C29
Ethella was lost in thought, fiddling with her lips.
“Then would you like to try it out in the Image Zone?”
“Yes? But… Right now?”
“Why? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, it's not that.”
Ethella blinked, puzzled. The ambitious student who couldn't contain his excitement in regards to the Image Zone had turned passive.
'What's going on? He doesn't look very happy. The kids seem to be keeping him in check, is that why? He's more sensitive than I thought.'
Ethella said while patting his shoulder.
“If you're not feeling well, you can always do it next time. I was simply curious and wanted to see because you're the only one who can change between the Four Way Formation in Class 7.”
“No, I'll give it a go. Please assess me.”
Shirone changed his mind. Even if his classmates went around criticizing him, he would not give up the opportunity to receive Ethella's guidance for just that reason alone.
Abusive remarks started to fly around the moment Shirone entered the Image Zone.
“Huh, look at him go. He must be thinking of doing it again. He just loves to stand out, doesn't he?”
“He wants to show off to his lover. Well, it's true that that's the only thing he's good at. The dude can't even cast a single spell.”
On the other hand, upperclassmen stopped whatever they were practicing and turned to focus on him. A month had passed since the successful demonstration of the Defense Form of the Four Way Formation, so they were curious to see how much he had grown since then.
“Ms. Romie, I'll begin.”
“Alright. First, let's do it one by one.”
Shirone started off with what he was best at, the Defense Form. A strong, huge Octacontaoctagon was formed.
The upperclassmen were awed.
“When speaking in regards to your Defense Form alone, it's high-class.”
On the other hand, the Class 7 students glared at Shirone as if they were dealing with a public enemy. Nevertheless, the reason why they couldn't complain was because his skills were actually really great.
Shirone shifted to the Attack Form of the Four Way Formation. Instead of the size of his zone being reduced, it stayed the same with the only difference being numerous, dangerous-looking thorns emerging.
Next was the Target Form. The length of the cross was considerable, but its torque was too weak to use in practice. Nevertheless, Shirone was making rapid progress.
Ethella smiled in satisfaction. It was safe to say that Shirone would soon probably be promoted to Class 6 considering his skills.
But Shirone didn't stop there and attempted the Deviate Form. It was also important to fail so that he could get advice from Ethella while she was here.
Then he hit a wall. The shape of the Spirit Zone might change, and even if the center was shifted, the Zone often exploded instead of just successfully deviating.
Ethella's eyes lit up in astonishment. She didn't expect him to attempt the Deviate Form as it did not fit his convergent tendencies. But surprisingly, things were going roughly, which was to be expected.
Seeing this, each of the Class 7 kids, who had no intention of even trying to aim for the Deviate Form, breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Kekeke, what the hell is he doing? How is that the Four Way Formation? He's just horsing around.”
“They said he was a genius, but he's nothing close to one. He should be doing at least one thing well. How the hell is he going to become a mage doing things like that.”
Shirone was offended. Not a single person from Class 7 could pull off the Deviate Form. He couldn't understand their way of thinking at all, especially considering the fact that they placed standards on him that even they couldn't reach.
His Spirit Zone shook when he lost his composure. The more it shook, the more the Class 7 kids continued to gossip and bring Shirone down.
Amy, who was watching, frowned. So far, she was satisfied with his demonstration of changing between the different forms of the Four Way Formation, but suddenly his Zone started shaking.
“What the hell's wrong with him? What is he doing?”
“Deviate Form is usually hard to control. I guess he's bothered too much by the reactions of the kids.”
“No way. He's never that shaky. Is he really going through something these days?”
“Oh, are you covering for him? Well, I guess he is your boyfriend.”
Amy shut Sharelle's mouth with her red eyes and got lost in thought. It was certainly strange. Where did the Anti-Magic-resistant durability go? How come his Spirit Zone was stumbling around like it was drunk?
'Is there really something going on that I don't know about?'
Shirone tried everything to suppress his emotions. However, anger was not easy to control because once it bloomed, it grew by consuming itself.
'Why do they hate me? What did I do wrong? I just want to study hard and do better. What's wrong with wanting to be a mage?'
His Spirit Zone began to convulse as if it was about to explode. His mind was all over the place.
“Hey, you have too many miscellaneous thoughts.”
Shirone broke out from his thoughts. Someone from Class 5 side spoke.
“If you want to do something, just do it. You're here to learn magic.”
Shirone finally looked back on his condition with impassiveness. When he came to his senses, he realized how foolish he was being.
'What was I doing?'
Shirone, who erased all distractions, attempted once again.
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
