Souls in a Bottle (4)

Mana is the essence of magic. If a formula is 'refinement' of magic, whereas mana is its original manifestation.

Therefore, the physical force caused by magic is ultimately 'mana-like'.

Unless you move external objects with telekinesis like Elise, the damage from magic manifestations like fireballs are also 'mana-like'.

I have some resistance to all of these.

The same goes for direct physical impacts.

In terms of numbers, it's offset by 10%, or less.

Thanks to this, most magic is bearable.

However, the decisive advantage I have when dealing with mages is not just that.

I can observe the 'core' of magic with SZX-9500.

If I can observe it, I can destroy it with just a branch.

Kwaaaaaaaa───!

The mages caused a whirlwind filled with mana. They trapped me in it. It was indeed a magic befitting of an active mage.

Kwaddddddd───!

The Gale blade rotated like a blender. It erupted powerfully like a thunderbolt.

To me?

It was like a feather.

To put it in a metaphor, it was like a pebble in my shoe?

It's not that it doesn't hurt at all, but it's just annoying or stinging. Instead, my clothes are getting torn.

"Follow them. They couldn't have gone far."

The mages passed by, and I quietly walked out of the whirlwind. Perfectly fine.

I threw a branch at the back of their heads as they ran.

"Ugh!"

The guy fell down with a thud.

I approached the mage and started stripping off his robe.

Although this robe might look like a piece of rag, it's surprisingly expensive.

I also gathered everything else that could be worth money, like his wallet, shoes, and so on.

These guys can't report us anyway. They're the ones who started the trouble.

"Let's see…"

I activated R-elix's 「Ancient Mana」. I pulled out the mana like a long string and tied the four of them together.

"Phew."

I dusted off my hands.

That's the end of it.

After being treated like this, they won't be able to act high and mighty when they wake up later.

"Have fun."

I headed towards the exit.

As I stepped out of the magical realm, Elise and Soliette were waiting for me. Elise asked, raising an eyebrow,

"…How did it go?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"What do you mean, how did it go? I just roughed them up a bit."

"Roughed up? Isn't that a robe in your hand?"

"…Just ignore it."

I put the remnants of the mages into my backpack.

"Anyway. They seemed to want to show off to you."

"Show off?"

"Yeah. The mage family wanted your family to sponsor them."

"..."

Elise's mouth slightly opened. She had a face of disbelief.

"I've roughly sorted it out, so you can go back to the camp."

"Uh. Well..."

She muttered very quietly.

…Thank you.

"What? I didn't hear you."

"Ah… What are you guys going to do now?"

Elise looked at Soliette and me alternately with a slightly reddened face. I chuckled and answered.

"We'll travel a bit and then solve the problem."

"Haha! Finally revealing your true intentions."

At that, Soliette turned to look at me as if she had caught me. She fired off like a detective.

"You said you already solved the 12th problem. Now you're going to solve it again? That doesn't make sense. You're caught, Shion."

"...Ah, yeah, yeah. I haven't solved it yet, but I'm almost there. Is that okay?"

"Ha ha."

"Well… you handle the problem. When should I contact you in Bethune?"

Elise asked Soliette. She quickly became serious and said.

"After the third quarter ends, and the 'Red Moon' comes. We're planning to start then..."

* * *

…Elise, who returned to the magic camp, diligently engaged in the curriculum. As Shion said, the show-offs were particularly noticeable, and while most were mages from the 'Mage Family', she got to know a few mages who were somewhat friendly.

"….Excuse me."

This place is a laboratory set up inside the camp.

After extracting magic from natural materials, analyzing the nutrients and soil of the ground based on it, conducting magic research to predict even the possibility of natural disasters, and submitting a report, it was break time.

Elise glanced at a mage. He was looking at something on his smartphone.

"What are you doing?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm analyzing something."

The man with the discerning eye. True to a mage who puts off using his full name as long as possible, I still don't know his name, but he's a decent person at least.

