Chapter 896

A few days later.

“I’m off!”

Ian and Barsabe said goodbye in unison as they jumped down from the carriage.

The kids’ stamina was truly astonishing. They had clearly pushed themselves to the limit just yesterday, but after a night’s rest, they were as lively as ever. Romandro waved at the two children with a mix of envy, surprise, and concern.

“Alright, both of you be careful! Don’t shake the lunch boxes around. If anything happens, contact me immediately—”

“Romandro, you’re such a nag!”

Barsabe rolled her eyes and shouted, causing Romandro to clutch his chest as if shocked.

The coachman, accustomed to the routine, tightened the reins and turned the carriage around. Ian and Barsabe quickly slipped into the crowd of students.

“Heading to the palace again after school today?”

“Yes, sister.”

“You really have it tough at such a young age.”

Barsabe’s words of sympathy earned only a faint smile from Ian. He had steeled himself at first, but it wasn’t as bad as he’d imagined. The wizards were all kind, and he could tell they didn’t assign him difficult tasks out of consideration.

‘Truly something to be grateful for.’

What Ian didn’t know was that he hadn’t actually done any real work since starting at the Magic Department.

“Luckily, the work isn’t too difficult.”

“Oh?”

“They’ve also brought in new wizards recently.”

“New wizards? So the Magic Department has two new recruits now? Wow, that’s amazing. My father said it’s rare to see even one in several years.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Are the new wizards around our age?”

“I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

Ian shrugged. He had been assigned to outdoor tasks like garden maintenance and shield inspections, while the new wizard stayed in the underground lab.

He had tried sneaking down once to catch a glimpse, but was driven back by an inexplicable green smoke.

“Apparently, the Minister gave some orders, and the new wizard’s been busy carrying them out, so I haven’t seen their face.”

“I see. So they’re more of a field operative. Probably older than us, then.”

“Yes, that’s what I expect.”

In the distance, someone was greeting students in the middle of the campus. It was Dashua, the unpopular and often idle school principal.

He kept trying to act familiar and friendly with the students, but most hurried past without stopping.

“Oh, Ian!”

Barsabe clicked her tongue. They had planned to slip by unnoticed, but got caught.

Ian greeted politely without stopping.

“Good day, Principal.”

“Ah, yes, how are the classes?”

“Thanks to you, they’re going well.”

“Nothing unusual since then, right?”

“No. Thank you for your concern.”

“Is today a required course?”

Ian stopped walking at the mention of classes.

“No, all the required courses finished this week. I’m on my way to other classes now.”

He planned to take a few subjects Barsabe recommended, plus two that seemed related to magic: “The Difference Between Sorcery and Magic” and “Reading the Future Through Astronomy.”

“Those sound tough.”

“They said you can change classes before three attendances.”

“Right, right. I think you’ll do fine, Ian. By the way, I have some good news.”

“Yes? What is it?”

Ian hadn’t expected much, but brightened at the unexpected news.

“The magic professor has arrived.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Let me see… the schedule… hmm, I just got it earlier but where did I put it? Looks like you might be the only student, so I wanted to hand it to you personally…”

As Dashua rummaged through his pockets, Ian couldn’t hold back and asked.

“If you tell me the classroom, I’ll head there now.”

“Oh, sure. It’s in the annex, second floor, room 203.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey, if you have time, you should come to my class too—”

“Have a good day!”

Ian bowed and hurried toward the annex, with Barsabe following behind.

Dashua scratched his head and sniffed regretfully. But soon, he was back to greeting the arriving students with forced cheerfulness.

“Oh, long time no see! How have you been?”

---

Room 203

Second floor hallway, annex.

Ian quietly looked up at the door. A crooked paper taped to one side bore the professor’s name and subject, held on by what looked like hastily torn tape.

“Magic Professor, Hale. Subjects: Magic 1, Magic 2, Magic 3…?”

The course titles were incredibly simple. Was this really okay? Ian hesitated, then knocked and opened the door.

Creak.

“Hello.”

A man sitting on the windowsill smoking a cigarette turned toward the door. Short brown hair, old scars scattered across his face. Ian had heard rumors at the Magic Department that he might be a former mercenary—and it seemed true.

…But how did the wizards know?

“Ian Hadel?”

The five-year-old blond boy with pale eyes who had found this tucked-away classroom could only be Ian Hadel.

Ian smiled and nodded.

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

“Class starts in three hours.”

“The principal lost the schedule, so I came to check it and say hello.”

Not the warmest first impression. Ian studied Hale’s demeanor carefully. Since he’d be the professor in charge of magic classes until graduation, it was good to make a good impression.

“Hmm.”

Hale flicked ash from his cigarette, then suddenly frowned as if realizing something. Ian tensed.

‘Kids aren’t supposed to be around cigarettes.’

“Professor?”

“…”

“If I’m disturbing you—”

“No. It’s fine.”

Hale flicked the cigarette out the window and stood up. He wrote the schedule on the blackboard and asked,

“Will you attend all the classes?”

“Huh?”

“Ian Hadel, I was called here because of you. If you don’t attend, the class will be canceled.”

