Chapter 62: A Miracle In Disguise
"Oh, really?"
I smirked. That just gave me the perfect excuse to escape this situation... after all, he did ask to see how I fight.
It wouldn’t hurt to just knock him out unconscious for a bit so I can continue doing my own thing.
Not like I had any uses for him for now, he was way too weak, and at this point, completely unimportant to the plot.
"Let me show you then."
"Wait, really!?"
Bright’s smile widened as he saw me stand up, his muscles tense and excited after already seeing my previous performance back in the tournament.
He couldn’t believe I just really accepted to fight him like this.
"Come at me then—!"
CRACK!
A powerful kick to his head knocked him out instantly, the force of the blow alone enough to render him unconscious in a single hit.
Although he was physically stronger than the average student, he was still a mage, so his strength wasn’t anywhere near my level.
[Profaned Healing]
And while I preferred just leaving him like this as payback for being irritating, getting in trouble was definitely not something I wanted.
The last thing I wanted was to get expelled, since that would take away all the valuable resources the academy provided me.
And more importantly, it also meant I couldn’t continue with my daily academy life along with Evelina.
That was something I couldn’t allow.
"Go get some rest, okay...?"
I snickered, leaving Bright on the bed fully healed but still unconscious, making sure he couldn’t bother me again for the rest of the day, or week... hopefully.
But something tells me I’d meet him again sooner than later.
SNAP!
[Profaned Step]
I returned to my dorm room without a problem, with enough time to spare to prepare for the day, but not before testing out my profaned magic again.
Something felt... unusual the moment I healed Bright from his injuries.
[Profaned Fireball]
FWOOSH!
A small orb of chaos and divine energy hovered above my palm just like usual, but... compared to before, the two opposing elements seemed to synergize better.
Still horrible, I might add, but even a slight improvement was significant considering those two elements shouldn’t even be able to be used together.
"This was... unexpected."
I crushed the fireball with my hand to extinguish it, an interesting idea flashing across my mind.
"Wait... if strengthening light meant I gained a better synergy with profaned, then—"
What happens if I try weakening the other to balance out the two?
I grabbed the sword I had obtained from the emperor’s tomb, brushing my hand against the darkyte inlaid on the crossguard.
[Profaned Binding]
Another special spell from the book, allowing a mage to bind a single chosen weapon, allowing it to be summoned and stored in the user’s shadows.
"And then..."
[Dark Manipulation]
I forced dark magic into the darkyte, purposefully weakening myself by allowing it to siphon my dark magic. It was the complete opposite of what mages usually do with rare gems such as this.
A material with incredible absorption abilities, allowing anyone who obtains one to grow stronger as it continually draws in latent energy from the air and transfers it to its user.
And now I’m using its same absorption abilities to make myself weaker.
"Come on... this has to work, right!?"
My chaos energy initially became weaker the moment I obtained divine energy. At first, I thought it was just because both were opposites.
But... what if there was something else that contributed to it?
It wasn’t a mystery that I was better at dark magic than light magic; that also meant I was better with chaos magic than divine magic.
So what if... one was just overpowering the other too much, allowing both to become weaker as a result?
It was certainly an interesting theory...
Supported by the name ’Profaned’ itself.
And while that was my only proof for this theory of mine, it wouldn’t hurt to test it out.
"This works," I muttered, continuing to let my dark magic flow through the darkyte as I use my free hand to test the results.
[Profa— crack —
[Refining]
[Profaned (Sanctified) Attunement]
[Profaned (Sanctified) Fireball]
FWOOSH!
My entire room lit up with violet light, not a mixture of darkness and light, but... violet out of all things.
[Apprentice: Lvl 4]
"H-Holy shit..."
Instead of the usual chaotic recoil or divine backlash, the energy hovered obediently above my palm, compact, dense, and quiet. No screeching mana, no resistance, no competition.
Just plain coexistence between two concepts that shouldn’t even work together.
I stared at it, breath caught.
"Bright Phoenix..." I laughed. "Guess I was too harsh on you after all. Thanks to you, I just gave myself a tool that the novel never even showed before!"
I eagerly dispelled the fireball, storing the bound sword within my shadow, continuously allowing dark magic to flow through the darkyte embedded on it.
"And here I thought obtaining this damn eye was an upgraded downgrade..." I laughed, tapping the solid eye that replaced my real one.
BEEP!
BEEP!
Huh?
I answered the transceiver on my desk, Evelina’s voice coming out from the other side.
"The hell happened!?"
"W-What...?" Her sudden, aggressive tone took me aback.
"Some of my spies just told me you were found being brought to the medical district covered in blood! Explain to me this instant!"
I couldn’t tell if she was mad or worried, and while I usually would call this a case of both, for Evelina, it wasn’t something I could easily place.
But...
"I’m fine, it was a misunderstanding," I replied.
There were a few seconds of awkward silence after my answer.
"A misunderstanding...?! Y-You—"
"Never mind," She added through the transceiver in a meeker tone. "Just... don’t do anything reckless without telling me, alright? You’re mine, remember that, don’t go dying without my permission."
BEEP!
