A London morning.
In Su Shu's impression from the past year, the weather was always this foggy and damp.
A hazy, grayish-white mist floated outside the wrought-iron window grilles, the sky its usual gloomy self. The outlines of scenery on the street, just a short distance away, were blurred by the thick water vapor, like an impressionist's ink wash painting. A closer look revealed only a sense of desolate isolation.
The black magus, walking slowly down the corridor, gradually drew his gaze back from the window.
Carrying a laptop and a cup of instant coffee.
The black-haired young man's steps were steady as he entered the El-Melloi classroom punctually at nine o'clock.
Click.
The soles of his boots made a faint, scraping noise against the wooden floor, causing the originally noisy classroom, filled with the whispers of students, to fall instantly silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
His fine, black bangs swayed slightly, partially obscuring his deep, ink-black eyes that were like an ancient, tranquil well. As if possessing some kind of magic, his figure was like a soul-capturing vortex, instantly drawing the gazes of everyone in the room.
He walked up to the lectern.
Meeting the focused gazes of all the students, Su Shu unhurriedly took a sip of coffee and gently placed his laptop on the desk, flipping it open.
"Good Friday morning, everyone. I am your substitute teacher for today, 'Shu'."
The black-haired young man said with a smile.
His words, as warm as a spring breeze, seemed to blow away the oppressive, hazy mist from outside the window.
"Today, I will be substituting for Lord El-Melloi II. I welcome you all here to join in our discussion."
The Sleeping... Black Magus.
Looking at the figure on the lectern, this heart-stopping title emerged in everyone's mind.
Though a foreigner, he had become the most renowned, and most talked-about, top student of the younger generation at the Clock Tower. He was a magical genius who had, in just one year, skipped five years of all the basic courses and claimed the laurel of the rank of Pride.
The so-called Pride (典位).
It meant that one's mastery of magecraft was exquisite enough to author a definitive text on the subject. Therefore, after obtaining the rank of Pride, Su Shu was qualified to substitute for El-Melloi II.
To help his teacher alleviate some of the fatigue from working himself to death, Su Shu would come to help Waver by teaching the morning class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
This had also led to a phenomenon that the students delighted in discussing. El-Melloi II's classes were already packed to capacity, yet Su Shu's substitute lectures were even more in demand than El-Melloi II's own!
A single seat could be scalped for two thousand pounds, yet they were still impossible to find.
Because every class was attended not just by students who wanted to learn. There were also many others, either trying to get a glimpse of the Black Magus's cutting-edge magical theories or wanting to refute his heretical ideas. Not to mention the many female students who simply wanted to see the man who had won first place in this year's Clock Tower's Most Desired Man to ■■ With.
This, in turn, had led to this massive classroom, capable of holding several hundred people, being so crowded that there were hardly any seats left.
Having come prepared, many people brought their own folding stools and sat in the aisles. The back of the classroom was even more packed with a dense crowd; those who arrived late could only stand.
And yet, no one complained. They were lucky to even be able to listen. This was after arriving an hour early to claim a spot; otherwise, they wouldn't even have a place to stand!
It was just that... today—
Many students were a little terrified. Because... that woman, whose fearsome reputation was known throughout the Clock Tower, was sitting in the very front row with her distinct short, orange-red hair.
Her name was—
Touko the Orange, Aozaki Touko.
Glancing at the dense crowd before the lectern, Su Shu immediately spotted many familiar faces:
Family like Gray and Reines, of course. Luvia, Flat, Svin, Yvette, Caules... These junior and senior students of the El-Melloi classroom were also old acquaintances. Su Shu even saw the young lady of the Department of Astromancy, Olga Marie, next to Reines. They were sitting intimately together, practically glued to each other. Their relationship now seemed to be that of close friends.
Well... they're both young ladies from noble families, they must have a lot in common, right?
Su Shu mused that he had even been the one to push their friendship forward.
