How to Steal the Protagonist's Women

"Magic is prohibited for the next week."

"..."

Upon hearing those words, I lowered my head and clutched my stomach.

'Damn it!' 

[You'll need magical power anyway, so there's no need to worry too much.] 

'Still… I spent half my Enel, and it ended up being a waste….'

It was Enel I had to spend, but I hated the feeling of it being wasted.

The professor, seeing me bow my head in frustration, approached me.

"…Student, what's wrong?" 

"Ah… Sorry. I suddenly feel a bit sick…."

The professor was a middle-aged man in his 40s, dressed in black.

His thin frame and overall appearance were quite unpleasant.

There wasn't a hint of concern in his expression.

"Do you think it's okay to listen to me like that if you're feeling sick?" 

"…Huh?" 

"One penalty point."

Suho, penalty point: 1!

'Damn it!' 

[You should be careful. Exceeding 150 penalty points results in a one-month suspension, and exceeding 300 points leads to expulsion.] 

'Ugh, what the hell!'

I immediately became the centre of attention in class after receiving a penalty point.

The professor walked back to the podium and continued his speech.

"I don't care who you are. It's none of my business. But if anyone shows a lack of sincerity in class, I'll deduct points."

Even though there were likely nobles among the students, everyone sat up straight and listened attentively to the professor.

"There are no royals or nobles here. Only students and professors. Understood?" 

"""Yes."""

The class responded in unison, their voices firm.

I was annoyed and only opened my mouth without actually answering….

"Let's continue. No matter the situation, you must not use magic for the next week."

The professor briefly explained why magic was prohibited.

This continent, where Stura Magic School is located, is a place where magic is cast using magic circles.

It's not about chanting incantations; only magic circles have developed here.

However, untested students often mess up when casting magic circles, so to prevent accidents, magic is strictly prohibited.

It's primarily to prevent fatal accidents at the magic school.

Even though he loudly declared there were no royals or nobles, it would be a huge hassle if something happened to them.

"Now, let me formally introduce myself. I am Wolfgang Dabrek. I am in charge of the Magic Circle Casting and Flame Magic courses."

As soon as the professor finished speaking, everyone clapped politely.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Comrade, clap your hands~

I only pretended to clap this time as well.

"Alright, for the next week, we'll only focus on one subject: Magic Circle Casting. Students in the front row, come up to the podium and distribute these bracelets to the students in the back."

Everyone nervously walked up to the podium.

Among them, only one person walked up with a relaxed and dignified demeanour.

Louis Brandtrup.

'Hmph, get caught by the professor and receive more penalty points.' 

[….]

Unfortunately, such a joyous event did not occur.

I received the bracelet handed to me by the guy in the front and fiddled with it.

'It's just a silver bracelet.' 

[It seems to be an item related to magic circles.]

As Armonia said, the professor explained.

"That bracelet is an item that materializes your magic circles."

Magic circles don't just appear by drawing them.

You need to visualize mana in your body while drawing the magic circle, or the magic won't work.

The problem for beginners is that they often focus so much on drawing the magic circle that the mana disappears, leaving only a pretty shape on the ground.

This bracelet helps awaken the sensation of how to draw a magic circle while infusing it with mana.

"When you wear this bracelet and draw a magic circle, it will glow in the colour of your primary attribute. First, everyone try drawing a simple circle."

Everyone started drawing circles in the air with their fingers.

Red, blue, brown, sky blue.

Various colours began to glow here and there.

Suddenly, it felt like an elementary school art class.

No one could even draw a proper circle.

They were just making a bunch of pathetic-looking fluorescent lights that would probably be rejected for their poor quality.

'Hehe... They really can't draw.' 

[It would be good for you to practice as well, Suho.] 

'What about me~ Huh?'

Just as I was about to confidently draw, a text message appeared in front of me.

[Magic Circle Casting Lv.1 has blossomed. Due to Hand Technique Lv.555, it has been adjusted to Magic Circle Casting Lv.43.] 

It was the same message I saw back at the village chief's house.

It was the same phenomenon that occurred when I gained the Old School Lock Picking skill.

At the time, after everything was settled, I discussed it with Armonia, but we couldn't figure out the exact reason.

[It's fascinating. They're clearly different systems, yet they can be adjusted like this…] 

'Hmm… Even if it's limited to Hand Technique, it's really good, right?' 

[It's more than just good. Skill level 40 is a level that ordinary humans can't reach without the help of an agent. The fact that you can reach it without any penalties makes me uneasy.] 

I understood Armonia's unease.

'Why? Are you worried the gods might ask for it back later?' 

[…Honestly, that's exactly what I'm worried about.]

The scariest thing in this world is having something taken away after it's given.

'Armonia.' 

[Yes.] 

'Then let's use it as much as we can until it's taken away.' 

[…That's a wise decision. I won't worry too much about it anymore.]

If it's going to be taken away anyway, we might as well use it like crazy.

That way, even if it's taken, it won't feel as unfair.

…But I hope I don't get permanently banned from the universe for exploiting a malicious bug or something.

I tried drawing a magic circle.

It was a circle on a completely different level from the others.

A perfect circle.

A flawless, machine-like circle without any wobbles or distortions.

However, my magic circle had no colour yet.

It seemed my primary attribute hadn't been determined.

It was just a white circle.

'Wow~ This is no joke.' 

[At skill level 43, mistakes shouldn't exist by human standards.]

I marvelled at the circle I had drawn.

The professor on the podium spoke to the students.

"If anyone tries to draw something strange under the pretence of having drawn magic circles before, it won't end with just a penalty point."

