Where... am I?

Cole was about to wake up and found himself inside a dark room with a headache.

Oh yeah... I'm in jail...

...

Dammit...

Cole just lied down while thinking about all that had happened. He couldn't get over the shock of having to spend time behind bars.

Is this reality? Am I actually going to prison...

His senses were slowly coming back, and he looked around the room. It was an empty cell without even a toilet or bed. He still had his own clothes and wasn't put in shackles.

Cole's mind was a mess but relatively calm even in this situation. He hoped the sentence could be reduced, as he didn't even know selling weed was illegal. Even the town's Duke had no idea and bought a lot. The judge must be compassionate in this situation. Even still, Cole wasn't happy about being behind bars.

Fuck this piece of shit country! Should I just escape? No...

The cell bars seemed weak and easily bendable, but Cole wasn't going to escape just yet. It was crucial to gather some information before attempting a reckless escape. He would surely get caught if another strong person like Xylliza was patrolling the area.

What about Rogg and Fellia? Are they here as well? Dammit!

Cole wanted to scream out but didn't have the strength. In fact, all of his muscles ached severely. He felt pain just from sitting down.

Those fuckers must have done something to my body!

The reason for his soreness was actually a magic device placed outside the cell. The device constantly casts weakening magic so that no one has the strength to escape. Usually, the effect almost immobilizes people, but it was only partially effective on Cole. Of course, he had no idea there was such a device and blamed his pain on physical bruises.

I guess I'll just have to wait...

After a few hours of waiting, Cole finally heard footsteps. This was his first time in jail, so he didn't know what to expect. It would be a lie to say he wasn't scared.

The owner of these footsteps was incredibly strong. Cole could feel its malicious aura from far away. It felt multiple times worse than the already strong Xylliza's. Cole got goosebumps as it got closer and closer. After what felt like an eternity, the footsteps stopped outside his cell.

"So you're the one who destroyed Medoea."

The person was now clearly visible. He was a young-looking man with black hair and long black horns, easily double the length of most other's. His red eyes looked at Cole like garbage. The hopes of getting a reduced sentence quickly disappeared, and it seemed like getting tortured would be far more likely.

Cole was really pissed off. All he had done was sell some weed, and now he was being treated like a murderer. He forgot his fears and gazed back at him.

"Are you really going to imprison me just for selling weed!? This country is fucked!"

"You dare!... What?"

The black horn was about to kick Cole to the ground but stopped. His previous arrogant expression turned into confusion, and his tone changed. He stared at Cole's left hand, specifically the magic ring.

"You! How do you have that ring?! Don't tell me! Is it you?"

"What? Am I who? Are you crazy!"

The black horn started casting magic on Cole's head. He didn't use any chants, but somehow mana kept flowing through anyway. The feeling on his head reminded Cole of Rogg's disguise magic. There was no mirror, so Cole couldn't see what was going on, but he could guess. Most likely, the disguise had been seen through and was getting removed. It had already served its purpose, so removing it made little difference to Cole.

The black horn finished undoing the disguise magic and started grinning. He looked as if he'd gone mad.

"I knew it! That ring, nobody could have it but you!"

Cole was confused, to say the least. He was just about to get tortured or beaten, but now they changed their minds because of a ring? He was tired of hearing nonsense and released his anger.

"You're fucked, you know that? Do you want your stupid ring back? Here! It's fucking useless anyway."

Cole took off the ring from his left hand and threw it at the black horn. This caused the hidden magic power to explode, filling the whole room. The black horn looked like he almost had a heart attack at the sudden surge of power.

Cole couldn't feel his own aura and was left baffled. To him, everything felt normal. However, anyone who got close would feel insane pressure from the sheer amount of magic power emitting from Cole. The black horn was forced to submit and fell on his knees.

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"AHH, Your Majesty! I apologize for my rudeness! Please spare me!"

"Huh?"

What the actual fuck?? Now he's begging?

"Why are you begging? What the fuck is happening?"

"Demon King! This continent is being threatened by humankind! The demons need your help!"

"Ah..."

Hold up... Asmodeus was it? Didn't he say I was summoned to become a demon king? Is that what this lunatic is talking about?

Cole remembered his encounter with the former Demon King's soul from a while back. He had completely forgotten its existence for a while.

He finally realized what was going on. He had been too angry to think rationally, but now it made sense. The black horn was most likely Asmodeus' close subordinate, who had seen the magic ring before. He must have recognized the ring and deduced Cole's identity. However, knowing this didn't make Cole much happier. The days of chilling and smoking weed would still be over unless he escaped.

"Sigh... Was I really summoned to become a demon king? It's kind of hard to believe..."

Cole realized getting rid of the magic ring probably wasn't a good idea and picked it up. The black horn seemed to calm down once the ring was in use.

"Yes, allow me to introduce myself! I am the former Demon King's assistant, Abigor. I am the one who summoned you to inherit the throne."

Abigor? Didn't Asmodeus tell me to meet someone with his name in Eldham? He wanted me to look for this asshole? This fucker would have beat me up if not for my identity! Well, lucky me I guess.

