Chapter 12: Chapter 12. Scroll Magic (1)

The next morning.

I got up earlier than usual and stepped outside the dormitory, where I spotted a girl doing calisthenics in the front yard.

It was Senia Artian.

“Oh, Eriol.”

Realizing I was watching, Senia stopped moving.

“You’re up early.”

“Do you exercise every morning?”

“Yes. It’s a family custom…”

Just what I would expect from someone born into the Artian family, renowned for its swordsmanship.

“Oh, you’re all up early.”

Just then, Kane approached in workout clothes, yawning.

“I went for a run around the area. It’s nice and quiet at dawn.”

Apparently, Kane had been doing some morning training, too.

“You two haven’t had breakfast yet, right? Want to eat together before class?”

“I’m not having hot dogs.”

“Ha ha. I checked while I was out just now, but the hot dog stand isn’t open yet.”

Had he been planning to have hot dogs for breakfast if it was open?

“Let’s start the day with a good meal.”

And so our second day at the academy began.

---

The academy didn’t provide meals, so everyone had to buy their own food.

By the time we found a restaurant that served breakfast and enjoyed a leisurely meal, we were running a little late for class.

We reached the First Student Building with barely any time to spare and found the classroom in something of an uproar.

“How could you come back without the book?”

“What was I supposed to do? It wasn’t there! I couldn’t find it at the Outer Library, either!”

“What happened to all that big talk?”

Monark was arguing with the other students.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh… We didn’t finish yesterday’s homework. Monark was supposed to get the book, but apparently he couldn’t find it.”

Kane gave a small smirk at the student’s reply.

“Eriol, I’m taking out the book for a moment.”

He took a thick book out of my bag.

It was Oquitrast’s Dialogues with the Philosophers, which I had borrowed from the Central Library yesterday.

“All right, everyone, settle down!”

Raising his voice, Kane walked to the middle of the classroom.

“The book we were supposed to borrow yesterday is right here. There’s nothing to worry about. No need to fight.”

“…!”

Every student turned to look as Kane held the book above his head.

“H-how did you get that?”

“Our very own Eriol, the top incoming student, solved the problem in no time.”

“What? The top student?”

“Eriol solved it?”

“H-hold on!”

Monark and his followers rushed at Kane.

“Th-that’s Oquitrast’s Dialogues with the Philosophers?”

“That’s what I said. Can’t you read the title?”

“Damn it! So we couldn’t borrow it because you took it!”

He glared at Kane and me, his eyes wide with anger.

“Do you have any idea how much trouble you put us through, going off and doing whatever you pleased?!”

“Huh. That’s strange.”

Kane’s reply was perfectly relaxed.

“Weren’t you the ones who kicked Eriol out and told him to figure it out himself? How does it make sense to blame him for solving the problem and borrowing the book before you did?”

“…!”

Monark and his followers fell silent.

The other students around them looked away uncomfortably.

“The professor specifically told us to work together on the homework yesterday. But you picked a fight over nothing and drove Eriol away anyway, didn’t you?”

“Th-that was…”

“Take a good look at yourself, Monark Orson.”

Kane prodded Monark’s chest with the corner of the book.

“Everyone else had to suffer because you decided to make trouble.”

“…!”

Those words changed the mood completely.

Monark’s face went pale. He seemed to realize things had turned against him.

“The rest of you should feel sorry for what you did to Eriol, too. You were pretty thoughtless yesterday.”

Kane lectured the other students as well.

I could see a few of them looking at me apologetically.

“Kane, that’s enough.”

I cut him off.

“I don’t mind.”

“Well, well. Our Eriol has a big heart, too.”

“It’s not that I’m generous. It really doesn’t matter to me.”

With that, I sat down.

“The assignment’s done. That’s all that matters. Who did it isn’t important.”

“…”

Everyone fell silent, looking uncomfortable.

But Monark and his followers looked the most miserable of all.

“Hmm? It’s quiet today.”

Just then, Klein, the professor in charge of the top class, entered the room.

“Is something wrong? Don’t tell me you couldn’t finish the homework.”

“Of course we did.”

Kane promptly brought Oquitrast’s Dialogues with the Philosophers over and presented it to Klein.

“This is the book you wanted us to borrow, right?”

“Yes. Well done.”

“Oh, just so there’s no misunderstanding, I wasn’t the one who found the answer and borrowed it. That was…”

“I know.”

“Pardon?”

Klein spoke calmly.

“Eriol Valencia, our top incoming student, did it. Am I wrong?”

“…”

The room fell silent once more.

“You’ll be getting assignments like this from time to time. Keep working together with Eriol taking the lead.”

At Klein’s dispassionate remark, Monark’s face twisted completely.

---

Our first class was Principles of Magic.

It was a theory lecture meant to give us a grasp of magic’s basic concepts.

“People in the past believed in sorcery. They worshipped transcendent beings and prayed to them, made offerings, or brewed potions to drink.”

Klein listed examples on the blackboard, then drew a large X through them.

“But all of this is mere superstition.”

“…!”

“These superstitions are founded on vague hopes. The belief that if humans believe and pray for a particular effect, it will actually occur. But such things do not change the world. Any effect people thought they experienced was an illusion.”

Beside the list, Klein wrote a single word in large letters.

