Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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After becoming official students, the moment our first class began, the professor spoke up.
"From today onward, this teaching assistant will be conducting the magic circle manipulation lessons."
"Please take good care of us."
The teaching assistant standing beside the professor offered a greeting.
Clap clap clap.
I pretended to clap once more today while sizing up the TA's demeanor.
His black robes were similar to those of the other professors, but for a mage, he cut a pretty burly figure.
Age? Mid-thirties, give or take.
And his face...
‘From a nasty-looking professor to a nasty-looking TA, huh...’
‘Oh, there's a difference, alright...’
How to put it? The professor gave off vibes like he'd nitpick the tiniest detail, while the TA seemed like the type who'd make a quiet issue drag on forever if he caught you slipping up.
The professor finished his piece and stepped down from the podium.
"Well then, I'll be off."
"I'll make sure to guide them properly without any issues."
The TA gave a polite bow to the departing professor.
Thud.
The second the professor was gone, the TA hopped up onto the podium and began scanning the students.
Felt like he was running some kind of scan?
He slowly turned his head until his gaze locked onto me.
Suddenly, he flashed a grin right at me.
Chicken skin crawled all over my body.
‘Fuck, why's that bastard smiling!? Gay asshole!?’
‘Phew... thank god. Man, I was scared shitless...’
Almost dragged up that trauma from the militia chick last time.
The TA stared hard at Luna for a good while before finally tearing his eyes away and getting on with the lesson.
The class proceeded as before, focused on drawing magic circles.
Right from the start, the TA set a firm tone and dove into talk about the upcoming test.
"We'll be holding a magic circle manipulation test in a week. That means not just the simple shapes you've been doodling so far—you'll need to draw runes too. And you'll have to handle inputs, outputs, and coordinates fully. Stay sharp and pay attention. Got it?"
"""Yes, sir."""
‘Yeeees~~~’
The lesson that followed felt way tougher, no doubt about it.
The TA called it still beginner-level stuff, but half the class was seeing runes for the first time.
If yesterday was finger-painting hour, today was ABCs for toddlers.
‘Kekekeke, what a total disaster.’
‘Whoa, even Luna's struggling with this?’
A quick glance sideways showed Luna hard at work on her runes.
The letters themselves came out kinda pretty, but the alignment, sizes, and spacing were all over the place—a hot mess.
I smirked at her efforts, then casually spread my hands on the desk, striking a pose like some divine creator.
‘Heh, you peasants... Behold my true power.’
I began tracing runes in the air.
First time laying eyes on these letters, and yet I fluently sketched elegant rune after rune, crisp and perfect.
Positioning, sizing, shapes—flawless across the board.
Luna snuck a peek at my runes and compared them to hers.
After staring for a bit, she vigorously erased her front-row runes and started redrawing with fierce focus.
Definitely an improvement.
Better than before, anyway...
‘Kekeke, keep at it, kiddo.’
‘Hup!’
Just like before, I buckled down to avoid giving him any ammo, focusing intently on my runes.
Except... the TA wasn't coming for me.
He was heading straight for Luna right beside me.
Positioned behind her, he watched her diligent scribbling and commented.
"Ahem. For a first try, you're doing impressively well."
"Thank you."
"That rune over there... shift it a bit more to the side..."
The TA had already shoved the lesson aside, totally fixated on chatting up Luna from behind her.
A wave of discomfort rippled through the other students toward him.
No way anyone was thrilled about this blatant favoritism on day one...
‘Damn... nobody's saying shit. Not even to the TA.’
‘I don't give a damn. It's just the annoying racket right next to me that's pissing me off.’
In the end, the class wrapped up amid the TA's tomfoolery.
After magic circle manipulation ended, we finally moved on to a different subject for the first time.
Basic Attribute Studies.
A discipline covering the fundamentals of the attributes used in magic.
Even if you didn't specialize in one, you had to learn them all for countermeasures.
The instant class started, I spotted the woman at the podium and hollered at Armonia.
‘Armonia! Pull up that woman's traits right now!’
‘Just show me first. I'm dying to know!’
The student council president? No chance I'd cross paths with her. But this woman up front? Totally different story.
Her status window popped up.
Sonya Friedrich.
Adjunct professor handling Basic Attribute Studies.
Blue bob haircut to her shoulders, radiating mature allure.
And with one bright smile, she instantly disarmed the students' wariness.
"I'm Sonya Friedrich, and starting today, I'll be in charge of your Basic Attribute Studies. Nice to meet you all."
She greeted them with a smile and perfect poise.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap.
The applause rang out louder than usual.
I compared her to Luna sitting beside me.
No contest—Luna was overwhelmingly prettier.
But Sonya had that mature charm Luna lacked.
Yeah, everyone had their own unique appeal.
‘Luna does come off kinda childish. Pretty as hell, sure, but...’
‘And her traits are right up my alley.’
Her status was packed with qualities fitting a passionate educator.
While I was busy admiring Sonya, she kicked off the lesson.
"Basic Attribute Studies is crucially important. The main and sub attributes you'll decide on in a week? They might shift based on what you learn here."
True to its name, she laid out the big-picture framework for mastering attributes, not nitpicky minutiae.
"Let's start with the basic properties of each attribute."
She traced a simple magic circle in the air and activated it.
Given the small size, all that emerged was a fireball about baseball-sized.
"As you all probably know, we begin with fire. Most renowned mages famously favor fire as their primary attribute."
