For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

After Iona finished drinking all the blood, I decided to stop by the Professor’s private training room before returning to the dormitory.

There was a private training room inside the dormitory, and if not, there was also a communal one that students took turns using, but…

The problem was that all the student training rooms were designed for low-level magic.

They were a bit lacking for someone like me, who was now using intermediate-level magic frequently.

For that reason, since becoming a Junior Magician, I’ve often borrowed the Professor’s training room from Iona.

Occasionally, Carla and Elisha would join me as well.

Iona, who opened the training room door for me, waved her hand broadly as if she had no intention of coming in herself.

“Good luck! Good luck! I have things to do, so I’ll be leaving first! There’s a lot to prepare for the second semester!”

“Okay… Professor! What about the personal training room I mentioned last time?”

“That? The headmaster approved it! But it will take some time to build, that’s all!”

“Oh? So, I just have to wait. Thank you, Professor.”

“No, no. Being a Junior Magician in your first year makes you the greatest genius in the academy’s history! No one opposed it!”

For some reason, Iona was the one feeling proud as she left. After a chuckle at her retreating figure, I turned my gaze to the inside of the training room.

A completely empty space. However, the fact that it was as large as a small sports field and the entire facility was anti-magic coated made a big difference.

“Carla, Elisha. How should we decide the order?”

“Please decide it however you wish, Master.”

“Well… It might be best if you go first. Honestly, admit it. You’re a little excited to try out the new staff, aren’t you?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Not to the point of being obvious, but… if you observe closely, you can tell. Right, Carla?”

“Yes. Master, your eyes are sparkling more than usual. Of course, we noticed.”

Carla and Elisha nodded in unison. I expressed my gratitude by gently patting their heads and then moved to the center of the training room.

I took out the new staff from my inventory. The moment I held it, a strange sense of unity was transmitted through my hand.

With a relaxed smile, I slowly aimed it forward.

Now, let’s see… What spell should I start with? I guess it’s best to start with something simple.

I poured the mana drawn from my core into the staff and opened my mouth.

“Blaze of all things, pillar of hellfire, entrapped nightmare. This shall be your final journey.”

Whoosh.

A sound of something igniting accompanied the sparks rising from the training room floor. The way they rotated in a large circle was anything but ordinary.

I’ve never used this in real combat, but I’ve practiced it enough, so the deployment was quick.

Since this was just a warm-up, there was no need to go all out. Without using resonance or putting in too much mana, I spoke the next command.

“Rise. Fire Pillar.”

At the trigger word, the previously calm mana went wild. And then, in an instant, a pillar of fire shot up from the ground.

Boom!

The force was so fierce that even though it was just fire rising, it made a sound almost like an explosion.

Fire Pillar. It was a classic area-of-effect spell among mid-level fire magic.

It had the advantage of being powerful and maintaining its effect until the mana ran out, but the caster couldn’t move during the spell, and since the initial position was fixed, the target could escape easily.

It was similar to Thunder Calling, but a bit stronger and slightly more inconvenient.

This spell was ideal for testing the staff’s performance since it continuously consumed a significant amount of mana.

As expected, the rate at which mana was drained had decreased considerably. It wasn’t an exact measurement, just a gut feeling, but… efficiency seemed to have improved by about 1.2 times?

It might not seem like much, but for someone like me, overflowing with mana, it made a significant difference.

I continued testing the staff’s performance by casting various spells.

I tried maximum output with resonance and mana overload, cast multiple low-level spells, and even altered magic with elemental combinations.

Whether it was thanks to the staff or just that I was in good condition today, everything felt better than usual.

…If it’s like this, maybe it’s worth trying something new?

With the core partially emptied and the circuits heated just right from casting spells wildly, I closed my eyes.

I sharpened my mind, etching an image of a non-existent phenomenon at the edge of my consciousness.

Fire solidified, rock rippled, and lightning flowed downward.

Various elements. The basic units that made up the world. More precisely, what was considered to be the basic units.

They endlessly swirled, mixed, and divided within me.

Chaos, truly. Perhaps this was what the world looked like before the heavens and the earth were separated.

Now, I must strip these ideas bare, deconstruct them, and then dress and assemble them according to my preferences.

I plunged my consciousness even deeper.

