Chapter 8: The Entrance Ceremony, the Attack, and the Primordial Dragon (2)

The magical beast attack had been pure coincidence.

A butterfly effect caused by my slip of the tongue. Obviously, nothing like this had happened in the original story.

So what had happened at the entrance ceremony in the original? What event had befallen the protagonist to hook the readers' interest?

The answer to that question was right before my eyes.

"—!"

The Minotaurus.

The mythical monster's roar shook the earth once again.

Hearing that sound up close felt like my eardrums might burst, but I didn't have the luxury of worrying about my hearing.

For a brute that size, its fighting style was downright dirty - while I was distracted by the roar, it was trying to cleave me in half with an axe the size of a house.

'...I wanted to save this for later.'

With children behind me and no guarantee I could properly dodge anyway, I had no choice but to make use of the Empire's special privilege without hesitation.

The Empire's prized spell engraving technology.

I can at least manage to modify and use the disposable defensive magic engraved in my suit.

My right hand shot out desperately.

Hundreds of shields materialized and stacked in layers before me. The barrier that unfolded enveloped both me and the students.

Perhaps to show it was different from mere orcs in terms of species. The beast was breaking through the shields one by one with brute force. But it should at least buy us a little time.

I quickly surveyed the surroundings to assess the situation.

'...This is absolutely insane.'

I'd been wondering why other professors weren't coming. The answer became clear as soon as I looked around.

The auditorium had become a battlefield.

The entrance ceremony hadn't been attacked by just one monster.

A meticulously planned, organized terror attack. Though it seemed preparing multiple Minotauri had been too difficult - the rest were weaker magical beasts compared to this one.

I couldn't exactly call it fortunate that the strongest enemy was right in front of me. How could anyone have such abysmal luck?

The boom, boom sounds grew ever louder.

The barrier protecting us wouldn't last much longer.

The Minotaurus seemed to have gotten angry at its prey being so persistent, frantically swinging its axe down again and again.

'A way for me to defeat that thing...'

There isn't one. If I were strong enough to handle a monster like that alone, I wouldn't need to go through all this trouble trying to get kicked out of the Academy.

My only real skill is analyzing and modifying spell formulas.

If I were facing a mage, I might be able to leverage that advantage somehow, but the opponent is simply overwhelming us with brute force - the matchup couldn't be worse.

'Relying on the students seems impossible too.'

I considered cooperating with the students behind me but judging by how they were still clinging to my back even after I told them to retreat, they were clearly all in a state of panic.

Trying to calm terrified students and give proper instructions to take down a monster like this in such a short time?

That would be pushing the bounds of impossibility.

'In the end, there's only one option left.'

If I can't defeat it myself, and cooperation with students is impossible, then I have no choice but to borrow strength from someone else.

There was no time to hesitate.

I took a deep breath and shouted at the top of my lungs:

"Professor Scott, I request your assistance!!"

I know my abilities were overestimated due to the entrance exam incident. I know everyone believes I can defeat this monster and are focusing on handling the other magical beasts.

In the midst of battle.

I know my voice might not carry well.

Even so, I was certain he would come to my aid.

-If you ever need help, just say the word. This old man's hands are yours to borrow whenever you need them.

That old-fashioned veteran. The Iron-Blood Duke of the Empire would never fail to keep his word.

...I heard it.

The sound of an old man cutting through the wind.

With just a single leap.

The white-haired elder who reached me in an instant immediately raised his blood-stained sword toward the mythical monster.

"That young man is not someone the likes of you can touch."

A calm yet somehow chilling voice.

Perhaps sensing the hostility emanating from his opponent, the beast immediately roared and tried to swing its weapon, but.

The massive axe was split in two before it could even reach the old man.

The monster, suddenly stripped of its weapon. Perhaps its survival instinct as a magical beast sensed the overwhelming gap between them, as it backed away with fear in its eyes, but.

"Pay for the sin of touching my benefactor with your life."

The old man calmly pronounced death upon his enemy.

A flash of the blade too quick for the eye to follow. In an instant, hundreds or thousands of cuts were carved into the Minotaurus.

Sliced beyond recognition, the magical beast couldn't even let out a final scream before meeting its end.

The white-haired knight who reduced his enemy to a puddle of blood calmly turned to ask me:

"Professor Ryan, are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?"