Fire's widespread appeal came from its balance across the board.
Destructive power, mana cost, casting difficulty...
Other attributes boasted one standout strength, but fire had no killer advantages—nor any glaring flaws.
"Sure, it's weak to water, but that's a whole other conversation."
And cue water attribute.
"Water's big strength is versatility. No insane mana drain like wind, easy circle drawing unlike earth. Plus, unlike fire, you can tap surrounding moisture instead of conjuring it."
The catch? Laughably low lethality on small scales.
Tailored for massive battles, requiring huge circles—which made it impractical for everyday use.
"But this very water attribute is the one favored by our dean, the great mage Ludwig Rippenstein. Master it fully, and it can outshine fire in utility."
Next up: wind.
"Wind excels in mana efficiency. A trickle can whip up gale-force blasts. Downsides? Tough to sustain the circle, and low raw power."
Might seem large-scale like water, but it actually shone brighter in close quarters.
In tight spaces, razor gusts sliced invisibly—even if not super lethal, they disrupted foes like crazy.
"Earth... its sustained power and destructive force dwarf the others. But that comes at extreme mana cost. Historically, it's been paired with fire for devastating siege warfare."
Not so much these days, though.
Students especially shunned it over the mana hog.
Unpopular pick, basically.
"Alright, let's take a quick look at the circles for these four..."
"Professor."
"Yes?"
"May I ask a question?"
It was Luna, seated right next to me.
"Of course. Go ahead."
Sonya beamed at Luna and gestured invitingly.
"Thank you. Um... I'd like to know about the lightning attribute."
"Ah... Sorry, I hadn't gotten to that."
"If I've upset you, my apologies. I was just curious..."
"Not at all. Thanks for steering the class right."
Sonya flashed Luna another smile and sketched a palm-sized magic circle.
Yellow sparks crackled menacingly from it—looked seriously hazardous.
"Anyone here familiar with lightning magic?"
...
No one piped up.
‘Kiki, if I went "I do!" right now, instant penalty points, right?’
With crickets from the class, Sonya shifted to a markedly serious expression and began explaining.
"The advantage of lightning magic? There isn't one."
The students' faces twisted like they were hurling question marks her way.
"Mana drain's hefty, destructive power gets diffused by the spreading bolts, and the circles? Incomparably harder than any other attribute."
Handling? No picnic either.
They could blow up mid-draw and friendly-fire your team, or fizzle out from mana scatter even if perfectly cast.
And the cherry on top...
"Not long ago, Maximilian Winter—the foremost long-term researcher of lightning magic—died when his circle detonated..."
Sonya looked genuinely mournful, like she was paying respects to the fallen mage.
The class mirrored her grief-stricken vibe.
Everyone but me.
‘Kikikikiki, what a moron. Blow yourself up with your own damn circle? Puhahaha!’
‘Ahh, wanna bust a gut laughing. Puhahaha!’
I ducked my head, stifling the laughs.
Hand over mouth, I barely choked back the erupting cackles and lifted my head.
"Huu... Huh?"
"Are you alright?"
While I wrestled my laughter, Sonya had approached my desk.
‘...We're screwed.’
Armonia looked stumped for a fix too.
Famous mage kicks it, and here's the new kid snickering solo?
At a top magic academy, no less?
This screamed expulsion fodder.
Fucked or not, apologies first.
"Th-that's... I mean..."
"Do you know Maximilian?"
"...?"
What the hell kinda curveball...?
But no contempt or rage in Sonya's eyes.
Worried, actually.
She wasn't clocking it as laughter—she thought I was crying.
"If you knew him and I casually dropped his name, hurting you..."
"Ah..."
I saw it.
The ending... no, the fix!!
Tears wouldn't flow, so I clapped a hand over my eyes and choked out a sob.
"S-sorry... He was someone I deeply admired..."
"Oh dear..."
Couldn't see Sonya's face, but the crisis seemed dodged.
‘Armonia. What's Sonya's face like?’
‘Wheeee~~~ Jackpot! Wh-whoa!? Huh!?’
Mid victory dance over comms with Armonia, someone suddenly yanked my head.
Squish...
"What do we do... I'm so sorry. Because of me, you..."
"Mmfph!"
Sonya plunged my face straight into her bosom.
‘S-suffocating! But holy shit, this rules!!’
Her clothes had hidden the full glory, but up close? Bigger than Viola's, easy.
E-cup territory!?
This wasn't face-to-boob contact—she'd buried me cleavage-deep.
I forgot lung-breathing, switching to skin-inhales of her scent.
Haaa~ Hnngh~ Ahhnn~
Fuck, wanna grope 'em!!!
Throb throb (XX: Go for it!)
Am I insane? How in class!?
Students watching, and some lunatic's egging me on.
Shudder! (Viola's voice: Suho, do it!)
Vi-Viola? For real? Alright!
Viola commands, I obey.
‘Gah! Thanks, Armonia. Snapped out of it. Whew...’
Flap flap (XX: Damn it!)
Nearly succumbed to the devil's whisper.
Managed to swim out of that cleavage abyss before drowning in cheek fat.
Sonya fished me out and gently stroked my face with both hands.
She'd legit been crying.
(I was this close to emotional tears from her rack...)
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault... What ever should I do..."
What to do? This is great, just keep it going...
"I-I'm fine..."
Sonya barely regained composure before resuming the lesson.
Thanks to that fiasco, I spent the rest of class under withering glares from all the guys.
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