32. Aslan Seminar (6)
Even under Hong Si-hwa’s pursuit, Hong Biyeon did not so much as blink.
If anything, she had been waiting for this.
‘Of course.’
There was no way her ‘older sister’ would ever sit still and watch her do well.
“Ahem.”
“Ahem… I’ll just watch for now…”
“Me too…”
At the Aslan Seminar, this kind of ‘plagiarism accusation’ was a highly sensitive issue, so several magicians coughed awkwardly and watched the situation carefully.
Why?
Because most of the regular participants here, as Hong Si-hwa herself had put it, came out with ‘patchwork papers.’
Piecing together the papers of various scholars and then presenting them as their own in order to maintain their qualification to attend the Aslan Seminar.
That was the convention.
No one had ever pointed it out before.
But… Hong Si-hwa was different.
She had truly prepared her own magic, and every year she had always presented special and extraordinary papers.
That was what made her exceptional.
So if someone like Hong Si-hwa had pointed out Hong Biyeon’s paper—
and had even raised suspicions of plagiarism—
then this was not something that could be brushed aside so casually.
Before it was even a matter that had to be handled delicately, it was, in the most literal sense, no different from dragging a political struggle into the very center of the Aslan Seminar.
“What?”
“She accused her of plagiarism?”
“Come on, no way…”
“But didn’t they say her previous paper got rejected?”
A few students who knew nothing stood there bewildered, but even they could tell that the atmosphere had suddenly turned very dangerous and cautiously looked around.
As the two princesses of Adolevit began fighting, the atmosphere of the Aslan Seminar itself—a grand presentation of magical papers—started to shake.
“Well, ah… that is a valid criticism.”
“Yes… I looked over the earlier paper too, and it was quite dreadful and disappointing indeed. Ahem.”
Several members of the judging committee, watching the mood carefully, quietly sided with Hong Si-hwa. They must have been people who had been taking her money from the start.
Now that things had turned out this way, Hong Biyeon had no choice but to explain herself.
She had to prove that this magic was truly hers.
But the process of proving that was extremely difficult and terribly complicated, which was why people usually did not raise plagiarism suspicions in a place like this.
“…I see. You’ve raised an interesting question, First Princess of Adolevit.”
It seemed Chairman Aryu Moon found Hong Si-hwa’s doubt fairly reasonable, because he nodded with tired eyes and spoke.
“As everyone knows, when a magician is formally accused of plagiarism, they must prove that the magic is their own through Magic Analyze.”
Every magic spell carried traces of the one who had created it.
The order in which the magic circle had been drawn, the number of strokes, the handwriting of the patterns, how many lines had been used and how many circles, the strength of the mana, the rhythm it flowed with, even the direction through which it traveled.
Every one of those traces remained in detailed form.
This characteristic was like a human fingerprint. Unless someone was the original creator, it was difficult to imitate.
In other words, even if someone took magic created by another person and insisted it was theirs, once expert analysts were brought in, the lie would quickly be exposed.
“However, the First Princess knows this too, does she not?”
Aryu Moon said as though looking straight through Hong Si-hwa’s eyes.
“That demanding Magic Analyze from a magician is itself… an act that gravely insults their honor.”
The act of arguing to a magician that their magic was not truly theirs had occurred countless times throughout history.
And each time, magicians had been forced to dismantle their own magic thoroughly before everyone and prove it, and for the pride-bound magicians of that era, that had been an immense humiliation.
In the modern age, where magic had become commonplace, it was no longer that humiliating, but the old custom still remained, and unless there was definite evidence, people did not lightly demand Magic Analyze.
In other words, if Hong Biyeon failed to prove her ownership of the magic properly here,
then Hong Si-hwa’s insulting act would end up being treated as justified…
But if the opposite happened, and Hong Biyeon proved it properly—
“You’ll have to bear the penalty for that, First Princess.”
Aryu Moon’s eyes turned cold as he spoke.
“…Yes, of course.”
With a faintly slanted smile, Hong Si-hwa nodded. She had brought a political struggle into the Aslan Seminar, so it could not be helped that she had drawn the ire of the presiding chairman, but…
‘Even so, if this alone makes Hong Biyeon come to her senses, then it’s still a great gain.’
Because she was confident she would win, Hong Si-hwa could afford to think so leisurely.
…And yet, that subtle smile Hong Biyeon had shown earlier kept refusing to leave her mind, and it made her uneasy.
Hmm, unless…
No matter how great a genius was, it was impossible to create a spell that remarkable in only two weeks. On top of that, Hong Biyeon had always been particularly poor in that area of talent, so she must have received help from someone.
For example…
‘Baek Yuseol, perhaps…?’
That boy had already been walking a disruptive and unparalleled path, the kind one would expect only from legendary archmages seen in history books.
