Chapter 311
The students looked puzzled as they saw a slime that looked exactly like the Comet Mage.
“Did it mimic the Comet Mage with a slime?”
“That’s impressive.”
The students wore curious expressions, but that was all. Of course, a slime that could take on a human form and use magic was an incredible thing. If they had never seen such a slime before, they would have been shocked.
However, the second-year students had already seen a similar type of slime last year.
“I wonder how different it is from Senior Torua’s Ditto?”
Chloe’s eyes sparkled as she recalled the slime Ditto, created by last year’s graduate, Torua.
‘It’s different from Senior Torua’s Ditto.’
Ditto also had the ability to perfectly copy another being’s form. However, Ditto came with limitations. If there was no target to copy, it couldn’t do anything. Moreover, even when it succeeded in copying, it was weaker in pure combat ability. Most importantly, it couldn’t maintain its transformation if it strayed too far from Torua.
Tina came down the stairs of the magic laboratory, dragging her slippers.
As Leo stood face-to-face with the slime, it was the slime that moved first.
Swoosh—
It pointed its staff at Leo, and magical energy burst from its tip.
Leo’s eyes twitched at the sight.
Flash—! Boom-boom-boom!
A blinding light flared before Leo’s eyes, followed by shards of magic scattering in every direction.
Everyone looked between Leo and the slime in astonishment.
“As expected.”
Leo, who had deployed a shield spell to block the attack, calmly looked at the emotionless slime.
“It’s incomparable to Senior Torua’s slime.”
Vwoom—!
A magic circle formed around Leo.
Tina’s eyes widened as she saw it.
Flash—! Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Golden lightning erupted from the magic circle, wrapping around the Comet Mage.
Ting-ting-ting-ting-ting!
For a brief moment, a transparent, glass-like barrier deflected Leo’s magic.
Seeing this, Tina muttered, “As expected. There’s a reason they call him the youngest student council president.”
At her murmur, Len let out a short laugh.
“What do you think of Leo’s magic?”
When Len asked, Tina replied, “All I can say is that it’s incredible.”
Len smiled meaningfully. “Leo was born for this.”
“…It’s more than just talent.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve never seen anyone handle Star Magic that skillfully. Not even the Tingel family has a mage on his level.”
Len turned to Leo with wide eyes.
He knew better than anyone the awe-inspiring potential Leo possessed. Throughout his first year of mentoring him, it had been nothing short of astonishing—Leo was beyond the term “prodigy.”
In his mid-teens, Leo should still have been considered a novice no matter how gifted he was.
But Leo was different. He already had his own distinct philosophy and worldview of magic.
‘Among the students, only Torua, who graduated, and Elena in the fourth year have established their magical philosophies to completion.’
Leo had achieved that level in his first year.
Since the Founder of the Nebula, Luna, the greatest mage recognized was none other than the Comet Mage, Seiren.
Yet even Seiren could not be placed on the same level as Luna.
Len was convinced Leo would grow to stand alongside Luna herself one day.
Even so, Tina’s words surprised him.
The Tingel family—what kind of family was that?
They were the lineage founded by the Comet Mage, Seiren. Among all existing elven families, they were the strongest practitioners of Star Magic.
Though Tina was born with a body incapable of receiving mana and thus treated as a hidden member of her family, her understanding of magic was exceptional. She had learned the Tingel family’s magical formulae from a young age as a direct descendant.
Those were the formulae personally written by the Comet Mage herself—Star Magic that was said to be the closest to the original used by the Founder of the Nebula, Luna.
Because of that, Tina’s insight into Star Magic far surpassed Len’s.
And now, Tina herself had said Leo handled Star Magic even more skillfully than the members of the Tingel family.
As Len watched Leo, the Comet Mage raised her staff.
“Acrey.”
When the chant was completed, countless spheres of light appeared.
Acrey—
It was the most basic offensive spell among Star Magic. In this era, it was considered an introductory spell, and among Luna’s creations, it was one of the simplest.
However—
‘Its power depends entirely on the user.’
In truth, Acrey had been Luna’s favorite spell. Against low-level demonic beings, a single Acrey from her could wipe out dozens at once.
Whirrr—!
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“I see.”
Leo smirked.