The call ended.
"H-Huh...?"
I couldn’t help but start to grin after hearing her message, dropping the transceiver on the floor as I tried my absolute best to stop myself from jumping in glee.
’She’s worried about me... she actually decided to talk to me if I was okay...’ I began to laugh, creepy even for my standards.
"Phoenix fucking Bright, I think you’re my new best friend..."
Chapter 63: Kevin’s Recommendation?
[Minor Healing]
[Major Healing]
[Light Sword]
I lost track of time in my dorm as I continuously repeated casting over and over again, with the breakthrough to apprentice level four and my new attunement’s upgrade.
Casting novice-level spells was now as easy as casting dark magic when I first started.
Instead of feeling like performing surgery on myself, it now felt like solving stupidly advanced arithmetic.
Still difficult, but compared to before, this was a cakewalk.
SLASH!
SLASH!
SLASH!
I practiced sword strokes while casting spells, ensuring I was battle-ready when it came to light magic, to the point that I even forgot to change my clothes.
Bloody clothes.
Not really a big deal, to be honest.
Even if I remembered, I probably still wouldn’t do it if I could use that time changing to do something more productive.
To make myself strong enough that Evelina didn’t need to be concerned for me.
Although... it’ll be nice to see her cute, worried side from time to time.
"Hragh!"
SLASH!
Not perfect, but at least I was battle-ready, far better than when I first started. Not only that, but my physique is also starting to return to its optimal condition.
Just a few more days, and I’ll likely be ready just in time for the examinations.
I rolled my shoulder once, then twice, feeling how naturally the energy reinforcing my body circulated now.
No resistance and no drag. The sanctified profaned attunement flowed like a closed loop instead of two opposing currents fighting for dominance.
"Good enough."
The dorm room was a mess, scratches on the floor, scorched air from repeated spell casting, dried blood on the fabric clinging to my skin, but none of that mattered. What mattered was my newfound strength.
That was the difference between surviving and winning.
I glanced at the clock.
"...Damn."
I’d burned through most of the morning.
Classes were already underway.
[Photographic Memory]
"Doesn’t matter..."
I sat on my bed for a little break, letting my mind recover for a while as I thought about current events.
Evelina was currently busy and didn’t need my help, Kevin was getting stronger, examinations were coming up... and.
That was about it.
No loose ends or any impending future important plot events for me to intervene in for now.
I already had a bunch of free time due to my status as an S-Rank, and now that I’m looking back at it, most of my time was spent outside of classes.
Just like Julius and Lillian in the novel.
Powerful students really do have it easy.
At least on the surface.
I stared at the window, finding things to do for a while, and there I saw Julius and Lillian walking together, all eyes watching them.
The academy’s power couple.
Flirting and bonding without a care in the world, their relationship bloomed faster than the original timeline.
Not a major concern for now.
With their positive reputation already at an all-time high, they didn’t even need to worry about every single action.
Almost everyone would support them no matter what they see.
The complete opposite of me...
Right... I didn’t have the best reputation in this academy yet.
And I’m sure it was something that will eventually bite me in the ass someday.
"I’m already cutting classes, I should use this time to increase my reputation... but how exactly...?"
Helping students study? Nah, takes too long
Helping them get stronger? Same problem as the first one, unless I take shortcuts like I did while teaching Kevin.
Unless...
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
That’s strange...
Nobody visited me without a reason; my reputation made sure of that.
I stood, opening the door and finding a student standing stiffly outside,
[Photographic Memory]
The daughter of a viscount, a C-Rank air attuned mage, and considered to be one of the more popular students in the academy due to her skill as a leader.
Why would someone like that even attempt to visit me?
"U-Umm..." She briefly gazed at my bloody clothes before snapping back up.
’He really is as insane as the rumours say...’ She thought, starting to regret coming to me.
’Wait! No! Don’t think like that, Vivianne! This is your only chance to get stronger!’
"Y-You are... Cael Arden, correct?"
"Cut to the chase, what is it that you want?"
"R-Right... so uhh, Kevin, I heard that he was one of your students and umm..."
"Spit it out."
"Well... Kevin recommended you and..." Vivianne struggled to find the right words, still hesitant because of all the rumours.
But after noticing that I was getting fairly impatient, she decided that it was now or never.
"L-Let me become your student as well!"
I stared at her for a few seconds.
Long enough for her shoulders to stiffen and her breathing to go shallow.
"...No."
The word left my mouth flat, uninterested.
Vivianne froze.
"W-Wait—! I mean, at least hear me out first!" she blurted out, panicking. "I know your reputation is bad, but Kevin said you don’t waste time and that you actually make people stronger—!"
"Kevin exaggerates," I cut in. "And I don’t take students that easily. Kevin was an exception."
Her lips pressed together.
"I can pay."
That earned a pause.
"Money’s useless to me," I said. "Try again."
She swallowed.
She hesitated, fingers clenching at her side.
"I-I don’t mean just money," Vivianne said quickly. "I can offer information, influence, or even favors."
That made me raise an eyebrow.
"Go on."
