Here, a rather ordinary-looking man with plain black hair stands.
This man’s name is Justin.
His personality seemed to match his name, implying a strong sense of justice. He wouldn’t forgive any wrongdoing and would charge headlong into danger if he thought someone was evil.
But that’s just how it works for the protagonist. Everything seems to align in their favor.
“Maybe I should just eliminate them.”
During the one year he lived in this medieval world, he realized that people here were far more uncivilized than he had anticipated. Virtues that were considered normal for modern-day people were labeled as “noble behavior” in this realm.
If he encountered someone who hadn’t bathed and smelled bad, he would unconsciously frown. If he saw people with empty minds, he would feel repulsed and wouldn’t want to engage with them.
Those kinds of things were heavily influenced by their environment, and it was hard to hide one’s origins if they were commoners.
Honestly, Lloyd didn’t have much hope that the protagonist would not be noticed. He was already attracting attention with trivial things.
“…No. If I attract too much attention, it could be trouble. It’s best to stay quiet for now.”
There’s an old saying that staying quiet will get you through the middle. Lloyd decided to trust his ancestors on this.
“Sophia, why are you…?”
“Hercia-mallo…”
The two people stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, but when they noticed someone unfamiliar behind them, they changed their tone.
“Who are they…?”
Behind Sophia stood two individuals looking tense. With a bright smile, Sophia introduced them.
“We’re forming a party together this time.”
“Oh, I see…”
Hercia was somewhat puzzled. Their faces were unfamiliar. At least they didn’t belong to any renowned family…
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Justin.”
‘A commoner?’
Not revealing his surname meant he was likely a commoner.
Hercia’s eyebrows furrowed. Not because she disliked commoners, but because it was strange. Why would Sophia be making a party with people like them?
This time, she shifted her gaze towards the woman. The redhead girl, who seemed feisty, turned her head to respond.
“…Catherine Obelion.”
‘Oh, Obelion?’
This time, Hercia was surprised for a different reason. Obelion was a prestigious family of founding heroes. However, they were banished from the mainline family a long time ago for using dirty dark magic. They ranked as nobility number zero, despised by the aristocrats.
‘From commoners to criminals… Is she in her right mind?’
Sophia and Catherine had known each other since childhood. Their relationship was quite long-standing.
Hercia was worried about Sophia. If the daughter of Viscount Spencer associated herself with those kinds of people, it would definitely spread as gossip.
“Sophia, what in the world…”
Hercia was about to tell Sophia to break off the party immediately. However, Lloyd intervened.
“Just go your way. This is our spot.”
‘My life.’
The plan to stay quiet was now discarded. It was because of the second condition: “Preventing Hercia’s misfortune.”
“If you don’t like it?”
The one to reply was Catherine. She didn’t like how Lloyd, who seemed like a high and mighty noble, acted towards them.
“What a hassle.”
A sigh escaped Lloyd’s lips. However, if he did something, he had to do it right.
“I will become the fastest dropout.”
“Haha, you’re confident? But there aren’t many people with genuine talent among those who say such things.”
Catherine pulled out her staff and pointed it at Lloyd.
It was a foolish act born out of ignorance. If she knew just a little about Lloyd, she would never have done it. But that assumption required a premise that she “knew” him.
Lloyd waited for magic to come out of her staff.
No, actually, it might be better to use this as an opportunity to make them fall.
After all, the premature elimination of the three was destined to happen. Lloyd crossed his arms.
“I did warn you. But since you wouldn’t listen, there’s no choice but to make you drop out. You’ll regret it…”
The moment he finished his sentence, he was about to tear apart the three insignias.
“Haha, what a cute kid!”
“…?”
It was Justin. He was quite tall, but to meet Lloyd at eye level, he bent his waist.
“But it’s not a good behavior to ignore people recklessly. Wouldn’t it be better to apologize?”
“Come to think of it, I was careless. But if I kill him now, isn’t it all settled??”
Lloyd was genuinely annoyed at being treated like a child.
“Go ahead and try.”
At that moment, Hercia swung her staff.
“Ugh!”
A wave of magic pushed Justin back, and he stumbled. Hercia’s staff was now infused with a golden light.
“Do you dare to cut off the nobles’ words when it comes to commoners?”
Hercia glared at Justin with eyes that could kill. She pointed her staff at him and yelled.
“Apologize for your rude behavior immediately!”
“Wind!”
Catherine narrowed her eyes and swung her staff.
“An ancient spell?!”
“…!”
However, her spell was nullified by Hercia’s simple dispel magic.
“What era are you living in? Obelion still uses such outdated magic?”
——————
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Spell magic referred to using magic by uttering it aloud. It was a method that was popular a hundred years ago, but nowadays, it was perceived as old-fashioned and rustic among mages.
“What did you say…!”
“Hah, you can’t even handle the basics properly. You called yourself an Obelion, you damn woman. What are you going to do about it?”
Hercia was a noble among the nobles.
‘X, I’m impressed.’
Lloyd thought that was probably right.
A villainess?
Being on the same side, he couldn’t help but feel relieved.
“Arcadia is nice. In the outside world, you might be right. But since you’re in Arcadia, it’s better to abandon that disgusting aristocratic prejudice.”
“What, what? Disgusting? You, a hybrid…!”
But too much is too much. He was grateful that she was angry for his sake, but if it continued like this, it would follow the original story.
“I don’t want to bother.”
Crack!
“…!”
