The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 52
The atmosphere in the room turned icy.
The party that came with me cast looks my way as if to say I had lost my mind.
It was to be expected.
‘The Duchess is a practitioner on par with the abyss puppet.’
Lv. 7 was on a completely different level compared to the ranks below it.
They were the true powerhouses of this world.
‘No tricks will work on her. I have to bring her to her knees purely with my magical skills.’
This was beyond reckless; it was a mad challenge.
“Ha.”
The Duchess let out a scoff.
Her reaction was as if she found it so absurd that she didn’t even know how to express her anger.
Lyndon and Hans urgently tried to dissuade me.
“Ahhh! Van, have you lost your mind? Do you not know who the Duchess really is? The cruel witch of madness… Huh! Ah, no, I misspoke, Your Grace! You are truly beautiful!”
“Hey! Lyndon, do you still not trust Lord Van? You’re just saying that, right? Are you going to bet on the cruel witch in this duel?!”
Everyone else also tried to dissuade me, indicating it was absolutely not a good idea.
Unexpectedly, it was Joanna who was an exception.
She had been peeking from behind and then stepped forward to say this.
“Mother, please calm down. There’s no need to be upset over that pathetic trash’s delusion. Van the trash, you should kneel and apologize to mother for your rudeness right now.”
I was slightly surprised.
‘Though the words sound disrespectful, she’s standing up for me. What’s going on, Joanna, the headache-inducing young lady?’
Having come this far, I decided to be a bit more ‘greedy’.
“The last time I saw, Lady Joanna’s skills were abysmal. I’ve been curious about what kind of teaching she has been receiving all this time. If I win, acknowledge your shortcomings and withdraw from instructing Lady Joanna.”
Snap.
The sound of something breaking came from the Duchess,
“Ha ha ha ha ha!!!”
BHOOO!!!
An overwhelming aura, incomparable to before, swept through the room.
Windows, ornaments, sculptures in the room were all swept away and shattered.
“Fine. I accept your wager. But there’s a condition. It won’t just be me blocking your magic one-sidedly, but we’ll exchange magic attacks once each. That way, it’ll be fair.”
She was proposing a real magical duel.
The Duchess, no, the Witch of Tyranny, twisted her lips menacingly.
“Let’s agree not to hold each other responsible for whatever happens during the wager. Even if one of us ends up crippled.”
It was a declaration that she intended to cripple me for sure.
‘This isn’t just a threat.’
With her wicked nature, power, and status, she was a person who could easily commit such acts and more.
Yet,
“Very well. I accept.”
“Lord Ban!”
“Professor Ban!! No!!”
Everyone was shocked and shook their heads, but I didn’t back down.
‘It’s okay. I can do this.’
Aren’t I scared?
Of course, I was scared.
But I wasn’t doing this out of madness.
There was a reason.
“I’ll tell you the magic I’ll use. It’s the Five Star Ice Sickle. I shall take one of your arms with an ice scythe.”
True to her name, the cruel witch.
My lower magical rank meant I didn’t afford any leniency by using lower-ranked magic.
‘Not using magic above 5th tier must be because she fears I might accidentally die.’
But that was no reason to take it lightly.
The 5th Star magic wielded by the cruel witch would be leagues apart from the mediocre Five Star magic demonstrated by the professors during previous training sessions.
“I will counter with the same ice-element magic. One Star Ice Needle.”
Ice needles.
The most basic of basics when learning ice magic, the first thing taught.
“Are you joking? With such basic magic…”
“I believe it’s sufficient.”
“…What?”
“Did I not say? I will teach you what truly great magic is. Today, you will feel the difference in our class.”
The cruel witch looked incredulous.
“I’ve changed my mind. Instead of an arm, I’ll take your tongue.”
Ssssss.
Cold air condensed in midair, forming an ice scythe.
Kikikikiki.
The ice scythe let out a chilling sound.
From 5th Star magic onwards, a spell incorporates the caster’s understanding of the magical path, imbuing it with a level of sophistication that can even carry individual emotions.
It was filled with killing intent.
“Damn it, this mad professor!! Run away!”
“I-I’ll block it.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Catherine and Libel tried to step in front of me.
But it wasn’t just them.
Clang!
“…I will no longer tolerate this. Stop.”
“That’s right! Professor Ban! Quickly kneel and beg for forgiveness, admit your fault!”
“Witch of Tyranny, please calm down! I, Hans, will apologize on his behalf!”
Not just Gordon, under Mariam’s command, but Lyndon and Hans too tried to protect me.
‘…Lindon and Hans, that’s unexpected.’
But I simply shook my head gently.
“It’s okay. Everyone, step back.”
“What do you mean it’s okay?!”
“Trust in I, Van Ecclesia.”
“!!”
Everyone paused in surprise, and I stepped forward, wrapped in the majesty of the Black Flame Dragon.
“The winner of this duel will be me.”
Sssht.
An ice needle appeared in thin air.
It was somewhat large, but at best, it was as thick as an awl.
It wasn’t imbued with the aura of my secret weapon, the Shadow Sword, nor the essence of The Heartstone of the Frozen Sea.
It was truly pure 1st ranked Star magic.
Compared to the ice scythe emitting a dreadful killing intent, it was embarrassingly inferior, making the cruel witch chuckle as if she were in a moment of enlightenment.
