How To Survive Clichés

Chapter 20

“Ian, it’s been a while.”

A girl emerged from a group made up solely of male students and greeted him warmly. Though she forced a friendly smile, her expression couldn’t mask the malice underneath.

This was Plea Dows. She was the younger sister of Professor Isla Dows and the second daughter of the Dows family. Her brown hair, only down to her shoulders, was twisted in a way that unmistakably mirrored her older sister’s.

Ian’s already pale face grew even colder and ghostly white. Her entire body eventually looked as ashen as a corpse, and she managed to open her mouth to return her greeting.

“Oh, hi.”

In contrast, Yoo Suho observed the situation with a cold, calculating gaze. He quickly noticed Ian was trembling in fear but decided not to interfere hastily, as it might make things worse.

“So, how are your spirits doing?”

“Th-That… well…”

“Never mind. That’s not really what I wanted to ask, is it?”

Plea smirked and signaled to the male students beside her to bring Ian over. Following her command, two of the boys passed Suho and placed their arms around Ian’s shoulders.

“Not sure if you remember, but we almost failed that combat training because of you.”

“The poor first-years who have to team up with you.”

“I… I’m really sorry about that.”

Ian lowered her head, and with no strength left to resist, she was pushed toward Plea by the boys.

…Combat training?

For a moment, Suho’s eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze toward Plea. Although Plea noticed Suho glaring at her, she didn’t seem to care. Her lips twisted into a cruel smile. After all, it was just a matter of time before they managed to drive Ian out.

“When you think about it, it’s just pitiful. Can’t even summon a spirit properly. Because you botched the contract, now the spirits are damaged, too.”

“Exactly. Plea is far more suited to be a spirit summoner.”

“Poor spirits, stuck with a commoner.”

The boys chuckled, agreeing with her words.

As their conversation suggested, the Dows sisters harbored jealousy toward Ian. They believed she’d stolen their opportunity to bond with the spirits. And with good reason: Ian had formed her spirit contracts within the Dows family’s territory. Twice, no less.

The sisters weren’t bad at spirit perception, so they soon picked up on this detail. But they couldn’t accept it.

‘Those spirits should’ve been ours!’

To them, it was unforgivable that a commoner with unknown lineage had formed the contract in their stead. However, Ian’s reputation as a spirit summoner had already grown too strong, so even trying to claim ownership of the spirits was dismissed outright.

Of course, this rejection was only natural, but their parents would only console them by saying, “It would’ve been fine if it weren’t for that commoner.”

When the sisters eventually encountered Ian at Aethis Magic School, they devised a plan. If they couldn’t become spirit summoners, they would at least prevent Ian from graduating.

And they soon noticed something. The more they harassed Ian, the more her grades declined. As a result, she struggled even to control her spirits, and the sponsorships she once had were all withdrawn.

The Dows sisters found satisfaction in this. Each day, they revealed in the superiority and joy they felt as they watched the anxious look in Ian’s trembling eyes.

‘She’s close to being expelled now.’

This semester would be Ian’s last; her expulsion was practically guaranteed. They believed that their efforts would finally bear fruit with the first-years’ upcoming combat training as their last hurdle.

However, reports on Ian had become infrequent lately. She had been sneaking around to avoid them like a mouse.

An unacceptable situation.

Moreover, she’d heard rumors that Ian was associating with Damian Draco. She had no idea how he’d managed to rope in that so-called delinquent, but getting involved with him would only complicate matters.

Fortunately, she’d heard today that Ian was with some commoner at the training ground, which was why she was here.

Plea leaned in and whispered to Ian, “Come with me. You owe a debt, don’t you? Unless you want to get expelled.”

Ian’s hand was trembling. Watching her, Plea smiled in satisfaction. She planned to take her to the Blue Abyss Tower lounge and humiliate her thoroughly. Oh, maybe she could even get the first-years to harass her this time?

The commoner next to her stared off into space, seemingly lost in thought. Yes, these were the kinds of clueless people who belonged around Ian. Laughing to herself, Plea led her group past Yoo Suho, who ignored them, not noticing the magic power radiating subtly from him.

* * *

“Necromancy usually involves a dead body—”

“…”

“Hey, Damian, are you even listening to me?”

Tio’s voice grew annoyed when I didn’t answer, then his expression hardened as he looked in the direction I was staring.

“What? That’s Plea, isn’t it?”

“You know her?”

“Yeah. She’s the Spirit Studies professor’s sister. She’s infamous for paying people to bully Ian.”

Tio pieced things together and spoke with a bitter look. “Since our family’s fallen, they tried recruiting me, too. But refusing didn’t do much.”

…I figured as much.

“There are plenty of other students besides you.”

Tio nodded calmly. He probably hadn’t reported anything to the professors because there wasn’t any proof, and as a fallen noble, he would have had trouble intervening.

“I’ll go get the professors.”

As Tio turned, I instinctively held him back. “Wait a moment.”

Yoo Suho will handle it, just like now.

Boom!

As Plea and her group tried to move Ian, Suho instinctively unleashed his magical energy to block their path.

“He doesn’t seem to want to go, does he?”

Suho was handling it better than expected.

