Chapter 5

Ian passed Eredith's test with remarkable ease.

"Now, Ian? What is this?"

"Om. The Om of the cycle."

"Correct! You've followed along well!"

Eredith clapped, moved by the realization that her lessons were not in vain.

Riding on this momentum, she threw a few more quizzes at him.

"Karl. The Karl of the sky."

"Hum. The Hum of the earth."

"Uno. The Uno of the world."

Clap, clap, clap!

"Wonderful! Our Ian is really smart!"

Eredith, genuinely delighted, sprang to her feet and affectionately ruffled her student's hair.

After a grueling five-hour lecture, she felt fulfilled by her student's perfect completion.

'The space-time wizard recommended him, and he's really a great find!'

Eredith was elated, feeling what they call 'student pride.'

"See! It's easier than you thought, right? No need to be scared!"

"Hmm. Yes. I see."

Meanwhile, Ian's response was lukewarm.

He had been preoccupied with checking his status window.

[Maronius Ear - 1% (In Progress)]

When Ian faced Eredith's question, memories of the lesson surged back like a strong déjà vu, allowing him to easily pass the quiz.

'I... wasn't wrong.'

A thought he had harbored ever since the status window began to appear.

The belief that he had a cheat ability from another world and that he would awaken it someday!

This firm belief blossomed like a splendid flower, enduring the cold winter and dark nights.

Another world cheat player.

I, Rise.

"Hehe..."

Lost in thought, Ian suddenly giggled like someone who had taken a happy pill.

Eredith was a bit worried about her emotionally fluctuating student.

But soon she reassured herself.

It was natural for him to be happy after passing the first lesson's test!

"I'm hungry! Ian! Your master will make something delicious for dinner tonight!"

"Wow! Something delicious!"

Master and student, both in good spirits for different reasons, spent a warm and cheerful evening together.

Ian, who had awakened his cheat abilities from another world, feared nothing.

He easily kept up with Eredith's daily 100-character lessons.

However, summoning the status window proved unexpectedly difficult.

The status window operated similarly to recalling past memories, consuming his concentration each time he summoned it.

Too frequent use could exhaust him to the point of collapse.

Thus, Ian with the status window wasn't entirely invincible.

When in poor condition, he occasionally made mistakes.

But Eredith didn't find anything odd about this.

Ian's scores fluctuated between 90 and 80.

These were precisely the scores Eredith had when she studied magic.

'Quite intriguing.'

Every time she saw Ian engrossed in his studies, Eredith was caught in a strange sentiment.

Whenever she looked at Ian, it was as if she saw herself in her childhood.

Although it's said that a student often resembles their teacher, it was rather strange for Ian to mirror even the childhood grades of Eredith.

Yet, she didn't dwell on it much.

It was the perfect timing for the all-powerful cheat key, the space-time wizard to appear.

The space-time wizard.

Since he recommended Ian, unusual was to be expected.

If Ian had known Eredith's thoughts, he would have been astounded.

Ian, with the help of his status window cheat ability, had similar academic performance to Eredith, who studied unaided?

Again, it's important to emphasize that Ian was not a dullard.

He had attended a respectable university and a reputable department.

But Eredith was a different kind of genius.

After all, isn't there a monster-like human who graduated from Seoul National University, went to Harvard just for fun, stopped by Caltech, and churned out papers effortlessly?

A real intellectual, active at the forefront of knowledge.

That was Eredith.

'How adorable.'

Contrary to her brilliant intellect, Eredith's emotions were like those of a middle-aged woman.

It meant she just wanted to dote on the kids, finding them unconditionally adorable.

Attentive in class, diligent, not throwing tantrums.

Loving his teacher.

Ian was a good student, without any flaws to dislike.

"You've mastered the basics last time, right? Now, we'll start the real lessons."

"Oh, Ian. You're still keeping up, aren't you?"

"Alright. Today is the adjectives special! Let's memorize 100 essential adjectives!"

One year, two years, three years, four years.

Ian continued his studies, going through three books a year.

From the third year, he studied five books, and from the fifth year, he had to tackle six books.

Ian 'Eredith' Raven, sixteen years old, was mastering a book every two months.

The workload was murderous, on par, or even beyond that of medical students.

From waking up in the morning until going to bed at night, Eredith was constantly glued to him, driving him to study non-stop.

"Master..."

"Yes?"

"I think I'm going to die..."

Eredith granted him a day off every five days.

But even that was far from enough.

"We're almost done. Just a little more to go."

"Really?"

"Yes! Just two more books, and you'll master the Maronius language!"

"..."

Indeed.

For the past six years, Ian had been studying nothing but the Maronius language.

[Maronius Language - 100% (Perfect)]

[You can now perfectly speak the universal magical language of great wizards]

Ian, having endured the nauseating volume of studies.

If not for the cheat key of the status window, he would have long since fled.

'Really... These wizards. Crazy...'

That was Ian, equipped with a cheat ability.

How much effort would it take for an ordinary human to even 'begin' learning magic?

Either a genius or a madman becomes a wizard.

The truly chilling part is that Ian is still a complete novice in magic.

In game terms, he's just finished the tutorial.

As the Maronius language course came to a sluggish end, Ian turned from 16 to 17 years old.

From the day the lectures ended, Eredith stopped using human language.

She conversed with Ian only in Maronius language.

"Tzabel, Rus?"

"Gog. Hina."

Maronius language.

