"Viola, I'll be back."
"Hng… You'll come back, right?"
"Of course… I'll finish as quickly as I can and come back."
I entered the warp case while being seen off by Viola.
Armonia, wearing her captain's uniform, finished maintaining the machines in the warp room and spoke to Viola.
"Viola, this area is restricted during missions, so you'll need to leave."
"Okay…"
Viola waved goodbye to me and left the warp room.
Armonia watched Viola leave and then focused on me inside the warp case, reciting the mission briefing.
The target location was Stura Magic School.
The protagonist of this world is "Louis Brandtrup," who is said to have topped the entrance exam for Stura Magic School this year.
The target is Louis Brandtrup's childhood friend, "Luna Stadtfeld."
They're not lovers, but they've built a relationship close enough to be considered one.
[The most important aspect of this mission is magical power.]
"Magical power?"
[Yes, you need magical power to enter Stura.]
"Oh, so if I have magical power, can I enter as a teacher?"
[No. The limit is being a student. The professors at Stura Magic School hold influence comparable to that of a nation's prime minister.]
"Crazy… I thought they were just regular school teachers…"
According to Armonia, even a king wouldn't dare treat a Stura Magic School professor disrespectfully.
Among the students are actual royalty, but even they are just one of many students who have to watch the professors' moods.
"What if I don't have magical power…?"
[You don't need to worry about that. It's marked as Lv.0, but you can raise it with Enel.]
"Whew…."
I was scared for a moment, thinking I'd have to start as a janitor or something.
Armonia explained that magical power is like a special talent.
If you don't even have Lv.1, no matter how hard you try, you can't grow, but if you have at least Lv.1, there's a minimum possibility.
And the idea was to use Enel to break through that starting point.
By the way, the lowest-ranked student at Stura Magic School is around Lv.5.
[Originally, you wouldn't be able to enroll at this level, but with the help of someone from Zodiac, we've managed to get you admitted.]
"Oh~ So it won't cost much Enel, right?"
[Yes. Once you're enrolled, you can use the remaining Enel to raise your level as needed.]
"Okay~"
[Then we'll depart. Suho, I wish you the best of luck.]
As soon as I heard Armonia's last words, I arrived at the front gate of Stura Magic School.
***
The school gate was bustling with a large crowd.
From well-dressed nobles stepping out of carriages to commoners celebrating with their families.
And I was wearing clothes befitting a commoner.
[It looks like the enrollment process has just begun.]
"Can I just go in?"
[If you show the admission letter in your hand, you'll be able to enter right away.]
In my hand was a letter, just as Armonia had said.
Most people were being congratulated by their families or friends, but it meant nothing to me.
I just wanted to get inside quickly.
The school's exterior was as magnificent as you'd expect from a renowned institution on the continent.
The tall, black school building exuded a sense of mystery.
I handed my admission letter to the guard at the gate.
"Hmm… Confirmed. You can head to the auditorium over there."
The guard, with a stoic expression, returned the letter, and I entered the school.
As soon as I entered, I heard the guard's voice again from behind.
"Hmm… Ah! Congratulations on your admission!"
"Haha, thank you."
It was a completely different attitude from before.
'What the hell?'
I turned around in disbelief.
Behind me stood a noble-looking man dressed in white.
Handsome and tall….
'…Was the guard gay?'
[I don't think so. His attitude changed after seeing the admission letter.]
'Armonia, show me his traits. Let's see who this guy is.'
I'll find his weakness and turn him into a loser.
Just because he was treated differently, I now had an additional sub-quest.
But Armonia, who usually responded immediately, was silent.
[…]
'Armonia?'
[Suho, that's him.]
'Who?'
[That's Louis Brandtrup.]
'Oh!'
The guy I wanted to turn into a loser was the protagonist. I'm lucky.
Thank you for giving me another reason to shower him with lead.
The guy smiled brightly at me.
"Are you also enrolling here?"
"Ah, yes."
I smiled back warmly.
No need to make him dislike me right away.
Inducing the opponent's carelessness is the basic stance of NTL.
Louis extended his hand for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Louis Brandtrup from the Levin Kingdom."
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Suho."
"That's a unique name."
"Haha…."
I was annoyed and vented to Armonia.
'How dare he say that after hearing my name?'
[I think he's just intrigued because it's exotic.]
'Should I teach him a lesson with a club?'
[…]
As I was shaking hands with Louis, a woman in a simple yet elegant black dress entered, holding her admission letter.
Her dress was practical yet exuded grace, not overly flashy.
She had long silver hair with slight waves at the ends.
Her eyes were slightly upturned, and she wore a stoic expression.
And most importantly.
'She's so damn pretty!!'
[I'll display her traits for you.]
Armonia read my mind and immediately displayed the woman's traits.
=====
[Name: Luna Stadtfeld]
[-Traits-]
[Magic], [Responsibility], [Calmness], [Desire for Growth], [Gratitude]…
=====
"Ah, Luna. This is Suho, who just enrolled with us."
"Ah…."
Luna looked at me with a stoic expression.
It wasn't as expressionless as Armonia's, but "stoic" was the right word.