“Acrey.”
He responded with the same spell.
Flash! KRRRRRRRANG—!
Shards of light scattered in all directions.
It was a dangerous clash of magic, yet mesmerizingly beautiful to behold.
“So that’s what it means to be the Comet Mage herself.”
Leo looked at the slime—no, at the Comet Mage form it had taken.
One of the Heroes of Genesis.
She was the first to conquer the Hero’s World and also the first to clear Luna’s World.
‘Judging by her appearance, she looks around my age… maybe slightly older. The structure of her Acrey spell is identical to Luna’s. Could this be a [Hero Skill] obtained as a conquest reward? Then it must’ve been after clearing the Hero’s World.’
As Leo carefully analyzed his opponent, he invoked his spell.
Fwoosh—!
[Mirage.]
Dozens of Leo’s illusions appeared around him.
The Comet Mage hesitated for a moment.
Just as Leo was about to cast another spell—
Vwoom—!
The Comet Mage’s body wavered.
Splurt—!
Then it melted into liquid, spilling onto the floor.
Squirm—
The slime reformed itself.
‘Overload.’
Leo nodded as he looked at the slime’s core.
Fwoosh—!
The illusions vanished, leaving Leo alone again.
He stepped down from the dueling platform in the lab.
The students stared at the slime with bewildered eyes.
“How was it? My familiar?”
Tina smiled as she asked.
Her familiar crawled up to her leg and disappeared into her clothes.
Leo replied, “I didn’t think a slime could be enhanced to that extent.”
He added calmly, “It was almost as if it truly ‘was’ the Comet Mage.”
“Though incomplete… yes, it’s indeed the ancestor herself.”
Tina explained indifferently.
“To be exact, it’s her form from when she first conquered the Hero’s World. That’s the version I recreated.”
At her words, everyone’s eyes widened.
“Of course, it’s impossible to use in real combat. Can you explain why, Leo.”
“It’s because over a hundred magic formulas were used just to construct the slime, correct?”
“What? O-over a hundred?”
“How can you fit that many formulas into such a small core?”
Everyone was stunned.
Embedding multiple magic formulas into one object required the miniaturization of each formula—essentially rewriting them from scratch. Even the greatest mage would find it difficult to compress a hundred formulas into a single slime core.
And if those formulas were meant to recreate the Comet Mage’s past self?
That was nearly impossible. Yet Tina had done it.
Realizing once again how extraordinary she was, everyone looked at her in awe.
“And next?”
“The source of mana to activate those formulas must’ve been an issue too. I’m curious what mana source you used.”
“That’s a secret.”
Tina chuckled softly.
“In any case, this slime is merely a prototype showing how far a familiar can evolve. I can’t make another like it. But even so…”
She looked toward the Lumene students.
“Even if you can’t reach this level, if you use the magical engineering formulas I teach, you can imbue your familiars with the abilities you need. Don’t you think that’d be useful?”
Tina turned to Chloe.
“Whether you’re a traditional-type mage, a combat-type, or an all-rounder, there’s always a gap in the moment you chant your spell.”
Dragging her slippers, she walked among the students.
“A dual-class magic swordsman compensates for that gap with swordsmanship. A summoner covers it with their summoned beast. But except for special cases, magic swordsmen tend to lack in either swordsmanship or magic, and summoners have elemental weaknesses, right?”
Her expression turned shrewd.
“The greatest advantage of an artificial familiar created through magical engineering is that it can compensate for your own weaknesses perfectly. Don’t you think it’s worth learning?”
The magic department students nodded in agreement.
“So, anyone still dissatisfied?”
No one objected any further to the practicality of familiars.
“Good. Then let’s begin the lesson.”
“Here?”
“Aren’t we supposed to study the formulas in the classroom?”
Some students looked puzzled.
Tina replied flatly, “Since it’s a familiar-handling class, it’s best to start with the basics—actually handling them.”
Thus began Tina’s first outdoor lesson.
And from the very start, most students struggled.
It was understandable—Familiar Magic had long fallen out of favor.
The Lumene magic students, being elite mages, excelled at modern, trending magic but were weak in outdated disciplines deemed impractical.
No matter how skilled they were, they floundered when facing a completely new field.
