LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 24
EP.24 Different Ways of Thinking (3)
“That’s it.”
Thud. Professor Rosel puts down the textbook.
“Let’s wrap up the second week of class. Think about the origins of Balance we covered today.”
Four continuous hours of class.
As soon as Professor Rosel leaves the classroom, sighs escape from various corners. Students either slump over their desks or lean back in their chairs—everyone reacts differently.
-Is he crazy? More homework again.
-At least he gave us two weeks this time…
Grumbling, most of the students left the classroom. For a while, only the scratch-scratch of pens against paper echoed in the now quiet room.
Fifteen minutes later.
“Hoo…”
Resti takes a breath and puts down her pen.
Before her lies the result of the past four hours.
A notebook summarizing week two.
It was a whopping twenty pages long.
‘Still, I managed to organize it somehow.’
Looking at her densely filled notebook brings a strange sense of pride. Yet, she also feels a twinge of anxiety.
She wrote down everything she heard. She added notes based on her understanding. Even so, she lacks confidence that she can comprehend it all.
It’s difficult.
Too difficult.
It should be a class that’s understandable. While attending, she felt enlightened. However, the problem arises after class.
‘…I can’t do this alone.’
She could manage to organize the structure of Balance during class. But after class, trying to outline the structure herself felt impossible; she couldn’t even create a single weight for the scale.
“Hoo…”
I need to practice more.
Resti took a short breath and stood up, planning to go back to the dormitory to organize her thoughts.
Just as she tried to leave the classroom.
“…”
Resti halted at the sight of Professor Rosel standing by the door. How long had he been waiting? He looked down at her.
“Resti.”
“…Did you call for me?”
Resti instinctively took a step back.
She still felt uneasy around Professor Rosel… No, around Elder Rosel. Facing him as a professor in class was one thing, but…
Being one-on-one like this was quite uncomfortable. It felt like her breath was being caught in her throat.
“I have a question. Not as your professor, but as an elder of the Ashen Tower.”
The moment she heard “Ashen Tower,” Resti’s gaze naturally dropped.
-Are you the next Master of the Tower?
-…So it’s been decided.
That cold gaze from Elder Rosel was what came to mind. Resti didn’t want to meet Rosel’s eyes as an elder.
“Are you going to attend this Ashen Tower’s regular meeting?”
“…If it’s the regular meeting.”
“Yes, the meeting held quarterly. The Elder asked me if you would attend. If you’re participating, I’ll excuse you from the third-week class.”
“…I’m fine. I don’t plan on attending.”
There was no hesitation in her answer.
Even if she attended, there wouldn’t be much she could do.
‘It’d just be an exercise in awkwardness.’
It felt like she wasn’t meant to be there.
The same judgement she had endured over the last three years.
‘Rather than deal with that kind of gaze, it’s better if I don’t go.’
Resti thought to herself.
“I’ll let the Elder know.”
Rosel nodded lightly and left.
Only after the sound of his footsteps faded away did Resti lift her head. Unlike when she sought knowledge, his gaze had turned icy.
‘It’s fine.’
‘The Elder also told me to forget about the Ashen Tower and to take it easy… it’ll be okay.’
Resti quietly repeated those thoughts in her mind.
—
2.
Rania van Trias.
Her reputation isn’t great.
Part of that comes from the disapproving gazes of her fellow professors. And, perhaps understandably so.
Rania is not a graduate of Apuria.
Among the professors she’s known since her school days, she feels like nothing but an outsider.
Rania is a professor’s assistant under the illustrious Professor Rosel.
Without going through the usual exams, she jumped straight into the assistant position. To the other assistants, it felt like a parachute drop, neither more nor less.
‘A parachute.’
‘A girl who’s only showing off because of Professor Rosel.’
Whether that’s true or not isn’t what matters.
The professors felt that way. They judged her that way. And their malice found a perfect boiling point.
It was when Rania was spotted daily at the academy cafe.
Her appearance was unique. Unforgettable after just one glance. Her innocent yet somewhat pitiful expression draws attention wherever she goes.
Seeing such a figure lounge in the café every day while they scurry around with a mountain of paperwork was bound to make the professors lose their minds.
‘Professor Rosel’s favoritism.’
‘I heard Dean Aaron favors her as well.’
‘A parachute with no skills.’
‘A stain on Apuria.’
Rumors about Rania grew louder.
Even a few students caught wind of it.
—
*
“Today, you know?”
In the Mana Trading Studies third-week classroom.
“That assistant professor is coming in, right?”
“…That parachute of an assistant professor?”
“Yeah. I heard Professor Rosel is attending a tower meeting today… I’m not sure though.”
“That assistant professor… that’s the one, right?”
The students whispering her name can’t hide their snickers.
“Parachute.”
All of them were students taking elemental magic studies. They had heard the rumors, especially since they were close with Cesar.
“Professor Cesar said so himself: She’s not suited for Apuria.”
“Right, he did say that.”
Mack nodded.
He was particularly friendly with Cesar.
Creek.
At that moment, the door opened and in walked the talk of the academy.
Rania van Trias.
With an expressionless face, she stood at the front of the classroom.
“Nice to meet you.”
With ash-colored hair and calm blue eyes.
Dressed neatly in a robe, she began to speak.
“I’m Rania van Trias, here to substitute for Professor Rosel today.”
