Chapter 637 - Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

All the children from the northeastern region of Celsius Estate flocked to the academy where I was stationed. The number totaled a staggering one hundred and fifty. Every morning, they came in a conga line to the academy. I wasn't exactly an enthusiastic teacher, but I was certainly a capable one. By using telepathy to grasp their aptitude, interests, and level of understanding, I could provide tips and stimulate their magical powers with magic tools. The child who grasped onto something would awaken their mana perception, taking another step toward becoming a wizard. It's been eight days since I descended to the lower realms. Out of the one hundred and fifty, forty-three children had awakened their mana perception. And among them, one had even mastered mana control. “O child who has embarked upon the grand path of magic, you who are worthy of ascending the stairs of knowledge. Today, I feel immeasurable joy at the birth of a new scholar. With your radiant intellect, pick those high stars of knowledge and scatter them across the world.” With a face full of emotion, the elderly wizard placed a tower hat on the child’s head. The hat, designed like the pinnacle of a high spire, was a token signifying the child's transformation into a wizard. The child, still overwhelmed with disbelief, received a novice's staff and a cheap volume of a wizard’s tome. This child was now undeniably special. No longer the same as the fellow students who once studied alongside. The award ceremony was held borrowing the academy's courtyard. They wanted me to preside over it, but I was neither interested in nor familiar with such tiresome duties. I handed over the task to an experienced wizard and immersed myself in new pursuits. “Those who have just awakened your mana perception must be thrilled. It feels like adding a new color to the world, and just watching how it moves must be enjoyable. It's fine to enjoy it, but remember this: Mana perception is just the first step.” I dismissed the underachievers. The ones left were those who had awakened their mana perception. For those who had already surpassed basic levels, I commenced lessons for a second awakening. “The reason mana perception is easier than mana control is straightforward. Mana control requires your own mana.” This is the very reason that, despite having perfect theoretical knowledge and the indirect ability for mana perception through telepathy, I can't use proper magic. “No matter how excellent a machine is, it’s useless if it lacks power. Magic is similar. Even with a magic tool, you need ignition mana, and as the scale of the magic grows, so does the required mana. Conversely, simple magical tools can be wielded by even the mana-less masses.” The Magical Federation is brimming with such magic tools. I clapped my hands, and a housemaid brought in the piled-up magic devices. Mana lamps, mana furnaces, ice crystals, resonance crystal balls, and so on. Numerous phenomenon-level magic tools requiring minimal ignition mana, usable by ordinary people. I casually laid them out and spoke. “If you’ve learned mana perception, you can sense the changes in mana from your actions. By repeatedly observing the mana flow in the magic devices, you might eventually come to grasp mana control intuitively. That child who became a wizard realized mana control while heading home, watching a mana lamp in complete darkness.” I had instructed them to do so, but I never imagined they'd master control so quickly. Even if I played a part, that child must be close to a prodigy. The children gathered here? Except for one, they won't dream of awakening before I leave. Perhaps after mana perception becomes their daily routine, with more effort, they might control it. But that story is beyond my purview. “Go ahead. Focus on the mana, sense how it flows. The movement of mana has purpose. By observing it closely, you too will eventually be able to control mana.” “Yes!” The children shouted robustly and rushed to pick up the magic tools. They even quarreled to get their preferred ones. As the housemaid sighed, thinking about tidying up later, a large kid snatched an ice crystal from a scrawny child. “Give it back!” “Ow!” The scrawny child yelped and tumbled down, drawing all attention. The large kid, initially beaming, quickly made excuses upon meeting my gaze. “No, it’s not what it seems! It was mine first!” I reflexively responded. “It’s mine, you little thief. Do you know how much it costs?” Even if I briefly considered them as my students, I don't forgive anyone taking my belongings. At my cold response, the child waved their hands in denial. “No! That’s not what I meant! I called dibs on it first, but they just up and took it!” “Uh…” The scrawny child clutched his head, glaring daggers at the larger kid with eyes filled with desperation and defiance. Yet the large kid just sneered back. “What’re you staring at? Outsider!” Outsider. A child unaffiliated with any academic group, abandoned. Academic groups are collectives of parents who can afford tuition. Those who yearn for magic gather funds to build academies, invite teachers, and provide education. The wealth of a child’s parents often dictates their group. When some pay more than others, conflicts inevitably arise. Naturally, parents with similar financial means band together into academic groups, and over time, a hierarchy among these groups forms. And at the bottom of this hierarchy, Those without