Infinite Mage

Shirone’s calculations got faster.

However, the place Shirone wanted to reach was a point that was impossible to attain using the Sequence method.

A concept that went beyond units.

‘Infinity.’

The limit of modularization, which bundled hundreds and thousands, gradually disappeared…

‘Even further…’

It was as if all the numbers that existed in the world combined into a single point.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The attention of the students focused back on Shirone when the speed at which his targets exploded skyrocketed.

Two flashes of lights appeared at the same time.

“Senior Shirone is also doubling! B-But isn’t it already too late? They only have…”

“No, it’s not double.”

Sharelle couldn’t believe the scene in front of her.

The number of flashes continued to double, and eventually they started colliding with each other.

A shudder ran down Shirone’s back at the feeling of liberation.

“Ah…”

The feeling was out of this world.

All the senses that made Shirone himself permeated into creation, even his ego seemed to disappear.

The flashes all around combined into one, and in the end, a huge curtain covered the area.

The targets didn’t even have a chance to make an appearance before exploding.

The Speed Gun level began to continuously rise.

Shirone could not stop the tears from dripping down his face.

‘Ahhh… AHHHHH!’

It was being forgotten.

His own name. His existence. Everything that constituted him was fading away from the world.

As for Yiruki, he focused harder on himself.

“Eeeeuukk!”

He checked Shirone’s score and noticed that it was catching up to his quickly, but he didn’t seem to care.

No matter how much Shirone sped up, he felt that he just had to run a bit faster to maintain the higher score.

‘A savant’s calculation has no limits! Watch me calculate everything! I’ll see to it that I reach the end of the numbers that exist in the world!’

Yiruki’s double Spirit Zone flew around so fast that not even an afterimage was in sight.

‘I’ll win! I can win! I have 1 second left! 0.9 second! 0.85 second! What kind of timer goes this FUCKING SLOW!!!!!’

BEEP!

The one minute that felt like an eternity was finally over.

As soon as the target holograms disappeared, Shirone and Yiruki fell on their asses at the same time.

“Haah… Haah.”

Compared to Yiruki, who was gasping for air, Shirone had his head lowered. He was not moving an inch.

He had already lost consciousness.

“Hooo…”

Yiruki checked his score.

1,247 points.

Yiruki set an unprecedented record. He somehow managed to beat Amy’s highest record by 260 points.

‘Not bad. Did I win? Why don’t I hear anything? What’s Shirone doing?’

Yiruki turned his head and saw that Shirone’s head was tilted to the point it was nearly touching his chest. He wasn’t moving.

Shirone was still breathing, and he didn’t seem dead, but at the same time, he didn’t seem alive either. It was a strange feeling.

‘What?’

Yiruki checked out Shirone’s score.

1,253 points.

Mark couldn’t believe it and swung his head back and forth between Shirone’s and Yiruki’s scoreboard. Then he opened his mouth.

“S-Senior… Shirone… Senior Shirone…”

“Shirone won!”

Sharelle, who was hugging Mark while leaping around, ran to Shirone. And with her were the lowerclassmen, who were fighting to reach him first.

“HEUK!”

And as if he had just been resuscitated, Shirone gasped for air.

His mind, which had scattered after delving into the Infinite Realm, started combining back together along with the threads of his consciousness.

“Ughh…”

He looked around to see Sharelle and a bunch of other students crowding around him.

“Shirone, are you okay? It’s me, Sharelle.”

His memories had returned. And Shirone, who had finally regained his ego, gave a soft smile.

“Yes. I’m alright.”

The moment he himself solidified that he was okay, the lowerclassmen and his classmates cheered, whistled, and applauded.

“You were sooo amazing! Really, you’re the best Shirone!”

While everyone was praising Shirone, nobody was around Yiruki.

Yiruki was deep in thought with an indifferent look when someone approached and placed their hand on his shoulder.

It was Nade.

“You lost. But it was a great match.”

“Not really, you don’t compete to look good. You do it to win.”

Hearing Yiruki’s response, the corner of Nade’s mouth went up, and he looked towards Shirone.

‘He’s an incredible guy.’

