I Can Make a Place for You...
"I can make a place for you, yes. But... what do you intend to do about practical training? You can't wield magic, can you?"
"I don't plan to stay at the magic academy for long anyway. Chances are I'll be gone before anyone finds me out. That doesn't mean I mean to slip off in the middle of the night. I'll teach you everything I know of magic before I go."
"Then tell me one thing more. I don't think I can bear the wait—you're keeping me on tenterhooks."
"All right."
It wasn't difficult. Once he left, they would never see each other again, and he had no intention of handing over New-Generation Magic.
"Good. I'll accommodate you as far as I can, so see that you teach me to the best of your ability."
"Yes."
Stepping out of the headmaster's office, Yujun let out a sigh.
Did it really have to come to this?
He had dragged out every argument he possessed to persuade the headmaster to let him remain at the academy. With no idea how to clear this event dungeon, he'd had no other choice. Wander off from the academy or the empire without a thought, and he might find himself unable to help Yenil and Manuela at all. Worse, simply appearing so conspicuously and chatting with the two of them as if they were close might already have hindered their progress.
Even in this barbarian state, is it really impossible to learn any magic? My head is overflowing with theory.
GX-rank New-Generation Magic did not appear on his status window, yet he remembered every last piece of its theory. The problem was that, as a barbarian, mana would not accumulate in his body. Levels rose, and the points were automatically poured into his physical stats. With only a scrap of mana, he couldn't so much as attempt a spell.
Professor Fretalen watched Yujun emerge from the headmaster's office, studying him as though something still didn't add up. From her perspective not a single question had been resolved, so the reaction was only natural.
Yujun jerked a thumb back over his shoulder.
"Ask him yourself. Whether I'm a transfer student or not."
Now that he had something to stand on, his manner was nothing short of brazen.
"Very well. I'll confirm it, just as you say."
She had distinctly heard the headmaster cry out in shock from within, and trusting that instinct, Fretalen opened the door. A moment later she found him with a blossom of a smile spread across his face.
Yujun went to Manuela and Yenil and explained that he had talked his way past the headmaster and become a genuine transfer student.
"You mean that actually worked? Just talking your way through it?"
Manuela asked, openly incredulous.
"I taught him a bit of magic."
"Ah."
She accepted it at once.
"So you can use your magic the same as before?"
"No. I can't use it at all. A mana rod never took root in my body. I might manage a short Light spell, though."
It wasn't that his body held no mana whatsoever, so the most basic spells were possible if he squeezed hard enough. But what good was that? It wouldn't help much in a fight, and it certainly wouldn't make him stand out at a magic academy. Line everyone up and rank them, and last place was guaranteed.
"Then why did you want to become a transfer student?"
"So I can step in if something urgent happens. I'll play bodyguard this time."
"Bodyguard? Like a guardian, or a protector?"
"Something like that."
"We still have to attend class."
"Then I'll attend. So what."
"From what I've seen, there aren't any pure memorization subjects. Everyone seems to learn a thing after a single look, so they don't bother."
"So the exams will be written, essay-style?"
"No. Everything here is practical. We're taking one ourselves in two days."
"How do you think your scores will turn out?"
"Too early to say. Yenil's mana and mine aren't what they used to be."
"Is there anything like a field practicum?"
"A practicum?"
"Yeah. One where you go somewhere far away."
"I haven't heard of anything like that."
"Really?"
Would he have to pry the answer out of the headmaster? Whenever he went, the man would welcome him with open arms, so the moment a question arose it was better to ask at once.
"Come to think of it, where's my room?"
The headmaster had said he would arrange one, but he hadn't told him where to stay for the moment. Perhaps he'd meant to lure him back to the office.
"If you don't have a room, you can sleep in my bed with me."
Manuela tossed it out as if it were nothing.
Yujun snorted.
"What? It already looks too small for you alone."
"Tch. Why'd you have to get so big?"
"Then use my bed. I don't mind sleeping on the floor."
At Yenil's sudden, decisive offer, Manuela's head whipped around, her eyes demanding to know how she could say such a thing.
"No need to go that far. If we wait, the headmaster will send someone to tell me."
As expected, a mage who looked like a teaching assistant arrived and assigned him a room. The boys' dormitory stood on the opposite side from the girls'.
"The headmaster prepared a single room for you alone, as a special exception."
At the assistant's words Yujun nodded and stepped inside. A room meant for two, used by one, was naturally spacious, and the bed was larger than the one in the girls' dormitory, so he probably wouldn't have to worry about rolling off it in his sleep.
He only stopped by the assigned room before heading out again to meet Manuela and Yenil for the dinner they'd agreed on. That was when three male students blocked his path, their eyes sharp.
"What do you want?"
When Yujun asked, the three spat out whatever they'd been holding in.
"Hey, what's your relationship with Yenil?"
"You looked pretty close with Manuela, too."
"When I looked at this guy earlier, honey was practically dripping from Manuela's eyes. You know that was the most shocking moment of my life?"
"Hey. I don't know your name, but know your place. You planning to monopolize Lady Yenil all by yourself?"
"Yeah! And he looks stupid, too."
"......"
Yujun let out a hollow laugh. They must have thought he looked easy to push around. Maybe because they were still young and had only ever studied magic—or because they'd never actually seen a warrior. Who would have thought a mage would pick a fight, at this distance, with a swordsman who had a blade at his hip?
