There in the dark alleyway was a black-haired teenager about the same age as me.

His human face matched with his fangs stained in blood made for an immediate impression.

“Oh? And what might you be looking for?”

His pale faded pupils locked onto me like a blind man’s.

With a severed limb in hand, he shoved it straight down his throat as the bodies disappeared within seconds. Chewing was unnecessary.

All it was were three men and not even a bloated stomach.

“Come on, I don’t bite.” He got close in an instant as he licked his mouth in front of me.

“You smell.”

Hearing my words, the humanoid creature burst out in a thundering laugh.

“Hah, like father, like son.”

He took a good look at me before speaking, “So what do you need? I know he’d come to me personally if it weren’t something big.”

“You said it yourself,” I said, tossing a bag to him.

“Oho? Good good.” He lifted his faded eyes from the bag as he said to me, “You’re much more charitable than your father, you know.”

“Get to the point,” I said.

“Kek. You’re no fun.” He tossed the bag up a few times to get a feel for the weight before it disappeared while juggling it. I witnessed a fascinating magic trick.

“Hmm, for this much I can do ten.”

“You know We won’t hire you for those kinds of jobs.”

“Oh?” The sides of his hair crept up like ears. Too much like ears.

“Who is it then?”

“The queen.” I knew he couldn’t refuse.

“The queen? Are you sure about that?” He looked at me, trying to decipher my reasoning. It wasn’t a face of surprise, but that of confusion.

“With this much, I can do the king for you.” He doubted my words.

“No.”

“Hmm, weird fellows you two are. Anything else?”

“No.”

“Good. Have a nice day then.” He walked past me, treating our previous conversation as empty air.

***

The world worked in wondrous ways.

In the span of a year, the empire was split into three kingdoms just like that. Three coups happened at the exact time, or so I heard.

Years have passed since then, and not even I knew the validity of those historical documents.

The nature of things here in the Gerose Kingdom were too peaceful, unlike the unease that laid beneath the Bonappett Principality.

I only lived there for the first half of my life. But that was more than long enough to distort my vision.

At one point, I had thought it was normal to be cautious of everything. Restaurants, for example, were only able to stay open because of illegal business. They were the resting places of unknowing travelers.

I was taught how to cook when I was able to utter words.

I was taught to do everything on my own and for myself.

Only eat food you cooked. Only drink water you distilled.

There were so many things I had to be on the lookout for, and procuring food had always been the hardest.

Most things were butchered on sight so as to not doubt its freshness. Even so, you’d never know if you were buying human or pork. Meat, for the most part, was a luxury—at least sanitary meat.

But here, I didn’t need to worry about anything. I didn’t need to think twice before using the bathrooms. I didn’t need a knife to accompany me in the shower. It was all granted.

I’ve thought about it many times before, but did I really need to do this? Couldn’t I run away and live here? In this kingdom?

Even as a student, I was treated this well. I could only imagine the life of a citizen here.

But alas, I couldn’t do that. Father had other plans.

I understood what he needed to do. So I would do as those people ordered us to.

And last night, I had done what I was supposed to.

‘I should go.’

Having put on the uniform, I exited the living quarters and went to attend my first class.

Combat Magic.

Today would be the first official class.

‘Lay low.’

I kept those orders in mind.

“Good good, looks like you are all here,” said the professor as he stamped the ground with his cane.

That was his sword disguised as a cane. I had seen many sword masters use this particular sort of substitution.

The knowledgeable would know not to mess with them. And the naive wouldn’t suspect a thing.

He was Rogustus Eigenvalue. An ex-mercenary with deep roots in the Wizard’s Tower. This was his 37th year of teaching. According to the documents, he is suspected to have ties with the demons.

As long as I didn’t get on his bad side, the plan would be smooth sailing. Having procured all hundred coins in the exam, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t get into the combative squadron.

It was taking a long time to be announced, but I was certain I’d get a spot.

“Alright then! Now if you thought last week’s classes were indicative of the curriculum, you would be mistaken.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw a particular boy inching away from me. Having seen that black uniform before, I have done my research on him.

Daniel. The first member of the Grimphon University’s Combative Squadron. His special uniform was a sign of that—an artifact that wouldn’t normally be given to students. Apart from that, his background was questionable. He did not have a household name.

Having witnessed his small skirmishes in class I could tell that his battle experience was nearing the level of someone who’s been through their fair share of life-or-death battles.

He also had a strange host of abilities, particularly when it came to unarmed combat. As far as weapons went, further analysis will be required.

He didn’t use weapons because he didn’t need to. That should be noted.

It was strange for someone so talented to be at an academy specialized in magic. If he had been a student of the Warring States Academy, I’d imagine he’d be quite popular. That didn’t seem to be the case in this academy though.

“I’m sure you are all familiar with how magic is manifested so I will skip all the technical stuff. If I am correct, a few of you already know how to cast spells.”

Spellcasting was quite elementary so it made sense that students of a magic academy would know how to perform it even before they were enrolled.

“There are nine orders of spells prior to complete mastery. If you have already chosen an element to focus on, then please continue focusing on developing that elemental affinity. For class purposes, I will quickly go over the second-order spells so that I can run a diagnostic on everyone’s level.”

‘Another diagnostic?’

I suppose it made sense. You can’t teach a class without having a rough understanding of where each student was at.

“You should all know what Magic Circulation is by now, and I expect all of you to know how to use it. If not, come to office hours. Anyway, first-order magic is summoned simply by ejecting the mana to your hands and thinking of the element.”

