How to Live as a Martial Arts Writer in a Fantasy World

31 – 31. Club

31.

“Good morning, Scholar Alan.”

“Good morning, Princess Rin.”

“I told you just Rin is enough.”

From Noble mtl dot com

Rin, who still emphasized her matured figure even in academy uniform, laughed as she took her seat next to Alan.

Everything appeared to be as usual.

Flanked by princesses from the Eastern and Western Empires on either side.

And Meia, the maid, and Stella, Felicia’s escort, sat around Alan as if to protect him.

Naturally, expressions of envy appeared on the male students’ faces.

‘Damn it, what’s so special about him that he gets all these girls?’

‘Besides his moderately handsome face, his sword skills are said to be mediocre. Damn.’

“‘Is it so surprising that someone writes a good novel? There are plenty of novels with exceptional prose in the Empire. Of course, I won’t deny that the ‘Chronicler of Shuren’ is entertaining…”

Despite the piercing gazes coming from all around, Allen maintained his calm demeanor.

“A daring approach is fine, but you should consider the waves that the ‘Chronicler of Shuren’ could cause, Allen. Just the apparition of the Ogre as an intelligent being is already shocking.”

“I think that this radicality is precisely what makes the novel appealing to the readers, Miss Felicia.”

“Linn, is that really true?”

“Isn’t it, even just for you Miss Felicia?”

The fact that the two princesses of the East and West Empires were discussing Allen’s ‘Chronicler of Shuren’ highlighted that it was a hot topic, a lump of buzz.

Seeing the students, who don’t stop their conversation even when she entered, Theia clicked her tongue lightly.

With a clap of her hands there was a thunderous sound as if amplified magically, causing all the students to cover their ears.

Allen also felt a dullness in his ears and slightly retracted his hand.

‘Wow, my ears are numb. Is this magic?’

In awe, Allen looked at Theia.

Seeing her invoke a spell so quickly without any preliminary actions made him realize why she was considered one of the most powerful magicians in the Bernhardt family.

After quieting the students, Theia gave a light clap.

“Well, my students. It is commendable to discuss a famous novel, but I would appreciate it if you could distinguish between learning hours and break time. You were so engrossed in your discussion that you didn’t even notice me. Despite your good intentions, regretfully, this is a basic magic course, not a literature one.”

-“We are sorry!”

With the loud chorus of apologies, Theia nodded her head.

“Since you have apologized, we can downplay it a bit. The third volume of the Famous person does seem to be causing quite a stir. It surprised me as well.”

“…Ugh.”

“It has been a while since I got a question about Osrian’s elemental magic so that was surprising. Shall we discuss it today?”

With a mischievous smile, Theia flicked her finger.

The chalk floated up naturally, and she quickly wrote ‘Elemental Magic’ on the blackboard. It was an awe-inspiring spectacle every time.

Being able to manipulate magical power so precisely was a skill only a few students mastered, and amongst the professors, Theia was practically unique.

“While Osrian’s magic uses magical power, similar to imperial magic, what makes it peculiar is the different medium. We term this medium as ‘spirit’.”

A circle was drawn over the word ‘spirit’.

Theia grasped the chalk and powerfully underlined it.

“If human magic uses magical power to enforce a specific phenomenon – exhibiting traits of ‘domination’ –, the keyword for Osrian’s elemental magic is ‘communication’.”

“It sounds like borrowing power from a spirit…”

When one of the noble students raised his hand and spoke, Theia nodded in agreement.

The aristocrat turned red as he saw the breastplate quiver at her jerky movements.

Teia paid no mind and carried on speaking.

“Right, so there is a big difference between human magic and Osrian magic. Human magic is more straightforward; the power of the spell is amplified by the energy exerted. However, the elemental magic of the Osrians is the opposite. The output is irregular.”

“So irregular output means the power varies depending on the time?”

“Good question, Your Highness.”

Teia responded with a slight grin to Felicia’s question.

“This changeable being called a spirit, serves as the medium through which Osrian elemental magicians borrow the power of magic. It’s a rather well-known tale.”

Teia had given a similar explanation when Allen had asked her earlier.

“An elemental, a terribly whimsical creature. For a magician to produce the desired amount of power, they must receive recognition by the elementals.”

Teia continued,

“Despite being taught in basic magical studies, humans are born with a particular type of magical power. One of the six most common attributes. However, light is synonymous with divine magic, and darkness with dark magic, meaning there are effectively only four main attributes.”

