NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18
Hello, it’s Jin, your favorite villainous noble.
I find myself in quite a precarious situation at the moment.
“Hey, number 263, wait a moment.”
The teacher who was the closest and had just berated me called out to stop me. Honestly, I’d like to ignore him, but that would only make me stand out even more, and I wouldn’t even be able to bluff my way out of it.
However, at this moment, I can’t think of a clever way to deceive him. Claiming that the magical device was malfunctioning, my trump card, might be too difficult. If I say that and he immediately checks it, I might end up putting myself in an even more disadvantageous situation.
And so, I’ve decided… Alright, time to shut him up.
If I say it was malfunctioning, they probably won’t believe me, but if a proctor says it, that should carry some weight.
Besides, I can’t think of any other way to bluff my way through this.
I tried to channel my inner Jin from the game and opened my mouth.
“What is it? I want to move on to the next part. I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense.”
I’m sure it was something like that… But seriously, Jin, you’re way too good at trash-talking! The teacher in front of me is turning red with a mixture of surprise and anger, frozen in place!
Well, it’s going just as planned, but even I’m a bit taken aback by what I just said.
“You… It’s you!? I’m the nephew of the Marquis and an instructor-examiner! Watch your tone!!”
Fair point, sir. But please, let me off the hook… This is just how Jin talks.
Well, it’s intentional, though.
“Quit the noise. You’re not my teacher yet, and besides, I’m the son of a Duke. My rank is higher than yours. Got it? Now hurry up and let me move on.”
“You… youuuuu!! I won’t forgive you—”
The teacher, who now seemed incapable of saying anything else, pointed at me and shouted loudly.
“You dare speak to me with such insolence after cheating, you good-for-nothing failure!! I’ll personally be your sparring partner for the mock battle right now!! Consider it an honor!!”
Perfect!
Inside, I was doing a mental victory dance over and over again.
I had been deliberately using Jin’s style of taunting speech just for this moment.
This guy, as evident from his earlier outburst, had an inflated ego and was quite the narcissist, loving himself to no end. So, he couldn’t dismiss childish remarks like this and took them seriously, losing his temper immediately.
Well, thanks to his personality this time, I’m saved.
As relieved as I was that things went well, the teacher who seemed to have arranged to speak with the mock battle examiner approached me. He wore a sly, contemptuous smile and told me, “Hurry up and get into the barrier! You want to start right away, don’t you? So, I’ll give you just that!”
Perhaps he intended to taunt me back, but it was actually going exactly as I wished. So, I felt no anger at all. On the contrary, I was even grateful because this could potentially make up for my earlier mistake.
“Hmph, that’s fine. Let’s get started right away, then.”
Leaving the bewildered teacher behind, I entered the barrier.
Inside the barrier, all surrounding sounds were completely blocked out. Was he using a [Sound Isolation Barrier]?
“Hey, teacher.”
“I told you to watch your tone—”
“Can our voices be heard from the outside?”
“For the love of… Could you at least listen until the end!! …No, you can’t hear anything from the outside. Magic can block out specific noises, but the starting signal is designed to be heard.”
“I see.”
Once again, I silently celebrated within my mind.
‘Alright… I can handle this conversation properly now. And without that military girl around, as long as I use my magic discreetly, I should be able to handle this teacher.’
『Now, with examinee number 263 facing off against the examiner Dinothael—Begin the match!!』
“!?”
“Why are you so surprised!? In a battle, that could lead to death! —【Fireball】!”
A fireball, about 20 centimeters in size, shot toward me, but I couldn’t be bothered by that right now.
Dinothael, the teacher…!?
Wasn’t he a typical villain in the game’s early stages, causing trouble for the protagonist and ultimately releasing monsters in the academy, only to be stopped by the protagonist and eventually expelled from the school!?
Certainly, he does resemble his in-game counterpart.
Alright, while I might feel a bit of sympathy as fellow villains… I need him to take a beating for my sake here!
But for now, I need to deal with the fireball that’s already closing in on me.
“―――【Magic Eye: Domination】”
I activated the most powerful magic eye that Jin was born with. With this magic eye, you could potentially control anything when mastered, but currently, I can only control one target’s abilities with my magic power.
In reality, I shouldn’t be using it here, but I need to make up for my mistake, and this is the most suitable way to ensure that the spectators don’t realize my true strength.
With the power of this magic eye, I slightly altered the trajectory of the fireball, all while remaining still.
By doing this, I made it appear as if I deliberately dodged the magic, even though Dinothael was probably surprised it missed.
“Why did it miss…? Damn, lucky bastard. How about this, then! ―――【Aqua Ball】✕5!”
In that instant, five magic circles appeared, and waterballs were launched. Well, he’s not a regular teacher, so he’s somewhat formidable.
But ―――
“―――Unleash your flames against my foe ―――【Fireball】.”
I deliberately chanted the incantation, activating it right before the waterballs hit me.
Then, the scorching fire met the water ―――
――― KABOOM!
A steam explosion occurred, obscuring the view within the barrier with a mist-like vapor. The stage was set.
From the outside, nothing could be seen..
Barriers typically blocked magical sensing from the outside, so even if I used magic, I wouldn’t be detected.
“What is this!? Damn it, I’ll blow it away with wind magic for now!”
“―――【Body Enhancement】【Time Acceleration】――― I’d prefer you didn’t.”
I activated two spells, enhancing my body and accelerating time, allowing me to quickly approach Dinothael, who was attempting to cast magic. I immediately dispersed his magic power with the power of my Magic Eye.
“!? My magic…!”
“―――【Water Chains】.”
Multiple water chains materialized and wrapped around Dinothael’s body, constricting him.
To dispel this magic, one would need higher magical power than me. However, Dinothael not only fell short of my magical power but also had his magic controlled by me, rendering him unable to use it.
The current situation for Dinothael could be deduced from these circumstances…
“―――You’re finished.”
“Wha…?! You, aren’t you… just a failure?! Could it be… you were hiding your strength!?”
I grinned at Dinothael as he glared at me.
“Well, taking that into account… shall we begin a fun little chat?”
That smile of mine at that moment was surely a creepy smile befitting a villain.
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