By Zephyria 
Ibelia, who had met my eyes, smiled brightly. Then, she gestured at the book I was holding and continued to speak.
“I’m also studying these days. Spirit Magic.”
At those words, I glanced at the book in her hand. Judging from the title written on the spine of the book, it seemed to be a book related to Spirit Magic as well.
“Can humans really summon Spirits?”
“Yes. They’re giving a lot of help as summons.”
“Hmm….”
I thought that Spirits were similar to Elves or Dragons, who had a strong tendency to be reclusive and didn’t get along very well with other races, but they were being involved with humans as summons.
Are they helping because they want to?
Maybe there’s a coercive element.
It was something that aroused my curiosity.
“I want to see what Elemental Summoning Magic is like.”
“Ah. I’m a bit lacking in skill, but… shall I show you?”
I nodded at her shy suggestion.
Ibelia was filled with a bright vitality.
“Okay. Then let’s go to the Maze Garden for a while, shall we?”
I went down to the Maze Garden with Ibelia, who was moving first. There was no one at Jeonggak, so we went there and sat down.
Ibelia sat demurely, placed the borrowed book on her lap, and immediately recited the Magic Phrase to cast Magic.
“Those who were born from the source that makes up all things, if the timbre dancing on the wind has reached you, come here.”
That seems to be a general Verbal Magic, not a compressed type that is mainly used.
Ibelia herself was aware of that fact, and added with an embarrassed smile.
“I’m still a beginner. It’s hard for me to use the compressed type.”
Soon, a Spirit with translucent wings peeked out from the Magic Circle formed on her palm and appeared.
The Spirit flapped its wings with a body smaller than a handful of human hands and circled around Ibelia.
It was definitely a living Spirit.
And I couldn’t find any coercive elements in the Formula Ibelia used earlier. In short, it meant that answering a human’s summoning request was up to the Spirits.
“I’m currently contracted with Sylphid, the Spirit King who governs the wind among the four elements, so only ‘Sylphs’ come to me without mixing in any special Formula. So, this child is also a wind Spirit, a Sylph.”
I watched the Spirit with a curious feeling. The way it flew around, dancing on the wind, was very light and cheerful.
Born from Mana, and with bodies made of Mana, Spirits can dissolve into the air and hide, making them beings that are ‘everywhere and nowhere.’ So, this was the first time I’d ever seen a Spirit properly up close.
Well… it’s not just Spirits. Meeting ancient races, including Elves, was all a first for me. In the case of the Dragonkin, it was a mixed-blood, but anyway, these were beings I had never met when I was Mephisto.
‘Is this also some kind of fate?’
It was then. Suddenly, the Spirit dancing in the air stopped flapping its wings in front of me. It seemed to be… looking at me. It was too small to see its face clearly, but I somehow felt that way.
Soon, the Spirit began to fly around me in circles. It stuck to the side of my face and stared, went behind my head to look, then gently clung to my cheek as if embracing it, and sat on my shoulder….
It was making a fuss like crazy.
I was wondering what on earth it was doing, following it with my eyes, when Ibelia widened her eyes and gaped. She looked shocked by something, and also bewildered. She stayed like that for a while, then muttered.
“Oh my… this is amazing.”
“……?”
“Spirits are known to be friendly to humans, but they’re actually very shy and have strong preferences… they don’t usually follow humans who aren’t their summoners. It’s the first time I’ve seen a Spirit follow someone who isn’t their summoner so well.”
Ibelia shook her head in disbelief. Of course, I was just as bewildered.
There was no reason for the Spirit to follow me so well.
A strange sense of déjà vu arose.
No… this isn’t just a simple sense of déjà vu.
The Dragon’s thought trying to save me, a stranger. An Elf I’d never met coming to promise meaningful help. A Spirit I’d never seen before showing me an incomprehensible friendliness.
Could it all really be a coincidence?
Suddenly, the Spirit, which had been making a fuss, brought its face close to mine again. I flinched and pulled my head back, and the Spirit came even closer and touched my forehead.
I felt something soft.
Before I could realize what it was, the Spirit, leaving a faint smile, vanished like crumbling dust.
It was right after that.
‘Hmm?’
Suddenly, my Mana Heart fluttered.
This is… the feeling of Mana being stored up and filling up. I hadn’t accumulated any Mana, but the naturally absorbed Mana, without any side effects, became completely mine. While I was wondering what was going on, Ibelia, who was even more surprised than before, gasped and muttered.
