The Academy's Doomed Side Character

Chapter 52: Basic Magic Class [3]

Chapter 52: Basic Magic Class [3]With a smile far too sweet to be genuine, she tilted her head, looking straight at me like I was the star of the show.

"Why don’t you try, Cadet Rin Evans?" she asked, her voice sweet enough to raise every red flag in existence.

That kind of tone didn’t offer a choice—it came wrapped in ribbons, with a big neon sign that said: TRAP.

I froze.

Me? She wanted me to answer?

For a moment, I genuinely considered playing deaf. Maybe fake a cough.

Hell, if I could spontaneously combust, that would’ve been ideal.

But that smile on her face... it wasn’t a smile.

It was a warning.

One of those "If you dodge this, I’ll make you regret being born" kind of smiles. A glint flickered in her eyes, too—dangerous, sharp, and curious.

She was testing me.

I had no choice. Not answering wasn’t just risky—it was practically suicidal.

I let out a shallow breath, stood up slowly, and felt dozens of eyes shift toward me. Some were amused, some bored, and a few were just relieved they weren’t in my position.

"Well..." I started, stalling, giving my brain a second to find the right combination of words. "Magic... is the term used to define the power that manifested after the dimensional collision. But more accurately, it’s the structured control and manifestation of that energy—shaped through conscious will, formulas, and... intent."

Alice tilted her head slightly, her smile unchanged. "Go on."

Great. Of course she wasn’t going to let me stop there. This was practically an oral exam now.

"Like Ryen mentioned," I continued, "magic used to go by many names—chi, chakra, mana—but there were others. Some called it spiritual energy. Some believed it was divine punishment. Others even thought it was alien in origin. But back then, no one really understood it."

I looked around the room. Everyone was quiet.

"But over time, as re