Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 38: Elemental Attribute Class (3)

I looked down at the dispirited Aidan and felt no small amount of internal confusion.

‘What’s with this kid?’

At first, I thought he was rebelling against me or something.

Did he take offense to me throwing the object earlier when I told him to stop and was now passively expressing his displeasure?

‘Judging by his reaction, that doesn’t seem to be the case.’

The way he’s fidgeting with such sincere remorse—there’s no way that’s an act.

Which means Aidan truly doesn’t know how to perform the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) basic of basics in elemental magic: how to release his attribute.

Unbelievable.

He’s supposedly a rare user of the [Unique] magic type, and yet he can’t do something this fundamental?

That’s like a kid who can do backflips but doesn’t know how to walk.

‘What am I supposed to do about this?’

I had him pegged as someone with potential, but seeing him stumble over something like this makes me reconsider.

Was his admission into Seorn thanks solely to his unique-type magic?

‘Ignoring him altogether is an option too.’

There’s no need to look after a student who can’t even keep up with the basic content of class.

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.

Doing so would only waste the precious time of the other students.

Didn’t I say something about that when I decided to teach first- and second-years together?

That I wouldn’t accommodate anyone who couldn’t keep up.

Aidan, who might know my secret, falling behind in class of his own accord might actually be a good thing for me.

Yeah.

There’s no need to show unnecessary sympathy.

The world is, by nature, a cold place.

* * *

“Aidan. Just what do you think you’re doing?”

Aidan shut his eyes tightly as if bracing himself for what he knew was coming.

“I-I, well...”

“You haven’t even attempted manifestation of your element. Are you trying to rebel against me?”

Every student's gaze shifted toward Aidan and Ludger.

Ludger furrowed his brow and looked around at them.

“Are those of you distracted right now so far ahead that you’re confident enough to let your minds wander? In that case, I’ll be remembering your faces and checking your progress personally.”

Eek!

The students quickly turned their heads and refocused on their own elemental manifestations.

Aidan broke out in a cold sweat, completely unsure of what to do.

Ludger, with his hands behind his back, asked,

“Aidan.”

“...Yes.”

“You still haven’t properly manifested an element yet?”

“...No, I haven’t. I’m embarrassed to admit it.”

Aidan wished he could crawl into a hole.

All the other students in the room were keeping up splendidly, and yet here he was, dragging the pace down like dead weight.

Since his admission into Seorn had involved a kind of “exception,” it was also true that he was still lacking in the foundational basics that most others had already mastered.

“You know what elemental attributes you can use, at least? I assume you’re aware of that much.”

“Fire, water, and wind.”

“Three, huh. That’s fairly average.”

I had assumed that someone using a unique-type magic would have a greater affinity with more elements, but perhaps not.

It’s common knowledge that the more gifted a person is, the more elements they can control.

“Then we’ll start with fire.”

“W-What?”

Aidan blinked, wondering if he had misheard. Sitting next to him, Leo, and behind him, Taishy, wore similar expressions.

“I’m saying I’ll teach you. I can’t just let a student fall behind and drop out in the very first class.”

“B-But I...”

“I abhor the idea of having such a student in my class. This is not up for debate. Focus.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Gather your mana. You can at least perform basic condensation, can’t you?”

“Yes.”

Aidan nodded and formed a basic mana orb.

It wasn’t even worthy of being called 1st-circle magic—it was something any magic initiate could do, a rudimentary process.

“Now, try converting that mana into an attribute. As I just said, fire.”

“I’ll give it a try.”

Aidan stared at the mana orb as though it were all he could rely on.

Taishy and Leo silently sent him looks of encouragement.

“Hrrnnngh...”

But no matter how hard Aidan focused, he struggled to manifest the element of fire.

Just when it seemed like nothing would come of it, Ludger, who had been silently observing, finally spoke.

“Don’t overthink it. Relax your mind. No matter how hard you try to imagine fire in your head, it’s difficult at first. So instead of thinking with your head, try to feel it with your senses.”

“With... my senses?”

“Match each sense to an aspect of fire. The first is sight. Picture the shape of fire. Close your eyes and focus.”

“Yes.”

Following Ludger’s advice, Aidan concentrated and summoned the image of fire in his mind.

But keeping a stable image of flickering flames wasn’t an easy task.

