Entering the Academy: Why Contracts Demand Agreements
Why does contracting with demons always come with a contract document?
Is it simply so the demon can claim its contractor as its own property?
Well, even if that's not the case, there is one anyway.
I've heard demons have a strong sense of possessiveness.
But the true reason is different.
The essence of the contract document lies in connection.
It serves as the bridge linking the demon and its contractor.
When my heightened consciousness touched the document, the door that had been blocking the way swung wide open.
The contract mark tattooed on my back was like a pipe.
It connected the vast sea of Seir to the small vessel that was me.
Magic power surged through that passage.
Overflowing magic power flooded my body, filling every inch.
It was more than enough to fill my entire form, yet compared to Seir's infinite reserves beyond the contract mark, it was merely a drop in the bucket.
Like scooping a single bucket of water from the ocean.
But.
'This is enough.'
I could handle it for the entire day.
No process of introducing names like in the previous sparring session.
With the mage who despised demonologists.
And with me, who was furious at that kind of mage.
There was no lukewarm camaraderie between us.
"Begin!"
Right as the instructor's shout rang out, the guy shouted back.
"Come forth! Beast of the Abyss!"
Following the shout, a massive monster appeared in the training arena.
It had the form of a crocodile.
The size of one small car.
The presence radiating from its heavy weight was no joke.
'But so what?'
That kind of presence was like an ant in front of an elephant compared to Seir.
And I was carrying the power of that Seir on my back.
I channeled the magic power that filled my body in one direction.
The current of magic power stopped at my palm and I held back the explosive force with all my might.
'All at once, every last bit of power.'
Anything less than the full amount would just waste the opportunity.
When I could, I gave it everything.
A thorough, certain attack that would land.
So I released the dam holding back the magic power pushed to its limit.
Right as the monster raised its head.
"Disappear ─!!"
§
Ksaver had been at a loss.
His mind had gone blank.
After all, the opponent was a demonologist.
A demonologist like that.
It was almost hard to believe it was him.
Demons' magic required a price.
While lifespan wasn't the only cost, there were various kinds, but the truth was that every one of them devoured the user's own flesh.
Even in a sparring session, why would a demonologist fight while paying the price?
'It would end up being just some random magic or something trivial.'
Even that random magic was surely at an insignificant level.
His own magic power hadn't even been properly harvested either.
'He probably had no idea what a fantasy was.'
Ksaver's class was illusionist.
His main magic was turning imagination into a physical reality.
High-rank illusionists could even give their illusions physical power, but Ksaver's ability hadn't reached that far yet.
But so what?
While that brainless demonologist waste was lost in his illusions and wasting magic power, he could just crush him with some random magic.
That's when Ksaver's composure wavered.
When he sensed the magic power amplification that happened right after he cast his illusions.
'Huh? Why?'
Using magic power like that here?
Did contracting with a demon really drive him crazy?
'Ah, no way. It's just an illusion. Even if I hit it with magic power, the illusion would just return to...'
Struggling to regain his senses and counterattack, Ksaver's brain went white at the scene that unfolded next.
"Ah...?"
The illusion that had been swept away by the magic power stream was gone.
The magic power point that served as the axis of the illusion had been destroyed in a single strike.
It wasn't a spell at all, just a raw, unrestrained release of magic power.
No restraint, no purification, just a mindless explosion of whatever came to mind.
'But how much power was that...?'
To unleash that kind of power, how much price would he have had to pay to draw it out?
Ksaver had no idea.
He only knew one thing.
"Is this guy insane...?"
This guy clearly wasn't himself.
§
BOOM!
A simple technique that gathered magic power and shot it forward.
Named Magical Bullet, it knocked the guy out and the sparring session ended.
I really wanted to leave him in pieces, but it was a sparring match, so I couldn't ignore the instructor's eyes.
'Using something completely unrelated to illusion magic. He thought it was summoning.'
After the sparring ended, I steadied my aching body and stepped down.
'On second thought, that took more out of me than I expected.'
Using the contract document to draw magic power was great.
No price to pay, like having an inexhaustible spring of magic power.
But the problem was my body couldn't handle it.
Fatigue accumulated in the parts of my body used as channels for the magic power to move.
In the moment I released the magic power earlier and met it head-on, my body felt like it was twisting around like a rat in a cage.
'If I just throw Magic Bullet around and end up facing a real strong opponent later, I'll get hurt, damn it.'
I needed to use magic power more efficiently.
Or strengthen my own body.
"Training student Roman."
"Yes."
I stopped in place at the instructor's call.
"I won't praise you. Winning is one thing, but your approach was too extreme. Only you know what price you paid, but if you keep using your power like that, the people around you will be even more worried."
"I will remember."
"And... no, it's fine. Go in."
The instructor knew exactly how to get under a person's skin.
When I passed by him, my teammates also looked at me with disbelief.
"What kind of demonologist acts like that..."
"Y-yes, Roman. You were too reckless."
Well, I didn't need that worry, but I couldn't say it out loud.
