NOVPUB“Flora Lumos. What exactly are you doing here? And lurking by the door like a thief, trying to hide your presence, no less.”
At Ludger’s pointed remark, Flora sprang to her feet, cleared her throat, and brushed the dust off her uniform skirt.
Her forehead—still red from bumping into the door when Ludger opened it—was clearly throbbing, but she pretended to be perfectly fine as she spoke up.
“Ahem. Good to see you, Professor Ludger. I just came by because I had a few questions.”
Poised. Graceful.
She repeated those words to herself like a mantra, trying to carry herself with dignity. But the slight tremble in her voice betrayed her.
Ludger noticed it—but decided not to comment.
“If it’s a question related to class content, you’re free to stop by anytime. Though, there really was no need to wait outside like that.”
“No, it’s not about that. I... first wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me?”
“For, you know... helping me when I lost control of my magic and almost went into overload.”
So that’s why she came?
To thank me?
Ludger raised an eyebrow slightly, his expression surprised.
Flora bristled at the look.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Tch.”
Perhaps it was because she’d never thanked anyone like this before, but Flora felt incredibly awkward just saying the words aloud.
It made her skin crawl a little, but even so—she was determined to express her gratitude, no matter how strange it felt.
“B-because of you, I wasn’t hurt or anything.”
“I only did what I’m supposed to do as a teacher.”
His tone was curt—so firm that it felt like he was saying he’d acted out of pure obligation and not a shred of personal concern.
Somehow, that made Flora’s pride sting.
Still... couldn’t he have at least asked if I was okay?
He really is the kind of man who wouldn’t recognize emotional nuance if it hit him in the face.
But she held her tongue. She was here to apologize and thank him, not to nitpick.
“And also... I don’t think what you said was wrong.”
She twisted a lock of her hair around her finger as she spoke.
Ludger considered her words for a moment, trying to recall what she was referring to.
Not wrong?
Then it clicked.
She’s talking about when I scolded her during class for using Triple Elemental Overlap magic, isn’t she?
—“Use meaningful magic. Don’t devalue yourself.”
That must be it.
“As long as you understand now, that’s enough.”
“...More importantly, um, are you alright, Professor?”
Ludger raised an eyebrow at her question.
“What do you mean?”
“You must have used a ton of mana. I was drained just trying to suppress my own, but you—you must’ve been struggling even more. Isn’t it usually harder for the one doing the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ assisting?”
“I’m fine.”
That was a lie, of course—he’d nearly passed out from mana depletion.
Thankfully, he’d had a few mana restoration potions stashed away, just in case. Without them, he might’ve collapsed in front of the students.
He was grateful he’d made a habit of carrying them around.
Though... he had burned through nearly all of them trying to suppress Flora’s outburst.
Well, I can always make more.
This was Seorn, after all.
The Academy had pharmacology classes, and the research wing gave instructors free access to a well-stocked alchemy lab.
As long as they logged their names, faculty were free to conduct experiments or produce potions at will.
Flora hesitated, then asked shyly:
“Professor Ludger, how many elements can you use?”
“What brings that on?”
“Just curious. You used five in class—that seems like a lot, doesn’t it?”
Ludger was starting to wonder why Flora was asking so many questions.
Geniuses tended to be self-directed and rarely interested in conversation, their egos usually too large for idle talk.
He’d assumed Flora was no different. Her attempt to use Triple Elemental Overlap in class had only reinforced that assumption.
But maybe... she really was still just a student.
Maybe she simply wanted to know how skilled her teacher truly was.
Ludger thought carefully about how to answer.
Honestly, I can use all ten of the major elemental attributes.
All of the Ten Primary Elements.
He could wield every single one.
Unlike single-attribute mages—who could only use one element but attained absolute mastery in it—Ludger was the exact opposite.
He was a multi-attribute mage.
But because of that, he hadn’t reached true mastery in any single one.
To most people, it would look like a miraculous gift—an all-around genius. But to Ludger, it just meant he was an awkward jack-of-all-trades.
Still, if I just admit I can use all ten, that’s its own kind of problem.
In the entire recorded history of the Mage Tower, the most elements any one mage had ever wielded was eight.
That record, listed in the Wizard Book, was considered the pinnacle.
Ludger had already surpassed that.
If this fact got out, the Mage Tower would go ballistic. Some would want to dissect him on the spot just to figure out how he did it.
But Ludger didn’t think much of his accomplishment.
Even my master didn’t exactly heap praise on me.
If he had to name the person who most deeply influenced his life in this world after reincarnating, it would undoubtedly be his master.
The one who’d taught him magic since childhood, taught him how to survive in this world, and passed down all sorts of knowledge—both useful and obscure.
His master had only taken him in out of curiosity—treating him more like a pet than a true disciple.
Still, Ludger felt genuine gratitude.
Even so, that eccentric old man only ever commented on his Source Code magic with a lukewarm, “Not bad.”
It was also his master who’d warned him, “Don’t go around bragging about using all ten elements unless you want to get stoned to death.”
So Ludger, humbled by years of harsh lessons, never allowed himself to get arrogant about it.
But he did understand the sheer weight of what it meant to be a ten-element mage. Which is why he kept it a secret.
So he gave Flora a safe answer.
“Those five are all I use.”
“Five... That’s actually more than I expected.”
