Chapter 20
‘What should I do? I said “boil water” instead of “heat water”—did that cause the accident? Or was it my mental image that was wrong?’
After triggering a magic accident, it was difficult to clear one’s mind and calmly cast a spell again like the first time.
She failed completely on the second attempt.
“Ugh. I can’t cast the spell, Ma’am. I mean, Baroness.”
“It’s all right. Very few mages can cast a spell successfully right after a magic accident! Don’t worry, try again.”
Baroness Bulem encouraged Idnia even though she failed.
And she herself was surprised.
‘This… shouldn’t be happening…’
The years of humiliation and disgrace she had endured from Flora, Idnia’s mother, came rushing back.
But as a mage, her desire to understand why this was happening came first.
‘Okay, let’s go back to the original incantation. Um… “Heat water”?’
Still didn’t work.
The more she tried to brace herself and focus, the more the aura—or rather, her tyrant’s energy—interfered, as if it were disrupting the process.
“She keeps failing. Hmm. I don’t sense any mana.”
Baroness Bulem clicked her tongue as she saw Idnia failing to properly channel her mana, unable to accept the situation.
“Let’s stop here. If you can’t use magic, there’s no danger of another accident anyway…”
But then—
‘Hmm. Maybe it’s easier when I relax and just imagine the image naturally… Let’s try “Heat water” again.’
Idnia unconsciously cast the spell without chanting aloud again…
The water stirred and warmth radiated.
Steam gently rose—this time, it was heated to a perfect bathwater temperature.
“…Huh?”
“She—she succeeded?!”
The students were shocked at the sight.
Especially the ones who had done prior self-study.
“N-No chant?!”
“Amazing. I heard she didn’t do any prior studying.”
“But to succeed at magic in just one day?
And without chanting?!”
Crown Prince Rudolf was amazed by Idnia’s performance.
And Isolde Folchen… was overwhelmed by indescribable emotions.
‘This is absurd!’
Until now, she had been unmatched in magic.
A true magical genius—worthy of the title.
Though she knew Dunais Academy discouraged pre-learning and that it could ruin a mage’s potential, Isolde had been studying magic since the age of five.
If she was going to break, she would never have started.
She had always believed she would become a great mage someday.
But even she had taken three weeks to succeed at this spell—the “Water Heating” magic.
‘It took me three weeks, but that was when I was five.
Everyone admitted into Dunais Academy has magical potential—they’ve completed the mental imagery training.
And since it’s been three years since the last intake, this batch includes geniuses from all over the Empire.
Even so, most take about a week to succeed at water heating magic… Sure, some manage in one go, but to succeed without chanting on the first try!?
Unheard of.’
The dream of being hailed as the academy’s greatest magical prodigy shattered for Isolde Folchen.
And it had to be shattered… by the annoying girl who rejected the Crown Prince!?
As everyone’s eyes focused on them, Baroness Bulem sensed something strange.
“What… is this?”
The safety protocol had activated.
That meant the energy input not only heated the water to the desired temperature, but even exceeded it.
Yet the mana input she had observed didn’t seem that large.
Extraordinary mana efficiency.
An extraordinary incantation response.
If the numbers she just witnessed were accurate, Idnia had a deeper understanding and command of this magical asset than any mage she had seen.
‘Her mana efficiency rivals that of tenured academy professors. No way. That’s impossible for a freshman, isn’t it?’
Startled, she approached Idnia.
Was it envy at her talent?
No. This went beyond talent. It was simply too strange.
“If you don’t mind, may I conduct a brief examination?”
“Ah, yes…”
Idnia nodded awkwardly.
Baroness Bulem grasped Idnia’s arm and closed her eyes.
“…What?”
There was no mana circuit—no pathway for willpower to travel.
Instead, she only sensed an overwhelming flow of aura.
‘Her aura is master-level? At this age? Impossible.’
Baroness Bulem was stunned by the magnitude of aura she sensed from Idnia.
But that wasn’t the main issue.
What about her magical energy?
‘No mana circuit!’
To investigate further, Baroness Bulem converted a portion of her magic into a detection probe and sent it into Idnia.
If anything obstructed it, the reflected wave would scatter, allowing her to map the mana circuit’s shape.
By studying that, one could assess a mage’s magic potential.
But with Idnia—there was no reflection at all.
‘If that’s the case…’
Could it be that her magical energy was so pure her whole body functioned as a mana circuit?
Rejected. If such a thing were possible, then she would be the human incarnation of the god of magic.
Perhaps a pulse-type mana circuit—where it only activates when magic is cast?
That might be plausible.
‘But people with pulse-type circuits usually die. The only one who can survive with that constitution is… the Headmaster.’
Pulse-type circuits typically appear in cases of brain abnormalities. Normal mages with such a trait usually die quickly.
Only an extremely rare few survive, and the only known one was…
The Headmaster of Dunais Academy.
And that Headmaster was one of the Empire’s Five Prisoners.
Could a newly enrolled freshman have the same constitution as that legendary Archmage?
Could she be living with a condition that usually kills people?
“Um, Professor?”
“Please call me Baroness. Ah, I was too absorbed. Other students, keep practicing until you succeed.”
Baroness Bulem cast protection spells on the rest of the students as she spoke.
They glanced curiously at her and Idnia.
Of course, their lessons were important—but everyone knew that the most significant event right now was happening between these two.
“Why did you use a no-chant spell?”
“Ah, well… I think my pronunciation was a bit off.”
“And that led you to not chant? Try saying it aloud.”
“Heat water.”
“…”
“How is it?”
“Perfect.”
“Sorry?”
“How can your pronunciation be so flawless…?”
‘Well, I am Korean.’
But Idnia couldn’t say that out loud.
“Well, at least now I know why your incantation response is so good. But this mana circuit… What in the world? Are you feeling tired? Can you try casting again?”
“I think I can.”
“Go ahead. I’ll get fresh water.”
Baroness Bulem prepared more water.
Idnia tried casting the spell again.
This time, it failed.
“Ugh…”
When she tried to force it, it didn’t work.
She needed to naturally recall the mental image—but that wasn’t easy.
And the more she tried to channel mana, the more her aura surged instead.
A serious problem.
“Hm. Judging from how she’s trying to use magic, she definitely seems like a beginner… but her incantation response is just unbelievable…”
