Ch.38The City of Three Magic Towers. Ortus (4)

The next morning.

Before 9 AM, I entered room 202 in Building C with my key and sat down in a suitable spot.

Since it was still before school hours, there weren’t many people visible in the Magic Tower. Only a few students in uniforms were coming out of the library with tired expressions.

“Combat instructor and teaching aid…”

At first, I didn’t like the phrase, but thinking about it again, it perfectly encapsulated the alpha and omega of what I was supposed to do.

My primary purpose was to teach students how to survive.

How to survive attacks and how to effectively subdue enemies.

Since they’re mages, they wouldn’t be the ones getting beaten up. That meant I would be the one who had to enthusiastically take the beatings.

While I was contemplating how to complete this request, the door began to open.

Creeeeak.

The person who entered was Professor Felice with her hair tied up in a short ponytail. Upon seeing me, she said:

“You came on time. Honestly, I thought you wouldn’t show up.”

“I’ve dealt with plenty of people with bad attitudes before. Many of them could have killed me.”

When I said that, her eyes momentarily gleamed.

This wasn’t a figure of speech—her eyes literally glowed.

Soon, the light in her eyes faded, and she spoke with surprise:

“Impressive. You’ve lived quite a harsh life.”

“And if you read my memories, you’d know what I’m capable of.”

She went to the podium, took out some teaching materials to distribute to me, sighed deeply, and then with a gesture, cleared away all the empty desks in the classroom, leaving only seven.

One for me, one for her, and five for the students.

“Viktor.”

“What?”

“These are still students.”

“And those ‘students’ are older than me.”

“Not everyone has your mental fortitude and strength. Those children are under the protection of the Magic Tower.”

“That won’t help them in real combat. Someone with magical power can never win against someone with aura in close combat. You know very well that magical power has adverse effects on the body.”

When I said that, she sighed again and approached me.

Soon, her eyes began to glow once more, and ropes appeared out of thin air, starting to bind me.

“Try to break them.”

Snap!

As I broke the ropes, the severed pieces dispersed into smoke.

“This time, try to stop me from casting a spell.”

As soon as she finished speaking, I drew my sword and placed it at her throat. The time it took me to draw my sword and aim it at her neck was less than half a second.

I sheathed my sword again, and she looked at me and said:

“I get it now.”

“Get what?”

“Your personality.”

“My personality?”

As I tilted my head, she burst into laughter and said:

“Yes. You’re exactly that type—seemingly harmless normally, but if someone so much as touches a hair on your head, you won’t be satisfied until you’ve dismembered their entire extended family.”

“…I can’t refute that.”

“I’m a grand mage who has lived for over 100 years. I’ve seen many children like you.”

“Have you seen anyone stronger than me?”

“…No.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

Our brief conversation ended, and soon students began to enter through the door.

*

The posture of the students seated in their chairs was atrocious.

They sat with crossed legs, half-lying down, or with legs spread wide apart as they looked at Professor Felice. She sighed at the sight of them and clapped her hands to get their attention.

Clap!

“Alright! I’m sure you’ve all been told why you’re gathered here?”

“…I applied for early graduation, but was told I need more training?”

The brown-haired female student, who had been wearing an expression that screamed ‘I have a ton of complaints’ since entering the classroom, stood up as she spoke.

“What more training do I need? I’ve already hunted monsters alone, explored caves, and even investigated a labyrinth for days!”

She flapped her arms like wings, expressing her dissatisfaction as if she couldn’t understand.

“I understand your frustration, my dear. But outside the Magic Tower, there are many dangers you can’t handle. I’m here to teach you about those.”

“What more do I need to learn?! I’ve completed magical defense training, spell enhancement training, all kinds of assignments, and even written a thesis for certification!!!”

As her tantrum intensified, Felice looked at me.

Soon, the brown-haired girl’s eyes turned to me, and she pointed at me, demanding harshly:

“Who’s this little kid?”

“My name is Viktor.”

CRACK!

“Ugh.”

She fell from her seat with a death rattle.

The reason was simple.

I had thrown a chair that struck her head.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Guards!!! Guards!!!”

The other girls called for security, but Felice skillfully used magic to seat the students back in their places and instantly healed the brown-haired girl’s injury.

