I Became a Demon Professor at the Academy – Chapter 4

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

It was such an impossibly run-down training ground that even the failing-class students did not visit it.

In that place where only dust swirled, a crowd had inexplicably gathered.

It was roughly thirty students of the failing class.

Charlotte and Adrian stood side by side.

The students encircling those two made it seem like a fighting arena.

“He said it would focus on practical training, was this what he meant?”

“Well, it’s better than sitting bored in the lecture hall.”

Students formed small groups, whispering to each other.

Michelle Meinens.

When it came to the Meinens family, it meant telekinesis.

And telekinesis meant the Meinens family.

Her peculiar two-toned hair of white and green, and green eyes.

Those were what people typically envisioned when her name was mentioned.

Plus one more thing:

That despite being a noble young lady, she had recently been beaten to near death in the skill evaluation.

Regarding her in that pitiful state, wrapped in bandages, Isabelle asked with glittering eyes,

“Wouldn’t it be better to go up front and watch?”

“Not interested.”

Michelle used telekinesis to further adjust the bandages on her arm.

She had no reason to take interest in whatever happened in the failing class.

She had simply ended up in this class due to the bad luck of being matched against the natural disaster Hamilla in the evaluation.

It was only natural she wouldn’t be interested.

This wasn’t a class she would be in for long.

‘But…’

After tying off the bandages, she studied the face of the man standing beside Charlotte.

It was peculiar.

The fact that Michelle would scrutinize someone’s face so closely was odd even to herself.

It was only natural she wouldn’t be interested in the failing class instructor, since she had no interest in the failing class itself.

Or so it should have been.

‘Why, though?’

There was something strangely attention-grabbing about this man.

Was it his sharp jawline and intense eyes?

No, it couldn’t just be a shallow reason like appearance.

Michelle was already an adult, past judging people solely on looks.

“The new instructor seems quite remarkable, doesn’t he?”

“Not at all.”

Michelle curtly dismissed Isabelle’s words.

I don’t know.

In any case, I don’t like that instructor.

The way he cut me off earlier and told me to raise my hand to speak…

There’s no way he could be outstanding.

If he were a remarkable person, the principal would not have assigned him to the failing class.

With a deep sigh, Michelle stood up.

“Hm? Michelle’s not going to watch?”

“Not interested. I’m going to the infirmary.”

“Ah, want me to help you walk?”

“……No need.”

And please don’t talk to me again.

We’re different.

Even so, she managed to swallow those last words down.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Adrian stood side by side with Charlotte.

“……?”

Weren’t they supposed to duel and trade blows?

If so, they should have been facing each other.

But Adrian was clearly standing beside Charlotte.

“Determining victory is simple, Charlotte.”

When Adrian snapped his fingers, three straw dummies appeared in the middle of the training grounds.

They were formed from placid blue mana.

“Consider those dummies as Demons, and unleash your most powerful magic.”

He snapped his fingers again, and the dummies’ forms shifted.

They took on the specific shapes of Demon races like wolfkin, vampires, and drakemen.

They were lifelike enough that they seem like they were about to move.

“Since they’re just targets, they won’t retaliate at all. If you fell even one, you win.”

Defeating unresisting targets did seem easier than expected for Charlotte, who had imagined dueling Adrian himself.

After all, duels between mages inherently required considering far too much.

There were offensive spells, but also defensive spells.

Factoring in all those possibilities made it overly complicated and difficult.

But this was simply a matter of unleashing attacks, wasn’t it?

The other students also seemed to have expected Charlotte and Adrian to duel.

Quite a few left with disappointed sounds when they realized otherwise.

“The time limit is two hours. After that, I’ll add one condition per hour.”

“Do as you please.”

After all, if she lost, she would simply drop out of this measly academy.

“Begin.”

Charlotte immediately began pre-heating the mana within her body.

First, she eyed the wolfkin dummy.

Her parents had passed down a talent for fire elemental magic to Charlotte.

The wolf-humans were relatively weak to flame.

This was a technique she had absolute confidence in, at least in terms of speed.

If she pierced their vitals with this, even the largest wolfkin dummy wouldn’t be able to endure it.

The glyph for this technique was a mere 5 strokes.
She visualized the lines in her mind, then channeled mana through the circuit.

‘Now.’

Finally, when everything aligned and her mage’s intuition kicked in, she extended her index and middle fingers, and—

Fwoosh!

A flame arrow shot out at an astonishing speed.

The instant it was released, the scorching arrowhead collided squarely with the left chest of the wolfkin dummy.

Ting!

But it simply bounced off cleanly.

At the disappointingly feeble sight, Charlotte bit her lip.

But still, how could it be completely unscathed after a direct hit like that?

“I did tell you to unleash your most powerful magic.”

“This is powerful enou—”

“It’s not enough.”

The man’s words were cold and curt.

“While wolfkin are commonly known to be weak to flame, they’re only weak against high-level fire and above. They have inherent superior durability.”

Damn it, high-level fire magic… I can’t even use high-level yet.

But I have the hatred that vows to kill the Demons no matter what, the calling to tear them apart, the imperative to avenge my parents…

I want to show that resolve here.

To prove that determination.

‘The most powerful technique. The most powerful technique. The most powerful technique.’

She racked her brain, over and over, trying to recall the glyph for a high-powered fire spell.

