Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 37 - 34: First Lesson

"Mage Rorschach, your academic record is seriously skewed!"

The Kano who greeted him was incredibly stern. He now wore a monocle, scribbling notes as he questioned Rorschach.

All in all, thanks to his predecessor’s diligent studies, Rorschach wasn’t stumped by any of Master Kano’s questions on magic theory.

However, the questions that followed highlighted the stark educational differences between the Holy Kingdom’s Magic Tower and the Empire’s Royal Magic Academy.

"How many times have you read the *Moon Phase Encyclopedia*?"

"...I’ve heard of it."

"*Dream Analysis and Sea of Consciousness*?"

"I think... I’ve heard of it."

"*Crowley’s Twelve Odes*?"

"Never heard of it." Now Rorschach was starting to break into a cold sweat.

"..."

Kano simply put down his pen and asked irritably, "Then what books *do* you read at your academy?"

Rorschach retrieved several prized, hardcover tomes from his Storage Ring:

THUD! *Comprehensive Guide to Basic Level Spells*

THUD! *Standard Magic Array Geometric Analysis* 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

THUD! *Human Magical Circuit Anatomy*

...

"Stop! I said, stop! There’s no more room on the desk!" Kano, taken aback by the thunderous display, shakily picked one up and flipped to a page.

He turned a page, and then another.

Finally, the Great Mage declared, his heart aching, "I was truly blind. What in the world did Caroline recommend to me!"

"Master Kano, as a head professor, you’re resorting to personal attacks!"

"Can you even call the people your Empire produces mages? They’re nothing but stonemasons and cannoneers! Where has the beauty of magic gone!"

Rorschach replied sternly, "Greater power is beauty. Higher energy efficiency is beauty."

Kano gritted his teeth. "You’d better perform well. Otherwise, the Tower of Stars will no longer accept any more graduates from the Empire Royal Magic Academy!"

After Master Kano’s rigorous examination, Mage Rorschach finally received his class schedule.

The schedule in Rorschach’s hand was unique, written in two colors:

The courses he had to attend were written in dark green ink, while the ones he had to substitute teach for Kano were in dark red.

Following this world’s custom of a ten-day week, he would spend the first five days attending and teaching classes, the next four helping in Master Kano’s research lab, and the final day resting.

’Red and green, what a tacky combination! I have no idea what the lab will be like, but I pray it won’t be like my past life—clocking in at 8 AM and not getting off until 10:30 PM.’

"Oh, one more thing..." Kano called out just as Rorschach was about to leave.

"Valuva hasn’t been particularly peaceful these past few years. You absolutely must not participate in any, ah... gatherings of radical young people. Even the Tower of Stars would have a hard time bailing you out of that kind of trouble."

"Alright, I understand." Rorschach didn’t fully understand, but he had a vague idea.

...

"Good day, apprentices. I’m Rorschach, your substitute teacher. Starting today, I’ll be teaching ’Magic History’ in place of Professor Kano."

Rorschach wrote his name on the stone slate.

All one had to do was infuse a special Willow Stick with Ether—when in the Holy Kingdom, one doesn’t say "Magic Power"—and it could be used for writing. Flipping the stick to the other end erased the marks. Rorschach quite liked this feature—no chalk dust to inhale.

At first, the apprentices were all quite interested in the new teacher. The young man on the dais had a rather boyish face; he looked younger than many of the students in their seats.

The Magic Tower didn’t have strict age limits for enrolling apprentices, but graduation required earning enough credits and passing the Mage examination organized by the Magic Guild. Under this system of strict entry and exit requirements, there were now apprentices in their twenties listening to a sixteen-year-old teacher.

It was only natural that some were resentful, especially since there was a natural animosity between the people of the Holy Kingdom and those of the Empire.

’Now I know how professors feel teaching a blow-off class...’ Rorschach thought as he lectured, watching the students below start doing their own thing or dozing off. An atmosphere of idleness and apathy filled the amphitheater-style classroom.

’Who would’ve thought I’d be the one teaching a filler course one day,’ he mused. ’If Magic History weren’t such an unimportant class, Professor Kano never would have let me substitute.’

As a former student who had made a habit of skipping electives and selectively skipping required courses, Rorschach felt it would be hypocritical to discipline the apprentices below. A quick scan of the room revealed only two or three students in the front row listening attentively.

"In the thirty-seventh year of the New Calendar, the Church of Light and Order launched the First Holy Crusade, repelling the invasion of the continent by the followers of the Formless God.

This series of massive campaigns not only defended the continent but also established the rough borders of the Holy Kingdom and the Southern Countries following the collapse of the Old Empire.

The Church’s power and authority reached their zenith, and the first King of the Holy Kingdom, Saint Pepin, was crowned by the Pope.

"To resist the Church’s pressure, the Four Symbols Element Tower, the Tower of Light, and the Tower of Darkness joined forces for the first time to form a transcontinental organization of mages—the precursor to today’s Magic Guild..."

Growing annoyed at lecturing to a dry mouth while no one listened, Rorschach resorted to a tactic he’d always hated. "Can any lady or gentleman, based on what I’ve just covered, tell me about the historical significance of the First Holy Crusade?"

Just as he’d expected, only the apprentices in the front row began flipping through their books to formulate an answer.

"Um, teacher, shouldn’t you know your place? Why are you trying to give us a hard time with questions in a class like this?"

A burly apprentice spoke up from the seats. Others began to whisper among themselves, and the classroom instantly fell into a commotion.

Rorschach noticed that while everyone else wore standard apprentice robes, this student alone had his unfastened, wearing it like a cape to reveal the ornate clothing underneath, flaunting his noble status.

"And what kind of class do you believe ’Magic History’ to be?"

Without waiting for the troublemaker to reply, Rorschach answered for him. "Expendable, right? After all, knowing history won’t make your magic any more profound."

SLAM. Rorschach snapped the thick textbook shut and held it up. "The material I just covered had very little to do with magic itself. I spoke first of the situation after the Old Empire collapsed, then of how the Church launched the First Holy Crusade, and only at the very end did I touch on how the Magic Guild was established under the duress of those circumstances.

As you can see, there is no such thing as an isolated history of magic. We all exist within human history—and indeed, within the history of the world itself.

What does it mean to be a Mage? Miracles? Great power? Glory? Does being powerful automatically equate to high status?

Some of you seem to think that once you become a Mage, you’ll have endless money, countless servants, and that the King himself will kiss your boots...

You haven’t considered the role of a Mage in this world. You haven’t thought about the circumstances mages faced in the past and face in the present. You haven’t noticed the difference between a Mage from the Holy Kingdom and one from the Empire, even though one is standing right in front of you—let alone contemplated *why* there is a difference.

If you had, you wouldn’t find this class so irrelevant.

Perhaps most of you, like me when I was an apprentice, dream of a wonderful future. But you’ve never stopped to reflect on that vision, never realized it’s just an illusion—an illusion that will shatter the moment you either pass or fail your Mage examination.

So many Casters take for granted everything the world has given us. Is it just because we’re the lucky bastards who can play with Ether? Why?

I’m not asking you to find some god and offer endless thanks. I’m asking you to find the answers in history for yourselves. Don’t just sit in this tower, ignoring the past and the present, only to be blindsided and numb when the future finally arrives.

Class dismissed."

’Lecturing people feels pretty damn good!’ Rorschach thought, clutching his textbook as he walked out of the classroom.