Chapter 34: Debugging Protocol

"Alright, we'll end things there for today." Eremid clapped his hands together, signaling the end of the class. Since the classes hadn't been that long up to this point, there had never been a discussion about breaks beforehand.

However, Eremid took a moment to tell everyone that they were allowed up to an hour-long break between classes. On the other hand, those who wanted to skip their break were free to do so. In simple terms, the academy once again left the students' futures in their own hands.

They could take their break or skip it and immediately follow their professors to the next class. The only catch was that the professors were allowed to start their lessons with or without students present.

"Now then, those who will be taking their breaks, please feel free to go now. Otherwise, form a group and follow your professor to your next class."

With those words, Eremid left the classroom to attend to other matters, leaving everyone with Lazitha and Mulvin, who were patiently waiting.

Immediately, a lot of students left the classroom for various reasons.

"I don't want to train under a commoner for an hour longer than I need to," a lot of them still held their prejudice against Mulvin, which had only increased by his earlier comments.

"I'm too hungry to endure another class right now." On the other hand, some students were genuinely tired or hungry and decided to recuperate. Nithra was one of them. She didn't even bother getting up from her desk and only shot a look at Lazitha before going back to sleep.

However, the few Knight Division students who were more dedicated formed a group behind Mulvin almost immediately, including the twins from before. Some of them still had reservations about him; others had judged him; and some had been neutral.

But at the end of the day, they were here to become knights and were willing to do almost anything, even train under a commoner, to achieve their goals. As for Magnus, his decision had absolutely nothing to do with his dedication. He simply wasn't hungry or tired at the moment.

Of course, Luden also planned on following Lazitha right away. Glancing back at the two of them, Lazitha nodded before she turned her gaze to Nithra, who was sleeping. There was no sudden burst of murderous intent like last time, just her words.

"It looks like I'll have to put in some effort with that girl in the future, but for now, it's fine. Alright, you two, follow me. We're heading up to the 4th Floor." Lazitha made a casual gesture, leading the two of them out of their class and down the hall.

The main academy building had multiple floors. The 1st Floor housed all the classrooms, including Magnus's. Meanwhile, the other floors had various other facilities, like the 3rd Floor, which had a few alchemy labs. As they followed Lazitha, Magnus's mind thought back to what he remembered was on the 4th Floor.

You know, I don't think I ever got the chance to explore the 4th Floor properly. Even though there weren't any rules against it, I couldn't open a single door up there.

After climbing the stairs, they reached the 4th Floor. Unlike many of the other floors, the 4th Floor was simply a maze of windowless hallways.

The only light came from wall-mounted lanterns and dimly glowing crystals within them. These crystals were similar to the ones that illuminated the academy's pathways at night. Each hallway was flanked by identical wooden doors. They were well-crafted, but there was no way to see what lay beyond them.

"I didn't notice it before, but this floor is pretty creepy..." Magnus mused aloud. Lazitha, who was leading them through what seemed to be endlessly repeating hallways, turned back to reassure him.

"Don't worry, the 4th Floor isn't dangerous, although I can see why you might think that. There's actually a very specific reason why the 4th Floor has no windows." Eventually, the three of them came to a stop as they arrived at their destination, and Lazitha turned to one of the many identical doors in the hall.

"Oh, is this what I think it is?" Luden finally spoke as they came to a halt, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Lazitha activated her Sigilbrand on her left hand, and it resonated with the door in front of her. The door suddenly became covered in bright, glowing runes. Moments later, the runes vanished, and Lazitha casually turned the doorknob, which actually worked, unlike when Magnus attempted to during his last visit to this floor.

The moment the door swung open, Magnus had a strong sense of déjà vu.

Oh, gosh, dammit it, it's the library all over again...

As he peered through the door, Magnus found himself in an even larger chamber, and he meant ridiculously so.

There was no way a room of this size could fit on the 4th Floor alone. And that was without considering the two other wooden doors flanking this one, which, if he had to guess, probably led to similarly spacious rooms behind them.

The chamber covered about a hundred square meters and had walls entirely made of stone, adorned with intricate designs and petroglyphs that he couldn't understand. Despite its massive cube-like shape, the center of the chamber featured a circular pattern on the ground. The edges of this pattern served as guidelines for where the stone railings were built, along with the occasional pillar rising to the ceiling above.

