Shirone flinched.
Wh-what do I do?
Run? Answer? Did a commoner even have the right to speak?
Alpheas continued, gentle.
"No need to panic. Co over here. I’d like to see you."
After a hesitation, Shirone approached, as if drawn by fate.
If I don’t climb this wall now, I never will.
Over the wall, he saw a kindly white-haired elder—a nationally recognized 4th-class mage, renowned even abroad.
Alpheas waved from his rock seat.
"Co, join us. Will you humor an old man’s chatter?"
Heartened by his warmth, Shirone vaulted into the school grounds.
Under the tree, noble children sat in a circle. One scowled.
"Headmaster, he’s not a noble. Looks like a peasant."
"Ew! Peasants can’t be here! Get out!"
Alpheas briefly frowned but soon beckoned Shirone closer.
"Pay them no mind. Now, what part of my ramblings caught your ear?"
Shirone hesitated.
He yearned to step forward, but the children’s glares pinned him in place.
"Show magic."
"Oh? Have you never seen it?"
"Only in books."
A boy sneered.
"Peasants shouldn’t touch magic! Leave!"
Yet Shirone stood his ground, eyes locked on Alpheas.
This might be his only chance.
Chapter 3
"Liar! How could a commoner read books?"
Alpheas studied Shirone’s expression and realized it didn’t seem like a lie.
But children that age were known to deceive adults with innocent faces as easily as eating a al.
"Fine. What kind of magic do you want to see?"
"Anything is fine. I don’t care what it is—just show , please."
As Shirone bowed his head, acknowledging his place, Alpheas waved his hand and laughed.
"This old man’s only joy is showing magic to our little ones. Very well! Then this ti, I’ll show you a spell that conjures wind."
"Wooaaah! Wind, it’s wind!"
While the other children clapped their hands in excitent, Shirone clenched his fists, tense.
’Wind? How can wind...?’
The mont Alpheas raised his hand, Shirone’s eyes widened in shock.
"Huhk!"
His body lost all weight, and he soared over twenty ters into the air.
The countless buildings of the magic academy and even the mountain ranges beyond ca into view at a glance.
"Aaaah!"
A scream tore out of him involuntarily, but the other children were flipping through the air, enjoying themselves.
A mont later, the children began falling like rain.
The speed of their descent was terrifying, and Shirone squeezed his eyes shut as the ground rushed up to et him.
"Huh?"
There was no bone-shattering impact.
Confused, Shirone cautiously opened his eyes—and found himself floating just above the ground.
The children burst into laughter at his reaction, and Alpheas grinned mischievously.
"Well? This is what magic is."
Of course, he was a kind man by nature, but he wasn’t so dry that he couldn’t enjoy a child’s reaction.
Perhaps that was why he had been more dramatic than usual, but Shirone couldn’t respond.
All he could hear was the pounding of his own heart.
’This... is magic.’
The phenonon he had just experienced completely surpassed even the wildest fantasies he’d ever had as a boy.
When Shirone finally regained his composure, he asked:
"What is magic?"
"Hmm, let’s see. Magic is..."
"It’s fine if I don’t understand. Just tell the truth as it is."
The other children stiffened.
Though they were young, they knew Alpheas’ standing in the magical world. That was why even the proudest noble children behaved like re students in his presence.
’Even the teachers wouldn’t dare speak to him like that.’
At first, Alpheas found Shirone’s boldness audacious, but after a mont, his opinion shifted.
’This child is sharp.’
He wasn’t trying to understand right away.
’He knows what kind of opportunity this is. That’s why he isn’t asking for an explanation simplified for a child’s level—he wants difficult but accurate information so he can study it himself later.’
If Shirone couldn’t receive formal magical education, this approach was undoubtedly brilliant, but...
’Really?’
Did he truly believe he could do it alone?
Realizing this, Alpheas studied Shirone with a different gaze.
The boy was tense, like a man gambling with his life.
"Keke! Relax. It’s not that complicated. But since you asked, I’ll raise the difficulty a little. Magic is an act that defies common sense. In other words, it’s a ntal exercise that explores the truth of phenona."
Shirone fell deep into thought.
"It’s fine to admit if you don’t understand."
"It’s not an easily explainable phenonon, but is that really the truth?"
Alpheas blinked.
"Where did you learn that?"
"Uh, well... books."
"There are books that discuss such things?"
"No. I just thought about why books exist in the first place. If they only contained facts everyone already knew, no one would read them. Truth must differ from common sense—that’s why books are written and read."
Alpheas nodded.
’Anyone can morize and recite. But understanding the concept of books requires unique insight. He has real perception. Is he truly a commoner? What a sha.’
Judging by his appearance, he was likely an outcast, not even a city commoner.
Shirone asked another question.
"How can I learn magic? Do I need so special power?"
"I don’t know what you an by ’special power,’ but considerable ntal strength is required."
The answer was unexpectedly mundane.
"Is that really all there is to it? If I just think of wind, can I fly?"
"Hmm, that’s a difficult question. But to exaggerate, yes. Of course, ordinary thoughts alone won’t suffice. A mage’s mind must align with the world. You could say it’s an extrely heightened ntal state."
The children didn’t dare interrupt Alpheas’ serious deanor.
"What is this ’heightened ntal state’?"
