Chapter 234: Atlas Seminar [4]

Chapter 233

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Episode 59 - Atlas Seminar [4]

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"This must be our compartment."

Professor Ashly opened the door and stepped inside. I followed her from behind and entered the compartment.

There was a table right in the center, seats on either side of it, and a space on the ceiling for storing luggage.

I took a seat beside the window after closing the door behind me.

Meanwhile, Professor Ashly sat down across from me and, almost immediately, pulled out some documents from her Storage Ring.

"Is that your thesis, Professor Ashly?"

"Oh, yes. Even though it’s finished, I still need to go over it several times to find any errors."

At that moment, the train shook slightly, and then it began to move.

Outside, the train station slowly began to recede into the distance.

I let out a sigh and leaned back in my seat.

"May I ask what your thesis is about, Professor?"

Professor Ashly looked up and stared directly at me.

"You’re curious."

I nodded slightly. Honestly, I didn’t know much about theses.

And the thesis I had to prepare was related to Alchemy.

More specifically, it was about a revolutionary method of preparation in Alchemy.

Of course, it was revolutionary from my perspective, thanks to my memories.

’I don’t know why I have these memories, but there’s a subject related to the brewing of Elixirs and Potions.’

The idea was rather complex, but the results offered over 70% efficiency in the preparation of various alchemy-related products.

And above all, the same concept could be applied to Magical Engineering.

’The strange thing is that it contains concepts from the modern world.’

In any case, I would use that subject, or hypothesis, from my memories as the foundation for my thesis presentation.

"Actually, I’ve received a lot of help from you and Lumina."

"....."

I was slightly surprised, and a thought crossed my mind.

"Are you talking about that subject?"

Professor Ashly nodded.

"Exactly. My thesis is about Magic Verses, the same thing you and Lumina worked on at the beginning of the year."

To cast magic, mages need to follow a series of steps.

The first step is mental. You need to use your imagination to construct the formulas, as well as manipulate mana to give it a specific structure.

Then come the Verses. Verses are composed of three lines of Chants, which together form the magic.

Finally, you pronounce the name of the magic you intend to use.

Professor Ashly’s thesis focuses on deducing the Verses of different spells.

For example, a three-Verse spell would take a long time to cast, whereas a two-Verse spell could be cast in less than two seconds, or even faster.

"What about single-Verse magic?"

At my question, Professor Ashly pursed her lips.

"That’s still only a theory, but it’s not impossible."

"Then, won’t you mention it in your thesis, Professor?"

"No. It’s a very delicate subject. Mentioning it in passing without providing any proof would turn me into public enemy number one among Mages."

Lumina and I were Professor Ashly’s assistants, but only assistants in her work within the Academy.

We weren’t assistants in Professor Ashly’s personal research.

For that reason, I didn’t know much about Professor Ashly’s thesis, and above all, I didn’t know much about magic.

Theoretically, I knew enough, but beyond that, there wasn’t much knowledge I truly understood.

’Mages certainly have it rough.’

I shook my head inwardly as I let out a sigh.

"Then, Cadet Adel, what is your thesis? What subject did you choose?"

"Alchemy. It’s the only thing I know. Beyond that, things like magic and the like, I don’t know much."

"I’ve heard of Professor Lunia. You’re her disciple, right? So it’s true."

"Yes."

"Ah, that lustful woman is so lucky. I wish you were a Mage, Cadet Adel."

"..."

"Thanks... I guess."

In any case, time passed quickly.

The journey to the Democracy of Solaris would take ten hours.

’I could get there in an hour if I flew.’

Although the mana consumption would be ridiculously high, the reason for taking the train was simply to enjoy a normal journey.

To remind myself that I was still human, even when I had the ability to become a complete monster and kill thousands of people if I wanted to.

Most Awakened could appear human; however, internally, they had left many things behind.

Considering someone like that human would be a lie.

’I don’t know what I’ll become in the future, but as long as I remain human, I’ll enjoy whatever my current life has to offer.’

I leaned even farther back in my seat, crossed my arms, and drifted into my dreams.

