NoveLight ™
As the tower master, Glirios, gave his final words of guidance and left the training hall, a moment of stillness filled the space.
Shortly after, Ria, the last to receive her lesson, approached Leon. From the looks of it, she had learned a new aspect of light attribute magic, particularly healing spells, which were characteristic of high-level light magic.
Leon, prompted by a sudden thought, asked, “Ria, do you think it's possible to erase traces of mana from an injury?”
Ria looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“I heard that even when a wound is healed, there can still be traces of mana left behind.”
Worry immediately filled Ria’s face. “Did someone hurt you, Leon?”
Leon hesitated, choosing his words carefully. If he mentioned the high-level insight witch, Ria would only worry more.
Sighing, Ria said, “Traces of mana remaining after healing... that’s only possible with advanced magicians, right? You got involved in something dangerous again, didn’t you?”
There was no avoiding it. Leon ended up explaining in detail about the injury caused by the witch. He couldn’t hide the truth if he wanted proper healing.
“If it’s that kind of mana trace... I won’t be able to remove it until I reach at least the level of forbidden magic.”
“Forbidden magic…” Leon muttered. It could take Ria at least three years to reach that level.
“I’ll train even harder,” she said, her resolve clear.
Just then, someone stepped between them. It was Kalderick, the handsome young man with blue hair who had been the center of attention earlier.
“Could I have a word with you?” Kalderick asked with a polite smile.
Ria shot him a blank stare, clearly wanting him to leave them alone, but Kalderick’s focus remained on Leon.
“What’s this about?” Leon asked.
Kalderick continued with a smile, “The high-level magic you demonstrated earlier... it was truly impressive. Ah, I’m Kalderick, a personal student of Glirios.”
“I see. I was impressed by your attack magic as well. It was very powerful.”
Kalderick chuckled, “Oh, the praise is all yours, Leon. It was clear how much thought and effort went into achieving that level of magic, regardless of rank.”
He even knew Leon’s name, it seemed.
“You’re too kind,” Leon responded.
“No, I mean it,” Kalderick insisted, his tone serious.
“In a time when most magicians blindly follow what’s written in magic tomes, it’s rare to see someone who seeks their own understanding and raises their level of insight through personal reflection.”
After praising Leon, Kalderick’s expression turned a bit wistful.
“It’s a shame, though. By the time you enter the academy, I’ll have already graduated.”
“The academy...?” Leon asked, slightly confused.
“Yes, I’ll be graduating this year,” Kalderick explained.
It seemed Kalderick naturally assumed that Leon would attend the academy, which struck Leon as a bit odd.
“Is there a specific reason I should attend the academy?” Leon asked, genuinely curious.
Kalderick looked momentarily taken aback, as though he hadn’t expected the question. He gave an awkward laugh before responding with a more composed expression.
“Well, you’re gaining insights on your own, so it may seem unnecessary to you, but most magicians go to the academy to learn the theoretical structures of magic. In their younger years, they primarily focus on learning the basics of magical calculation, visualization, and incantation processes to manifest magic.”
“I see...” Leon responded, familiar with this process since he, too, had spent his early years training to manifest magic.
“But at the academy, you learn more than that. You acquire the deep theoretical knowledge necessary for magical research. Academies continuously study and publish new papers to advance the field, and magicians need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends. Ultimately, the goal is to create new magic and revise existing magic tomes.”
The academy was, in essence, a place to learn the theoretical foundation required to create new magic. This piqued Leon’s interest since he had been thinking about developing new spells after reaching the mysticism level.
“Is it possible to enter the academy early?” Leon asked.
Kalderick smiled. “It seems you’re interested after all. As long as you pass the entrance exams, early admission is certainly possible.”
Sensing that the conversation was drawing to a close, Kalderick added, “I suppose the next time we meet will be at the duels between personal students. Until then, I hope your progress continues.”
“Thank you,” Leon replied.
Kalderick gave a polite nod to Ria as well. “Ria, would you mind coming with me? Glirios wishes to speak with you further about light magic.”
“Me?” Ria asked, surprised.
“Yes, Glirios has something to discuss regarding light magic,” Kalderick confirmed.