The male students, unnerved by the sudden surge of intensity, involuntarily stepped back, though they tried to keep up their pride.

“What business is this of yours?”

“Get lost, commoner.”

Realizing they were both upperclassmen and nobles, two of the boys angrily pulled wands from their robes. Mana glowed faintly at the ends of the wands. It was a simple spell structure for second-years, but a mana blade began forming.

Still, they could tell that, even though Suho held no weapon, he was far stronger than them.

Crack—

In the end, the oppressive aura from Suho disrupted their concentration, and the spell melted away.

Plea, watching this, shouted in frustration. “What are you doing?”

Her words implied that she couldn’t believe they were backing down from a mere commoner. As Suho reached out, the male students quickly stepped back and formed a protective circle around Plea, leaving Ian behind.

“Plea!”

“Be careful!”

Suho raised an eyebrow, almost amused. Who exactly were they telling to be careful here?

The only one who was truly frightened was Ian, still trembling.

Between her allies, Plea bit her lip, glaring at Suho. She seemed to be trying to gauge his background, wondering if he might be a noble. However, since half of the White Guardian Tower students were commoners, that was highly unlikely.

Plea looked Yoo Suho up and down with a displeased frown. “How dare a lowly commoner interrupt a conversation between nobles, not to mention releasing magical energy? Do you want to get expelled?”

“…”

Suho didn’t respond.

Of course, commoners wouldn’t want to risk their chance to become magicians. Plea, suddenly struck by an idea, continued, “If you do to Ian what you did to us, I’ll keep this a secret.”

“…Ha.” Suho let out a dry laugh. He had never heard such a foolish attempt at persuasion.

Plea, however, took it as a sign of agreement and made another offer. What commoners feared most—and desired most—was money, after all. All the people she had met in her life had cowered before money. Some even went so far as to sell their children for it. That was human nature: chasing money was only natural.

“Fine, then. How about our family covering your tuition for next semester?”

This time, she expected an affirmative response.

“…No.”

“…What?”

“Do I need a reason to value people over money?”

A clear rejection.

Plea’s smile faded. Just that? That was his reason? Clearly, he didn’t understand how the world worked, sheltered here within the walls of the Aethis Magic School.

No matter. If she just paid them, there were plenty of students who would gladly harass Ian.

“Fine. I have plenty of other options besides you, anyway,” she said. Ian might have made a new friend, but it wasn’t a bad idea to make it clear to everyone that anyone who sided with her would end up like this. This would show what happened to those who helped Ian.

Mana swirled in Plea’s hand, and elemental runes began to form one by one.

Finally, Suho pieced everything together, feeling a deep revulsion. “So, this is what you’ve been doing all along?”

“Ha! Of course, what else?” Plea sneered. “Those spirits Ian has—they should have been mine. I lost them to her. So what wouldn’t I do?”

Then, she extended her hand toward Suho. The male students might have failed against a mere first-year, but she was confident. At the same time, she glanced around at her followers, deciding that, after this, she would have to reorganize her ranks.

Leaving just one rune unfinished, Plea turned to Ian, almost as if justifying her actions. “Ian, tell him. This all happened because you stole the spirits. Isn’t that right?”

The words “expulsion” echoed in Ian’s mind. She didn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of her.

“…Yes, I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

A malicious smile crept across Plea’s face. “See? She admits it herself.”

She aimed the completed spell at Yoo Suho and sneered at Ian. “This is all because of you, Ian.”

Ian shut her eyes tightly. Suho’s gaze filled with a deep disgust.

Crack!

Just as Plea’s spell surged toward Suho and Ian, Suho released his own magic, shattering her spell. The ground caved in, and cracks spread across the grass.

For once, Plea looked startled.

“Hey, Damian, maybe we should really go get the professors now,” Tio muttered nearby, glancing around with worry. I didn’t respond. Frustrated, Tio grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

“Shouldn’t we at least try to stop them? You could stop this if you tried. Both Suho and Ian could get disciplinary action.”

Let go. You’re making me dizzy.

Besides, what could I even do?

The other students in the training grounds were just standing there, watching the situation unfold. Commoners didn’t dare get involved, and nobles didn’t want to risk stirring up conflicts between families.

Crackling lightning blazed across Suho’s entire body, and Plea’s face turned pale.

“Stop it!”

Her followers didn’t even think of trying to intervene, sensing real danger. They might not die, but they would surely wish they had.

“I said, stop it!” Plea, panicked, hastily launched her prepared spell at Suho.

Bzzt—!

The magic flew from her hand, swirling like a vortex toward Suho. But before anyone could react, Ian threw herself in front of the vortex.

A hair-trigger moment.

Then, all at once—

Sizzle.

The flames of Plea’s elemental vortex transformed into water, water turned to fire, earth became lightning, and then back to earth. Defensive runes appeared throughout the vortex, scattering all the elements in different directions.

Plea’s face twisted in frustration.

Who was it? How?

The elemental vortex spell was her strongest magic. Who could possibly have blocked it?

If it were a commoner, she’d hunt them down mercilessly; if it were a noble, she would ask her father to cut off all their family’s business dealings.

Plea and her followers whipped their heads around, following the source of the interference.

And then they all froze in shock.

“What are you doing there?”