“I don’t understand why I’m dealing with someone like you right now. Kneel and bark like a dog now, and I might just let it slide.”
“Are you afraid?”
“…What?”
“If you have eyes, you should be anxious. Do you even see the spell I’ve cast?”
“!!”
Only then did the cruel witch seem to sense something amiss and flinched.
“…What spell is that?”
“What else could it be? A spell that will be recorded in textbooks in the future. With a note added that it brought the Witch of Tyranny to her knees.”
“You brat!”
The ice scythe flew towards me.
Aimed precisely at my mouth, just like she said she would take my tongue.
Kikikikikiki!!
A chilling voice of the scythe crept into my mind.
Primitive fear surged, but I clenched my teeth.
Magic Gunner Battle.
This name was given because exchanging magic like this resembled a pistol duel.
A duel that purely measured a magician’s skill without any tricks involved, but,
‘I can win. No, I must win.’
A thought incomprehensible to others.
And it was true.
A message appeared before my eyes.
<Winning rate in a Magic Gunner Battle with the cruel witch>
100%
An absolute win rate.
That was why I could be so confident.
‘I’m not who I used to be.’
I still suffered from mana insensitivity.
But now, I had a new weapon.
One deadly enough to take down the cruel witch in one hit.
Whoosh!
The spell of the Ice Needle surged.
To call it a mere One Star spell was an understatement; it was an intricate and solid constellation, designed to contain a singular energy.
Chaos energy latent within is manifested!
The spell is imbued with chaos!
Only then did the cruel witch realize the true nature of my spell, her eyes widening as large as lanterns.
“How? Chaos is an energy that no one can control?!”
“I am the exception.”
Indeed.
An energy deemed uncontrollable by anyone, sealed away even by the Demon King through curse rather than mastery, yet I had managed it.
“This rare opportunity won’t come easily, so observe closely. This is the magic of Van Ecclesia.”
The Ice Needle charged at the ice scythe.
It might have appeared small and insignificant, but the outcome was unbelievable.
Aaaaagh!!!
Screech!
A horrifying noise, like flesh being torn by a knife, rang out, and the magic imbued in the spell screamed in agony.
The cruel witch, pale-faced, hurriedly tried to alter her spell.
Changing an already manifested spell was something only a magician of a distant level could achieve.
But it was to no avail.
Bang!
Like a bullet shot, the Ice Needle pierced through the heart of the scythe, shattering it into pieces and causing it to dissipate.
“Ugh!!!”
The spell was broken, causing mana to backlash, and the cruel witch vomited blood.
She had suffered serious internal injuries.
It was a flawless victory for me.
“How… How can this be… Cough!!”
“Mother!”
As if unable to accept it, the cruel witch tried to reach out to me but coughed up blood again.
Joanna quickly supported her.
“Le-Let go.”
“But… the blood!”
“I said let go, so let go!”
Joanna looked hurt.
“I’m sorry.”
Her brows furrowed in frustration.
I let out a small sigh.
“I am the winner of this duel. I trust that the Duchess, being a person of honor, will adhere to all the conditions we’ve discussed in our wager.”
The cruel witch clenched her teeth.
Truthfully, I didn’t expect her to comply easily.
But at least she wouldn’t be able to openly scheme like this.
Even if it meant just a little restraint on her part towards Catherine, it was enough to achieve my goal.
‘As for Joanna… sadly, she’ll never let go. She’s the most crucial ‘tool’ for her objectives. There’s nothing I can do about it.’
I thought about Joanna’s ‘character scenario’ and quietly shook my head.
Despite Joanna being a troublesome noble lady, the thought of the hardships and frustrations she would face in the future made me feel a bit sorry for her.
“This… this…”
But then, at that moment, something unexpected happened.
‘What’s going on?’
“!!”
It was a soft, gentle voice.
Yet, it struck fear into my heart as if thunder had crashed directly into it.
A dreadful pressure, unlike any I had faced before.
Despite no visible casting of magic, nobody in the room could even think to twitch a finger, as if a giant were pressing down on them.
“It’s been a while, Young Ban.”
Slowly turning my gaze, a cleanly dressed middle-aged man in a suit stood there.
At first glance, he could be mistaken for a noble from a social club. However, the undeniable madness flickering in his eyes was something else entirely.
A madness that seemed to swallow everything in the world.
I slowly bowed my head in respect.
“I greet the head of the Klein Ducal Family.”
At the pinnacle of Level 8, a grand mage who had reached the realm of those who gaze at the heavens.
The king among magicians on earth. It was Duke Alfonso, head of a prestigious magical family.
‘Why is Duke Alfonso here? Isn’t he always at the Sky Island?’
I swallowed nervously.
This was a crisis.
‘He may not be a villain like the cruel witch, but he’s unpredictable.’
A logically insane man.
That was Duke Alfonso.
He understood and abided by societal norms, yet, if it suited him, he would engage in wildly unpredictable actions within those boundaries.
The problem was the sheer unpredictability of his madness.
“It’s good to see you. It must have been over ten years since I last saw you, and you’ve grown remarkably well.”
“…Thank you.”
“It’s not just any compliment. Your father, Huam, would be envious. Every time we meet, he laments to me about you, but it was all an exaggeration.”
Duke Alfonso’s gaze briefly swept over his own daughters, Joanna and Catherine, before he spoke indifferently.
“Having a hundred worthless children like those wouldn’t even compare to your worth.”
