Book 1 Chapter 311

The students looked puzzled at the slime that looked exactly like the Comet Mage.

"Did it imitate the Comet Mage with a slime?"

"That's amazing."

Although the students wore looks of wonder, that was all.

Of course, slimes that take on human form and use magic are astonishing.

If they had seen this type of slime for the first time, they would have been shocked.

However, the second-year students had seen a similar type of slime last year.

"How different is it from Toruha-senpai's Ditto?"

Chloe's eyes sparkled as she recalled Ditto, a slime created by last year's graduate, Toruha.

'It's different from Toruha-senpai's Ditto.'

Ditto is also a slime that tends to perfectly replicate the appearance of its target.

However, in Ditto's case, there were limitations.

If the target of replication did not exist, it could do nothing.

Moreover, even if it perfectly replicated the target, it was outmatched in terms of pure combat power.

Crucially, there was the disadvantage that it could not maintain the replication if it moved far from Toruha.

Tina came down from the magic experimentation hall, dragging her slippers.

Leo and the slime were in a standoff.

The slime moved first.

*Swish*

As it pointed its wand at Leo, mana burst from the tip of the wand.

Leo's eyes twitched at the sight.

*Flash! PABABEBEONG!*

A flash of light erupted before Leo's eyes, and fragments of mana scattered in all directions.

Everyone looked at Leo and the slime alternately with surprised eyes.

"As expected."

Leo, who had blocked the attack by deploying a shield spell, gazed at the expressionless slime.

"It's incomparable to Toruha-senpai's slime."

*Woong!*

A magic circle appeared around Leo.

Tina's eyes widened at the sight.

*Flash! PAJIJIIJIK!*

Golden lightning emanating from the magic circle enveloped the Comet Mage.

*TIDIDIDIDIING!*

For a moment, a transparent shield like glass deflected Leo's magic.

Watching that, Tina muttered,

"As expected. It's not for nothing that he's called the youngest student council president."

Ren chuckled at Tina's mumbling.

"How is it? Leo-kun's magic skills?"

To Ren's question, Tina replied,

"I have nothing to say but that it's amazing."

Ren smiled meaningfully at Tina's words.

"Leo-kun was born with it."

"…It doesn't seem like just being born with it."

"Yes?"

"I've never seen anyone handle star magic so skillfully. Even among the Tingel family, there isn't a mage of this level."

Ren looked at Leo with surprised eyes.

Ren, too, knew Leo's incredible potential better than anyone.

Throughout his first year, guiding Leo was a continuous series of surprises.

Even the descriptor "once-in-a-century genius" was insufficient.

In their mid-teens, even if they had achieved great heights, they should still be unripe apples, lacking as mages.

But Leo was different.

He already had a firm magic philosophy and worldview of his own.

'Among the students, only Toruha, who graduated, and Elena, a fourth-year, have firmly established their own magic philosophies.'

Leo had already achieved that level in his first year.

The mage evaluated as the greatest after Luna, the progenitor of nebulae, is indeed Seyrun, the Comet Mage.

However, even Seyrun cannot be placed on the same level as Luna.

Ren firmly believed that Leo would grow into a mage who would stand shoulder to shoulder with Luna.

Even Ren, who thought so, was surprised by Tina's statement.

What kind of family is the Tingel family?

It is the family created by the Comet Mage, Seyrun.

They are the most powerful wielders of star magic among the existing elf families.

Although Tina was treated as a hidden existence within the family because she was born with a body that could not accept mana.

Her understanding of magic is immense.

And from a young age, she learned the magical arts of the Tingel family as a direct descendant.

The magical arts directly written by the Comet Mage.

Star magic, evaluated as being closest to the original used by Luna, the progenitor of nebulae.

As such, Tina possesses an insight into star magic that is incomparably higher than Ren's.

It was Tina who directly evaluated Leo as being more skilled in star magic than the people of Tingel.

It was when Ren was watching Leo.

The Comet Mage raised its staff.

"Acré."

As the incantation was completed, numerous balls of light were generated.

Acré.

The most basic offensive magic among star magic.

It is introductory magic in this era and is indeed the easiest magic among the magical arts created by Luna.

But…

'The power varies greatly depending on the user.'

In fact, Acré was also Luna's favorite magic.

For low-level demons, one Acré from Luna would decimate tens of them.

*KIIIIIING-*

Leo's eyes narrowed.

"I see."

Leo curled the corners of his mouth.

"Acré."

Leo responded with the same magic.

*Flash! KWAGAGAGAGANG-*

Fragments of light scattered in all directions.