"What kind of analysis is it?"

"Uh… would you like to see it together?"

The man showed the smartphone screen with a rather sharp tone. Elise tilted her head.

"What is this?"

It's a composite of a fencing mask.

A man wearing a fencing mask.

"You don't know about the Edsilla people, do you? This villain is famous in Trick City."

"Villain?"

"Yes."

"Hmm…."

Trick City is considered a progressive city. Hence, terms like heroes and villains, which you would only see in old comic books, are actually mentioned in real legislation.

"So, you're from Trick City."

"Yes. I'm a resident. But what I'm analyzing is."

He rewound the smartphone video all the way back.

[This is a CCTV footage containing the special formula used by the avenger 'Raquel Dra' for murder.]

It's a CCTV footage.

Compresses the air and shoots it like a blade. Using a wand as a medium, it detonates a very special Magic Spell….

The person is bisected.

Elise frowned slightly.

"Oh. Is it too gruesome?"

"No."

[Currently, the experts of the Trick City Magic Department are trying to analyze and manifest this formula, but the connections of the formula are meticulous and complex, so it will take some time….]

"Can I see it again?"

"Yes, of course."

Elise narrowed her eyes thinly.

The Magic Spell that compresses the air and shoots it like a slash, like a crescent moon.

At first glance, it seems simple, but the combination of its formula is, as the news says, extremely meticulous and complex. If the purpose is solely 'killing', it's an excellent and highly complete formula.

Even for Elise, it's not easy to decipher or interpret.

It's definitely not an ordinary skill.

A clear expert who can 'weave' a simple magic spell into a 'combination', with a power greater than magic….

"It seems like a strong villain."

"Yes. The person who is cut down here is said to be a cartel mercenary. He was a famous knight-class thug in Trick City's D-Section. I'm from B-Section though."

"He must be a mage."

Elise guessed so.

If not a mage, such a formula harmony is impossible. I don't know why a mage is going around like this.

"That's right. The Trick City Enforcers are also guessing that. That a mage is going around killing people-"

"─Participant Elise."

Then, Deol Lang on the lab stage called her.

"Yes."

"Come up."

She went up to the stage.

High mage Deol Lang. He looked alternately at the report that Elise had just submitted and at Elise.

Elise became nervous again.

The rest are unknown mages, but this person is an important mage.

Deol Lang gave a faint smile.

"...Elise, you don't need a semester. It's perfect."

A compliment among compliments, implying that she could enter the Magic Tower right now, without the need to attend university.

Elise maintained her composure, struggling to suppress her twitching lips.

"Have you decided on a school?"

"No, I haven't decided yet."

"If you have a talent for dynamic magic, the Veloci school will teach you well. If you want to delve deeper into theory, the Elmander school is also good."

Deol Lang returned her report as he spoke.

"Well, anyone would want Miss Elise. I'll see you soon at the Magic Tower."

"...That's too kind."

A humble, modest attitude.

Elise bowed her head and turned around.

Pretending to go to the bathroom, she stepped outside the lab.

...Yes!

She clenched her fist in silent triumph.

And then, after a moment of hesitation, she made a call somewhere.

Ring──

─What.

Shion Ascal. The other party picked up quickly.

Elise cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Ah. It's nothing... Did you solve the problem?"

She had received help at the camp, even if it was by chance.

If Shion still couldn't solve the problem, she was thinking of helping him.

Of course, if they get caught, they'll both fail, but it's fine as long as they don't get caught.

─Yeah. I solved it.

"How far did you get?"

─I only solved number 12.

"..."

Elise was slightly at a loss for words.

"Don't mess with me."

─What.

"Tell me honestly. I can help you."

─Honestly, I solved it.

A vein popped on Elise's temple.

"No. Shion. I've told you over and over, you have talent in Magic. You're not without it. So, with a little help from me, you can do it. So, tell me honestly. How far-"

─I'm hanging up.

