I Became the Dark Wizard Who Rules Over the Heroines

3 – Admission-3

Many students gathered, then scattered.

School had just started at the academy. The students’ wide eyes moved hecticly, hurriedly moving for lectures of their own choice.

“Huff…”

She had gained power. At least, she had secured enough energy.

But she had to learn how to use that power from a student’s perspective.

World knowledge within the game didn’t care about the students learning the minutia of magic.

I moved towards where I needed to be.

“Did you hear that rumor yesterday? About Katarin…”

“Terrifying, isn’t it? This year’s Necromancy class is no joke.”

Ignored the chattering of students in the hall, I walked on.

What I have to do is clear. On the brink of the semester, the time was brief, but long enough for me to put my thoughts in order.

I have confirmed that there’s no protagonist in this world. Then, I should take action to prevent the forthcoming tragedies, even the resurgence of the great evil.

I opened the door. The students, sitting awkwardly, stared at me with wary eyes.

“Who’s that?”

A student who was sitting first whispered to the one sitting next to him in a low voice.

“Don’t know. Seems like another odd one has entered.”

Ignoring their stares, I found an empty place and sat down.

Surveying the room, I found apprentice dark magicians, seemingly in the same situation as me, scattered here and there.

“With types like these, it’s no wonder dark magicians don’t get any respect.”

A student, who looked from a decent lineage, muttered while looking at me.

It wasn’t incomprehensible to me.

Those in this world that aspire to master dark magic, the power of darkness, fundamentally are ones who wish to get stronger easily.

Or they want a power bigger and stronger than what they could get from strengthening ordinarily.

“Probably fools thinking they can be dark magicians just because they’ve made it here.”

But the mere act of dabbling in dark magic doesn’t make everyone stronger.

A price needs to be paid for that. There needs to be a commitment to evil, and fearsome evil deeds that would make anyone squint.

“Without the backing of a proper lineage or dedication, even if you try to step into dark magic-“

His sentence was cut off as the door opened again.

Those who had even the slightest talent for dark magic had no choice but to turn their heads towards the door.

Magic permeated the air. This room’s door could barely contain a tremendous amount of magic.

“Oh, the study atmosphere is good here? Honestly, first-time newcomers like this…”

A professor with thick glasses and black hair subtly opened the door and walked in.

“Even a genius dark magician like Catarin would surely… achieve great outcomes in a place like this!”

Catarin, standing behind the professor, stared at the students with a cold gaze.

“That… might be the case.”

Whether he didn’t sense Catarin’s intimidating emotions or he chose to ignore it, the professor gave an awkward laugh.

“I’m sorry Catarin, we kept you waiting.”

“Yes.”

Catarin nodded slightly and went to her prepared spot, her lips tightly shut.

There were no assigned seats, but they knew. These young dark magicians with their intimidating appearances had left a spot for her.

“…?”

Then our eyes met.

It was just for a moment; an instantaneous moment that the others couldn’t even notice.

She looked at me. A mixed expression of wariness and contempt.

… Ha.

She noticed. Catarin was clearly not a good liar.

Getting the attention of Catarin wasn’t pleasant, but I wore it as a badge of honor. There was no need to act all modest now.

I shrugged off her gaze casually as Catarin nonchalantly moved into her prepared place.

“Now that everyone’s here… Shall we get started?”

The professor lightly tapped the magically crafted wooden board and wrote her name in lively handwriting.

“Call me Leila. I’ll be your dark magic teacher for the upcoming year. Let’s work hard together!”

Students without much intuition seemed to frown at her gentle demeanor.

“So… How many of you are here to learn dark magic for the first time?”

About half of the students raised their hands. I was among them.

“That’s a lot. Then, let’s get started by forming some basic contracts?”

Students who raised their hands were visibly surprised.

Anyone could imagine gaining powerful abilities suddenly, escaping from a state of inferiority and obtaining great power.

However, those who had already formed contracts stared at them with scornful eyes.

“But, you must choose your contract very carefully. I believe everyone here is fully prepared in their hearts, right?”

This is a contract with a demon. As she said, it wasn’t a decision to be taken lightly.

However, students who would consider taking this class would already be prepared for such things.

“Such fools.”

The student sitting next to me frowned uncomfortably.

He was right. Regardless of how amicable the demon the academy prepares could be, the contracts we’re making now wouldn’t be meaningful.

A black spellcaster who has not secured a fateful meeting with a demon, or an inferno of hatred so intense it can crush everything in its path, would not be able to use proper magic.

Ignoring her displeasure, the students began to line up and approach Leila.

“I-I’ll go first!”

“Calm your mind. It might hurt a lot, and it will feel a little disgusting.”

A large bowl full of blood was placed in front of them.

“Ugh…”

“It’s chicken blood. You’ll need to get used to it. After all, it’s quicker and easier than buying mass-slaughter with money.”

“Y-yes!”

“Put your hand in the bowl and converse with this nameless demon.”

“Ok-kay…”

“It’s a weak friend. No matter what it says, as long as I’m here, our students won’t be harmed. If it makes strange noises, go in with the mind of spanking its bottom.”

With his lips trembling, the boy placed his hand in the bowl.

“Uh, ugh…”

A painful scream flowed out of his mouth. Along with the sound, magic energy began to seep out, looking like smoke.

This was a contract. He made a deal with the darkness for power, and now he would have to pay the price.

“You might be quite shocked, it might be better for you to sit back there. If it hurts too much, you might want to visit the clinic. Alright, next person?”

Seeing the first person pass out, the rest of the students trembled in fear. But in the end, they all put their hands in the bowl full of blood.

“I-I’m scared! I can’t do it!”

“That’s a wise choice. You can change your major now, or if you’re still undecided, you can just attend class while thinking about dark magic.”

A frail-looking young noble burst into tears and ran away. Leila enveloped her in a gentle embrace.

Those who had already made contracts looked at her as if she was a joke but those who had completed contracts before class didn’t criticize her.

“That’s right. Even then, it’s still a wise choice.”

“It’s better to be an old noble concubine than to dabble in dark magic now.”

Before long, the line disappeared. All the students had completed their contracts. The blood that had filled the bowl was almost gone.

“Is there one more left?”

The professor’s gaze fell upon me.

“Learning dark magic for the first time, right? So… You’re a new student, Wade? Don’t feel pressured. Just come out and start the contract.”

“…It’s fine.”

“Is it? You can take your time to think. If you’ve already dealt with another demon, it’s fine to cherish that relationship.”

Layla moved on casually, but I was being looked upon with contempt by others.

“Didn’t you rudely face Miss Katarin back then… you were a coward.”

“Actually, you couldn’t say anything yesterday and you were just frozen…”

It wasn’t intended, but this situation could be exploited.

Being seen as a more brutal and powerful being was important for a dark mage, but ironically, it was also important to hide one’s power.

If you were a child of a distinguished family, you wouldn’t need to hide your power. Decades of family knowledge or secret methods passed down, you could obviously prove how you paid the price for dark magic.

But a dark mage who has gained power in a non-ordinary manner is different.

No matter how much dark magic is considered a necessary evil, a society could never accept someone who made a sacrifice of children, built an altar, and massacred numerous lives to gather power.

Unless it was an important moment, power had to be hidden.

“Now that the contracting is completed.. shall we conclude the remaining time with a simple lecture on dark magic?

There were grumbles here and there, but the professor easily dismissed them with a laugh.

Class started again.