Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 20 You’re Better Than Becky

The tone of the message was so bizarre that I briefly debated whether or not to respond.

But I decided to engage. After all, I needed to earn some money by teaching.

I shaped my mana into characters and filled the empty space at the bottom of the page. These characters would now be transmitted to the other party.

[▷ Anything I know.]

[▶ How much does it cost?]

[▷ It depends on what I’m teaching.]

[▶ What’s your experience? 0ㅅ0]

What is 0ㅅ0? I examined it from different angles, but I couldn’t figure it out.

At least in the languages I know, there’s nothing like it, and magically speaking, it’s not a spell either.

In the end, I decided to ignore the message appended at the end of each sentence. It didn’t seem to cause any communication issues anyway.

Experience, huh? I pondered for a moment on how to introduce myself in this teaching auction.

But the contemplation didn’t last long.

Since the teaching auction is conducted anonymously, it should be fine to introduce myself as who I was in my previous world.

[▷ Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate, Professor. I’ve done it all.]

[▶ Oh, really…?]

No response followed. I wondered if they were backing out like this.

[▶ By the way, could you solve this for me? ㅎㅅㅎ]

A complex formula was then drawn on the page.

A tangled mess of a formula, circuits forming a maze, countless curves that seemed to mock the observer…

I was all too familiar with this formula.

It was the one Trixie had posted on the Agora Board, the same one I saw the day I first met Becky.

Teaching the solution and explaining it was easy, but there was something I needed to clarify first.

[▷ Are you requesting a lesson?]

[▶ Yes, I’ll give you 10 gold coins.]

Offering 10 gold coins, but it seemed more like a way to test my skills.

I called Becky, who was sitting next to me.

“Becky.”

“Huh?”

“How much do you spend on food per month?”

Becky’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Food expenses? Why are you asking about my food expenses all of a sudden? Do I look fat?”

“Answer.”

Becky scratched her cheek, looking troubled, and then reluctantly replied.

“I spend a bit more… About one gold coin a month…?”

I nodded. Ten gold coins weren’t a bad deal.

It meant the other person had the resources to spend ten gold coins just to test me. A wealthy customer was always good news.

[* You’ve received 10 gold coins.]

At that moment, the other party paid ten gold coins. I could exchange them later at the Academy’s bank.

I provided the solution and explanation to the other party.

I started by showing how finding the key point would make the solution easier, followed by the method to pinpoint that key point. It wasn’t the most detailed explanation, but it should have been sufficient.

[▶ Oh, I see. It works when you do it that way.]

[▷ Is there anything else you want to learn?]

I had proven my ability well enough.

I calmly waited for the next question, but the reply that came back was far from what I expected.

[▶ The person who created this must be a genius.]

[▶ How did they even think of drawing with formulas? ㅎㅅㅎ]

I considered closing the Trivia book, but instead, I decided to offer one more piece of advice.

[▷ The idea is good, but the composition is sloppy.]
[▶ Don’t be cheeky.]

“……?”

“Don’t be cheeky.” The words were quickly erased.

[This text has been deleted.]
[▶ Can you solve this one too?]

This time, another formula was transmitted through the Trivia book.

I was all too familiar with it—it was the problem I had personally posted on the Agora Board.

Was it around this time?

“Hey, Flan, what have you been looking at so intently?”

Suddenly, Becky leaned in close to me. I instinctively closed the Trivia book.

“…Is it your girlfriend?”

“No.”

“I didn’t mean to pry, but their tone is…”

“Stop making a fuss.”

Just then, Professor Violet appeared in the center of the arena with another professor.

Violet was dressed as one would expect of her. A wide robe and a large pointed hat. However, the robe couldn’t hide her alluring curves.

With her characteristic expression of discontent, she opened her mouth.

“Let’s start the lecture.”

◈

The mock battle was conducted in a straightforward manner.

Whether by nomination, being nominated, or random selection, once the opponents were decided, it was all about casting spells and defeating the other.

When the support magic Violet had placed on the students in advance detected damage above a certain threshold, the student would be forcibly sent to the spectator stand. This meant students could go all out to defeat their opponent.

However, as this mock battle was held right before the exploration task, Violet instructed the use of scrolls.

Scrolls varied greatly in price depending on their performance.

Therefore, this mock battle might seem unfairly decided by wealth, but Violet wasn’t so thoughtless.

There was an element of fairness. Violet personally distributed three scrolls of the same grade at random to each student.

At the moment, Becky and Hailey’s mock battle was in progress.

‘She’s going to lose.’

It was certain. Becky would lose.

