“So boring.”
Carlo leaned his back against a wooden pillar, quietly enjoying the breeze brushing past him.
After being assigned to the Special Class, he no longer had to attend ordinary lectures.
Of course, it wasn’t that there was nothing for him to learn. If one were to be precise, among the basic theories other students studied, there were quite a few that would have suited Carlo just fine.
He didn’t attend classes simply because they didn’t interest him.
To Carlo, magic was something refined and developed through real combat, not theory.
His own experience proved that much.
He hadn’t awakened magic because of some outstanding teacher, nor because he encountered a stroke of fate and picked up an excellent grimoire.
He had clenched his fists and fought to survive in a harsh environment—and in the process, he had come to understand it naturally.
That was why enrolling at Seorn had shocked Carlo in many ways.
To him, magic was a means of survival, a weapon that secured victory in struggle.
But the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ people here learning magic were all airheads with flowers blooming in their brains.
They giggled among themselves while choosing which classes to take, and even then, they didn’t bother putting in their best effort.
And yet, for some reason, they all carried themselves with such puffed-up pride—especially those nobles who had learned magic a few years earlier. Every time he saw the way they held their noses high, it took everything he had not to press them down.
Well, his reputation had already spread precisely because he had pressed a few noses down with his fists.
To Carlo, Seorn’s students looked like children who had come to play pretend.
In that kind of environment, it was hard for him to adapt to academy life.
For someone who had lived fighting beneath the gutter, even just looking at such a flashy, meticulously maintained estate made his skin crawl with rejection.
‘Yeah. I don’t need teaching. I’ll walk my own path.’
Starting now and taking baby steps like everyone else didn’t suit his nature.
That was exactly why Carlo chose to do things his own way.
Of course, buried beneath that behavior was a fundamental belief—that he was superior to ordinary students.
On that point, Carlo was absolutely confident.
He was a genius.
Wasn’t the fact that he could independently wield special-category magic—something others couldn’t even touch—proof enough?
That was why, even after entering Seorn, he never once doubted that he would rise to the top.
Teachers? He acknowledged that they were skilled. But while they might be good at teaching, could they really use combat magic the way he did?
Carlo genuinely believed that if he set his mind to it, he could fight—and beat—a teacher.
At least, until he encountered a true monster.
His thoughts drifted to his sparring match with Ludger.
That bottomless strength—so overwhelming that even after pouring out everything he had, Carlo hadn’t been able to touch a single hair.
It had been a shocking wake-up call for Carlo, who until then had been like a frog flexing its shoulders at the bottom of a well.
Technique, experience, proficiency—Carlo fell short of Ludger in every single aspect.
And it wasn’t as if Carlo overwhelmed him in raw power, either.
The 6th-circle magic Ludger had displayed so casually was enough to send chills crawling over Carlo’s entire body as he watched from the stands.
To someone who believed he was standing atop a high peak, Ludger had shown that there was still a sky beyond the clouds.
‘And the others weren’t pushovers either.’
The other students in the Special Class, like him, were hard to dismiss.
Those two who had refused to attend class stood out the most.
To Carlo, who secretly believed himself to be the best, the existence of Eric and Mina dealt a painful blow to his pride.
Multiple overlapping Magic Eyes—what kind of nonsense was that?
And a constitution that manifested magic just by thinking—what was that supposed to be?
For someone who prided himself on mastering special-category magic and honing it through real combat, Carlo suddenly felt small.
‘Well, whatever. It’s not like I’m going to fight them to rank ourselves.’
They weren’t people he cared much about anyway.
What mattered now was the upcoming Special Class lesson.
‘Still, this is unexpected. After making such a show on the first day, I thought he’d start proper theory classes right away, thinking discipline had been established.’
The message Ludger had sent afterward was simple: until he called them, they were to rest as they pleased.
At first, Carlo wondered if it was some kind of last vacation before training—but that didn’t seem right either.
‘What on earth is he planning?’
His thoughts spiraled too deeply, so Carlo deliberately shook his head, casting away the noise in his mind.
Right. Why bother overthinking it? If he said to rest, then rest. He’d deal with whatever came later when it came.
Chirp.
A small bird chirped in the distance and flew toward him.
When Carlo held out a finger, the tiny, adorable bird perched atop it.
That wasn’t all. A squirrel that had been circling nearby approached, so Carlo pulled out some nuts from his pocket and offered them.
He didn’t forget to scatter feed for the birds, either.
No sooner had the first bird flown off with food than others swooped in.
Small animals that lived in Seorn’s forest gathered around Carlo as if a feast had been laid out.
The sight of cautious animals flocking to someone with Carlo’s rough, violent-looking appearance felt strangely out of place.
Unfazed, Carlo handed out the prepared food one by one as if he were used to it.
A faint smile formed at the corner of his lips as he fed them.
“Eat slowly. No one’s going to steal it.”
Feeding animals in a quiet place—
A hobby Carlo never showed to anyone.
And it wasn’t a recent one, either.
It had been that way since he learned special-category magic. For some reason, animals had become unusually fond of him.
Carlo didn’t dislike animals. Having grown up seeing nothing but vicious alley thugs, creatures that couldn’t speak yet carried a kind of innocence appealed to him more.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll come again tomorrow, so don’t worry.”
It was then—while he murmured in a gentle voice he never showed anyone—
“A surprisingly gentle hobby, for someone like you, Carlo.”
At the sound of Ludger’s voice, the gathered animals startled and scattered in all directions almost simultaneously.
