〈 Chapter 246 〉 The Art of Handling Stars (1)

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A Sage (？person), and a Guide.

These are the new titles that Rania van Trias has acquired. With her gaining two new names, the Trias family now holds a total of four titles.

Sage, Rosel van Trias.

Wise One, Raniel van Trias.

Sage and Guide, Rania van Trias.

···Receiving a name from the Mage of Ancient Dragons is an honor that cannot be traded for anything else for a mage. If even one member of the family receives such a name, the status of that family elevates by several levels.

To have not one, but four of such titles.

The glory of the Trias family, which boasted the nurturing of a Sage, shines brightly once again. Among families that practice magic, not a single family dares to challenge the prestige of the Trias.

『What exactly is a Guide?』

『Rania van Trias.』

『What has that girl achieved?』

During all this, it is natural for attention to be focused on Rania, standing at the center of the rumors. She is a girl equipped with all elements that draw attention from the outset.

Exceptional beauty and an endless knowledge of magic.

Since she had virtually no external activities aside from her teaching role in Apuria, interest in her began to wane, but···

『The magical engineering presented at the Magic Academy Conference.』

『Not only basic magic knowledge, but she also has a talent for magical engineering. She is a girl without flaws.』

『Not a talent suitable to be a professor.』

The flames of interest that had dwindled since the Magic Academy Conference began to blaze anew. Dozens of letters flew towards the Trias family, with countless proposals directed at her.

Assistant to the Master of the Tower.

A high-ranking management position in the colored Tower.

Chief researcher of the royal magical institution.

With such proposals trailing one after another, Rania coolly turned them all down. She simply stayed in Apuria.

『What on earth is she trying to do in Apuria?』

It is only natural for such questions to arise.

『What did she see?』

Rumors continued to circulate, but no one had any solid answers.

2.

An empty classroom in Apuria.

“Don’t sit in the back, come to the front row. Chloe, you too, quickly. Front row. Yes, there.”

The two girls, forced to attend a special lecture, hesitated and took their seats. The first thing that caught their eyes was the circuit drawn on the blackboard.

thud.

‘It’s dizzying.’

Just glancing at it felt like their eyeballs could pop out. A circuit drawing for the highest order would not be as bizarre and complicated as this.

“···Professor Rania, what is that?”

Ayla asked.

With a smile, Rania replied.

“That is the circuit that the Princess must memorize before the end of her first year.”

“···Excuse me?”

“Of course, Chloe, you too.”

Memorize that?

Ayla blinked, and Chloe involuntarily gasped. They had no idea where to even start.

Chloe tilted her head and asked.

“Do we need to memorize that?”

“Yes.”

“What is the circuit used for?”

“It is used to handle concepts.”

Rania stepped down from the podium.

She loosened two or three buttons on her shirt, then slid her finger into the loosened collar and pulled her shirt forward.

“See?”

For a moment, Ayla and Chloe were taken aback, but they soon glanced at Rania’s collarbone. The curves leading down from her collarbone were traced with a circuit.

It looked like a tattoo.

The patterns of the circuit wriggled on her skin like a worm··· resembling the drawing on the blackboard remarkably well.

“What I’ve inscribed is a circuit for ‘stability,’ or in other words, for control.”

As Rania adjusted her collar, she continued.

“What you both need to learn is something similar to this. It’s not an outright memorization requirement··· just consider it an example to aid understanding.”

She ascended to the podium again.

“Do you have an idea why I called both of you together? Princess.”

“···Is it a story related to stars?”

“Yes. Both of you have received blessings from the stars, and it seems you recently surpassed a critical point.”

Rania smiled, looking at Ayla.

“When Apuria was submerged in darkness last time, you chose to move forward instead of remaining stagnant. You didn’t just stop at receiving protection from the stars; you chose to move towards the future.”

She then shifted her gaze to Chloe.

“Chloe, the same goes for you. You observed Resti handle stars well··· and through your interactions with Resti, you have a fair grasp of stars as well. You’ve also learned the basics of magic well over the past two months.”

clap.

Rania clapped her hands.

“The basics are laid, and the direction is clear. I judged that now, just past a critical point, is the right time.”

The right time for what?

“Growth.”

A moment to move forward.

“Understanding what you possess. Haven’t you felt that need?”

Both of them had a duty to fulfill.

Rania didn’t delve into details about that duty. She had no intention of alleviating the burden by mentioning it.

“I believe Chloe understands without me needing to elaborate since you’re a candidate for a hero···.”

“I have my obligations. I understand.”

Before she could finish, Ayla spoke up. With a calm voice, she continued.

“I possess talent and have been blessed, so I have responsibilities that come with it. If I can handle my talent better, I would welcome that.”

Ayla had matured after experiencing the last incident.

She was aware of her responsibilities and had been sensing for a while that she needed to understand the given talent more deeply.

“Though Sister Lruiel refrained from pressuring me with words, I know. I ‘need’ my talent for ‘something.’”

While Lruiel still tried to protect her, Ayla was no longer a child. She had some understanding of her role.

