Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 26
>Chapter Title: I'll Just Not Match
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“……What?”
“Does this even make sense?”
The students gathered around the mana measurement device buzzed with murmurs.
“…….”
Yorbi, meanwhile, kept his lips tightly shut. The reason for the students’ shock was obvious.
The average age for beginning to learn magic was around seven. Magic could only be taught once a child had developed at least basic cognitive abilities.
And the first year of that was barely enough to lay the foundations—not even touching proper spells. It was like the stage where a baby takes its first shaky steps.
Only after that could one start building and refining mana in earnest… but what about Damian?
‘He’s a genius.’
There was no way to comprehend it with common sense.
They were playing in a whole different league from the start.
Even if they trained for the same amount of time, a wyvern and a dragon grew at different rates. The gap in their limits was vast from the outset, and their growth curves were equally steep.
Damian’s final mana measurement results were as follows.
[Refinement Level: Stage 9]
[Total Capacity Level: Stage 67]
“Whoa, is it glitching?”
“No way it’s a glitch. What are the odds it bugs out right now?”
It wasn’t unreasonable for the students to think that.
This went far beyond “impressive for his age.”
Not only the refinement level, but the total capacity too—it marked him as a prodigy who could easily surpass the teaching assistant Yorbi in just a few years.
‘The academy’s teaching assistants are ranked at Grade 6….’
Even now, judging purely by mana capacity and refinement, he was on par with Grade 6.
Of course, actual capability might differ.
Rank wasn’t based solely on mana capacity and refinement. To reach Grade 6, one had to accumulate matching achievements. Experience made the difference.
Even so, his exceptional talent remained unchanged.
“Impressive… talent.”
A somewhat strained voice slipped from Yorbi’s lips. The hint of emotion faded quickly. Or it almost did.
If not for Damian’s remark.
“Who’s that?”
“…….”
Of course, he wasn’t asking the teaching assistant Yorbi—he was asking me. No matter how innocently Damian was raised, he knew his hierarchy.
I answered.
“The teaching assistant, so… teacher.”
“Oh! Teaching assistant! Hello!”
Damian greeted him brightly, and Yorbi nodded with a smile. But the subtle stiffness in his expression was impossible to hide.
I could guess his mindset.
‘Like most ordinary folk seeing a genius.’
Incomprehensible achievements.
No way for common sense to catch up to that brilliance.
Those with firm resolve would redouble their own efforts, but the less steadfast often wavered quickly.
From the looks of it, Yorbi’s resolve wasn’t that solid.
‘Inferiority complex, or maybe a touch of resentment.’
Either way, none of my business.
Anyway.
‘Damian’s mana levels are pretty outstanding.’
I knew he was a genius, but these numbers far exceeded the average.
Seeing this, I could understand how the “Blandoga Monster” of his past life came to be. He was just built different from birth.
At the same time, another thought crossed my mind….
‘In his past life, he really slacked off hard.’
‘If the Blandoga Family hadn’t fallen….’
If Hazen hadn’t researched the Heavenly Origin Art, giving Decullan no reason to strike Blandoga—and if Damian had become a seasoned mage because of it.
The power balance of the eastern continent might have reshaped around Blandoga in the next generation.
‘He could’ve threatened Decullan’s stronghold.’
The top magic family on the eastern continent.
Reclaiming that title.
‘But it all crumbled in the end.’
Of course, this life could be different.
No—I’d make it different.
I’d ensure Decullan never got the Heavenly Origin Art, and that Blandoga remained Decullan’s eternal thorn.
That was my plan.
Around then, Yorbi’s voice cut in.
“Damian, was it? Truly befitting the Blandoga name—remarkable talent. But don’t get complacent. A mage’s level isn’t determined solely by mana capacity and refinement.”
A mage’s level wasn’t set by mana alone.
‘He’s not wrong.’
Shady guy or not, Yorbi had a point.
Mana was just fuel, after all.
More mana or higher refinement didn’t automatically raise your mage rank.
A true mage needed magical insight, understanding, application—and relentless effort to grasp the essence of magic itself.
However….
‘Damian’s insight is top-tier too.’
All he lacked was his own drive.
“Yes, sir!”
Damian answered energetically, then turned to me.
“Friend. Friend got measured too? How’d you score?”
“Not yet.”
“Then let’s do it!”
At Damian’s words, the students shuffled back in a group.
Plenty more waited in line behind, but they didn’t mind either.
