Chapter 18 — I Am Caesar
1
The duel with a professor was one of the most dreaded tests for students after their second year.
A test where they had to withstand a professor unleashing 3rd-class and above magic for 5 minutes.
The professors at Mythos Academy were among the world’s best, and their pride soared to the heavens.
Naturally, every single spell that flew at them was lethal.
Professor ‘Trail’, in charge of the second-year students.
He was a professor who skillfully handled the completely opposite attributes of flame and ice.
The subject was ‘Elementology’.
Pure elemental magic was his specialty.
Since most elemental magic is offensive, it goes without saying that Professor Trail’s attack power was at a hopeless level.
“I hear he’s called the Professor of Despair because he’s so hopeless for students?”
“Pfft-. What’s that about.”
Pearson, always quick with information, started explaining about Professor Trail.
Unable to hide the Peterson family blood, he had been collecting various information since entering the school.
The origin of the Peterson family was not magicians, but ‘treasure hunters’.
Their collecting instinct was not for material things.
The real ability of the Petersons was their vast network and the enormous infrastructure that came with it.
Pearson was fully utilizing that networking trait.
“It’s true. This professor teaches Elementology, which is a required subject, and they say he gives assignments every year that are impossible for students to handle.”
“Ugh-.”
“We have to take it next year too, right?”
Kael asked.
Well, of course-.
Pearson nodded proudly.
“Of course! That’s why they say you need to study hard in your first year. As for me… I’m already hopeless.”
“Urgh! Now I’m scared! I should watch carefully. There must be a lot to learn, right?”
Anais gazed at the arena with sparkling eyes.
A battle between a professor and a monster student.
It was an opportunity to see Manus’s true skills.
-Come to think of it, there was something strange.
Manus had not yet used any magic above 3rd-class.
Could it be that he hadn’t learned it yet?
Or?
“We should be able to see magic above 3rd-class, right?”
“Kuu-. This is the beauty of magic! It’s starting, it’s starting.”
Manus and Professor Trail faced each other.
The professor opened his mouth while rolling a fireball made of mana.
“It should be fine to demonstrate high-intensity magic to Mr. Manus, right?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Then, I’ll use magic of 3rd-class and above. I’m looking forward to it.”
Whoosh-!
Manus also demonstrated the same magic.
3rd-class magic, [Ignio].
Manus raised his eyes, looking at the flickering area.
He smirked and lowered his gaze again, preparing for battle.
“Let’s begin.”
Kwaang-!
An incredible heat made the arena sweltering hot.
Both of them simultaneously fired their next spells.
Water and wind.
The battle of elements against elements continued fiercely.
“Very good!”
The effort of absorbing magic stones had paid off.
And what about the speed at which mana was filling up?
The corners of Manus’s mouth naturally turned up.
“…That’s a real monster.”
“If only his personality wasn’t like that…”
“Why-. I think that personality is so cool.”
Chattering voices could be heard here and there.
The chiaroscuro created by the brilliant magic bursting highlighted his beauty. (TL Note: In art, chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition.)
His disheveled hair added a touch of wildness.
Students watching him from the stands, regardless of gender, were mesmerized.
Before long, the exchange between the two intensified, and full-scale magical bombardment began.
Manus blocked incoming fireballs with three flower petals.
He transformed those petals into sharp shurikens and threw them to keep the professor in check.
‘I’ve used up almost all my mana with this. I need to end it with one big shot.’
Kwooooo-!
The air screamed.
The professor’s eyes widened.
The corners of Manus’s mouth slightly turned up.
“-Here I go.”
-
- Up to 128. Any magician can use that many.
Generally, if you study magic diligently, you can visualize that much in your brain without difficulty.
But beyond that, it enters the realm of talent.
Manus’s talent was revealed to all.
A wind sound on a different level from 3rd-class magic.
The sound you hear when riding an airplane whirled at Manus’s fingertips.
“Already? This is quite-.”
Kwarrrr-!
Professor Trail closed his eyes and concentrated.
At his fingertips, lightning that emitted endlessly waited to rush out like a leashed dog.
“Pierce through.”
[Tempesto]
A spiral wind shot out like a spear.
Kwarrrr-!
The power that overturned the ground was more potent than the throwing spears shot by knights.
Bzzzzt-!
Trail also stretched out his hand, spewing lightning magic.
The two spells collided, and the world was brightly colored.
“…Let’s end the evaluation here.”
“-Thank you for your hard work.”
The result was quite surprising.
Professor Trail dusting himself off and Manus looking at his singed clothes.
If they continued, it’s uncertain how the result might change, but for now, Professor Trail had a clear advantage.
“Wow-.”
Clap clap-.
Someone started applauding in admiration.
That emotion spread, and the sound echoed throughout the arena.
It wasn’t an eruption of applause like after a grand performance, but it was a sound that inspired awe in the viewers.
Especially Alano, who was next in line, looked proud.
Manus let out a small sigh and turned away without lingering.
A cleanliness that showed no reaction.
“Cool! So cool!”
“Really, where else would we see magic like this~. We’re truly blessed.”
“So that’s a Caesar.”
Ignoring the murmuring sounds of the students, Manus sat down gracefully.
