CH 28

“Hoh-hoh-hoh. It’s been two months since the new students started studying here. It’s getting interesting, isn’t it, Brad?”

“You have a wicked expression on your face, Old man.”

“… Call me the Headmaster as I’ve told you many times—”

“Yeah, yeah, Headmaster. Geez, there’s nobody here anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

This is the academy principal’s office.

The first things that catch your eye are two contrasting paintings.

One depicts people basking in the light of compassion and enjoying happiness, while the other depicts people struggling in the gloomy darkness.

The overall impression is not one of luxurious splendor, but at first glance, it seems modest, yet there is a definite elegance to this space.

“This year, the first-year students are getting special attention.”

“Yeah, some of them have already been given ‘nicknames.’ They’ve only participated in the ranking battles once or twice, but they’ve become quite popular so early.”

“It’s not about numbers. Those who truly have talent naturally attract others. I don’t think there’s anything strange about it.”

The ranking battles are open to the public.

As a result, it is inevitable that students who become popular for various reasons, including their strength, intelligence, or passion, will attract attention as a form of entertainment.

Those who have become popular are given nicknames, whether they are known for their strength, intelligence, or passion.

There are already first-year students who have been given nicknames and are eagerly awaiting the next ranking battles.

—Alice, the Empress of Ice.

—Lloyd, the Beast of Azure Flame.

—Mia, the Little God of Thunder.

Sometimes, great power fascinates and excites people.

They are at the top of the rankings for first-year students, and everyone sees them as special.

Even those who have a shallow understanding of magic can tell how strong they are.

However, they are not the ones who are currently receiving the most attention.

“Kuku, ‘Hero Abel’… that’s a good nickname.”

Brad laughed quietly.

His expression contained a joy and pride that could not be hidden.

Yes, Abel, who’s no longer at the bottom of the rankings, is the one who is currently attracting the most attention.

Alice, Lloyd, and Mia are undoubtedly talented.

But this is Aslan Magic Academy, where magic talents gather every year, and, to put it unkindly,

the audience is used to seeing talent.

That’s where Abel comes in.

It is all too easy to see his disadvantage of not being able to use attribute magic.

He only has the simple power of enhanced physical abilities and swordsmanship.

He is far from being of noble birth, which is an anomaly in this academy.

For better or for worse, Abel has all the elements that make people want to support him.

Abel’s rank match, which was held among the audience, was only the first battle.

It was a match against Hugo, who had a grudge against him since the entrance exam.

Abel’s figure of standing up against such a monster who could use attribute magic with just a sword was just like a [hero].

As a result, Abel achieved his first victory.

And his popularity exploded.

“Abel, who can’t use attribute magic, needs to get results, otherwise he’ll be in trouble. In that sense, I’m glad he won.”

“Well… I don’t like it, Headmaster. I don’t want to think about such crappy things.”

“Ho-ho, everything is a matter of getting used to it, you too will get used to it too.”

“Is that so? But, it’s not all good…well, I can’t say I understand it only this time.”

“…Hmm, the transfer issue. It can’t be helped. This academy is fine as it is.”

Abel’s victory caused a problem.

It was Hugo’s transfer. When entering the Aslan Magic Academy, most people recognized Abel’s abilities.

However, it is also a fact that some people somewhere look down on him for not being able to use attribute magic. And Hugo was one of them.

In this school, if you look up, there is no end.

Therefore, having someone “lower” than oneself brings peace of mind.

However, the recoil further dyes the heart with despair.

Hugo’s transfer of school this time may be due to the despair of having been defeated by someone he thought was exactly of that lower rank.

“Well, there is a chance for him to come back to this academy. But it will depend on his efforts from now on.”

“You’re still so cold. Anyway, can I still watch Abel from now on?”

“Of course. I’m glad I entrusted him to you.”

“Well, thank you.”

“Ho-ho, you seem to like him a lot. I don’t want to take it away from you and have you go wild.”

