"Teacher, I don't know."
"If you don't know, then pay attention in class. Stop spacing out. Come to my office after class."
This was why he hated magic class. He was truly at the bottom in magic because he never knew how to answer.
Other people's understanding of magic was like a whole novel. His was like a short outline. In the teachers' eyes, he had too many details to explain and add. The problem was, when other students explained their "novels," his brain automatically turned them into outlines.
Most people who reach his level of understanding do it by reading lots of "novels" and then figuring out the outline. If you ask those people to write a novel based on an outline, even if they can't copy it perfectly, the story will be pretty close to the original.
He, on the other hand, just started at this "outline" level. The result was, if you asked him to write a novel based on an original novel's outline, he could make the ending the same and the plot points the same, but the stuff in between would be wildly different.
While Cid pretended to pay attention but was actually daydreaming, time flew by, and class ended quickly.
….
The teachers' office at Saikai Academy.
Rossweisse sat at her desk, getting materials ready for the next class. The whole office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Creeeak...
A sound broke the silence. The door opened, and a boy with black hair and black eyes walked in.
After Cid entered, he closed the door and looked around. The huge office only had three people: Natsuki Minamiya, sipping red tea in a teacher's chair; Misaki Sasazaki, who was busy with something; and Rossweisse. With his arrival, the quiet mood was broken. All three of them turned their attention to him.
"Cid, you're here," Rossweisse said, seemingly not noticing the change in atmosphere, and called him over directly.
After thinking for a few seconds, Cid decided to obey and sat down quietly in front of Rossweisse.
"What am I going to do with you, student?" Rossweisse rubbed her forehead, looking like she had a major headache. Cid knew she really did. Anyone would get a headache from a student who still knew nothing after a year of learning.
"The results for the last test are out. You were last. And you were spacing out again in class today. Cid, can't you try just a little harder? With your talent, even if you're not at the top, you shouldn't be this bad."
Facing Rossweisse's criticism, Cid used the excuse he'd thought up on the way.
"Ms. Rossweisse, you know, my talent is just so-so. I didn't really encounter magic much before the worlds merged. I just need a little more ti—"
"Stop, Cid. No more excuses. You used that one last time. And I checked your other courses. You're keeping up in most of them. You even learned a normal high school level of math within a year."
Rossweisse cut Cid off, revealing his go-to excuse.
Cid looked at Rossweisse with surprise for a moment, seemingly shocked that this usually somewhat ditzy teacher would think to check his other grades. Luckily, Cid had long ago planned what to do if his excuse was ever exposed: just give up trying.
"Boohoohoo, Ms. Rossweisse! I have no talent for magic anyway! I just need to be good at my main job as a Magic Swordsman!"
If I act hopeless enough, no one can force me to try hard. This was a golden rule he'd learned online in his past life. The amazing people on the internet always came up with brilliant life hacks that made his eyes light up.
Of course, he didn't believe in it back then he was going to be the Power in the Shadows, after all! But now, it felt like the perfect way to handle this situation.
"Cid, how many times do I have to tell you? Even Magic Swordsmen need to understand basic magic. Otherwise, you'll get tricked by some weird spell one day and not even know what hit you. The scariest thing about magic has never been its power, but how tricky it can be."
Cid strongly agreed with what Rossweisse said. Magic really was weird.
But Cid thought Rossweisse could relax about that. After he saw the instructions in the library for a curse that could, in theory, kill the Red Dragon a being on his level he'd be a fool to look down on magic. If they could target the Red Dragon, he could be next.
As for actually trying to learn the magic Rossweisse taught... forget it. It wasn't about effort. Rossweisse wanted him to completely change his way of thinking about casting spells.
"My future is pretty much set anyway," Cid said. "Whether I can even stay a minor noble depends on my sister's mood. Who would hire a mage just to deal with me?"
With those words, which basically sounded like he'd given up on himself, Cid was sure Rossweisse would lose all hope for him.
"You... you... you...! You're like rotten wood that can't be carved!"
See? Just as he expected. Rossweisse's face turned red with anger, and she even blurted out an old saying.
"Well, Teacher, if there's nothing else, I'll be going then."
Cid stood up, ready to leave. He was pretty happy with this office visit. Even though the Valkyrie teacher now disliked him, it meant he wouldn't be called to the office every few days for a lecture anymore.
"Stop. Come here."
Just as Cid was about to walk out, Rossweisse calmed down. Cid could only sigh internally. Too bad.
"What is it, Teacher? Is there something else?"
Cid really hoped it wasn't something like calling his parents to convince him. His sister was on this island right now! One phone call, and if his sister found out, she'd definitely come looking for him. Then he'd have a ton of trouble, no doubt.
"This, here. You said you only want to be a Magic Swordsman, right? Then learn what's in here. At least pass the practical tests."
Rossweisse opened a drawer, took out a book, and handed it to Cid.
Cid took the book, first giving Rossweisse a strange look, then he opened it and started reading.
After just a few pages, Cid knew it was a book about Magic Swordsmen.
But unlike normal books that taught fighting moves for Magic Swordsmen, this book was about teaching them how to use mana to achieve effects similar to 'ki' or life energy. It talked about using the human body as a framework for magic, drawing out the power hidden within the body, controlling life force, and so on.
It was less a Magic Swordsman book and more like a magic-adapted version of a qigong manual. He could even find some qigong terms in it.
While Cid was flipping through the book, he didn't notice Misaki Sasazaki, who was watching nearby, glance at the book's contents. Her eyes lit up, and a teasing look appeared on her face as she glanced at Natsuki Minamiya.
Noticing Misaki's gaze, Natsuki's face darkened. She shot a sharp glare at Misaki, silently telling her to keep quiet.
"I'm sorry for talking like that earlier, Ms. Rossweisse. You're a good teacher."
After quickly looking through it, Cid felt Rossweisse really was a good teacher. To still try so hard and give him what was clearly a personally modified magic version of a qigong manual, even after he said those things...
"Hmph!... Since you know you were wrong, then please, Cid, pay more attention in class from now on. Don't keep spacing out."
….
Next chapter on my discord:
So, you can join my discord server: https://discord.gg/5Y7uZ2kN2Y
Or in short just click in join via invite link in your discord and enter this code: 5Y7uZ2kN2Y