Chapter 19

Memory Book

I finished the enrollment procedures.

Following the admissions instructor’s guidance, I was assigned to a dormitory.

“Here, try grabbing the door handle.”

The instructor placed my hand on the dormitory entrance door handle and cast a security spell on it.

“User recognition. Security lock.”

The door automatically locks the moment it closes, and opens when I touch the handle with my hand.

How convenient.

The dormitory room I entered following the instructor’s guidance was incredibly spacious.

“You must have had a tiring day, please rest comfortably.”

After seeing the instructor to the door, I looked around the house.

To be honest, it’s better than the Green Bean Villa 201 in Nokbeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu where I originally lived.

When the instructor said it was a 4-person room, I thought of the chicken coop-like dormitory room I used during my university days, but it wasn’t like that.

A 4-pyeong room with two bunk beds?

Ah, that’s the dormitory of poor South Korean universities.

Look at the Magic University dormitory in this god-tier game. A magnificent living room with a large sofa and coffee table, with two bathrooms and three rooms attached.

Two bedrooms and one study.

It’s so spacious that it feels lonely, though.

“I have to use this big house all by myself.”

The reason is that the dormitory is completely empty. Because the number of students is far too insufficient.

“Wait! Instructor!”

I quickly opened the door and caught up with the instructor who had moved far away at the end of the corridor.

“If I recruit party members, can they sleep here?”

Kids like Yernil have nowhere to go.

Inn fees are also a waste.

“I have no choice but to say no.”

The instructor shrugged.

“But there’s no dorm supervisor in a dormitory with so few people.”

“There’s a security guard on the first floor though.”

“His main job is receiving mail.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, and.”

The instructor said as if remembering something.

“There are Magic University uniforms in the closet, so wear those.”

***

I closed the door again and immediately rushed to the bathroom.

You might not believe it, but I was still wearing the Magic University prisoner slave uniform.

Waking up in the morning and entering the exit room with Yernil for the boss battle.

Coming out with Backstab and Abisson’s corpse and fainting.

A few hours later, waking up at the temple and immediately going to the Magic University for contribution evaluation.

And meeting the Halfling, dipping one foot in the Jordan River, barely making a U-turn to meet Isilof and joining the club…

“All this could happen in one day.”

I took off the prisoner uniform shirt. The large text ‘Magic University Prisoner Slave’ was stamped on the back like a watermark.

I threw off the pants too and immediately entered the bathtub and turned on the hot water.

“Ahhh…”

Now I understand why middle-aged men make such sounds when they enter hot water in the bathroom.

“I feel like I’m going to live.”

Various parts of my body stung.

Thanks to drinking the healing potion, most of the major wounds had healed, but there were still minor scratches.

Especially the neck that was almost slashed by a Goblin at first – when I peeled off the scab, blood trickled out.

Since I hadn’t properly washed during the long time in the labyrinth, I melted the oil and grime that had accumulated on my body and face with hot water, and washed with cleansing foam… Well, there wasn’t any, so I used soap. Even this is something to be grateful for.

Of course, since there was no shampoo either, I washed my hair with soap too. As I scrubbed my matted hair with soap, it felt like doing laundry, and I chuckled.

After finishing the bath, I came out and stopped the bleeding on my neck with a towel, then checked the wall clock.

9:30 PM.

There’s still some time.

I want to bury myself in the soft mattress right now, but let me move a bit more diligently.

“He said there are uniforms in the closet?”

When I opened the closet, a three-piece set consisting of pants, shirt, and cardigan came out.

“The game didn’t give clothes.”

Now that I look at it, it’s Abisson’s outfit that was found as a corpse in front of the exit room.

Since Abisson was a rich family’s son who received the Soul Preservation service, his family probably equipped him with plenty of gear.

Despite that, if he entered wearing the uniform, the performance must be quite good, right?

When I tried on the uniform, it had automatic size adjustment magic, so the moment I put it on, the length and waist fit my body perfectly.

