just listen to them like this.” 

Then, Eisel frowned and sighed.

“It’s okay to listen to something like the New Moon Studies because it’s an A+ anyway, so it doesn’t affect you at all. But if I take other subjects, it hurts you.”

“What?”

Baek Yu-seol was a little surprised inside.

I already have a lot to worry about right now, and I’m sitting here paying attention to the fact that other people’s grades will be lowered because of my intervention. 

“Hmmm, your grades are already on the floor. Do you think I’ll cut in?”

The idea of ​​… was mature, but it was a problem for talking too much.

“Anyway, can you recommend me a lecture? Something good for my grades.”

“Why do you want me to recommend a lecture?” 

“I knew it, so I prepared a price.”

“Price…?” 

Kids these days must really love it. Where did you all learn such snobbish things?

‘As far as I know, Eisel in her early days must have been an empty beggar who had nothing…?’

Knowing my question, she hurriedly continued the conversation.

“Do you know the secret of the school’s ‘7th Main Tower’?”

“Huh?”

However, a word he was familiar with came out.

“I do know.” “Oh, really? There are very few people who know. It’s an abandoned building now. I can’t go in there because it’s closed, but in fact, in the basement…”

“Wait a minute.”

Thinking that this was not the case, Baek Yoo-seol hurriedly stopped Eisel.

As she stated, this was extremely valuable information. It could bring in massive benefits or a misuse depending on the listener.

In the game, Fuleim was able to significantly increase her affinity with the desired male protagonist based on this information.

In other words, Fuleim knew what Eisle knew in the original ‘Ropan.'{Ropan = Romance Fantasy}

Eisel, too, should hand over this valuable information to the male protagonist. Not an extra like himself.

“It’s a scary story, isn’t it? I don’t want to listen. I don’t think it’ll be fun.”

“…it’s not a scary story. Are you afraid of ghosts? You’re not as I thought.”

“Okay, I’ll just tell you for free.”

So, don’t waste that valuable information in vain. Baek Yu-seol swallowed the back words.

Anyway, just the thought that Eisel was sincerely trying to trade something was enough for Baek Yu-seol.

This is because Baek Yoo-seol was aware of the fact that she was essentially the nicest, righteous, and unfortunate person in the world, despite the tics and annoyances she had suffered from the people. 

“Hmm, you acted like you weren’t going to tell me anything earlier, but you suddenly changed your mind?”

“Yes. I don’t usually tell someone, but I’m telling you because you’re pretty.”

“But you said I wasn’t pretty?”

“It’s just like that.” “Hey, so what would you recommend?” 

“It doesn’t have to do with your grades, but it’s really good for you right now. Take ‘Meditation to the Abyss’ as a liberal arts subject.”

Although it was not yet known, meditation was very important for a wizard in the bishop position, who pours destructive magic into a wide area at once.

It was important to understand the formula for accurate casting, but in the end, it all comes from the mind that moves the mana.

“Meditation? Meditation is not very popular as a liberal arts subject. I’ve been learning Twelve Moons Studies as a hobby, but also to polish it up…”

“No, it’s not.”

At this point, the importance of meditation was not yet known, so Eisel’s reaction was natural.

However, after only a short period of time, most bishops would meditate for hours every day. In that sense, meditation was a hugely important course for Bishop.

When he thought about that, Baek Yu-seol felt his head pounding.

‘Wait, come to think of it, I’m also a wizard, right?’

Recently, Baek Yu-seol’s growth has been stalled. There were no episodes, and there were no monsters in the school, so there was no way to acquire experience points.

At least he was increasing his strength through training, but that was the limit.

But, why didn’t he ever think of training like other wizards?

In the game, Baek Yu-seol was successful in training his constitution whereby his mana would constantly travel back and forth between nature and the body, thereby awakening the Magic Leakage Delay.

It was just content in the game to get experience points by setting the dive to train automatically by pressing the ‘button at the training ground’…

Now that it has become a reality, can’t he do it himself with this body?

In the game, if he just worked hard, his skill level went up. However, in reality, it was slow and there was a serious lack of content to acquire skill points.

If so, repeated training like this is the answer.

As soon as he thought about it, his mind felt clear.

‘I’m a wizard, too. So, I need to train like a wizard’. Baek Yoo-seol thought so and somehow felt better and said to Eisel.