“Focus. Recall the most vivid memory of fire from your past.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

That helped. He began to get a sense of direction.

With deep concentration, Aidan gradually retrieved a vivid memory from the depths of his mind.

—The time he used to burn firewood back at the countryside home.

The fire roaring in the hearth.

His family watching it together.

The deep red flames inside the stove dancing wildly from side to side.

Ludger’s voice echoed in his ears.

“Now, remember the sound of fire.”

Instead of answering, Aidan simply obeyed.

Fwoosh.

The sound of flames rising on the wind, the crackling of burning logs.

The fire embers dying into the cold air, ending the silence.

Aidan’s mind began to assemble the puzzle pieces, one by one.

Ludger’s voice came again.

“Next is smell.”

No, it was more like a guide drawing him deeper inward.

Aidan drifted through the depths of his unconscious.

The acrid scent of fire consuming wood. And alongside it, the faint aroma of charcoal.

His family used to cook stew over that very fire.

“We can skip taste. Now, finally, recall touch. Remember how your skin felt when facing the fire.”

Following Ludger’s guidance, Aidan painted the memory like a picture.

The senses assembled piece by piece and brought the memory into sharp clarity.

And then he remembered.

Eight years ago.

A freezing winter with snow falling outside.

The storm raging beyond the dark blue window glass.

Bundled up in heavy clothes to stave off the cold, he fed logs into the stove so the fire wouldn’t die.

His two little sisters clung to him, whining that they were cold.

The whole family sat huddled around the fire, sharing a meal.

The sisters chattered, the mother scolded them, and the father smiled gently as he watched.

They didn’t have fancy food, and the wind slipped through poorly patched clothes, but... those memories were fresh, as if it had all happened just a moment ago.

The fire hadn’t felt hot.

It wasn’t frightening.

Just...

The fire he’d felt back then had been warm—so warm that it allowed them to pass a bitter winter in comfort.

“That’s it.”

“Ah.”

Like ripples spreading over calm water, Ludger’s voice reached him, and Aidan slowly opened his eyes.

And saw it.

A small orb of fire, glowing softly before his eyes.

“......!”

Aidan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

It felt like he’d pulled that flame directly from his own memories.

It wasn’t scorching—it was warm. Not destructive, but gentle.

Did... did I really manifest this?

“Not bad.”

At Ludger’s praise, Aidan felt as though the world had turned upside down.

Ludger, who mercilessly criticized even the most gifted students, had offered him praise for the very first time.

It might barely qualify as praise, but coming from that Ludger, it was astonishing.

Even the other students, pretending not to care but secretly eavesdropping, were shocked by Ludger’s words.

“That flame goes beyond a mere element. It’s yours. Rather than copying others or blindly replicating what you’re taught, you manifested the element of fire as you felt it. Aidan. That is your magic.”

“This... is my magic?”

Aidan stared at the orb of flame he had created, looking half-possessed.

Perhaps his concentration had finally worn off.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Fwoosh.

The flame vanished without a trace, like a mirage.

And yet, its lingering warmth seemed to flicker in front of Aidan’s eyes.

“Aidan.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Don’t forget that sensation.”

Leaving those words behind, Ludger moved on to the next student.

Aidan still felt like he was dreaming.

Leo and Taishy, who had been watching nervously from beside him, gave his arm a light tap.

“Aidan, that was amazing!”

“How did you do that just now?!”

“H-Huh?”

Ludger’s rare praise toward Aidan poured fuel on the fire of the remaining students’ motivation.

Ludger calmly scanned the room and spoke.

“As you’ve probably noticed by now, this was exactly the method I intended to teach before diving deeper into the lecture.”

All the students perked up their ears.

“It’s the application of senses through experience.”

The phrase made the students wait in anticipation for further explanation.

“Elemental attributes must be built upon a fundamental understanding of the element in question. Even a toddler knows that fire is hot and ice is cold. But a true mage must embed something special into their spell.”

“Something special...?”

“Don’t recall the element you want to manifest as a vague memory. Remember a vivid, powerful moment when you truly experienced it. Don’t just use your sight—use all five senses to feel the element.”

Don’t just follow with your eyes.

Feel the element with all five senses.

As the students followed that advice, joyful exclamations began erupting across the classroom.

“Huh? Huh? It’s working!”