I’ll sleep wearing this tonight.

I don’t have pajamas, and I’m thinking of testing its performance.

And…

“It’s a wand.”

Next to the uniform was a wand issued to first-year Magic University students.

I know this because it was received as early-game supplies in the game too.

A wand worth +2 Wisdom points.

All the wands I had collected in the labyrinth, like Thanos collecting Infinity Stones, were confiscated by the Magic University. So to use dual wands, I need to acquire one more wand.

After combing my hair, I put the wand on my belt and looked in the mirror.

Not bad.

The wretchedness of a slave prisoner completely disappeared, and a decent elite university student, a wizard, appeared.

Maybe because I’ve grown attached to this body, now that I look at it, the face is quite handsome too?

“Shall I go?”

The place I’m currently at is the labyrinth city, ‘Soren’.

It’s the starting point when you begin the game as a human wizard.

The reason is that the magic university here is the largest among all magic institutions in the game.

And the library is also the biggest.

“The library is open 24 hours.”

***

Dong!–Dong!–Dong!

The bell rings from the university’s clock tower.

Nine times.

It means the current time is 9 AM and I’m late.

“Damn.”

The bell rang at seven and at eight too, but how did I not hear any of them and only wake up at nine?

“I was told to come to the admissions office by 9 AM.”

That instructor who guided me to the dormitory yesterday said so.

‘I never was late once during university or when working at the company.’

It seems like I overdid it yesterday. The fortunate thing is that I slept in my uniform, so I can go out right away.

The more fortunate thing is that I didn’t sleep in the dormitory but in the library. I fell asleep while studying magic books last night, and the library is much closer to the admissions office than the dormitory.

“Tsk.”

I wiped the saliva from my mouth, put the book in the return slot, and rushed out.

‘He said there would be an orientation?’

I expect they’ll probably make a memory book.

What’s a memory book? It’s the time-honored system that appears in D&D-style novels, games, TRPGs, etc. – the ‘spell slot’ system.

In the setting, the memory book provides spell slots that match the wizard’s abilities, where you register spells in advance and then conveniently cast them with a wand – that’s the principle of magic use.

Like loading bullets into a rifle magazine beforehand.

That memory book is expressed like this in the game.

‘Keyboard button B.’

When you press it, a system window called ‘Memory Book’ appears, and you drag and drop spells into the spell slots shown there to register and remove them.

What about here, where it’s become reality?

‘Incantation.’

You can summon the memory book by shouting ‘Memorize!’ Everything else is the same as the game.

How did I know this?

That’s why I spent the entire night at the library.

Additionally, I finished researching not only the concept of the memory book but also all the spells currently used by the Magic University’s wizards and magic build-ups.

I absolutely refuse to get into trouble again for not knowing something like lie detection magic.

The fortunate thing is that I already know almost all the spells.

This means I can use my existing wizard development method almost as is. Of course, since my special ability has changed, some adjustments will be necessary.

Click!

“I’m late, I’m sorry.”

I was panting because I had sprinted at full speed to the main building’s admissions office.

9:14 AM.

Sweat trickled down the back of my neck.

“Come in and sit here.”

In front of the admissions instructor, four first-year students were gathered.

They are ‘slave wizards’.

Those who entered the labyrinth with the same batch as me and survived.

They received the same wizard uniform as me, but still had ‘Magic University Prisoner Slave’ written on their backs.

‘Yernil isn’t here.’

She’ll probably transfer to the Adventurer’s Guild today. I should go get her later.

“He’s here.”

The slave wizards started whispering when they saw me. It seems I’m a hot topic among them too.

“Did you wait because of me? I’m sorry.”

I quickly sat down and apologized, but the instructor shook his head.

“It’s okay. The professor hasn’t come yet either. Did you work overtime yesterday…”

I also worked overtime and was late in the morning, but somehow I feel a sense of camaraderie?

Knock knock.

Just then, someone knocked on the admissions office door.

“Come in!”

“Mmm.”

