First Match - 1
Less than half of the seats were filled.
Out of the 64 students classified as failing at Rahal Academy, only thirty or so were sitting in this old lecture hall.
Surprisingly, the F-Class was also holding an orientation.
Normally, lectures use orientation to determine if the subject suits the student.
But the F-Class orientation was different.
It was an orientation to decide whether to endure the humiliation of being a failing student and remain a student at the academy, or simply drop out.
The thirty students sitting in the lecture hall were all staring straight at me, but they weren't concentrating.
Most of them were leaning on their chins, showing obvious discomfort. They looked like livestock being dragged to the slaughterhouse, forced into a place they didn't want to be.
"You are quite foolish."
That single line was enough to capture the attention of the students who had been pretending not to listen.
Even Charlotte, who had been staring out the window indifferently, turned her head to look at me.
The countless gazes directed at me didn't make me tense at all. I was calm, as planned.
The countless experiences of operating as a vampire lord still lingered deeply in my body. Hundreds or thousands of lower beings looking at me wouldn't make me nervous.
After the interview, I had checked the script for the orientation every day.
After revisions upon revisions, I finally created an orientation to save the protagonist.
If there is a script, isn't this just a play?
It wasn't difficult at all. Just act with all my might according to the flow.
"I am Adrian. Don't remember me. It's mutual, not welcome."
Intended psychological backlash. Sure enough, a few students muttered my name with their lips.
"Magic doesn't discriminate against any school, but the one you handle best is elemental magic."
Some students tilted their heads at the part about not discriminating.
Even the principal Violet had shown such a reaction, so it wasn't incomprehensible.
Do they really have that ability? If they do, why are they here in this lecture hall? They must be thinking that.
"You there."
He pointed to one female student.
It was a girl with a bizarre two-tone hair: white on the outside, mint green on the inside.
She had never seen me before, but I knew her.
Michelle Maynans. The genius of telekinesis.
The rival who would later be ranked 9th, a genius with a bitter rivalry with the protagonist.
'There were quite a few bad endings where the protagonist died to Michelle.'
She was currently sitting here purely because of 'bad luck.'
Indeed. The level measurement at Rahal Academy was done through duels, and her draw was bad, so she faced the great warrior Hamila.
The result was this dismal. The broken left arm and the bandages wrapped around her right leg made the proud noble lady look pitiful.
The girl I pointed to stared at me fixedly.
"What is magic fundamentally?"
"It is a science that pursues the truth of mana in this world made of mana."
Without a single stumble, Michelle answered promptly. Her words couldn't be wrong.
"I suppose I need to change the question. What does magic mean to you?"
"It is also a calling."
"A calling, you say."
"Yes. Magic is the only tool that can draw answers from the realm of mana that existed in the unknown. The more answers drawn, the more natural it is for humans to become higher beings. My calling is to go to higher dimensions."
If the textbook was the standard for the answer, it would clearly be a wonderful answer without any filler.
Other students seemed to think the same.
Michelle was Michelle. She looked at her with admiring eyes.
After looking around the students, I opened my lips.
"You all think that too?"
Most nodded their heads.
There was no reason not to ride on the textbook-like clear explanation. Everyone seemed to have decided to ride it.
After all, even Michelle had a face as if she had been hit with one.
Towards those guys.
"You are quite foolish after all."
Waves rippled in Michelle's green eyes. Of course, it wasn't just Michelle's eyes that shook.
"...When did 'failing' become a suffix attached to higher beings?"
Michelle flinched, her shoulders trembling. Good reaction.
"I will pursue truth. I want to become a higher being. If there are students who have such as their calling, the only thing I can say is..."
Now I took off my coat.
While hanging the coat on the hanger, a heavy silence followed.
Just a moment ago, all the students who had been pretending not to listen were now scrutinizing every single action of mine.
After hanging the coat, I opened my mouth again.
"Drop out."
The students began to stir loudly. Most were upperclassmen, not freshmen.
The F-Class gathered students based on the 'failing' criterion, so they weren't divided by year.
