There is only one person in this place who will ask about the size of magic.
The problem is that in order to consult on that, I have to reveal my identity.
First, I thought I would try it out by myself, and if that didn’t work, I would go to see the Headmaster.
I used the mana inside my body to cast a spell and made a chunk of ice.
I created a flame with slightly more mana than I just used and brought it to the ice, but it still did not melt.
While I was lost in thought, my teacher Adelia approached me.
“Is something not working out?”
“I clearly made a fire with more mana.”
As I spoke while bringing the flame close to the ice, Adelia’s expression slightly stiffened.
“Hmm. Ririan, would you like to try this?”
She came closer and whispered a spell in my ear.
“There’s no need to shout loudly. Just whispering is enough.”
According to Adelia’s words, I used my mana to whisper the spell.
“Fire.”
A fairly large flame appeared in my palm, and when I brought it to the ice, it melted away.
“Got it.”
As Adelia closely observed that scene, she told me to simply create the ice and fire.
I demonstrated the fire and ice I had created without using a spell.
In an instant, the gazes of the surrounding students concentrated entirely on me.
“Did you show magic during the exam?”
“No.”
I had no mental space to casually use magic against the Demon King.
After a moment of thought, Adelia took the fire from my hand and examined it.
Then, a slightly excited Max came over to me.
“You’re amazing. To create two types of magic!”
“Hmm? I can make them separately, right?”
Jema could do it, and so could the Demon King.
“Usually, it’s not possible, right? I guess a few people in the intermediate class can do it.”
I was told that the goal of the beginner class was to properly use one magic at a time.
“Ririan’s mana is a bit special. Please stay after class later.”
I felt anxious during the class, fearing that my identity might be discovered.
The class ended, but I couldn’t leave.
On the fourth floor, there was no one left besides me and Adelia.
“Now that there’s no one around, let’s talk comfortably.”
Adelia used magic to create two chairs, sitting in one and inviting me to sit in the other.
“Have you learned magic somewhere else?”
“From a friend.”
“I investigated your mana a bit, and its purity is very low.”
I had no idea what it meant for the purity to be low.
“The higher the purity of mana, the more significantly the magic can exert its power. Conversely, if it’s low, it’s as if it’s close to mana.”
In other words, the ice and fire I had created were merely mana that had frozen and burned.
“How can I increase the purity?”
“You said you learned magic from a friend? Then what kind of mental art did you learn?”
“I haven’t learned any.”
At my words, Adelia jumped up in surprise.
“That can’t be true! You used magic without refining your mana?”
“Yes.”
Adelia’s expression was one of disbelief.
“No matter how demonic you are, that should be impossible… Everyone should at least be familiar with some basic mental art. Hm.”
Adelia’s tail was moving very quickly.
“Are you lying because you can’t share the mental art you’ve learned?”
“No, I really haven’t learned any mental art.”
In fact, the Demon King had said that I didn’t need to learn mental art.
Mana mental art is a method of refining mana.
Though that process wasn’t necessary for me, I had a lingering question.
Why was the purity of my mana low?
Then again, I thought, isn’t there a way to increase the mana’s purity?
“So, I want to meet the Headmaster.”
“The Headmaster? They usually don’t meet just anyone…”
I asked her to simply convey my desire to meet.
Even if I requested the staff directly, they would likely refuse.
As a teacher, Adelia could probably manage to talk to someone through the staff.
After pondering for a moment, she took me into the fourth-floor corridor.
“I will pass on your message, but don’t get your hopes too high. He’s a busy person, so he probably won’t be able to see you right away.”
While waiting briefly in the fourth-floor corridor, Teacher Adelia entered a separate teacher’s room.
A few moments later, Adelia rushed out of the teacher’s room and told me to quickly get on the elevator.
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“They only called for Ririan-kun.”
The elevator arrived at the floor where the Headmaster’s office was located, and I knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
“Come in~”
Upon entering the Headmaster’s office, the Headmaster and the Demon King were waiting for me.
“I’ve heard a bit about it. I promised to give you special training, but I’m sorry that I couldn’t.”
“It’s alright. I heard you were busy.”
As I naturally sat down on the sofa, the Demon King moved to sit on my lap.
“Your mana purity is low?”
“Yes. That’s what they say.”
“Is that a problem?”
“I can’t negate what I have created with my own magic.”
Upon hearing my words, the Demon King shifted his position to face me.
“There’s no need to.”
“Pardon?”
“Why go through the trouble of canceling it with opposing attributes? You can just erase it.”
