Dullards, Prodigies, Geniuses, and the Wallet Warrior (1)

Magic Professor Neville Brix looked over the students gathered in the classroom and spoke.

"Fifty-two out of one hundred and eighty-four. A bit more than I expected."

As the murmuring students quieted, he continued.

"That wasn't meant as mockery. Most of you probably didn't even know what magic or spellcraft really was before enrolling. You came in with nothing but vague impressions. It's only natural that the majority would flock to martial arts, which are far more straightforward and familiar. Ah, and I suppose there might be a few who chose magic over martial arts simply because they didn't want to end up under that woman's thumb."

At those words, several students quietly averted their eyes and pretended to look elsewhere.

"No need to feel ashamed. Avoiding danger is a wise choice. But remember this."

Professor Neville fixed the students with a sharp gaze.

"This academy is not a cradle that coddles the incompetent or the lazy. It is an anvil meant to forge usable combat strength. Specifically, rule number three: anyone who fails the periodic evaluations will be expelled on the spot. You'd do well to pay close attention."

A heavy silence settled over the classroom. Having created such a wonderfully tense atmosphere right from the first regular class, the professor carried on as if the students' stiff reactions were none of his concern.

"First, we need to understand what magic power actually is. Would anyone like to explain?"

Lyla Everblaze Barhart, the red-haired woman seated at the front, answered.

"It is the unrefined force that exists throughout the world, and it is a power that every living being possesses to some degree."

"Correct. Then what are the three criteria used to evaluate a living being's magic power?"

"Magic Capacity, which measures how much magic power an individual holds. Magic Control, which measures how skillfully one can wield their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠magic power. And Magic Refinement, which measures how quickly one can recover spent magic power."

"Good. You know your material well."

A small murmur of admiration rippled through the students. Lyla herself remained expressionless, as if this much was only natural.

"Magic power exists everywhere in the world. However, natural magic is far too chaotic to control efficiently, so living beings instinctively refine and store it in quantities and attributes suited to their own bodies. If one ignores this and tries to force more magic power into their body than it can handle, or pours unrefined magic power inside without proper processing, the body cannot withstand it and will destroy itself."

Professor Neville continued.

"That is also why potions exist to heal wounds or cure poisons, yet no potion exists to restore magic power. Even if you gathered pure magic power into a potion, it would be no different from poison unless the individual could refine it into their own using their personal magic refinement ability. The sole exception is White Light, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whose rejection reaction has been diluted to the extreme and which possesses an affinity with the human body."

Pino, the green-haired girl, raised her hand and asked a question.

"Professor, if we created a magic potion with properties close to White Light, wouldn't it be possible to restore magic without side effects?"

"The idea isn't bad, but it is currently impossible. The principle of 'Dyeing' works by improving a magic user's constitution so that they unconsciously refine magic power optimized for a specific purpose. Even if one could produce White Light magic in its natural state, it would immediately mix with other magic powers and lose its properties."

I recalled a phrase from a post written by some player in my previous life.

'It's easier to understand if you think of it as a lake where multiple liquids are mixed together, and a vessel inside it.'

To summarize: Magic Capacity was the size of the vessel, Magic Refinement was the speed at which filtered liquid entered through the filter, and Magic Control was the ability to handle that filtered liquid. Dyeing was the act of modifying the filter so that only liquid of a specific property could enter. If you ignored the filter and forcibly poured lake water inside, the vessel's interior would become a mess of contaminants, or in the worst case, something corrosive enough to damage the vessel itself might enter and melt it away.

White Light magic was pure water that did not harm the vessel called the human body and left no aftereffects. That was why it could be poured into other vessels without issue. But if you poured it straight into the lake called nature, the water would not become clean. It would simply mix with everything else until not even a trace of its original self remained.

Professor Neville went on.

"Today, we will measure each of your Magic Capacity, Magic Control, and Magic Refinement. It is merely a more detailed version of what you did during the preliminary exam, so there is no need to be nervous. Come forward when your name is called."

The students murmured among themselves, but the overall atmosphere was not bad. After all, most of those who had deliberately chosen to take the magic class were either students who had already built a foundation of magic knowledge from their families or those who had achieved decent scores in the magic evaluation during the preliminary exam.

The called students were instructed to place their hands on a crystal ball the size of a soccer ball and channel their magic power into it. A young man who appeared to be an assistant examined the results. Beside the crystal ball lay a small notice with the following text written on it.

"Dudu. Magic Capacity 70, Magic Control mid-tier, Magic Refinement low-tier."

"Margaret Rose. Magic Capacity 150, Magic Control low-tier, Magic Refinement low-tier."

"Loto. Magic Capacity 100, Magic Control low-tier, Magic Refinement low-tier."

Each time the assistant announced a result, joy and disappointment crossed the students' faces in turn.

"I did pretty well on the preliminary exam, so I had high hopes…"

I spoke to Loto, whose shoulders had slumped.

