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Chapter 4
Maria Lapis.
From a young age, she had been called an outcast.
Even though she was born into the Lapis family, which had served the gods for generations, her eyes were always buried in magic books.
To focus on anything other than theology was considered heresy for a priest.
But her talent in magic was far too exceptional to abandon.
At age 3, she independently cast Fireball.
At 8, she understood all the principles of basic magic.
At 12, she mastered telekinesis—one of the most difficult fields.
At 15, after a huge fight with her family, she left home and secretly enrolled in Revia Academy.
By 17, she graduated early—an extremely rare achievement.
Now, she was studying in the upper academy, attracting attention from multiple magic towers and guilds.
Even someone like her—
Had never heard of “gravity magic.”
“There’s no such thing as gravity magic.”
Maria smiled awkwardly.
It was probably just a cute mistake from a new student.
Mixing up terminology was common.
“Maybe you’re confusing it with something else?”
But the boy didn’t seem willing to admit a mistake.
Or perhaps he hadn’t realized it yet.
“That can’t be. Gravity is an essential attribute of magic.”
He waved his arms, confidently explaining.
Maria was starting to feel troubled—
“Could it be that book?”
“…Pardon?”
“Yes, that must be it!”
Bell’s face lit up.
There was a reason he couldn’t find it earlier.
The only copy was already in her hands.
Maria turned around.
The book on the table was her specialty—telekinesis.
So that’s what he had meant.
“Oh, you mean telekinesis.”
“…Telekinesis?”
“Yes. Not gravity.”
Bell stroked his chin.
He realized his mistake.
Right… gravity and telekinesis were unified only after mass was formally defined.
Right after regression, it was easy to mix up terms.
“…I see. So it’s still called that here.”
Maria laughed.
“This isn’t just here—it’s called that everywhere.”
Correct terminology mattered a lot to magic scholars.
“Anyway, may I read that book for a moment?”
“You need a student ID to borrow it. As a freshman, you probably don’t have one yet?”
“I’m not borrowing it. Ten minutes is enough to read it here.”
“…Ten minutes?”
Maria was doubtful.
Even upper academy students needed six months just to understand the basics.
“…Well, if you’re just looking, that’s fine.”
She handed him the book.
He probably just wanted to take a peek.
“I thought it’d be thicker. Five minutes might be enough.”
“…You’re quite confident.”
Maria watched him.
His posture and movements were elegant—far beyond his age.
‘As expected.’
She smiled.
He was clearly struggling.
Ten minutes passed. Twenty.
He still looked confused.
‘…This is troublesome.’
But Bell wasn’t struggling the way she thought.
The problem was—
The formulas were written differently from what he knew.
Even basic symbols had changed over time.
He needed to mentally convert everything.
Fortunately, the laws of physics hadn’t changed.
[You have memorized ‘Telekinesis’.]
[You have memorized ‘Field Acceleration’.]
[You have memorized ‘Mass Conversion’.]
Once he adjusted, he flipped through pages quickly.
Using the Eye of the Absolute, he filtered only the essential formulas.
Then—
He noticed someone watching him.
Maria had moved across the table and was staring at him.
“Is it readable?”
“It’s more complicated than I expected.”
Maria suppressed a laugh.
He reminded her of her younger self.
“Of course. Telekinesis is one of the hardest types of magic.”
Then—
She decided to show him something.
“Would you like some tea?”
“…Tea?”
As she reached out—
A cup slid across the table by itself.
Perfect telekinesis.
“Hmm… impressive.”
Bell’s eyes sharpened.
The movement was perfectly balanced with friction.
No wasted force.
“You’ll be able to do this too if you finish that book.”
She spoke playfully—but with pride.
“For your age, that’s quite an achievement.”
“Thanks.”
But then—
“Refine your concept of conservation force, and you’ll improve further. You might even leave your name in magic history.”
“…?”
Maria froze.
That term—
It was advanced theory.
Something her professor had told her just days ago.
How did he know it?
“Just now, you didn’t need to calculate the entire surface. If you design a symmetric field and integrate, you can get the same result from the endpoints.”
“…??”
She couldn’t understand his words—
But they felt profound.
“Like this.”
The empty cup slid back across the table—
Faster.
More precise.
Better than hers.
“…!”
“Nothing special. Just reducing calculation.”
“….”
“Thanks for the tea.”
Bell stood up.
Maybe it was meddling—
But he wanted to give advice.
This kind of small interaction…
Was the life he wanted.
“I should go. I can’t be late for the entrance ceremony.”
His stomach growled.
He needed to get his wallet back.
Food-creating magic didn’t exist yet.
The library was quiet again.
Maria stood frozen.
The book in front of her was already at the last page.
‘That boy…’
* * *
The entrance ceremony hall.
About 500 students sat in rows.
Most were bored.
Sleeping, chatting, or studying secretly.
Bell ignored the speech and admired the architecture.
‘Old buildings are beautiful.’
Arched ceilings.
Hexagonal pillars.
Things that would disappear in the future.
Magic engineering would later prioritize efficiency over beauty.
‘…I should remember all of this.’
In 1,000 years—
Everything would be gone.
Art.
Magic.
Humanity.
All erased by demons.
‘Everything beautiful in this world.’
Before, he never had time to notice.
This time—
He would.
Maybe this was his last life.
“Hey, loser.”
His thoughts broke.
The ceremony had ended.
Students were leaving.
Two boys stood in front of him.
The same ones from the train.
“Babin wants to see you. Got time?”
Bell smiled.
Perfect timing.
His real goal—
Had come to him on its own.
