Chapter 36: Nerian Hopenheim (1)

The weekend had passed entirely.

Except for a few small incidents, it could be said that he had spent a fairly fulfilling time.

After the morning dawned, he returned to the academy and had just arrived for his morning lecture.

“Carl.”

Maximilian, who entered the lecture hall, greeted him casually and called out to Carl.

He was his usual lively self.

Carl greeted him back with a smile.

“You look like you’re in a good mood.”

“I had a blast over the weekend. I was actually itching to come back to school early. How about you, Carl? I heard you had something outside the academy.”

“It was quite a productive time. Fortunately, I had the chance to meet several people.”

While Carl was away at NOX, his shadow double had handled his schedule in his place.

He had made contact with the people of ‘Madeira’, a merchant group under NOX, and had formally established rapport.

Carl had already been briefed the previous night and was well aware of the details.

‘I should make more active use of the shadow side.’

In emergencies involving NOX that occasionally caused him to be absent, there was nothing better than this to create an alibi.

He would still have to avoid contact with acquaintances as much as possible.

No matter how thoroughly it was acted out, impersonating another person would inevitably come across as unnatural.

……Of course, if he were to impersonate someone himself, he could do it perfectly.

“Good morning!”

As the lecture time drew near, cadets began appearing one by one, and the room quickly became bustling.

Though they were cadets of the highest-ranking class, each was in the prime of their youth.

They chatted about what had happened over the weekend, creating a lively atmosphere.

Tap.

The cadets fell silent when the distinct sound of high heels echoed from outside the lecture hall door.

Soon, the door opened, and Instructor Andreas appeared in his black uniform.

Standing at the podium, he confirmed through Bayern’s system that everyone was present and gave a brief nod.

“I hope you all had a pleasant weekend.”

He turned his gaze, meeting the eyes of the cadets watching him.

“But since you’ve entered Bayern, there’s no time to slack off and fall into complacency. You must maintain a good balance between rest and study.”

He spoke in a heavy voice filled with sincerity so that it wouldn’t come off as mere nagging.

“The weekend is over, so now let’s all focus and begin the lectures for the second week.”

At Instructor Andreas’s words, everyone’s eyes sharpened with focus.

They were the top students even within the Empire’s finest academy.

Each held pride in themselves, and thus shook off the weekend mood to concentrate on the lecture.

Seeing the atmosphere shift instantly, Instructor Andreas looked satisfied.

“Considerations on Magic. A common lecture for all first-year students. Statistically, the ratio of magic users to non-magic users among new cadets is about 2:8. With non-magic users being the majority, why is a magic-related lecture included in the common curriculum? The reason is simple—Considerations on Magic is meant for non-magic users.”

Carl nodded slightly as he listened to the extended explanation.

‘The relativity of magic, huh.’

Magic might, at first glance, be compared to illusion or Taoist arts of the Central Plains, but in reality, it possessed a far greater versatility.

Illusions and Taoist arts were inherently closed off and often dismissed as sorcery, resulting in poor evaluations.

They were also difficult to learn, and to use them to affect others, one had to at least reach a level considered master-class in martial arts.

In contrast, magic could exhibit significant power even at a beginner’s level.

Even basic magic could be strong enough to kill a person.

“This lecture will cover aspects of magic that may be unfamiliar from a non-magic user’s perspective. How to confront a mage as an enemy, for example. For magic users, I hope this offers a new perspective on how non-magic users perceive and think about magic.”

“…Not bad. And this is a common first-year lecture?”

Maximilian, who had been attentively listening, muttered under his breath.

Covering the perspective of confronting magic from a non-magic user’s viewpoint.

It might sound unremarkable at first, but it required a high degree of intellect and complex reflection.

“Today, we’ll lightly try a practical exercise in mana manipulation. I’m curious to see how much understanding each of you has.”

At Instructor Andreas’s gesture, 25 crystal orbs appeared from somewhere and floated above the cadets’ heads.

“Pair up in twos. Inside each orb, there is a boundary between blue and red. Choose a side and push against the opponent to expand your area.”

“…Sounds fun.”

Maximilian grinned with interest, and Carl nodded in agreement.

It was quite an entertaining teaching method.

Rather than just scoring and ranking, it motivated them through a competitive format.

“The winning side will receive bonus points. But don’t worry, the losing side won’t be penalized. Depending on your technique and approach, additional points may still be awarded.”

At Instructor Andreas’s words, the cadets began looking for partners.

Maximilian immediately turned to Carl, seated next to him.

“Carl, want to team up?”

“Gladly.”

Carl nodded without hesitation.

As everyone paired up, the floating crystal orbs gently descended.

“……”

Facing Maximilian, Carl subtly shifted his gaze to glance around the room.

Laysis was paired with Yuria.

Nerian was with Louis.

“I’m quite confident in practicals, you know.”

Maximilian rolled up his sleeves and extended his hand toward the crystal orb.

“I’m pretty good at mana manipulation myself.”

“Yeah? Then how about a bet for lunch?”

