Cæ stirred where he stood as he stared at the wooden floor of the combat facility; his stormy gray eyes were hazy with thought. His respect

Cæ stirred where he stood as he stared at the wooden floor of the combat facility; his stormy gray eyes were hazy with thought. His respect for martial magic and body-casting had risen after the combat selection process when he saw how useful they were in combat.

In combat, it was timing and speed that mattered the most. It didn't matter if one had an extraordinarily powerful magic if they died before they could even use it. Cæ had already seen how many problems facing body-casting could cause him, and he didn't want to put himself in that situation again.

Thus, he put more thought into the style of martial magic that he would decide to learn. It would alter the trajectory of his combat permanently; thus, it wasn't one that he wanted to rush.

He recalled the nine unarmed styles in the nine continents.

The Gorjerr School of the Estroycian Federation.

The Schlieffen Palm Style.

Fenzenism.

Apratiata.

Mermento.

Morihari.

Borthwein.

Kaemindo Style.

The Flowing Fist Style.

Each of them had its focus and philosophy.

Professor Mercile had reached senior-level mastery in all of them, which explained why he had been hired as a professor in the Elendir Institute of Magic. He had demonstrated all of them to Cæ thoroughly, trying to show him exactly what he would be going for if he chose to master all of them.

Unfortunately, none of them appealed to Cæ very well.

Cæ shook his head.

"I'm just not moved by any of them. They don't resonate with me in any way. And it doesn't feel like I would be making the best of myself with any of them."

"Hmmm…" Professor Mercile turned to Vloria with a raised eyebrow. "What about you?"

"I wanna master Borthwein," she replied instantly. "I like the philosophy. And it matches my element of affinity, the life element."

Borthwein was a style of martial magic that relied on the life element to enhance its own body in a variety of ways and master movements that would make the most use of those enhancements.

"Good choice," Professor Mercile nodded. "Borthwein requires developing a precise understanding of one's body intuitively and consciously. It combines the body-casting triggers for the enhancement magic with movements that make use of the enhanced muscles. It evolved in the Lischzon continent to our North-West, where many styles sought to create a martial magic that made the most of body enhancement magic. And after many centuries of competition. It was the Borthwein Style that came out victorious and is the most dominant unarmed style on the continent."

Cæ's eyes lit up at those words.

"Interesting."

Professor Mercile turned towards him with that comment, raising his eyebrows. "You don't want to learn Borthwein? You can't go wrong mastering it, you know?"

Cæ heaved a soft sigh, shaking his head.

"I feel like any martial magic that doesn't make use of all six elements simply isn't suited for me."

"Hah," Professor Mercile grinned. "You have any idea how few people have mastered all six elements? Do you have any idea how few of those people are martial mages? There aren't enough people to have created a proper martial art that makes use of all six elements."

Cæ frowned. "…In that case, what about learning six martial magic arts that are centered around each of the six elements?"

Professor Mercile frowned, stroking his chin. "That could work, but the biggest problem with learning different martial magic is that the body-casting runes could overlap. This often causes problems when trying to master different martial arts. It's a huge pain in the ass, trust me. Although it can be super-effective."

Cæ raised an eyebrow. "What about you, then? I know you have mastered nine of them, probably more. How did you resolve any conflicts?"

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"By creating different personal body-casting runes in the places of overlap and conflict between all nine of them," Professor Mercile. "The problem is common enough that there are such runes that were made to ameliorate the problems. Just enough differences to ensure that your mind would register them as different. But the more you master, the more you will need to do this, and it can become time-consuming because it increases the amount of runes that you need to learn."

"I don't intend to master them," Cæ shook his head. "I would like to learn around one-sixth of each of the six martial arts to effectively create a hybrid hexa-elemental martial magic style. I like the sound of Borthwein for the life element. Another five would be good."

"…You're really going out of your way to try and maximize the potential of your six elements, huh? I respect it, but then I'm reminded of your decision to spread yourself on a foundational level across many fields. Tsk tsk, I need to give you a little talking to once more," he grumbled, shaking his head. "Very well. I can recommend five more martial magic styles that make use of the remaining five greater elements. I will have to compile a list of the best martial magic styles for each element, and you can go through them when you're done."

"One more thing," Cæ remarked. "I am considering making use of a weapon after all. After seeing how effective and powerful they can be in the selection tournament, I think it would be a waste not to make use of them in my magic. I can get rid of my wand for a ring mana conductor made of some really high-quality material."

