#12. Scroll Magic (1)
The next morning.
I woke up earlier than usual and went outside the dormitory, where I saw a girl doing calisthenics in the front yard.
It was Senia Artien.
“Ah, Eriol.”
Senia stopped moving when she realized I was looking at her.
“You’re up early.”
“Do you exercise every morning?”
“Yes, it’s a family tradition…….”
As expected, he comes from the famous swordsmanship family, Artian.
“Oh, everyone woke up early.”
At that moment, Kane, dressed in a tracksuit, approached me, yawning.
“I went for a run around the neighborhood. The early morning hours are quiet and nice.”
It seemed like Kane had also done some morning training.
“You guys, you haven’t eaten breakfast? Do you want to eat it together before going to school?”
“I don’t eat hot dogs.”
“Haha. I just checked while walking around and the hot dog place isn’t open yet.”
If the store was open, I was thinking of having a hot dog for breakfast.
“Let’s start the day with a hearty meal.”
That’s how our second day of the academy began.
* * *
Since there is no separate meal service, students at the academy must buy their own meals.
After choosing a restaurant to eat breakfast at, I had a leisurely breakfast, so I was a little late getting to school.
As I barely made it to the first student building, the classroom became a little noisy.
“Does that mean you couldn’t find the book in the end?”
“What can I do if it’s not there! I couldn’t find it even at the suburban library!”
“You were talking big and what is this?”
Monarch was arguing with other students.
“what’s the matter?”
“Ah… I didn’t finish my homework yesterday. Monarch was supposed to come find the book, but I guess he never found it.”
Hearing the other student’s answer, Kane snickered.
“Eriol, let me get the book out.”
Kane took a thick book out of my bag.
It was 『Dialogues between the Oquist and the Philosophers』 that I borrowed from the Central Library yesterday.
“Okay, everyone calm down!”
Kane walked to the center of the classroom, raising his voice.
“The books we were supposed to borrow yesterday are already here, so don’t worry. There’s no need to fight.”
“……!”
As Kane raised the book above his head, all the students’ eyes turned in his direction.
“Oh, what happened?”
“Our top student, Eriol, solved the problem in an instant.”
“What? Chief?”
“Eriol released it?”
“Okay, wait a minute!”
Monarch rushed at Kane with his followers.
“Is this 『Dialogues between the Orquitrarists and the Philosophers』?”
“That’s right. Can’t you tell by looking at the title?”
“Damn it! Then you guys borrowed it and we couldn’t borrow it!”
He opened his eyes and glared at me and Kane.
“Do you know how much trouble we’ve suffered because of you doing that without permission?!”
“Huh, that’s strange?”
But Kane responded with a relaxed attitude.
“Weren’t you the ones who kicked Eriol out and told him to figure it out on his own? Then how can you criticize him for solving the problem before you and borrowing the book?”
“……!”
The Monarch and his followers were silent.
The surrounding students also looked away with uncomfortable expressions.
“Yesterday, the professor clearly told us all to work together to do our homework. But you were the ones who kicked Eriol out for finding fault with him?”
“That, that is……”
“Reflect, Monarch Orson.”
Kane poked Monarch in the chest with the corner of the book.
“Because you were nitpicking, other kids suffered too.”
“……!”
Those words completely changed the atmosphere around them.
The Monarch’s face turned pale, as if he realized that the situation was unfavorable.
“You should feel sorry for Eriol too. You were so thoughtless yesterday.”
Kane also preached to other students around him.
I could see some students looking at me with apologetic expressions.
“Kane, okay.”
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I said, stopping Kane.
“Because I don’t care.”
“Oh my, our Eriol is so broad-minded.”
“It’s not that I’m broad-minded, it just really doesn’t matter.”
I replied like that and sat down.
“If you’ve completed the homework the professor gave you, that’s the end of it. It doesn’t matter who did it.”
“…….”
Everyone was silent and had uncomfortable expressions on their faces.
But the ones with the most distraught expressions were the Monarch and his followers.
“Hmm? It’s quiet today.”
At that moment, Klein, the top class homeroom teacher, entered the classroom.
“Is there a problem? You haven’t finished your homework, have you?”
“No way.”
Kane quickly presented Klein with the Dialogues of the Orquitrarists and Philosophers.
“Are you sure you’re borrowing this?”
“Yeah, good job.”
“Oh, just in case, I’m telling you this. I didn’t find out the answer and borrowed it. This is…”
“I know.”
“yes?”
Klein said in a calm voice.
“It must have been the senior Eriol Valencia, right?”
“…….”
The surroundings became quiet once again.
“We will be faced with tasks like this often in the future. Let’s work together with Eriol at the center to solve them well.”
At Klein’s cold remark, Monarch’s expression completely distorted.
* * *
The first period lecture is ‘Principles of Magic’.
It was a theoretical lecture that helped me understand the basic concepts of magic.
“People in ancient times believed in magic. They worshipped a transcendent being, prayed, made sacrifices, and even made and took medicine.”
Klein began writing examples of spells on the board, then immediately marked them with a big X.
“But all these things are nothing more than superstitions.”
“……!”
“These superstitions are based on vague hopes. If people believe and pray for such and such effects, they will actually happen. However, the world does not change because of these things. If you feel that some kind of effect has been achieved, it is all an illusion.”
Klein wrote one word in large letters next to it.
It’s called ‘language’.