Language.

“There is only one way to change the world. Use a language the world can understand.”

“…”

“A formula language allows humans to communicate with the world. No matter how often we say, ‘Please send rain,’ in our own language, the world will not listen. But…”

Chalk scratched across the board.

Klein wrote a new set of characters.

They were in a formula language.

“If we ask the world in a formula language like this, it responds.”

At that moment, rain suddenly began pouring down over the teaching platform.

“Wow…!”

But the rain stopped almost as soon as it began, and not a single drop touched Klein.

Even the water on the floor vanished at some point.

“People in the past had a vague awareness that certain languages could get through to the world. Magic circles, rune magic, talismans… Their methods were haphazard, but they made efforts of their own. Gradually, they came to understand which languages actually worked, and at last, a systematic form of magic emerged.”

Klein wrote Scrolls on the blackboard in large letters.

“Scroll magic is cast by writing in a formula language on paper that holds magical energy. Its invention marked the beginning of serious research into formula languages. Magic began to develop beyond superstition and into the realm of ‘science.’”

With that, Klein set down the chalk.

“And… at some point, the mages who used scroll magic began to realize something. Rather than writing in a formula language on paper, couldn’t they construct a spell formula in their minds and project it into reality?”

As Klein tapped his head with a finger, our surroundings suddenly darkened.

The students stirred uneasily. No one had even drawn the curtains.

But when a white screen suddenly appeared in the classroom, cries of amazement broke out.

Klein was using magic to display the contents of a book in midair.

“The first person to conceive of this was the philosopher Oquitrast, two thousand years ago.”

Oquitrast’s Dialogues with the Philosophers, the book I had borrowed.

He had enlarged one of its pages and displayed it in midair for everyone to see.

“It took more than a thousand years for modern magic to fully develop. But Oquitrast had already proposed its basic concept two thousand years ago.”

When Klein turned a page, the page displayed in the air changed as well.

He also ran a finger across the page, underlining an important passage.

“The most important point is that humans can change the world through their own will. Formula languages are merely the means.”

“…!”

“Remember this, all of you. You are beings capable of changing the world. The spell formulas you construct in your minds, the magical programs you implement through formula languages… change the world.”

Putting on an impressive lecture with the latest magic, Klein spoke with confidence.

“Have conviction, and change the world. You are mages.”

---

Going through the key passages in Oquitrast’s book one by one, Klein helped the students understand the philosophy underlying modern magic.

It wasn’t knowledge we would apply directly when casting spells, but the lecture seemed essential for developing a mage’s basic mindset.

I’ve read this book before, but back then, I had no intention of becoming a mage.

As I listened, I, too, absorbed the basic concepts of magic.

When Klein’s first-period lecture ended, our second class began with a new professor.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Maia Wright of the Fabrication Department.”

Maia was a middle-aged woman with dark skin.

“Today, you’ll be learning scroll magic from me.”

Scroll magic.

Magic written on paper, as mentioned in our first class just now.

“Professor, isn’t scroll magic an outdated form of magic that’s no longer used?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why do we have to learn it?”

“I get that question every year. There are two main reasons.”

Despite the impertinent question, Maia answered calmly.

“First, making scrolls is the foundation for creating all sorts of magical tools.”

“Oh…”

“Magical tools can be made by inscribing objects with formula languages. That makes writing scrolls the best practice for crafting them.”

That made sense.

“And the other reason is… at your current level, trying to construct spell formulas in your heads will likely leave you with a jumble.”

“…!”

“Constructing a spell formula in your mind is no easy task. That’s why we practice by writing them on paper.”

Watching the students nod in understanding, Maia took out a sheet of paper.

“The five lines written on this paper produce an effect from the radiance branch of magic, illuminating the darkness.”

“Wow…!”

She tossed the paper into the air, and it flashed with light.

“In today’s class, you’ll learn the formula language that makes up this spell, then write a scroll yourselves. Pay attention.”

Maia began writing in the formula language on the blackboard, explaining each part as she went.

When she finished, she handed out paper for us to practice on.

“This magic-storing paper is specially made for creating scrolls. If you write the formula language correctly, you should be able to activate the spell.”

The magic-storing paper we were given was about the size of a palm. There was certainly something about it that felt different from ordinary paper.

“Now, begin.”

“Yes…!”

The students all began writing in the formula language on their paper.

---

This won’t be easy for them.

Maia Wright looked around at the students diligently writing on their magic-storing paper.

You can’t activate magic just by copying the characters.

If simply copying them were enough to produce an effect, there would be no need for mages.

You have to understand the meaning of every word and pour mental energy into it to create a proper spell formula.

They would probably struggle for quite some time.

No matter how talented these new students were, succeeding on their first attempt would be difficult.

Still, if they learn well under my guidance, they’ll soon get the hang of it.

Magic wasn’t something one could learn alone by memorizing books.

It could only be learned by developing a feel for it under a veteran mage’s guidance.

During today’s practical lesson, Maia intended to examine each student’s scroll and offer individual instruction.

But then…

“Argh…!”

Flash.

At the sudden burst of light, Maia reflexively squeezed her eyes shut.

“Wh-who was that?!”

She managed to open her eyes and look around the classroom… to find Eriol Valencia raising a hand.

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”