Yi-Han once again offered his apologies.
"I am truly sorry, Professor. The truth is, due to an attack by intruders last weekend..."
"There's no need for apologies. And you, stop with the nonsense and transform back," the skull principal interjected.
The fake Gainando stood up and swiftly altered their appearance.
The person who now stood before Yi-Han possessed the most sculpted visage he had ever seen.
'Where have I seen... Ah.'
Yi-Han realized.
That was the living image of the skull principal.
"You. Do you want a beating from me too?"
"With all due respect, I express my regret in the name of Gonadaltes."
The professor apologized and once again changed their appearance.
This time, they transformed into a middle-aged parrot-like anthropomorphic male.
"Hmm... Isn't this too similar to last year?"
"Is it?"
"It lacks a certain freshness."
The professor transformed again.
Now, a young chameleon-like anthropomorphic female appeared.
"How about this?"
"That's what you did the year before last."
"It doesn't seem like a big issue to repeat... does it?"
Muttering to themself, the professor tried a few more transformations.
-Not impressive.-
-Do you lack creativity?-
-Even a first-year ironhead evolves. Why can't you?-
The reactions were not favorable.
"...What about this?"
This time, the professor turned into a skeleton warrior. The skull principal exclaimed in admiration.
"Excellent!"
"Kehehe. Thank you."
"..."
"What do you think?" The skull principal asked for Yi-Han’s opinion.
Yi-Han quickly contemplated the most appropriate response to the situation.
"It's truly magnificent. The students will surely focus in the lecture."
"Boy, you have an eye for detail, just like your magic skills," The skull principal was satisfied.
Professor Yonramo Reuji, in charge of transformation magic, was surprisingly a doppelganger.
Yi-Han was astounded to see a doppelganger, one of the rarest species.
'Really, this academy has all sorts of people!'
It made sense for a doppelganger to teach transformation magic, given their innate ability to morph.
“But how did you realize Professor Reuji was disguised?”
"Uh... Gainando doesn't call me 'Wardanaz'."
"Kehheh. So that was the problem."
Hearing the skeleton warrior's devious tone, both the skull principal and Yi-Han paused.
...Should I ask for a change?
“Someone taught you well.”
"It’s rare to hear you praise Professor Bagrak."
Professor Reuji commented somewhat obtusely.
The skull principal summoned bones to trip Professor Reuji, causing them to fall with a thud.
“I'll be going now. Despite his foolish mistake, Professor Reuji is excellent in transformation magic. Learn well from them.”
"Yes."
“Now that I think of it, you were studying alchemy, weren't you? Transformation magic is closely related to alchemy. It will be beneficial to learn.”
"I'll keep your advice in mind."
After the skull principal disappeared, Yi-Han hesitated.
...Huh?
Somehow, it felt like learning transformation magic was now a certainty.
'Is this strange?'
"Kehehe. I'm looking forward to working with you, Wardanaz. I have high expectations for your skills."
Professor Reuji put an arm around his shoulder, showing friendliness.
Yi-Han looked at Professor Reuji hesitantly, just as a piece of their nose bone fell off.
"Oops. That's where I was hit earlier..."
"I'm sorry!"
"Kehheh. No, no. It's the one who was caught who is at fault. The Principal is right."
Professor Reuji snapped the fallen bone back into place.
Seeing this, Yi-Han was left speechless, unable to utter a word.
How could Yi-Han say, "I'm not sure about learning transformation magic," in front of the professor who had just lost their nose?
…
"Professor, did you go somewhere and get hit?"
"Kehehe. I just fell."
"But why... a skeleton warrior? Weren't you supposed to do something else this year?"
"Kehehe. I found this more appealing."
'That doesn't seem right.'
Professor Garcia looked at Professor Reuji, who had entered the classroom, with a bewildered gaze.
Although it was a yearly custom for the doppelganger to appear in various forms, the choice of a skeleton warrior seemed ill-advised.
Look!
The students were clearly wondering, 'Why is the professor doing that?'
'But it's the professor's choice... let's respect it.'
Professor Garcia respected Professor Reuji's preference.
If Professor Reuji wanted to roam around as a skeleton warrior this year, it was their prerogative.
"Today, Professor Reuji is here to teach us what transformation magic is. They are a natural-born transformation mage."
Before Garcia could finish, Reuji had transformed four times.
Into Professor Garcia, Professor Boladi (almost causing Yi-Han to fall backwards), Professor Alpen, and Professor Bungaegor.
The students gasped in amazement.
Even those who were initially bewildered now looked at the transformations with different eyes.
"Transformation magic... is the magic of understanding the mystery within matter and immersing oneself in it to comprehend the truth it holds. Exceptional alchemists are adept at transformation magic, and exceptional transformation mages are skilled in alchemy. I recommend students studying alchemy to also take transformation magic. Ah, student Yi-Han... you don't necessarily have to."
Yi-Han felt resentful towards Professor Garcia.
How could he refuse in front of Professor Reuji?
"It’s alright, Professor."
"Are you sure?"
"...Yes, I'm sure."
Gainando, who was beside him, tilted his head in confusion.
"It doesn't seem okay..."
Professor Garcia continued the explanation.
Fortunately for Yi-Han, transformation magic was useful in many ways.
