The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

Several weeks had passed since Asel returned to Wiheim. During that time, he spent his days researching – improving magic he had stolen from scrolls, using them directly, or revising them into magic with completely different effects.

There were results. He succeeded in creating several spells that required continuous observation, like Lightning Flower Resonance, which Asel had created himself. However, there was still much lacking for practical use. While it wouldn’t be impossible to force them to fit, there was no reason to use these spells over other magic.

‘Still, it’s not bad if I think of it as trial and error.’

Asel rested his chin on his hand while creating a small lightning branch above it. The elongated lightning bolt drew all sorts of geometric patterns in the air following his will. He manipulated magical power as if solving a cube puzzle and looked at the two letters roughly thrown on the desk.

One was from the Academy. It was a letter stating the date of the entrance ceremony and which dormitory he had been assigned to.

Interestingly, Luminus Academy held its entrance ceremony in the form of a banquet. It was to allow not only new students but also current students to participate in the banquet hall built at the Academy, to foster friendships and exchanges between them. It wasn’t bad, but for Asel who preferred a quiet atmosphere, it was slightly off-putting.

Still, he wasn’t the type to not enjoy going to such places, so he wasn’t too concerned.

The problem was the attention and interest he would receive as Ena’s disciple now that his admission to the Academy was confirmed, but this was an issue time would solve. He could thoroughly trample those who picked fights, and be nice to those who treated him well. Unless he provoked them first, there shouldn’t be any incidents.

‘The dormitory is Wiesel, huh.’

The Academy dormitories were named after heroes who had greatly contributed to the empire. Among them, Wiesel was where students with top grades stayed. It seems the duel with Fernan wasn’t meaningless.

“Hmm.”

Asel leaned back in his chair and turned his attention to the other remaining letter.

A letter with a large Witch Association seal stamped on the envelope. It was obviously sent from the Witch Association. The contents were related to the coming of age ceremony.

They had held a party at the mansion to commemorate becoming an adult. But that was just a simple banquet, not an officially held event. There was a separate coming of age ceremony held at the Witch Association level.

An event held every year just before spring. Last year, a total of two magicians underwent the coming of age ceremony, but this year it was only Asel. Since the Witch Association didn’t have many young magicians to begin with, there couldn’t be many protagonists for the event.

‘It’s in two days.’

There wasn’t much time left until the event started. Since it was just a simple congratulatory banquet, there wasn’t much to prepare, but he thought he should have a proper formal attire to wear. All the clothes he had were high-end products, but there weren’t many outfits clean enough to wear to a party.

It seemed better to move right away while he was thinking about it. Asel put on the coat he had casually thrown aside, told Haley he was going out for a bit, and came out to the street. The allowance he received weekly from Ena was quite substantial, so there was no shortage when it came to buying clothes. He stopped by a store he often went to, bought a suitable formal attire, and returned.

The day of the coming of age ceremony dawned. Since the event started in the afternoon, there was quite a bit of free time in the morning. However, he couldn’t just wander around as he pleased, and had to be caught by all sorts of maids at the banquet hall where the event was taking place to have makeup applied to his face.

Maids employed by the Witch Association. As they oversaw the entire banquet, their duties were also very diverse. This included dressing up the protagonist of the banquet. Perhaps because of this, their touch was very delicate and careful. It was as if they were handling a crafted jewel.

Although it was appreciated, it was also uncomfortable for Asel. He had lived his whole life without putting anything on his face, and suddenly having something thickly applied like this made him feel not just uncomfortable but suffocating.

“Is all this really necessary?”
“Of course it is! If the protagonist of the event goes out raw, it’s the same as expressing with your whole body that you don’t want to participate in the event.”

When they put it that way, Asel had no choice. He let out a deep sigh and waited quietly until the makeup was finished.

Fortunately, the maids released Asel after about an hour.

They couldn’t hide their admiration for the work they had created themselves.

“Wow…”
“Since the original is handsome, it looks great even with just a rough application.”

Asel slightly bowed his head towards the maids who were moving their eyes as if appraising him while standing in place, then left the makeup room. A brightly sparkling corridor welcomed him, and Asel moved his steps towards his waiting room.

“Oh, it’s Asel.”

On the way, he met Bell who had transformed into a cat. She was purring while sitting on the window, and slightly opened one eye as she sensed Asel’s presence. Asel bowed his head towards her.

“Hello.”
“Yes, yes. Come here and pet me a bit since we’ve met.”

Bell said, raising her hindquarters. Asel smiled bitterly and gently patted her bottom.

When in human form, she wrapped her entire body tightly, but when transformed into a cat or dog like this, she enjoyed skinship as if she had become a different person. Is it because the sensations are different, or does her way of thinking change to that of an animal too? He didn’t know since he had never used transformation formulas.

“Purr…”

Bell stretched out comfortably, making a pleased sound as Asel scratched her head and bottom simultaneously.

“What were you doing here?”
“I was just sleeping. Gotta store up energy before the coming of age ceremony starts.”
“Couldn’t you sleep in your room?”
“It feels better to sleep as a cat while basking in the sunlight.”

