Chapter 95 : Chapter 95

Chapter 95

‘So this is what it actually looks like. Damn it.’

Derrick narrowed his eyes as he looked around the inside of the closet.

Originally, on the day of the entrance exam, Derrick was supposed to collect a note with the interview questions here.

But since things went wrong before he could even enter, this was his first time seeing the inside of the closet.

“It probably isn’t very pleasant for you to be in here for long, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

Eddie mentioned the incident, getting under Derrick’s skin once more, and then lowered his voice significantly to speak.

At the words ‘main point’, Derrick tensed up and looked at Eddie.

Eddie’s gaze towards him had already changed from a moment ago.

It was a gaze that recognized him not as an equal classmate, but as a being below that.

“You’re aware that the test for Professor Arno's class in the upcoming midterms is a duel, aren’t you?”

“I know.”

“In that duel, no matter who your opponent is, lose. And do it overwhelmingly.”

“What?”

“Of course, you have to act well. You can’t let your opponent know that you lost on purpose.”

“…Ha.”

Derrick let out a hollow laugh at the absurd request.

To come find him out of the blue and tell him to lose a duel overwhelmingly.

And against any opponent, no less?

It was a request whose purpose was completely unclear and difficult to accept.

Wasn’t his midterm grade on the line?

The duel exam was not something with multiple opportunities.

The score would be decided by a single duel with a randomly drawn opponent.

Therefore, Eddie’s request was the same as telling him to give up on one subject in the midterms.

Derrick glared at Eddie, his expression crumpling.

“Why the hell are you making such a demand? What do you gain by ruining my exam score?”

“You don’t need to know that. Just do as you’re told.”

“……What? You insolent bastard…!”

Following the absurd request with Eddie's presumptuous words, Derrick finally couldn't hold back his anger.

There’s a limit to being swayed by one’s weakness being held against them.

“Hey. You seem to think you have a hold on me because of what happened back then, but if you go around talking without proof that I attempted to cheat……”

Flutter-

However, Derrick could only act tough for a moment.

Eddie’s hand summoned a crumpled piece of paper from thin air and thrust it before his eyes.

“……!”

“Are you talking about this as proof?”

“……”

He had tried playing a strong hand just in case, but it was just as he’d feared.

The paper before his eyes was the very note that had been swapped with an embarrassing love letter back then.

Derrick looked at the interview questions listed on the note and felt his vision go dizzy.

‘Damn it…. This bastard really had it.’

He had poked at it, wondering if Eddie was just bluffing since he was making demands without showing the proof.

But far from bluffing, Eddie had a very firm leash on his neck.

Every time the note fluttered, Derrick’s heart seemed to sink.

Eddie smiled and continued.

“It seems you were checking just in case, but the proof is right here and safe.”

“…If I don’t do as you demand, are you going to blow the whistle and get my admission canceled?”

“Is that all it would be?”

“……!”

Eddie instantly wiped the smile from his face and took a step closer to Derrick.

“The fact that the elder magician Lyman Jenkins is behind this cheating.”

Step.

“And the fact that he used unjust influence to get his grandson, who would have otherwise failed to get in due to causing trouble, admitted—I will reveal it all.”

Step.

“And so, I will make it so that you and your grandfather can never set foot in the magical world again.”

The words, laying out a blatant threat, were sufficiently menacing.

So much so that Derrick, terrified, stepped back with every step Eddie took forward.

Derrick’s face instantly turned pale.

Eddie confirmed the look on his face and took a step back.

Then, with a gentle smile, he spoke again in a kind tone.

“So, compared to all of this, your midterm score is a trivial sacrifice, isn’t it?”

“You… you… you vicious bastard.”

Derrick bowed his head and trembled.

A wave of humiliation and defeat washed over him, making his whole body burn as if it would explode.

The worst of his worst-case scenarios had just been recited to him.

‘And now, that bastard even has the power to make it happen.’

If Eddie had made such a threat right after admission, Derrick would have scoffed.

At that time, Eddie was just a Kirhausen tail who was decent with magic.

There was no way the Kirhausens would antagonize the Jenkins family just to protect a tail.

Even if Eddie had proof, he could have been crushed by the power of the family.

But now, the situation was different.

Eddie’s current influence was greater than that of the entire Jenkins family.

Moreover, although it wasn’t certain yet, it was presumed that he was quite close to Dean Devens.

Unless it was at the level of the Kirhausen or Dickens families,

for the Jenkins, who were merely one of the prestigious families, he had become an opponent they couldn't handle.

So, if he set his mind to it, he could publicize this matter and completely destroy the entire Jenkins family.

“Keuk……”

No matter how he thought about it, there was no way out.

There was no other way but to accept Eddie’s demand.

But even so, there was something he had to confirm.

“If I lose the duel as you demand… will you get rid of that note?”

“Of course.”

“How can I believe that?”

Derrick raised his head to meet Eddie’s gaze and asked.

In his eyes, there was no longer just anger or frustration.

“It’s true that the note is my fatal weakness. But I have no intention of being swayed by your threats for the rest of my life.”

“And if you’re not swayed?”

“An all-out war will break out between the Jenkins family and you. We’ll have to take a huge loss, but it’s better than having the family dance on your palm forever.”

At Derrick’s firm words, Eddie paused for a moment.

In the eyes that stared at Derrick, there was not anger or bewilderment, but a subtle satisfaction.

‘Not bad.’

Even a cornered rat will bite a cat.

