Mightiest Melee Magician

“……”

“Th–that…”

As the dust storm filled the testing grounds, none of the people watching Ruin could say anything.

Only soft exclamations could be heard.

All eyes were locked on the dust.

As the dust slowly settled, only the figure of Ruin standing in the middle of the field could be seen and loud shouts of astonishments were heard.

“That! There’s no way! What the hell?!”

The scarecrows provided for each examination was set to 30.

And Michael held the record with his 13 knocked down.

However,

“Is-is there only… three left?!”

It was easy to work out Ruin’s score, as it was faster to count the scarecrows that didn’t go down.

“What? 27?”

“27! It’s the highest record for <Multi-target Firing>!”

27.

The number of scarecrows that Ruin knocked down while using <Bend Time>.

That Ruin knocked d-

No.

Rather, he had obliterated the scarecrows to the point where you couldn’t tell which part went where.

The reactions from the other students were varied.

“S-so… uh… What did I just see?”

“Did he… just punch them while holding his magic?”

“That’s what you saw as well? I thought I saw wrong… But why is his movement so fast? I thought I was looking at a Swordmaster or something…”

“Are we even sure that’s magic?’

The professors were also in a similar state.

In the history of the academy, this was the first time they had seen such a performance, and had been shocked quite a bit.

“This is… amazing. To use magic in such a manner.”

Tirion gave out a genuine compliment, and Hydel could barely contain his smile.

“That’s right. This is very surprising.”

Of course, there were some opposing opinions as well.

Professor Elrick, who was frozen in shock, shook himself awake.

“D-Director, shouldn’t that disqualify them of their mark?”

“What are you saying, Professor Elrick.”

“Could we say that it was magic we saw? F-from what I saw… that’s closer to the Aura Blades that Knights use.”

“Didn’t Professor also see the Fireballs that were conjured atop his palm?”

“Of-of course I saw it… I have never heard of magic like that. For a magician to hold magic in their fists and punch with it… How sacrilegious… “

At the lengthening excuses of Professor Elrick, Tirion slightly narrowed his eyes.

He didn’t want to hear any more of it.

“We’ll talk about his evaluation later. How about congratulating Ruin for now? He probably has been looking forward to this for the last 6 years.”

When Director Tirion said it like that, Professor Elrick had no choice but to stop.

“Ruin, that was impressive.”

As Tirion started clapping and stood from his seat, Professor Hydel, not wanting to lose, also started clapping.

This spread across the entirety of the testing grounds.

“Good job, Ruin!”

“Congratulations!”

There were a few cheers and whistles as well.

Professor Elrick, seeing this, could only shut his mouth and silently clap along.

* * *

During the test.

I didn’t know how many scarecrows I’d hit.

I just destroyed whatever moved and continued to do so, even after <Bend Time> had ended.

As the siren rang to signify the end of my test time, I was quite disappointed by the number of scarecrows still standing before me.

But…

What was this?

‘3?’

There were only 3 scarecrows left.

It was the greatest record since the founding of the prestigious academy.

‘For it to be this much…’

As I looked around after being bewildered at the circumstance, the shouts of the surprised students were heard.

Followed with,

“Is that really magic?”

“……”

A large number of doubts were poured out on me.

But I didn’t avoid them.

Didn’t I expect this before going in?

The fact that my magic would seem weird to them, and that they would judge and show disdain towards things that were different to them.

So rather, I decided to meet it head-on.

Because no matter if I destroyed 27 or destroyed 30, my performance needed to be acknowledged as magic.

That’s why I held my head up high and faced the professors directly.

‘Mountain.’

I needed to be acknowledged by them to receive my mark and overcome the trial known as ‘graduation’.

That’s why they were a mountain I must climb over.

But… would it be fine for me to relax a little?

“Ruin! That was impressive!”

“……”

The reactions weren’t normal.

Director Tirion was calling for applause while laughing heartily, and Professor Hydel was also smiling while looking at me.

The mood also swept across the entirety of the testing grounds, and all 110 of my peers were also applauding for me.

“Good job, Ruin!”

“Congratulations!”

“……”

For the first time since I came to the academy, I was acknowledged for a practical exam.

My burning heart became warm for another reason.

I felt deeply moved.

Yeah.

This recognition that I couldn’t get anywhere else.

Maybe I needed it.

And then,

“……”

The crumpled expression on Michael’s face.

It was perfect. 

I could finally smile.

* * *

* * *

After the end of the <Multi-target Firing> test, the examiners all gathered in the main conference room.

There was only one reason.

