How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (16)

What a sight.

You couldn’t see such an entertaining expression even if you paid for it.

I savored the Antagonist’s face to my heart’s content before glancing at my watch.

It was 3:30 AM when I was called to This Location, but it was already approaching 5 o’clock.

‘I should wrap things up around now.’

I confirmed there was no one around, then drew my wand without hesitation and aimed it at the Antagonist’s forehead.

Then, I filled in the formula I had memorized to the point of nausea and spoke the spell aloud.

―Enter through the narrow gate.

Though it was my first time actually using the spell, the effect was certain thanks to my perfectly established divine power characteristics.

The Student who had been looking dazed in front of me suddenly looked around with a confused expression, then lost consciousness and collapsed forward.

Thud―!

“…!”

“What, what are you doing…!”

The students lying in the distance shouted. Instead of answering, I cast the same magic to put them to sleep.

It was magic that acted on the mana composing the brain, damaging perception and memory of a certain period before the activation point.

The target for deletion was magic.

All memories that could be perceived as magic—light, red color, arm-extending motions, wands, etc.—were completely deleted.

Of course, other memories might have been deleted as well. If my magic was classified as a shocking event, all the ‘shocking’ memories from earlier would have been completely erased.

‘I wonder if I made those already stupid guys even more stupid.’

I clicked my tongue while looking down at them.

Also, I didn’t erase emotions.

Since we had to live in the same space going forward, the emotions needed to remain vivid.

‘It would be good to expel them, but….’

If news of a violence incident against Lucas ‘Ascanien’ reached home, the Family would naturally have to step in. It would become a public matter.

So what I could handle on my own level had to end on my own level.

“Ugh….”

Having manipulated three minds at once, my head began to ache.

‘I need to raise mental power, I need to raise stamina….’

Anyway, raising all stats as quickly as possible would be best.

‘While I’m at it, let me check my scores.’

I needed to calculate which way to use these guys.

I called up my status window.

Lucas Rene Ascanien

Title: Hunter of ???

Stamina: -3.4 (+0.1) [-0.4]

Mental Power: -7.7 (+0.5)

Mana: ?

Skill: +1.015 [+4.015]

Impression: -10

Luck: -6.485 (+0.5)

Traits: Dawn777, Divine Power

I raised my eyebrows and nodded.

Just from this morning’s events, my mental power had increased by 0.5 points.

‘Not bad.’

I wonder if someone else will pick a fight with me.

I pursed my lips and checked my skill score.

Midterm exams were coming up in a month.

But right now when I needed to rapidly improve my magic skills, midterm exams actually acted as an obstacle. Because they included not just magic but numerous liberal arts subjects.

‘But I can’t give up the advantages that grades provide.’

There was no more convenient and easy way for a Student to improve their image. Just having high grades would change the credibility of my words entirely.

Very conveniently, didn’t Hyung also tell me it would be good to ‘raise my grades to at least average’?

So….

‘They might be useful.’

I smiled as I looked down at them.

“Nice magic.”

Then, I heard a voice from somewhere.

I reflexively looked up.

Someone was looking down at me from on top of a building.

I didn’t mean for someone to pick a fight this immediately.

There was definitely no one there until just now, but some guy appeared like a rat. Since I was planning to pretend I couldn’t use magic for just two or three more months anyway, one or two people knowing wouldn’t be a big problem, but… should I try dealing with this?

As I tried to draw my wand, someone waved their hand frantically and shouted urgently.

“Wait! I’ll come down.”

He gripped the Rooftop railing, then infused mana into his legs and jumped down to the ground.

“Sorry. I should have introduced myself first. I’m Narke Farnese. I came from the Papal States, and I’ll be attending this School as an exchange Student starting next week.”

An exchange Student.

There was no such story in the novel.

Either it happened back then too but was excluded because it wasn’t important to the plot, or the development was already changing—one of the two.

For now, the former possibility was more likely.

But I couldn’t completely ignore the possibility of the latter.

So rather than erasing his memory right now, getting information through conversation should come first.

I stared at the exchange Student who didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving this place and waited for him to speak.

“You’re Lucas, right? Nice to meet you. I heard a lot about you even back in the Papal States.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you.”

I scrutinized the Antagonist’s face while calling up the favorability window.

Narke Farnese

Favorability +7

‘Positive favorability?’

I doubted my eyes and called up the favorability window again. The number remained the same.

It was a number I’d never seen before.

He heard a lot about me back in the Papal States and still showed such a number?

‘What did he hear about me….’

As I just stared at the Antagonist’s face without saying anything, perhaps feeling awkward, he rolled his eyes before speaking.

