I Became the Academy’s Defensive Swordsman Chapter 107

【 Master of Tazera 】

“Are you saying you want to start by learning fire magic? Is there a reason for that?”

“Because it’s one of the attributes I still can’t handle.”

“Hmm… one of the attributes you can’t handle, huh. Ah, right. I heard rumors—you supposedly handle all kinds of powers?”

Kara nodded as if she understood.

“They said you control wind, summon lightning… and even recently learned to handle water?”

“I don’t control them incredibly well. I can only use them in a limited way.”

It wasn’t humility.

Every power I’d learned to control so far had some kind of flaw.

I did find a way to use the Water Rune recently, but the problem was that… it was water.

Unless the opponent used fire, it had almost no use.

The lightning powered by Peregrie was strong, but took far too long to prepare.

And above all…

‘Once I fixed the position, I couldn’t change where the lightning would strike afterward.’

That was a bigger drawback than expected, making it extremely limited in real combat.

The only ability that had almost no restrictions was the wind powered by Peregrie.

Of course, once I used it, my stamina crashed immediately. Its efficiency was terrible.

“So you want to start with the fire you can’t use at all yet? And leave earth, light, darkness, and the others for later?”

“Yes. Also, I recently saw a sword technique that used fire, so I want to imitate it more perfectly.”

“Oh, right. During the last midterm, that friend from the Isrinbloom Family… Sara, was it? You fought that girl, didn’t you? So I guess you learned something from that?”

“Yes, it definitely influenced me.”

The first sword technique I imitated after falling into this world had been Sara’s technique.

And over the past two months, I practiced that technique a lot. Thanks to that, the completion of my swordsmanship had risen quite a bit compared to the others.

I wanted to use this chance to get even closer to the original.

“Mm, alright. Then let’s start with fire magic. But before that, I need to explain and teach you about magic itself, right? You know nothing about it.”

“I barely know anything.”

“Then let’s start from the basics. I’ll teach you step by step.”

“Do you feel it now? The mana flowing inside you. You can feel it, right?”

“Yes… it feels like it’s flowing around my heart…”

“That’s right! That’s it! You learn fast!”

After about fifteen minutes.

I spent that time focusing on the mana inside me.

“Alright, hand.”

“…What?”

“Hold out your hand.”

I tilted my head but did as Kara said and extended my hand forward.

Kara took out some kind of stone from her pocket and placed it on my palm.

A blue stone that emitted faint light.

“This is… a mana stone, isn’t it?”

“You’re well-informed. Yes, it’s a mana stone. A stone infused with mana. When you hold it, the mana inside you resonates with the stone… to explain simply, it makes your internal mana easier to feel.”

Just as Kara said, once I held the mana stone, the mana inside me became much clearer.

I continued the exercise for a few more minutes…

“Alright. Good. Let’s stop today’s training here.”

“It’s harder than I thought.”

“Yes. The thing beginners struggle with most is sensing their own mana. So until Saturday, practice this exercise alone for at least thirty minutes each day. I’ll give you that mana stone—practice with it for at least thirty minutes before you sleep. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Well, at least it was manageable at this stage.

Though I was sure I’d face serious trouble once things got deeper.

“There are about ten minutes left, so I’ll explain as simply as possible how to actually use magic. First… do you know how to activate magic?”

“By arranging the mana in my body in a certain pattern…”

“That’s right. That’s the core of it.”

Kara nodded and continued.

“If you try to research the phenomenon of magic itself, the depth is endless. But that’s not what you want, right? You just want to learn it well enough to use as support in combat. Correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“As long as you properly sense the mana within you and control it, casting magic itself is surprisingly simple.”

With those words, Kara pulled out a large book from her bag.

“Hold on. Where was it… fire magic… basics… the most fundamental fire spell… ah, here it is.”

Kara showed me a picture from the book.

No—strictly speaking, it was a drawing.

A depiction of something burning.

“What you’re looking at is the mana formula for fire magic.”

“This is… a mana formula?”

“Yes. It’s the fundamental mana formula all fire spells are based on. Every fire spell was created from this.”

I looked at the mana formula again.

Through the game and its guidebooks, I had a rough idea of how magic in this world worked.

But this was the first time learning about the principles—mana formulas and such.

Still, according to what I remembered from the guidebook…

“If I arrange the mana in my body according to this formula, I can cast the spell, right?”

“Oh, correct. You really know your stuff. You need to reshape your internal mana to match this drawing.”

I nodded.

My knowledge from the game and Kara’s explanations helped me slowly grasp how magic worked.

“Think of it like having a blank canvas inside you. You draw the mana formula on that canvas using mana as your paint. If you can do that, you can cast magic. Simple, right?”

“It sounds extremely simple when you explain it… but it’s not easy.”

I understood everything Kara explained.

But understanding and doing it were two completely different things.

“It’s normal for it to be difficult. Most magicians get stuck at this stage when they first learn. But once you get past it, things get a little easier. Just a little. Magic isn’t an easy field.”

“Was it hard for you when you first learned?”

“Not really? I’m a genius, so I didn’t struggle much.”

Kara gave a cocky yet playful smile, and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

Well, she was a summoner with enormous confidence—but she also had the skill to back it up.

