“Theo Gospel.”
As Mirna Draco sat down, she called out to me with an emotionless voice.
And so, I politely said hello.
“Hello, miss.”
“I heard that you made a fuss even before the classes started?”
Was she talking about the duel? It was quite a big commotion, and it seemed that Mirna Draco knew of it too.
“That indeed happened.”
“This is different from Angmar. It would be better to stay put and not cause any trouble, whether it’s you or your Queen.”
‘Don’t be high-and-mighty’, was that what you were trying to say?
No, it sounded like she was just advising me not to make a fuss. But since Mirna was such a haughty and feisty woman, it felt odd…
“Thank you for the advice.”
“Still, I’m glad you won the duel. After all, it would be quite humiliating and unsightly if someone bearing the banner of Angmar got defeated by a savage.”
She was actually talking more politely than expected.
I thought she’d simply say, “How dare you talk to me so presumptuously, you commner!?”, then ignore me.
Was this girl bored or something?
Slide~.
At that moment, the sliding door was forcefully opened to the side as someone entered the room.
It was a woman with impressive dark blue hair. She wore a black dress and there were dark circles under her eyes.
Her pupils were also crimson red.
Redness that oozed sinister…
“Alright, everyone, settle down. We’ll start. Huhu…”
This person must be Professor Balan, the instructor for the Understanding Ancient Dead Language.
With her pale skin and dark aura, she looked like a very skilled Warlock or Necromancer.
Overall, she seemed to possess no vitality whatsoever. Her chest, on the other hand, was bursting with so much life that it looked like it would explode. Said chest also started bouncing the moment she spoke.
But before anything else, let me check your lecture plaques. Put it on the desk now.”
Why did this feel a little uncomfortable?
But I did remember hearing that despite their weirdness and stutters, Warlocks and Necromancers were really scary.
Anyway, I put my lecture plaque on the desk.
Professor Balan then walked around the large lecture hall like a ghost. After checking all the plaques, she went back to the podium.
“Okay, let’s get started. Well, today is the first day. So, let’s start with ‘What is a Dead Language’…. Does anyone know?”
Everyone’s eyes opened wide at Professor Balan’s question. Only one student raised their hand and it was Mirna, the person sitting next to me.
“Great. Rank 6th. Mirna Draco. Answer me.”
Stand~.
Given permission to speak, Mirna got up from her seat, looked around, and spoke in a calm voice.
“In the beginning, they are the fragments that were used when the God of Light and Fire created the world as a language. The rules that underlie magic. The mysterious letters and the language of the dead are called Dead Language.”
“Go, good. Great explanation. 80 points. However, let me explain what is lacking. Dead Language is a force. Power. It is so. Power of infinite possibilities….”
Schschsch.
Professor Balan grabbed a chalk and began to draw something on the blackboard.
Schhheuk.
It was a circle.
A perfect circle.
… How in the world could a person draw such a perfect circle without using a tool like a compass or something?
Perhaps, I wasn’t the only one who was surprised, as the lecture hall shook with admiration.
━Is that the skill of a Professor in Ark?
━I can’t believe my eyes… That’s such a perfect circle!
━Right!? So amazing!
But if you thought about it, was this really such a surprise?
Sch, sch.
Meanwhile, Professor Balan didn’t care about the students’ reactions and continued to draw an image resembling a chess horse piece in a circle. It even had characters wrapped all around like pizza dough.
Said characters read ‘Belial’.
It was more like the name of something rather than a word or a spell.
“Th, this is a magic circle that nullifies magic. It’s a very, very primitive type of magic. With this, ancient shamans and priests were able to block the opponent’s attack. However, it is difficult to draw such a magic circle.”
Fantasy.
This was a fantasy world, so these things should be a natural thing, but it still felt new and shocking that I WAS listening to these lectures.
Should I say that it was like listening to the lore of a game or a novel rather than real history? Of course, despite this thought, Professor Balan continued with her lecture.
“Th, that’s why the spell could now be invoked with chants rather than drawing the circle or using an activation word. It’s a simplification of spells. You can even whistle the spell out.”
Fweeee-.
Professor Balan demonstrated with a whistle.
So, to summarize, the original magic started with that hard-to-draw magic circle.
Then the drawing got replaced with chanting for faster invocation, and finally even the chant faded out in favor of a short activation keyword.
After all, people liked simple things…
“Using short keywords is quick and good, yes. However, it has its drawbacks. The power of the spell conjured through this method would be low, because the original meaning is distorted…. Actually, this spell, Magic Nullification, isn’t part of the destructive magic series.”
Sch-.
The professor’s slender fingers, painted in black nail polish, pointed to the magic circle drawn on the blackboard. Someone then raised their hand and asked.
“Then what kind of magic circle was it originally?”
“According to what I have studied for 10 years, it is denial, absurdity, worthlessness… It can be used as a word that contains all kinds of negative meanings. Because ancient languages are comprehensive, it reads as ‘Belial’.”
Belial.
As expected, it was Belial.
“However, even if you can read this, it’s simply using the word. You only know it by memorization, which is different from understanding it. The only one who could understand it was….”
“Was it only King Solomon Angmar?”
Interfering in the professor’s explanation was Mirna, the person sitting next to me. At Mirna’s words, Professor Balan nodded her head and erased the drawings on the blackboard.
“Tha, that’s right. Demon King Solomon. Only he was able to freely manipulate the 72 ancient incantations. Aaaah-. Really. That would have been awesome. Truly god-like….”
Professor Balan’s red eyes flashed ominously…
Her eyes were directed at Mirna, but somehow it seemed like she was looking at me who was next to Mirna. Anyway, I bowed my head and focused on writing.
‘Belial’.
I took notes of the magic circle and the pictures with diligence.