It was supposed to be one man and three women in a single room with only one bed, a perfect setup for a wild party, but instead, a mahjong table had been set up. He could see the resentful, blushing expressions on their faces; they were all holding a grudge. And so, he had been mercilessly targeted. It was a four-player game of mahjong, yet three of them were ganging up on him. After that all-night bloodbath of a mahjong game, even though the three of them were just beginners, Su Shu had lost so badly he had practically lost his underwear! But it was definitely not a problem with his skills, are you kidding me! It was just bad luck!
These familiar faces were nothing compared to that personage...
—Looking at the large empty space around the orange-haired woman in the center of the classroom, Su Shu couldn't help but feel amused.
Good heavens, you're taking up ten seats by yourself. The missing lecture fees, Miss Aozaki Touko, are you going to cover them?
I emailed you to come over to help me with my prosthetic modifications, not to cause trouble in my class.
The black-haired young man clicked his tongue and shook his head. As long as you don't smoke in my class.
The woman known as Touko the Orange, wearing elegant round glasses, quietly rested her chin in her hands, a half-smile on her face as she just watched him. She had the appearance of a well-behaved student listening intently. Even though she looked like a harmless literature-major upperclassman, her figure was explosive, and she even wore fishnet stockings under her green dress. But the murderous aura this woman exuded made it so that no one dared to get close to her.
What a mess. You're a Grand-ranked Puppeteer, and you're coming to listen to my Pride-ranked lecture. I'm truly flattered.
Alright then.
Su Shu cleared his throat and decided to bring out some serious material today.
He took out a remote control from the lectern and pressed a button.
Click—
A panel in the ceiling suddenly opened, and a newly installed projector descended. At the same time, the screen in front of the blackboard began to roll down.
"?!"
As soon as this thing appeared, many students from other departments, attending for the first time, had their pupils dilate.
Good heavens, you bring a laptop to a magecraft lecture, that's one thing, but you also installed a projector in the classroom?! These various tricks of modern technology... had always been rejected and despised by the other departments of the Clock Tower.
Should I say... as expected of the famous Black Magus? No, wait, how the hell did this pass the review of the academic affairs office?!
The same question popped into many people's minds.
The answer, of course, was... money. Su Shu smiled. The academic affairs office had initially refused, but he had offered far too much. The approval process was completed in less than two days.
It's okay... you'll all come around soon enough. After experiencing the clarity and efficiency of a PowerPoint presentation, no one would want to go back to the age of blackboards. The stupid chalkboard should have been retired long ago.
Let me show you what a new-era magus is like.
Having been through the hell of weekly group meetings in his past life, teaching a class of a few hundred people held no pressure for Su Shu at all.
"Today, everyone," he began with a smile, playing the slideshow on his laptop. "We will be discussing Modern Magecraft Engineering."
Holding the remote, the Black Magus began to speak eloquently to the hushed audience.
"This is a course that I have meticulously compiled together with my esteemed teacher, Lord El-Melloi II, and it has now been officially approved by the academic affairs office. I believe that after systematically studying this course, you will have a clearer understanding of our modern magecraft theory and gain a broader perspective in your own fields of magical research.
"Right now, you must all be wondering, what is Engineering? And what is Magecraft Engineering? So-called engineering is the practical application of theory: by using the shortest possible time, the least amount of manpower, and the most efficient methods; to combine natural objects, artificial objects, and energy; to create a reliable product that is beneficial to us humans. Various engineering disciplines exist in all aspects of our lives. And just like the construction of civil works, bridges, tunnels, and skyscrapers... the construction of magecraft is also a complex and profound field of engineering. We aim to use the principles, logic, and mindset of engineering to guide us in efficiently developing, operating, and maintaining various spells, Mystic Codes, and Crests... —This is the significance of Modern Magecraft Engineering.
"So, why should we study Magecraft Engineering? And how can these theories help our magical research? I will introduce the concepts one by one..."
Along with Su Shu's easy-to-understand explanations, analyses, and introductions, a series of exquisitely made, clear-concept slides were projected onto the huge screen in the classroom, changing in sync with his masterful lecture pace. No textbook was needed. Su Shu himself was an open encyclopedia before the students.