Unlike Armonia, her expression changed subtly.
"And Suho, this is my friend, Luna Stadtfeld."
"Ah… Nice to meet you."
I wanted to shake her hand, so I extended mine.
But Luna didn't react.
She stared at my hand for a moment, then looked up at me and said.
"There's no need…"
"?"
"To shake hands."
"…"
I don't know what Luna was thinking, but her actions excited me.
'Wow! Another reason to steal the protagonist's girl! Armonia!'
[…This mission is going to be tough.]
Louis, who had been watching Luna, apologized to me in a flustered manner.
"Sorry. Luna isn't very sociable… She's not a bad person."
"I just said there's no need to shake hands."
"Sigh, that's the problem."
The two bickered but seemed to enjoy it.
Luna, unlike the expression she showed me, had a subtle smile while talking to Louis.
I folded my embarrassed arm and felt anger rising.
'…Armonia.'
[Yes.]
'I'll make sure that girl tastes hell with the hand she rejected….'
[That's a very admirable attitude.]
I quietly left the scene, leaving the two to their bickering.
***
I listened to the dean's speech and the professors' introductions in the auditorium and was then shown to the dormitory.
The dormitories were separated by gender, with one room per person.
I entered the dormitory where I would be staying.
The dormitory didn't look very impressive.
A single bed, a desk, a closet, a private bathroom… That was it.
It felt like a studio apartment for exam students.
"This is so different from my office…."
[I think it's assigned based on your ranking.]
Armonia explained that top-ranked students were assigned better dormitories.
The dormitories were assigned in the order of top, high, middle, low, and bottom.
It seemed like a system to motivate students.
And this assignment changes every semester…
"What's my ranking?"
[Bottom.]
"What's my rank?"
[175th.]
"Total number of students?"
[175.]
"…"
Even during my school days, when I skipped classes and slept through them, I was never last….
On the bed was neatly folded formal attire.
The attire consisted of a high-quality shirt, tie, vest, and trousers.
The cloak to be worn as an outer layer was navy blue and looked very luxurious.
The design was so good that it wouldn't look out of place even in modern times.
It looked similar to a school uniform, but the intricate patterns on the shirt collar, vest, and cloak reminded me of military uniforms.
After all, magicians were closer to war weapons in the past, so it made sense.
I sat on the bed and started organizing my thoughts.
I've met the protagonist and the heroine.
And I was lucky enough to be assigned to the same class as them.
Armonia said Zodiac helped with that.
And….
"I can't do it like Viola this time… I want to destroy her…"
I still couldn't forget the expression on that girl Luna's face.
Was I angry?
No, I was actually grateful that it ignited a fire in me.
I wanted to shatter that expression.
[Personally, I hope we don't have another case like Viola.]
"Oh… Jealous?"
[…Because if you keep bringing people back to the ship every time, it won't end well for you.]
"Well, if I keep doing that, I might die from overwork someday…"
Besides, there were no more living quarters left on the ship.
Anyway, that part was clear, and next was magical power.
A new trait, [Magic], had been added to my traits.
=====
[Name: Seong Suho]
[-Traits-]
[Sexual Skills], [Magic]…
=====
Armonia expanded the magic-related traits for me.
-[Magical Power Lv.0], [Anti-Magic Lv.0], [Fire Attribute Lv.0], [Water Attribute Lv.0]…-
[I've only displayed the abilities relevant to this world.]
"Let's see… First, I need to raise Magical Power to Lv.1, right?"
[It costs 10,000 Enel to raise Magical Power to Lv.1.]
"What!?"
I was shocked.
"It costs 10,000 just to raise it by 1?"
[This is only the initial cost to create the trait.]
"Whew, that's a relief. I thought it was too ridiculous from the start."
I was truly startled.
The lowest-ranked student is Lv.5, and I thought I'd have to live this school life at Lv.1.
The problem isn't seducing her; I could get expelled without a word at this level….
"How much Enel do I have?"
[We received 20,000 Enel for this mission, so you currently have 24,035 Enel left.]
"I have no choice… Let's at least get Magical Power to Lv.1."
As soon as I said that….
Nothing happened, as if it were a lie.
[Magical Power has reached Lv.1.]
"Uh… In games, there's usually a pillar of light or something when you level up…"
[This isn't a game.]
Yeah, you're so smart…
Looking at my traits, [Magical Power Lv.1] was now displayed.
"So how much does it cost to raise it each time?"
[For Magical Power, the cost starts at 100 and doubles each time. The same applies to other magic-related traits.]
"Gasp! Then at Lv.100, it's 2 to the power of 100 multiplied by 100. How much Enel is that…."
[Don't worry. You don't need to reach that level, and the numbers don't always double. The system adjusts as you go.]
"Ah… Well, I guess I won't need to reach Lv.100 in magic anyway."
It'd be much more beneficial to max out my Sexual Skills instead.
"Then, let's at least get to Lv.5."
[1,500 Enel has been consumed to raise Magical Power to Lv.5.]
"At least I won't be at the bottom now…."
Whew… This should save some face tomorrow, right?
And the next day, the professor's first words struck a nerve.
"Magic is prohibited for the next week."