"There are plenty of ordinary people whose Magic Capacity doesn't even reach 1, so don't be discouraged. A hundred is about average for a magic user, and Magic Control ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can grow with training."

It was not a lie made up to comfort him, but a plain fact. The most basic spell, Magic Missile, consumed only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠2 magic power, yet it could pierce a person's head. A skilled martial artist could reinforce their body enough to snap a tree barehanded with just 1 magic power.

'The ones who went into martial arts probably have even worse results than this.'

In that sense, Loto's talent was average in both the good and bad meanings of the word. In reality, most of the fifty-two students had Magic Capacity below 200, and their other attributes were also mid-tier or lower.

Of course, there were exceptions. The most prominent were the twin siblings from an ancient noble house of the Morian Kingdom.

"Eagle Pendevig. Magic Capacity 3000, Magic Control mid-tier, Magic Refinement high-tier."

"Hau Pendevig. Magic Capacity 2000, Magic Control high-tier, Magic Refinement low-tier."

As the surrounding students widened their eyes in shock, the two siblings, radiating noble elegance, proudly lifted their chins. The faint smiles on their faces were strikingly similar to the ones I remembered.

These siblings were also major characters in Planetarium. If Crow represented the physical side, these two represented the magical side, possessing exceptional talent. The older brother, Eagle, had fast magic recovery and high capacity, allowing him to spam mid-tier spells like normal attacks. The younger sister, Hau, had inferior performance compared to her brother early on, but she had the powerful merit of being able to cast supreme-tier spells alone if her Magic Control was supplemented by equipment.

'A lot of players hated them for their arrogant personalities, but just as many liked them for that very charm.'

I had been neither. I had never used them as party members because, while their personalities were tolerable since I was only watching through a screen, having to use both together to achieve maximum performance limited party composition too much.

'Well, there's no party size limit here like in the game, so getting close to them wouldn't hurt. But would they even listen if I tried to act friendly?'

Since the siblings fundamentally held a strong sense of noble superiority, I doubted a nouveau riche with no history would receive a warm reception even if he approached them.

"Pino. Magic Capacity 2500, Magic Control mid-tier, Magic Refinement mid-tier."

"Wow, Pino is amazing too."

At Loto's words, I nodded.

"Yeah."

'Why wasn't a talent like this in the original story's main cast? Did she drop out during the entrance exam or something?'

It was possible if someone had great magic talent but didn't know how to use it. In that case, I had hit the jackpot without even realizing it, like winning the lottery without buying a ticket.

"Rabaul. Magic Capacity 5, Magic Control low-tier, Magic Refinement low-tier. …Hey, you lot! Stop whispering!"

"……It is fine. You need not concern yourself."

"Ah, ahem. Magic talent is not absolute, so don't let it bother you too much."

After the assistant's words of comfort, Rabaul returned to his seat looking somewhat dejected.

'Hmm. There are ways to increase Magic Capacity, but 5 is still pretty bad.'

If Pino and the Pendevig siblings could be called prodigies, then Rabaul's result was that of a dullard. While it could be overcome to some extent through effort, the amount of work required made me want to recommend choosing a different path instead.

'Anyway, my turn should be coming up soon.'

I looked toward Lyla, who was quietly waiting her turn on one side of the classroom. It wasn't just me. Other students were also glancing at her from time to time, and when her name was called, nearly everyone focused on her.

With an attitude that suggested she was used to this uncomfortable level of attention, Lyla stepped forward and placed her hand on the crystal ball. The measurement began, and the male assistant's eyes widened.

"……Uh, um. Sorry, or rather, could you do it one more time?"

"Yes, that is fine."

The students' expectations grew at the assistant's flustered appearance. Soon, he announced the result in a trembling voice.

"……Lyla Everblaze Barhart. Magic Capacity 8000, Magic Control supreme-tier, Magic Refinement high-tier."

"E-eight thousand?"

"Is she even human?"

"Ooh, Lady Lyla!"

Shock, doubt, admiration, jealousy. The students burned with various emotions, and the commotion in the classroom grew uncontrollably. Even the assistant's shouts for everyone to calm down were drowned out.

Thud! Thud!

"You lot over there. If you want to fail the evaluation as a group, keep talking."

Only after Professor Neville struck his desk several times with his wooden staff and issued a warning did the students fall silent. Then the professor called my name.

"Last is Chrome Midas. Your turn. Come forward."

"Yes."

I walked forward confidently. Some sent me looks of pity for having to be evaluated right after Lyla's result, which was on a completely different level. Others gave me mocking glances. I paid them no mind. In fact, I was smiling inwardly as I placed my hand on the crystal ball.

Indeed, Lyla, the Successor of Red and Blue Blood, was a genius in every sense of the word. At that level, she wasn't just born with a silver spoon. She had a platinum spoon. However—

"Chrome Midas. Magic Capacity 4000, Magic Control low-tier, Magic Refinement low-tier."

—As they say, if you have money, you can at least imitate a golden spoon, even if not a platinum one.