And Derrick had quickly realized he had become a rat. Before being cornered, he had drawn a line in the sand and bared his teeth at the cat.

Eddie was very satisfied with that judgment and nerve.

‘Yes. A Jenkins should have this much backbone.’

Eddie, with a faint smile, said to Derrick.

“You’re right, Young Master. There’s no guarantee that I won’t get rid of this note. Then let’s do this.”

“Do what?”

“This.”

Eddie made the note disappear and then took out a wand from his coat.

Derrick was startled but calmly watched Eddie’s actions.

Flick-

Eddie aimed his wand at Derrick.

“We will make a ‘Magician’s Vow’ right here.”

The Magician’s Vow.

A magic devised by the ancient magician ‘Allegor’, it is also called the ‘Allegor’s Vow’.

This magic is based on a contract ritual and is activated when two magicians aim the tips of their wands at each other and chant an oath, causing their mana to be absorbed by each other.

And the absorbed mana cannot be released from the body until the promise made to each other is kept.

The mana absorbed in this way becomes proof that there was a vow, but the true value of the vow lies in what comes after.

A party to the vow can at any time activate the ‘Reenactment of the Vow’ to recreate the moment of the vow with the other party.

No matter how far away the opponent is, no matter what defensive magic they deploy, it is useless.

The moment the ‘Reenactment of the Vow’ is activated, the opponent is forcibly summoned before the party, and the only way to stop it is to neutralize the mana circle.

They have no choice but to choose death as a magician.

So, if Eddie didn't keep his promise, Derrick would be able to publicly activate the Reenactment of the Vow and get his revenge on Eddie.

“I will vow to destroy this note, so you, Young Master, will vow to fulfill my request. Then it will no longer be a one-sided threat.”

“Because of the Reenactment of the Vow?”

“That’s right. If that happens, the fact that I threatened you and instigated an unjust act in an academy exam will be revealed, so I too will not escape unscathed.”

“Are you suggesting we both hold a double-edged sword?”

“Yes.”

“But the moment you reveal that you threatened me, the reason I was threatened will also be revealed.”

“That can’t be helped. You’re the one whose weakness was caught, aren’t you, Young Master?”

“Ha.”

Derrick was angered by Eddie’s words, which once again poked at a sore spot.

However, Eddie was right.

In any case, he was the one at a disadvantage right now.

The blade of the sword was inevitably closer to his own stomach.

There was no more room for thought.

What did it matter that it had gone from a one-sided threat to a ‘slightly disadvantageous deal’?

He didn’t know why Eddie was proposing such a deal.

But what was clear was that once this deal was over, the weakness Eddie had on him would disappear.

Derrick took a deep breath and then, as if having made up his mind, raised his wand.

Flick-

In the end, the two wands were aimed at each other.

Eddie nodded as if satisfied.

“A wise decision.”

“Shut up and start the incantation.”

“Very well.”

With Eddie’s relaxed reply, the two simultaneously drew up their mana.

Whoooosh-

As mana flickered around them, Eddie cleared his throat and began the incantation of the oath.

“Oh, great magician and ancient sage, Caster ‘Allegor’. I swear in this place, borrowing your name……”

With Eddie’s low incantation, the contract ritual was activated.

The two’s mana circles reacted more vigorously, and the hands holding the wands were fixed, unable to be withdrawn.

Derrick, feeling the surging mana, took up Eddie’s incantation.

“I, Derrick Jenkins, swear to be overwhelmingly defeated in this duel exam, no matter who my opponent is, as per Eddie Summerson’s request.”

“I, Eddie Summerson, swear to completely destroy the cheating note he intended to use in the entrance exam, should Derrick Jenkins fulfill his promise.”

The two, having made their respective vows.

All that remained was the conclusion of the oath, which had to be chanted simultaneously.

Eddie and Derrick looked at each other and said together.

“I solemnly swear the above before Caster Allegor, the great magician and guarantor of this vow.”

As the oath was completed, they began to exchange mana.

Whoooosh-

“Ugh…!”

Derrick let out a faint groan.

It was his first time both absorbing and having his mana absorbed.

It was an intense and strange feeling that was difficult to describe in words.

On the other hand, Eddie didn’t even blink an eye.

Seeing Eddie’s utterly calm appearance, a wave of anxiety momentarily washed over Derrick.

‘Could that bastard be pulling some trick right now? Like not giving up any of his mana…….’

But he soon realized that wasn’t the case.

He could feel that the mana absorbed into his body was so powerful that he couldn’t possibly handle it.

Fwoosh-

The absorption ended, and the vow was finally complete.

As the force holding his wand steady was released, Derrick staggered and leaned against the wall.

His heart was beating erratically because his mana circle was struggling to handle Eddie’s mana.

“Cough… cough……!”

His breathing became ragged, his body temperature rose, and his vision swam.

Eddie’s power, which he had only heard was great but had no real sense of.

Feeling it directly through absorption, he didn't even dare to think of competing.

‘At this rate, I’d lose the duel even if it wasn't on purpose. My circle just won't listen to me.’

Now that the vow was complete, the loss was far greater than he had thought.

He had to fulfill Eddie’s request, if only to get Eddie’s mana out of his body quickly.

‘You cunning bastard. What the hell are you?’

Derrick glared at Eddie as he caught his breath.

But Eddie paid him no mind and lightly patted Derrick’s shoulder.

“I’m counting on you, Young Master Derrick Jenkins.”

With those words, Eddie left the closet first.

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