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Chapter 15
The students trapped inside the exact same barrier froze.
“W–wait, why is this happening?!”
“How can that professor use this?!”
How else? He copied it.
【3-Minute Copy】
For three minutes, he can replicate anything he touches or sees.
The name had changed from “One-Time Copy.” The limitation of copying only once had been upgraded as well. As expected, it was an ability that had evolved thanks to the Hero.
It wasn’t like he was copying the skills of a top-class hero—mere student-level magic was something he could perfectly replicate just by seeing it.
Of course, this spell had been crafted well enough that the professors had gone into meetings over it, but it was still something the Heroes of Haven could break without much trouble.
However—
“So it really was connected to the Imperial family.”
Hadn’t the teaching assistants warned him already? That someone from the Imperial side was involved, so he should be careful not to get hurt.
Yes. From the moment he heard that, Ruin had already figured everything out—what kind of spell it was, and why the professors couldn’t break it.
“Obviously, it uses the Imperial language.”
There was a language passed down only within the Imperial family. A secret tongue inherited since ancient times—known only to imperial blood, and something others neither knew nor were allowed to know.
The key parts of the formula were written in that imperial language, so how could anyone decipher it?
Then what about him?
“Like I haven’t dealt with the imperial families and royal houses of the Union once or twice.”
Among the missions of the Fire Moth were many that involved imperial families. Easy ones included stealing classified documents or infiltrating as a general; harder ones involved swaying an emperor’s heart to change the designated successor.
The most vicious mission of all was seducing an imperial princess who was also the master of a mage tower, and scrapping the entire plan. Of course, he left immediately after completing the mission, so he never saw her again after that…
“Well, she probably forgot everything and married someone else, living happily ever after.”
Anyway—
“The mastermind this time is probably imperial blood.”
A young member of the imperial family currently studying at Haven?
That would explain everything.
“They knew that even if an imperial mage came, it couldn’t be undone.”
This wasn’t a matter of skill level. Even if they somehow gained imperial cooperation and deciphered the formula, the next step was the real problem.
To break a spell, you just had to decode the formula, find the core, and destroy it. But doing that would itself be a challenge to imperial authority.
Why?
“Because the shape of the core just happened to be the imperial crest.”
In other words, the mastermind had designed it so it couldn’t be broken.
“Vile bastard.”
They made it impossible to even attempt breaking it, no matter the approach.
And that wasn’t all.
As if intending to execute anyone for lèse-majesté, they had also placed a marking spell that would activate the moment the core was destroyed. That was the true purpose—and “identity”—of this magic, and it was terrifyingly powerful.
“The mastermind was a senior, a candidate for transcendent rank? Talented, sure—but still a vile piece of work.”
Some professors must have realized the true nature of the spell, but for their own safety, they chose neglect instead of destruction. Breaking it wasn’t easy, and avoiding involvement altogether was the wiser choice.
As for the headmaster’s intentions—Ruin didn’t care. The Wayne family had power enough to stand against the Imperial family, and they weren’t part of the imperial faction.
And above all—
“As long as there’s no evidence, everything’s fine.”
All he needed was to leave no proof of insulting the Imperial family.
“Some Union brat.”
If he were scared of something like this, the Fire Moth would have had its wings torn off long ago.
Besides, breaking magic was the Fire Moth’s specialty.
“Well, that’s not the important part right now.”
What mattered was utterly smashing the spell they were so proud of, and reclaiming the shattered authority of the classroom.
Indeed, the students who were the masterminds, trapped inside the barrier, were terrified. They had never imagined a professor who could break it would appear.
No—breaking it would’ve been one thing.
“It was encrypted so even professors couldn’t easily replicate it, and he copied it in one go?”
They never imagined a professor of this level.
“We underestimated him!”
“Got it? If you’re going to torture someone, you use water torture and fire torture until they’re on the verge of death—but never actually let them die. Tear apart both mind and body until they spill information. Poison’s no good. The pain’s too intense, and they can’t speak properly.”
No, they didn’t underestimate him—they just ran into the wrong person!
The year head screamed as he saw flames surge up from Ruin’s body. The murderous fire roared like a raging inferno. Magic so intense it made even him freeze.
“Isn’t that high-tier magic?!”
Was he planning to burn them alive inside the barrier?!
As the flames crept to their feet, the students screamed.
“I’m sorry!”
“We committed an unforgivable crime, Professor!”
“Please spare us!”
“I don’t want to burn to death!”
“We’ll never do it again!”
At their desperate cries, Ruin frowned instead.
No—this fire wasn’t something he cast.
He himself was the one flustered by the flames at his feet.
“Why is there suddenly fire magic?”
That was why he didn’t understand.
Because—
“I can’t use magic.”
Of course, if he copied it, he could use magic—but even then, it was only a copied shadow. Without copying someone else, Ruin could never use magic.
That was the fate of the so-called “shadow,” the parasite. A shadow that only imitates has no “true self.”