Whether it was the Age of Gods or the modern era, his knowledge was almost unparalleled. In the entire massive Clock Tower, one of the highest seats of learning in the magical world, located in this millennium-old city of London, for fifteen hundred years, there had never been a classroom like this...
No tongue-twisting, obscure incantations. No esoteric, hard-to-understand concepts. And no requirements for the quality of one's Magic Circuits or bloodline. If you wanted to attend, you just had to pay a cheap lecture fee and walk right in through the door.
More and more people filled the classroom. Gradually, the seats around that woman were also slowly filled. The late students sat directly on the floor in front of the lectern. Further back, some even crowded at the doorway, leaning on the windowsills, just to hear the voice inside.
The black magus on the lectern... he explained the development of magecraft, the composition of magecraft, and the future of magecraft in a clear, concise, and incredibly common language. The students, thirsty for knowledge, read, browsed, and listened to his sharing. The tips of their pens flew across the paper. Even those who had only come to see his face; even those who had come to refute his ideas; were involuntarily immersed in this wonderful classroom, unwilling to miss a single detail.
Gradually, in the massive classroom, even the sound of turning pages and opening water bottles seemed to fade away. Only the captivating Black Magus on the stage, his rhythmic and incredibly engaging lecture, echoed in the hearts of the audience.
Time... seemed to no longer be time. But something perfect and vivid, frozen in amber. The students only wished they could hold it in their hands, to admire its beauty forever, without end.
The gloomy clouds drifted leisurely in London's foggy sky. From the dim morning to the gentle noon. No one moved from their seats, no one went to the restroom. Though their legs were sore and numb from standing, their minds felt no fatigue. The oppressive clouds, the hazy mist... were gently kneaded away by a clear wind. A rare, bright, and clear sunlight in London squeezed through the clouds. Through the classroom's window grilles, a brilliant gold fell into this unique classroom of the Clock Tower, draping over the Black Magus.
"...And that concludes it. That was the first chapter of our course—a basic introduction to Modern Magecraft Engineering. Thank you all for listening."
Thump.
A gentle sound of a coffee cup being placed on the lectern struck the hearts of the students like a drumbeat, startling the hundreds of entranced minds awake.
In an instant, all was silent. And then... the entire corridor of the Modern Magecraft Department suddenly erupted in a wave of enthusiastic, surging cheers and applause!
"Well said! Absolutely brilliant!"
"Senpai! We respect you!"
"I've drifted for half my life, my only regret is not meeting a true master sooner! I must transfer to the Modern Magecraft Department immediately!"
This clamor made the students in other classrooms turn their heads with envy.
"Tsk... it's that Black Magus again."
On the lecterns of various classrooms, the lecturers of the Modern Magecraft Department looked at their students' reactions, shook their heads, and smiled helplessly. They had to teach too... otherwise, who wouldn't want to go and listen?
Although they couldn't hear the lecture live, that Black Magus would generously share his lesson plans and materials for all his colleagues in the Modern Magecraft Department to pass around. Such generosity couldn't help but earn people's admiration. He was truly a mountain to be looked up to, a path to be followed.
And because of his influence, the lecturers of the Modern Magecraft Department were now basically all equipped with laptops. It couldn't be helped. If you didn't learn to use it, you couldn't even read the things he wrote...
Since two months ago, such enthusiastic, tsunami-like cheers had erupted from that classroom every week, without interruption. This cheering made everyone in the Modern Magecraft Department absolutely certain.
"The Modern Magecraft Department will definitely be the number one department in the Clock Tower in the future."
Listening to the spontaneous, enthusiastic cheers of these students, although he had heard it many times, Su Shu couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart. A warm current inexplicably surged in his chest, and a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction filled him.
This world is not lacking in students eager to learn. It only lacks teachers who are willing to teach with a serious attitude. To scold students for their laziness and incompetence... is just a way to cover up the blandness and dullness of one's own teaching.
