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Chapter 50
Rozia’s voice grew stronger the more she spoke.
“Kellastines are monsters that are far too difficult for a magic designer to handle alone in one go. I’ve heard that even a team of three or four seasoned knights and mages would struggle to take one down.”
“Uh… that’s true, but—”
“I also study magic design, you know, and I understand the role of a designer in actual combat. Because of the many restrictions, design magic has its limits in real battles. At best, a designer can only serve as a support for knights or mages.”
“Miss Jaelin, please bring out the rune design you used in the Kellastine incident.”
Jaelin submitted the magic circle design she had drawn when she shot down the Kellastine.
Unlike her earlier submitted materials, this piece of evidence was extremely sparse.
Of course it was—since the design she had used against the Kellastine had been drawn directly in battle and activated on the spot, there was no solid trace left of it.
The formula was drawn in real time while analyzing information, so several parts had been erased here and there to reflect corrections.
Even this imperfect design had been hastily redrawn at the boarding house to bring as evidence.
“Well, at least this looks more realistic than the earlier one. Not that it’s something you can just casually make. Still, if one studies runes and symbolic logic diligently, it’s not impossible to come up with. Of course, using it in real battle is an entirely different matter.”
Finally, the negative stance Rozia had been waiting for appeared. Delighted, she quickly added:
“Yes, yes, but Senior Jaelin used this exact design in battle to shoot down a Kellastine.”
“She actually used this in battle? This formula isn’t the kind of thing you can use in real combat.”
Professor Köln scratched his head with a puzzled expression.
“Uh… this type of formula has to be drawn and used on the spot. It’s extremely sensitive—if the calculation is even slightly off, it won’t activate at all. Even the smallest error would cause the mana to misfire and hit somewhere completely unintended.”
“Is this design really that hard to use in real combat?”
Professor Wallace asked Köln.
“Of course. It has to be created based on the flow and information of the battlefield, so pre-drawing it is useless. And in actual combat, situations change constantly and every second counts. Who has the time to sit there drawing? You’d be eaten by the monster before you finished.”
Encouraged by Köln’s response, Rozia stepped forward.
“Exactly. That’s why I thought this matter deserved an inquiry. A mere student in the magic design department who hasn’t even graduated, shooting down a flying Kellastine all on her own in a mock exam equivalent to real combat—it just doesn’t make sense.”
“So, Professor Köln, are you saying it’s impossible for this design to be used in practice?”
To get a clear answer, Professor Ines asked Köln again.
“Well… theoretically it is possible. Possible, yes, but…”
At that moment, Professor Avery, who had been sitting quietly, interjected.
“But there’s a big difference between theoretical possibility and actual execution. If every theory in magic design could be realized in practice, the field wouldn’t have become a dusty discipline left to reclusive scholars, would it?”
“H-hey, reclusive scholars? Professor Avery, isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“I’m only stating the facts. Isn’t it true that in actual use, magic design falls behind magic studies in power, efficiency, and versatility?”
“The founder of this academy—whom you belittle as a magic designer—was the one who established it!”
“And what of it? All the practical techniques were lost long ago. That’s why the field keeps regressing, why people call it a dead discipline. Why do you think every student with even a speck of mana flocks to the Department of Magic? Most who end up in the Department of Magic Design go there because they don’t have mana—they’re forced into it, not because they truly want to study it.”
“That’s—!”
“And what happens even if someone develops a new formula through research? They hoard it, paranoid about leaks, too scared to publish. And when it does leak, it’s lawsuits and headaches. How can a field advance like that?”
Avery delivered the final blow.
“You, you…!”
Professor Köln’s glasses trembled on his nose.
The inquiry had now strayed from its original purpose into an outright quarrel between professors.
It was true that magic design lagged behind magic studies.
The gap was so obvious that professors from the two departments usually avoided belittling one another.
But earlier, Köln had gotten carried away while extolling the importance of design magic, inadvertently disparaging magic studies and pricking Avery’s pride. That was the spark.
Ines stepped in to stop the academic spat.
“Now, now, professors. This is not the place to debate the hierarchy of disciplines. The question is whether this design could actually be used. Professor Avery, what is your opinion?”
With arms crossed, Avery answered firmly:
“Of course it’s impossible. A mere design student bringing down a Kellastine single-handedly? There’s no need to revisit the records—it’s nonsense.”
Buoyed by Avery’s stance, Rozia offered a theory circulating in the community.
“That’s why I think Senior Jaelin tampered with the hologram. Maybe she reduced the monster’s defense or pre-set the Kellastine’s movements to match her plan.”
At this, the professor in charge of hologram controls, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
“Hologram default settings aren’t that easy to change.”
“But isn’t it even less believable that a student who hasn’t even graduated shot down a flying Kellastine in one strike?”
Rozia countered calmly.
“And there was a rumor not long ago about a student trespassing in the hologram control room. Clearly it was to manipulate the hologram settings and make the exam easier!”
“Hmm… are you referring to about a week before the exam? There is a record of access to the control system outside class hours around then.”
“See! I told you so!”
At Rozia’s words, Jaelin flinched.
It must have been referring to the day she and Lionel had gone into the control room. They hadn’t tampered with the controls, but it was true they’d previewed the monsters to prepare for the exam.
The hologram professor, watching Jaelin closely, immediately picked up on her reaction.
“Did you access the hologram control room outside of class hours?”
“Th-that…”
Jaelin’s lips stiffened.
‘Should I admit I went that day?’
She hadn’t gone alone.
‘If they find out I was with Senior Lionel… then he could be dragged down with me. I can’t let that happen.’
“Miss Jaelin. Did you go to the hologram control room?”
When Jaelin hesitated, Department Head Ines repeated the question.
Dozens of eyes were fixed on her lips, waiting for her answer.
‘What should I do? What should I say?’
She couldn’t involve Senior Lionel.
‘He only did it to help me. So I won’t mention he was with me. If I don’t say it, no one will know.’
After a brief hesitation, Jaelin decided to leave Lionel out of her testimony entirely.
“Th-that day…”
Just as she began to confess to being in the control room, a figure stepped forward from among the students and stood beside her. Jaelin lifted her gaze at the tall shadow cast next to her.
A towering man spoke.
“I can answer that matter.”
His low, calm voice resonated through the lecture hall.
Despite the flood of stares, Lionel remained composed.
“It’s true Jaelin went to the control room that evening. And I was with her.”
Murmurs spread among the students.
Lionel’s words came as a complete surprise. Aside from being in the same year, he and Jaelin had seemed to have no connection whatsoever.
The hologram professor snapped sharply:
“You know full well that the control room is off-limits to students outside class hours.”
“You’re right, professor. I knew, and it was my fault for taking her there. But Jaelin didn’t even know the restriction existed. It was entirely my doing, and I have no excuse.”
Lionel admitted his fault without excuse, softening the professor’s tone.
“Then why were you there?”
“Because Jaelin transferred directly into fourth year. She hasn’t completed the foundational courses the lower years are required to take. She hasn’t properly studied monsters, nor does she fully understand them, and yet she had to face them in a mock combat exam.”
“And so?”
“Normally, students spend time from their first year gradually being exposed to hologram monsters to adapt. Without that background, she was forced to face them right away. I only wanted to help her.”
