Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Arthur’s Magic Power
On the busy streets of the Kingdom of Oran, autumn sunlight filtered through the tall plane trees, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Arthur stared blankly at the locked door in front of him.
It was a fancy solid-copper door carved with detailed rose patterns, but a clunky wooden sign was currently hanging across it.
"Closed for today. Due to a sudden ’Forbidden Spell’ alert in the capital, we are temporarily shutting down to help the Royal Knights Order with an investigation."
Lilian stood beside Arthur, staring blankly at the wooden sign.
Her cute, round face was completely full of disappointment.
"How could this happen..."
Lilian pouted, her golden curls looking dull and drooping listlessly over her shoulders.
"I made a reservation for their signature grilled cod two weeks ago!"
Arthur looked at the little princess, who looked like she was about to cry, and couldn’t help but find it a little funny.
"As for this so-called ’Forbidden Spell’ alert, isn’t the real culprit standing right next to you?" Arthur muttered to himself.
But outwardly, he kept up his usual lazy attitude.
"Looks like even the universe doesn’t want you to spend your money today."
Arthur reached out and naturally ruffled her shiny golden hair twice.
"Come on, the academy cafeteria will do just fine."
"But the cafeteria food isn’t anywhere near as fancy as Golden Rose’s. Today’s supposed to be a celebration for your big win!!" Lilian wasn’t willing to let it go.
"For me, if it fills my stomach, grilled cod and dark bread are basically the same thing."
Arthur turned around and started heading back toward Lancelot Academy.
Lilian hurried to take a few quick steps to catch up.
She didn’t act like a proper princess at all, but instead smoothly hooked her arm through his.
Arthur was nearly six feet tall, while Lilian barely reached five feet.
The little princess was practically hanging off his arm, bouncing along with every step.
The faint, sweet rose scent from her drifted right into his nose.
She completely ignored the shocked, surprised, and even jealous stares from people passing by.
In her world, what you feel is what you show. You don’t have to hide your likes or dislikes from anyone.
"Arthur."
Walking beside him, Lilian suddenly looked up, her big emerald eyes staring at him without blinking.
"Yeah?"
"That ’Stone Shaping’ spell you used on the stage was so awesome!!"
Lilian’s voice was full of open admiration.
"Even old man Harris, who’s usually so stiff, was so scared he sat down. I’ve never seen him look like that before!!"
Thinking back to Professor Harris sobbing over his stone dagger, Lilian couldn’t help but giggle.
"It was just a minor trick," Arthur said flatly.
"It’s not just a trick at all!!" Lilian shook her head hard.
"Even Elena, with all that pride of hers, had to bow to your face."
At that, Lilian’s eyes suddenly lit up, shining like two bright green gems.
"Arthur, that spell... can you teach me how to do it?"
Hearing the request, Arthur stopped walking.
He turned his head and looked at Lilian’s face, which was full of hope.
Teach her magic??
Arthur quickly ran through the DND system’s spell framework for Transmutation in his head.
In this world, people cast spells by using their Magic Power Affinity to connect with natural elements, and then use a massive amount of Magic Power to stack up the spell models.
But DND magic was different.
DND magic relied on connecting to the Weave, along with extremely tight logic and mental power structures.
The reason Arthur could instantly cast Stone Shaping was that he already had a complete system of knowledge in his head.
He just needed to use his mind to make those complex formulas and models appear.
But if he actually wanted to teach this theory to Lilian...
"Do you know what the molecular structure of obsidian looks like?" Arthur asked suddenly.
"Huh??" Lilian froze, her mouth hanging open in a completely blank look.
"Do you know how many equivalents of Mental Power you need to interfere with an Earth Elemental at room temperature to soften its physical form?"
Arthur followed up with his second question.
"M...molecular what?? And what’s an equivalent??"
Lilian was completely lost. She could only feel her little head starting to buzz.
Looking at her completely clueless look, Arthur let out a helpless sigh.
"That’s the problem right there."
He started walking again, leading Lilian forward.
"Your magic is like knowing something works, but not knowing why."
"You just know that gathering fire elements and throwing them out will cause an explosion, but you don’t know why it blows up."
"My magic, on the other hand, requires you to understand the world from its very core."
Arthur held up one finger and tapped it lightly in the air.
"So, once you can actually understand a basic book on Material Analysis, I’ll consider teaching you."
"Oh..." Lilian hummed, sounding half-understanding.
Even though she didn’t catch what Arthur was actually saying, she sharply picked up on the most important part.
"So, that means you’ll still teach me sometime in the future, right??"
Lilian’s gloom vanished instantly, and she flashed a bright smile again.
"You’re the best, Arthur!!"
She hugged his arm tighter and rubbed her little head against his shoulder.
Arthur shook his head slightly, but a tiny smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
He had to admit, this little girl wasn’t so bad.
Half an hour later, the two of them returned to Lancelot Royal Academy of Magic.
It was lunchtime, and the academy’s huge, cathedral-like dining hall was already buzzing with noise.
Long oak tables were covered with plenty of food.
Golden roast turkeys dripping with fat, mushroom soups with a rich creamy smell, and soft, freshly baked bread...
The second Arthur and Lilian stepped into the cafeteria together, the noisy room went dead silent, like someone had hit a pause button.
A hundred pairs of eyes snapped toward the door at once.
Since the Inner Academy’s Dawn Class practical lesson had just ended, the news about Arthur shocking everyone with "Stone Shaping" hadn’t fully spread across the campus yet.
Most of the students eating lunch here right now still only remembered what happened at this morning’s Awakening Ceremony.
That once-in-a-century "Double-F waste."
After a brief moment of silence, the cafeteria erupted into a swarm of hushed whispers.
"Look, that’s Arthur Voss!!"
"The commoner who shattered the Awakening Stone and played to the crowd??"
"How does he even dare to eat in the Inner Academy cafeteria?? Does he really think he’s a genius??"
"I still can’t figure out why Principal Alberto stood up for this trash in front of everyone and handed him the Inner Academy badge??"
The nobles kept their voices low, but their mean-spirited guesses and mockery still easily reached Arthur’s ears.
In a world built on strict hierarchies and absolute strength, being weak was the only real sin.
Especially a commoner with zero backing who somehow stole all the spotlight.
"And what’s even more annoying is, why is Princess Lilian sticking with that loser??"
A tall senior with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a fancy mage robe slammed his silver fork hard into the meat on his plate.
His eyes burned with outright jealousy.
"Princess Lilian is a Grade-A genius and a noble princess of the kingdom!!"
"That country boy Arthur must have used some dirty tricks to trick her!!"
His words struck a chord with the other noble boys around them.
They looked at Arthur like they wanted to tear him apart on the spot.
Arthur stood at the entrance and calmly scanned the room.
Those mean looks meant nothing to him. They were just like flies buzzing in his ears.
He didn’t even bother to pay them any mind.
Right now, he just wanted some carbs to fill his stomach and get his strength back.
"Come on, there’s a table over there."
Arthur pointed to an empty table in the corner and took charge, pulling Lilian over.
Lilian’s face turned slightly pink as Arthur held her hand, and she obediently followed behind him.
Before they could even sit down and grab their food,
a few senior nobles in their uniforms walked right over, carrying their trays like they owned the place.
