Dream Life Vol II Chapter 45.1: “Professor’s Ability”

　October 6th.

　The students were scheduled to attend a lecture by Professor Lionel Ruspede in the morning, followed by a practical skills class after lunch.

　Professor Ruspede does not have a fixed slot for his lectures. However, he is busy in December when midterm examinations are held and in May when final examinations are held in order to evaluate fourth- and fifth-year students.

　During the rest of the year, he is free to do his own research, which allows him to give lectures relatively freely.

　Our private tutoring this time is also allowed under the condition that it is during the professor’s free time, but he says he is free to do it whenever he feels like it. However, he has declared that there is a possibility of sudden cancellation because he gets so absorbed in his research that he can’t see anything else.

　I don’t want to get in the way of the professor’s research either, so I’m planning to take his lecture about once every four days, that is, once between breaks – in Doctus, days with the number 5 and 0 are holidays. Of course, I will ask for the professor’s availability.

　Of course, I intend to ask the professor about his availability and finally decide how often I want to go to him.

　I ate a lunch box prepared by Sharon in the school cafeteria and entered the professor’s room at 1:00 pm.

　In the morning, he was so engrossed in his research that he did not notice us, but since it was first thing in the afternoon, it was no problem this time.

　As soon as the professor saw us, he stood up and said, “Let’s go to the schoolyard then,” and headed for the schoolyard in front of the school building.

　I was a little confused because I thought we were going to the training ground where we had our practical training class. When I asked the professor about it, he replied,

“With your abilities, I doubt that you will be able to use magic satisfactorily in the training hall. The place was originally the knights’ rainy-weather training ground. It is a bit cramped…” (Ruspede)

　According to the professor, magic training is only held at the training ground during the first and second years. When students become able to use magic to some extent, the cramped training grounds are often inconvenient, so they begin to train outdoors. In the third grade and above, practical skills classes are organized according to attribute, so students with attributes such as fire, wind, and light, which are used for flashy attack magic, train outdoors, while those with attributes such as water and wood, which are used for healing, and earth and gold, which are used for material transformation, train indoors.

　Out in the schoolyard, students in the third grade and above were gathering with the instructor for an explanation.

　I looked at them expecting them to release magic right away, but they didn’t seem to release any magic at all.

　When I looked at him curiously, the professor explained, “With those students, they will run out of magic after four or five shots.”

　First, listen to the explanation of the task of the day, and release the magic one by one. Then other students see it and give their impressions.

　Come to think of it, Sharon and I had never taken a proper practical class, so we weren’t familiar with common sense. If I had taken classes in class, someone who was knowledgeable about such things would have taught me, or the lecturer would have given me some kind of explanation.

　Accompanied by Professor Ruspede, Sharon and I arrived at a place where a group of seniors who looked like fifth-year students were. There was a sturdy stone wall and a target made of stone set in a two-meter-high mound of earth.

　I felt tension running between the upperclassmen who saw the professor.

　They seemed to be alarmed, as if they were about to take a surprise test. Their instructor, a female lecturer of about 30 years old, also looked wide-eyed and surprised, but she immediately ran to the professor.

　She breathed roughly and said, “Hah… Ha-ow, may I help you? Professor Ruspede,”

“Ms. Mayhew, I thought I would borrow your place for a moment. I’ll be the instructor for these kids.” (Ruspede)

　After seeing our faces, the female lecturer, called Mayhew, made a satisfied face and said, “These are the children? So, these are the students you will be instructing directly.”

　Then, relieved that it had nothing to do with her, she immediately smiled and gave her place to the professor, saying, “Please use the leftmost corner. “

　The professor nodded his head in a hawkish manner and took us with him to the left end of the room in front of a target. As we passed by the upperclassmen, I could hear them saying things like, “Who is that?” and “I think Professor Ruspede said instruction,” and they looked at us with interest.

　Sharon, perhaps feeling uncomfortable with all the stares, was walking around trying to hide behind me.

“It’s been a hundred years or so since I last tutored a student. It’s been so long, I’m wondering where to start. Will I be any help for you children.” (Ruspede)

　Neither Sharon nor I had any idea when she said that, and we both looked at each other.

　But then it occurred to me that I would like to see the magic of the professor, a high-ranking magician, and I said, “Could you show me your magic, professor?”

　The professor asks, “I have the three attributes of fire, metal, and earth. Do you have any magic that you want to see?”

　I wanted to see some fancy magic. Liddy, our magic master, has four attributes (light, wind, wood, and water), but the only magic that is flashy is her light attribute. Furthermore, she is weakest in the light attribute and relies exclusively on the wind attribute, which she is good at, for her offensive magic.

　Out of curiosity, I asked him for fire magic.

“Can you please use fire magic? If possible, please use the highest level magic that can be used here.” (Zack)

　The professor said, “Yes. Then let’s do a little work before we start,” he said, and walked away to the target area.

　We hurried after him and asked him what he was going to do.

　“The wall might be damaged with this level of embankment. I thought I would reinforce it a little,” he said, and cast a magic spell called “Earth Wall”.

　A two-meter-high, fifty-centimeter-thick wall of earth appeared in front of us.

　I was surprised at its size and speed.

　I myself had created a bath using earth magic, but I could not have produced earth of this size. Perhaps even half this size would run out of magic.

　And as for the speed, the speed at which I can produce earth 10 cm thick and 1 m wide is about 5 cm per second. But the professor’s earth wall is five times thicker and twice as wide, in other words, ten times larger in area, yet the speed at which it grows upward exceeds 10 cm per second.

　In my mind’s eye, it was as if a two-meter earth rampart was being lifted up.

　I learned later that the professor’s earth magic level is over 80. My earth level is about 20, so it was a bit of a difference in level to even compare.

　The professor, without noticing my astonishment, said, “That’s about right,” and after lightly tapping the earthen wall, he turned the earth into stone with the magic of the [Stone Generation – Stone Creation].

　In a matter of minutes, a stone wall appeared as if it had been hewn from a castle wall, leaving me and Sharon speechless.

　I had heard that in the old days, the walls of fortified cities were built with magic, and I was thinking out of place that it was true. It was that shocking.

　The professor turned back to us as if nothing had happened, said, “That’s good enough,” and moved about 20 meters away.

“I’m not very good with fire magic, but just in case, I’ll use the most powerful magic that can be used in this place.” (Ruspede)

　The professor said, and after a minute or so of building up the power of his spirit, he began to chant a spell.

“O Ignis, God of Fire, I seek the spear of fire that consumes all, I offer the power of mine life to thee as payment. To my enemies, the Spear of Hellfire, Hellfire Lance.” (Ruspede)

　A mighty pillar of fire, thirty centimeters in diameter and five meters long, appears over the professor’s head.

　When the professor lightly waved his right hand, the pillar of fire flew with arrow-like speed to the wall that the professor had just created.

　Since it was only a short distance of twenty meters, the pillar of flame struck the wall in less than a second. The moment it hit the monolithic stone wall, the red pillar of flame disappeared with a bright white blinding light and a loud booming sound.

　After the light and sound faded away, the wall was engulfed in smoke and rendered invisible.

　Then the smoke was swept away by the wind and gradually revealed itself.

　There it was, the top half of the wall gone. I stood there speechless, just looking at the wreckage of the wall.