She took a breath, steadying herself. "I work for the academy’s council. I manage events, assignments, and solve internal disputes. I also... hear things."
"Such as?"
"Which professors are biased, which students cheat, which noble houses are backing who during the examinations." She looked up at me, forcing herself to meet my gaze. "And which people the academy is already watching."
Interesting.
Not useful yet, but not really worthless as well.
It was good to have information that the novel didn’t have.
But her also helping solve internal disputes might help with my reputation.
"And why do you want to get stronger?" I asked. "Don’t give me some noble duty nonsense."
She stiffened.
"...Because I’m tired of being the one who gives orders while hiding behind stronger people."
That answer was immediate. No hesitation.
"I plan, I coordinate, I keep everyone together," she continued. "But when things go wrong, I’m always the first one protected. I hate that."
"And Kevin said that you’re the blunt type, so... in short, I hate being a damsel in distress!" She shouted, loud enough that everyone from the floor down probably heard her.
"You know, that’s really... generic as motivations go," I answered bluntly.
"H-Huh?"
Chapter 64: Another Student...?
*** The Day After - Academy Training Grounds
In the end, I ended up rejecting the girl’s offer, while gaining another servant at the level of Kevin seemed great on the surface. Logically, however, it was improbable at best.
Kevin was a prodigy. As for her, she wasn’t even mentioned in the novel.
I had zero reason to trust that she would be useful in the future, even if I ended up accepting her offer.
Besides, my choice benefited her as well, saving her the disappointment of wanting to get to Kevin’s level and failing horribly due to a lack of talent.
[Major Healing]
"That should do it for the day..."
I muttered tiredly after closing a self-inflicted gash on my arm.
My light magic training was progressing smoothly, my breakthrough from before, and my balancing of my attunement, making it a cakewalk compared to before.
It wouldn’t take long for my dark and light energy to finally match.
And when that time comes, I’d no longer need to weaken myself with darkyte and can finally use it for its intended purposes.
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
"Huh...?"
I glanced through the small glass pane in the door and saw Bright outside, his arms crossed and his expression reluctant.
Does he plan to have a rematch? Because if he did, he sure as hell is going to get it.
I owe him that much after yesterday.
"What is it?"
I opened the door, and to my surprise, Vivianne was beside him, clearly the one who forced Bright to meet me.
"So... uhh, how do I say this..." Bright scratched the back of his head, not sure why Vivianne would even bring him here.
As far as he knew, I absolutely hated him.
He was knocked out by me yesterday after all, but despite that, he didn’t seem to mind it that much, probably because I didn’t do much damage to his face.
"Can you... accept my friend here as your student, or something?"
Bright awkwardly smiled. While he was a busterous student, negotiating for a friend was not his strong suit, especially when the person he had to talk to absolutely hated him when they first met.
"And, why did you bring him?" I sighed and stared at Vivianne, she as well didn’t know if she planned to go to work, she had just brought Bright with her, just in case he would somehow make me accept.
"I thought you’d be more willing to accept if a stronger student vouched for me..."
Vivianne’s explanation was decent enough, I guess, but her execution was definitely horrible. Luckily for her, however, Bright was now my unofficial best friend.
"Sure."
I cross my arms.
"See, told you he wouldn’t—" Bright stopped. "Wait... did you just say yes!?"
"Why not? I owe you that much."
"H-huh...? What did I do?"
I placed a hand on Bright’s shoulder, giving him a genuine smile, one that was received very awkwardly by Bright.
"A lot."
"Well... glad to help?" Bright chuckled awkwardly, not sure what he did to even gain my favour, but he sure as well won’t reject it.
He’s smart enough to know that having someone as powerful as me as an ally would be beneficial in the long term, even if it would terribly hit his reputation in the short term.
"Enough!"
Vivianne pushed Bright to the side, her eyes sparking with excitement at my acceptance.
"Are you really going to train me!? We can start now if you’d like!"
"The least I could get is a thank you, you know?" Bright sighed on the sidelines, but in the end, seeing Vivianne in a good mood was enough for him, leaving the two of us alone.
"Feel free to ask for anything else."
I waved Bright off, catching Vivianne’s attention.
"Are you two close?"
"You could say that..."
"Guess I really hit the jackpot on who to ask for help, huh?"
"You have no idea..."
Vivianne straightened her posture instantly, hands clenched into fists at her side like she was about to be knighted.
"So!" she said, far too enthusiastically. "What’s the first lesson? Magical formula solving? Combat drills? Sparring? Secret techniques?"
I stared at her.
Then I glanced around the training grounds.
Then back at her.
"...Run."
Her smile froze.
"...Run?"
"Yes."
"That’s it?"
"For now."
She blinked. Once, twice, thrice for good measure to ensure I wasn’t joking.
"I’m an air mage," she said carefully, like a reminder.
Maybe I just forgot she wasn’t a fighter, she thought to herself.
"I specialise in crowd control, positioning, long range—"
"Mhm," I interrupted. "Then you’ll be excellent at running."
Her eyebrow twitched.
"Run where?"
I pointed at the outer perimeter of the training grounds.
