Having grown accustomed to the sword training I had imposed on myself and Maria’s weekly trials, I decided to set my sights on the next goal: acquiring offensive magic. I tried asking a wizard-class teacher, but was quickly refused. Well, that was to be expected. I had already set my sights on a student who seemed likely to teach me offensive magic: Solon Berkeley, a future great sage known as a child prodigy. Perhaps due to his magical prowess surpassing that of his teachers since his enrollment, he was also a troublesome student who rarely attended class. There was one reason why I chose him. He seemed to be just wandering around the academy aimlessly and looked bored. So, when I saw him that day, I immediately approached him. “Solon Berkeley, can you teach me magic?” “No.” Solon answered without even looking at me and tried to leave. With his gaunt, stern face, he exuded an aura of rejection towards others. “Wait a minute, can’t you at least hear me out?” I circumvented his path and blocked his way. “There’s no need to listen. You’re Ares, the crazy guy who’s really aiming to be a hero. You keep repeating pointless sword training after looking up to Leon as your model, and Maria treats you like a toy once a week. And now you want me to teach you attack magic? Ridiculous. Why should I waste my time, a genius, on someone like you? It’s your choice to waste your life, but if you get in my way, I won’t show any mercy.” With an even more severe expression, Solon ranted on. “You know well enough. If you know the reason, we can talk. Please, teach me magic.” “Huh? Did you listen to me? I said, don’t get in the way of a genius, you ordinary person.”
“But aren’t you bored?” “Bored? Me?” “When you’re at the academy, you seem like you have nothing to do. And you don’t seem to have any friends either.” “You don’t have any friends either! I’ll kill you!” I could tell from the way Solon concentrated his magical power in his right hand that he was serious, so I quickly stepped aside. It seemed like not having friends was bothering him. “Don’t ever mess with me again,” he spat and walked away. ──── A week later, when I saw Solon again, I approached him. “Hey, Solon. Have you thought about what we talked about last time?” “Do you have no memory? Or has Maria’s trial messed with your head? Also, don’t call me by my name so casually, I’ll kill you.” From that point on, every time I saw Solon, we would have the same exchange. He would insult me with words like “die,” “trash,” and “garbage,” but thanks to the mental toughness I had gained from Maria’s trial, his insults didn’t affect me. And then, one day, about a month later, he finally stopped in his tracks. “Fine, I get it, I get it, you worm. There is some truth to what you say. I am indeed bored at the academy. I only came here because of some stupid obligations.”
According to what I heard, Solon was enrolled in this academy just for the sake of the academy’s reputation. “We are low-ranking nobles. My father is a skilled magician, but the difference in social status is insurmountable. The chairman of this prestigious academy put pressure on my father to enroll me to add prestige to the academy as someone who produced Solon Berkeley. The first month was spent passing the time with the academy’s books, but now I have nothing to do. However, even those who teach have the right to choose their students.”
Solon then took out several books from his pocket. It was not physically possible to fit that many books in his pocket. Is this also some kind of magic? “These books were distributed to the students of this academy’s magic class. If you read and understand them, you can use basic magic, but in reality, talent is also necessary. I’m not saying you’ll become able to use magic. Just memorize the contents of the book. Well, I’ll give you a week.”
“A week?! So many books in such a short time…”
It’s outrageous compared to the one-year curriculum of the magic class. “Is it impossible? You think it’s more impossible to become a hero. You’re saying you want to use magic without having any talent in the first place. If you’re going to whine about something as trivial as this, you won’t be able to use magic.”
When I think about it, Solon is not saying anything strange at all. Above all, compared to Maria’s trials, it’s a decent task.
“Got it. One week. I’ll remember it. Teach me magic when I come back.”
“I don’t tell lies.”
Saying that, Solon left. I returned to my room and immediately started reading the books. The content was a bit difficult, but there were also commonalities with the magical books I read before, so it wasn’t impossible to understand. From that day on, I stopped practicing with the sword, avoided Maria’s trials, and read books even if it meant sacrificing my sleep. I spent all my time reading. And a week later, when I saw Solon, I ran up to him.