“Hey, don’t mess around! I just don’t hate guys who are fired up. Anyway, I’m leaving now!I don’t have time for this.”

Brad then turned on his heel and headed for the door.

“Well, see you later, old man.”

Leaving only those words, he rudely closed the door.

“Hou-Hou-Hou. Brad’s as lively as ever. Oh, right. Luke’s rank match is today. I’m super looking forward to it~♪”

＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋

“Watch.”

“Yeah, yeah! I’m looking at you like crazy!”

I picked up the piece of wood Amelia had prepared for me and activated one of the spells.

—”Gluttony of Darkness.”

Suddenly, a small darkness appeared on the palm of my hand.

Not only did I feel the sensation of magic draining out, but there was also a slight sluggishness in my body.

At this point, this was my limit.

However, this was the culmination of the past two months.

The magic that I had spent a tremendous amount of time on had finally been completed.

It was not something that could be done half-heartedly.

I put the piece of wood that I had picked up into the darkness.

Then, the wood slowly sank into the darkness and eventually disappeared completely.

“Oh… Ohh… Ohhhhhhh!”

Yes, my dark magic had affected not only magic but also matter.

This was a big breakthrough. I felt a sense of accomplishment and my mouth naturally curled upwards.

“…’Darkness consumes everything’… so this is what it meant… the legends were true, they were really true!! Holy c**p!! This is seriously insane, Luke!!”

“Y-yeah…”

As expected, Amelia was so delighted that she was taken aback…truly taken aback.

Well, I owe it to her that I was able to complete this magic.

The knowledge I gained from Amelia’s unpopular class, “Applied Attribute Magic”, which was full of onomatopoeias, was instrumental in my success.

“For now, this is all I can do, but eventually… Hey—”

“…”

Her eyes were completely strange, with no light in them.

She muttered something quietly, drooling from the corner of her mouth as she rapidly wrote something down.

It was terrifying, given the wide range of interpretations and the effects her murmurs made on others.

I lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

“Ah, sorry. Ehe, ehe, ehehehe, I got a little excited…”

“…”

This person is undoubtedly incredibly talented, but…somehow something is broken in her head.

That has been the case since we first met.

“Come to think of it, Luke, isn’t there a rank battle today?”

“Yeah, it’s with a boring opponent.”

“… But he’s still a senior, right?”

My overall school rank is 47th.

Considering that there are about twenty students in each grade, there are only about half that number this year.

Is it because the passing criteria are strict, or is there some other factor?

Well, it doesn’t matter.

Since my research on magic has come to a pause, I thought it might be time to have a rank battle.. .but honestly, I’m not very enthusiastic about it.

I already have information on my opponent. In fact, I saw his rank battle once, and there was reallynothing noteworthy about it.

He’s just a user of water magic.

He seems to be more skilled in magic battles than in magic itself.

However, this has nothing to do with me, who can use dark magic.

──It’s not like there aren’t any interesting people though.

“Eh!? Is it almost time!?”

“Yeah, I should head over soon.”

“… This relaxed feeling, it’s so like Luke… But, I’ll be cheering you on! I’ll definitely go watch… ehehe…”

“…”

I couldn’t quite put it into words, but seeing Amelia’s enraptured expression, I wondered what kind of emotions she had on coming to watch this.

It was certain that her reasons for coming were not purely for cheering.

＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋

Luke enters the arena, followed by his opponent, second-year Porupon.

Just that alone sends the audience into a frenzy, with cheers echoing throughout.

The first-year students have already gained a reputation for their incredible abilities, and that’s why the expectations for Luke, the top of the first-years, have continued to grow.

And now, the ranking battle has finally begun.

It’s easy to understand the excitement.

“…I’ve heard rumors about you. They say you’re a monster who uses dark magic. It’s already a hot topic among upperclassmen.”

“I see.”

“…”

Luke’s response was simple. He didn’t bother to hide his contemptuous emotions.

