LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 42
All eyes are on the two of them. Eri suddenly stands up, and Yujin is looking at her with a smile.
Eri stares at Yujin with wide, shocked eyes, while Yujin, with an unreadable expression—whether his eyes are closed or open—grins and looks at her.
Seeing this, Reina narrows her eyes slightly.
“Now that I think about it…”
It just occurred to her, but Eri has met Yujin before.
During the maze trial exam, Eri’s party encountered Yujin in the maze.
Eri and Yujin definitely spent some time together in the maze. And that reaction…
“She looks scared.”
You can tell just by looking at Eri’s expression as she stares at Yujin.
Her pale face and trembling hands… Anyone can see she’s afraid of him.
“Does she know something?”
And seeing that reaction, something else comes to mind.
“Hugo’s party’s scout, Mirien… She seemed to know something too.”
Before, it was just suspicion about Yujin, so she didn’t dig deeper, but she thought she should call her in soon to confirm.
Meanwhile, Yujin speaks to Eri.
“Haha, I understand you’re shocked to see someone you know suddenly appear as a professor, but could you please take your seat first? Miss Eri… or should I call you a student here?”
“Ah… um…”
“Still, please don’t treat me like an acquaintance in front of others? Here, we’re clearly professor and student, and it would be troublesome if issues of fairness or whatever come up. Understand?”
“Yes, yes…”
Eri, sweating profusely, sits down.
Seeing this, Yujin turns to the other students and continues.
“First of all, it’s an honor to meet you all like this. As I just introduced, I’m the newly appointed professor, Han Yujin. Aside from Eri, there might be others who know me. I recently gave something like a lecture, after all.”
At his words, quite a few students subtly brighten their eyes and nod.
It’s no wonder, as the newly appointed professor Han Yujin, who suddenly appeared as Professor Reina’s co-lecturer, is now a globally renowned figure.
Though his face isn’t widely known yet since he only revealed it in a lecture the day before yesterday, many students here have seen his face, having attended the lecture.
They didn’t react as exaggeratedly as Eri, but they were equally shocked.
The founder of Space-Time Magic, who disappeared after that day, suddenly appearing as a new professor before them!
With a figure who could easily be recorded in history books standing before them, their curiosity and interest are at their peak.
As all the students focus on him, Yujin opens his mouth.
“This is my first lecture, and since many of you seem curious about me… shall we start with a Q&A session? If you have any questions about me or the lecture I’ll be conducting, please raise your hand.”
Whoosh!
Numerous students raise their hands. Yujin points to the one who raised their hand the fastest.
“Yes, the tall student over there? What’s your name?”
“Yes, Professor! Julian Johannes!”
At his words, a tall, handsome blond male student stands up and speaks. He’s currently thinking:
‘The founder of Space-Time Magic! I have to make an impression somehow!’
That’s the thought of most students here. The Space-Time Magic Yujin established is revolutionary in this era. Moreover, he’s a Great Mage with a status surpassing even the Mage Association’s president.
Some even think he might be comparable to the Great Witch Ines Karandar, the Academy’s president. No, in terms of academic achievements, he might even be above her.
If they can make a good impression on him, maybe they can become his teaching assistant or graduate student and learn directly from him!
If that happens, anyone’s life would bloom. Commoner students would become disciples of the Great Mage and founder of Space-Time Magic, gaining wealth and fame, while noble students could elevate their family’s honor and their own social status even higher.
Johannes, being a noble with a surname, leans toward the latter. Yujin asks him:
“Alright, Julian. What’s your question?”
“Professor, I’d like to know what kind of content your lecture will mainly cover!”
“It might be a bit unfamiliar to you all. By the way, among those who know my name, has anyone read my papers?”
At his words, many raise their hands again. As mages, they couldn’t help but be curious about the suddenly emerging Space-Time Magic.
Though these students are from the Elemental Magic department, as mages, most have read his papers on Space-Time Magic.
Julian, who asked the question, also says:
“I’ve read them too.”
“I see. Then let me explain further. You probably found many parts of my paper hard to understand. Theories and concepts you’ve never seen before, applications of gravity magic that seem unrelated to space-time, and magic circles with simple but hard-to-understand structures.”
At his words, all the students nod. Everything was unfamiliar and hard to grasp.
“Actually, it’s natural to find all that hard to understand without some background knowledge. I confess here that I deliberately wrote that paper to expose the flaws of the Mage Association and the current state of mages.”
-!
“Mages who flaunt their privileged status without truly exploring… I wanted to show them how meaningless the knowledge they claim to have built up is. I wrote that paper to wake up the ‘stagnant water’ too busy showing off by placing a thin pebble on an already existing tower, without seeking new discoveries.”
Yujin, smiling, continues.
“Now, let’s return to the main topic. What I’ll teach you… is how to explore.”
“How to explore…?”
“Yes. And along with that, I’ll help you see the world from a slightly different perspective.”
“A different world, you mean…”
“Literally. I’ll teach you that the things you’ve taken for granted… are actually not so obvious, why they exist, and what you’ve been missing because of them.”
“……”
“Haha, of course, saying it like this is too abstract, right? Then let me ask you a simple question. Think of it as a little preview of what I’ll teach you. Julian?”
“Ah, yes!”
“What do you think ‘Mana’ is?”
“Mana… you mean?”
“Yes, Mana.”
Mana. The commonly known source of magic power.
A simple question, but one befitting a professor. Yujin says:
“Feel free to answer. Just say what you know, Julian.”
At his words, Julian slowly opens his mouth.
“Mana is… one of the Four Great Forces. It’s an energy originating from the Dragon, one of the four great Transcendents, and it’s a force that forms one axis of the world. Thanks to this energy, humanity can use magic through reason and wisdom. Also, it functions as the resource needed to use magic.”
“A very standard answer. Julian seems quite diligent.”
“Th-thank you.”
“Then let me ask one more question. What are the Four Great Forces?”
Another question. Julian answers without hesitation.
“The Four Great Forces are also energies originating from the Transcendents, forming the world. Mana, Magi, Divine Power, and Aura… classified into these four. Mana is the energy mages need to use magic, Magi is the energy Dark Sorcerers handle, Divine Power is the energy priests chosen by gods handle, and Aura is the energy warriors use to strengthen and protect their bodies and attack.”
“Confident answer, good job.”
“Thank you!”
As Julian bows his head, Yujin looks around at the students.
“Others probably think similarly to Julian’s answer. His answer is the standard, obvious one for anyone living in this world. However…”
Yujin looks back at Julian and continues.
“It’s not the answer I wanted.”
“!”
Julian flinches at his words. Yujin smiles and says:
“I’m not scolding you. I did ask you to say what you know, after all.”
“Yes…”
“Then let me share the answer I think of. What I consider Mana and the Four Great Forces to be is… ‘singularities.'”
“…Singularities?”
At the unfamiliar term, not only the students but even Reina, who’s been listening, tilts her head. Yujin says:
“I see the confusion on your faces. That’s fine. It’s natural. Then I should explain what a singularity is.”
With that, Yujin heads to the chalkboard beyond the lectern where Reina is. As Reina subtly steps aside without realizing it, Yujin picks up a piece of chalk.
And then, he lightly writes on the board.
[A World Without the Four Great Forces]
That’s what’s written on the board. Seeing this, the students’ eyes widen, and Yujin turns back.
“Everyone, can you imagine a world without the Four Great Forces?”