Crackle!

It was marvelous to see blood and flesh returning to their proper places, and the sight of her shattered face swelling back up was fantastic.

“…Hiiieek!”

When she opened her eyes again, I was standing right in front of her, and she let out a faint scream of terror.

“Sit down, ‘student.’ And mind your words. She and I have been dispatched to teach you, and naturally, we’ve been granted the right to discipline you.”

“Huk… hukkuk…”

“If you fail to follow instructions, appropriate punishment will be administered. Sit down.”

As I quietly barked at her, the brown-haired girl sat back down, tears streaming down her face.

This would have caused an uproar at any other school, but this was the Magic Tower. Even if someone’s head flew off, resurrection magic could bring them back, so a shattered face was merely a ‘minor injury.’

Honestly, it was my favorite rule in this tall Magic Tower.

“…So, to prevent you all from dying, this assistant Viktor will help with your training. Come on, everyone, give a round of applause~”

Clap. Clap. Clap….

The applause was weak.

Well, there were only five of them to begin with, so if it had been loud, it would have been due to magical trickery.

Standing at the podium, I looked at the five girls seated at their desks, and after clearing my throat, I spoke:

“I am Viktor. I believe you all know what kind of person I am.”

The brown-haired girl avoided eye contact with me.

“I will teach you the harshest methods to cling to your lifelines, and I warn you in advance, these methods will be very painful.”

“Hiiiek…”

“Don’t be weak. Didn’t you apply for early graduation? You should have been prepared to face trials at an even younger age.”

With that, I concluded my introduction, and the first lesson began.

*

“Everyone, cast your defensive spells.”

“””Tecta!”””

As they chanted the spell “Tecta,” small blue shields formed.

“Now, Assistant Viktor? Please break through these spells.”

“As you wish.”

I approached the brown-haired girl first.

She was visibly frightened, but perhaps as a reaction to that fear, she had formed the strongest barrier, as if determined not to let it be penetrated.

Tap tap tap.

“Hmm. Solid.”

“Hehe…!”

“But amateurish.”

“Eh?”

Tap.

“Wah!”

THUD!

I tripped her, causing her to fall.

Naturally, her defensive spell disappeared instantly, and seeing this, the other mages began to stretch their shields wider.

I approached my next target, a girl with short green hair, who was looking at me with an expression that said she would never let her defense be broken.

“Hmm. You’ve wrapped the defensive spell around your entire body. Excellent. This way, you can respond to attacks from all directions.”

“Hehe…”

“But that also means it’s weaker.”

“Huh?”

CRASH!

“Kyaaah!”

I brought my fist down hard, physically shattering the defensive spell.

There’s a reason the basic form of the spell is a small shield.

If you just mindlessly expand the area with the same amount of power, the defense will inevitably weaken…

I approached my next subject, a girl with long blue hair, who had reverted her spell back to its basic small shield form.

“Why did you restore the spell to its original form?”

“To… to block pinpoint attacks, sir.”

“So you plan to predict the enemy’s attack and deploy a targeted defense. An intelligent decision. Well done.”

“Th-thank you!”

SLAP!

I struck her cheek, knocking her down.

The attempt was good, but if she couldn’t respond to the enemy’s attack, it was a meaningless effort.

I approached my next target, a girl with short white hair, who had deployed multiple defensive spells in preparation for my attack.

Then I checked the time and realized it was break time.

“It’s already break time. We’ll end here for now and resume in 10 minutes.”

“Phew…”

At my words, the white-haired girl and the next one with long purple hair both lowered their shields simultaneously.

THWACK!

“Gah!”

“Fool. If this had been an enemy’s bluff, you would be dead!”

I immediately grabbed the collar of the last remaining girl with purple hair, and before she could cast another spell, she was lifted into the air by my hand.

“You didn’t even manage to cast a spell.”

“Hiiiek… p-please spare me!”

I put her back down and surveyed the classroom.

Everyone was in a mess, but thanks to the professor’s protective spells cast on their bodies beforehand, no one was injured.

“Alright, that’s it for today’s lesson!”

Professor Felice announced, and the students rushed out of the classroom like an ebbing tide, with no one wanting to be the last to leave.