The ability to change materials was of immense significance to a mage.
Not having to procure expensive materials, but substituting with cheaper ones, was revolutionary.
"Just buy it with gold coins, why not?"
"Right...?"
Yi-Han's heart ached at his friends from the Blue Dragon spouting nonsense.
They didn't realize how incredible this was.
Yi-Han shook his head and then locked eyes with Yonaire.
Yonaire was shaking her head too.
Nod!
The two aware students nodded to each other, understandingly.
"...Not only that, but a mage can also transform themselves and even their surroundings. I often ask for Professor Reuji's help when redecorating my workshop."
Gainando yawned exaggeratedly.
Seeing this, Professor Reuji swung their staff, and with a flash of light, Gainando turned into a white mouse.
Squeak squeak squeak!
"Oh... Wow!"
"Look at that!"
The students' eyes sparkled anew.
Although they were students dedicated to honor, academics, exploration, and truth, sometimes they harbored the desire to turn their friends into mice.
"Professor Reuji...!"
Professor Garcia growled lowly.
It was a menacing sound, enough to freeze the prankster's bones.
In a hurry, Professor Reuji swung their staff again.
"Kehehe. It was just a prank. Just a prank. Right? It's okay, isn't it?"
-Yes! It's okay!-
"See, it's okay!"
Gainando was baffled by Professor Reuji's imitation of his own voice.
No...!
"Such a remarkable professor."
"I want to learn that magic."
"You barbarians! How can you think of such things right now!"
Gainando scolded his friends, but they were already halfway convinced.
"Damn. We were fooled."
"I had high hopes."
"I told you so!"
Gainando grumbled at the complaining students.
Students who had hoped to learn the magic of turning a friend into a mouse showed their disappointment as they waved their staffs.
Naturally, magic that could turn a friend into a mouse was not of a low circle.
In fact, it was a spell taught to higher-level students.
'I like this one better.'
Yi-Han swung his staff to practice the <Ingredient Detection> magic that Professor Reuji had taught that day.
What good would it do to turn a friend into a mouse?
In contrast, being able to explore the components of a material with just a staff was quite beneficial.
"Kuk kuk kuk. To transform a material means to understand it to its deepest core. Do you understand, everyone?"
"Yes, Professor."
Yi-Han answered seriously to the sly voice of the skeleton warrior.
The voice was hard to get used to, but the meaning it conveyed was quite important.
Altering the properties or form of a material might seem simple on the surface, but it required deep understanding.
Just as summoning magic seemed to involve simply tossing an ingredient and easily summoning something, but required a lot of preparation behind the scenes, so too did transformation magic.
"Professor, I've figured it out."
"I have too."
"Understood."
Students from all around raised their hands, having determined the composition of an iron rod.
'They're all familiar faces.'
It seemed the students studying alchemy were well-suited for this, as they performed well.
Professor Reuji clapped with their bony hands, looking pleased.
"Kehehe. You are all excellent. Shall we try a simple magic then?"
The cape fluttered and then settled gently on the desk. The professor tapped the desk with their hand.
"This cape is made of sheep's wool. Soft and fluffy."
The staff was waved. In an instant, the cape turned into a solid lump of metal.
"!"
"...!!!"
The eyes of the students gathered around the desk sparkled.
They were all serious about alchemy and transformation magic, showing more enthusiasm for these kinds of spells than for magic that turned friends into mice.
The simple spell demonstrated various possibilities.
What if it transformed into a material other than iron?
Or into a different shape? Or what if it went deeper and changed the properties of the wool itself?
'The fact that transformation magic can't make money is disheartening.'
Yi-Han pondered to himself.
The magic was too well-known, and there were many countermeasures against it. Making fake silver or gold to become wealthy was practically impossible.
"Hehehe. I like your enthusiasm. Let's practice then. A piece of advice: start by understanding the properties of the wool before recklessly casting the spell."
Following the professor's advice, the students began practicing in various ways – touching their own capes, smelling them, detecting their components.
The princess twirled around, waving her staff. The texture of the cape turned into a solid metal-like consistency and then reverted back.
"The duration seems... too short."
"Transformation magic is inherently like that, student. Think of enchantment magic, and you'll understand more quickly," the skeleton professor kindly explained.
As a type of magic that involved infusing materials with magic woven willpower to change their form, it was generally difficult for such spells to last a long time.
"There's no need to obsess over the duration. Once you master the correct way of casting, the duration will gradually increase. The important thing is to accurately control and materialize the desired substance..."
Professor Reuji finished their explanation and looked around.
Some students were still trying to identify components, while others were attempting the <Iron Cloak Transformation> spell.
"How does it look? Like iron?"
"Umm... It seems to lack a bit of strength."
"Let's give it a swing."
Yonaire, holding the cloak in one hand and her staff in the other, cast the transformation spell.
Then she struck hard at the cloak that Yi-Han was holding.
Clang!
"It seems better than before."
"Good. I'll try again. Just a moment. Need to drink a potion."
"Take your time."
Professor Reuji clicked their skeletal jaws in contentment, watching the students help each other practice the magic.
"...?"
Suddenly, they noticed something odd.
Why did striking the cloak produce such a sound?
