Extra Of The Magus Academy

FSHUUUU

The smoke and flames soon died out, just as Gerald Lockwood expected, revealing the fallen state of his adversary.

His body had been struck with several quills, most of which had pierced through his flesh and bones, creating a pool of blood beneath him as he gasped and struggled for even the smallest gulps of air.

Gerald smiled and shook his head, slowly walking forward as he looked at the boy’s pathetic state.

"It still confuses me as to why someone like you would start a fight with someone like me…"

An Apprentice Mage was even weaker than a Rank One Mage, and a Rank 6 Mage was even far higher than that.

Instructors of the Academy were in the range Rank 3 to 5, and even they were impossible walls for most students to overcome. Once a Student graduated from the Academy, they would be given a Rank from 1 to 3, depending on their performance, and they would have to grow even higher based on merit.

That was the Empire’s ranking System.

Mages from Rank 1 to 3 had to have the ability to use [Externalization], and Rank 3 especially had to be able to use [Partial Fusion] at least.

Rank 4 and 5 had to be capable of truly using [Fusion], and their mastery over Spells had to be impeccable as well.

From Rank 6 and above, though, it mostly depended on the Grade of one’s Familiar and how much power the Mage could display as a result.

’My Silver-Clay Knight is just a High Grade Spirit, which means I’ll probably never pass Rank 6.’ Gerald thought to himself as he neared Ashfelt. ’That’s the reason I decided to settle for a boring job in the Academy.’

As a staff here, he could advance using many other factors beyond raw strength.

’But, even with my lacking talent as a member of the Lockwood Family, I am still leagues above someone like you, Ashfelt. You should have known your place and stayed there…’

Slowly, Gerald raised his hand.

A blade suddenly formed within his grasp, glimmering like silver while morphing like soft clay.

Within a moment, though, the weapon hardened, revealing a sharp glint at its edges.

There were a lot more things Gerald wanted to say to Ashfelt, including a lot of gloating and taunting, but none of those were necessary.

It was best to nip the boy in the bud as quickly as possible.

"Well… farewell."

In one swift motion, he caused the blade to descend, easily slicing off the head of the boy beneath him.

There was no struggle… no scream.

Just the violent spurting of blood as the swift stroke of the sharp blade decapitated the youth’s tender flesh. It was an odd feeling, the lack of resistance that the neck gave the blade, but Gerald gave it no thought.

After all, the deed had been done.

"Ashfelt Zephyr… I have finally removed a thorn from my side." He mumbled to himself, casting a forlorn gaze at the corpse for a moment before walking past it.

He deactivated his armor and [Externalization], allowing the remnant Magia to dissipate into the air as he preserved the rest of his energy.

’I’m sure many guards should have felt the tremors coming from my office already, but the fact that none of them came to my aid means they were either knocked out or distracted by the brat…’ Once again Gerald had to marvel at the boy’s resourcefulness. ’Maybe he even used some sort of Spell or trick to get them away from here… I have no idea.’

Still, the first thing he had to do after killing Ashfelt was to get the guards to clean up his corpse and take care of his damaged office.

He cast one final look at the place, finding it in obvious shambles.

This was a place he had stayed in for years, no doubt investing tons of resources to make it as pristine as possible—only for everything to go down the drain in an unexpected fight.

The burned carpet now had the horrible stench of blood on it. The walls were charred beyond recognition, and his expensive pieces of furniture only held onto half of the value that they once had.

It was a sight for sore eyes, but Gerald was not too shaken.

’I’ll be moving to a bigger office once I become a member of the board anyway…’

He exhaled as he twisted the doorknob and attempted to exit the ruins that once served as his office, hoping to get a few guards to assist with the unexpected mess of the night.

However, what he witnessed once the door opened was enough to make him take a few steps back in utter shock.

"A-ahh…?" His lips quivered as beads of sweat appeared on his face. "What is this?"

Right beyond the door, in the messy place that could no longer be called a hallway, was a corpse party—one that exhibited burnt and dismembered body parts of the guards he was about to call for.

The overpowering smell emanating from their charred flesh was so repulsive that Gerald felt he would vomit, and the sheer horror of the sight added extra weight to his disgust.

Before he realized it, Gerald held his mouth, swallowing what was about to escape his throat.

’This is… terrible!’

His bulging eyes lost focus for a moment, turning bloodshot as he took in the horror of burned flesh and dried blood that now stood before him like a canvas of death.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t even allowed to fully process this despicable sight.

SQUELCH! @@novelbin@@

A large blade suddenly pierced his chest from behind, instantly ripping through his heart and several other internal organs as it eased through his body with its flaming hot surface.

"Puack!"

Blood spurted out of Gerald’s lips, mixing very finely with his vomit so they rushed out of his mouth like a repulsive fountain.

The weight of the weapon, and the severity of his injuries forced Gerald to his knees in an instant. His bloodshot eyes leaked out tears as the overwhelming pain coursed through his body as his brain still struggled to overcome the confusion that clouded his thoughts.

What was happening to him?

’D-did I just get stabbed from behind? Is this… my blood?’ He pondered deeply, staring at the gaping wound in his chest and the pool of red liquid that was forming beneath him.

How?

Why?

Who… who did this?

"Farewell, Gerald."

As soon as he heard the oddly familiar voice that called out his name, Gerald’s eyes widened even further.

’Where… where have I heard that voice from?’

He struggled to remember, but he had lost too much blood and his brain was overloaded with so much stimuli—mostly pain—that he could not remember.

All he could do was endure the agony for a few more seconds until he finally lost all the strength left in his body and collapsed in the pool of his blood and vomit.

After a few more seconds, he breathed his last and finally died—completely unaware of the boy that stood behind his pathetic corpse.

The boy was neither smiling or frowning.

He merely gave a stoic expression as he kept both hands in his pocket and let his eyes glow with a crimson hue.

"And now… one final order of business before I call it a night."