Then an extremely old-looking, hunched-back elf elder entered.

“Nice to meet you all. I’m the old man from the Magic University’s backroom.”

“……”

“My name is Dalstream.”

Dalstream!

The person Clarence told me about yesterday. The one who argues that otherworld possessors should be revered and served instead.

The senior wizard who’s looking for a Turn-Based Wizard.

“Wasn’t Professor Isilof supposed to come?”

The instructor asked.

“Professor Isilof seems to be having a big dispute with the temple right now about transferring Backstab’s corpse. He looked busy, so I came instead.”

Professor Dalstream looked over the slave prisoners and made eye contact with me.

“The student who’s been the talk of the town.”

“……Hello.”

“I will now explain the memory book to you all.”

Professor Dalstream went on about the memory book explanation that I already knew. And then next:

“Memorize.”

He summoned the memory book.

It’s the first time I’m seeing it directly with my own eyes in reality.

White glowing smoke rose up, and a book the size of an encyclopedia appeared at the tip of his wand, floating in the air. I couldn’t see what spells were contained in the memory book.

“The memory book is a kind of supernatural ability bestowed by wizards, the god of wisdom. So you can only obtain a memory book by making a contract with wizards.”

The professor took out contracts that the instructor had prepared in advance, had the students sign them one by one, and sent them to wizards through magical incantation.

It feels similar to how Isilof transmitted mail yesterday.

“Now you should all have memory books too.”

It’s not a particularly unfamiliar situation for me. In the game, the B key works after going through this kind of event.

“Try the incantation.”

“Memorize!”

“Memorize!”

The slave wizards summoned their memory books without difficulty.

And a memory book bloomed at the tip of my wand too.

“How many slots do you have?”

The professor asked each student one by one.

“Two 1st-grade slots.”

“One 1st-grade slot.”

The number of spell slots varies according to the wizard’s level. At low levels, only 1st-grade slots are available.

In my case, I’m currently level 5.

“I have three 1st-grade slots.”

“Oh.”

Dalstream let out a light exclamation.

“The number of spell slots is important, everyone. If you combine spells well, you can create new spells. The detailed method for that is…”

Professor Dalstream plopped down in his chair and pointed to the instructor.

“The instructor will teach you.”

“……!”

The instructor was flustered as if this wasn’t planned.

“Professor Isilof said he would lecture everything himself! I have a lot to do right now!”

“Sorry. My back hurts.”

Professor Dalstream laughed heartily while patting his back.

The instructor sighed and took us to the magic practice room.

***

Magic combination is similar to playing poker.

For example, if you place Fireball, Ice Spike, and Lightning Shock in order in three 1st-grade spell slots, you get an elemental magic triple.

The effect is…

“You get one 2nd-grade spell.”

It’s called ‘Triple Elemental Shot’.

“This process of bundling spells to create higher-level spells is called spell book binding. The special feature is that you can use it without consuming a 2nd-grade spell slot. Let me show you directly.”

The instructor fired the Triple Elemental Shot at the wall.

An awesome, destructive 2nd-grade binding spell that causes one of the status effects – burn, freeze, or shock – to the target while simultaneously dealing 3-element magic damage!

“How is it?”

The instructor’s shoulders rose proudly, the slave wizards were amazed, and I…

‘No, instructor.’

Was a bit flustered.

‘Your build is completely ruined…’

Wizards can freely change the spells in their memory book’s spell slots, but they can’t test all combinations infinitely.

Because the amount of spells you can learn in the first place is limited.

So the fact that the instructor used Triple Elemental Shot means he learned Fireball, Lightning Shock, and Ice Spike all together.

That build doesn’t work after ‘Hard Mode’ difficulty.

“You can learn as many 1st-grade spells as you have 1st-grade spell slots. Later you can learn more than the number of slots, but for now, as many as your slots.”

The instructor, unaware of such circumstances, explained cheerfully.

“Here, choose what you want from the 1st-grade spell list. The professor will have an interview and recommend a build.”