Devised by the great archwizard Maronius, mastering this language alone was said to enable entry into all types of magical schools.

Magic varied by school, each using its own magical language.

For example, to use fire magic, one needed the language of fire.

The language of fire was of no use in casting water magic.

Thus, to use magic from different schools, a wizard had to master the various magical languages each school employed.

The amount of study required was immense, needing a lifetime of dedication to achieve significant accomplishments.

However, the advent of Archwizard Maronius brought a seismic shift to the world of magic.

While it had been normal for each school to use its own language, Archwizard Maronius unified all these languages into one and compiled them into a book, creating his unique linguistic system.

This was the Maronius language.

Of course, there were many parts where the common language was insufficient in advanced courses.

But in unifying the language of magic, Maronius indeed proved himself a mad genius.

"Excellent."

Ian's proficiency in Maronius language was flawless.

With such skill, it was unlikely he would make mistakes when communicating with magical beings.

"Ian."

"Yes, Master."

"My teachings are now at an end."

Eredith smiled as she closed the book.

It was the end of their final lesson together.

A wizard must discover truths on their own.

While a push is needed for the initiation, once begun, one must find their own path.

It was a harsh reality.

Yet Eredith desired to raise Ian as a true wizard.

Not as a fake, imitating others' magic without individuality, but as a real wizard, exploring his own mysteries...

"Your mystery must be discovered by yourself."

"Master..."

"You've worked hard until now, Ian. Now, you are a wizard."

"..."

"Now, walk your own path."

Ian didn't know what to say.

Eredith was bidding farewell.

"Isn't it... too early?"

"Haha. You're so smart, there's nothing more I can teach."

"Master..."

"Now you are a seeker. Take pride in that."

Seeker.

A term of respect magicians use when addressing each other.

Ian realized.

This day was his graduation ceremony.

"I'll help you with the basic initiation into the schools. But the path beyond, you must find on your own."

Ian had perfectly mastered the archwizard's magical language.

But to be a true wizard, he had to use that language to wield magic.

Now Eredith intended to finish her role by helping Ian into the magical schools.

"Let's go outside."

After six years, no, entering his seventh year, Ian left the house he had grown fond of.

He was momentarily caught in a strange melancholy as he gazed back at his old home.

Where there is departure, there is arrival.

Memories are overlaid with new ones.

Such is life.

'Oh dear.'

His teacher, by nature a wanderer, moved on without any hesitation.

Ian hurriedly followed Eredith.

"Which school of magic should I learn first?"

Ian asked as they walked.

There were many branches of magic, at least ten that he had briefly heard of.

"First, it should be Air magic."

Eredith had prepared a curriculum for Ian's introduction to magic.

Air magic, the magic of controlling the wind.

Earth magic, the magic of controlling the earth.

These two schools of magic had an overwhelming advantage compared to others: they were easy to learn!

"Start with the easy air magic and earth magic, then move on to ice magic, water magic, and fire magic in that order."

The initiation into magic becomes increasingly difficult.

Ian, new to magic in both his past and present life, lacked the ability to discern what was easy or hard.

But he took Eredith's word for it and moved on.

"Air magic is really easy to learn, so let's finish it quickly and move on to the next."

"Yes, Master."

Eredith took Ian to hike the Golden Mountains.

They had lived at the base of the Golden Mountains for over six years, but they had never climbed to the higher regions.

The hike was both challenging and fun after a long time.

"Hmm. This spot seems good."

Crack.

At the peak of the mountain, with a clear view in all directions.

The sight of clouds spread out like an ocean below was impressive.

'I wish I could take a photo.'

While Ian was lost in admiring the scenery, Eredith prepared a spell.

"Ian! Come here and stand!"

"Yes!"

Ian stood where Eredith pointed.

Eredith shouted.

"[Rise!]"

A spell composed in Maronius language.

Suddenly, the ground trembled, and the earth where Ian stood was thrown high into the sky!

"Aaaaah!"

Ian, perched on a thin disc, shot up into the sky.

Caught off guard by the sudden flight, Ian couldn't gather his wits.

"Ma, Master!"

Ian, trembling, looked down below.

His master appeared tiny like an ant.

Not just the master, everything looked small.

"Ah."

The brightly shining sun.

The majestic procession of flowing cloud formations.

The pointed mountaintops capped with ice...

It was beautiful.

The world seen from above in the sky was so beautiful.

...But his moment of reverie was short-lived.

What goes up must come down.

Ian's body began to sink downwards.

He was falling!

[Look!]

[It's a human! A human!]

[He's flying!]

[Just like us?]

'...?'

That's when he heard it.

Just as he was about to fall, a familiar language reached Ian's ears.

Maronius language, as familiar as his mother tongue.

'Huh?'

Ian felt the wind swirling around him.

The voice of the wind was audible.

The wind blowing from the peak of the mountain was chattering in Maronius language.

Simultaneously, the status window appeared.

[New Skill Acquired!]

[Skill: Air magic]

[The ability to utilize the magic of the wind.]

'Is this the wind?'

The cold wind brushed past his ears.

The mysterious voice whispered in it.

"Ah."

Ian, novice wizard.

Listening to the voice of the wind.

[A/N: Air magic, Earth magic, Ice magic, Water magic, Fire magic... Literal translations equate to, respectively: Great Atmosphere Technique, Great Earth Technique, Cold Technique, Water Technique, Flame Technique. So I have taken the liberty to adjust the names since it is about magic]