Chapter 21
"Alright, before we wrap up the orientation, there's a dungeon exploration event hosted by the Clishee family this weekend. The class representative should compile a list of participants and bring it to my office after class."
As soon as the orientation ended, I was given my first task as the class representative.
A dungeon, huh?
I was definitely planning to participate. There was no reason for me to sit out when it came to monsters.
But the Clishee family, of all things...
I turned my gaze toward the black-haired guy nearby.
He didn’t look too pleased.
‘The Clishee Count’s family... That was his household, wasn’t it?’
[His expression doesn’t look too good. Seems like he’s not on good terms with his family.]
I didn’t know the full story, but given that he came from a warrior family yet became an "engineer," I could imagine the struggles he must have faced.
—Why are we even participating in an event hosted by the Clishee family?
—I heard there are three Clishee family members in the Martial Arts Department. Maybe that’s why?
—But we’re in the Magitech Engineering Department.
—Isn't this an interdisciplinary class that includes warriors, mages, and engineers? They said earlier that the monster training wasn't limited by department.
Listening to the murmurs around me, I could pretty much piece together the situation.
With the growing concern over monsters, a dungeon conveniently appeared somewhere in the Clishee family's territory.
The Clishee family likely saw this as an opportunity—to both repay the academy and flaunt their power—by allowing students to "observe" the dungeon exploration.
After some more discussions about the curriculum, the OT session finally ended.
"Alright then, that concludes the orientation! See you all later!"
Our homeroom professor waved goodbye like a kindergarten teacher before leaving the lecture hall.
Anyway, now that class was over, I needed to put together the list of dungeon exploration participants.
As soon as the break started, students immediately got up from their seats.
I did the same.
"Attention for a moment! As the professor mentioned, if you're interested in attending the dungeon exploration, come tell me before the end of the day."
Rather than running around gathering names myself, it was far more efficient to let people come to me.
"Class rep! I want to join!"
"Tell me your name and student ID."
"Class rep! Can I pet the cat?"
"No."
As soon as I spoke, my classmates rushed toward me.
Judging by the reaction, it seemed like most of them were planning to participate.
Well, a real engineer shouldn’t just stay stuck in theory—experiencing the field firsthand is essential.
Good attitude.
While compiling the list of dungeon exploration participants, the break time came to an end.
Finally, our first class began—the dreaded Mana Tool Theory.
Our professor was a rather average-looking man in his mid-40s, the stereotypical middle-aged academic.
Honestly, he looked more like a homeroom professor than the one we actually had earlier.
"I am Deiron Krypton, and I will be teaching Mana Tool Theory. There will be no separate OT session—we will begin class immediately."
With a stern tone, the professor began his lecture but briefly glanced at me.
What’s he looking at?
It was just a fleeting moment, but his gaze didn’t seem particularly friendly.
I wondered why, then suddenly realized why his name felt familiar.
‘Deiron... Krypton? Isn’t he the guy who deducted a point from me?’
Damn it.
No wonder his gaze was so cold.
"Magitech engineering is an indispensable technology that underpins modern infrastructure..."
While I was sharpening the blade of revenge in my mind, Daeron continued his general explanation of magi-engineering.
It was mostly about how important magi-engineering was in the current era and how much influence it had.
“In this lesson, before we start learning magi-engineering, you will first master the fundamental skill of handling mana.”
It seemed like he was about to get into the topic of mana tool formation.
And at the same time, the professor looked at me again.
At this point, it was definitely not just my imagination.
“The basics must never be neglected. It seems like there are students here who rely solely on their genius and ignore the fundamentals.”
That was directed at me, wasn’t it?
[There’s a 99% chance that he’s taking a shot at you, Master. How arrogant.]
In other words, a pathetic provocation.
A small scoff escaped me.
As if the miserable score of 1 point wasn’t frustrating enough, now the very person responsible for it was provoking me like this.
“I’ve never seen anyone succeed after neglecting the basics.”
Even in the middle of the lecture, the professor kept taking jabs at me.
Once or twice would have been one thing, but this made it clear that he had taken a personal dislike to me.
[Are you just going to endure this?]
‘Of course not.’
There was no need to fall for such a cheap provocation.
Instead of engaging in a pointless fight, I would counter him in a more civilized manner.
“Now, we will move on to the practical exercise.”
As I pondered how best to strike back, the lesson transitioned into practical training.
I would think while working through the exercise.
“You will use mana to form a circuit inside the framework provided by the assistant instructor.”
