Chapter 0: You’re such a noob

“No way…”

The woman with soft pink hair stared blankly at the shattered magic formula, completely dumbfounded. The shield magic she had cast was now broken down into fragments, leaving scars on the grass.

The owner of the shattered formula, Sophia, was clearly shaken. She anxiously bit the tip of her finger.

“T-This can’t be…”

“This can’t be?”

I slowly approached her defenseless figure. Even to myself, my steps were perfect—elegant and poised.

“Shield.”

Snap!

With a light flick of my finger in front of her face, a distinctly different bluish barrier enveloped my body. The semi-transparent shield didn’t just surround me but also encased the mana flowing from within me.

“Your magic formula is crude.”

Crude.

Hearing those words, Sophia’s complexion darkened.

Ignoring her reaction, I continued.

“The structure of your magic formula is decent, but that’s about it. Your mana composition and release—basic fundamentals—are all lacking.”

Objectively speaking, Sophia’s magic was well above average. After all, the students here, especially those admitted to the academy for their magical talents, were far superior to ordinary street thugs.

But by my standards? They were all the same.

“Pathetic.”

“What do you know…”

Sophia gritted her teeth and glared at me. However, when I narrowed my eyes and looked at her, she flinched and lowered her gaze.

“Of course, I don’t know what kind of miscellaneous things you’ve stuffed into your magic formula.”

“Don’t call it miscellaneous! That was my father’s—”

Mana swirled in my hand, rotating gently.

The swirling mana gradually wrapped around my body, shimmering as it shielded me.

“The wind…”

Whooosh!

From somewhere, I heard gasps from the onlookers.

Mana stirred around me, and the wind billowed fiercely, centered on my body.

It wasn’t just a gentle breeze—it was strong enough to knock people off their feet.

Eventually, Sophia lost her balance and fell.

“Kyaaah!”

As the powerful wind raged, her friends rushed to her side.

Looking around, I saw others struggling to keep their footing as well.

Of course, I stood unfazed, arms crossed, completely unaffected.

“Sophia!”

“…I’m fine.”

With another snap of my fingers, the wind disappeared as if it had never existed.

The grass, however, was left in a mess from the aftermath.

Not only those involved in this duel but even passersby had stopped to watch.

Drawing attention like this was not ideal.

Deciding this was enough, I slowly stepped past Sophia.

“That’s all. Next time, if you want to talk big about magic to me—”

Just as I was passing by the fallen Sophia, I leaned down and whispered in her ear.

“—you should improve your skills first.”

Sophia clenched her fists in frustration. Eventually, her eyes welled up with tears.

“Ugh…!”

In the end, she was led away by her friends, disappearing from my sight.

As the situation settled, the male students around began murmuring.

• She really is amazing. Wasn’t Sophia a pretty skilled mage?
• Does that even matter? Ugh, just listening to her talk gave me chills.
• I know, right? She really lives up to the rumors.

“Ahem.”

At my light cough, the crowd instinctively parted, creating a path for me.

I walked through them alone, my demeanor noble and unshaken, before disappearing into the crowd.

‘Damn it, this isn’t how it was supposed to go.’

It has been ten years since I possessed the body of a villainous young lady in a novel.

And I had adapted to the role perfectly.