Yuri sat on an empty chair near the waiting room.
He could hear murmurs around him.
"Isn't that Yuri Briol?"
"Wow, the rumored Third Prince is here...."
"Did he come to give a lecture?"
"He showed up without any prior notice."
"So cool."
"His hair really is black...."
There was a mage standing on the podium, but Yuri was attracting more attention.
Some students in the back even stood up just to get a better look at him.
The mage's face twisted in annoyance.
[Everyone, attention! Quiet!]
The artifact attached to the podium amplified his voice greatly.
Once he calmed the students down, the mage resumed his lecture.
His voice was sharp and clear, so it carried well, but the content was extremely boring.
Yuri was beginning to regret coming outside.
"Hmm...."
In any case, he took care of business first.
Yuri ordered Laurent and Jared to secure Edran, who was sitting off to the side. The boy looked unsure of what to do, then slumped in despair when he saw Laurent and Jared standing next to him.
Now that guy wouldn't be able to leave the auditorium even if he wanted to.
[This time, what I've developed is....]
The mage's voice continued.
Each speaker was given an hour, so his lecture still had a long way to go.
He spoke of his magical accomplishments, but there was nothing really worth learning for the students. It even felt like he was deliberately using incomprehensible words.
It was around the time students began to doze off.
[You there, third row from the back, red hair.]
The mage's voice, amplified by the artifact, rang through the auditorium.
A student who had been nodding off barely managed to lift his head.
[Which faculty are you from?]
"Sorry?"
Still disoriented, the student scratched his head and stood up belatedly.
"Swordsmanship Faculty."
[Excellent. Come up here.]
The student, flustered, hesitated for a moment before walking up to the stage.
The mage raised his staff.
[This is the most basic defensive spell—Shield.]
A translucent barrier appeared.
When the mage tapped it with his staff, a dull thud resonated.
[Now, I will overlay an enhancement spell I developed.]
When the mage chanted again, a blue glow spread across the translucent barrier. The shield now glimmered faintly.
[Based on this, I'm researching a general enhancement spell that increases the overall efficacy of magic. Though it's still in the early stages, the research on shields is nearly complete. I doubt anyone here can break this.]
As he spoke, the mage glanced sideways at Yuri.
[No one, I mean.]
Yuri sensed his intent and chuckled.
So the man liked boasting and wanted to elevate his own status by provoking him.
But Yuri had no intention of playing along.
When Yuri didn't react, the mage spoke irritably.
[Red hair. Go on, try cutting it. If you can.]
Irritated, the student immediately raised his sword. The shape of the sword aura was clear—he was skilled.
But his full-strength attack was blocked by the shield. The rebound even caused him to fall backward.
The mage burst out laughing.
[See? This is the power of the enhancement spell I created.]
Judging purely by its magical effect, it was impressive.
An enhancement spell that amplified other spells had high utility. For example, if cast on a fireball, it would turn into a much more powerful fireball.
Yuri felt like calling Ernando immediately to have him learn it.
The mage continued calling students to test the shield.
No one managed to break through.
Considering his age and mastery, it was only natural.
As the shield held firm, the mage began blatantly targeting Yuri.
[Hahaha, Your Highness. What do you think? Care to try it yourself?]
What a petty man he was.
All eyes turned to Yuri. He let out a sigh and stood up.
Yuri was extremely popular among the younger generation of the Empire.
When he rose from his seat, a small cheer erupted among the Academium students.
Yuri even raised his hand and waved to rile them up further.
Jealousy flickered in the mage's eyes.
Yuri said,
"Keep going, don't stop on my account."
[To think Your Highness would personally step forward—I'm honored. But, as the hero of the Allied Army, I would feel terrible if your reputation were to suffer from failure. You don't have to do this.]
If both were of equal level, it was only natural that a mage's carefully constructed shield would be difficult for a knight to break.
In real combat, a knight could strike down a mage before he even finished chanting, highlighting the differences in strengths and weaknesses.
Still, the mage seemed determined to pick a fight with Yuri.
Yuri chuckled.
"Not bad. Well-crafted spell."
[Already making excuses, are we?]
Ignoring the mage, Yuri calmly examined the shield. The magic structure was tightly woven compared to typical shields.
"Hmm...."
Even as he did so, the Academium students stared at him with burning interest.
If he just walked away now, he might hurt their feelings.
Yuri made a bet.
"Well, since it's come to this, how about we make a wager?"
[A wager, you say?]
"Sitting down there, your lecture seemed… rather boring."
The students began laughing at that remark.
As snickers broke out around the hall, the mage's face turned red.
"If I break this, stop lecturing and step down. You're putting everyone to sleep."
The students erupted in cheers at Yuri's suggestion.
This time, they didn't hold back—the entire hall began to root for Yuri. The mage's face twisted in fury.
[V-Very well! Let's do that! However!]
The mage twitched his lips and added,
[If Your Highness fails to break it, I shall use your lecture time as well. How about that?]
The lecture hall buzzed at his words.
It was essentially a declaration of torture.
But Yuri nodded.
"Sure."
Even the students knew that, considering Yuri's age and level, breaking the shield was nearly impossible, which caused murmuring to spread.
[Excellent. Heh heh....]
The mage chuckled lowly.
He had a solid reason to be confident.