In other words, if Ian wasn’t serious, there was no point in starting at all. Ian caught the warning and answered firmly.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Good. Then we’ll start the three classes this semester as planned… I’ll be here from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., so come find me if you need anything.”

“Is there a curriculum?”

“Curriculum?”

“Yes. The course titles are just ‘Magic 1’ and so on.”

He wanted at least some idea to prepare or not.

Hale pulled out a fresh cigarette. It seemed a habit to have something in his mouth.

“There isn’t one.”

“No curriculum?”

“No. It’ll depend on your level, or my mood that day.”

He hated being tied down by tedious administrative tasks—that was the condition for accepting the Enerjes professor position.

Ian glanced at his watch with interest.

“Professor, can I stay here longer after class?”

“Other classes?”

“I don’t think I need to attend them.”

They were just filler classes anyway, added because there were no magic courses. Might as well cancel them.

Hale chuckled at Ian’s straightforward answer. He fiddled with his lighter, then pocketed it.

“You work at the Magic Department, right?”

“Yes.”

“Those guys still the same?”

“Do you know the Magic Department?”

Hale didn’t answer. Just as the Magic Department knew of Hale, he was aware of them.

He had traveled around as a mercenary, not just with Bariel. Eventually, he grew tired, longed for stability, and needed a large sum of money—so he accepted the professor position. No other reason. Probably.

“Well then, Ian Hadel. If you’re going to stay here, want to start early?”

“Yes. Let’s do it now and later too.”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

He had planned to start early and finish early, but the boy’s enthusiasm was impressive. Hale briefly wondered if he’d made a mistake, then shook his head and opened his magic.

Vzzzz! Vzzzz!

“Can you open your magic?”

“Yes.”

The boy’s pale eyes instantly turned golden. Magic swirled fiercely around him. Hale raised a finger and roughly scribbled on the blackboard. Like chalk, golden letters appeared.

Vzzzz.

“Magic is the power inherent in the soul. Everything else is just a vessel—body or otherwise. But that doesn’t mean the vessel contains the soul.”

The soul’s power is fixed at a certain level and doesn’t change due to physical defects—

Ian had heard this from Barsabe before.

“Then what is the vessel used for?”

“To filter magic.”

“Filter it…?”

“The vessel’s size and material affect how magic is received. Simply put, ordinary people are like a ‘fine mesh sieve.’ Unless the substance is finely divided, most things won’t pass through, so eventually it overflows.”

“I see.”

“That means the body is damaged. Killing someone with magic happens in cases like this.”

Hale sketched a human figure as he explained in detail. His casual tone was light, but he carefully watched to see if Ian understood. After all, his motto was to work as hard as the money he received.

“For example, healing mages know how to break down and dilute their magic into tiny fragments so that even ordinary people can accept it without difficulty. No matter how fine the mesh, the magic passes through easily. It’s a difficult skill that not just anyone can master. That’s why healing mages are so rare.”

Ian quickly pulled out his notebook and took notes. Hale slowly snapped his fingers, and golden magic dust scattered like powder. He reached out his hand toward Ian.

“Among the ‘One’ mages, the grain of the vessel is the same, so we can freely exchange magic. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘children of the gods’?”

Children of the gods.

Ian’s eyes widened.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Mages are brothers connected by a sixth sense. Magic swordsmen are like distant relatives, maybe. Sometimes, they save each other’s lives by transfusing magic. Grab my hand.”

Hale extended his hand. Ian wiped his palm on his shirt and quickly clasped Hale’s hand. What was he about to do?

Zzzzzing!

“The way to exchange magic is to intuitively sense the flow of magic.”

“I see.”

Ian tried it. A warm sensation flowed into his fingertips and spread throughout his body.

…It was an incredible experience. A strange feeling that was hard to put into words. Ian looked up in surprise, and Hale smiled softly.

“Now, try giving it back.”

“Yes, professor.”

Ian held onto the energy swirling inside him. He visualized its movement and soon enjoyed the sensation of controlling it as he wished.

“Wow…”

It moves. Move! Ian laughed with joy.

But—

Sshhhhhh!

“…!”

Hale couldn’t smile. An enormous amount of magic suddenly surged into him.

It felt like falling backward into the middle of the ocean—overwhelmed, as if being dragged under by a tidal wave of magic. Startled, Hale pushed Ian’s hand away.

Snap!

“…?”

Ian looked up at Hale with a puzzled expression. Hale froze, looking flustered as he studied the boy.

“A-are you okay?”

“Well, professor, actually—”

Wasn’t it the professor who had pulled his hand away in surprise? Ian’s confused look was met with Hale’s cigarette dropping with a soft tap.

The amount of magic just now was almost like giving away all of one’s own magic if it had been another mage. Since Ian was young and inexperienced, Hale thought he might have misjudged the flow, but the sheer volume caught him off guard.

“Are you really alright?”

“Yes. If I made a mistake, I’ll try again.”

Ian bit his lip and reached out his hand again. From his small, determined fist, Hale could feel his resolve to succeed this time.

“…”

Hale stared at the boy’s small hand, hesitating. Should he take it?