When he heard her condition, Arthur almost laughed.

Magic she had never seen before?

He had the equivalent of a whole DND player handbook and spell compendium in his head.

From cantrips to 9th-Level Forbidden Spell, there were at least hundreds, maybe even thousands.

He could casually throw out a few little things like [Sonic Mirage], [Blinding Flash], or [Corruption], and the backwater mages of this world would be completely fooled.

This deal was pure profit for him.

"Deal."

Arthur nodded without any hesitation.

"But..."

His tone shifted.

"I’m busy right now."

He pointed at the ruined forest behind him, and at the classmates who were still trembling in fear.

"I still need to finish the weed-pulling task Professor Harris assigned."

"We can talk about the magic after we get back to the academy."

When she heard that reason, Isabella froze on the spot.

A Forbidden Spell genius being hunted by the top powers of the entire continent was now saying he had to hurry off to... pull weeds?

The ridiculous contrast was so absurd that even the well-traveled Raven Queen could not help rolling her eyes.

"Very good. I like your sense of humor, Mr. Arthur."

Isabella let out a soft, charming laugh.Just as she was about to turn and disappear back into the darkness, Elena, who had stayed silent until now, suddenly stepped forward.

"Arthur!! Don’t trust her!"

Her voice was cold and firm, and the mithril wand in her hand pointed straight at Isabella’s back.

"People from the underworld will betray anyone for profit."

"Making a deal with her is no different from making a deal with a tiger."

At Elena’s warning, Isabella only stopped and turned her head slightly.

Her amber eyes were full of mocking amusement, like she was watching a show.

"Little Ice Rose, let go of your pride."

"In this cruel world, the ones who survive are usually the rats in the sewer, not the flowers in a greenhouse."

As soon as she finished speaking, Isabella’s figure suddenly blurred.

"Mr. Arthur, I’ll have people protect you from the shadows... and collect my payment while they’re at it."

Along with a cold gust of wind, the dark purple figure turned into a cloud of black mist and completely disappeared into the shadows of the forest. Only a faint trace of deadly perfume remained in the air.

Arthur looked at the place where Isabella had vanished, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Protect him from the shadows?

Heh. It was more like watching him from the shadows.

But that was fine. If that woman dared to make any suspicious move,

Arthur would absolutely let her taste one of the most infamous 4th-Level spells in DND... [Phantasmal Killer].

He patted the still-dazed Elena on the shoulder, his tone returning to that lazy way of speaking that could annoy people to death.

"Come on, Senior."

"If we don’t go pull those weeds now, our practical course credits are going to be wiped out."

Looking at Arthur’s completely carefree back, Elena bit her lip hard. She stared at him, her thoughts in total chaos.

...

By the time the huge white marble gates of Lancelot Royal Academy of Magic came into view, the setting sun had already painted half the sky red.

Arthur walked at the front of the group, casually carrying a torn sack covered in mud.

Inside the sack were the items for their outdoor practical class mission... three [Moonbloom] plants, pulled out by the roots.

His steps still had that same lazy rhythm, as if he were forever half-asleep.

The people following behind him, however, were in a completely different state.

Simon and Chloe, the two commoner students, were still pale-faced, and their legs were shaking uncontrollably as they walked.

Even though they had already left the Shadow Forest, the horrifying image of more than twenty 3rd Rank Ironback Wolf being vaporized in an instant by extreme heat kept replaying in their minds.

As for Lilian, she was clinging tightly to Arthur’s left arm like a koala, chattering nonstop the entire way.

The little princess seemed to see no one but Arthur. She was not even watching the road and was only moving forward because Arthur was dragging her along.

As for Elena, who walked at the back, she was unusually quiet.

This S-Class genius girl, known as the [academy’s Ice Rose], kept her head down the whole way, lost in thought.

From time to time, her eyes fell on Arthur’s back. In her gaze were shock, curiosity, respect, and a trace of passion that even she herself had not noticed.

"Magic Grease and a small spark can cause a chain explosion that goes against common sense..."

Elena silently repeated Arthur’s words in her mind. The fingers holding her mithril wand trembled slightly with excitement.

She felt like a blind person who had spent more than ten years groping through the dark, only for Arthur to suddenly force her eyes open and show her a vast new world full of endless possibilities.

Just as this strangely mismatched group stepped into the academy’s wide central plaza.

A sharp and arrogant male voice suddenly rang out from near the fountain ahead.

"You have no idea how ridiculous it was back then!!"

"How could that Double-F Failure possibly use any high-level magic?!"

"He’s nothing but a shameless liar!!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Arthur casually picked at his ear. Lilian and Elena frowned at the same time and looked up.

Near the white jade fountain in the center of the plaza, a large group of first-year students had gathered after class.

Standing in the middle of the crowd and speaking loudly was the same young noble who had wet his pants in the forest not long ago and run away in blind panic.

Andrew Walter.

At this moment, Andrew had already changed into a brand-new, flashy dark red high-grade mage robe.

His hair was slicked back neatly with hair oil, and he was covered in a strong noble perfume. Obviously, that heavy scent was there to hide the sour smell of urine from earlier.

He waved a new wand set with a huge ruby in his hand and was passionately giving a speech to the students around him.

"Everyone, don’t be fooled by that guy Arthur!!"

"I, Andrew, swear on the honor of the Walter family that he never created any Forbidden Spell!!"

"In Shadow Forest today, he only killed those Magical Beast by using dirty tricks and pure luck!!"

The students around him immediately broke into shocked whispers. In this world, where people worship the purity of magic, the phrase [dirty tricks] was a huge insult to any mage.

"Young Master Andrew, are you saying Arthur didn’t use magic at all?" A freckled commoner lackey quickly stepped forward with a flattering smile, playing along perfectly.

"Of course not!!" Andrew let out a cold laugh, and a vicious light flashed in his eyes.

"Think about it. A guy whose Magic Power Affinity is F Failure—how could he possibly create an explosion that powerful??"

"I saw it with my own eyes. He had already buried low-grade alchemy explosives made by the goblin race in that dirt pit!!"

"He used that foul-smelling alchemy powder to lure in those brainless Magical Beast, and then secretly set it off!!"

Hearing Andrew’s confident "reasoning," the students around him immediately exploded into an uproar.

"My God, goblin alchemy explosives?? That’s disgusting!!"

"I knew it. How could a Double-F Failure suddenly become a genius? So he was cheating!!"

"He’s bringing shame to Lancelot Academy!!"

"A fraud who relies on tricks like that doesn’t deserve to stay in the Dawn Class, the class for nobles and geniuses!!"

Listening to the agreement and criticism from the students around him, Andrew’s face, which had been twisted with fear before, finally returned to its usual arrogance and pride.

He was too jealous. Jealous that Arthur had stolen all the attention at the freshman assembly. Even more jealous of how calm and relaxed Arthur had been when facing those Magical Beast.

What Andrew could not bear most of all was that Arthur had seen his pathetic, humiliating state while he ran away in terror.

He had to completely ruin Arthur’s reputation. Only then could he wash away the humiliation he suffered today.

Just as Andrew was about to go even further and keep smearing Arthur’s name, a clear female voice full of fury exploded from the edge of the plaza like thunder.

"Andrew!! You shameless coward with a mouth full of filth!!"

The crowd fell silent at once. Everyone turned toward the voice and looked at where it came from.