Chapter 25: A Taste of Strategy and Combat

After the commotion at Lunia’s cabin, about twenty minutes had passed.

Sion had made a simple pasta dish using the ingredients available in her home.

‘There’s no easier and better dish than pasta. Luckily, she had everything I needed.’

There weren’t many ingredients in Lunia’s house.

Fortunately, there was a pack of pasta noodles she had apparently been coerced into buying at the market.

Pasta was a simple yet delicious dish that Sion had often cooked in his previous life.

As he placed the beautifully twirled pasta in the center of the plate, Lunia’s eyes sparkled.

“D-Did you really make this, Sion?”

“Yes, go ahead and try it.”

“T-Then, I-I’ll start eating now…!”

She brought her hands together in a brief gesture of gratitude.

The moment she finished speaking, Lunia eagerly twirled the pasta around her fork and took a bite.

Chewing a few times, her eyes widened in shock.

From a cook’s perspective, her reaction was perfect.

“I-It’s so delicious! It tastes just like something from a r-restaurant…! S-Sion, you’re even good at cooking…!”

“I cooked for myself often. I spent a lot of time alone.”

“A-Alone…?”

“Oh.”

Lunia tilted her head curiously, making Sion scratch the back of his head.

‘I meant that I cooked a lot while living alone… but that might not be common in this world.’

In modern Korea, it was normal for university students to live alone when moving away for school.

But this was a medieval fantasy world, where large, multigenerational families were the norm.

Even at Byzantium Academy, all students were provided two-person dormitory rooms, making the concept of “living alone” seem unusual.

So, Sion changed the subject.

“More importantly, I’m glad the pasta turned out well. Do you prefer softer noodles? I cooked it al dente, but…”

“N-No, it’s fine… I-I don’t mind…”

Lunia answered while twirling her fork around the noodles.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem too fixated on his earlier comment.

“By the way, thank you for your help during the lecture earlier.”

“A-Ah, no…! I-I barely helped… I f-feel bad instead…”

“I was really startled when I got that question.”

Sion had been momentarily panicked when Clive asked his question.

The topic wasn’t included in the lesson materials that Lunia had prepared.

‘If I admitted I didn’t know, they would have doubted my skills. But if I said it was something taught in upper years, I wasn’t sure I could back that up.’

It was a tricky situation where any answer could have caused trouble.

As Sion struggled to keep his composure and find the right words, a translucent cat appeared before him.

It was Lunia’s spirit.

“Did you plan on using your spirit to explain beforehand?”

“N-No…! That w-was all h-his idea…! He’s always a bit unruly, but t-this time, he d-did well…”

Lunia pointed towards the wardrobe.

There, wedged between the top of the wardrobe and the ceiling, was a translucent Persian cat.

Its eyes were an unusual shade of red.

[It’s only natural to help out when my master is so interested in this male.]

“W-Wait…! W-What are you talking about?!”

[Nothing much. Every time you’re together, the air is thick with pheromones. Even an idiot could tell. That male probably knows too—]

“S-S-Summon dismissal!!”

Poof!

The cat instantly vanished.

Lunia was left gasping for breath.

She stole a nervous glance at Sion.

“D-Don’t mind what he said…! H-He’s always been a bit mischievous…”

“I see…”

“Y-Yes….”

“…”

Sion silently took another bite of pasta.

She told him not to mind it, but how could he ignore something about pheromones?

Still, since he had also avoided explaining his “living alone” comment earlier, he decided to help her move on from this moment as well.

“Do you think my lecture was helpful?”

“Ah, y-yes…! Y-Your lecture was s-so impressive. Y-You just j-jumped into it, but the quality was so high…”

“I appreciate the compliment. Rather than focusing on things like voice projection, which is hard to change immediately, I think it would help to start with structuring your explanations logically and using magic for demonstrations.”

As soon as they returned to the topic of lectures, the conversation flowed smoothly.

Lunia listened intently, as if trying to absorb every word of advice.

Sion, in turn, shared all the teaching techniques he had picked up over time.

So immersed in their discussion, they lost track of time.

“Wow, time really flew.”

“A-Ah… a-are you leaving already…?”

“Yes, I have another class.”

“I-I’m sorry for k-keeping you last week when you had c-class….”

“I didn’t realize at the time either. Anyway, I should get going.”

Sion stood up from his seat.

‘Last week, I missed my orientation and spent the whole evening talking with her.’

Today was Tuesday, meaning he had not just Lunia’s class but another one afterward.

For someone with a twenty-credit schedule, his number of classes seemed low.

That was because Tuesdays had two classes, not one.

Since he had unintentionally skipped orientation, he had to make sure to attend today’s lecture.

However—

“…Professor?”

“Y-Yes?”

“If you keep holding my sleeve, I can’t leave.”

