Ding!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] Reward granted: Trait Inheritance
[!] Trait inherited: Mana Manipulation (Lv. 1)
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“This is....”
Aion read the words floating before his eyes.
Yggdrasil reacted to his gaze and added a brief explanation.
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『Mana Manipulation (Lv. 1)』
Classification: Trait
Effect: Makes the flow of mana within your body smoother.
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“...A trait?”
A dry voice sounded in Aion’s mind as he tilted his head.
【Arcana: I see. So Yggdrasil judged your physical condition that way.】
“...What does that mean?”
【Arcana: At first glance, Yggdrasil’s rewards may seem arbitrary, but they are not. It tries to select the best reward based on the user’s condition.】
【Fire: Ho. I see.】
【Arcana: The trait you inherited this time must have been what Yggdrasil judged to be best for you.】
“The power... best suited to me right now.”
【Arcana: Provided it also follows the principle of offering a reward appropriate to the task you overcame. It may not be easy to understand, but look at this.】
“...Look at what?”
Arcana issued a curt command, as if clicking his tongue.
【Arcana: Yggdrasil, visualize the user’s stats.】
Flash.
Light covered Aion’s vision, and a blue window unfolded in the air.
***
『Growth Status』
Name: Aion Iskar
Intelligence (INT): F-
Wisdom (WIS): F-
Magical Power (MANA): F+
Sense (SEN): F
Constitution (VIT): F
***
“......”
Aion’s mouth fell open.
The very bottom of the alphabet. A miserable report card filled entirely with Fs.
Only his Magical Power had risen to F+, the trace left by three days of Grounding.
“What are these horrible scores...?”
A disinterested reply came back.
【Arcana: What do you think they are?】
“......”
【Arcana: Your reality.】
There was no arguing with that.
After all, he had always known that his talent as a mage was meager.
Even so, there was one part Aion could not understand.
“Putting everything else aside... I find it hard to accept that my Constitution is this low.”
He looked down at his arms and legs.
Firm, well-trained muscles. He had never lived lazily.
“You all know how I have lived until now, do you not?”
【Fire: Mm-hm, we do. Of course we do.】
【Waterflow: I... no, you have lived more fiercely than anyone. We know that.】
“And yet my Constitution is still this terrible?”
A weighty voice echoed through his mind.
【Arcana: It seems you are under a misconception.】
“...What?”
【Arcana: The Constitution displayed here does not simply represent how physically capable you are. It represents how suited your body is to using magic—and how much it can endure.】
“Ah....”
【Lightning: Hehehehehe! With a body like this, how did you ever think you would become a mage? Was my past self really this irresponsible?】
【Waterflow: This is... rather sobering.】
For a moment, Aion’s mind fell quiet.
【Life: But do not worry, Aion. If you continue to nurture the body, it can blossom someday.】
A gentle yet cool voice.
Life, the Ultimate Point who always comforted him.
Hearing that voice, something suddenly occurred to Aion.
“...There is something I am curious about.”
【Life: Go ahead.】
“Are there any of you whose gender differs from mine? Your voices make it seem that way.”
【Earth: Heh heh. You are only asking that now? You are rather slow to notice.】
【Life: ...That is right. Earth and I are women.】
【Fire: There are two old hags among us now?】
【Earth: Shut your mouth, you thunderstruck bastard!】
“...I was told that you are all my future selves. Can we have different genders?”
【Arcana: We share the same soul, but our worldlines differ. We are each Aion Iskar from separate worlds. Though we bear the same name, we were born in different worlds from the beginning.】
Eight great mages who had walked different paths.
It was one thing to learn that they came from different worlds. To find that some of them were even different genders from him was another matter entirely.
...The eight worlds are more complicated than I thought.
【Earth: In other words, we are your other possibilities.】
It was not impossible to accept.
Besides, what lay ahead was far more important.
Aion rose to his feet.
【Fire: Do not tell me you are already moving again? Why are you in such a hurry? You are no longer at risk of expulsion.】
Ding!
***
[!] A new task has been assigned.
***
『Task: Training Must Be Consistent』
— 『Task Overview: Your physical condition is abysmal. That means you have no time to rest.』
— 『Objective: Succeed at Grounding five times.』
— 『Assigned Reward: Magical Power +2』
***
Aion looked down at the task window and spoke.
“I do not have time to waste.”