So if he suddenly led flame-element magic in some original direction, there would be nothing particularly strange about that either.
Well, even if it was not Baek Yuseol, it did not matter.
In any case, Hong Biyeon would not be able to prove the magic in this place.
“All right, then. I and the judging committee will conduct the Magic Analyze personally.”
At the words that Aryu Moon himself would be doing it, Hong Biyeon tensed a little, but then quickly calmed her heart.
If anything, it might be even more effective if a great figure like him did it personally.
“We’ll take a short time to examine the paper and discuss it.”
Of course, the judging committee was required to skim through every paper at least once before coming here, so that discussion would not take long.
At most, perhaps around thirty minutes.
However.
The internal discussion ended in less than ten minutes.
“…We’ve finished the review, so prepare yourself, Cadet Hong Biyeon.”
At those words, people began murmuring. They had not expected the internal discussion to end so quickly.
Aryu Moon looked through the paper one more time, his expression slightly loosened now.
‘This is… astonishing.’
The reason it had taken only ten minutes was very simple.
The magic was astonishingly easy.
Did that mean the value of the paper fell? No. On the contrary, its value rose dramatically.
‘To produce a spell of this level with formulas and theory this simple…’
This was magic that had completely advanced the fundamental nature of flame-element magic by an entire stage. If the theory required for such a spell could truly be explained at nothing more than a high school level, then that did not speak to a problem in Hong Biyeon’s logic or knowledge. It meant that her shift in perspective itself had been brilliant.
“Unfold the activation formula and the explanatory circle at the same time.”
“Yes.”
At Aryu Moon’s instruction, Hong Biyeon nodded and raised her staff.
An ordinary magic circle appeared simple on the outside, just a combination of circles, lines, and letters.
But everyone knew that, inside it, countless formulas were actually embedded. Because those formulas were written in a coded system, they could not be easily interpreted just by looking at the magic circle itself.
Borrowing Baek Yuseol’s expression, magic was a bit like combining mathematics and programming.
Unfolding complex computer language and mathematical formulas all at once.
That was what it meant to unfold the activation formula and explanatory circle.
Aahhh—!!
Hong Biyeon broke into a bit of a cold sweat as she drew a red magic circle in the air.
Flame Circle.
A full 4-Class spell.
Even now, she still had to pour most of her mana into it, and its drawback was that it left her exhausted after use… but in this place, she had wanted to show the greatest magic she was capable of.
Fwoosh!
The instant a circular ring of fire appeared in the air, several people widened their eyes in shock.
“Fl-Flame Circle…”
“A 4-Class spell?”
“Wait, isn’t the princess still a first-year?”
“How is that possible…?”
Most of the magic warriors in their twenties gathered here had already surpassed 4-Class, so Flame Circle itself might not have looked that extraordinary to them.
But the problem was just how young she was.
“My word… just like Eizel Morf earlier, does this mean she reached 4-Class at the age of only seventeen?”
“How many geniuses are supposed to come out in one generation…?”
People’s reactions began leaning positive.
Seventeen and already 4-Class?
That meant she was truly a genius among geniuses, the kind who appeared only once in a century if that.
And if she was a magician like that… then perhaps it really would not be strange for her to create a spell like this.
Watching that, Hong Si-hwa’s expression hardened slightly.
She had heard that her younger sister’s magical skill had improved by leaps and bounds, but an achievement like that at that age…
‘…She’s much faster than I was.’
Hong Si-hwa herself had barely reached 4-Class at eighteen.
One year did not seem like much, but in one’s teenage years, reaching a realm even a single year earlier was an absolutely enormous difference.
There was even an average statistic saying that a child who achieved 1-Class at age nine would later become a 7-Class magician, whereas a child who achieved 1-Class at age twelve would end life at 5-Class.
But it was still too early to know.
Even if her magical ability had risen explosively, that did not mean her creativity had improved too.
“I’ll begin with a simple theoretical question.”
After coolly scanning Hong Biyeon’s paper, Aryu Moon finally spoke.
“The conventional flame-element system adopts the Distalin Third Law and the Do-Euler Law at the beginning and end of ignition. But this magic applies the Powder Rule, something that could be called a relic of an older era. The Powder Rule has one serious flaw. If the ignition point fails to reach the target’s critical threshold, all of the mana burns away in full. How did you solve that problem?”
Without the slightest hesitation, she answered.
“If the target fails to burn, I made it so that the spell absorbs oxygen from the air and creates a tiny ignition point. That is one of the reasons I included a wind-element attribute in the third activation formula.”
“Good. Then I’ll ask the next question.”
The judges took turns firing questions at Hong Biyeon. If they merely asked about the theory of the paper, then anyone could answer by memorizing it word for word.