There was nothing in his eyes, so it was only natural that Porupon felt irritated.

(…He really does look young. Is he really a senior? But there’s something nagging at me. I feel like I’ve met him a long time ago…)

Despite Porupon’s irritation, Luke was only thinking about this much.

“But… I won’t lose! No matter what it takes! I’ll do everything I can to win!”

“…”

Porupon’s passionate voice echoed through the arena.

His intense demeanor shook Luke’s emotions just a little bit.

(…He’s really fired up.)

But that was all.

He had no further emotions, just a calm and collected thought process on how to achieve a flawless victory.

He envisioned every possible scenario and how to achieve a complete victory.

Both sides kept their distance and waited for the right moment.

However, their attitudes were very different.

One glared at the other as if ready to shoot, while the other wore a thin smile that mocked him.

Luke held his sword while Porupon held his staff.

The audience’s anticipation continued to grow without limits, and then…

“Begin!!”

Finally, the match began.

In an instant, a spell was cast, but it wasn’t by Luke.

—”Flight”

“Good practice,” Luke thought as he watched Porupon rise into the air.

(Starting with a flight spell… It’s already become the norm. Kuku, I can fly too. It’s a little different from yours though.)

Porupon immediately began to wield magic and began to act in order to cast the next spell. However, it was Luke’s turn next.

—”Wings of Darkness”

Black wings appeared on Luke’s back.

Porupon was momentarily stunned by the unusual sight, and the casting of his spell was slightly delayed.

That was too big of an opening for Luke.

He flapped his wings.

“Ha!”

He flapped them just once.

That was all Porupon could perceive.

Before he knew it, Luke was before him, his smile as wide as a rip in the fabric of reality.

It was an event that he could no longer understand.

” —Guah!”

A strong impact to his right cheek.

Before he could even recognize it was simply being punched, Porupon fell and was slammed onto the ground.

His whole body was wracked with pain.

Still —Porupon did not let his consciousness for casting the spell waver.

He couldn’t lose.

He had to win, no matter what.

“Take that!”

—”The Dragon King of Water”

Porupon knew that an ordinary spell would be meaningless against Luke.

So he unleashed his strongest magic.

The dragon king made of water rose to the sky, piercing his hated enemy.

“… Hou, that’s a good spell.”

Despite the dragon king, which was many times larger than himself, approaching, Luke’s smile never faded.

Rather, his heart was filled with joy at the magic that surpassed his own imagination.

—”Sun of Darkness”

A small dark sun appeared in the palm of Luke’s hand.

It swallowed the dragon king all too easily.

“…What the h**l… is that…”

“Kuku, you look good.”

All the expressions disappeared from Porupon’s face.

The fighting spirit and obsession that had been boiling inside him disappeared so quickly that it gave Luke an indescribable pleasure.

“Well then…”

The dark sun suddenly disappeared. Luke cast the next spell, which would push Porupon even further into despair.

—”Dragon King of Water”

“…”

The dragon king of water appeared before him.

Porupon’s mouth hung open like a hollow void.

(It can’t be… it’s my magic, but a lot stronger than me…)

However his despair does not end here.

—”Dragon King of Darkness”

Furthermore, even the Dark Dragon King appeared before him.

It was a mistake, even trying to fight was a mistake.

With his heart dark and stagnant, Porupon completely lost his will to fight.

“Hah… Ahaha… haah…”

Porupon let out a dry laugh.

And then, he released two Dragon Kings with a cruel smile.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

Giving up everything, Porupon closed his eyes.

Only Luke’s laughter, which sounded genuinely happy, continued to echo until the very end.

＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋

Because it was a rare attribute, “Dark Magic” was not familiar to the people.

Therefore, the image that everyone imagined at that moment became his nickname.

—”The Demon King”

From this day on, Luke’s powerful abilities attracted more and more enthusiastic fans, unintentionally pushing Yolande’s plan to make him king.

Or rather, it was probably all going according to his plan.