Facing the cheers and praise of the students, Su Shu's gaze grew slightly hazy. The scene before him seemed to shift, and the black-haired young man was reminded of his own educational experiences in his past life. The education he had received undoubtedly bore a strong mark of its era—an environment where everyone was driven, praised, and where not working desperately meant you didn't deserve to survive. This was the choice of the era. Su Shu had no intention of judging it, but at least it gave everyone a basic level of fairness. Though it was exam-oriented, he had also met many excellent, responsible teachers whose lectures were humorous, engaging, and captivating.
It was because he admired them that he wanted to share El-Melloi II's burden.
Though he was very worried about me... he agreed without hesitation, even fighting against the opposition in the academic affairs office to promote my class for me.
The first time Su Shu substituted for El-Melloi II, El-Melloi II had sat below, listening to the entire lecture. After it was over, the applause from this teacher was the most enthusiastic, and his tears fell just as freely. Because Waver Velvet had seen it.
The revival of El-Melloi was right before his eyes.
"Your path is difficult, Shu, but I will always support you. Waver Velvet and the El-Melloi classroom will always be your strongest support. Go ahead and do it."
The reason El-Melloi II was working so much overtime now was precisely because co-writing the lesson plans and discussing the curriculum with his disciple also took up a large part of his energy. This was a course that could change the landscape of the Clock Tower, and even the world of magecraft, a contribution that would benefit generations to come. They were already prepared for the immense obstacles they would face.
The black-haired young man pressed the remote, and the memorable slideshow switched to a slide with the large letters Q&A.
"Now is the question and answer session. You can ask any questions you have."
Looking at the hands raised like banners, Su Shu gently brushed the quill pen on the desk. This little familiar he had made immediately began to fly around, randomly assigning numbers to those with their hands raised.
"Question: Those civil engineering projects can produce visible products. What is the specific difference between them and magecraft engineering?"
"The characteristic of magecraft lies in its abstraction. Compared to tangible products like buildings, magecraft is actually the result of mental activity. Therefore, magecraft engineering is more complex than general engineering and more worthy of research to summarize a clear and efficient development process."
"Question: You mentioned the modularization of magecraft before. I don't quite understand?"
"A complex spell can often be composed of multiple simple spells. This is the idea of modularization. The focus is on the principles of high cohesion and low coupling. That is to say, a simple spell only needs to do one simple thing well. We should combine simple spells to form complex spells, rather than directly constructing complex spells. This is beneficial for the development of new magic and the maintenance of old magic."
"Question: You said that the maintenance of old magic might be more important than the development of new magic. Why is that?"
"This is a neglected area in our current world of magecraft. Many accidents that could have been avoided were caused by the long-term lack of maintenance of magic. Maintaining magic can also help us better understand our own magic. The person is the end, not the means. There is magic only because there are magi. I believe the safety of the magus himself is far more important than the magic."
"Question: Many of us magi aim to pursue the Root to reach a state like a Magician—in your opinion, what is the most fundamental difference between magecraft and magic?"
"Good question."
To the hushed silence of the audience, the black-haired young man on the stage smiled slightly.
"In my opinion, the most fundamental difference between magecraft and magic is: Magecraft follows reason, Magic does not."
Magecraft follows reason. Magic does not.
This simple and easy-to-understand, yet seemingly profound answer, made the people present fall into deep thought.
"So, what we magi must do is to try to use the reason of magecraft to pursue the unreasoned realm of magic. This is undoubtedly an extremely difficult challenge... Let's all work hard together."
Su Shu pressed the remote and put it away.
In this contemplative silence, a slightly lazy, out-of-place male voice suddenly sounded.
"I admit, Black Magus, your lecture and theories are very brilliant."
In the corner of the classroom, a handsome young man with golden hair and tan skin laughed. He was adorned with sparkling jewelry, his ocean-blue eyes narrowed slightly, his tone carrying an undisguised frivolity.