"Circles until you collapse from exhaustion." I grin ominously, glowing white light emitting from my hands. "Don’t worry, I’ll heal you to repeat the process."
Silence.
Vivianne’s mouth opened, closed, opened again. Finding the right words to try and rebuke me, this wasn’t the training she expected when she first heard Kevin describe his own.
"...This is a joke, right?"
"No."
"That’s barbaric! I’m a noblewoman and a mage!"
"Don’t care and probably never will."
She stared at me like I’d just personally insulted her bloodline.
"I came here to become a stronger mage," she said. "Not...! Ugh... Why would that even be important!?"
"You sound like an irritating mosquito buzzing in my ear," I replied calmly. "You want to get stronger, or not?"
I leaned forward, flicking her forehead enough to bruise slightly.
"Answer me."
That shut her up.
"...Air mages don’t train like this," she muttered.
"Neither do dark mages," I said. "But that didn’t stop me, didn’t it?"
She hesitated, her gaze flicking to my arms and stomach, shocked to find abs and muscles that shouldn’t belong to any mage at all.
’H-Holy... he’s buff...’
Then, teeth clenched, she turned and took off.
She lasted exactly one lap before the complaints started.
"Why... huff...why physical training!?"
"Because you panic under pressure," I replied, watching her breathing already destabilise.
"I do not!"
"You overthink," I continued. "You freeze when plans break. And when someone stronger steps in, you step back."
She stumbled slightly, glaring at me as she passed.
"You don’t know me!"
"No, but I could guess that much." I arrogantly grinned. "Was I right?"
"Shut up!"
Lap two.
Her form was sloppy. Air magic leaked unconsciously into her legs, trying to give her an artificial power-up to make things easier.
"Stop using magic," I called out.
"What!?"
"Run like a normal person."
"What’s the point of magic if I can’t use it!"
"You’ll figure it out soon enough."
Lap three.
She was sweating now, breathing hard, hair sticking to her face. Her noble composure was cracking fast.
Somewhere in the distance, meanwhile, a few students stared. The sight of such an important student taking orders from a lunatic like me was a sight to see.
"Did he blackmail her or something...?"
"Let’s tell the professors about this."
Seriously?
That’s their first thought upon seeing Vivianne and me?
"Bastards... all of them."
I sighed, well... as long as Vivianne keeps her promise after this, I won’t have to worry about weird looks like this ever again.
Chapter 65: Training a Mage with Cardio
*** Arden Estate - Courtyard
While I didn’t mind the stares from the other students, the same couldn’t be said for Vivianne.
She immediately stopped running the moment she noticed people were starting to stare. Usually, something like that would immediately make me want to stop teaching someone if something that trivial managed to disturb them.
After all, teaching someone who easily gets bothered while training was a hassle.
But I couldn’t go back on my word, especially when Bright himself had clearly helped Vivianne.
So now I clearly had to think of a better way to train her without people staring.
And I had no choice but to bring her to my estate.
"Continue running here."
"Are you serious!? We just arrived!"
"Stop complaining."
[Major Healing]
"Go."
Vivianne reluctantly began sprinting again, this time in my courtyard.
My visit back to the estate was surprisingly met with applause and concern from my servants, especially Miss Rose.
Who had more than heard enough of the rumours about me, it wasn’t like the academy was a secret institution; it was a gathering of noble heirs and children. It wasn’t out of the blue that my own servants heard about what I was doing while I was away.
"Is this really a good way to treat a lady?"
"She’s my student, Miss Rose, don’t worry, she’d stop if she actually wanted to."
"Well... as long as you say so, young master."
But even in this new location, we still couldn’t avoid being stared at, but instead of students, it was now my servants who were weirdly interested in my personal life.
"Is that the rumoured D’Arclight that the young master was supposedly dating?"
"No, you idiot! It’s the daughter of Viscount Crestwood..."
I could hear the servants whispering to each other with my enhanced hearing.
But even if the situation kind of didn’t change at all, at least my servants were better at keeping a low profile.
Vivianne didn’t even know we were still being stared at.
And that was enough for me.
"How many laps is that!?" I barked out like an army commander, treating her more like a soldier than a mage.
"T-Thirteen!"
She was already showing clear progress despite the short amount of time, the healing magic and a small hint of profaned recovery I applied to her, speeding up the process a thousandfold.
And while I could make her body immediately powerful in an instant, unlike me, she wasn’t used to something like that.
If I just gave her all that power in one go, she’d likely not be able to control it.
So I had to train her body gradually, enough that she can handle herself even without magic.
Wind attunement...
On paper, it seemed like something perfect for long-range combat.
But logically? It acted more like support magic for close-range fighting.
Both coming from my own opinion and the spellbooks themselves.
"Once you hit twenty, begin using air manipulation to enhance your legs."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
I didn’t even have to order her to call me sir...
Neat...
’I wonder how Evelina’s doing... been a long time since I saw her.’
’Even though it’s barely been two days.’
’I miss her already...’
I leaned against the stone railing of the courtyard, arms crossed as I observed her form. Sloppy, inefficient, but no longer panicked. Her breathing was still ragged, yet it wasn’t collapsing like before.
