Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 23

23. Instructor Alois

“This year’s assistant professor from the Magic Tower is Alois.”

Alois walked confidently and stood before the podium.

“The subject I’m in charge of is basic mana manipulation. Although I’m a new instructor, I’ll do my best to help you develop your magic. Please take care of me!”

Alois bowed lightly and started the class.

“Why is Instructor Alois here…?”

As expected, were they close friends? Drew voiced my exact feelings. For him to appear here when he should be in Delema [presumably, Delema Academy or a similar institution]. It didn’t make sense.

‘He said he would stay at the Delema Academy this year too.’

Whether we were curious or not, Alois proceeded with the class.

“Mana manipulation is the foundation of a mage. It’s a process you must go through to cast magic.”

However, unlike his enthusiasm, the students’ reactions were lukewarm. Soon, some students expressed boredom, from yawning to nodding off.

The students here can all handle mana to some extent, so they aren’t very interested.

“Yes, I understand that you’re bored. But if you neglect practicing mana control, you won’t be able to become a high-ranking mage.”

Alois’s words made me nod involuntarily.

‘Of course, of course. That’s right.’

It was the same principle as a swordsman who could manipulate Aura [a form of energy] well being able to emit a sharper sword aura.

But the newly enrolled students couldn’t understand the true meaning.

“Professor! We’re already good at mana manipulation, aren’t we? It’s as easy as breathing, so do we need to practice it separately?”

A brown-haired boy raised his hand and shouted.

The students gathered here have exceptional talent in magic, so they are full of pride. Just as Drew can sense Aura well, these students can easily sense mana.

“Yes, you can think that way. But there are differences in how people manipulate mana. You think you’re really good at mana manipulation, right?”

“Of course!”

Alois smiled at the boy. Drew nudged my arm at the sight.

“Isn’t that smile ominous?”

It was Alois’s unique smile whenever he teased the students at the academy.

“Yeah, he’s going to get it.”

As expected, Alois called the brown-haired boy forward.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Zank Sudan.”

His confident attitude made sense with that name.

‘Sudan… I heard they’re a rising magic family recently.’

He was confident in his skills, but Alois remained calm.

“Okay, Zank, can you come forward for a moment?”

The boy tilted his head and approached Alois.

“Don’t you want to know how good you are at mana manipulation?”

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s possible to some extent. You can compare it directly by competing with someone else to see who can handle mana better.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“You’d think it’s unfair to compete with me, so how about comparing yourself to a classmate here?”

I felt uneasy for some reason.

‘Please don’t be me.’

These expectations always came true.

“Um, you, the student in the back!”

Alois pointed at me, pretending not to know.

“Yes, you next to the chubby friend. Can you come out here?”

He already knew my mana manipulation skills, so he deliberately called me out to match me against Zank.

‘Ugh… Why do you have to use me like this?’

As I approached the podium, Alois released his mana.

Whoosh!

The mana ropes wrapped around Zank’s and my wrists.

“This is a rope made of mana. You two will have a tug-of-war with it. Control your mana and compete.”

It was the mana tug-of-war we did during our first class at Delema Academy. Zank frowned at the sudden suggestion.

“Hmph!”

Soon, he struggled to control his mana. He quickly took control of the mana rope and started pulling. It was decent control.

‘How cute.’

It was all visible to me.

I pretended to pull the rope as well, then whoosh! I released my mana and let go of the rope.

“Ugh!”

Just like Macduff, he fell on his butt.

“Puhaha!”

Eventually, some of the students in the classroom burst into laughter. Most of them were from Delema Academy.

“Now, do you understand that there’s a difference in skill when it comes to handling mana?”

Alois helped Zank up.

“B-But I can’t accept it with just this. Being good at mana manipulation isn’t related to being good at casting magic.”

The boy passionately argued, trying to recover his crumpled pride. Alois smirked at Zank again.

“Okay, then let’s compare magic implementation this time. Let’s see who can create more powerful magic between you and this friend.”

Alois created a thick earthen wall right next to the podium.

Coo-ooo!

It was more than two spans thick.

“Let’s compare who can break the earthen wall I made more.”

Then, Zank smiled with satisfaction.

“Okay!”

“What attribute do you mainly use? Use that.”

“I’m good at handling water.”

The boy shouted confidently.

Zank immediately created water droplets.

Chwaaa…

The water droplets gathered at his fingertips and merged into a stream. The streams swirled and created a circular sphere.

Zank even sweated as if he wanted to protect his last bit of pride.

‘He’s pretty good.’

The water ball that Zank created after concentrating…

Chwaaa!

…was about the size of his face.

‘Still not as good as Ariel.’

The water ball that was shot out collided with Alois’s earthen wall.

Kwaaa!

Water droplets and dust scattered everywhere.

After a while, what remained was a hole the size of the water ball.

“Wow! Amazing.”

“Oh, who is he?”

The other students exclaimed.

“Hmph!”

Zank glanced at me, as if satisfied with the result. His nose was high in the air.

‘You punks. I’ll show you.’

It was easy for me.

Chwaa!

I immediately summoned water droplets.

[Are you going to use a water ball too?]