Alpheas smiled.
’This isn’t re curiosity. He genuinely intends to learn magic here.’
Yet, he also felt concern.
’Unfortunately, he’s a commoner. He can’t receive formal training. Encouraging him further would only bring misery to his life.’
Before the conversation could deepen, Alpheas glanced at the other children, intending to cut it short.
"When a mage focuses, their mind becos so sharp they can sense everything around them. Mages call this entering the ’Spirit Zone.’ I’ll demonstrate. Watch what this child here does. Shuamin, can you enter the Spirit Zone?"
"Yes, Headmaster."
A girl with braided hair answered confidently.
These were children of extraordinary talent—of course they’d want to show off.
As Shuamin closed her eyes, the other children naturally fell into a reverent silence.
As if their attitude alone proved her superiority.
"I’ve entered the Zone."
"Then let’s begin."
Alpheas took out a coin, shook it in his palm, then suddenly snatched it and held out his hand.
"Now, how many coins are in here?"
"Six."
When he opened his palm, six silver coins lay there.
As Shirone watched in amazent, Alpheas repeated the process.
"Three."
Again, she was correct.
No matter how many tis he tried, the result was the sa.
"That’s enough, Shuamin. You did very well."
"Huu..."
Shuamin exhaled deeply.
Despite only guessing the number of coins, her forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
Alpheas turned to Shirone.
"This is what an extrely heightened ntal state looks like. The mont a mage enters the Spirit Zone, they can perceive the external world with superhuman senses. Skilled mages can even count the leaves on a distant tree. Though, Shuamin’s performance was impressive in its own right."
Shirone had relied on instinct to master Thunder Fist, so he vaguely understood.
’She didn’t count the coins.’
Instead, she sensed the totality of primal information that existed long before counting.
She felt the entire situation unfolding before her.
The claim that a Spirit Zone master could count distant leaves wasn’t an exaggeration.
A natural question followed:
Could I do it? No—maybe I can do it?
Alpheas spoke.
"Anyone can do it."
Entering the Spirit Zone was sothing anyone could achieve—but not everyone could.
Magic was the culmination of relentless effort and talent, pushing the limits of humanity.
"Practice in a quiet place. First, focus on feeling yourself. Then, erase yourself. If you succeed, a different world will unfold before you. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
Shirone understood.
"If I can’t feel myself, then erasing myself would be impossible."
Alpheas was impressed again. This wasn’t the kind of insight a twelve-year-old could grasp.
Two possibilities ca to mind:
Either this boy was a natural genius, or so mischievous acquaintance had sent him as a prank.
"Would you like to try? Right here."
Shirone had no reason to refuse. He nodded eagerly and closed his eyes.
’I’ll use my experience with Thunder Fist.’
But true concentration was on a completely different level from finding weak points in wood.
How much do we really know about ourselves?
’Who am I?’
For the first ti, Shirone realized how difficult it was to define himself.
’I was mistaken.’
There were too many definitions of ""—and yet, none of them were precise.
’What... am I?’
At that mont, a simple truth leaped into his mind like a fish breaking the water’s surface.
An extrely heightened ntal state.
Alpheas’ description was chillingly accurate.
’The brain.’
Not the physical organ.
’I... don’t know the world beyond the brain.’
The concept of the brain.
The realization that all his senses and perceived reality were, in truth, subjective.
’I don’t need to define it. I just need to feel it. It’s not about my existence becoming heightened...’
Only the heightened mind remains.
Instead of defining himself, Shirone began erasing everything he thought constituted "him."
If he erased it all, eventually, nothing would remain.
And finally—
’....’
Even Shirone’s thoughts vanished.
At so point, his eyes snapped open.
"Haa... Haa..."
The scene before him was peaceful.
The children were yawning, and Shuamin was fiddling with her hair.
Unbeknownst to Shirone, ten minutes had passed.
"Well? Did you feel anything?"
Alpheas wasn’t expecting much.
Though Shirone’s ten-minute focus was comndable, that alone wasn’t enough to succeed.
"Yes. I heard it."
The unexpected answer made Alpheas raise an eyebrow.
"Oh? What did you hear?"
"Sound. I heard every sound."
"Hoho, I see."
Alpheas nodded as if he had expected this.
’As I thought, he didn’t make it.’
His senses had sharpened, but the Spirit Zone was on another level entirely.
First ca synaesthesia—
Where sounds carried scent, light had taste, and the shapes of landscapes brushed against the skin.
’A sha. The talent is there.’
If he had been a noble, if he had trained since childhood, perhaps he could have matched the achievents of the children here.
Of course, that alone wouldn’t have impressed Alpheas.
The world was full of children far more skilled than these.
"You did well. Keep practicing, and you’ll hear even more."
Even if he hadn’t entered the Spirit Zone, concentration training would benefit the boy’s life.
"Now, this special lesson is over. All of you, return to the academy."
As Alpheas led the children away, Shirone didn’t hesitate—he scaled the wall and left.
He had sensed Alpheas’ disappointnt.
The fact that the old man had left first to spare him further embarrassnt was kindness enough.
"Haa... Haa..."
Only after crossing the wall did Shirone collapse to the ground, gasping for air.
His heart pounded so hard his chest ached.
"It... really happened."
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