Chapter 9: Thaumaturge — Part 3 Final.
After a few brief glances around the classroom, the professor continued her lecture, moving on to explain the remaining types of thaumaturges.
"The Internal Thaumaturges are represented by the second drawing. Their prana channels extend throughout their limbs, muscles, bones, joints, and other internal areas, reinforcing and strengthening those parts to a certain extent. They usually possess far greater vitality, granting them exceptional physical capabilities and athletic traits focused on specific areas. Some are much stronger than average, more resilient, faster, more agile, or more precise. This type of thaumaturge is simply called a Martial."
The professor's voice echoed through the room as many of the students listened in silence, inevitably comparing the two types of thaumaturges in their minds.
It was obvious that, as children, they could only vaguely grasp the advantages of the first type. The idea of casting magic sounded exciting, but also complicated. Even though they had already studied simple spells, those were still far removed from what true conjuration looked like at the level of a real conjurer.
On the other hand, Internal Thaumaturges offered a much more immediate and exciting perspective.
All of them had grown up hearing tales of legendary heroes from ages past, such as Fareth, who had slain the great beast through his overwhelming combat ability and strength that surpassed all other warriors.
The idea of taking up a sword and venturing out to battle monsters was an irresistible dream for young minds.
At that moment, Beltrán remembered there was still one type left.
One whose mysterious name had left a deep impression on him from the moment he had heard it.
"And what about the Magus?" Beltrán asked, his curiosity outweighing everything else.
Katerina smiled broadly as she picked up an eraser, wiping away the previous channel lines from the board and leaving behind a single figure with one lone channel running from the head all the way down to the base of the body.
"This is the body of a Magus."
Beltrán stared in disbelief.
They only have one channel?
He understood the basic principles of how prana channels functioned, but the idea of having only a single one felt deeply strange.
The rest of the students shared his puzzled anticipation.
"Magus are an extremely rare anomaly among thaumaturges. Until less than two hundred years ago, they were not even considered a type of thaumaturge. However, after extensive study of their unique qualities, scholars, teachers, and even archmages eventually reached the conclusion that Magus indeed belonged within the thaumaturgic classification.
"They possess only one prana channel, but this channel differs from anything else we know. Rather than connecting to the body's exterior or interior, it connects to something far deeper—something we still lack exact knowledge of.
"Unfortunately, this remains a relatively modern and poorly explored field."
Beltrán was no stranger to encountering the limits of human understanding.
In the world tied to his borrowed memories, there had been countless theories, dilemmas, and concepts left unresolved.
Part of him felt a strange sadness.
He would likely never know how many of those unanswered questions had eventually been solved.
Especially not in this world, which seemed so disconnected from those ideas.
Once his immediate doubts had been answered, more questions arose throughout the classroom.
Many of the students—far less perceptive than Beltrán or a select few others—struggled to fully grasp what had been explained.
Still, Professor Katerina demonstrated remarkable patience and outstanding teaching ability, guiding them carefully until the concepts became easier to understand.
And so, the class ended, leaving behind an entirely new world of possibilities—and even more mysteries.
Beltrán could not get the word Pathway out of his mind.
It distracted him enough to interfere with his sparring practice with Aliss.
During one training session with the veteran knight, Beltrán landed hard on his rear, staring down at his scraped forearms, battered by repeated impacts and Sir Aliss's anything-but-gentle strikes.
"That's enough. Let's take a break," Aliss said, his voice carrying its usual solemn edge.
Beltrán let himself fall backward onto the dirty ground, his sweat mixing with damp earth as twigs and small stones tangled in his slightly overgrown hair.
His chest rose and fell rapidly as he gasped for air, nausea threatening to overcome him.
Somehow, he forced himself upright again, sitting there in silence as he watched Aliss.
"Sir Aliss…"
The knight turned his attention toward him.
"Is being a knight a Pathway?"
For a brief moment, surprise flickered across Aliss's eyes before his expression returned to its usual impassive state.
The knight wore thick, practical leather clothing suited for enduring the wear of training.
Despite this, he looked as immaculate as ever.
A sharp contrast to Beltrán, who was now little more than a mess of dirt, bruises, and dust.
"That's an interesting question, young master," Aliss replied carefully. "Is there a particular reason you wish to know?"
