Chapter 3

The afternoon of the first day of class began with swordsmanship. Almost all the male students participated, but there were only a few female students, including me. The rest were watching.

"Alright, we'll conduct mock battles to assess everyone's skills. First up is... the one at level 99."

Laughter rose from the crowd.

The teacher who was guiding the swordsmanship was the same person who had cornered me during the opening ceremony. His name was William, and it seemed that swordsmen were often hot-blooded.

"Then, I'll be your opponent."

William volunteered to be my opponent, and the female students cheered.

It seemed we would use wooden swords for the mock battles. I picked one at random and stepped to the center of the training ground.

William chose the longest and thickest wooden sword. In the game, he had used a large sword as tall as himself.

"Give up now if you want to."

I ignored William's warning and performed the pre-battle salute.

"Please take care of me."

"Tch, don't say I didn't warn you. If you get hurt, it's on you."

He was persistent. I was desperately trying to figure out how to hold back.

"Alright, take your stances."

I realized I didn't know how to hold a sword. It was my first time gripping one.

In the game, I mainly used magic to level up and defeat monsters. When I encountered enemies that were resistant to magic, I would beat them with sticks or stones. I could have used my bare hands, but I didn't want to get dirty.

William looked puzzled at my lack of stance.

"Hey, take your stance. Or are you going to surrender without a fight?"

"Sorry, it's my first time using a sword. We can start like this."

Laughter and jeers erupted from the crowd. William's face contorted with anger.

"How much are you going to mock me! I won't hold back just because you're a girl. Expect to break a bone or two."

Without waiting for the start signal, William charged straight at me.

He was fast, but with my reaction speed, it was easy to handle.

While I was thinking about how to avoid injuring William, he was already in front of me, raising his sword.

Just before he swung down, I sidestepped and placed my wooden sword at his feet.

His swing missed, and he tripped over my sword, face-planting into the ground. Sorry, I didn't expect you to fall so dramatically.

The crowd fell silent, unsure of what had happened.

"Teacher, is this enough? Should I follow up?"

I swung my wooden sword around, creating a breeze, and asked. The teacher snapped back to reality and declared,

"Y-You, Yumera Dorkness, is the winner."

William, who had just gotten up from his fall, objected.

"Not yet, I just let my guard down! Pretending to be a beginner, you're such a coward!"

His words lacked conviction as blood streamed down his face.

"Roar!"

"Sei!"

William charged at me with a battle cry. Thinking that dodging again wouldn't satisfy him, I met his swing with my own.

The wooden swords collided with a heavy thud, and William was sent flying backward. I thought the wooden sword would break, but it was surprisingly durable.

A scream rose from the training ground, as if someone had died. He had flown through the air and hit his head, but he was just unconscious.

"Should I take him to the infirmary?"

As I lifted William by the collar, the teacher panicked.

"No, no, I'll take him. Hand him over to me."

It felt like I was being treated like a hostage. I handed him over, feeling wronged.

"I'll take William to the infirmary.

While I'm gone, practice on your own. No more matches, got it?"

The teacher said this and ran out of the training ground.

Still, I decided to practice on my own. Since I was a beginner, I tried to mimic the others.

However, no one was moving, and those who met my eyes let out small screams.

The female students who had come to watch were already gone.

There's no need to be so scared. I was sure I had held back enough. The fact that William wasn't ground into mincemeat was proof enough.

With no one to follow, I started practicing on my own, swinging the wooden sword in a vague form.

The teacher never returned until the end of the class.

Next was the practical magic class. The magic training ground had rows of scarecrows in metal armor, and the roof only covered the area where magic was cast, similar to an archery range.

The teacher, who arrived on time, looked around and said,

"Let's see everyone's magic skills. Hitting a target with one attribute is enough."

Like in the swordsmanship class, we would take turns to demonstrate our skills.

The basic attributes were fire, wind, water, and earth. Those who could use light and dark magic were extremely rare.

One by one, students demonstrated their magic, but many missed the target or didn't reach it. Few students hit the mark, and even then, only with two attributes. The targets didn't budge, suggesting they were very hard.

Alicia missed the target but used the rare light magic, earning admiration.

Oswald, on the other hand, used all four attributes and hit the target, earning praise from the teacher. His magic seemed more powerful than the others, but the target still didn't budge.

"Excellent, as expected of Oswald. You truly are a magic prodigy."

"Of course. She's the only one who hasn't shown her magic yet. I wonder what impressive magic she'll show."

Oswald, adjusting his glasses, said mockingly. I remembered he hadn't participated in the swordsmanship class and probably didn't know about William. I stepped forward.

The students who had participated in the swordsmanship class stepped back, expecting something to happen.

