Classes in Another World Suck, Too

Thereafter, I found myself in a peculiar bedroom.

Looking down, I swiftly realised that my clothes, once again, had also been replaced.

Instead of the casual clothes from Earth, which I instinctively knew would have automatically been deposited directly into the Storage, I donned a smart-looking uniform that came with a navy blue robe, the silver-like emblem of a crow sewn into the torso.

[Your identity is a Seventh-year student at the Crowsburg Magic Academy!]

'Magic Academy...'

I echoed the Librarian's words internally. If this place was really somewhere to learn magic, maybe it'd even be useful to stick around for a bit. Even if I couldn't use mana, I might gain something of value.

"...Wait. Seventh-year? And I'm a student...?"

That sounded a bit much for a school, at least compared to what I was used to. Maybe... the Protagonist wasn't a kid like I initially expected.

For another reason, it dumbed my spirits a bit.

'Nevermind. Anyway, I doubt I'd be able to learn much as an uneducated magic noob in Seventh-year classes, but I guess it could still be interesting.'

That let me to consider―since I had no mana, wouldn't they immediately get suspicious of my identity? When I raised such a concern to the Librarian, curious yet anxious, she had this to say.

[Certainly, fret not! It seems the magic of this Illusory World operates without the use of mana! In theory, even you could cast their version of magic provided you had the required level of knowledge and talent, Enki! I think! Isn't it exhilarating! In the first place, your disguise is reinforced with World Stability―No one should be able to uncover where you're really from, not unless you get suuuper unlucky!]

'I see. That's good, then.'

I didn't read the source material or watch any of the movie adaptations for this Illusory World, so I wasn't aware of that fact. Was magic that varied among worlds? It was interesting. How does magic even operate without the use of mana in the first place? Well, maybe there was something else behind it.

It was only a fictional world anyway, so such definitions and rules probably don't matter since they're plucked from whatever the author decided.

Examining the room I 'spawned' in, I discovered a small, basic-looking stick on the bedside table.

"Free wand? Probably won't be able to use it, but might as well take it."

Picking it up and casually inserting it into its holder on my uniform's waistband, there wasn't much else to note since it was a rather standard bedroom.

The only thing I couldn't make sense of was a strange cubbyhole-like box attached to the wall with a tray of blank envelopes and a floating quill beside it, but other than the fact it didn't look very interesting, it also didn't really seem important.

Fortunately, there was also a timetable on the wall.

"Oh, is this my schedule? That's convenient. Let's see..."

'I should probably attend classes. Even if I can't understand their contents, I only need to make sure I don't get kicked out long enough to find a good opportunity to get the Protagonist.'

I didn't want to go, but I also didn't have much of a choice if I wanted to get this over with quickly.

My first class of the day was something called "Delicate Intricacies of Magical Incantations - Studies, Formation & History".

'Seriously, what a ball-ache of a name...'

Before I was late, I hurried my footsteps towards the location specified on my timetable. The faint hope that my disguise would have assigned me as a classmate of the Protagonist laid anxiously within my heart, but it wasn't a certainty.

Moments after I entered the classroom, I gave a sigh of relief.

My gaze immediately flickered to a guy chatting with a few classmates; despite there being no indicator telling me that he was the Protagonist, I recognised his face as extremely familiar.

'Oh, it really does look like the guy they casted him as in the movies, huh...'

It felt undeniably strange and rather uncomfortable, but what could I do. 

In under five minutes of accepting the Contract, the Protagonist had been located. I intended to go over and join the conversation when a bearded old man entered the room.

"Attention! Class will now begin. Take to your seats."

It was unfortunate timing, but I could just wait until after class. Not knowing where to sit, I ended up gravitating naturally towards the back.

The fact that I was attending class in another world before my classes on Earth also gave me conflicting feelings, but I tried to ignore it.

In the meantime, I distracted myself by listening to the professor's lecture, hoping to gain even an inkling of how to cast some magic.

"―As you all should have engraved into your hearts by now, the 'lo' part of the incantation means 'to calm'. This, combined with the 'pa' part of the incantation, meaning 'to expand', effectively produces the effect of 'calming in a wide area'..."

'Mhm, mhm. I get it. Simple. Is this all it takes to use magic?'

Thus far, everything was comprehensible, maybe because it was going over earlier teachings. So long as it continues along this trajectory, I should be able to learn something useful.

I sat and listened with steadily growing confidence.

"Now then, with that in mind, can anyone tell me why this spell would fail to cast with a 'ro' modifier attached, but will triple in efficacy with a 'sa' modifier? Additionally, could someone please explain what the purpose would be to introduce Gorgon's seemingly unrelated, yet belatedly intriguing 'Second Phrase of Extradition' into this incantation? Well, any hands?"

"???"

'Lol?'

Almost instantly, that feeble hope was dashed and smashed to grim, depressing little pieces. Just when I thought I might be able to understand what was being taught, the professor decided to screw it all up with this meaningless mumbo jumbo.

As expected, his question didn't make any sense whatsoever.

Some girl stuck her hand up and answered the question by mentioning some prehistoric-age wizards and something about a "Maslow's Fourth Incantation Formation Formula" in relation to "Gorgon's Three Phrases of Extradition", and why the resulting spell when applying certain spell invocation modifiers then becomes more comparable to something created under the principles of "Levi's Law of Invocational Logistic-- blah blah blah".

Needless to say, I stopped paying attention at that point.

Whatever the hell any of that meant, honestly, I couldn't tell you if you threatened to tear my arms and legs off. The only Maslow I knew had a pyramid; the only Gorgon I knew was some crazy fantasy creature; and the only Levi I knew... Well, I'm sure there was a popular Levi out there somewhere.

'Oh, didn't Ina mention a 'Levi' once or twice before...? I don't think it was a real person, though.'

Anyway, it all pretty much passed in through one ear and out the other, so I just lowered my head and remained silent until the end of the lesson, quietly praying the professor wouldn't call out my name for whatever reason.

Eventually, roughly 90 minutes after we started, the lesson had finally reached its conclusion.

'God, what a drag...'

Letting out a deep exhale, I raised from my seat―

"This will do it for the halfway mark. Class, we shall take a brief, five minute respite before resuming for the second period. Feel free to stretch your legs and hydrate yourselves in the meantime."

―And instantly sunk right back down.

"You're joking..."

The moment I found out the class was to be over three hours long, I eyed the nearest window and got the sudden urge to jump.