The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

The forest at night is cold. Especially so in winter. If you don’t light a fire or keep your body warm, you could die from hypothermia in an instant.

Superhumans who have mastered mana were somewhat free from such environments, but they weren’t completely liberated. They too had to bow their heads before harsh nature. That’s why magicians always accompany long-distance expeditions or labyrinth explorations.

Their convenience in lighting fires with a single gesture, spending nights with barrier magic without needing sentries, and dealing with intrusions through barriers was unparalleled compared to other superhumans. Ellen, who had been on expeditions at the family level, knew very well how important such magicians were.

Thanks to this, she could also understand how amazing the magician Asel was.

A cave slightly away from the golem generation zone. The group lit a fire at the entrance of the cave and made makeshift beds with leaves they had brought. Originally, they would have had to sleep on the hard ground with just leaves spread out, but thanks to Asel’s magic, they could sleep in a relatively soft place.

“Where did you learn this kind of magic?”
“A maid in the mansion. She was researching daily life magic, so I was able to learn a few.”
“The maid is a magician?”
“Most people living in Wiheim are magicians.”

The beds were set up in a circle around the campfire. A wind curtain was laid at the cave entrance to prevent cold air from penetrating inside the cave. This way, they could sleep warmly even in winter. If they had a tent, they could have camped better than now, but this was the best they could do for now.

The campsite setup was finished with this. Asel increased the size of the campfire once more, then went outside the cave briefly to set up barrier magic. It was magic that would make a sound if someone entered within range. He could have laid traps that directly attacked, but indiscriminately dealing with people without hostility didn’t suit his temperament.

‘This should be enough.’

Steam rises from his exhaled breath. After confirming that the magic was working normally, Asel briefly looked up at the sky.

Dark clouds were spewing rain for the first time in a very long while. It wasn’t raining that much, but it seemed they should refrain from outdoor activities until the rain stopped. Although no one in the group would catch a cold from getting rained on, there was no harm in being careful.

He returned inside the cave through the wind curtain. Elena was already trying to sleep lying on the bed, and Ellen was tending to her axe blade. She was sharpening the blade with a whetstone she had brought, and when she noticed Asel, she smiled faintly.

“Is it done?”
“Roughly.”

Asel said that and plopped down on his bed.

Although it was called a bed, it was just a bundle of leaves, but this was more than enough to be grateful for. He nodded with satisfaction and lay back.

“Do what you need to and sleep. We’ll end the exam tomorrow as the last day.”
“Alright. I’ll go to sleep right after finishing this.”

Although the exam period is a total of one week, it was possible to end the exam early by submitting once a certain amount of cores were collected. There was no need to stay cooped up in the forest for a whole week. By tomorrow, they would have no more business in this forest.

‘It’s been long.’

Asel thought, looking up at the cave ceiling.

It had already been 5 days since he left Wiheim. He wanted to return quickly and meet his master, Evelyn, and Haley. Later, when he officially enters the Academy, opportunities to face them would decrease, so he needed to spend enough time with them before that.

They now felt like family to him. His relationship with them was very precious to Asel. Needless to say for Evelyn, who was his blood relative, but it was the same for Ena and Haley. He could no longer even imagine a life without them.

He wondered how he had lived before. He no longer remembered the taste of moldy bread crumbs and water mixed with stone powder that he ate in the slums thinking it was good. His unfortunate life completely disappeared from the day Ena took him in.

Thinking like that, a smile naturally formed. Asel burst into laughter, recalling Ena’s characteristic expressionless face.

‘Should I hug her once when I go back?’

She seemed to secretly like skinship, so she probably wouldn’t refuse. Just as Asel was thinking this and closed his eyes.

Beeeeeep!!

The barrier magic activated. Elena, who had been lying down, abruptly sat up, and Ellen hardened her face coldly while gripping her sharply ground axe. Asel also opened his closed eyes and slowly drew up magical power.

“Asel, does the magic catch animals too?”
“No.”

At that immediate answer, Ellen immediately activated her aura. A cold light settled in her eyes. Strength entered her hand gripping the axe, and a fierce spirit as if about to cut something down right away spread out centered on her.

Elena also raised her blood energy and wrinkled her nose. Then she slightly furrowed her brow.

“…I smell blood.”
“Is it an injured person?”
“No. There’s only a little of their own blood, the rest is someone else’s blood on them.”
“Meaning it’s not a welcome guest.”

Footsteps are getting closer. Ellen spread out her energy to gauge the realm of the uninvited guest, but all she could feel was their presence. Their realm wasn’t detected at all, as if they were completely inanimate. There was only one thing this meant.

