Genius Warlock

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Returning home, Oliver opted to read the newspapers he had accumulated, rather than sleep for an hour or two.

Mostly articles dealing with the ABC investment company.

The investment company founded by Druid Shamus and his girlfriends was covered in numerous newspapers, including The Talker, NO Credit, Liar, Gibberish, and more. The content was extremely interesting.

They caught people's attention with powerful headlines, aroused interest by dramatically depicting the lives of the founding women investors, and guaranteed credibility by mentioning that they had already secured billions in investment funds.

It was as if they were paid to write it.

Nevertheless, the ABC investment company itself was truly fascinating.

The fact that billions in investment funds had been collected was undeniable, and each investor who contributed was notable – either wealthy individuals of Landa or nobles who owned large plots of land in the provinces.

Among these, what piqued Oliver's interest most was the World Tree.

According to the articles, Shamus had built an ‘investment system' by documenting a tremendous amount of investment information in a part of the World Tree, arguing that it's impossible to lose money because they're going to invest based on this.

[People make mistakes. But nature doesn't make mistakes. And the World Tree certainly doesn't make mistakes.]

Shamus argued as such in one article.

It didn't seem particularly logical, but people's reactions were heated.

The World Tree was a magic of magics that even wizards couldn't handle properly, and it was an even more unknown territory for ordinary people.

The fact that they're using such a fantastic technology for investment caused people to show even more intense interest and trust.

Of course, some newspapers like the Inconvenient Truth and Cassandra doubted Shamus, going so far as to denounce him as a fraud,

Given the fact that Shamus was a Druid who knew how to professionally handle the World Tree and he had already made substantial achievements with the financial statements and testimonials of investors, they couldn't garner much response.

On the contrary, Landa's largest newspaper, the Bugler, asserted that Shamus's investment company uses a miraculous investment method that never fails, and that Landa will become a Utopia where everyone becomes affluent due to this.

Oliver, who read all the newspapers he had accumulated over a few days, felt satisfied.

It was a story so interesting that it was worth reading even without sleep.

However, at the same time, Oliver felt an inexplicable emotion.

Although he hadn't studied the World Tree in detail and thus found it hard to voice an opinion, he wondered if that could really be done.

The World Tree was still an unknown area that even wizards couldn't properly grasp its nature.

"Mr. Zenon? Mr. Zenon? Mr. Zenon ……!"

Someone called out to Oliver, who was absorbed in his musings, and he turned around.

There was a student desperately chasing after Oliver, panting heavily.

Of course, Oliver was also panting heavily, but he had a bit more room to breathe.

"What happened?"

"It's time."

He pointed to the pocket of Oliver's training suit. The training watch was beeping.

Oliver turned off the clock and declared that it was okay to stop running now.

Well, apart from one person, the rest had already given up.

"Hmmm……."

Oliver grumbled as he looked at the students who had given up and were sitting down.

They pretended to run a little, then just sat down as they started to run out of breath.

It was more a matter of will than physical strength.

Oliver wondered how he could increase their motivation.

‘I've learned techniques from books and other classes, but I haven't learned how to instill motivation. Hmm……?'

Oliver shifted his gaze forward, feeling an odd aspect of education.

There, the student who had shouted earlier was catching his breath.

Felix, of the Gaia School of Magic.

When Oliver said he would help with training, Felix confidently voiced his complaints, persisting stubbornly through the persuasion process.

He had followed the training diligently, as he usually did.

"……Why are you doing this?”

Oliver asked Felix, who was looking up at him.

Oliver asked him to understand why Felix was motivated. Maybe it could be useful for the other students?

"Why didn't you stop? I said you could stop when you hear the clock beeping, didn't I?”

“Specifically, Mr. Zenon said to stop when you stop.”

"Ah……. I apologize for that. I was distracted.”

“That's okay.”

“Anyway, thank you for diligently following the training. The professor will be pleased.”

The professor was none other than Kevin, who was teaching other students upstairs.

“……Honestly, I don’t know if this is worth it.”

Felix expressed skepticism, regret, and denial.

What was more interesting was that he spoke first, without being asked.

Despite many days of basic training together, he rarely opened his mouth unless answering.

And now, he was expressing his thoughts first.

Oliver found it intriguing.

“What are you talking about?”

“Does taking this basic training mean I can go back to class upstairs?”

"If you improve, you can. The professor said so, didn't he?”

“That's the question. Will my skills improve if I run and do strength training?"

His emotions were full of complaints, and dissatisfaction. Yet, Oliver was grateful even for that.

Whatever it was, he expressed his thoughts honestly. In return, Oliver answered sincerely.

“Your skills will improve. If your physical strength improves, the amount of mana you can output at once will increase.”

Oliver answered based on books and other classes.

To handle mana, the body needed to withstand it to a certain extent.

‘I don't quite get it…….' thought Oliver, who couldn't empathize with that part.

“But isn't there a limit? I have basic physical strength.”

