Chapter 39
Chapter 39
Everyone stared in shock, their eyes wide.
A miracle.
There was no other way to describe the sight unfolding before them.
Fizz!
“!!”
The magic Ballas had cast scattered in midair and vanished.
It had been the magic of a Supreme Mage—a Fifth Star Rank spell—yet it had disappeared without a trace.
“W-what?!”
Everyone was dumbfounded, unable to understand what had just happened.
‘Could it be that the technique Ban just used was…?’
As Randolf swallowed a groan, a voice came from beside him.
“What do you think?”
Bernstein asked.
“…Let’s watch a little longer. We can’t be sure yet that what Ban is doing is that ‘technique.’”
Unable to believe his own eyes, Randolf answered curtly.
But then, the very next moment—
“This is boring. Don’t come at me one at a time. All three of you, attack me at once.”
“!!”
The people facing Ban now consisted of two newly appointed professors and one full professor—three opponents in all.
Kansir, a Sword Mage, was Fourth Star Rank, and the other two were Fifth Star Rank.
And yet Ban, who was only First Star Rank and suffered from Mana Insensitivity, was telling all three of them to attack him at once?
“You’ll regret that, you bastard.”
“…You’d better be ready.”
Kansir and Ballas, both of whom Ban had already thoroughly trounced, ground their teeth. The full professor Ban had singled out also hardened his expression.
The three of them cast their spells simultaneously.
Rumble.
Whoosh!!
Crash!!
Spells of earth, fire, and ice manifested.
However, depending on their elemental attributes, there was a slight difference in the order in which they reached Ban.
First, the blade of ice arrived fastest. Just as it was about to slash Ban’s wrist—
A flash!
Something transparent shimmered.
“W-what’s that?!”
It was a crystal.
Thin as a needle, so much so that it was difficult to make out unless one focused closely.
Its power, however, was astonishing.
Crash!!
The ice spear, pierced by the crystal, shattered into pieces and fell.
“!!”
And that wasn’t all.
One unbelievable miracle after another took place.
Next came the Fire Magic.
Just as a whip of flame was about to lash down, a needle-like crystal flashed again.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
This time, there were three.
Needles of light pierced the head, middle, and tail of the whip, and the fire went out with a hiss.
“S-surely, that’s…?”
Only then did some of the onlookers begin to grasp, albeit dimly, what Ban had done.
They still seemed uncertain, though. What had happened was simply too absurd to believe.
Professor Bernstein explained it to Randolf.
“Remarkable. He used a Formation to cast Remote Satellite Magic, then pierced the cores of high-level spells. How could anyone do such a thing?”
Randolf fell silent, as if in agreement.
At the present time, a mage’s defense was understood through the concept of a Shield.
You raised a barrier to block your opponent’s attack.
But long ago, there had been a mage who came up with a different idea.
—Couldn’t you defend against a powerful spell with less energy by intercepting the opponent’s magic in midair?
Defense through a Shield was a contest of strength against strength, so it was helpless against an attack with greater power.
In other words, a Shield with a defensive strength of ten had no choice but to fall before an attack with a power greater than ten.
Thus, mages of a lower Star Rank were helpless against the spells of mages with a higher Star Rank.
But what if you intercepted an incoming attack in midair?
You could defend against a powerful attack with far less energy.
‘It was a theory abandoned because it was impossible to put into practice. But he found the answer with Satellite Magic.’
Randolf swallowed hard.
It was a method that caused magic to manifest from coordinates designated around the caster in advance—the satellites—instead of from the caster themselves.
The idea was to intercept an opponent’s attack the moment it approached one of the satellites designated beforehand.
But even that was absurd. Satellite Magic was already difficult to control in the first place. Making it intercept an opponent’s spell with precision was on an entirely different level of difficulty.
‘How did he imbue the Mana Needle, which serves as the interceptor, with that kind of power? Could he have absorbed the Heartstone of the Frozen Sea? But the Heartstone of the Frozen Sea can only be absorbed by someone at Fifth Star Rank or higher. How did he absorb it, and…?’
The more Randolf learned, the more confused he became.
The situation made no sense, even after seeing it with his own two eyes.
Crackle!
Even the final earth-element spell was nullified, and silence fell over the hall.
There was only one person.
Only Ban looked down at everyone with an arrogant gaze.
As if he were the star of this training session.
Everyone watched him, swallowing hard.
‘Whew. Thank goodness that worked.’
It had been a close call.
If I hadn’t had my new secret weapon, the Shadow Ice Sword, created by combining the Heartstone of the Frozen Sea with the Shadow Sword, then even I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.
‘The problem is the grading.’
Fortunately, what I’d been worried about didn’t happen.
Clap, clap. The sound of applause thundered through the hall.
Bernstein exchanged a look with the crow perched on his shoulder, then stepped forward and said:
“To bring the Remote Interception Defense Theory to life like this, when everyone believed no one could ever do it… Outstanding. If Sir Langt, who first devised this theory, had seen it, he would have risen from his grave in joy. Ban, you receive a perfect score on your academic evaluation for this training session.”
No one could object to Bernstein’s words.
The sight I had shown them had been that shocking.
“Ha ha! Young master! I knew I could count on you!”
“Uncle, you were incredibly anxious just a moment ago, though.”
“Shut up, you brat! It’s all a show of loyalty!!”
As Hans and Linden made a racket, people began edging closer, one by one, watching to see how things would go.
