Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 36

36. Teaching Assistant Selection Ceremony (2)

“Wait, let’s talk for a second.”

Andrei’s usually stern expression was illuminated by the hallway lights, making him look quite serious.

“Is something the matter?”

“…It’s not too late.”

His words struck me as odd.

“Pardon? What isn’t?”

I couldn’t understand what he was getting at, so I asked him to clarify.

‘What’s he talking about?’

After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke.

“Won’t you reconsider, even now? About becoming my teaching assistant. I promise to provide you with all the conveniences you need.”

Andrei extended his hand as he spoke. This was Andrei, who hadn’t yielded even to Head Magician Stenos, now humbling his pride.

‘He must be really serious about magic.’

He was humbling himself so easily to me, a freshman, all because I helped with his research.

[What a weirdo.]

Just how great was his passion for magic research that he would lower his precious pride even to a freshman?

“Unfortunately, I’ve already accepted Vice-Professor Aloy’s offer to be his teaching assistant.”

However, that ship had sailed. Besides, I couldn’t just throw away the advantages Aloy was offering.

“I’ll even let you use all the magical tools in my lab for free. And I promise not to give you any tedious tasks. This is a significant offer.”

Andrei was persistent. His eyes gleamed as if he was playing his trump card.

[Pfft.]

However, these were all things Aloy was already providing.

‘He should have been this generous from the start.’

If Andrei had shown this much consideration from the beginning, the situation might have been different.

“I’m sorry, but those are already conditions that Vice-Professor Aloy is providing.”

In the end, I had no choice but to repeatedly decline his offers.

“What, what? Aloy, that guy?”

“He’s been considerate enough to let me focus solely on my research.”

“Heh, he made such an offer? That sly fox! He’s determined to win you over!”

I had to suppress my laughter at his outburst.

‘He was trying to do the same thing.’

It was okay for him to do it, but when Aloy did it, it was a sly act.

[What a hypocrite.]

‘Huh? Hypocrite? Didn’t you say that meant cool before? You told me it was a compliment.’

[…Ah, right. That’s right. Andrei is cool too.]

Oberon seemed flustered for some reason.

‘What’s cool about it? In this situation?’

[Isn’t it cool to know when to humble your pride when you need to…?]

Something was strange, but I decided not to press Oberon further.

“Ahem…”

I had to deal with Andrei, who was about to speak again.

“Then, couldn’t you come to my lab occasionally and discuss magic studies with me?”

“Discuss?”

“Yes. To be honest, I’m envious of your fresh imagination. I’m already stuck in a rut, so I can’t come up with such ideas. Just talking to you would be helpful.”

His face was even more serious now.

‘Hmm… I have no choice.’

It was difficult for me to refuse his last request. Given Andrei’s personality, he might make my life difficult if I rejected even this.

‘There’s no need to make an enemy.’

There was no need to deliberately turn someone who showed me favor into an enemy.

“Okay. I’ll visit your lab occasionally, Professor. I don’t know if I can be of any help, though.”

“Oh! Thank you!”

Only then did Andrei’s face break into a wide smile.

‘Is it something to be so happy about?’

He always maintained a stern expression, so it was a rare sight.

“But I have a favor to ask of you in return.”

“A favor? What kind of favor?”

“Either way, you have to choose a teaching assistant.”

“That’s right. Although there’s no one I particularly like.”

“Then, could you possibly accept a student I recommend?”

At those words, his brow furrowed again.

“Don’t tell me, are you talking about your protégé? That guy is no good! McDuff, that guy is too impudent. He dared to reject my sincerity!”

Andrei started to get angry, as if he was reminded of what happened earlier in the day.

[That rascal is definitely on his bad side.]

I smiled, trying to calm him down.

“Not him. I have another student to recommend. A very diligent friend.”

“Really? Who is it?”

Andrei’s eyes showed a hint of anticipation.

* * *

‘Why does my ear feel so itchy?’

Drew scratched his ear as he transitioned between sitting and standing. He was still working through the training regimen Ian had assigned him for the day.

“Hoo… For now, the strength training is over.”

The next step was to absorb the energy around him into his body.

As he took a deep breath, he could feel the energy in the air. It didn’t glow yellow like Ian had shown him, but he could definitely sense it.

“For sure, my muscles have become more sensitive because I’ve been using them so often.”

A training to feel the stimulation of the muscles, not just performing the movements. Through it, he could feel the energies existing in the surroundings.

“It’s not mana, but I can’t figure it out at all.”

It was a strange energy. The energies that were gradually taking root in his muscles felt so familiar and comforting.

“Mana always tries to escape from my body, but this feels like it wants to come into my body instead.”

Drew had no idea that he had a natural talent as a knight.

His chubby cheeks twitched again.

“Could it be that this is the aura that’s been passed down in legends?”

It was a legend he had heard from his grandfather once. A power that knights used a thousand years ago. It was so powerful that even magicians trembled, but it disappeared sometime.

“That can’t be.”

Drew shook his head. Legends were just legends. Such power didn’t actually exist.

“Knights beating magicians. That doesn’t make sense.”

As Drew was only fifteen years old, it was something he couldn’t even imagine. Moreover, Drew didn’t even know that his family was a traditional knight family.

