Chapter 20: The Path to 2-Circle: An Unlikely Mentor

After Professor Horiju’s swordsmanship class ended,

Sion headed to the training grounds alone.

The reason was simple: it was about his “Circle.”

“Advancing my Circle has become way too important.”

A Circle.

It was a boundary that formed around the heart, a tangible indicator of one’s power.

Every time a line formed in the heart, a mage would ascend to a new level of strength.

Sion checked his Magic Compendium.

[Magic Compendium]
[Welcome to the Magic Compendium!]
[Here, you can review the magic you have observed or can use.]
[Currently Available Magic]
[1-Circle Spells: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, Barrier]
[2-Circle Spells: X]
[3-Circle Spells: X]
[4-Circle Spells: X]

The number of 1-Circle spells he could use had increased.

The newly added spells were Light and Barrier.

But it still wasn’t enough.

“I need 2-Circle magic.”

Currently, Sion’s level was 1-Circle.

Using 1-Circle spells posed no difficulty.

However, learning 2-Circle magic was beyond his reach.

This was the limitation of the Eye of Identification.

Even if he observed a 2-Circle spell, he couldn’t immediately learn it.

The only way forward was for him to become a 2-Circle mage himself.

The same applied to combat.

He could only utilize up to 1-Circle techniques.

His Combat Log contained just one skill: Upper Strike.

To learn 2-Circle combat skills, he would first need to reach 2-Circle.

With that in mind,

“Hoo… Let’s focus.”

Sion seated himself cross-legged in one of the privacy rooms provided at the training grounds.

He sat upright, rested his hands on his knees, and closed his eyes, focusing inward on his mana.

Thump, thump.

He could clearly see the flow of mana, moving in sync with his heartbeat.

That calm, steady current—he began to alter its rhythm.

Thump, thump, thump-thump-thump!

As the flow of mana quickened, so did his heart rate.

Sion guided the flow, pulling the mana that coursed through his body back toward his heart.

It was like blocking the nozzle of a syringe and forcing the plunger down to compress the air inside.

He forcibly gathered the mana spread throughout his body into his heart.

“Grrh…”

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!

His heart pounded furiously, and sweat dripped from his forehead.

Even so, Sion didn’t stop. He compressed the mana further and further.

A massive sphere compressed into a plane, and that plane became a single line.

‘Just a little more… Almost there…!’

His body burned with intense heat, sweat soaking his entire frame.

His heart ached as if his ribs were being struck, and blood trickled from his nose, possibly from a ruptured vessel.

Yet the thought that he was so close drove him to keep going.

As he fiercely compressed the mana into a line,

“What lunatic is trying to form a Circle here?!”

“…!?”

Bang!

The door to the training room burst open with a loud crash.

Sion turned his head in shock.

Wasn’t the door supposed to stay locked without a key?

“Is it you? Hah, judging by your tie, you’re a first-year. Bold of you.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Excuse me? Cut it out right now! Ice spear, freeze the enemy’s movement! Ice Spear!”

Crack!

With a short, condensed incantation, a spear of ice shot from her hand.

Sion tried to react, but the rampaging mana within his body made it nearly impossible to move.

The ice spear struck him squarely, slamming him into the wall of the training room.

“Ugh…!”

His burning body cooled instantly, releasing steam with a loud hiss.

Though it felt as though the spear had pierced him, it merely enveloped his entire body in ice, rapidly lowering his temperature.

“Do you have a death wish, or are you just stupid?”

“…W-who are you?”

“Michelle Fontaz, third-year Magic Department.”

Sion finally got a good look at the intruder in his training room.

She had an intimidating face, her dark violet hair tied carelessly.

At first glance, she looked like a delinquent,

but her uniform was the same as Sion’s, marking her as a fellow student of the academy.

She scratched her ear with her pinky as she grumbled.

“I came here to train, and some lunatic was letting their mana run wild in the training grounds. Let me ask again—do you have a death wish? You’re just a first-year, so why are you doing something so extreme…?”

“N-no! It’s not like that! I just wanted to become a 2-Circle mage…”

“…Hah.”

She let out a heavy sigh, her expression dripping with exasperation.

Her sharp gaze made Sion feel unfairly judged.

After a moment of hesitation, Michelle opened her mouth, speaking as though explaining something to a clueless child.

“Kid, do you even know how to advance your Circle?”

“You gather the mana in your body, form it into a ring, and place it around your heart…”

“Good. You know the basics. But it seems like that’s all you know.”

She stepped forward, poking at Sion’s chest with her finger.

