See, the number of modifications I put on my spell meant that even if this guy had a pretty good artifact, he would still, most likely, die. And that’s what he does. The modified version of [Advanced Light Lance] takes his head off his shoulders relatively cleanly. Or rather, as cleanly as a decapitation can be.

“How dare you!” Adriana shouts and raises a hand.

Yeah, sure.

[Light]

I destroy her incantation before she can finish it. The stands are going crazy, all probably very angry with me. I mean, I get it. I just killed a person, and I’m not sure anyone had a problem with him being a murderer. Or maybe they didn’t know. Hard to say. But one thing is for sure, no one likes a Human coming to an Elven academy and killing people during his first duels.

Adriana tries a couple of times more before a deep voice comes from the stands.

“Adriana. Stop.”

[Archmage] Marcus doesn’t do more than stand up, but the pressure of his aura is quite a thing. I mean, now that I activated [Aura Lucis], it doesn’t feel like that much, but still. He’s an [Archmage], I’m just a [Luxmancer].

I can’t help but zone out for a second. This is one of those big ‘what ifs’ everyone wonders about. What if you kill a person? What happens then? How do you feel? Personally, it feels like I just took a very difficult exam and aced it. I don’t feel happy because I’m too tired from the effort – but I also don’t feel any guilt. Or do I? I’m sure a psychiatrist could shed more [Light] on this.

“Human, you killed your opponent after the time ran out. The Nine Towers Academy does not condone murder.”

“He admitted to being a murderer for his personal gain.”

“And does that you mean you can kill him?”

“Yeah? I mean, I could have asked him if he would kill again, but he could have given me a muddled response. It’s hard to anticipate your own future actions, [Archmage] Marcus.”

The draconic humanoid stares at me long enough that I can survey the expressions of the others. Stan is pretty non-plussed – not surprising, considering he was a murder machine until not too long ago; also, he just killed many people at court, didn’t he?

Princess Laura looks at me with interest but also with a slight frown. Whatever the reason, I have no idea what she’s thinking. She could be disappointed or proud for all I know. Maybe both?

Lucinda is the only one with a distinct reaction of horror on her face. It almost makes me feel better that she’s reacting normally – or how I would expect Humans on Earth to react. Killing is up there with the worst crimes Humans have ever committed. Only rape, torture, and a few others can claim to be more infamous.

“Well, the [Guards] will escort you to my—”

“Oh, [Archmage], I really don’t think so. You organized these duels, and either you or another [Archmage]—

Lord Juler. Did you finish the translations of the books we needed?

Yes.

“You or someone else armed that idiot. I could interrogate your subordinates to confirm it. I mean, not that they would have direct orders from you or whoever ordered this, so I’m not going anywhere. Much less to your tower. But don’t worry, I’ll still teach you the things you asked me to.”

I’m tempted to give [Archmage] Marcus my signature wink, but he doesn’t deserve it. Also, I can see multiple people turning to [Archmage] Marcus with wide eyes. Being taught by a stupid Human must be a bit humiliating, right?

“So, unless we want to dig deep and find out who had armed that person, I guess this is it for today? I gather you have all seen I’m more than capable of whooping asses. Next time, bring me to a real arena with real opponents.”

Being shirtless and with a massive golden belt around my waist feels slightly off now, considering I just killed someone. Meh, very off. It’s uncomfortable, honestly. Maybe I am unsettled. Oof, that’s good. For a second there, I feared I was a psychopath or something.

“Oh, and Stanimal!” I say to the stand where [Archmage] Marcus is silently fuming, “get Domitilla and Lucillus and let’s go to an inn somewhere. I’m not staying with your friend.”

“That worm killed an Elf!”

Huh?

I turn to Atticus, Lucinda’s bf.

In moments like these, I wish I was black. Why? Just to be able to use the n-word with this person. Like ‘what’s your problem, n-word?’ Alas, being Italian-American, I could say ‘compadre’ at best, which is very lame. Also, Italians do not use that word.

Do I feel like murdering Atticus? Mh, not really. Thank God. Another sign I’m not going full-murderhobo like a goddamn idiot.

“Is no one going to do anything?” Atticus says in disbelief, fishing out a wand from his sleeve.

“Oh, boy,” I say, preparing the spell matrix for a shield. “If you use that, Atticus-boy, we will have a problem.”

Hell, why can’t people let me metabolize the fact that I just killed a man? Like, what the hell.

“Lucinda, rein your boyfriend in. He can wait for the next battery of duels if he wants me to whoop his ass so badly.”

Having said my piece, I turn around. I’m still on high alert, expecting a sneak attack. Thankfully, my overwhelming display seems to be a good enough deterrent for these idiots.

Against my better judgment, I start feeling contempt. I don’t know why, and I don’t know for whom. It’s just pure hatred for this sort of treatment. In a deep corner of my mind, there’s something screaming at these people, twisting my guts with an invisible barbed hand. What that thing might be, I’m not allowed to know. But it’s stronger than my magic and stronger than them.

Maybe it’s my longing for justice; maybe it’s just the fact that no one seemed to understand what I was thinking. Maybe I wish people could hear what I thought or just glimpse at some of it. Or maybe, I’m just going crazy.

And so, I get away from the arena, still in my ridiculous costume. Now, it feels somewhat decadent and dangerous. I feel like – and God forgive me for this massive idiocy I’m about to say – a jester. I’m not going to say the other j-word. But it feels like I can whisper the truth and hold hostage the great powers of this place with my words. But I’m still not powerful enough to take on any of them.