LHAHS Chapter 311
The students looked puzzled as they stared at the slime that had taken on the exact appearance of the Comet Mage.
"Did she make a slime mimic the Comet Mage?"
"That's impressive."
Though the students found it intriguing, that was the extent of their reaction.
Of course, a slime capable of taking human form and using magic was remarkable. Had they seen something like this for the first time, they would have been shocked, but the second-years had seen a similar type of slime before, just last year.
"How different is it from Senior Torua's Ditto?"
Chloe's eyes sparkled as she recalled the slime, Ditto, created by last year's graduate, Torua.
It's different from Senior Torua's Ditto.
Ditto also had the trait of perfectly copying its target's appearance, but it had limitations. Without a subject to copy, it was powerless, and even if it did manage to replicate a target perfectly, it was still lacking in raw combat ability.
Most importantly, if it moved too far from Torua, it couldn't maintain its transformation.
Tina shuffled down from the magic experiment platform in her slippers while Leo and the slime faced off.
The first to move was the slime.
SWISH…
It pointed its staff at Leo, and a surge of mana flared from the tip.
Leo's eyes twitched as he observed it.
Flash—! Boom—!
A blinding light exploded before his eyes, followed by a spray of magical fragments scattering in all directions.
Everyone looked back and forth between Leo and the slime in shock.
Leo, having deployed a shield spell to block the attack, fixed his gaze on the expressionless slime.
"As expected, this is on a completely different level from Senior Torua's slime."
Hum—!
A magic circle formed around Leo, and Tina's eyes widened in surprise.
Flash—! Crackle—!
Golden lightning erupted from the magic circle and wrapped around the Comet Mage's figure.
Ting—!
For a brief moment, a transparent barrier shimmered like glass, deflecting Leo's magic.
"I see… There's a reason why they call him the youngest student council president," Tina muttered.
Len chuckled. "What do you think of Leo's magic skills?"
Tina replied, "I don't have any words other than 'amazing.'"
Len smiled meaningfully at her response. "Leo was born with his talent."
"…I don't think this is just natural talent."
"Pardon?"
"I've never seen anyone handle Stellar Magic as skillfully as he does. Not even in the Tingel family."
Len turned to Leo with widened eyes. Of all people, Len was the most aware of Leo's astonishing potential. Teaching him throughout his first year had been a series of unending surprises. Even the term 'once-in-a-generation genius' felt insufficient.
A teenager in his mid-teens. At that age, no matter how gifted, a mage should still be a raw and undeveloped talent, but Leo was different.
He had already established his own magical philosophy and worldview.
Among the students, the only ones who have truly solidified their identity as mages are Torua, who already graduated, and Elena, the fourth-year.
Yet, Leo had achieved that level while still in his first year.
The most highly regarded mage after Luna, the Founder of the Celestial Stream, was the Comet Mage, Seiren. However, even Seiren could not be placed on the same level as Luna.
Len firmly believed that Leo would grow into a mage who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Luna, but even so, Tina's words surprised him.
The Tingel Family—what kind of lineage was that? It was a family founded by the Comet Mage, Seiren. The most powerful practitioners of Stellar Magic among all existing elven lineages.
Although Tina had been treated as a hidden member due to her inability to use mana, her understanding of magic was unparalleled.
She had studied the magic formulas of the Tingel family as a direct descendant from a young age. Magic formulas personally written by the Comet Mage, said to be the closest to the original Stellar Magic used by Luna herself.
In terms of Stellar Magic, Tina's knowledge far exceeded Len's, and yet, she had just stated that Leo handled Stellar Magic better than anyone in the Tingel family.
As Len processed her words, the Comet Mage's doppelgänger raised its staff.
"Arc Ray."
At the completion of the incantation, numerous orbs of light appeared.
Arc Ray was one of the most fundamental offensive spells in Stellar Magic. In today's era, it was considered an introductory spell, and in fact, it was the easiest spell among the magic formulas created by Luna.
However…
Its power varies greatly depending on the user.
Arc Ray was actually Luna's favorite spell. For lower-tier demons, a single Arc Ray from Luna could wipe out dozens in one shot.
Bzzzzzt—!
Leo's eyes narrowed. "I see."
He curled his lips into a smirk.
"Arc Ray."
Leo responded with the same spell.
Flash! Boom—!
