I Made Magic Easier by Changing the Formula - Chapter 11

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise

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◈ I Made Magic Easier by Changing the Formula ◈

Chapter 11: An Overwhelming Victory

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Rowen Magic Academy.

Second-Tier Mana Manipulation Studies Midterm Assessment.

The test papers were handed out.

The scratch of quills filled the classroom.

‘Easy. We learned this yesterday.’

Ellen took the test with ease.

Everything she had studied with Hans all night unfolded in her mind like a panorama.

While the other students struggled through ten lines of complicated formulas, she filled her answer sheet with just two neat lines.

Thanks to the magic pen cap Hans had made for her, her hand was not tired at all.

‘Perfect.’

She was the first to set down her pen.

At two in the afternoon, following the written test, came the long-awaited practical assessment.

The assignment was a Flame Whirlwind.

It was an advanced spell that combined the two different elements of fire and wind while maintaining its form.

Most students either struggled to keep the flames from slipping off the tips of their wands or let the wind extinguish their fire altogether.

“Next, Sophia Bergen.”

At the call, Sophia stepped forward.

She shot Ellen a glare and raised her wand high.

“Open your eyes and watch closely, Ellen. I’ll show you what real magic is.”

[Blaze]

A massive flame surged from the tip of her wand.

Whoooosh!

A pillar of fire shot up with a roar.

It was spectacular and powerful.

But flames scattered in every direction, and its axis of rotation wobbled unstably.

It was obvious Sophia was forcing it into shape through sheer power.

“Urgh...!”

Still, Sophia gritted her teeth and poured mana into it for ten seconds.

“Good. That’s enough.”

The professor nodded.

“The power is excellent. However, the mana consumption is far too great. If you used it like that in real combat, you would run out of mana in no time. Still, maintaining its form at all is impressive. Your score is B+.”

The students applauded.

It was rare for a second-tier student to produce that much power.

Sophia wiped away her sweat and returned triumphantly.

As she passed Ellen, she whispered,

“Hmph. Did you see that? That’s the difference in talent. Can you even manage to light a flame?”

Ellen did not respond.

She would answer with magic.

“Next, Ellen Valderk.”

Her heart pounded.

Fortunately, when she tightly gripped the pen cap in her pocket, it felt as though she could hear Hans’s voice.

‘My lady, magic is sewing.’

Ellen lightly gripped her wand and manipulated her mana.

Tsssss!

Unlike Sophia, she did not pour out mana in torrents.

She drew out only thin, sharp threads of red mana.

‘Don’t get greedy. It can be small. It just has to be perfect.’

It felt like moving an invisible needle through the air.

She wrapped, twisted, and knotted wind around the gaps where the fire threatened to spread.

“Bloom.”

[Blaze!]

The chant was short.

Then, in that instant.

Hummm.

A clear resonant sound came from the tip of her wand.

It was about half the size of Sophia’s huge, boisterous pillar of fire.

Fwoosh!

It spun in a perfect spiral and flew straight at the target.

Fwoooosh!

It struck the scarecrow in the chest.

Crumble...

Sophia had only scorched the outside, but Ellen had burned it completely through.

Silence fell.

“...”

The professor’s glasses slid down to the tip of his nose.

“Th-that is...”

The professor looked at Ellen in admiration.

“It has a perfect structure. Not only its power, but its mana efficiency and stability are beyond comparison.”

Everyone murmured at the professor’s lavish praise.

Sophia’s face went pale.

Her own spell had been larger, but so wasteful that it looked shabby beside Ellen’s.

“Ellen Valderk. I salute your achievement. If you continue like this, it will not be long before you reach the second-tier proficient rank.”

Ellen smiled as if embarrassed and lowered her head.

“You praise me too highly, Professor.”

She glanced at Sophia.

The sight of her rival trembling with frustration was exhilarating.

‘Thank you, Hans.’

This was all thanks to him.

Her very own secret tutor.

A smile slowly formed on her lips.

* * *

After school, the drawing room of the Bergen estate.

Crash!

“A+? That idiot Ellen? Impossible!”

Sophia swept every perfume bottle from her vanity onto the floor.

She trembled with rage.

A perfect score in theory and a perfect score in the practical exam.

She could not accept that she had been utterly defeated.

“Baron! Who on earth did Ellen learn from? Did Count Valderk secretly invite an elder from the Magic Tower? How could she master such incredible mana manipulation in so little time?!”

Baron Gale lowered their head awkwardly.

“My lady, the Valderk family’s intelligence network is thorough. Even I do not know.”

“Find out immediately. Find out who that mage is.”

“Please do not be so upset. Perhaps you were simply unlucky this time, my lady. Next time, you will surely surpass Lady Ellen.”

Gale tried to comfort her, but Sophia did not hear a word.

As she threw herself onto the bed in fury, Felix, who had been watching from the corner while biting his nails, approached with a wild gleam in his eyes.

“Sis, whoever Ellen’s teacher is, there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s dangerous to interfere with a mage Count Valderk has hidden.”

“Then are you telling me to just put up with this?”

