Chapter 53: I Am a Scholar!
When the lessons were over, the students had a recess until the evening, when spellcasting classes would begin. Alicia pondered how relaxed the curriculum seemed. There were only two lessons per day. Little did she know that these lessons were exhausting for normal mages under rank four.
For children whose mana channels had not fully developed, even the glow stick consumed more mana than it appeared to. They had not yet learned how to regulate their mana, so their efficiency plummeted. For today’s lessons alone, each student had already expended about half—or even three-quarters—of a standard arcane stone.
Alas, with so much time on her hands, Alicia wondered what to do next as she dined in the dormitory cafeteria. Elidranthia, who had also finished her morning Nobility Course, joined her. Alicia wondered why Eli had chosen the dormitory cafeteria instead of the nobility one.
“So, how’s it going in the nobility class?”
“Not much different from what Miss Laura taught me,” Eli said. It felt like a complete waste of time. The lesson was more like an introductory meeting than an actual class. What rubbed her the wrong way was the practice session—it taught them to act subservient toward those of higher rank and arrogant toward those of lower rank.
No wonder almost every noble I’ve met is so arrogant. They’re literally taught this in school!
“Is that all?”
“Yeah. We just introduced ourselves to each other. Hah… I really don’t like how etiquette lessons force us to look down on others. I was fine, since I’m a count’s daughter and a mage, but I really pitied the barons’ children. They were basically there to elevate their patrons’ status. With Prince Ludwin in the mix, everyone had to kneel at least once.” Eli complained as she ordered soup and bread for lunch.
“You have afternoon class, right?”
“Yes, I’m heading there as soon as I finish lunch. What about you, Alicia?”
“Dunno. I still have evening class, so it’s not like I’m completely free for the rest of the day. Are you attending the evening class?” Alicia asked.
“Of course. I am a mage before a noble. I need to be a good mage to help people,” Eli said proudly. She then recalled that Alicia had also attended the mage class. “By the way, what did the mage class teach you today?”
“It was all about mana recognition. Basically, the teacher asked us to recognize each other’s mana,” Alicia said.
“Heh… I can vaguely sense your mana. Is that what she was talking about?” Eli squinted, trying hard to perceive the mana emanating from Alicia.
“Yes. I can sense your mana just fine, but I’m having trouble sensing mana from rank five and below. That’s what I had been training for this morning. The other students—especially those of lower rank—seemed to grasp it easily,” Alicia pouted. “Apparently, my own mana distorts my perception too much. Other students also have trouble sensing weaker mana when I’m nearby.”
“What use is that?” Eli asked. Alicia shrugged.
“The teacher said it helps determine whether an enchantment is damaged. In our case, since this was just basic recognition, it mainly helps us tell whether there are hostile mages nearby.”
“Oh. That sounds important.”
“Yeah! And the next class is the most interesting one—spellchanting! With it, we can join tournaments!”
Eli’s enthusiasm died at once. Spellchanting—casting spells without tools—was outdated. To her, tournaments were a waste of mana. She would rather see mana used to help people. There were shortages almost everywhere—how could anyone justify wasting mana on competitions? What about farmers whose fields were ruined by drought? Or the sick who needed healing?
“Greetings, Mage Alicia. Lady Mage Elidranthia. Um… am I interrupting something?”
Robert approached. He had noticed Alicia earlier, but since their conversation showed no sign of ending, he had hesitated about intruding. After all, he had an important mission—to recruit the high-ranking mage Alicia. His project was in danger; it had already cost him a great deal of money, and his professor was growing anxious about the armor’s usefulness.
“Ah, not at all. She still has classes later. Would you like to join us?”
“Greetings. I am Elidranthia Shadowstep. May I know the name of the gentleman I’m speaking with?”
“Ah, greetings. I am Robert Junior. Please, no need to be so polite. I am merely a merchant’s son, milady—hardly someone worth remembering. I was fortunate enough to speak with Mage Alicia yesterday, and in her graciousness, she agreed to indulge me in my experiments.”
“Experiments?”
“Yes! My group has three ongoing projects. One is a set of power armor capable of flight. Another is a forge meant to create diamonds, and the third is a laser-cutting tool. We wish for our work to elevate Althemer to even greater heights. Mage Alicia understood our struggle and graciously offered her help.”
“Oh! That’s amazing! Let me help as well! Is it a weapon? May I see it?” Eli leaned toward Robert eagerly. From her life on modern Earth, she knew how rare truly talented and intelligent people were. She hoped to recruit them into Shadowstep—new technology that could benefit her territory was bound to emerge from minds like his.
Little did she know, the three of them were on the verge of expulsion. Their so-called inventions were deeply unpopular.