‘How did Ian know about this energy?’

Ian suddenly came to mind. Unlike himself, he was always calm and seemed to know everything. He was a grateful presence. He always helped and took care of him.

‘He has a lot of secrets, though.’

He didn’t bother to ask. The direction Ian pointed him in was always helpful.

‘Someday, we’ll be able to open up about any secrets.’

Drew was thinking that he should be helpful to Ian someday. However, there was one concern.

‘The gap will widen even more from now on.’

Ian, who became a teaching assistant and headed to the lab.

And himself, who had no magical talent.

The gap between them would only widen, and their relationship would inevitably drift apart.

‘He’ll get a lot of support there.’

That’s why Drew couldn’t help but covet the teaching assistant position as well.

‘I wish I could go with him.’

Just as he was thinking that, with a click!

The door opened and someone entered.

“Drew! Were you doing well?”

It was Ian.

“Oh, you came faster than I thought? How was the lab? You said you really wanted to go to the upper floors.”

“It was good. Vice-Professor Aloy took good care of me too.”

“Wow! That’s awesome. The other kids are so jealous. How great would it be to be a teaching assistant? You can get support for your personal lab and get close to the professors.”

Drew looked up, gazing in the direction of the magic tower’s upper floors. It was a pure expression of envy.

“Do you want to go too?”

Ian asked him casually.

“Of course.”

“Then let’s go.”

“I wasn’t chosen as a teaching assistant. I’ll have to try again next semester!”

He clenched his fist.

‘Of course, I’m not confident.’

Drew was already aware that he was lagging behind in magical talent. Especially since this magic tower was full of children with monstrous talents.

“No. Let’s go from this semester. Let’s live in the research building together.”

However, Ian was talking nonsense. He couldn’t help but tilt his head.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s still one spot left.”

“Professor Andrei’s?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course, I’d like to go, but there’s no way he’d pick me. I’m not as smart as the other kids.”

Ian reached out and patted Drew’s drooping shoulder.

“Professor Andrei just decided to pick you. He told me to make sure to bring you.”

At those words, his eyes widened.

“Really? Me? He did? Why?”

“I don’t know. He said you seemed to be overflowing with talent. Actually, he wanted to pick you from the beginning instead of McDuff.”

Ian’s serious tone was unwavering. Only then did Drew realize it was true.

“R, really?”

“Yeah. Come to the lab starting tomorrow. He’ll probably make an official announcement during class tomorrow.”

“Gasp!”

Drew covered his mouth with both hands. He couldn’t contain his overwhelming joy.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course! I was so worried about what to do if I grew apart from you!”

“Geez. Do you think I’d grow apart from you because of something like that? Don’t worry about that. You can’t escape from me anymore.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Don’t think about weird things right now, and let’s train.”

Drew felt like he had heard something strange for a moment, but.

“Okay!”

Thanks to his boiling joyful heart, he didn’t pay it any mind.

* * *

As promised, Andrei selected Drew as his teaching assistant.

“Ian! I’m so nervous!”

It was the first day heading to the lab with Drew, who had become a teaching assistant. Drew was beaming. They had moved to the research building together after class.

‘This guy is growing so fast.’

Originally, aura training was like grasping at clouds, but Drew absorbed the teachings like a sponge.

‘He seems to be even more of a genius than I thought.’

[I know, right? He’s almost at the same level as you were in your past life?]

He was a guy worth investing in.

“Ian! Then I’ll see you later!”

The guy headed to Andrei’s lab first.

“Okay. Do well!”

I also entered Aloy’s lab.

[Aloy’s not here?]

Aloy’s seat was empty, unlike usual.

‘That’s right. He was always here at this time.’

Only the remnants of the Centrifugal Society, trapped in iron bars, were inside the lab.

Suddenly, Aloy’s cluttered desk caught my eye. The sight of the magical tools he had been using spread out stimulated my curiosity.

‘Shall I see how much Aloy has researched?’

I picked up the notes he had organized.

「When the power of fire is added to the earth, it flows down on its own. It has both the flexible flow I so desired and the hot energy like lava. It can be applied anywhere.」

Aloy, who had broken through the wall that had been blocking him thanks to the hint I gave him. His research seemed to be progressing successfully.

「However, one thing that is a pity is that four attributes must be used for this. In other words, one must be able to simultaneously chant four attributes. There’s no way such a person exists.」

However, he was soon faced with a new problem.

「Additional research to overcome this problem…」

It was when I was engrossed in reading through his research that…

“Y, you, Herald…”

A voice came from the iron bars. It was Horizo, the swordsman of the Centrifugal Society.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are we supposed to just stay still? After we kept our mouths shut as you said, a magician named Stenos said he would send us somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else?”

“Yes. To the magic tower prison. He said that if we go there, we can’t expect the same treatment as now, and told us to confess about the Centrifugal Society quickly.”

“Magic tower prison…”

That word caught my interest.

‘Could Aileen be there too?’

Admun Dolph’s younger sibling. There was a high probability that that child was there as well.

“You two.”

The two people waiting for my command. I decided to give them their first mission.

“Go there.”