“I was already really angry, but you handled everything so well that I feel completely relieved. Thanks. The animal these guys brought—it’s my pet.”

“Is that so.”

I handed over the animal I had been holding to him.

“Yeah. This was the only thing I had to rely on, so I was really shocked when it disappeared.”

The Antagonist checked around the animal’s heart area, then let out a sigh of relief. Soon after, he drew his wand.

“Honestly, I’m still annoyed… but I can’t report this to the School.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t let them know you used magic to defend yourself. So I thought I’d teach them a lesson in a different way.”

The Antagonist smiled and lightly flicked his wand. Then he spoke a spell and cast magic on the fallen guys again.

‘Hmm….’

Look at this.

‘Can’t let them know you used magic to defend yourself’?

I stared intently at the Antagonist with a faint smile on my lips.

Right, I should have known when he was the only one with positive favorability.

There’s plenty of reason to be wary.

Let me figure out what kind of guy this Antagonist is in advance.

‘Status window.’

Ding―!

However, what appeared at that moment was not a status window.

I frowned and read through the text.

〈 Chapter 3. Constant Drops Wear Away the Stone (1) 〉

Proposal 1: Make the optimal choice. (0/1)

* Route 1 ― 〈 Proposal 2 〉

* Route 2 ― 〈 Chapter 4. Slow but Steady Progress 〉

‘Optimal choice.’

It appeared again.

If this is the optimal choice for now….

It must mean deciding my attitude toward that guy.

Whether to make him an ally, or minimize contact with him and maintain a defensive stance.

However, unlike before, neither choice shows a path leading to death. It means either choice won’t be a major problem.

I looked into his eyes and called up the status window.

‘Status window.’

Narke Farnese

Favorability +7

Title: ?

Stamina: +8

Mental Power: +9

Mana: +10

Skill: +7

Impression: ?

Luck: +4

Traits: Divine Power, Foresight (Lv.1)*, Insight (Lv.2)*

‘…Hah.’

I felt similar emotions to when I saw Leo’s status window.

Is this level of stats possible at this age?

I quickly scanned through the stats and examined the traits.

‘Insight in the traits.’

Insight Lv.2

― 3.0 points until next level

*Divine blessing applied

Did he figure out that I shouldn’t use magic through this?

It’s a useful ability.

No, it’s hard to call it just useful.

It’s an ability I’d want to have if circumstances allowed.

And if he has foresight on top of that….

Foresight Lv.1

― 2.0 points until next level

*Divine blessing applied

I twisted the corner of my mouth.

Make the optimal choice….

Of course I should make him an ally.

Just because he’s an ally doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be wary, right?

Originally, the target you should be most wary of should be kept in the most visible place.

Ding―!

Congratulations!

‘Proposal 1: Make the optimal choice.’ Complete!

Confirming ‘Route 1 — 〈 Proposal 2 〉’.

I immediately called up the Dawn window.

Dawn777

― 757 days 5 hours 1 minute 35 seconds until final ending ‘Chapter X. Death’

― Possibility of change: 6.4% (+1.0%p)

This decision increased my survival possibility by 1 percentage point.

When I last checked it was 5.3… it seems it had already increased by 0.1 percentage points before.

Anyway, this decision isn’t unfavorable to me either.

Let’s watch how he moves from the most visible spot.

“This should be enough.”

Just then, he got up from his spot and put his wand back at his waist.

“What did you do?”

“Just something similar to the divine power you used. It won’t be noticeable.”

He showed a refreshing smile.

This guy also performed mental manipulation.

Right, it won’t be noticeable. I smiled back at him who was smiling nonchalantly. Then he looked at the students and asked.

“Well, I’m fine ending it at this level… but it looks like you got hit a bit, are you planning to let this slide?”

“No.”

I muttered while looking at the faces of those sleeping peacefully.

“No way.”

How could I waste such an opportunity that rolled right to me? I should make good use of it.

* * *

“Ah….”

Pleasant bird songs mixed harmoniously with the distant sound of students’ conversations. Warm light settled abundantly on the skin, and a cool breeze gently brushed the entire body.

The student closed his eyes again after briefly opening them. It was such a perfect situation to fall deep into sleep that waking up felt regrettable.

‘Mmm… hm?’

Breeze? Brushing the entire body?

The student’s eyes snapped open.

“…!”

The place he was lying down was the clearing where they had called out Lucas.

The student jumped up and kicked his friends.

“Hey! Wake up!”

“Agh!”

“Ugh….”

“What happened earlier?!”

They had called Lucas out to mess with him, but here they were sleeping peacefully. No matter how much he tried to remember, his head felt foggy.

Fortunately, some fragmentary scenes did come to mind.

‘…I think I ate dirt.’

