novelraw Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
“If you want to live properly as a member of my family, never speak that name again. No—erase it from your memory.”
Ruin’s face was still badly twisted.
Those were not the eyes of a father looking at his child, but the eyes of someone staring at a mortal enemy.
“I will keep that in mind……! Please forgive me……! Family Head……!”
Thud!
When Ruin withdrew his magic, Russel dropped straight to the floor.
He immediately bowed his head toward Ruin from the urine-soaked ground, trembling and pleading in a terrified, quavering voice.
“I was wrong………! Family Head…… sniff, sniff…….”
His whole body shook as he experienced extreme fear.
“A bug has been born in my family.”
Ruin turned away coldly and left the dining hall.
***
Reji, having completed his five-year teaching term, headed to the faculty office.
Today it wasn’t the appearance of a mountaintop, but that of an ordinary professor’s office.
Vice Headmaster Draco Former was already there.
Reji bowed his head at a right angle to greet him.
“Professor Mel is out for a moment.”
“Understood.”
Facing the Vice Headmaster, Reji’s posture and expression both stiffened from tension.
Former looked over the documents containing Reji’s record.
“Fourteen students passed in five years. Well, that’s sufficient.”
At his words, joy instantly washed over Reji’s face.
Former opened a portal.
“Is that the portal leading to the examination hall?”
“Go in.”
He didn’t nod—only returned a cold reply.
But since that was Former’s usual personality, Reji took it positively.
“Thank you! Vice Headmaster! I’ll work hard, graduate, and enter the main academy!”
He also believed fifty years was more than enough time for unexpected changes to occur.
It was the moment she stepped into the portal.
“Fourteen is more than enough to get you expelled.”
“……What did you say?”
Inside the portal, Reji froze mid-step and looked back at Former.
“The qualification isn’t about how many students you pass, but how many you expel.”
“That’s…… different from what you said! You clearly said I’d be evaluated by the number of students I passed!”
Then where in the world did this portal lead?
What was certain was that it wasn’t the examination hall for the Class 7 promotion test.
Yet his body was already inside the portal.
When she tried to step back out, Former immediately cast magic.
Dozens of shadowy arms extended from inside the portal, binding his body and dragging him deeper inside.
“You’ve worked hard, Teacher Reji. This is the path meant for you. You do have talent, but unfortunately, you were born in the wrong era.”
Former closed the portal.
Why…… am I being expelled? What did I do wrong……?
The portal had already shut, and Reji couldn’t understand the situation.
Had he violated any school rule?
No matter how hard he tried to recall, nothing came to mind.
As the portal space dissolved, the scene before his eyes shifted—an ordinary city in the Lower World.
“Ah…….”
And he finally understood.
He had been expelled from the school and cast down to the Lower World.
He could never return to the academy.
More precisely, he could no longer set foot in the Upper World where the school and the Magical Society existed.
“What did he mean by being born in the wrong era…….”
She couldn’t understand the words Former had left behind.
Reji collapsed to the ground in despair.
Meanwhile, as Former was returning to the 7th floor of the branch school, he suddenly looked down at his own hand in the hallway.
Reji’s face—at the moment he was banished to the Lower World—seemed drawn across his palm.
“…….”
Since becoming this school’s Vice Headmaster fifty years ago, how many students had he forced into expulsion with this hand?
All of them had been 6th Circle students on the verge of graduation.
Just before they could finally spread the wings of their talent, he had cast them out with his own hand.
When would the day come when he could peacefully embrace and teach such students?
Each time he expelled a student, Former felt guilt, and he memorized every single name so he would never forget those he sent away.
For mages in this era, talent was a chronic illness that consumed their lifespan.
“That’s why, Reji, you don’t need to know anything for now. When the era changes, I’ll bring back you and all the students I expelled.”
He could only hope that the expelled students in the Lower World stayed safe until then.
***
Class 1’s winter vacation had begun.
Even though it was vacation, the students remaining in Class 1 were the same as those in Class 0.
Me, Kiena, and Hei.
Those were all the students currently remaining in Class 1 during the break.
With the vacation, the training grounds, dueling arena, classrooms, and all similar facilities were tightly closed.
Only the library and dining hall were open.
The doors were sealed by magic, and while I wondered if I should undo them with my own magic, I chose not to.
If I dispelled that kind of lock, the mage who’d placed it would immediately be notified.
There was no need to cause unnecessary trouble.
My vacation routine was just the same as during Class 0.
I invested all my waking hours in the Class 1 library, and when mealtime came, we all ate together.
I spent an entire day searching the Class 1 library for any of Master’s books, but found none.
Master had only ever written one book: “The Beginner’s Guide”.
He wrote it with the thought that even children with absolutely no talent for magic might still become mages.
Thus, Master’s book wasn’t one needed in Class 1, where only those who had found elemental or summoning magic gathered.
As that monotonous, repetitive vacation passed, the time for the new term approached.
-
To all first-year students of Class 1. The four of you must come to ‘Classroom 1’ immediately.
Author : Muhead
It was an announcement that arrived right before the first class began.
The four first-year Class 1 students were me, Kiena, Hei, and Russel.
Through the Mob’s Pathfinding, the four of us gathered in front of Classroom 1.
Before entering, Russel showed the same wariness toward me as always, but something in the atmosphere felt different.