“Exactly, your highness is correct,” Teia grinned.

“The light is synonymous with divine magic, the darkness with dark magic, hence they are separately classified into real elements of the earth, fire, water and wind. In the past, there were six magictowers that have now reduced to four.”

“The black magictower was eventually destroyed due to its dangerousness.”

“You seem to be well informed, Your Highness.”

The white tower of the white magicians, who handle the power of light, was transformed into a congregation worshipping the god ‘Lu’ and established its place as the empire’s only faith.

The black tower magicians, who wielded the power of darkness, rapidly corrupted and declined after discovering a way to trade with demons and are now virtually non-existent.

Teia wrote a name under the black tower.

“Graphite Congregation?”

The trainees revealed their confusion at the unfamiliar name.

“The devil worshippers, commonly known as the ‘Graphite Congregation’, remnants of the old black tower, have long crossed an irreversible line. It’s quite a famous tale in the empire. The ‘Black Magician War’ left an indelible scar on the nation. If you ask Professor Flint in the continental history class, he will explain it in detail, so I’ll skip it here.”

Teia then circled the four attributes.

“Humans are born with one attribute of magic or possess a combination of several attribute types.”

Countless attributes are born from the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind.

There are other power attributes that ones are born with, such as the racial power of ice, possessed only by Sirens, and the power of nature, which can only be had by an elf who is born with all four power traits.

After explaining all these, Teia went back to the main topic.

“Unlike humans, whose ability to use certain attributes of magic is confined to their inherent power, Osrian magic, by forming a contract and gaining recognition from spirits, overcomes such limitations. That’s why there is no absolute strength or weakness between human magic and Osrian spirit magic. The unstable output implies that you never know when the amplified firepower will burst into its extreme.”

Offering a small smile, Teia looked towards Allen.

“I hope it helps.”

***

“There’s something fascinating about the magic of the West Empire. It strangely resonates with the martial arts of my hometown.”

These were the words Lyn uttered after the Basic Magic class ended.

“The magic of the Empire is similar, Lyn?”

“Yes. In Koon Ryung, magic-like forces are classified as shamanism, but shamans are often looked down upon.”

“I see, so martial artists are more respected?”

“Yes. Depending on the martial arts they practice, martial artists often execute unique powers, such as Bing Gong (Ice Power), or Yeom Gong (Flame Power).”

“Hi-hu-ko? Yeon-ko? The pronunciation is unusual. It sounds like it refers to controlling fire and ice.”

Allen replied to Felicia’s words.

“You can consider it as a similar category to magic of ice or fire. When Princess Lyn mentioned that magic and martial arts are similar, that’s what she meant.”

“That’s right.”

“Fascinating. Martial arts also connects to the powers Shen handles, right?”

“The entire technique that Shen uses is referred to as martial arts.”

“Hmm, maybe I need to study Koon Ryung language more. It’s interesting, you know, hearing about it.”

At Felicia’s words, Allen shrugged his shoulders.

Lyn said,

“If Felicia is interested, I can give a basic tutorial on martial arts.”

“Ah, speaking of which, Allen, you haven’t joined any club yet, have you?”

Allen blinked in surprise.

“Is there a problem….”

“Heehee, no, not at all. I started a club a while ago.”

Seeing the triumphant Felicia, a look of confusion came across Allen’s face.

As Allen perceived a hint of uneasiness crawling up his chest, he was about to leave, yet he couldn’t brush off Felicia’s hand.

“I will need you as a founding member of the club, Allen. And Lyn, you too.”

“Me too?”

“Yes. Because the club I created is the Koon Ryung Culture Exploration Club!”

While watching Felicia confidently declaring, Allen rubbed his forehead.

“But, Princess, why must I become a club member….”

“Well, other than the people from Koon Ryung at the academy, who knows Koon Ryung better than Allen?”

“Um…”

“At a loss for words then?” Alan muttered within himself.

“Since Lyn also knows well about the martial arts, my interest has been piqued too. I want to understand the difference between martial arts and the empire’s sword’s techniques.”

“There isn’t really any distinction. It is simply significant that the skills are passed on in a more formal manner to those who are not of the same bloodline.”

To Lyn’s words, Felicia responded.

“You’ll join us, right? Alan? Lyn?”