The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“Now give it a try, Hornel!”

“How about I DON’T!? I mean, why do I have to imitate your whole process, down to that humiliating chant!?”

“Surely I’ve already explained — By letting the movements of your body follow the rhythm of the chant, you can increase the speeds at which you draw Circles of all types, be it normal or fixed-position, magic of magecraft.”

“…And why does it have to be variations of ‘rise’ and ‘a-rise’?”

“Because those are what have worked reliably for me and Tūs. And by now, Lina, Natsu, Miss Trace, and many other mages who tried it have commented that they have indeed seen an increase in their Circle drawing speeds.”

“Don’t you think that sample size is way too small to support your reasoning?”

Man, this guy really wants to challenge every single step of my teachings, huh?

He should follow the example of other mages — at least they all gave my chanting style a try first!

Okay, he doesn’t like the sound of it — that’s fair. But when he’s told by some other mages that it DOES help them cast spells faster, he’d probably shut up. It’s only a matter of time.

“What did I do… to deserve this…!? Rise! A-rise, A-rise!”

If one wanted to practice firing ‘blank’ magic spells, all they would have to do is not supply the Circle with any arcane energy. It still runs the usual risk of exploding in the caster’s face if not handled properly, of course, but considering how all the mages here are all skilled — at least as skilled as a senior year Magic University student — there’s no need to worry too much about that.

In my sessions, practical training is done in parallel with technical lectures. And while it’s called a ‘magic classroom,’ classes are actually held in an open space, so the attendees spend most of the time standing up — thinking, thinking deeper, walking around, thinking even deeper, and so on and so forth.

That’s what improves one’s capabilities as a mage. I’d say I know better than anyone that being stuck to a desk would limit one’s progress in many cases.

“S-so I just have to stand on this?”

“Yes. Then I’ll be able to supply you with all the arcane energy you need to cast your spells.”

The Spell Circle in question is the fixed-position model of Magic Shift. By standing on it, one is able to use my supply of arcane energy instead of their own — which enables so many large-scale spells to be launched up into the sky throughout this day. Quite a pretty sight, and everyone’s reaction to that is priceless, too.

More importantly, though, it lets the attendees diversify the types of magic spells they can cast, and in turn accelerate the growths of their MP pools. The first one to test this out, Pochi, has even gotten herself the ‘Arcane Energy Rush’ title. It seems to be granted to those who expend an amount of arcane energy greater than their own limit in a short period of time, and as such, using my Magic Shift is the best way to get it.

“Delta Earth Crush!”

“Keep it up, Hornel.”

“Sharp Wind Asteriskos!”

“Very good, Hornel.”

“Bit Bolt Rush!”

“There, chanting rhythm.”

“Rise, A-rise! Venom Fire: Accel! …Ah!”

“Now that was quick.”

“AHHHHHH! CURSES!”

And so Hornel ran off, his face a bright red. 

Still, looks like he got the message, at least. Hehehe… good. Very good.

“Hello, Sir Asley. I must say, the bottomless well that is your knowledge has impressed me just as much as your… age.”

A voice called out to me — the voice of a woman who had been brought along by Barun, the Scale Tipper of the Six Braves, to the classroom’s opening ceremony.

She’s the mage who had recently provided guidance to Barun, Idéa, and Midors. Other than that, though, pretty much the only thing she’s said about herself so far is that she’s ‘from the north’.

Her most notable features are golden yellow eyes, tan skin, a handsome face, and a mysterious aura resembling that of the fortune teller from the other day — who, after I asked, turned out to be her apprentice. Small world, eh?

“Um… Good morning, Miss Minerva. Do you need something?”

Despite her aura, I’m not sensing an awfully high magnitude of arcane energy from her. She’s more powerful than Lina and Hornel… and is on about the same level as Trace, I’d say. What she has, though, is a great deal of knowledge — that’s why she was able to be a mentor figure to even Barun.

In fact, in coming to T’oued, she’s offered to teach magecraft that even I never knew existed. As such, she’s been spending most of her time here as a lecturer, though sometimes she does attend the classes as a student as well.

From what I can tell, she’s not that old, probably still in her early thirties. And despite the vibe she gives off, she does look easy on the eyes — like, she’s totally up Bruce’s alley.

She’s a diligent student who has often come to me with questions, and at the same time, she’s my teacher.

