Chapter 97
The next day.
I decided to examine the stats of the students and professors.
I should know roughly how strong my classmates are.
For starters, let's look at that guy standing around blankly over there.
“Y-you! Yumia!”
“Huh? Who?”
“W-what!? Because you did your assignments so well, people like me have to undergo hell training from Karnarof…!”
“Oh, you’re that guy?”
I'd heard Karnarof had been putting guys like him through the wringer since the midterms.
He really was weak, though.
“Karnarof only puts Combat Department students through the wringer! But then you showed up, and I ended up getting put through it too!”
“Was it really that bad?”
“Do you even know the hell we went through?”
“Nope.”
There was no way I knew anything about someone else's suffering.
“W-what!”
“But honestly, it was hell for me too. There were tons of assignments, and Karnarof kept hounding me to practice…”
When I protested, Oliver said with a stiff expression,
“What are you trying to say? That it was hard for you too?”
“No. I mean, wouldn’t it be less unfair to me if you guys fell into hell too?”
“W-what?”
While he marveled at my logical reasoning, I decided to inspect his stats.
‘Observation Eye.’
[Oliver Vernia]
First-year, rank 50.
As a scion of the Marquisate of Vernia, he was born with decent talent.
Ability: [Basic Attack Magic (SR-)]
Stats: [Durability (D+)] [Endurance (D)] [Strength (D)] [Agility (D)] [Mana (B+++)] [Technique (E+)]
Trait: [Young Master of the Marquisate of Vernia (R)]
Hmm.
Only his mana was decent; his other stats were nothing special.
What was “Young Master”?
It didn't seem to be a Unique Magic.
‘Anyway, pretty high.’
He was also one of the stronger students among the first-years.
And judging by how well versed he seemed in Basic Attack Magic, Karnarof's hell training appeared to have borne fruit.
“Oz Caster, Silver Shoes.”
“What are you…?”
Oliver looked around for me after I suddenly disappeared, but I had already left his field of vision.
As I searched for my next target,
“Oh, he’s here too.”
I spotted a handsome, heavily built young man in the distance.
He was the guy who had sparred with me in Karnarof's class during the first semester.
He'd stuck in my memory because he had a rather fascinating Unique Magic.
[Allen Valtor]
First-year, rank 8.
Abilities: [Basic Attack Magic (SR+)], [Royal Casting (SR)]
Stats: [Durability (C+)] [Endurance (C+)] [Strength (C+)] [Agility (C-)] [Mana (A++)] [Technique (B+)]
Traits: [Mage's Talent (SR)] [Gambler's Instinct (SR)]
…He’s way better than I expected.
His mana alone was higher than mine.
As I sat observing from a tree, a hearty voice came from behind me.
“Ho! So you’re that first-year!”
Blue slicked-back hair.
Tall, sharply slanted eyes that gleamed like an eagle's.
A dark red cape.
And above all, a vast amount of mana that I could feel with startling clarity.
“Who are you?”
“My apologies for the late introduction. I’m Aurelius Valerian, the fourth-year top student. I stopped by regarding the exchange meet.”
I pretended to be relaxed, but I was quite impressed.
There wasn't a single opening in the man himself.
Was that how strong a fourth-year top student was?
I could tell from his mana alone.
He was S-rank.
Even so, he showed up fairly well under Observation Eye.
[Aurelius Valerian]
Abilities: [Ultimate Attack Magic (UR)], [Chariot Flame (SSR)], [Body Enhancement (SR)]
Stats
[Durability (B-)] [Endurance (C)] [Strength (C+)] [Agility (A+)] [Mana (S+++)] [Technique (S-)]
Trait: [Rank 5 Mage (SR)]
‘I want to fight him.’
To be blunt, I wanted to clash with him.
I was confident I could overwhelm him in every stat except mana.
He'd be a difficult opponent if I didn't use dragon mana, but if I did?
‘Though he does have Body Enhancement, so would he still be difficult?’
I'd never properly used Body Enhancement, so I didn't know, but at least Karnarof, when using Body Enhancement, had overwhelmed me in hand-to-hand combat.
As I slowly took him apart with my gaze, he spoke quietly.
“You have the eyes of a predator. Is that how you managed to become top student with no more mana than a commoner?”
“Pardon?”
“You needn’t hide it. The mana I sense from you is at a commoner’s level. Anyone with good eyes can tell.”
You seem to have holes for eyes.
“I can scarcely imagine how much effort is contained in that small frame of yours. Hrk, you must have practiced without even sleeping!”
He swallowed back tears, apparently deeply moved.
“Uh…”
I slept just fine.
If anything, Aris had forced me to sleep, insisting that getting enough sleep was part of studying.
I wanted to stay awake longer.
“I wasn’t able to watch your duel with the other top student because I had business to attend to, but to defeat a half-dragon and win even with summoning magic! You did wonderfully!!”
“That’s not quite how it happened…”
I didn't use summoning magic.
“Anyway, I’ll be going now!”
And with that, the upperclassman vanished like the wind.
“Ugh…”
The misunderstandings just keep piling up.
Well, I got to see his stats, so that's enough.
* * *
[The observed target's stats are too high! Observation Eye's rank is insufficient!]
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Isabel smiled sweetly at me.
…Even this doesn't work?
Just how strong is she?
