The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter

Somewhere in the Zelver Empire, at Bethel Academy. Training ground.

Second-year students of the Knight Department took turns dueling under the instructor’s direction.

The duels were part of the test and they usually ended quickly.

A male student with ash-gray short hair tied back, Noah Bartin, gripped his wooden sword and kicked the sand. His target was a female student.

Noah swung his wooden sword with speed, but he was taken down by the female student’s agile footwork and a counterattack aimed at his back, sending him crashing to the ground.

“Ouch!”

Noah fell to the ground.

The female student rested her wooden sword on her shoulder and looked down at Noah.

“Marianne wins!”

The instructor’s declaration.

Marianne, the female student who defeated Noah, casually said, “Good job,” and went back into the crowd of students.

Noah got up and brushed off the sand from his clothes. His half-open, dead-fish-like eyes turned to the instructor.

The instructor was writing feedback.

“Go in, Noah.”

“Yeah…”

Noah answered half-heartedly and tried to join the students.

“You’re not improving at all.”

“…”

Noah heard the instructor’s additional comment that was spoken under his breath, but showed no reaction.

Class ended, and it was lunchtime.

Noah washed up in the shower facilities, changed into his uniform in the locker room, and headed to the cafeteria of Bethel Academy.

“…”

The academy cafeteria was bustling with students. Eating in such a place was quite overwhelming.

Noah bought a simple meal and ate alone behind an unoccupied building.

He didn’t mind not having friends. Noah wasn’t particularly lonely.

Even in this place filled with youthful energy, there were those living a dull, gray life like him.

A cool, quiet, and dark place like the shaded area behind the building suited him well.

After finishing his meal, Noah looked up at the towering clock tower with blank eyes.

“…Was it tomorrow? Or the day after?”

He had heard that the top prestigious academy in the empire, Märchen Academy, was conducting an excursion program.

Noah’s younger sister was selected as an exchange student for Märchen Academy. When the time came, she was to go there on an excursion.

Noah and his siblings lived as lower-class people in the Helize Church.

Among them, Noah achieved the incredible feat of passing the entrance exam to one of the most prestigious academies in the empire, Bethel Academy.

His younger sister was born with exceptional talent, unlike Noah himself.

As lower-class members of the Helize Church, they could receive scholarships at Bethel Academy. However, they had to cover the remaining tuition through part-time jobs.

Noah felt his limitations at this academy. The students’ level was too high, as expected from a prestigious academy. He couldn’t imagine surpassing them.

On the other hand, his sister was a genius with a bright future. She was selected as a exchange student to the top academy, Märchen Academy, and had outstanding talent. Noah thought that someone as flawed as himself should not be with his sister.

His sister deserved to experience a beautiful youth and a bright future more than anyone else.

“…!”

During the meal, gray mana seeped from Noah’s fingers. It was thin, appearing to be both solid and liquid.

Startled, Noah hurriedly covered his fingers.

He looked around. No one was in sight.

“What’s happening to me lately…?”

Iron mana.

It was a power forcibly inherited from the fairy Rachnil, and Noah had not been using it. The reason was simple. When he used the power, he couldn’t control himself, and nearly beat his sister to death once.

The Knight Department didn’t care about mana. Thanks to this, there were no element surveys or mana measurements, allowing him to hide the power of iron.

Lately, for some reason, the iron mana pulsed sporadically. Whether something had happened to the fairy Rachnil or there was a problem with his body… Noah couldn’t tell.

***A carriage arrived at the front gate of Märchen Academy.

“Wow!”

She had dressed up as much as she could, but she still looked plain. She carried her luggage with both hands, looking around in admiration.

During the semester, only supply carriers or island residents could pass through the guard post. For a child to enter Märchen Academy at this time, there was only one possibility.

The excursion program.

The girl was one of the five selected participants. She was Taryn Bartin.

“Ugh…”

Taryn Bartin passed through the luxurious gate and surveyed Märchen Academy.

The scenery of the empire’s top academy far surpassed the splendor Taryn had dreamed of.

“Wow! Amazing!”

Taryn exclaimed in admiration as she stretched out her arms and waved them enthusiastically.

Unconsciously, Taryn wandered around, marveling at various structures, natural scenery, and buildings comparable to artworks. She had been exclaiming in wonder for 30 minutes.

“…Where am I?”

