"Good morning, class."
Year 1 Class 1 fell silent as the gentle voice of Professor Vanitas Caster echoed across the room.
His gaze swept over the students before finally settling on one person.
Yeah... .
"Such a cliché plot."
Beside , Sylvia rested her face on one hand.
It was still shocking that I hadn’t realized she was Jin-ah.
She had the sa mannerisms and way of speaking.
Earlier today, I had even noticed that their working styles were identical.
Well, who could bla ? No one would imdiately think, after eting soone, ’oh hey, this person acts just like that person.’
Unless I was a stalker, that is.
"Today, class..."
The sound of Professor Vanitas’s voice pulled out of my thoughts. My eyes followed him as he paced around the podium.
After a pause, he continued, "We will be learning the basics of controlling magic and the fundantal forms of different spells."
He lifted his hand, and a pebble materialized above it, hovering a few ters away.
"This is a Tier 9 Earth spell. If I recall correctly, Miss Mirabel should have already given you a rundown, but I’ll explain again."
The professor closed his palm, and the spell vanished. "Magic is an art that relies on three things."
He raised a finger. "Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence."
The students sank back into their seats. I did the sa. Sohow, I knew this was going to get interesting.
"Unlike Arts, which focus on manipulation, augntation, and awareness, we mages stand closer to godhood."
He stepped closer to the descending rows of seats. "Omniscience is a state where you understand everything about a given magic. This includes natural affinity, study, or simple practice."
Closing his eyes, he summoned a gust of wind. "That spell was a Tier 9 Wind spell. Now, who can tell why it’s weak?"
To my surprise, Sylvia raised her hand.
’Kim Jin-ah, what the hell are you doing?’
Had she inherited Sylvia Draven’s mories?
Sylvia rose to her feet. "It’s because you’ve never studied or practiced wind magic before."
Vanitas smiled. "Correct, Miss Sylvia."
She turned toward with a cheeky grin.
’I forgot, she’s a show-off.’
"How was that, Mister Apex?" she whispered, leaning closer as she sat.
I exhaled slowly. "Truly impressive."
She puffed her chest. "I know, right?"
Vanitas clapped once. "As Sylvia said, I know nothing of wind magic. Although I can still cast it, the power is almost negligible."
This ti, he conjured a ball of water.
"Can soone tell the difference now?"
Without even turning, he flicked his hand and hurled the water ball straight at .
Fast.
I instantly channeled mana through my body and snapped my head to the left.
It brushed past my cheeks with a sharp whistle.
Vanitas smiled. "Apex, do you know why I couldn’t hit you?"
’Because I dodged it, you idiot.’
I let out a asured breath. "Because you weren’t mindful of your environnt."
I had already learned this from Beatrice, though she never told its proper na.
Professor Vanitas nodded. "Just as Apex said, the spell failed despite our rank difference because I wasn’t attuned to my surroundings."
— "Wow, that was aweso."
As soon as one voice spoke up, others followed.
— "So that’s why my spells sotis miss... because of omnipresence."
— "This is why Apex Academy is ranked number one."
Vanitas raised his hand to quiet them. "Omnipresence is all about sensing your environnt."
He paused briefly before continuing. "Whether it’s your own mana, the ambient density, or the demon before you—a mage must register everything."
"In a battle between mages," he went on, "the one with greater omnipresence usually wins."
That made sense.
If I could perceive more of my surroundings, it would be harder to strike and easier for to land a hit.
Plus, various elents in the environnt could block or redirect magic.
Just like a firewall, network filter, or exception handler can stop code from executing.
Or how a hook or interceptor can reroute execution elsewhere.
If that was true, could I do it too?
I nearly grinned at the thought.
I’d already considered integrating a virus into my magic, but this could work as a broader disruption.
Seeing the eager faces around him, Professor Vanitas continued. "The final aspect is Omnipotence—the power to perform any task."
He sighed. "Even if you possess unmatched awareness and mastery, if your potential is too limited, you’ll never cast the spell."
He looked around at the students. "Without enough mana, you’ll still fail. At the end of the day, it all cos down to talent."
The hall went still.
Ding! Dong!
Professor Vanitas smiled. "Seems my ti is up. Before I leave, let assign you a task."
He turned to the whiteboard and began writing. "I’ll request permission from the dean to let you enter both the VR training room and the Astralis Archives library. I want each of you..."
He faced us again. "...to form pairs and study the three principles of magic. Understand them, and demonstrate the difference in your power."
On the board, three words were written:
Omniscience, Omnipresence, Omnipotence.
As he stepped down from the podium, a student asked,
— "Sir, should we record our progress?"
He paused briefly, then nodded. "Yes, do that. Now, I’ll take my leave."
Everyone’s eyes followed the professor as he exited, before the room erupted into chatter.
Soon, my seat was surrounded by students asking to partner with .
Sylvia, too, was crowded by eager classmates.
"Sorry, I can’t..."
I glanced at her. "Want to dungeon crawl together?"
It was ti for Operation: Get Close to Sylvia.
Sylvia smiled. "Sure, let’s team up. But you’d better not hold back."
After Professor Vanitas’s lecture, the rest of the day passed in a blur—though I did pick up a few things from Dungeon Exploration class.
By evening, Sylvia and I reached the VR and Simulation Hall, a sleek building near the center of the academy.
Inside, rows of students sat in gleaming pods, VR headsets covering their eyes as streams of mana flickered across the walls.
"One dual VR pod, please."
The Quilbot in charge beeped and guided us into a private room.
Sylvia imdiately covered her mouth, ears flushing red.
The room did look suspiciously like one of those karaoke booths people used for... other activities.
But why was her mind going there to begin with?
I shook my head and focused as the pod opened with a hiss of cold air.
"Good luck, partner."
I glanced at the crystal-eyed girl. "Good luck to you too. Though we’ll be seeing each other in there soon enough."
We climbed inside.
Instantly it sealed shut, and my vision filled with a glowing screen.
[ Pick your world and level of difficulty ]
Twenty worlds. Five levels.
Easy, Normal, Hard, Hell, Insane.
A grin tugged at my lips. ’So I get to pick for both of us, huh?’
"Then, I choose..."
---
A/N:
The second bonus Chapter for Forestking0137’s castle.
Normal update coming soon.
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