"However, what's the point? As we all know, most of the audience here in the Modern Magecraft Department are from ordinary families with ordinary talents. They are not undisputed geniuses like you. Mediocrity is the life story of most of the people in this room. Their aptitude as magi is average, and their upper limits are already fixed. Magecraft, in the end, is a mystery that only a small elite can pursue. Your widespread promotion of your magical concepts is just turning the original losers into losers who can struggle a little bit. So... your lecture was very good, but it was meaningless."
This offensive statement made many in the classroom glare at him angrily. The students looked towards the source of the voice, but seeing the person's appearance, they couldn't bring themselves to speak out in anger. The reason was simple. Because the speaker was...
"Atrum Galliasta."
Su Shu said the guy's name with a smile. "It's been a while since we last met at the Twin Towers. Have you been well?"
"Heh... your performance was very impressive, Shu-kun. You've already reached the rank of Pride."
The tan-skinned, golden-haired young man twisted his neck, a fake smile on his face.
The reason the students didn't dare to speak out against him was simple. Because Atrum was the new head of the Galliasta family, a famous nouveau riche in the Magus Association. His family's wealth was probably enough to buy an entire department of the Clock Tower. He was what you would call, born with a golden spoon in his mouth.
Indeed. If he was the one saying it, people could only be angry but not dare to speak. In the Modern Magecraft Department's classroom, most of the students were ordinary people. How could they dare to provoke such a rich playboy? He had used money to brute-force his way into creating a Primitive Spell that plundered others' magical energy. In terms of strength, he was stronger than most of the people present. The most typical display of the power of a noble family. It was infuriating, yet helpless.
"Meaningless... huh?"
Su Shu clicked his tongue and shook his head. Every class he taught, a clown like this couldn't help but jump out. He was already getting numb to it.
"Atrum-kun, you are mistaken."
"Hehe... where am I mistaken?" the tan-skinned, golden-haired young man asked with great interest.
"You are mistaken in that... you yourself are a complete loser."
Su Shu said with a smile.
"You are mistaken in that—in this classroom, you are the least qualified person to say such a thing."
"You—?!" Atrum was furious and was about to act.
However.
The smile on the black-haired young man's face disappeared. His ink-black, tranquil eyes stared directly at him, making Atrum's heart palpitate.
"I admit that noble families have achieved many outstanding accomplishments in magecraft through their bloodline talents and accumulation of wealth," Su Shu said calmly, lowering his eyelids. "However, relying solely on heredity for thousands of years and still failing to find the path to the Root, shouldn't people be allowed to question it?"
"So... so what!" Atrum argued, gritting his teeth. "The ethereal Root, everyone is pursuing it, but who can reach it? I'm just stating the facts! How can an ordinary person with average talent surpass a noble family in magical achievements! Your promotion is just a waste of effort!"
"Heh... that's not consistent with our common knowledge, is it, Atrum-kun?" Su Shu sneered. "As we all know, magi are generally selfish. Who wouldn't want to be the one to personally touch the vortex of the Root? But unfortunately... they can't. So, the inheritance of a noble family is just a non-solution—because they feel they can't do it, and they are too stingy to share their own private collections. So they can only pin their hopes on their descendants to fulfill their wishes. It's like parents who have no prospects themselves, so they put all their hopes on their children, urging them on, hoping they will one day become successful. Isn't that a joke?"
As Su Shu's words fell, many in the classroom couldn't help but burst into laughter. That's right. Thinking about it, weren't the noble families just like that? A mystery that had been passed down for a thousand years, treasured as a precious gem, was about to be promoted and made public by a junior, so they got anxious. They clearly wanted to pursue the Root, but they didn't allow others to pursue the Root. Someone had bypassed them, didn't give a damn about them, and opened up a new path to the Root. And they, in turn, came to block this path, criticizing it as meaningless.
Whether it's meaningful or not, shouldn't you at least try it first?
Listening to the students' derisive laughter, the tan-skinned, golden-haired young man's face turned red.
"You peasant!" Atrum was flustered. Finding that he couldn't win the argument, he could only resort to personal attacks. "Your lowly bloodline has no purity at all! What right do you have to say such a thing!"
"...Purity?"
