novelraw Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Class Up
“Since it’s never come up in your curriculum, we’ve never had a class about Double Casters.”
To calm the students, Teacher Reji began explaining about Double Casters.
“A Double Caster refers to someone who can handle both elemental and summoning magic, or an Elementalist who can control more than two elements.”
“Can anyone become a Double Caster?”
“……No. A Double Caster is purely a matter of talent. I heard one was born 500 years ago, long before I was even born, and there hasn’t been another since. That’s how different they are by birth.”
“Wow…….”
All eyes turned back to me.
But they weren’t the same eyes that had looked at me pitifully when I used to sleep through class on the day I reincarnated.
A Double Caster born for the first time in 500 years.
The students’ gazes were filled with admiration.
“You’re amazing, Artel.”
“I can’t believe my friend is such a great mage!”
Kiena and Hei whispered in awe.
“Artel, I couldn’t speak earlier because I was too shocked, but congratulations on passing.”
“Thank you.”
“With that, we’ll conclude the midterm student ability evaluations. Good work, everyone.”
The midterm evaluations officially came to an end.
The students all stood up and began leaving the classroom.
I, too, rose to leave with Kiena and Hei.
At that moment, Reji’s voice called out.
“Artel, could you stay behind for a moment?”
“Sure.”
So I sent Kiena and Hei ahead and remained in the classroom alone.
“Artel, I’m saying this because I’m worried. Being a Double Caster is indeed an incredible ability, but it’s not something glorious.”
As expected, Reji must have known—after all, he was a 6th Circle Mage.
He was right. A Double Caster was a truly special kind of talent.
But its reputation wasn’t good.
Of course, part of that came from the envy and jealousy of higher-ranked mages, but there was also a more decisive reason.
That reason was Sylarid, the man sealed away at the top of the main building.
He was the Double Caster—a summoner and elementalist in one.
After his appearance, the perception of Double Casters had been completely twisted.
‘Mad Mage,’ ‘Mage of Massacre,’ and so on.
There wasn’t a single positive title.
Sylarid, who loved flaunting his power and forcing others beneath him, used the overwhelming might of a Double Caster to disrupt the order between the Magical Society and the Sword Society, causing countless casualties.
Thus, the Double Caster was branded not as a blessed talent, but as a cursed ability that brought disaster.
Strictly speaking, I wasn’t a Double Caster.
A Flewd Elementalist could control not only the six elements beyond Flewd itself but had simply manifested darkness and fire simultaneously.
In terms of elementalists, Flewd was a concept higher than Double Caster.
However, there was a subtle difference—while a Double Caster could, as Reji mentioned, sometimes control both an element and summoning magic, a Flewd could manipulate all elements but not summoning at all.
Even if I had decided to reveal part of my identity, the fact that I was a Flewd Elementalist was still a secret I had to keep.
That’s why Reji had fully believed I was a Double Caster.
“Artel, things might get harder for you from now on. You’ll learn this when you move up to 1st Class, but a Double Caster is a very dangerous talent.”
“Is being a Double Caster really that dangerous?”
I asked, feigning ignorance.
That was my intention.
A message to Etar and Former—stop watching me from the shadows and keep your eyes on me openly instead.
It was my way of declaring war.
“Yes, it’s dangerous.”
Reji’s tone was firm.
“Well, I think I’ll do just fine.”
I replied with a bright smile, as if I knew nothing.
“……Alright.”
Reji seemed to have more to say, but he held back.
He probably thought I wouldn’t understand even if he explained.
If only he knew—I was the reincarnated Archmage, Archis Eimer.
I knew exactly what he was worried about.
And I couldn’t help but wonder how he would react if I told him that.
“You must be tired. Go rest. You’ve worked hard for the past five years.”
“Yes, teacher.”
With that brief conversation, I left the room and returned to the dormitory.
As I exited the classroom, I found Russel waiting in the hallway.
“What is it?”
“Hey, you. You’re not just handling fire and darkness, are you? You can control light too, right? You used a flash spell on me.”
He was still hung up on what happened during the opening day.
What a petty guy.
“What are you talking about?”
I ignored him and walked past—too tired to bother.
For some reason, he just stood there, glaring at my back.
Reji made his way to a secluded corner deep within Class 0.
It was a place hidden from the students. Even if one accidentally stumbled upon it, a spell would send them flying away with a violent gust of wind.
When Reji stood before it, a whirlwind enveloped him once and then vanished.
“Teacher Reji. The fact that you’ve come here means…?”
From the dark corridor, Professor Mel’s voice emerged.
“Professor Mel, I came to report on the student ability evaluations.”
“Come in.”
The wind howled again, and a door materialized.
When Reji opened it and stepped through, the school corridor vanished, replaced by a snow-covered mountaintop.
Just as the scenery in the Headmaster’s floor shifted according to Etar’s mood, Mel—the overseer of Class 0—could also alter her own space with magic.
As a Wind Elementalist, she favored the peaks where the wind blew strongest.
Crunch, crunch.
On the summit, only a single table stood.
There were no heating devices, but as a Fire Elementalist, Reji could keep himself warm enough with her own magic.
