The Academy’s Hard-Headed Swordmaster

It would be foolish to face the Aura Blade head-on, a weapon capable of cutting through anything, be it magic or armor.

Thus, William immediately retreated, distancing himself from the oncoming Kyle.

[Flight]

[Super Speed]

Two spells were simultaneously cast from William’s hands, propelling his body into super-speed flight.

Seeing him use two spells at once, Kyle realized his suspicions were confirmed.

Double Casting, a technique even the principal, who had access to the materials, hadn’t had the time to master.

There was no way William, not even a Master yet, could have achieved it through sheer talent—so he must have stolen it.

“Hahaha! You’re slow! You brute of a swordsman!”

“That damned spell-slinger…”

Kyle tore through the ground at full speed, chasing after William, but he realized just how formidable a mage capable of using two spells simultaneously could be.

William was accelerating while flying, while Kyle found his own movements hampered.

Suddenly sprouting tree roots entangled his feet, and rocks appeared out of nowhere, tripping him.

Gravity felt heavier, his strength weakened, and his speed decreased. These were William’s specialties: status ailment spells.

“—Stalling like this will put you at a disadvantage.”

“Disadvantage? What are you talking about? You, a Master, can’t even catch up to me. I could just fly away.”

William’s words were true. If things got dicey, he could just fly away and escape.

A warrant would be issued throughout the Empire, but no nation would refuse a mage with the coveted double-casting technique. He could seek asylum anywhere.

William didn’t even have a family, so there was no way to stop him.

“By the way, to create such a technique… the principal really is a genius. I just thought he was an old has-been…”

“What?”

“What, is it strange for a professor to badmouth the principal? All office workers end up complaining about their bosses.”

William rambled on about how you’d understand once you entered the workforce, and how noble young masters just didn’t get it, but Kyle wasn’t surprised that he was badmouthing the principal.

He was surprised that William didn’t seem to know who created Double Casting.

‘Did he hear from someone that Yuri found the materials in the library, and then steal them?’

His tone made it sound like he had been regularly sneaking into the principal’s office and stealing materials.

After a moment of thought, Kyle shook his head, clearing his mind.

It didn’t matter why William stole the technique.

He would find out everything after he caught him.

Capturing him was the priority, not deducing his motives.

‘I can’t catch him just by running.’

His enemy was a mage capable of three-dimensional flight.

Kyle was a swordsman who couldn’t even change direction once he was airborne. To catch William in the air, he needed to gain the ability to fly.

But how?

‘Woooosh—’ Aura erupted from beneath his feet.

Kyle, who had been glaring at William, shot up into the air as if exploding.

“How foolish. How do you intend to defeat a mage in the air—?”

The moment William tried to cast a spell at Kyle, Kyle condensed the Aura beneath his feet, creating a foothold.

He stepped on the condensed Aura platform and changed direction in mid-air.

After changing direction, he created another Aura platform and jumped again.

Aura — Aerial Stepping.

Seeing Kyle changing directions haphazardly in mid-air and approaching him, William hardened his expression and immediately generated an arc discharge around his body.

Aura Master or not, if his body was paralyzed by electricity, he wouldn’t be able to move—

“Uh…?”

“Seems like you don’t know jack shit about Masters.”

However, William had miscalculated one thing.

A 4-Star Mage capable of Double Casting was certainly powerful, but an Aura Master wasn’t someone who could be defeated by that alone.

He could be a nuisance, but ultimately, the only thing that could inflict decisive damage was another Master-level spell, at least a 5-Star spell.

A realm of magic that the 4-Star Mage William had yet to reach.

“That won’t work—!”

‘Whiiiish—!’

Kyle swung his sword, striking William’s head.

Hit by the flat of the blade, William plummeted towards the ground.

Kyle approached William, who had crashed into the ground, creating a crater, and realized he was unconscious.

He was knocked out with one hit, yet he caused so much trouble…

‘If he knew anything about Masters, he would have run away the moment he saw me.’

Intoxicated by the double-casting technique, he failed to properly gauge the difference in their levels. That was William’s downfall.

Kyle immediately grabbed William by the scruff of his neck and dragged him towards the principal’s office.

Late at night, the principal, who usually worked late, had left for the day.

Kyle plopped down on the sofa and looked for something to tie William up with.

“Is there any rope or something…”

He rummaged through the principal’s drawers, figuring a pervert like him would have rope, but he couldn’t find any.

In the end, Kyle secured William’s limbs with his Aura, realizing he would have to keep watch himself.

“Ugh, looks like I’m pulling an all-nighter.”

He was tired after exerting himself, but he couldn’t let William escape, so Kyle stayed up all night.

***

Early morning, arriving at work with the sunrise, the principal paused at the sight of his unlocked office.

After the recent theft, he had increased security, but had he been robbed again?

Why was his office such a popular target for thieves?—Sighing, the principal prepared a spell, just in case, and opened the door.

“Ah, you’re finally here.”

“…Student Kyle?”