I referenced Iris’s magic, which I had seen in the scenario dungeon.

Recalling the scene from that day, I calmly wove my own image.

And at the moment I realized that what I desired had been vividly imprinted in my mind, I opened my eyes and looked ahead.

Raising my staff, I glared at the empty space beyond and began to speak.

“Spark, I breathe life into you. This is the birth and the end of many. Rise from the darkness. Ascend from the ashes.”

A small flame ignited at the spot I was staring at. But as the incantation continued, it swelled, growing larger and larger.

Its size soon matched my height. Unusually, the flame remained in a perfectly spherical shape, pulsing rhythmically as it scattered sparks.

It was as if it believed it was an egg, as if something was about to be born from it.

Carla and Elisha, who had been chatting idly, turned their gazes toward me in an instant at the unusual sight.

I poured the remaining mana into the spell, bringing the incantation to its conclusion.

“Awaken, Fire Phoenix.”

Crack.

A clear line appeared across the surface of the flaming sphere, then split into countless branches. And then…

Snap!

The sphere shattered into countless pieces, scattering tiny sparks in all directions. Yet, the heat only grew more intense than before.

In the center of the training room, where the round egg had been just moments before, stood a majestic bird with its wings spread wide.

Its blazing eyes and a body that was constantly burning. A giant bird made entirely of flames stared intently in my direction, each feather a living fire.

Its appearance, reminiscent of a phoenix, as suggested by the spell’s name, made Carla and Elisha gasp in shock as they rushed toward me.

“M-Master! Th-that!”

“A phoenix?! Did you create a phoenix with magic?!”

“Calm down, both of you. That’s impossible.”

Phoenixes were indeed rare, but they were real creatures.

However, with their already small numbers and their preference for living in harsh environments like volcanoes, their lifestyle was not well documented.

As a result, many wild rumors had spread, one of which suggested that phoenixes weren’t natural beings but artificially created creatures.

Well, that was completely false.

“Phoenixes are mythical creatures like dragons, born with inherent mystique. No one can create them.”

“Then what is that?!”

“Just a mere imitation. It only mimics the form. It has no self-awareness and can only move if I control it directly.”

I shrugged and waved my staff from left to right. The firebird flapped its wings and moved to the right.

When I waved it to the left, it returned to its original position.

I made it perform various actions: spinning in place, sprinting across the training room, slamming into the wall, and even scattering feathers like bombs.

After showing off these tricks, Elisha finally nodded in understanding.

However, for some reason, Carla kept blinking her ruby-colored eyes as if she found something odd.

“Carla? What’s wrong? Did you notice something strange?”

“Um… Master. You combined mid-level magic elements for this, right?”

“Yes. It’s a combination of fire and wind attributes.”

It sounded simple, but it wasn’t an easy task.

Fire and wind were attributes that synergized well, but the problem was that if they were mixed in an ordinary way, they would turn into an explosive single-shot spell.

For example, scattering fine sparks over a wide area like wind and causing them to explode upon contact.

Or just creating a massive, beautiful firestorm.

But this spell was different.

Like how an arrow couldn’t be controlled once it was released, magic, once cast, was usually left to fly on its own.

However, the Elemental Burst that Iris showed before was different.

She used the wind attribute not as a mere support for the fire but to control the spell itself. Fire Phoenix was my attempt to replicate that.

Since the combination didn’t work well with unfamiliar elements, I overlaid the image of a phoenix, which I was more familiar with.

Controlling the fire to attack, according to my will, was harder to imagine than a burning bird rampaging around.

As I nodded with satisfaction, Carla spoke again in a very cautious voice.

“Isn’t it too weak for a combination of mid-level magic?”

“…Oh.”

“Even low-level magic usually becomes twice as powerful, or some spells even thrice as strong, but this… It’s about as strong as a regular mid-level spell or maybe a bit weaker.”

“…”

“Isn’t it inefficient considering the effort?”

Yes, I knew. The significance of this spell lay in successfully combining mid-level magic elements, but it was lacking in many aspects.

Especially since suppressing some of the fire to control it led to a reduction in power.

However.

“What’s wrong with being inefficient?”

I shouted, pointing at the Fire Phoenix that scattered sparks and heat while exuding an intense presence.

“It looks cool, so it’s fine!”

Style was a major factor.

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