Chapter 310

               

Everyone stared at Tina Tingel in shock.
She yawned lazily and scratched her left calf with the tip of her right shoe.
Hands stuffed into her lab coat pockets, her expression empty and unmotivated, Tina certainly didn’t look like the kind of elf they had imagined.

“She’s kind of… weird,” Carr whispered to Leo.
“She’s definitely eccentric,” Leo replied calmly, resting his chin on his hand.
“You don’t look very surprised, though.”
Leo chuckled faintly. “I’ve met plenty of strange elves before.”
“Well, yeah. Lunia and Eiran don’t exactly fit the classic elf image either.”
“What do you think the classic elf image even is?”
“Hmm… the progenitor of the stars, Luna? You know, kind, harmonious, graceful, that sort of thing?”
“……”

Leo’s expression turned odd.
Kindness, harmony, grace—
‘Those are the last words I’d ever use to describe Luna. I wonder when the world will finally see her real nature.’

Chloe tilted her head slightly. “Still, why would someone from the Tingel family be here as a guest lecturer?”

The Tingel family—descendants of Seiren the Magician of the Comet.
Not only the most prestigious among elves, but one of the strongest magical bloodlines across all races.
That someone from such a lineage would come to Lumene rather than Seiren Academy was shocking.

Especially considering that relations between Lumene and Seiren—
or more precisely, between human and elven magical academia—had become strained after Professor Len Hors published his thesis ‘Introduction to Star Magic’.
The fact that ‘he’ of all people had invited Tina was a complete surprise.

Carr crossed his arms and frowned thoughtfully. “Yeah, why would she even come—”

“Some of you seem curious about why I’m here,” Tina interrupted, her voice dull.

A few students gave awkward smiles.

“No need to overthink it,” she said flatly. “I’m a direct descendant of the Tingel family.”

That made their expressions even stranger.
If she was direct lineage, her presence here made even ‘less’ sense.

“I see,” Abad murmured, nodding in understanding.
“What do you mean, Brother?” Chelsea asked curiously.
“If she’s a direct descendant, she’d be famous. But have you ever heard of ‘Tina Tingel’ before?”

Chelsea shook her head, her pale blue hair swaying.
“No.”
“Exactly. If she’s direct blood yet unknown, there’s a reason for it. And since Professor Len said she’s the top expert in Magical Artificial Engineering, she must be exceptional.”
“Oh…” Chelsea gasped softly as the realization hit her.

The same understanding dawned on the other Lumene students.

Tina nodded approvingly. “Smart kids. I only gave you hints, but you still figured it out.”
“Hmph, I’ve trained them to think broadly,” Len said proudly. “Deductive reasoning is essential for a magician.”
“Professor Len,” Anna sighed, “this isn’t the time to brag.”

Tina ignored her and nodded slightly.
“She’s right, though. Young magicians these days rely too much on activation formulas—they’re poor at reasoning.”

Her golden eyes, dull yet piercing, swept over the class.
“As you’ve guessed, I’m a Tingel by blood, but I’m not allowed to participate in public affairs or the academic community.”

The students began glancing at one another uneasily.

Tina continued without care.
“I was born without the ability to use mana. In other words, I can’t cast magic myself.”

Gasps spread across the room.

Len smiled faintly. “Indeed, Tina can’t use magic—but I assure you, she’s a magician through and through.”
He grinned wide.
“She’s written countless groundbreaking papers on Magical Artificial Engineering! She even developed the [Human Magic Activation Inscription Formula]—which was instrumental in the research for ‘Introduction to Star Magic!’”

Chloe’s eyes widened.
“The ‘Human Magic Activation Inscription Formula’? But that was written by a magician named Depoy!”
“Depoy’s my pseudonym,” Tina said plainly.

Chloe froze, speechless.
“What’s wrong with her?” Carr whispered.
“She’s the author Chloe’s obsessed with,” Leo replied.

“Oh.” Carr nodded knowingly.
“Her most famous work is ‘A Philosophical Inquiry into Why Ice Magicians Must Learn Ice Magic,’ right?”
“Exactly,” Chloe breathed.
“Ugh, even the title sounds like a headache,” Carr muttered.

Truth be told, most of Chloe’s favorite magical texts were far too difficult for half the students in the department—including Carr himself.

But the name ‘Depoy’ stirred the room. Several students exchanged excited glances.

“Professor Len,” Carr asked, raising his hand, “how did you even get in touch with someone who uses a pseudonym and avoids the public eye?”

