Research Life of a New Professor at Magic University

Arien entered the classroom with plenty of time before the class started, but the professor was already there, waiting.
Professor Caulry, in charge of “Advanced Spellcraft,” was again in a neat suit today.

“Welcome, everyone. Unlike last time, we’ll have a proper class today, so please pay attention.”

Without even taking attendance, Professor Caulry began the class.

“Do you all know what the three components of magic are?”

This topic had been covered in Atwell’s class just before.
No student treated it as nonsensical, and Professor Caulry didn’t wait for an answer either.

“Mana, magical circulation, and spells. So why are these three considered the components of magic?”

Unlike before, this question made students who hadn’t considered it struggle to come up with an answer immediately.
Of course, Spellcraft students knew the answer to this question as well.

“That’s because the definition of magic stems from these three. Magic involves using mana as a resource, circulating it through a system, and manifesting it through spells. If any of these three elements are unsatisfied, it’s not considered magic.”

Although Arien was in the Magic Department, she had not studied magic spells deeply.
Despite that, she found the following content interesting.
The spellcraft class, which had not yet delved into advanced spell deconstruction, wasn’t particularly difficult.

“The divine spells used by priests and paladins aren’t magic because they use divine power instead of mana.

Enchantments use mana as a resource and take the form of spells, but they’re still not considered magic because there’s no process of constructing magical circuits to circulate mana.

Knights who have reached enlightenment circulate mana within their bodies through their own circuits to enhance their bodies, but this is also not called magic because they don’t use spells.

Some students started taking notes at this point.
Arien also began to take notes while pondering.

;
‘What about elemental magic?’

Although she didn’t raise his hand to ask, Professor Caulry soon provided an answer.

“Elemental magic is a bit complicated. It uses the power of nature but also utilizes mana. The driving force of elemental magic is affinity with nature and resonance with elementals, so there may or may not be magical energy circulation.

There’s also debate about whether summoning elementals is considered a spell or not.”

Elemental magic is so alien compared to other forms of magic that it’s often classified separately, but that doesn’t definitively mean it’s not magic.
There hasn’t been a clear consensus on that yet.

Arien summoned a spirit for a moment.
It felt pretty different from when she used magic.
She thought it might be just because she was an elf, but it seemed humans felt the same way.

Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention during class, she greeted the summoned spirit and dismissed it immediately.

“But there are limits to the amount of mana one possesses. It’s not that you can’t increase it with effort, but the efficiency of that effort varies from person to person. The nature of it also differs from person to person, and it’s not something you can change at will.

The same goes for magical manipulation. Just as there’s no special technique required to move your hands or speak, innate individuals manipulate it effortlessly without even learning. While you can teach inexperienced people to become average, you can’t make skilled individuals even better.”

Professor Caulry’s words filled the students of spellcraft with pride.
It resonated with those majoring in spellcraft and non-majors like Arien.

The nature and quantity of mana are determined almost from birth.
Simply practicing magical manipulation isn’t meaningful unless it reaches a level where one could be called a ‘wizard.’

“This is why you all should learn spellcraft. Ultimately, what you can overcome through learning is just ‘magic.’

Furthermore, studying spellcraft is a path to overcoming your own limits. Constructing circuits to efficiently circulate magical energy is crucial. You can achieve significant output with minimal mana by creating well-structured circuits for efficient circulation.

However, Professor Caulry’s words had a somewhat self-righteous aspect.
Being a spellcraft major, he overlooked that not everyone possesses equal abilities to construct magical circuits.
Two days ago in class, he discussed a spell only one person understood.

Being a professor at the Magic University ultimately means being a master in one field.
Just as Caulry himself couldn’t reach Atwell’s level in spell construction, he unknowingly disregarded the fact that his expertise was distant to most people.

“So, how should you structure the circuits? To know that, you must dissect each magic array you’ve simply memorized until now. As you all know, the most important thing is the core.”

A large circle was drawn in bright blue magical energy in the air.
Some students recalled struggling hundreds of times to draw a perfect circle at the academy.

“Except for a few exceptions, the basic structure of a magic array is a circle. Although there are magic arrays in polygonal or radial shapes, they are ultimately variations of circular spell formations.”

Professor Caulry drew and listed triangles, squares, hexagons, and octagons next to the circle. He particularly emphasized the hexagon.

But there was no pentagon.

Since everyone knew the reason, no one asked.

Several radial magic arrays were also listed below. They varied, resembling clovers, crosses, or hexagrams.

Again, none of the arrays had five points.

“These irregular magic arrays are only used in special circumstances. Since the fundamental purpose of a magic array is ‘circulation,’ none of them deviate from rotational symmetry. Many rules need to be strictly followed, contrary to the common belief that magic array construction is ‘free and limitless.'”

Professor Caulry started drawing several figures again.
Although their sizes and shapes were different, they all had one thing in common—they were ellipses.

“These elliptical magic arrays aren’t easy to come by. Most of you here should be seeing one for the first time because of how rare they are. There’s simply no reason to use them.”

One student raised their hand.

“Do they still work?”

“Surprisingly, they do.”

“Then why aren’t they used? Wouldn’t it be convenient to draw them elongated like that?”

“You’re asking if drawing them elongated like this would allow for drawing them larger in narrow spaces, right?”