‘Ruin Ardell’.

If they could say that the magic he performed could be considered ‘Magic’.

The 10 professors were sitting at the round table, and at the head of this table sat Director Tirion.

The first one to speak was Professor Elrick.

“Respectfully, Director Tirion and fellow professors, we all know and have seen today. Ruin Ardell has made a mockery of the test that should be fair to everyone. To use a different method while everyone else was trying their hardest with the correct one. I believe it’s only natural that we give him a fail.”

There were some apart from Professor Elrick who nodded their heads in agreement.

The first one to refute his point was none other than Professor Hydel.

“A fail? Are we going to give the most outstanding performer since the academy’s founding a failing mark? I can’t agree to this.”

“Didn’t he hold magic in his palms and punch with it? I have never heard of something like this ever in my life. Have you seen it before, Professor Hydel?”

“This was indeed my first time seeing it as well. But what Ruin showed was definitely magic. I will not deny this fact.”

“……”

As Professor Elrick hesitated for a moment, Professor Hydel stood from his seat to proclaim,

“Ruin followed the time limit to show off his power and created tens of Fireballs with a single casting, and he only took the test with those Fireballs. Ruin hasn’t broken any rules. The fact that he punched with magic? What’s the problem with that? If you hold magic and punch, does it suddenly become not magic? Ruin has had trouble with releasing magic, but he never gave up. Rather, to overcome his weakness, he trained his body for the past few months. This is the result of that training. Shouldn’t we instead congratulate him on his achievement?”

At Professor Hydel’s point, most of the professors nodded and showed signs of agreement.

But Professor Elrick started talking as if he couldn’t accept this.

“Did you see the casting speed of Ruin?”

“Of course.”

“He’s only a student, but how can he cast that fast? Collect, Empower, Process. He ignored these 3 steps completely. Many archmages, including me, would not be able to do that! He’s definitely used some cheap trick.”

A sizable number of professors agreed to this statement.

The movement and magic shown by Ruin had a lot of weird quirks that couldn’t be overlooked.

But Professor Hydel held his ground.

“Think back. What is the first thing we learn when we start learning magic?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“‘Magic has no limits. It is the land of infinite possibilities. Isn’t that why it’s such a fascinating and exciting endeavour?”

“We’re not here to discuss such things, stay on to-” 

“There will always be things outside of our expectations. If everything went according to calculations, would that be Magic or Maths?”

Magic.

A lot of magicians thought they knew magic well, but they were only in the area of ‘knowing about magic’.

The owners of magic were dragons, not humans.

And the humans who had borrowed this magic still had areas they had no idea about.

Maybe that’s why sometimes, magic would be created that shook the heavens and the earth, and magicians would be born that would change the world.

Also, each magician’s magic held a unique personality.

This was what magic was.

Even if we disregarded everything else, Academy Director Tirion put this endless learning and research about this topic of magic above everything else.

Tirion spoke.

“What Professor Hydel says is true. Magic is always a fascinating subject. Isn’t it natural that each magician has a specialty that no one else does?”

The magic Ruin showed was definitely one that had never been seen before, but to interrogate him on this was to go against the nature of magic. 

Sometimes, it was correct to leave it alone and let it flow.

For these reasons, Tirion was having a pretty good day.

“Today, I witnessed a student perform a miracle. A perfect magical miracle. But it seems the professors don’t think that way.”

The pride of the Radian Kingdom.

The 7th-class archmage who’s also the Academy Director, Tirion Ignit.

His questions carried this meaning.

‘I dare you to oppose this.’

The professors who knew this slowly started speaking up.

“What the director said is correct. This is a miracle. A magical miracle.”

“I agree. To overcome his disability and perform like this, I can only feel glad.”

“Right?”

Tirion’s sight had reached Professor Elrick.

“…ah. Yes.”

He could only close his mouth in embarrassment.

So, it was determined.

They knew that Tirion liked people like Ruin, who’d diligently train and strive, but for it to be to this extent.

His decision had already been set, so Elrick couldn’t object again.

Not just in the academy, considering the entirety of the magic world, Tirion was someone who you must never have as an enemy.

Professor Elrick clenched his eyes closed and said,

“…What the director said is correct.”

Then, Tirion replied while smiling brightly,

“So it seems all the professors agree with me. Good. We’ll end our meeting here.”

“……”

At this, Professor Elrick swallowed a thought into his heart.

‘Dangerous.’

This was dangerous.

For there to be a random kid that appeared out of nowhere and could threaten the valedictorian position of the Galehill child.