Advanced Class

Under Tsukasa Tsubame's gaze, as resentful as that of a neglected wife, Aoko rode away from campus on her motorcycle with effortless grace.

What a joke. How could she waste her precious time on a meaningless high school life?

If her dear sister Touko had not still been lurking in the shadows, eyeing her like a tiger, she would have gone to the University of Tokyo long ago.

That said, Aoko had already made a rough plan for the coming months before her battle with Touko.

It was October now. Once Touko came running back after a while, Aoko would first teach her rebellious sister a lesson. Then, when December came, she would have the time and energy to register early for the University of Tokyo.

For Japan's national universities, applicants had to take two examinations.

The first was the so-called Center Test, a nationwide standardized examination held every January that primarily tested the level of high school education in foundational subjects.

After the first examination's results were released, students could apply for the second examination based on their scores: the individual university examinations set by each university.

Aoko was quite confident in her grades, so she planned to register early in December and secure a spot. Then, in February next year, she could complete her entrance examination a little earlier than everyone else.

At that very moment, Touko, who had already arrived somewhere in Misaki Town, had no idea that her beloved little sister Aoko had already put her on the schedule.

In Aoko's view, most magi in this world were an unscrupulous bunch.

She personally believed that pursuing the Root did not conflict with preserving one's humanity and morals, yet many magi seemed to have abandoned the finest parts their species had gained through countless years of evolution and civilization.

But in truth, if Aoko were to speak with magi other than Alice Kuonji and Touko, she would discover that ordinary magi did not have the composure or leeway to uphold such moral standards.

The vortex of the Root, which Aoko believed she could reach by trying a little harder, was in fact an ideal land that other magi could almost never reach.

Perhaps after completing her studies at the University of Tokyo, Aoko would visit the Clock Tower and study there for a while.

But for now, the pinnacle of national universities appealed to Aoko more than the headquarters of the Mage's Association, where people schemed against one another every day and had to worry about colleagues plotting against them.

After years of study and research into magecraft and the Weave, Aoko understood that while the laws followed by Weave spells and magecraft might differ somewhat from those of modern science, they shared a common field: mathematics.

Anyone who followed cutting-edge physics research would know that at the most fundamental particle level, matter was actually ruled by mathematics.

Ordinary people might think microscopic particles were merely extremely tiny spheres. But in physics, all fundamental particles described by the Standard Model possessed no substructure. In other words, they were mathematical points and had no volume.

In the field of mysticism, through her study and research of numerological magecraft, Aoko had come to understand that mathematics was indispensable whether one was constructing spell models or improving the operating efficiency of magecraft.

For example, the magic missile magecraft system Aoko excelled at had been greatly enhanced by numerological magecraft. So no matter how mysterious and inconceivable magecraft might appear, it still had to obey the most fundamental rule governing this universe—mathematics.

Perhaps its rules differed somewhat from those of the universe in her "previous life," but mathematics was undoubtedly still an irrefutable truth in this universe.

Aoko therefore decided without much hesitation that mathematics would be her field of study at university.

Touko would not admit it, but aside from her research into magecraft, she also possessed considerable academic accomplishment in the mundane fields of architecture and ergonomics.

If not for the obsession with the Aozaki family's magic that bound Touko, she would most likely have become an architect or a doctor.

Then I'll personally knock some sense into you, my dear sister.

Aoko thought happily, as for the Fifth Magic, your little sister will bear that burden instead.

When Aoko returned to the Kuonji mansion, she found that her roommate had not come home yet. But considering that Reien was indeed quite far from the Kuonji mansion, it was only natural that Alice had not returned yet.

After changing into casual clothes, Aoko returned to her room. She played her guitar for a while to relax, then took out her spellbook and began her daily spell research.

During her previous travels through the Weave, Aoko had acquired knowledge regarding "advanced" classes, but that knowledge had not been particularly complete. From the limited information she had obtained, she only knew of a few ways for wizards to advance their classes.

Among these advanced wizard classes, the one Aoko thought most highly of was a wizard advancement called the "Incantatrix."

An Incantatrix was an authority on wizard metamagic feats, exceptionally skilled at using one spell to affect another. Incantatrices were also especially adept at reshaping magic through their own will.

According to the knowledge obtained from the Weave, even in Kingdom Tianyu, it was difficult to find a male Incantatrix. In other words, this was essentially an advanced class exclusive to women.

Although Aoko dearly wanted to become an Incantatrix, she did not yet meet the requirements for advancement.

The requirements for becoming an Incantatrix were broadly divided into four categories: skills, feats, spellcasting ability, and special requirements.

In terms of skills, a wizard who wished to become an Incantatrix had to possess at least 4 ranks in Concentration, 8 ranks in Arcane Knowledge, and 8 ranks in Spellcraft. Aoko had already fulfilled all the requirements in this area.

As for spellcasting ability, Aoko could already use fifth-circle arcane spells, meaning she had fulfilled the Incantatrix's requirement of being able to cast at least third-circle arcane spells.

Furthermore, she had not chosen any prohibited schools so far, so the restriction that an Incantatrix could not prohibit the Abjuration and Divination schools did not concern her.

However, Aoko still failed to meet one requirement for becoming an Incantatrix: her feats.

An Incantatrix required the caster to possess a metamagic feat, while Aoko's current feats were Alertness and Spell Mastery. She did not regret choosing Alertness as her first feat, because without it, she might have been killed long ago by some inexplicable monsters and demons—such as an unknown large white dog and a shadow draped in red rags.

But now that Aoko wanted to advance into an Incantatrix, she had to acquire a metamagic feat. The next time she would gain a feat would be when her wizard level reached level 10. Before then, she needed to gain sufficient understanding of and conduct enough research into metamagic theory.

Although she had not yet acquired any metamagic feats, Aoko had already gained a considerable understanding of metamagic techniques through years of study and research.

As long as she successfully defeated Touko and Touko's dog, she would surely reach level 10, gain a metamagic feat, and then advance into an Incantatrix.