Though his body was encased in ice, making him numb to any sensation,

her piercing eyes reminded him of the sharp stares from his school days that made him freeze up in fear.

“Compressing mana is like compressing gas. What do you think happens then?”

“The gas molecules collide, move rapidly, and generate heat… Oh, wait, is this about thermodynamics—”

“What are you even talking about? Compressing gas just takes a ton of effort. It needs a lot of force, doesn’t it?”

Apparently, Michelle wasn’t well-versed in thermodynamics.

“Anyway, the point is that compressing anything requires immense energy and causes significant resistance. Forcing your heart to speed up and your body temperature to spike—of course that’s harmful. Don’t tell me you didn’t know that?”

Sion clamped his mouth shut. Based on what he had felt during the process, her words were undeniably true.

‘Thinking about it now… That really could’ve killed me.’

Sion recalled the thermometers from his past life.

Human thermometers didn’t measure past 42 degrees Celsius.

The reason? Once a body’s temperature exceeded 42 degrees, internal proteins denatured, leading to death almost instantly.

How high had his body temperature climbed just moments ago?

The thought sent chills down his spine.

Had he not cooled his body down properly, he might have died right after achieving 2-Circle.

“Now do you realize how serious this is?”

“…Thank you for helping me.”

“Hmph, at least you’ve got some sense.”

If she hadn’t intervened, he could’ve suffered heatstroke at best—or worse, death.

Sion offered her a heartfelt thank-you.

Michelle snapped her fingers, releasing the ice that bound him.

“Don’t do anything stupid like that again. You’re just a freshman, with your whole life ahead of you.”

“I’ve learned my lesson. But then, how am I supposed to advance my Circle? Should I prepare something like a wet towel—”

“How did you even get into the academy? Do you really think a wet towel is going to cut it?”

“Ah…”

Michelle’s exasperated glare made Sion scratch the back of his head sheepishly.

It did feel like a wet towel might work, though…

“There are a few methods, but asking a professor for help is probably the best option. They’ve got the facilities, and they can assist if anything goes wrong.”

“A professor?”

“Yeah. Freshmen like you will probably get help without a second thought. Most professors’ labs have the equipment for this kind of thing. But be careful.”

Michelle’s expression turned serious, her gaze sharp.

“If you manage to hit 2-Circle as a freshman, it’ll make you stand out. I don’t know how skilled this year’s incoming class is, but you’ll definitely catch the professors’ attention.”

“Catch their attention? What do you mean?”

“If a professor offers to treat you to dinner or asks for your help with their research later on—”

“Then I’ll run away immediately.”

Sion answered without hesitation.

Helping a professor, gradually getting closer to them, and eventually doing favors for them…

‘Next thing you know, you’re a graduate student. That’s not happening in this life.’

Sion reaffirmed his resolve.

No matter what, he wouldn’t become a graduate student.

Repeating the mistakes of his past life was out of the question.

“…Pfft. You’re strangely determined about the weirdest things.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. I just thought you were a pushover, but apparently not when it comes to grad school.”

Michelle chuckled as she pulled her student ID from her pocket.

It had several cute keychains dangling from it, giving it the vibe of someone outgoing—or maybe a gyaru.

Sion found himself staring blankly at the keychains.

“What are you gawking at?”

“…?”

“Scan my ID and save my contact. You look like you don’t know much about anything, and it seems like no one’s around to help you… I was like that once, too. So I’ll help you out. Now hurry up and add my contact already!”

“O-oh, okay!”

Michelle fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke.

When Sion looked at her, she averted her gaze slightly, her expression tinged with embarrassment.

‘Is she… embarrassed about this situation?’

“If she’s offering to help, I should be grateful,” Sion thought.

He was a complete novice when it came to magic.

Even when he asked people around him, they either didn’t answer or didn’t know the answers themselves.

At best, he could turn to other first-year Magic Department students, but their knowledge was limited.

Help from professors was vital, but accepting their help risked falling into a graduate student trap.

That left him with only one choice.

Sion bowed deeply in gratitude.

“Thank you so much, Michelle-senpai!”

“Hey, don’t be so stiff. Just… call me ‘noona.’”

“Yes, Michelle noona.”

Sion smiled brightly as he registered his contact information on her student ID.

Focused on the student ID, he didn’t notice Michelle muttering under her breath.

“…Kids these days are so bold, calling me noona right off the bat…”

To Michelle Fontaz, daughter of the Fontaz Viscount family,

hearing someone casually call her “noona” on their first meeting carried an incredible impact.

Quietly, she thought to herself that coming into the training room had been a very good decision.