Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 56: How About Coming Out and Explaining It Yourself?

The next morning, an unusual message arrived for Trivia.

[ ▶ Do you need a cheat sheet for the midterm? ]

The sender was anonymous.

If you asked whether I needed it, the answer was obviously no. I closed Trivia without a response.

[ *Sephia ]

[ ▶ Student Flan! ]

[ ▶ When would be a good time for the interview? ]

I used to think this interview was just a hassle, but now I actually see its necessity.

I can use it well to strongly express my intention to participate in the Hunt.

[ ▷ I’m considering it after the midterm. ]

After replying to Sephia, I washed up and got dressed. Today, we had to gather in the Grade A classroom.

The midterm plays a significant role in determining our grades.

Had the excitement stirred by the Sword Demon Emperor’s victory subsided a bit? I had such thoughts as I opened the classroom door.

The moment I did, every student’s gaze turned towards me.

Their eyes were peculiar, but the way they looked at me was clearly different from before.

The moment I met their gazes, I realized that expecting the excitement to die down was utterly foolish.

‘…I didn’t expect it anyway.’

They need many victories, enough to become indifferent.

“That’s Flan.”

“Hey, don’t stare too openly.”

I quietly took my seat, ignoring the whispering voices that followed me like shadows.

It was still annoying, but it was better now since there was no blatant provocation like before.

“Hi, Flan.”

Shortly after, Becky naturally sat down beside me. She still carried the scent of roses.

“What’s with all the chatter? Everyone, look here. Today is the midterm.”

At that moment, a male professor I had never seen before appeared instead of Violet.

Becky recognized the professor, who was chubby with a slightly balding head.

“Isn’t that Professor Brody? He’s not supposed to be in charge of first years….”

Similar murmurs arose from other places, but the male professor silently unfurled a large piece of paper.

“Professor Violet will be a little late, so I’ll be leading today’s morning session.”

The large paper wriggled like a living creature and then stuck to the blackboard like a magnet.

“Since it’s right before the midterm, everyone should check their grades. Those with high scores, keep them up; those with low scores, try to improve.”

Naturally, everyone’s attention turned to the large paper stuck on the blackboard.

The scores of the exams we had taken so far, along with the rankings of the cumulative scores, were listed there.

Various reactions crossed the room.

Some students nodded with satisfied expressions, but there were naturally more students who sighed with regret.

I only briefly glanced at the rankings of the cumulative scores.

1. Flan
2. Louis Roosevelt
.
.
.

By the time I confirmed my expected ranking, the classroom’s attention had already focused entirely on me.

I observed a few of the gazes directed at me.

Trixie’s eyes were subtly curious, while Louis smiled when our eyes met.

“Wow…. Congratulations, Flan.”

Becky silently mimicked clapping beside me. Then she asked cautiously.

“…By the way, did you eat the chocolate I gave you last time?”

I shook my head.

If she meant that, it was still stored untouched in the dormitory. Becky’s smile turned a bit awkward.

“Oh, really? Why haven’t you eaten it yet….”

“I want to save it for later. There’s no other reason.”

“Oh? Ah, I see~”

Becky scratched her head with a shy expression.

“Was it too precious to eat…? I just made it casually. Just eat it! I’ll make more for you later.”

“Did you prepare the materials?”

“…Did I do something wrong?”

Her expression turned pale. Just then, Brody spoke up again.

“Hey, you lot. Shut up. It’s not like you’re chanting spells…. You’ve all checked the results, right?”

He continued, looking at the slightly deflated students.

“Violet being busy is one reason I’m here, but it’s not the only one.”

The professor’s gaze turned towards me. Naturally, the other students’ eyes followed.

“As you all know, there’s still some time left before the expo. Seeing your grades just now, none of you feel like slacking off, right?”

Brody played a visual recording on the blackboard. It was the scene where I faced Yvonne at the Sword Demon Emperor.

“Let’s use the remaining time to learn a bit about the summoning series. Today, I’ll be lecturing with this record.”

Sighs leaked from various places. The visual recording continued to play.

“Now, look. Summoning starts with observation.”

I quietly nodded at his words.

However, it would have been better if he had mentioned that magical observation is the key.

“The manipulation is precise, right? This is thanks to the balance of mana. You inject only the specified amount. Otherwise, both sides would be overloaded.”

It wasn’t wrong.

However, if it were me, I would have first explained how to calculate the exact amount of mana.

Then, the recording paused at the scene where Yvonne’s doll blocked the sword. Professor Brody rewound the recording a few times to watch that part about five times.

“…”

He even tilted his head in confusion. The students’ faces gradually filled with doubt.

“I have a few questions for the person involved.”

Finally, he turned towards me. He pulled out a pointer and tapped the blackboard.

“…How did you move the summoned creature in this part?”

He asked about the ‘movement,’ not the ‘summon.’

But.

His question was still too abstract. With such a vague question, there wasn’t much I could answer.

“I didn’t particularly intend to.”

“Hey, watch your tone. No, never mind. Let’s start with something else.”

Brody shook his head as if to indicate that wasn’t the pressing issue.

“Then did the summoned creature move on its own? I’m asking how you controlled it.”

“Saying it moved on its own wouldn’t be entirely wrong.”

“Hey…. You.”

Brody tapped the blackboard irritably. It was the part where the summoned creature’s wrist moved smoothly and decisively.

I, too, was frustrated.

The question was still superficial, and there were limits to what I could explain with words alone.

“When I ask how the wrist and limbs moved, I expect a detailed explanation.”

“Then why don’t you specify?”

I continued calmly.

“Over 230 joints, 78 organs, and various muscles…. It’s not like I can explain all of them.”