And considering he was his friend as well, his heart silently gave him a thumbs up.

‘Congratulations, Shirone.’

Unlike the students who couldn’t hide their excitement, Ethella had a serious expression.

The difference in their score was tiny, but the difference in their mental speed was huge.

‘Yiruki tried to reach the end of the number. To have gone beyond that…?’

There was the notion of infinity.

The greatest axiom that could never be reached by simply being pushed to the limit, far beyond the number.

Some call such a thing god, and some others call it All Creation.

‘Humans cannot become infinite. But… They can reach it.’

The emotions contained in these sentences were the sorrows that Shirone felt last night.

‘How long have you known?’

Realizing the finite barrier of numbers, Shirone spread his mind into the Infinite Realm.

Indeed, humans could reach Infinity, but from then on… They were no longer human…

‘Was he really planning to leave?’

Mages referred to this phenomenon as the ‘Immortal Function.’

And Ethella knew another name for this occurrence. A name that came from the monks.

‘Nirvana [涅槃] ’

It was not a level that an ordinary person could reach…

But it was also something that shouldn’t be reached for in the first place.

Tears welled up in Ethella’s eyes.

‘No, Shirone. Humans should not recklessly embrace infinity. No matter how glorious one may seem, no matter how brilliant one may seem, the moment you enter Nirvana, your existence…’

‘Will crumble away and dissipate.’

Only high monks, who realized the world’s impermanence through long asceticism, laid down everything and entered the world of Nirvana. But Shirone was still only a 17-year-old boy.

He had a bright future ahead. Infinity was a dangerous and futile venture.

‘Right, seeing as how it ended with him only losing consciousness, it doesn’t seem like he completed the journey. However, if he actually did enter Nirvana…’

Then even Ethella didn’t know what was next.

The only thing she knew was that she would have to live the rest of her life repenting for Shirone.

Uncharacteristically, for someone who won first place, Shirone was lost in thought and looked sad.

* * *

* * *

Ethella was sure it was no coincidence.

“Shirone, you…”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Ethella. I wanted to win. I wasn’t sure how dangerous it was.”

“Since when?”

“I left for… A very long journey.”

All the emotions Shirone experienced were hidden in his words, similar to that of a zen riddle.

“Don’t worry, instructor. Because now I know. I won’t make the same mistake.”

Ethella knew he needed no advice.

He understood the situation and stopped himself, so Shirone deserved to make his own choices as well.

“Alright. Please, treasure yourself. This teacher loves and cares a lot for you.”

Not as a mage, but as a monk, Ethella was genuinely concerned about Shirone’s state.

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Seeing the opportunity, the students rushed forward.

“I love you too, Ms. Ethella!”

Siena would have rained fire on them and scolded them, but Ethella patted each and every one of them on the head.

“I love all of you guys too. Now I should finish the exam.”

Class 5 gathered on the training ground.

Everyone had done their best, so they harbored satisfied expressions.

“Good job. It’s nice to end early on days when you have exams, right? Everyone has worked hard. All of you take a good rest and have fun training for next time. Thank you for your hard work.“

Since Ethella practiced monk etiquette, the students copied her. Half as a joke, and the other half as respect.

“Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Ethella!”

Even after Ethella went down the mountain, the students could not leave because of their lingering emotions.

“Shirone, I’m so happy for you! I’m sure Amy would be as well! No, wait… Would she be angry since her record got broken…? Eh, whatever! It’s her own boyfriend who won! Hohoho!”

Shirone showed signs of exhaustion while listening to Sharelle blabber away.

‘I want to rest.’

And as if to answer his prayer, Yiruki approached, causing everyone to shut up.

“Oho.”

The students watched, excited.

They were curious as to how the haughty genius would dig at Shirone this time.

Contrary to their expectations, however, Yiruki did the exact opposite.

“I lost. Completely.”

“No, I don’t think that way.”

“At times like these, you don’t have to be humble. Especially when it’s a guy like me who’s waving the white flag.”

“I really don’t think I won. This exam was evaluating targeting. However, the last magic I cast covered up the entire area.”

