How to Live the Life of a Demon

 

“Epsilon is over there,” said Lennox as he led Lucius to the entrance, maintaining a moderate distance. Once they entered the main building, Lennox pointed towards the left corridor.

 

He briefly glanced at the students approaching from behind before quickly leaving, as if running away.

 

‘Quite a long way to go,’

Lucius observed as he headed towards the classroom.

 

Not long after, he ran into someone familiar in the hallway—Hamel, who had reluctantly been assigned to teach magic starting this year.

 

“Luci…”

 

Hamel became conscious of the attention of those around him, but he only frowned while ruffling his hair and closed his mouth.

 

Come to think of it, it’s about time for Lucius to supply him with some mana.

 

Lucius understood Hamel’s frustration, considering it had been a while since his last meal.

 

He should call him out today or tomorrow. Nodding to himself, Lucius greeted Hamel and headed into the classroom.

 

“Good morning, Lucius…”

 

It was Irinushka who welcomed him for the first time into the classroom.

 

“Still, it’s nice of her to greet me first, since we only had a brief chat yesterday.”

 

“Good morning. You seem to be in a good mood today?”

Ininushka nodded slowly in response.

 

“Well, I listened to a brief explanation about today’s lesson.”

 

“What’s in the class?”

 

“For the details… ask the class president.”

 

“I’ll do that.”

 

As Lucius talked to Irinushka, he quickly examined the students’ wrists.

 

Rayel and Kian were the only two students that hadn’t arrived yet. Since they are the student president and vice president, he expected them to be on time though.

 

There didn’t seem to be any exceptional cases among the students upon closer inspection, except for three who had received the conspicuous ‘mark.’

 

Akan the Spriggan, Ratatria, a ratman, and himself.

 

‘This is interesting.’

 

Although he wasn’t sure of the exact criteria for the mark, Lucius was pleased with Arnold’s gift. His lips curled upward in delight.

 

“Good morning!”

 

“Good morning. Rayel, Kian.”

 

Rayel approached with a bright smile.

 

Kian stood next to Rayel with a bland expression.

 

“Lucius, we’re going to Warren Forest for our first class.”

 

“You mean the artificial forest the academy has?”

 

It was an excellent place designed to be no different from an ordinary forest, except that it was devoid of magical creatures or monsters. Given the importance of forests in the demon realm, the artificial forest received regular restoration and maintenance support.

 

“Yes! The theme of this class is stealth and exploration. The teacher will provide more details.”

 

Rayel’s wings were gently fluttering, seemingly due to his good mood.

“The forest is a familiar place for both you and me.”

 

“Yes, but I won’t let my guard down. It’s not just anyone’s lesson, but Teacher Arnold’s.”

 

Rayel and the other students were filled with determination for their first class. Perhaps it was because of Arnold’s notorious reputation as a teacher.

 

As he pondered what kind of class it would be and how it would unfold, memories of his previous training with the Demon King Army came to mind. Those guys had a similar feel to his classmates.

 

Seeing him smiling happily, Rayel whispered carefully.

 

“Lucius, can we talk privately?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Lucius nonchalantly got up and headed towards a corner of the classroom. However, it seemed that Rayel wasn’t satisfied with that. He summoned a wind elemental and cast a barrier to prevent any sound from leaking out. He seemed to have some experience in elemental magic.

 

Not bad.

 

“Lucius, we’ve decided that no matter what the class is, Kian and I will stick together in the beginning. What about you, Lucius?”

 

“Me?”

 

“Yes! Do you have any thoughts about sticking with us?”

 

“Is that okay? I figured you two would be together since you’re partners, as that would be more convenient.”

 

“That’s true.” (Rayel)

 

Kian suddenly stepped in.

 

They seemed to have fully agreed on the proposal to act with Lucius.

 

“The fairies and dryads have good compatibility, so you will have a lot to learn from each other. I don’t know much about fairies, so I can’t give him advice.”

 

“Do you think I will be of help to Rayel?”

 

“…maybe.”

 

Kian didn’t sound sure, but he thought that it wouldn’t be a loss to team up with Lucius.

 

Even if Lucius perfectly concealed his magical presence and suppressed his aura as much as possible, he couldn’t escape the senses of beast-type demons. He shrugged his shoulders and gave a vague response.

 

“I’ll think about it.”

 

Rayel and Kian seemed eager to hear a definite answer, but Lucius did not intend to agree so easily.

 

Rumble.

 

Just then, the classroom door opened, and Arnold entered, walking with heavy steps, interrupting the conversation.

 

Although his steps lacked enthusiasm, his gaze was filled with power as he looked at the students.

 

He opened the attendance book on the teacher’s desk and smirked.

 

“Good morning, everyone. How did you find the assignment I gave you yesterday?”

 

Perhaps because most students hadn’t been successful, there was no response from the students.

 

“It might have been easy for some and difficult for others. But there’s a reason why I gave you such an assignment on the first day.”

 

His eyes, which were looking at the students one by one, briefly stopped on Lucius.

 

“No matter what you end up doing in the future, you need to be proficient in stealth and exploration. It’s the most basic yet easily overlooked skill. It’s also perfect training for delicate control and manipulation of magical power. So practice diligently.”

 

Lucius nodded in agreement, recognizing the truth in Arnold’s words.

 

Seeing that there was no dissent among the students, Arnold took out a bundle of black cards from his pocket, unfolded them, and began explaining the details of today’s class in earnest.

 

“In that sense, we’re using this today.”

 

It was a type of card that concentrated Arnold’s magic energy.

 

Moreover, Lucius felt that the ‘mark’ around his neck was connected to the card.