“What…?”

Brody’s face twisted in frustration.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

“What did you just say?”

“As you heard.”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean.”

Brody shook his head in disbelief.

“Are you saying you moved the summoned creature after calculating all of those over 230 joints and whatnot?”

I nodded quietly.

“…”

After a brief pause, we both sighed simultaneously.

We understood better than anyone that there were limits to explaining and communicating through Q&A alone.

Finally, Brody gestured with his chin.

“So can you do that now? Summon.”

“That’s easy.”

After a brief pause, I continued.

“But just showing it… I don’t think you’ll understand.”

“What…?”

Brody squinted his eyes.

He reversed his pointer and extended the handle towards me.

“Fine. Then why don’t you come out here and explain it yourself?”

His thoughts were clearly visible on his face. Curiosity, disbelief, suspicion, anger…. A mix of emotions.

He wanted me to prove it.

I wasn’t angry. It was natural. I didn’t expect much in the first place.

No matter how much of a professor he was, there were bound to be limits to fully understanding my summoning.

“We have about 45 minutes left. Should be enough time, don’t you think?”

Just as he said, there were about 45 minutes left.

Yes. That’s plenty.

I stood up from my seat.

◈

Everyone stared blankly as he walked to the front of the classroom.

His tall stature, high nose, and sharp jawline made it seem like he could look down on anyone.

Regardless of status, he seemed to be born with an inherent air of superiority.

“Nice to meet you.”

He stood before the students with an indifferent expression.

Those short three words made a few people snicker. Not out of amusement, but because he genuinely seemed like a professor.

Flan took a moment to adjust his clothes, then scanned the students from top to bottom.

“…Yes, it’s nice to meet you too.”

After muttering this, he slowly took in the view from the front of the classroom.

He even let a faint smile cross his face. It was a mystery to the students.

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

“From now on, I’ll explain the movement of summoned creatures. In terms of series…. I suppose it would be ‘manipulation.’”

His demeanor was composed, as if this situation was familiar to him. A few students gulped nervously.

“When many figures appear, people tend to get scared prematurely, but there’s no need to make it complicated.”

Brody felt the same way Flan did. It was familiar and skilled. He was getting drawn in himself.

By then, Flan and Becky made eye contact in the air. He lightly snapped his fingers.

*Pop!*

“Becky…?”

“Is that Becky?”

The students murmured.

As the thin mist dispersed, a summoned creature resembling Becky appeared.

“It’s me?”

Becky muttered in shock.

“This

summoned creature only copied the appearance. You’ll see once it moves.”

The Becky doll began to walk. However, the jerky movements were nearly a mess.

“If you just summon what you picture without any expansive thinking, you get results like this.”

He slightly lifted the corner of his mouth.

“With summoning like this…. Some find movement difficult, others find control difficult. Isn’t that the case?”

Then Brody spoke up.

Flan’s tone was quite rude, but surprisingly, curiosity outweighed anger this time.

“Alright. So how does your summoning work?”

The professor’s tone was less than pleasant.

For someone like Brody, who had spent his life in the summoning series, Flan’s existence itself was contradictory.

“Magical thinking.”

And Flan replied to the professor with just those five syllables.

The Becky doll began to move again. But this time, it was noticeably different.

The movements were light. Even the small details, like smelling the fragrance on the sleeve, were identical.

Becky and Brody’s eyes widened. The reactions of the other students were no different.

“The world you’ve seen so far is all an illusion.”

He pointed at the Becky doll with his chin.

“And even now… you’re living in the illusion of what you see.”

Flan tapped twice under his eyes with his index finger.

“But if you simply accept this scene at face value, you should be ashamed to call yourself a magician.”

*Snap!*

“Hold on, I’ll share my vision with you.”

When he snapped his fingers, blue lines began to appear clearly over the Becky doll.

“It’s a circuit. Make an effort to read and memorize it at all times. Only then will you truly see.”

Movement, habits, joints, organs…. To see all of that as a single circuit?

Theoretically simple, but practically challenging. Brody knew this better than anyone.

“Wait.”

Brody interrupted Flan’s explanation.

“It’s a textbook and excellent method. But I have one question left.”

“…What is it?”

“The original you summoned from was a magician, right?”

The professor pointed at the Becky doll.

“A magician has a basic mana circuit. That’s why you can observe the mana circuit.”

Flan simply stared at Brody.

As if everything he asked was expected. As if he anticipated it. As if he held no expectations at all.

“Then how did you summon Yvonne’s swordsmanship? A knight’s actions don’t have a mana circuit.”

Brody’s face was full of doubt.

The foundation of summoning is replicating the ‘original action’s’ mana circuit as it is.

But.

If the ‘original action’ doesn’t have a mana circuit, replicating it would be close to an impossibility.

“Can you explain that too?”

“It’s simple.”

Flan created three attribute-less orbs and sent them towards the wall.

When they touched the wall, a circuit began to form, resembling a maze.

“Wow….”

“Whoa….”

The students exclaimed in admiration. Flan continued his explanation with a calm demeanor.

“Interaction with magic. The rules read at that moment.”

“Rules?”

“At that time, three orbs also touched Yvonne’s body, and right after that, I circuitized her swordsmanship.”

“Circuitized…?”

Even as a professor, he had never thought of directly creating non-existent circuits and approaching it that way.

Maybe he wasn’t alone. Maybe everyone. No, definitely everyone.

Brody swallowed hard.

Having always taught others after becoming a professor, the concept of learning had become a foreign sensation.

But now he was clearly intrigued. He had learned something new, and he wanted to remember it.

A word already existed to express this feeling.

Learning.