The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

“Whether it’s lightning formulas or flame formulas. With magic branches focused on firepower, it’s not easy to learn another fire-based magic even if you’ve mastered one.”

Pascal said while stretching his stiff neck.

“It’s as if the more proficient magic branch gets jealous and tries to devour the other magic. Just think of it as a clingy lifelong partner.”
“I’ve never felt anything like that.”
“That’s because you’re such a crazy bastard.”

Outside the mansion built as a resting place. Asel and Pascal stood facing each other at opposite ends of the wide-open clearing. Selene and Saya stood far away with anxious expressions. Asel glanced at them and then turned his head towards Pascal, saying:

“Have you never seen a magician using more than two destruction-type magics?”
“There are some. But they were all mediocre guys.”
“……”
“Have you seen a magic swordsman? It’s hard enough to reach the limit of human lifespan by mastering just magic or swordsmanship, but those fools choose both and end up being neither here nor there. They mixed their created magic core oddly with a mana heart, completely ruining the efficiency.”
“Hmm.”
“Those who learned two destruction-type magics are just like those magic swordsmen. Dual attribute? Multi-attribute? It’s impossible to subdue magic that rages like that. Even if you have an aptitude for it, it’s the same. You can only use it if the magic allows it.”

Pascal put a cigarette in his mouth and continued speaking.

“Simply put, it’s luck. No matter how good your aptitude is, if the proficiency of another magic is higher, it will rather rebel and try to devour the magician himself. If you’re lucky, it might manifest well, but rather than gambling every battle, it’s better not to use it at all.”
“Is that so.”
“That’s why you’re strange. You mastered lightning formulas while building up to the 6th Circle, but you stole control of my magic with flame formulas? Are you some illegitimate child the Sage left behind?”
“My parents were farmers though.”
“They must have been farmers who ground up people.”
“They were demon worshippers though.”
“…Hey, you bastard. If you come at me like that, how am I supposed to respond?”

Asel smiled slightly at Pascal’s swearing and loosened his shoulders.

“So? Why did you suddenly tell me to come outside?”
“Don’t play dumb when you already know.”

Pascal said that and slowly drew up his magical power. The hot magical power of a flame magician who had realized his uniqueness filled the cavity and burned the air. The space felt as if the temperature had suddenly risen. Asel noticed scorch marks appearing on part of his shield and smiled bitterly.

“Let’s spar. This is how you’re supposed to examine magic originally.”
“How unsophisticated.”
“It’s the orthodox way of the magic tower. Originally, those who have been burned a few times handle fire better.”

Flames flickered at the end of Pascal’s cigarette.

“And your flame magic is, how should I put it… It doesn’t seem to be the orthodox magic of the Ignis Magic Tower. It seems like you’ve revised it based on that.”
“There are circumstances.”
“Well, fine. Your personal circumstances are none of my business. That magic you said you self-taught. Let me see it.”

Asel drew up his magical power while looking at Pascal’s cigarette that was gradually turning red.

“Are all Ignis Magic Tower people as belligerent as you?”
“Do you think people who handle fire would be calm?”

Pascal grinned as he saw steam rising from around Asel’s body.

“The only time we become calm is when there’s nothing left to burn. We decided to call that death.”
“How romantic.”
“Because we’re corpses without that. Clearly different from those milk-smelling Aurora Magic Tower magicians.”

At the word “milk-smelling,” Selene, who was standing far away, wrinkled her face as if she was about to retch, but Pascal paid her no attention. Instead, he grasped the cigarette he was holding in his hand and flicked it towards Asel. Then the flame that had burned the cigarette suddenly increased in size and shot towards Asel with enough force to kill him whole.

[Burn Spear]

Whoosh!!

Asel tilted his head as he saw the spear of flame flying towards him.

