Editor : Amethyst00



Looking at the clone that looked exactly like herself, Eliana wore a wary expression.

‘Is this Professor Albi’s magic?’

It was well known that Albi could use fairy magic through the power of his magic eye.

Even someone as aggressive as Eliana couldn’t recklessly rush in front of a magic she’d never seen before.

As she stayed on guard, the clone of Eliana curled her lips up.

“Did you just sneer at me? Did this clone just sneer at me!”

Irritated, Eliana pointed a finger accusingly.

But seeing her clone stir up mana, she hurriedly readied her own spell in response.

Flash—!

“Ah?”

Eliana was startled when she saw the magic that had been activated.

What the clone had used was none other than Eliana’s specialty spell, Shining Blade.

For a brief moment, Eliana was taken aback by the raining blades of light—but then she smirked.

“Is this mirror imitation?”

Eliana activated her own Shining Blade, neutralizing the clone’s attack.

“It’s an illusion-type spell, isn’t it? That won’t work on me!”

Eliana shouted confidently as she developed her spell further.

Before long, the duel had turned into Eliana versus Eliana.

The students watched the match unfold with great interest.

In truth, a duel between Albi and Eliana wasn’t the least bit exciting.

Because the result was obvious from the start.

But once Albi created a clone identical to Eliana using an unknown magic, no one could predict the outcome anymore.

Brilliant lights of magic filled the air above the dueling platform.

The two Elianas moved rapidly, firing spells at each other.

After a while, the magic students began to look bewildered.

“Which one’s the real Eliana?”

Albi’s magic was at a shocking level.

It was as if to mock anyone who thought it was merely a high-level illusion— the clone had the exact same amount of mana and used the same spells as Eliana.

It was convincing enough to believe there were two real Elianas.

At that moment, Carl muttered,

“The prettier one’s probably the clone.”

“For real!”

“Then that one must be the real one!”

“Hey! You wanna die? How can one be prettier when we look exactly the same!”

Hearing the classmates who’d correctly guessed the fake, Eliana snapped.

“Idiots! Don’t mind them, just focus on the duel!”

“Oh, right!”

Eliana quickly refocused on the battle.

The clone was becoming harder and harder to deal with.

‘It’s using the exact same magic as me, so why is there such a difference? Is it stronger because it’s a clone made by Professor Albi?’

The thought came naturally.

Then, suddenly—

The clone activated a spell.

Seeing the magic raining down on her, Eliana’s eyes widened.

‘Shining Rain?!’

It was her own unique magic that she had perfected over the break.

As the spell poured down on her, Eliana tightly closed her eyes.

Just as she braced for impact, both the clone and the magic vanished simultaneously.

With the outcome decided, Eliana’s strength drained, and she sat down on the spot.

“Splendid,” Albi said flatly.

But knowing that, coming from him, it was the highest praise, Eliana blushed slightly, looking bashful.

“Th-thank you.”

“The next student, step up.”

Eliana left the dueling platform.

After that, the rest of the magic students went through the same process as Eliana.

As the students’ losses continued to pile up, the first one to defeat her clone was none other than Chelsea.

“Amazing. Even though it used the exact same magic as us, it somehow felt overall stronger.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? It felt exactly even to me.”

Chelsea looked puzzled at Carl’s words.

The surrounding students were surprised.

Most of them had thought Albi’s clones were stronger than they were.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Abad both defeated their clones one after another.

The magic students clicked their tongues in awe.

“They beat them even easier than Chelsea did.”

“If the Swordsmanship Department calls Celia, Xia, and Duran the ‘Monster Trio,’ shouldn’t we have a name like that too?”

The students whispered among themselves.

“Grrr!”

Among them, Emio—who had ranked third in the Magic Department up to the midterms of the first semester—shot sparks from his eyes.

‘What’s the difference between me and those guys?!’

All but one student had finished their duels.

The last remaining student, Leo, stepped up onto the platform under everyone’s gaze.

“I wonder how the class rep will do?”

At Eliana’s murmur, Chelsea replied confidently.

“Of course Leo oppa will win! He’s the only one who passed the vice principal’s magic test at the opening ceremony!”

“Well, that’s true.”

While Chelsea and Eliana were chatting, Emio, who was listening beside them, snorted.