That alone was progress.
"Don’t flare it," I called out. "Air manipulation isn’t a boost button. Shape it."
She almost tripped.
"I-I am shaping it!"
"No, it just looks like you’re coating your legs with air without any effect."
That earned me a glare mid-sprint, but she corrected herself anyway. The wind around her legs tightened, less explosive, more controlled. Her steps grew lighter, faster, not stronger, just cleaner.
Better.
By the eighteenth lap, sweat had soaked through her clothes, her noble composure long gone. Hair loose, breathing harsh, face red. If anyone from the academy council saw her like this, they’d probably faint.
Honestly? Worth it.
"Why... huff... why legs first...?" she gasped.
"Because air mages like to float," I replied. "And floating gets you killed when someone closes the distance."
I wasn’t just making stuff up either, most air mages in the novel died that way, the moment Julius or any other character got close to them, it took them way too long to reposition.
She opened her mouth to argue, then shut it when her footwork stumbled again.
Smart enough to listen when it mattered.
"Wind isn’t just meant to keep you away," I continued. "It’s meant to keep you moving, repositioning, calculating, and finally, it’s one hell of a force multiplier."
Lap nineteen.
Her magic flickered, unstable, but responsive. She wasn’t forcing it anymore. She was feeling it.
Her mind was now automatically solving spell formulas on sheer instinct.
"...Twenty," she croaked, slowing to a stop.
"Good," I said. "Now stop."
She immediately collapsed onto the stone tiles.
"...I said stop running, not collapse."
[Major Healing]
Light washed over her body, easing muscle strain, stabilizing her breathing. I was careful not to overdo it, just enough to recover, not enough to erase the lesson.
She lay there for a moment, chest rising and falling, eyes unfocused.
"...This is insane," she muttered.
"Yes."
"...You’re insane."
"Also yes." I grinned.
She let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
"But..." she hesitated, then pushed herself up onto her elbows. "A sane kind of insane... if that makes sense?"
I raised an eyebrow. Wow, that’s probably one of the best backhanded compliments I’ve ever heard.
"When my legs gave out," she said slowly, "I didn’t panic. I just... adjusted, I didn’t even use magic, just pure survival instinct."
Silence stretched between us.
Then I nodded once.
"That’s the point, get your body used to fighting, not just your mind."
She stared at me like I’d just admitted to something profound, then groaned and dropped back onto the ground.
"I hate this."
"You’ll hate it less tomorrow once your body gets used to the strain."
"...That’s not reassuring."
I turned toward the estate doors. "Rest five minutes. Then we move on to another body part."
Her eyes widened in horror.
"Again!?"
I glanced back at her, unimpressed.
"You wanted to stop being a damsel," I said. "This is the price."
She stared at the sky for a long second.
"...Fine."
Chapter 66: A Sudden Visit?
To my surprise, this became a routine for a few days.
After classes, well... if I didn’t decide to skip it, both of us would meet back at my estate for the usual training.
Disappointingly, Evelina was never around, likely busy with her own preparations. In fact, barely anyone attended our class anymore, and even the professors were starting to get annoyed.
But that really wasn’t my problem.
My servants learned quickly to stay out of the courtyard at those hours. Cracked stone, scattered weapons, and lingering magical pressure had become normal sights by now.
Even the air itself felt heavier there, saturated with magic and exhaustion, as if the estate had grown used to violence.
Once again, mostly physical training, while she wanted to be a mage, I planned to turn her into a spellblade.
And while that sounded very rational and standard, surprisingly enough, in this city, especially in the academy, that was barely something that people specialized in.
It was inefficient.
And while there were many legends in the world of people mastering those two, it took them years to reach that level, compared to just mastering one, which barely takes a year if someone is skilled enough.
But... luckily for her, she had a teacher who was skilled in both fields all at once.
FWOOSH!
"Sloppy."
She unleashed a powerful blade of wind at me, but that was it, powerful.
Nothing else was of note.
Slower than a bullet, easy to dodge.
"Sloppy!?" She panted, already tired; we had been sparring for minutes already.
Hours even. If counting the times I healed her in order to repeat the process over and over again without breaks.
[Wind Gale]
[Air Manipulation]
[Speed Boost]
She closed the distance, planning to hit me with as many skills as possible as she could in point-blank range.
She learned quickly, I can give her that, while not at the level of a prodigy like the main characters, she was still a beast of her own.
Probably even an A-Rank would have a hard time fending her off.
[Profaned Gluttony]
"Tch...!"
She pivoted immediately, attempting to sidesweep me while I was busy casting a fairly high-level dark spell.
Too bad for her, I wasn’t that rigid; I could change positions quickly while casting, unlike most mages she probably knew about.
"Missed..." I laughed, simply moving my legs a few inches away to completely neutralize her attack.
"W-What!?"
[Profaned Sword]
And to be honest, I’m starting to like our sparring sessions together. It gives me a chance to actually fight someone with the same style as me, allowing me to use a bit more effort than usual compared to the tournament.
[Wind Wall]
SKRITCH!
She blocked that...?
