Chapter 3: Agora board

Chapter 3: Agora board

"Because I just finished over here too."

The student looked at Craig and snickered.

His expression was relaxed. It was impossible to imagine that he came to clean up as a punishment.

Craig slowly replayed the scenery he had just seen in his mind.

A painting of watercolor...

The student's actions he just saw were more like a painting of watercolors than magic.

Although it was varied and incomprehensible, one could perceive the various colors and shapes.

The feeling that reached Craig's heart was something else... It was a beautiful feeling.

He could not help but admire what he just saw.

He should have said something like, "The area assigned to me hasn't been cleaned yet, or you could go if you finished cleaning."

But his mouth didn't open.

He closed his eyes.

It was his selfish desire...

But just for a moment, he wanted to replay that scenery in his mind once more.

◈◈◈

"It's awkward."

I felt a great sense of discomfort coursing through my body.

It was the first time I had ever used someone else's body to perform magic, so it was understandable to feel a little awkward.

Nevertheless, there were some aspects that helped me put my mind at ease.

'The essence of the magic is the same as my previous world.'

I was concerned that everything I had learned so far would disappear in an instant, but I realized that the basic essence of magic was still the same.

The theories that remained in my head could be used in this world too. I could feel a little relieved about that point.

Of course, I still didn't know this world in detail. There was a still possibility of unexpected variables appearing everywhere...

...But even so, I wasn't afraid.

I was excited...

...Because what was inside this body was now me, Kaplan.

If variables arose, I would only have to prove myself anew.

Leaving behind the bewildered janitor, I left the bathroom.

The bathroom was so clean that there was no more reason for me to stay there.

'That's right, there's no reason for me to stay here.'

"Student!"

Nonetheless, the janitor grabbed my shoulder.

Judging by the surprised expression on his face, he didn't hold me because he was angry.

"Wow, you're really amazing! You're the student who took over the Agora Board, right?"

"Agora Board?"

Suddenly being grabbed by the hand was not very a pleasant sensation, but the word 'Agora Board' caught all of my attention.

A blackboard where magicians compete with each other's theories was 'The Agora Board'.

Those who solved the written spell could erase the existing spell and write their own spell on the Agora Board.

It was like an arena where magicians proved each other's theories.

But that should only exist in Mage Tower.

'Isn't this supposed to be the Academy?'

"...Can a student use the Agora Board?"

"Can a student use it?"

At my question, the janitor tilted his head.

"Isn't that obvious? Only students can use it. Professors can't intervene."

"Professors can't intervene?"

"Of course not. It's made for the students."

Hearing his answer, I understood.

The Agora Board in this world was only similar in name and was actually a thing for the students of the Academy.

'Interesting...'

Looking puzzled, the janitor scratched his head and said.

"Judging by your reaction, I guess you are not the one. Since you used magic so well, I wonder if the student is the main character of the rumor..."

"What rumor?"

"Of course, about the student who filled the entire board anonymously... No, but you don't know more than me who cleans while you are a student? Even if you are a freshman, that much-"

'Make it look as difficult as possible, and make yourself look as good as possible...'

However, this was a different direction from the 'difficulty' I pursued.

It was a bit sinister.

"See? It's difficult, isn't it? I told you it was difficult."

"It's more annoying than difficult."

I said what exactly I was thinking.

This puzzle, with so many lines, dots, and circles spells crammed in it, required repetitive calculations to the point of maliciousness rather than difficulty.

'It's going to consume a lot of mana.'

It was not impossible to speed up my thinking to do the calculations quickly.

However, the story was different in the body of the boy I had possessed, even if I used it to its full potential, it would still be a suboptimal solution compared to if I were in my original body.

Just trying the harmony technique in the bathroom was dangerous.

Of course, I planned to fix it in the future.

In any case, it would be too reckless to tackle such a problem without the help of mana

Because I had no idea how many days it would take.

"No answer? Hey, you don't have to hide that you're shocked like that."

Becky shook her hand in front of my eyes a few times. Then I finally looked at her with both eyes and mind.

Come to think of it, there was no need for me to be bound by my own mana.

Next to me was another magician.

"Becky."

"Yes?"

"How far have you gotten?"

"Just that this is a painting. Each symbol represents a specific location, a coordinate, or a point. Once they're all connected, it'll definitely form a painting."

Becky told me what she had noticed without any hesitation.

Maybe she believed that even if she told the other person everything, they won't be able to solve it.

"Why haven't you connected them all?"

"When did you calculate all of this? It's almost impossible."

She nodded her head.

Her expression matched what I felt. With this level of ability, it would be enough to be helpful.

She looked at me with a suspicious look and said.

"But... is this how you usually talk?"

"Vertices."

"Huh?"

"As you can imagine a triangle with only three points. You only need to solve the spell corresponding to each vertex."

Becky burst out laughing.

"Hey, that's easy for you to say. How do you find it?"

I answered with a relaxed face.

"If I can precisely locate the vertices, you can do the calculations."

"Just locating the vertices? That doesn't make any sense."

.

.

.

The boy in front of Becky was talking nonsense. Because to her, what he said was an incomprehensible story.

To find out what a vertex was, one needed to look at each point one by one.

If pinpointing vertices was an easily achievable task, then this symbol on the board wouldn't have been evaluated as difficult in the first place.

"Just answer whether you want to or not."

A short answer came back from that boy.

Becky swallowed her saliva.

The boy with sharp features looked fragile at first glance. However, Becky didn't feel that he was weak.

She sensed the confidence in the boy's expressions, intonation, and attitude throughout his body.

After hesitating for a moment, she had no choice but to answer like this.

"Well...if you can pinpoint them correctly, then sure."

But the boy just smirked as if he was pleased.

"I like it."

He weaved the mana into the shape of chalk.

As soon as it touched the board, it moved without any hesitation.