"No." Professor Mercile shook his head. "I would recommend using a weapon if you're going to try to use six martial magic styles in combat. I don't think you fully appreciate how difficult it is to do what you're so easily suggesting. If you add a weapon on top of that, you're going to increase your chances of drastically messing up."

Cæ fell into thought as he stirred at those words.

It was indeed true that he didn't want to take risks that he could not afford to take. He already had many things on his plate, and this was going to be an additional problem, even if already accounted for. Still, it was best that he kept it simple for the moment.

"Alright," Cæ relented, heaving a deep breath. "Unarmed it is."

"However, if you're mastering martial magic indeed, then I would recommend switching from a wand to a ring. A ring is certainly more expensive, but the Elendir Institute of Magic can provide you with a suitable one for the time being. Most mages end up having a mana-conductor of some sort on them at all times, if only to react to emergencies quicker," Professor Mercile explained. "Additionally, I would recommend that you dedicate a lot of time to fleshing out your hybrid martial magic style with plenty of practice. Using six styles at once is very difficult. Although with your talent, you have the ability to succeed. Just make sure that you don't rush it and practice it hard. You will need to develop your own framework for the martial magic rather than relying on existing ones, and that is certainly quite difficult. Impossible, even if not for the fact that I am your professor."

Professor Mercile grinned widely at those words as he shamelessly boasted about himself. "I can help you develop your hybrid martial magic in the right direction, even if it is brand-new and divergent from the norm. No ordinary martial mage can help you with that, hehe…That is the quality of guidance and education that you get in the Elendir Institute of Magic."

"Wow, you're so great," Cæ remarked with a bland tone.

"Hah, cheeky lad. Get ready for the next round of combat. It will be the two of you versus me."

Professor Mercile grinned as he stretched lightly before getting into the combat arena.

Fifteen minutes later, they were completely demolished, lying on the ground as they gasped for air. Their bodies were covered in bruises and wounds.

"Hah! Let's hope you do better next time. For now, get back to your rooms and rest a bit." He waved them as he departed from the combat facility.

"Huff… huff… huff…" Cæ panted as he sat up, entirely exhausted. "That man is monstrously strong."

"Tsk, I will beat him up next time!" she swore as she pushed herself up.

Her skin was laced with sweat, illuminated by the gentle light of the evening Sun that peered into the windows through the auburn sky outside. Her curly brown hair was disheveled and messy, while her expression was one of exhaustion.

"He's an experienced senior mage," Cæ remarked. "A particularly powerful one if the Elendir Institute of Magic hired him. You can forget about trying to beat him."

"Hah! Don't mistake me for a loser like you," she scoffed at him. "It's pathetic to give up so easily."

Cæ heaved a soft sigh, shaking his head lightly.

He couldn't be bothered to indulge in her ability to pick a fight.

"Take this as advice from someone who has much in common with you," Cæ remarked, directing a pointed gaze at her. "Getting people to hate you is not a good idea. Not here, not in the slums. It's not about their feelings. It's about how much harder you're making your life if you're going to isolate yourself and snap at anyone who says anything to you or even utters a word at you. This kind of aggressive aura might be a good deterrence in the slums, but it is much more likely to hurt you anywhere else. Someone who is liked and admired will have it much easier than someone who is hated and feared."

He got up, walking away from her before she could snap at him. He didn't care to spend any more energy on her than that.

"Thanks."

He paused where he stood, as he turned with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"I didn't think you had it in you."

Her expression softened.

"I… owe you a debt."

Cæ stared at her with a confused expression. "I don't recall doing anything for you."

She shook her head, gazing at him with a solemn expression.

"I learned more about the reason that I was able to get into this magicademy after I got in."

Her tone was uncharacteristically not fierce.

"It was thanks to you." She gazed straight at him. "You led the program as the director. You were the reason that it was able to get off the ground and succeed. You were the reason that I got this miraculous opportunity."

Cæ remained silent as he gazed at her.

"So… thank you," she spoke with a soft tone.

Cæ heaved a sigh.

"You're welcome, but I was only doing my job. I gained a lot from that program personally."

"Even then." Her tone grew stronger. "I am indebted to you, and I will pay it back."

"…I look forward to that, then." He directed a deep gaze at her before turning away as he departed from the combat facility, heading to his dorm room.

He hadn't expected her to sincerely thank him for giving her the opportunity to get into the magicademy. He had even forgotten about the fact that the new apprentice students from the slums were technically indebted to him; it wasn't something that he thought of. It also wasn't something that he was used to; people being indebted to him.

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