A suddenly established sparring match. And with a magic tower magician with a circle one level higher than himself at that. There were plenty of reasons to welcome it, but no reason to refuse. Even to raise the proficiency of the flame formulas he used as much as the lightning formulas, he had to accept this current sparring match.

‘Just seeing the magic and giving advice would have been enough, but.’

Since he came at him like that, it was right to respond sincerely as well.

Thinking this, Asel stretched out his hand towards the magic that had come right up to his nose.

Crackle!!

The flames were sucked into his grasp and instantly ejected in the opposite direction.

[Fire Absorption]
[Scorching Flame]

He chanted two flame magics in succession and manifested them simultaneously.

Whoosh!!

Dark red flames poured out like a wave and engulfed Pascal’s body. Pascal grinned and stomped the ground hard with his foot.

[Flame Wall.]

Asel’s magic was blocked and scattered by the wall of flames that shot up. Asel grabbed the fragments of magic that were about to disappear, forcibly fixed them, and then manifested new magic through the remaining residue.

[One Point Pressing Fire]

The rising flames contracted into a single point, containing massive energy. As Asel clenched his fist, it exploded like a bomb and pushed Pascal’s body far back.

Boom!!!

For a moment, a light so bright it was hard to open one’s eyes burst out. Black smoke filled the cavity.

Asel cleared away the billowing smoke through smoke formulas.

The scene that appeared.

Pascal, leaning against the wall, pulling out another cigarette and putting it in his mouth.

He wiped the soot on his cheek with his hand and grinned.

“There are a lot of formulas I’ve never seen before. It seems your claim of self-teaching wasn’t a lie.”
“……”
“The power of your magic is also impressive. Due to my flame resistance, I wouldn’t even get burned by ordinary magic. My skin is slightly singed. Even without using defensive formulas, it’s high-level magic.”

He added that and detached himself from the wall. Behind him, elongated flames flickered like wings.

“But it’s still lacking.”

Crash!!!!

His figure suddenly disappeared from Asel’s view.

A movement so fast it couldn’t even be detected by his keen senses. Asel immediately ran detection magic to find his position, but Pascal was faster.

“Flame formulas should always be excited.”

Instantly reaching behind Asel, Pascal said as he kicked him in the back.

“You’re too calm.”

[Flare]

Bang!!

Flames exploded under his shoe. Unable to withstand the sudden repulsive force, Asel was pushed back. He grimaced and snapped his fingers towards Pascal.

[Fire Bow Life Destruction]

At the same time, hundreds of flaming arrows were fired. They advanced with enough force to pierce through Pascal’s entire body. Pascal threw down the cigarette he was holding into the air.

[Guardian Flame]

Then, white flames swelled up like a balloon and protected Pascal’s body. Asel clicked his tongue and prepared for the collision.

Then, bang.

Asel was slammed into the wall, raising a cloud of dust. He shook off his disheveled hair and glared at Pascal.

‘That single blow shattered all my shields.’

Shield, one of the most basic defensive formulas that Asel always keeps active. Although he had instantly stacked dozens of layers, they were all crushed by a single kick from him.

It’s no big deal to rebuild them, but if he were to take a direct hit without the shields, it’s clear he wouldn’t even be able to gather his bones. Asel slowly regulated his magical power while exhaling heated breaths.

“My uniqueness specializes in penetration.”

At that moment, Pascal said as he walked towards him.

“Your shields seem quite solid. But with just that, it’ll be hard to block my magic. It’s more efficient to defend with magic of the same branch.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
“It’s nothing. It’s just a sparring match.”

He smiled slightly and lifted his foot slightly off the ground.

“But battles should be done sincerely.”

[Flame Walk]

Flames rose from the shoes that were lifted just slightly off the ground. Having thus completely eliminated friction with the ground, Pascal charged at Asel at a threatening speed. Asel completely wiped the expression from his face and opened his clenched fist.

Spiraling flames bloomed on his palm. Soon, it became a huge vortex of flames that rotated fiercely with Asel as the eye of the typhoon.

