I Became a Genius Black Mage at the Holy Academy

After all the students — except Hector and Demona — had completed their brief holy battles, 

Vulcan addressed the class again from the podium made of dirt.

“Class is over. You can all leave now.”

— Yes, Professor!

The students energetically responded and scattered into groups. They seemed satisfied to have at least performed the holy battles, which they had only ever watched before.

Roan, as usual, was about to approach Demona and Hector when —

“Roan Darc!”

Crack!

Vulcan called out to him, lightning sparking directly from his mouth.

‘… What is this?’

For a moment, Roan thought about pretending not to hear. Getting involved with those obsessed with the holy battles had never ended well for him. But there was no way to ignore a voice like thunder, so he turned to Vulcan with a troubled expression and answered him.

“What is it, Professor?”

“Stay behind for a moment. I need to talk to you.”

The students began to murmur to themselves upon hearing this.

– Roan was told to stay behind.

– Well, he did beat up Sion’s Wind Terrier earlier…

– Is he going to be okay?

– So what if he’s not? Who cares?

Most of them assumed Roan was about to get scolded harshly by Vulcan.

Roan didn’t think too much about it.

‘Knowing Vulcan’s personality, if that were the case, he would’ve done it during class.’

Besides, Vulcan had looked rather pleased as he glanced down at his Terrier once the holy battles ended. However, that didn’t mean this was necessarily a good thing either. Maybe it would’ve been better for him to just get a harsh scolding.

“Roan, you’re in big trouble now~” 

Demona teased him with a bright smile as he came down from the stands with Hector.

“Professor Vulcan is a Thunder Bear after all, you know. Bears tear people apart.”

“What are you talking about? Professor Vulcan is a great man.”

When Demona mimicked a bear attacking, wildly swinging his arms to scare him, Hector scolded him with a look of pity.

To be a professor at Akerandir, one had to pass a basic character test. The criteria might seem vague, but there was definitely a process involved.

Rafia, who had come up to them with Riel, spoke up. “Roan, are you staying? Should we wait for you outside?”

Roan shook his head.

“No, this might take a while. Go ahead and eat without me. I’ll get something on my own later.”

“Hmm, really? That’s a shame, but okay.”

Rafia looked quite disappointed but quickly accepted it. After this class, it occurred to her how ordinary Roan and his friends were, which only made her feel more regret in the end.

“…!”

On the other hand, Riel seemed more shocked than disappointed. Her pale skin had turned even whiter — though only by a very slight margin.

‘It looks like she got about fifty pixels lighter… I feel a little bad.’

But it couldn’t be helped. The afternoon class was scheduled quite early, and he didn’t want to make his friends feel rushed. Furthermore, this would give his friends a chance to get more comfortable communicating with Riel.

“Take good care of Riel, everyone. Especially you, Demona.”

“Uh… I’m not really confident about that.”

When Roan glared daggers at him, Demona hurriedly came over and whispered, “It’s going to be so awkward without you. I was raised so delicately that I can’t even talk to strangers… Can’t we just wait for you?”

Roan stared at Demona in disbelief at his sudden confession.

‘He can’t talk to strangers?’

That didn’t seem right, considering how he blurted out whatever he wanted from the moment they first met…

“Ugh. Still, there’s no other way. Go.”

Though Demona’s nervousness was quite unexpected, Roan didn’t change his mind. 

Hector and Rafia came over, grabbed Demona by the back of his neck, and dragged him away.

“Don’t even think about causing trouble for Roan. Just come along, you heretic.”

“Yeah. Show some conscience.”

“Why, why?! What’s wrong with my conscience?!”

Roan shook his head and returned to Vulcan.

“Hm. It’s still early in the semester, but you seem to have fostered good relationships! Sociability is an important talent for the holy battles too!”

Roan swallowed his irritation. He already had a guess about what Vulcan wanted to talk about, even before hearing the whole story.

“Follow me to my office!”

“You could just say it here —”

But Vulcan had already leaped away, striding ahead energetically.

‘$#@*)%#!’

Roan had to run quickly to keep up with him.

Vulcan’s office was located in the basement of the Percival Hall. It was a rather unusual place, decorated like a cave. The chairs and tables were also roughly hewn from stone.

After seating Roan, Vulcan got straight to the point.

“I’ll get right to it! Would you like the honor of joining the Akerandir Holy Battles Club?”

Vulcan, seemingly very excited, even let out a puff of air through his nose.

Roan immediately responded, “I’ll have to decline.”

“Why?!”

Sparks crackled between Vulcan’s round ears. He clearly hadn’t expected to be rejected so quickly. If it had been any other professor, Roan might have softened the blow, but with Vulcan, there was no need to hold back.

‘If I try to soften it, this conversation will never end.’