***
The entrance ceremony held a few days later passed quietly, contrary to expectations.
It was merely an endless stretch of applauding among hundreds of new students and listening to dull declarations.
But the gazes directed at Aion were anything but quiet.
“Is that not the student people were saying had been admitted fraudulently?”
“I heard that was not true. Professor Alistair personally confirmed it. Apparently, the device had malfunctioned.”
“Oh my. Even so, it still feels rather unsettling. They said the crystal orb’s initial response was like that.”
“Well, we will see. This is Axion, after all. You only need to prove yourself through your ability.”
A stain did not vanish easily.
Aion let the whispers pass over him as he thought,At least things will be quiet for a while.
Having successfully completed the entrance ceremony, Aion was now officially an Axion student.
As long as he gave them no excuse to pick at him, it would remain that way.
The dormitory move-in took place immediately after the ceremony.
Passing through a dense forest path, Aion saw an old wooden building standing at the edge of a hazel grove.
Lumenia Dormitory, home to tradition and freedom.
And at its deepest end stood Hazel Hall, a building whose roof was nearly covered by overhanging branches.
Creeeak—
When he opened the old wooden door and stepped into the corridor, air carrying the fresh scent of the forest and old dust washed over him.
Room 301.
Aion opened the door to unpack.
【Life: Oh my, the facilities here are quite old. So this is what Hazel Hall looks like inside?】
【Waterflow: I could not tell from the outside, but it is rather cozy.】
The Ultimate Points began offering their own evaluations of the dormitory.
【Earth: Wait. Now that I think of it, was any one of us assigned here?】
A brief silence followed.
【Lightning: Hehehehehe! I was in Nocturna!】
【Life: I was in Lumenia too, but in Maple Hall. The maple leaves were so beautiful.】
【Arcana: I was in Nocturna as well.】
One by one, answers came forth.
Of the eight Ultimate Points, only one had memories of living in Hazel Hall.
【Fire: ...It has been a long time.】
There was a strange nostalgia in his voice.
【Earth: Huh. Well, would you look at that.】
Earth gave a hollow laugh.
【Earth: We did not live through the same time, but we are still the same Aion. Yet even our dormitories turned out to be so different.】
Aion let those words pass by as he set his bundle of belongings on the bed.
The old springs creaked beneath it.
Outside the window, hazel branches swayed in the wind.
【Arcana: That is only natural.】
A dry remark.
Waterflow quietly followed it.
【Waterflow: As long as humans breathe, everything is a choice. Over fifty years, each of us made the choices we believed were right. Is that not why we each reached different truths?】
【Life: We are more alike than anyone, yet more different than anyone.】
A short silence followed.
Aion paused and listened to their conversation.
People with the same name who had lived different lives.
And all of them now lived in his mind.
【Earth: ...Is that so? Tch....】
Then—
Click. Click.
The mana lamp meant to illuminate the room would not turn on.
No matter how many times he pressed the switch, only sparks flew inside the mana stone; no light appeared.
“It really is old.”
Aion gave the lamp a few taps. Then Arcana interjected.
【Arcana: It is old, certainly. Its flow is blocked.】
“Flow?”
【Arcana: Mana residue tends to build up in magical devices that have been neglected for a long time. Why not try fixing it yourself?】
Ding!
***
[!] A new task has been assigned.
***
『Task: Repair Broken Magical Devices』
— 『Task Overview: Through brief training, you have learned in part how to manipulate mana. You must become familiar with it before you forget.』
— 『Objective: Repair all broken magical devices in Hazel Hall Room 301.』
— 『Assigned Reward: Sense +2』
***
“...That is quite a good reward.”
【Arcana: The trait you just inherited will be helpful.】
The trait he had just inherited....
Mana Manipulation.
Aion looked down at the lamp, then placed a hand on the mana stone.
Closing his eyes and focusing his senses, he felt the flow of magical power within the lamp through his fingertips.
It was astonishingly clear.
Mana residue has clogged the passage.
It felt like the stifling blockage of a narrow stream choked with dirt.
I only need to push it out.
He gathered the remaining mana in the stone and lightly struck the clogged section.
The accumulated residue was forced aside, clearing the path.
Sliiide.
The refreshing sensation of something blocked finally opening.
Flash—!
A bright light burst from the lamp that had been dead moments before.
“Oh....”
A remarkably steady light filled the room.
