Student 8: "We did it! We took down a Troll!"
Student 9: "Boyle, you're amazing! To master Merses, you'd have to live in sub-zero temperatures for at least two months, right? When did you go to the Arctic?"
Boyle: "Haha! The Arctic? I've been living in a freezer every day."
With the introduction of Icheon, Boyle's reputation had risen. While it was true that summoning magic had few opportunities to prove its usefulness in traditional classes, in real combat, summons with extreme abilities that other mages couldn't replicate shone brightly.
Meanwhile, Pandora, who had been second in Class Four, was growing increasingly anxious.
Her desire to stand out was strong, but overwhelming monsters with fragrance magic was unrealistic.
Pandora (thinking): "What's going on? Is fragrance magic useless in real combat?"
Pandora shook her head.
Fragrance mages weren't numerous, but once certified, they received favorable treatment in magical society. This was because scents were invisible, affected everyone in an area, and had unique effects.
But to students who didn't understand the value of fragrance magic, it just seemed like something that was there but not really.
Pandora looked around at her competitors.
Boyle was training diligently like a model student, while Shirone's group was hunting freely like troublemakers.
What was unusual was Dante's group.
Even though Icheon was open, they sat outside, watching the other students hunt.
Pandora (thinking): "Hmph, what's this? Are they too good for this? How arrogant."
Dante indifferently accepted Pandora's gaze, then gestured to Closer and Sabina sitting behind him.
Dante: "Hey, that girl's staring at us."
Closer: "Hehe, she must be nervous. I like her taste, but her skills are terrible. Didn't they teach her how to fight using fragrances?"
Sabina: "They probably told her to learn it in the graduating class. Anyway, it's annoying. That country bumpkin is glaring at us. Should we go crush her?"
Closer looked at Dante and asked, Closer: "Is it okay, Dante? Should we show them a little demonstration?"
Dante: "Go ahead. Teach them what Icheon is really about."
Only then did Closer and Sabina put on their bracelets. The virtual landscape was a vast grassland. As they entered, the students who had claimed spots earlier stopped their training and turned to look.
They had heard stories through magazines, but this was their first time seeing Dante's group's skills in person.
Sabina arrogantly lifted her chin and said, Sabina: "You guys, that's not how you do Icheon. If you want real combat practice, you need to be at this level. Teacher Sade, please load Package 17."
Sade, who had been sitting in a corner killing time, yawned and sent the information to the core.
Package 17 was quite chaotic. But since the synchronization rate was low, there wouldn't be much danger.
The sound of thunder echoed as dozens of monsters appeared, covering land, sea, and air.
Golems rose from the ground, while Wulks and skeletons charged down the hills. The Nazzal, a monstrous bird that only fed on corpses, attempted a physical attack with its spear-like beak.
The scene, reminiscent of a battlefield, left the students breathless. The overwhelming numbers made it impossible to even think of a strategy.
Sabina: "Hehe, this is more like it."
Sabina leaned back and cast a spell. A chilly wind swirled around her body, and she soon disappeared from everyone's sight.
Sade, who had been watching with half-closed eyes, sharpened his gaze.
Sade (thinking): 'Huh? That's Haste!'
An advanced air-element spell that used the power of wind to accelerate movement.
The Wulks chasing Sabina swung their claws, but she had already circled behind them and unleashed Wind Cutters.
Meanwhile, the Golem, unaware that Sabina had moved, approached Closer, who was visible.
Closer: "Hehe, let's show them why we're the stars."
The Golem's fist came down on Closer's head. Though made of earth, it weighed nearly a ton, far beyond what a mage with weak physical abilities could withstand. But the judgment was a block.
Sade (thinking): 'Earthrise? That's also an advanced technique.'
A spell that drew power from the earth to increase durability. While the caster couldn't move, its unparalleled defensive strength was its pride.
Sade (thinking): 'I see. So, they're the kingdom's stars. Their secret is passive skills.'
While active magic focused on phenomena, passive magic focused on the concepts inherent to elements.
Wind is fast, and earth is hard. The spells derived from these were Haste and Earthrise.
Since the effects persisted after casting, they could be used simultaneously with other active spells, which was their advantage.
A mage's representative passive skill was teleportation.
Though it seemed like an active skill, it actually just transformed the mage into a photon state.
How to move in that state was entirely a matter of sensation, which was why even Shirone had spent a month rolling on the ground when learning teleportation.
Sabina: "Hohoho! Too slow! Too slow!"
Closer: "Hehehe! This side is too weak!"
Sabina dealt critical hits, and Closer crushed them with the power of the earth. The process was repeated.
In an instant, the number of monsters visibly decreased.
Having mastered the magic taught in the graduating class, they could easily clear the advanced class's packages.
Sade held his forehead and shook his head.
Sade: "What's the point of passive skills? Is this the Royal Magic Academy's way?"
Siana approached and said, Siana: "It must reflect the capital's emphasis on individuality."
Sade: "Individuality is fine, but what about diversity? You need to experience various magics to discover your aptitude and talent. Passive skills can be practiced with teleportation alone. What's the rush?"
Siana: "It's true that it's efficient. Active skills have the weakness of not being able to cast two spells simultaneously. Of course, Iruki is an exception since he has a double Spirit Zone. Look at Sabina, who casts Wind Cutter while maintaining Haste. She's achieving far superior results compared to the other students. Canis and Arin, who learned from Arcane, are also handling passive skills well."
Student 1: "But Teacher Siana, in our school…."
Siana: "Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating for Bashka's methods. I just want to understand why students across the country are so enamored with them."