A dazzling explosion of light filled the air. The chaotic clash of magic was dangerous, yet mesmerizingly beautiful.
"It's as if it truly is the Comet Mage."
Leo stared at the slime. More precisely, he observed the figure of the Comet Mage it had recreated.
One of the Heroes of Dawn, the earliest heroes to conquer the Hero's World, and the first to conquer Luna's World.
Judging by appearance, she's about my age. No, probably a bit older. The magic formula of Arc Ray is identical to Luna's. Is it a Hero Skill obtained as a conquest reward? That means it must have been acquired after conquering the Hero's World.
As Leo analyzed his opponent, he activated Mirage.
WHOOSH—!
Dozens of illusions of Leo appeared.
The Comet Mage hesitated.
Just as Leo was about to unleash another spell…
HUM—!
The figure of the Comet Mage distorted.
SQUELCH—!
Then, it collapsed into a puddle of liquid.
SQUELCH…
The slime reformed.
It's overloaded.
Leo glanced at the slime's core and nodded.
WHOOSH—!
The illusion spell faded, and Leo returned to a single form. He stepped down from the sparring platform.
The students, still bewildered, stared at the slime.
"How was it? My familiar?" Tina asked with a smile.
The slime slithered up her leg and disappeared beneath her clothes.
Leo replied calmly, "I never imagined a slime could be strengthened to this extent. It felt like I was facing the Comet Mage herself."
"Though unfinished… it is the ancestor herself." Tina explained in a flat tone. "To be precise, this is her appearance from when she first conquered the Hero's World. That moment was replicated."
Everyone's eyes widened.
"Of course, using this in real combat is impossible. Leo, explain why."
"It must be because over a hundred magic formulas were embedded into the slime."
"What? O-Over a hundred?"
"It's possible to fit that many magic formulas into a slime's core?"
The students gasped.
To imbue a single object with multiple magic formulas required an advanced process of miniaturization. Miniaturizing magic formulas was nearly equivalent to reconstructing them from scratch. Even for a great mage, cramming over a hundred magic formulas into a small core was an impossible feat.
If that magic formula was used to recreate the past appearance of the Comet Mage?
Tina had accomplished something close to impossible.
Realizing once again just how extraordinary the mage before them was, everyone looked overwhelmed.
"What's next?"
"The source of mana to activate the formulas is also a problem. I'm curious about what kind of mana source you used."
Tina chuckled. "That's a secret, so I can't tell you. In any case, this slime is nothing more than a sample to show how much a familiar can develop. Even I can't make another one like this. However."
Tina looked at the Lumene students. "Even if it's not at this level, if you use the magic engineering formulas I teach you to add the abilities you need to your familiars, I think they'll be of considerable help."
She turned her gaze to Chloe. "Whether you're a traditional mage, a battlemage, or an all-rounder—at the end of the day, all mages always reveal an opening when casting a spell."
Tina shuffled through the students in her slippers. "Magic swordsmen in dual-class supplement that gap with swordsmanship. Summoners who command elementals and beasts use their summons to cover for it."
She glanced at several dual-class students. "Unless it's a special case, magic swordsmen tend to lack in either swordsmanship or magic. Summoners have weaknesses based on their elemental affinity."
Tina gave a meaningful smile. "But with familiars created through magic engineering, you can build a companion that perfectly compensates for your weaknesses. Doesn't that sound worth learning?"
The magic students nodded in agreement.
"So, does anyone still have complaints?"
The class was silent. Now, no one continued to doubt the practicality of familiars.
"Good, then let's start the lesson."
"Here?"
"Aren't we supposed to study the magic formulas in the lecture hall?"
Some students looked puzzled.
Tina replied indifferently. "Since this is a familiar lesson, shouldn't we start with the most fundamental step? Summoning familiars."
Thus began Tina's first lesson outdoors.
And from the very start, most students struggled. It was inevitable since summoning magic had long been in decline.
Lumene's magic students were all elite mages, highly proficient in modern magic trends. However, they had little familiarity with outdated magic deemed impractical for real combat.
No matter how much magic they had learned, no matter how exceptional their mana control and spellcasting instincts were, they were bound to struggle with an unfamiliar field.
"This is pretty easy for me~"
"Lucky for us, we're summoners and dual-class."