“There is only one way to change the world: to speak a language the world can understand.”
“…….”
“The language of magic is the language that allows communication between humans and the world. No matter how much we say, ‘Please make it rain,’ the world won’t listen. But… “
Sssssss.
Klein wrote new letters on the blackboard.
It was a drinking language.
“When you make a request to the world in this magical language, the world responds.”
At that moment, rain suddenly began to pour down on the podium.
“and……!”
But the rain only lasted a short while and stopped, not a single drop of water splashing on Klein.
Not only that, but the moisture that had soaked the floor disappeared at some point.
“Even the ancients had a vague sense that there were languages that could be accepted by the world. Magic circles, rune magic, talismans… Although it was crude, they put in effort in their own way. As a result, they gradually came to realize what languages were accepted, and finally, systematized magic emerged.”
Klein wrote the word “scroll” in large letters on the blackboard.
“Scroll magic is a type of magic that is activated by writing magical language on paper that stores magical power. With the birth of this scroll magic, magical language began to be studied in earnest. Magic began to develop from a superstition to a realm of ‘science’.”
With that said, Klein put down the chalk.
“And… at some point, the magicians who used scroll magic realized that instead of writing the spell language on paper, they could just construct the spell in their heads and project it into the world.”
The moment Klein tapped his head with his finger, the surroundings suddenly became dark.
The students became agitated when it got dark, even though the curtains weren’t drawn.
But suddenly, a white screen appeared in the classroom and cheers erupted.
Klein was using magic to make the contents of the book appear in the air.
“The first person to think this way was the philosopher Oquitra from two thousand years ago.”
The 『Dialogues of the Orquitects and Philosophers』 that I borrowed.
One of the pages was enlarged and displayed in the air so that everyone could see it together.
“In reality, it took more than a thousand years for modern magic to be properly perfected. However, the basic concept was already presented by the Occultists two thousand years ago.”
As Klein turned the pages, the pages that appeared in midair also changed.
Also, as I moved my fingers across the pages, important passages were underlined.
“The most important thing is that humans are beings who can change the world with their own will. The language of magic is just a means to that end.”
“……!”
“Everyone, keep this in mind. You are beings who can change the world. The magical spells you create in your heads, the magical programs implemented in the language of spells… will change the world.”
“I’m going to give a splendid lecture using the latest magic,” Klein said confidently.
“Change the world with confidence, you are wizards.”
* * *
By going through key passages from Oquitrast’s book one by one, Klein helped his students understand the basic philosophy of modern magic.
Although it is not knowledge that is directly applied when using magic, it seemed like a necessary lecture to acquire the basic mindset of a magician.
‘I’ve read this book before, but I never thought of becoming a wizard.’
I also took the class and got the basic concepts of magic into my head.
After Klein’s first period ended, the new professor’s second period began.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Maia Wright from Production.”
Maia was a middle-aged woman with dark skin.
“What you will learn from me today is scroll magic.”
Scroll magic.
It’s the magic that was just mentioned in the first period, written on paper.
“Professor, isn’t scroll magic an old-fashioned magic that is not used in modern times?”
“right.”
“But why do I need to learn scroll magic?”
“This question comes up every year. There are two main reasons.”
Even to the cheeky question, Maia answered calmly.
“The first is that scroll writing is the basis for creating various magical tools.”
“ah…….”
“Magical tools can be made by engraving magical language on objects. That’s why scroll writing is the best practice for making magical tools.”
It made sense.
“And another thing… with your current skills, even if you try to formulate a spell in your head, it’ll easily end up in a mess.”
“……!”
“It’s not easy to formulate a formula in your head. That’s why you practice by writing it down on paper.”
As she looked at the students nodding in understanding, Maia took out a piece of paper.
“The five lines written on this paper will activate the effect of the luminous magic that illuminates the darkness.”
“and……!”
When I threw the paper into the sky, it flashed and glowed.
“Today’s lecture will be about learning the magical language that makes up this spell, and then actually creating a scroll. Everyone, focus.”
After saying that, Maia started to write the spelling language on the blackboard and explain it one by one.
After the explanation, I distributed practice papers to the students.
“This magic paper is a special paper for making scrolls. If you write the spell language correctly, you will be able to activate the magic.”
The paper given to us was about the size of the palm of our hand, but it definitely felt different from regular paper.
“Then let’s begin.”
“yes……!”
The students all began to write their spelling words on their papers.
* * *
‘It won’t be easy.’
As she looked around at the students diligently writing on the chalkboard, Maya Wright thought to herself.
‘Just copying the letters doesn’t cause the magic to work.’
If the effect was achieved by simply copying it, there would be no need for a magician.
‘You need to properly understand the meaning of each word and pour in your mental energy to make it a proper technique.’
You’re probably going to have a hard time.
Even for the most talented freshmen, it’s difficult to succeed from the first try.
‘But if you learn well under me, you will quickly become proficient.’
Magic isn’t something you can learn by just memorizing books on your own.
Magic is something that can only be learned by getting a feel for it under the guidance of a veteran magician.
In today’s practice, Maya was planning to look at each student’s scroll and give them individual guidance.
however…….
“Ugh…!”
Flash.
Maia reflexively closed her eyes at the sudden burst of light.
“Who, who are you!”
I opened my eyes with difficulty and looked around the classroom… … Eriol Valencia raised one hand.
“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