That the opponent was a monster standing in a place infinitely higher than herself. Ellen clicked her tongue and turned to look at Asel.

“What do you plan to do?”
“A man. Height about 180cm. Don’t know the weight, arms are a bit long. The clothes he’s wearing are high quality and suitable for movement. Judging from the sword at his waist, he seems to be a swordsman, and there’s a cut wound remaining on his left forearm.”
“…What are you doing?”

Ellen asked with furrowed brows, but Asel didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to speak out the scenes flowing into his mind.

Barrier magic comes in many varieties. The magic Asel installed is his original formula that combines amplification magic that makes a loud sound when triggered with surveillance magic that allows observation from a distance the moment it’s activated. Thanks to this, he could obtain a lot of information.

“Judging from the blood dripping from the wound, it seems not long since he was injured. As Elena said, the blood stains on his body other than this are from others. The opponent’s level is… since it can’t be gauged, he’s at least a Master.”
“…A Master? There was such a monster mixed among the participants?”
“He’s not a participant.”

Asel hardened his face coldly at the footsteps now heard right in front, and continued speaking.

“He’s an outsider.”
“Correct!”

The moment he uttered this, the wind curtain was cleanly cut away. The curtain that had been blocking the rain scattered into the air, and beyond it, a thoroughly soaked man walked out. He swept his hair sticking to his face upwards and smiled brightly at the group.

“Hello, friends. Are you doing well on the exam?”
“Who are you?”

Ellen asked, raising her axe. Fernan smiled bitterly at that fierce spirit.

“You’re too hostile. Are we acquainted?”
“I’ll ask again. Who are you?”
“I’m an Academy professor. Fernan Clark. Heard of me?”
“…Fernan Clark?”

Ellen chewed on that name and crumpled her face.

Fernan Clark. The eldest son of the Clark family and a swordsman who made great achievements in the demon subjugation war. The emerging monster rumored to have recently achieved Master level appeared before the group.

It was Ellen’s first time seeing Fernan’s face in person. Since he was someone who stayed cooped up in the Academy after the subjugation war ended, there was no chance to meet him. Ridiculously, she met such a person not inside the Academy but at the entrance exam site.

“…What business does the professor have here?”

Having confirmed the other party’s identity, she couldn’t treat him rudely anymore. Ellen immediately changed her speech to formal language and asked. Fernan smiled brightly and answered while taking in all the group members with his eyes.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here later. First, let me explain the rules.”

There was no time to ask what rules. It was because Fernan drew the sword at his waist and blatantly revealed his killing intent. Enormous pressure weighs down on their shoulders and interferes with the flow of mana. Ellen and Elena widened their eyes and struggled to resist Fernan’s surging energy.

On the other hand, Asel stared at Fernan with a cold face. Seeing this, Fernan inwardly exclaimed in admiration and said:

“First. I won’t kill you, but I can render you unable to fight.”
“…What do you meㅡ”
“Second. You must attack me with the intent to kill. Otherwise, you fail the exam.”
“……”
“Understood? Let’s begin.”

The moment Fernan finished speaking, he pointed the tip of his sword towards Ellen. Ellen swallowed hard, looking at the blade dripping with water droplets.

At the same time, a streak of lightning poured down at high speed, grazing her temple.

[Pursuing Lightning]

Crackle!!

Dark blue lightning flies aiming precisely at Fernan’s brow. Fernan deflected the lightning by swinging his sword. His gaze turned towards Asel.

“Lightning magic.”
“……”
“So you were the disciple of Lady Ena that rumors were rife about.”
“Has it spread that far already?”
“How could I not know when the magic department professors talk about it every day.”

Fernan said, looking down at his hand slightly trembling from directly receiving the lightning.

“More than that, the power of the magic is strange. To be able to damage a Master’s body even in this wet state. And earlier, you were the only one whose magical power didn’t fluctuate. Did Lady Ena pick up a strange monster?”
“A great monster indeed.”

Asel smiled and stomped the ground hard.

“I’ll come at you with killing intent.”
“An interesting fellow.”

Fernan swung his sword horizontally. Aura overlaid his blade, and a sharp sword wave was shot aiming at Asel.

[Lightning Nature Wall]

A wall made of lightning formed under Asel’s feet collides with the sword wave and scatters. Electric currents scatter in all directions. Electricity mixes with the moisture-filled air. Fernan smiled at that tingling sensation, and Asel clenched his fist to burst the currents.

[Lightning Explosion]

The violent lightning shot resonates with the lingering echoes of the scattered lightning magic. Immediately after, a massive thunderous explosion engulfed the cave.

Boom!!