“Sure. If I lose, I’ll buy you the most expensive thing.”

“You must be really confident. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

They both channeled mana into the crystal orb.

As Instructor Andreas had said, red and blue waves spread inside like paint, filling the interior.

Carl watched the blue wave gradually expand according to his will.

‘An intriguing artifact.’

It might even be useful for NOX’s internal training methods.

Since the focus was more on precise control than overwhelming force.

Ssssshhh─

Brimming with enthusiasm, Maximilian manipulated his mana without much thought.

As the red wave surged like a tidal wave, Carl gave a faint smile.

‘I was going to hold back and lose on purpose, but…’

Now it was a match with a bet on the line.

Carl, since his days as the Unkillable, had won every bet except one.

‘Let’s show him some real skill.’

He increased the intensity of his mana manipulation.

It wasn’t a matter of increasing output, but of refining precision.

The blue wave, which had been pushed back by Maximilian’s momentum, stretched out again and swelled in size.

“…Uh, huh?”

Maximilian’s expression turned flustered as the situation didn’t go his way.

He quickly infused more mana, but this contest wasn’t something that could be won by power alone.

“For reference, if the crystal orb breaks, points will be deducted depending on the degree of fault. Please keep that in mind.”

“Ugh…!”

Maximilian’s face began to contort.

Not just him—every cadet who was being pushed into a corner showed a similar reaction.

Ssshhh─

Finally, at the point where the fierce struggle reached a 6:4 balance—

Clap!

Instructor Andreas ended the practical by clapping his hands once.

“Alright, that’s it. The first practice is over. Please withdraw your mana.”

“Phew.”

“Haa…”

Everyone let out a long sigh, seemingly having been deeply focused on the crystal orb.

Some, like Maximilian, slumped in their chairs, completely exhausted.

“…Ugh.”

Laysis, who had been holding her breath while focusing on mana manipulation, looked dejected with a flushed red face.

Her opponent was Yuria, a mage from the Magic Tower.

Even for Laysis, it was impossible to win a mana manipulation contest against a mage.

She had been overwhelmed almost 9:1—a complete defeat.

In fact, even managing to hold at 1 for a while was already an achievement.

“Now, let’s switch partners and go again. There will be three total sessions, and cadets who win all three will receive bonus points.”

“Hmph.”

Carl dusted off his hands and looked up.

There were several cadets who seemed more focused on earning bonus points than simply winning.

If the skill gap seemed too large, they refused to pair up, and most sought opponents they believed they could beat.

“Is there anyone who wants to pair with me?”

Carl asked around.

But Amy, Gale, and Rien all shook their heads, having seen Maximilian lose earlier.

“Sorry, Carl. I’m aiming for three wins.”

“If Max lost, I probably can’t beat you either.”

“…Is there anyone easy around here?”

Each person scanned the room sharply, looking for their prey.

For the record, Pozers had already been called out by a mage acquaintance and was taken.

“Hmph.”

Carl gave a slightly awkward smile.

He glanced around at the remaining cadets just in case, but they all subtly averted their gazes and looked for someone else to pair with.

It seemed his status as top scorer in theory gave the impression that he would also be good at mana manipulation.

Especially after he had just defeated Maximilian.

‘I just want to finish this quietly.’

He had no intention of standing out.

Beating Maximilian was only because of the lunch bet—he had no interest in going for three wins.

In the end, he had no choice but to find a partner among the remaining cadets.

“……”

There were a few cadets in the classroom who, like Carl, had become undesirable partners.

“Pair with me.”

Yuria, frowning, was intimidating another cadet into partnering.

Laysis, who was similarly rejected because of her status as second rank.

And Nerian, who sat quietly waiting for someone to come to him.

……Louis, who had lost to Nerian, had already grabbed an easy target among his usual companions and started the next practice.

“Ah.”

Soon, Carl met eyes with Laysis, who was wearing a sullen expression.

Realizing that Carl was in the same boat as her, her face brightened and she quickly walked over.

But she wasn’t the only one who approached Carl.

“Carl, would you pair with me…”

“Hey, if it’s alright, how about with me…”

Yuria, having been rejected by the cadet she threatened, also came toward Carl as her final fallback.

“Hm.”

Carl looked at both of them with a troubled expression.

“Yuria, please let me have this one. You already have one win.”

“…I don’t have anyone to partner with.”

“Nerian is still available.”

“No thanks. I think I’ll lose to him.”

“You’re a mage, and you’re saying you’ll lose to a swordsman?”

“Nerian’s a magic swordsman, too. He’s a holder of a power, so his mana manipulation would be unusual.”

“……”

Neither side backed down.

Eventually, with no conclusion reached, they both turned to Carl and spoke.

“You choose. Who do you want to partner with?”

“That’s right. You decide, Carl.”

“…Ahaha.”

Carl laughed awkwardly.

He briefly considered just giving both of them a loss.

But then, someone stepped up beside Carl and abruptly pushed their face in.

“Pair with me. You two, find someone else.”

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