Crazy bastards.

This was my initial impression to Berial and Salem fighting.

Of course, anyone would attack a wanted criminal of the Empire, but it seemed like Berial was doing it more as a way to vent his anger.

I had thought he was a character capable of that from the start, but I never expected him to charge in without any warning.

'But in the end, Salem will win. Berial might be amazing, but Salem is a monster among monsters, bearing the title of one of the strongest beings on the continent.'

Their battle had repercussions even in just its aftermath.

Eventually, I had to pull back with Lucia to a safe distance.

Quaaagwang!

Listening to the continuous deafening sound, I realized that the battles between warlock-level mages wouldn't easily be overpowered by an Aura Master.

Even with that level of magical skill, their close combat was extremely powerful.

"Wow..."

Lucia watched the splendid battle with her eyes wide open.

Now that I thought about it, Lucia by my side would become stronger than those two in the future.

How strong would she have to become to surpass those monsters?

Kukugugung!

Kwajijik.

They seemed to be holding back somewhat, knowing that if they truly fought, one of them would have to give way. After all, if high-level mages like warlocks fought in earnest, the aftermath of their destruction could even wipe out an entire city. Although they retreated, we were unharmed, and that was all that mattered.

'Could Aura of Oracle be combined with Original Magic?'

I had that thought for a moment, but it quickly vanished.

The battle ended sooner than I thought.

Salem activated the magic circle engraved on his right hand to summon the Book of Dantalian, while Berial activated the magic circle engraved on his cornea to read a book. However, all of Berial's magic was dispelled before it could even activate.

'Whether in close combat or long-range skirmishes, Salem is close to perfection. As expected of Salem.'

In the end, Berial raised both hands and surrendered.

Of course, if it were a genuine fight to the death, they would've struggled, resolving their entangled formulas with Dantalian's Mark. But Berial didn't seem to have that intention.

"You arrogant brat. You're far from being able to beat me."

"Haha. As expected of my master."

Though the difference in abilities was already vast, Salem's demonic summoning magic, based on the contradiction of Original Magic, was an absolute disadvantage for Berial, whose magic was based on purity.

'That's why he offered personal instruction to me, who showed potential for contradictions. Is he trying to get ahead of his master, Salem?'

Perhaps Berial's objective was to surpass his master, Salem, in some way.

Salem seemed to understand that he couldn't do anything more, so he released his magic circles and returned to his normal state. It was a concession from Salem considering he was atteacked first. This must mean that he was reluctant to fight Berial.

"Feels refreshing to stretch my body after a while. It's nice seeing you after ten years, Master."

"Cut the crap. Don't do useless things with the kids. Just focus on your work. I'm leaving."

Salem calmly left after that statement.

His departing figure oddly suited the chaotic scenery around.

As he left, Salem suddenly stopped and turned to look at me.

"Be careful of that bastard."

Suddenly, leaving only those words behind, Salem truly disappeared.

And there we were, left in an awkward atmosphere, maintaining silence.

"I don't know how you got involved with my master like this, but I'm glad you're safe."

Perhaps the awkwardness was only in my mind, as Berial casually smiled and struck up a conversation. After all, I had already heard from Salem the reason why he was teaching me, so I simply accepted it.

"Yes. But Headmaster, can I ask you for a favor?" "Go ahead."

"Can you cancel Lucia Everlast's withdrawal?"

"Of course. That's not a big deal."

I deliberately didn't say much to him.

In fact, by making the request, I prevented any unease he might have about revealing his motives.

While he might not be the type to worry much, it was a kind of unspoken agreement.

'If Berial wants to use me, then I can use him too.'

Moreover, for someone with the knowledge of the game like me, sacrificing one Original Magic wasn't a big loss.

As long as my magical abilities continued to improve, I could create anything with the knowledge I possessed.

For now, rapidly improving my abilities with his assistance was much more advantageous.

"Thank you."

Lucia bowed her head towards me and Berial.

I took the opportunity to take out a healing potion from my pocket.

"This isn't a perfect remedy yet, but it will ease your condition a bit. It'll reduce your pain too."

"When did you...?"

"I contacted you right after making it, but I was surprised when I heard you dropped out. If you have any concerns in the future, just let me know."

It would be much easier to manage that way.

Lucia hesitated for a moment and then took the healing potion from my hand.

I meant for her to drink it immediately, so why was she hugging it to her chest?

"I didn't know... thank you, Senpai."

"Y-Yeah. Exactly. I don't know what exactly happened, but maybe we should start heading back? If we stay here, we might get caught up in some troublesome matters."

The fight between Salem and Berial that happened a while ago would have definitely caused quite a commotion even in the nearby city. It was only a matter of time before the city's self-defense force or the imperial investigators arrived.