“In fact, yes. I would like to make an inquiry about the fixed-position type Spell Circle of Magic Table. I have found it quite difficult to write the code letters onto arcane energy platforms, you see. Is there any way to make it easier?”

The other mages, hearing her, started gathering around us. Hmm, so this is another thing she’s good at, I see. Most of the mages here are still having difficulties handling all the unconventional methods introduced to them. By asking me, Minerva is able to learn something for herself, while helping the other mages with that issue as well — practically carrying out her roles both as a student and lecturer at the same time.

“Let’s see… maybe injecting different arcane energy inputs with indicating colors will help? Rise, Magic Colors!”

After giving my arcane energy its colored indicators, I created a Magic Table in the shape of a cube to make it easier for everyone to see.

The mages around me sounded impressed by the visualization of the Magic Table… Oh yeah, Magic Colors is one of my own inventions as well. I totally forgot that.

“Now listen well — The trick to drawing on Magic Tables is to think of it as ‘craving’ rather than ‘writing’. Think of the magic spell’s formula as not a flat surface, but a three-dimensional object — and crave the formulas not from the outside in, but inside out. And… there we go. The Giving Magic is complete.”

“”Ohh…””

Lina clapped a little bit, and Minerva…

“Oh, how wonderful.”

She beamed me a radiant smile. Looks like she was impressed, too.

“Hahaha… It’s nothing too difficult, really.”

“Even so, it is by your tireless efforts that these sorts of discoveries were made in the first place, Sir Asley.”

Minerva proceeded to shower me with praises — which was nice and all, except for the fact that her face was dangerously close to mine. And in an edge of my eye, I saw Lina starting to look grumpy, prompting me to take a step back and cough once to clear my throat.

“Thank you. Still, your magecraft and Swift Magic inventions were quite revolutionary as well. I look forward to seeing that you’ll teach us tomorrow, Miss Minerva.”

“Indeed, that is something I look forward to as well.”

Minerva smiled and proceeded to leave the class venue.

…Huh, did she understand the whole thing from just that explanation? Or maybe she already knew, and was only asking on the behalf of the other mages? Although I did say it’s nothing too difficult, it still IS complicated enough for one not to get everything down in just a class or two… and many of these people were wayward mages. At least a few of them were probably too shy to ask. Anyway, as a lecturer, I would say things worked out for me in the end.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

“SIR ASLEYYY! Are you– hick! LISTENING!?”

Lina slammed her mug of mead down on the table and barked at me.

“Uh, Lina? You’re probably too drunk by now, don’t you think?”

“–hick! NO! Totally not…!”

Holy hell, I never thought Lina would be like this when she’d drunk.

I haven’t had many chances to drink with her, but I know she USUALLY is able to handle her liquor. It’s just… she might’ve had way too much today.

“Professor Minerva is– hick! A nice lady! Very nice– hick! BUT! She’s totally– hick! Got some ulterior– hick! MOTIVES! Like she’s! HITTING! On you– hick! That’s what her– hick! VIBE! Tells me- hick!”

All Lina did was invite us to a meal on our way home — which was fine and all, but what’s NOT fine is how she ended up drinking THIS much. Fuyu was invited as well, but she seemed to have her hands full with some other thing, unfortunately — or maybe fortunately, considering how chaotic this meal has become.

Well then… Looks like I have no choice but to ask Pochi for help–

“Masterrr! Stay in your seat– BURP!”

“Uh, I AM already in my seat, though?”

“MASTERRR! Don’t get all high and mighty just ’cause you’ve been cool these past few days! LISTENNN! We idiots need to stick together, you and me! YOU NEED ME! AND I NEED YOU! POCCHIE MASK! GOTTA EAT ‘EM ALL! –BURP!”

Why the hell is she drunk, too?

Doesn’t she always avoid drinking because they’re poisonous to dogs? Or is she ‘fine’ now because she’s technically a Phoenix?

As I wondered about that, I noticed a glass that Lina had knocked over… and mead flowing from it down into the steak Pochi had been eating. Okay, that makes sense.

“Sir Asleyyy? Are you– hick! Listening!?”

“Masterrr! Stay in your seat! You can’t fly while indoors– BURP!”

The only ones ‘flying’ right now are these two, though.

Now, I better save my energy — after sending these drunks home, I’ve got to go see Warren… because he’s letting me into that meeting with the Guild Master, apparently. I wonder what kind of person he is.

“”MORE FOOD!””

Good God, looks like this will be a long night to suffer through.

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