Chapter 3

Sirone took a step back, startled. Wh-what do I do? Should I flee or respond? He wondered if he even possessed the right to respond to a commoner.

Alpheas continued to speak. “No need to be alarmed. Come over here. I am curious to see your face.”

As Sirone hesitated, he felt compelled by something and walked toward the wall, as if in a trance. He felt that if he couldn’t overcome this wall now, he might never be able to.

As he climbed the wall, he saw an elderly man with white hair and a beard sitting on a rock. Little did Sirone realize that the aged figure before him was a certified level-four mage duly acknowledged by the kingdom, whose renown extended even to foreign lands.

Alpheas, sitting on the rock, extended his hand. “Come here, my child. Have you come to befriend this old man?”

Encouraged by his kindness, Sirone leaped over the wall and entered the school. He saw children his age sitting in groups under the shade of trees.

One child furrowed his brows. “Headmaster, he doesn’t seem like a noble. He looks like an untouchable.”

“Huh? You’re right. Untouchables aren’t allowed in here. Get out of here!”

Alpheas, momentarily taken aback by the realization that Sirone wasn’t of noble birth, quickly regained his composure and spoke kindly. “It’s all right. Come over here. Tell me, young one... What words of this old man have piqued your interest?”

Sirone hesitated. He wanted to get closer to Alpheas, but the glares from the children stopped him.

“Please show me magic.”

“Oh? You’ve never seen magic before?” the headmaster asked.

“I’ve read about it in books, but I’ve never seen it in person.”

One child pointed at Sirone accusingly. “Liar! Since when do untouchables read books?”

Alpheas examined Sirone’s expression, and it seemed that he was indeed not lying. However, even children his age were skilled at deceiving adults with innocent faces.

“Okay, then. What kind of magic would you like to see?”

“Anything. Please show me whatever you can.” As Sirone became aware of his own situation and lowered his head, Alpheas waved his hand and smiled.

“The only joy for an old man like me is showing magic to our adorable ones. Very well! This time, I will demonstrate wind-summoning magic.”

“Wow! Wind magic!”

While the children applauded, the tension in Sirone’s fist tightened when he clenched it. Wind? How can he summon wind...?

At that moment, when Alpheas raised his hand, his eyes widened in shock.

“Ah!” he yelped. His body suddenly became weightless as he soared to a height of over twenty meters above ground. He could see all of the buildings making up the magic school and even the mountain ranges beyond.

“Whoa!” Sirone couldn’t help but scream while the other children were enjoying themselves. They even performed somersaults in the air. After a while, the children gently descended. The drop speed was tremendous, and Sirone squeezed his eyes shut as he got closer to the rapidly approaching ground.

“Huh?” he mumbled. There was no overwhelming physical impact. Puzzled, Sirone cautiously opened his eyes and found himself floating near the ground. The children observing him burst into laughter, and even Alpheas grinned mischievously.

“How was it? That’s magic for you.” Although the headmaster was generally gentle, he was not one to resist the joy sparked by the children’s reactions.

Maybe it was this festive atmosphere that prompted him to be more animated than usual, but Sirone found himself momentarily speechless. The only sound he could hear was his heart pounding loudly. This is... magic. It was the first time he had felt something like it in his life, the phenomenon surpassed even his wildest dreams.

As he regained his composure, he asked, “What is magic?”

“Hmm, let me think. Magic is...”

“It’s fine if I don’t understand. Just tell me the truth as it is.”

The children’s faces grew tense. Despite their age, they understood Alpheas’ standing and prestige in the realm of magic. Even those who boasted noble lineage behaved like ordinary children in his presence. Most teachers wouldn’t speak to him like that, let alone students, they thought.

Alpheas initially thought Sirone was audacious, but his perception changed after a moment. He’s a clever child. He wasn’t trying to understand everything right away. He knows that this is an opportunity. He doesn’t want to simply accept the knowledge like a child, he wants to acquire the difficult yet accurate truth of how it works, so he can study it himself. Assuming he can’t receive formal magic training, it’s an astute decision... But does he think he can truly learn it on his own? With that thought in mind, the headmaster scrutinized the boy with a different look than before. Sirone was tense as if his life depended on it.

“Okay, then,” Alpheas laughed. “Listen comfortably. In truth, it’s not a difficult matter. However, if you want, I can raise the difficulty a bit. Magic is an action that goes beyond common knowledge. In other words, it’s a mental process of exploring the truth of phenomena.”

Sirone was engrossed in thought.

“It’s okay to say you don’t understand if you don’t.”

“It’s not something that can be easily explained, but that itself is the truth, right?” the boy asked.

Alpheas blinked. “Where did you learn such things?”

“Uh, well, from books,” Sirone shrugged.

“Are there books that contain such content?”

“No, but I’ve wondered why books are written in the first place. If books contained things people already know, no one would read them. This means that the truth must be different from common knowledge, and that’s why we write and read books.”

Alpheas nodded. Memorizing and reciting are things anyone can do. But understanding the concept of books is a unique trait. He has insight. Is he really an untouchable? Such a shame. Judging from his appearance, the boy was likely to be an untouchable from outside the city.

Sirone asked again, “How can I learn magic? Do I need a special power?”

“I’m not sure what a special power is, but it does require considerable mental strength.” It was surprisingly quite a predictable answer.

“Is that really all? If I think of the wind, can I fly in the sky?”

“Well, that’s a tricky question. But to put it with a bit of exaggeration, yes. That’s how it is. Of course, it’s not possible with just ordinary thoughts. The mage’s mind must align with the world. It’s about having an extremely sensitive mental state if you will.” Alpheas’ serious demeanor prevented the children from daring to interrupt.

