(New!)
Enhancement: Crisis Detection - The skill activates automatically when an unexpected strike comes flying.
'…!!'
I went blank for a moment staring at the information window floating in front of me.
The reason was obvious.
'Damn, drew something crap.'
I was disappointed.
Crisis Detection.
Among the many enhancement options for [Keen Eyes], this one ranked pretty low.
Sure, it was great insurance that boosted survival rates for noobs, but things were different for a vet like me.
I had all enemy patterns memorized, predicted every attack coming even through Dark Sight, so an auto-activation skill would just get in my way.
Heh... total whiff. Shouldn't have hyped myself up.
Well, luck's held out so far, so I'll let this one slide.
Just as that thought was wrapping up.
I realized something totally obvious, but insanely important.
'Hold up. This isn't a game, is it?'
I'd gotten so used to [Stella Academia] that I'd been judging everything by game logic without thinking.
But this place was reality, even if the game system applied in parts.
Yeah, there were some fixed patterns, but that also meant variables could pop up anytime—unexpected dangers lunging from blind spots, who knew.
Hadn't I almost flubbed that quest just now because of one random fragment I never saw coming?
In this world, I was this weird hybrid of vet and total beginner.
Suspiciously overpowered in stuff I knew inside out.
Utter garbage in anything unfamiliar.
Factoring that in...
'...Then this is S-tier, isn't it?'
An auto-reaction skill.
Freaking gold.
Looked like I'd pulled off another scam.
Drawing crap and turning it into treasure—guess that's my level now.
Lucky bastard.
King is god!
***
Jeron's magic demonstration wrapped up in just a few seconds.
Clang! Boom!
The nine combat puppets shattered into scrap metal chunks, raining down like hail.
One sharp fragment shot toward him from the final puppet's destruction.
Jeron dodged it effortlessly with just a slight turn of his head, feet planted firmly on the ground the whole time.
The quick-witted cadets caught on.
'...He didn't move a single step.'
Exactly.
From the fight's start to finish, he hadn't budged even 1 cm from his spot.
Even standing mages usually shifted a little.
They only stayed perfectly still while prepping or casting spells.
But that wasn't the case with Jeron.
It was like he was saying these things weren't even worth a single step.
An endlessly languid, leisurely vibe.
Yet another unbelievable sight unfolding in a flash.
This time, unlike his duel with Kaiser, there was no suffocating silence.
"Eh...?"
"Ugh...?"
Instead, dumbstruck grunts that weren't even proper words erupted dumbly here and there.
From there, the murmurs kicked off.
"Re, reflexes weren't even the finale?"
"A freshman three days in... already two signature magics..."
"What the hell was that attack spell? Some kind of Wind Cutter?"
"No way. I'm a wind magic specialist, and trust me—looks similar on the surface, but it's a whole different beast."
"Then what is it?"
"...Beats me."
"Why'd the assassin combat puppet suddenly get bisected at the end?"
"I was lost way before that..."
Right then.
"Kuhahahahaha!!!"
Sierra's booming, refreshing laugh shook the entire space.
She wiped the tears streaming from laughing so hard and hollered.
"Rookie—no, white hair! Your romance tastes like death!"
She fixed her ecstatic gaze on Jeron.
"Hey, white hair! Say something!"
"..."
But despite Sierra's shout, Jeron just stared blankly into empty space, like he was entranced by something.
Nothing was there in midair, yet he gazed at it like some ethereal presence existed only in that spot.
He looked like an idiot entranced by a passing butterfly, but somehow it carried this weird, mystical aura.
"Hey, hey! White hair?"
"Ah, yes."
Only when Sierra called again did Jeron snap back.
"Just one question! How'd you create those two signature magics of yours?"
The other cadets perked up their ears too.
A golden chance to peek into an unknown genius's thoughts and inspirations.
Inspiration was everything to a mage. Every eye locked onto his lips.
"Uh..."
Jeron looked like he was pondering.
He blinked a few times.
Fiddled with the tip of his chin.
"Hmm..."
A few seconds of silence.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for his answer. Finally, he tossed out a single line.
"...Just made 'em."
Just.
The brutally casual punch of that utterly ordinary word.
'....'
'...'
'...So shallow!'
'Way too shallow!'
The cadets were floored.
An answer of endlessly shallow, superficial depth.
But the completion and sheer power of the magics Jeron had just demonstrated were profoundly deep.
'Gaaah!'
'This is why geniuses suck...!'
The cadets could only despair at the disconnect.
***
"How'd you create those two signature magics?"
I mulled over Professor Sierra's question.