“Whoa! This is way better than before!”

Students who found joy in learning magic now focused all the more intently, determined to never forget this lesson.

Ludger hadn’t lied.

By reflecting on memory and experience, they summoned elemental forms with far greater clarity and intensity than before.

Even the texture and feeling of the element changed depending on the student’s experience and personality.

Each student’s magic began to carry its own unique color.

At that moment, a loud outcry erupted from one side.

“Holy crap. What is that?!”

“Elemental fusion? She’s already using that?!”

The stunned gazes were all directed toward one person—Flora Lumos.

Wearing a smug expression, she had created a new form of elemental manifestation.

More precisely, it was a fusion of two elements.

Fire and ice.

The flickering form of flame had turned into a pale blue hue of ice, and yet, it shimmered and swayed as though it still burned.

So-called Frozen Flame.

Hmph. This is nothing.

Originally, Flora had only intended to produce a single attribute to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.

She figured as long as she didn’t give Ludger a reason to call her out, that would be enough.

She had already mastered elemental manifestation through sensory application and, thanks to her unique magic synesthesia, was capable of far more refined spellwork than her peers.

But when Ludger carefully guided some random first-year runt... and praised him at the end?

Something flared up inside Flora.

Her pride refused to let that slide.

Let’s see if he doesn’t praise this.

Just perfectly manifesting a single element wouldn’t be enough.

She was Flora Lumos.

The prodigy of magic. The girl who had never let go of the title “genius” since entering Seorn.

Wouldn’t it be a disgrace if her magic consisted of nothing more than a basic elemental type?

So she formed two elements.

Even elements that were naturally opposed—fire and ice.

If she fine-tuned the spells to avoid conflict and bound them together, fire and ice could coexist.

Their contrasting natures would merge into something entirely new.

Like right now.

A higher-level technique in <Elemental Magic>: Elemental Overlap.

Flora Lumos could combine two elements with ease.

But then, greed crept in.

Perhaps it was her unusually good condition—or the high of mental exhilaration—but she suddenly had the thought:

What if I could succeed at a triple fusion? Something I’ve never managed before?

Frozen Flame... if I add wind to it and turn it into a swirling vortex...

Two spells forming a combined magic.

Flora began weaving a third into it.

An Elemental Tri-Fusion—layering one more attribute atop the dual-element spell.

It was a spell she’d always failed before, but for some reason, she felt it might work this time.

Just imagining Ludger’s flustered face when she pulled it off made her want to laugh out loud.

But it didn’t take long for her expression to change.

Wh-What...?

Flora saw it first.

Just as the three colors began to blend beautifully, the form warped—and the elements started to clash.

A foul stench reached her nose.

That meant only one thing.

The spell had gone astray—diverging from her intent.

No!

In the end, her greed had backfired.

The three elements began to collide violently, radiating intense energy.

Flora gritted her teeth and tried to suppress it, but things weren’t going her way.

The spell had already surpassed its threshold and slipped from her control.

The three elements fused into one, glowing brighter and brighter with wild intensity.

“W-What?”

“W-Wait, hold on—”

The students began to sense something was wrong as intense mana surged at the center of the classroom.

“Flora? Flora! Stop it, now!”

Her best friend Sheryl, seated beside her, shouted out—but Flora couldn’t answer.

Biting her lip hard, she was doing all she could to suppress the raging magic within her.

But the force was beginning to overwhelm her.

I have to stop this, no matter what!

If this continued, it would explode.

With that in mind, Flora erected a barrier of mana around herself to prevent the coming storm from spreading.

Even if the magic went berserk, at least the damage wouldn’t reach others.

Then Flora tightly shut her eyes.

At that moment—

A gentle warmth touched both of her hands.

“Huh?”

Flora’s eyes snapped open.

Right in front of her stood Ludger.

Facing her head-on, his hands softly wrapped around the backs of hers—still clinging desperately to the unstable magic.

But how? She had clearly erected a mana barrier.

Ludger had broken through it as if it were nothing and now added his own mana to hers as he calmly spoke.

“Focus, Flora Lumos.”

“P-Professor...?”

“Don’t give up. Control your mana.”

Flora gazed blankly into Ludger’s eyes.

Even as the magic threatened to explode at any moment, there wasn’t the slightest trace of fear in his gaze.

“I’ll help you.”