With that said, we concluded our conversation and immediately returned to the academy.

.

.

.

.

The evolution of my Dark Magic talent was a bit different from what I had expected.

I thought that a gifted talent would evolve into a prodigious one, but the category changed instead.

[Dark Magic (Gifted)]

The term "Necromancy" was dropped, and it evolved into a more comprehensive talent.

Although it was unexpected, it turned out to be a good thing.

After all, evolving a gifted talent into a prodigious one was just a matter of time.

'Thanks to that, I can quickly apply Kyle's Shadow Magic too.'

My choices in battle had increased.

Although I couldn't apply it like Kyle right away, with time and practice, I would be able to handle it just like him. In fact, I believed I could use it even more effectively than Kyle.

'This might be a good opportunity to create an Original...'

An Original Magic wasn't necessarily an extremely difficult magic.

As I mentioned before, Original Magic was like a unique skill tree, and at the bottom of that tree were certainly elementary and intermediate spells. Creating those lower-level spells might be within my capability.

Of course, the process of creating spells in reality was different from what happened in the game, but I still had the core ideas and the final image.

'If I combine Kyle's Shadow Magic with Morne's Dark Grimoire, the result might not be bad.'

I had already been planning to turn Mirenea, the Fairy Queen, into an undead being. Considering the upcoming episodes, I felt the need to strengthen myself, and I was hoping that something good might come out of it.

'But first, the healing potion.'

It had been nearly a month since the incident with Lucía's resignation.

During this time, I had evolved the Potion talent in advance, and the evolved Potion talent had become a prodigious one.

Thanks to that, I felt like I could soon outline Lucia's healing potion.

'At least I want to show some progress before the midterm evaluation.'

The midterm evaluation was the first experience for Louis, the first playable character, after joining the academy.

As is fitting for a game world, a somewhat arbitrary joint evaluation between the 1st-year Knight Division and the 4th-year Magic Division was conducted.

Originally, this would have been the point where the 1st-year trio and Dianne would meet for the first time, but due to the exchange event, Louis and Dianne had already met each other. Moreover, the commotion regarding the Dark Magic Potion that should have happened around this time had been resolved early.

In any case, if the incident with the Dark Magic Potion hadn't been resolved, it would have been just an ordinary evaluation. However, the contents and schedule of the evaluation had already been arranged.

'The midterm evaluation is a week from now.'

This midterm evaluation served as a kind of preview.

In the Rodren Empire, every year, those who graduated from Rodren Academy were given the opportunity to climb the 'Tower' located in the imperial palace. This year's evaluation was a test that simulated that tower as a volcano.

The purpose was to let them experience the 'Tower' in advance, but no one had reached the end of this volcanic simulation yet.

'There is a hidden piece there.'

It wasn't exactly hidden by any means.

It was simply because of the difficulty that no one had reached the end.

If someone conquered this Volcano Tower simulation, they could receive a reward from the Alben family who created it.

'At this point, I know the strategy.'

I had played through this episode dozens of times.

In most of my plays, the commotion with the Dark Magic Potion occurred during the evaluation, and I couldn't reach the top. However, there was one time when various bug-like luck factors aligned, and I managed to reach the top.

It was quite literally a lavish feast.

In such a situation, you'd look like a fool if you didn't pick up the spoon.

'Time has passed so quickly.'

Checking the time, I realized that the time for my promised meeting with Berial had already arrived.

Berial and I had been continuing our private tutoring sessions under an unspoken agreement.

I knew roughly what his goal was, but since I had already found out, I didn't have much to worry about.

From the beginning, I didn't place much significance on original magic like the people in this world did.

Original magic was about creating magic centered around a concept, incorporating the magician's experiences. However, I had already created dozens of such original magics in the game.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I had lived through dozens of lifetimes that other magicians might not have experienced.

'Of course, I'm a Dark Magician now, and my talent is lacking, but that will be resolved gradually over time. There's no need to rush.'

In fact, I had become much stronger than anticipated, so there was no urgency.

The reason I pushed myself so hard day and night was simply because of my personality.

When I opened the door to the laboratory, as usual, Berial was waiting.

"Good afternoon, Adrias."

Berial's smile, with his lips slightly upturned and his eyes full of inscrutable intent, was still difficult to get used to. Maybe his feelings were akin to the satisfaction one might derive from fattening up livestock before slaughtering them?

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Then, let's go to the personal training ground today. You've already acquired most of the theory, so let's work on mastering it physically."

"Understood."

Learning from Berial like this made me think that I might soon gain magical talents as well.

Since I had done something in the meantime, I hoped to receive something in return.

It would be better to improve my abilities before the midterm evaluation.

I knew the strategy, but it was better to be sure.

'I should prepare new potions in advance and there's a lot to do.'

I was already looking forward to it.