Not mulling the right answer, of course.
I already knew what it was.
This whole scene played out in the game too.
Demo a hero-grade or higher signature magic, and Professor Sierra hits you with this question.
Pick the correct choice from the options, and you'd score some solid rewards.
Hero-grade [Lower Reflection] and legend-grade [Magic Blade Severance] were obviously fair game.
I didn't have the perfect lines memorized, but I knew the gist of what answer to give.
Giving her a satisfying response wouldn't be hard.
But.
'Hmm, do I even need to?'
Her rewards were decent, but nothing urgent like a Zephyr Dungeon pass.
In that case...
'Might as well rack up some sloth.'
Stockpiling extra sloth seemed smarter.
Every single point counted right now.
After a brief few seconds of thought, I decided and channeled that lazy-genius vibe I'd seen in anime and manga.
"...Just made 'em."
Wow.
Even to me, that sounded obnoxious as hell.
Layer on Jeron's signature languid aura, and it'd be next-level.
Ding!
[That's pretty slothful behavior!]
[Sloth +50]
'Jackpot.'
Points secured, mission accomplished.
50 from one line? Sweet as hell.
Now came payback time.
Professor Sierra was gonna chew me out.
She was all about romance, and dropping a half-assed "just" like that? No defense.
But.
"...Romance! Pure romance...!"
"???"
What?
The hell?
Bang!
The training ground doors flew open as Sierra burst in, eyes sparkling like crazy.
"Correct, white hair! Best answer ever...!"
She clamped my shoulders and yelled.
"They say laziness is the ultimate pursuit of efficiency. Minimal effort for maximum results!"
"Those magics of yours? Both chase max output with minimal mana—I clocked that already...! Nah, I was way more curious what you'd say!"
Swish, swish.
She shook my body back and forth like a ragdoll.
Up close, her eyes were spinning a little.
Uh-oh, this was getting scary.
"But 'just'? 'Just'?! Kyahahaha! That rotten personality of yours pairs perfectly with your magic—like a match made in soul-resonance heaven! Now that's true romance...!"
"Pr-Professor. Can you maybe stop shaking me first..."
"Hey, white hair—you're growing on me! After you graduate the academy, come be my TA!"
I couldn't wrap my head around this.
My skull was rattling from all the shaking too.
But one thing came through crystal clear.
"I'll pass."
Grad student life? Hard pass.
"..."
Sierra's hands froze.
A beat of silence hung.
Then she deflated like a sad puppy.
If she were a dogkin, you'd see drooped ears and tail.
"...Got it."
"Yeah."
I replied firmly, no hesitation.
The stone-faced TA who'd trailed in after her.
She glanced my way—no change in expression—but somehow her eyes alone screamed "good call."
"Tch, fine. Then swing by after class for your 'well done' gift."
Sierra trudged off, all mopey.
A rare sight on par with a smiling Artel, so I watched her go with a warm fuzzy feeling before heading out of the training ground.
Whoops—ended up scoring Sierra's reward on top of the sloth points. Best of both worlds.
'Dunno the details, but score.'
Stepping outside, the cadets stared at me all slack-jawed.
A few looked straight-up haunted, like they'd seen a ghost.
I brushed off their stares easy and headed back to my seat.
Yuria and Artel swooped in right away.
"J-Jeron...! How'd you even pull off what you just did?!"
Yuria's face was pure shocked bunny.
"...Jeron."
Artel kept her usual icy mask, but those blue eyes trembled ever so slightly.
"Were you hiding even a magic like that?"
Nah, not hiding.
Just picked it up.
As a reward for ditching with you.
Of course, couldn't say that out loud, so I just flashed a grin.
Around then.
"Sigh... really wanted to dev some magic with white hair~ What a shame."
Professor Sierra muttered in a glum tone.
Then she snapped her fingers.
"Hm... Ah! Right—one more to go! Everyone, focus up—time to demo today's final romance!"
Her gloom vanished in a flash, energy cranked back to max.
"You, brown-hair shorty! Unleash your romance! White hair just dropped a killer show, but don't let it psych you out!"
Sierra's point made Yuria's shoulders twitch.
Of all the rotten luck—right after my massive flex.
She looked burdened.
Pitiful sight, so as she headed for the training ground, I patted her shoulder.
Sent her some silent, encouraging eyes.
Yuria glanced back at me for a sec.
Then nodded with resolve, face way braver than before, and stepped in.
'Wonder what she'll bust out.'
I was curious too.
What would Yuria's signature magic look like at this point in the story?
Found out a moment later—but something felt off.
'Wait, wasn't that skill's color... purple?'