I Became the Dark Wizard Who Rules Over the Heroines

6 – Admissions-6

“The pace is too fast. This batch of students is really passionate!”

She eyes were twinkling at me, but Laila’s lips protruded in a smirk.

“Still, I am grateful that you called me for the duel. If a fight breaks out in a strange place, it’s not easy to clean up afterward.”

She looked at me and smiled blissfully.

Among the Academy students, disputes are as natural as breathing.

It’s not only the department of black magic. Knights fight to prove who has the more dignified master, who will raise the honor of their family and country.

Magicians fight to prove who can cast the grandest magic and whose magic is stronger.

“It would be best if they didn’t fight at all, but if there’s ever an incident where feelings are hurt, it’s much better to have a duel with a mediator. I hope the other students keep this in mind.”

Actually, from her perspective, it wouldn’t matter much if a few nobles or commoners from ordinary families got hurt in the duel.

But, deaths are problematic. In disputes among black magicians, people can easily die.

An ordinary person can estimate their own abilities.

Striking a head with a hammer kills. Slashing an opponent’s arm deeply with a knife could sever it, but it shouldn’t be life-threatening.

Unless there’s a significant difference in physique, you can’t kill someone just by kicking their gut a bit more forcefully.

Those who wield the power of light can gauge their abilities within these limits.

These are the people who need to train for hundreds, thousands of hours to increase their mana and to expel its destructive power.

If you accidentally hit with all your might and more power than your potential goes in and someone is killed by mistake, that would be no more than an excuse for a potential killer.

But, black magicians are different.

With a little more sacrifice at a moment, or if the contracts devil allows a little more, the intensity of the power can change dramatically in less than an instant.

The same goes for resistance. If one of the black magicians, who were fighting tightly, loses his cool and feels fear, the magic that was defending him might turn to attack him.

The more variables there are, the less safety remains.

“Now, both of you take your places. Wade, do you have a specific weapon you want to use?”

“No.”

“What about you, Viktor? According to my information, you use a sword.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

This was strange.

Although it was not uncommon for commoners to become black magicians, most of them would have been mercenaries, dealing with swords, spears, and bows before stepping into black magic.

“Now, will you both please step forward?”

This place, it’s an academy.

It’s not an environment for nurturing students like Claire or myself, who have nothing.

While we cannot simply disregard all classes, basic knowledge will be imparted. However, fundamentally, the purpose of this facility is for those who have already learned to blossom their knowledge.

“Ah, no…”

Claire closed her eyes tight out of fear, shaking her head.

I wished to comfort her, to tell her not to worry, but I knew it would be meaningless. She would not understand why there was no need to worry.

Hmm…

I can feel Catarina’s gaze. We haven’t made direct eye contact, but I’m certain, undoubtedly, that she is watching me.

She is definitely on guard, curious about my performance in the fight.

The students are looking at me, half in amusement, half in anticipation.

The man standing before me, Viktor isn’t anything remarkable.

I had managed to secure a decent guardian, so there was no humiliation, but he was still nothing more than a humble commoner, not a noble’s child.

I’m not entirely sure what the other students think of him, but it didn’t seem to be too positive.

However, they are all greatly mistaken. Everyone watching this duel.

No matter how I look at it, it’s not a big deal.

Surviving in the academy is not my ultimate goal.

This world will come to an end.

Black magic may be a powerful force, but it’s not an energy that can be used indefinitely without any cost.

War will erupt.

Mass destruction isn’t caused by merely using dark power to prevent natural disasters or fend off rogues or beasts.

Boundless hatred will bring the world to ruin. Black magicians will perform even more wicked acts, offer even more sacrifices, all to eat up other black magicians and instill fear in their opponents.

I must prevent that. In the absence of other players, it’s my duty.

This mere student altercation, especially between an insignificant commoner and myself, who’s not yet prominent, holds no significance.

If necessary, I can lose. A defeat in such a fight isn’t important in the grand scheme of my life, my plan.

So, this is merely a test of myself.

I’m merely verifying that I can use black magic and do so without paying any price.

“You made a good choice. Hey, you won’t die even if things go wrong, right?”

Viktor stood before me with an arrogant expression.

Scars dotted his body, an aura of battle-hardened experience noticeable about him.

“But, you’d still be dragged to the hospital from the academy. If you want to live long, pray that your parents have saved a lot of money.”

I mustered up my strength.

The entity hiding in the fragments of the void, or perhaps just brushing past it, is different from other demons.

It doesn’t converse. It’s not a matter of different languages, but a lack of willingness to communicate.

Whether it’s a demon or something else, I can’t tell. But one thing is certain: it doesn’t try to negotiate.

The moment someone touches it with a willingness to make a contract, it rushes in like a specter and pours madness into their mind.

An irresistible insanity, regardless of how strong or mentally stable the person might be.

Yet, I was able to endure this madness with an unyielding will.

As for the output, it’s limitless. As long as my body permits, I can fully absorb this powerful magic.

“Now, let’s begin!”

Leila’s voice reverberated throughout the lecture hall. Everyone was looking at Viktor and me.

He holds back. He represses.

He forcibly suppresses the magic that inevitably seeps out.

Then, a tiny trickle must be allowed to escape, as if drawing a single drop of water from a huge tank with a tiny crack at the end, like the sea.

“Show him your powers!”

He charged towards me.

Time seemed to slow down. Just like those moments in the classroom alone when I focused wholly on the tiny magic held in my hand.

I make sure my magic is concealed so that those who are observing this spectacle don’t obtain too much information.

A duel of dark mages is quite a serious matter. It doesn’t matter even if one kills the opponent.

But if someone dies here, it will attract too much attention.

It’s obvious that if a student of the academy dies in a seemingly non-dangerous situation, the professors would perceive me as threatening and try to control me.

For a dark mage, notoriety can be a useful asset depending on how it’s used, just like Caterin did.

But not right now. It must wait until I have established enough achievements, enough of a reputation that others can’t just control me at will. It’s not good to build notoriety just now.

So I can’t kill him. I must hold back my devastating power.

“Huh!”

There was no time to think further. The man, Victor, is filled with magic and is rapidly approaching me.

The distance is not great. This isn’t bad.

Given this distance and position, not many people would be able to detect the abnormality of my shadow arrow after seeing it.

A short, thin, dark rod that seemed to absorb all the surrounding light appeared before my eyes.

I fired it at him.

“aaarrrghhhhh!”

The fight didn’t last long.

The wound was not fatal. I aimed between his neck and shoulder.

His mangled school uniform was dyed black. So black that the distinctive bright red color of the blood didn’t stand out.

However, it was clear that he could no longer fight.

“Ugh, ugh, a-agghhhhh!!!”

A scream of agony burst forth from his lips.

“What, what’s going on?”

“Can he, can he survive?”

Even those studying black magic, most of them never used it against another human being.

Ordinary nobles learn dark magic, but they don’t injure people with it, like Victor.

Even though they might slaughter cattle or wild animals to collect blood or set fires on mountains to offer cruelty, they don’t hurt people.

Perhaps they may offer the blood of criminals or lowly commoners, whom they don’t regard as human.

But this was a fellow student here. Regardless of his status, he shared the same position as them.

It would just be difficult to accept that such a person could be so easily and simply harmed or even killed.

“Fight’s over! Both of you did well!”

Rave hurriedly ended the dispute. The others were still trying to comprehend the situation, eyes widened in shock as they alternately looked at me and Victor.

Just as expected, it wasn’t a big deal.