Chapter 29
‘It could also be that the classmates are just too weak.’
In fact, Henry wasn’t even looking at Sidney.
He was just standing there in a daze after receiving a system task notification.
As for whether the classmates were laughing at him, he didn’t particularly care.
What was the point of arguing with a bunch of students who had never even seen Dark Magic?
If they wanted to believe something, let them. Just go along with it. When the day came that they actually encountered Dark Magic, they could be more careful in their next life.
【Task: Complete the Master’s Classroom Theory】
【Reward: Random High-Quality Seeds ×10】
【To become the strongest Sword Immortal, you must at least understand the theory, right?】
‘Do you even need to study theory to become a Sword Immortal?’
It seemed like becoming a Sword Immortal also required a scientific process.
But to complete the Master’s theory, didn’t that mean he had to finish Sidney’s class?
Henry now felt like he had two heads growing out of one.
He didn’t particularly understand magic, but when it came to the nature of magic, Henry had his own interpretation.
On the other side, Sidney’s words had plunged all the students into silence.
Most of them were staring at Henry with looks of astonishment.
They thought Henry had just gotten lucky to answer the question correctly.
But they never expected that the essence of Dark Magic was actually ‘faith’!
‘Does that mean Dark Magic can’t be used without faith?’
No wonder the cultists hadn’t made any major moves—they must have had to put in a lot of effort to recruit believers.
However, when faith was mentioned, the students were reminded of an official organization.
One student shakily raised their hand and, with Sidney’s permission, stood up.
‘Teacher Sidney, if Dark Magic relies on faith to sustain its power, doesn’t that make it the same as the Church’s Holy Magic?’
The moment this question was asked, the entire class erupted in gasps.
‘H-how could the Church’s power be compared to Dark Magic? Isn’t that blasphemy?’
‘But he’s not wrong… The Church’s power also comes from faith…’
The students seemed to have stumbled upon a new line of thought and began debating fervently.
Sidney didn’t stop them, allowing them to freely explore the discussion.
He motioned for the questioning student to sit down and waited for these ‘geniuses’ to reach a conclusion.
‘Henry, why didn’t you let me explain what happened that day?’
Jessica was referring to the time when she and Henry had destroyed a cultist hideout together.
Henry, however, just waved his hand dismissively, completely indifferent.
‘It doesn’t matter to me. In fact, it’s better this way. If the cultists targeted me, I’d never get a good night’s sleep.’
Jessica hadn’t expected Henry’s reasoning to be so blunt.
It left her with no desire to persuade him further.
What could she do? Henry simply didn’t want trouble.
But what surprised her even more was how easily Henry had deduced the source of Dark Magic’s power.
As for the nature of magic itself, even Jessica hadn’t figured it out yet.
‘Then do you know what the essence of magic is?’
‘No. But I do know that real magic isn’t about the power of incantations—it’s about the choices you make when wielding that power.’
Jessica froze at Henry’s words.
She had never considered this before, always assuming that magic was a divine gift bestowed upon people like her.
Everyone wanted their magic to grow stronger, but none of them had ever stopped to think about the purpose of magic’s existence.
Jessica blinked slowly, her lips pressed together as if deep in thought.
Meanwhile, Sidney tapped the desk, silencing the still-arguing students.
He had put his glasses back on, returning to his original composed demeanor.
‘I believe all of you here are geniuses, each with your own unique understanding of magic. But when it comes to using magic, you’re still stuck at the level of ‘I’ll use it because I want to.’
‘Have any of you ever truly considered what you’re doing with this power?’
Sidney believed that every freshman should have their own philosophy.
Especially the students of Saint Nad Magic Academy—they had been hailed as prodigies since childhood, but did their use of power lack rationality?
The academy wasn’t just a place to teach magic. More importantly, it was meant to mold students into proper mages.
That was the true purpose of Saint Nad Magic Academy’s existence.
‘Of course, this is something you can ponder after class. For now, I’d like to ask Henry: in your eyes, what exactly is magic?’
Among all the students, Henry was the most unique.
Because he himself possessed no magic, from his perspective, everyone here was an anomaly.
When called upon, Henry stood up.
But as he met the disdainful gazes of his classmates, only one thought crossed his mind:
‘Uh… it’s kind of a hassle? Like, you have to chant spells and all. Then again, maybe it’s just that the classmates are too weak.’
It wasn’t entirely Henry’s fault for saying this.
Logically, someone like Luning, a so-called genius, should have been able to instantly defeat Henry.
But during the assessment exam, Henry had sliced him down in one strike.
Why? Because Luning had to chant his spells.
If he could cast magic instantly, would Henry have been able to defeat him so easily?
Obviously not.
That left only one explanation: Luning was just too weak.
The moment Henry’s words left his mouth, the classroom erupted in furious curses.
‘You magicless trash, what the hell are you saying?! Fight me one-on-one if you dare!’
‘Chanting spells is a fundamental part of being a mage! How many people in the entire empire can cast magic without chanting?!’
‘You just got lucky against Luning and now you think you’re invincible? You’re nothing but a fluke!’
Jessica’s brows furrowed, and she was about to speak up in Henry’s defense.
But Henry raised a hand to stop her.
His gaze was fixed on Sidney, and Sidney, in turn, was staring at Henry with an unreadable expression.
Clearly, Sidney hadn’t expected Henry to actively invite hatred like this.
This guy wasn’t leaving himself any room to retreat.
Sidney sighed and tapped the desk, instantly silencing the chaotic classroom.
But it did nothing to quell the students’ rage.
After all, Henry’s words had just insulted every single one of them.
Sidney adjusted his glasses, his eyes boring into Henry.
‘Henry, you do realize you have no magic, correct?’
‘Mhm?’
‘Then what did you use to control that sword when you defeated Luning?’
Sidney’s question made the students pause and think.
Given Henry’s magicless constitution, he shouldn’t have been able to manipulate objects—especially without a magic wand or any other medium.
‘Could it be… he knows Dark Magic?’
Someone whispered their suspicion, and soon, others began to catch on.
Why had Teacher Sidney brought up Dark Magic in this class?
And why did Henry understand the nature of Dark Magic?
When all these coincidences piled up, didn’t it mean that Sidney had discovered Henry was using Dark Magic?
The students transformed into amateur detectives, eager to expose Henry as a Dark Magic user!
‘Who knows? Maybe I’m just a genius.’
Henry’s flippant response ignited the room like a powder keg.
‘You’re a damn cultist! Just die already!’
‘Saint Nad Magic Academy has no place for scum like you!’
In an instant, the classroom turned into a full-blown tribunal against Henry.
Some demanded he be expelled, while others wanted him locked up to extract information about the cultists.
The noise was so overwhelming it felt like a marketplace, with no semblance of order left.
Henry stayed silent, only feeling that the room had grown uncomfortably warm.
Some ‘little sun’ must have been secretly radiating heat.
‘ENOUGH!’
Jessica slammed her fist into the desk, shattering it instantly as scorching mana radiated from her body.
The entire class froze, staring at her in terror.
Why was Her Highness the Princess so angry?
‘Henry is NOT a cultist!’