It was a dangerous display of magic, but it was a beauty that made onlookers lose themselves.

"Is it the Comet Mage itself?"

Leo looked at the slime.

More precisely, he looked at the Comet Mage that the slime had taken the form of.

One of the heroes of creation.

She was the first to conquer the world of heroes and the first to conquer Luna's world.

'Judging by her appearance, she is my age, or perhaps a bit older. The Acré magical arts are exactly the same as Luna's. Is it a hero skill received as a conquest reward? If so, it must be after conquering the world of heroes.'

Leo, who was analyzing the opponent leisurely, used magic.

*Hwaak-*

Mirage.

Dozens of Leo's illusions were created.

The Comet Mage hesitated at that.

The moment Leo was about to use magic.

*Woong!*

For a moment, the Comet Mage's appearance became fluid and distorted.

*Churuk-*

Then it became liquid and spilled onto the floor.

*Smmmm- *

The slime coalesced.

'Overload.'

Leo nodded, looking at the slime's core.

*Hwaak-*

The illusion magic dissipated, and Leo returned to being a single person.

Leo descended from the sparring area in the experimentation hall.

The students were all looking at the slime with confused expressions.

"How was it? My familiar?"

Tina asked with a smile.

Then the familiar crept up and disappeared into Tina's clothes, climbing her leg.

To Tina's question, Leo replied,

"I never imagined that a slime could be enhanced to this extent."

Leo said calmly.

"It felt like it might be the Comet Mage itself."

"It's unfinished… but it is indeed the ancestor herself."

Tina explained in a bored voice.

"More precisely, it's the appearance at the time she first conquered the world of heroes. It's a manifestation of her form then."

At Tina's words, everyone's eyes widened.

"Of course, it's impossible to use in actual combat. Shall I explain why, Leo-kun?"

"Because there are over a hundred magical arts used to manifest the slime, right?"

"What? O-over a hundred?"

"Is it possible to implant that many magical arts into a small slime core?"

Everyone wore expressions of shock.

To implant multiple magical arts into a single object, miniaturization of the arts is essential.

Miniaturizing magical arts is almost like creating new arts from scratch.

Even the greatest mage would find it difficult to cram a hundred magical arts into a small core.

What if those were magical arts to embody the past appearance of the Comet Mage?

Tina had achieved something that was almost impossible.

Everyone realized anew how great the mage before them was, and wore expressions of exasperation.

"What's next?"

"The source of mana that activates the arts would also be a problem. I'm curious about what mana source you used."

"That's a secret, so I can't tell you."

Tina giggled.

"At any rate, this slime is merely a sample showing how far familiars can develop. I can't make another one like this either. However, even so."

Tina looked at the Lumen students.

"Even if it's not to this extent, I believe that by adding the necessary abilities to your familiars using the magic engineering arts I teach, it will be of considerable help."

Tina looked at Chloe.

"Whether you are a traditional mage, a combat mage, or an all-rounder, a pure mage will eventually have a gap when casting spells."

Tina dragged her slippers and appeared among the students.

"Dual-class sword mages compensate with swordsmanship, and summoners who wield spirits and mythical beasts compensate with their summons."

Tina looked at some of the dual-class students.

"Unless it's a special case, sword mages have a weakness in either swordsmanship or magic, or summoners have a weakness in 'attributes,' don't they?"

Tina wore a meaningful expression.

"The advantage of an artificial familiar created through magic engineering is that you can create a being that can perfectly compensate for your weaknesses. Don't you think it's worth learning?"

The magic department students nodded in agreement.

"Well, are there any objections to this?"

To Tina's question, no one else expressed doubts about the practicality of familiars.

"All right, then shall we begin the class?"

"Here?"

"Aren't we studying magical arts in the lecture hall?"

Some students looked puzzled.

To that, Tina calmly said,

"Since it's a familiar class, wouldn't it be best to start with the most basic thing? Summoning the familiar first."

Tina's first class started outdoors.

And most students struggled from the very first class.

It's because summoning magic had been in decline for a long time.

The Lumen magic department students, being all elite mages, were very strong in the latest trend magic, but conversely, they tended to be weak in magic that was considered impractical and neglected.

No matter how many spells they knew and how good their magic sense and mana control were, they were bound to struggle with magic in a field they had never encountered before.

"Convenient~"

"It's fortunate that I'm a summoner and a dual-class."

Summoners who combined it with summoning magic had either already studied summoning magic or succeeded quickly even if they hadn't.

"This is surprisingly difficult."

Chloe looked at the summoning art with a perplexed expression.