In a way, it resembled some kind of ancient boxing or sparring ring, but instead of floodlights, the only illumination in the sealed-off stone chamber came from a row of ceiling windows.

Magnus tried to peer through them, but other than the light, he couldn't see what was actually producing it.

"An entire floor with rooms for students to train in perfect seclusion? I knew Takerth Academy had a lot of resources, but using spatial magic on such a large scale seems a bit extravagant, don't you think? You've already used it in all the dorm rooms, after all." Luden's words prompted a laugh from Lazitha.

"Of course, it's extravagant," she replied.

"But the academy deems it a worthwhile expense. Places like this are ideal for mages, and right now, on this floor alone, there are mages delving deeper into their respective truths, whether they're beginners or masters. Where else could I better teach the two of you?"

Takerth Academy, and even the other magic academies, didn't hesitate to invest their resources in nurturing the next generation of knights and mages. In the end, the students who excelled would not only make up for those who didn't but also justify all the resources spent on them.

These were the expectations placed on every student in the academy.

After hearing her explanation, Magnus and Luden watched as Lazitha raised one of her hands in front of her.

"Now, there are many ways to teach magic, but I find the most direct methods to be the best. So, the first thing we'll focus on is ensuring both of you can perform basic, mana-construct spells."

As she spoke, Magnus noticed violet strands appearing seemingly out of thin air just inches above her palm. These strands quickly multiplied, interweaving countless times every moment until they formed a sphere, and even then, the sphere continued to grow.

The end result was a violet sphere with a bright, glowing center, surrounded by what could only be described as ethereal flames wafting off of it. It was actually quite beautiful to look at.

"This spell is Mana Sphere. It's basic Apprentice Class Magic, and it doesn't fit into any specific category, so it's simply classified as uncategorized magic that relies on controlling one's mana." Magnus had no trouble keeping up with what Lazitha explained.

After all those lessons from Eremid's lectures, he had a good understanding of magic. However, even though half his attention was on what Lazitha was saying, the other half was thinking about the Mana Sphere Spell itself and how it had been cast.

It's so strange. I know it was generated through mana, but since I can't see or sense that kind of stuff, it really looked like that mana sphere appeared out of thin air. I wonder...

In his dreamland, he had no idea what the spontaneous creation of matter looked like; after all, something couldn't be created from nothing. You would never see a rock appear out of thin air or, vice versa, see one disappear into nothing. In his dreamland, he could do stuff like that using the Command Console or his own imagination without issue, but there was a boundary between what worked there and what worked in the real world.

As long as he couldn't form a proper visualization of a concept or phenomenon in his mind, he couldn't duplicate such a feat in reality. But just now, from his point of view, as a normal person unable to perceive mana, what Lazitha did looked like the spontaneous creation of a mana sphere, so that made Magnus wonder.

Was that what creating magic from nothing looked like?

I can't ignore the possibility; I have to at least try it out.

For the next hour or so, Lazitha spent her time explaining how the Mana Sphere Spell worked and demonstrating how to cast it.

Another thing that Magnus learned was that mages did use something similar to magic circles.

It was similar to a mathematical formula in this world, where the mage would construct the formula with their minds, while their mana acted as the numbers being put into the said formula. All of this led to what the formula equaled, which would be the supernatural phenomenon the mage desired.

At the same time, just like a mathematical formula, using the wrong symbols or, in the case of a magical formula, guiding and controlling your mana incorrectly could result in your spell falling apart or even leading to a backlash event.

"I see, so this isn't just about learning a spell. You're trying to improve our ability to control our mana beyond any accidental magic we may have performed in the past," Luden spoke up with a realization, seeming to understand what Lazitha wanted from them.

"Exactly. Whether you're an Apprentice-level mage, an Adept-level mage, a Master-level mage, or even an Archmage, there's more to these various stages than simply the quantity of mana in one's mana core. Control, complexity, and precision are crucial, not raw power."

As she said that, Lazitha subtly cast her gaze over to Magnus.

He hasn't been participating much, but he's been paying attention. Even an unranked mage without any particular talent should be able to conjure a minor phenomenon like a mana sphere with a few hours of practice. And if he's really a genius, like Mulvin said, maybe even an hour and a half would do.

