"Pay it no mind. It's merely the Duke's little jest. Commoners can be replaced easily enough. Rather, you should consider it a privilege to serve as experimental subjects!"
"Y-Yes, sir!!"
And with that, fire, water, rocks, and all manner of projectiles came flying my way.
But every last one was stopped by the Sage's Robe, vanishing before it could reach me.
"Instructor! Our magic isn't reaching him!"
"Tch, useless lot! Alan, you should have just sat there and taken the magic like a good boy! I'll make you regret defying your instructor! 'Wandering hellfire, once more unleash destruction upon this world — Hellfire!'"
A roaring column of black flames hurtled toward me.
This was way beyond what you'd use on a student.
Forget students — this was lethal even for an adult.
"Fuhahahaha! That flame will not be extinguished until it has burned you to nothing!"
Let's put that claim to the test, shall we?
"Reflection Magic — 'Reflection'!"
A square wall of light materialized before me, bouncing the hellfire right back at the instructor.
"My magic... bounced back?! No — wandering hellfire, disperse—! Too late!!"
He fired off the same spell in an attempt to cancel it out, but it was too late. The black flames engulfed the instructor.
"H-Hot... someone... put it... out..."
In the blink of an eye, the instructor was burned to ashes.
He'd just demonstrated the full power of his own magic firsthand. He must be so proud.
He came to destroy me, so surely he had to be prepared for the possibility of being destroyed himself.
"…So, what's going to happen with class now…?"
The young lady from the Ratier Trading Company, who'd tried to shield me, muttered.
It's fine. There's no shortage of replacement instructors.
After that, every student present was questioned about what had happened, and I straightforwardly told them what I'd seen.
As for the students who'd taken the instructor's ramblings at face value and launched magic at me, I made sure to take their magic-type skills afterwards. Wouldn't want to forget that.
◇◇◇
"My name is Melty, from the Ratier Trading Company. Can I call you Alan?"
"Sure."
I'm talking with the pink-haired girl in the dining hall.
There's hardly anyone around.
The nobles have all either gone home for the time being or are eating in private rooms, after all.
"Thank you for trying to protect me. If you got used as a magic target every time, I don't think you'd walk away unscathed."
Melty seems to be about the same age as me. She comes across as pretty timid.
"I was born with a strong resistance to magic. And when I get home, we have elixirs, so I don't even end up with scars."
That's… hard to comment on, honestly.
"My father told me to go make connections with the nobility. I'm a merchant's daughter, so I've more or less accepted it."
You've got more resolve than most noble kids I've run into, Melty.
◇◇◇
"Director Fourier! About that commoner named Alan! To enroll someone like him — an uneducated adventurer with no breeding whatsoever!"
At the academy board meeting, discontent swirled over the decision to admit Alan.
"Watch your tongues. Duke Giese has exercised his recommendation slot."
"What is the Duke thinking?! He's far too soft on commoners as it is! Flattering commoners like that — could it be he's eyeing the throne…"
"The Duke must have some noble purpose in mind."
"Director! Stop dodging the issue! …I have always been against admitting anyone other than nobility into this prestigious academy…"
Same noisy lot as always.
This academy was supposed to have been founded to nurture promising mages.
The real absurdity was that it had quietly become a tool for nobodies' sons to burnish their pedigree.
Director Fourier would soon learn that the instructor notorious for bullying commoners — a hellfire mage — had been utterly wiped out by Alan.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse], [Divine Eye], [Sword God], [Phantom Thief Gentleman], [Dark Magic], [Rock-Iron Magic], [Holy Magic], [Spacetime Magic], [Scorching Magic], [Freezing Magic], [Magic Hand], [Seduction], [Pain Dulling], [Complete Status Ailment Resistance], [Fire Spirit's Protection], [Phantom Demon], [Thunderclap Gale], [Dark Spirit's Protection], [Monstrous Strength], [Thunder God Sword], [Fortune], [Clear Sky Magic], [Humility]
Rank: Silver (Alisa: Gold)
Thank you for always reading 😊