"Umm... I'm Cole. So, can you like let me out of this cell or something?"

"May I ask, why didn't you escape by yourself? It should have been a trivial task for someone like Your Majesty!"

Cole was getting annoyed by the serious conversation. He just wanted to be released quickly. His dream of running a drug store was ruined, but living in the woods with unlimited weed wasn't too bad either.

"You can just call me Cole. I'm not a demon king yet anyways. There's no way I could have escaped from here with bare hands."

"What? Bare hands? Your existence itself is a weapon. Could it be that you haven't learned magic yet?"

"Well... I can use fire magic. Anyway, as you can see, I'm not fit for the throne. Can you let me go, please? I promise I'll disband the Drug Store."

Abigor looked annoyed. He was lost in thought for a moment before coming up with an idea.

"I can't just let you go... That's it! I know of a perfect way of training you! Your Majesty will enrol in Eldham's Magic Academy as a special student!"

Aw shit... I knew getting out of jail wouldn't be that easy. This guy wants me to go back to fucking school?

"Why school? Am I not too old to go back to learning? Can't you just let me go?"

"The Magic Academy isn't just any school, it's the pride of Eldham! Don't worry, students of all ages are welcome. I'm sure you'll easily become a model student!"

Cole considered whether it would be better to stay in jail or join the academy. School had been his least favourite place back on earth, and he vowed to never go back no matter what. However, now the two choices were prison or school. After giving it some thought, Cole made his decision.

"Sigh... Alright, I'll join your magic school or whatever on a few conditions. Is that okay?"

"Of course! I will fulfil any requests you have!"

Good! Now, let's hope he accepts them!

"First of all, my two friends, Rogg, and Fellia will get freed from prison along with me."

"Yes! I will let them go at once!"

"Second of all, I want you to hide my identity until I graduate."

"That... It will be difficult, but I shall make sure it stays undercover!"

"And lastly, I will be allowed to smoke as much weed as I want, even during class!"

"...Excuse me?"

Abigor looked puzzled. It seemed like he didn't know what weed is.

"If I have to go back to school, at the very least, I will require some weed. Otherwise, my mental health will be at risk."

"I permit you to do whatever you have to, but I will have to apologize. I don't know what this 'weed' is or where to find it."

"Oh, that's no problem. I already have all of the weed I need. Just take me to the Drug Store, and I'll bring them along!"

"Yes! We'll head there immediately! You might make it just in time before the next semester starts!"

Cole and Abigor departed towards Medoea to retrieve the weed and equipment. Cole's negotiations were successful, but he still wasn't happy. Starting school without any friends would surely become a shitty experience.

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Eldham's Magic Academy. Home to multiple great magicians and as large as a small town. It's easily Eldham's biggest attraction, surpassing even the Demon King's castle. If all the graduates gathered in one place, they could easily wipe out a hundred thousand soldiers within hours. Even the human empire fears the powerful Magic Academy.

Every aspiring magician dreams of someday enrolling in the Magic Academy. However, it's just a dream for most people, as the academy only accepts highly talented individuals. If you aren't born gifted, the only other way in is to pay a huge sum. For this reason, most of its students are nobles or lucky red horns.

Cole was now standing at the gates of the most coveted schools of all time with a saddened expression on his face. Passersby would think he's another poor person hoping to be let in, but in reality, Cole wanted to get out. He already felt like a college student who desperately wanted to skip school and go back to sleep.

Here we fucking are... I never thought the day would come. I'm actually back in school.

Cole and Abigor had picked up all of the weed plants and equipment from Medoea. Having to wait in a carriage was painful, but the return trip had gone by swiftly after hitting the bong a few times, nine to be exact. Cole had to claim two dorm rooms for himself, as the cannabis plants didn't fit in just one. He didn't even have to pay a single penny for his two new apartments.

Abigor had forced him to put on new clothes before entering school grounds. It was a fancy-looking black uniform with gold-coloured buttons. Both sleeves had a patch with some unfamiliar symbols, also gold-coloured. It was a bit too excessive for Cole's taste, but it was better than the brown rag he had been using before.

Everyone else was also wearing similar uniforms. The only difference between genders was that the girls wore a black skirt instead of jeans.

It's now minutes before the opening, and Cole was already lost. He had no idea where his first class would be and already prepared an excuse for being late. Hopefully, his trusted strategy of following a mass of people would lead him to the correct place.

"Umm... By the way, what are you guys doing here?"

A familiar pair was following Cole. He thought he would never see them again, but here they were. It was Rogg and Fellia.

"What do you mean? We're here to join the Magic Academy with you of course!"

"Not only did you get us out of jail, but got us a free pass to the Magic Academy as well. As expected of Cole!"

They had both been enrolled into the Magic Academy along with Cole. Even their apartments were in the same dorm. Cole had been busy and didn't notice them moving in. Nonetheless, they seemed excited.

Cole had never been so happy to see his friends. They had only met a few weeks ago but already felt like life-long buddies. He started to become emotional and couldn't help but hug the two.

"You guys!"

Looks like this might not become so boring after all!

And so, their first day of school began.