A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 83. Recognition

“Well then, attendant. Unfortunately, I can’t use bloodline magic in this academy.”

This was what Clyde said to Hermes after the joint magic training started, and he designated Hermes as his mock battle opponent.

“Naturally, Bloodline Magic is the magic of the gods. The difference in performance compared to other magics is literally like heaven and earth. Even you know that much, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

The stuff about divine magic aside, I gave a half-hearted response since I knew at least that much.

Clyde furrowed his brows slightly at Hermes’ response but quickly continued.

“Therefore, if someone who can use Bloodline Magic fights someone who can’t, the former will always win. This is a universal and absolute truth, not just when you and I fight.”

“…”

“So, here’s a proposal. Why don’t we fight using only general-purpose magic? Even you wouldn’t shamelessly initiate a fight you’re guaranteed to win, right?”

That was his proposal. Honestly, it was something I could predict from the start, so I wished he had just said it right away.

“I don’t mind.”

“! Really? I thought you’d put up more of a fight, but you understand surprisingly well.”

Clyde seemed outwardly pleased but couldn’t completely hide his delight as he nodded in response to Hermes’ straightforward reply.

…Clyde probably has confidence in his abilities as a pure magician.

“Fighting with general-purpose magic alone isn’t to be underestimated. Since we use the same magic, the difference in our pure magical abilities will become clear. It’s the perfect way to measure your strength!”

With this confident declaration, Clyde raised his arms to heighten his magical power.

“Let’s begin and find out who’s the superior magician between us!”

─And with nothing noteworthy, Hermes won easily, bringing us to the present.

“…What?”

Clyde, sitting on the ground and staring at Hermes in disbelief, had the same look of incredulity as he did during lunchtime.

…Well, to be fair, he was reasonably strong.

His magical output was naturally high, and although his control was mostly based on intuition, it was decent. Among those present, he was definitely top-tier, with a few exceptions.

But still, the opponent was Hermes.

‘The difference in magical ability becomes clear when using the same magic,’ indeed.

Under those conditions, Hermes has never lost a fight using the same magic—except against Rose.

So, to put it bluntly, it was an easy win.

I even had the luxury of observing his Bloodline Magic partway through.

“…”

For Clyde, it was likely an entirely unexpected event.

He stared at Hermes in a daze but eventually regained his composure when he noticed the surrounding gazes—thinking for a moment before speaking.

“…This is troublesome.”

He slowly stood up, shaking his head as if to say ‘Good grief,’ and pointed directly at Hermes.

“You used Bloodline Magic, didn’t you?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Don’t ‘Excuse me’ me. It’s obvious from looking. The magic you used far exceeded the scope of general-purpose magic. It must be Bloodline Magic; did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“…”

“I know your Bloodline Magic can handle multiple attributes. You disguised its effects as general-purpose magic to win. Such behavior is unbecoming of a noble—or a human. But I’ll overlook it just this once. Come on, let’s go again, and this time only with general-purpose magic.”

While his excuse was full of subjectivity and he automatically assumed they would fight again—it made sense.

Although he didn’t use Bloodline Magic in the previous fight, proving it convincingly was impossible.

Ordinary nobles have no way of knowing the intricacies of magic. They can’t discern whether stronger magic is due to the spell’s performance or the user’s skill since they can’t understand the structure of magic.

Clyde, knowingly or unknowingly—probably the latter—used this ambiguity to refuse to acknowledge Hermes’ superior fundamental magical abilities, attributing them instead to the performance of the magic.

“…”

Since he wouldn’t understand, explaining was pointless, and he probably wouldn’t accept it anyway.

So, Hermes decided to go along.

“Understood, let’s do it again.”

“Rest assured, I’ll only use ‘the same magic’ as you this time.”

“Good, I’m glad you understand. Let’s start right away.”

After confirming Hermes’ agreement, Clyde and Hermes stood facing each other again.

“Hah!”

Clyde released a fire-based general-purpose magic somewhat as a surprise attack.

