Quit The Hero Party

EP.23 Different Mindsets (2)

The concept of spell stock is highly practical.

These days, it has become so widespread that almost no one is unaware of it.

However, while many know that such spells “exist,” there are few mages who truly understand their principles. Most battle mages use spell stock without any knowledge of the underlying principles.

But this is not the case for Yetual.

Yetual, belonging to the Black Tower, has been studying the concept of spell stock long before it was redefined through the hands of the Ashen Mage.

The original of spell stock.
The ultimate spells.
Spell-Engraving.

He dedicated his entire life to studying this spell. Thus, he could completely grasp the concept of spell stock that was perfected by the Ashen Mage.

So.

At the very least, Yetual could discern the identity of the concealed spells that the girl was using.

“What face do you have showing up here…?”

“…”

The expressionless girl was looking down at the White.

‘Rania van Trias.’

Yetual glanced at the girl’s finger.

Creek, creek.

A sound that only he could hear.
The noise of the stocked spells creaking as they were about to be unleashed.
The spells contained there were by no means light.

‘No way she’s gonna shoot them?’

The Black scrutinized the girl’s face.
Her expression was still maintaining a mask of neutrality. But it seemed like it was only a matter of time before that neutral expression cracked.

“So, this is how it goes?”

“I supervised, and as those kids wanted…”

The White was persistently pressing her for answers.
Seeing this, Yetual began to feel a bit anxious.

‘What should I say?’

Should he step in to stop this?

However, his instincts firmly rejected the idea of approaching her. Amidst this, the White was gradually cornering the girl.

“There’s something suspicious.”

The White gave a firm stomp on the girl’s shoe.

“If you continue to not answer, well, it’s fine.”

She smiled and raised her finger.

“Just by looking, you seem like a magician with no practical experience at all? How can a mage not carry any artifacts? I bet you’ve been holed up in the lab all this time.”

Lightning flickered from that finger.

“I don’t like the look in those eyes. No matter how much this is Apuria, I’m the Master of the White Tower.”

That flicker of lightning…

“As a mage, shouldn’t you at least show a minimum of respect to the Tower Master?”

It aimed towards the girl’s shoulder.

‘That crazy girl.’

Yetual gasped and shouted.

“White!”

“You don’t need to yell like that, just control it…?”

Boom!

The White’s words never reached their end.

“…Huh?”

“…Ah.”

The White stared up at the ceiling.
The Black looked at the girl’s face.

“…What’s this?”

The White let out a dazed sound.
The flicker of lightning that was crackling at her fingertips had vanished.

‘…Above?’

The sound came from the ceiling.
Crackle, crackle.
Spells crawling on the ceiling.
They were far more threatening than the lightning she originally intended to unleash.

‘…Spell… Theft?’

The White turned her head.
“…Black, was that you?”

“…Let’s just leave it at that.”

“What kind of trick is this? Why is it like this…?”

“White.”

The Black opened his mouth in a trembling voice.
“Let’s get going now.”

“Eh?”

“We both have busy bodies, don’t we? We don’t have time to waste here. Isn’t it enough just to confirm that you’re safe?”

“…Why suddenly?”

Thud.
The Black grabbed the White’s shoulder.

“There’s no need to stir up trouble in Apuria. Let’s leave.”

“Why are you acting like this? Are you crazy…”

“Follow me!”

The Black’s shouting left the White tilting her head in confusion. She couldn’t understand what had so terrified the Black.

*

“Why are you stomping on my shoes, you crazy girl?”

I brushed the dust off the tips of my shoes.

Honestly, I hadn’t planned to bounce back the spell.

I could understand getting mad since a disciple fainted. After all, it wasn’t like I had no responsibility as I had dragged her to the Mana Spring.

‘Should I just let it slide this time…?’

But, man, that really ticked me off!
Why in the world was she stomping on my shoes?

The shoes my master bought me for the first time had always been polished to a shine. The dirt marks on them were extremely annoying.

“Master of the White Tower.”

What the hell was that girl’s name again?

2.

Lac had liked the snowfields ever since he was young.

Hunting with the northern warriors and camping there, nightfall would arrive before he knew it. Lac especially loved the nights in the snowfields.

On nights without snowfall,
The warriors would carry Lac on their shoulders to roam the snowy expanse at midnight. He remembered the twinkling sky he had gazed at that night.

Starlight.

Beautiful starlight.

“………”

Recalling that starlight, Lac opened his eyes.

His mind was foggy. His body felt heavy. Lac slowly turned his head, feeling something unusual.

‘Am I still sleepy?’

Although he had clearly opened his eyes, the starlight didn’t fade. Lac blinked several times. After blinking for a long while, he finally managed to see straight ahead.

Rustle.

Where his gaze landed, a woman was sitting, leaned back, reading a book. Lac stared blankly at her figure.

Delicate eyelashes fluttered.
Her hand brushing aside the hair that swayed in the wind was gentle. Those slender fingers turned the pages of the book.

Lost in some kind of trance, Lac gazed at her profile. It felt unfamiliar, someone unlike anyone he had encountered in the north—a person with an enigmatic allure.

‘She looks intelligent. A book really suits her.’

Indeed, Lac thought that such a woman would be a perfect fit for that bitter black potion.