The professor warned that if anyone drew a proper magic circle that activated magic, they could be expelled immediately.

As a result, all I did was practice drawing circles.

While drawing shapes, I occasionally glanced to the side.

I wasn't the only one.

All the guys near me were sneaking glances in the same direction.@@novelbin@@

Luna Stadtfeld.

I was lucky enough to be seated next to her.

Well, it wasn't luck—it was probably manipulation…

Being assigned to the same class and sitting next to her didn't seem like a coincidence.

But she paid no attention to me and focused on drawing shapes.

'Wow, she's really good at drawing. Not as good as me, though.' 

[Luna Stadtfeld is clearly skilled, but compared to you, the difference is significant.]

As Armonia said, Luna drew beautifully, but it was no match for me.

The professor walked around, observing the students' magic circles, and stopped in front of Luna.

As soon as he saw her magic circle, he spoke.

"What's your name?" 

"Luna Stadtfeld." 

"Three bonus points." 

"Thank you."

The professor barely acknowledged her response and then came over to me.

He furrowed his brow and stared intently at my circle.

After observing it for about a minute, he spoke.

"You, what's your name?" 

"Suho." 

"…Strange name. Ten bonus points."

With that, he walked away.

'Wow!! Does that mean my penalty points are gone now?' 

[No. Penalty points and bonus points are calculated separately.] 

'Damn it….'

According to Armonia, receiving bonus points doesn't erase penalty points.

Unlike penalty points, which are absolute, bonus points are relative and provide advantages.

The top 10 students with the most bonus points can freely use special facilities like practice rooms and training halls.

Additionally, the top 30 students can leave the school on holidays, and the top 50 can go out freely.

She also explained that bonus points are important when assigning better dormitories later.

The more, the better.

And right now, the only ones in the class who received bonus points were Luna and me.

Once again, I drew the students' attention.

But this time, they started murmuring.

-"If someone saw this, they'd think we're here to draw pictures."- 

-"Giving bonus points just for drawing well…"- 

-"If a commoner wants to get in here, they'd need skills like that…"- 

All sorts of comments were flying around.

'…Ugh, annoying. Here we go again.' 

[Suho, you strangely attract the attention of people you don't care about.] 

'Shut up…'

The professor silenced the students' murmuring.

"Did I say anyone could talk? You seem to have too much free time. From now on, anyone caught looking at someone else's magic circle will receive a penalty point to increase the tension."

Everyone stiffened at the professor's words and started drawing their pathetic fluorescent lights again.

I sat in front of my white circle, lost in narcissism.

'Sigh… No matter how many times I draw it, it's perfect. I'm a genius.' 

[…] 

'But drawing magic circles seems harder than I thought.'

No matter how good I am at drawing magic circles, it would take a lot of time to draw just one.

After all, it's done by hand.

Right now, it's just a simple circle, but later, I'd have to draw dense runes and complex shapes, which felt daunting.

I erased the magic circle in front of me and sighed.

'Sigh… If it's like this every time, it'll get boring later.' 

[There's no other way.] 

'It's simple and fun now, but I'm losing motivation. If I could just think of a circle and it would appear, that'd be awesome. Huh?' 

[What is this….]

In front of me….

A circle appeared with a *poof*.

***

Class ended, and evening came.

I sat on a chair on the outdoor terrace, talking with Armonia.

"Today was full of all sorts of things." 

[You're truly amazing. I had no idea you had another hidden trait.]

I checked my status window.

A new trait had been added.

-[Imagination Projection]-

"Can this even be called an ability…? Doesn't everyone do this?" 

[…No.]

Imagination Projection—the skill description was as follows:

It allows you to project what you imagine in your mind into reality, making it feel real.

"I thought it was normal because I've always lived like that when masturbating." 

[...]

Whenever I masturbated alone, I would pull women from my imagination into reality and focus intensely on the act.

It didn't matter if my family came in or not.

Well, I probably didn't even notice if they came in.

Thinking back, I remember getting annoyed when my family interrupted me.

But I still did it…

It wasn't something I had from the beginning.

"Could it be that I wished for it so desperately that this ability appeared?" 

[…That's highly likely. And most importantly, I never expected these two abilities to combine like this…]

I never would have thought of it.

I simply imagined a circle in my mind and wished for it to be drawn, and suddenly, a magic circle appeared.

-[Imagination Projection], [Magic Circle Casting Lv.43]-

Armonia explained that this miraculous event occurred due to the combination of these two skills and the bracelet.

[The bracelet likely caused what you imagined to be projected into reality, not just as an illusion, but as a tangible form.] 

However, Armonia warned me after seeing what I could do.

In this world, there are no humans who can materialize magic circles just by thinking, so I needed to be careful.

If I'm not careful, I could be taken away to some strange place…

She explained that it's like being taken away in my original world if I had an immortal body.

In a world ruled by mages, an existence like me is unheard of.

Later, I secretly went to my room and tried it, and I could easily materialize magic circles with my imagination.

As long as I had the bracelet, I could do it anywhere.

"I'll only practice in my room. If I get caught, it'll be a real headache." 

[Even grand mages can't do this. You're amazing.] 

"Hehe, I am pretty amazing."

In the middle of my self-praise, someone spoke to me.

"You are quite amazing." 

"Eek!"

A calm female voice suddenly came from behind, startling me so much that I jumped out of my chair.

I turned around to see a woman standing there.

Luna Stadtfeld.

The woman who had no reason to seek me out had come to find me.

The woman I vowed to make taste hell with the hand she rejected.

She looked at me with her usual stoic expression and spoke.

"How… did you do that with the magic circle?"