“No. There’s someone else you can take your anger out on.”

A nasty smile spread across Felix’s lips.

The indifferent face of Hans, who had walked past him at the exchange as though mocking him, came to mind.

It felt as though his miserable state, having lost his entire fortune in stocks and now being hounded by loan sharks, was all because of that ill-omened commoner bastard.

“You know that new mender at the Valderk annex? How about we teach that vulgar bastard a lesson?”

“You think some insignificant commoner mender can be an outlet for my anger?”

“Why not? You would be ruining Ellen’s favorite toy. You’re angry because you can’t get your hands on Ellen’s teacher, and I don’t like that bastard’s unlucky eyes. It works out perfectly.”

Felix turned his gaze to Gale.

“You know that fixer, don’t you, Baron? Jacob, was it?”

Gale’s expression changed.

Jacob was an assassin who handled secret jobs in the back alleys.

“Young Master Felix, Jacob is dangerous. He is not someone to summon just to frighten a single commoner...”

“Precisely because he is just a commoner, we can deal with him without consequences. Baron, you know I’m being hounded by loan sharks right now. I need to show Father some results. If we capture that bastard and make him tell us who Ellen is learning magic from... or what secret the count’s family is hiding, Father will be pleased too.”

Felix grabbed Gale’s sleeve and whispered in a low voice.

“That Hans bastard has surely picked up plenty working as a library assistant, despite being a commoner. Have Jacob bring him somewhere quiet tonight.”

Gale sighed.

Gale did not want to take part in such a childish outburst, but could not refuse Young Master Felix’s earnest request.

“...Very well. I will contact Jacob and have him bring that brat somewhere quiet.”

Only then did Felix smile with mad satisfaction.

‘Hans... I ended up like this because of you. Tonight, even that pathetic luck of yours will run out. I will definitely see you begging before me for your life.’

On a night when darkness lay thick over Rowen, the assassin Jacob began moving like a shadow toward the Valderk family’s annex.

* * *

The drawing room in the main residence of the Valderk estate.

“Ha ha ha! Our daughter has done wonderfully! You really rubbed the Bergen family’s haughty noses in it!”

Count Valderk laughed heartily and slapped his knee.

Ellen stood shyly before him, holding her report card.

Beside her, the countess smiled with satisfaction.

“I can hardly believe Ellen came first in her class.”

“Neither can I, my dear. Count Bergen has been going around boasting that his daughter is the top student, and I could hardly stand the sight of it. This is so satisfying. Perfect scores in both theory and practical magic!”

The count seemed even happier that he had landed a blow on his rival, Count Bergen.

“So, Ellen. What is your secret? Your instructor said you displayed an advanced technique normally used only by second-tier mages at the proficient rank.”

Ellen’s heart sank at the question.

She wanted to tell the truth.

That Hans in the annex had taught her magic.

‘I can’t tell them.’

Ellen pressed her lips together.

Her parents were typical nobles.

If they learned that a commoner, a mender who merely sewed, had taught a noble lady magic?

Rather than being grateful, they would surely be offended that he had dared overstep his station.

‘Hans could be in danger.’

Ellen shook her head and smiled brightly.

“No, Dad. I hated losing to Sophia, so I shut myself in the library and studied alone. Then I happened to figure out a trick.”

“Ha ha, you reached such a level through self-study? As expected of my daughter! Blood will tell.”

Without a hint of suspicion, the count stroked his daughter’s hair.

“You have done something great. I will grant you anything you want. A new dress? Or jewels?”

This was her chance.

Ellen swallowed.

“Um... Dad. I don’t need jewels or dresses.”

“Oh? Then what do you want?”

“Could you get me some intermediate mana crystals? About ten of them.”

“Intermediate mana crystals?”

The count’s eyes widened.

If a lower-grade mana crystal cost one gold each, an intermediate mana crystal was an expensive item costing more than ten gold each.

Ten of them would be a full hundred gold.

“You are only second tier. Why do you need intermediate mana crystals? Aren’t those used from the third tier onward?”

“I want to research them in advance. I need better materials if I’m going to train stronger magic.”

Ellen lied without batting an eye.

In truth, she wanted to give them to Hans as a gift.

She wondered what miracles he would show if he could produce that kind of power with lower-grade mana crystals, then got intermediate mana crystals in his hands.

The count looked at his daughter for a moment, then laughed heartily.

“Ha ha ha! Your ambitions truly are different. Of course, would a father deny even that much to his daughter who wishes to study magic? I will contact a trading company tomorrow and have them brought at once.”

“Really? Thank you, Dad!”

Ellen joyfully kissed the count on the cheek.

The count was so delighted that he did not know what to do with himself.

* * *

Ten at night. Ellen’s room.

Normally, on the day her exams ended, Ellen would spend all night partying with friends or sleep in late.

But today, she changed out of her fancy party clothes and into simple indoor wear.

‘I need to get to Hans quickly.’

Her steps were light as feathers.

What expression would Hans make when she showed him her A+ report card?

‘He must be waiting for me by now.’

She pushed aside the bookcase in her study and entered the secret passage.