The assistant instructor handed out square, box-like circuit practice frameworks to each student.
“Once you have completed your circuit, raise your hand immediately.”
The moment he finished speaking, I got to work on my circuit.
I guided my mana, inscribed the circuit into the practice framework, and immediately raised my hand.
---
Daeron Krypton.
One of the renowned professors at the Imperial Academy, he was a man who valued fundamentals above all else.
His emphasis on fundamentals came from having witnessed countless so-called geniuses crumble because of their shaky foundation.
And now, his eyes were fixed on a student who might possess one of the greatest talents of all time.
Raniel Leventesia.
A young genius who, if Daeron had compromised even slightly, might have become the only student to achieve a perfect score on the notoriously difficult magi-engineering written exam.
But Daeron did not compromise.
He had ruthlessly marked the genius wrong for arrogantly disregarding the basics and presenting his own unproven theories.
It wasn’t out of personal resentment.
He simply didn’t want Raniel Leventesia—who was just transitioning from boyhood to adulthood—to collapse like those before him.
Eventually, once this gifted student learned humility and built a solid foundation, he would understand Daeron’s intentions.
As he pondered the future of this remarkable student, Daeron suddenly noticed Raniel raising his hand.
Given the amount of time that had passed, there was no way he had already completed the circuit.
“Raniel, do you have a question—”
“I’m finished.”
“…What?”
Daeron blinked, wondering if he had misheard.
Raniel, completely unfazed by the professor’s reaction, was casually forming and dissolving the mana circuit inside the practice framework as if it were nothing more than a toy.
‘T-this is impossible!’
Dayron stood there, his mouth agape, staring blankly at the sight unfolding before him.
Without hesitation, he stepped closer to Raniel and checked the magic circuit.
And he was utterly shocked.
"It's perfect! Not only is it precise, but the finishing touches are flawless!
But how… How is something like this even possible in such a short time?!"
Forgetting to compose himself, Dayron asked in astonishment, his face still blank with disbelief.
"How on earth did you do this?"
"I didn’t materialize the mana into tools."
"What?"
"By not materializing the mana into tools, I was able to shorten the process."
It was a statement that completely contradicted the "fundamentals" that Dayron had always emphasized and that Raniel had previously written as an answer on his exam.
"What are you talking about? How does avoiding materialization—"
"Professor, what kind of mana tool would be required to craft this part of the circuit?"
Raniel pointed to the most intricate and delicate section of the circuit—
a part that would require the finest, most precise tool available.
Dayron answered without hesitation.
"You'd need an extremely fine-tipped tweezer-like tool."
"But instead of that, how about this?"
As soon as Raniel finished speaking, a silvery, almost translucent aura shimmered at his fingertips.
It was mana in its purest, unprocessed form, not yet shaped into any particular tool.
A formless energy, flickering like mist in microscopic, subatomic particles.
As it moved toward the circuit—
Click.
The tiny part of the circuit snapped into place with absolute precision.
"Clinging to the framework of tool materialization is already a waste of mana and an inefficiency.
Why add an additional layer of complexity by materializing the mana into rigid tools when working on something that demands the utmost delicacy?
If one can fully control mana in its purest form, they can construct circuits far faster and with far greater perfection than by first shaping it into tools."
And right before Dayron’s eyes, Raniel proved his point.
"Mana is already a perfect tool in itself—that is what I believe."
Raniel Leventhesia—
He was not disregarding the fundamentals.
He was creating new fundamentals.
And as Dayron watched, he was shaken to his core.
"What have I been doing all this time…?"
He had been called a genius since childhood.
It was that talent that had led him to become a professor at the Empire’s greatest academy at such a young age.
Yet now, everything he had built felt like it was crumbling before him.
"How shameful! I was the one who always preached the importance of fundamentals to soar higher.
But I myself was trapped in a cage, unable to fly at all…!"
---
"Heh… Hehehe…"
The professor suddenly let out a chuckle.
What was this? Did he just suddenly remember an old illness or something?
"Kahahahahaha! Ahahahahaha!!"
The chuckle turned into full-blown laughter.
Throwing his head back, he covered his face with his hand and laughed like a madman.
"I see. So this is the flow of the times."
Muttering as if to himself, he continued laughing.
"I am outdated!!"
Spreading his arms wide, he muttered again like a lunatic.
"Professor? Please, calm down—"
"For a new era to rise, the old generation must step aside!!"
My words were swallowed up entirely by the professor’s crazed outburst.