And as an Academy instructor, she explained everything at my level with surprising clarity.

“Since we’re talking about it, I’ll show you why things get slightly easier afterward. Watch. If you develop the spell using the mana formula in this picture… ta-da!”

Flames began to rise around Kara’s body.

“This is how magic activates. But when you take this mana formula and… wait, I think it was on the next page… ah, here. You see this formula? It’s also fire magic, but do you notice how it’s slightly different from the previous one?”

“There are… finger-like extensions on both sides?”

“Correct. When you apply a slight modification to the mana formula like this… look.”

The flames that had been burning around Kara’s body now began to blaze atop her right hand.

“I can move the fire to my palm like this. And if I modify it a bit more from here… if I flip about seven more pages, the mana formula should be there… Ah, this one.”

I checked the page Kara had opened.

It was the same mana formula for flame magic I had seen before… but now, there was a long vertical line drawn beside it.

“What kind of mana formula is that?”

“This is… wait a second, let me borrow your sword. Ugh, wow, it’s heavier than it looks. Now, if I draw this mana formula within myself while holding this sword……”

Whoosh―!

As Kara activated the magic, flames spread over the blade, blazing brightly.

“This is roughly the kind of spell it is. Especially, the family that developed this magic to its extreme was none other than the Isrinbloom Ducal Family. Using the mana formula drawn here as a base, that family created dozens of their own unique mana formulas.”

“They’ve dug into one well for hundreds of years, then.”

“Something like that. Thanks to that, they’ve become one of the families that produce the strongest swordsmen in the Empire.”

After canceling the flame magic, Kara handed the sword back to me.

“Anyway, since you said you wanted to start with fire magic, I’ll teach you these kinds of spells. Of course, before that, you’ll have to properly perceive the mana within you and thoroughly learn how to use it.”

“I’ll practice until Saturday.”

“Good. Keep at it consistently. If you stay steady, you should be able to properly learn at least one fire spell before summer break.”

Judging from the mood and the time, today’s tutoring session seemed to be wrapping up.

So, I quickly asked Kara a favor.

“Would it be okay if I draw the mana formula we saw earlier into my notebook and take it with me?”

“Hm? Sure, I don’t mind. But which mana formula are you going to copy?”

“The basic flame magic formula we saw at the beginning… and the one that ignites a weapon that you just showed me.”

“Heh. Seems you’re quite interested in the swordsmanship of the Isrinbloom Family?”

“I’ve always been interested.”

I gave a small grin and copied the mana formulas into my notebook.

A few days passed since my first private lesson with Kara.

After that, I kept practicing to use magic, but there hadn’t been much progress.

Still, I was steadily improving.

I could feel the mana within me more clearly now, and though just a little, I had begun to control it.

‘Don’t rush. There’s no need to master magic too quickly.’

My goal was to learn one or two spells before graduation.

There was plenty of time.

Anyway, time continued to flow, and about ten days after the Daigon Village festival—

“Gideon, did your midterm results come out well?”

It was lunchtime, as usual.

While I was spending time with Lisa again today, Layla, Jason, and Sara came over to our table.

“They came out decently.”

I nodded at Jason’s question.

“Of course they did. You ranked first in the midterm practical exam. Ah, seriously, I can’t believe I got fifth in swordsmanship class. Luke is just too much sometimes.”

“But Jason, didn’t you do well on the written exam?”

“Well, yeah. Written is obviously first place. Memorizing and applying information is the most basic of basics in our family.”

Well, that was only natural.

Even in the game, academically speaking—especially in memorization—it was systemically impossible to beat a member of the Hawkbat Family.

“Then what about you, Layla?”

“I ranked fourteenth among the first-years.”

“Oh, that’s good!”

“Jason helped me a lot. What about you, Gideon?”

“I ranked ninth.”

“What, so you did better than me.”

“Lisa helped me a lot.”

I glanced at Lisa, who sat beside me.

In response, Lisa gave a faint smile and gently patted my head, as if saying I did well.

“Now that I think about it, Lisa, what were your midterm results?”

“First place in both written and practical, of course.”

Like Jason, Lisa said it as though it were a matter of course.

“Well, for a noble, especially one from a duke’s family, that’s only natural.”

“…Ugh.”

At Lisa’s words, Sara—who had been quietly eating till now—flinched.

I pretended not to notice, but Jason naturally spoke up.

“Sara, what about you? I think you got second in the practical, but how about the written?”

“T-that’s… n-none of your business.”

“Don’t tell me you were last?”

“No! I’m not that bad!”

“Well, then I guess you’re in the lower ranks.”

“No, that’s… ugh…”

Sara turned her head away, embarrassed, and focused on eating her lunch.

Just like that, it was another peaceful day, the same as usual.

Even in the original game, life at the academy mostly consisted of peaceful days like these…

Bzzzt―

“Hm?”

Suddenly, my crystal sphere vibrated in my pocket.

Wondering what it was, I checked—

“Gideon, who is it?”

“It’s Mr. Regnil.”

Answering Lisa’s question, I took the call from the crystal sphere.

“Mr. Regnil? What’s going on?”

– Gideon, my apologies for contacting you so suddenly. It’s about your sword. I called because there’s been a problem with its enhancement process.