“You have class after this, right, milady?” Alicia reminded.
“Ugh! You’re right. It would be hard to fit this into my schedule. But please, tell me more about your machines through Alicia, all right? I’ll help whenever I can.”
“Nah, he’s just a bum. His invention is worthless—it consumes too much mana to be practical, even for elite infantry. The other projects aren’t doing well either. The laser-cutting tool has no market, and the forge couldn’t make diamonds no matter how much mana I poured into it yesterday. I even used so much that the enchantment melted and triggered a safety mechanism. I helped only because they offered me cake. By the way, I did my job as instructed.”
It was not because of the cake. At first, Alicia was eager by the idea. But when she saw how Robert had failed yesterday, her excitement cooled down all at once.
“W-w-well…” Robert stammered. With his introduction completely dismantled, he didn’t know how to respond. It was true—the professors hadn’t looked kindly on his inventions. Alicia’s assessment was painfully accurate. If even a beginner mage like her could see the flaws, then perhaps the professors who dismissed his work were right after all.
Robert’s hope quietly shattered.
Robert clenched his teeth. Alicia was right. He should have been thankful that she helped at all with his seemingly worthless endeavor—but he had a dream.
“Why did you make them, Robert?” Eli asked. Unlike Alicia, she didn’t dismiss him outright.
“Well… I know this sounds silly, but I simply want to make armor that lets people fly.”
“With little success,” Alicia added. “Even with adequate mana—which I provided yesterday—the flight control was a mess. He slammed the armor against a tree. The jet thruster was cool, but it didn’t even last five seconds, I think?” Alicia said, delivering her critique like one of those scathing but honest reviews on RR.
Robert almost broke down in tears. His dream cracked.
“Do you think we can somehow make it work?” Eli asked. She then glared at her maid. “Alicia, that was rude.”
“I’m just being honest. It is cool, so I’ll keep helping. But I don’t think the armor will be functional anytime soon. By the way, do you want to take a look at it tomorrow?” Alicia said. Despite her bluntness, she took her duties seriously—she had memorized her lady’s schedule. Elidranthia had only one class tomorrow.
“I am most thankful, Mage Alicia.” Robert felt hurt by her words, but deep down, he knew she was only being honest. It took all his willpower to hold back his tears. Men mustn’t cry.
“Can I?” Eli said eagerly, then turned toward Robert.
“Of course. Our doors are always open to you, Mage Alicia—and to Lady Mage Elidranthia,” Robert said. His words carried heavy weight as he forced a smile.
“All right! I’m off now. I still have another class today. Tomorrow, okay?” Eli said as she skipped away. Leading a territory was important, but she wanted something tangible—something she could truly be proud of. If she could rope Robert and his friends in, perhaps they could create something real with their own hands.
“So… do you need mana today?”
“Yes. Lily would be honored to have you, Mage Alicia,” Robert said. His heart soon lifted. If Alicia’s words were enough to bring him down, he wouldn’t survive life in the Scholar Course. His professors’ words were more polite—but they hurt far more. Those professors didn’t even want to look at the finished product, instead telling him to focus on traditional designs like flamethrowers or reflective armor.
“By the way, I have about ten other designs for the armor. Will you help? Of course, I’ll provide cake for your trouble.”
“All right! Let’s go! No need for cake this time—I think I’ve put on some weight. I need to go on a diet,” Alicia said. She was beautiful, but she knew beauty wasn’t just talent—it took effort. Being a mage meant fewer restrictions on food; after all, she needed calories to generate mana. But that didn’t mean she could eat whatever she wanted. She needed restraint. She could feel a small bulge forming on her stomach, and fat was an enemy she had to defeat through effort, lest she become a beached whale most Americans in her previous world have.
“Thank you, Mage Alicia, for staying with us.”
“It’s fine. No need to be so stiff. Your product might not resonate with me, but I don’t hate people with dreams like yours. I’ll help you until the end,” Alicia said.
Her words resonated deeply with Robert. Knowing she wouldn’t abandon him like other mages filled him with determination. Now, he wanted to prove her wrong.
When she first met him, Robert’s eyes had shone as he spoke of his dream. Alicia had never possessed such passion—not even in her previous life. Somehow, she was compelled to help him.
And so they headed toward their laboratory.
It was a dilapidated building—more accurately described as a shack than something worthy of the grand title laboratory. Alicia twitched when she saw it. She had helped him in the field before, but she hadn’t realized they were living like this—so miserable. Guilt stirred in her chest for being too harsh on him.
I mean, his name sounds like a billionaire from that movie! I didn’t know he was poor!
As Alicia stepped inside the shack, she received yet another shock.