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Chapter 44

The effect changes depending on the synesthetic mindscape envisioned during the incantation, the amount of mana used, and the material of the object.

*Duration of effect is affected by the compatibility between the object and incantation]

Reading his new skill, Se-Hoon put on a peculiar expression.

I can’t believe I relearned this so soon...

Before the regression, he just barely managed to acquire this skill after casting spells with Incantation Magic to the point of exhaustion, yet he had just acquired it with only a few uses for demonstration. The drastic difference in experiences left him too doubtful to feel joy.

Why did I succeed so easily?

With both the Incantation Magic he used today and the self-defense techniques he learned from Kwang-Soo, things that he struggled with before the regression he could easily execute now.

His improvement in the self-defense techniques could be attributed to his body having returned to its prime, but with Incantation Magic, it was different.

It should just be a matter of pure talent.

As Incantation Magic did not depend on one’s age or physical condition, even Luize, who was inflicted with mana impairment, could use it. The sole thing that was needed was talent for it. That was why Se-Hoon, who was already a slow learner, had taken five whole years to properly use it, even though he was taught directly by the creator of the skill herself, Blast Dog Luize.

And yet, somehow, I’ve become extremely good at it...

Normally, he would have thought highly of himself, but it was different this time. He stared intently at the skill’s information message before looking down at his own body.

Has something changed in my body?

He looked down at his body with a curious expression, wondering if there were any other changes to his body apart from becoming younger.

“Teach me,” Luize suddenly said, finally snapping out of her daze and approaching him.

“How do I do it? No, what should we start with? I’ll do anything you say, just tell me how to do it. Quickly!”

Her eyes sparkled without a single trace of the futility she had felt just moments ago. To her, the bizarre training sessions that had seemed meaningless had just been proven to be effective, so it was impossible that she wouldn’t feel energized.

“Calm down and sit. I’ll teach you.”

“Got it.”

She quickly sat at the desk, her full attention on him. Thinking about how their roles had reversed, Se-Hoon couldn’t help but wear a bitter smile as he wrote the formula for the sphere he had just cast on the whiteboard.

“Incantation Magic is all about how perfectly you can combine your mana with a synesthetic mindscape. As such, you can somewhat ignore the structure and efficiency of the formula.”

The most important thing needed was the conviction to believe in anything if necessary, even if it was treating fire as if it were water. To those who used regular methods to cast spells, such a thing was extremely inefficient, but when it came to Incantation Magic, that strong belief made casting extremely efficient.

Like how magic defied the laws of physics, Incantation Magic defied the laws of magic.

“It’s like you’re improvising.”

“Exactly. But that doesn’t mean you can skip the theory part. You need a basic foundation in order to picture a variety of synesthetic mindscapes.”

Besides needing confidence in herself, she also couldn’t conform to the norms of magic. And straying from that norm required her to have a broad range of knowledge and a thinking approach that was a lot more unbound than that of other mages.

In other words, it was a skill that she should abandon if she lacked the talent.

“You have to believe that your synesthetic mindscape will become reality. There is nothing more important than confidence and willpower in yourself.”

“...Okay.”

“You’ll understand better once you try it yourself. Let’s start with the sphere.”

“Got it.”

Recalling the rough explanation, she immediately began to refine her mana the way Se-Hoon had taught her.

Feeling the mana faintly fluttering in her mouth, she furrowed her brow. Despite being accustomed to using her tongue thanks to the recent tasks, flicking her tongue to weave a spell was still difficult.

However, rather than focusing on her clumsiness, she remembered Se-Hoon’s words and focused more on her will.

It’s fine if it’s a bit clumsy...!

It didn’t matter if more mana was used or if the calculation process was longer; all that mattered was that she could use magic again without any pain.

With gleaming eyes, she poured her will and the synesthetic mindscape into the spell taking form in her mouth.

“Sphere.”

