Shattered Innocence: Transmigrated Into a Novel as an Extra

Chapter 910: Mages and Runes

They moved on, crossing a short stone bridge that connected the Rune-Researchers’ halls to an adjoining structure of pale marble and deep oak—simpler in appearance, but no less refined. The Scholar’s Hall bore none of the shimmering glamour of the previous department. Instead, its presence came from the quiet dignity of towering bookshelves visible through open archways, and the faint scent of parchment, ink, and candle wax drifting out into the courtyard.

”This,” Selenne said, her voice still brisk, ”is the Scholars’ Division. They concern themselves with magical theory, historical research, and comparative studies. Their work often overlaps with the Rune-Researchers, though their focus is on the conceptual foundations rather than the construction of physical devices.”

They had barely stepped inside before the group came upon a high-ceilinged discussion chamber where a handful of robed seniors stood around a table, arcane diagrams suspended in midair between them. The glowing projection shifted as one of them—an older student with pale hair tied back neatly—tapped a sigil with the tip of his wand.

”I am telling you,” he said, his tone clipped but controlled, ”altering the structure will destabilize the mana flow. The original cell arrangement has been tested for generations—there’s no reason to change it.”

Another senior, his dark hair slightly disheveled and ink stains on his fingers, shook his head sharply. ”That’s exactly the problem—it’s been the same for generations. The mana compression rate could be improved by thirty percent if we restructure the anchor nodes and introduce a different cell beat. The current model wastes half its resonance potential.”

The first gave a short, dismissive scoff. ”And introduce the risk of complete collapse? Brilliant.”

Selenne made no move to interrupt. In fact, she subtly motioned for her group to keep silent, her expression unreadable.

The debate carried on, terms like ley-thread harmonics, stability coefficients, and phase loop backlash passing over the freshmen like wind over stone. Even Elara, who prided herself on paying attention, could feel the intricacy of the discussion slipping just beyond her grasp.

Elara had been working under Archmage Eveline for long enough to consider herself more than competent in both spellcasting and magical theory.

Yet as the seniors volleyed back and forth, she found herself pausing on certain words, frowning faintly. Some of the terms were... alien—at least in the way they were being applied here.

A quick glance around told her she wasn’t alone. Even the sharper students in the group were wearing the same politely neutral expressions, the kind you used when you didn’t want to admit you were lost.

It wasn’t surprising, really.

Most Awakened followed a similar foundational path. They used [Mana Accumulation Methods] to develop their cultivation base, to form and stabilize their cores. From there, they learned [Arts]—sets of techniques designed to be compatible with their chosen cultivation method. The same structure had existed for thousands of years, passed down through schools, sects, and academies alike.

But mages... mages were different.

Where close-combat cultivators tended to follow their [Arts] to the letter—channeling mana to reinforce their bodies or coat their weapons in a direct, force-driven way—mages often treated their [Arts] as a framework, not a cage.

They took the core structure and began adding to it—threading in spells they had learned elsewhere, modifying the sequence of mana circulation, altering the casting matrices entirely. Their focus wasn’t on the weapon in their hand or the raw strength of a blow, but on the structure and flow of mana itself—the patterns it wove, the resonances it created.

In essence, that was the great divide.

A close-combatant could hurl mana from their core without their weapon, but it was rarely more than brute force given shape—direct, effective, but without the fine detail of magic. A mage, on the other hand, might spend weeks reworking the exact oscillation of their mana threads just to make a spell 0.5% more efficient.

She remembered this well from her own experience.

Eveline had made her do it countless times—break a spell apart until it was bare bones, then rethread it again and again until every strand of mana moved with perfect intention.

It had been tedious at first, exhausting even, but over time it had become second nature. She had developed her own habits of studying, her own ways of mapping mana flows and testing subtle variations until the result matched her vision exactly.

Up ahead, the debate between the seniors showed no signs of slowing. The pale-haired one was now tracing overlapping circles in the air, arguing about ”mana beat-phase integrity,” while the ink-stained one countered with ”structural harmonics over phase lock stability.”

Selenne made no attempt to step in, her expression almost amused.

Eventually, though, one of the seniors caught sight of the quiet line of freshmen watching from the doorway. His voice faltered. The other followed his gaze, and a faint flush rose on both their faces—half embarrassment, half the realization they had been effectively performing in front of an audience.

Selenne took the moment to speak, her tone crisp but not unkind.

”Most of you had already have learned the necessary background for such discussions—at least in theory. However, in your first semester, you will take a common course from the Magic Division. Its purpose is to give you explanations like these, in a more... structured form.”

She let her gaze travel over the group, her meaning clear.

So that, next time, you wouldn’t be standing there pretending to understand every word.

The students nodded in unison, a quiet ripple of acknowledgment moving through the group.

For most of them—especially those from noble houses—this was familiar ground. Magical theory, cultivation methods, the differences between combatants and mages... these were lessons drilled into them long before they had set foot in the Academy.

Selenne seemed to note their composure. With a small, decisive motion, she clapped her hands once, the sharp sound echoing faintly off the marble walls.

”That concludes our tour of the basic divisions,” she said, her tone returning to its brisk, guiding cadence. ”From here, we move on to the facilities.”

She reached to her side and, with the ease of long habit, slipped a hand into the invisible fold of her spatial storage ring. When she withdrew it, a small, smooth sphere rested in her palm—perfectly round, its surface a deep, glassy black that caught the light like polished obsidian.

Without another word, she stepped toward the sunlight spilling in from the open courtyard and held the sphere aloft.

At once, faint threads of light began to bloom within it, like veins of gold weaving through stone. The glow brightened, steady and purposeful, as if responding to her touch, casting a soft radiance across her fingers.

The light within the sphere grew until it seemed to pulse with a steady heartbeat, a muted thrum of mana reverberating through the air. Slowly, the black surface faded away like mist, revealing an intricate projection that hovered in the space just above Selenne’s hand.

At first it looked abstract—lines of gold and silver weaving together in a complex network, patches of faint blue and green shading scattered throughout. But as the threads began to shift and settle, the shapes resolved into something recognizable.

A map.

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the group as the full image came into focus—an overhead view of the Academy’s sprawling grounds, rendered with precise detail. They could see the broad, rectangular Martial Arts block dominating the western side, the sweeping, towered halls of the Magicians’ division to the south, the wide courtyards and reinforced structures of the Alchemy block to the east, and the smaller—but no less prominent—sections for the Rune-Researchers and Scholars in the north.

”It’s... a full aerial layout,” Aurelian said under his breath, leaning slightly forward.

Something that most of the students were seeing for the first time.

-----------A/N------------

It is so hot....

I am dying.