[Great Flame Rotating Pillar]

Crash!!!

Although originally created as a large-scale slaughter magic, depending on how it’s used, it can also become a means of protecting the body. Pascal didn’t dare ignore that vortex of flames and retreated back.

‘He’s a guy born with battle sense.’

He’s flexibly coping with the situation by appropriately operating magic he hasn’t even learned from anyone. A skill impossible for magicians who just sit in their rooms and research. He must be a battle magician with experience unsuited to his young age.

Magic skills seasoned in a way opposite to his still youthful appearance. Pascal smiled broadly as he felt the increasingly heightened atmosphere.

For a flame magician, the tension and excitement of battle are merely fuel. He willingly accepted the hormones and emotions his brain was sending and chanted new magic with his hands overlapped.

[Prominence]

Crackle!!

As if space itself was distorting, heat haze rose around the huge fireball that had bloomed. Even at a glance, it was magic with formidable power. Just from the heat it emitted, the ground and walls melted, and the air burned.

Just as Selene hurriedly chanted magic, thinking this attack had gone beyond the bounds of a sparring match,

“Great Flame Gate.”

A low voice was heard from within the rotating vortex.

Soon the vortex of flames writhed violently and formed a huge gate. Asel, standing right in front of it, muttered while staring at Pascal.

“Open.”

Creeeeak!

The Great Flame Gate created behind Asel opened with a sound like scraping the ground. And from inside, the waves of flame that had been rotating madly all poured out towards Pascal at once. Pascal laughed out loud and shot forward the Prominence he had summoned.

Thus, fire collided with fire. A pure white explosion occurred at that point.

BOOM!!!

Along with a thunderous sound that seemed to shake the world, vision was momentarily dyed pure white. Even amidst this, the two magicians clearly recognized each other.

Perhaps because similar levels of power had collided? Both of them had suffered some burns, but weren’t seriously injured. They both knew how absurd this was.

The capabilities of a magician who has realized their uniqueness and one who hasn’t are as different as heaven and earth. Regardless of formula proficiency or power. Unconditionally, a magician with uniqueness holds an overwhelming advantage in battle. That was an absolute fact and truth.

But the flame magic Asel had learned was special magic that used even the same flames as fuel, and moreover, Asel’s insane talent forcibly suppressed the advantage of uniqueness and placed it on the same level as himself.

An absurd skill. But that was reality. Pascal felt his entire magical life being thoroughly denied and smiled until his mouth split.

“You bastard! You crazy bastard! You’re the next head of the Ignis Magic Tower!”
“I have no intention of joining a magic tower.”

Asel smiled bitterly and waved his hand in the air.

“I already belong somewhere.”

[White Light Fire Line]

Keeeeeng!!

A pure white line appeared between Asel and Pascal. The moment Pascal realized it was the result of compressing a large amount of energy and heat, the line increased in volume and released the compressed flames and heat to the surroundings. Just from that, Pascal’s body was pushed far back, breaking the mansion’s window and rolling inside.

Simultaneously, dozens of flame spheres poured out from inside the mansion. Asel lit flames in his grasp and swung them long, as if drawing a curtain.

Thud thud thud thud!!

The flame spheres beat against the curtain and scattered. As soon as Asel confirmed the attack was over, he spread wings of flame and charged into the mansion interior. Pascal, who was waiting inside, burst into laughter as soon as he saw his face.

“Yes, that’s it! Be swept up in the heat of battle! Don’t think about anything and just fight first! That’s the essence of a flame magician!”
“I don’t particularly intend to become a flame magician though.”

Asel put his hands together in prayer as he watched Pascal reaching out his hand.

“But I don’t dislike this feeling.”

[Burning Change Immolation]

Soft flames were fired from between his tightly clasped palms. They collided with the spear of flame Pascal had shot and immediately returned to Asel’s grasp. The moment Pascal realized this was a feint,

Asel grinned and twisted his clasped hands.