As he nodded to himself, the woman turned her head. Her eyes met Lac’s. In that instant, Lac’s eyes widened.

All remnants of sleep vanished.

His intuition sharpened.

“Huff!”

Lac swallowed hard and shifted his gaze. But it was too late; they had already locked eyes. The predator did not let go of its prey.

“Eh? You’re awake?”

“I-I’m awake.”

Lac shot up, lifting his upper body. Bouncing up, he slowly turned his head.

“You’re quicker than I thought.”

Rania, blinking her eyes with a sense of wonder, was right there. Lac gulped nervously. While she still appeared intimidating, he was no longer as scared as he had been before.

Rather than fear, admiration was taking precedence.

Her figure, standing unwaveringly in the Realm of Mana, still lingered vividly in Lac’s mind.

‘She was a magnificent warrior.’

As his eyes continued to blink, unexpectedly, Rania opened her mouth.

“Was it Lac?”

“Ah, yes.”

“What was your master’s name again?”

“Eh?”

Tilting his head, Lac locked eyes with her.

“Cough.”

He coughed, almost as if he had choked on his words.

“W-why are you asking…?”

“Just to remember a bit.”

“Master of the White Tower, Selly Devela… that’s who she is.”

“Humm,” Rania nodded.

“Selly Devela.”

She repeated the name, and to Lac’s eyes, she resembled a predator licking its lips at waiting prey.

“Cough. Hmph.”

Lac found himself coughing repeatedly.

3.

After the chaotic session of the class redistribution exam, the Apuria Academy was ready to welcome the new semester.

Alchemy, Battle Magic, Elemental Magic…

Students, now enrolled in courses tailored to their capabilities, gathered in classrooms chatting. Their conversations carried little intellectual weight.

The Alchemy professor had a warm demeanor.
The Battle Magic professor emphasized physical prowess, and so on, merely gossip about professors.

Since it had only been a short while since the semester started, there weren’t many detailed discussions regarding the professors. Most of them had passed through the introductory session during the first class.

Of course, there existed exceptions.

A subject every student must take:
‘Mana Basics and Trading Studies.’

While the Mana Basics classes were divided according to proficiency, Trading Studies were not.

In the Apuria Academy.

No, throughout this royal capital, there was only one professor who could teach Trading Studies.

“Rosel van Trias.”

A renowned professor who had nurtured Ashen Mages started the class right from the first session. By the time that session ended…

– Four consecutive hours from the first class.
– Assignments from the very first class.

It was only natural that Rosel’s name would circulate among the students.

– Professor Rosel is crazy.
– I don’t even know what he’s doing.
– Is this assignment load normal for the first week?
– No matter how I look at it, this just doesn’t seem right.

Conversations regarding Professor Rosel became the talk of the entire student body.

And.

Standing at the center of this rumor, Rosel was currently resting his chin, checking the dates for the next class.

“Strangely overlapping schedule.”

A minor issue arose.

On the calendar with marked dates, two schedules overlapped.

– Week three class.
– Regular meeting of the Ashen Tower.

“Hmm.”

Rosel stroked his chin.

Although it wouldn’t hurt to delay a class, he was not exactly thrilled about rearranging the given schedule.

However, he couldn’t just skip the tower’s regular meeting. He was a senior of the Ashen Tower before being a professor at Apuria.

‘What should I do about this?’

As Rosel contemplated this, his gaze suddenly fell upon his disciple, rolling around in the corner of the room.

‘There she goes again.’

Rosel stifled a sigh and opened his mouth.

“Raniel?”

“Yes? Master.”

“Come here for a moment.”

Rosel pointed to the calendar laid on the desk.

“I have to visit the tower on this day.”

“Yes, and?”

“It would be inconvenient to postpone, so how about you take the class for a little while?”

“Me?”

Raniel tilted her head in confusion.

“Didn’t you tell me last time not to teach anyone? That I need to relearn how to teach?”

“And that’s exactly why you’re not teaching.”

“Still, I have a long way to go, Master…”

There was a nuanced edge to that tone.

‘…Well, I suppose I did speak too harshly since it’s been a while since I’ve taught.’

Rosel chuckled bitterly and said, “But you’ve at least got the basics down, haven’t you?”

“…Is that so?”

“Besides, there won’t be much to it. I just planned for you to have them solve some simple problems.”

He gestured to the problem set on the desk.

“Just hand these out and let them solve them. If questions come up, answering them simply should be fine.”

“Is that so?”

“Just treat it like a study time during class.”

With that, Rosel queried, “Are you okay with it?”

“Well, if it’s just study time, it shouldn’t be a problem, right? I just have to stand there.”

“…That is true.”

Simple enough.
Clearly simple. It would indeed just be standing around for that class. However, Rosel felt a peculiar sense of unease. Despite this, he shook off that anxiety.

‘Surely nothing major would happen during study time.’

She wasn’t the Raniel from when he remembered her as a child.

Rosel decided to trust his disciple.

Author’s Note (Author’s Afterword)

Originally, I had planned to hold a consecutive release today…

But it ended up taking longer than I thought ㅠㅠ.

I’ll find a day and host a consecutive release…

Sorry for the four-day break!

Starting from this week, I’m back to regular updates!