All the knowledge of the next book city block got claimed after 10 days. I started to become bolder and just shopped with my tails out. The Misha were serious, they did sell me things but they would also attempt to capture me. My assassin training was coming in convenient here. I was completely exploiting their weaknesses. They couldn't do anything once I stole their hats and catalysts. I was sitting in a tree on the campus observing more duels. Suddenly the familiar Misha approached the tree.
“Hey, Agnis was your name, right? How about this!” She used a [Fireball] that looked quite good. I used [Fireball] and showed her that she still had long ways to go. I forgot that I was in a tree and set the tree on fire.
Oh, shit! I fell out of the tree and put the fire out. I felt someone grab my wrist.
“There, I caught you, now can you show me your fire magic?” Uhm, won't your peers and the lecturers get angry at you? The headmaster will chase me if I make too much ruckus and she knows I’m here. I have her chasing an illusion not too far from here.
“Well, the lecturers didn't seem to have an idea how I can bring my fire to new heights. I personally think all this Misha purist ideology is a bit stupid, you did go too far though.” I see, I can teach you if you keep it secret from the headmaster.
“Hey, uhm we were thinking, can you teach us too, your [Fireballs] were all we saw but they were stronger than most of the skills the third years have.” A group of Misha approached me. Third years?
“Yeah, those that have been here for three human years.” Three years of these boring lectures?! No wonder none of you have a sense of humor!
“We actually get lectures for 7.” And you can't even catch a 9t?
“9t?” Nine tailed spirit fox is a mouthful, I just say 9t.
“Oh, I see, so how old are you actually? You looked very young when you were disguised as a Misha.” 18 human years. Everyone was shocked.
“So young…”
“We are all at least 1 year old so…” At least 1000 human years, yeah, I’ve heard, I had no idea…
“Any Misha gets an opportunity to study here after they reach 1 year old.” Sounds boring but anyways, I’m just a fox, show off your fire skills.
They showed them off and it seemed good enough to toast any human and most other races but personally, I think those standards are low. Hmm, red-haired ehhm whatsherface, hey what was your name again?
“Shelly Manarune.” How strong is the headmaster?
“Uhh, I don't know I heard she can defend this city by herself.” Perfect! Remember when you hit me with [Taunt] and I told you to stop it?
“Ehh, that was a while ago but yes.” Want to see why?
“Sure!” Right, so here is my strongest fire attack. It’s called [Meteor].
I used [Meteor] and I waited. I had of course improved this skill too. All the Misha seemed to become pale at the mention of [Meteor].
“W..wait! [Meteor]? Why do you know that? You will destroy the city!”
Oh, look here it comes! This is the first time I see it in its improved version.
A loud siren sounded and swarms of Misha flew up to stop the [Meteor]. I observed while Nilah replenished my mana. They managed to slow down the descent of [Meteor] and were starting to dispel it or blast it with magic to slowly cancel it. We observed how the sky was lit up by the [Meteor] and how the Misha were working hard to fight against it. They finally succeeded after 11 minutes.
And that is why [Taunt] is a very risky skill to use. The Misha seemed terrified and relieved that the danger is over. Shelly was no different. I decided that was enough for today and went to read in the library.
This didn't last long because the headmaster was livid and for the first time, she seemed out to kill me. I stole her hat and ran away.
I hid the hat in the drawer of her desk and temporarily cancelled the magic on it that allows her to find it. I went home to be safe from all the chasing and magic flying around. They knew by now that I lived in Azu’s home but they couldn't get in so I was safe. Nilah had absorbed yet again an insane amount of mana and she looked like a normal-sized fox. This might become a problem if she keeps growing. How big would she be in her true form? I might have to try and unleash her upon the city to find out when I feel like it.
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Several weeks went by and a large group of Misha returned. They seemed to be respected by the ones I was familiar with here in the academy. The headmaster gave up on chasing me away so I was free to move around. I would get chased off if I caused trouble though. One was harassing my friend Shelly. She forced her into a duel and was mocking her for her poor use of magic. Shelly's skills were more refined than the bully but the bully just had more firepower. She was about to completely blast Shelly when I stole her hat and catalyst.
What is thine, is now mine, Confiscate!
“Huh, who the fuck are you, and what… are you?” Agnis Hourai, nice to meet you bully, there is no need to turn Shelly into a pile of ash, your point is clear, however, not because you are older gives you the right to bully her for being superior.
“Phuh! What does a beast kin know about magic!” Well, I can show you but then the headmaster will get mad.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Hah, I can’t imagine that mother would allow you to be here!” Ahh, you're her daughter, that explains a lot actually, now you have 3 options, you walk away, I humiliate you here, or Shelly will humiliate you later.
“Hah, as if any of you could humiliate me, you’re just a beast kin that are no brains all brawl and this failure is a stain on her mother's legacy!”
Right, so you went for option D, all of the above. Here have your toys back, defend yourself. I returned her hat and catalyst and even gave her time to prepare. She started to cast purple lightning which I redirected and shot into the sky.
I would advise you to dodge this. I stretched my hand out and used [Fireball]. An enormous blazing fireball shot out of my hand. She put up several barriers but they all shattered and she got blown away.
You will be able to do this soon Shelly, keep up the work.
