Academy Delinquent in Charge, Episode 19
The brilliant light that had risen in the center of the auditorium gently enveloped the space. That enchanting radiance made even the dust floating in the air appear beautiful.
The students each showed different reactions upon seeing the sphere so bright it was astonishing.
Some students had their mouths agape, filled with shock, while others, intoxicated by the light, stared straight at the sphere only for their eyes to sting and tears to form.
Baek Iljin, the student who had created this astonishing scene, simply nodded without paying any mind to the reactions of others.
‘So this is how you create a large magic circle. But this is too excessive, and it takes too long. It's unusable.’
Up until now, Baek Iljin had infused his energy too strongly, causing the magic circles to be unable to withstand it and explode.
Having realized the cause of his failures thus far, Baek Iljin immediately dispelled the Light magic.
‘Tch, I'm not satisfied with this.’
It was because something he should have succeeded in on the first try under normal circumstances had taken him multiple attempts.
‘Has it been since yesterday?’
Though the energies had always obeyed him well, ever since he absorbed the grey energy inside the sword into his body, they kept escaping his control like a five-year-old mischief-maker.
It felt as though a gap had formed between the interior and exterior of his body.
‘From now on, I'll have to control it with more precision.’
Karis also swallowed a groan as he saw the Light magic enveloping the auditorium. The Light magic from moments ago had been to the extent that it could no longer be called Light.
But what surprised Karis was not merely the size of the magic circle.
‘That brat…!’
Karis shook his head with effort and called out to him. Before he knew it, the smile had vanished from Karis's face.
“Student Baek Iljin. Over here.”
“Yes.”
“Have you learned magic before this?”
“No.”
“Really? Then could you try using Light magic once more?”
“Yes.”
Baek Iljin closed his eyes and created a magic circle. However, it was not the massive magic circle from before, but one of ordinary size.
‘Precisely….’
If too much mana went in, the magic circle would be unable to withstand it and explode. Yet if he put in too little mana, the magic circle would break off midway.
Taking both into account, Baek Iljin crafted the magic circle as meticulously and precisely as possible and muttered,
“Light.”
The moment he uttered the spell, a sphere spewing light burst from the magic circle. Unlike the gigantic Light he had created just now, it was of a very ordinary size.
The students who had been watching his magic with great anticipation had faces filled with disappointment.
“What the heck. Was that earlier one just luck?”
“Seems like it. The one he just made is totally ordinary.”
“Still, if he already made his own unique rune language, he must be pretty talented, right?”
“He is a special admittee, so he must have something going for him.”
Although the tremendous Light magic they had expected did not appear, it was still something worthy of praise for someone learning magic for the first time to already have created his own rune language.
“Well done.”
“Thank you.”
“However….”
“…?”
“No, it's nothing. Return to your seat.”
Baek Iljin returned to his seat quite satisfied. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, ever so slightly, as he walked back.
‘Indeed, when I control it precisely, it works well.’
Karis scanned Baek Iljin's retreating figure with meaningful eyes.
Except for the mana felt from the magic circle surrounding his right hand, not even the slightest flow of mana could be sensed from Baek Iljin's body when he used magic.
‘Mana with a characteristic undetectable even by the Insight….’
As he continued thinking, something else came to mind, but he soon shook his head.
‘That's impossible. Dragons are extinct.’
But if by some chance a dragon were still alive…?
In Karis's line of sight were Hwangbo Cheolsu and Hwangbo Soojung bickering with each other. The gaze with which Karis looked at them held affection.
‘It must not be. For the sake of those children, too.’
Suddenly, a conversation he had shared with his father, Tascal Robnine, the former head of the magic noble house Robnine, ten years ago flashed through his mind.
The magic noble house Robnine had been a member of Telos. And they had taken the lead in exterminating the dragons. Of course, the family had fallen in ruin as the price.
‘It was truly a foolish act.’
‘Pardon? Father, what do you mean all of a sudden…?’
‘Had it not been for my misguided judgment, we would have been living happily.’
In Tascal's deep eyes, dimmed with age, back bent and retinas clouded, sorrow had pooled heavily.
‘I feel greatly sorry to you and your sister.’
‘….’
That day, Karis closed his eyes without giving an answer to the regretful words coming from the old man's mouth.