Thwoong-

She had formed a small sphere, one the size of an eyeball. Although the shape was right, she had failed to consolidate enough mana which resulted in the small size.

Seeing the half-failed attempt at Incantation Magic, Se-Hoon became intrigued.

So even she was a novice once.

Before the regression, all he had seen was her lashing out at him because he hadn’t managed to do what she told him to. That was why watching her perform worse than himself brought about a peculiar sense of satisfaction.

With a content smile on his face, he was about to offer her advice when—

“Rebuild.”

Her sudden incantation began seeping inside the sphere.

The sphere, pulsating slightly, absorbed the surrounding mana and compressed to the size of a fingernail in an instant.

Then, with a shockwave, a sphere twice the size of his face expanded in the air.

Bang!

Though mana was leaking out of the sphere and the shape was slightly distorted, its form was solid enough that it could be considered proper magic.

Se-Hoon’s eyes widened at the sight.

What the...

He thought it would take her at least three or four days just to create a proper sphere. Yet, she had finished already by using another incantation to layer another spell on top of the original.

Though using two uses of incantation to complete the job of one indicated a lack of skill, in reality, it was much more difficult to use another incantation to layer a spell on top of the original.

Even the slightest differences in the synesthetic mindscapes can cause a collision, yet...

Before the regression, he had practiced for at least half a year to master it, yet here she was, instinctively doing it in a single breath.

I guess her talent didn’t go away.

It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to boast about being good at Incantation Magic for long.

Staring at the completed sphere, he suddenly realized how quiet she was. He turned his head to look.

“...”

In front of his eyes was Luize, who was just staring at the sphere she had created with a vacant expression.

For a while, she just simply gazed at the sphere, but then she slowly raised her hand to gently stroke her bandage-wrapped neck.

“It doesn’t hurt...”

Despite having used magic, she felt no pain at all. All she felt was a slight dizziness and a heaviness in her body. But that was likely due to the depletion of mental energy from weaving the spell and the void left by the mana drawn out by the incantation. Both would naturally recover.

Right... it was this feeling.

She finally remembered that this was what using magic felt like. It had only been half a year, but to her, the sensation, which felt strangely unfamiliar, caused her hand to tremble faintly before she bit her lip hard.

“Ugh...”

Her eyes welled up with tears, ready to flow at any moment. However, instead of letting her tears flow, she tilted her head back, bit her lip, and endured.

Seeing her desperately trying not to cry, Se-Hoon chuckled and asked, “Why are you holding back? Just let it all out.”

“Not yet...”

Being able to use magic again was merely an intermediate step.

“Those bastards who did this to my neck... I’m not going to cry until I’ve torn out every single one of their throats.”

Her eyes, glistening with tears, shone with a burning blue light.

Yes. That’s how it should be, Se-Hoon thought, pleased with her fiery spirit.

He was worried that her happiness due to being able to use magic again would affect her fighting spirit, but it seemed she hadn’t lost any spirit at all.

Looking away from her struggle to hold back her tears, he looked at the completed sphere again.

It’s still unbelievable that she achieved this level of completion in just one day...

He had planned to spend the full two weeks solidifying the basics and gradually improving her skills, but seeing her progress, it seemed it would be better if she was just discharged and they could meet more easily.

Now that I’ve also acquired Incantation Attribute ... it should be fine.

Making some calculations in his head, he looked at Luize, who was sniffling with her head tilted back.

“With this, we can move on to the next stage.”

“Sniff... the next stage?”

“Yes.”

He pulled out his phone as the corners of his mouth slightly lifted.

“Overcoming your trauma.”

***

On the mock training ground set up in the Ivory Tower, numerous people were together, moving about briskly.

“Agh!”

“Stop being a nuisance and get out of the way!”

“Damn it...!”

Clang! Crash!

Seven students were swinging their weapons with desperate expressions. Though each of them wielded a different weapon, they shared a few commonalities.

