Chapter 20: Chapter 20. Offensive Magic (2)

Good. I think I’ve more or less figured out throwing now.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and took a deep breath.

Even by the sea, repeatedly launching balls of fire kept me sweating.

So matching the formula to the mental image really is important.

Simply picturing the correct formula in your head wouldn’t activate a spell.

Unless you had a clear image of how that formula worked and what it would produce, the magic wouldn’t take effect.

Conversely, no matter how convincing a spell you imagined, it wouldn’t work properly if there was a problem with the formula used to create it.

Only when both the formula and the mental image were in place would the magic activate correctly.

It works better when I take a stance as though I’m throwing a ball.

What I’d just been testing was a spell for “throwing” a sphere of flame.

I’d already gotten something of a feel for it while practicing two days ago, but yesterday’s lecture had filled in the gaps.

There’s a reason Fireball is the most basic offensive spell.

They said the first ranged attack humans had learned in the distant past was throwing stones.

Attacking an enemy with a sphere of flame was similar. Thinking of it as throwing a lump of fire instead of a stone made it easy to understand.

The human body is supposed to be better suited to throwing than other animals’ bodies. Maybe throwing is the most natural way for us to attack.

Of course, I wasn’t actually throwing it with the strength of my shoulder.

Combining the image of “throwing” with the formula had improved the spell’s execution.

Once I grew more familiar with it, I felt I’d be able to launch a sphere of flame without going through the motions.

“Ah…”

Just then.

I sensed someone behind me.

“…?”

Turning my head, I saw Senia.

Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, as though she’d been exercising.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to spy on you.”

“No, there’s no need to apologize.”

“You were practicing in secret. I shouldn’t have been watching…”

“Practicing in secret?”

“Weren’t you?”

“It’s nothing that grand.”

I’d only come here because I wanted somewhere quiet to practice.

I hadn’t particularly meant to hide it from anyone.

“It’s nothing like that, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, i-is that so? Then…”

Watching my expression, Senia asked,

“I won’t get in your way… Would you mind if I watched for a bit?”

“Watched?”

“Well, to be more precise, observed…”

Senia bowed her head apologetically.

“I’m sorry. You seem so good at throwing spheres of flame that I wanted to watch and learn.”

“Learn by watching me?”

“Yes. Honestly, I don’t know where to start… I reviewed everything last night, but I still couldn’t get a feel for it.”

“…”

I thought for a moment.

“Senia.”

“Yes?”

“Would you like me to teach you?”

“W-what?!”

“Wouldn’t picking up a few pointers be better than just watching?”

Senia looked startled.

“Would you really be willing to do that?”

“In return, though…”

I added a condition.

“I’d like you to help me with my practice.”

“You want me… to help you, Eriol?”

“That’s right.”

The Rookie Tournament involved not only objective assessments, but the judges’ subjective evaluations as well.

I didn’t think simply throwing or shooting a powerful sphere of flame would be enough to take first place.

So…

Senia came from Artian, a family renowned for swordsmanship.

With her help, I intended to find a way to win the Rookie Tournament.

---

“Well, if it isn’t Klein.”

“Inies…”

Klein frowned slightly when he ran into Inies on his way to the outdoor practice grounds.

Inies, a professor in the Elemental Department, was his senior from back home, and the woman who made him more uncomfortable than anyone else in the world.

“What brings you here? You shouldn’t have any reason to visit the practice grounds.”

“I came to see how the top class is doing in their practical lesson. I am their supervising professor, after all.”

“I thought you’d come to see me.”

“S-surely you can’t mean that.”

Klein flushed.

“Still, it’s not often you come poking around another professor’s class. Is there a student you’ve got your eye on?”

“No comment.”

“Eriol Valencia?”

“Urgh…”

She’d hit the mark straightaway.

“Our department head, Horizon, seems to be watching him too. Apparently, he caught Horizon’s eye before he even enrolled.”

“Hmm…”

“You’ll have your work cut out for you if you want to bring him into the Lore Department.”

“You don’t seem particularly interested in Eriol yourself, Inies. You make it sound as though it has nothing to do with you.”

“Have you forgotten? I’m the advanced class’s supervising professor.”

“Oh…”

The advanced class.

Its students hadn’t scored as highly as those in the top class, but they’d still done well on the entrance exam.

“I have my hands full sorting the gems from the stones in my own class. I don’t have time to pay attention to every student in the top class too.”

“Are there any students who stand out in the advanced class?”

“Of course. They might even outperform the top class in the Rookie Tournament.”

“…”

All being in the top class meant was that they’d done slightly better on the written entrance exam.

It was hard to say they had greater magical talent than students who’d missed the cutoff by a few points and ended up in the advanced class.

In fact, plenty of advanced-class students in previous years had outperformed those in the top class.

“Klein, recruiting promising students for the Lore Department matters, of course… but you’d be better off putting more effort into teaching the students in your care.”

“…”

“Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if our advanced class wiped the floor with you in the Rookie Tournament?”

Klein’s face hardened at Inies’s provocation.

But she wasn’t wrong. They were supposed to be the top class. If they fell behind the advanced class, his standing as their supervising professor would plummet.