enough funds to hire teachers become “outsiders,” excluded from all education. The inevitable fate of the ignorant. If a household has no magicians, or lacks skilled technologists who can use magic tools. Or if they lack the will to educate due to ignorance. Ultimately, they end up as outsiders. With no means to access any knowledge or magic. Doomed to remain irredeemably ignorant. Ahead lies an admiration for becoming a wizard, but lurking behind is the fear of descending into outsider status. These two sentiments are the driving force that made the Magical Federation a land of magic. “Why is an outsider here?” “Can’t even pay the tuition.” “Are they sneaking into lessons? This academy has students from numerous academic groups mixed in….” “It wouldn’t be noticeable even if they sneaked in, huh?” The learned children were shrewd and quick-witted. They realized what had just happened and gradually distanced themselves from the outsider. It was when the caught outsider gritted his teeth. I walked over, holding cards in both hands, and looked straight at the outsider as I asked, "Can you sense mana?" The outsider spotted me and quickly answered, "Y-yes…." "Left hand or right hand. Where's my magic tool?" "The l-left." "The answer is both. Liar." I spread my fists, revealing a clover card in each. The outsider's face fell in dismay. "Nice try, but flimsy lies fall apart quickly." Choosing the left without hesitation? Gambling on a mere 50% chance of survival. Quick on decisions, and with quite a nimble mind. But that's not enough. I knelt on one knee before the child. The outsider, harboring hope that I might show leniency, flinched at the look in my eyes. For there was no mercy, no warmth in my gaze. "Kid, whether you attend my classes or not doesn't concern me. To me, all here are merely laypeople." Cold, but that's the reality. The children didn't show any disappointment, only nodding their heads. For a highborn wizard (soon-to-be) from the floating city like me, teaching children in the lower realms is nothing more than a charitable service. "However, I only gathered those who successfully sensed mana. To provide lessons suited to them. This is not the place for you." "Why not...!" Sensing they'd be expelled if this continued, the outsider shouted in desperation. "I heard you teach here without any compensation. So, I can listen too, right? What's stopping me? Or are you afraid to teach me?!" ‘Somehow, I must attend those lectures! Relying on sympathy? Not with this person! Provocation is the way. Risky, but there's no future if I miss this chance!’ ...Oh, so you think you can provoke me into giving you lessons? Not educated, but experienced, maybe from being tossed around much as an outsider. Quite cunning. But let me tell you, “The students here have been learning magic for as short as 3 years to as long as 7. Through letters, mathematics, geometry, and history. All the basic knowledge along with magic training whenever possible.” Not a flicker from such an immature taunt. I conveyed facts, coldly, devoid of emotion. An icy voice that chilled to the bone. “My lessons are the best. But attending them won't bridge the gap of 3 to 7 years. If it could, why bother practicing? Why read diligently? Magic is an honest science. It manifests as much as mana is invested. Have you invested that much time?” “I-I have…!” “Was your environment harsh, your time lacking? Your surroundings and time are part of you. You should’ve shown talent transcendental to that.” To the outsider, I must have seemed like a miracle. A wizard descending from the floating city, imparting knowledge impartially in the frontier academies. Surely, they held illusions that someone doing such charitable acts might teach them too… But this miraculous being struck them with cold, hard reality. Crushing the faint hope sprouting in the outsider's heart. "I have about a month left here. Awakening you within that time is impossible. I do not attempt impossible tasks." “A...!” “Feel free to listen. It won’t be any help to you, though.” “Ah…!” Tears welled in the outsider's eyes. Abandoned by the Magical Federation, now abandoned by me as well. He could no longer stand his despair, resentment, his wretchedness. My words were an undeniable truth. Staying here would lend him no assistance whatsoever. “Ahhhhhhh!!” The outsider, with a beastly cry, bolted from the academy. Scattered his shoes in haste, running barefoot along the icy streets. His feet may ache, yet his heart surely ached more. With whispers of expected outcomes and humiliation for the busted outsider echoing through the academy, I called the housemaid. “Housemaid.” “Yes?” “He left without his shoes. Go deliver them.” “Me? Alone in this cold?” “That much is doable.” ‘Merciless. Unfamiliar, yet if truly merciless, he wouldn’t have sent me, would he?’ The housemaid looked between me and the academy’s exterior, murmuring with a slightly sympathetic expression. “May I comfort him?” “Do as you see fit.” “I’ll be back!” The housemaid quickly paced after the outsider. Watching her for a moment, I then turned to the students who stared at me. “Have you all finished with your practice? May I collect the magic tools?” “N-no, not yet!” The incident with the outsider quickly faded, and the children immersed themselves back into their magic tool exercises. Soon, they’ll either forget about this event entirely or refer to it in jest. The northern wind remained as bitter as ever. I shut the door left open by the housemaid.