“Are you done with your questions?”
“Oh. I did have one more—about Source Code. Are you planning to teach that spell to every student in the class?”
In the very first lesson, Ludger had demonstrated Source Code to capture the students’ attention.
But it wasn’t just a show—he did intend to teach it.
He just hadn’t explained who would get to learn it, or how.
“No, now that you mention it, I never did make an announcement. I don’t plan to teach it equally to everyone. That magic is practically my trump card. There’s a condition.”
“What kind of condition?”
“I’ll personally teach it to the top five students.”
Flora gave a small, intrigued smile.
“Only five? That’s a little stingy. There are eighty students total.”
“It’s a spell worthy of that selectivity.”
“How will the evaluation work? Will you base it on the final grades? Seorn splits the semester into four grading phases, right? The rankings shift every time—won’t that make it hard to decide?”
“I anticipated that, so I designed a method.”
With that, Ludger conjured a magical formula above his palm.
It looked deceptively simple—composed of clean, white mana lines—but the intricacy of its structure made it clear this was no ordinary spell.
Flora let out a quiet sound of awe at the energy emanating from it.
“That’s... a part of it, isn’t it? A partial structure from the Source Code spell you showed us.”
“Exactly.”
Ludger nodded.
The spell he had just shown her was one of the core building blocks of Source Code.
“I call this one <Framework>.”
“Framework...”
“The spell I call Source Code is composed of four total Frameworks.”
“So you're planning to hand out one Framework to the top five students each grading phase?”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Yes. The semester is divided into four parts, and each part, I’ll pass on one of the Frameworks. In other words, if you can’t consistently stay in the top five, you’ll never learn the full spell.”
Just making it into the top five once wasn’t enough to gain the complete Source Code.
If a student truly wanted to learn the full magic spell, they would have to push themselves to the limit throughout the entire semester—attending every class, completing every assignment, and acing every exam.
Realizing this, Flora looked at Ludger with an expression of mild disbelief.
“...You're really methodical, huh.”
“Have I answered all your questions now?”
“But... is it really okay for you to show me this?”
“Show you what?”
“That Framework thing. What if I, you know, try to analyze it?”
Flora pointed at the Framework spell still hovering above Ludger’s hand.
No matter how unaware a person might be, it was unthinkable for a mage to keep a spell like that visible for so long.
Unless they completely trusted the person before them, this would never happen.
Ah.
Ludger finally realized his mistake.
Mages, by nature, never display the formulas they’ve developed to others for long.
Unless it’s for publishing a paper or submitting a patent, exposing a spell risks having someone steal it and claim it as their own.
And in fact, that happened quite often.
This was precisely why most mages guarded their unique, personal magic with such fierce secrecy.
Ludger understood this—but ultimately decided it wasn’t a big deal.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Huh?”
“You, specifically—I don’t mind showing you.”
Especially if that person was Flora Lumos.
Flora was a genius.
He hadn’t known much about her aside from the rumors, but after watching her in class—how she completed a Triple Elemental Overlap with just a hint of guidance—he understood.
Ah. No matter what happens in my class, this girl is going to be number one.
Even if she didn’t always take first place, she'd undoubtedly stay within the top five. Which meant giving her a glimpse of a Framework wasn’t a risk.
She would eventually receive the full Source Code anyway.
“H-huh?!” 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
But Flora took his words very differently.
Her face turned red, and the haughty, elegant demeanor she always maintained crumbled as she began to stammer.
“Wh-what do you mean by that?!”
“Why are you so flustered? It’s not wrong, is it? You plan to claim the top spot in my class and earn the Frameworks anyway.”
“I-I mean... that’s true, but...”
Still, you can’t just say it like that! That’s cheating!
Flora grumbled quietly to herself so Ludger wouldn’t hear.
He said it was fine because it was her—like she was special.
And even though she tried not to think about it, her heart pounded uncontrollably in her chest.
She tried to act cool and indifferent, but knowing that this man had acknowledged her—really seen her—made the corners of her mouth twitch, threatening to rise into a smile.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
As Ludger turned to leave, Flora found herself calling out before she could stop.
“Ah—Professor!”
“What is it now? Do you still have more questions?”
“N-no, it’s... ah, never mind.”
The moment Ludger turned back to face her with that calm, unwavering gaze, Flora’s face flushed scarlet.
With the words he’d just said still echoing in her ears, she couldn’t meet his eyes directly.
Even just locking eyes with him made her skin tingle, her hair stand on end.
It was strange. This had never happened before.
Ludger, watching her fluster and flail by herself, let out a faint breath and turned again to leave.
Flora stood there, watching his retreating back in silence, until she finally managed to calm her racing heart.
Get it together, Flora Lumos. This isn’t like you.
She’d always been confident, proud, in full control—able to toy with others using nothing but her own abilities.
Sure, Ludger had crushed her when she challenged him on the first day. And again, today, she’d been soundly outmatched.
But her will hadn’t broken.
She’d already vowed to surpass him next time.
She couldn’t afford to let her resolve weaken now.
Flora gathered herself, shaking off the vulnerability that threatened to take hold.
Ah. Right. I meant to ask what he and that commoner girl were talking about earlier... but I forgot.
She tried to act like it didn’t matter, but truthfully, she was just a little too curious—
Why had Ludger called Rine in alone?
