Genius Warlock

Time continued to pass after Smith sent a letter to his master.

Perhaps due to the gift he received from Oliver, Smith seemed to have a change of heart and adapted to his new territory by selling black magic items to the members of the Dean Gym.

The Fighter Crew members also began to use ordinary emotions instead of their previously processed emotions.

In particular, executives like Joe began to identify the black magic they needed to focus on and developed specific battle styles, starting to show tangible results.

Though there was still a long way to go, Forrest said that this was going smoothly.

It was to the point where they could expect good results in the upcoming negotiations with the Crime Firm.

“Of course, there will be people who need to see it to believe it, so we'll have to go through a test.”

Test. It was the first time Oliver had heard of it, but it wasn't strange when he thought about it.

When the contract between the Crime Firm and the Fighter Crew was formally signed, the Fighter Crew would provide the power, and the Crime Firm would pay a considerable amount of money.

Wanting to verify the performance of the product was a natural desire and right.

There was no problem at all. What Oliver had to do remained unchanged.

Do his best to teach the members of the Fighter Crew black magic.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing he had to focus on.

"……That concludes the class."

Kevin, who filled the blackboard with various spells and magic theories, brushed off the chalk dust from his hands and said.

Although he had heard that the first class of the semester would end with light greetings, Kevin showed no intention of doing so and went straight into the lesson after his formal introduction.

And it was quite intense.

As a result, a few students who didn't bring their writing tools could only stand there blankly, and even diligent students who brought their tools struggled to keep up.

Oliver could see their confusion and regret without using his warlock eyes.

The faint complaints that could barely be heard were proof.

Among them, there were voices that mocked Kevin's skin color. Of course, they spoke quietly enough not to be heard.

Oliver personally couldn't understand it.

Although Kevin's lecture was intense, it was the best one Oliver had ever attended.

At least compared to Joseph and Merlin.

Joseph, the black magic teacher, not only didn't teach well but also never taught more than the minimum knowledge.

As for Merlin, he didn't lead the class himself but only filled in the gaps based on Oliver's self-study.

In contrast, Kevin's [Introduction and Basics of Fire Magic] lecture was intense but efficient, accurately pinpointing the core concepts while also broadening the scope of knowledge by providing multiple perspectives.

For example, he explained the importance of the basics by pointing out that all elemental magic is based on one fundamental spell and, using this point, showed that it was possible to use elemental magic of different properties as well.

The speaker himself had used fire magic and earth magic, so it was a highly persuasive theory.

‘And also, the spells from the school of Pure magic.'

Oliver thought, recalling his past battle with Kevin.

He had once formed a massive magic network using a giant stone pillar to separate the inside and outside.

It was a technique combined with the school of pure magic.

Suddenly, Oliver wondered how Kevin could handle such a wide variety of magic. Maybe it was because he was Merlin's disciple.

Anyway, Kevin kindly explained various types of magic based on the basic spells and wrote basic applications on the blackboard.

Every single point was interesting, and there was nothing to complain about, but strangely enough, the students seemed to think differently.

It seemed that Kevin was aware of this too.

As they walked down the hallway, he asked.

"How did the students react? To the class, I mean."

Oliver answered honestly.

"Some of them didn't seem to appreciate it. About half, I'd say."

"Oh, that's impressive. Only half, huh?"

"Yes?"

Oliver asked back at the unexpected response.

"I mean, it's impressive that only about half didn't appreciate it. I thought there would be more."

As Oliver still didn't understand, Kevin elaborated further.

"With the history and growing scale of the magic tower, it's inevitable that some inefficiencies arise. Here, there are many people who want to gain grades and reputation rather than actually improving their skills."

“Ah…”

Now it seemed that he understood what was being said. Merlin had mentioned this before.

"The trend is that there are more people trying to get good grades and manage their academic records than those who want to learn and improve their skills. It's not genuine education, but merely for building up grades. It's the downside of the magic tower's expansion and bureaucracy. I was thinking of closing the class if the number of students fell short, but it seems like it'll barely survive. The class budget will be cut a bit, though."

Kevin's words were sincere. He was willing to teach diligently, but if there were no followers, he was ready to give it up. He was both conscientious and strict.

"How was it for you? My class?"

"Are you asking me?"

"Yeah, the reason you're working here is to attend classes, right?"

He was right. Access to the magic tower's library and attending classes were the main reasons Oliver had joined the magic tower.

In fact, he was already attending other classes in exchange for helping out with the work.

Of course, there were more cases where he was kicked out.

"Personally, I found it very interesting. Your lecture, Professor. The way you change the properties of magic based on the basic spells commonly used in elemental magic was quite impressive."

Although Oliver could already freely modify the properties of magic, there was not an ounce of falsehood in his words.

Strictly speaking, Oliver's handling of other types of magic was nothing more than imitation based on what he had seen.

In other words, there was no intermediate process.

While he knew it intuitively, it wasn't something he had fully grasped in his mind. So, knowing such facts was a great learning experience and joy for Oliver.

"That's a good attitude. Relying on talent alone is not a true genius. It's about refining your talent. … I'll be sharing the class content, so study ahead and prepare the necessary materials."

"Yes, I understand… Professor. Since you mentioned it, would it be alright if I go prepare for the next class?"

"The next class? Ah… Basic Magic Combat."

"Yes, it starts in 2 hours, but I think I need to set up test sandbags beforehand. It's a time-consuming task."

Kevin nodded, and Oliver expressed his gratitude and immediately started preparing for the class.