Setting that aside, Manuela and Yenil seemed to be considerably popular at the academy. The two of them certainly had looks that stood out wherever they went.
"I've got a question. Between Manuela and Yenil, who's more popular?"
Yujun's out-of-nowhere question briefly left the three mages speechless.
"Lady Yenil, obviously!"
"I do like Manuela. But objectively, Yenil's the popular one."
"Right. Yenil has this... nobility about her, I guess you'd say?"
"Oh, really?"
"And why are you acting like you're close to them? What exactly are you to Manuela?"
In truth they were nothing of the sort. Still, the mage asking seemed particularly taken with Manuela, and Yujun felt like needling him.
"Close enough that we're getting married?"
"......What?"
The boy froze solid, as if he'd taken a tremendous blow. The reaction was so satisfying that Yujun was glad he'd said it. Grinning, he walked on past them.
No spell came flying after him. Lucky for them. Having even the headmaster wrapped around his finger, Yujun was as good as an unchecked power in this academy.
The academy cafeteria was enormous—enormous enough that Yujun's mouth fell open.
"How many students are there?"
"Surprised? I never thought a place like this existed in another world."
"The smell is insane, too."
"Right? I want to stay even after we find the key, just for the cafeteria food. You too, Yenil?"
"......I do."
Yenil answered in a small voice.
"Yenil, now that I think of it—did you master everything I taught you?"
"No. Not even close. There has been no progress."
"Why not this time?"
"I don't know. It is too difficult."
The woman who had once made her name as the Black Sorceress, stuck without progress. Was it really that hard?
"Thanks to you, Yujun, I have learned just how low my intelligence is."
He'd noticed her expression had been dark of late; so the stalled magic studies were the cause.
"......It isn't that your intelligence is lacking. You didn't acquire it as a skill—you only received the theory, so of course it's difficult. You're learning without the System's help."
"I will take the kindness, at least."
Whether his words had some effect, her expression brightened, if only a little.
After a satisfying dinner, Yujun returned to his room, collected the notes Manuela had written, and headed for the headmaster's office. He'd thought the man might already be gone, it being evening, but fortunately Solaphe was still there late.
"What is it?"
Yujun had walked in without knocking, yet Solaphe greeted him with a smile.
"Is there any event about to open, or about to appear?"
"There is an examination that runs for two days."
"Is that all?"
"The examination may be taken only once a year. Do you believe there is an event greater than this?"
"There... isn't, is there?"
"And you came to ask me that?"
"No. I'll teach you two spells that are harder than what I showed you earlier, but more efficient."
"My thanks. I attempted it several times based on what I heard, and just as you said, it surpassed everything I had known until now. Truth be told, I should like to keep you here all day, but forcing you would not be proper."
"Yes. Then I'll be leaving."
"......How cold of you."
"Before I teach you the magic—do you have anything like an elixir? An item that raises mana, even a little."
"So that was your aim."
"Do you have one?"
"I do."
Headmaster Solaphe drew from his inventory something that looked rather like wild ginseng.
"This herb can bring on severe side effects if the body is not sturdy."
"I should be the healthiest person in the academy, so hand it over."
"You do look it."
◈ Upon consumption, Magic increases by 50.
◈ If Constitution is below 200, the user may suffer severe pain for a long time.
His physical stats had climbed very high from slaying the Earth Dragon and even the Fire Spirit King. His Constitution was high enough that he could take the herb without worry, and the fact that his points had been spread evenly across his physical stats instead of Magic had turned out to be a benefit.
Yujun chewed the mana herb in loud, stubborn crunches. It had the astringent bitterness of sow thistle, but the longer he chewed, the more a sweetness seeped out, and it was edible enough. When he finished and opened his status window, Magic had indeed risen by fifty.
"The effect is solid."
"......There truly are no side effects. You really have no need to become a mage. You are hardly like one of the Tesla."
"I can't use magic, so I have to get stronger somehow."
Yujun taught the headmaster a spell that was simple by his own standards, then left. That alone was enough for Solaphe to wear a rapturous face, grateful beyond words, and begin planning an all-night session of work.
On his way back to the dormitory, his business finished, Yujun ran into the three idiots again.
"You son of a bitch. Who do you think you are, daring to—Manuela... It's a lie, it's definitely a lie, I'll kill him, I swear I will."
One of them had stopped dead, glaring at Yujun and muttering under his breath.
Yujun's expression turned grave.
If I leave this alone, won't it turn into a problem later?
He walked up to the three idiots.
"Don't touch me. This is the last time I'm saying it nicely."
"And if we do? You gonna hit us?"
One of them sneered.
Yujun's fist moved faster than their eyes could follow.
Thwack!
Struck hard in the chest, one of them went flying and tumbled across the ground.
"A-are you insane?! Using violence in the academy?"
"Are you out of your mind? You want to get expelled? If the professors hear about this..."
"If it bothers you, go tattle."
With only those words, Yujun went into his room. He didn't have time to play with the three idiots for long. He had something else to do.
Now that mana had taken hold inside his body, he meant to form a mana rod first of all. After becoming a barbarian, he had gained an enlightenment in Swordsmanship without truly doing much of anything.
If that was possible—then even in the body of a barbarian utterly hopeless at magic, might using magic grant him an enlightenment in that as well?