I know I was going easy on her, but that certainly was impressive.
[Bottomless Daggers (S)]
CLICK-FWOOSH!
BOOM!
The dagger pierced through her wall in an instant, once again its passive drain ability proving too powerful for any normal mortal magic to stop.
But what was more important was how she would react to a dagger being launched directly at her at high speed.
[Wind Wall]
[Wind Wall]
[Wind Wall]
Multiple defensive walls immediately erupted between her and the dagger; her casting time was impressive, improved by the countless matches we’ve undergone to improve her reaction time.
Is this what it felt like to feel proud for once...?
Well... I wouldn’t know.
The sensation was unfamiliar, uncomfortable even. Pride had always been a luxury I couldn’t afford, one usually followed by regret, blood, and names I stopped remembering long ago.
Most of my previous students died at their third job back in the day. The moment I could feel even the slightest bit of pride for my students, they’d just end up dying.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
"C-Crap!" She closed her eyes; she wasn’t fast enough to dodge it.
The dagger pierced through all of her walls at once without even slowing down.
But that was good enough for me.
She had passed.
[Profaned Step]
"H-Huh?"
"We’re done for today."
I caught the dagger before it struck her heart. I didn’t even mean to aim for something that vulnerable; it just came to me naturally.
Even my body and instincts were starting to perceive her as an actual threat.
"I say that, but this’ll probably be your last day."
"What...?" She shook her head. "My last day? But I’m not even that strong yet!"
"Seriously?"
"I haven’t even gotten a scratch on you even once!"
"And that matters, how?"
No matter how hard she trained under me, I highly doubt she could even harm me, especially now that my body was starting to take her seriously.
Although that wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
That alone meant she could probably take out eighty percent of the students from our batch. I’d even be willing to gamble for it.
Hell, I bet I’d become a millionaire if that were possible.
"Right... you’re pretty much superhuman." She sighed. "But still, even a scratch would be—"
"You asked me to train you to become stronger. I don’t remember agreeing to turning you into a killing machine."
Seriously...
I’d rather not unleash another monster on the academy like with Kevin; she’d have to live with being a natural mage killer.
And for someone like her, that’s more than enough to last a lifetime.
"Huh? I think you’re overestimating your own training, you know?" She crossed her arms and tapped her feet in irritation, not knowing how much she had grown ever since we started.
"Overestimate? My training would probably even give Marcellus a heart attack if he knew how strong you’ve gotten."
[Wind Blade]
CLANG!
Her sword grazed the dagger launcher on my wrist, scratching the metal as her attempted ambush failed horribly.
Did she really try stabbing me while we were talking...?
I really raised her well, didn’t I?
"Not gonna work."
"Damn, I swear I could’ve got you there."
"Not even close, anyway, you should go change already, and—" I turned around, and to my surprise, Evelina was there.
Arms crossed while looking really irritated, and most importantly, glaring at Vivianne behind me like she wanted her gone... immediately.
"Why..." Her voice was harsh, like she shot me directly with a gun. "Are you with another woman? In your own estate no less...!?"
Chapter 67: Jealousy...?
The air didn’t just tense.
It compressed.
Vivianne felt it instantly, her instincts screaming before her mind caught up. The magic pressure rolling off Evelina wasn’t aggressive, but it was heavy, like standing too close to a sleeping dragon.
"...Ah," Vivianne said dumbly.
That was all she managed before instinctively taking a step back.
Evelina didn’t move.
She simply stared.
Her crimson eyes slid from Vivianne... to the dagger launcher on my wrist... to the training scars etched into the courtyard stone... and finally, to me.
Slowly.
Painfully.
"...Explain," she said.
One word, no raised voice, no magical flare.
Far more dangerous than either.
"She’s my student," I replied calmly. "Training session."
Vivianne nodded a bit too fast. "Y-Yes! Just training! Physical conditioning, spell reaction drills, close-range adaptation—"
Evelina raised a hand.
Vivianne stopped talking immediately, like someone had pressed a mute button.
She had heard all about the gossip of her and Cael being together, but she chose not to believe it; there was no way the one and only Evelina herself would have chosen a lover.
But...
Now she was proven wrong, very wrong...
"...Student," Evelina repeated, tasting the word. "So you bring students to your estate now?"
"It was either this or have the academy gossip," I shrugged. "I had no other choice, to be honest."
Her eye twitched.
That... was not the right answer.
Vivianne swallowed hard. She could feel it now; this wasn’t just hostility directed at her.
It was possessiveness, ownership, something so fitting for Evelina, but at the same time not.
"You," Evelina said, finally looking back at Vivianne. "Name."
"V-Vivianne Crestwood!"
"Crestwood," Evelina echoed. "So you’re the council girl."
"...Yes, Lady D’Arclight."
Vivianne bowed, deep, proper, perfectly trained. Evelina was ranked higher than her; one wrong move, and her entire family will have to deal with the backlash of disrespecting a D’Arclight.
Evelina looked unimpressed.
"And you," Evelina continued, eyes narrowing, "decided it was acceptable to monopolize my servant’s time... sweat all over him... in his own estate?"
