The Mage Who Went to High School: Chapter 7
The next morning, it wasn't the jarring sound of an alarm that woke me up. In the tranquil silence of a Saturday morning, I opened my eyes on my own. It was a strange room, a strange bed. But instead of the sharp vigilance from yesterday, I felt a subtle, languid fatigue. It was the after-effects of the three-hour battle in the virtual reality battlefield of "League of Legends" last night.
I slowly sat up. The morning sun filtering through the window painted the dust motes in the room with a golden hue. I looked at my hands. Pale and slender, the hands of a 17-year-old boy. Last night, instead of swords and magic, these hands held the bizarre tools of a "mouse" and a "keyboard."
'Teamwork...'
Kevin's last words echoed in my mind. Cooperative magic. It certainly existed in my world. Multiple mages combining their power to complete a single, powerful spell. But that was a meticulously calculated fusion of power, a tactical movement where each person played their part. The "teamwork" Kevin spoke of last night seemed to be a different concept. It included something beyond tactics—an emotional bond of trust and reliance on one another.
'Just protect me! I'll do all the damage!'
Kevin's desperate voice. And my foolish action of taking his words literally and blocking all the attacks with my body. The result was a devastating defeat, but for some reason, it didn't feel bad. Instead, I felt a strange fragment of emotion that I had never experienced in my 500 years of life. The sensation of losing a battle, not alone, but with someone else. It was a flavor far more complex and colorful than a solitary victory.
"Oh, dude. You're up?"
From the top bunk bed, Kevin's messy-haired head popped out. Despite our total defeat last night, his face was bright.
"I thought you'd sleep in. We totally went all out yesterday."
I didn't know exactly what "went all out" meant, but I just nodded.
The scene at the breakfast table was now quite familiar. Today, there was white rice, steaming seaweed soup, and a few vegetable side dishes. I was now fairly adept at using the spoon and chopsticks.
"Arcane, did you sleep well last night?"
Kevin's mom kindly asked, picking out a piece of fish for me and placing it on my rice bowl.
"Yes."
"That's good. It's the weekend, so you should get some rest. Kevin, what are you doing today? The midterms are coming up soon, why don't you go to the library?"
At his mom's words, Kevin's face stiffened slightly.
"Aw, Mom... I was planning on taking it easy today."
"Taking it easy? If you want to get into the top 10, you need to hit the books now. Right, Arcane?"
When the sudden question was thrown at me, I hesitated for a moment. I didn't know how impressive "top 10" was, but I could tell the boy in front of me was under a lot of pressure.
"...Studying... is something that should be done consistently."
My answer was a highly philosophical piece of advice, imbued with the wisdom of a 500-year-old Archmage. At my words, Kevin's dad laughed loudly and patted his knee.
"See that? He sounds just like a principal. Kevin, listen to your brother, he knows what's up."
"Dad, seriously...!"
Kevin grumbled, but he looked at me with a mix of respect and envy. In the end, he gave up and put down his spoon.
"Fine. I'll go. Arcane! Let's go to the library together later."
"...Why?"
"Just like you helped me with math yesterday, can you help me with other subjects? I feel like I study better with you."
Kevin's eyes were sparkling. I sighed. I was curious to see the library. I wanted to see how knowledge was stored and managed in this world. But "teaching" was a whole different matter.
In the end, I couldn't refuse Kevin's offer again.
At 10 a.m., we left the apartment. The library Kevin spoke of was a 15-minute walk away. The streets of the city on a Saturday morning were filled with a different kind of energy. Families, dating couples. Everyone's face held an air of peace and leisure. I took it all in silently. It was a scene so ordinary it was almost surreal—something hard to find in my world of war, intrigue, and magical calamities.
The library building was bigger and more modern than I expected. Its glass facade glistened in the sunlight. As we entered, a cool air and the smell of old paper greeted us. The sight of tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of books filling the giant shelves was a spectacle.
"Wow…"
A gasp of genuine awe escaped my lips. My world also had great libraries. But most of them were forbidden places that no one could enter, or dangerous vaults of ancient knowledge sealed with magic. A place where anyone could freely access and read knowledge was a revolutionary concept to me.
"Dude, is this your first time at a library?" Kevin asked, looking at me strangely.
"...A place this big."
I answered briefly and looked around the shelves. History, philosophy, science, art... all the knowledge of this world was systematically categorized. I felt a sense of wonder along with a strong intellectual thirst. If I could read and understand all of this, I might be able to grasp the essence of this world and find a clue to return home.
"Let's grab a spot in the reading room. Oh…"
Kevin pointed to the reading room, but his eyes widened as he saw someone at the entrance. It was Sora, walking in with a friend.
"Oh? Kevin, Arcane? What are you guys doing here?"
Sora spotted us and waved happily, approaching.
"Studying for midterms. What about you?"
"Me too. Oh, perfect! Want to study together?"
Kevin's face lit up at Sora's suggestion, but my brow furrowed slightly. A variable had just entered my plan of quietly gathering information.