Unlike what I had seen in Class 0, he looked as though he feared something and was on guard.
Why did a guy who had gone down to his family home in the Lower World during the break now have fear lingering in his eyes all of a sudden?
He hadn’t even run into me.
Not wanting to create a troublesome situation, I took Kiena and Hei with me and stepped into the classroom first.
The classroom looked identical to that of Class 0.
Tiered rows of tables, and at the very bottom, a platform where the teacher stood.
The teacher on the platform had brown hair.
But in front of the platform, there was also a rather large, exhibition-like display covered with a black curtain.
This teacher was an earth elementalist.
His irises weren’t fully brown either.
He likely seemed to be another dropout from Class 6.
“Welcome. I am Muhead, and I’ll be teaching you 《The History of Mages》 and ‘Mage Ethics and Theory’ from now on.”
“But why did you call us here?”
As expected, the moment Russel realized the man was a mage of commoner origin, he asked rudely.
“Judging by your hair color, you must be a student of House Mihael. Nice to meet you.”
Instead, Muhead smiled warmly and extended a hand toward Russel, but Russel only stared at his hand.
“That’s fine. We’re still a bit awkward with each other. Let’s save the handshake for next time.”
He seems to have a good personality.
A teacher who stayed relaxed even when dealing with that stubborn Russel……
My first impression of Class 1 wasn’t bad.
Muhead stepped forward and pulled away the black curtain.
As I expected, it was a display area, and inside were staffs and wands arranged neatly.
“These are congratulatory gifts for your admission into Class 1. You may choose whichever you like.”
“Gifts?”
At the word “gift,” Kiena’s voice rose excitedly.
“Yes, now that you’re official 1st Circle Mages, your classes will no longer resemble what you took in Class 0. Class 1 focuses primarily on magic practice. These items will help with magical manifestation.”
He answered kindly.
At least I knew why such gifts were given.
Students who had only just awakened to elemental or summoning magic still lacked concentration to properly manifest magic.
How to focus, where to direct the spell they wished to manifest—
They lacked even the most basic concepts.
That was why staffs and wands—items that aided in focusing and designating targets—were provided.
It was a simple but extremely important step for beginner mages.
It was like giving someone a blank sheet of paper and telling them, “Draw anything,” versus “Draw a house.”
“Anything” had no theme, leaving the person unsure of what to draw.
But “a house” provided a theme—just follow it.
For beginner mages, staffs and wands served that same purpose.
Even if one succeeded in manifesting magic, these tools were like assistant teachers who guided the spell toward the correct target.
“Please, go ahead and choose.”
Unexpectedly, Russel approached the display first.
He picked a wand.
“Do you have a particular reason for choosing the wand, Russel?”
“Well, it’s convenient to carry around.”
“You must be a mage who values practicality.”
Kiena, surprisingly, picked a staff as tall as she was.
“Kiena, do you have a special reason?”
“No special reason…… I just thought it’d be nice to hug it like a doll when I sleep……?”
“Hahaha, that’s an adorable reason.”
It was a bit odd, but not bad.
That kind of innocence did look cute, as Muhead said.
Hei chose a wand.
“I also like things that are easy to carry.”
“How annoying. Stop copying me?”
As always, Russel couldn’t leave it alone.
“What are you talking about?”
Hei shot back casually.
Once their bickering ended, it became my turn.
“Artel, please choose.”
But for me, a staff or a wand……
“Teacher Muhead.”
“Yes?”
“Do I have to choose?”
“……What do you mean?”
“Is it a problem if I don’t choose one?”
He seemed startled by the unexpected answer.
“Most students happily pick one since it’s a gift. May I ask why you don’t want to?”
I had many reasons, but explaining them would only waste my breath……
“They’re just cumbersome to carry around, whether it’s a wand or a staff.”
Even if it sounded arrogant, this was the simplest answer.
And I was allowed to say this much. Because……
“As expected, you must truly be the double caster born after 500 years. Your mindset is different. Very well. The choice isn’t mandatory anyway. These are only provided for the students’ convenience.”
As expected.
News about a special mage—a double caster—had spread even to Class 1, just as I predicted.
Muhead was about to cover the display with the black curtain again when—
“It seems each of you will be heading to your respective classes now. I’ll see you again during mine. Show your full potential in Class 1.”
As always, Russel left first, and Kiena, Hei, and I paused briefly at the classroom door.
“I don’t have morning classes.”
“Fire-element class starts late in the morning, so I don’t have class right away either.”
“What about you, Artel?”
“Oh, since I’m a double caster, I have two elemental classes. My morning class is the darkness-element class.”
“Being a double caster must be rough. Twice the classes of everyone else.”
“Good luck. See you later.”
Kiena and Hei patted my back.
They were still young, so the idea of having more classes seemed like a curse to them.
“Yeah, see you at lunch. I’ll contact you through the Mob.”
“Got it.”
“Do your best! Artel!”
I then went to find the classroom where the darkness-element class was held.
Classroom 2.
It was right next to the one we had just exited.
Right before I entered, I saw Russel heading into the neighboring classroom.
That was Classroom 3—likely where the light-element class was held.
When I stepped into Classroom 2, five students and a teacher were already inside.
But the moment I saw the teacher’s face, I flinched in surprise.