1-Second Invincible Player in the Game

71. Sadomagic (3)

The topic of the lesson was the control of thunderclouds.

As the professor demonstrated, the students of the Bürger Academy conjured up cotton-candy-like dark clouds.

“Among the elements, the most unruly force is undoubtedly lightning. There have been times when, while wielding the storm magic I conjured, I found myself on the receiving end of its wrath.”

Many nodded in agreement.

I, too, knew the sting of static electricity, having felt its sharp bite more than once.

“But if one navigates the storm in this manner, it will move according to the caster’s will.”

The professor drew the crackling energy of a storm cloud close to the lightning rod beside him.

Then, a slender bolt shot forth.

KRAKOW!

The lightning veered from the rod and struck a hapless male student directly.

“aaaH!”

His hair stood on end, and the professor narrowed his eyes.

“I believe I warned you not to daydream during class?”

“I-I’m sorry…”

The professor turned his gaze away from the student, clearly displeased, and continued his explanation.

“If you can maintain control like this, even with distractions, you can reach your desired target. The shape of the cloud is crucial. Depending on its form, you can manipulate the electricity with greater precision, but this can only be learned through sensation. Now, let’s start by creating a cloud.”

To form a cloud, one needs the fire to create water and vapor, and the wind to shape it.

Unable to handle all three elements at once, I resorted to the makeshift method of telekinesis to mold my form.

What I ended up with was…

“L-Look at that.”

“Goodness… what is that? The cloud is as big as a bed!”

A massive cloud, as if plucked from the sky.

I wished it were mine.

As I gazed at it with envy, Klave, the owner of the colossal cloud, shot me a sidelong glance.

He held a cloud no larger than a speck of dust from his pocket…

“W-Want me to share a bit?”

“No thanks.”

Rix chimed in from beside me.

“Klave, this is something you need to do on your own. But really, it’s impressive! You can see how much your magical power has increased since the first day.”

Rix’s pity felt particularly irksome.

Before him floated a cloud the size of a pillow.

“…”

—

The others were the same.

Even the cloud of the one next to me was the size of a shoe.

A minute passed, and the professor looked at me and said,

“Hey, you. How long has it been since I told you to make a cloud, and you’re still at it?”

“I’ve made it.”

“Huh?”

As I manipulated the cloud with psychokinesis, bringing it closer, he offered me an apology.

“Ahem, my bad. I thought it was a fly.”

…Was there even a fly in this cold town?

* * *

It was just before the after-school supplementary class began.

Deciding to take a moment’s rest in the lobby of the Shulafe Hall, I gazed at Limberton and Asley.

The two were dressed in clothes I hadn’t seen before, as if their tailored suits had just been completed.

Limberton wore something a bit more flamboyant, while Asley sported a neat jacket and trousers, a far cry from his usual barbaric attire.

“Looks good. Definitely better than what you wore before?”

“Mm.”

Asley seemed unfamiliar with the jacket, fidgeting with his forearm and shoulder.

Limberton, boasting about his height-increasing shoes, jumped up from his seat.

“What do you think? Do my legs look a bit longer?”

“You’re not planning to train in those shoes, are you?”

He flinched, as if surprised I knew.

“Ahem, is that not allowed?”

“If you don’t want to sprain your ankle, then maybe.”

“…It might be good for stirring sympathy. A kind girl might just cling to me.”

“Enough with the nonsense. How’s the class going?”

Their expressions soured.

“I’m dead last in the knight department. Next is Asley.”

As expected, I thought.

Limberton was a corpse, except for his skill with a bow.

His stamina was low, and his aura was remarkably thin.

—

And Asley…

“Swordsmanship is difficult. I only miss.”

◇Better than average.◇

The cursed trait that guarantees a four out of ten miss rate, excluding the six.

For a knight, where each strike holds weight, Asley’s opportunities to shine were painfully few.

Especially since he had never truly held a sword, his stance must have been awkward.

From the professor’s perspective, it was only natural that he couldn’t offer a good evaluation.

“The situation is similar for everyone.”

A jagged stone, far removed from the conventional education.

Ironically, for us, the supplementary classes felt closer to the real thing than the regular ones.

“How about the supplementary class?”

When I asked, Limberton grinned.

