How To Survive Clichés

Chapter 9

【 Bumjae? 】

A moment of silence fell over the hall. Here and there, magic formulas were still being deployed, causing light to flicker, but all the students’ attention, whether they were still working on their spells or had already completed them, was naturally drawn to one person.

That person was Damian.

Whispers filled the room—

“Did you say 10 points?”

“Who got it? Besides the Princess and Aite, who else could score 10 points?”

“…Apparently, it’s the transfer student.”

At those words, Yuli Elloa, the princess, also snapped her head around.

At the end of her gaze was Damian, staring coldly at the mana doll, as if to say, “Is this really worth 10 points?”

The princess couldn’t help but acknowledge it.

‘I misjudged him.’

She had lived her life trusting her instincts, but Damian’s actions were continually surprising her.

First, he passed the dormitory placement test.

Then, on the first day of his transfer, he headed straight to the training room.

All of these actions defied her expectations.

Last night, when she saw him standing in front of the training room and instinctively ran away, she couldn’t sleep due to the endless thoughts that plagued her. She couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling just from seeing him there. But after seeing the traces of the magic formula on the mana doll, she was certain.

‘It was truly due to effort.’

Although she hadn’t seen Damian’s process of deploying the spell since he was sitting in the back, magic always leaves some traces.

The remnants of the spell Damian cast shimmered like a mirage on the doll.

Though it wasn’t powerful enough to burn the doll completely, the traces were smooth, clean, and every line was precise.

Enough to deal a critical blow to an 8th-grade magical beast.

‘I’ve heard that mana deficiency is incurable. How much effort has he put in despite that condition?’

There was something different about his traces compared to those of other students.

Of course, there were a few others who also caught her attention, but Damian’s traces, while they seemed delicate, were solid.

‘Has he been deliberately hiding his abilities?’

It was impossible for all of this to have been achieved during such a short break.

Consistent effort.

Even the princess herself had countless unseen trials before reaching her current level.

Unlike those who were born with natural talent.

‘Alright, I understand that. But why?’

She deeply appreciated his efforts, but no matter how much she thought about it, the fundamental questions remained unresolved.

Why did he hide his abilities at Calathio Magic School, and why is he revealing them now at Aethis Magic School? Moreover, why isn’t he displaying the same reckless behavior here that he showed at Calatios?

And… if his actions at Calathio Magic School were intentional, then was the behavior that endangered her sister also planned?

If so, did he know about the First Princess’s curse, which had been kept a secret?

In the end, there was only one way to find out.

‘I’ll have to ask him directly.’

If he knew about the curse, how did he find out?

And does he have more information about the curse?

Depending on the answers, Damian might go from being a “rotten seed that needs to be cut off” to a “seed worth watching.”

Yuri Elloa, the princess, thought this as she looked forward again. Then she saw Professor Morax, who was sitting on the platform, narrowing his eyes as he gazed at Damian.

It was a habit the professor displayed when looking at a student who met his standards.

“……!!”

Professor Morax distinguished between students.

For those who had talent in magic or sparked his interest, he spared no effort in providing them with magical tools, access to the magic laboratory, all sorts of herbs, potions, and financial support.

For students who didn’t catch the professor’s eye, they were “invisible” to him. Some called it discrimination, but the world outside the school was already full of discrimination. It was just the folly of those who had forgotten this reality while being sheltered within the school’s walls.

Of course, the princess was not one of those “invisible” students to the professor. While the conditions she couldn’t attain through her own power in Aethis Magic School’s environment, which emphasized equality, were tempting, she ultimately refused due to a certain discomfort she felt about the professor. Though she could never pinpoint what exactly made her uncomfortable, her instincts continually told her to keep her distance from Professor Morax.

Moreover, students under his tutelage who failed to meet his expectations or didn’t produce results commensurate with the support they received were often expelled.

Incidentally, Ian, who was sitting next to Damian with wide eyes, was also once a student who had received the professor’s full favor. Now, however, she had fallen out of favor not only with Professor Morax but also with other professors.

‘She’s practically on the verge of expulsion.’

Ian’s reputation was well-known even among the first-year students. When she first entered the school, she had demonstrated spells with the upper fire spirit “Blaze” and the upper ice spirit “Freeze,” making her a student anticipated to become the youngest spirit mage upon graduation. But now, she couldn’t even summon the spirits, and she was infamous as someone to avoid in team activities like combat training.

She was a 3-point magician, just as her 3-point test result indicated, having been lucky enough to contract with two spirits.

‘At least, that’s what I thought.’

As thoughts about her, which had been pushed to the back of the princess’s mind, began to resurface, a sudden, strong intuition flashed in her mind.

That one day, Ian would become a spirit mage who no one could easily rival.

The intuition, though unexpected, was always like this—arising suddenly, much like the ones she had relied on and trusted all her life.

‘Strange.’

However, it was unclear whether Ian would become a threat or an asset. She seemed like someone standing at a crossroads.

The princess couldn’t fully trust her intuition, especially after being wrong about Damian, but she couldn’t completely disregard it either. She sighed quietly, brushing back the strands of hair that had fallen out of place as she hurriedly turned around.