If a demonologist had no price, word would spread and other mages would try to dig up my secret.
Not just demonologists, but all mages would be in danger.
Instead of making excuses, I quietly extended my hand.
Two heads in hoods stared back at my hand.
Ah, there was no baton pass here?
While I was about to lower my hand pretending nothing happened in the stares of the two silent people, Leaf let out an exclamation as if he had figured something out.
"Ah!"
And the palm that came up from Leaf.
But instead of a high-five, Leaf and I simply stood facing each other with palms raised.
It looked like some awkward high-five, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Ah, no?"
"...No. Correct. Ray?"
"I don't need that."
While stretching in the meantime, Ray lightly shook his arm and stepped forward.
"I'll finish it faster than you."
Like a Guan Yu?
Before the wine got cold, no, before my time ended, he'd show up first.
Leaving behind his boastful declaration, Ray jumped into the training arena even before the instructor gave permission.
"Next. Me."
§
By the time all the sparring sessions ended, the new recruits gathered in small groups and eventually divided into four groups.
One centered around the red-haired girl.
Another around the silver-haired girl on the opposite side.
And another around the blue-haired young man.
And finally the group that didn't fit into any of those three.
In the last case, they had scattered after looking around, so in reality it was three groups.
Among them, the place with the most people was the group centered around the first red-haired girl.
That was also the most bustling spot.
"How was it? Before heading to the dorm, why don't you have a drink...?"
"Drink? Where in this outer area would you even find a place to drink."
"By the way, I heard the training center was tough, but it seems even tougher than expected."
"Must be because this batch is special, right? Hey, even the noble grand duchess came herself?"
The girl's comment, while casually glancing at the opposite group, made the air chill.
And then sharp glances were aimed at the one who had just spoken.
"You, saying...!"
That was when someone tried to scold the girl who had no sense of caution.
"You have some good friends."
The silver-haired girl walked over to their side with a thud.
At the girl's words, the red-haired girl's lips parted as if she had nothing to say.
"Good friends?"
With people like that?
She let out a light laugh, meaning something like that.
"Really? But it's necessary to gather those who match and meet."
"Well? Some come, some go."
The girl's indifferent words made the girl's eyes show a faint frown.
"Always the same."
"As the grand duchess?"
This person wasn't to my liking.
The grand duchess, the girl called that, held her last words with composure so no discomfort showed on her face.
"I'll be watching from now on, Alejandra Rubio."
After the grand duchess left, her followers also disappeared together in a group.
The standoff between the two groups loosened, and the tension faded.
"Well, I spoke out of turn..."
The girl who had mentioned the grand duchess tried to continue, but a brown-haired guy grabbed her by the collar and yanked her back.
"Enough with the bragging."
"Ah~ Still cold, Juan."
"...You lack thought, Amaya."
Amaya, who had been standing close to Alejandra the red-haired girl, shrugged at Juan's words.
Then, ignoring Juan, she asked Alejandra.
"By the way, how was it?"
"Um..."
"You came to the training center wanting to find something fun, right? I came along too, so if there's nothing, it was pointless."
"There is."
Aljandra's lips moved as if she was about to say something, and the whole group held their breath.
"What was that demonologist thinking?"
A light drop of words.
But that topic sparked many reactions from the listeners.
"Ah, that guy. I remember him. He was pretty dumb."
"What kind of thinking could he have had? He just made a racket without knowing what power he was dealing with. No need to worry."
Even Juan, who didn't like Alejandra's followers much, agreed with that this time.
"He lost control over even a momentary emotion. There was no thunderous idiot to be found. It's embarrassing to be called a mage of the same caliber. Isn't it?"
At Juan's agreeing follow-up, responses of agreement came from all around.
But the agreement Juan had wanted never came back.
Instead, Alejandra turned her gaze away and walked in a completely different direction.
"How was it?"
Alejandra approached the blue-haired young man and asked.
The young man showed a hint of interest in his eyes and countered.
"You asking me that?"
There should be others you could ask, right? The follow-up was omitted.
There were many people who couldn't answer when asked something.
Just turn your head a little to the side and see.
The young man pointed to the people who had been with her until just now.
Alejandra's answer was clear.
"Whatever, your eyes are the best here."
She didn't put up any unnecessary pride.
Her straightforwardness without any pretense or calculation led Asher to answer.
"It was a crude method. I just hit it with the demon's magic power, which is denser than ordinary magic."
"Hmm~ So that's all it was?"
"Rough, but effective. Most of all, it's fast. If it was an ambush, it was a pretty good move."
Actually, the illusionist hadn't been able to stop it.
Without even time to activate a defense spell, it had been swept away by the magic power.
"But that's not a long-lasting technique."
"That's why it's even more beautiful."
At her words, Asher narrowed his eyes.
'That curiosity is gone too.'
Asher stopped caring about the woman.
Instead, he decided to think once more if there was anything he hadn't seen in that demonologist who had become Alejandra's target of curiosity.