Carlo spun around in shock, only to find Ludger standing there quietly, as if he had been there all along.
“W-When did you get here?”
“Since you started feeding the bird, I suppose.”
That meant almost from the very beginning.
What shocked Carlo more, however, was that the animals hadn’t noticed Ludger’s presence at all.
Weren’t small creatures like birds and squirrels supposed to be more sensitive to humans than anyone else?
And yet they hadn’t realized he was there until he spoke.
“Do you like animals?”
At Ludger’s question, Carlo’s face flushed, feeling as though something personal had been exposed.
“I like them too. Someone I know has an unusually strong affinity with animals, so I’ve observed it up close.”
“......Please don’t tell other people.”
“I don’t have a nasty habit of spreading others’ secrets.”
“More importantly, how did you even find this place—no, forget it. Is this about class?”
Carlo started to ask how Ludger had found him, then realized how pointless the question was.
This was the same man who had personally tracked down and dragged back even the most stubborn class-refusers. Figuring out Carlo’s location would have been trivial.
What mattered was why Ludger had come.
“It is about class.”
“Then why not call me to a classroom instead of coming all the way here—”
“A classroom? Didn’t you say you hated conducting lessons in such a rigid way?”
“.......”
Carlo was left speechless, having been hit squarely on the mark.
At the same time, another thought crossed his mind.
Is that really something a teacher should be saying?
“As I said before, you’re different from ordinary students. Exceptional talent, unique constitutions, unusual abilities. Naturally, the way you refine those abilities can’t be the same as for others.”
“Different... how?”
“From now on, your lessons will be conducted one-on-one, individually. Since there aren’t many of you, think of it as a special privilege.”
One-on-one lessons.
Carlo found Ludger’s choice more than a little unexpected.
Being taught personally by someone of Ludger’s caliber was certainly something to be happy about—but he couldn’t help wondering whether it was really necessary to go that far.
“If it’s one-on-one, then what exactly are we doing?”
“Basic theory isn’t necessary. Teaching a bird that can already fly how to run would be foolish. I intend to teach you how fast and how high you can truly fly.”
Teach him directly.
Carlo was startled by those words—and yet, a quiet anticipation welled up inside him.
“Before that, though, I need to understand each of your inclinations and abilities in greater detail.”
“I showed everything I have during the sparring match.”
It was a bit embarrassing to bare all his cards, but with Ludger, Carlo felt it didn’t matter.
Because Ludger was overwhelmingly strong.
Having grown up in a world ruled by strength, Carlo knew where to draw the line in matters like this.
“I’ve already confirmed all of your magic. I also know you’re not hiding anything else. What I’m talking about is your constitution.”
“My... constitution?”
At Carlo’s puzzled look, Ludger rubbed his chin.
“Hm. It seems you’re not very aware of it yourself.”
“Wait. What are you talking about?”
“The reason these small creatures are particularly drawn to you—did you never wonder why?”
“What? That’s just—”
Carlo stumbled over his words, having never seriously thought about it.
“And your movements during our sparring match. Even accounting for a harsh upbringing, there were far too many aspects that defy common sense.”
“...Are you saying there’s something seriously wrong with me?”
“Then what do you think?”
Normally, Carlo would have bristled and snapped back at this point—but not now.
If Ludger had gone out of his way to seek him out and say all this, it didn’t feel like idle speculation. It felt like there was truly something there.
“...So what’s the problem?”
“I didn’t say it was a problem. I simply said your constitution is a little different.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Carlo. Let me be clear. Being different and being wrong are not the same.”
“.......”
Carlo fell silent.
People had always scorned him and looked at him with disgust simply because he was different.
Because his eyes were sharp. Because he looked scary. Because the aura he gave off was savage.
Without even exchanging a word with him, they judged him for such ridiculous reasons.
Teachers were no different.
The way they looked at him the moment they saw him—before even asking who he was—as if he were already a problem child.
The way they claimed to be worried, yet looked at him like some inconvenient thing that needed fixing.
He hated that more than anything.
So Carlo behaved exactly the way they expected—a delinquent.
It wasn’t difficult. Acting like an alley thug throwing his weight around was more than enough.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely an act. In a way, it felt comfortable—like wearing clothes that fit.
But Ludger was different.
How should he put it?
Those quiet blue eyes weren’t seeing him as a problem that needed correction.
They were simply looking at Carlo as a student—as a person.
Maybe that was why.
Why someone who’d been unfazed by countless empty words felt something resonate from just that single sentence.
“...So what is it about my constitution?”
“This kind of question can be sensitive for some people. Are you sure you’re alright with it?”
At Ludger’s sudden step back, Carlo blinked in confusion.
“Is this really the time to ask whether I’m okay with it or not? I don’t care—just tell me. What’s different about me?”
“Do you have any demi-human ancestry in your family or among your ancestors?”
“...What?”
“Specifically, beastkin.”
Carlo was about to ask what that was supposed to mean, but Ludger continued before he could.
“The way you fought—the movements you showed—resembled the fundamental combat style of beastkin. Elastic motion, exceptional reflexes, and instinctively choosing the optimal path in battle. I wasn’t certain at first, but seeing you interact with small animals here confirms it.”
“No, that doesn’t—”
“So you really weren’t aware.”
Nodding to himself, Ludger delivered a shocking truth Carlo had never known.
“Considering how that ability manifests, and the nature of the special-category magic you’ve mastered... you are a hybrid.”
“A hybrid of human and beastkin.”