It's starting to get scary. What the hell is going on?
"Farewell, new generation! This relic of the old era shall now take its leave!!"
With that, the professor ran straight toward the window.
Crash!!
He smashed through the window and jumped out.
It all happened so fast that I couldn't even react.
I stared blankly at the shattered window before slowly getting up and cautiously approaching the ledge.
- "Aahhh! Someone just fell!"
- "Calm down! I’m fine!"
Fortunately, he seemed to be okay.
Despite having jumped from the fifth floor and now twitching on the ground, half-buried in the dirt, his voice sounded perfectly intact.
A little while later, after some commotion downstairs, the professor was carried away on a stretcher.
At least he didn’t die.
What is wrong with the professors in this place?
First, there was the homeroom teacher who ran out of the lecture hall chasing a cat during orientation. Now, there’s a professor who jumped out of a window in the middle of a lesson.
Seriously, is there anyone normal here?
My trust in the Imperial Academy had plummeted yet again.
Since no one had actually died, I felt a bit relieved and turned my gaze away from the window, scanning the suddenly silent classroom.
It was quiet.
"So… who's teaching our class now?"
Breaking the chilly silence, the nerdy-looking guy sitting behind me pushed up his glasses and muttered in a quiet voice.
With that, all the students’ eyes turned toward me.
…What am I supposed to do now?
"Since the class president took down the professor, shouldn't the class president teach?"
"Wait, so if you defeat a professor, do you become the professor?"
"Well, obviously, if you’re better than the professor, you’re bound to defeat them!"
"So, is the class president teaching now?"
These guys… are they really young adults?
They’re still stuck in that reckless, childish mindset.
I decided to pretend I didn’t hear anything and started heading back to my seat.
But then, suddenly, someone raised their hand and spoke up.
"Actually, I don’t think it’d be such a bad idea if the class president taught."
At that moment, everyone’s attention focused on them.
The student who had raised their hand wasn’t flustered at all. With a calm voice, they continued,
"The technique that amazed Professor Deyron so much that he jumped out of the window—shouldn’t we learn about that?"
"Huh?"
The playful expressions that had been on everyone’s faces just moments ago suddenly turned serious.
"Yeah, yeah! I was curious about that too! What kind of technique could make a professor leap out of a window?"
"Maybe it’s something revolutionary that completely overturns all existing theories?"
…How did it come to this?
As I stood there, dumbfounded, the other students began to crowd around me.
"Come on, we’re all classmates, right? Just teach us a little!"
"If the class president teaches us, I’ll buy fried chicken for the whole department!"
"Wooooaaahhh!! Class president! Class president! Class president!"
Their enthusiasm had gone beyond mere passion for technology—it was bordering on madness.
And of course, the ultimate temptation for engineers—free fried chicken—had also been thrown into the mix.
They were still students, but at the end of the day, they were engineers.
In the end, I found myself back on the podium.
Well… If I’m going to train my future subordinates, I might as well abandon the outdated practice of mana tool crafting and spread this new approach instead.
I cleared my throat and slowly began to speak.
"Ahem. As you’re all brilliant engineers, you probably have an idea already, but what I did was different from mana tool crafting."
"Rather than processing mana separately, operating it in its raw form is much more efficient and precise."
[I have no idea how things ended up like this.]
"Neither do I, so don’t talk to me right now. My head’s a mess."
"In other words, controlling mana in its pure form provides far greater autonomy than—"
"It's precise and fast."
At that moment, one of the three sisters who had placed second raised her hand.
"So, what's the name of this technique?"
A name?
I hadn't really thought about it.
I didn’t want to give it some strange name with questionable naming sense like 'Mana Toolization,' but I wasn’t exactly confident in my own naming sense either.
[Since it’s about controlling mana, how about something simple like 'Mana Control'?]
'Not bad.'
Since I couldn’t think of a better alternative, I decided to go with the AI’s suggestion.
"This is called Mana Control."
"Oh, ooooh..."
"I’ve never heard of it before."
"It must be a newly developed cutting-edge technique!"
I hadn’t put much thought into it, but now that I had said it out loud, it didn’t seem too bad.
"Today, I’ll teach you all the basics of Mana Control."
Yeah.
Since I was going to become a professor anyway, I would have had to teach my slaves this knowledge from the beginning.
Training these prospective slaves in advance to become excellent ones was also one of a professor’s duties.
"Class is starting."
And so, the lesson that had once been the (former) Mana Toolization Theory was now conducted under the new subject name: Mana Control.