That can’t be right?

The student dry-heaved with a dying expression.

He thought he was just having crazy thoughts alone, but there really was a salty taste inside his lips, making him feel even more nauseous.

‘…That can’t be. Really.’

And… he remembered Lucas grabbing him by the collar.

His friends collapsing on the ground too.

When he tried to recall more than that, he felt like his brain circuits were snapping.

But either way, the conclusion was clear.

Putting together what he could vaguely remember, this was….

‘Did we get turned around on instead…?’

When he thought of Lucas, vague rejection and fear washed over him.

For some reason, it felt like he shouldn’t get involved with that guy anymore. No, he didn’t want to get involved. Even though he didn’t know why, he wanted to turn back time to before calling him out.

He even felt a desperate resolve that he had to shut Lucas’s mouth somehow.

At this point… it’s clear that we were immediately subdued by Lucas without even being able to put up a fight.

As if reaching the same conclusion, one friend who had been staring blankly into space muttered in a soulless voice.

“…Did we lose to someone who can’t even use magic?”

“…”

The atmosphere grew heavy.

“That can’t… that can’t be right. How could one ordinary person beat three mages? What happened? Hey, you’re smart. Try to remember what went down.”

“What do you mean smart?! Don’t you know I ranked 36th in class last year?”

“You’re still better than us. I can’t remember anything!”

As they were arguing, another student waved his hand.

“Shut up. This isn’t about grades. First, we called Lucas out. And you pushed him against the wall, um, tried to make him eat that rat. After that…”

“…”

“When we opened our eyes, we were all collapsed on the ground. Judging by the footprint on the back of his uniform, it looks like Lucas stepped on him…”

The students’ faces grew even darker.

“I’m sure he didn’t use magic. Right?”

“If he had, we’d obviously remember it. Especially if it was Lucas of all people.”

“Right? And… after that, I think we passed out. I have no memory.”

Silence followed.

One student sitting weakly on the floor spoke up.

“Was our magic that pathetic? Enough for an ordinary person to break through with his fists?”

No one could bring themselves to say no. Everyone here were students who had barely scraped by to get admitted, so if it came down to skill, there wasn’t much they could say.

Then one student shook his head with a determined expression.

“Get it together. We didn’t actually hit him. Did you forget? We just wanted to scare him a little, we didn’t call him out to beat him up.”

At those words, the students exchanged glances. Another student pressed him.

“Speak clearly.”

“What did we actually do? We wrote the note vaguely, we didn’t actually make him eat anything, and no one knows we called him except that first-year. He even turned around and left right away before we could do anything.”

The student looked around at his friends who were listening seriously to his words and continued.

“In other words, even if Lucas reports us, there’s no evidence we’d be punished. No need to be scared already.”

“…Good. That makes sense. Then what about us reporting Lucas first? If we do it right, we might be able to turn this around.”

“No, that’s too risky. There’s no other evidence besides the footprint on his back. And we stepped on his jacket too, so we can’t say we’re completely innocent. Keeping quiet is the best option.”

And even if he reports us, we have nothing to worry about.

Considering that he knocked us all out and left alone, he can’t be completely confident either.

It’s too dangerous a card for us to play first, but if he tries to mess with us, it’s a useful card to have.

Our reputation would be destroyed since we lost to someone who can’t even use magic properly. But is reputation important right now?

We just need to avoid expulsion.

Just expulsion.

The student smiled desperately.

* * *

‘Fuck… we’re fucked.’

It looks like we won’t even be able to avoid expulsion.

The student rolled his eyes in internal shock at the sight before him.

“What the hell?”

Leo, sitting on the opposite side of the classroom, muttered to himself in disbelief. Though he didn’t voice it out loud, the other students’ reactions were similar.

“Hey, you said you didn’t hit him…!”

The friend sitting next to him whispered urgently.

“We left him there but he got up on his own and came back fine.”

Lucas sneered as he passed by with his hands shoved in his pockets.

The student felt his vision turn white as he desperately avoided Lucas’s gaze.

Lucas had bruises on his face. Though they were covered with medical tape, that alone made it obvious that fists had been thrown.

Why did someone who was perfectly fine just yesterday come back looking like he’d been beaten up somewhere?

Who could have made him look like that was actually quite obvious.

He felt like he was breaking out in cold sweat. His mind went blank at the clear evidence of school violence that anyone could see.

‘Did, did, did we beat him up that obviously? Are we insane…’

“Hey.”

Lucas, who had thrown his bag on his seat and come back, grabbed his shoulder.

His vision shook wildly. The student slowly turned his head.

Lucas, who had been looking down at him, smiled mysteriously when their eyes met.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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