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

Yareli arrived, and after a few minutes, other students began to enter one by one.

The types of people were quite diverse, both physically and psychologically.

There were those with high-quality mana and those with the opposite, those who were curious about the class, and those who were simply unhappy.

"Ugh, I should've signed up for that lecture on time. Now I gotta sit through this class."

"Hey, think positive. Maybe it'll be worth it. I mean, the Ice Princess is here after all. And check it out, there's Derick Redhill too."

Oliver reflexively turned his head to look at Yareli and a boy named Derick Redhill.

Coincidentally, Derick Redhill was also someone Oliver was acquainted with.

A boy who had exchanged a few words with Oliver over a book at the library.

He was brimming with confidence and powerful magic, just like when Oliver had seen him before.

Yareli and he were expected to have considerable skills. And a few more students like them caught Oliver's eye.

It seemed that they had intentions other than simply attending the class.

Squeak…

With five minutes left until class time, Kevin, with black hair and red skin, entered the room.

The atmosphere changed with his arrival.

This was the usual reaction. Some students mentioned Kevin's skin color and refused to recognize his authority as a professor, but when they actually saw Kevin in person, everyone froze and became tense, regardless of the degree of difference.

The combination of Kevin's high academic achievements, his rich experience as a war mage, and his unique strict temperament exerted influence on the surroundings.

Oliver was already familiar with this scene, having seen it in the previous two classes.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

In the magic combat training room, Kevin walked toward the students.

His rhythmic footsteps and silence naturally drew people's attention.

"…Nice to meet you all. I am Kevin Dunbara, a master of the elemental faction and a professor. I will be in charge of [Magic Combat Basics] this semester."

Unlike other professors, Kevin didn't use a loudspeaker but imbued his voice with mana instead.

Nevertheless, his voice was clearer, more substantial, and induced a pleasant tension.

"We will start with a test right away. I want to gauge the students' levels first, so one by one, come forward, talk about your affiliated faction or sub-faction, and use magic on the sandbag… The student raising your hand, speak up."

"What kind of magic should we use, professor?"

"Good question. Use the magic you are most confident in. Based on that, I plan to provide education tailored to each level."

The students showed curiosity at his words.

Instead of trying to fit the students into the class, he was saying he would adjust the class to fit the students.

It was quite an unconventional approach, but Kevin argued that this was the most effective teaching method.

He said that in magic combat classes, where practical skills are the majority, it's almost worse not to have the class if there is a significant difference in the level of the student and the class.

In other words, this first class would set the tone for the rest of the course.

Oliver, who seemed to be standing inconspicuously in the corner, took out an evaluation sheet from his magic bag and prepared to write.

"Excuse me, professor."

The red-haired boy, Derick Redhill, raised his hand.

"Yes, student. Do you want to go first?"

"Yes, but I have a question before that."

"A question… What is it?"

"Why is that person preparing for the evaluation?"

Derick pointed to Oliver in the corner of the training room, holding an evaluation sheet and pen.

Other students looked at Oliver following Derick's finger.

Seeing Oliver preparing for the evaluation, everyone frowned and showed discomfort.

"Is there a problem?"

"I just don't get why someone who isn't even an official member of the magic tower is evaluating us."

"Don't worry. The evaluation from that staff member will only be used as a reference, and I will also make my own evaluation separately."

"I'm sorry, professor. The important thing is the fact that he's evaluating us."

Derick's emotions shone with a lofty yet arrogant pride.

Oliver had seen quite a few people who were proud of themselves, but Derick's level was exceptional.

To the point where he couldn't acknowledge Oliver at all.

An interesting point was that other students also showed their agreement with such emotions and expressed their dissatisfaction with the class. Kevin's calm emotions were slightly irritated by their reactions.

"…What is your faction and name?"

"I am Derick Redhill, affiliated with the elemental-Agni sub-faction, professor."

Derick answered politely yet confidently. He seemed willing to face any disadvantages that might result from this.

His emotions were shining with pride, self-satisfaction, dignity, and self-absorption.

"Alright, student Derick. Can you specifically tell me why you are dissatisfied with that staff member evaluating you? If it's a reasonable reason, I will gladly accept it."

"As I mentioned earlier, isn't he an unofficial member of the magic tower? On top of that, he has a magic-nullification syndrome. I found out about it by accident when I was learning about the class."

Whispers filled the room as the students murmured.

"So the problem is that he's not an official member of the magic tower and he has magic-nullification syndrome?"

"It's a problem if he evaluates us. Being evaluated by a defective person without qualifications would not be well-received by other professors."

Defective. It was a term Oliver had heard once before. Duncan had said that he was not defective before he died.

"I don't understand. The purpose of magic combat classes is literally to become stronger. What does being affiliated with the magic tower or having magic-nullification syndrome have to do with anything?"

"…Professor, unless I misunderstood, it sounds like you're saying that staff member is stronger than us, who have received official training from the magic tower."

"At the very least, he's not someone you can easily look down on."

"Excuse me?"

"Strength isn't solely about using more powerful magic. It's a misconception that often arises from a narrow perspective."

Derick's face, which always wore a confident smile, contorted at Kevin's calm words. His face showed extreme humiliation, as if he had been spat on.

"Then, can you allow me to verify how much of a narrow perspective I have?"

"Are you requesting a match?"

"Yes."

Derick answered firmly. Kevin seemed to ponder for a moment before looking at Oliver in the corner and asking.

"Zenon. Are you up for it?"

"Um… if it's work, I'll do it."

(To be Continued)

OR

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