Through numerous experiments, he had already determined the durability of his enhanced shield.
Even knights of considerable skill couldn't break it.
Knights and mages belonged to entirely different domains.
If a mage had the time and environment to carefully construct their magic, then in terms of pure power alone, a knight could not compare.
Even if the Third Prince was exceptionally talented, it might be a different story ten years from now—but at his current age, not even of age yet, it was impossible for him to break the shield.
The mage gave a triumphant smile.
Hero of the Allied Army or not, he was still young. His pride had been provoked, and he walked right into the trap without realizing it.
[Please, show us quickly. Fufufu...]
The mage urged Yuri, who was still standing motionless.
Yuri didn't respond.
He had already entered a world that only he could see.
His vision lost its color, and everything appeared in shades of black and white. The shield the mage had created now looked like a faintly woven gray fabric. Yuri could see through its entire structure.
He understood what he had to do.
He returned his vision to normal, and drew Guilty.
As the cold gleam of his blade spread, the watching students swallowed nervously.
Mana method surged within Yuri.
The slow-moving ripple of energy began to swell into greater waves, undulating along his energy pathways.
At last, the wave reached Guilty.
It formed a vortex pattern of endlessly repeating fractals.
"Uh..."
"His sword..."
Everyone could sense that something was happening.
At first, it looked like faint cracks, but the swirling motion along the blade soon extended beyond the blade itself.
Yuri Style, First Move.
The Whirling Vortex Sword.
It was being unleashed now, here in the auditorium of the Academium.
Through his continued training, Yuri had further refined it. Rather than recklessly unleashing power outward, he had reached a level where he compressed the rotation inward, amplifying its destructive force.
Because of that, it merely looked like a faint aura wrapped around the blade—but its power was in a league far beyond mere sword aura.
Yuri was quite literally holding a storm in his hand.
The energy of the Whirling Vortex tingled at his fingertips.
He was ready.
"Here I go."
Yuri struck the shield with force.
A dull crash echoed throughout the auditorium.
And then—
"Ah..."
An unbelievable sight unfolded.
The shield didn't just crack or collapse—it was shredded in every direction.
It looked as if tens of thousands of whirlwinds, all moving in random directions, had swept through the shield.
"Wha...?"
By the end, the shield was reduced to a pitiful frame, like it had been gnawed on by a pack of wolves. But it wasn't completely destroyed yet.
The mage, who had frozen like a statue, brightened and said,
[I-It's not broken. That means I win...]
But before he could finish his sentence, the shield collapsed.
If only he had waited a moment longer, but by rushing to speak, he'd only made himself look worse.
[Victory is...]
The shield shattered completely and fell to the floor in pieces.
The mage fell silent.
A heavy silence followed.
Only the fragments of the shield remained, dissipating into mana like steam.
Yuri raised his hand.
"I win."
At his declaration, everyone erupted into applause and cheers.
Yuri bowed his head in response to their ovation.
While he basked in the cheers, the mage, still holding the artifact at the podium, bit his lip and swallowed his humiliation.
Yuri said to him,
"Thanks for the lecture. You can leave now."
Then he clapped his hands, motioning for the mage to go.
The students joined in, clapping as well.
The mage glared at Yuri, then descended from the podium as if fleeing. Instead of heading to the waiting room, he exited the auditorium altogether.
Watching his retreating back, Yuri shrugged.
"Why did he have to pick a fight..."
In any case, since he had won, the time originally allotted to the mage was now added to Yuri's session, making it a long lecture.
Yuri stepped up to the podium where the mage had stood.
Countless gazes followed his movements.
Since the Academium was a higher learning institution, most of the students were either the same age as Yuri or older. Perhaps because of that, some students still eyed him with suspicion.
They likely thought that the stories of his battlefield exploits were just made-up tales.
Yuri could feel that sentiment.
Meeting those various expressions head-on, Yuri grasped the voice amplification artifact.
[Ah, ah.]
He spoke a few times to get a feel for it, then began in a calm tone.
[You've endured a boring lecture—good job.]
Some students burst into laughter.
[I'm Yuri Briol, Third Prince of Briol, and also a former member of the Allied Army.]
With that, Yuri paused for a moment.
[Honestly, I haven't decided what to teach you...]
The students laughed again.
[Thanks to the previous mage, I've got a good idea now. I'll start with a lecture, and then take questions freely. Now, here's a question for you. What do you think my lecture will be about?]
Yuri pointed at the red-haired swordsmanship student who had been called out by the mage earlier.
[You, the one the mage singled out earlier.]
Laughter rippled through the students again.
"Y-Yes?"
[Why don't you guess what my lecture will be about?]
"Um..."
After thinking briefly, he replied,
"Maybe stories from your time in the Allied Army and life lessons? Or advice for life?"
Sharp kid. If he had followed Laurent's tone, he'd have guessed it exactly.
But Yuri changed the direction of the lecture.
He didn't consider himself someone worthy of giving advice to others.
Even if he tried to sound wise, it would only apply to himself—not something others could necessarily learn from.
So instead, he prepared a more practical lecture.
[Wrong. What I'll teach you is this.]
Yuri drew Guilty from his waist and held it high.
Mana surged around him.
[The secret technique I just showed—the Whirling Vortex Sword.]