Ria looked as if something had clicked in her mind, reluctantly nodding in agreement.
As the two left the training hall together, the other personal students, who had been watching from afar, took their chance to approach Leon.
“I’m Arion, a personal student of Fradel. It’s a great honor to have someone like you join the Astellia faction. Truly, this is a blessing for our school!”
Though overwhelmed by the excessive praise, Leon managed to maintain a polite demeanor. After all, unlike his time in Wydia, there was no need to hide in the shadows here.
However, Arion was just the first.
“The magic you showed today was incredibly inspiring. I’m...”
“Nice to meet you, I’m…”
One by one, more students came forward to introduce themselves. Leon tried to respond politely to each of them, but it didn’t take long for him to feel exhausted.
It was then that Leicia, who had been watching from afar, stepped in with a gentle yet firm presence.
“Everyone, Leon has only recently arrived in Astellia. It might be best to give him some space for now. There will be plenty of chances to meet him again in the future.”
At her words, the personal students reluctantly withdrew, though with a sense of disappointment. Leicia’s words carried a soft yet undeniable authority.
Leon turned his gaze to Leicia.
‘I appreciate the help, but...’
Why did she seem so proud of him? Confused by her expression, Leon spoke up.
“You know, since we’re both personal students of the same master, you can speak more casually to me.”
Leicia’s eyes sparkled.
“Can I?” she asked with a playful smile.
Her smile turned into a quiet laugh. “It makes me so happy to have such talented juniors like you and Ria as my fellow students.”
“You’re quite skilled yourself, Leicia—”
“What if you called me ‘noona’?” Leicia suddenly suggested, teasing him.
Leon blinked, caught off guard. “N-Noona?”
“That’s right. You said we should speak more casually, didn’t you?” she replied with a grin.
It was Leon who had suggested the casual speech, but now he felt awkward.
Sensing his discomfort, Leicia let out a small laugh. “You can call me that when you’re ready.”
“...Alright,” Leon agreed, sighing in relief as Leicia turned to leave, her golden hair swaying lightly.
“You’re heading to the training room now, right?” she asked.
“That’s the plan,” Leon confirmed.
“Want me to show you the way? You might not be too familiar with the paths yet.”
She pulled out a small paper crane from her pocket and infused it with mana, causing it to grow to her height. It seemed to be a floating artifact for assistance.
“Care to ride behind me? Just hold on to my waist. No one else has ever ridden behind me before,” she teased.
“I’m fine, thanks. I already know the way,” Leon said, trying to dodge the playful offer.
Leicia chuckled, clearly amused. “Alright then. Call me if you need anything.”
Her playful smile lingered as she walked away, clearly enjoying their conversation. It seemed that, like Kalderick, Leicia had a natural talent for handling people.
Alone in the training room, Leon took a deep breath. Sitting down cross-legged, he felt a familiar sense of peace wash over him.
[How long do I have to stay inside this orb?]
[We’re about to start training.]
[Ah, the start of yet another boring session.]
Kito’s grumbling came through, though his tone carried more of a playful complaint than genuine irritation.
Kito had settled into the orb quietly. Normally, he preferred being outside, but after being overwhelmed by Ria once, he had taken to retreating into the orb whenever he needed to hide. It didn’t bother Leon—Kito could come and go as he pleased.
[You can go out if you have something to do,] Leon remarked, indifferent.
By now, distance no longer mattered in summoning Kito, so there were no restrictions.
[...No, I’ll stay. It would be weird to leave after settling in to recover.]
[Suit yourself.]
Leon then focused entirely on his training, remaining in the room for a full week, going back and forth between reality and the orb to reinforce what he had learned from Glirios. The time passed quickly.
At the end of the week, Leon’s breath grew slightly labored as tension coursed through his body.
“Huuu…”
He had reached the moment of claiming his 300th reward since his last major milestone.
—————————————
Up until now, he had mostly received potions as rewards, but for this special occasion, he had chosen a magic tome.
“Let’s do this.”
Now that he could decipher rune characters, his anticipation was higher than ever.
With trembling hands, Leon pressed the button for “Complete.”