Len chuckled. “I’ve admired her work for years and always wanted to meet her. Since I couldn’t find her in any conferences, I wrote her letters—many letters.”

Len’s passion for magic was well-known among the students, so Chloe’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
“She must’ve been moved by your sincerity!”
“No,” Tina said bluntly. “He tried to attach a tracking spell to one of the letters.”

The class turned to stare at Len.
“I realized he might actually hunt me down,” Tina continued, “so I decided it was safer to meet him willingly. He turned out to be an interesting guy, so I agreed to his invitation.”

Everyone’s eyes shifted back to Len, whose awkward smile only made things worse.
Anna covered her face with a groan.

“Anyway,” Tina said, “I’ll be staying at Lumene for a while to teach you about Magical Artificial Engineering. Your midterm project is to create a [Familiar].”

She walked to the center of the room.
“Now then, who can tell me what a familiar is?”

Several students raised their hands.
Tina’s eyes lazily scanned the room before pointing toward the back.
“You, there.”
“Emio Luchan,” the student said as he stood.

“Go ahead, explain.”
“A familiar is a traditional assistant to magicians, a being that channels a magician’s mana to aid them in combat.”
“Correct.”
“However, it’s an almost obsolete field now.”

The other students nodded in agreement.

“The origin of familiars lies in summoning. Technically, they’re a type of summoned creature. But magicians can’t make contracts with spirits or mythical beasts, so familiars are naturally a much lower class of summon.”

Emio’s tone was sharp, and the next words were predictable.
“Which is why I’m confused that our midterm project involves them. I’d like an explanation from Professor Len.”

Len smiled. “Fair point, Emio. Familiars have indeed fallen out of use.”
He nodded.
“In the past, they bought us precious seconds to cast spells. But as spell activation became faster and more efficient, the need for familiars declined. Some studies even show it’s better to spend that mana on direct offense. These days, familiars are limited to use as guardians or messengers. That’s been the trend, and I agreed with it—until I saw Tina’s research lab.”

He grinned.
“After that, I changed my mind. I’m convinced familiars will soon return to the forefront of magical study.”

The students’ eyes widened in surprise.

Len gestured toward Tina. “Professor Tingel will explain.”

Tina scratched her hip absently. “Emio, right? You’re from a military family, aren’t you?”
“Surely you’ve heard of the Luchan family?” Emio replied stiffly.
“Nope. And so what? I’m a Tingel, even if only in name. Why would I bother remembering other bloodlines, especially of other races?”

Her blunt words made Emio’s face twitch.

“Military magicians love practicality too much,” Tina continued flatly. “They chase trends and prioritize combat over research. Typical soldiers. I get it.”

Then she smiled faintly.
“Fine. You’ll understand once you see how useful a familiar can be in battle.”

She pointed toward the door.
“Let’s take this outside.”

—

In the magic department’s testing arena, Tina stood in the center of the stage.

Emio crossed his arms. “Should I be the one to fight you?”

Her tone unbothered, Tina replied, “No. I’d prefer someone who can use a wide range of attacks.”
Her lips curved for the first time.
“Someone like an [All-Class].”

Everyone’s gaze immediately turned to Leo Plov.

Leo stepped forward. “If you’re fine with me.”
“Perfect.”

Tina’s golden eyes brightened for the first time, gleaming with interest.
Seeing that look, Leo was reminded of Luna—the same fascinated gaze she’d had when she first met him.

‘Yeah,’ Leo thought, ‘that’s the look she gave me when she said she’d never seen an All-Class before.’

He waited patiently for Tina to summon her familiar.

Moments later, Tina extended her hand.

‘Slosh… squelch!’

A stream of blue liquid seeped from her torso and dripped onto the floor, pooling together.

The students’ faces twisted in disbelief.
“What the—? Is that a slime?”
“She’s fighting Leo with a slime?”
“I thought it’d be something extraordinary.”

Slimes—alchemical lifeforms—were among the most common familiars.
Disappointment filled the air.

But Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘That’s no ordinary slime.’

He quickly analyzed the magical formulas within it.
‘How many inscription arrays are embedded in that core?’

A typical slime used maybe five at most.
This one contained ‘over a hundred’.

‘What kind of mana source can power that many?’

As Leo watched with growing intrigue, the slime began to twist and merge—taking shape.

Within moments, it solidified into a humanoid form.

‘An elf?’

The figure now standing before him looked exactly like an elf magician around his own age.

Chloe gasped aloud.
“The Magician of the Comet…?”

Leo’s eyes narrowed further.
‘It looks exactly the same.’