A Wait Of 700 Years

Another lovely morning with roars echoing from the mountains, a perfect day to start the magic lessons. But today is unlike any before. One month since the founding of the academy, we received a new teacher!

"This is Lir, who will be in charge of teaching practical mana techniques."

"Hello! I'm Lirthusia, you can just call me Lir like Gobuda. I will be imparting you useful magic techniques!"

Magic techniques and magic spells are different. You can say magic spells are weaved with multiple magic techniques, but techniques are not necessarily used for weaving spells. Things like pure mana control, converting mana into fire, body enhancement etc, these can be done without using spells.

"Then let's get started! Goruk, Rou and Rina. Go with Lir to practice in the field. Be careful not to blow up my house okay?"

"Yes~"

Though Lir is two evolutions higher, she is actually a bit shorter than them. It's a surreal sight when a delicate child in flowing robes leads three buff grunts behind her.

But back to business.

"Any question before we start?"

"What are they learning? Can I learn it too?"

Look at this kid! The great Sage, I, am right in front of her teaching her magic, yet she is showing interest in other people's lesson.

"They will be learning techniques to enhance their body with mana and various ways to control and shape mana including how to give them attributes. It is nothing difficult, they are just doing practical training, you will naturally learn how to do it as you control over mana improves."

"I understand. Then for the list of spells you gave us yesterday, can I have them?"

"You want those spells? Presumably not for yourself."

"Yes, but it was enchanted so I couldn't do anything."

I see, the wanderers has an ability to store any scenes from their vision. Most spells are personally created by individual mages and directly relates to their strength, so the would only ever publish outdated spells while protecting the rest.

The spells I gave out aren't so valuable, but they still have the basic protection on them. Glad to know they work on the wanderers, or they can just suicide bomb my lab and steal all my spells with just a glimpse.

"Those aren't so valuable to me so I can just give it to you. But isn't that too boring."

I feel a little mischievous today.

Her face turned a bit sour at my teasing smirk.

"If you can master all the spells on that list to the point it's practical in combat, I'll give those spells to you."

"Just that?"

She is doubtful of the easy task but soon got enlightened.

"I set the standard for 'practical'."

"Ah."

She nodded in understanding and agreed. It means she will be rolling in the mud some more.

With all the questions out the way, we finally started our lesson.

"Then today, I will teach you some other magic languages and start on magic formula."

Unlike when I was simply rolling them through mud so they can quickly become High Goblins, or when I got them to toil through textbooks to learn a language. For the first time, I am teaching them a variety of skills in earnest.

Teaching Alni magic, helping Goruk, Rou and Rina to integrate magic into their fighting style, then Runic Languages, simplified magic language for Magic Inscription.

They are absorbing everything and gaining skills like crazy. If I have to rank them based on the Hunter's Guild's standard, they would be about D-rank and not far from C-rank. If they were to evolve once again into Hobgoblins they would have been C-rank at least, but I, as any good teacher would, threw them down the dungeon to practice their magical skills. Slimes are resistant to physical attacks after all, but very vulnerable to magic. They died a number of times so their evolution was delayed over and over, but it taught them how not to rely too much on racial stats.

And now another month has passed, which makes it surprising since no one has left to adventure into the wider world yet. Alni has been happily learning magic under me, she seems to have no intention of leaving unless I kick her out.

Rou is the same, but with Ronia. He has been learning about Aura, an energy more suited for physical combat than magic. He too seem very satisfied to stay in the city and occasionally spar with our resident Sword Saint.

Then there is Goruk. Somehow he managed to rise to the city's upper management. He caught the eye of king Gea and is now working in the city's administration in the place of Lir. After learning the mana techniques, there is not much to do other than practicing and learning more runes for inscription, so both Rou and Goruk came to the academy less.

Rina is in the same situation, but she hit off extraordinarily well with Lir so she came to hang out with her a lot. Many times they were off to explore the city, forest and mountains, leaving only me and Alni switching between the second floor terrace and the library.

Speaking of which, she recently mastered that list of spell though not without getting stained with lots of mud. I'm not sure what she wants those spells for, but it is no longer mine so it's not my place to care.

While teaching her, I gave her a number of magic languages that she can learn but she just had to choose the notoriously difficult Draconics, one that excels in destructive magic. I had push onto her an easier language that's much more comprehensive and also suitable for inscription so that we can continue our lessons.

We all had fun until now, but that has to end soon. From my calculation, it will be another two weeks until the world stabilises. The power limit will be released and the continent will enter an age of rapid progress. Those suppressed by the fragile world will come back soon, so things will definitely get chaotic.

There are things we have to do too…

"So you are saying we should leave this place and head out into the world?"

"That's right. A lot of stuff will be happening in the continent, it will greatly help your growth."

"Can't we stay here?"

"No."

She seems unusually reluctant.

"…Can I ask you a question?"

"Say it."

"What is the magic circle built in this city."

I am surprised by her words.

"So you found out."

It's not a secret or anything, but it is quite amazing that she can recognise that the city is built as a magic circle by herself.

"Goruk gave me a map of the city when I asked about the various establishments. I found that some parts, especially the inner city where all the old buildings are, matches with the formulas you taught me. I also saw the language you taught me etched on various places like your house and the library. I thought they were decoration at first, but I found them to be linked together."

"Not bad, it's hard for an apprentice mage to see so much."

I am honestly surprised, she really put a lot of attention to details. The magic circle only encompasses the inner city with the core lying under the center castle. It is not hidden from sight, but it's presence is masked. It should be beyond her level to detect the flow the magic. Which means everything she is saying now came from her deduction through the few clues and minimal amount of knowledge she possesses.

"Teacher… I never saw you ever using magic before. Everything came from magic items and contraptions. Have you always been maintaining that spell?"

"Yes, I have been maintaining it by myself. I've basically tied myself into the magic formation so I can't move my own mana, and I must stay close to it to maintain our link."

She seems to disbelieve my words. After all she is no longer clueless about magic now. A spell that encompasses the city, and I am the only one maintaining it. It is normally impossible without staying in the core myself and offering my entire concentration.

However…

"Alni. I am a Sage."

That right I am a Sage.

"Just like how Sword Saints are swordsmen who broke the limits of their path, a Sage is also a mage who broke the limits of magic."

One Sage is a dozen Archmage. There is no reason I can't maintain the spell alone.

She found it difficult, but accepted my explanation nonetheless.

"…Can I know what the spell for?"

"Well, it's complicated."

I thought of how to explain.

"Basically, it is to keep everyone who lives in the inner city alive, like they are living in statis. We can move around and all, but our body won't change in any way. We've been like this for 700 years."

"700…"

I feel like it's the first time I've seen Alni flustered so many times at once. She usually keeps cool no matter what came her way.

"Yes, 700. There are things we must do and we are waiting for the time to come And that will come soon so we must get prepared. That's why you should head off, I won't have time to teach you anymore."

The others should hear from their respective mentors too. Goruk with the king, Rou with Ronia and Rina with Lir. They've all gotten close lately so it might be heart breaking.

"When can we come back?"

"Hmm, that's hard to say."

I though about the things I need to do.

"Perhaps… when the continent gets overturned by a series of events?"

"I understand. Then I will come back when that happens."

Alni shared her promise as we finished our last lessons together.