But what if they pointed directly at the kind of detail whose intention could not easily be understood by anyone other than the person who had invented the spell?
Then the person would think:
‘Huh? Why was this part done this way of all ways?’
The moment such doubt arose, it was over.
“To answer the next question…”
And yet Hong Biyeon answered without the slightest hesitation. Having thoroughly analyzed the core points in her own way, she responded instantly even to the sharp questions thrown directly at her by the elders of the council.
“Hmm. I think that should suffice… Mage Hong Si-hwa? As the magician who raised the plagiarism accusation, do you have a question?”
Aryu Moon handed the right to the final question over to Hong Si-hwa. When the microphone came on, she asked about a point of doubt she had obtained after thoroughly analyzing the paper.
“Cadet Hong Biyeon? Your magic rather unusually contains a ‘Versailles repetitive design circuit.’ But it doesn’t seem to have any effect at all on the operation of the spell… so what purpose does it serve?”
It sounded like quite a plausible question.
In reality, Hong Biyeon’s magic did indeed contain a pattern of magic circuits repeated several times that had ‘no real meaning.’
But once again, she answered coolly.
“I just put it in because it was pretty.”
“…What.”
“…Huh?”
At that absurd answer, everyone in the hall gaped with their mouths hanging open.
The one who had asked the question, Hong Si-hwa, was no different.
“You put it in… because it was pretty?”
In truth, it was a little pretty.
The arched pattern wrapping around the border of the circle made the magic circle look almost like a flower.
“After I completed the magic, it looked too easy, too simple, too plain. Since it was the first spell I ever made, I wanted to decorate it beautifully. It’s my magic—what’s wrong with that?”
There was, of course, nothing wrong with it.
Whether she drew a rabbit in the magic circle or a lion, that was her own business.
Still, considering that every section of a magic circle was usually packed tight with runes and circuits, the fact that Hong Biyeon had found it too plain after finishing the spell and added floral patterns on top made her look more than a little abnormal herself.
“Perhaps you don’t remember, but that flower was ‘eldest sister’s’ favorite flower.”
At Hong Biyeon’s words—words that showed that her mental strength had grown enough for her to mention her eldest sister first now—Hong Si-hwa merely fell silent.
Her expression was slowly stiffening, though she herself did not seem aware of it.
Watching the scene unfold, Aryu Moon brought things to a close.
“We’ll consider the theory portion passed.”
The theory portion passed lightly.
“Next, we will analyze the spell’s fingerprint.”
Now came the time to find Hong Biyeon’s traces inside the magic circle.
‘…So you came thoroughly prepared for the theoretical side, little sister.’
Up to this point, it had been possible to get through by studying the material thoroughly somehow.
In fact, many plagiarizing magicians had done exactly that.
But from here on, things would be different.
The breath and traces of the creator engraved into the magic itself, the scent of the mana, the fingerprint—those things could never be hidden.
If they dug into it properly from this point on…
“We’ll pass over this part.”
But then—
“…What?”
“W-wait a moment!”
At Aryu Moon’s sudden words, not only the judges but every magician present was stunned.
“Why…?”
Aryu Moon looked steadily at Hong Biyeon and then spoke gently.
“I once worked as a profiler of magical criminals. Since I hid my name, almost no one knows that… but I do consider myself fairly skilled at it.”
Crimes caused by magic were generally easy to track down.
One simply had to follow the traces of mana.
Nowadays, technology had advanced so much that one could even discover which spell had been used at what time.
So criminals’ tricks had become more and more meticulous as well.
Just like modern criminals on Earth who wiped away their fingerprints after committing a crime, magicians too erased their own traces from their magic circles.
And the people who analyzed such circles in fine detail and found those traces were the ones called profilers.
For Aryu Moon, who had once been an outstanding profiler, sensing the scent left on a spell cast by a mere seventeen-year-old magician was something far too easy.
Fwoosh!
“This is the spell I reproduced by following Cadet Hong Biyeon’s paper.”
Aryu Moon drew a red magic circle in the air.
It was the exact same Flame Circle as Hong Biyeon’s.
“I compared the direction of mana circulation, the rhythm of its flow, the handwriting of the runes, and even the scent, and… it matched Cadet Hong Biyeon’s exactly.”
“That can’t…”
No one could refute that.
Those were the words of Aryu Moon, the presiding chairman and a great 9-Class archmage.
Who would dare dismiss his judgment?
“I do not wish to take anyone’s side. I dislike seeing young people come to a place like this and wage political battles. But what deserves recognition must be recognized.”
Turning to Hong Si-hwa, he declared clearly:
“This… is unquestionably Cadet Hong Biyeon’s original magic.”
Hong Si-hwa’s expression went cold and rigid.
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