The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 48

Dorara Korajin.

Second in rank in Magical Studies.

Unique Trait: Inferiority Complex.

Specialty Magic: Wind.

As befitting someone ranked second in Magical Studies, he wields various types of wind magic.

Given enough time, he can even handle large-scale wind magic.

His blade-like wind magic is sharp enough to easily slice through wood.

However…

“What… what are you?”

In this world, compatibility is everything.

After I landed a solid hit to his side, Dorara, enraged, launched a series of wind spells at me.

Sharp, cutting winds assaulted me repeatedly.

Confident of his victory, Dorara smirked.

But in reality, his magic couldn’t leave even a scratch on me.

The secret lies in my unique ability: Skin of Steel.

It’s practically the ultimate counter to Dorara’s wind magic.

My skin is immune to any kind of cutting attack.

“You didn’t even watch the group match properly, did you?”

Then again, it’s no surprise. This guy can’t see anyone else except Sharin.

Someone who spreads petty rumors just to take down Sharin wouldn’t bother paying attention to others.

That’s why I needed to teach him a lesson.

People who can’t admit their shortcomings and instead belittle others are utterly useless.

As I charged at him, Dorara panicked and whipped up a gust of wind.

In an instant, he propelled himself into the air and flew beyond the rooftop of the Sky Park.

Even I can’t catch someone who’s airborne.

Realizing this, Dorara finally sighed in relief.

At the same time, his rage reignited as he remembered the humiliation he’d suffered.

“That bastard… I should’ve known from the moment he started hanging out with that Sharin.”

Now that he was safe, Dorara’s mouth started running again.

The wind began swirling around him.

The staff in his grip glimmered as it caught the light.

Even if he looks pathetic, he’s still the second in rank.

There’s a vast gap between the first and second ranks, but even so, he’s someone who’s surpassed countless other mages to claim his position.

The sheer amount of magical energy he possesses easily overwhelms most.

Watching this, I instinctively moved into my starting stance.

Placing both hands on the ground, I lifted my back foot slightly off the ground.

Seeing this, Dorara’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Smack!

Ignoring his doubt, I kicked off the ground and started sprinting.

As soon as my foot touched the iron railing,

BOOM!

My body soared over the Sky Park’s fence, into the air.

The Sky Park is suspended high above the ground.

Even for me, falling from this height would be practically suicide.

“Are you insane!?”

Dorara shouted, his voice filled with shock.

And in his bewilderment, a massive opening appeared in his defenses.

My arm drew back.

At the same time, one of the magical engravings on my Skin of Steel activated.

The activated magic? Explosion.

“If you thought you’d be safe in midair…”

Let me prove you wrong.

BOOOOOM!

With the explosion of the magic engraving in my hand, my body leapt forward in midair once again.

The distance between Dorara and me closed in an instant.

Caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events, Dorara hastily tried to cast another spell, but it was too late.

Once a mage lets a melee fighter close the gap, the battle is already over.

Crack!

My fist drove straight into Dorara’s jaw without hesitation.

“Gahk!”

Dorara took the hit to his jaw, a few of his teeth shattering and scattering in the air.

With his mind briefly blanked out by my strike, the magic keeping him afloat was dispelled.

Even so, being the second in rank in Magical Studies seemed to grant him decent endurance.

Even in his semi-conscious state, Dorara flailed desperately to avoid falling to his death.

“P-please, save me!”

He screamed, his face pale as a sheet.

Unable to focus his mind, he couldn’t activate any magic at all.

He was going to die.

Just as Dorara was consumed by that thought—

Grab!

My hand seized the back of his neck.

With an explosion from my other hand, I propelled us both back to the Sky Park.

Thud! Crash!

I slammed Dorara onto the ground, sending him tumbling and rolling to a stop.

Perhaps the near-death experience had shaken him to the core.

His eyes were completely unfocused.

Step, step-

“Huh?!”

The sound of my footsteps made Dorara flinch and spring upright in alarm.

Sweat poured down his face as he stared at me.

If I hadn’t saved him a moment ago, Dorara would have died.

