I Need a Wand
"Damn it! Even that commoner is looking down on me!"
Viscount Oberon kicked the nearby furniture in a fit of rage, his eyes gleaming with a murderous light as he glared at his knight. The knight, keeping a wary eye on Oberon's temper, gestured for a maid to clean up the shattered pieces of a vase.
"Ugh... I was planning to cover my losses with this deal! What happened, William?!"
The losses were entirely due to Viscount Oberon's reckless speculation, but such details didn't matter to the Viscount.
"My deepest apologies. However, the opponent's skill was far greater than anticipated."
"Damn it. And who the hell was that girl?"
William recalled the dazzlingly beautiful, slender girl. The moment he had even thought of drawing his sword, she had dashed like lightning to take his back. Her movements were incredibly clean, controlled, and fast—unimaginable for a body like hers.
"She was so fast I couldn't even track her with my eyes. If she had harbored any killing intent, our lives would not have been guaranteed."
And then there were those eyes, which had manifested for just a fleeting moment. When he met her gaze, he felt utterly overwhelmed by the sheer difference in status. Viscount Oberon had felt the same. That was why it was all the more humiliating.
"Damn it, why do I have to be humiliated in a place like this?!"
Just then, a sweet, melodic voice echoed through the room.
"Indeed. Why must the glorious heir of Oberon suffer such a plight?"
"Who are you—"
"It's dangerous! Get back—!"
Viscount Oberon instinctively looked toward the source of the voice. William, with his instincts as an Aura User, sensed extreme danger. He tried to swing his sword, channeling aura into it, but he couldn't move.
The air froze. His breath stopped. His heart ceased to beat. Only his consciousness and vision remained active. The space had long since been completely dominated.
At the center of it stood a mesmerizing woman with two wings. A pitch-black dress, wings woven from night clouds, and two eerie slit pupils. They resembled that girl's pupils, but the overwhelming pressure radiating from them was on an entirely different level. A fight was out of the question. The moment she appeared, any chance of resistance had already vanished.
"You cannot use mana. For all mana belongs to dragons."
It was exactly as she said.
"I do not attack humans. There is a covenant, after all."
She lazily twirled her finger. Her gestures were human, yet she felt entirely non-human.
"With one exception: when you lay a hand on my kin."
Kin? Oberon's mind raced frantically. Where did we go wrong?
A dragon's kin! Only then did he vaguely realize what kind of existence stood before him. The vicious, cruel, and terrifying King of Wings. Famous for her pride and nobility, she was known for never taking subordinates.
If someone is worthy of being her kin, they must possess a bloodline as noble as an imperial prince at the very least...!
But his train of thought ground to a halt at her final words.
"Ah, but if I go too far, Big Sister might scold me."
Today was the day to meet the rest of the noble families at the School Market. I wondered why they were all coming at once, but apparently, the days when nobles who weren't school officials could enter the School Market were limited.
Some time had passed since our first transaction, and it was now the morning of that day. I was in the practice room, knocking out my overdue homework.
"Casting Bullet."
A thin, dazzling line of light burst from my wand. It was technically a standard Casting Bullet, but slightly modified. I had finally run out of variations to try, and my proficiency had risen as high as it could go. So, I decided to practice while moving at high speeds.
The moment I kicked off the ground, my body shot forward with incredible velocity. I had specifically asked Karnaroph to rent out this entire spacious practice room for this very purpose.
But if there was one thing I had overlooked...
"Aaaagh! Why am I so fast?!"
It was the fact that my speed had increased to a point where even I couldn't adapt to it. I managed to hit the target, but controlling my momentum was a whole different story. It was only because I had practiced a bit that I could even manage this much; at first, I couldn't even hit the target. Damn it, this means more stuff to write in my report.
A B-rank stat was at least dozens of times faster than a D-rank, which was the level of a fairly quick ordinary human. Having my stats increase by two whole ranks meant I had become an absolute monster.
Robert, who was waiting nearby, spoke up.
"...I've thought about this before, but do you know how to use Body Enhancement as well? Your speed makes no sense."
"How should I know?"
"Is it an enhancement spell, then?"
"Beats me."
"Haste, Physical, Enchant. Those are the typical beginner-level enhancement spells. Though it doesn't look like you used those either."
There are spells like that? I should look them up in the library later. And I had heard through the grapevine that the knight school had a curriculum for Body Enhancement. Normally, mages who possessed mana experienced a slight boost in their basic physical abilities. Body Enhancement was the advanced version of that. But in my case, I had simply raised my raw stats. It wasn't a temporary boost using mana; my physical body itself had grown stronger.