She had gotten lost.

She took out a letter from her pocket. The envelope had originally been sealed with the wax seal of Märchen Academy, but Taryn had already unsealed it, so it opened easily.

She took out the letter from the envelope and read it. It contained various details, essentially telling her to come to the Bartos Hall administration office.

However, the problem was that the date she was supposed to come was not that day, but two days later. Not knowing how long it would take to get to Märchen Academy, Taryn had left early and arrived too soon.

Since the academy was so vast, if she kept sightseeing the way she did, she might have ended up far away from Bartos Hall.

For now, let’s go to Bartos Hall.

“Bartos Hall… Ah, excuse me!”

Taryn decided to ask anyone passing by for directions and she happened to see a silver-blue-haired male student in a uniform, so she approached him.

The male student stopped and looked at Taryn. She lifted her luggage with a grunt and ran to him.

“Hello! Could you tell me how to get to Bartos Hall…?”

Taryn’s mouth gaped open in shock.

The male student with glasses wasn’t merely good-looking but exceptionally handsome. His looks could be described as beautiful.

Taryn rubbed her eyes and looked again, meeting his dull crimson eyes set in a gentle expression, to see if she had mistaken him.

“…”

“…?”

No, she saw correctly. He was incredibly handsome.

Is the appearance of students in such a prestigious academy on a different level?!

She had heard that most nobles take great care of their appearance.

Since it was the empire’s top prestigious academy, the proportion of nobles would have been high. The boy in front of her was likely a noble.

Taryn couldn’t even imagine that the silver-blue-haired male student was a commoner like her.

“Excursion program?”

“How did you…?!”

Taryn was startled by the boy’s casual remark.

“It’s obvious considering your age and the clothes you’re wearing.”

“Oh…! Um, I, I’m Taryn Bartin!”

“I’m Isaac. You want to go to Bartos Hall, right? Follow me.”

Isaac, the silver-blue-haired boy, kindly smiled. It was a deadly smile for Taryn, who was in the midst of puberty.

Taryn grinned widely.

“Y-yes…”

“Y-yes?”

Unintentionally, her tongue twisted, and a cute voice came out.

Taryn followed Isaac across the academy.

This fellow is here too.

Isaac looked at the blushing Taryn walking beside him. She seemed to be romantically interested in him. He decided to overlook it since she was in the throes of puberty.

Taryn Bartin. She was the younger sister of Noah Bartin, who possessed the element of iron. She was pretty talented, even if she was from the lower class.

Taryn Bartin

Lv: 90

Race: Human

Element: Water, Wind

Danger Level: X

Even so, she wasn’t someone who could be of help to Isaac. Among the children coming for the excursion program, the only one necessary for Isaac’s journey was the Priestess, Miya.

Isaac decided to simply show her kindness and then let her go.

“Give me your luggage.”

“What? I can’t let you do that!”

“It looks heavy.”

“No, really, it’s fine…!”

As Taryn tried to stop Isaac from taking her bag, she momentarily grasped his arm tightly.

Is he solid?

It was incredibly solid. It didn’t feel like a lot of muscles. It felt like she was touching a piece of iron. He must have been wearing something layered under his clothes.

Taryn focused on observing Isaac. What he was wearing under his uniform seemed to be a type of magic tool.

Is it underclothing made significantly heavier by mana?

If she wore such clothing, she wouldn’t be able to move an inch.

Is he in the Knight Department?

His movements would surely be greatly restricted. However, Isaac moved naturally. Taryn was inwardly surprised.

“Ah, thank you…”

Isaac took the bag from Taryn, who was lost in thought and carried it for her. The bag was indeed heavy, and Taryn was grateful.

“The assembly day should be in two days.”

“Oh, haha… I came early because I wanted to take my time. Also, I wanted to experience academy life like my brother as soon as possible.”

“Brother?”

“There’s this silly-looking guy, you probably don’t know him because he’s at Bethel Academy. My brother is in the Knight Department. By the way, Isaac… which department are you in?”

“Just call me “Senior”. If you were selected for the excursion program, you have enough ability to be here.”

“Oh, yes. Senior…!”

“I’m in the Magic Department.”

Taryn was silently surprised.

Someone so physically strong is in the Magic Department?

So, the thing he was holding all along was a magic tool?

“I see… Can I try that? It’s a magic tool, right?”