Mel calmly lifted her teacup and asked,
“Would you like a cup?”
“Thank you.”
As the two sat across the table, Mel poured tea into Reji’s cup and asked,
“The results are as the Vice Headmaster predicted?”
“Yes. Four students passed—all of them exactly as the Vice Headmaster foresaw.”
“As expected of the Draco Family’s keen eye. I couldn’t sense a thing myself.”
“Um…… Professor, but a Double Caster has been born.”
At that moment, the motion of her hand pouring tea froze.
“Who is it, and what elements?”
“Artel. Darkness and fire.”
“Lord Tyrant at the Main Academy will be most pleased.”
“What? The report goes directly to the Main Academy? Shouldn’t Headmaster Etar of the Branch Academy be informed first?”
“Teacher Reji.”
At that instant, Mel’s expression hardened completely.
“Yes, Professor.”
“That’s not something a mere teacher should concern himself with. Stay out of it.”
“……Understood.”
“Anything else noteworthy?”
“No, but I don’t understand. Artel is a student I’ve taught for five years—how could a boy who slept through class every day…… become the first Double Caster in 500 years?”
“Well, the world never follows set rules, does it? We must accept it as such. I’ll have to inform the 1st Class professors to assign him his subjects. You may go now.”
Unlike Reji, Mel was composed and unhurried.
As Reji hastily emptied his teacup and stood, he cautiously asked,
“Um…… Professor, my teaching term ends this year, but the number of students I’ve helped pass should be enough to qualify for the 7th Circle promotion exam, correct?”
Truthfully, this mattered more to him than the report itself.
“Already?”
“Yes.”
“Time flies. But that’s not up to me—it’s the Vice Headmaster’s decision. Still, I’ll make sure your efforts are recognized.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
“But don’t get your hopes up too high. You’ve been here since Class 0, so you know this: in the last fifty years, not a single graduate has come from the Ed Branch, nor has any student transferred to the Main Academy.”
“I understand.”
“Oh? You do? What do you mean by that?”
“Fifty years is plenty of time for something extraordinary to happen.”
Reji bowed at a right angle and left the professor’s office.
“Hope is something only the foolish and incompetent cling to. Tsk, tsk.”
Mel muttered to the now-empty doorway.
Naturally, Reji didn’t hear her.
Nor could she have understood the meaning behind those words.
***
“Artel~! Hei~! What should we do?”
Kiena, who was in high spirits after yesterday’s exams and the morning’s mandatory “History of Magic” class, asked excitedly.
“Now that we finally have free time, I have no idea what to do.”
The students who had once been on the verge of expulsion seemed more confused than happy with their sudden freedom.
Hei, too, wore a blank look, unsure of how to spend his time.
Leaving the two behind, I started walking toward the library.
“Where are you going, Artel?”
“The library.”
“Huh? You’re going to the library during free time?”
“Yeah.”
From now on, I planned to completely change the image of “Artel.”
As my class rank rose, so would my influence.
The reason I’d raised these two from the start was to make them my followers—my insurance for any unforeseen events.
That meant I had to become the “teacher” of this small group.
Until now, that role had naturally fallen to Kiena, but it was time for me to take it.
And conveniently, during yesterday’s exam, I had revealed myself as a Double Caster to all of Class 0.
My abilities were already burned into their minds, but now I also needed to display intellect.
Only then could I guide them as we ascended together.
That was the operation I was beginning today.
When I reached the library, I opened a random book.
They were books I didn’t even need to read, but I had to at least look like I was studying.
Not just one—I stacked them high, forming a tower tall enough to hide my face.
“Hey…… Artel looks so weird just sitting there reading.”
“I thought he was acting strange since the break. Does learning magic change your personality? Or maybe being a Double Caster makes you twice as weird?”
I can hear you, you little brats.
After sneaking glances at me, Kiena grabbed Hei’s arm and pulled him to sit across from me.
“Let’s all just read something! We’ve already had plenty of fun during the break anyway!”
“Ah…… but I don’t wanna……”
Unlike Kiena, who loved studying, Hei was clearly displeased.
“Do whatever you want. I’ve got things to study.”
“I want to study too!”
“……I’ll just watch you guys read.”
And so, our first free time was spent entirely in the library.
From then on, my routine remained unchanged.
After the morning’s mandatory “History of Magic” class, I went straight to the library.
‘Strange. By now, Former and Etar must know I’m a Double Caster—so why is it so quiet?’
But neither of them made a move.
I had expected them to take some sort of action, yet nothing happened.
This was supposed to be a shocking revelation—enough to shake not just the school but the entire Magical Society—yet everything remained eerily silent.
‘For now, I’ll just wait and see.’
After all, as a mere Class 0 student, there wasn’t much I could uncover yet.
So I followed my routine.
After every required class, straight to the library.
Kiena and Hei were always by my side.
As the days went on, Hei eventually gave up and spent his time alone in the garden.
Thus, I spent the rest of the second semester in the library.
When the last Friday of December arrived, there were no classes scheduled—only exams.
Since I had already passed, there was no need for me to attend.
So, as soon as I woke up, I headed straight for the library.
By the afternoon, a notice arrived through Mob.