Now that he fully grasped that his life was at my mercy,

a deep fear of me took root within him.

“You were running your mouth a lot earlier.”

Pop, pop-

Every time I stretched my wrists, Dorara flinched.

Despite his terror, it seemed he still had some fight left in him, as he began frantically feeling around on the ground.

It was then that he realized something was missing.

“Looking for this?”

I held up his staff.

The sight of it in my hand made his face freeze completely.

When dealing with a mage, the most important step is to take away their staff.

This is the most basic rule.

Without it, Dorara’s accuracy in casting magic plummets.

At this point, he was little more than an ordinary person with slightly above-average training.

Thunk-

And yet, I tossed his staff back to him.

Seeing his staff thrown before him, Dorara slowly raised his head, his face filled with disbelief.

It was a look that screamed he couldn’t comprehend the situation.

After all, there’s no reason to return a weapon to an opponent who’s already been subdued.

“Let’s keep going.”

I had no intention of being someone Dorara could make sense of.

“It’d be a shame to end it like this with the second rank in Magical Studies.”

At last, Dorara saw the madness in my eyes.

Whether or not he wanted to continue the fight didn’t matter to me.

I challenged him again, using the opportunity to refine my skills against mages.

Ending it here? That wouldn’t satisfy me at all.

“You… crazy bastard.”

Dorara muttered, as if he were facing something beyond comprehension.

But I was already prepared to leap.

“We’ve still got plenty of lunch break left.”

And so, Dorara’s screams echoed across the Sky Park.

* * *

Rustle, rustle—

Voices filled with shock and astonishment rang out here and there.

I paid no mind to the murmurs, my expression unchanging.

In my grasp was none other than the utterly wrecked Dorara Korajin, the second-ranked student in Magical Studies.

We were now in the Magical Studies building.

Since I’m shorter than the average guy, I was dragging Dorara across the floor as I walked.

Naturally, this drew everyone’s attention.

Their puzzled expressions made it clear they couldn’t make sense of what they were seeing.

“What’s that about?”

“Dorara’s being dragged around looking like a mess.”

“Hey, isn’t that the kid who came in first during the team match?”

“Yeah, I think their name was Hanon.”

The chatter among the Magical Studies students grew louder.

I ignored their stares and walked straight into Dorara’s classroom.

Once inside, I hoisted him up and carelessly tossed him onto the floor.

Dorara rolled across the ground like a rag doll.

His eyes were rolled back, completely out of it.

Feeling the gazes of the gathered students, I took a slow, deep breath.

It’s the second semester of my second year, the start of Act 4.

Thanks to Dorara’s efforts, rumors about Sharin had started spreading in earnest.

In Magical Studies, she became the target of ostracism.

This detail isn’t particularly important to the scenario, though.

It merely serves as a factor in persuading the temperamental Sharin to join my team.

Act 4 becomes significantly easier with Sharin’s assistance.

Which means.

it doesn’t really matter whether I address the bullying issue sooner or later.

“I didn’t realize the standards in Magical Studies had fallen this low.”

As soon as I spoke, the gazes of the students around me shifted sharply.

Every single one of them took immense pride in their magic.

Even the weakest student in Zeryon Academy could easily be recognized for their talents outside its walls.

This building was filled with concentrated talent, a place where only the gifted gathered.

Naturally, their pride was sky-high.

There’s nothing purer than magic when it comes to talent.

“Your second rank was telling me that the only reason I placed first in the team match was because of Sharin.”

Of course, Dorara had been too busy badmouthing Sharin to actually say that.

But these kids, already irked by my audacity, didn’t question it.

They simply assumed Dorara had said something like that.

“Ridiculous.”

I let out the curse as I stared at the students with a look of disdain.

“It wouldn’t have mattered if any of you had taken that spot—I still would’ve come in first.”

“Huh?”

“What the hell is he saying?”

The students’ eyes glinted with hostility.

Many of them harbored jealousy toward Sharin.

She was a living testament to the unreachable heights of talent, even for those who had been praised as prodigies their entire lives.

Of course, this fanned the flames of their inferiority complex.