Vivianne’s face went red.
"I-I didn’t—!"
[Abyssal Spear]
"Begone."
With a click of her tongue, she unleashed a human-sized lance that tore through the air with an explosive shockwave, sending her hair streaming back from the force.
She was planning to take out Vivianne.
Here, and now.
"Wait...!"
[Profaned Gluttony]
I stepped between them, thrusting my palm forward as a huge mass of purple energy erupted from it, shaping itself into a gaping mouth that collided with the spear, trying to devour it.
"Y-You stopped it!?"
Evelina was taken aback; her hair started to float from the sheer magical pressure erupting from her very being, to the point that even the demonic energy within her was starting to leak out.
"How dare you!?"
[Profaned Fireball—crack—
"This is a misunderstanding!"
I yelled out, stopping her from casting another spell. I needed to defuse this situation and stop this misunderstanding.
But... something tells me this wasn’t just a misunderstanding.
She just didn’t want to share me with anyone else at all.
TAP!
[Profaned Step]
"H-Huh!?"
"I’ll handle things here."
I teleported Vivianne away from my estate and back into the academy to deal with Evelina alone. While I was definitely stronger, fighting her was definitely the last thing I wanted.
Hurting her was never an option for me.
I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
"You insolent...!" Evelina’s magical pressure immediately dissipated the moment Vivianne disappeared; she no longer had a reason to attack.
But... that didn’t mean I was completely out of trouble yet.
"I leave you alone for a few days," Evelina continued, stepping closer with each word, heels clicking against the stone, "and here you are bringing other girls to your estate!"
Her presence pressed down on me like gravity itself.
Not hostile anymore.
Worse.
Jealous.
"I didn’t bring her willingly," I replied carefully. "Progress would stall if we stayed in the academy."
"That doesn’t make it better."
"I only trained her."
"That’s also not better."
I sighed. This was going exactly how I feared.
"She’s a student. One of Kevin’s recommendations. Nothing more, and I would have refused if I could, but she asked for help from another student I owed, I couldn’t refuse."
Evelina stopped just an arm’s length away.
Close enough that I could see the faint glow of sealed demonic energy beneath her skin, pulsing slowly, like a heartbeat that didn’t belong to a human.
Her eyes searched my face.
Not for lies.
She already knew I wouldn’t lie to her, and even if I could, she could just easily touch me and dive straight into my mind for answers anyway.
"...Did she touch you?" she asked flatly.
"No."
"Did you allow her to?"
"No."
"Did you think about allowing her to?"
I blinked.
"...No?"
Her shoulders relaxed by the smallest margin.
Barely noticeable, but I felt it.
"Hmph." She turned away, folding her arms. "Then explain why she looked so proud standing next to you."
"...That’s your problem?"
She shot me a glare sharp enough to cut stone.
"That girl looked at you like you were something precious," Evelina snapped. "I don’t like that."
"You know I would never—"
"I know you would never..." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose; even she was confused at her own emotions.
She had never felt such strange and powerful emotions well up inside her before, to a man no less, even her own family members don’t elicit this much reaction from her.
"...I belong to you," I answered without hesitation to cut the silence between us.
That did it.
The pressure vanished from her completely.
And Evelina froze.
Then her ears, very subtly, turned red.
"...Good," she muttered, looking away. "Never... and I mean never, interact with her again unless you ask permission from me."
I couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at my lips.
She was more possessive and prone to jealousy than I thought. You’d never expect such an ice queen like her to have a side like this.
But... It’s not like there are thousands of me out in the world; her wariness of someone else stealing me made sense.
Even if I know it would never happen.
"She’s gone, don’t worry," I added. "Back to the academy. I won’t train her here anymore."
That earned me a sideways glance.
"...You won’t?"
"No," I said honestly. "I didn’t think you’d like it; her training was already complete anyway."
She hesitated, but was also a bit irritated at my mention of her training being complete.
Then, quietly, she spoke.
"I don’t."
Silence settled between us, no longer heavy, just... charged.
And more importantly, she had just realized the commotion she had made in front of all my servants, who were watching from the sidelines.
"I can’t believe that just happened..."
Her face started to turn red, her emotions switching from one to another in a near instant, like a switch.
Then she glared at the servants who were watching, both those who were visible and those who thought they could hide their presence from her.
She didn’t even need to say anything; her presence alone was enough to shut them all up.
"I’ll make sure they don’t speak about this."
"As you should." She crossed her arms.
Chapter 68: Stillness Before Ownership
*** Academy Alley
"H-Huh!?"
Vivianne fell from the sky after she was teleported, but instead of falling flat on her face, she managed to gain leverage from the wall with her foot.
Jumping from wall to wall until she managed to land safely on her feet.
"Phew..."
Vivianne wiped the sweat off her brow, her heart pumping at a terrifying pace after seeing Evelina just attempt to kill her.
"I hope she doesn’t hold a grudge."
She whimpered, covering her face with her hands as she shouted in sheer nervousness and panic.
"But... I’m not like the Vivianne from before!"
She clenched her arms together, pumping herself up; she couldn’t just let her training go to waste and still become a cowering mess hiding behind the frontlines.