“This is convenient~”
“Good thing I’m dual-classed with summoning magic.”
At least those who had studied summoning magic before adapted faster.
“This is harder than I thought.”
Chloe frowned at her familiar spell formula. She had memorized the pattern but couldn’t grasp the knack.
Chelsea also groaned in frustration beside her.
But as time passed, a few began to succeed.
“Heh, look at this! Isn’t it cute?”
Eliana showed off the animal she had tamed.
Chelsea gave her a deadpan look.
“Can that pigeon even fly? You know everyone calls those things chicken-pigeons, right?”
Eliana had tamed one of the pigeons commonly seen around Lumene.
They were so used to being fed bread crumbs by students that they barely feared people—and rarely flew, earning them that nickname.
At Chelsea’s remark, Eliana flared up.
“Hey! What did you tame, then? You were struggling earlier too!”
“Me?”
Chelsea smirked and raised her hand.
Screeeech—!
With a sharp cry, a hawk landed on her staff.
“As you can see.”
“Ugh!”
Seeing Chelsea tame such a difficult predator, Eliana hunched her shoulders.
Sulking, she called out to Leo, who happened to pass by.
“Class rep! What did you tame?”
Leo opened his palm.
A sparrow fluttered down and perched on his hand.
Eliana grinned triumphantly.
“See? No need for anything fancy! You’re right, class rep! We’re comrades!”
“Pretty plain for you, Leo.”
Chelsea said with mild surprise.
“I’m not plain. I can talk. Unlike your chicken-pigeon, master.”
The sparrow spoke.
Chelsea and Eliana’s jaws dropped.
“Some familiars with higher intelligence can communicate their master’s intent,” Leo said calmly.
Eliana stammered, “B-but still… that was your first try at Familiar Magic…”
‘Well, I’ve already mastered Familiar Magic.’
Leo thought to himself.
Unlike modern mages, he was from an era where familiars were actively used.
Just then, Chloe walked by. She, too, had tamed a sparrow—and hers spoke just as easily as Leo’s.
Chelsea snickered at Eliana.
“You’re the only one with a chicken-pigeon.”
“Grr!”
Fuming, Eliana pointed at Carr.
“Carr! What did you tame?”
Carr grinned.
“You’ll freak out when you see it.”
“Hmph! I doubt it. What is it?”
“Here.”
Carr held out his hand.
“Huh? What the—kyaaaaa!”
Eliana screamed as a snake poked its head out from Carr’s sleeve.
“What the—ack!?”
“Hey! Carr! You!”
“Wahahahaha!”
Carr, who had tamed a snake, chased after the terrified girls, laughing.
“Operation success!”
He cackled, but Leo sighed softly.
“Carr.”
“Come on, Leo, it’s funny, isn’t it?”
“You ready to deal with the aftermath?”
“Huh? Ugh!”
Thud—!
Before Carr could finish, Chelsea came flying in and dropkicked his back.
Eliana grabbed a stick, and Chloe began casting ice magic with a cold expression.
Watching them, Leo sighed again and shook his head.
—
After class ended—
Carr, now battered, had stopped by the infirmary.
Meanwhile, Leo and Chloe headed to Tina’s office.
As a visiting professor, Tina had been given her own office at Lumene starting the previous day.
“I’m so excited!”
Chloe said, clutching a book to her chest.
On the cover were the words: [A Philosophical Inquiry into Why Ice Mages Must Study Ice Magic].
After taking a deep breath, Chloe knocked on the door.
Knock, knock—
The door creaked open.
“Ah, Leo and Chloe. What brings you here?”
Tina, who had been writing something with a pen, looked up.
“Professor Tina! I’ve long admired your papers! Could you… please sign this for me?”
Chloe smiled shyly as she held out her book.
“Of course.”
Tina nodded and walked over.
Meanwhile, Leo’s gaze wandered around the office—and then stopped.
On the desk sat a small crystal orb. Inside it, he saw a pair of fairy wings.
Leo frowned.
‘Fairy wings? Don’t tell me…’
It was no mere decoration. He could faintly sense the energy emanating from it.
It was unmistakably a fairy’s wings.
And not just any—ones he knew well.
‘Are those… Kirran’s wings?’