It wasn’t just deference to the Young Patriarch of Blandoga.
They were curious too.
About me, the guy hanging with the Blandoga Young Patriarch. They didn’t know my exact origins, but they knew I wasn’t from any famed house.
And yet, I’d beaten the second son of Doranpega in combat.
‘Wondering how I measure up.’
Yorbi seemed just as curious, leading me to the device. His slightly rigid expression suggested he was inwardly on edge.
“Well, let’s give it a go.”
I didn’t bother ignoring the attention.
Mana measurement was mandatory anyway.
Sooner was better for me.
‘But….’
I stood before the mana measurement device, staring into the crystal orb.
Normally, people think:
‘Gotta score high.’
But that’s a hassle.
All sorts of annoyances would follow.
So, middling it is.
Not that I’d settle for average myself—but I’d make it look average to everyone else.
“Student, your name?”
“Aster.”
“Right, Aster. Now, channel your mana into it.”
I nodded and poured mana into the device.
Faking the mana measurement was child’s play.
Well, for me and my old crew, anyway.
‘Alright, then….’
I tweaked the mana’s properties just so.
And fed in the right amount.
*Beep, bleep.*
The device hummed to life.
Its circuits whirred, analyzing my refinement level.
But I’d overlooked one thing.
‘No, why’s the baseline set so low?’
Maybe because it was for academy students. The threshold for judging refinement was absurdly lenient.
As a result….
[Refinement Level: 5, 6, 7…….]
The number kept climbing.
[Refinement Level: Stage 10]
It hit Stage 10.
*Beeeep!*
An alarm blared.
Then the message popped up:
[Baseline Exceeded. Please reset the baseline.]
“…….”
I went silent.
“…….”
So did Yorbi.
“What?”
“Baseline exceeded?”
Meanwhile, the Class M3 magic students murmured in confusion. They’d assumed Stage 10 was the max.
But no.
Mana measurement devices worked on people and objects alike. The stages varied by set baseline.
Meaning, even “Stage 1” meant different things depending on calibration.
In short, my refinement had blown past the device’s settings.
Amid it all, only Damian was thrilled.
“Awesome!”
Normally, you’d envy a friend outshining you, but Damian’s awe was purely genuine—no trace of jealousy.
I glanced at Yorbi.
“Looks like it glitched. Guess we should remeasure Damian first….”
“Seems… that way.”
Yorbi nodded, convinced.
An academy student exceeding the baseline? Impossible.
Even the teaching assistant topped out at Stage 10.
But Damian wasn’t buying it.
“No, it’s not.”
Shut it.
“I can tell.”
Zip it.
“It’s right.”
Yeah, he probably could tell. Geniuses don’t earn the name for nothing. He’d intuitively grasped it the moment he saw—no explanation needed.
But Damian needed to learn something.
The world’s full of ordinary folks.
“Try… again.”
“Sure.”
Yorbi reset the device with a skeptical look.
He started over with Damian—and sure enough, the numbers stayed the same.
[Refinement Level: Stage 9]
[Total Capacity Level: Stage 67]
“See? Told you.”
Damian grumbled, looking a bit sulky.
But it was fine.
I’d just not match.
“…….”
I channeled mana again. This time, more carefully—muddling it even beyond my usual standards.
The result:
[Refinement Level: Stage 3]
[Total Capacity Level: Stage 15]
Perfectly average.
“Ahh, there we go.”
“Earlier was the glitch, right? Makes sense.”
The students, who’d been watching breathlessly, finally nodded.
Not everyone, though. Those who remembered my fight with Hickster reacted differently.
“Does that make sense? He beat Hickster with that?”
“Didn’t he drop Hickster with one spell?”
I never made him kneel.
“Remember exactly. Whoosh, bam—casual spell, and Hickster’s down? Heard he was covered in blood.”
Never drew blood either.
But whatever. Suspicion stayed suspicion. With numbers out, they’d convince themselves.
“Hmm.”
Yorbi tilted his head suspiciously, but I just flashed a grin.
“Now it’s spot on.”
That’s when Damian’s voice rang out.
“Bullshit.”
“……?”
“This is bullshit.”
I cocked my head at words I’d never expect from Damian, raised in a noble house. Where’d he pick that up?
“Who taught you that….”
“Friend.”
“Was it that friend….”
“Yeah, you.”
Damn, can’t even drink cold water without it biting me.