Of course, the Holy Battles Club was one of the most prestigious clubs at Akerandir. Not only did it receive significant funding, but it also provided frequent opportunities to leave the school grounds. It was also a major advantage when applying for jobs or entering the central clergy later on.

However, none of these benefits mattered to Roan.

“I’m not particularly interested in the holy battles, nor do I enjoy them.”

“That’s nonsense! I saw with my own eyes how you commanded the Wind Terrier!”

Vulcan argued, clearly not understanding. A student who wasn’t even interested in the holy battles, yet could perform such a technique on a Wind Terrier? None of this made any sense to him.

Roan had anticipated this reaction and added another reason. Better to nip this at the bud!

“Besides, I have no talent for the holy battles.”

“Puhahahahahaha!”

Crack! Boom!

Instead of responding with words, Vulcan burst out in laughter. Every time he clapped or laughed, the cave lit up with flashes of lightning.

Roan’s face scrunched up into a frown.

‘Is that really something to laugh about?’

It reminded him of Harden from the mountain behind the dormitory earlier.

After a while, Vulcan finally calmed down and spoke again.

“Roan Darc, the blood of the Darc family runs thick in you! I guarantee it!”

“… What does that have to do with anything?”

‘Of course, it flows. I am from the Darc family, after all.’

“What do you mean, ‘What does it matter?’ The Darc family was one of the four great families of the Imperial Holy Battles League! How can you say something so dismissive?!”

Roan couldn’t help but be a little surprised by those words.

‘The Darc family? What?’

“The four great families of the Holy Battles are Hersh, Faith, Doradin, and Zipher, aren’t they?”

The fact that Shiori already had a group of followers was also thanks to her family. But Vulcan shook his head.

“You know well, but Doradin only replaced the Darc family after it was wiped out. It doesn’t even compare to the Darcs’!”

Roan gave him a bewildered look.

‘What is this Darc family?’

Maintaining the status of one of the empire’s four great families was hard enough — now they were supposed to be one of the four great families of the Holy Battles?

Of course, the content of the Holy Battles wasn’t particularly important to players, but for some reason, it left a bad taste in his mouth.

‘So these guys are part of the empire too, huh?’

The four great families of the Holy Battles were, in essence, a gathering of the most fanatical of the empire’s already fanatical followers of the Holy Battles.

The thought that the blood of such a religious fanatic flowed in him made Roan feel extremely uncomfortable.

Vulcan, wearing an uncharacteristically sentimental expression, recalled, “Ah, the first time I fell in love with the Holy Battles was during a match of the Darc family’s Holy Battles Club.”

Of course, Roan had zero interest in that.

In fact, Vulcan had already shown his true colors during the first class, where he singled out the most talented students and spent hours trying to recruit them into the club. Conversations with professors couldn’t be skipped, so Roan had no other choice but to endure them.

Each time, Vulcan would dig up even the smallest detail about the student’s family, like whether their family’s elder’s cousin’s brother was once a famous player in a certain region.

‘That might just be an exaggerated boast!’

Roan didn’t want to admit that the Darc family was famous even in the Holy Battles world.

“Even so, I won’t be joining the Holy Battles Club.”

“Why not?! With you, it will be possible to rebuild the Darc family through our club!”

“… What?”

‘Was he serious?’

Rebuilding a family through the Holy Battles? Rebuilding a family wasn’t like winning candy by playing a game.

‘… Then again, if we’re talking about the empire, that might be possible.’

Roan reluctantly acknowledged the logic. Considering how much support the reigning Pope and Holy Emperor poured into the Holy Battles, winning the league and restoring a family crest didn’t sound entirely absurd.

In fact, under imperial law, the Holy Battles were treated with great importance and provided many benefits.

But still, joining the Holy Battles was a different matter!

Acknowledging the situation and making a choice were two separate things. Roan resolutely rejected the offer once again.

“I respect your suggestion and the legacy the Darc family left in the Holy Battles, but I do not believe that rebuilding my family lies within the Holy Battles.”

After laying that foundation, he added, “I also have a duty to follow the wishes my parents left for me.”

He naturally used his parents’ supposed wishes as an excuse.

Whether his parents actually left any wishes behind was unknown, but one thing was for sure: no sane parents would say, ‘Son, make sure you win the Holy Battles League and restore our family’s name.’

‘If they had, they would’ve deserved to be sold off!’

Roan rationalized it to himself.

… He seemed to be talking about his parents’ legacy more casually these days, but what could he do? This was a place where you had to play along to survive.

Vulcan, hearing Roan’s reasoning, finally stepped back.

“Hmm… If you put it that way, I suppose there’s nothing I can do. But think it over carefully. You’ll always be welcome in our club.”

“Yes. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Roan stood up immediately and walked out of the office.

As Vulcan sat, thoughtfully watching Roan’s back, he suddenly clapped his hands.