Freshmen could brush it off with 'Is this how it is originally here?' but since they knew this wasn't how the original F-Class was, they were greatly shaken.
"I have no intention of teaching you such lofty things."
"Then what exactly are you going to teach—"
"Raise your hand and speak."
With a groan, Michelle's words were cut off.
She urgently raised one hand. The hand that hadn't broken.
It wasn't just her hand that hadn't broken. There was also the proud pride of the Maynans family.
"Then what exactly does the professor intend to teach?"
"Education will be carried out thoroughly according to my calling."
"...Calling?"
She tilted her head.
"Yes. My calling is to drive out every single one of you from my class without leaving a single one."
"What coercion..."
"Why, Michelle, don't you want to be expelled to the top class?"
At that word, the noise inside the lecture hall disappeared. Everyone's gazes pierced through my body like arrows, filled with astonishment.
It wasn't expulsion from the academy, but being sent to the top class, something students couldn't even imagine.
"My class will be practical. Due to the recent rumors of demons being fierce, the academy has been expanding subjects related to them enormously. I will focus on that."
It wasn't just spewing such words without preparation.
I had the characteristic of the Lord's eyes and stored life force. I would teach the class even if I had to eat all the textbooks in the academy's library.
...Since aiming for a happy ending, I couldn't do such things, right?
Another student asked with a disbelieving expression.
"You mean you'll promote us? How exactly will you teach?"
"If you're curious, attend from now on. How it will turn out, watch it clearly with your own two eyes."
Questioning added to the face of the female student who had asked.
"Well, let's check the level simply today."
Simultaneously, I snapped my fingers.
With a 'tack' sound, a magic spell was drawn on the blackboard.
It was a complex spell with self-similarity, where some small fragments formed a geometric shape similar to the whole.
"To understand what 'practical' means a bit. Is there anyone who knows this spell?"
No one answered.
"Self-resemblance, constantly replicating oneself, self-sustaining. This is a characteristic that stands out in spells with explosive nature. Hints have been given."
Questions only grew on everyone's faces.
Everyone started making troubled expressions at the appearance of a spell beyond their level, except for one person.
The eyes of the single person who had been leaning on their chin and showing no interest until now began to shine.
"Flame..."
It was Charlotte Forte who started moving her lips.
There was no other choice.
This was a chain explosion spell that existed only to kill the opponent.
Except for Charlotte, who was filled with revenge to avenge her parents, ordinary students would have difficulty even showing interest in this spell.
"Flame, the spell of Flame Extinction."
"Interested?"
She nodded her head.
"Come forward."
Charlotte walked out to the front of the lecture hall.
"Add one stroke, and the output doubles. Try it."
Charlotte extended her index finger and raised her hand. Then she froze for a long time, and then lowered it.
Of course.
Currently, Charlotte was filled only with hatred towards demons, and she had no skill to realize it in reality.
Her index finger wandered in the air once more.
"...I don't know."
"Pathetic."
Charlotte's body trembled as if a wedge had been driven in.
"If you can't raise the output, it's just a prick to the demons. No deep research at all. This is a level where you can't be interested. Impossible."
"No."
With a dissatisfied expression, Charlotte clenched her fist and denied it.
"...I can kill them. If I meet a demon, I can crush it."
"Go back to your seat. If you meet them a hundred times, you'll die a hundred times."
But as expected, the girl didn't return to her seat.
"I can kill!"
Charlotte shouted loudly.
"I can kill! Magic isn't just Flame Extinction! I can kill! I can!"
Hah.
I laughed with a snort.
Pointed to the training ground outside the window with my chin.
"Want to prove it?"
"...Okay."
Charlotte snatched it.
"If I prove it... kneel and apologize. Definitely."
Water was full in the girl's eyes.
I would be very hateful.
But the water droplets in her eyes were not just hatred for me, but hatred for this world.
After a deep clash with other students, serious defeat. 5 bad endings where she committed suicide from shock.
5 bad endings where she barely won but was expelled.
3 bad endings where she fell from overusing mana.
8 bad endings where she died fighting demons she discovered outside the academy.
'To protect you for today.'
This is the only way.
"So be it."