[Incineration]

The recovered flames condensed in Asel’s hands. Along with that, they were radiated in the form of blue flames. Pascal entrusted his body to those flames with a smiling face.

BOOM!!!!

The blue flames advanced, leading with massive mass and high temperature. Pascal’s body was smashed into the stairs leading to the second floor, and Asel formed a huge flaming greatsword above him and thrust it down.

The rising flames pierced through the mansion’s ceiling and burned the entire central lobby. Structures unable to withstand the heat melted, and the spreading flames dyed both the interior and exterior of the mansion bright red.

“Phew……”

Exhaling a breath that now felt almost hot, Asel walked towards Pascal.

Under the debris of the collapsed stairs. Lying in a pit burning on all sides, Pascal looked up at Asel standing over him and burst into laughter.

“Your face suddenly became calm. Are you going to stop? I’m willing to take more hits though.”
“…If we go any further, I think we’ll both get serious.”
“We did get overly excited.”

Pascal raised his upper body abruptly and shook off the stone dust on his head. Ignoring the burn marks engraved all over his body, he popped a blister on his forehead and said:

“I’d like to play more, but… as you said, if we did, one of us would end up seriously injured. There aren’t many means to treat injuries here, so it’s right to restrain ourselves.”
“…For restraining ourselves, we exchanged quite flashy blows though.”

Asel smiled bitterly as he gazed at the flames that had taken over the mansion. Pascal chuckled and stood up.

“It’s a sparring match between flame magicians. We have to accept at least the space getting destroyed.”
“My essence is technically a lightning magician though.”
“Let’s not quibble over minor details. More importantly, you.”

He continued speaking as he looked at the steam rising from Asel’s body.

“Your body temperature has risen considerably. It’s probably a backlash from the formulas, but you should lower your temperature quickly. Otherwise, you’ll collapse.”
“I know.”

The flame magic Asel uses is unique magic that uses even the magician himself as fuel in exchange for its destructive power. Using it excessively like this was bound to have backlash.

However, it wasn’t a big problem as there were ways to deal with it. Asel activated the ice peony he was wearing and instantly lowered the surrounding temperature. Along with that, the steam emitting from his body intensified for a while before stopping completely.

He had offset the side effects by raising magical powers that were exactly opposite to each other. The reason Asel was trying to use flame magic and ice magic simultaneously was to completely eliminate such side effects.

‘Not much longer now.’

Research he had been continuing for a long time. Results should be obtainable soon.

Thinking this, Asel stopped the activation of the ice peony. Pascal exclaimed in admiration at the sight.

“You have quite an unusual magical tool. It’s quite an advanced formula.”
“Now that the sparring is over, I’d like you to answer honestly.”

Asel said as he turned his head towards Pascal.

“Is my flame magic decent enough?”
“It’s not just decent.”
“……”
“Although being excessively calm is a poison, still, even calm flames are enough to burn someone. Rather than receiving advice from someone else, it seems better to follow the path you’ve set for yourself. There’s no need to be obsessed with magic tower magic or whatever.”

Asel fell silent, as if deep in thought at his honest assessment. Pascal put his hand on Asel’s shoulder and asked:

“So? Were you satisfied with the sparring?”
“…It was fun, I must admit.”

Asel answered with a smile. Pascal chuckled and patted his back.

“Hey, you bastards!”

At that moment, Selene burst through the broken main door and walked in, fuming. She pointed at the burning mansion lobby and shouted:

“What are you doing ending things on a warm note? How are you going to clean this up! Where are we supposed to rest now!”

At Selene’s outburst, Asel immediately pushed Pascal’s body away and walked towards Selene. Then he glared at him and sighed.

“How are you going to clean this up, Pascal.”

Seeing Asel instantly cutting ties with him, Pascal’s face contorted.

“You fucking bastard.”