Her proficiency in handling ice elements was commendable. However, Becky wasn’t using any scrolls at all.

Relying solely on ice elements to handle everything wasn’t romantic; it was just stubbornness, destined to break.

…But it didn’t seem to be just about the scrolls. For some reason, Becky wasn’t focused on the match at all.

I could sense that her mind was occupied with other concerns. It was a disappointing attitude for a magician.

Next, I looked at Hailey.

‘At least she has the basics.’

By alternating between using her scrolls and her own magic, Hailey managed to compensate for their respective weaknesses.

However, she wasn’t without flaws. There were plenty of openings.

Becky could easily win by exploiting just one of them. But she lacked the capability to do so, having already lost the upper hand.

The training ground was shaped like a large circular arena surrounded by a ring of spectator stands.

“Ack!”

With a sharp scream, Becky was sent tumbling across the dirt, covered in dust.

“That’s enough. Hailey wins.”

As expected, Hailey was the victor. There was no twist.

Upon Violet’s command, Hailey approached Becky and extended her hand. Her gentle smile was as warm as sunlight.

“Are you hurt? I’m sorry if I was too rough.”

“N-no, it’s fine.”

Becky, covered in dust, took Hailey’s clean hand and stood up.

Hailey, glowing in the sunlight, and Becky, smeared in dirt— their contrasting appearances were striking.

“Neither of you is seriously hurt, right?”

At Violet’s question, Hailey and Becky nodded in unison. The professor nodded in return.

“Then return to your seats so we can proceed to the next round.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Hailey smiled sweetly as she walked toward the spectator stand, while Becky followed behind, looking dejected.

“I’ll now draw the next student.”

With a snap of Violet’s fingers, a frog spat out a name card. The name was announced.

“Aria Fontaine.”

Aria brushed back her pink hair as she stepped into the arena. Violet spoke.

“You can choose your opponent, or we can draw one.”

“Please choose Flan.”

Aria chose me without a moment’s hesitation. Violet nodded in understanding.

The simple fact that Aria chose me became a huge topic of gossip for others. The other students started whispering loudly.

“Flan should’ve just dropped out after losing that bet. Then he wouldn’t have to get beaten up today.”

“Hey, quiet down. He might hear you.”

“And what if he does? Let him hear.”

I had anticipated all of this, so I walked calmly past them. There was no need to pay them any mind.

“Hey, Flan.”

At that moment, someone walking in the opposite direction called out to me. It was Becky.

Standing in front of me, she hesitated for a moment before speaking with difficulty.

“I lost. You’d better win.”

“……”

Becky was completely covered in dirt.

I didn’t feel pity or sympathy for her. But the acrid smell of dust was so bothersome that I couldn’t help but furrow my brows.

Becky sniffed her sleeve.

“Sorry, does my perfume smell weird?”

Instead of answering, I used wind and telekinesis to clean her off. Her ragged appearance was suffocating to watch.

The dirt that had clung to her uniform and hair gathered into a small ball thanks to telekinesis.

By the time Becky was clean, the ball of dirt had grown to about the size of a ping-pong ball.

“Flan~”

Suddenly, another voice called out to me. Golden hair and a soft smile.

It was Hailey. She had just fought a mock battle with Becky, yet there wasn’t a speck of dirt on her.

“Don’t you have your own match to worry about? You might not have time to take care of the girl.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to distract you.”

Becky mumbled an apology and quickly passed by me. However, Hailey seemed to have more to say.

“By the way, why do you always hang out with Becky?”

I ignored her and started walking. It wasn’t worth responding.

“Oh my, do you like Becky? How long have you been following her around?”

But

people like this seemed designed to become more obnoxious if ignored.

“What a shame. I beat Becky, so what will you do now? You don’t hold that against me, do you?”

I wondered what I could say to shut her up. After a brief consideration, I snapped my fingers.

“Ugh, what the…?!”

The ball of dirt that had been hovering exploded, covering Hailey in dust. The students watching gasped in shock.

Hailey, realizing her condition, was outraged and yelled in disbelief.

“Y-you…! What do you think you’re doing?”

I ignored her question and calmly added a single remark.

“Becky is better than you.”

Becky knew how to give directions. She was good at cleaning up leftovers.

Hailey’s expression turned to one of disbelief as she heard my words.

The surroundings fell silent, as if time had stopped. I began walking toward the arena.

Aria’s gaze was filled with hostility as she waited for me. She stared at me with an expression that suggested she wanted to devour me alive.

Unfortunately for her.

I wasn’t in a good mood either. I had no intention of holding back this time.