Academy’s Undercover Professor

C41: Reverberation of the Past (1)

I will try to post 1 more chapter today.

“Uh, huh? Mr.
Rudger? What is this……?”

“Read.”

“Yes?”

“If you read what’s there, you’ll at least see a road you’ve never known before.”

Rene still didn’t understand how this happened.
Why did Rudger bring her to his office and gave her a book?

“Is this real?”

With a look of disbelief, Rene stared intently at the title [Understanding Non-Attribute Magic].

To her knowledge, her non-attribute magic is extremely rare, and she never used it in public.
When she looked closely at the cover, the name of the author was not on the book, and there was not even a seal indicating that it was published.

‘Isn’t this fake?’

It was natural to have such doubts.

“It is natural to doubt it.”

“Yes? Oh! Oh no! It’s not like that……!”

Did it show on her face? Rene hurriedly touched her cheek and controlled her expression.

Fortunately for her, Rudger didn’t seem to have any intention of reprimanding her for that.

“It’s okay to read and judge.
It will be more helpful than not knowing anything.”

“Even in the tower, there was no information about non-attribute magic…….”

“Is my source code a magic that existed in the tower?”

“…….”

In response to such a wonderful rebuttal, Rene bit her lips tightly.
So is this really real?

“Uh, where did you get something like this……”

“I was able to obtain it through a connection.”

At that, Rene’s head tilted slightly to her side.
What kind of connection could obtain something like this book?

Confused Rene asked Rudger.

“……Do you, Mr.
Rudger, also know anything about non-attribute magic?”

The Rudger Rene saw was so natural that she had no choice but to think that he had acquired knowledge by actually experiencing non-attribute magic.

If he was the Rudger who created the magic source code, she had the expectation that he might know something that others didn’t know.

“I met such a person once before.”

“Oh my gosh.
There were other owners of non-attribute magic besides me.
So where is he now?”

“He is dead.”

“Ah…….”

Rudger’s voice as he said that seemed to be somewhat remorseful, unlike usual.
At least, that’s how Rene felt because Rudger’s usual cool and sharp appearance felt like a cotton pad soaked in water at this moment.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s a thing of the past.”

“Then, is this the last book he left?”

“Yes.
It is the result of his research on his own magical powers during his lifetime.
It’s something that doesn’t even exist in the tower.”

“Why……?”

Did he not hand it over to the tower and gave it to Rudger? Rene couldn’t keep up with that.

“Because she wanted it.”

Ah! She was a woman.

Rather, what does he mean by she wanted it? Rene suddenly wondered who the other non-attribute magician was.

“But wouldn’t it be better for the public to hand it over to the tower?”

“Even if you hand it over to the tower, a place full of greedy old people will not recognize this book.
No, some will admit it and they won’t show it to anyone else, they’ll just keep it among themselves.
It is far better to give it to someone who really needs it.
So I will keep it until I meet someone who is worthy of this book.”

In response, Rene looked at Rudger again.

“If you read the book and work hard, you will surely find a new way there.”

“Then, is there no way to learn magic of other attributes?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

Although she did not show it, she had a desire to use elemental magic that was as colorful and beautiful as her others.

“Are you disappointed?”

“To be honest, yes.
Even just one element is good, so I wanted to use it.”

Others deal with two, three or more, and talented people deal with five or more.
Suddenly, Rene remembered what Rudger had shown her in class.

Come to think of it, how many elements could he use? He showed fire, water, earth and wind, and even used the element ice at first.
Then 5?

“One element.”

In fact, Rudger quietly pondered what she had said, not knowing Rene’s heart.

“Rene, you’re saying it because you don’t understand, but using just one element is never to be taken lightly.”

“Yeah? Wouldn’t it be nice to use one?”

“Everyone, to be exact, wizards have at least two innate elements.
So, if you only deal with one element, what do you think will happen?”

“Uh, um.
No talent?”

“Rudger shook his head.

“No.”

“A person who uses only a single element is a person with endless talent that is unmatched in that element.”

As Rudger spoke, Rene opened her mouth in disbelief she could not believe but Rudger’s words were not false.

There were only a few of the wizards who could only use one attribute element.
But they weren’t weak because they couldn’t handle other elements.
Rather, it was more than that.

“Rene, do you think the elemental magic used by a wizard can affect magic of the same attribute? For example, a sorcerer who deals with fire element suppresses flames.”

“Uh, isn’t it normal?”

Rene had that kind of common sense.

Being able to use fire elements doesn’t mean you can actually handle fire.
It is also a factor that many people misunderstand.
If you’re a fire wizard, you can handle fire, so you won’t be affected by fire.

If it is a magician who handles metal, he can handle all kinds of metal, so why not show great power in war?

That’s wrong.
The ‘expression’ of an element and ‘handling’ of the element are two completely different concepts.

“Yes.
Usually it is.
However, there are wizards who are born with only one element.
The magic they use is completely different from the elemental elements that ordinary wizards deal with.”

Instead of being unable to manipulate other attribute elements, they can ‘control’ only the elements they are using.

“A single attribute wizard known to the public is given the title ‘color of the element’ in the magic tower.
They are all said to have reached the extreme of their element.”

“So this is what using a single element means…….”

Rene felt that her own knowledge was lacking, and her face reddened.

How could even a single element be such a great wall? If so, does she really have to live like this for the rest of her life without being able to deal with the elements?

Rene was terrified.

“Rene, what do you think of non-attribute magic?”