Beltrán briefly explained what had been taught in class, hoping to ease the knight's suspicion.
Aliss often questioned his motives more than Beltrán found comfortable.
Still, his curiosity was genuine, and before long Aliss answered.
"I am a Warrior," the knight said simply. "More specifically, I developed into a knight, which is the title I currently hold due to my training."
So one of the existing Pathways is the Warrior Pathway, Beltrán assumed.
Drawing from countless RPGs and fantasy games tied to his alternate memories, Beltrán pieced together a rough understanding.
A warrior would belong to the category of Internal Thaumaturges.
That realization clarified several things.
Though he was no true expert, his experience and memories gave him a practical instinct for judging the capabilities of an ordinary adult.
Sir Aliss exceeded those expectations by an absurd margin.
His mastery of weaponry allowed movements and actions that would have defied normal human limits in Beltrán's other world.
In fact, Beltrán was certain the knight surpassed any Olympic athlete he had ever seen.
"What does the Warrior Pathway grant you?" he asked curiously as Aliss sat down on a split log nearby.
The surrounding woods were quiet, interrupted only by small gusts of wind stirring the trees into soft but unsettling whispers.
Aliss had intentionally chosen this isolated place to ensure complete privacy.
"Warriors are the most conventional type of Internal Thaumaturge," he explained in a calmer tone than Beltrán had ever heard from him.
"Because of that, however, we possess superior raw physical capability compared to most other martial Pathways. At higher stages, we can far surpass them."
So Warriors stand at the peak of physical ability…
Beltrán still struggled to fully conceptualize what a Pathway truly was, preferring to simplify it as something akin to a character class in an RPG.
"Then all Warriors are close-combat fighters?" he asked thoughtfully.
Aliss shook his head.
"That is a common misconception.
"People often isolate a fighter's combat style based solely on their Pathway. Many Warriors are trained to use multiple weapons throughout their lives. Our rapid healing, combined with our natural talent for combat and proficiency with many weapon types and armor styles, allows us to unleash formidable combat power.
"Not only on the front lines, but also as archers, mid-range combatants—even stealth operatives."
So your Pathway doesn't truly limit how you fight. It simply gives you tools to adapt…
Beltrán imagined countless scenarios.
Figures scaling walls.
Silent assassins striking from the shadows.
Warriors wielding axes, shields, heavy armor, or crushing maces.
He understood a simple truth about battle:
Combat was rarely fair.
Its purpose was often no more than ending the other person's life.
Limiting oneself to a single method of fighting was reckless in a world so unpredictable.
In that sense, the greatest fighter was not necessarily the strongest or fastest—
but the one who adapted best.
And Warriors seemed to possess extraordinary adaptability.
"Many young people become excited and believe they can fight any enemy with nothing but a sword," Sir Aliss continued, surprising Beltrán with his unusual talkativeness.
"That mistake costs many recruits their lives."
His voice deepened, carrying an emotion Beltrán had never heard from him before.
For the first time, he felt as though he was seeing the real Sir Aliss.
He suddenly became very talkative.
"Specializing in a single weapon may be useful if you face only one kind of opponent.
"But most battles are not so simple.
"The environment may work against you. Your enemy may exploit your weaknesses. They may fight dishonorably.
"Whatever the case, limiting yourself in weaponry or equipment can prove catastrophic—especially when you lack the training to compensate."
At that moment, Beltrán remembered a famous phrase from his other world.
I do not fear the man who has practiced a thousand kicks once. I fear the man who has practiced one kick a thousand times.
The saying spoke of discipline and mastery.
But now, under the lens of Aliss's words, Beltrán interpreted it differently.
Mastering a single weapon is not always as valuable as it seems… but becoming capable with many gives you a way out when circumstances turn against you.
What use was a Sifraleon that only knew how to run if its legs became injured?
Beltrán deeply appreciated Sir Aliss's lesson.
When he looked back at him, however, the knight had already returned to his usual silence, as though the conversation had never happened.
Without another word, Sir Aliss rose to resume training.
This time, Beltrán threw himself into the sparring session with far greater determination, trying not to rely solely on frontal assaults and instead experimenting with new approaches.
It changed absolutely nothing.
He ended the session battered and bruised, silently complaining about the fresh collection of aches spreading across his body.