The book was easy to understand; it felt as if I was reading a children's storybook. It had a few basic spells, such as "Magic Missile, Fireball, Wind Blade, and Water Gun," but I understood the theory of it.
To use mana was another problem. First of all, I had to feel mana, which alone took me two days. Well, the usual time for feeling mana was around a year, so it was pretty quick; I had S-rank talent, after all.
Then came the second part of the puzzle: the creation of a magic circle. It was a rigorous process. I had to expel all the impurities in my body. I started to vehemently throw up blood, but I could feel it—my body was getting lighter, and I could feel the mana in the air better.
Ding! [Congratulations, you have successfully created a magic circle. You have been rewarded with "Ring of Protection." Do you accept?]
"Accept."
I appraised the ring, looking at its description. It allows me to store attacks and release them whenever I want. "Sweet," I thought to myself, putting it on my finger. Quite a nice reward for a little bit of effort.
As the carriage suddenly comes to an abrupt stop, I open the latch inside the carriage. The coachman wasn't there. I cautiously open the door of the carriage, seeing a band of bandits in front of the carriage and the coachman running away. Well, I expected nobody would risk their life to help this garbage of a human being, after all.
"Well, they'd be nice targets to test out my magic," I mumbled.
As one of the bandits spoke, his voice sounded gruff and gravelly, "Looky here, we've got a noble bastard."
Another let out a mocking whistle. "He's so thin. Is he a girl? You know the type—one of those gals who cross-dresses as a man."
They all burst into laughter. As a gruff-looking man silenced them—probably their leader—"Hand over your money and we shall let you go unharmed. Refuse, and you shall die."
I smirked. "I refuse then."
"So you have chosen death. Kill him!"
The bandits start charging at me like a group of rabid dogs.
"Fireball!"
The fireball was bigger—bigger than I had imagined. I released the fireball at them; the flame engulfed their bodies. "Well, that's the drivel cleared out," I said, looking at the corpses of the dead bandits. "Now for the leader."
As I felt a sting on my stomach, a sword rips through my stomach. "You bastard!"
I fall forward towards the ground, my vision blurring against the road. I looked up, seeing the bandit leader standing in front of me, smiling, licking the blood-soaked blade.
"To think I will die so easily," my voice breaking.
As the pain starts to relieve itself—
Ding! [The "Ring of Protection" absorbs the damage.]
I stand up quickly, launching a magic missile towards the leader. The magic missile leaving a gaping hole in his stomach, he falls forwards, hitting the road with a thud. I walk past him, grabbing his sword and stabbing him in his chest for revenge.
As I sense another person in the area, I slowly walk towards a rock, looking behind it, seeing a young boy shivering behind it holding a knife.
"S-stay... back," he wheezed, the knife shaking so violently in his small hands that it caught the light in jagged flashes. "I'll... I'll do it. I swear."
"Why are you with them? Where are your parents, kid, and what's your name?" I asked, making my voice sound as concerned as possible.
I use Eye of the Appraiser on him.
[Target: Aiden Pierce]
Abilities: None
(Traits: Utter loyalty, Grade S talent in Swordsmanship, Courageous, Innocent Daydreamer)
(Health: Fine)
Thinking to myself, "He was never mentioned in the novel. If he's so good... hmm, probably got killed by those bandits. He's a good catch; I must have him no matter what." I smile internally.
"Th-they... died. Those bastards killed them," his voice breaking. "I'll kill them all!"
"You're too late; I killed them all already. And you'd probably get killed by them if you fought them with that makeshift knife anyway. Can you drive a carriage? My coachman ran away."
"I can. My father was a coachman; he taught me," wiping tears from his face.
"Then let's go. I'll pay you really well, okay?" I say while patting his head.
We both walk to my carriage. The rest of the journey was rather eventful; I trained in magic whenever I could, improving my mana control. After 3 days, the large towers of the prestigious Arclight Academy finally came into view.
I step out of the carriage. As I am escorted to the assembly room by attendants of the Academy, the vice principal, Robert Williams, gives a boring speech. And then comes the first main story event: "The Appraisal."
We were all escorted to a room, each of the students going in one by one. Soon, my turn came. Inside the room, it was completely barren and dark. The mana was thick here—almost suffocatingly thick. As I saw a woman sitting across the table, her silver hair seemed to glimmer with light from the candles in the room.
The table had a ball in the center. "Welcome to the first entrance exam. Put your hand on the mana ball and inject your mana into the ball so we can determine your rank. The darker the colour, the better." Her voice sounded bored, almost annoyed.
"Alright then, here we go." I put my hand over the ball, injecting my mana into it. The ball turned pitch black.
"Oh, would you look at that? You're half-decent, after all." Her voice didn't have the same bored tone from before. "You pass."
Then came the second entrance exam: the "Duels." Where Leon cripples Gray—but I am not that stupid Gray, after all. I pass the first round easily using "Magic Missile," the most basic spell, breezing through the competition.
Finally, the time came in the finals to face the protagonist, Leon Birch. I walked towards the fighting ground, the blond bastard coming from the entrance in front. We stood face to face against each other.
"It's nice to meet you, Gray. I've heard the rumors of your recent matches. I hope you'll give me a fight worthy of the audience's cheers."
"Shut up, you goody-two-shoes," as the examiner starts the exam.
Leon lunges at me. As the Eye of the Appraiser predicts the path of his attack, I dodge them, looking for that one opening—that one chink in his armor. "Found it."
I get up close with him, putting my hand on his back. "Fireball!"
Burning him, he turns around trying to attack me. I jump back. "Wind Blade!"
Cutting his leg, he falls to his knees. I stand in front of him, putting my hand in front of his head. "Water Gun!"
His head rolls back from the pressure of the spell.
"I yiel—"
I grab his mouth, stopping him from yielding. As I punch him until blood paints the ground, the examiner stops the exam due to Leon not being able to fight anymore.
Ding! [You've done your first act of villainy. Good job. Rewards: 25 VP ]