The butterflies swirled around Henry's head. They surrounded him and covered his face.
"Who is this guy?"
"A genius…"
"Is he a corrupted?"
The exam takers took deep breaths and whispered to each other.
The principal watching raised an eyebrow. He was stunned at the scene.
The other magi in the area were similarly stunned. None of them could process the scene that was happening before them. Before they realized it, their mouths opened.
"What is your name?" Cockad asked.
"Henry."
Henry didn't tell them his full name. In this current life, he didn't have a family name. Felicia had never told him why, and he never asked when he hadn't awakened.
"Henry, what tricks are you playing?" the principal asked, his voice deep and heavy. The mana around him circled and formed crackles of electricity.
The eyes of everyone lit up in understanding. It was as if a veil had been removed from their faces, allowing them to see the truth. Very soon, anger filled their faces.
Those whose butterflies flew away stomped over a distance around Henry.
"Return our butterflies!" the mayor's son shouted first.
He naturally recognized Henry. He didn't know how this pleb got here, but everyone already knew he was cheating, so he didn't care. Henry had evidently arrived here through unfair means.
The others followed suit and roared at Henry, demanding for their butterflies.
Henry's eyes flickered at the resentment emanating from the crowd. A frown formed on his face.
"Tricks?"
"Attracting so many Elemental Butterflies is not something possible. Even The Glorious Emperor had only gotten 21 butterflies!" the principal shouted, letting everyone hear his words.
Henry's frown became more visible. He looked over to Felicia and waved her to come over.
Instead of responding to the principal, Henry waited for Felicia to arrive beside him.
"First, chant the same spell I did!" Henry ordered.
This time, he acted as her master. Felicia didn't have any reason to object.
"Wind, blow!"
Felicia was enthusiastic with her chant. This was her first time since Henry had forbidden her before.
A breeze blew over and rustled the hair of the crowd surrounding Henry.
The butterflies of the others who hadn't had their butterflies taken flew away too!
None of the exam takers except Henry and Felicia had butterflies over their heads!
It was a mind-numbing scene that confused everyone.
"You're digging your own grave, young man!"
Following the principal's angry shout, Cockad and five of his fellow Magus Teachers surrounded Henry and Felicia.
"?"
Henry looked around him in confusion. He wasn't sure before, but he was sure now.
"All of you lack aptitude?"
Henry's words choked all of the exam takers, the principal, the magus teachers, and the magi watching. They all shook violently as they turned red from humiliation.
"You're just cheating!" the mayor's son shouted in indignance.
That word was his reverse scale. He hated anyone who called him that. As for why that was the case, only he knew.
"Right. A cheater does not have the right to call us lacking," Cockad said and then straightened his posture.
Henry's words earlier almost caused him to stumble while he was standing still.
The exam takers all shouted at Henry for cheating.
"What is first class for a magus?" Henry asked Cockad with a severe look in his eyes.
"Low-class," Cockad answered instinctively. "Come here, kid. You're arrested for disturbing the Royal Magic Academy!"
Cockad walked to Henry.
"What!?"
Henry was shaken. He looked around and saw that no one found fault with Cockad's words. It was as if they all agreed with his words.
"The kid went crazy…" Cockad looked at Henry pitifully.
To cheat at such a grand event and to even have the gall to humiliate all of the magi in the magic academy, he must be crazy, and indeed, he was crazy.
"Wait!"
The principal stopped Cockad.
Everyone turned to look at the principal with questioning looks on their faces.
"Young man, since you have the guts to tell us that we have no talent, then you must prove to us that you have the right to say that!" the principal said sneeringly.
He was present in this event and Henry's words not only humiliated him but also the whole magic academy. If he didn't humiliate the other party, he would be scolded by the king and queen.
A grin appeared on Cockad's face, and he stepped back. He, too, wanted to see Henry humiliated.
The exam takers were more than happy to see Henry be humiliated, so they all moved back to give him and Felicia "space to do their magic".
Felicia inched closer to Henry and gripped her dress tightly. She was indignant, but she could only hope that Henry could absolve them from this mess.
"Very well. A firefly would naturally want to see the moon." Henry grinned at them and shook his head.
The shock he felt faded away, and only disdain filled his heart. These people were all rocks pretending to be gems.
The magic system they practiced was incomplete. The first class should be Simple, not Low. This alone gave Henry the information he needed to understand this era.
The faces of everyone darkened from the blatant insult Henry splattered onto their faces.
"O' fire, burn!"
Henry waved his hand, and a thick, burning flame spread to cover the open square like a canopy. Just as they thought it would stop there, the flames continued more!
Cockad, who had cast a spell that covered the open square earlier, was shaken. He knew firsthand how hard it was to cover the whole square.
In truth, he struggled to make that spell. He used his whole speech to recover his mental energy.
The flame spread and covered twice the area of the open square. It was so expansive that many unlucky fellows had large portions of their hair burnt to crisps.
Henry shook his head and calmly watched the astonishment, panic, and reverence that formed on the faces of the crowd.
Felicia was feeling waves in her heart. It was the first time she saw Henry chant. Just as he had said, it allowed him to increase the effectiveness of his spell.
"How is that?" Henry asked the principal.