It was not that Karis had never resented his father's choice. But perhaps watching his shrunken father's figure was too heart-wrenching. That day, for some reason, he had not wanted to share such words.
Tascal continued speaking regardless of Karis's wishes.
‘You were young and may not know, but our house committed countless massacres.’
‘….’
No, he had known. Because his sister had told him everything.
‘It was not only dragons that we killed.’
They killed all offspring born from a dragon's amusement. Adult, child, woman, man—they made no distinction of race, and slaughtered all who had even a drop of dragon's blood mixed in.
And at the center of it all was always Robnine.
For had it not been for their Insight, they would not have been able to ferret out the polymorph dragons.
Of course, they had not been able to find every dragon with the Insight.
Risiarin, the daughter of Pietro and the last dragon who survived until the end—her mana characteristic could not be felt even by the Insight.
But the other dragons had all been within the range of the Insight, which was also the reason dragons had targeted the Robnine family first and foremost.
‘I thought that if we killed the dragons, we could learn their magic….’
‘….’
‘How foolish. In the end, our house fell to ruin, and all we gained was blood and regret.’
Tascal the Iron-Blooded.
It was a nickname modeled after Tascal's cold demeanor, as though iron rather than blood flowed through his veins.
But what stood before Karis was not a man with iron in his blood, but merely a pitiful old man filled with regret and remorse.
‘I realized it then. No matter how swift regret is, it is always late.’
‘Father….’
‘Karis, forget the family and please live a life without regret.’
Only days after they shared that conversation, Tascal passed away.
It was an old memory, worn and torn with age, yet that day's conversation was unforgettable, as though it had been copied into his mind.
‘Today, all sorts of thoughts are coming to me.’
Finishing his thoughts, Karis rubbed his nose and shifted his gaze toward the students. Before he knew it, all the students had each summoned a magic circle.
The sight of hundreds of students using Light magic was truly spectacular. The students from other tracks, excluding the Magic Track, were now boasting that they, too, were mages.
“Everyone. Stop and gather over here.”
“Yes!”
The students dispelled their magic circles and gathered in unison.
“Knowing how to use one Light magic spell does not make you a 1st-rank mage.”
A student wearing rimless glasses suddenly raised his hand and stood up. It was Jegal Muhyeok.
“Then from when can we be acknowledged as 1st-rank mages?”
“Well, you should know at least three 1st-rank spells, no?”
“Then when can we learn other spells?”
“Magic is so fun, and easy too!”
The students' eyes were sparkling. Within them was an enthusiasm to quickly learn the next spell.
‘Well, anyone who got into the Academy must have talent without question. Of course magic would be fun.’
However, the Magic Track students' expressions were not very bright, as if they did not like the current situation.
‘Damn—what do you mean learning 1st-rank magic.’
‘These brats, they used one Light spell and think magic is easy?’
‘Just wait until you hit 2nd-rank. Let's see if it's still fun then.’
‘No, then what are we supposed to learn?’
Karis, noticing the disgruntled Magic Track students, tossed a word their way as well.
“You Magic Track students might be thinking, ‘Why do we have to learn what we already know?’”
A few Magic Track students hung their heads low, as though caught thinking exactly that.
“But the same situation applies to Martial Arts Track students learning martial arts, and Academic Track students learning formations and academics.”
“Yes….”
“The Academy cannot cater to only one person, nor can it exclude only one person. Therefore, what is needed is consideration for one another.”
Having said that much, Karis gave a wink.
Whether they understood his words or not, the Magic Track students relaxed their disgruntled expressions.
“Then shall we continue the lesson?”
“Yes!”
“From now on, one Magic Track student and two Martial Arts or Academic Track students will form a group of three.”
The students looked at Karis, waiting for his next words.
“And the Magic Track student will teach the other two students 1st-rank magic.”
“Huh?”
“Students who do not learn at least three 1st-rank spells today should not even think about going home.”
It was quite a harsh declaration. Especially for Hwangbo Cheolsu.
About two hours had passed, perhaps? The other students had already all left, and inside the auditorium remained only Baek Iljin, Hwangbo Cheolsu, and Hwangbo Soojung.
“No, don't do it like that—make a spell with [Flame], [Arrow], and [Throw]!”