“You don’t know that Leo Plov’s real power only shows when he uses All Class, do you? There’s no way he can beat Professor Albi’s clone in a pure magic duel when most of the Magic Department students already lost.”

Chelsea frowned.

“Leo oppa’s magic dueling skills are amazing too! And besides, you got crushed by him in the flying magic test during the first semester.”

“That was a flying magic exam. Sure, there was some combat, but he used aura that time.”

Emio declared firmly.

“I won’t lose to him in a pure magic duel.”

Chelsea looked at him with an expression of disbelief.

‘What’s so great about beating Leo oppa in a “pure” magic fight when he’s not even a pure magician… and honestly, he’d still probably win anyway.’

As the students each made their predictions about the outcome, Len straightened his posture and focused on Leo.

‘Let’s see how much he’s grown over the break.’

Watching him, Anna sighed deeply.

‘Professor Len’s obsession with Leo got even worse over the break.’

During the vacation, Len and Anna had stayed at the academy, preparing lessons to convince Leo to transfer into the Magic Department.

Though she hadn’t been able to return to her hometown—kept there by Len—Anna had once again realized just how much of a genius Len really was.

The class Len had prepared for the second semester was a Magic Combat course.

Of course, it wasn’t just an ordinary combat class.

‘A course teaching how to defeat knights and summoners using magic.’

It was, essentially, a declaration of war by the Magic Department—an open challenge to prove the superiority of magic, with Leo as its centerpiece.

When Anna first heard the plan, her head had spun.

She’d tried to talk Len out of it, but he wouldn’t listen.

‘I don’t deny Leo’s All Class talent! No, I admit I completely underestimated it during the first semester!’

Len, who never compromised when it came to magic, acknowledging another talent and stepping back was already shocking.

‘But my belief that magic suits Leo Plov best hasn’t changed! No—after the first semester, I’m even more convinced! Magic alone can complete Leo Plov! Therefore, his main focus must be magic!’

When the theory-obsessed professor Len began preparing what could only be called a hands-on combat course, Anna had doubted whether such a lesson could really attract Leo.

After all, theorists usually fell short when it came to actual combat.

But seeing Len’s preparation changed her mind.

‘Even I, a magician, find this exciting. He really is a genius.’

Throughout the break, Len’s meticulous preparations continued.

The problem arose about a month into vacation.

Thinking back on it made Anna shudder.

bl

That day, as usual, Anna stopped by the department office before heading to Professor Len’s office and found a letter addressed to him—the first-year Magic Department advisor.

“Where did this come from?”

Looking puzzled, she checked the sender.

“Seiren Academy?”

Startled, Anna hurried toward Len’s office.

“Ah, welcome, Associate Professor Anna. Ready for another enjoyable day of class preparation—”

“Do you think I’m enjoying preparing lessons without being able to go home?”

“Haha, don’t be so modest. I already know you enjoy helping me prepare my lectures. Associate Professor Anna, you’re a true magician at heart.”

Seeing his smug grin, Anna sighed deeply but didn’t deny it, then handed him the letter.

“You got mail.”

“Who’s it from?”

“Seiren Academy.”

“Seiren?”

Hearing the name of their rival school, Len looked puzzled.

Then, after reading the letter, he suddenly burst into booming laughter.

“Hahaha! Of course! Leo truly is born to be a magician! Look at this, Associate Professor Anna! Even Seiren acknowledges his magical talent and praises him! They say we should properly nurture a future Great Magician! Hahaha! As expected of our rival—they have good eyes for talent!”

“Well, Leo did decipher the Poet of the Stars’ spell, after all.”

Though it hadn’t been officially announced yet, the magic of Luna that Leo had restored was already causing a sensation among elven mages.

As Anna read the letter Len handed her, she noticed the part he’d missed—and her face went pale.

“Heh heh heh, now I’m curious about the rest. Associate Professor Anna, hand me the rest of the letter.”

“P-professor, it’s… really nothing important. I-I mean—let’s just focus on class prep! Okay?”

Anna frantically tried to keep him from seeing it.

“What’s got you so flustered?”

“N-no! You can’t read that part, Professor!”

Anna shook her head desperately.

But the letter inevitably ended up in Len’s hands, and Anna covered her face with both hands.

