Organize and meet with a plan

"As you can see ..., when this flavored potion meets kale purified water, it creates a red precipitate, and at the same time, black bubbles...."

As I listened to Kyler's lecture, I thought about his story.

There was still time for his scenario to play out, but I organized my thoughts ahead of time.

"The trouble starts when Kyler's apprentice takes a potion he's created and takes it outside.

The potion's potency is a temporary increase in physical ability and mana efficiency.

The potion's benefits make it easy to see why this would be a bad thing, but the problem is the side effects.

If this were a normal side effect, we might have gotten away with it, but it's not normal.

The potion caused a terrifying side effect of mana runaway along with physical deformation.

"The ingredients used, the magic used to make it, it's all black magic, though that's only revealed after the fact.

Investigating the case eventually leads to Kyler, and the story eventually pits the player against him.

Of course, in the early chapters, Kyler isn't a powerful warlock, but he's intimidating enough for a student.

I thought to myself, "...I wonder if the current Diane could beat him on her own.

As I pondered this, Kyler's lesson went off without a hitch.

Aside from calling out to me once along the way and complimenting me on a potion I'd made, he didn't pay much attention to me.

I thought, "He can't possibly know me, so he's just keeping his distance.

But what can I do?

I'm very interested in you.

There was still time for his student to stir things up, so I didn't worry about it.

For now, I just need to attend his classes and prepare myself.

"Hey. Do you have a moment?"

Lucia, who was sitting next to me, hadn't left her seat for some reason.

Normally, she would have rushed to the lab after the clue I gave her last time.

"Why all of a sudden."

"Nothing. You know what you told me the other day, that you made it by accident with that slime nuke."

"Uh. Did you try it?"

"Yeah. I managed to get it to do what you said, but I can't seem to get it to do more than that."

Wow. Did you do that already?

I honestly didn't think I could do it so quickly.

So you're about a quarter of the way there.

"I don't know what more you want, but maybe we can work on it later."

"Later? Are you busy right now?"

"Uh, I have to run some errands."

"Where are you going?"

"The principal's office."

I had a million other things on my mind, Kyler, Lucia, and all the rest, but first I had to go see the principal who called me.

* * *

Louis Atman was heading somewhere, his body drenched in sweat from his morning lecture.

After days of thinking about it, he had finally had enough and was taking action.

As he stepped off the train and strutted away, people around him recognized him.

"Senior Monas."

"What brings him to the Ministry of Magic?"

He ignored the voices and headed for the lecture hall of the Ministry of Magic.

Louis couldn't see anything in sight now.

"Ah."

Finally, he saw the figure he was looking for.

He was easy to spot as the students spilled out onto the streets after their morning lectures, their eyes focused on one place.

"Adrias Cromwell.

He wore his usual wizard's robes and a slightly worn sword at his side.

If a stranger had seen him, they might have laughed at his unbalanced appearance, but no one here could laugh at him.

"One who possesses the talents of both a knight and a mage.

It was the first time I had ever seen him in person, though I had heard of his existence like an old legend.

I had heard that Edmund the Great, the founder of the Empire, had the same constitution.

As Lewis stood there, his eyes burning with determination, Adrias, who had been the center of attention from passersby, stopped.

His gaze landed on Louis, and the eyes of the other students naturally turned to him.

"What the hell, he's the freshman class president."

Here's the translation:

"Look at him sweating. Seems like he came in a hurry. But why did he come here?"

The murmurs of the people could be heard as Louis clenched his fists.

Perfect timing.

He had to seize this opportunity.

"Senior Adrias Cromwell."

As Louis called his name, the students around watched the situation with expectant eyes.

However, Adrias, when his name was called, still had the same cold and indifferent expression, just looking at Louis.

"I've been hesitating, but I came here in the end. I know you haven't fully recovered, but could you please teach me a lesson?"

As Louis finished speaking, an explosive reaction erupted among the people nearby.

"Wow, seriously, crazy!"

"What's going on? Did the new student representative challenge him?"

"This will be fun. Who do you think will win?"

The people eagerly waited for Adrias's response with excited eyes.

However, Adrias simply looked at Louis with his usual cold gaze, then moved on without saying a word.

"Huh?"

Someone exclaimed in bewilderment, but even so, Adrias continued walking quietly without answering, passing by Louis.

Everyone froze at his relentlessly cold and indifferent demeanor.

As Adrias disappeared from sight, the crowd finally started to speak up one by one.

"What was that?"

"He just left."

"Get lost. Kid. Was that the meaning of it?"

"Maybe he didn't want to fight because he's not fully healed yet?"

"Such bad luck. I don't even like it when a magician swings a sword."

As people's reactions burst out, Louis remained motionless in that spot.

No, he couldn't move.

"Did no one... feel it?"

Did I feel this pressure alone?

Louis barely managed to exhale.

And slowly turned his head to look at the path where Adrias had disappeared.

That empty scenery now resembled his vanished determination.

"I still have a long way to go. I need to get stronger."

After facing Adrias directly, he realized that.

Even though people around him were saying that he was the most powerful Monas, rewriting historical records and all, there were still many strong people in the world.

Moreover, Adrias Cromwell remained a low-profile student during his three years in the academy.

There were probably more hidden strong individuals besides him.

"The next time we meet, I will definitely stop your footsteps."

His vanished determination turned into a new resolve in his heart.

