Chapter 3: 3

Mightiest Melee Magician

Chapter 3

“Professor…”

“How’s your body?”

It was Professor Hydel.

He was looking at me with a complicated expression.

Looking at the professor making such a face, I tried my best to respond calmly.

“It’s ok.”

“…That’s a relief.”

He cleared his throat as if to lessen the awkwardness, and then said something.

“First of all, Ben Polt will be expelled from the academy.”

Ben Polt.

The one whose nose I broke.

But also the one who chucked Lightning Bolt at me like a madman.

As the second son of the Polt barony, he was already well known for being aggressive.

However, the most shocking truth was his expulsion.

“Expelled?”

“That’s right.”

“He’s getting expelled even though graduation is less than a year away?”

“The rules of the academy are absolute.”

Ignit Magic Academy.

One of the most famous magic academies in the kingdom.

Whether they be nobles or commoners, students received equal treatment.

Of course, bullying or fighting for any reason was forbidden.

Minor fistfights of a certain level were just ended with punishment from the board.

But the story changed when magic was involved.

As it could be seen as an intent to kill, expulsion was a rather light sentence.

“Is that so…”

However, that guy would somehow find a way.

That’s because the Polt family was part of the ‘Royal Faction’ that held the central powers in the kingdom.

Even though they were expelled from Ignit Academy, they would surely find another path at a different academy.

They had the power.

The problem here… was me.

“That said, Ruin, you also won’t be evading punishment.”

“……”

As I thought.

I wouldn’t be able to escape punishment.

Although the main incident was because of Ben Polt, the one who initiated the violence was me.

‘If I get expelled…’

What would happen to me?

The effort I put in for all those years?

My family didn’t have the power to grasp at another chance like Ben Polt.

This was the end of the line.

I suppressed my shaking anxiety and spoke up as calmly as possible.

“…Yes. Please tell me what it is.”

“Your punishment will be… doing volunteer work at school for one month.”

“…yes?”

Volunteer work.

I was surprised at the unexpectedly light sentence.

“We had heard about your unjust discrimination and ostracization before. We also heard that Ben Polt dared to disrespect the head of the Ardell family.”

“……”

“After taking your situation into consideration, this is the punishment that was decided for you.”

It felt as if a storm had passed.

Somehow, I got a thought that the academy understood me.

“The punishment starts as soon as your body fully recovers. So, until then, focus on getting better.”

“……yes.”

Our conversation ended there, but Professor Hydel didn’t go anywhere.

Even though he finished telling me what I needed to know, rather than going, he moved the chair next to the bed and sat closer to me.

He then, with a serious tone, inquired,

“Can I ask you something?”

As I gave him a nod of approval, Professor Hydel hesitated for a second, and then asked me,

“Do you perhaps… have an ‘Artifact’?”

“What?”

Artifacts.

Weapons left behind by the magicians of old, with supposedly limitless mana lying dormant inside.

Terrifying instruments that could shake the world and change its very foundations.

However, this was just an empty story only found in the history books.

Artifacts that exist in real life don’t even come close to the power written in history and were just a collective term for magic items.

It’s an arcane item that could maintain a user’s mana for a period of time or was engraved with special kinds of permanent spells.

They could be considered an imitation of the artifacts of legend, but even these were very rare and expensive, to the point where the average noble couldn’t even dream of owning one.

Meaning, that’s also the case for my family.

“Heh. There’s no way I would have an artifact…”

Rather than authority or money, my family and father care more about the subjects of the territory.

An expensive item like an artifact was not a good pairing with us.

Professor Hydel knew this as well.

“Indeed, it would be hard for the Ardell family to possess an artifact.”

“Why did you ask me?”

Professor Hydel answered my question.

The answer he gave was shocking.

“Back then, as you fell after getting hit by Lightning Bolt, an unfamiliar light was shining from your body.”

“What?”

“A red light, to be precise. It was like an ancient artifact was protecting you. That red light deflected Ben Polt’s magic.”

“What the hell…”

I first questioned if what he told me was true.

But I knew that Professor Hydel wasn’t the type to joke around in this kind of situation.

‘Wait a second.’

Gradually, my brain started thinking.

I remembered what Healer Helen had said about my unnaturally normal body state.

And the strange dream I had.

The red-eyed man.

And that disparate voice that I heard.

You are the incarnation of Draka, Destroyer of Worlds.

Artifact “Player” has activated.

Restriction lifted on Status Window.

“……”

I shook my head.

What was I thinking?

It was just a dream. Nothing more.

Suddenly talking about an artifact…

I responded to Professor Hydel who was analyzing me with a piercing gaze.

“I don’t think I know.”

“…Alright.”

He nodded his head at my answer and stood up from his seat.

Then said one final thing.

“It’s a relief that you don’t have any injuries.”

“Yes, it is.”

Being completely fine after a direct hit from Lightning Bolt.

He did tell me he found my situation very strange, but he didn’t ask me any more questions.

“Rest.”