“What do you want me to do if I can't….”
“Iljin already made it and is waiting!”
“It's fine. Take your time.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu looked at the blazing Fire Arrow beside him and hung his head low. For the first time, he found Baek Iljin irritating.
“Hoo, I'll try one more time.”
Baek Iljin sat and watched Hwangbo Cheolsu's magic circle. Hwangbo Cheolsu's magic circle disappeared before all the runes could even be inscribed.
If he counted this time, it was already a situation of failing over 100 times. At that moment, Baek Iljin placed his hand on Hwangbo Cheolsu's magic circle.
“What are you—”
“Charles, stay still.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
Seep—
After Baek Iljin's hand touched it, the vanishing parts of Hwangbo Cheolsu's magic circle were quickly restored. Soon, the magic circle spat out a magic arrow blazing with flames.
“Wow! It's a Fire Arrow!”
“Charles, your mana is clumping in the middle of your magic circle every time. When releasing mana from the mana circuits, try making it with the thought of spreading it evenly.”
Hwangbo Soojung watched that scene with her mouth agape.
“M-magic circle interference?”
Magic circle interference.
An act usually performed by a high-ranking mage when teaching a lower-ranking mage.
To perform magic circle interference, the caster's mana had to be able to perfectly control the target's mana.
‘G—genius.’
Hwangbo Soojung couldn't believe it even with both eyes. No, anyone else wouldn't have believed it either. No word came to mind to replace the word “genius.”
Even Karis, who had been watching the scene from afar, swallowed a groan.
‘A guy who just learned magic for the first time is using magic circle interference?’
No matter how much he thought about it, this was no ordinary guy.
The fact that no energy could be felt from his body, and that enormous magic circle he had shown earlier.
On top of that, now magic circle interference too—wasn't this crossing the line?
‘Both the undetectable mana characteristic and Professor Decant's words that there was something about him were true.’
After that, Hwangbo Cheolsu seemed to get the hang of it and began creating the Fire Arrow spell with ease.
“I think I've got the hang of it! Iljin, thanks!”
“Good for you.”
“Now I'll teach you the Air Gun spell.”
“Air Gun? What's that?”
To Hwangbo Cheolsu's question, Hwangbo Soojung answered with magic. In her magic circle, air clumped together in the shape of a bullet.
Bang—
“And then you shoot like this, and it's done. Imagine air gathering to form a bullet, and the keywords [Air][Guide][Gun] need to go in.”
“Got it.”
“Try it once!”
Baek Iljin closed his eyes and imagined a bullet of gathered air. Then, he repeatedly inscribed the rune language [Air][Guide][Gun] into his magic circle, completing a star shape.
“Air Gun.”
Bang—
The air bullet from Baek Iljin's magic circle struck a dummy in the center of the auditorium. The dummy hit by the air gun collapsed powerlessly.
“Oh—Iljin really is a genius!”
“I can't lose either!”
Hwangbo Cheolsu had also made his magic circle before he knew it and fired an Air Gun the same way. But Hwangbo Cheolsu's Air Gun couldn't even go one meter before disappearing powerlessly.
“W-why is mine like that?”
“Yours is probably weaker than a massage chair.”
Unable to watch anymore, Karis pressed his forehead and walked over to Hwangbo Cheolsu.
“Student Hwangbo Cheolsu.”
“Y-yes?”
“Come here.”
For some reason, Hwangbo Cheolsu didn't lose his smile even while being scolded. Eventually, their lesson only ended after more than three hours had passed.
“It's finally over!”
“I'm hungry.”
“Iljin, what do you want to go eat?”
“Sure—”
“Wait.”
Karis, who had cut them off, gestured toward the auditorium door as if telling Baek Iljin to go on ahead.
“I have something to say to Students Hwangbo Cheolsu and Hwangbo Soojung, so Student Baek Iljin, you may go in first today.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Baek Iljin bowed his head slightly and exited the auditorium.
“Um, Professor?”
“Professor Karis…?”
The Hwangbo twins called out to Karis with puzzlement, but Karis remained silent. Even after that, Karis, who had not opened his mouth for a while, finally spoke up after casting a soundproofing magic around them.
“You two must be careful of that boy.”