"Lady Vivianne...?"
"H-Huh...?" Vivianne looked behind her cautiously.
Did... did someone just really see her while she was embarrassingly pumping herself up?
"Did you just... come from the sky?"
It was Marcellus, his mouth agape and pointing at where she just came from, but more importantly, he saw just how easily she had mitigated her fall with physicality that no mage should even be capable of.
"Lord Lionbright!?"
She turned quickly, bowing in reverence. This was the second time she met a higher-ranked noble in the most compromising situation possible.
"Did you just... did you actually convince Arden to teach you?"
Vivianne opened her mouth, hesitant about how she should answer. It was clear that Marcellus or Julius didn’t have a particularly fond relationship with her new teacher.
And she was afraid that if she answered truthfully, she might become an enemy.
"U-Umm..."
She stuttered for a bit, then stopped... this was exactly the thing she wanted to prevent.
To stop panicking and bowing to those higher than her, what was the point of all her training if she’s still afraid?
Besides... it isn’t like Marcellus is Evelina; he wouldn’t just go executing and shaming anyone who acted defiant.
"Ahem... yes, I did."
"You could have approached me instead, you know? Getting wrapped around a troublesome person like that—"
"I urge you not to continue."
"H-Huh?" Marcellus looked surprised. Did the meek and compliant Vivianne really interrupt him? "Did I do something wrong?"
"You do not have the right to argue about my choice of mentor."
"I didn’t mean to insult you, I just meant that..."
"I suggest you also don’t insult, Cael."
"Cael...? You two are on a first-name basis?"
Vivianne surprised even herself; it all came so naturally to her. After all, not once did she ever feel inferior during her training.
In fact, she had been treated more like an annoying friend who wanted to get stronger than like a proper student. She’d grown so used to it that even calling another noble by their first name, something that was normally rude unless you were very close, came naturally to her.
"No... it just happened to come naturally to me."
"I see." Marcellus sighed, "Look, I apologize if I came off as rude. I’m just... curious, is all."
"Curious?"
"Of course. He’s strong, stronger than most people I know, despite being from a fairly unimportant family. Even you’re curious why, aren’t you?"
"Yes, but... It’s none of my business."
Vivianne looked off to the side, her smile twitching slightly as she remembered Evelina’s possessive side, something she had never expected to ever see in her lifetime.
"And I’d rather not make it part of my business..." She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself and chuckling nervously.
"You act as if you’ve seen a ghost."
"Demon more like it..." She blurted out accidentally, catching Marcellus’s attention.
"You’ve managed to get on the wrong foot with Evelina, haven’t you?"
"H-How...?"
"Another woman goes to another man’s estate, while his lover was away and busy... I could have guessed what could have happened."
"H-How!?"
"I’ve got eyes everywhere."
Marcellus laughed, placing one hand on his hip. "Anyways, I’ll be off, and once again, I apologize if I have offended you or Arden."
"Lord Lionbright, huh..." Vivianne stood in the alley alone after Marcellus left, deep in thought, surprised at how talkative Marcellus was.
He usually kept to himself, only becoming sociable when he was with Julius or when he wanted to act like a model student; he was never much for small talk.
"Although... I did just fall from the sky, that’s enough to make anyone talk..."
*** Arden Estate - Cael’s Room
I decided to give Evelina a tour of my estate while she was here, besides... it didn’t seem like she wanted to leave anytime soon, especially after... that.
But I didn’t mind; having to tour her around my estate gave me the perfect excuse to be with her after not seeing her for days already.
"This is your room before you moved to the academy? It’s a bit... simple."
Evelina glanced over the bed and the rest of the room. Compared to what she was used to as a duke’s heir, this simple room belonging to a baron’s son was hardly worth noticing.
Single bed. Wooden desk. Bookshelves worn at the edges from use. No extravagant artifacts, no enchanted decorations, no servants waiting at the door 24/7.
Just... lived in.
"...Simple," she repeated.
"That’s one way to put it," I replied, leaning against the wall. "It was enough."
Her fingers brushed over the edge of the desk, lingering on the faint demonic energy that was still present when I first summoned Beelzebub.
"So this is where you got all that power... I’m surprised you did it inside your room and not somewhere secluded."
"Well... I was in a rush."
"Really?"
"I mean... didn’t really think about it much..." I replied truthfully.
"Even until now, I still couldn’t fully decide if you’re smart or dumb."
"Call me anything you’d like."
"Cheeky."
[Photographic Memory]
Right... I almost forgot to ask her what had gotten her so busy for the past few days. I knew she was preparing, but it wouldn’t hurt to know the details.
"What kept you from attending classes?"
"Oh, that... I was just refining the darkyte we obtained from the tomb. Took me longer than expected."
So that explained how she managed to cast that abyssal spear without issue...
"But enough about that, let’s make up for some lost time, shall we?" Evelina proposed, still not letting go of the fact that another woman had spent days with me.
Sweating with me in training...
Changing clothes inside my estate...
Having her see me wipe myself with a towel...
It disgusted her to no end.
’How dare she...’