The presence of the academy’s dunce was well known both to existing students and incoming freshmen. Everybody knew that Theodore Miller had to repeat the same year three times. Some said that this would be his final year repeating the course, while others said he would drop out halfway through. But not a single soul at the academy thought Theo would be able to graduate. It was also an opinion shared by Professor Bernard Wheeler, who was in charge of the third grade’s alchemy classes.

I don’t know why he decided to step foot in the academy… Although he has endured four years, this impudent fellow will soon return to the countryside.

He looked at Theo, who was staring out the window like he wasn’t aware of the gossip. The relationship between the professor and student hadn’t been so bad in the beginning. Although Professor Bernard was narrow-minded, he still acknowledged the fact that Theodore Miller was from a noble lineage, no matter how low his family had fallen.

There was another reason for Professor Bernard’s hostile attitude.

It was an incident that had happened two years ago in an alchemy class, shortly after Theo had received his first repeater letter. Back then, Theo was still working enthusiastically in class, and Professor Bernard was still treating him like every other student. Until…

Professor, I’m sorry, but that paper you quoted from was withdrawn from the Magic Society two years ago.

... What? Are you saying that my class is wrong?

No, the Magic Society said it.

How dare someone like you say such a thing?!

Maybe it wouldn’t have been a big deal if an ordinary student like a duke or earl had made the same comment. However, Theodore was a baron from the countryside and a poor student who had repeated a year. Bernard was too proud to endure someone like that finding fault with his class.

Since that day, Bernard felt a spike of irritation every time he saw Theo. He spent many nights wondering how to remove him from the academy. However, Theodore’s conduct was exemplary, and there was nothing to be faulted except for his lack of practical results. So Bernard came up with another approach.

“The combination formula you will be learning today is Full Moon Bead, which is more complicated than you might think. If you make a mistake, then these precious ingredients will be destroyed. On the other hand, too much magic power will turn it into a poison, not medicine. But its effect is powerful enough to allow a half-dying person to catch their breath."

Bernard kept writing on the board while watching Theodore out of the corner of his eye. However, Theo was just staring blankly at the blackboard. Bernard was so irritated that he lost his temper and laughed.

“Then the question... Theodore?”

“Yes.” Theo answered with a calm expression.

“Explain why Full Moon Bead is difficult to combine. Haven’t you been taking my class for three years?”

Some students quietly chuckled, while others remained expressionless. But they weren’t able to stop themselves from glancing over. It was the same kind of taunts as always.

Theo replied serenely, “Every ingredient in the Full Moon Bead contains enough magic power that only magicians can safely handle them. If one cannot control their magic power precisely, then the ingredients would be easily spoiled. As such, the Full Moon Bead is very difficult to make.”

Although Bernard was secretly laughing at the answer, he gestured to the other students.

“Yes, great answer. Everybody clap!”

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap...

The insincere applause echoed off the walls of the classroom. What else was there? Theo was almost wary of Bernard at this point.

Bernard pointed at the podium, where the ingredients for the Full Moon Bead were placed, and said, “But anyone can answer a question. Theodore, please combine one Full Moon Bead.”

“... You mean?”

“Yes. If you have studied in this school for five years, then you should act as a role model for the other students.”

Theo clicked his tongue silently as he understood Bernard’s intentions. Bernard was probably convinced that Theo would fail this combination formula. The Full Moon Bead was the most difficult combination formula in the third grade. A 2nd Circle Theo wasn’t capable of successfully combining it. However, Bernard wanted to show his incompetence to the other students and throw him out for wasting expensive ingredients. If Theo refused, then he would be mocked as a dunce who wasted five years. The professor had a pretty good plan.

Well, I can also use my head.

However, Theo was completely different from his previous self.

“I understand.”

Theo walked to the front of the class. Bernard’s intuition twanged in warning when he saw Theo’s confident demeanor. However, his logic decisively denied his intuition. He believed there was no way he had made a mistake.

A moment later, a brilliant light filled the classroom.

“Ohh...!”

“That’s the Full Moon Bead!”

Theo was lightly swirling a glass that contained a shimmering liquid with tiny suspended granules. Bernard stared at it in disbelief for a moment before reaching out to snatch the glass from Theo. He had forgotten about the other students.