“Theo Gospel.”
As Mirna Draco sat down, she called out to me with an emotionless voice.
And so, I politely said hello.
“Hello, miss.”
“I heard that you made a fuss even before the classes started?”
Was she talking about the duel? It was quite a big commotion, and it seemed that Mirna Draco knew of it too.
“That indeed happened.”
“This is different from Angmar. It would be better to stay put and not cause any trouble, whether it’s you or your Queen.”
‘Don’t be high-and-mighty’, was that what you were trying to say?
No, it sounded like she was just advising me not to make a fuss. But since Mirna was such a haughty and feisty woman, it felt odd…
“Thank you for the advice.”
“Still, I’m glad you won the duel. After all, it would be quite humiliating and unsightly if someone bearing the banner of Angmar got defeated by a savage.”
She was actually talking more politely than expected.
I thought she’d simply say, “How dare you talk to me so presumptuously, you commner!?”, then ignore me.
Was this girl bored or something?
Slide~.
At that moment, the sliding door was forcefully opened to the side as someone entered the room.
It was a woman with impressive dark blue hair. She wore a black dress and there were dark circles under her eyes.
Her pupils were also crimson red.
Redness that oozed sinister…
“Alright, everyone, settle down. We’ll start. Huhu…”
This person must be Professor Balan, the instructor for the Understanding Ancient Dead Language.
With her pale skin and dark aura, she looked like a very skilled Warlock or Necromancer.
Overall, she seemed to possess no vitality whatsoever. Her chest, on the other hand, was bursting with so much life that it looked like it would explode. Said chest also started bouncing the moment she spoke.
But before anything else, let me check your lecture plaques. Put it on the desk now.”
Why did this feel a little uncomfortable?
But I did remember hearing that despite their weirdness and stutters, Warlocks and Necromancers were really scary.
Anyway, I put my lecture plaque on the desk.
Professor Balan then walked around the large lecture hall like a ghost. After checking all the plaques, she went back to the podium.
“Okay, let’s get started. Well, today is the first day. So, let’s start with ‘What is a Dead Language’…. Does anyone know?”
Everyone’s eyes opened wide at Professor Balan’s question. Only one student raised their hand and it was Mirna, the person sitting next to me.
“Great. Rank 6th. Mirna Draco. Answer me.”
Stand~.
Given permission to speak, Mirna got up from her seat, looked around, and spoke in a calm voice.
“In the beginning, they are the fragments that were used when the God of Light and Fire created the world as a language. The rules that underlie magic. The mysterious letters and the language of the dead are called Dead Language.”
“Go, good. Great explanation. 80 points. However, let me explain what is lacking. Dead Language is a force. Power. It is so. Power of infinite possibilities….”
Schschsch.
Professor Balan grabbed a chalk and began to draw something on the blackboard.
Schhheuk.
It was a circle.
A perfect circle.
… How in the world could a person draw such a perfect circle without using a tool like a compass or something?
Perhaps, I wasn’t the only one who was surprised, as the lecture hall shook with admiration.
━Is that the skill of a Professor in Ark?
━I can’t believe my eyes… That’s such a perfect circle!
━Right!? So amazing!
But if you thought about it, was this really such a surprise?
Sch, sch.
Meanwhile, Professor Balan didn’t care about the students’ reactions and continued to draw an image resembling a chess horse piece in a circle. It even had characters wrapped all around like pizza dough.
Said characters read ‘Belial’.
It was more like the name of something rather than a word or a spell.
“Th, this is a magic circle that nullifies magic. It’s a very, very primitive type of magic. With this, ancient shamans and priests were able to block the opponent’s attack. However, it is difficult to draw such a magic circle.”
Fantasy.
This was a fantasy world, so these things should be a natural thing, but it still felt new and shocking that I WAS listening to these lectures.
Should I say that it was like listening to the lore of a game or a novel rather than real history? Of course, despite this thought, Professor Balan continued with her lecture.
“Th, that’s why the spell could now be invoked with chants rather than drawing the circle or using an activation word. It’s a simplification of spells. You can even whistle the spell out.”
Fweeee-.
Professor Balan demonstrated with a whistle.
So, to summarize, the original magic started with that hard-to-draw magic circle.
Then the drawing got replaced with chanting for faster invocation, and finally even the chant faded out in favor of a short activation keyword.
After all, people liked simple things…
“Using short keywords is quick and good, yes. However, it has its drawbacks. The power of the spell conjured through this method would be low, because the original meaning is distorted…. Actually, this spell, Magic Nullification, isn’t part of the destructive magic series.”
Sch-.
The professor’s slender fingers, painted in black nail polish, pointed to the magic circle drawn on the blackboard. Someone then raised their hand and asked.
“Then what kind of magic circle was it originally?”
“According to what I have studied for 10 years, it is denial, absurdity, worthlessness… It can be used as a word that contains all kinds of negative meanings. Because ancient languages are comprehensive, it reads as ‘Belial’.”
Belial.
As expected, it was Belial.
“However, even if you can read this, it’s simply using the word. You only know it by memorization, which is different from understanding it. The only one who could understand it was….”
“Was it only King Solomon Angmar?”
Interfering in the professor’s explanation was Mirna, the person sitting next to me. At Mirna’s words, Professor Balan nodded her head and erased the drawings on the blackboard.
“Tha, that’s right. Demon King Solomon. Only he was able to freely manipulate the 72 ancient incantations. Aaaah-. Really. That would have been awesome. Truly god-like….”
Professor Balan’s red eyes flashed ominously…
Her eyes were directed at Mirna, but somehow it seemed like she was looking at me who was next to Mirna. Anyway, I bowed my head and focused on writing.
‘Belial’.
I took notes of the magic circle and the pictures with diligence.
