Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

**Chapter 13: Try It Like Before**

“Student Flan… is on hold for now.”

I wondered what grade the professors would assign to me. Since it was a question that couldn’t be answered immediately, I calmly returned to my seat.

“…On hold? Why is it on hold?”

“The professors must have different opinions.”

“How is that possible? So far, they’ve always been unanimous.”

“What are they debating? Just judging by the distance, it should be a low grade.”

As I returned to my spot among the students, I could hear them murmuring without missing a single word. I could also clearly feel the numerous stares directed openly at me.

“Must have used a scroll.”

“Scroll? Isn’t cheating punished immediately?”

“Who knows. It’s not our concern, so whatever.”

The common factor in those stares was that none of them were positive, especially in that regard.

However, I was not at all intimidated. Receiving the suspicious glances of others could be quite amusing in its own way.

“Hey, Flan. What’s going on? What is it?”

As soon as I sat down, Becky whispered. She had been craning her neck, eagerly waiting for me to sit.

“Who knows.”

“You didn’t use a scroll… right?”

“I didn’t.”

“Yeah. I thought so.”

Becky continued, speaking with a rather serious expression.

“For some reason, I felt like you could get a good grade even without something like that.”

I suddenly became curious about how perceptive Becky actually was. For the first time in a while, I spoke first from my side.

“Then, what do you think?”

“Huh? About what?”

“The auxiliary magic I just showed.”

“Well… It flew very beautifully?”

Of course. I let out a deep sigh.

However, in a way, this level of impression was already quite good. Most of the students watching seemed unaware that I had even performed a purification.

Even if she didn’t understand the exact principle, just observing it was a good sign.

“It was really beautiful, but it didn’t fly very far, which was a shame. It should have gone farther than Hailey’s…”

Becky, who had been muttering, suddenly turned her head toward me.

“Hey, how do you make it leave a trail like that when it flies? Can you teach me too?”

I appreciated Becky’s enthusiasm for learning.

Magic doesn’t always have to be self-researched. Seeking advice and being taught are also respectable paths.

The only problem was figuring out how much of the purification concept to explain. It was also an awkward moment to give a detailed explanation during the test.

“I’ll teach you if we get a chance later.”

“Later? When?”

I didn’t bother responding any further because it was getting tiresome. Fortunately, around that time, Violet resumed the test.

“Next, Trixie von Fritz.”

The next turn was Trixie. She was a female student known among the others as the one who created the Agora Board, but to me, she was just a drunkard.

I was somewhat curious about why Becky was making such a fuss, but hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once. Finally, I would be able to confirm with my own eyes.

The word Violet’s frog spat out was ‘Synthesis.’

“Start when you’re ready…”

Even before Violet finished speaking, Trixie cast her magic.

With her arms crossed, Trixie tilted her head slightly, and the earth responded to her mana.

The formula she had instantly imprinted in her mind, the precise combination of mana, and the soil of the earth combined to execute a perfect synthesis.

With a crunching sound, the earth clumped together, forming a beautiful sculpture.

The statue, which was a perfect replica of herself, seemed to assert that even her very existence was a work of art.

“Wow… That’s incredible. Hey, Flan. Imagine being on her bad side. It would be terrifying, right? We really dodged a bullet there.”

Becky whispered to me as if she was genuinely relieved.

‘Is she just good at throwing tantrums?’

Indeed, Trixie was naturally gifted.

Her mana exuded a sharp presence, and the speed at which she calculated the mana combination into the circuit was particularly noteworthy.

‘But she needs to find the right direction.’

Mana flow always follows its master. Her sharp presence was likely due to her immense ego.

If she fails to control it, it will become her poison. She must be cautious.

“A grade.”

Violet belatedly assigned a grade. Trixie had already returned to her seat as if she had expected it.

“A grade.”

“C grade.”

“C grade.”

The test continued.

“Next, Louis.”

When that name was called, many of the female students’ eyes began to sparkle.

Louis, I remembered him as the male student who was with Hailey.

I heard a rustling sound beside me, so I turned my head. Becky was experimenting with wrapping mana around her hand, trying various things.

“…What are you doing?”

“What? You’re asking what I’m doing? I didn’t hear you.”

Becky glanced at Louis, following my gaze, then shook her head.

“Ah, Louis~ The girls say he’s handsome, but I don’t really see it. Well, I guess he’s popular because he’s good at magic too.”

Louis’ subsequent magic was quite excellent.

“A grade.”

He was very solid in the basics, without any unnecessary frills. If the textbook were personified, it would be Louis.

In other words, he seemed a bit bland to me. He lacked his own unique color. Nevertheless, he was undoubtedly a natural gem.

“Louis, Hailey, Trixie…”

Becky began counting the students who received A grades by folding her fingers one by one. Soon, her face turned pale.

“Just thinking about it makes me anxious. Will I be able to do well…”

She suddenly turned to me and continued.

“Hey, Flan, you’ll get an A grade too, right?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t know anyone here…! You better get an A grade too!”

At that moment, Violet snapped her fingers, and the original classroom scenery appeared before all the freshmen.

There were three professors standing on the podium. Violet opened her mouth.

“That concludes today’s test. The results will be notified separately in writing.”

At those words, students who received low grades let out deep sighs.

“And Student Flan.”

“Yes.”

I answered calmly. The professors’ expressions remained subtle.

“Everyone except Student Flan, please leave.”

