Chapter 71

The lesson topic was the control of thunderclouds.

As the professor demonstrated, the students of the Buerger Hall began creating clouds the size of cotton candy.

“If we talk about the most difficult power to control among the elements, it’s lightning. Some of you must have experienced being struck by your own lightning magic a few times.”

Many nodded in agreement.

I, too, knew the pain, having been pricked by static electricity several times.

“But if you handle the thundercloud like this, it will move according to the caster’s will.”

The professor brought a cloud sparking with electricity close to the lightning rod next to her.

Then, a thin bolt of lightning shot out.

Boom!

The lightning bypassed the rod and struck a male student directly.

“Aaaah!”

As his hair stood on end, the professor narrowed her eyes.

“I told you not to daydream during class, didn’t I?”

“S-sorry….”

The professor looked away from him with a dissatisfied expression and continued the explanation.

“If controlled properly, even with distractions, you can still reach your intended target. The important part is the shape of the cloud. Depending on its form, you can manipulate electricity more precisely, which you can only learn through practice. Now, let’s start by making a cloud.”

To create a cloud, you need fire to generate steam, water, and wind to shape it.

Unable to handle all three elements simultaneously, I had no choice but to shape it with telekinesis as a workaround.

The result

“Hey, look at that.”

“Wow, how did they make a cloud the size of a bed?”

A huge cloud that looked like it was plucked straight from the sky.

I wished it were mine.

As I looked enviously, the owner of the giant cloud, Klabe, glanced at mine.

A tiny fluff of cloud, barely the size of lint pulled from a po

“Do you want me to share some?”

“No, thanks.”

Ricks, who was next to me, chimed in.

“Klabe, you should handle this yourself. Still, it’s impressive. Your magic power has increased compared to the first day.”

Ricks’ sympathy was quite annoying.

A cloud the size of a pillow floated above him.

The others were similar.

Even the next biggest cloud after mine was about the size of a shoe.

After a minute, the professor looked at me and said.

“You there. I told you to make a cloud, but is it still not done?”

“I made it.”

“Huh?”

When I used telekinesis to bring my cloud closer, she apologized.

“Ahem, sorry. I thought it was a fly.”

– Are there even flies in this cold place?

***

It was just before the supplementary lesson began after class.

While taking a break in the Schlaphe Hall lobby, I watched Limberton and Aslay.

They wore clothes I hadn’t seen before, probably new tailor-made outfits.

Limberton was dressed in slightly flashy clothes, and Aslay wore a clean jacket and pants, unlike his usual barbaric attire.

“You look good. Definitely better than what you used to wear.”

“Mm.”

Aslay seemed uncomfortable in his jacket, constantly fidgeting with his arms and shoulders.

Limberton stood up proudly, showing off his height-increasing shoes.

“How do I look? Do my legs seem longer?”

“You’re not planning to wear those during training, are you?”

He flinched as if I had hit the mark.

“Ahem, should I not?”

“If you want to twist your ankle, go ahead.”

“…It might attract a kind girl with sympathy.”

“Enough useless talk. How’s the class?”

Their expressions turned gloomy.

“I’m the bottom of the knights’ division. Next is Aslay.”

I knew it.

Limberton is practically useless except for his archery skills.

Low stamina, and his aura is severely lacking.

And Aslay…

“Swordsmanship is hard. I keep missing.”

◇Better than average.◇

With 40% of his strikes missing, he had a cursed trait.

For a knight, where each move matters, Aslay had few opportunities to shine.

Especially since he had never held a sword properly, his stance would have been poor.

It was only natural for the professor to give him a bad evaluation.

“We’re all in similar situations.”

We were like rough stones, far from the mainstream education.

Ironically, supplementary lessons were closer to regular classes for us.

“How about the supplementary lessons?”

When I asked, Limberton grinned.

“They say the instructor is an outside expert. He has extensive knowledge of archery. I’ve been praised a lot.”

Aslay also answered in his awkward manner.

“I was told not to aim.”

Judging by the smile on his face, he must have received good feedback too.

I checked my pocket watch.

“It’s time for class. Let’s get going.”

We, who were far from the norm, moved forward for our achievements.

***

“You want me to design the curriculum?”

“He’s asking you to organize what you can teach.”

Hetherson scratched his head.

“Well, there’s a lot I can teach. But the important thing is whether it’s useful for you. First, demonstrate a spell from each category. I need to see your level in detail.”

“You want to streamline it.”

“Yes. Start with the elemental magic.”

I took out my staff and cast the water cannon spell, my most confident one in the elemental category.

Sss-sss

Hetherson watched expressionlessly without saying a word.

“Say something?”

“Stop with the piss stream.”

Sss-sss

“…It’s stronger than before. That’s too harsh.”

“Don’t bother with the other elements. What about conjuration magic?”

“Wait and see.”

I focused and created an imaginary quill.

Hetherson’s eyes twitched.

“A dog’s tail?”

“It’s a quill.”

Hetherson held the shimmering illusion in his hand with a doubtful expression.

“My goodness, there’s no tactile sensation at all. Is this some mirage?”

“If it were, you wouldn’t be holding it.”

“In a way, it’s impressive. No one could make such a thing even if they tried.”

Hetherson blew on the quill, making it vanish in a puff of smoke.