She had mastered the art, but the knack didn't come easily.

Chelsea also seemed to be struggling.

But as time passed, students began to succeed one by one.

"Hmph, look at this. Isn't it cute?"

Iliana showed off the animal she had summoned.

Chelsea looked at her with a look of disdain.

"Can that pigeon even fly? Do you know that kids call them chicken pigeons?"

Iliana had summoned a pigeon, which could be easily seen anywhere on the Lumen campus.

The pigeons at Lumen were raised on breadcrumbs given by students, so they were not afraid of people.

They rarely flew, so students even nicknamed them "chicken pigeons" because they thought they might not be able to fly.

At Chelsea's words, Iliana bristled.

"Ugh! What did you summon? You were struggling just like me earlier, weren't you?"

"Me?"

Chelsea smiled and raised her hand.

*Peep-!*

With a sharp cry, a hawk landed on Chelsea's wand.

"As you can see."

"Ugh!"

Seeing that Chelsea had summoned a raptor, which is difficult to summon among familiars, Iliana shrank her neck.

Iliana, with a sad face, called out to Leo, who was passing by.

"Ban-jang! What did you summon?"

To Iliana's question, Leo opened his palm.

Then a sparrow flew and landed on Leo's hand.

Seeing that, Iliana wore a triumphant expression.

"See! There's no need to summon something flashy! As expected of Ban-jang! We are comrades!"

"For Leo oppa, it's a pretty ordinary summon."

Chelsea also looked a little bewildered.

"I'm not ordinary. I can talk. Unlike you, who summoned a chicken pigeon, my master is different."

Human words came out of the sparrow's mouth.

Chelsea and Iliana's mouths dropped open.

"Familiars with increased intelligence can also express the master's intentions."

Leo said calmly, making Iliana flustered.

"Ah, no matter what, it's the first time I learned summoning magic…"

To Iliana's words, Leo muttered inwardly.

'As for summoning magic, I've already mastered it.'

Leo was a mage from an era when familiars were actively used, unlike mages of the current generation.

Just then, Chloe passed by.

Chloe had also summoned a sparrow, and it was speaking simply, just like Leo.

Chelsea smirked at Iliana.

"You're the only one with a chicken pigeon."

"Ugh!"

Iliana, with a sad face, pointed at Kal.

"Kal! What did you summon!"

At that, Kal grinned.

"You'll be shocked when you see what I summoned."

"Hmph! Even so, it's just Kal! What did you summon!"

"Here."

Kal extended his hand towards Iliana.

"Huh? What exactly… KYAHAHAHA!"

Iliana screamed and ran away as she looked closely at Kal's hand and saw an animal peeking out from his sleeve.

"What on earth… Keck?"

"Hey! Kal! You!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Kal, who had summoned a snake, burst into laughter as he chased after the screaming female students.

The female students ran away in surprise.

"Operation complete success!"

Kal let out a chuckle.

Leo, watching that, sighed softly.

"Kal."

"Leo, isn't it funny too?"

"Are you confident you can handle the aftermath?"

"Huh? KYAACK!"

*POW-*

Before Leo could finish speaking, Chelsea flew in and drop-kicked Kal's back with both feet.

Iliana brought a wooden stick, and Chloe used ice magic with a cold expression.

Watching them, Leo sighed softly and shook his head.

***

After class.

While Kal, who was in tatters, went to the infirmary for a while.

Leo and Chloe headed to Tina's professor's office.

Tina, an adjunct professor, had arrived at Lumen the day before and was given a private office.

"I'm excited!"

Chloe said in an excited voice, hugging the book she held tightly.

The cover of the book read: "Philosophical Reflections on Why Ice Mages Should Learn Ice Magic."

Chloe, who arrived in front of Tina's professor's office, took a deep breath and knocked.

*Knock knock-*

Then the door opened with a *creak*.

"Leo-kun and Chloe-kun. What is it?"

Tina, who was recording something with a pen, looked up and asked.

"Professor Tina! I've been deeply impressed by your papers for a long time! Could I please get your autograph on this!"

Chloe smiled shyly and showed her book.

"Yes. I understand."

Tina nodded and approached.

Meanwhile, Leo's gaze, as he looked around Tina's professor's office, momentarily fixed on one spot.

A small crystal ball.

Leo narrowed his brow upon seeing small fairy wings within the crystal ball.

'Fairy wings? Could it be…'

No matter how he looked at it, it was no ordinary ornament.

Judging by the faintly felt aura, it was definitely fairy wings.

And they were the wings of a fairy Leo knew well.

'Kirian's wings?'