But Hermes calmly countered it with the same fire magic, canceling each other out in the middle.

Clyde then cast lightning-based general-purpose magic, which Hermes also countered with lightning magic, canceling them out in the middle.

Even the ice magic Clyde cast immediately afterward was similarly countered and canceled out.

“…What?”

“What’s wrong?”

By now, Clyde must have realized.

With sweat starting to form on his forehead, Hermes spoke in a flat tone.

“It’s not cheating, right? I’m only using ‘the exact same magic’ as you.”

Indeed.

Since earlier, Hermes had been casting magic at the same time, with the same attribute and power as Clyde, from the opposite direction. As a result, all of Clyde’s magic was perfectly canceled out in the middle.

This would normally be impossible without some sort of future prediction—but it was made possible by—

“…Heh.”

Watching from the shade of the training ground, Nina murmured joyfully and proudly.

“It’s something I taught him. He’s already mastered it, huh?”

Yes. This technique was taught to Hermes by Nina.

She can sense the flow of magical energy in close combat to predict the attribute and power of the next spell, sometimes even before it’s cast.

This technique, possible due to her extraordinary sensing abilities and deep understanding of magic, was taught to Hermes. And he applied this technique to magic cancellation.

Although he can’t sense as accurately as Nina yet, Clyde’s magical flow is quite simple. With basic general-purpose magic, Hermes can predict his next move.

“Ugh!”

Frustrated by his magic being canceled out, Clyde increased his casting speed.

But Hermes remained unfazed, perfectly canceling out every spell as he slowly approached Clyde.

As the distance between them shortened, the time to impact decreased, making cancellation more difficult. Yet, Hermes remained unperturbed.

Finally, Hermes closed the gap to one step, casually reached out, and gently pushed Clyde, who then fell to the ground, creating the same scene as before.

“…”

“Shall we go again?”

Hermes coldly asked as he looked down at Clyde.

Clyde clenched his teeth so hard they might shatter, glaring at Hermes with a face full of humiliation and anger—while simultaneously.

—An eerie magical energy surged from Clyde’s body.

“!”

Is he going to use Bloodline Magic here?

Hermes narrowed his eyes in caution—but Clyde seemed to hesitate to break the rule of forbidden magic.

After suppressing his magic, he stood up with a somewhat calmer expression.

“…Fine, I get it. If you want to win so badly that you’d use Bloodline Magic, so be it.”

He sighed and continued.

“…Excuse me? I was using the same magic as you—”

“Is that your excuse? You must have used Bloodline Magic in some other way; otherwise, there’s no way you could do that.”

—Despite everything, he had no intention of acknowledging Hermes’ victory.

“Fine, you win. I’m not like Prince Aster; I’ll admit defeat. Your Bloodline Magic was strong enough to beat my general-purpose magic. Naturally.”

With words that suggested the opposite of his true intentions, Clyde spread his arms.

“Besides, it seems I’ve overwhelmed everyone else in Class A more than I thought, so I have to lose to balance the class. It’s also important for the class leader to maintain balance.”

He turned to Sara.

“—Sara-sama. Just so there’s no misunderstanding, he used Bloodline Magic, that’s all. And you’re kind-hearted, so be careful not to be swayed by crafty words. Just a word of advice.”

Leaving behind these cryptic words, he gave Hermes one last dark glare before leaving with his Class A entourage.

I think I’ve got Clyde figured out.

He’s no different from the other nobles I’ve met. He acts like he’s different, but he’s the same at his core. Thinking he’s fooling everyone makes him even worse.

He might think he managed to deceive everyone this time, but his public defeat is a fact. Despite his strong trust from Class A, this incident might tarnish his image.

More importantly, Hermes turned around.

“…”

There stood his Class B classmates.

All of them wore pained expressions.

Naturally, they were reminded of their own inferiority at this academy, having their helplessness laid bare.

Moreover, it was Hermes, the one they looked down on, who offered them a glimmer of hope.

(…Well)

Hermes wondered what he should say, or if he should say anything at all, as he continued walking forward.