The three barriers were shattered at the same time, and the insignias were scattered into pieces in mid-air.
A white light flowed from Lloyd’s right hand. When he clenched his fist, the light disappeared.
‘Meh, what can I do.’
The protagonist’s group looked at their insignias in disbelief.
Justin, who was previously defeated, got up. His eyes were blazing with fury.
“You’re right if we were outside of Arcadia. However, since we’re in Arcadia, it’s better to discard that despicable aristocratic prejudice.”
“What, what? Despicable? You, a mere hybrid…!”
But enough was enough. Although he appreciated her anger for his sake, if it continued like this, it would follow the original story.
“I don’t want to bother.”
Crack!
“…!”
The three barriers were shattered at the same time, and the insignias were scattered into pieces in mid-air.
A white light flowed from Lloyd’s right hand. When he clenched his fist, the light disappeared.
“Meh, what can I do.”
The protagonist’s group looked at their insignias in disbelief.
“Wow, is that the famous Lloyd-sama from the academy?”
In the academy’s main hall, Nemesys, who was observing the exam in real-time, spoke with interest.
“Indeed, he has an impressive ability.”
The professors gathered to grade the exams. It was partly to monitor if any students were engaged in fraudulent activities, but mainly to assess the level of the freshmen.
“I can understand why the Chancellor gave him the right to skip classes.”
They were observing Lloyd’s magic. Some of them let out exclamations like “wow” and “amazing.”
Barrier magic. It was a routine that most mages performed first thing in the morning.
The barrier was a passive, continuous magic that could be used without hindering “simultaneous casting.”
It was the simplest yet most powerful magic. The one who broke through had to put in several times more effort than the opponent.
But Lloyd destroyed the barriers with a single gesture. Moreover, he did it to three people simultaneously.
And after that, he tore their insignias into pieces without using any other magic.
In other words, all that magic he performed was just “one magic.” He couldn’t figure out how to bypass this magic.
“How did he do that?”
“In my opinion, it was powerless magic. It seems like some form of invisible attack. They couldn’t withstand it and broke down.”
“But they don’t have a single scratch, right? Their barrier strengths must have been different, but all of them only broke the barriers and stopped.”
“No, they tore their insignias too. Judging by the form, it seemed like a wind-type attack, but it might have been precise calculations of the location.”
In the end, Lloyd momentarily stopped observing the other students and only focused on the part where he used magic.
He sweated profusely from the heat emitted by the mana he poured into the gem to activate the playback.
“So, is he really a genius?”
The headmaster of the Royal Academy, Clifford, touched his long, not-too-short beard. He was aged, but his eyes were still sharp.
“However…”
He was still called the Grand Mage. In contrast to Lloyd, he was once known as the “Genius of Effort, Clifford.”
He was a famous figure who compensated for his lack of magic skills with “creativity” and “movement.”
“He’s arrogant.”
“Well, given his abilities, wouldn’t it be more surprising if he wasn’t arrogant? Wouldn’t that be even stranger?”
He was quite annoyed with Lloyd.
He never particularly liked these “geniuses,” but the incident with Phoenix a week ago made it worse.
Phoenix was Clifford’s familiar, and there was magic that shared the familiar’s vision among some magical creatures.
Clifford saw it. He saw Lloyd flying gracefully in the sky and landing on top of the Magic Tower where Phoenix was.
He saw how he intimidated Phoenix and took what he wanted.
Some people soared to the top with two feet. Some easily gained what they wanted with the power of talent.
Thud.
Clifford slammed the table with an expression of displeasure, focusing everyone’s attention on him.
“What are you all doing? Observe your designated areas again.”
“But…”
A seemingly timid professor cautiously spoke up.
“Can’t we observe this more? This is the kind of magic I want to use for my research this time.”
When he met Clifford’s eerie gaze, he hesitated and put down the gem.
“If I had known he was like this, I would never have given him special treatment a month ago.”
Clifford regretted giving Lloyd special privileges, thinking that focusing on self-development rather than attending classes would benefit him more.
He couldn’t have imagined that Lloyd would turn out to be such a brat. Even now, he was forcefully arguing against him.
Those who possessed great power also had great responsibilities. But Lloyd seemed to feel no sense of duty. That irritated Clifford.
“Right, I should retract it.”
“Yes?”
“Nemesis-kyung. Have you already planned the second day?”
The area ‘A4,’ where Lloyd was currently staying, was under Nemesis’s supervision.
“I think an ogre would be appropriate considering their levels.”
It was a mock exam with the theme of monsters’ assault on the second day.
Of course, to ensure safety, they assigned professors to each area and reduced the level of monsters to two steps lower than the students’ abilities.
It was a simple test to see how they would respond when the monsters suddenly appeared.
“Contact Matap and get some trolls under various body reinforcement spells. Use those for the exam.”
“Yes, yes?”
Another professor was taken aback by the headmaster’s abruptness.
“But, isn’t that a bit too much? Even with a whole knight order, it would be difficult to subdue them.”
“In terms of magic level, they should be easily suppressed. Besides, Nemesis will back them up, so it should be fine.”
Clifford smirked.
“But I wonder if our precious Gongja can handle it.”
“If he can’t overwhelm them…”
In that case, he would withdraw his statement and have him attend the classes. Especially emphasizing the “character education” part.
If he couldn’t graduate, he would have to take supplementary classes.
“I might have to add some physical training as well.”
Clifford chuckled, imagining the joy of making that brat suffer.