 

That means that the card was equipped with a function that somehow recognized the person who is marked.

 

“There are a total of 50 specialized cards. If you find at least five cards hidden somewhere in the forest and claim them, you will pass.”

 

Students who were confident in combat exchanged looks as if it would be fun or that it wouldn’t be difficult.

 

On the contrary, there was a deep sense of frustration on the faces of some students with weak combat power.

 

There are 20 people. Fifty cards.

 

Only half of the students could pass, even if they shared just five cards each.

 

Arnold laughed as he scanned the various reactions.

 

“Don’t think that’s the end of it. It wouldn’t be fun if I told you in advance, so I won’t talk at length.”

 

“Teacher.”

 

When Lucius raised his hand, Arnold turned his gaze to him.

 

“Do you have any questions? Lucius Kendrick.”

 

“Is it okay to collect more than 5 cards?”

 

Not five, more than five.

 

Arnold nodded with a significant smile to the blatant appeal.

 

“That’s a good question. It doesn’t matter if it’s 5 or 50, you just need to collect them and complete the class. The end time is exactly eight hours after the start of the class.”

 

“How is it scored?”

 

“What you earn depends upon how much effort you put in.”

 

The students’ complexion changed dramatically in response to the following answers.

 

Arnold added an explanation.

 

“If you want to complete the assignment, inject magic into the cards you’ve collected. At that moment, your score is calculated.”

 

The atmosphere of the class was changed drastically by the question and answer between Lucius and Arnold.

 

The students who had been exchanging glances and forming teams just a moment ago, were now not even looking at each other.

 

The students were full of greed for points.

 

They were no longer classmates, but rivals, competing for a limited number of points.

 

Arnold clapped his hands loudly.

 

Then he spoke in a slow, small but clear voice.

 

“You have an hour to get prepared and gather in Warren Forest.”

 

* * *

 

Warren Forest was a work created by Druid, Dryard, and Fairy people for the training of students.

 

It featured various hiding spots and abundant plant life that posed threats equal to the students’ level. The magical energy emitted by the forest was convincing enough to put the students on edge.

 

Rayel, who was constantly admiring the forest, poked Lucius, who was standing still, in the side.

 

“Don’t turn your head. What should we do now?”

 

Rayel seemed eager to stick together with Lucius.

 

‘Even if I have no objections to following your lead.’

 

Lucius asked quietly without looking at Rayel.

 

“Do you have any good ideas?”

 

“Yes, we need at least 15 cards to finish the class safely.”

 

“If it’s five cards per person, that’s true.”

 

“It’s good to find a lot, but if you take a long time to find it, you can be a target for other students. I think the point of this class is to collect the cards as soon as possible.”

 

The simplest way to complete the class is to collect the cards.

 

The class ends in 8 hours and 23 minutes.

 

And there are still 23 minutes left until class starts.

 

Of course, if you collect the cards quickly and infuse them with magic, you can complete the class before then.

 

It seems like Rayel plans to quickly collect 15 cards and finish the class.

 

Lucius stroked his neck once. Then he turned to Rayel, who was still speaking.

 

“So we have to cooperate as much as we can.”

 

“If you collect a lot of cards, you’ll get more points, but are you going to do that?”

 

At Lucius’s question, Rayel shook his head firmly.

 

“Teacher Arnold said that the more effort you put in, the more points you get. He never said that if you collected a lot of cards, he would give you more points.”

 

“…”

 

“So there’s no point in collecting a lot of cards.”

 

Lucius was quite impressed.

 

Even though it is their first class, Rayel did not panic and made decisions quickly and accurately.

 

At his silence, Rayel looked at him curiously.

 

Lucius shrugged.

 

“You’re right. You don’t have to fret about collecting many cards.”

 

Then, before Rayel said something, he added, “It’ll all be taken away eventually.”

 

“Lucius…?”

 

“Rayel, I said I would think about it, but I never said I would go with you.”

 

Rayel frowned.

 

He looked a little embarrassed, but there was a hint of hostility in his gaze towards Lucius.

 

“Is that how it’s going to be?”

 

“As I said, I’m going to work alone this time.”

 

“It’s going to be hard to collect five cards by yourself, Lucius.”

 

“I don’t think it’s going to change much if there’s three of us.”

 

They say that too many cooks spoil the broth.

 

So how can you avoid ruining the broth?

 

It was simple.

 

All you have to do is get rid of the other cooks.

 

“Rayel, I’ll give you a hint.”

 

“Hint?”

 

“Let’s ponder what Mr. Arnold said.”

 

Arnold had laid out plenty of bait.

 

First of all, there was a need to review the explanation of this class again.

 

“It is a card with special processing. There are a total of 50 cards. You will pass if you find and claim at least 5 cards hidden somewhere in the Warren Forest.”

 

The subject was not clear.

 

Arnold never mentioned from beginning to end who would pass if he found and claimed more than five hidden cards.

 

All of the students just arbitrarily decided that the demon who found the most cards would get a higher score.

 

There may be only one successful candidate out of five, or there may be several.

 

Arnold said that if you bring five or more cards, you will pass, making the class perceived as a competitive class where you can demonstrate your abilities, leading to a battle for cards.

 

“If you want to complete the assignment, inject magic into the cards you’ve collected. At that moment, the score is calculated.”

 

Looking back on how Arnold conducted his previous classes, it was possible that he had something unique on the card that resonated with his mark.

 

Since he could only see it from a distance, he couldn’t get more information, but if he got the card and observed it himself, he might be able to find out more.

 

Lucius took a seat at an adequate distance from Rayel.

 

And Arnold, who appeared exactly on time, declared.

 

“Class begins.”