Chapter 196.1

Chapter 196 : The lecture on lost magic

— One week later —

Demon King Academy of Delsgade, Class 2 lecture hall.

The Conflagration King Eldmed entered the classroom in a cheerful and briskly manner, humming to accompany his own steps.

Shin came in late and closed the door.

When he saw that all the students were in their seats, the Conflagration Ling smiled with satisfaction.

“Wonderful! I see everybody is here today!” (Eldmed)

He held his cane in both hands and tapped the floor with it.

“Now, today is our long-awaited exchange program with the Hero Academy. Which means the expedition exam is already nigh! …Or so I wanted to say, but I’m told that this class has already been through the expedition exam of Gairadite.” (Eldmed)

Eldmed spun his staff around, then pointed the tip at the students.

“So here’s an idea. Today, we’ll use the <Transfer Gatom> spell to go to Gairadite at once. All of you, stand up.” (Eldmed)

The students obeyed.

Then one female student raised her hand.

“…Um, sensei, can I ask you a question?” (Student girl A)

“Enthusiastic, I see, Overtimer. Ask away, then.” (Eldmed)

“O… ‘Overtimer’…? My name is Naya, sensei. Naya. Don’t you remember?” (Student girl A —> Naya)

“Of course I do. Overtimer Naya. The one who stays in the library after class to study every day. Hence, I, the Conflagration King, have bestowed upon you the epithet ‘Overtimer’.” (Eldmed)

Overtimer Naya looked dispirited.

Clearly, she didn’t want that kind of nickname.

“Come on now, don’t make that face. If you don’t like it, then how about ‘Bookworm’ instead?” (Eldmed)

“…I’ll take ‘Overtimer’, then…” she said in resignation.

“Now, let’s hear your question, shall we?” (Eldmed)

“Ah, yessir. Well, it’s a trivial question, but <Transition Gatom> is lost magic, but still very convenient, isn’t it? Why was it lost, then?” (Naya)

“Khahaha! Now that’s a good question, Overtimer Naya!” (Eldmed)

The Conflagration King tapped the floor with his cane.

“I’ll answer that. Even two thousand years ago, there weren’t many people who could use <Transition Gatom>. And that’s because, while it doesn’t require much magic power, its spell formula is difficult to construct. This is partially due to the fact that the formula must be altered according to the magical environment of the two spaces it connects.” (Eldmed)

Eldmed turned his Magic Eyes to the space he was standing in.

“Though rather than altering it, it’d be more accurate to call it building it on the spot. By peering into the abyss of this space, you construct your spell formula so that it’s tailored for it. And so, save for its core, the <Transition Gatom> spell formula has no definite form, which is why this magic was lost.” (Eldmed)

Two thousand years ago, there were multiple types of magic that required altering the spell formula depending on your environment. Among them, <Transition Gatom> was comparatively easy, but due to the spellcasters dying out, most of them were lost to time.

“In other words, as long as you know how to construct the <Transition Gatom> spell formula according to the magical environment of this place and at this exact moment, you can cast it.” (Eldmed)

Eldmed Drew the <Transition Gatom> spell formula on the blackboard.

It was a formula that worked only if one was going to Gairadite from this place at this exact moment.

“Now, go ahead and try. This is a spell developed by the Demon King himself that lets you cross any distance in a snap. When the Demon King of Tyranny demonstrated the concept of reducing distance to nothing, the world was shocked out of its wits. Now it’s your turn to feel that shock and excitement for yourselves!” Eldmed declared.

But the students looked anxious.

This was probably because they had no idea what would happen if they cast their spell wrong.

The Conflagration King pointed his staff at Naya.

“Overtimer Naya, you’re going first.” (Eldmed)

“M… Me…? B-But… I think you already know, sensei, but I’m the worst spellcaster in the whole class. So… Can I really succeed…?” (Naya)

“What a foolish, foolish, FOOLISH question, Overtimer. The worst, you say? So what if you are? Don’t restrict your comparison to such a small scale. and look higher. Think about it. Compared to the Demon King of Tyranny, even my magic is mere child’s play in comparison. We are all equally inept in the face of the Demon King.” (Eldmed)

Naya looked dumbfounded.

“Which is why, there’s no point in being conscious of others. It’s your own magic that you have to face. It’s your own abyss that you should look into. Altering the spell formula is the only difficult part of casting <Transition Gatom>, but the rest is easy. If you compare it to other spells, it’s at most as difficult as <Flame Grega>. So there’s no reason why you can’t do it, is there?” (Eldmed)

Actually, it was more complicated than <Flame Grega>, but it was indeed a spell even Naya could barely cast. I suppose that was his way of encouraging her into a leap of faith.

“Don’t underestimate the Magic Eyes of the Conflagration King. Now, go!” (Eldmed)

When he said that, Overtime Naya drew a magic circle for the <Transition Gatom> spell with her eyes tightly closed.

As she channeled her magic power into it, her figure suddenly vanished, as if she had successfully crossed the distance.

“Kahaha! Behold! A true success, wasn’t it?” (Eldmed)

An exclamation of admiration echoed throughout the classroom.

“If even Naya succeeded, then we should be good too, right?” (Student boy A)

“Yeah, let’s give it a shot, too!” (Student boy B)

“This feels so exciting~!” (Student girl A)

One after another, the students teleported themselves using <Transition Gatom>.

“…With this many people, I have a feeling that one of them is going to land in some sketchy destination…” Sasha commented as she used <Transition Gatom> herself.

Lay and the others also drew their own magic circles.

“Well, the Conflagration King will be the one responsible for retrieving any missing student, anyway.” (Anos)

When I used <Transition Gatom>, my field of vision went completely white.

The next thing I saw was the main auditorium of the Hero Academy of Arclanisca.

Looking from the blackboard, the students of the Demon King Academy were reappearing on the left side of the room.

On the right side, the students of the Hero Academy were all in their seats, wearing scarlet uniforms. So I suppose they used to be Jerga Kanon.

With their mouths agape, they were all staring in amazement at the demon students, who were appearing out of thin air one after another.

“What the… actual fuck…? They all arrived through the use of a lost spell? You’ve gotta be kidding me…!” (???)

The one who said that was Raos Jilphor, the fire-using Hero that Sasha defeated during the previous inter-school exam.

He claimed to be one of Kanon’s reincarnations, but now that he had been identified as someone else, the word ‘Kanon’ was removed from his full name.

“Those guys… They’re the same demons we met during the previous inter-school exam, right…?” Heine Iorg asked.

He was in critical condition when Lay stole his holy swords during the inter-school exam.

He was able to recover thanks to the generosity of Dilhade.

“Indeed. When did they learn to use a spell of such caliber? The last time we met, they clearly couldn’t hold a candle to us, and yet…” Ledriano Azeschen commented while readjusting his glasses with his index finger.

“So this is… the power of the Demon King…” (Ledriano)

“But it looks like he’s not here.” Heine remarked.

“…Figured he wouldn’t come. He doesn’t even need to go to school or anything…” (Raos)

At that moment, when Raos caught sight of Lay’s face, he froze up.

“…Hero Kanon… What the hell are you doing here…?” Raos asked, as if spitting venom.