But setting aside their resentment, deep down, they recognized Sharin’s abilities.

Sharin had defeated every single Magical Studies student to claim the top spot.

For someone like her to be denied meant, by extension, that those far beneath her—like them—were also being denied.

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“Do you think the top-ranked student in Magical Studies is a joke? Without Sharin’s magic, there’s no way you’d have pulled off that timing!”

“What do you even know to be talking like this?”

As expected, the students began rallying to Sharin’s defense.

Denying her achievements would also deny their own pride.

Thus, they instinctively started to protect her.

Watching them, I couldn’t help but let a smirk creep across my face.

It was a clear expression of mockery.

“It was all calculated. If it were someone else, I would’ve formed and prepared the team differently. It’s not because it was Sharin. You all don’t know a thing.”

Magical Studies students tend to look down on Martial Studies students, assuming them to be ignorant.

So when someone like me, a Martial Studies student, said they didn’t know a thing, all their eyes turned sharply toward me.

“You’re just saying whatever comes to mind, huh?”

“What do you know about magic?”

“You’ve got a serious attitude problem.”

Their words started turning harsher.

Despite their growing anger, my expression remained calm and composed.

I casually pointed at Dorara, still crumpled in a corner.

“You’re all beneath that second-rank guy over there anyway.”

The students’ tempers flared.

They glanced at Dorara, their irritation evident.

It was clear they couldn’t comprehend why he’d gone and gotten himself humiliated, dragging their collective pride down with him.

Their displeasure with Dorara grew rapidly.

The unspoken thought was visible in their eyes: If it were me, I wouldn’t have ended up like that.

“I’m not even the top-ranked student in Martial Studies. If your second-rank ended up like this against me, doesn’t that mean none of you are worth much either?”

The tension in the room rose, a few students looking ready to pounce at any moment.

Even so, I shrugged nonchalantly.

“Then again, what kind of conversation can you even have with people too clueless to understand the flow of a team match?”

A few students began drawing their wands, clearly intending to retaliate.

“…Hanon?”

Right at that moment, the protagonist appeared.

The top-ranked student in Magical Studies.

Sharin Sarzaris.

She stood among the students, her expression puzzled as she looked at me.

“Sharin!”

“Who is that? Why’d you even team up with someone like him?”

“Seriously, does he think the top rank is a joke?”

“If it were Sharin instead of Dorara, you’d be dead by now!”

As soon as Sharin showed up, the students’ voices grew louder.

She appeared visibly flustered by their reactions.

Amidst the uproar, my eyes locked with Sharin’s.

“Top rank, second rank—it’s just a single rank apart. Not like there’s a real difference.”

My mouth kept running, and the flames of anger in the students’ eyes burned even brighter.

Ding-dong-ding-dong—

The bell signaling the end of lunch break rang.

Hearing it, I turned toward the students surrounding me.

The tense atmosphere lingered, but when I stared them down coldly, they hesitated to block my way.

They couldn’t argue with the fact that I’d turned Dorara into the mess he was now.

“Hanon.”

“Sharin, stop associating with someone like him.”

“How did you even manage to win first place with trash like that? Without you, he’d be nothing.”

“Don’t bother with him anymore.”

Sharin called my name, but I noticed a group of Magical Studies girls had already gathered around her, eagerly gossiping.

Soon enough, their insults would shift from Sharin to me.

Sharin would now be idolized even more among the Magical Studies students.

Elevating her to a pedestal would help them preserve their own pride.

To provoke this outcome, I’d deliberately stirred up the rivalry between Magical Studies and Martial Studies.

No matter how much they disliked their representative, they couldn’t tolerate seeing someone from an opposing faction disrespect them.

This sentiment now dominated the Magical Studies students.

From now on, instead of Sharin, I’d become their favorite target for insults.

Dorara, too, would share in their disdain for having been humiliated by me.

Thanks to Isabel, I’m used to being criticized.

The only difference is that the crowd of haters has grown a little bigger.

‘That settles my debt for her help with the magic sigils.’

I had repaid Sharin for assisting with the sigils and the team match.

With that, I left the Magical Studies building behind.