“Ugh, wait! I’m not done yet!” You look quite toasty to me, hey if you are her friends stop her, They all pointed their catalysts at me.
Hey, Shelly, isn't your race supposed to be super intelligent? Didn't they see that I turned their friend into a toast with just a [Fireball]?
“I think they just want to protect their friend but you have a point…” I cancelled and dispelled the attacks they sent at me and I stole their hats and catalysts.
Look it’s admirable that you want to defend your friend but don't forget to use your head too. I twirled a hat around my finger.
“Give our hats and catalysts back! We get the message!” I returned their stuff and they removed themselves from the scene.
Hey, Shelly, let me teach you a trick. If you put these 3 magic runes after the execution sequence and once more after the attribute sequence you will get a serious boost in firepower. I drew the runes on some paper.
“Really?!” Yes, now go practice this and kick that bully’s ass when she tries this again. This humiliation is only temporary but it will be permanent when you mop the floor with her.
“Your race really is devious, isn't it? I need to read up more on you guys.” Send me a copy once you find a book with any of that.
Another group of Misha returned and they seemed to actively hunt me down. They seemed very experienced. They weren't as stationary as the Misha I met when I was still disguised but they weren't as mobile as the lecturers. It wasn't any fun to beat them up after I stole their catalysts and hats, so I only stole their hats. Most seemed unfamiliar with how to act when that happened but some kept pushing. I would have to recommend adding a course to teach what to do in this situation to the headmaster. If she would listen to me that’s a different story.
I had started research into magic that would make it harder for me to steal their hats. The Misha had given me a lot, mostly involuntary so this was the least I could do. I wrote a paper like how the Misha did and published it. It took me 3 days to finally get the headmaster to read it. I had to annoy her a bit first though.
“Are you insane? If we widespread this, we might be able to finally catch you.” It might be involuntary but you guys have given me a lot I’m just giving back here, and I’m also looking into how to make your shitty barriers better. I also got an idea of a magic skill that could temporarily replace your catalysts but that one is still in the working. The research on how to shift the elemental composition of the ambient mana to suit your magic affinities is almost complete.
“You… you are doing this to annoy me even more, are you? Making it harder for me to kick you out once I finally catch you!” Hey come on you know I’m harmless, you will have a lot of experience now in case someone really dangerous sneaks into your city. I dodged a [Flare].
“You are dangerous! You almost destroyed the city with a [Meteor]!” I stole her hat again. She tried to counter it but she failed.
“Ugh, I will look into this, Don't come complaining when I get my hands on you!” I threw the hat at her and ran away.
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The day came, the headmasters daughter was bullying Shelly again but something seemed different about Shelly. Her demeanour had changed and she seemed more fiery.
“I will show you that I’m not a disgrace to my mother, I will make you eat those words,” Shelly somehow seems way more mature than before. I sat in a tree and ate some popcorn. Nilah was being pet by the other Misha and was yet again stealing mana.
Bully attacked first but Shelly dodged. Whoa, wait she threw her catalyst! She winked at me and ran at the bully. The bully didn't expect this and took the catalyst to her face. But how does she know that? Was she in the same lecture hall? I never noticed. Shelly could retrieve her catalyst before the bully blew her way with a [Wind Blast]. Shelly had left a [Fire Trap] on the floor the moment she retrieved her catalyst and it blew up on the bully. She partly defended against it and Shelly used [Fireball]. It wasn't as good as mine but it was beautiful. It destroyed all the defences of the bully and toasted her.
“There is more of this if you are insistent on pestering me, you might be 30 human years older than me physically but mentally you're still a child." Shelly left after burning the bully physically and mentally.
A green haired Misha teleported next to me.
“Agnis, we need to talk.” Hey, it wasn't me! I didn't toast your daughter!
“I know, come to my office, please.” I followed the headmaster to her office. “We have reviewed your paper and it’s… excellent. We are working on integrating this into our curriculum. I have 2 questions for you. Firstly, what is it that you want and secondly, how is Ayaru?” While I can't answer the last question because frankly, I have no idea where she is but when I freed her from the seal she was mentally hurt and sad. What I want is to understand magic better and humans are extremely useless when it comes to advanced magic so here I am.
“I see, of course, she is… I have more questions about her but I will ask them another time. Now about what you want… We have a policy that you are probably well aware of. Unfortunately, I can’t enforce it because if I could, you wouldn't be here… there are many Misha stronger than me that are not present in the city currently. I want to remind you that things will change when they return. You have proven your worth and I’m less motivated to kick you out but when it comes to it, I will kick you out. However, there is a small village not too far from here to the southeast. If you're interested in partnering up for a research project with me or any other Misha… we’re happy to do so. Your race is rare but as you've shown, make for excellent research partners. So, we will do our best to not kill you but accidents can happen.” I understand, I appreciate it. Also, your daughter might have some mental issues after Shelly just schooled her.
“I am not sure if I should chase you out or thank you but this is also some form of education, she is used to pushing others around, getting slapped around by another race and a younger Misha might be a wake-up call for her.” You seem to be a fan of the spartan approach.
“Don't make me want to kill you again!” I escaped the office as I got targeted by a [Flare].
This incident seemed to make Shelly quite popular under the Misha. Her fire magic proficiency grew swiftly and it didn't take long for the lecturers to whisper that she might surpass her mother.