‘Alright, if he’s not interested in the Holy Battles, I’ll just make him interested!’

Vulcan’s round ears twitched excitedly.

He had recently obtained a rare mythical beast’s egg after much effort.

***

Freed from Vulcan, Roan headed straight to the Commercial District to grab some lunch.

‘I can’t remember the last time I had some free time to myself.’

Since he had gotten out earlier than expected, he planned to leisurely enjoy his lunch alone. He had even remembered a good place to go to.

─ Ashen Whale Restaurant ─

In a corner of the Commercial District, there was an old wooden sign with weathered letters that were hard to read due to age. At first glance, one might not even realize it was a restaurant and could easily pass it by.

‘This is one of the top three restaurants in Akerandir.’

Roan opened the creaky old door and stepped inside. The interior had the musty smell characteristic of old wooden houses.

“…Hmm? A new student, I see.”

An old woman, who had been dozing off in a rocking chair behind the counter, woke up at the sound of Roan’s footsteps. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as it was unusual for a new student to find their way here. Typically, it was the professors or upperclassmen who frequented this place.

“Yes. Do you serve the Ainsbury combo meal?”

“Oh…”

The old woman was continually amazed. Not only had a new student found the place, but he had also ordered with familiarity, without even checking the menu beforehand.

“Just have a seat and wait for a bit. I’ll bring it out soon.”

The old woman headed into the kitchen, and Roan walked further inside. 

The restaurant wasn’t very large. There were only a few tables: two or three for two people, one table for four, and a couple of seats by the window for individuals. All of them were empty.

Roan chose a two-person table in the corner of the room where he could see the entire restaurant.

‘Just like the illustration… but the feeling of actually being here is different.’

While he had seen the general layout through illustrations, the finer details weren’t as easy to capture. For example, there were small holy icons of Harden placed on each table.

“… Tsk.”

Roan clicked his tongue and patiently waited for his meal. The one comfort was that this was a place where he was sure he wouldn’t run into Demona and his group.

“Enjoy your meal.”

At that moment, the old woman set down a tray in front of Roan. On it was a steaming bowl of rice, grilled fish topped with seasoning, and a few side dishes.

‘This is the Ainsbury combo meal.’

Ainsbury was a small harbor town at the far western edge of the continent, in the kingdom of Yuten. The meal was made from seasonal fish caught in Ainsbury, a dish made possible because the old woman was from that region. Though it looked simple…

“Mmm.”

As soon as Roan took a bite of the grilled fish, a natural expression of satisfaction escaped him. It was like the kind of high-quality grilled fish he’d find at an upscale Korean restaurant, one he wouldn’t have even dreamed of visiting back home. This dish from one of Akerandir’s top three restaurants far surpassed that level of quality.

As soon as it entered his mouth, the fish’s oil gently melted away, but the firm flesh remained, offering a delightful texture. The seasoning, which could have been bland, filled the flavor perfectly.

This was definitely what grilled fish should taste like.

‘And there’s a special reason why this place is particularly famous among players.’

The more Roan ate, the more he felt a faint vibration in his core.

In God and Devil, there were two types of stats: ‘temporary stats’ and ‘core stats.’ Temporary stats fluctuate based on the environment, condition, and situation, while core stats are the fundamental capabilities of a character. The base was 10, with adjustments depending on a character’s talent stat. If one had a dark magic talent of 100, there would be about a 10-point increase.

‘Of course, after a certain point, just breathing could raise those stats steadily.’

Raising core stats was much harder and more valuable than temporary ones, and this restaurant’s Ainsbury combo meal could increase a player’s magic core stat by 1, but only once. 

Given that players often had to go through all kinds of trials to raise core stats, this was a small but significant hidden feature.

‘I figured it would be worth it, even if the food tasted terrible…’

But now that he was actually eating it, the meal was so delicious that one could die happy sharing it.

As Roan closed his eyes, savoring the food, he heard a sound.

Screech.

‘Huh?’

The chair across from him was suddenly pulled out, and someone quietly sat down. Could it be Demona?

Roan instinctively frowned and opened his eyes.

There was no way unless someone had put a tracking device on him…

“Roan Darc. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

However, the person who sat without his permission wasn’t Demona or anyone like him.

A chill ran up and down Roan’s spine similar to when Harden would suddenly appear before him.

Had Roan ever crossed paths with this character before?

He couldn’t guess. But if it was her, it was entirely possible she was playing such a prank.

“… Do you know me?” Roan asked calmly.

The woman across from him smiled knowingly as if she had expected this question all along. She was a fourth-year student, with a blue accent on her uniform. Her hair and eyes were a shade of ashen silver, much lighter than Roan’s, and they sparkled.

‘Yusina Le Fanelia.’

One of only two saints currently in the Holy Empire.