Siana adjusted her glasses and pointed to a corner of Icheon.
Siana: "Anyway… there are students who achieve the same results using active skills."
Sade glanced at Shirone's group. They were facing Package 7, composed of golems.
Lightning Bolt, Atomic Bomb, and Photon Cannon were being fired. While the nature of active skills caused some chaotic moments, they were still managing to coordinate well.
What was most impressive was how they didn't take it too seriously.
Seeing them gasping for breath while laughing their heads off made one reconsider whether the term "realism" truly fit with the concept of a school.
Neid: "Ugh, I'm tired. Let's stop now."
As soon as Neid finished speaking, the half-destroyed golem absorbed the soil and began to rise again.
Ethela, who had opened Package 7 and stepped aside, still hadn't returned.
Of course, Ethela was an excellent teacher. But it was clear she was terrible with machines.
What was she thinking, leaving the reset function on and walking away?
Neid: "Let's take off the bracelets. That's the only way. Teacher Ethela is being too harsh."
Shirone: "Wait a second. I just thought of something I want to try."
At Shirone's words, Neid and Iruki stepped aside. They were curious about how Shirone planned to handle this. It seemed like the only options were to either laser the golems or fire Photon Cannons repeatedly.
But their expectations were off.
When Shirone summoned a sphere of light, golden chains streamed out like water.
It was the Shining Chain he had mastered in Heaven.
The appearance of a never-before-seen magic drew the students' attention to Shirone.
Even Dante couldn't help but be interested this time.
Shirone bound the lead golem with the Shining Chain. The tension was enough to crush even Taboo, so a mere earth golem would be destroyed instantly. But that wouldn't be enough to take out all of them.
The chained golem floated into the air and began to swing like a whip, slamming the other golems into the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
No matter how large they were, their essence was still earth. When struck by something of equal weight, the golems were crushed without even putting up a fight.
The students watched in awe.
Student 2: "What kind of magic is that? How do you even learn something like that?"
Student 3: "It must be possible because of the Immortal Function. It's really incredible."
Closer and Sabina, who had been overshadowed by Shirone's group, gritted their teeth.
They had just cleared Package 17 with all sorts of tricks, but everyone's attention was elsewhere.
Even Dante was watching Shirone.
Honestly, as a fellow light mage, it was shocking. Photon attributes were not only difficult to combine but also impossible to shape.
'Does he have some special talent?'
As Icheon grew noisy, Ethela came running in a fluster.
Neid crossed his arms and glared at her.
Neid: "Teacher…."
Ethela: "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you wait long? Should we try another package?"
Ethela fumbled with the master bracelet, looking flustered.
Shirone felt his energy drain, but he couldn't hate her for having something she couldn't do, especially since he respected her.
Shirone: "Just turn it off, please."
The sound of the golems rising was enough to make him want to throw up.
Exhausted, Shirone's group slumped their shoulders and left Icheon.
Dante was waiting at the exit.
Dante: "A fractal, right?"
Shirone thought for a moment and then nodded.
Shirone: "Yes. Photon shaping can't create complex forms, so…."
Dante: "I see. That's a good method. Impressive."
Shirone: "Haha, thanks."
Dante: "But you're wrong. Your method has a serious flaw."
Neid's face twisted.
Shirone had overcome countless challenges. His abilities, honed through repeated real battles, couldn't possibly have a flaw.
Dante: "I acknowledge the Unlocker's foresight, but the problem is that there are no other options. It seems you haven't mastered passive skills yet, so the balance is off."
Iruki countered.
Iruki: "He has attack magic, defense magic, sustained damage magic, and binding magic. What balance is missing?"
Dante: "From a stylistic perspective, you could think that way. But all of those are expensive spells. I don't know how much combat experience you have, but with that, you can't fight for even an hour. Am I wrong?"
Shirone blinked at the unexpected comment. It was true that he had never fought for more than an hour.
Iruki wasn't unaware of that, but he thought it was just a difference in style.
Carnivores can't run as long as herbivores, not because they're weaker. If they can deliver powerful results in a short time, stamina is a secondary issue.
Iruki: "What does that matter? Attacking is much more advantageous than defending. Not 5 or 10 minutes, but an hour. Most magic battles end within that time."
Dante: "Of course, you could think that way… but well, it's too late to change now. I was just giving my opinion. For reference, the longest battle I've fought lasted 10 hours and 27 minutes."
For Shirone, who was more like a sprinter, this was shocking.
A 10-hour and 27-minute battle. It was clearly an uncharted territory he had never experienced.
Dante: "So don't rush. The world of magic isn't just about short races."
With those meaningful words, Dante walked away.
Image Zone classes were leisurely.
Just a month ago, they were a place to gauge the advanced class's level in real combat, but hitting targets was far more tedious than hunting monsters.
Even Class Four students weren't as eager to raise their scores as before.
Unable to stand it, Ethela gathered the students and scolded them.
Ethela: "Everyone, if you don't train your spatial techniques, you won't improve. You need to diligently polish the basics to become better at hunting."
Student 4: "Isn't that a good thing? They're adapting to the advanced education of the Royal Magic School."
Ethela: "Dante is now a student of Alpheas Magic School. Please refrain from comments that stir regional sentiment."
Ethela's unusually strong words had little effect.
The students still looked bored, eagerly waiting for Icheon classes to return.
But Shirone was different. Recently, what excited him wasn't Icheon but Lifting.
He had realized that the key to shortening Ataraxia's time might lie in Lifting.