“The Spirit’s Blessing!”
She seemed to know something.
“The Spirit’s Blessing?”
“Ah….”
Ibelia, startled, continued.
“In simple terms, it’s like Magic, but it means the ‘Grace’ that Spirits only give to those they like. The Spirit transfers a portion of the Mana it possesses to the person it likes, increasing their Mana amount by that much.”
Transferring a portion of Mana and increasing it by that much.
So that’s why.
That’s why I suddenly felt my Mana Heart filling up.
“Hehe, it’s said that there are no bad people who are liked by Spirits. Lord Raymond. You must be a warm person enough to be liked by the Spirit.”
Ibelia said with a soft smile.
“…….”
But I couldn’t agree with that. I knew better than anyone that I was great, so I would acknowledge it if it recognized my talent, but I was far from being warm or anything like that.
While I was lost in thought, Ibelia got up from her seat. When I raised my head following her, she smiled brightly at me.
“I’m going back to the dormitory now. I’ve already taken the book I wanted to borrow. What about Lord Raymond?”
“Hmm. You can go first.”
“I see. Hehe, study hard for the exam.”
Ibelia left like that. I briefly followed the afterimage of her disappearing figure, then focused on my Mana Heart. And I was surprised that a much larger amount of Mana was stored than before. It hadn’t been long since I reached the 3-Star level, but it had already jumped to a level close to the late 3-Star stage.
‘At this rate… I’ll reach 4-Star soon.’
It was a windfall I hadn’t expected. It wasn’t a case of forcibly raising my achievement, so it was really a freebie.
However, I also had more reason to quickly find a way to withstand the Black Mana of high achievement. If my body couldn’t handle it, all my efforts and good fortune so far would be in vain.
I finished my Inner Contemplation and got up from my seat. My steps headed not to the dormitory, but to the Longcrew Library.
☠
For several weeks leading up to the midterm exams, I studied really hard. Ah, of course, not me, but Tom and Herman.
Zeon was a high achiever and had lived for quite a long time, so he knew more than the professors, so I couldn’t really see him making an effort. He was just there to answer Tom’s questions.
Herman was still a smart human, so he memorized what he needed to and his Magic skills were decent, so he didn’t seem to have much to worry about… but I was a little worried about Tom.
He didn’t have good concentration unless it was a field he was interested in, so he kept getting things wrong when he was tested on what he had memorized. I thought he was going to fail.
But fortunately, today, when the exam results were announced.
“Yay! I avoided failing!”
Tom avoided failing in all subjects. He would have had to retake the classes if he had failed… it must have been a great relief for him, who had been studying while crying.
And there were a total of four students who received perfect scores in all subjects: me, Zeon, Ardian, and Ibelia.
Zeon and Ardian, including me, were honestly expected to do so considering their backgrounds, but Ibelia, who was among them, was a commoner, so it was clear that she was a hard worker who purely put in effort.
“No, how can there be four students with perfect scores….”
“Was Professor Polargehen’s test only difficult for me?!”
“It was difficult for me too. Especially that last question.”
“Everyone, sit down.”
The children, who were chattering while looking at the exam results and ranking table sent to each of them, quickly scattered when Polargehen entered.
He looked around at the quiet children and opened his mouth.
“Everyone worked hard on the exam. Fortunately, no one failed. There were a few close calls, though.”
Tom, who was sitting in front of me, flinched and shrugged. He rolled his eyes and glanced at me, then turned back to the front. Polargehen paused and continued.
“I hope you’ll continue to do this in the future. Oh, and one more thing… since June is already coming to an end, I’ll tell you in advance.”
He slightly raised one corner of his mouth.
“In July, there will be ‘Class A Training Camp.'”
…Training camp?
“The camp will last for about three weeks. You’ll be thrown into the wild, away from the school. Well, it’s easier to understand if you think of it as a more serious form of what you’ve been doing in practice.”
I had a rough idea of what it would be like. The children who had been listening with uncertainty seemed to understand and looked nervous. Polargehen lowered his eyes languidly and smiled deeply.
“You all need to be at a level where you can pass the White Class Exam in October with this training camp. Let’s all have a fun and rewarding camp together.”
And the expressions on the children’s faces when they heard that were….
‘Ah. It’s going to be hell.’
That’s exactly what they looked like they were thinking.