He raised his eyes to look at the part that had flickered.
There was nothing there.
‘I still can’t get used to it. This is totally attention-seeking behavior-.’
It was quite harsh for a self-evaluation.
Really, if you lived like this in modern times, wouldn’t you be labeled an attention seeker?
Whatever, think what you want-.
He decided to give up thinking about it now.
Alano’s flashy magic show was just as impressive as what Manus had shown.
His presence had clearly stimulated her, as she showed a full-power clash.
So Harrison, who prioritized peace above all, had such a side.
‘Does my mere existence change even personalities?’
He pondered.
If the hypothesis was correct, he would need to be mindful of his future actions as well.
When, at what timing to appear, how to converse.
The choice of words and even the emotions they feel.
‘It’s tiring.’
While recognizing it as a tiring task, he concluded it was entirely possible.
It felt like being engulfed by Caesar’s Mindset.
But still-.
This way would be easier to live in this world.
The evaluation ended.
Once again, the top student remained at the top.
On his way back, Manus gauged the date.
“I should start preparing soon.”
Enemies don’t exist only within.
2
Kael, Anais, Pearson.
The three musketeers headed side by side to their new class.
What would life be like in the new class?
The excitement could be easily read on their faces.
As they were walking down the corridor, they saw a group passing by to Class B.
It was an ordinary sight of one woman surrounded by two other women.
The person walking and laughing together with two women who had their arms around her shoulders.
“Should we go like that too? Huh? I’ll be in the middle-.”
“-Quiet.”
Kael cut off Pearson’s useless muttering and turned back to look at the group that had passed.
Especially the woman in the middle-.
Although it was the first time seeing her name or face, she could tell.
That girl might be getting bullied-.
She pondered what to do, but just turned her head away.
There was something she realized before coming to Mythos Academy.
‘If you meddle too much, it will come back as a weakness someday.’
She moved her feet that were reluctant to leave.
‘Yeah, maybe I saw it wrong.’
She rationalized to herself as she turned her body again.
“What’s wrong? They seem like close friends-.”
“-Nothing.”
If someone had stopped that choice then.
Or if someone had acted more decisively than Kael herself-.
Such a tragedy wouldn’t have happened.
There are people in the world who regret.
Those who want to escape reality, unable to believe the results created by such small choices.
No matter how much of a protagonist one is, there’s no law saying they can’t face such trials.
3
2nd Year Golden Serpent Class A, Number 1.
Caesar Manus.
Looking at that proud nameplate, he started to like this life.
Originally, the man on Earth had unremarkable grades and unremarkable looks.
Just an ordinary office worker.
‘No, I was even unemployed after being fired.’
Although it was an incident where he was falsely accused, they probably targeted him because he was easy prey.
He thought it was purely because of his own inadequacy that he was victimized while fumbling and unable to respond properly.
At that time, he comforted himself thinking he had done nothing wrong.
However, through Caesar’s eyes and heart, that weakness itself appeared as a sin.
Whether this is a good thing-.
Still, he thought it was much better than living weakly.
“Congratulations. You kept the top spot again.”
“Work harder.”
“Of course I will. I have to in order to catch up to you.”
Before he knew it, Alano was sitting beside him.
Unlike the first year, second-year students had no afternoon classes to prepare for external courses.
Mythos Academy students gain valuable experience outside and return.
Academies, kingdoms, knightly orders, magician guilds, and so on.
There were plenty of places wanting talent, and stages to test them were spread across the entire continent.
From the second year, the structure was to go to such places and build up achievements.
“Have you looked at any missions?”
“Yeah, I’m going to handle a job assigned by my family. It’s just the right difficulty-.”
The missions given by the Harrisons are known to be tricky, but Alano should be able to handle it well.
On the other hand, Manus hadn’t decided yet.
Since it was content completely absent from the original work, it was hard to decide what to do.
In the story that unfolded from the protagonist’s perspective, there was only mention of Alano briefly leaving combat.
So, this choice depended entirely on Manus’s own will, not relying on the original work.
It was a really important task for the first performance evaluation and future grades.
‘Events occurring at this point are not described at all.’
Even Alano’s request was glossed over with simple text-.
Then there’s no choice but to pick directly.
“I should choose soon too.”
“Oh, come to think of it-.”
Alano raised a finger as if remembering something.
Hearing those words, Manus hurriedly moved his steps.
4
“Please… stop…”
“What? Stop? You filthy merchant, how dare you say stop?”
One woman was facing two other women.
Because it was a gap she could never overcome alone, she could only cower.
Her whole body ached.
At Mythos Academy, it’s forbidden to use violence in ‘public places’.
In other words, it means that forming power structures in the shadows is accepted.
No one could restrain or supervise that aspect.
“Do you know what happened to our family because of your family?”
“That’s— not my fault.”
“Still running your mouth-.”
A fiery pain flared across her face.
Her vision flashed, and for a moment, she felt like she was dreaming.
“You need to pay for your sins.”
“Stop-.”
They didn’t listen.
The enraged magicians tormented her not with magic, but with their hands and feet.
She cried out inwardly as tears flowed.
‘Please, someone help me-.’
–TL Notes–
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