‘Yeah, I have to flatten that big nose of his.’

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If it’s the same magic but produces a greater effect, he’ll have to accept it.

Chwaaa!

The violently rotating water droplets gathered to form a sphere. It was a fist-sized water ball.

“Pfft!”

Zank sneered at the sight. It was small compared to what he had created.

‘Watch closely.’

I raised one side of my mouth and shot out the water ball.

Whooooong!

The small sphere moved forward with a strange sound.

‘This is a water ball containing Suserga’s know-how.’

The water ball that collided with the earthen wall…

Coo-ooo…

…created a calm sound.

Zank seemed excited and shouted immediately.

“See! I told you…!”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

Crack… Crack!

The water ball didn’t disappear and continued to gnaw at the earthen wall. The water ball, which was constantly rotating, eventually created cracks in the earthen wall.

Creak!

The cracks that started to spread from there soon took over the entire earthen wall.

Paat!

Eventually, the thick earthen wall collapsed.

The sight was enough to silence the entire classroom.

“Huh…”

Even Alois, the professor in charge, was speechless.

‘Was I too much?’

[What does it matter? Thanks to you, Alois’s morale is up.]

Suserga was called the master of water because he controlled the flow of water. It wasn’t just shooting in a straight line, but creating rotational force with the flow of water. That was their secret.

‘I can apply it to water balls.’

Instead of increasing the size of the water ball, I maintained continuous rotation with the remaining mana.

‘Well, the earthen wall wasn’t a proper defense magic either.’

Of course, if it was a defense magic that Alois had created with his heart, I would never have been able to break it. It was possible because it was a magic at the level of an earthen wall.

“Ian! Awesome!”

Drew clapped his hands with a shout.

The applause that started in one corner of the classroom soon spread throughout the classroom.

“Wow!”

“Amazing!”

“As expected, Delema!”

Alois regained his composure in the cheers that filled the lecture hall.

“Okay, everyone, quiet! Ian, Zank, both of you go back in.”

Alois continued the class, riding the momentum.

“Everyone saw that, right? If you’re good at handling mana, your magic becomes powerful. That’s because you can control mana in such detail. What Ian just showed you can’t be done if you don’t breathe properly with mana.”

Only then did the eyes of the students in the class sparkle.

“Yes!”

“I’ll study hard!”

Enthusiasm for the class was sprouting. The brown-haired boy, Zank, had puffy cheeks that could be seen even from the back.

Alois smiled contentedly, winked at me, and continued the afternoon class.

* * *

After that, Alois successfully finished his first class.

Drew and I followed him out into the hallway.

“Wow, Instructor! No, Professor!”

Alois smiled kindly at Drew’s call.

“Oh, Drew! Long time no see! You seem to have gotten bigger in the past few days?”

“Hehe, thank you! But what brings you here?”

“I’ve always wanted to do research here someday. Delema supported me to go to the Magic Tower.”

Only then did I nod.

‘Ah, so that’s why he came.’

Working as an assistant professor under a good professor and growing. That was the most common way for mages to build achievements.

‘You can build research achievements and learn magic.’

It was a way to catch both fame and achievement.

Alois was a talented individual who reached 5-star at a young age, but he had been staying as an instructor at Delema’s academy. He must have had a desire to grow further.

“Anyway, I’m so glad to see you again.”

His gaze turned to me.

“And, Ian, thank you for today. The kids were so proud, I didn’t know how to set the atmosphere. Thanks to you, it was easily resolved.”

“It’s nothing. Students who don’t listen to the professor should be punished.”

I just shrugged my shoulders.

“Yes, yes. We’re going to be eating from the same pot here anyway, so let’s see each other often in the future.”

Alois smiled contentedly and left.

“Let’s go.”

Since all the classes were over today, we immediately got on the moving orb [a magical transportation device] to go to the dormitory floor.

“Wow, that’s really awesome, to see Instructor Alois here again.”

Drew, who was excited, suddenly turned his head.

“What’s wrong?”

Drew had a serious expression. His sincere voice followed.

“Are we going out for dinner again today?”

A passionate gaze was directed at me.

“…I thought something was wrong.”

Isn’t it good to eat well? Thinking so, I nodded.

“Let’s do that. But I’ll stop by my room first. I have something to do for a moment.”

“Okay! Then I’ll go to my room too. You have to come quickly, I’m paying today!”

As the moving orb arrived on the 10th floor, Drew ran straight to his room.

‘Cute guy.’

I also opened the door and entered. Then, a different scene from yesterday came into view.

‘It’s been a while.’

When I lifted the curtain covering one corner, an object that didn’t fit in here appeared. It was the sword I brought from yesterday’s residence.

[Are you going to use it now?]

A shabby iron sword. If someone saw it, they would ask if it was an antique.

‘Yeah, I have to check if it’s been doing well for a thousand years.’

It was the sword I used to cherish the most in my previous life. As I grabbed the sword handle with my right hand, I felt the cold metal energy that I hadn’t felt in a long time, and it felt new.

‘Respond, Fragarach [the sword’s name].’

Wooo…

I sent all the Aura I had accumulated towards it.