Alberto raised his wrinkled hands and rubbed his aching temples hard.

[That’s right. I’m not only afraid you will lose. I’m even more afraid that you will win too beautifully.]

The old man lifted his head. His eyes had seemed cloudy before, but now they shone with a sharp light that sent a chill down the spine.

[My child, you have no idea what kind of storm that ’Meteor Blast’ you released on your first day caused in this world.]

[That was a Forbidden Spell that even an Archmage Saint might not be able to cast easily!]

[And yet it was born in the hands of a commoner boy whose Mana Affinity is F-Class.]

Alberto’s voice began to tremble slightly. It was not from fear, but from anger that had been held back for too long.

[Do you really think this duel is just Andrew, that fool, trying to get revenge because you embarrassed him?]

[You’re wrong. Completely wrong!] The old man suddenly stood up and pointed toward the bright center of the royal capital outside the window.

[This afternoon, the academy’s senior staff held three emergency meetings in a row.]

[The top noble families in the royal capital, the ones who control the military and the government, and even those stubborn old men from the Ministry of Magic, all sent me secret letters personally!]

Alberto’s breathing grew heavy, and the veins on his forehead stood out.

[They are putting pressure on me!]

[They want me, in the name of ’the kingdom’s future,’ to ’guide’ you into handing over the creation principles behind that Forbidden Spell!]

[Some completely insane lunatics even suggested that you should be placed under house arrest in the underground prison of Starspire Spire at once, so a group of high-level mages could search your soul and ’study’ you around the clock!]

Hearing this, Arthur finally slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets.

The lazy smile on his face faded little by little. In its place was a kind of cold, extreme calm, colder than a glacier. He had long guessed that the people of this world would never easily let go of him, a [walking Forbidden Spell treasury.]

But he had still underestimated the greed and shamelessness of those in power.

House arrest? Soul search? Study?

They were treating him like a lab rat they could cut open whenever they wanted. Arthur’s eyes became frighteningly dangerous. In his mind, the mid and Low Rank spell models he had originally prepared for dealing with students were instantly thrown aside.

If these were the rules of this world’s game, then perhaps he should consider preparing a 6th-Level [Disintegrate] for the people hiding behind the scenes, right there in the duel arena.

[Then how did you answer them?] Arthur asked in a cold voice. A faint trace of wild Magic Power even leaked from his body, almost too subtle to see with the naked eye.

Hearing Arthur’s question, Alberto, who had been breathing hard from anger, suddenly became strangely calm.

The white-haired old man slowly straightened his back. At that moment, he was no longer the tired Headmaster being pressured by every side. He was no longer the stiff old scholar either.

A terrifying pressure belonging to an 8th Rank Grand Archmagus burst out from his aged body like an awakening dragon!

All the magic scrolls in the office rustled wildly under that pressure, and even the temperature in the air dropped sharply. Alberto’s eyes burned like torches as he stared hard at Arthur and spoke each word clearly.

[I told those gutter rats hiding in the dark and plotting against you.]

[Arthur Voss is a student I, Alberto Klein, personally admitted!]

[As long as he has not done anything to betray the kingdom, and as long as he remains on the grounds of my Lancelot Academy for even one more day!]

The old man’s voice exploded like thunder across the top floor of the spire, filled with a fierce resolve that did not fear death.

[If anyone dares to touch a single hair on his head, they will have to step over this old man’s corpse first!]

[And if they truly send high-level knight orders to attack by force, then even if it costs me my old life, I can drag half the royal capital down with me!]

Those powerful words struck Arthur’s heart like a muffled thunderclap, splitting something open deep inside him.

Arthur froze for a moment. He looked at the old man in front of him, whose face had turned red from emotion, and something soft deep inside him, something that still belonged to a person from Earth, was touched beyond his control.

Ever since he had crossed into this strange magic world, Arthur had always kept the attitude of a cold observer.

He used friendliness and laziness as a mask. He treated everyone as NPCs, and he saw this world as a dangerous game he had to clear. Even the concern from his cheap father, Rex, only felt to him like a responsibility left behind by the original owner of this body.

But now, in this cold, greedy whirlpool of power and schemes—

This high and mighty Grand Archmagus, this old man who was not related to him in any way, was actually willing to stand against the entire ruling class of the kingdom just to protect him, a commoner student. In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, for the first time, someone did not want the Forbidden Spell inside his mind. Someone truly wanted to shelter him.

Arthur’s heart, wrapped in absolute reason, finally felt a warmth he had not felt in a long time.

He took a deep breath and withdrew all the coldness and caution around him. Then Arthur straightened his body, faced Alberto, and for once, put away his usual careless attitude.

He placed both hands at his sides, bent at the waist, and gave the respected elder a deep, solemn bow.

[Headmaster, thank you.]

There were no fancy words in that thanks, and no magic behind it. But it was the most sincere thing Arthur had said since coming to this world.

Seeing Arthur act this way, the sharpness in Alberto’s eyes melted at once, turning into a gentle look of relief.

The old man waved his hand lightly, as if the Grand Archmagus who had just released that terrifying pressure had never been him at all.

[All right, enough of these formal gestures in front of an old man like me.]

Alberto walked up to Arthur, raised his rough hand, and patted the boy hard on the shoulder.

[Since you have already seen through the plot behind all this, what exactly do you plan to do about the duel?]

[If you insist on fighting, even if there is an S-Class genius on their side, I can still find a way to secretly give you some high-level defensive charms...]

[That won’t be necessary, Headmaster.] Arthur straightened up and interrupted him. Calm and unshakable confidence returned to his handsome face.

He turned his head and looked through the floor-to-ceiling window at the huge royal palace, the symbol of the kingdom’s highest power.

[Since those important people want to see my hidden cards, then in the arena three days from now, I’ll give them a proper show.] The corner of Arthur’s mouth curved into a dangerous yet charming smile. In his deep eyes, there was a light like that of a hunter.

[I will make them understand that setting their sights on me is the stupidest mistake they will ever make in their lives.]

Looking at Arthur’s confident expression, Alberto was still full of worry, but in the end, he said nothing more. He knew that this boy, who could create a Forbidden Spell with his bare hands, had an enormous world inside his mind, one even Alberto could not understand.

[Go back and get some rest, little one.] Alberto turned around and looked out the window again. [No matter what happens, remember this. Starspire Spire will always be open to you.]

Arthur bowed slightly once more to the old man’s back. Then he turned and pushed open the heavy rosewood door.

The moment he stepped out of Starspire Spire, the night wind blew against his black mage robe, making it snap and flutter sharply.

Arthur raised his head and looked at the two cold full moons in the sky. His eyes became colder than they had ever been before.

Headmaster Alberto’s protection had moved him, but it had also sounded a warning deep in his heart.

He understood better than anyone that an innocent man could still be punished for carrying a treasure.

Andrew was only a clown pushed onto the stage. The real hands behind everything belonged to the nobles and powerful people hiding deep in the royal capital, and perhaps even the king sitting on the throne.

Relying only on the desperate protection of one Grand Archmagus was not enough. He had to build his own absolute safety net in this hostile world as soon as possible.

Maybe it was time to visit Shadow Street and have a talk with Isabella, the female information broker with elf-like ears.

But before that—

Arthur lowered his head and looked at his fair, slender hands. His ten fingers moved lightly through the air, dancing as if they were playing a piano.

Three days from now, in the open-air arena.

He would use the purest and most violent arcane light of the DND system to crush those so-called top Dawn Class geniuses, along with the pride of the families behind them, into dust inch by inch.

In this barren world that did not understand the meaning of imagination—

Truth existed only within casting range.