Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The magic of each school, which had brilliantly adorned the square, shattered the moment it touched Khal’s mana.

“….”

The heads of each school wore expressions of utter disbelief.

Slowly.

Even Ekaterina II, who had remained calm until now, was rising from her seat.

Realizing what Khal had done, McCally could not hide her shock.

“…Mana Break.”

It was a phenomenon that occasionally occurred when mages failed their coordinate calculations or mana control while manifesting magic, causing the spell or mana to scatter and break.

Fragments of the shattered mana were fluttering and sparkling around Khal.

“…It’s beautiful.”

Lily let out a soft remark, captivated by his noble appearance.

“What on earth just happened?”

As someone muttered those words, Chen Riddler, the head of the Sceletus school, approached Khal and began to protest.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?!”

Thump, thump.

His heart was racing uncontrollably with excitement.

The same was true for the other school heads.

Today was a day to showcase the research results they had painstakingly developed over time.

Yet, their magic had been pointlessly shattered by this mysterious transfer student who suddenly appeared, so their confusion was inevitable.

Khal smirked at the aggressive stance and spoke.

“I was simply demonstrating the research results of Onyx Square.”

“Wh-what? You’re saying that causing a Mana Break is the result of Onyx Square’s research?”

Chen Riddler looked at McCally in horror.

McCally shook her head vigorously in extreme denial.

“No! It has absolutely nothing to do with causing a Mana Break!”

Khal continued the explanation on behalf of the flustered McCally.

“The Onyx Square Mana Cultivation Method awakens the unique characteristics of the user’s own mana. Inducing a Mana Break is simply the characteristic of my mana.”

“…S-such a thing?!”

A murmur broke out as people nearby began to whisper, wondering if such a feat was even possible.

Khal walked past Riddler and approached Ariel.

Gulp.

Ariel, feeling extremely tense, swallowed hard. It was out of anxiety, wondering why he was approaching.

Did he perhaps know that Ariel was the one who had tried to ruin McCally’s research?

While Ariel watched him anxiously, Khal naturally slung an arm around Ariel’s shoulders and spoke.

“We were able to grace this occasion today thanks to the cooperation of student Ariel here. He asked us to become the protagonists of this stage, saying they would serve as our stepping stone.”

“What do you mean by that…?!”

Startled, Ariel instinctively took a step back.

Seeing the opportunity, Khal narrowed his eyes and said, “Oh? Was that attack just now aimed at me on purpose then?”

“?!”

The faces of the Sceletus students froze stiff upon hearing those words.

The same went for Professor Chen Riddler, the head of their school.

The Skeleton King they had summoned earlier attacking Khal was an unforeseen variable.

It had been out of control.

If there was any silver lining, it was that the summoning magic had broken and the Skeleton King had vanished due to the Mana Break characteristic Khal had triggered.

Khal manipulated this point cleverly.

What if the Sceletus school admitted their fault here?

People would become wary of them, recognizing the dangers of Black Magic.

This would naturally lead to a rapid spread of ill repute for Sceletus.

To somehow resolve this incident, they had to play along with Khal’s lie.

“Th-that is exactly right. For a long time, I felt regretful that the Onyx Square school did not receive support despite having excellent theories….”

In the end, Chen Riddler hurried to step in to settle the matter, and Ariel spat out a curse at Khal in a tiny voice.

“You son of a bitch.”

Unfazed, Khal whispered into Ariel’s ear.

“What are you going to do now? You’re going to be discarded soon, aren’t you?”

“….”

Ariel’s face turned pale at the chilling remark.

This was because Deses’s enraged face involuntarily came to mind.

Pat, pat.

Khal tapped the frozen Ariel on the shoulder twice before moving next to Chen Riddler.

He then threw a casual question at the rambling professor.

“So, in your opinion, Professor Chen, which school do you think showed the most outstanding research results at today’s conference?”

Chen Riddler momentarily scowled, unable to suppress his rising anger.

Both objectively and subjectively, the school that had shone on today’s stage was already decided.

“I-it is of course Onyx Square.”

He answered while desperately trying to mimic a broad-minded person.

At that very moment.

“Don’t make me laugh! That research is heresy!”

“How can you act like this after shattering everyone else’s research at a sacred conference?”

Other schools began to raise objections as if they could not accept it.

Professor McCally began to break into a cold sweat in her panic.

Snap.

A vein popped on Khal’s forehead.

If this were his previous life, he would have simply eradicated them all for talking too much.

But since he couldn’t do that….

“Then you guys must have been lazy with your research. What have you been doing for two years?” he spat out reluctantly.

“….”

“….”

That statement brought silence to both professors and students alike.

‘What did I just hear?’

Even Lily, who usually stayed by Khal’s side, doubted her own ears.

After a moment.

“Wh-what insolence!”

“What is that guy’s name anyway?!”

Every imaginable insult, except for profanity, was showered upon Khal.

Boom!

Khal stomped the ground with all his might while erupting his mana through his entire body.

In an instant, a wave of mana spread throughout the surroundings, bringing silence back to the area. In that gap, Khal opened his mouth.

“I am Kalliant of Onyx Square.”

That single sentence conveyed many meanings.

If you have a problem, step forward. I won’t run.

His burning crimson eyes showed no sign of embarrassment; rather, his attitude seemed to welcome challenges and criticism.

Chills!

Though brief, everyone present was struck by an inexplicable chill from Khal’s aura.

With things reaching this point….

‘I’m ruined! That guy isn’t just crazy, he’s a total lunatic.’

Realizing that the situation was beyond repair, McCally grabbed her head with both hands and despaired.

Fortunately, there was someone here who could mediate this situation.

In the heavy silence, that person burst into laughter, instantly softening the atmosphere.