“Have you used one before?”

“Yes, a long time ago.”

She had only used a few cheap magic tools at the church. She had never touched anything as fancy as what Isaac was holding.

Isaac said, “Here,” and handed the magic tool to Taryn. Taryn reponded, “Thank you!” and held it, circulating her mana through it.

“…!!”

It didn’t even allow her mana to flow into it.

The difficulty was incomparable to the magic tools she had used at the church. It felt like a high mountain was blocking her path. She had to circulate her mana as if piercing through that mountain.

Is this academy filled with people like this?

Taryn had been praised as a genius. Realizing that she was just a big fish in a small pond was quite a shock.

“It’s difficult…”

“Is it?”

Feeling dejected, Taryn returned the magic tool to Isaac.

Isaac took the returned tool and effortlessly circulated his mana through it. Taryn was astonished by the sight.

Her respect for Isaac deepened. This man was exceptional in both appearance and ability.

Her motivation flared. Taryn increasingly wanted to enroll in Märchen Academy, where there were likely many students like Isaac.

“By any chance, do you know all the famous people, Senior Isaac?”

“Famous people?”

“Yes. Like Senior Dorothy Heartnova, the Star Witch, Senior Luce Eltania, the Empress of the Midnight Sea, and Senior Kaya Astrea, the Emerald Wizard…! Or maybe you know the Saintess, Bianca Anturaze of the Helize Church, and Princess Snow White, who is famous for her supreme beauty, kindness, wisdom, and intelligence…!”

These were the reasons Taryn wanted to enroll at Märchen Academy. It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that Märchen Academy was currently experiencing a legendary moment that would go down in the annals of history.

For boys and girls aspiring to be wizards, nothing could have been more thrilling.

“Kind and, what…?”

Isaac let the various titles slide, but recalling White’s wailing, “Waaah,” he couldn’t relate at all to the description.

“And the most amazing one is definitely the Ice Sovereign. He’s here right now! This academy is just incredible!”

Taryn puffed out her breath excitedly.

“Well, of course, I know all of them.”

“Really?!”

“You’ll naturally get to know them. Senior Dorothy will graduate next year, though.”

“Wow! Wow… oh….”

Taryn marveled, then lowered her head. Suddenly, her energy drained away.

“What’s wrong?”

“Seeing you, Senior Isaac, I feel like I’ve lost my confidence. Outside, I’ve been told that I have some talent. But whether I can become like them… I’m not sure.”

Isaac adjusted his glasses, pondering what to say.

It might be unnecessary meddling, but he decided to share the thought that came to mind with Taryn.

“I don’t know if I should be the one to say this, but…”

“Yes?”

“If you work hard, you can achieve anything.”

Isaac gave Taryn a gentle smile.

To Taryn, it felt like a long moment.

Just then, they reached the palace-like building, Bartos Hall.

“That’s Bartos Hall. Ask the faculty at the information desk where the administration office is, and they’ll guide you. Take care.”

“Oh, thank you…!”

Isaac briefly waved before going on his way.

Taryn bowed repeatedly towards his retreating figure, then looked at Bartos Hall.

“It’s beautiful…!”

Bartos Hall was a place overflowing with aesthetic beauty. Taryn entered the building.

The grand hall filled her vision. She saw several students in uniforms. Taryn stood still for a moment, admiring them, then headed to the reception desk. There was a neatly dressed faculty member.

“Hello, could you tell me where the administration office is?”

“You’re an exchange student, right?”

“Yes.”

“You’re here much earlier than scheduled. The administration office is here. You can go up that way.”

The faculty member showed her a map and explained.

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.”

“Oh, by the way!”

Taryn’s eyes sparkled.

“Are those people here? Like the Star Witch Senior, the Emerald Wizard Senior, the Ice Sovereign…! Those famous people!”

“This place is dedicated to academic administration, so I don’t know if they would be here… But haven’t you already met one of them?”

“Huh?”

The faculty member looked at the long windows along the wall of Bartos Hall. Through them, she had seen Isaac and Taryn arriving together.

“You were just with the Ice Sovereign a moment ago, weren’t you?”

“…?”

Silence fell.

Taryn’s eyes grew wider and wider, threatening to tear from their sockets.

“Whaaat?!”

Finally, an exclamation leaked from Taryn’s tightly closed mouth.

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