The professor’s sudden declaration.
Naturally, everyone’s faces were filled with bewilderment.
If everyone’s eyes weren’t deceiving them, today’s timetable clearly listed a basic herbology class.
Out of nowhere, the professor, who had arrived late, decided to ignore the scheduled lecture and announced, without hesitation, “I dislike all of you” before declaring that he would teach magic instead.
It was an incomprehensible situation.
However, the initial confusion soon gave way to anticipation.
After all, the person before them was a genius widely regarded as a legendary mage—a being beyond the norm, capable of unleashing grand spells at will, and now, this extraordinary figure had announced his intention to personally teach them.
‘How could anyone not feel excited in such a situation?’
The students specializing in magic lit up with excitement.
On the other hand, the swordsmanship students—
A few unlucky A-class students who had been unable to attend the swordsmanship lectures due to a scheduling conflict—looked slightly disappointed.
However, even their expressions didn’t last long.
Professor Riyan specifically called them out.
“That attitude is exactly what I find distasteful.”
He posed a question to everyone: “Why must one choose between the sword and magic? Why not strive for both?”
The entire room fell silent.
It wasn’t because his critique was particularly sharp.
In fact, it was quite the opposite—it was far too detached from reality.
Of course, there are those with talent for both swordsmanship and magic.
The professor before them was the most exceptional example.
But not everyone in the world was born with such overwhelming abilities.
How many people, after all, could achieve mastery of the sword while simultaneously casting grand spells?
A genius of that caliber is exceedingly rare.
To excel in martial arts requires a body suited to combat and lightning-fast reflexes.
To wield magic demands overwhelming mana reserves and the wisdom to understand its intricate structures.
Few are born with all those gifts.
Thus, most swordsmen lag behind in terms of mana reserves and magic execution.
While they might be able to cast basic spells, any spare mana would be better spent on enhancing their bodies.
“Given that even reinforcing our bodies and swordsmanship exhausts our mana, wouldn’t it be impossible for us to also use magic?”
One student cautiously voiced the collective concern.
The blond boy’s question implied that while the professor’s abilities were unquestionable, his perspective might be too far removed to understand the limitations of ordinary people.
It was a sentiment that everyone silently agreed upon.
Yet, for some reason, Professor Riyan frowned openly at the notion that their limited mana rendered magic impractical.
“So, you’re saying you’ve already given up without even trying because you lack talent? That’s utterly pathetic.”
He continued, his tone harsh.
“If one leg is broken, then you must stand on the other.
If both legs are broken, use your arms.
If even your arms fail, then crawl forward using your head.
Without a willingness to move forward, no matter how disgraceful it may seem, you will never reach the summit.”
The professor’s eyes swept across the students.
“If you weren’t born with talent, then fill that void with effort, determination, and every ounce of your willpower.”
“Giving up should be reserved for the very last moment. Fleeing from understanding what magic truly is without even trying—I will not tolerate it.”
His sharp gaze turned to Silvia.
The second-highest-ranking student here and the most talented among the magic specialists.
The professor asked her a simple question.
“What do you think magic is?”
After a moment of contemplation, Silvia responded with a textbook answer.
“…It is the process of constructing spells to bring about miracles.”
It was a conventional answer found in any introductory textbook.
But the professor shook his head.
He refuted that common understanding and spoke to everyone.
“Magic is language.”
At first, they thought he might be speaking metaphorically.
However, the professor continued, undeterred.
“The act of twisting the laws of the world with one’s words isn’t exclusive to dragons. In fact, we’ve already been doing it ourselves.”
The students were taken aback, trying to grasp his meaning.
Seeing their confusion, Silvia muttered almost unconsciously.
“…Runes?”
Professor Riyan’s lips curled into a sly smile.
“Exactly. The runes you all dismissed as mere symbols are, in fact, a fully developed linguistic system.”
He raised his staff, preparing to demonstrate.
“Let me break it down for you using a simple spell.”
The professor declared confidently as he began his demonstration.
“Fireball is a fundamental spell. All of you should already have its spell structure memorized and be able to construct it at will.”
Everyone nodded at his words.
Seeing this, the man chuckled playfully.
“But can you truly say you fully understand this spell?”
Familiar runes floated above the professor’s hand.
They were symbols often seen when constructing the Fireball spell, but these particular runes seemed incomplete, as though parts of the sequence had been cut away.
“This part here deals with location designation.”