“Yes.”

Because of its long and narrow shape, many objects cannot accommodate large magic arrays.
Arien recalled the sword she saw in the morning class, its fierce gleam still vivid in her mind.

“That’s precisely the reason.”

Professor Caulry responded smoothly as if it were a question he had expected.

“The output of a magic array is determined by its size. That’s correct. The issue is, ‘What is the criterion for size?’ Is it the area? Or is it the length? Circular magic arrays didn’t require such considerations since if the diameter was large, the area would naturally be wide.”

The conclusion that followed was one everyone could anticipate.
The professor had already stated that elliptical magic arrays weren’t used.

“However, we’ve learned something by studying these elliptical magic arrays. What matters is the length. More specifically, it’s the length of the minor axis, not the major axis. The shortest axis’s length determines an elliptical magic array’s output.”

Students who were initially excited by this new knowledge found themselves deflated.

“So, instead of forcefully stretching an elliptical magic array onto elongated objects, it’s better to draw a small circle. It’s easier to draw, and it operates more stably.”

Arien pondered a stretched ellipse where the major axis was tens of times longer than the minor axis.
Even if there were advantages, she didn’t trust herself to draw such a thing without mistakes.

“This was once again proven in Professor Atwell’s research on dimensional magic spell formations. His paper showcased spherical shapes as well as elongated or flattened ellipsoids as examples. Ultimately, even in three-dimensional forms, the length of the shortest axis still influences the output.”

Arien began to feel like she was waking up from a daze as the class became monotonous.
Just when she let her guard down, Atwell’s name surfaced again.

She had to return to Atwell’s lab after this class ended.
It hadn’t even been a week since the start of the semester, yet the future felt daunting.

‘What is that man doing right now?’

* * *

“So, what did you want to ask?”

I’m sitting across from Stella Lacton in the campus café.

From the moment Arien left the class until now, our conversations have been nothing but meaningless small talk.
Whenever she seemed to be leading up to an important question, it always ended up being just idle chatter.

Thanks to that, I found out that she’s the daughter of someone under the Honlake Duchy. That’s probably why the name Lacton sounded familiar.
Honlake isn’t too far from this university.

I might have been interested up to this point, but she didn’t stop there.

Thanks to her, I also learned unnecessary information, such as how she received affection as if she were the youngest child despite being the oldest and that Stella also finds her two younger sisters very beautiful.

She’s currently in her third year of the magic program, and I also discovered she’s the same age as me.

Why do I need to know all this?

I missed the timing to cut her off before she continued on another topic.

Back in the day, I would have excused myself with the utmost courtesy.
But as a professor, I hesitated to offend a student.

‘What was I doing here again?’

We’re the same age.
Indeed, I graduated earlier than my peers, but even so, by my age, I should have graduated from undergraduate studies.

Of course, many cases exist where people start school late and graduate late.

But the problem lies in her being a noble.
Suppose a noble sends their daughter to a magic university.
In that case, it’s common for her to go right after graduating from the academy.

Because they would get too old otherwise.

Even if Stella had gotten married three years ago, it wouldn’t have been considered unusual.
It’s unnatural for a noble lady to be in a magic school at such a late age, let alone to continue her undergraduate studies past her twenties.

“There must be a reason you summoned me.”

“It’s refreshing to hear you speak so informally! It makes me wonder if the rumors about you are true.”

She giggled, resting her chin on both hands.

Opposite her, I leaned back against the chair as she leaned forward, causing her chest to push far out.
The table was so small that her head was already more than halfway across.

“Rumors?”

“Arrogant, rude, self-centered, and temperamental eccentric?”

“……”

“Oh! I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking like this in front of the person in question.”

“It’s fine. Get to the point.”

My reputation hitting rock bottom is nothing new. I didn’t particularly find it rude. It seemed like she was joking anyway.
What could be the reason for her hesitation?

Finally, as expected, her business was beyond my imagination.

“Do you have experience with swords?”

What kind of talk is this? Does she see me as some ignorant swordsman?
This is a massive breach of etiquette.

“Do I look like one?”

“No!”

“Then why ask?”

“The weapon you showed in class isn’t ordinary, right? You can tell by looking.”

Is that what this is about? There’s no need to hide the source, so I answered honestly.
Anyway, she won’t ask me to take out a sword and show her in a café like this.

“Yeah. It’s an Imperial Knight’s sword. I got it while studying abroad at the Imperial University.”

“How?”

“Is that important?”

It’s strange for a lady her age to be so interested in a sword.
I wouldn’t have brought it if I knew this trouble would arise.

“It’s not obtained illegally, so don’t think strangely. I got it legitimately. But it’s not something I’d brag about everywhere.”

“Are you saying you legitimately took a sword from a knight? And furthermore, from a swordsman?”

Stella Lacton maintained her lively and spirited tone until the end as if she was just claiming pure curiosity.
There was no hint of reproach or reprimand.

But I’m not foolish enough to not catch the intention hidden behind her tone.

In the end, she had dragged out small talk because of that one sword.
Regardless of her intentions, it feels like I’m getting involved in something troublesome.
If Arien had been here, I could have avoided the situation by discussing our research.

Is she still paying attention to the class?