“Haaawm— Oh, I’m tired.”

Kyle, who had been waiting for the principal while yawning on the sofa, tossed something he had been sitting on.

The principal caught it with magic and realized it was William Taylor, the magic department professor.

“Professor William? Student Kyle, what is the meaning of this…?”

“He’s the culprit behind the theft. He confessed himself.

So I apprehended him last night— I couldn’t hand a 4-Star Mage over to some security guard. So I kept watch, you know.”

‘Haaawm—’

Yawning, Kyle stretched and got up from the sofa as if he had done his duty.

The principal stared at him with a bewildered expression.

“Professor William was cleared of suspicion during the investigation. How did you know he was the culprit?”

“Ah, that. I thought he was the only possible suspect, so I pretended to be a robber and told him to hand over the stolen goods—and he offered to give me the materials. Okay?”

“…Student Kyle, that’s illegal.”

“Exactly, so this is a secret between you and me. Got it?”

The principal watched Kyle leave the office and then looked at William, who was still bound.

The investigation method was illegal, but—the law was something the principal could manipulate at will.

He could simply change it to William confessing out of guilt, and there wouldn’t be any problems.

The principal sighed and looked down at William.

“Professor William, wake up.”

“…Have I been caught, Principal?”

“Student Kyle probably knew as well.”

‘Click, click—’

The principal’s magic bound William’s limbs.

Unlike Kyle’s crude Aura restraints, this spell was structurally beautiful.

After restraining William, the principal’s eyes began to glow with magic power.

“You have some nerve, breaking into my office and stealing my things.”

“Principal, let’s make a deal. The fact that Kyle Meyer is a Master—”

“The fact that he’s a Master, what?”

The principal glared at William, exuding a menacing aura.

Unfortunately, William wasn’t in a position to bargain with the principal.

He had to unilaterally kneel, beg, and plead for his life.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know something like that? Everything that happens within this Academy is within the palm of my hand.”

“Ha, haha— Are you saying that even though you didn’t know I stole the materials from you?”

“Yes. So now—I need to find out how you managed to steal them.”

‘Grab—’

The principal seized William’s head and, with a sinister grin, began chanting a spell.

Realizing what the spell was, William struggled to break free from his restraints.

But alas, he was already bound, unable to use his magic power, and there was no way he could defend against a spell cast by a mage of a higher caliber.

“Ugh, uuugh!?”

“First, let’s unfold every wrinkle in your brain and find out what you were thinking.”

“Aaaaagh—!”

Pain, like having every wrinkle in his brain scraped with an iron rod, washed over William. A horrific time.

The unethical time of a mage.

Fortunately, only mages were present.

The principal began to scan through William’s memories and knowledge, one by one.

And before long, he found out where the stolen materials were.

***

I slept all day.

Literally all day.

I woke up after sunset and realized I was starving.

It was a good thing I came back to the mansion instead of the dormitory.

The Academy cafeteria was closed outside of designated hours, so I couldn’t get anything to eat there.

‘Groan—’

Stretching, I left my room and headed to the maids’ quarters.

I asked them to make me a simple snack, and they hurried to prepare something.

I felt a little bad asking for food at this late hour, but what could they do? They had to do as their master commanded.

“Young Master, it’s ready.”

“Ah, thanks.”

As I ate the dinner the maids prepared, I wondered how William had passed the investigation.

Force abilities activated instantaneously, and even a Master couldn’t avoid them if caught off guard—there was no way William, a mere Expert, could have blocked it.

‘What method did he use?’

Lost in thought, I wondered if William might be innocent after all. He must be guilty, right?

…Right?

***

On a landscaped walkway within the Academy.

A woman humming a tune realized that one of her connected ports had been severed.

“Oh my, Professor.”

It was Professor William’s port.

Had he been caught? Well, he had a useful ability, so she had used him frequently.

She let out a wry smile, as if it couldn’t be helped, and continued humming.

As she sang, four students approached her from afar.

“Whew— I heard someone singing and came to check, and it’s a cute young lady.”

“Hey, hey, this girl is that commoner girl.”

“What? A commoner? Ha, what a lady. She’s just a whore, damn it…”

As soon as they realized she was a commoner, the seemingly noble students changed their tone and demeanor.

Looking at her with contempt, they began to reach out to her, as if this was a welcome opportunity.

“This works out perfectly. Let’s just fuck her here—”

“Get lost.”

“What? What did this commoner bitch just…?”

“I said get lost, didn’t you hear me?”

As she raised her voice in anger, the men who were trying to touch her froze stiff.

Confirming that her ability had taken effect, she ordered them:

“Go back to your dorms. Go back and jerk each other off. And forget you ever saw me. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

“Then get out of here.”

Watching the students walk away dejectedly, she sighed softly.

There were too many of them in this academy. Damn nobles who looked down on and disregarded commoners just because they were nobles.

There was only one exception.

She thought of his face and began to hum softly. Even in the cold night air, her face was flushed.