Ch.19Chapter 19. The One Who Sees Through (1)

To summarize Emily’s explanation, she’s skilled at handling ice magic.

‘Hmm.’

I had to listen to Emily talk about countless experiments and research to find this out, but I was satisfied since I finally heard the conclusion.

Besides, ice magic can be just as advantageous in battle as fire magic.

I wasn’t sure how skilled Emily was, but if the inter-grade competition involved combat events, her ice magic would be a great asset to our party.

Elaine could hold the front line firmly, Emily could control the opponents’ movements with ice magic from the middle, and Cynthia could finish them off with her bow.

What would I do?

I guess I’d just stand in the back and watch it all happen.

While I was lost in these thoughts, I suddenly found myself in front of Professor Amillion’s office.

Knock-

“Yes.”

Before I could even knock twice on Professor Amillion’s office door, her answer came from inside.

It was a sharp response, as if she had been expecting me.

Click-

“Ah, Student Ryu.”

“Yes. I’m here about the inter-grade competition roster.”

When I opened the door and entered, Professor Amillion, who was sitting at her desk looking even more haggard than this morning while reviewing something, looked up at me.

That appearance reminds me of myself before I dumped all the administrative work on Addy.

Me, wrestling with approval documents and papers requiring verification that kept piling up no matter how many I processed.

Kind of pitiful.

“Ah, yes. The roster. How… did it go?”

“We’re going with four people.”

“…Haaaaah.”

When Professor Amillion asked how it went, a momentary glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes, but the moment she heard my answer, I could literally see that hope vanish in real-time.

Professor Amillion let out a long sigh and dropped the pen she was holding onto the desk as if throwing it.

“Um, is there a problem?”

“No… procedurally, there’s no problem at all. It’s correct that first-years determine their participants first, there’s no restriction on the number of participants, and the fact that the S-class homeroom professors might face disadvantages based on the inter-grade competition results is completely irrelevant to students.”

“…I see.”

It seems the inter-grade competition has various things at stake.

“So, four people. Student Ryu, Sinclair, Surplus. And who’s the fourth?”

“Emily Franz. She finally agreed to join us!”

“…I see. Miss Franz as well.”

“Yes, so four of us!”

“You seem quite excited?”

“Me?!”

“…Sigh. I understand. Four people. Right, I’ll report four. This will probably be the smallest number of first-year participants in the history of the inter-grade competition.”

“Oh! That’s record-breaking and good.”

“…”

For a moment, Professor Amillion’s body seemed to flinch and her hand appeared to clench into a fist, but then her hand relaxed, and she ran it through her hair once.

Now that the roster was confirmed, I could leave.

“Well then, I’ll be going…”

“Um, wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

Professor Amillion stopped me as I was turning to leave and hesitated for a moment.

At first glance, she seemed to be just looking at my face, but upon closer inspection, Professor Amillion was scanning me up and down.

And not just casually—she had mana focused in her eyes.

‘What’s this all of a sudden?’

“Do you have a moment?”

“Huh? So suddenly?”

“Yes. As your homeroom professor, I’d like to have a counseling session with the student I’m in charge of.”

“Uh… sure, whatever.”

Since I didn’t have anything particular to do anyway, I agreed.

Professor Amillion immediately stood up with a refreshed expression and grabbed her professor’s robe hanging nearby, suggesting we go outside.

Somehow, it seems her goal isn’t student counseling but escaping from that pile of documents.

**

‘I should use this opportunity to find out more.’

Amillion was quickly walking ahead while being conscious of Ryu following slightly behind her.

The reason Amillion suddenly requested a counseling session with Ryu wasn’t just because she wanted to take her eyes off the pile of documents right now.

Although that intention was slightly, very slightly, part of it, Amillion’s purpose was to properly assess Ryu’s abilities.

The commoner Ryu, who had recorded a historic score and ranked first in the entrance exam.

Having watched the exam video dozens of times, Amillion had a general understanding of Ryu’s fighting style.

He definitely had a rare talent.

A student who appropriately mixed magic and physical techniques—a model battle mage.

At first, she had watched the video with suspicious eyes, determined to ‘thoroughly expose this commoner’s cheating,’ but the more she watched, the more Amillion became impressed with Ryu.

No tricks could be found in Ryu’s movements.

She had focused on checking whether he might have smuggled in magical tools by breaking through the academy’s security, but that wasn’t the case either.

In all honesty, if Ryu weren’t a commoner, she would have wanted to take him as her disciple right away and teach him properly.

“Uh, do you usually do student counseling here?”

“…Well, it depends on the situation.”

When they arrived at the training ground exclusively for S-class, Ryu asked with genuine curiosity, and Amillion gave a vague answer.

“What kind of situation is this, then?”

“…”

‘This kid doesn’t act like a student, especially not a commoner student.’

This was something Amillion had felt since the first day she saw Ryu.