Sion raised his right arm.

Lunia’s hand followed the motion.

She had unknowingly been gripping his sleeve the entire time.

“A-Ah…! S-Sorry…! I d-didn’t even r-realize…!”

“No, it’s fine. Well then… I’ll be going for real this time.”

Sion gave a polite bow and opened the door of the cabin.

He actually felt relieved that he had another class to attend—it gave him a reason to leave.

Creak.

As the door closed behind him, Sion didn’t hear the soft voice that followed.

“…I wanted to talk with Sion a little longer…”

A small murmur, lost to the empty air.

Professor Lunia stared blankly at the remnants of pasta on her plate.

“Whew! That was a close one.”

“How long were you even talking? I kept texting you, but you never replied.”

“Sorry. I’m still not used to this.”

Sion arrived at the lecture hall just in time and met up with Patrick.

‘This place again?’

The class was being held in the same colosseum-style training ground where Professor Horiju’s lesson took place yesterday.

Since he had missed orientation, he had no idea what kind of class this would be.

“Patrick, you attended orientation last week, right?”

“Huh? Of course. Oh… wait, you weren’t here last week?”

“No, something came up… Can you give me a quick rundown of what this class is about?”

“Yeah, no problem. This is Magical Combat Practice, and the professor here is—”

Step. Step.

Before Patrick could finish explaining, a lone mage entered the colosseum.

‘…Is that the professor?’

The man was the very embodiment of a stereotypical wizard.

He wore a dark gray robe with a pointed hat, his face was gaunt with pronounced cheekbones, and his eyes were hollowed by deep dark circles.

His expression remained completely indifferent as he scanned the students before raising his palm.

A book materialized out of thin air in his hand.

“…Attendance,” he announced. “Gagarin.”

“Here!”

Without warning, the professor started calling roll.

The classroom immediately fell silent.

‘He seems… strict.’

Since Sion hadn’t attended orientation, he wasn’t entirely sure, but he got the feeling that this professor had a very no-nonsense attitude.

Some professors were known to be extremely rigid, detesting any kind of disruptive behavior—whether it was fidgeting, chatting, or failing to pay attention.

Such professors wouldn’t hesitate to reprimand students, and in extreme cases, they would even penalize them with poor conduct grades.

“Sion.”

“Yes!”

“You were absent from orientation last time, correct?”

“…Yes, sir.”

Sion swallowed nervously.

The professor’s sharp gaze lingered on him for a moment.

Tsk.

He clicked his tongue.

“…Forget it.”

Though he looked like he had something to say, the professor simply moved on with roll call.

It was actually more unsettling this way.

If he had been scolded outright, at least he’d know what the professor was thinking.

Instead, being dismissed like this left a lingering sense of unease.

While Sion mulled over that thought, the professor finished taking attendance.

“Since there is a student who missed orientation, I will introduce myself once more.”

His gaze briefly flickered to Sion.

Considering he was the only one who hadn’t attended, it was obvious who the professor was referring to.

Feeling the weight of that scrutiny, Sion’s scalp tingled uncomfortably.

“This class is Magical Combat Practice. My name is Mehden Demourniza. I was formerly a court magician and have extensive experience in combat magic.”

“…”

“As I mentioned last week, we will begin practical training immediately.”

Mehden walked over to a large orb embedded in the colosseum wall.

The moment he touched it—

Rumble!

The ground within the colosseum began to rise.

[Magic Name: ???]
[Attribute: ???]
[Hierarchy: 4th Circle]
[Description: ???]

Sion focused on the ground and noticed traces of residual mana.

‘A 4th Circle spell?’

The students were visibly surprised.

Ignoring their reactions, Mehden continued speaking as if this was perfectly normal.

“Anyone who steps into this arena will not sustain serious injuries. A mid-tier healing magic circle is constantly in effect.”

He then proceeded to explain the rules of the practical combat training.

The rules were simple:

1. Each match lasts five minutes. The match ends under three conditions: one participant surrenders, the professor declares a forfeit, or time runs out.
2. Only 1st Circle magic is allowed.
3. Maintain proper etiquette, but fight as if it were a real battle.

Hearing the rules, Sion’s eyes gleamed.

‘If we’re limited to 1st Circle magic, I have a solid chance.’

Sion could only use 1st Circle spells.

Other students likely had access to 2nd or even 3rd Circle magic.

With this rule in place, it significantly leveled the playing field in his favor.

“The first match… Seren Camillea and Hagen Brental.”

The moment Mehden finished speaking, all eyes turned to one side.

A girl rubbed her drowsy eyes with her hand.

Her disheveled, sky-blue hair swayed as she stepped forward into the arena.

Seren Camillea, the top-ranked first-year student in the Magic Department at Byzantium Academy.

She would be the first to participate in Magical Combat Practice.

To be continued.