“I’ve memorized them!”
“I see.” Solon was indifferent to my enthusiasm. “Then let’s get started.” He started walking towards the school building. “Where are we going? Aren’t you going to check whether I remember it or not?” “I won’t ask you to do something you can’t do. And you’re someone who doesn’t lie, so there’s no need to check.” I was momentarily taken aback, but quickly followed after Solon. — Solon led me to an empty classroom. “Then, try chanting the fire spell.” I chanted the fire spell written in the book as instructed, but nothing happened. “Hmm, the spell is not wrong. But I can’t sense any mana in the spell. Do you have a clear image of the fire?” “Yes, as it says in the book, I’m imagining the fire in the fireplace.” “Your image is weak. Imagine a more intense flame.” Solon gave me detailed instructions and taught me more about the contents of the book. We didn’t see much progress, but Solon was always serious.
“I see. That’s interesting. It’s possible that we could analyze the fundamental principles of magic in more detail,” said Solon.
“But I don’t even have the slightest hint that I can use magic,” I replied.
“That’s precisely why it’s interesting. I was able to use magic without even realizing it, but if we can figure out what we need to focus on when casting spells, it might increase the efficiency of magic. If you can figure out the path to casting magic, it might be possible to fundamentally improve it,” Solon explained.
Although Solon’s words were somewhat confusing, he explained them passionately. He only came to the academy once a week, so he only taught magic then. However, we had become friendly with each other during our conversations. I had initially thought he was a sarcastic and difficult person to approach, but in reality, he was caring and had a good heart.
“They called me a child prodigy and a genius, but I’ve been dealing with the dirty dealings between the nobles since I was a child, so I have my own distortions. Because of that, I couldn’t trust the people around me, and I was always alone,” Solon said with a self-deprecating tone.
“Maria is the same way. She was really like a saint when we were kids, but she became twisted under the weight of the expectations of those around her. Even now, she appears nice on the surface, but internally, she’s quite repressed. However, she’s the only one who can feel the presence of God to that extent. She’s different from the old geezers who hold bishop positions because of their social status. If Maria couldn’t teach you, no one else could. In her core, she’s still a saint,” Solon spoke with complex emotions about Maria.
“So, what is Maria’s trial like?” I asked.
“I was whipped many times the other day. They said that if I prayed to God in earnest, I wouldn’t feel any pain. However, in the process of being whipped, the body’s natural healing abilities come into play, and it’s possible to feel the presence of God,” Solon said.
“I see… But healing one’s own wounds is the first step toward the miracle of God’s healing. Perhaps as you are whipped, you may start feeling the presence of God?” I replied.
“During the whipping, Maria’s face gradually changed into a radiant smile, and it was scary, but I didn’t feel any pain after a while. Maria called it a ‘miracle of God,’ but I think it was just because I was whipped so many times that I lost feeling,” Solon explained.
I knew I had to learn healing magic as soon as possible, but I had doubts about Maria’s guidance.
“That’s impressive. It doesn’t look like there are any marks left on your body though…” Solon glanced over my body briefly. “Maria healed the whip marks cleanly. She said, ‘Since the contents of the trial are a secret, it is necessary to eliminate the evidence.'”
“Now, shall we start the magic training? You must not waste the time of a genius like me!” Solon averted his gaze from me and began the special magic training.
My school life passed like this. I devoted all my available time to training. I was looked at with strange eyes by those around me, including students and teachers, and was ridiculed for “working hard for nothing,” but I couldn’t give up on becoming a hero.
And then, not long after I entered my third year, I was able to use magic. A small flame magic was activated from my fingertips.
“You did it!” Solon was delighted as if it were his own achievement. “This is amazing! Without talent, you shouldn’t be able to use magic! Your efforts have overturned that! This is something to be proud of! It’s a groundbreaking achievement that overturns traditional magical theory!”
I was so overwhelmed by his joy that I forgot to be happy myself. As the joy gradually overwhelmed me, tears ran down my cheeks. “Thank you, it’s all thanks to Solon.”
Finally, the magic that I had dreamed of is now available to use. So that I will never regret again.