Felix expressed annoyance and injustice. Indeed, Felix and a few other students had decent basic physical strength.

Even so, the reason Kevin made Felix and other students undergo physical training was because it wasn't enough.

‘Talent. Talents like Student Yareli and Student Derrick.'

Using mana was already a talent that only the chosen can do, but when talents gathered, there were notably more outstanding talents. Yareli and Derick were such cases, and Felix was not.

Because each individual's innate mana amount or mana control ability fell short for them, Kevin tried to increase the physical strength of other students, including Felix.

If the innate talent was lacking, it had to be compensated for elsewhere.

"I think it will get better as you do it."

"Someday it will. However, it is questionable whether I can return to the original class by the end of this semester, right?"

"Do you have a special reason to return to Professor Kevin's class quickly?"

At Oliver's question, Felix was taken aback. It seemed there was a reason.

"… Isn't it just embarrassing to do this? At least, I should receive direct guidance from the professor."

"Um …… Well. I see. Then, please try a little harder. I will help you as much as I can so that you can return to Professor Kevin's class as soon as possible."

Felix looked at Oliver in silence, shining with questions like ‘What and how?'.

Oliver did not respond to his gaze, and looked around at the other students.

"Then, let's move on to the next training."

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

"Here is the report."

After the <Magic Combat Basics> class was over, Oliver submitted a brief report containing the amount of training the students had digested and personal opinions on it to Kevin.

Kevin flipped through the documents as usual.

It looked like he was roughly browsing, but it was a preparatory process to scan once before looking in detail.

"It seems that students are not following the class well."

"I apologize."

Kevin shook his head.

"Why are you apologizing? It's the fault of the person who can't teach if they can't teach, but the lack of will is their own fault."

Kevin spoke with a sense of contempt. He was definitely skilled and responsible, but equally strict.

"But Student Felix is working hard."

Kevin carefully read the page where the contents about Felix were written, unfolding it again.

"…He seems to have the will."

"Yes."

"However, the ability to control mana is somewhat lacking. It's not fatal, but it's average or less. It's a shame because the amount of mana is considerable."

It's a pity. There was no contempt, but it wasn't a good evaluation either.

Oliver asked, "Is it that level?"

"Sadly, it's true. Lack of mana control means that there is a limit to the level of mana you can handle, and even before that, it means that the casting speed is slow. While it's the same in every battle, especially in magic, quick wit is important. No matter how strong the firepower is, if you get hit first, it's the end."

Oliver agreed with Kevin's words.

At first glance, magic may seem like a simple overpowering force, but that was just one of the biggest features and advantages, not the entirety of magic.

Several abilities such as quick wit, coordination, and application ability had to be backed up for the firepower to shine.

Especially, elemental magic had such a tendency.

"Will mana control ability not improve with practice? …Like Student Derick."

Recalling Derick, with whom he had a duel at the last party, Oliver added.

His skills had improved remarkably.

Beyond simply attacking with magic, he maximized his power with minimal mana by combining it with other magic, and dominated space itself by utilizing the characteristics of fire magic.

A level better than most of the wizards Oliver had seen,

However, Kevin's reaction was skeptical.

"It's not wrong, but it's hard to generalize."

"Pardon?"

"It's true that mana control ability can also improve with effort, but it's difficult for everyone to achieve the same results… To be more honest, it's not possible."

Kevin asserted.

"There are people who go ten steps when others go one step by innate talent. The less talent, the sooner you hit the wall."

"A wall?"

Oliver asked, recalling the diaries and research logs of the lightning wizard and Audrey he had killed in the past.

Because of that wall, they had to come out of the Magic Tower and find new opportunities on the streets.

Thinking about it now, it was a bit regrettable.

"Yes, a wall. The limit of ability. It's something all humans have."

"Is that…so?"

Oliver responded, unable to empathize.

"…Yes, you said earlier that Derick's skills have improved a lot, and that's true. Of course, he'll hit his limit soon."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, because that's how far his talent can take."

"It seems a bit unfair."

"The world is originally unfair."

Kevin said firmly. It was a statement imbued with a strong emotion that could be called his belief.

Although Oliver somewhat agreed with this, he couldn't help feeling a little upset.

After some thought, Oliver opened his mouth.

"Professor. Would it be okay if I teach the students in my own way? Not too much, but within a reasonable range."

"…? I already gave you discretion, so it doesn't matter what you do, but considering you're asking specifically, is there something special? Your way?"

"No, it's not something amazing, but it seems like the students want to get back to your class quickly."

"If their skills improve, they can come back sooner."

"Yes, that's right. Can I help them a bit?"

"How?"

"Can I directly help them to get a feel for mana control ability? I thought the first step would be to ask for permission."

Kevin pondered for a while before asking.

"…What?"

"To get a feel for mana control ability-"

"-No, no. I heard that properly. What I'm saying is… Is that possible?"

"Maybe? …I haven't tried it with a wizard, but that's how I taught warlocks," said Oliver, calmly.

(To be Continued)

OR

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