“They say they’ve invited an instructor from outside, and he had an impressive knowledge of archery. Received quite a few praises, too.”

Asley replied in a clumsy tone.

“I told him not to hit me.”

Seeing the smile tugging at his lips, it seemed he was also receiving good feedback.

I felt it was time and pulled out my pocket watch.

“Class is about to start. Let’s move.”

We, who were far from the conventional, took our steps toward our own achievements.

* * *

“Draw up a curriculum?”

“Just organize what you can teach.”

Henderson scratched his head.

“Well, I have plenty I can teach. But the important thing is whether it’s useful to you, isn’t it? First, let’s see you demonstrate a spell from each category. I need to gauge your level more precisely.”

“Are you saying you’ll narrow it down?”

“Exactly. Start with the elements.”

I took out my staff and unleashed the water cannon spell, the one I was most confident in from the elemental category.

Szzzz—

Henderson remained expressionless, saying nothing.

“Say something, will you?”

“Stop with the stream of urine.”

“······.”

Zziik─

It’s stronger than before, yet this is too much.

“Other elements are a given. What about manifestation magic?”

“Just wait and see.”

I poured all my focus into conjuring a feathered pen.

Henderson’s eyes twitched at the edges.

“Is that dog grass?”

“It’s a feather pen, you know?”

With a dubious expression, Henderson grasped the shimmering object that rose like a mirage.

“Goodness, I can’t even feel its texture. Is this some kind of illusion?”

“If it were, you wouldn’t be able to hold it.”

“···In some sense, it’s impressive. I couldn’t make something like this even if I tried.”

With a puff of breath, Henderson blew, and the feather pen dissipated into smoke.

“Next, let’s take a look at curses.”

Henderson’s hair was unkempt, and flies buzzed around him like satellites.

He swiftly caught one and carefully plucked its wings, placing it on the desk.

I wielded a basic curse, the puppet.

“Of course, this is possible. If I couldn’t even control a fly, I’d be a fool. Now, let’s see you perform some trick.”

“A trick?”

“Make it stick out its belly or something.”

Focusing, I infused it with magic, and the fly struggled to flip over.

But midway, it lost all strength and drooped.

Henderson regarded it with the disdain one might reserve for a mere insect.

“Ugh, I knew from the start you wouldn’t break it.”

The elements, curses, anomalies, and manifestations all displayed their prowess evenly in the art of dispelling.

Henderson narrowed his eyes and asked, “Could it be that you’re naturally gifted in the anomaly branch?”

Nodding, I watched as Henderson puffed out his cheeks.

“Puff!”

The creature clutched its belly and burst into laughter.

“Puhahahaha!”

Only after a while did the true Henderson exhale deeply.

“Ha… What a truly ridiculous fellow.”

“Is this your first time seeing someone with such a peculiar talent?”

“No, I’ve seen it before. It’s such a rare gift, how could I forget?”

Then it would be wise to at least remember the name.

You never know when you might meet again and learn something useful.

“Really? What’s the name?”

When I asked, Henderson chuckled softly.

Yet his eyes betrayed a different story.

“That’s not something you need to know. Hmm, anyway, it’s a unique kind, right?”

Henderson gestured toward the chair, shifting the topic.

It was a somewhat reluctant response, but I didn’t press further.

There must be a reason for it.

“Try lifting that chair with telekinesis.”

That’s my specialty.

But a chair? Could I really lift something so heavy?

No, I can do it.

Thanks to the mana accumulated from Rix’s traits.

“Ugh!”

As I squeezed every ounce of my magical power, the chair began to float.

“Wow, this is indeed useful. But why does your face look like that? Could it be…?”

Yet the height of the chair gradually began to lower.

“Ugh!”

“Are you already tired!!”

Even as I infused mana, my hand gripping the staff trembled, and maintaining the levitation was no easy feat.

Still, I had accomplished it.

I looked at Henderson with a proud face.

“Phew, here we are. How is it?”

“What do you mean, how is it? I can’t even hold it for a minute.”

Henderson swept his hand across his face, a troubled tone escaping his lips.

“Your telekinesis is on par with what others can do. You don’t need to be born with some peculiar talent; if you just awaken your sense of taste, it’s possible.”

