Chapter 44
Learning Forbidden Magic
Sadia had just drained Fiona’s energy and was waiting to see if any other students would protest, as if she were hoping for their objections.
The students, however, avoided making eye contact with her, instead turning their gazes elsewhere.
“Tch. No spirit.
This is wasting time.
Let’s begin the class.”
Sadia stood at the podium and snapped her fingers toward the chalkboard.
Without using any chalk, words appeared on the board by themselves.
‘Mesmerize & Illusion’
It was an illusionary spell that covered the chalkboard with these words.
“The lesson I will teach you all today is Mesmerize and Illusion.
Right, Fiona from Notos?
You seem enthusiastic, so I’ll give you a chance.
What is Mesmerize?”
At Sadia’s question, Fiona, still exhausted from the energy drain, managed to answer.
“Mesmerize is a school of magic that bewilders and manipulates the mind.
To be more specific, it can be divided into two types:
-
Dominant type, where a powerful mental wave is used to make the target faint or controlled.
-
Deceptive type, where senses are distorted to create illusions or make the target see false images.”
“Correct.
You answered well, even in your weakened state.
I’ll give you 1 point, Fiona from Notos.”
Sadia gave Fiona 1 point for her accurate answer, seemingly satisfied with her performance despite the energy drain.
This small recognition relieved some of Notos’ point drought.
‘Wasn’t that an easy question?’
‘Is there anyone who doesn’t know that?’
‘But let’s not argue. Notos finally got 1 point, which brings them to 3 points, still last place.’
‘But Boreas suddenly surged up from the bottom, so even if they’re last, we have to keep an eye on them.
In long-distance leagues, like Wizard Ball, the last place should be attacked first to gather points.’
‘Are you really going to argue with Sadia? You know she’ll just use Energy Drain on you.’
‘Right…’
Other students initially felt rebellious seeing Sadia favor Fiona but soon stopped themselves.
“Now, the issue is that Mesmerize and Illusion have higher difficulty levels compared to other schools, even for low-level spells.
For example, a common light spell…”
Sadia snapped her fingers, and a small glowing orb appeared above her finger.
“This is an ordinary light spell.”
With a flick of her fingers, the light orb exploded like fireworks, scattering in a cloud of glowing foam, from which a tiny light fairy, resembling a little girl, danced and twirled.
Everyone was amazed at this precision illusion, especially since it was created using a low-level illusion spell. Sadia’s mana control was nothing short of extraordinary.
“You must be good at controlling it.
But the mana input is similar, so these spells are still considered low-level despite their complexity.
That’s why there aren’t many Mesmerizers or Illusionists.
Teaching you this will take time for fledgling mages like you.”
Sadia looked at the students and smiled, seeming amused by their apprehension.
“But there’s always something that blooms in a difficult environment.
So, for this class, I’ll pair you up in teams of two.
I’ll assign the pairs.”
Immediately, Sadia grouped the students into pairs, ensuring there was a significant social and dormitory gap, even mixing boys and girls.
Idnia, from a noble family, was paired with a Boreas student whose name she didn’t even recognize.
“Um, nice to meet you, Lady Betelgeuse. I’m Bolson.”
“Bolson?”
Idnia racked her brain, trying to recall if she had heard the name before.
‘I don’t remember hearing that name during the Awakening Girl’s concert gameplay. Is he some nameless extra?’
Bolson, nervous under her gaze, hastily continued.
“I… I’m from a humble background, a common soldier. It’s an honor to be paired with someone like you, Lady Betelgeuse.”
“Humble background?”
“Yes. I am the lowest in status in Boreas.”
Bolson said this with a red face, clearly embarrassed.
He seemed like a small, shy person from the northern region who was easily flustered.
“Well then, that’s fine. Bolson.
You can just call me Idnia. From now on, you are my friend.”
Idnia extended her hand for a handshake.
“Ah, no! How could I, a commoner, shake hands with the noble daughter of a duke?”
“Are you going to embarrass my hand?”
Idnia playfully waved her hand in the air.
“My status and manners may be low, but I can’t possibly take your hand…”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to keep my hand up for the whole class. Oh, my arm is getting tired.”
Idnia pretended to complain.
“…I suppose there’s no choice.”
Bolson reluctantly took her hand and shook it.
“Well then, you’re now the friend of Idnia Betelgeuse, the daughter of the Duke.
If anyone insults you, defend your honor by knocking their face off in my stead.”
“Huh?”
“You will punish anyone who insults my friend! You’ll do that for me, won’t you?”
“U-Um, I can’t…”
“Then at least promise me you’ll try.
At the very least, don’t call yourself a lowly person.”