“This is quite useful.”
Feeling more confident, Aion went around the room.
The mana lock on the creaking window, the lukewarm heater, even the old enchantment that kept his desk level.
Each time his fingertips touched them, the worn devices resumed their proper functions.
There was none of the spectacle of firing off spells.
Yet the sensation traveling through his fingertips was unmistakable.
So this... is what it feels like to live as a mage.
As he watched, Fire suddenly spoke.
His voice was strangely subdued.
【Fire: Hey, you Arcana bastard.】
【Arcana: ...Speak.】
Aion continued working, listening closely.
【Fire: The things I experienced. The information I know... should I tell this kid about them?】
It was an abrupt question.
But Arcana replied at once, as though he already knew Fire’s meaning.
【Arcana: If you feel it is necessary.】
【Fire: When?】
【Arcana: My answer is the same.】
A brief silence.
Fire did not continue.
【Fire: ...Understood.】
Aion stopped before the heater he had just repaired.
He did not know what they meant.
But he did not ask.
By the time he had repaired every magical device in the room, the sky outside had grown dark.
A red sunset spread beyond the hazel grove, and the forest’s shadows stretched long.
Ding!
***
[!] Task complete.
[!] Reward granted: Sense +2
***
Aion sat on the bed and opened and closed his hand.
A tingling sensation still remained in his fingertips.
I cannot forget this feeling.
Then—
Tap.
A dull sound against the window shattered the silence.
The wind?
Tap.
No.
Someone was deliberately throwing small stones at his window.
At this hour?
Aion stood, opened the window, and looked down.
It was three stories high.
Someone had thrown stones with enough precision to reach this window?
The other person wore a dark robe that concealed their face.
Only a silhouette, faintly gleaming in the moonlight, could be seen.
The suspicious visitor stared straight up at Aion, standing by the window.
Looking closer, he saw an Axion brooch gleaming on their chest.
They were an Axion student.
Aion pointed to himself with his index finger.
Are they calling for me?
The robed figure nodded.
Aion observed the silhouette for a moment.
Someone who wore a robe and threw stones at a third-floor window in the evening.
Either they had considerable nerve, or the matter was that urgent.
...Who is it?
He sensed no hostility.
Aion put on an outer robe and left the room.
Behind the dormitory, beneath a hazel tree where an old bench stood.
As Aion approached, the waiting figure slowly turned.
Rustle—
Up close, their frame was slender.
Once the figure had confirmed Aion’s arrival, she immediately stated her business.
“I came to thank you.”
“A thank-you?”
He froze for a moment at the unexpected words.
When Aion tilted his head, she narrowed it down.
“You saved me from the bicorn.”
“...Ah.”
Only then did he remember.
The female student he had pushed away just before the bicorn charged into her.
“You came all this way because of that?”
“...Yes.”
“...All right. I have received your thanks.”
The girl hesitated for a moment.
“But...!”
But?
She pulled back the hood of her robe.
Rustle.
A face revealed beneath the moonlight.
Silver hair like melted starlight, and eyes a blue so cold they seemed to sting.
Aion’s gaze stopped without him realizing it.
But where his gaze settled was not her face, but the chest of her uniform.
That crest....
A pair of crossed swords—the symbol of the northern tiger, the Rustian Federation.
“Aion Iskar.”
The girl called his name.
Her voice was calm, but its end trembled faintly.
“Do not get the wrong idea!”
She suddenly held her head high and fixed Aion with an icy stare.
“...?”
“I am grateful you saved me, but... that does not mean my feelings have changed, or that I have developed any interest in you!”
This time, she looked directly into his eyes as she drove the point home.
...What is she talking about?
Aion considered her words. Then a memory suddenly flashed through his mind.
Something from long ago.
And this face.
...He remembered.
Who the female student standing before him was.
“You would not happen to be... Serya?”
“Do not call me by my name as if we are close!”
At that moment, Aion’s mind erupted into chaos.
【Fire: Hahahahaha! This is driving me insane!】
【Waterflow: Things have become complicated.】
【Lightning: Heehee! Hihihi... hehehehehehe! Ahahahahahahahaha!】
The Ultimate Points’ noisy mockery crashed through his mind.
【Fire: Of all people, you saved the former fiancée whose engagement you called off, Aion?】
Serya von Kreutz.
She and Aion had known each other for a very long time.