“Ho ho ho ho, what a passionate student.”

Looking towards the voice, Ekaterina II was walking towards McCally’s front.

Rustle.

Simultaneously, everyone gathered at the Partes Conference knelt on one knee to show their respect.

Ekaterina II addressed everyone.

“Onyx Square is a school that inherited the Heart Method left behind by a Grand Master long ago. However, most of the Mana Cultivation Methods had been lost. Professor McCally here has been in the process of restoring them through long years of research.”

“….”

Everyone listened to her words with surprised expressions at her warm voice.

“To be honest, I thought it was a difficult task, but it was also a history I wanted to revive by any means necessary. And today, I have seen a miracle.”

At some point, Ekaterina II reached the front of McCally.

“Your research has finally borne fruit through your disciple. I express my gratitude to everyone who graced this occasion today. While every achievement is outstanding enough that it’s hard to rank them, I believe the brightest thing here was Professor McCally’s refusal to give up.”

McCally felt a lump in her throat as the days of her past struggles flashed through her mind like a kaleidoscope.

She felt grateful to Ekaterina II, who recognized and understood those years better than anyone else.

“…Thank you for believing in me.”

She dropped her head to try and hide her tears.

Drip, drip.

Tears fell to the floor.

“You are the protagonist of today.”

Ekaterina II spoke as if she were also moved and hung a medal around McCally’s neck.

While everyone around was wearing dazed expressions, unable to believe the current situation.

Clap, clap.

Lily was the first to strike her palms together.

Clap clap clap clap clap!

Eri followed suit and began to clap, and the people around them also responded to their applause, clapping all at once.

* * *

After the conference ended successfully.

Khal was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

Red mana surged within his body, threatening to burst through his skin, but it was calmly suppressed by the Onyx Square Mana Cultivation Method.

‘The results of reaching the 2-Star grade are quite good. My body is now moving more or less as I intend.’

Khal curled his lips into a smirk, seemingly satisfied with this achievement.

Right then.

“I was wondering where you were slacking off, and here you are. You crazy disciple.”

Professor McCally glared at Khal with fire in her eyes, having somehow found him.

“How can the protagonist miss the banquet?”

Khal tilted his head, seemingly not understanding why she, who should be attending the after-party, was out here.

“What’s the point of being in a place filled with envy and jealousy where no one truly congratulates you? Or rather, there were more eyes looking at us sourly because you made such a mess.”

‘I suppose.’

Old habits die hard.

Khal gave a bitter smile, thinking about his temperament that surfaced occasionally.

‘Rehabilitation is indeed difficult.’

He wondered if the day of true rehabilitation would ever come at this rate.

“You realize you’re getting stronger thanks to me, right? If so, revere me with all your heart.”

At McCally’s recurring demand, Khal frowned and asked, “And how exactly should I revere you?”

As if waiting for that question, McCally crossed her arms and said, “Looking at the Grand Master’s diary, it says that in the East, a disciple performs the Nine-Fold Bow to the one they serve as their master.”

“The Nine-Fold Bow?”

“It means to crouch and bow nine times.”

“Heh.”

Khal let out a hollow yet refreshing laugh despite himself.

Thud.

He then placed his hand on McCally’s head and left a single remark.

“Keep dreaming, kiddo.”

Snap!

“You crazy disciple!!!”

The two of them began to walk leisurely back towards the laboratory, bickering once again.

* * *

A night with a rising crescent moon.

In Partes, people did not hold back their praise for this achievement of Onyx Square, which had no prior merit until now.

While some spat out envy and jealousy, they were buried like silent echoes.

Instead, one figure began to emerge quietly from all around.

Nicknamed Khal, his real name was Kalliant.

He was a powerful mana wielder who could trigger a Mana Break, and his strength would surely leave a great legacy as either a knight or a mage in the future.

Because of this, people began to emerge who tried to find out where Khal came from… and some were preparing for a recruitment war to scout him.

Grit!

However, Ariel, who was lingering near the entrance of Partes, had no choice but to grind his teeth.

“That son of a bitch!”

Currently, he was plotting to drop out of the academy.

Now that things had turned out this way, the Sceletus school would not leave him alone.

However, his plan went up in smoke in an instant.

Just as he was about to slip out with the servants he had brought beforehand.

“Mmph!!!”

This was because figures hiding near the bushes covered Ariel’s nose and mouth, knocking him unconscious.

A while later.

Thump!

Ariel rolled out of a sack that was tossed into a dilapidated shack.

“Mmph!”

Gagged, Ariel struggled and demanded to be released.

However, the masked figures did not even spare him a glance.

“…Release him.”

Not until the words of one man fell.

Ariel’s pupils trembled at the single remark heard in the silence.

“N-no way?!”

Looking to the side, there was a man shrouded in pitch-black shadows.

Chills!

The moment his eyes met those emitting a golden radiance, Ariel’s face turned pale, and he slumped to his knees.

“F-forgive me. Deses, I didn’t know things would turn out like this either. What should I do? Should I donate all the assets I can manage?”

Deses did not say a word to the pleading man and rested his chin on his hand.

He was questioning through silence until he heard the answer he wanted.

How he would resolve the current situation.

Gulp!

Ariel swallowed hard and offered the answer Deses desired.

“I will slit the throat of that fellow who insulted the reputation of the school and yours. I swear it!”

“….”

Instead of answering, Deses rose and strode away.

The masked group followed him, but one of them whispered to Ariel.

“This is the last chance Deses is giving you.”

With those words, every presence in the vicinity vanished.

Ariel, trembling like an aspen leaf, clenched his fists and muttered words of hatred.

“That son of a bitch. I will definitely kill him.”