‘Sigh, let’s just deliver the goods.’
I brought over the potion set I'd made and placed it in front of Isabel.
“Fifty beginner potions and fifty intermediate potions. Please check them.”
“You’ve already made them? It hasn’t even been a few months since I gave you the intermediate recipe!”
“Yep.”
Every single one of them was top-quality, too.
Isabel's gaze swept over me once.
My entire body tingled beneath that gaze.
To shake off the feeling, I decided to offer her a bribe.
“And this is a gift.”
“Oh my.”
What I held out was a set of premium pastries.
When I included tea leaves as well, Isabel's face brightened considerably.
She apparently hadn't expected to receive anything like this.
“I hope you enjoy them. Well, I have something urgent to take care of…”
“Sure! I’ll enjoy them!”
While Isabel opened the shopping bag, I quietly slipped out of the laboratory.
After safely escaping Isabel's lab, I realized I'd forgotten something important.
‘Ah. I didn’t get paid.’
***
“This is a magic circle for beginner-magic encryption. It activates before the actual spell is cast and scatters the structure…”
Somehow, I managed to collect the payment and the ingredients for the next batch of potions, then went to afternoon class, but
Karnarof still wouldn't let me get away with anything.
[The observed target's stats are too high! Observation Eye's rank is insufficient!]
‘At this rate, I should assume professors are simply off-limits.’
Just then, I saw Professor Georgia passing by outside the window.
Without thinking, I directed Observation Eye at him.
[The observed target's stats have reached the observation limit! The observable range is restricted!]
[Georgia Klumbel]
A mid-level figure in the Noble faction, he has recently grown dissatisfied with his treatment.
Abilities: [Ultimate Attack Magic (UR)], [Devil's Elixir (???)],…
Stats
[Durability (B)] [Endurance (B)] [Strength (C+)] [Agility (B+)] [Mana (SS-)] [Technique (E)]
Traits: [Demonic Corruption (???)],…
‘This one works?’
And honestly, I was surprised.
SS-rank.
Of the world's top S-rank Hunters, half had a highest stat that topped out at S-rank.
Only a tiny handful could break through the wall of SS.
Even Professor Georgia was SS-rank?
Well, I suppose he couldn't have become a professor otherwise.
But there was something more important.
‘So he really was connected to the demons.’
Should I tell Karnarof about this?
As I turned my gaze forward,
“You seem to have time to spare.”
Karnarof was there, staring at me expressionlessly.
“Eek.”
This is going in a strange direction.
“Many students have been unable to focus on class since the exchange meet.”
“I shall assign an extra task to be completed by the midterms.”
“Kyaaaah!”
“Noooo!!”
Several of us, myself included, screamed.
Some of them even shot me resentful looks.
“I shall grant you permission to borrow books from the second floor and above of the library. Interpret one magic circle and write a report on it.”
“Gyaaaah…”
I didn't see this coming.
I will never forgive you, Karnarof.
* * *
That night, I was sitting on the roof.
I was flipping through a book I'd borrowed from the library's second floor—in other words, the second-year section—and writing a report.
I moved a pen through the air with Scribe Magic and muttered to myself.
“This is pretty interesting.”
I examined the professors with Observation Eye.
Most professors had mana exceeding the SS rank.
In other words, they showed up as ???.
‘Professor Silariel had Nature-Friendly.’
Professor Celine in the infirmary didn't have her Technique stat displayed at all.
The professors in the Magical Engineering Department sometimes didn't have particularly high mana, but
Bern, the department head, couldn't be viewed, and everything from his uniform to his rings, bracers, monocle, and all the rest were magical tools of UR rank or higher.
Some couldn't even be observed at all.
I sensed mana that was suspiciously powerful from every one of them.
‘This reminds me of someone flying around downtown New York in a suit.’
Then, this was the last one.
I threw the report away.
I immediately hopped toward the western forest and headed for the clearing I usually visited.
A winged woman sitting on the rocky ground caught my eye.
“Adrian!”
Just as I was about to greet her cheerfully and use Observation Eye,
Adrian looked at me.
[Danger! The target's extremely high authority is interfering with Observation Eye!]
[Result: Overwhelmed]
[The attempt to view Observation Eye has been blocked!]
And when I came to my senses, Adrian was staring straight at me from midair.
With a mischievous smile.
“Big sis, you really shouldn’t try looking at me with those eyes.”
“Eek.”
She caught me.
“Would it hurt to show me a little?”
“No? Information can sometimes damage the body, you know.”
As she said that, Adrian lightly poked me in the forehead.
“Ah, yes ma’am.”
…I got scolded.
“Besides, even without using those eyes, you’ll be able to see it someday, won’t you?”
Well, my real purpose had simply been to hang out with Adrian.
I took out the food and conversation topics I'd brought, and Adrian returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
***
Now I knew more or less.
Fourth-years were fairly strong.
Professors were simply strong.
Isabel and Karnarof were ridiculously strong.
I had no idea about Adrian.
‘But it’s not like I should be thinking about things like that.’
I wasn't weak or strong right now.
So first, I would defeat an S-rank.
Then I’d think about it.
Just as I made that resolution, Aris asked from beside me,
“By the way, Yumia.”
“Hm?”
“Have you prepared for the midterms?”
“Ah.”
Right, that was a thing.
I'd completely forgotten about it.