Most commoner students Amillion had seen so far tended to stay alone, unable to properly adapt among the numerous noble students.

Some even dropped out, unable to endure the lifestyle.

Although there was a formal rule that all academy students were equal, that was just a formality.

Commoner students, already a minority, found it difficult to approach the majority noble students, while noble students openly looked down on commoner students.

So even within the academy, there was a clear wall between commoners and nobles.

But Ryu was completely different.

Despite clearly being a commoner, he was casually friendly with Elaine from the prestigious Sinclair family, one of the Six Great Families, and even went so far as to knock out Cain Hover.

Plus, he didn’t show any nervousness when dealing with her, a professor, and even talked back straightforwardly.

He didn’t feel like a freshman who had just entered the academy, but more like an experienced new hire who had spent a few years in society.

“Anyway, since Student Ryu is currently the first-year representative and will participate in the inter-grade competition, I need to understand your abilities to teach you properly going forward.”

“Oh…? You’re going to teach me personally?”

“Yes. Along with the other three students participating in the inter-grade competition. Once the schedule is finalized, those participating in the inter-grade competition will have afternoon classes with me every day.”

“Ohhh. That’s really good news.”

“…”

Amillion was no longer angered by Ryu’s still playful demeanor.

“I’ve already checked what you submitted. You hope to become a ‘mage.'”

“That’s right! Believe it or not, I’m a novice mage at the academy.”

“…Well, sure. But I understand you used physical techniques in the entrance exam?”

“Ah, that’s true. But now that I’m at the academy, I want to properly learn magic and grow as a mage.”

“…Magic ‘and such things’?”

“Ah, I meant magic ‘itself.'”

Amillion couldn’t contain the anger that had been building up at Ryu’s tone and behavior, which seemed to treat magic as just a means to an end.

What is magic, after all?

Isn’t it the most profound and beautiful discipline in the Arcaria Continent, universally acknowledged as the supreme field of study?

Any mage who had even slightly encountered the discipline of ‘magic’ would never speak of ‘magic’ in such a manner.

“I see. Then let’s begin the counseling. From now on, you’ll be sparring with me.”

“…Suddenly?”

“Ah, I won’t attack first. I’ll only dodge or counter Student Ryu’s attacks.”

“Hmm. Well, okay.”

“Please do your best. That way, I can properly assess your abilities.”

Originally, Amillion hadn’t planned to conduct such an absurd ‘counseling’ session involving a professor-student duel.

She had only intended to directly observe Ryu’s teleportation magic and check the power of his mana-infused fists, but she had suddenly become upset.

Everything else was fine, but Amillion couldn’t tolerate statements that seemed to disrespect the discipline of magic.

She absolutely did not have any intention of relieving even a little of the stress that had been building up since the entrance exam.

“Begin when you’re ready.”

Amillion naturally stepped onto the circular arena and looked at Ryu.

Ryu still had a dubious expression, but when Professor Amillion stepped onto the arena first and looked at him, he shrugged and followed.

As Ryu climbed onto the arena, shook his shoulders a few times, and adjusted his posture, Amillion drew upon her mana.

Mana gathered in Amillion’s eyes, and her glowing pupils observed Ryu’s movements.

True to her title as “The Penetrating Gaze,” Amillion was famous for perfectly reading her opponent’s intentions in battle.

A combat style where she predicted and avoided any attack from her opponent, then delivered an appropriate counter.

Although Amillion’s true value wasn’t in combat, her combat abilities were certainly not lacking.

‘Hmm. His mana gathering speed is definitely fast.’

Amillion was focusing solely on the flow of mana in Ryu’s body.

The mana concentration around Ryu, who had adjusted his posture, gradually intensified, and soon mana spread evenly throughout his entire body.

Amillion instinctively predicted that Ryu would use teleportation magic.

At the student level, magic that required spreading mana throughout the entire body like this was limited to protective magic or teleportation magic.

And Amillion was confident that if Ryu teleported, it would be behind her.

After all, there was no more effective and powerful strike than a surprise attack from behind an opponent.

‘The moment I sense mana behind me, I’ll dodge…’

“Huh…”

Whoosh-

Before Amillion could finish her thought, she instinctively moved forward as if falling, barely avoiding Ryu’s fist when she sensed energy behind her.

The sound of Ryu’s fist cutting through the air was ominous.

‘What, what is this?’

Without giving Amillion time to be shocked, Ryu was already making his next move.

As his right punch missed, Ryu extended his left hand in succession.

Tap-

Amillion rotated her body to face Ryu while simultaneously making a big leap backward.

‘What’s going on?’

She had been watching Ryu without taking her eyes off him, yet she hadn’t seen it.

Gulp-

There was no other way to explain this contradictory situation.

“As expected of Professor! You have good instincts.”

Woong-

‘Ah, I can’t see him.’

Ryu had already disappeared from his spot again.

The Penetrating Gaze, Amillion, couldn’t penetrate Ryu’s teleportation magic.