‘It would be troublesome if she becomes a threat, but for now, she hasn’t tilted in either direction.’

The princess decided to set aside her concerns about Ian for the time being. There were already too many other things demanding her attention. For now, meeting and talking to Damian took priority. His efforts were evident from the traces of the spell left behind, so he would undoubtedly head to the training room again today.

‘I’ll wait for that moment.’

The princess calmed her slightly confused mind and waited for the scheduled classes to end, and for Professor Morax’s spell explanation to begin.

* * *

‘…Why is this worth 10 points?’

My mana grade is C-.

Unlike Yuri Elloa, the princess, or Aite and Yoo Suho, I wasn’t an A-grade.

Moreover, my spell wasn’t powerful enough to burn the mana doll to a crisp like theirs.

As I stared at the doll in confusion, Ian, who was sitting next to me, glanced at the doll and spoke in a trembling voice.

“10, 10 points…!”

Her voice was small, but because the room was so quiet, it was enough for the other students to hear.

As a result, all eyes turned toward me, and the room quickly became noisy.

Ian, sitting beside me, covered her mouth with both hands and looked at me apologetically.

Whispers filled the air—

As I received the combined stares of childish jealousy, inferiority, envy, contempt, curiosity, and various other emotions from the other students, I felt slightly uneasy.

Among them were also “third-rate villains” like Damian.

Not only had I lost the opportunity to team up with highly skilled students in future practical training, but I had also ignited the competitive spirit in some of the others.

‘…I’m screwed.’

A headache started to throb.

Since I had received 10 points in the first class, it was certain that I would continue to draw attention in future classes as well.

‘Why?’

As I pondered why I had received 10 points, recalling the novel helped me quickly understand.

In the novel, the test was described in detail, including which spells might appear and how they needed to be executed to achieve a high level of completion. The professor always combined magic from various disciplines beyond elemental studies and magic combat studies to create the tests.

In the first year alone, students studied ten subjects: elemental studies, magic combat studies, mana theory, alchemy, spirit studies, magic swordsmanship, dark magic defense, ancient rune interpretation, herbology, and necromancy. The range of different spells in each subject was extensive. Students needed to have a comprehensive understanding of all these spells, and the professor graded them based on how well they executed the spells.

Since I remembered all of this, I could perfectly align with the professor’s grading criteria.

‘Especially the ignition spell.’

Looking around, I noticed that most of the students had omitted the ignition spell from their spells.

I sighed inwardly.

‘…Sigh.’

That said, I couldn’t just mess up the tests from the next class onwards and dismiss today’s success as mere luck. That would only increase the likelihood of getting entangled in bothersome situations.

‘Isn’t it less significant than I thought?’

‘So far, everything has just been luck. The rumors were true.’

‘According to rumors, he also has mana deficiency. Let’s see how long he can use mana.’

‘Now’s our chance to get revenge on the nobles. Damian Draco is the perfect target.’

This was the kind of thing they would say.

Among the “third-rate villains” like Damian, there were students who dreamed of revenge on the nobles or wanted to show off their magical abilities.

Of course, they would all eventually get kicked out by Yoo Suho, including “Damian.”

But that was something for later.

I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the above scenario could happen.

‘…Hmm.’

My initial plan was to maintain an average score, just enough to barely make it into the rankings where I could choose my opponents during combat training. But it seemed I needed to revise my plan.

To avoid becoming a sacrificial lamb in the various episodes to come, it would be better to stay in the upper ranks.

There was something else that was on my mind.

[Failure? Genius!]
– Participate in Aethis Magic School’s practical training and achieve good results.
– Difficulty: High
– Reward upon completion: Destroy the “Magic Failure” cliché and 10 QP

This was it.

The condition for breaking the “Magic Failure” cliché was to participate in the practical training and achieve good results.

It wasn’t as clear as saying, “Place 1st or 2nd,” but rather a vague instruction to achieve good results.

This might imply changing the perceptions or recognition of those around me as well.

If someone like me, rumored to be a magic failure, suddenly achieved good results in practical training, people would almost certainly attribute it to luck or say that I got carried by others.

In that case, I had to consider the possibility that the cliché wouldn’t be destroyed.

So, what to do?

‘Lay the groundwork.’

I had to stay in the upper ranks, gradually planting the idea that “maybe he’s not a magic failure” and then make a big impact during the practical training.

Finally, proving that I wasn’t a magic failure.

It was then that a cold voice rang out in the hall.

“Stop.”

As Professor Morax’s icy voice echoed through the hall, all eyes in the lecture room focused on the podium.

“Fortunately, no one failed to complete the task within the time limit.”

The professor spoke while looking over the scores that had been automatically recorded on the Wizard Board.

“As always, we will review the spell through a student competition. The student I call out should come forward.”

At those words, the students’ heads naturally turned in two directions.

Half looked at Princess Yuri Elloa, and the other half at Aite. This was because everyone knew that the professor had never chosen anyone other than those two as his demonstration assistant.

And that fact was shattered as soon as the professor spoke.

“Damian Draco.”

I couldn’t believe my ears.