In the end, the three of us took a seat by the window in the reading room. Our textbooks and workbooks were spread out on the table. The midterm studying began in earnest.
I first picked up a history book. I had skimmed the general history on a smartphone yesterday, but this was my first time reading the written history. I started flipping through the pages at an incredible speed. My eyes weren't just reading the words. I was reading between the lines, grasping the cause and effect behind the recorded facts, and reassembling the great flow of history in my mind.
But soon, my expression began to change strangely.
'The Imjin War… a war where Japan's Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Joseon to conquer the Ming Dynasty? That's half-right and half-wrong. Hideyoshi was backed by a low-ranking branch of the Shadow Cult. Their true goal was to acquire the 'Dragon's Tear' sealed in the Joseon Dynasty's secret vault…'
'The Manchu Invasion… a war that started when the Qing Dynasty demanded a subordinate relationship from Joseon? Wrong. The chieftain who led the Manchus at the time could cast frost magic with the power of an ancient curse. When he threatened the Ming Dynasty with that power, a group of Joseon mages tried to seal it but failed and were invaded in return. That's the truth.'
Every history recorded in the book was completely different from the "real history" I knew. It was a dry list of facts, written from a thoroughly human-centric perspective, with all magic and mystery removed. It felt like reading a summarized version with all the important parts deleted.
"Dude, why do you look so serious? You don't like history?"
Kevin asked, looking at my expression.
"...No. It's just interesting."
"Huh? History? Wow, you really are something else."
Sora giggled next to me. She watched me with her chin in her hand, as if every little reaction of mine was new and interesting.
It was then.
Shhh-k...
All my senses instantly went on high alert. It was a faint and subtle, but definite, magical ripple. Like a needle dropped on the surface of a calm lake, it cut through the air of the library for a split second. It was a ripple so faint that a normal mage wouldn't even have noticed it. But my senses, which had lived in the flow of magic for 500 years, didn't miss it.
'This is...!'
My eyes sharpened. A magical ripple, in a world without mana?
I immediately expanded my senses to their maximum. My consciousness spread like a spider's web throughout the entire reading room, scanning every person and object. But the ripple had already disappeared. There was no trace left. As if it had never been there in the first place.
'Was it a hallucination? No. I definitely felt it. It could be a sensory error from my damaged magic core...'
I doubted my own condition. But the sensation I had just felt was too vivid. It was a cold, ominous kind of energy, different from my own magic.
"Arcane, are you okay? You look like you're not feeling well."
Sora looked at me with a worried face. She had seen my expression suddenly harden.
"...It's nothing."
I answered briefly and turned my gaze back to the history book. But all my nerves were focused on sensing any subtle changes around me.
The study session continued. I effortlessly solved the math and science problems that Kevin and Sora were stuck on. I didn't just give them the answers; I explained the fundamental principles of how to approach the problems. My explanations were so clear and logical that they couldn't help but be amazed. That was the moment I was dubbed the "God of Studying."
After a few hours of studying, the three of us went out to a bench outside the library to take a break. We drank cool canned drinks from a vending machine and chatted for a bit.
"Ugh, my head hurts. Why do we even have to take exams?" Kevin complained.
"But thanks to you, Arcane, we got a lot of studying done today. Thank you, really." Sora said, looking at me with sincere eyes.
"It was nothing."
"No, it was a big deal. But… do you really not remember anything at all? Your name, your family…"
Sora asked cautiously. At her question, Kevin also looked at me, curious.
I was silent for a moment. I fiddled with the cold can in my hand. So many memories flashed through my mind. The desolate landscape of my homeland, the face of the disciple who betrayed me, and... the last moment I jumped into the dimensional gate, leaving everything behind.
"...Nothing."
I lied. But the lie carried the weight of an untold truth.
Just then, a group of people appeared from the forest behind us. Familiar faces. It was Tyler and his gang. As if they had planned it, they walked toward us with a swagger.
"Hey, nerds. Lounging around here?" Tyler sneered. His eyes were fixed on me.
"You got lucky yesterday. Your mom's not here today."
Kevin and Sora's faces hardened. Another confrontation had begun. But the atmosphere was a little different from yesterday. Tyler wasn't acting like he was about to throw a punch. Instead, he looked me up and down, a sneer on his face.
"Think you're hot stuff just 'cause you're smart? Fine. Let's make it a contest. If your score on the midterms is lower than mine in even one subject, you're not leaving this neighborhood on your own two feet. What do you say, chicken?"
It was a very student-like challenge, to settle it with an exam instead of a fight. But within it was his petty pride, a refusal to lose in his own domain, and a persistent malice to somehow crush me.
Kevin stepped forward, bristling.
"Hey, Tyler! Are you serious? He lost his memory!"
"Shut up, class president. I'm talking to him."
Everyone's eyes turned to me. I still had a blank expression on my face, staring at Tyler. In my calm eyes, for a brief moment, the lingering trace of the cold, ominous ripple I had felt in the library flashed by.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"...Fine."
At my answer, not only Tyler but Kevin and Sora were also shocked.