“Isn’t it related to the disappearance of my brother? Professor Rania.”

“···Did you hear it from Princess Lruiel?”

“I didn’t catch it fully. Still, I can guess the context.”

Ayla smiled bitterly.

“···It’s not something a sane person would do.”

She too had witnessed the atrocities inflicted upon the royal family.

It’s not something that a sane person would perpetrate. It must have been something wearing human skin that had done it. From the place stained with blood, Ayla instinctively understood.

“My role is likely to figure out how to deal with that.”

An instinct not from the stars.

“I suddenly thought there was a reason why blessings had persisted within the royal family.”

At that answer, Rania momentarily fell silent.

“···You have good instincts.”

Still, her instincts remained sharp.

Rania was taken aback by the overly keen insight.

‘Well, that’s whatever.’

Having motivation is a good thing.

“Phew.”

Rania let out a short breath and rolled up her sleeves. While preparing this lesson, she had deeply contemplated what she could teach.

She could explain mana manipulation.

She could teach how to draw circuits, the techniques for casting spells, and how to enhance circuits··· she had confidence in explaining it all better than anyone.

‘I can even teach how to move your body and the technical skills required for combat.’

She was not a mere basis for a class.

In the realm of magic and combat utilizing spells, there was hardly anything Rania didn’t know. She had all the knowledge and experience to qualify her for that.

‘But the stars are different.’

Things related to the stars were an unknown territory.

Nobody truly understood the stars.

Even those with talent hardly grasped their own abilities completely.

‘Even Kyle was like that.’

Rania recalled that even Kyle hadn’t fully understood his talents. He relied on instincts to handle the stars··· and that alone made him known as the mightiest hero.

However, Kyle had failed.

Because he did not understand, he couldn’t handle the stars at a crucial moment, and because he couldn’t handle them, he fell. Therefore, Rania sought a different path.

‘Understanding.’

To realize.

‘And to utilize.’

To make it your own and handle it.

The fundamental principle of a mage.

Not just relying on instinct but systematizing and defining it concretely.

The first step towards that was this circuit.

Rania stared silently at the circuits drawn on the blackboard. While traveling through the ancient city of Arcadia, she had come to understand the shadow.

‘The shadow is essentially like the stars.’

So.

‘The means to handle the shadow can ultimately lead to handling the stars.’

Rania did not bear the stars within her.

Since she had not received blessings from the stars, she didn’t understand how their blessings circulated within the physical body.

However, she did understand the opposite.

She knew how the shadow devours, destroys, and damages the body. She had experienced it directly, so she couldn’t help but acknowledge it.

‘A circuit to prevent that.’

The circuit etched in her heart.

As she recalled how she had managed to ‘control’ the shadow when she inscribed it, and how she had made mana ‘swallow’ the shadow, Rania spoke up.

“First.”

She smiled.

“Let’s start with the thought of catching the stars and smashing them down.”

3.

Chloe cannot control her mana.

Because she cannot, even to use simple spells, she has to put in tremendous effort.

Mana imbued with the stars is simply different in essence.

Starlight is free-spirited, untamed, and even when you try to grasp it, it tends to slip through your fingers. There was no way that Chloe could use spells.

thud.

‘Spells are a series of advanced calculations···.’

She drafts the circuit which is the trading document to offer to the stars. She precisely captures the mana as demanded by the stars in the circuit. The more accurate and smooth this process is, the higher the quality of the spell.

Chloe can draft the circuit.

However, she cannot pack the mana within it.

“So, let’s control it.”

Chloe lifted her head.

“Chloe, you still can’t use spells, can you?”

“···Yes.”

“Since the stars aren’t controllable, you’re probably just throwing it around like a clump of mana. While that alone can be powerful···”

Rania smiled.

“If you can properly grasp the stars, it will be on a whole different level. I know from experience just how absurd that can be.”

She drew a line in front of Chloe.

The fundamental stroke for all circuits.

“Let’s begin the first lesson with packing mana into this line without it wavering. And···”

Rania turned her gaze.

That gaze landed on Ayla.

In her hand was a scepter made of starlight. Chloe had seen it before.

‘The one she used in the darkness back then.’

The scepter guiding the stars.

It was the appearance of the scepter that had directed the flow of her mana. Ayla looked at Chloe and nodded.

“I’ll help.”

gulp.

Chloe swallowed dryly.

She closed her eyes and focused on the mana pooling in her heart. The quivering starlight began to seep out. Watching that, Rania said,

“Initially, start with that first stroke.”

And, ultimately.

“Complete that circuit.”

Making the circuit drawn on the blackboard her own.

By inscribing the order to handle star-related concepts onto her own body··· she would be able to treat starlight like ‘ordinary mana.’

“That is the objective of this lesson.”

That was Rania’s intent.

“Well then···”

Chloe asked.

“If I make that my own and perfectly handle the stars··· what will happen?”

“What do you think will happen?”

Rania replied.

“You will acquire the strongest weapon above all else.”

She added.

“A weapon that can even reach the calamity.”

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