Chapter 16
“If you want to live properly as a mber of my family, never speak that na again. No—erase it from your mory.”
Ruin’s face was still badly twisted.
Those were not the eyes of a father looking at his child, but the eyes of soone staring at a mortal enemy.
“I will keep that in mind……! Please forgive ……! Family Head……!”
Thud!
When Ruin withdrew his magic, Russel dropped straight to the floor.
He imdiately bowed his head toward Ruin from the urine-soaked ground, trembling and pleading in a terrified, quavering voice.
“I was wrong………! Family Head…… sniff, sniff…….”
His whole body shook as he experienced extre fear.
“A bug has been born in my family.”
Ruin turned away coldly and left the dining hall.
***
Reji, having completed his five-year teaching term, headed to the faculty office.
Today it wasn’t the appearance of a mountaintop, but that of an ordinary professor’s office.
Vice Headmaster Draco Forr was already there.
Reji bowed his head at a right angle to greet him.
“Professor l is out for a mont.”
“Understood.”
Facing the Vice Headmaster, Reji’s posture and expression both stiffened from tension.
Forr looked over the docunts containing Reji’s record.
“Fourteen students passed in five years. Well, that’s sufficient.”
At his words, joy instantly washed over Reji’s face.
Forr opened a portal.
“Is that the portal leading to the examination hall?”
“Go in.”
He didn’t nod—only returned a cold reply.
But since that was Forr’s usual personality, Reji took it positively.
“Thank you! Vice Headmaster! I’ll work hard, graduate, and enter the main academy!”
He also believed fifty years was more than enough ti for unexpected changes to occur.
It was the mont she stepped into the portal.
“Fourteen is more than enough to get you expelled.”
“……What did you say?”
Inside the portal, Reji froze mid-step and looked back at Forr.
“The qualification isn’t about how many students you pass, but how many you expel.”
“That’s…… different from what you said! You clearly said I’d be evaluated by the number of students I passed!”
Then where in the world did this portal lead?
What was certain was that it wasn’t the examination hall for the Class 7 promotion test.
Yet his body was already inside the portal.
When she tried to step back out, Forr imdiately cast magic.
Dozens of shadowy arms extended from inside the portal, binding his body and dragging him deeper inside.
“You’ve worked hard, Teacher Reji. This is the path ant for you. You do have talent, but unfortunately, you were born in the wrong era.”
Forr closed the portal.
Why…… am I being expelled? What did I do wrong……?
The portal had already shut, and Reji couldn’t understand the situation.
Had he violated any school rule?
No matter how hard he tried to recall, nothing ca to mind.
As the portal space dissolved, the scene before his eyes shifted—an ordinary city in the Lower World.
“Ah…….”
And he finally understood.
He had been expelled from the school and cast down to the Lower World.
He could never return to the academy.
More precisely, he could no longer set foot in the Upper World where the school and the Magical Society existed.
“What did he an by being born in the wrong era…….”
She couldn’t understand the words Forr had left behind.
Reji collapsed to the ground in despair.
anwhile, as Forr was returning to the 7th floor of the branch school, he suddenly looked down at his own hand in the hallway.
Reji’s face—at the mont he was banished to the Lower World—seed drawn across his palm.
“…….”
Since becoming this school’s Vice Headmaster fifty years ago, how many students had he forced into expulsion with this hand?
All of them had been 6th Circle students on the verge of graduation.
Just before they could finally spread the wings of their talent, he had cast them out with his own hand.
When would the day co when he could peacefully embrace and teach such students?
Each ti he expelled a student, Forr felt guilt, and he morized every single na so he would never forget those he sent away.
For mages in this era, talent was a chronic illness that consud their lifespan.
“That’s why, Reji, you don’t need to know anything for now. When the era changes, I’ll bring back you and all the students I expelled.”
He could only hope that the expelled students in the Lower World stayed safe until then.
***
Class 1’s winter vacation had begun.
Even though it was vacation, the students remaining in Class 1 were the sa as those in Class 0.
, Kiena, and Hei.
Those were all the students currently remaining in Class 1 during the break.
With the vacation, the training grounds, dueling arena, classrooms, and all similar facilities were tightly closed.
Only the library and dining hall were open.
The doors were sealed by magic, and while I wondered if I should undo them with my own magic, I chose not to.
If I dispelled that kind of lock, the mage who’d placed it would imdiately be notified.
There was no need to cause unnecessary trouble.
My vacation routine was just the sa as during Class 0.
I invested all my waking hours in the Class 1 library, and when alti ca, we all ate together.
I spent an entire day searching the Class 1 library for any of Master’s books, but found none.
Master had only ever written one book: “The Beginner’s Guide”.
He wrote it with the thought that even children with absolutely no talent for magic might still beco mages.
Thus, Master’s book wasn’t one needed in Class 1, where only those who had found elental or summoning magic gathered.
As that monotonous, repetitive vacation passed, the ti for the new term approached.
-
To all first-year students of Class 1. The four of you must co to ‘Classroom 1’ imdiately.
Author : Muhead
It was an announcent that arrived right before the first class began.
The four first-year Class 1 students were , Kiena, Hei, and Russel.
Through the Mob’s Pathfinding, the four of us gathered in front of Classroom 1.
Before entering, Russel showed the sa wariness toward as always, but sothing in the atmosphere felt different.