With that in mind, she turned around and walked over to the stone fence directly behind her, taking a seat before speaking again.

"Now, if either of you doesn't understand something, just let me know. Otherwise, I want you two to give the Mana Sphere Spell a try. Don't worry if it's not perfect; it's a spell above your rank after all. And if anything goes wrong, I'll be here to handle any danger, got it?"

"Yes, Professor," both Magnus and Luden replied in unison. They were both excited about attempting the Mana Sphere Spell, though for entirely different reasons.

If this doesn't work, I'll have to come up with another way to at least mimic magic using the Command Console. But for now, the memory of Professor Lazitha creating the mana sphere seemingly out of nothing is still fresh in my mind. Basker, I want you to start visualizing the creation of the mana sphere. Also, set the position my body will be in upon execution and the sphere's location in relation to my palm.

[Understood, Master.]

Hmm, for now, let's start relatively small. Let's reduce the size to one-eighth of what Professor Lazitha created. Oh, and change its color. Don't worry about its movement after creation; just focus on the creation itself and use the most recent memory of my full body as a reference.

Magnus issued instructions one after another, trying to simplify the visualization process as much as possible. Meanwhile, in the outside world, Luden approached him.

"Hey, Magnus, how about a little competition? Let's see who can make the most progress before this class ends." Magnus was taken aback by Luden's sudden proposal, cutting off his communication with Basker temporarily.

Staring at Luden in shock for a moment, Magnus saw a competitive spark in his eyes that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Um… I'm not sure if I'm interested in something like that." Magnus was hesitant; he was busy doing something, and honestly, he was still unsure what to think about Luden. But upon seeing his hesitation, Luden softened his approach.

"Come on, it'll be fun. We won't be graded for this; it's just a friendly bet between us. And, to make things interesting, I'll give you two golden marks if you win, and if I win, you just owe me a small favor in the future."

Listening to him, Magnus's confusion deepened, but so did his interest in the bet.

"A small favor is pretty vague, but I could use the money..." Currently, Magnus was practically broke; the only money he had was the 'allowance' from the Major General funneled through Celia, but even then, it wasn't actually his money. As it stood, even the poorest person at Takerth Academy was orders of magnitude richer than he was, and that made the temptation hard to resist.

So, after a few moments of consideration, Magnus gave in.

"Alright then, it's a bet, as long as it's not something too dangerous or stupid." He was still wary of the favor, but he needed the money. Seeing his agreement tinged with caution, Luden gave him one of his signature smiles.

"Of course not." And with that, the bet was set.

The two separated, with the room being spacious enough for each to have their own area. Luden decided to sit on the ground, holding his hands out in front of him with closed eyes, to concentrate.

On the other hand, Magnus remained standing, mentally verifying things. Even without communicating with Basker, he could see what Basker had visualized in his mind's eye, though Basker's presence prevented him from accidentally ruining things with an intrusive thought.

Well, that looks as good as it's going to get. Now, all that's left is to spin the wheel and see if luck is on our side.

Taking a deep breath, Magnus executed the visualization with the Command Console. He was prepared for two possible outcomes. One, nothing was happening, indicating his imagination was inaccurate and magic didn't look like spontaneous creation, or two, a quarter-sized mana sphere manifested itself in his palm.

However, neither of those outcomes occurred. Instead, something entirely unexpected happened.

[Command Console]

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↑…

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Ⅲ⅄ℙℒℋℕⅰ℻ↆ™ⅩℱⅩℰↃℝ⅒⅂ⅲ⅌ℽ™Ↄ℞ℚℽ⅌ↂⅸ℄ℍↃⅠℶⅈↈΩ℘⅖ⅫↃ℡ⅥⅬ℉℺ℝⅧↁℸ

[WARNING]: A glitch has been detected!

Initiating Debugging Protocol…

Debugging Protocol Activated…

[Debugging Protocol]: Initial glitch has been designated as Codebreak-004.

[Debugging Protocol]: Beginning analysis of Codebreak-004…

[Debugging Protocol]: Progress[█--------------------] 2%

↓…

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Users:Magnus_Wright:\>

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