The old professor, who had been watching silently from the side, nodded in agreement.

“To be honest, even if I taught you, it would be of no use.”

I narrowed my eyes and asked, “You think I can’t learn?”

“No, with your level of academic ability, you could learn. But your sensory skills are woefully lacking.”

Henderson gazed deeply into my eyes, as if peering into my very soul, and continued.

“If you awakened your senses naturally, there must have been some innate foundation. You wouldn’t be trying to pass off such childish tricks as magic. Yet, to say you’ve trained and awakened them through sheer effort is absurd; your mana control is abysmal. Such things require a gradual building of steps, growing alongside the awakening of your senses.”

He struck a nerve.

“But what are you, really? You’re not talented enough to be called a genius, and there’s no trace of a process to say you’ve awakened anything. You belong nowhere. It’s as if someone forced you to become a magician…”

I had skipped the four years of training I was supposed to undergo and forcibly awakened my senses through experimentation.

It was akin to studying only for the written exam and never having operated heavy machinery even once.

From knowing how much to press the pedals to how sharply to turn the wheel, and whether the speed of the stick’s operation was appropriate—these were all things that could only be mastered through real experience.

“So here’s my advice: if you truly want to be a magician, give up on the classes taught here and start building your foundation from the ground up. With your intellect, three years would suffice. No, two years would be enough.”

I smiled bitterly at Henderson’s words.

“I don’t have that kind of time. I came here hoping there might be something worthwhile in sadomasochism, but if there isn’t, I’ll have to find another path on my own.”

Henderson furrowed his brow, letting out a string of coarse curses.

“You foolish brat. To not even grasp true advice, it’s as if your head has suddenly gone empty. Fine, let me prove just how wrong you are.”

He raised his wrist, adorned with shackles, as if to flaunt it.

“Do you see the chains on my wrist? This is called an ‘Ogre’s Restraint.’ A damn thing that suppresses aura and magical power. Go on, try to attack me. Even so, you won’t be able to inflict any harm on me. If you do manage to, I’ll teach you everything about my sadomasochism.”

The old professor’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh, except for one thing.”

The old professor’s expression soured again.

Regardless, I struck Henderson’s head with my staff, which had been sold off.

“Ah! You madman! Use magic for that!!”

Henderson covered his forehead with his hand, glaring at me with his eyes.

“I did what you told me to.”

“This, this b*stard… You did it on purpose, didn’t you…”

“You should have said it right from the start. Only with magic.”

Listening in silence had left a bad taste in my mouth, but now I felt a bit relieved.

“Ugh, damn it. This time, attack with magic only. Just magic.”

As Henderson emphasized again, I traced the incantation of the fire spell.

An arrow of flames igniting in the air.

Whoosh!

…A tiny arrow, no bigger than a pinky finger, shot toward Henderson’s face.

He simply blew out with his mouth, and it extinguished.

“Did you see? No matter how much you claim to have learned magic that could kill even a dragon, in reality, it will only amount to swatting a fly.”

“My position doesn’t change. Two years is far too long.”

With no usable offensive spells, time was of the essence for me.

I decided to seek another way and stood up.

But Henderson grinned and stopped me.

“Wait, wait. Come to think of it, there is one method. A way to become a wizard that will make you curse in no time.”

Tempted by his words, I sat back down, and Henderson began to draw the incantation on the blackboard.

The expression of the old professor watching us twisted in concern.

“…Henderson, are you planning to kill your student?”

Curiosity piqued, I examined the incantation.

It seemed to lack elements or forms, resembling something peculiar.

To get a clearer answer, I asked the old professor.

“What is that incantation?”

“It’s a self-destruct spell. It creates a clash of opposing properties between the magic and the mana within the body, unleashing destructive power.”

Self-destruct?

“Die and be reborn, you fool. Who knows? In your next life, you might be born with the qualities of a great wizard.”

I approached Henderson, who was grinning obnoxiously, and asked.

“Can this actually harm you with magic?”

Henderson scoffed.

“Ha, don’t put on such ridiculous bravado.”

“Is that so?”

I traced the incantations on the chalkboard with my staff.

Henderson, perhaps thinking I would stop midway, maintained his composure.

Yet his gaze was fixed upon my staff.