There's no need to be so cautious...

Actually, I couldn't use the basic four attributes properly. I could only produce a small flame or a gentle breeze.

I could be called a woman who has maximized her talent in muscles and darkness.

"Excuse me, is it okay if I destroy the target?"

I asked if it was okay to destroy the unusually sturdy target, but Oswald answered instead of the teacher.

"The armor on those scarecrows is specially processed. There's no way you can destroy what even I can't."

I wanted a clear answer on whether it was okay to destroy the target. I ignored him and looked at the teacher.

"Only court mages can destroy it, but if you can, go ahead."

With the teacher's permission, I cast my magic.

"Dark Flame."

A small black flame appeared at my fingertips and shot straight at the target.

"What's that? I thought you'd produce a pea shooter."

Oswald laughed, but the teacher, recognizing the dark attribute, was surprised.

The small flame spread across the target upon impact, melting the armor.

Dark Flame was one of my frequently used spells. It looked like fire but produced no heat. It melted stone and metal like acid, creating grotesque scenes when used on monsters.

The armor and the scarecrow inside melted away, and the black flame disappeared.

"Dark magic?"

Someone whispered in the silent training ground.

"Yes, dark magic. I'm terrible at other attributes."

"Miss Yumera, that was impressive.

Dark magic users were even found among court mages. Don't let preconceived notions cloud your judgment."

The teacher, stuttering slightly, explained about dark magic.

Is dark magic really that negatively perceived? I remembered that the villains in fairy tales were usually dark-haired and used dark magic. Was I a villain? Oh, a villainess.

"This is impossible, this is unfair. I'm a magic prodigy."

Oswald, who had been silent, started muttering. I thought it was more about the level difference than magical talent.

"I won't accept this!"

Oswald finally shouted and ran out of the training ground. His cool glasses character was completely shattered.

As I was taken aback, Prince Edwin and the headmaster arrived.

"Yumera Dorkness, your expulsion papers are ready. You are not fit for the royal academy."

I hadn't seen Prince Edwin since the afternoon class, but he had been preparing to expel me.

"Expulsion...?"

"Yes, someone who lies to royalty is not fit for the academy.

If you are expelled from the royal academy, it will be difficult to live as a noble in this country."

"Hehe, maybe a trip abroad would be nice. People in other countries might treat you well."

暗示他国亡命时，魔法老师慌了起来。

"殿下，学院长，等等。她是一位稀有的暗魔法使用者，能够摧毁连宫廷魔导师都难以破坏的目标。

她可能是真的99级。将她开除对国家来说是损失。"

"宫廷魔导师也能破坏目标，99级的证据不足。除非你能说服我，否则我不会撤销开除决定。"

爱德温王子似乎无论如何都要将我开除。将宫廷魔导师级别的角色轻易交给其他国家，作为王族来说是不妥的。

"尤米拉小姐，刚才的魔法不是全力吧？请在这里展示你的全力魔法，拜托了。"

我正在考虑是亡命他国还是隐姓埋名当平民时，魔法老师像要磕头一样恳求我展示全力魔法。这似乎是出于对国家的忠诚，让我很难拒绝。

"好的，我将在空中施放魔法。爱德温殿下，我可以施放魔法吗？"

"随便你。"

"真的可以吗？"

"烦人！快开始！"

"但是，如果发生什么，谁来负责……"

"在空中施放魔法，不可能发生什么！责任由我承担！"

好吧，我得到了保证。考虑到接下来可能发生的事情，将责任推给爱德温王子是最好的。

"那么，到没有屋顶的地方去。"

我移动到训练场的无顶区域，王子和学院长跟着我。学生们也小心翼翼地跟了过来。

虽然我说了全力，但并没有真正打算全力施放。自从在森林中制造了一个大坑后，我就避免全力施放魔法了。从那以后，我应该有了更大的成长，现在的全力连我自己也无法想象。

在游戏里，只有魔王和我被允许使用最强大的暗属性魔法。

"黑洞"

瞬间，皇家学院被黑暗笼罩。

从外面看，学院上空出现了一个黑色球体，应该从王都的任何地方都能看到。

学院被遮挡了阳光，变得像夜晚一样黑暗。但这只是一瞬间。接着，黑色球体迅速缩小并消失。

黑洞是无条件消除范围内物体的魔法，范围可以很小，使用起来非常方便。

也就是说，学院上空的空气瞬间消失了。一股向上的强风随之吹起。

"殿下，您觉得如何？现在您相信我是99级了吗？"

风停后，我尽量用柔和的表情问道。

"啊啊啊啊"

爱德温王子吓得瘫倒在地，拼命地想远离我。

用不着这么害怕吧。