It specifies the caster’s position.
Then, it designates a point 30 centimeters above the caster’s hand, generating heat at that location and amplifying it.
“And this section forms and propels the sphere.”
It gathers the generated flames into a spherical shape.
Once the Fireball’s shape is established, the caster determines its trajectory, setting it to fly in a straight line toward the target.
“All of this is written here in the language of runes. It’s not just a picture—it’s a detailed sentence.”
The professor paused, observing the students’ reactions.
Memorizing established spells and simply replicating their symbols is undoubtedly an easier way to learn.
However, the limitations of such an approach are painfully clear.
‘This isn’t fundamentally a picture—it’s a sentence,’ the professor emphasized.
“But don’t you think this particular spell is inefficient?”
Without waiting for a response, the professor boldly altered the sequence of runes.
“What if we skip all the heat generation and location designation and directly create the Fireball?”
Without the gradual process of heat formation or shaping, a fully-formed Fireball appeared in the professor’s hand.
“Alternatively, we could increase the number of Fireballs instead. Let’s add a line to reduce their power in exchange for quantity.”
In an instant, the single Fireball multiplied into thirty.
While the intensity of each flame visibly diminished, the sheer number of Fireballs far exceeded the original.
“Now, it’s time to send these Fireballs toward the target. But let’s adjust the spell right before they make contact. By switching the positions of the runes related to power and quantity…”
The spell was rewritten so that, instead of reducing power to increase quantity, it now sacrificed quantity to enhance power.
Each individual Fireball grew incredibly potent.
Though the dozens of Fireballs were erased in exchange for this enhancement, it happened so quickly that all thirty slammed into the wall before disappearing.
Large scorch marks were etched into the wall, thirty in total.
“By doing this, you can discard the risks while reaping the benefits. Now, do you understand what I meant earlier?”
The students were stunned.
The phenomenon unfolding before them defied comprehension.
And yet, the man who made it happen addressed them with ease.
“Magic is language. Therefore, a mage must deceive the world with absurd wordplay.”
He continued.
“Imagine a person whose job is to trick others yet cannot read or write. Such a person hardly deserves to be called a mage.”
The professor’s golden eyes gleamed as he declared, “This is why you must learn runes.”
***
For a moment, the room was steeped in silence.
But it wasn’t because they had realized how groundbreaking the lecture was.
It was purely because they had come to understand just how beyond the norm this man standing before them was.
…Runes weren’t designed to be understood.
There are tens of thousands of these symbols, and each one often carries thousands of potential meanings.
When combined, the meaning of the runes shifts entirely depending on their arrangement.
Even the sequence in which they are read lacks any consistent rules.
‘How are we supposed to learn such an absurd language?’
Mages aren’t fools.
It’s not that they deliberately design inefficient spells.
Instead, like a monkey typing endlessly until it produces a coherent novel, countless individuals over centuries randomly combined runes.
Whenever a sequence happened to work, they recorded it, slowly building the foundation of magic.
All magic is the cumulative record of countless trials and errors.
It represents the history of humanity’s efforts spanning thousands of years.
Yet this man surpassed it all effortlessly, alone.
He instinctively understood a language that defied understanding.
With his overwhelming talent, he singlehandedly transcended humanity.
It was undoubtedly awe-inspiring.
However, the intuition of a genius could never be imitated.
None of the students gathered here possessed the capability to follow along with this lecture.
Thus, it should have been entirely meaningless.
And yet—
“I can see what you’re all thinking,” the professor said, his voice cutting through the silence.
“But didn’t I already tell you? I’m going to teach you what true magic is.”
He looked at each of them.
“I don’t have a hobby of making promises I can’t keep.”
The students exchanged glances, still unable to fully grasp his words.
Understanding runes through intuition and teaching them to others are fundamentally different matters.
To bring the language of gods into the realm of humans…
To encapsulate an indescribable meaning within mortal comprehension…
It was impossible.
Or rather, it should have been.
Yet the professor stood there and declared confidently, “Teaching you all of it might take a lifetime, but the basics? The nine foundational runes, their arrangement, and their meanings? That’s easy.”
He paused, his golden eyes gleaming with conviction.
“And I guarantee…”
His words resonated through the room.
“Even that will change the way you see the world.”
At that moment, astonishment painted every face in the room.
There was no other reaction possible.
Because right here, in this very moment, the history of magic was being rewritten.
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