“T-This is ridiculous. Y-You... how...?”

He had just checked it twice, but it was a perfect Full Moon Bead. Bernard himself couldn’t make such a pristine product. Bernard was a magician before a professor, and the revelation of Theo’s prowess caused him to pale.

Theo added a few words, as if to drive in the nail on the coffin, “Professor, I'm sorry, but it is better to add one more moon grass to the formula on the blackboard in order to increase the efficiency.”

“... W-What?”

“It was in a paper published by the Magic Society last year.”

It was the same situation and tone of voice from two years ago. Bernard, who had seemingly brought his nightmare into reality, sank into his chair. He didn’t even look in Theo’s direction for the rest of the class.

The transformation began the day after the incident with Bernard. The news that the famous dunce had succeeded in making the Full Moon Bead spread throughout the academy. No professor, except Vince, believed the rumor, and set out to personally test Theo.

In particular, Professor Claude, who taught magic circles, prepared a task which even the other professors would find hard to complete. He asked Theo to create and activate a triple compound magic circle. This required a great deal of magic power, as well as a precise understanding of the functions and circulation of the magic circle. Theo had long understood the theory, but he had never had the sensitivity or raw magical power to activate the circle. However, the seemingly insurmountable trial was now only a minor headache to him now.

As he stood in the glow of the activated magic circle, Theo smiled at the inwardly aghast Professor Claude.

To think this slight difference in sensitivity would make such a massive difference.

The steady diet of artifacts and books over the winter break had multiplied Theo’s talent four or five times over. He had successfully cast most of the spells he’d only studied, and his magic power had reached the middle of the 3rd Circle. If his growth rate stayed the same, he would reach the 4th Circle before the first semester ended.

However, his sensitivity was only improving at a snail’s pace. Gluttony had estimated that it was at most [Mana sensitivity +30], which was still below the average figure for a magician. Even so, Theo's magic skills had developed brilliantly. His newfound sensitivity was the difference between stumbling through a dark forest and running on a paved road. Did those geniuses born with high mana sensitivity feel like they were flying through the sky?

Theo walked back to his seat under the stunned eyes of the crowd.

***

People who witnessed Theo’s change often fell into three camps.

“That person is the one they called a dunce? No way.”

“Yes. Is there something wrong with the professors?”

“That might be the case. Or he really was a dunce until last year.”

“Hey, does that make sense?”

The first camp questioned the known evaluation of Theodore Miller. They couldn’t understand why such an extraordinary magician had ever been called a dunce. Their camp started and fueled rumors that Theo had intentionally failed to stay in the academy.

Then there was the second camp.

“He studied for five years, so I guess this is the outcome.”

“Wasn’t there a saying in the east about those who bloom late? Maybe Senior grew like that.”

“I think the top graduate this year will be him.”

Some people accepted the reality they saw with their own eyes. Theo was a student who had successfully made a Full Moon Bead and activated a Triple Compound Magic Circle. The students who had witnessed those feats began to publicly praise his excellence. Some students even came up to him during breaks to ask questions.

Finally, there was the third camp.

“Look at the failure showing off...”

“Isn’t he just a senior with some good luck?”

“He’s just a baron from the countryside who knows a few tricks.”

Despite the rumors, there were people who were convinced Theo was still a failure. Their sense of inferiority rose to the surface as they stared at Theodore’s back with hostile eyes. The academy’s strict rules made fighting almost meaningless, but some students still tried to find a method.

“Isn’t the next class battle magic?”

“Yes, and it’s the first lesson...”

Students were first taught how to fight with magic in the third grade. As such, the first class was devoted to supervised sparring to assess each student’s proficiency. These students decided to repurpose the assessment spar as an opportunity to fight Theo.

“I’ll do it. I’ll crush the pride of that dunce.”

“No, if it’s battle magic, I can do it.”

“My family has received awards for magic.”

Each one spoke in a confident voice. They would defeat the arrogant loser and put him in his place. They grinned confidently at each other as they envisioned their seemingly inevitable victory.

… Of course, who knew if they were as good as they thought they were?