Su Shu smiled and tilted his head. "Is purity useful?"
This simple rhetorical question made Atrum... suddenly speechless.
"Is it my noble and pure bloodline, or my teacher's noble and pure bloodline, that makes the students flock to sit here and listen to my class?"
The black-haired young man's voice floated lightly in the classroom.
"No. It's just because the content I teach is recognized by the students. The fact that I can stand here, in this El-Melloi classroom, in front of everyone... already means that so-called bloodline is not a decisive factor for a magus."
Everyone looked at him. At Su Shu, his eyelids lowered.
"I have never denied the positive significance of noble family inheritance and bloodline to the world of magecraft. But everything has a dialectical contradiction. If you want to emphasize its positive significance, then you cannot avoid its negative significance. Bloodline... is a carriage, and also a cage. If you feel you have nothing to say to me, if you want to prove your noble bloodline... then fine..."
Su Shu smiled and, holding his coffee, walked forward. The audience spontaneously made way for him.
One step. And another.
Atrum trembled all over, watching the phantom-like black-haired young man slowly walk up to him.
"In reason, there is no first; in martial arts, there is no second. Sign the waiver. We'll see each other on the training ground."
Su Shu lowered his eyes, face to face with him. The corners of his mouth slowly curled up, like an abyss cracking open a deep, dark fissure towards humanity.
"I promise... not to kill you."
"Fuck you!"
As a young master who had had a smooth life, how could Atrum tolerate such an insult.
Boom...
A deep purple flame suddenly rippled in his palm. He raised his hand and went straight for Su Shu's neck.
The next instant.
Under the slightly shocked, yet somewhat gleeful gazes of everyone...
Crack, k-krak-krak...
A sound like bones cracking was heard.
Su Shu raised his hand, directly grabbed the nouveau riche's face, and pressed him against the wall. Then... slowly, slowly—he pushed his head, inch by inch, into the classroom wall. Glistening blood trickled down the dented wall surface.
Silence.
The scattered students were breathing heavily.
Su Shu slowly looked up and, on the young man's bloody, mangled face, dusted the blood from his hand. His chest heaved slightly. Atrum was still breathing faintly, wanting to scream, but his jaw had already been broken, and he could only make a weak hissing sound.
The black-haired young man looked around, a gentle smile on his face. The students were a little scared, but... not afraid. Rather... Su Shu had let out a breath for everyone.
And... the most exaggerated thing was... with a casual strike, he had pressed Atrum into the wall without any resistance.
Is this... the quality of the Black Magus? Was that... magecraft? Or was his physical strength really that exaggerated?
"Everyone saw that, right?"
Su Shu smiled and pointed to the security camera in the classroom. The coffee in his left hand was still held steady, without a single ripple.
"He made the first move. I was just acting in self-defense."
That's right. This was... self-defense!
The students all nodded continuously, and in the path that had been cleared for him, Su Shu slowly walked back to his lectern. He put down his coffee and, to the surprised gazes of the people, slightly rolled up the sleeve of his right hand. On the skin of his right arm, a black Magic Circuit was glowing faintly.
"My right arm originally had no Magic Circuits."
The faint glow dimmed, and Su Shu slowly rolled down his sleeve.
"This is also my main research topic now, Development and Application of External Magic Circuits. I welcome anyone interested to join my research group. Don't take that guy's words to heart. Compared to the quality and quantity of Magic Circuits, I believe that the magical mindset is a more important quality for a magus in the future. Bloodline... huh? Learning to use tools besides the body is the significant difference between humans and beasts."
In the starry eyes of Gray and Reines; in the admiring clicks of his colleagues and junior students; in Olga Marie's frozen, slightly agape expression; in the deeply appreciative gaze of Aozaki Touko, the woman known as Touko the Orange; in the awe-filled, murmuring gazes of everyone—
Su Shu gently closed his laptop.
The Sleeping Black Magus bowed with a smile.
"Class dismissed."
"He is awake."
"Though he is sleeping, he has always been more awake than anyone."
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