Among them, summoners who had already studied summoning magic or had some experience with it were able to succeed relatively quickly.
"This is harder than I thought." Chloe frowned as she examined the summoning formula. She had memorized the formula perfectly, but grasping the technique was proving difficult.
Chelsea also struggled, groaning in frustration.
But as time passed, one by one, students began to succeed.
"Hah, look at this. Isn't it cute?" Eliana proudly showed off the creature she had summoned.
Chelsea looked at her with an unimpressed expression. "Can that pigeon even fly? You do realize people here call them 'land chickens,' right?"
Eliana had summoned a pigeon—one of the most common creatures seen around Lumene's campus.
The pigeons of Lumene had grown accustomed to eating scraps from students, becoming unafraid of people. They were so rarely seen flying that students even joked they might have forgotten how.
Eliana bristled in anger. "Hmph! And what did you summon, then? You were struggling just as much as I was!"
"Me?" Chelsea smirked and raised her hand. A sharp cry echoed through the air, and a hawk landed gracefully on Chelsea's staff. "As you can see."
"Ugh!" Eliana flinched at the sight. With a sulky expression, she turned to Leo, who was walking by.
"Prez! What did you summon?"
Leo opened his palm. A small sparrow fluttered down and landed on his hand.
Eliana's expression brightened. "See? You don't have to summon something flashy! As expected of the Prez! We're allies!"
Even Chelsea looked a little surprised. "For once, you actually summoned something normal, Leo."
"I'm not normal. I can talk, you know. Unlike the land chicken you summoned."
A human voice came from the sparrow.
Chelsea and Eliana's jaws dropped.
"Familiar intelligence can increase, allowing them to speak on behalf of their master," Leo explained calmly.
Eliana stammered. "B-But this is the first time we're learning familiar magic…."
I already mastered familiar magic.
Unlike modern mages, Leo came from an era where familiars were actively utilized.
At that moment, Chloe passed by. She had also summoned a sparrow, and just like Leo's, it was speaking fluently.
Chelsea chuckled and glanced at Eliana. "You're the only one stuck with a land chicken."
"Ugh!" Frustrated, Eliana turned to Carl. "Carl! What did you summon?"
Carl grinned. "You're gonna be so shocked when you see it."
"Hmph! It's just you, Carl! What could you possibly have summoned?"
"Here." Carl extended his hand toward Eliana.
"Huh? What is that… Kyaaaaaa!"
As she got a closer look at Carl's sleeve, Eliana shrieked and bolted.
"What is it… Guh?!"
"Hey! Carl! You!"
"Bwahahahaha!"
Startled, the girls scattered in terror. Carl had summoned a snake.
As he chased the screaming girls around, he burst into laughter.
"Mission success!" Carl cackled.
Leo, watching the chaos unfold, sighed softly. "Carl."
"Haha, Leo, isn't this hilarious?"
"Can you handle the consequences?"
"Huh? Gah…!"
THWACK—!
Before Leo even finished speaking, Chelsea flew in and drop-kicked Carl squarely in the back.
Eliana picked up a wooden stick, while Chloe coldly conjured ice magic.
Leo sighed and shook his head.
After class, Carl, now a battered mess, took a trip to the infirmary, while Leo headed to Tina's office with Chloe.
Since her arrival at Lumene, Tina had been given a personal office.
"I can't wait!" Chloe exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement as she hugged a book to her chest.
The title on the cover read: [An Inquiry into the Philosophical Necessity of Ice Mages Learning Ice Magic]
Upon reaching Tina's office, Chloe took a deep breath before knocking.
KNOCK, KNOCK…
The door creaked open.
Tina, who had been writing something with a pen, looked up. "Leo and Chloe? What brings you here?"
Chloe blushed as she held out the book. "M-Ms. Tina! I've read your research papers countless times, and they've had a huge impact on me! Um… would you mind signing this for me?"
"Sure." Tina nodded and approached her.
Meanwhile, as Leo glanced around Tina's office, his eyes suddenly stopped at one particular object.
A small crystal orb.
Inside the orb, he caught sight of something.
A fairy's wing.
Leo's brows furrowed.
A fairy wing? No way….
No matter how he looked at it, it wasn't just an ornament.
The faint energy radiating from it was unmistakable.
Leo knew exactly what it was.
Isn't that Kiran's wing?