Flame Explosion, Ignite, Flame Sweep… Various names popped into her head, but the stroke sequences eluded her.

Don’t panic, you were given two whole hours.

Her head was pounding.

Eventually, Charlotte began tracing glyphs on her palm with a fingertip, trying to straighten out her tangled memories.

It was around the time she had nearly recalled the glyph for

when:

“As I thought, if you encounter Demons, it’s you who will die.”

Adrian’s heavy voice struck Charlotte’s ears.

“So even with them right in front of you, this is all you can do?”

“……Shut up.”

Biting her lip too hard, she tasted an iron tang of blood in her mouth.

She immediately used

, this time aiming at the vampire dummy.

Fwoosh!

Ferocious flames engulfed the dummy’s body. But that was it.

It did not fall.

“The notion that vampires are weak to sunlight or flame is merely a rumor. The blessings of the Vampire Queen nullified such weaknesses long ago.”

“I said shut up.”

Her heart pounded fit to burst.

One by one, the glyphs refused to come back to her, and the mana she had pre-heated was instead growing cold.

Even channeling it into circuits resulted in slight discrepancies, drop by drop.

If you face them a hundred times, it’s you who will die.

Pathetic.

All show, no substance.

Damn it, even when Adrian fell silent, those voices kept circling her ears of their own accord.

‘Focus.’

Focus, and try it properly again.

You should definitely be able to do it.

No, can you really?

If you went back to that moment your parents died in this state, would you be able to save them?

You have to save them, but is it even possible with abilities like these?

You know you shouldn’t panic, that you need to take it one step at a time—

But you can’t.

“Ah…”

Her breathing grew ragged.

Ironically, the only glyph she could recall was

Unable to find that final stroke to adjust the output, she had no choice.

She immediately traced out that glyph instead, pouring what little mana remained into the circuit.

Kaboom!

A massive explosion.

After the smoke cleared somewhat…

“Ah…”

The dummies were still completely intact.

Cruelly so.

. . .

“Boring.”

“Yeah, what a letdown.”

The number of spectators watching Charlotte’s bout rapidly dwindled.

There weren’t many to begin with, but after a few hours passed, not a single one remained.

Until that time, Charlotte had continued setting off Flame Extinction explosions repeatedly.

None of her other techniques could damage them.

In front of the Demon dummies, she displayed an utterly hopeless lack of power.

The only way left to fell the dummies was to find that final stroke.

Adrian’s explanation had been accurate to a maddening degree.

Without that last stroke, Charlotte’s Flame Extinction could only sting the dummies mildly at best.

Just which stroke was it?

Adding one here, the technique fizzled completely.

Adding one here, the speed slowed slightly.

Adding one here, the direction went askew.

Adding one here, the explosive power actually decreased instead.

“Aaaahhh…..”

She covered her face with her hands. Had her nails not been trimmed, she surely would have dug into her skin.

The face she cupped in her hands was damp.

At some point, Charlotte had started crying.

From frustration at her own weakness, exhaustion at her own powerlessness.

Suddenly everything felt frightening.

What if when facing Demons, she too would only die pathetically?

She had aspired to become someone who could save her parents, yet here she still was, relying on fragmented memories to find them.

“Hic…hic…”

By the time the moon hung in the sky, Charlotte wept miserably.

How much longer did she cry?

How much more time passed?

Around when she lost track of all that, Charlotte quietly stood before Adrian.

Her body felt so heavy, it was difficult just to stand before the instructor.

“I…give up.”

What kind of expression was he making?

It was too dark to tell.

Perhaps he was sneering at her.

Throughout this long ordeal, perhaps he had thoroughly mocked Charlotte.

Wordlessly, Adrian began tracing the Flame Extinction glyph on the dirt floor.

“Six hours and fifteen minutes, Charlotte.”

On this cool night at Rahel Academy, the only sounds were Charlotte’s sobbing and the scraping of Adrian’s motions on the ground.

“For now, I’ll only impose five conditions.”

He did not even look at Charlotte, simply continuing to trace the glyph mutely.

Charlotte merely nodded meekly.

What conditions would they be? She prayed they would not involve suspension or expulsion.

Perhaps they would be conditions so dreadful that suspension or expulsion would feel merciful in comparison.

Things like being forbidden to show displeasure at any insults directed at her, or having to attend lectures outside the classroom…

“First, you will diligently attend classes from now on.”

The voice colder than the night air, but its content was something that far exceeded Charlotte’s expectations.

Her body jolted at the utterly unexpected words.

“Second, you will return home before ten at night.”

“Third, if you encounter Demons, you will flee.”

“Fourth, you will not fight with other students.”

She could only listen silently.

While the sentences themselves were simple to understand, the situation was not.

As she quietly listened to his voice, devoid of any malice, Adrian gently grasped Charlotte’s wrist.

“And lastly, the fifth condition.”

Using the girl’s index finger like a pen tip, he added one horizontal stroke to the glyph.

It was not a rough motion at all, but one filled with warmth and consideration, beyond mere pity.

Finally, when that last stroke was drawn through Charlotte’s fingertip, the dummies fell with a tremendous boom.

It was an explosion more than twice, no, far beyond twice as powerful.

Charlotte’s eyes went wide.

“Never forget this stroke.”

In the fleeting illumination of the explosion, the expression on the man’s face was—

Undoubtedly, a faint smile.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