“Next, let’s see some curses.”

Hetherson’s hair, unwashed, had fruit flies circling it like satellites.

He swiftly caught one and carefully placed it on the table, pulling off its wings.

I used the basic curse of puppet control.

“As expected, this works. If you couldn’t control even a fruit fly, that would be pathetic. Now, make it do a trick.”

“A trick?”

“Make it roll over.”

Concentrating, I infused it with mana, making the fly flail and flip.

But halfway through, it lost strength and fell limp.

Hetherson looked at me like I was an insignificant bug.

“Sigh, I knew from the start you wouldn’t be a prodigy.”

Excelling in elemental, curse, peculiar, and conjuration magic is known as the “Perfection.”

Hetherson squinted at me and asked.

“Do you have an innate talent in the peculiar category?”

I nodded, and Hetherson puffed his cheeks, trying not to laugh.

“Ha-ha!”

He clutched his stomach, laughing uproariously.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

After a while, he caught his breath and exhaled deeply.

“Ha… you’re truly an odd one.”

“Have you never seen someone with an innate talent?”

“I have, but it’s rare. How could I forget?”

It seemed prudent to know their names. I might learn something useful if we ever met.

“Really? What are their names?”

Hetherson smirked, but his eyes didn’t follow.

“That’s none of your concern. Anyway, you’re saying you’re peculiar?”

He pointed to a chair, changing the topic.

Though his response was awkward, I didn’t pry further.

He must have his reasons.

“Try lifting the chair with telekinesis.”

That’s my specialty.

But a chair? Could I lift something that heavy?

Yes, I can.

Thanks to the mana accumulated from Ricks’ characteristic.

“Huff!”

Pouring all my mana into it, the chair began to float.

“Wow, this is actually useful. But why do you look like that? Don’t tell me…”

“….”

But the chair’s height gradually lowered.

“Ugh!”

“Already tired?!”

Even though my hand holding the staff trembled from injecting mana, maintaining it wasn’t easy.

Still, I managed.

I looked at Hetherson with pride.

“Huff, how was it?”

“You couldn’t even hold it for a minute. What do you think?”

Hetherson rubbed his face and spoke in a troubled voice.

“Your telekinesis is at the level anyone else can do. Even without innate talent, it’s achievable with developed senses.”

The old professor nodded in agreement.

“Frankly, teaching you might be pointless.”

I narrowed my eyes and asked.

“You think I can’t learn?”

“No, with your academic abilities, you can. But you severely lack sensory skills.”

Hetherson continued, looking deeply into my eyes.

“If you had naturally developed senses, you’d have a foundation. You wouldn’t claim this trickery as magic. And if you had trained rigorously, your mana control wouldn’t be so poor. Sensory development grows alongside skill.”

He hit the mark.

“So, here’s my advice. If you want to be a true mage, give up on these classes and build from the basics. With your mind, two or three years should be enough.”

I chuckled bitterly at Hetherson’s words.

“I don’t have that time. I thought I’d find something useful in Fiend Magic, but if not, I’ll have to find another way.”

Hetherson cursed under his breath, annoyed.

“You stupid brat. You don’t understand good advice. Your head seems empty. Fine, I’ll prove how wrong you are.”

He raised his cuffed wrist.

“See this chain? It’s called a mana suppressor. It suppresses aura and mana. Attack me. You won’t harm me. If you do, I’ll teach you everything about Fiend Magic.”

The old professor’s eyes sparkled.

“Of course, I’ll leave out one thing.”

The old professor looked gloomy again.

Ignoring him, I whacked Hetherson on the head with my staff.

“Ouch! Crazy bastard! Use magic!!”

Hetherson clutched his forehead, glaring.

“You said to attack.”

“You… you did it on purpose…….”

“You should have said ‘with magic’ from the start.”

I felt better after venting my annoyance.

“Sigh, fine. Attack with magic this time. Just magic.”

As Hetherson emphasized again, I drew a fire spell.

A flaming arrow in midair.

Whoosh!

A tiny arrow shot towards Hetherson’s face.

He blew it out with a breath.

“See? No matter how powerful your magic, it’s as good as killing a fly.”

“I still don’t have time. Two years is too long.”

I needed effective offensive skills urgently.

I decided to find another way and stood up.

Hetherson smirked and stopped me.

“Wait. There is a method. One that’ll turn you into a mage worthy of curses in a short time.”

Intrigued, I sat back down. Hetherson drew a formula on the blackboard.

The old professor’s face twisted in horror.

“……Hetherson, are you trying to kill the student?”

Curious, I examined the formula.

It seemed like a peculiar type rather than an elemental, conjuration, or curse.

I asked the old professor for clarity.

“What is this formula?”

“It’s a self-destruct spell. It converts mana into opposing forces and collides them, creating a destructive effect.”

Self-destruct?

“Die and be reborn, idiot. Maybe you’ll have the qualities of a grand mage in your next life.”

I approached the smirking Hetherson and asked.

“Will this cause damage to you?”

Hetherson scoffed.

“Don’t pretend to be tough.”

“Is that so?”

I drew the formula on the board with my staff.

Hetherson didn’t lose his composure, thinking I’d stop midway.

But his gaze was fixated on my staff.