That was why so many people looked down on him.
“How is a lowborn like that in the same rank as us?”
“If he could use magic, he might’ve reached the very top—but that’s impossible for someone born of monsters.”
Lowborn “monsters” couldn’t use magic; instead, they used racial techniques called “skills,” which were heavily restricted.
Magic, on the other hand, had no such limits. With a higher-tier spell, you could overwhelm almost anything. There was a reason magic was the main weapon of both Union and Pride.
In other words, he was born unable to use magic at all…
So he briefly wondered if it was the headmaster’s magic sealed in his wrist—but—
「Oh? I’ve never seen this magic before. Did you create it?」
Even the god had never seen it before. That meant it wasn’t a copy.
Which only made it more confusing.
“What is this? Can I actually use magic now?”
“Well, whatever.”
Ruin looked at the students.
“I have no intention of torturing you.”
“…!”
The students teared up.
“Please turn off the fire first!”
“I don’t know how.”
…Was that a threat?!
“I’ll let you out of there. Instead—”
At Ruin’s grim gaze, the students flinched.
Instead… was he going to continue the class?
“Well, he already broke the spell, so there’s no reason not to.”
Was he trying to secure the position of senior professor by continuing the lecture?
But even if he forced them to sit, it would be useless. That alone wouldn’t break the students’ lofty pride—
“All of you, follow me to the rooftop.”
Huh?
“Yes?”
At the completely unexpected order, they were dumbfounded.
…Wait, why the rooftop?
“You’ll find out when you get there.”
The students were terrified.
…No, seriously, why?!
The students were bewildered once they reached the rooftop.
“The rooftop? Why?”
No matter how much they thought about it, they couldn’t grasp Ruin’s intention.
“Is he going to punish us by taking away the classroom?”
“Or is it because it’s cold—some kind of outdoor lesson?”
Most of them were from prestigious families, which only made it harder to understand.
Soon, Ruin spoke to them.
“What’s with those faces? Did the rooftop scare you?”
No—it’s not fear, we just don’t know what it means!
“Is he saying the classroom can’t burn, so he’ll burn us to death up here?”
They were cold, hungry, and wanted to protest—but after seeing him use magic earlier, they didn’t dare say anything.
“Didn’t that professor use magic without chanting?”
“Could it be a storage spell?”
“Maybe it was cast on an item?”
“No, I saw a pattern on his wrist.”
“Really? Isn’t that hard? I’ve never seen a mage who could actually use that…”
They exchanged glances—then sneered.
“So what? It’s nothing special.”
“Everyone here is from Goldmoon Dormitory anyway.”
Of the five dormitories, Goldmoon was composed entirely of nobles.
“If he hurts us, our parents will come after him.”
The parents of Goldmoon students were all powerful grand nobles. The implication was that no matter how much of a professor he was, he couldn’t touch them.
They did admit they’d played a bad prank—though they felt no remorse.
“He’s just making us stand in the cold as punishment.”
“Hah. Like we’d be scared of that.”
But there was one student who alone avoided eye contact.
“Even if I explain the meaning of the rooftop… it wouldn’t matter.”
A first-year—Owen, a prodigy of Haven. A commoner mixed into Goldmoon classes, a lone “duckling.”
But as Owen looked at Ruin, he couldn’t help but feel sick.
“Is this professor insane? I never thought I’d hear that phrase from a professor.”
It was something street thugs would say. Honestly, he was shocked. But no one here understood what it meant.
“Because they’re damn nobles.”
Who would know?
“That ‘follow me to the rooftop’ means he’s going to beat the dust out of them up there!”
But even so, Haven was ultimately a school—a kind of service industry.
Haven professors were elite even within the Empire, but Haven’s parents were no joke.
Business magnates, political and financial leaders, military commanders, from imperial blood to grand dukes—true to the Union that united all nations, it was no exaggeration to say the people who ran countries were all gathered here.
In exchange for training and raising their precious children, these wealthy parents funded Haven. Lay a hand on their treasured sons and daughters? All hell would break loose.
Still… with Professor Wayne’s background, maybe it would be fine?
“Well, after what they did to him, getting beaten might be something they have to accept…”
“From now on, one by one—jump down.”
“?”
What?
“Jump. You sons of bitches.”
This was worse than getting beaten?!
Even Owen gaped in shock. All the students were dumbfounded by Ruin’s declaration.
“J–jump down?! This is the seventh floor!”
They’d die if they fell!
“Exactly. That’s why you’re jumping.”
“What?!”
“Relax. My specialty is healing.”
“Then…!”
So he’d heal them if they got hurt?
Right, so then—
“Of course, I can’t heal men, women, neutral, intersex, children, youths, middle-aged, elderly, humans, animals, living things, or non-living things.”
The students fell into dead silence.
…Wait. That means he can’t heal anything.
“Does it matter? The human body is meant to return to dirt anyway.”
Isn’t that a quack doctor?!