Click-

"What?"

Elise, frowning, called again.

Ring──

Shion picked up the phone.

─What.

"Hey. How could you solve number 12 that even I couldn't-"

Click-

Shion hung up the phone. Elise glared at the screen, puffing up her cheeks.

"...He's crazy."

* * *

These days, the seniors of Endex are surprisingly busy.

Although the first and second quarters are over, the lights are still on in places like the Endex library and other study cafes because of the third quarter.

Of course, I'm relaxed.

Today is October 30th.

'That day', the answer to the riddle.

The day to meet my old teacher, Theia Esil.

"...Haah."

I yawned loudly and looked at the sofa.

Soliette was lying there.

These days, she's been staying at my place. Under the pretext that she's going to solve problem number 12.

"Hey."

"...?"

Soliette turned her drowsy body to look at me.

"Aren't you going home?"

"..."

She had a very sleepy face. Her face was so puffy that her eyes were filled with sleepiness.

"Hello?"

"...Yes."

She barely woke up from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and spoke.

"...Shion."

"What."

"Strangely enough, I sleep well here."

Haaaaahhh── Soliette yawned.

A hint of moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes.

"I used to have nightmares all the time in my apartment. But here, it's comfortable. I don't dream when I sleep. I haven't slept this peacefully in a long time. But I think it will be uncomfortable again when I return home."

"..."

She was taking too long to say, 'Don't kick me out.'

"Do as you please."

I got up.

"Where are you going?"

"I told you. I've solved the 12th problem."

"...Shion- Are you lying again-?"

Soliette mumbled as she rolled on the sofa.

"Yeah. I'm going."

"Please return safely."

"Clean up."

"Yes. Leave it to me."

As soon as Soliette said that, she closed her eyes on the sofa.

* * *

Edsilla National University. Filled with the continent's best facilities, it's a prestigious institution where the continent's top talents gather.

'Theia Esil' stood on the rooftop of 'Evina Tower' as a chair professor responsible for the university's future.

Every year since she became a professor, she presented a riddle. It was a wait born out of curiosity if anyone could solve it.

It seemed unlikely this year too… but if not this golden batch, then who and when would solve this riddle?

So far, not a single person had.

Ah, there was one.

But he wasn't an undergraduate. Her old friend. Now practically estranged, 'Belingham Kantar' who had defected to become a confidant of Libra.

"..."

The current time was 10 AM.

The deadline was until 10:30 AM, exactly 30 minutes.

Theia leaned on the rooftop railing, looking over the university landscape.

The campus was bustling with students in the morning. They all had smiling faces.

Undergraduates always seem so happy. From the time they move on to master's or doctoral studies, they start to get a taste of hell.

Theia looked at her wristwatch.

10:15 AM.

It was about time to head back.

It seemed unlikely that anyone would show up this year too.

She sighed softly, counting the passage of time.

10:25 AM.

Only 5 minutes left.

This year is coming to an end too.

Neither Gerkhen, who she had her eye on, nor Soliette, who the world was making a fuss about being talented, nor Elise…

None of them solved the 12th problem.

At this point, it seemed like her fault for setting such a problem.

Well, what good would solving such a problem do?

10:27 AM.

She swallowed a sigh and quietly turned around.

"..."

For a moment, she froze.

Creeeak──

Suddenly, the door opened.

The iron gate echoed loudly, and a figure appeared from beyond.

She looked at him.

He looked at her.

For a moment, the rooftop was steeped in silence.

The wind blew in, messing up her neat bob. Her gentle eyes wavered.

"Is this the place? The 12th problem."

Soon, 'he' spoke first, smiling.

"Evina Tower. Until 10:30 AM."

Thud─ Thud─

He approached with a stride full of confidence. His wide steps were unhesitant.

In front of a somewhat flustered Theia, he boldly extended his hand.

"Shion. I'm Shion Ascal."