...Isn't this just a total cheat?
If so, learning Body Enhancement on top of this would make me even stronger.
Can I seriously not just kidnap a knight school student from the School Market or something?
It would be perfect if I could just learn that one thing. Since the exchange event is supposed to be held in the second semester, I should target that time. Just as I completed my 40th cast to catch up on my backlog, a message popped up.
Basic Attack Magic (SR+) is preparing to evolve!!
You are fully prepared to learn the advanced magic of Basic Attack Magic!!
Oh, what's this? A message like this can pop up too? My doubts about the true nature of this status window only deepened.
"I-I am truly sorry about what happened last time! I failed to recognize your nobility! Please, I beg of you, forgive me!"
When I arrived at the School Market, the one who greeted me wasn't my next business partner, but Viscount Oberon. With a desperate face, he repeatedly prostrated himself before me. There was something engraved on his neck.
...What is that? A seal? It felt strangely familiar.
"Huh?"
"What on earth are you talking about?" Robert asked back, utterly dumbfounded.
Looking closely, the Viscount's normally chubby face had completely hollowed out.
"I was out of my mind and failed to recognize you! This is a small token of my apology—ten gold! Please, take it!"
A *small* token? The knight named William pushed a small chest toward me. I checked inside. Five gold coins nestled atop a bed of silver coins. Since 100 silver equals 1 gold, the math checked out. However, why such a massive sum of money had suddenly dropped into my lap was a complete mystery.
"Please, accept it...!"
"Sure."
Sweet. With this, I had already met my quota. I didn't even need to bother selling spices anymore. But hey, you can never have too much money.
"Will you... forgive us?"
"Oh, of course! Dear suckers—I mean, valued customers! Please visit us again next time!"
The moment I said that, both of their faces turned completely pale.
"W-What... So you really knew everything...! Then even that was...!"
"To think such a monster was residing in Reinhardt...?"
"Just don't go talking about this to others."
It would be troublesome if rumors spread that I had received this kind of money. But they seemed to interpret my words in a completely different way.
"O-Of course! We wouldn't dare!"
"Indeed! We can even swear a blood oath if you wish!!"
What was their deal? The moment they received my forgiveness, they bolted without looking back. The brand on their necks had vanished before I knew it.
Robert asked with an incredulous expression, "Seriously, what was that all about?"
"No clue."
The four noble families who arrived decided to acquire my spices through an auction. True to their noble status, some of them sent representatives to bid on their behalf.
.
.
.
"Fifteen gold."
"Twenty gold."
"Twenty-three gold."
"Twenty-five gold."
"Thirty gold."
The bidding stopped at thirty gold. It was a blonde gentleman who looked quite dashing in a fedora.
"Sold for thirty gold," Robert announced. We headed to another room to receive the payment and hand over the goods.
However...
"I've heard a lot about you."
The blonde gentleman spoke to me, acknowledging my presence.
"While they handle the paperwork, would you mind having a brief chat with me?"
Robert was currently busy dealing with taxes and various other tedious administrative tasks. I looked over at him.
"Go ahead. You're not helping anyway."
"Would it kill you to say something nice for once?" I grumbled, but followed the gentleman anyway.
"Who are you?"
"You are Aris's friend, correct? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Bern Q. Script, the head of the Duke Script family. Please, call me Bern."
"Ah."
So he was Aris's father.
"Your name appeared quite frequently in her letters, which piqued my interest. As expected, you possess remarkable talent."
"What did she write about me?" I was actually a bit curious.
"Essentially, she wrote that you are kind at heart, and though you're a bit of a troublemaker, she believes she can guide you onto the right path if she reasons with you gently."
That sounded like a very outdated version of Aris. These days, she just chucks her phone or random objects out the window. Sometimes, knowing I won't get hurt, she literally throws *me* out of the room and locks the door when I sneak in at dawn.
"I do owe her a lot, actually."
"Well, she was always a child her younger siblings followed well, so she is naturally gentle. Even the Princess was quite fond of her."
Princess? Come to think of it, a Duke is incredibly high-ranking, right? Suddenly, Aris seemed a lot more impressive.
"In fact, half of this batch was requested by the Imperial Family. By the way, spices must be quite precious to you as well. Why are you trying to sell them now?"
"I need a wand."
"Hmm. Do you have a wand you're currently using?"
"I have a broken one."
"Let me see it."
I handed him the broken wooden wand. As soon as he took it, his expression completely changed.
"Didn't you say you were the runner-up of your class?"
"Yes."
"Are you telling me you took the exams with a wand like this?"