Whether they failed to take first place in the Rookie Tournament or finished with a lower average score, the other professors would laugh at him.

There would be unkind talk within the Lore Department too, which could only hurt his ambition to become its youngest-ever head.

“Oh, and just so you know, I have no intention of doing a poor job teaching the top class, so don’t worry. During lectures, at least, I’ll teach them exactly as I teach the advanced class.”

“I know. You wouldn’t play favorites over something like that…”

“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”

“In any case, Inies, thank you for the advice. But I have absolutely no intention of falling behind the advanced class.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. The top class has plenty of excellent students.”

“You sound confident. Shall we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“The top class or the advanced class—which one will take first place in the Rookie Tournament? How about it?”

While Klein hesitated, Inies swept back her hair and said,

“If you win, I’ll go on a date with you.”

“D-don’t be ridiculous!”

“What’s wrong? You used to follow me everywhere, begging me to go on a date with you.”

“H-how many times have I asked you to forget about that?! And please don’t bring this up where there are students! What will they think of their professor?”

“I doubt they’d care much…”

“Regardless, students might hear, so don’t ever bring it up again!”

“All right. Calm down… Oh.”

Just then, Inies turned her head and gave a start.

Wondering what was wrong, Klein turned too… and saw a handsome blond boy wearing an awkward expression.

“K-Kane Trigger…”

“Oh dear. Now what? I’ve gone and overheard something juicy.”

“Hey! Wait!”

“Enjoy yourselves, Professors.”

Kane promptly bolted, and Klein tried to hurry after him.

But Inies caught him by the shoulder.

“Hey, Klein.”

“I-Inies…”

“The practical lesson is about to start. Stay back and don’t get in the way.”

“Urgh…”

Her haughty tone hadn’t changed since the old days, and Klein felt a little surge of resentment.

---

Seeing him act like such a fool, I’d say our advanced class has this Rookie Tournament in the bag.

Watching the teaching assistants prepare the students for practice, Inies sank into thought.

Klein really is still a novice.

Personally, she found her junior endearing, but as an academy professor, he was simply a rival.

Inies belonged to the Elemental Department and supervised the advanced class.

Klein belonged to the Lore Department and supervised the top class. Competition between them was inevitable.

He doesn’t even seem to understand the situation yet.

Earlier, Inies had told Klein, “I have no intention of doing a poor job teaching the top class, so don’t worry.”

She’d also said, “During lectures, I’ll teach them exactly as I teach the advanced class.”

But that didn’t mean she treated the two classes equally.

She gave them the same lectures, but outside class, she provided special additional instruction to the advanced-class students.

Several of them were already proficient at throwing or shooting.

So get your head in the game and give me a proper fight, Klein.

Her deliberate provocation of her rival came down entirely to her personality.

Nothing gave her greater satisfaction than crushing an opponent who’d worked hard to challenge her.

Inies was looking forward to seeing Klein scramble to come up with a plan, spurred on by her taunts.

Of course… it won’t do him any good.

Even if Klein hurriedly devised a plan and drilled the top class, they wouldn’t surpass the advanced class under her guidance.

We have a genius in our class, after all.

Written exam scores didn’t determine magical ability.

The advanced class had a genius whose talent was second to none, despite having missed out on the top class.

Two of them, in fact.

Smiling to herself, Inies raised her head.

The top-class students were currently entering the throwing practice area one at a time and attempting throwing spells under a teaching assistant’s guidance.

So far, not one had properly succeeded.

More than half hadn’t managed to launch their spheres of flame at all. The rest had dropped them on the ground or sent them flying in odd directions. It was a complete mess.

Everyone starts out that way. Struggle a little.

Of course, the advanced-class students who’d received her special instruction were already proficient at both throwing and shooting.

In particular, the two “geniuses” she had her eye on could cast offensive spells well enough to be sent into actual combat right now.

She intended to spend the next three weeks training them further, until they were good enough to take first place in the Rookie Tournament.

You lot have a long way to go before you reach that level. For now, just focus on hitting the target…

Boom!

Startled by the sudden noise, Inies turned her head.

“Senia Artian, hit! Grade: A!”

Looking toward the teaching assistant’s voice, she saw a distant target blazing fiercely.

One of the top-class students had thrown a sphere of flame and hit the target dead-on.

Senia Artian…?

A black-haired girl was clenching her fists in delight.

Inies didn’t remember the name. How was she already so proficient at throwing spheres of flame?

Wait. Artian…

Just as she recalled the name of the renowned swordsmanship family,

an even louder blast rang out.

Boom-boom-BOOM!

Startled, she turned again and saw something she could hardly believe.

Not only the target, but the whole area around it was ablaze.

“E-Eriol Valencia, hit! Grade: S!”

She caught her breath as she studied the roaring flames.

With her ability, Inies could readily gauge the level of a spell from its results alone.

He can land a sphere of flame with that much firepower that precisely? Without an aiming formula?

Eriol Valencia had thrown an enormous sphere of flame the size of a person while keeping it under perfect control.

This was… something even the advanced-class geniuses she’d painstakingly tutored one-on-one couldn’t do.

Senia Artian was impressive enough, but this…

Inies swallowed.

It seemed the top class was a far greater threat than she’d imagined.