As he rode the train toward the administrative district where the principal's office was located, he awkwardly scratched his head.

I can't believe Louis came to see me.

I never even thought about it.

This was a situation where it felt like a superstar had personally come to find me.

"Because of that, I was so nervous that I couldn't say anything and just passed by."

I never thought I would react like this either.

Perhaps my unconscious mind had a much higher regard for Louis than I thought.

"Which is true. He is quite extraordinary. He's basically like the protagonist of this world."

I should have at least answered him.

Due to the sudden situation, I was taken aback and tense at the same time, so I just let it pass.

Of course, I had no choice but to comply with his request since he was called to the principal's office, but it seemed like I ignored him, and I felt sorry.

"Moreover, I must have unintentionally exuded some energy due to the tension...."

It's Louis, so that shouldn't be a problem.

While organizing my thoughts about Louis, the train quickly arrived at the central administrative district.

To be honest, I had a lot of tasks to complete and it felt like my time was being taken away. However, I couldn't decline the principal's request for assistance.

My first priority was to restore the undead creatures, particularly the nickel whose left arm was damaged. I utilized the corpse of Hozan that I recently obtained to fix it.

Although Hozan was a powerful villain close to the Overlord Master, I ultimately decided to use his corpse for the repair instead of summoning him as an undead.

Due to my busy schedule, I had put off this task, but now that I was heading to the principal's office, my plan had to be altered.

"I have to get it done quickly and return. There are so many things to do."

I also had to deal with the swords obtained by killing Hozan. There were a total of 11, excluding the demon sword Hwaran that Nickel had destroyed.

To be honest, except for the demon sword Hwaran and Sword Breaker, there were no outstanding swords among them.

"Good thing Benjamin came to watch the final match."

The intended use for the swords was none other than Rubens, Benjamin's signature demon sword.

Rubens, which was no different from Benjamin's signature, was a growth-type demon sword that became stronger by devouring other swords.

I had made an appointment to meet Benjamin separately, so I would give them to him then.

While lost in thought, I suddenly arrived at the building that housed the principal's office.

Compared to the enormous building, there was not a single person in sight, which felt strange.

Fortunately, it seemed that Morgan was waiting as I could see someone coming out of the magic elevator.

Here's the translation:

"Ah! Adrias, my student!"

He approached me with a face that seemed pleased.

"You've come all this way. Let me guide you to the principal's office."

"Thank you."

I followed him into the elevator and went up.

Wouldn't it be great if there were elevators like this in the Loden Matop so we wouldn't get lost?

The elevator stopped at the destination after a short while.

With Morgan leading the way, I could approach the door to the principal's office.

Smart.

"It's Morgan. I've brought Adrias, the student."

"Yes. Come in."

Deos Kanyan's voice came from inside, and Morgan opened the door.

As I walked behind Morgan, we entered a seemingly normal office.

The principal, Deos Kanyan, was an elderly gentleman with a full beard and long white hair that resembled a character from a film.

Despite his friendly demeanor and approachable personality, he possessed a shrewdness that lay beneath the surface. However, he wasn't malevolent, so I didn't feel the need to be too careful around him.

Nonetheless, I shouldn't underestimate his capabilities either. In addition, there was one more undisclosed secret that he held.

"I'll get back to my work now."

"Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Morgan."

As Morgan left, I finally spoke to Deos.

"I'm Adrias Cromwell. I heard you called for me."

"Yes. Adrias, my student. I was waiting for you. Have you been attending the lectures well?"

He calmly smiled and gestured for me to sit across from him.

Then he started boiling tea himself. His specialty was earning favor through these small gestures.

"Yes. Even though I'm in my fourth year, I still feel like there's much to learn."

"Haha. Learning is endless. Even at my age, I still have things to learn."

He brought the tea he had brewed himself and placed it in front of me.

Now I wish he would tell me the reason for summoning me.

"Are you busy by any chance?"

"No, not at all. I don't have any lectures this afternoon, so I'm fine."

"That's fortunate."

With that remark, Deos gazed at the teapot without saying anything peculiar.

A strange moment passed.

"He's trying to apply psychological pressure."

A trick to see if I would be agitated.

Since I had come here, I had resolved not to be impatient.

Whatever the reason for calling me, there was nothing for me to be guilty about.

"Unless they caught me using dark magic, and if they did, they wouldn't have called for a meeting with the principal, but the headmasters or Bahat would have attacked me."

Some time passed, and finally, Deos started pouring tea.

"Adrias, my student..."

As he poured the tea, Deos oddly dragged out his words.

What's the matter?

"I see you've changed a lot. You don't seem like an ordinary student."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Usually, students become fidgety when they come to the principal's office. Adrias, too, used to be like that. Haha."

Have I ever been to the principal's office before?

Not all the students at the academy had meetings with the principal.

Thinking back, I had a meeting when my father passed away.

"At that time, I wasn't in my right mind."

Still, there was nothing to be ashamed of.

In fact, if I showed any signs of hesitation, that crafty old man might take advantage of it.

I simply drank a sip of the tea Deos had poured, without saying anything.

Watching me, Deos also drank his tea and then spoke.

"Leaving that aside, is Adrias, my student, satisfied with his current life?"

"Yes. Couldn't be happier."

Having heard my answer, Deos nodded thoughtfully, gazing at his teacup for a moment before speaking again.

"Adrias, my student, have you ever considered changing your major department?"