***

"Hello... Hello, hello... Is anyone there?"

"Hey, is this human okay?"

"I think he’s still asleep."

"...."

"Ugh, I’m keeping him anyway. I feel like having him all to myself."

"What? Hey, you perverted spirit, save your hormones for later. We should tell the Queen that there’s a strange human here."

"I don’t care. Besides, me? Perverted? Just look at yourself. You’re drooling."

"W-what the hell? It’s not what it looks like, I..."

".....?!"

’What’s going on?’

The thought crossed my mind as I heard numerous voices echoing from every direction.

I had fallen asleep a short while ago since the journey to the Democracy of Solaris was going to take some time.

’Huh, where the hell am I?’

I opened my eyes, although for some reason, I was able to do so.

I looked around and, likewise, was able to see my surroundings.

I was lying in an incredibly strange place.

Where there should have been a sky, there simply wasn’t one.

Instead of a sky, waves of Mana in different colors, resembling auroras, completely covered the space where the sky should have been.

’What is this place?’

The Mana I could sense was of a magnitude that shouldn’t exist anywhere.

It was as if I had been submerged in a Mana Channel.

Aside from the strange sky, floating islands were scattered everywhere, along with emerald and ruby-colored trees.

An endless variety of strange flowers and plants.

Huge and tiny birds flew through the surroundings, while small spheres of light in multiple colors floated everywhere.

At first glance, it looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.

"...."

Finally, my gaze settled on the pairs of eyes silently watching me, each filled with different emotions.

"....."

For some reason, the expressions of these little beings were... excited.

"Spirits..."

I murmured as I looked at the Spirits surrounding me.

There were countless Spirits surrounding me. They all stared at me in silence, their palms covering their lips.

Some had flushed faces, displaying surprise and something that could definitely be described as lust.

"....."

Thinking about it, I remembered my master’s words.

’If beings born from Mana find me, they might throw themselves at me, right?’

Because my Natural Affinity was far too high, to the point that my master had called it ridiculous.

’No, wait a second. How did I even get here?’

Only then did I realize how strange my situation was.

When had I arrived at this mysterious place?

’Is this the Spirit Realm?’

The Spirit Realm was a place somewhere within the Nine Heavens Plane.

It was so well-hidden that no one knew whether it actually existed. Only Summoners and Elementalists who had left their names in history across more than one Era knew whether the Spirit Realm truly existed.

The Nine Heavens Plane was exactly as its name implied.

It was a Plane with nine completely different heavens. Within each of these nine heavens were different Realms inhabited by beings born from Mana.

In short, the Nine Heavens Plane was home to every living being that had been born from Mana.

’But how the hell am I in the Spirit Realm?’

And more importantly, why could I "see" while being inside my body...?

"...."

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

’What if I’m not actually physically in the Spirit Realm?’

What was in the Spirit Realm was probably my consciousness rather than my physical body itself.

Finally, after processing what was happening, or at least understanding it, I sat down on the ground and looked at the Spirits in front of me.

"....."

Honestly, it was like watching a herd of lustful women.

As if I had been transported into one of those stories where all the men in the world had disappeared, leaving only women behind.

The Spirits in front of me were exactly like those stories.

"Hello..."

I raised my hand and waved at them. Then, all of a sudden, some of them fainted while others screamed as if they had just seen a celebrity.

"He waved at us?! We were the ones who found him first, so he should stay with us!"

"No, no, no! That doesn’t count! He didn’t even know where he was when he woke up, so he doesn’t belong to anyone yet!"

"Did you see what he just did? He only raised his hand and looked at me... Why do I feel like my heart is about to explode?"

"Shut up for a moment! He just woke up in an unfamiliar place, and you’re arguing as if he were some treasure you found in the woods!"

"Well... technically, he is a treasure. I’ve never seen a human this close before, much less one with such delicious Mana."

"... Did anyone else just think we should hide him before the other Spirits find out about him?"

"....?!"

On the outside, my face displayed a kind and calm smile.

However, my thoughts were somewhere else entirely.

’Damn it, how the hell do I get out of here?’

This place was starting to scare me.