“My master was in the bishop position, and through meditation, he greatly increased his magical power. Although I would never tell this to anyone else, since it’s you, I am telling you this.”

“Um, A Master. People do need to look good after all. Thank you. It’s a pity I didn’t hear anything about grades, but I will apply this. There was one course left anyway.” |

When the conversation was over, Eisel suddenly disappeared somewhere.

“It was worth teaching her…”

I was a little scared to think about how this action would affect the future. However, leaving a girl who would be unhappy in the future because I was afraid of changing the future struck my conscience as well, so I did not regret my actions.

Besides, you never know, do you? I wonder what kind of expensive rewards I will get if she meditates and gains enlightenment.

…Well. 

I don’t think that’s gonna happen.

‘She’s a beggar like me now.’ I quickly gave up on thinking.

After class, I returned to the dormitory and stared blankly at the empty room.

“The dormitory is very spacious.”

At Stella Academy, all students lived in a dormitory. The dormitories were also graded, divided from Class F to Class S.

This dormitory system was like ‘decorating my room’ for the players, but it became the only home for me. There was really no place to go back to because my hometown was burned down in the game setting.

Class F and Class S were not significantly different from one another. It had the same 20-pyeong two-room structure, and the furniture and structure were nearly identical. However, Class F-E used four people in one room, Class D-C used three, and Class B-A used two.

And those in S class used one room alone and were assigned to the highest floor.

The system that divided wizard ranks according to floor height was already in place at the school.

‘I’m lucky to be assigned to class S, so I can use it alone, but it’s a little lonely.”

Nonetheless, there were benefits as a result of it.

I was reminded of the previous incident as I sat cross-legged in the middle of the room.

‘Meditation.’

Meditation was very important to wizards. And, although I could only use one magic, a wizard was still a wizard.

Why did I still think of blinking and magic leakage delay as simple skills?

It was possible to increase the ability by accumulating experience points by hunting or clearing episodes, but it was possible to raise stats and skills by training.

I had hardly ever exercised in real life, and this was the first time I used this ‘mana’. In other words, I have to become more accustomed to mana. This was not a problem that could be implemented with a skill level or the like.

‘Simple stats are not important. This is reality, so I have to adapt myself to my body.’

I still didn’t know much about my body. Because I can’t know everything just by looking at the status numbers. I have to move and feel it myself.

Blinking with a mouse and keyboard was very different from Blinking in reality.

Likewise, additional skills that will be dealt with using ‘Magic Leakage Delay’ in the future will have to be controlled purely with my own senses.

Compared to the other ‘geniuses,’ I was far behind.

Because I couldn’t even handle magic, my abilities were close to the weakest, and even my control over mana was at the level of a newborn baby.

In the game, Baek Yu-seol was a genius who succeeded in realizing ‘sword energy’ by exploding that energy using his ‘magical power leak delay body’, which constantly circulated mana. 

Although his genius did not stand out due to his lack of importance, no one can deny the fact that he was the only ‘sword master’ to reach the ultimate sword in this magical world, and I must walk the same path that another ‘me’ walked.

Whoa… Whoa…

I can feel the mana coming into my body as I breathe in and then out again.

The total amount of mana that entered in one breath. And the total amount of mana that escaped again.

The circulation of mana was determined solely by my breathing.

In other words, breathing was playing a similar role to the controller that handled mana.

If you gradually increase the amount of mana you put in one breath, you will be able to achieve high efficiency someday.

The amount of mana, which was only a spoonful, gradually increased with each breath. It was a very small amount, the size of a grain of millet, but I could breathe more mana than before.

‘Skills are not simply raised by accumulating experience points.’

The more you use the skill, the more you use it, and the higher the skill level.

Then, wouldn’t it be possible to train and raise skills?

Even skipping dinner, I closed my eyes and concentrated on meditating, maximizing the sense of magic leakage delay.

Late dawn… No, early morning. As the sun began to rise, I opened my eyes and felt a new sense of change.

‘Magic leakage delay’ had a completely different sense from when it simply existed as a skill.

Baek Yu-seol, who had lived his whole life accepting the magic leakage delay since childhood, felt this sensation.

I was feeling it, at least in part, now.

[The level of the skill ‘Magic Leakage Delay’ has increased.]

[The skill level of ‘Blink’ has increased.]