The Headmaster also nodded in agreement, showing he had no opposing opinions to the Demon King’s statement.
“Go ahead.”
I created ice just like I had in class.
This time, it was a large chunk of ice about half the size of the Demon King’s body.
“Now get rid of it.”
“How do I do that?”
When I asked, the Demon King simply demonstrated rather than explaining.
He created a fireball, then flicked his finger to make it disappear.
“Now, try it.”
I pointed my index finger towards the ice chunk, gesturing as if swiping horizontally.
In an instant, the ice vanished without a trace.
“Easy, right?”
“Yeah.”
The lesson Adelia taught was about helping students learn to control their mana.
“Students develop their ability to control mana through that lesson. It can also serve as a reason to increase power based on the amount of mana.”
Just as a person wielding a weapon can overpower an opponent with overwhelming strength, a magician can also suppress with their mana.
“Then what about purity?”
“It’s based on humans or the standards of demon races. As a dragon, Ririan-kun doesn’t need to worry about mana purity. But if you still want to raise it, there are methods.”
The Headmaster told me to come see him after class tomorrow.
“Then, excuse me.”
I bowed and left the Headmaster’s office.
As I was leaving the academy to return to the dormitory, Max was waiting for me at the entrance.
“Hey~ Are you leaving?”
“Yes. Were you waiting for me?”
“Yeah. Come with me for a bit.”
It was a line reminiscent of delinquent students during my school days.
“Where are we going?”
“I’ll let you know when we get there.”
Max casually threw his arm over my shoulder with a serious expression.
“Let’s go.”
I didn’t want to go, feeling like it wouldn’t be a good idea.
If something dangerous were to happen, I had at least two ways to escape.
So, I followed Max with a sense of reassurance.
The direction he was heading was entirely different from the city center.
If we kept moving in this direction, we would arrive at the outskirts of the city.
“Ririan, you use magic well, don’t you?”
“Not to the point where I could use it in actual combat yet.”
“With that speed, you can’t use it in battle?”
There certainly wasn’t anyone in the beginner class who used magic at a speed similar to mine.
I thought that the process of detaching the mana and immediately using it for magic was quite lengthy.
“Here, this way.”
Max pointed to an old building and went in first.
Following him inside, we connected to a deeper underground than I expected.
As we descended deeper into the underground, a low humming sound resonated within.
When we reached the bottom, two guards stood at the entrance of a door.
“There’s a rule that you have to cover your face to enter.”
Max, who had informed me of the rules here, handed me a mask.
Though I could wear it, my suspicions grew even more.
The thick iron door opened with a strange sound.
Once Max and I entered, I heard the sound of the door being locked from the outside.
“They just locked the door outside, didn’t they?”
“It’s fine. It’s just locked for security.”
With the mention of security, I felt a sense that it wasn’t exactly legal.
Wow~!
The sound of numerous people cheering.
The source of the sound that had been echoing from the underground earlier!
Inside the underground was a gigantic circular arena.
Inside, two people were fighting fiercely, while the audience watched.
“This is the underground arena. As you might have already guessed, it’s definitely not legal.”
Bam!
Inside the arena, two people were engaged in a very intense fight.
“How about it? Are you interested? The prize for winning is 100 gold.”
It was an enticing offer.
Although it was a large sum, it was far from enough to pay off my debts.
“I’m not really interested.”
“Oh, really? Well, winning isn’t easy, anyway.”
“Is the reason you’ve been learning magic recently…”
“Exactly. I participate here often. Even if I can’t win, I receive money each time I enter.”
I now understood why Max had seemed so relaxed the day of the exam.
When competing in such a place, it was likely that one would notice more than just the opponent in front of them.
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
“While this place operates illegally, there are rules in place.”
The rules of this arena were simple.
First, do not speak about the underground arena, second, you cannot attack if the opponent surrenders or is rendered incapable of fighting, and third, murder is not permitted under any circumstances.
Those who violate these three rules face punishment and are banned from entry.
While the first rule was necessary for security purposes, the second and third rules were a bit surprising for an illegal arena.
Usually, when thinking of something illegal, one would imagine a place where people easily get killed.
“It’s surprisingly clean for something illegal.”
“That’s why sometimes students from the academy participate to build up their skills.”
Following Max, we headed to the players’ waiting room.
The atmosphere in the shared waiting room was quite grim.
There were people with their bodies filled with injuries sprawled out just about anywhere.
Max familiarized himself as he opened a cabinet he usually used and pulled out a weapon.
In Max’s hand appeared a finely sharpened iron sword.