Such gentle eyes despite being covered in gore and viscera. I tried my best to calm my racing heart as I nodded to old man Scott.

Let's make absolutely sure he never finds out I lied about becoming a professor out of respect for a senior I didn't even know.

"I'm fine thanks to you. More importantly, what exactly is the Primordial Dragon doing right now?"

I asked the old man who was casually wiping off blood, but the answer came from someone else.

"She should have been near the Illusion Magic Department. Given that she hasn't arrived yet, I suspect there may be an attack happening there as well."

A black-haired man appearing behind me.

I remembered who this person was.

Professor Charon of the Illusion Magic Department. The reason I had mistakenly thought there would be a mock attack by illusionary beasts during the entrance ceremony was because I'd confirmed his presence.

"In that case, it seems best if we handle the magical beasts attacking here ourselves. Could you perhaps lend me some magical power?"

Charon's proposal to cast a large-scale spell to wipe out the enemies at once.

There was the issue that my magical power was too minuscule to be of any use, but fortunately Professor Scott stepped in to cover for me.

"I'll handle that instead. It seems Ryan is in a state of magical exhaustion at the moment."

Seeing me request his support, he seemed to have concluded I'd depleted all my magic for some reason.

In truth, I just asked for help because I was completely outmatched, but there was no need to correct such a convenient misunderstanding.

"Thank you for your assistance. Being specialized in illusions, I need support when casting other types of magic."

Saying he was embarrassed by his lack of skill.

While saying this, what Charon began preparing was none other than the 7th circle magic Blizzard.

A high-level spell formula that called forth bitter cold and rained ice upon enemies. It was infuriating how he could use something like that while claiming to lack skill.

'At least we survived somehow.'

I had no complaints about capable people solving problems in my stead.

Getting further from being fired is an issue, but.

I watched Professor Charon raise his staff and begin the incantation.

As I watched Professor Charon...

I suddenly felt an odd sense of dissonance.

'Come to think of it.'

Why had I been the only one who rushed at the Minotaurus?

Even if the other professors stayed put thinking it was an illusionary beast, it was extremely strange that Charon took no action.

How could someone specializing in illusion magic fail to distinguish between fake and real?

'Plus the Academy's security isn't that lax.'

An attack of this scale would absolutely require cooperation from someone on the inside.

So who was that insider?

Why had Professor Charon shown up at this timing to ask for magical power from Scott, our strongest fighter?

How was Professor Charon so certain the Primordial Dragon couldn't come here because he was stopping another attack elsewhere?

If Professor Charon was a hidden terrorist.

Would the spell he's casting now target the magical beasts, or me and the students?

'...This is absolutely maddening.'

Most of Scott's magical power had already been drained. And he'd known Charon longer than me - it wouldn't be easy convincing him to kill his colleague.

Obviously if I voice my suspicions about Charon's identity, he'll attack immediately.

My teeth clench at the absurdity of the situation.

It's incredibly frustrating to suffer this much just for choosing the wrong workplace, but...

I'm the only one who can act now.

Therefore, I had to somehow handle this situation.

...I close my eyes.

Feel the magical power flowing through the air.

I have no innate talent.

With my pitiful magical power and weak body, no amount of effort will let me catch up to geniuses.

But I do have abilities I've cultivated.

If there are things I can never achieve no matter how hard I try, then all I can do is borrow others' power.

Arbitrarily dissecting, tearing apart, exploiting and... hijacking spell formulas others have constructed. That was my only strength and my only weapon.

I let my magical power flow into the spell formula being constructed.

Carefully, I began staining the most crucial components of the formula with my own color.

Everyone only paid attention to the parts related to spell power. Most neglected the sections defining and controlling the caster who manifested the spell.

Just tweaking that slightly was enough to hijack the spell formula.

Charon's face filled with dismay as he noticed the anomaly.

I tried to work as stealthily as possible but somehow that bastard noticed - the overwhelming gap in talent was truly absurd, but.

"It's too late to notice now."

Blood flowed from my eyes.

Just from stealing a spell formula someone else had constructed. Even that alone made my magic circuits scream in protest.

But I couldn't stop here. Gritting my teeth, I forcibly manifested a spell formula far beyond my level.

[Calling Blizzard]

Victory was mine this time.

...Though getting further from being fired is a problem.