Bell said, lightly batting away Asel’s hand with her soft paws, then stretching. She yawned once, then turned to look at Asel and grinned.

“By the way Asel, have you seen Ena?”
“…? No, I haven’t seen her yet.”

It is tradition for the master to attend the Witch Association’s coming of age ceremony together. Therefore, Ena had also arrived at the banquet hall early like Asel and was receiving makeup from the maids. While Asel had few things to apply and short hair that was easy to style, it wasn’t the case for Ena. As a woman, not only did her makeup take longer, but her long hair also needed to be carefully styled.

So it inevitably took longer overall than for Asel. As a result, he hadn’t properly seen Ena’s face yet since arriving at the venue.

“I see…”

Bell grinned at Asel’s answer and jumped onto his shoulder. Then she whispered in his ear.

“Don’t fall for her when you see her. And absolutely don’t look at the mole.”
“…Why so suddenly?”
“Just some advice.”

Bell giggled and came down to the floor. Asel watched her meowing as she walked away with a dumbfounded expression, then shook his head and entered the waiting room.

The waiting room had a moderately sized bed and sofa placed sparsely. They probably prepared it in case he wanted to take a short nap or read a book before the coming of age ceremony started. Since he wasn’t particularly tired, he plopped down on the sofa and checked the clock.

10 AM. There were still about 2 hours left until the banquet started. Asel pondered what to do during this short time, then decided to just think about magic for a while. To organize the results he had obtained through recent research, he closed his eyes and thought about formulas and magical power.

Several formulas stolen from the scroll shop. Among them, the number of immediately usable ones was considerable, but Asel wasn’t satisfied with that. He set a goal of revising the stolen formulas and recreating them into lightning or flame formulas.

His top priority was to incorporate interception formulas into lightning formulas full of attack magic to create remote defensive magic. However, this was an achievement that required further study on the autonomy of magic and the distribution of magical power, so it was difficult to expect significant results immediately. So, apart from what he considered most important, he was still in the process of taking steps steadily.

So he started researching his second priority. Among the formulas engraved on the scrolls, there was a formula that Asel had not yet used. A magic that, despite not being unique magic, was not particularly handled by the Witch Association due to the specificity of its circuit.

“Ice.”

Crack!

As he uttered this, an ice awl bloomed above Asel’s hand. The ice, dripping with cold, rotated and scattered ice fragments around.

Lower magic of the ice formula.

Ice.

Magic that creates ice.

Asel succeeded in slightly adjusting that formula and shaping it into an awl form. He had gone beyond just using the formula he had seen to actually revising it. It was such an absurd feat that if an ice mage saw it, they would foam at the mouth and rush at him, but Asel’s face was full of dissatisfaction.

‘The ice formula accumulates cold in the circuit every time magic is used.’

Ice magic, created by completely transforming water magic among elemental magics composed of fire, water, wind, and earth. Perhaps because of this, unlike water magic which can be used just by using it, ice magic has the characteristic of freezing the circuit every time the formula is manifested.

It’s an advantage that the power of the magic increases as cold accumulates. However, the moment it exceeds the critical point, the circuit freezes and shatters as is, usually resulting in instant death, or if lucky, becoming a body that can never use magic again.

The same applies to Asel. He felt the slightly cooled circuit and body temperature as soon as the magic manifested, and his lips twitched.

There was only one way to erase the cold from the circuit. To spend time without using magic, letting the accumulated cold in the circuit melt naturally. There was no other way to deal with the cold.

Asel had been pondering over this for the past few days.

The answer he obtained from that:

‘Manifesting flame-natured magical power and ice-natured magical power simultaneously to offset the cold.’

By doing so, it would be possible to melt the cold that accumulates every time the ice formula is used with the magical power of flame magic. It would also be possible to manifest magic with contradictory properties, like cold fire or hot ice.

It wasn’t an easy task. Mixing magical powers that stand at opposite extremes. If not careful, his body could explode. He was reluctant to attempt it recklessly right now when related knowledge was still lacking.

But he had no intention of giving up. Asel believed in his talent and had no intention of abandoning his thirst for knowledge about magic. It was a realm that could surely be attained someday through repeated research and accumulated experience. That’s why he was entering the Academy. It was the only place where he could master all sorts of knowledge.

Just as Asel was thinking this, someone knocked on the door of the waiting room.

-Asel, can I come in?

It was Ena’s voice. Asel sprang up from his seat and opened the door himself.

“Master, you’re here…”

He said in a welcoming voice, then trailed off as he saw Ena’s appearance.

The Ena who usually walked around in monotonous attire was not there.

A black dress that coolly exposed her shoulders and upper chest, an elaborate hairpin that slightly tied and fixed her snow-white hair. A brooch on her neck. Slightly reddened cheeks as if embarrassed. And a single black mole on her chest.

Ena had always been beautiful. With makeup, styled clothes and hair on top of that, even Asel, who was used to her appearance, couldn’t close his mouth. At that moment, remembering Bell’s words not to look at the mole, he unconsciously glanced at the mole on Ena’s chest.

“…Your eyes look strange, Asel.”

Ena noticed that Asel’s gaze had lingered a little too long on her chest, and covered her chest with her hand while saying in a shy voice.