“Yes sir.”

Professor Hydel left the recovery room, and I went back to laying down.

Thump.

“Sigh.”

My worries about the incident and punishment lessened a little, but the unsolved question complicated my thoughts.

Artifact.

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Destroyer of Worlds, Draka.

And also, ‘Player’.

These unrelated and unfamiliar words repeated in my head.

That wasn’t all.

‘I think there was one other thing…’

I repeated what the disparate voice said, and muttered under my breath,

“Status window?”

And then, something appeared in front of my eyes.

* * *

* * *

“Woah! What the?”

Surprised, I kicked the blanket off my bed.

Helen hurriedly came and asked me,

“Are you ok?”

“…Eh?”

“Your face is turning pale. Are you hurting anywhere?”

“Oh… No. It’s just… Do you not see this?”

I gestured to the half-transparent blue screen before me.

Looking like a mana barrier, there were words written in small font.

Ruin Ardell

Incarnation of Draka, Destroyer of Worlds

As a result of his pursuit for infinite strength, the magician Draka perished along with his world. For Draka, who from birth lacked the ability to evoke mana, strength was the origin of his power.

Player: An artifact of Draka that can summon the Status Window, and limitlessly increase one’s power through quests.

Strength: 150 +++

Agility: 100

Wisdom: 1550

“This thing! Here!”

Honestly, the face Helen made in response was the best.

“Ruin. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“What?”

“Come here. Let me check your head.”

“?? What are you doing??”

“Stay still.”

Like treating a pitiful moron, she put her hand on my head and injected some mana. 

Ah. Did I go insane?

However, Helen tilted her head in confusion.

“It doesn’t look like you went insane.”

“Are you sure? I didn’t go insane?”

“No, you didn’t. Insane people don’t think that they are insane.”

“Then, what the hell is this…”

It wasn’t insanity.

Even if I rubbed my eyes to get it out, I could still see it clearly.

This probably could only be seen by me.

Wait, should I have accepted this so easily?

“What did you say you could see?”

While Helen was waving her hands, it clearly passed through this ‘Status Window’.

This confirmed it. 

Only I could see it.

“Ah, no. It looks like I imagined it.”

“Sure. Rest for a bit longer. We need you to be more stable.”

After Helen left, I had no choice but to acknowledge this.

“This is real…”

* * *

Ruin Ardell

Incarnation of Draka, Destroyer of Worlds

As a result of his pursuit for infinite strength, the magician Draka perished along with his world. For Draka, who from birth lacked the ability to evoke mana, strength was the origin of his power.

Player: An artifact of Draka that can summon the Status Window, and limitlessly increase one’s power through quests.

Strength: 150 +++

Agility: 100

Wisdom: 1550

“……”

First of all, I didn’t know what this was.

I tried to figure out what I could understand first.

First, .

This was probably one of those artifacts of legend that disappeared long ago.

‘Player’ would be the name of the artifact, and it utilized ‘Quests’ to enable me to gain infinite power.

Next, .

I was a bit surprised at this part.

“Someone whose mana evocation was constrained… Draka.”

This magician, Draka, was disabled just like me.

With the same disorder as well.

And he, through a medium called ‘Quests’, was able to grow his strength and become more powerful.

Infinite strength.

So strong that he destroyed both himself and his world.

And finally,

“This… represents the current status of my body after becoming a ‘Player’.”

Strength: 150 +++

Agility: 100

Wisdom: 1550

Strength, agility, and wisdom.

Wisdom being abnormally high was because I devoted myself to studying magic my whole life.

The structure started making sense.

“So, I understand up to this point…”

I didn’t understand it in my heart.

Only by analyzing it in my mind.

That’s right.

A strange event that I found hard to believe had happened to me.

This ability saved my life.

And the artifact of this ‘Draka’, who also had Evocation Inability Disorder, was transferred to me.

The dream I had before was probably connected to this as well.

Perhaps that red-eyed man was Draka.

However, there was one important question.

“Why me?”

Especially during a chance encounter with death.

‘Because I’m also disabled?’

This was something I couldn’t find out unless I directly met ‘Draka’ and asked him.

‘I’ll know after trying.’

I shook away my thoughts and stood up.

I noticed and focused on a small corner of the Status Window that said ‘Quest’.

‘I don’t know what that is…’

I knew it was a medium to increase my strength.

Even though I didn’t know what it was in detail…

‘I have nothing to lose.’

I was already a failed magician.

The future of my life in the Academy was set in stone.

I would fail the graduation test and be constantly held back year after year.

If I couldn’t graduate, I would become at best an assistant magician, or a librarian at a Tower where I’d grow old and die.

Perhaps, I would live my life without doing anything close to magic and die quietly somewhere.

I never wanted to be like that.

This was why, even though I knew how futile it was, I never gave up, remaining at the academy.

‘Infinite power…’

I closed my eyes, slowly opened one, and pronounced quietly,

“Quest!”

Another strange window appeared in front of my eyes.

——

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