Firstly, all of them were freshmen. Secondly, they were all students from average or less fortunate family backgrounds.

Thud!

And lastly, they were all fighting against skeletons made of black bones.

Why are these skeletons so strong...!?

Skeletons, the most basic form of undead in necromancy, were often considered limited in usage and insignificant due to their lack of muscles and other bodily organs.

Whoosh!

However, the black skeletons before them were using sheer strength and skills, without any special techniques, to overwhelm them. And that fact that mere skeletons were pushing them back, brought about a sense of self-loathing in each of the freshmen.

Meanwhile, outside the training ground, the brown-haired Gerwin Kruger watched the scene with boredom.

“Not a single one of them is useful...”

He had summoned the freshmen to gather combat data, but none of them put up a fight. Disappointed, he flicked his finger at the fight that was no better than a ragtag fight.

Pang-!

Black mana immediately swept over the skeletons as their empty eye sockets ominously lit up with black flames.

Bang! Thud! Crack!

“Kek!”

“Argh!”

The skeletons, now incomparably stronger than before, quickly knocked the seven students off the ground. Frowning at the sight, Gerwin clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. This is why we need to be more selective with the freshmen...”

He believed that accepting students just because they showed a bit of talent led to a lot of useless ones, just like the freshmen before him. Retrieving the skeletons back into his void pocket, he looked at the students sprawled across the ground.

“You all are useless. Get out.”

“Yes, yes!”

With his dismissal, the groaning students quickly helped up the ones who couldn’t stand and exited the training ground.

Since all of them were connected to the UD Group, it was in their best interest not to upset Gerwin, a member of the family that owned the group.

“What a waste of time...”

The Ivory Tower’s selection of students for sponsorships was imminent. He had secured his position without any issues last year, but this year’s outcome was uncertain, so he couldn’t afford to be complacent.

The biggest thorn in my side right now is... Lea Claudel.

Although her grades had dropped steadily after enrollment, causing her to fail to secure the top-ranking spot, he had heard rumors circulating that she had recently been skipping all of her classes to hole up in her workshop.

And in Babel Academy, where geniuses were abundant, such acts of seclusion were the most threatening.

I’d like to deal with her if possible... but it might be a bit tricky.

If her family background was as insignificant as Luize’s, whom they dealt with half a year ago, it would have been simple.

Maybe I should ask Vier for help again.

All they needed to do was somehow exclude her from the candidate list for the sponsorship. While Gerwin was seriously contemplating this—

Rrr-

His phone suddenly rang. Noticing that the caller ID was Vier, he immediately answered.

“What’s up?”

—Gerwin. Someone challenged you to a duel. It’s on the bulletin board on Tower.

“A duel?”

—Things are getting a bit troublesome. Check it out quickly.

Prompted by Vier’s slightly urgent voice, Gerwin quickly opened Tower to check the bulletin board.

[Challenge for a Duel] (485 comments)

That brief title was at the top of the popular posts. Feeling somewhat displeased, he clicked on the post.

[Challenge for a Duel] (485 comments)

After a long rehabilitation, I’ve overcome my mana impairment and, albeit insufficiently, can use magic again.

Before re-enrolling, I would like to request a duel with Gerwin Kruger, the third-year top-ranking student of the Department of Operation Commands, to whom I owe a debt from six months ago.

The time of the duel is one week from today at 1 pm. The location is the Hall of Martial Arts.

If you’re concerned about potential injuries and cannot participate, I will humbly accept your decision, so please respond at your convenience.

-Leave of absence student, Luize Valente-

The challenge was brief, yet, its intent was crystal clear: “Refuse the duel if you’re afraid to fight someone who’s been critically ill.”

The challenge notice was blatant and somewhat childish. It also left no room for refusal, which made Gerwin twist his expression.

“That... piece of...”

Crack-

The phone, crushed in his fury, marked his acceptance of the comeback duel.