“I’ll… I’ll try my best.”
Bolson, the student who introduced himself as such, looked embarrassed.
“Now then, let’s start with the most basic Compulsion spell.
The incantation is ‘Myunghanoni!’ It’s a basic yet powerful spell that forces mana into someone’s body and manipulates them according to the caster’s will.”
Sadia snapped her fingers again and wrote the spell structure on the chalkboard with illusion magic, explaining the incantation and its principles.
‘Myunghanoni, huh. The lower structure beneath the incantation is difficult, though.’
Idnia admired the complex magic structure as she looked at it.
“This is the basic command spell.
You can only force a single command, but if you use this spell outside the academy, you will become a criminal under the Empire’s laws.”
All the students were alarmed by this statement.
“The… mind manipulation spell…”
As Sadia warned, mind manipulation spells were considered heinous crimes throughout the Empire and, in fact, throughout any rule-of-law nation.
Especially among the Triune Church, where mind-affecting magic was strictly forbidden. Anyone using such magic would be hunted by the Inquisitors of the Triune Church.
It was fine to use it within the academy, but outside the academy, it would make them enemies of the Empire. All students felt a sense of fear.
“Oh, you froze up when I mentioned the Empire’s laws.
As expected, most of you are nobles or gentry, right?”
Sadia felt disgusted by how the students, mostly from upper classes, reacted to this. She could feel her frustration turning into animosity as she looked at them.
If she weren’t bound by the Academy’s oath, if she weren’t an instructor at Dunais Academy, what would happen then?
“Of course, you’re afraid of the Empire’s laws.
But if you know nothing about mental manipulation magic, how can you defend against it?
And this is an academic pursuit.
Rest assured, if you’re not using it for selfish gain, there’s nothing wrong with it.
Besides, with your current skill level, you couldn’t achieve anything meaningful by manipulating someone.”
Some students nodded, understanding Sadia’s reasoning, while others were still uncertain. However, none of them could afford to refuse the lesson, given the expensive tuition they paid to attend Dunais Academy.
Also, despite the provocative remarks, they couldn’t help but feel motivated by Sadia’s words.
“You won’t be able to use this magic yet, but try it out on each other.
Pair up, and one of you will cast the low-level command spell, and the other will resist.”
“W-What?!”
As Bolson, the student from Boreas, was paired with Idnia, Mari, who came from a common background, was paired with none other than Crown Prince Rudolf.
Since Mari had the lowest status among the girls here, it was clear she had been purposely paired with the highest-ranking noble, the Crown Prince.
“Ladies first, cast the spell!”
At Sadia’s command, Mari’s wand trembled in her hand.
“T-To His Highness the Crown Prince?! Using mind control magic?!”
Having been raised in the Church, Mari truly believed in the teachings of the Triune Church, which strictly forbade mind-affecting magic.
Using such magic on the Crown Prince felt like a sacrilege.
“Yes. Inside the academy, there are no titles.
What stands before you is just another adolescent boy, your peer.
The barrier of status is just a thin foil, and beneath it is flesh, blood, and a soul.”
Sadia urged Mari to perform the spell, asking her to see for herself whether the Crown Prince deserved to lead the Empire.
“Do it. Test for yourself whether he is truly worthy to lead the holy Eldar Empire.”
“B-But…”
It was unthinkable for Mari to have such disrespectful thoughts.
But just then…
“Don’t worry, Mari. Go ahead and cast the spell.”
“Huh?”
“I’m fine. I’m just another student, and I trust the instructor.”
Crown Prince Rudolf smiled as he encouraged Mari to cast the spell.
“And even if you control me, I don’t think you’ll make me do anything too harsh, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Now, ladies first! Quickly! If you don’t cast the spell within 10 seconds, you’ll get a penalty! 10! 9!”
As Sadia began the countdown, the girls cautiously began casting their spells.
“Myunghanoni!”
“After the incantation, give the command for the target to obey! Tell them to discard it!”
“Discard?”
One by one, the students tried to cast the spell, but most failed.
“Haha. See? I told you it’s not that easy.
You little fledgling mages can’t just expect to succeed right away.
The human body has a nervous system, and you need to intercept it from the brain by manipulating the mana codes to take control.
But you can’t just intercept the nervous system blindly, as the target has to hear and understand the command.
Do you get it?
And yet, some of you are already thinking about breaking the rules and committing sacrilege. How foolish.”
Sadia watched as the students failed, but those who managed to succeed were paired with the strongest students:
Christian Dupont from Euros with Isolde Polzen,
Fiona from Notos with a Zephyrus student,
And of course, Idnia.