“Keukeuk. Seriously, you really don’t change. Just because you eliminated the targets all at once doesn’t mean you didn’t use targeting. That was still targeting, so don’t feel iffy about it. You won.”

After a short pause, Shirone’s eyes hardened.

“Then admit it. It’s not idealism. It is wrong to study a magic that is strong enough to destroy a city while not accounting for the humans contained within it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry.”

He admitted it so easily that he left Shirone rather puzzled.

Even though his admission didn’t fully satisfy Shirone, he knew Yiruki was a nerd who only pursued mathematical results.

“...Are you serious?”

“Shirone, you are misunderstanding. Explosion is not equivalent to violence. Violence is the will to hurt someone. It’s up to the humans. There’s no will to an explosion. It’s just something that has a much stronger energy than humans.”

“But it is us humans who wield that energy. We might not have it within us, be we can wield it.”

“I agree. So this is how I define explosions. It is an uncontrollable energy. But you know, what if we are able to control the explosion? Explosions powerful enough to blow up cities can turn into a force for good. Imagine… An energy that can feed and keep 100,000 people alive. In simpler terms, energy is also our life force. What would happen then?”

Shirone blinked once.

“A new era will commence. If we could control such energy, people would fight less due to the abundance of resources. Many could have luxurious, care-free lives. Of course, I don’t have such a noble belief. But if such a world is possible, shouldn’t we at least try? Because my abilities are meant to be used to help push for such a future.”

“Uh…”

Shirone’s mind got all jumbled, but he heard Yiruki’s words clearly.

“You should have just said it like that from the beginning then… There would’ve been nothing to be offended about.”

Yiruki smirked.

“You’re so… Naive. Even if we can control the energy, if we can’t control the humans that use it, it will only be a force that will lead the world to its downfall. But Shirone, I’m going to do it. I’m not stopping because I’m afraid of that. Even if one of the victims ends up being me.”

“…What if it can’t be controlled? What if such a situation occurs? Nobody can take responsibility.”

“Haha! That’s right, but…”

Yiruki sat down and looked up at the sky.

“Should I just stop here, then? Play around and waste my time in Class 5? Then if staying here gets boring, maybe I just live my life as a dungeon digger or something? These kinds of thoughts have never left me. It might be better for a dangerous guy like to stay here. To never go out into the world.”

His classmates were dumbfounded.

Didn’t that mean his only reason for staying in Class 5 was because he was afraid of his own talent?

Shirone was distraught.

‘ Idealism or realism? What side is this guy on?’

“That’s why…”

Yiruki reached out his hand and grabbed Shirone, pulling him into a standing position.

“From now on, I’m your responsibility.”

“Huh? Responsibility?”

“I never thought I’d lose to anyone in my life. So maybe you’re the only one who can beat me. In the distant future, if my ways will cause tragedy, you prevent it. If I am too much of a risk, even if you kill me, I will never resent you.”

Shirone was panicking.

“But give me a little more ti—”

Yiruki interrupted.

“If you don’t do it, I can’t take a step forward here. I will not move on. I will stay here.”

Shirone stared Yiruki in the eye.

There was not an ounce of sarcasm, pretentiousness, or exaggeration. Only true sincerity.

“Okay.”

If he had rejected Yiruki then and there, the future Yiruki himself had envisioned would have merely become an idealistic theory.

“I will definitely stop you. No. I will make sure you never make such a mistake.”

The students looked blank.

‘What’s up with them? Do they really think they can achieve such a feat? This is Class 5.’

To make their dreams a reality, they would have to overcome countless barriers.

But unlike their other schoolmates, Nade was moved.

He gave a small shout.

“Aaahh!! You guys are so cool! As expected of my friends! Nice, let’s do our best!”

Nade wrapped his arms around both of their necks, and Shirone and Yiruki smiled at each other.

‘Perhaps… He might actually be a pretty nice guy.’

While they both had similar thoughts, Shirone recalled his face-off with Yiruki.

‘He’s really strong.’

Shirone felt that there was a possibility he might not be able to win next time, but he didn’t care. Because he knew that he was the only one who could suppress Yiruki.

‘I will definitely keep my promise.’

The only thing that could stop something finite that was running at the speed of light was the great infinity.