After slightly bowing her head, she pointed to the problem sheets on the desks.
“For today’s class, you will solve the problems placed at each of your seats. If anyone has questions, please raise your hand to speak.”
Mack raised his hand.
“Can we also ask questions about the problems?”
“That’s allowed.”
That answer made Mack’s mouth twitch with anticipation.
He immediately started examining the problems.
‘Damn this is tough.’
As expected of problems set by Professor Rosel, each question was a daunting challenge. Mack’s eyes rapidly scanned the problem sheet, landing on the last page.
Question 30.
A page filled with problems.
Just looking at it made his head spin—figuring out what it was asking was a challenge in itself.
‘Basically telling us not to solve this.’
Even the great upper-level classes asserted that question 30 was one they couldn’t solve. Students generally merely skimmed it, waiting for Professor Rosel’s explanations in the next class.
‘This is it.’
A smile crept onto Mack’s face.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Can you help us with this problem?”
The students next to him checked the problem, and soon those who caught on to his plan were stifling their giggles.
A problem that can only be solved by Professor Rosel.
Even other professors would take a while to solve it.
It was clear he intended to call out the parachute.
‘There’s no way the parachute can solve this.’
Mack thought, pulling his chair back to let Rania see the problem sheet.
“Hmm.”
Without a word, she stared at the question sheet.
Even with the pen and paper I handed her for calculating, she didn’t seem inclined to touch them.
Seeing that, Mack internally chuckled.
‘After all, how could she even grasp where to start?’
A smug grin spread across Mack’s face.
The students nearby were also stifling laughter, looking away while covering their mouths.
‘It’s bound to involve complicated calculations. She’ll need to untangle that circuit first.’
But then, she stood there, staring blankly at the problem. If it could be solved by just looking at it, why would they have to struggle through it?
Snicker.
Just as laughter was beginning to spill over.
Mack shrugged and opened his mouth.
“Ah, if you’re stuck, you might want to try another problem first…”
“The basic theory of the Balance trading, isn’t it?”
“…What?”
Did I just hear that correctly?
“It seems to be asking about the trading criteria of Balance…”
Muttering that, she lifted her finger and drew the circuit that was on the test paper in the air.
“Why is this problem so hidden?”
She placed her hooked finger at the center of the circuit. Then she suddenly yanked it.
Swish!
Just like that.
The complicated circuit became neatly organized.
Clatter!
With the clamor of the circuit’s movements, all students turned their attention to Rania. Mack stared blankly at the circuit hovering before him.
“Can you see it now?”
“Y-Yes?”
“To demand a completed spell on the Balance with a mana of 1, how many constraints do you need to use? That’s the question being asked, I think?”
In a flat tone.
“It’s basics of trading. Formulating a cost through constraints.”
A seemingly simple explanation.
“It’d be quicker to see it in action.”
She gestures with her finger.
Mana reminiscent of starlight takes form like a scale.
Imitation Balance.
A scale for measuring trading costs.
“I’ll make a model here, so you can experiment and write down your answers. Oh, anyone who can make a real Balance, feel free to create and experiment yourself.”
No student responded to her words.
All the students were wide-eyed, staring at the Balance Rania conjured.
“Making it yourself is the fastest way to understand.”
She spoke as if it were no big deal.
The students were left speechless.
‘She wants us to create it ourselves?’
Forming an Imitation Balance was a concept that would only come later, much later. What they were currently learning was merely about cost reduction through constraints.
Yet she was suggesting they create an Imitation Balance outright?
For those who were just beginning to learn addition and subtraction, that was equivalent to asking them to create a high-level calculating device.
“Any more questions?”
In a completely nonchalant tone.
As if saying something perfectly normal.
“…”
Silence ensued.
“If there are no more questions, I’ll be heading down.”
As she returned to her original position, Mack merely stared in disbelief. Eventually, students began to swarm over to his desk.
“Wow, what the…”
“Someone raise some mana quickly!”
“I’ve never seen anything this clean before. What the hell is this…?”
That commotion continued until the end of the class.
—
3.
“…Raniel.”
“Yes, did you call for me, Master?”
Rosel, back from the tower, pinched the bridge of his nose and called his disciple over.
“What on earth have you taught her?”
“Pardon?”
“This—this thing right here.”
Rosel pointed to the problem sheets submitted by the students.
The solved problems varied. However, on every student’s sheet, question 30 was solved.
And every one of them was correct.
‘There’s no way this could have been solved.’
Even just confirming the problem required them to untangle multiple layers of circuits. It was a problem that would grant points just for checking.
‘But they all solved it? Everyone?’
Unbelievable.
When something that unbelievable becomes reality, often the cause lies near at hand.
And soon, that culprit spoke up.
“Oh, that? I made them a model of the scale.”
“…”
“It seems they’re learning such things before the basics of mana utilization? I feel like I learned that much later. These kids must be smart, huh?”
“…Raniel.”
“Yes?”
“This problem was meant to give points just for confirming it, and it was asking about the basic concept of Mana Trading.”
“Oh…”
“Why are you giving them a model of the scale for a problem that should be solved using the basic concept?”
What good would it do to hand a calculating device to those who can barely do addition and subtraction?
“No, they asked me to…”
Rosel slapped his forehead at his disciple’s response.