This was going to be pretty boring if he was going to keep explaining the logistics. It’s already a given that everyone knew how to use magic, so why was he wasting time?

‘Schools are weird.’

I kept that thought to myself.

“Second-order spells apply this principle by directly manifesting first-order magic into the physical world. From here on, spells are capable of causing damage depending on the raw input of mana.”

That was incorrect, at least not the entire truth.

“Show me a raise of hands so I know how many of you can do it.”

At that command, everyone raised their hands, including the student I had my eye on, Daniel.

“Well then, I suppose there needs no further explanation. Good.” He looked around for a student before pointing, “Eric Elric, come here.”

The blue-haired student stood up with a blazing look in his eyes.

“Yessir,” he said as he confidently trotted down the aisle. I didn’t like that smile of his.

“What element will you use?”

“Torch,” he replied with little respect to the professor.

“So Fire then. Show me what you can do.” The professor stepped to the side as a block of wood bigger than he appeared behind him.

‘Has that always been there?’

Eric walked up to the dummy block of wood and raised his hand inches before it.

“Torch!”

A red magic circle appeared on the palm of his hands.

*Ksss

The burnt wood let out a hiss as the flames dissipated.

‘Two seconds.’

Not even mentioning the power of the flame, the duration was trashy at best. This person had no talent for magic.

‘If he lived there, he wouldn’t last longer than a day.’

For such a weak spell that required a chant as well as a magic circle, he would be a horrible assassin, not to mention anything else...

“Good. You can work on articulating your mana better—.” The professor was interrupted.

“How was it?” Remarked Eric.

The professor looked at him. Probably thinking the same as I, before continuing.

“Like I was saying, you can work on the flow of mana.”

“So it’s good?”

“You can say so,” said the professor as his attention shuffled back to us.

For his old age, he was quite tolerant. If it were me, I would have put him in his place.

“Let’s get… Daniel. Yes, Daniel. Come here.”

Among everyone else, there was only one student with black hair. The devil’s print.

“Excuse me,” I heard him mumble as he passed by Eric who didn’t look too pleased. He was staring at Daniel’s special attire.

“Eric, return to your seat,” chimed the professor.

“So…” His attention went back to Daniel as his eyebrows perked, looking for an answer.

“Lightning,” he said. To which the professor nodded, taking a step back.

Lightning. It was an interesting element which a lot of assassins took interest in but even those with balls didn’t pick it. Compared to other elements, lightning was a mad horse that wielded chaotic energy.

I was expecting a chant like the previous person, but I was taken aback when no sound came. What, then, was it?

I’ll tell you it wasn’t anything I’ve seen before. The artistry accentuated the compliment I had in mind.

‘This is magic?’

Beauty.

‘So this was what flawless magic looked like.’

From his hands came a current of electricity that disappeared as fast as it appeared. The current was so scarce that I couldn’t even experience the change in light levels—not to mention, he did not chant or use a magic circle like the last person. It was chantless magic.

‘Chantless…’

Only magicians who have practiced a spell more times than one could count could intuitively cast a spell with reflex alone. Those who were new to a spell often had to resort to slower methods: drawing magic circles for one.

The utter speed at which the magic appeared was something that could best even the greatest of assassins.

My attention up to this point was entranced by the shapeless magic. It wasn’t until I looked at the wood…

‘Ridiculous.’

I knew I could blow that wood apart with some Earth magic like Spike, an element that specialized in brute force and durability. But this was taking it to another level.

“This…” Even the professor was shocked.

What no one would have expected was for the block of wood to be used as a blank canvas.

No one saw the lightning, but everyone could see the remnants of it engraved across the grains.

The wood was carved up by veiny indents, all forming together into a dozen trees—a forest.

Even the ashy blemish from the Torch spell would have stumped countless painters, yet its appearance was utilized fully as a black sun raining down on elven forestry.

This person—no—Daniel… Did he just paint a masterpiece with an elementary Zap spell?

‘Who the hell is he?’

No amount of artistic vision and magic mastery could accomplish such a feat so fast.

“This indeed…” Even the professor was stroking his chin in admiration!

“Ahem! Wonderful. Absolutely magnificent. Not only were you able to extend the likes of a short-ranged Shock spell to mimic the range of a Zap spell, but you were also able to manifest it in such a short controlled burst! This is a feat that only—Ah!” Having realized his position as a professor, he calmed himself down before proceeding with the diagnostics.

“Pardon me. You have done well Daniel. Now…” his wandered into the seated students, searching for a new target.

Of course, he put the wooden block somewhere else and used a substitute to conduct the class. It wasn’t just me who would have gone insane from seeing such masterful handiwork destroyed.

'Daniel.'

I don’t think I’ll be forgetting that name anytime soon.

I had a feeling he was special since that mock tournament in class. He did not move at all when he was facing me.

Most people would rush in for a quick victory, but he stayed put to analyze me—just as I did.

In the end, I surrendered because I saw no point in revealing my power.

'Now that I think of it, wasn't he defeated by that girl?'

I looked around for the one other person I had my eyes on. She wasn't here, oddly enough.

But I saw someone else just as interesting.

“Damn you…”

It was that blue-haired student. Eric.

'I should go to the cafeteria today,' I thought, sensing an entertaining event was to come.

Even though I normally ate food I myself cooked, this time would be an exception.

‘Interesting.’

If the food was poisoned, I think I’ll let myself fall for it.