As Len’s eyes traced the words, his expression slowly darkened.

When he reached the end, he let out a low, chilling laugh.

Fwoooosh—!

The letter in his hand burst into flames and vanished.

“Those pointy-eared bastards have lost their minds.”

It was hard to believe such foul words came from the normally calm and kind Professor Len.

He was a man who never lost his composure.

But the content of that letter was enough to make even him furious.

Feeling the killing intent radiating from him, Anna trembled.

The letter’s contents were simple.

Seiren Academy wanted to invite Leo Plov as an exchange student.

For at least one semester.

In other words, they were asking that Leo spend half his first year studying at Seiren.

That would completely throw off his academic progress.

What’s more, the letter added that “Only by studying at Seiren—given his exceptional understanding of star sorcery—can Leo Plov’s magical potential truly be realized.”

“So what are they saying? That I should just hand him over? Hahaha… how amusing. Very amusing.”

“P-professor, please calm down. Calm down.”

Anna desperately tried to soothe him.

Len wasn’t the type to outwardly show anger easily.

But once his temper exploded, nothing could stop him.

And asking him to hand over the student he regarded as his greatest treasure— that was more than enough to send him into a rage.

“Don’t worry, Associate Professor Anna. I’m perfectly calm. Hahaha.”

But strangely, Len sounded composed.

“This, too, only proves how outstanding Leo is. Hahaha, Seiren really does have an eye for talent.”

Then, smiling coldly, he said,

“I’ll be changing the course outline. External threats aren’t the issue anymore. In the next Lumeiren Competition, I’ll crush those Seiren bastards completely.”

Veins bulged on his forehead as he smiled menacingly.

This wasn’t just about losing a favorite student.

It was a declaration of war.

As a proud graduate of Lumene, Len couldn’t possibly tolerate such a provocation.

And so, there was only one way to respond properly.

“Hahaha… I’ll grind those Seiren professors’ smug faces into the dirt like slime.”

bl

Recalling that vacation incident, Anna let out a deep sigh.

‘And when Azonia later requested to transfer Leo too, he nearly wrecked his entire office…’

While Anna was lost in thought about the vacation—

Leo stood quietly facing Albi.

The other students looked puzzled.

Then Albi’s magic eye glowed, and Mirror Force activated.

‘Mirror Force—a spell that creates a clone identical to the opponent.’

It was considered the strongest among illusion-type magics.

Of course, if the target’s power far exceeded that of the caster, it couldn’t activate.

‘But against weaker opponents, it creates a perfect replica—as if reflected in a mirror.’

And Mirror Force drew out the copied target’s power to its maximum limit.

That was why most of the first-years had been defeated by their clones.

Because the clones made more efficient use of their abilities than the originals.

It was a spell that was nearly unbeatable against weaker foes.

Leo’s completed clone stirred up mana.

Flash—!

The spell formula glimmering in the air made the students gasp.

“Wait, is that… star sorcery?”

“Hold on! Leo can already use star sorcery that fluently?”

Ignoring the students’ shock, the clone’s star sorcery rained down on Leo.

Leo looked at the magic descending upon him and smirked faintly.

Bzzzt—!

Mana flickered in his eyes.

Cracklecracklecracklecrackle—!

The sound of the spell formation collapsing rang sharply.

The magic that had reached right before Leo instantly dissipated.

“How did he block that?”

“I didn’t even see him cast anything.”

The students murmured in confusion.

“What the—Leo, how’d you do that?”

As Carl stared wide-eyed, Chelsea looked utterly stunned.

“He dispelled it.”

“What?”

Carl gaped in disbelief.

Abad and Chloe also looked at Leo in shock.

‘Professor Albi’s Mirror Force copies the target’s magic. And since the clone uses the same spells, dispelling them is easy for the original.’

It was a technique any skilled magician could perform.

The issue was— “skilled magician” meant someone at professor level, like Len or Albi.

Yet Leo, a mere first-year, had just done it.

‘Ahh… no wonder Seiren’s after him. With talent like that, who wouldn’t drool over him!’

Len’s body trembled with exhilaration.

‘Leo Plov will go down in Lumene Magic Department history as the greatest magician ever! I’ll make sure of it! Whether it’s Seiren or Azonia—they’ll never take him from me!’