“What is a ‘sensitive mental state?’”

The headmaster smiled again. It’s not just curiosity. He truly intends to learn magic here. On the other hand, he was concerned. Unfortunately, he’s an untouchable. He probably won’t be able to receive a formal education. Pushing him further might only make his life more unfortunate.

Before delving into a deeper conversation, Alpheas looked at the children, hoping to steer the conversation in a different direction.

“When a mage concentrates, their mind becomes so sensitive that they can sense everything around them. Mages often describe this as entering the Spirit Zone. I’ll demonstrate, so watch what this child here does. Shuamin, could you enter the Spirit Zone?”

“Yes, Headmaster,” the girl with the parted hair answered confidently. It was only natural for children born with exceptional talent to want to show off their skills. Shuamin closed her eyes, and the others around her naturally created a reverent atmosphere, as if it proved her superiority.

“I’m in the zone.”

“Then let’s begin.” Alpheas took out a coin, shook it in his hand, and then suddenly extended it towards her with his fists closed tightly. “Now, how many coins do I have?”

“Six.” When he opened his palm, there were indeed six silver coins. While Sirone watched in amazement, Alpheas repeated the same process.

“Three.” Once again, the answer was correct. He tried several more times, but the results were the same.

“All right, Shuamin. You did very well.”

“Phew,” she sighed. Shuamin let out a long breath. Her forehead was covered in cold sweat from simply guessing the number of silver coins.

Alpheas turned to Sirone. “This is what an extremely sensitive mental state is like. The moment a mage enters the Spirit Zone, they can perceive the external world with heightened senses. Exceptional mages can even guess the number of leaves on a distant tree. Of course, Shuamin’s skills are impressive as well.”

Sirone, having succeeded in using the Thunderstrike through insight, could vaguely understand it. It’s not about counting the number of coins. Shaumin had understood and accessed the primal knowledge that had existed long before—she was one with the entire situation unfolding before her. The claim that extraordinary mages could count the number of leaves on a tree through the Spirit Zone was, in fact, no exaggeration. A natural progression of questions began to arise. Sirone started to wonder if he could do it too.

Alpheas spoke, “Anyone can do it.”

While anyone could enter the Spirit Zone, not just anyone could master it. It required relentless effort to push the boundaries of human potential and talent.

“Practice in a quiet place. First, become aware of yourself. Then erase yourself. If you can achieve that, an entirely new world will reveal itself to you. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes, I do.” And Sirone did understand.

“If you can’t feel yourself, it will be impossible to erase yourself as well.” The headmaster explained once again. Sirone’s insight was not something one would expect from a twelve-year-old. Two possibilities came to mind. Either he was born with exceptional talent, or he was an ordinary child sent by a mischievous acquaintance to play a prank.

“Would you like to try it right here?”

There was no reason to refuse, so Sirone readily nodded and closed his eyes. Utilize the experience of successfully doing the Thunderstrike. However, once he focused, he came to realize that this was on an entirely different level compared to identifying and cutting the hidden vulnerability in a tree. How much do we really know about ourselves? Who am I? Sirone realized for the first time just how difficult it was to clearly define oneself. It was a misconception. There were too many definitions of oneself, and none of them were accurate. Who... who am I, really?

At that moment, Sirone felt a very simple truth springing up like a fish. He felt an extremely sensitive mental state—Alpheas’ explanation was chillingly accurate. The brain. It wasn’t an organ of the body. I... I don’t know the world beyond my brain. The brain was a perspective—the truth was that every sensation and reality it accepted was ultimately subjective. I don’t need to define it. I must feel it. It’s not about becoming a sensitive being... Only the sensitive mind must remain.

Instead of defining anything, Sirone systematically erased anything that seemed to be himself. By erasing in this manner, eventually, nothing would be left. In doing so, eventually… Sirone’s mind went silent as even his thoughts vanished.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. He panted heavily, his breaths coming in short gasps. The scene before him was tranquil. The children were yawning, and Shuamin was playing with her hair. Unbeknownst to Sirone, ten minutes had already passed.

“How is it? Do you feel something?”

Alpheas didn’t particularly expect much. While enduring for ten minutes demonstrated concentration, it wasn’t enough for success alone.

“Yes, I heard something.”

Alpheas arched an eyebrow in response to the unexpected answer. “Oh? What did you hear?”

“Sounds. I heard all the sounds.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Alpheas nodded as if he had predicted it. As expected, he couldn’t do it. While his senses seemed to have heightened, what happened in the Spirit Zone would be on a different level. First, one experienced synesthesia. From sound, smells emerged. From light, flavors were sensed. And the forms of the surroundings touched the skin.

What a shame. The child has talent, but... If he had noble lineage and received training from a young age, could he have achieved similar results to the children here? Of course, he might not have caught Alpheas’ attention to the same extent in that case. After all, there were likely children out there with even greater abilities than those present.

“Well done. If you continue to practice diligently, you’ll be able to hear even more sounds in the future.”

While the Spirit Zone hadn’t been fully mastered, the concentration training would still prove beneficial for the child in the long run.

“Now, the special lesson ends here. All of you, return to school.”

As Alpheas led the children away, Sirone didn’t hesitate and promptly climbed over the wall. He could sense the headmaster’s disappointment. But he also knew that the headmaster had shown him his solicitude by leaving with the other children first.

After crossing the wall, Sirone sat on the ground and breathed heavily. His heart was pounding, and his chest ached.

“It really worked.”