“Uh……Doesn’t it literally mean that properties don’t exist?”

Rene answered.

“If I ask a passing child about that, I will get the same answer.”

“……Sorry.”

“The world says it has no attributes, but it is not clear whether there are actually no attributes in non-attribute magic.”

“Really?”

“A typical example would be the magic of sound.”

Rene opened her eyes and tilted her head slightly at the words magic of sound.

“Does the magic of sound exist?”

“Yes.”

“But sound is, precisely, a kind of wave that travels through the medium of the atmosphere……”

“Do you think it’s the same as the wind attribute?”

“I just knew that.”

“Wrong.
Wind and sound are completely different things.
Although it is derived from it, sound is more precisely like a wave caused by vibration.”

“Uh, something else?”

“Even if it is not air, the sound wave spreads through water.
Then can sound be said to be a property of water?”

“That……No.”

Rudger asked again.

“Then what is poison?”

“Poison……huh?”

“It is a little more common than the so-called non-attributes, but even so, magicians who deal with poison are rare.
Can the poison they deal with really be an element of nature?”

“Uh, um……Similar to plants?”

“Then what is the poison of animals?”

“Yeah, there’s that too.”

Rene explained poison from what she knew.

“Ugh.
In the first place, poison itself is a kind of self-defense created by plants or small animals to survive in an ecosystem, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be a bit vague to call it an element of nature?”

“Yes.
It is unreasonable to regard poison as a property of nature in today’s era of chemical knowledge along with the development of science.
But poison exists as an attribute after all.
Magic itself corrupts and melts something.
Otherwise, the decomposition property might have to exist.”

“That’s right.”

“But in the ten elements except for non-attributes, poison and sound cannot be included.
Why is that?”

“Uh, is it because the number of people using it is small?”

“If you look at it that way, people with the magical powers of light and dark attributes also fall under that category.
They are also rare cases.”

“But light and darkness exist in nature.”

“Then I will ask.
Rene, what is nature?”

“Hmm……”

What is nature? What are the properties and elements implied therein? Nature? Isn’t that the world? But is the world too inclusive? Then what about elements?

“……Come to think of it, I don’t think I can clearly define nature.”

“Of course.
Because humans cannot define the world in the first place.”

“Yeah?”

At the words that were unlikely to come out of her teacher mouth, Rene immediately put on a stupid expression.

Watching her open mouth, Rudger kept his relaxed expression and continued

“Magicians judge themselves to be rational and try to see the world by putting themselves within the framework of such reason.”

“Yeah, of course it is.
In the first place, magic is the expression of mystery through human reason and will……”

“From that point on, it was a stereotyped idea.
Rene have a more free mind.
When do you think the metal that exists among the ten properties now appeared?”

Metal was not even originally evaluated as an attribute element.
Metal comes out of the ground and has been grouped together with soil as an attribute of the earth.
However, as science advanced and all kinds of machines and tools made of iron became more and more popular metal was proudly added to the list of the 10 elements.

“It is the same with ice.
Ice is just a change that eventually happens when water goes below its freezing point.
After all, aren’t water and ice the same thing?”

However, in the end, the properties of water and ice are separated.
The same goes for light and darkness.

“Rene, you think of the magic that exists now as something perfect, with no room for improvement.”

“Ah…….”

At Rudger’s words, Rene felt a lightning bolt hitting her head.
Her shoulders trembled and her back stood erect.
Up until now, she had thought of magic itself as something that could no longer be touched, something at a very distant stage.
But is it really? Can magic no longer change?

Rudger, noticing that Rene felt something, shook his head.

“I finally figured it out.
A wizard should control magic, not be controlled by magic.”

Rudger got up and walked towards the window.
Through the transparent glass window, he can see the scenery of the Theon Academy, which will be responsible for the future of this era.

“The world changes and, of course, we who are part of that world change too.
It’s the same with magic.
Attributes that were initially four have now become ten, but those ten do not constitute everything.
There may be unknown attributes that have not yet been revealed.
It could be 20, 30 or even more.”

Rene’s heart was pounding when she heard him speak.

“The same goes for the non-attribute magic you have.
It is non-attribute now, but in the future, it may get a name as a new attribute.
Not now, but definitely at some point in the future.”

At those words, Rene saw a vague vision of something.
She had nothing but a successful future in which she achieved great achievements in one field.
It was the look she had dreamed of, and she was so dazzling that she unwittingly clenched her fists.

Rudger looked away from the window and turned around.

“Ah.”

Rene, who returned to reality, let out an exclamation without knowing it.
For some reason, the appearance of Rudger looking at her with his back to the light coming down from the window was very different from his usual coercive appearance.

The man who was like a pillar of steel was nowhere to be found.
Standing here was a seeker like her.

“Don’t be afraid to be different.
Don’t be afraid of the unknown.
Trust that you can become a pioneer that will go down in history.”

Rene opened her lips to say something, but no voice came out.

As if something heavy was pressing on her chest, even her thoughts were distorted and her words could not be expressed but it didn’t feel tedious and painful.
This was the greatest joy she had ever tasted.

Rudger’s words ripped open the precarious future she had been holding until now.
No words came out but she still wanted to say thank you.

“So, good luck in the future.
Be sure to read the book given to you today.
This is a personal assignment given only to you.”

Rudger said so and created a light breeze.
The wind gently wrapped around her body, lifted her up from her seat, and led her out of her office.

“Ah, I……!”

Rene turned back and tried to say something to Rudger but the door closed before she could speak.