Chapter 1

"Thio, you're fired. Leave this party of heroes."

"Eh...?"

Taken aback by the girl's sudden words, the boy wore a bewildered expression, as if he didn't understand what was happening.

The girl's name is "Aira"—

A female hero who continues her journey to save the world. She has long black hair that reaches her waist, giving off a slightly stern impression, but she is still a beautiful young girl.

The boy's name is "Thio"—

As Aira's knight, he decided to join her on her journey to save the world. His hair and eyes are black, and his appearance is lovely, almost like a girl's, with a hint of youthful innocence.

"Do you not understand what Lady Aira means, Thio? You are no longer needed and are a hindrance."

A young man standing next to Aira spoke to Thio. His name is Lucius—

Like Thio, he is a member of the party led by Aira, and his role is that of a white mage.

"..."

Thio involuntarily gasped at Lucius's words, "hindrance" and "no longer needed."

Aira and Thio were childhood friends.

Two years ago, Aira obtained the class of a female hero.

At the same time, Thio obtained the class of a knight.

A class is a specialized ability focused on combat. Those who awaken to a class can acquire "combat skills" related to their class name.

With the request from the country, Aira, who had obtained the class of a female hero, set out on her journey to save the world.

Determined to protect his childhood friend, Thio, who had awakened to the class of a knight, also decided to embark on the journey.

During this journey, Lucius joined the party.

Around this time, the gap in strength between Aira and Thio began to widen.

Classes are divided into four major categories: lower, middle, upper, and super.

Aira's female hero class is a super-class, while Thio's knight class is a middle-class. The gap in strength naturally widened as they grew.

Incidentally, Lucius's white mage class is an upper-class.

There is a way to change to another suitable class at places like churches or adventurer guilds, but unfortunately, Thio's only options were to remain a knight or become a "black mage," the weakest lower-class, often mocked as a "bottom-tier job."

"From the look of it, you seem to realize you are a hindrance, don't you?"

"W-well, that..."

Thio fell silent at Aira's words. He had already realized he was becoming a hindrance, and because of this, he couldn't find the words to argue.

"Thio, do you intend to continue hindering Lady Aira?"

"Lucius... I understand, I'll leave..."

With a look of resignation, Thio nodded slightly.

His dear childhood friend, Aira—

He had decided to embark on the journey to protect her and the people of the world.

But if he was going to be a hindrance... he chose to be expelled from the party.

"Aira, Lucius, good luck on your journey to save the world."

Forcing a smile, Thio turned his back on the two and walked away.

Aira watched him with a complex expression, while Lucius watched with a sneer.

That evening—

(I'll go to sleep...)

Without eating, Thio sank into the bed at the inn. He was so disheartened that he had no energy to do anything.

Perhaps due to the fatigue from the arduous journey, where a middle-class member like Thio had to keep up with a super-class member, sleep came quickly.

In his sleep, Thio had a dream—

◆

"...To corner me, a demon god... Who are you?"

"My name is 'Schwarz'... In the world, I am known as the Sorcerer King."

A man claiming to be a demon god, with a sinister aura and a copper-colored skin, was covered in wounds.

In response, the man in a pitch-black robe, who called himself Schwarz, answered coolly.

"A demon god? The Sorcerer King? What a joke...!"

The demon god became enraged.

Raising his hand to the sky, a purple magic sword descended upon Schwarz.

"It's useless, 'Black Repulsor'...!"

As Schwarz shouted, a pitch-black magic shield appeared above his head, nullifying all the descending magic swords.

"Y-you're insane... You can block all of this...?"

"This is the end. 'Black Magic'—'Black Longinus'!"

Facing the stunned demon god, Schwarz manifested a beautiful, pitch-black magic spear.

As the spear emitted a light that enveloped the surroundings, the vision cut off.

◆

The next morning—

"I remember..."

With those words, Thio awoke.

Hundreds of years ago, a terrifying demon god had brought humanity to the brink of extinction. There was a being known as the Sorcerer King who single-handedly defeated this demon god.

Through his dream, Thio remembered.

Schwarz, the Sorcerer King who defeated the demon god, was his past life.

"I can't just sit here. I need to change my class to a black mage!"

Thio leaped out of bed.

In his dream, the Sorcerer King Schwarz used the term "black magic" when exercising his power. Hearing this, Thio remembered that his past life was the Sorcerer King.

Black mages, often mocked as "bottom-tier jobs," are not actually bottom-tier. With the right method, they can become the "strongest class," capable of overwhelming even a demon god.

(If I master black magic, I can...!)

Thio is a boy with a strong sense of justice. Even after being expelled from the party, his desire to help people hasn't changed.

He decided to embark on his own journey to save the world.

With this resolve, Thio headed to the adventurer guild to change his class from a knight to a black mage—

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