The cave, unable to withstand the power of the lightning, collapses. Fernan retreated backwards, and Elena and Ellen pursue him.

The two looked at each other, then split to approach Fernan’s left and right sides respectively.

[Blood Flow Molding]
[Blood Halberd Thread]

Elena changes the blood she drew out into the form of a thorny thread and swings it. Ellen swings her axe down vertically with great force. Fernan deflects and cuts through the straightforward falling attack and the flexibly flying attack in turn, then strikes Ellen’s abdomen with his elbow.

“Ugh!”

Ellen frowned and was pushed back greatly by the intense pain rising from her solar plexus. Elena, instead of paying attention to her flying away, enhanced her body and kicked at Fernan’s shoulder. Fernan lightly received that attack and smiled.

“Princess. It seems the Prince didn’t teach you martial arts.”

He grabbed Elena’s leg and swung it roughly. Her body flew and slammed straight into a tree.

“Kuhuk!”

A harsh breath burst from Elena’s mouth. Fernan swung his sword to finish her off first.

As if his words about not killing were sincere, it was a simple downward slash without aura imbued. Thanks to this, Ellen who rushed in could block that attack.

Clang!

Sparks fly as the axe blade and sword blade collide. Ellen gritted her teeth so hard they might break and endured Fernan’s attack. Fernan looked down at her with a gentle smile.

“Even the Hargelin family, born with superhuman strength, can’t withstand a Master’s power.”
“…Urgh.”
“But… even if I didn’t imbue aura, blocking this is unexpected. Seems your practical experience is quite good.”
“Thank you… for the praise…!”
“Don’t mention it.”

Just as Fernan said this and was about to put more strength into his sword hand.

“…!”

An eerie level of magical power condensed in the air above. The lingering echoes of destruction magic created solely for slaughter and massacre are clearly caught in his senses.

“Ha…!”

High-level magic with power far superior to intermediate-level magic. Moreover, it’s high-level lightning magic. He, who had been with Ena in the demon subjugation war, knew its power better than anyone. If hit directly, even Fernan couldn’t be unharmed.

Moreover, the current environment was very advantageous for lightning magic. Just by shooting lightning, it was possible to electrocute the entire forest through the water. How much stronger would the power be with high-level magic?

“I should dodge thisㅡ”
“No.”

The moment Fernan muttered, Asel, who burst out through the darkness of the forest, instantly grabbed his abdomen. Fernan saw wings of flame evaporating rainwater behind Asel’s back.

[Red Wings Soaring Sky]

A fire-attribute flight magic that boasts extreme magical power efficiency, so even Asel can only fly for a short time yet. In addition to that, he used invisibility magic, ‘Silence’ which kills sound, and ‘Ghost’ which erases presence to approach and extend his hand to Fernan’s skin, then muttered softly.

“You can’t dodge.”

[Annihilating Thunderbolt]

Crackle!!

Thunder condensed from dozens of lightning bolts into one and drawn out shortly is driven into Fernan’s abdomen.

Magic that greatly increased power by combining lightning and shortening the range. Even Fernan couldn’t help but furrow his brow momentarily at this lethal magic capable of burning all nerve pathways from the point of impact and turning the brain to ashes.

‘If I move aura to block it, it’s magic that destroys the inner energy. Troublesome.’

Fernan smiled at the burning pain starting from his abdomen.

It’s possible to block magic without moving aura. A Master’s body isn’t that weak. However, he had to endure some stiffness in the process. The destructive power and penetration unique to lightning magic couldn’t be ignored even for a Master.

But instead of quietly receiving the attack, Fernan moved his aura to erase the lightning that had penetrated his body. This was possible because he knew that even if it was magic that attacked aura, Asel’s level couldn’t cause him great damage yet. Thanks to this, he was free from stiffness, but some internal injury was unavoidable.

“Is it my turn now?”

Fernan asked, letting a tiny amount of blood flow from his mouth. Asel grinned and stepped back.

“Not yet.”

The moment he uttered this. The magical power condensed in the sky began to rotate violently. Fernan let out a hollow laugh at that ferocious momentum and took his stance.

“You maintained the formula for high-level magic while using another magic? Is that possible common-sensically? Your head should explode.”
“I don’t do what I can’t do.”
“Ha, geniuses indeed.”

Fernan smiled bitterly, and Asel brought his hand down from above.

It was one of the high-level magics Ena often used.

What the ancients called, an overwhelming phenomenon they considered divine punishment.

[Natural Resonance]
[Formula Overlap]
[Simultaneous Incantation]

An eerie blue light flashes in the sky.

[Falling Thunder]

Boom!!

A massive streak of lightning fell as if to split the earth.