The students murmured as they left the classroom. Each of them glanced at me at least once.

Becky, who looked at me with eyes full of worry until the very end, eventually couldn’t withstand the professor’s gaze and exited the classroom.

Finally, when only four of us were left in the room, Violet spoke again.

“Student Flan, you will have a retest.”

I nodded without complaint. Since it had already been decided, I simply accepted it.

Even if my mana reserves were nearly depleted.

“What field are you most confident in?”

“I handle all fields at an equal level.”

“All, equally?”

A slight laugh escaped Violet’s lips. She continued, her expression suggesting she found it amusing.

“What did I tell you during the test?”

“You said to start whenever I was ready.”

“No, I told you to behave. I clearly told you to behave.”

I didn’t have much to say. Wasn’t that well-behaved enough? I merely showed the best I could with this body.

Violet created a mana crystal and sent it toward me.

“Try it like before.”

“Like before…”

I gathered the mana that was close to being depleted.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough mana left in my body to purify this. In other words, it was impossible to do it like before.

I wrapped my fingers in mana and flicked the crystal lightly, sending it far away. No, I pushed it away. It was unpleasant to have this crystal near me.

To me, a mana crystal that wasn’t properly purified was nothing more than a speck of dust or a piece of dirt.

The crystal shot across the classroom to roughly the same distance where Violet had placed the marker earlier.

Violet tilted her head and looked at me with an inquisitive gaze. She made a humming sound before speaking.

“Why didn’t you do it like before?”

Because I didn’t have any mana left. Instead, I asked her a question in return.

“It’s an A grade, right?”

“What……?”

Upon hearing my words, Violet’s brow furrowed.

◈

“Professor Violet~ Are you still upset that Flan got an A grade?”

In front of Violet’s irritated face, someone carefully placed a teacup.

It was none other than Professor Audrey. The rich aroma of tea tickled Violet’s nose.

“You can’t help it, you know. It’s already decided. Have some of this and calm down.”

Violet, Leska, and Audrey, the three professors, visited the professor-exclusive café within Merhen Academy after finishing the freshmen’s grading test, hoping for some relaxation.

The plan had been to lift Violet’s spirits, but the problem was that she still looked displeased.

Violet spoke with a disinterested expression.

“I’m not upset about the grade. The problem is that the student keeps trying to provoke me.”

“Come on, how could a student possibly think of challenging a professor? Maybe Professor Violet is just being a little sensitive…”

“Sensitive? Me? No way! Professor Audrey, you’re just too soft! Just keep quiet!”

“…Yes.”

Professor Audrey shrank back and sipped her tea. Violet’s sharp gaze turned toward Professor Leska.

“Professor Cuelin! You say something too. You’re the one who brought up the scroll in the first place, which led to the retest!”

The

male professor, called Cuelin, wiped the sweat off his forehead and avoided Violet’s gaze.

“Well, you see… How can a freshman perform purification to that degree? Naturally, I assumed he must have used a magic scroll and cheated.”

Violet’s saw-toothed glare remained fixed on Cuelin. He coughed awkwardly and glanced at Audrey.

“And I wasn’t the only one who thought that, right? Professor Audrey, you agreed with the scroll idea too, didn’t you?”

Audrey, who was about to take another sip of tea, hurriedly set the cup down.

“Oh, of course! Who would have thought an F grade student could perform purification assistance and output assistance?”

“Yes, that’s exactly my point. Purification is a concept taught to upperclassmen. How could I not suspect a freshman using it?”

Violet rubbed her throbbing temples.

“Enough, both of you, stop it. The scroll isn’t the issue. If he had used a scroll, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed up close.”

“Um, then what exactly are you upset about, Professor Violet…?”

When Violet shot Professor Audrey a sharp glare as if to say, “How can you not understand?” Audrey quickly averted her eyes.

“I clearly told him to only assist with the output during the first test. But he went ahead and did purification assistance too, something I didn’t ask for. Then, when I asked him to do it again, he conveniently left out the purification? What’s he trying to do, pick a fight with me?”

Audrey looked at Violet with a troubled expression.

“But… Professor Violet, you’re the one who gave Flan an A grade, aren’t you?”

“Well, he’s got A grade skills, so I can’t not give him an A. What do you take me for?”

“…Right.”

The other two professors shook their heads as they sipped their tea, and Violet, too, picked up her cup as if she were parched.

‘What on earth is this guy up to?’

Violet was deeply lost in thought.

Flan’s skills were undeniably at an A grade level, but that wasn’t the only reason she gave him the A grade.

When piecing together the stories from the other two professors, Flan’s actions were nothing short of bizarre.

He had entered Merhen Academy with an F grade, yet in just a few days, he had met the requirements to perfectly perform output assistance.

That alone was enough to surprise others, but Flan didn’t stop there.

He even demonstrated the advanced concept of purification, which led two professors to suspect him of using a magic scroll.

The doubt Violet had tucked away in a corner of her mind began to resurface.

‘So, he did interfere with my projection magic…’

As her thoughts reached that point, Violet let out a hollow laugh, finding it absurd.

If Flan had indeed done what she suspected, it meant he was proficient in the interference field as well.

‘…I’ll be watching you closely.’

Anyway, Violet was the professor in charge of the A grade freshmen. She didn’t know what Flan was hiding or what his goals were, but she would keep a meticulous eye on his every move.

Hmph. Violet picked up her cup with a displeased expression.