They were reporters.
Neutral reporters who hadn’t taken backhanders from the Prestigious Magic Families.
‘Not everyone who came here is a hack journalist.’
Most of them worked for small-time news outlets, but many had a cleaner, fairer sense of journalistic integrity than the reporters at the major outlets, which were in league with the old powers.
“Professor Ban, you’ve shown us one incredible thing after another since yesterday. Please, say a few words!!”
I hesitated for a moment.
‘Hmm. What should I do? I don’t really need to attract the media’s attention for no reason.’
The only reason I’d put on such an impressive display today was so I could rank first in the New Professor Training evaluation and avoid getting kicked out of the Academy.
I didn’t particularly want to become famous with the public.
‘Let’s just give a safe answer, like, “It was nothing. You’re too kind.”’
But the Black Flame Dragon caused a scene without warning.
Transcendent Translation took effect.
“What are you so surprised about? Is this really such a big deal? Compared to this body’s greatness, it’s nothing at all, so don’t make such a fuss. Your astonishment is only just beginning.”
“!!”
‘Hey, Black Flame Dragon!!’
I was horrified, but it was too late.
That day, articles like these flooded the magical world.
—Young Master Ban Causes a Stir!
—“Just you wait. My legend is only just beginning.”
—Young Master Ban Calls Himself Great. Delusions of Grandeur? Or Will He Truly Rise from an Ugly Duckling to Become a New Star in the Magical World?
They were the sort of articles that would have me kicking my blankets for nights on end, but they all had one thing in common.
Not a single article called me Ban Trash anymore.
And then.
There were people having this conversation.
“What did you think of Ban today?”
“……”
At Bernstein’s question, Former President Randolf fell silent, his face heavy with concern.
“I misunderstood Professor Ban. I thought of him as Ban Trash… no, as Ban.”
“Wasn’t I right?”
“But it’s a pity. No matter how great Professor Ban’s talent may be, this is as far as he can go.”
Pity.
That was what Former President Randolf had felt when he saw Ban’s performance.
‘Why would the heavens give one man such peerless talent and such a terrible Curse?’
What Ban had shown was remarkable.
So remarkable it was hard to trust one’s own eyes.
It was as if he’d witnessed the pinnacle of what could be done with the Mana of a First Star Rank.
But this was as far as Ban could go.
‘…There’s no chance Ban has anything to do with the Ascendant who appeared during the entrance exam.’
No matter how remarkable Ban’s talent was, nothing like that could be brought about by an achievement of merely the First Star Rank.
“It’s so regrettable, it makes me want to sigh. In the end, Ban will only ever be half a mage.”
A harsh assessment.
In truth, even “half a mage” was generous.
All Ban could ever hope to become was a distinguished theoretical Scholar.
But then Bernstein said something unexpected again.
“Well, I disagree. I think Ban will eventually become a great mage.”
“On what grounds do you say that?”
“None. It’s a gut feeling.”
“A lifelong bachelor’s gut feeling, is it? It must be a remarkably keen one.”
Randolf gave a wry smile and shook his head.
“Either way, we’ll find out when Community Service begins tomorrow. We’ll see what sort of performance Ban puts on.”
The New Professor Training took place over two days.
Academic Training on the first day.
Community Service on the second.
As the name suggested, the schedule involved helping nearby settlements as professors and mages.
If Academic Training was a contest of “theory,” then Community Service was “practice.”
It was bound to put Ban, who had Mana Insensitivity, at a disadvantage.
Thinking Ban would never be able to distinguish himself during Community Service, Randolf stepped through the Portal back to the Academy.
It was unfortunate, but it was the reasonable judgment.
Randolf wasn’t the only one who thought so.
Most people did. Even those who had witnessed the miracle Ban had performed yesterday thought he wouldn’t accomplish much during the community service activities.
Kansir and Ballas, among others, were even lying in wait, determined to show Ban what they could do by taking advantage of this community service opportunity.
But near the training grounds, someone was behaving strangely, completely apart from all of this.
Black Bird Amanda.
Unlike her reputation on the battlefield, she had been remarkably inconspicuous today.
The truth was, she had no interest in this training at all.
She had a different goal.
“…I have to hurry and find the Master of Magic at Rubiness Academy.”
It was a daunting task.
The Medicine Sage had discovered this by divining with the power of a “Seeker,” a power that gazed up toward the heavens, but even the Medicine Sage didn’t know the Master of Magic’s true identity.
“There’s no time. Before it gets any later… Urgh!”
Amanda let out a short groan.
Her eyes turned a fiery red, and a terrible murderous intent toward the world began to surge through her.
“N-no.”
She fiercely bit down on the flesh inside her mouth.
The pain brought her back to her senses.
But it was only a stopgap.
‘The fits are coming closer and closer together.’
Amanda drew the dagger she always carried with her.
If the Curse completely consumed her, she intended to take her own life.
But before that, she wanted to find the Master of Magic.
‘I don’t want to die.’
Just as she clenched her fist tight, an unexpected voice rang in her ear.
—You poor thing. Is there something you desire? I will help you.
“Who?!”
Amanda started in fright.
A low,
soft voice continued, as if trying to tempt her.
—I am Ashtat, a supreme being. If there is something you desire, speak it. I will grant you whatever you wish.
It was the name of the legendary Evil Dragon.
And then.
News spread that Amanda, the Black Bird, had gone missing.