A period of peace continues for a while.
By the time I mastered the four attributes, excluding air, I had finally shed my status as a beginner.
By the way, there are now only 20 people left in the lower class.
Unauthorized tardiness, unauthorized absences, it wasn’t what they expected, and some went missing.
The last part is a bit concerning, but that’s how the numbers decreased.
Once the class was down to 20 people, though, the decrease stopped.
For me, time passes in a terribly dull way, but there’s nothing to be done about it. I supplemented by learning the advanced lessons of the elite class at home from Noel and Arnella.
I open my right hand and manifest magic in my fingertips, except for the thumb.
Fire, water, wind, earth.
I’ve already grasped the basics. If I want more power, I just have to pour in more magic. The tricky part is combining them.
Explosion magic requires fire, water, and wind.
To generate a golem, you need not just earth but also the attributes of water and fire.
The reason that senior’s golem was weak was likely because the combination of water and fire was poorly handled.
The more attributes you combine, the more complex and advanced the magic becomes—and the more powerful its effect.
Control requires delicate adjustments, and once you go beyond three, it becomes quite difficult for me. With two, I can brute-force it with more magic.
…Kasugal seemed to be using only the fire attribute, though. I’d like to ask him about that.
As for Mastema, she’s already stopped doing anything herself. She channels magic into her thorn staff and leaves everything to it.
The thorn staff seems to be delighted with the high-quality demonic magic, occasionally revealing a skull wrapped in thorns from the staff. That must be the infamous Thorn King.
As expected of the thorn staff, it appears capable of replicating any magic used by the lower class.
With her newfound freedom, Mastema spends her free time buried in books at the magic academy’s library, even reading borrowed books during class.
The instructor continues teaching matter-of-factly, showing no interest in the lower class. The only instructor who frequently glares at Mastema is the one wearing a monocle, but Mastema remains unfazed.
I thought the peaceful days would continue, but I was summoned by Lucora, who oversees our practical training.
My practical scores should be fine.
“I have a small favor to ask. Of course, I’ll add it to your practical score, so could you accept?”
Lucora’s request was to clean up a dungeon.
Apparently, the dungeon overrun by undead hadn’t been used for practical lessons for a while and was nearing overflow.
“Isn’t that an instructor’s job?”
“Well, yeah, but it’s a pain… I mean, I’ve been kinda busy. The elite class doesn’t want to deal with undead, so please, please help!”
I found it annoying, too, but it was true that my body had grown a bit sluggish lately.
I felt the urge to cut loose.
Lulise and Colgus probably wanted the practical points as well, so I decided to bring them along.
“What about you?”
“I don’t like undead; you can’t eat them. But I’d like to let off some steam too.”
Mastema also seemed to have some pent-up frustration.
The next morning, the four of us ventured into the Dungeon of the Undead.
The smell is terrible. No wonder no one wants to use it.
I douse myself with holy water.
This activates a purification effect, making things much more bearable.
“That’s not fair, Ahavain. Ugh, what’s this smell?”
“Tears are just coming out on their own…”
Honestly, going against undead without even bringing holy water…
I pour holy water over their heads.
“Ah, finally, I can breathe. I’ll definitely bring holy water from now on.”
“The smell is still a bit strong, but, well, it can’t be helped.”
As for Mastema, she was calmly bathing in the holy water.
“…Does it not bother you?”
“What?”
She asked back. Nothing seemed amiss.
“Oh, I meant the holy water. Since I became what I am, it’s just ordinary water to me.”
If the church knew, they’d probably faint.
As we go deeper, we do indeed encounter zombies.
I burn them with fire magic.
I do have my fire sword and heaven sword prepared, but magic is easier.
If I fight zombies with a sword, I’ll just end up covered in body fluids.
There are four of us. Just shooting fire magic at the enemy generates quite a bit of firepower.
Lulise and Colgus’ magical power has increased since the start of the school year, but it’s still limited. In a prolonged battle, Mastema and I would likely have to handle the remainder.
We proceed for a while.
Skeletons appear, along with ghouls mixed in with the zombies.
But it’s no different.
Even as lower-level mages, the combined firepower of the four of us is equivalent to that of a single mid-level mage.
We simply burn everything in our path.
Undead creatures are unpopular because they aren’t profitable. Occasionally, a creature drops a gem, but most leave nothing behind.
It’s just effort for no reward. At this rate, we’ll probably finish the cleanup and call it a day.
But I know things never go that smoothly.
As we progress, the fire magic we unleashed gets deflected by a single zombie.
A Murderer Zombie.
A mid-level undead monster with resistance to magic.
Usually, undead creatures have poor resistance to magic due to their rotting flesh or bones, but that’s only true for the lower-level ones.
Just as I’m about to draw my fire sword, Colgus uses acceleration magic to hurl a stone at the Murderer Zombie, hitting it squarely in the head. It was a physical attack since the rock was accelerated.
I applaud him. Well done.
“I did it!”
But another Murderer Zombie appears behind him.
“Gah!”
With a cry, Colgus keeps picking up rocks and throwing them. He’s got plenty of spirit.
By the time he defeats the fourth one, Colgus is exhausted.
He’s out of magic. If I give him a magic recovery potion, he’ll recover, but they’re expensive.
Besides, he’ll just burn through it again, so I leave him to Lulise.
Lulise’s unique magic packs enough power, but it’s like a stationary turret.
And it’s ineffective against moving targets.
Well, I suppose I should get involved.
My fire sword absorbs my magic and glows brilliantly.
Thanks to all the fundamental practice I’ve done at the magic academy, the quality of my magic has significantly improved.
The fire sword is in excellent condition, and the body-strengthening magic flows smoothly.
It seems these days haven’t been wasted after all.
“Ahavain, what’s with that?”
Colgus, finally back on his feet, looks at me.
It’s the first time he’s seen me as an adventurer.
“Well, just watch. I’ll show you what being an adventurer means.”
The zombies are forming a group and coming toward us. Quite the number.
“Mastema, stay here and don’t let any zombies pass.”
“Fine, but give me the big ones. I want to cut loose too.”
“Got it.”
Now then, even as a lower-level mage, let’s do this.
I grip my fire sword and ignite it with flames.