Unlike what I had seen in Class 0, he looked as though he feared sothing and was on guard.
Why did a guy who had gone down to his family ho in the Lower World during the break now have fear lingering in his eyes all of a sudden?
He hadn’t even run into .
Not wanting to create a troubleso situation, I took Kiena and Hei with and stepped into the classroom first.
The classroom looked identical to that of Class 0.
Tiered rows of tables, and at the very bottom, a platform where the teacher stood.
The teacher on the platform had brown hair.
But in front of the platform, there was also a rather large, exhibition-like display covered with a black curtain.
This teacher was an earth elentalist.
His irises weren’t fully brown either.
He likely seed to be another dropout from Class 6.
“Welco. I am Muhead, and I’ll be teaching you 《The History of Mages》 and ‘Mage Ethics and Theory’ from now on.”
“But why did you call us here?”
As expected, the mont Russel realized the man was a mage of commoner origin, he asked rudely.
“Judging by your hair color, you must be a student of House Mihael. Nice to et you.”
Instead, Muhead smiled warmly and extended a hand toward Russel, but Russel only stared at his hand.
“That’s fine. We’re still a bit awkward with each other. Let’s save the handshake for next ti.”
He seems to have a good personality.
A teacher who stayed relaxed even when dealing with that stubborn Russel……
My first impression of Class 1 wasn’t bad.
Muhead stepped forward and pulled away the black curtain.
As I expected, it was a display area, and inside were staffs and wands arranged neatly.
“These are congratulatory gifts for your admission into Class 1. You may choose whichever you like.”
“Gifts?”
At the word “gift,” Kiena’s voice rose excitedly.
“Yes, now that you’re official 1st Circle Mages, your classes will no longer resemble what you took in Class 0. Class 1 focuses primarily on magic practice. These items will help with magical manifestation.”
He answered kindly.
At least I knew why such gifts were given.
Students who had only just awakened to elental or summoning magic still lacked concentration to properly manifest magic.
How to focus, where to direct the spell they wished to manifest—
They lacked even the most basic concepts.
That was why staffs and wands—items that aided in focusing and designating targets—were provided.
It was a simple but extrely important step for beginner mages.
It was like giving soone a blank sheet of paper and telling them, “Draw anything,” versus “Draw a house.”
“Anything” had no the, leaving the person unsure of what to draw.
But “a house” provided a the—just follow it.
For beginner mages, staffs and wands served that sa purpose.
Even if one succeeded in manifesting magic, these tools were like assistant teachers who guided the spell toward the correct target.
“Please, go ahead and choose.”
Unexpectedly, Russel approached the display first.
He picked a wand.
“Do you have a particular reason for choosing the wand, Russel?”
“Well, it’s convenient to carry around.”
“You must be a mage who values practicality.”
Kiena, surprisingly, picked a staff as tall as she was.
“Kiena, do you have a special reason?”
“No special reason…… I just thought it’d be nice to hug it like a doll when I sleep……?”
“Hahaha, that’s an adorable reason.”
It was a bit odd, but not bad.
That kind of innocence did look cute, as Muhead said.
Hei chose a wand.
“I also like things that are easy to carry.”
“How annoying. Stop copying ?”
As always, Russel couldn’t leave it alone.
“What are you talking about?”
Hei shot back casually.
Once their bickering ended, it beca my turn.
“Artel, please choose.”
But for , a staff or a wand……
“Teacher Muhead.”
“Yes?”
“Do I have to choose?”
“……What do you an?”
“Is it a problem if I don’t choose one?”
He seed startled by the unexpected answer.
“Most students happily pick one since it’s a gift. May I ask why you don’t want to?”
I had many reasons, but explaining them would only waste my breath……
“They’re just cumberso to carry around, whether it’s a wand or a staff.”
Even if it sounded arrogant, this was the simplest answer.
And I was allowed to say this much. Because……
“As expected, you must truly be the double caster born after 500 years. Your mindset is different. Very well. The choice isn’t mandatory anyway. These are only provided for the students’ convenience.”
As expected.
News about a special mage—a double caster—had spread even to Class 1, just as I predicted.
Muhead was about to cover the display with the black curtain again when—
“It seems each of you will be heading to your respective classes now. I’ll see you again during mine. Show your full potential in Class 1.”
As always, Russel left first, and Kiena, Hei, and I paused briefly at the classroom door.
“I don’t have morning classes.”
“Fire-elent class starts late in the morning, so I don’t have class right away either.”
“What about you, Artel?”
“Oh, since I’m a double caster, I have two elental classes. My morning class is the darkness-elent class.”
“Being a double caster must be rough. Twice the classes of everyone else.”
“Good luck. See you later.”
Kiena and Hei patted my back.
They were still young, so the idea of having more classes seed like a curse to them.
“Yeah, see you at lunch. I’ll contact you through the Mob.”
“Got it.”
“Do your best! Artel!”
I then went to find the classroom where the darkness-elent class was held.
Classroom 2.
It was right next to the one we had just exited.
Right before I entered, I saw Russel heading into the neighboring classroom.
That was Classroom 3—likely where the light-elent class was held.
When I stepped into Classroom 2, five students and a teacher were already inside.
But the mont I saw the teacher’s face, I flinched in surprise.
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