The God of Magic: Archmage Academy (OP, LitRPG)

Sen hadn’t expected the faculty spell-crafting room to impress him as much as it did. It was on the third floor of the academy and required a special key to access. The key in his possession was a translucent, ghost-like material that only manifested physically for the two-hour period he had access to the room each week. It was Calabari’s way of ensuring he didn’t overstay his welcome. If the key turned translucent while he was still in the room, it would never work again. He’d leave ten or twenty seconds ahead of time to make sure that wasn’t a problem.

That, or he’d bend the key to his will. He’d see.

Truthfully, Sen did actually need time to craft more advanced spells; that hadn’t been a lie he’d just told the professor. Sen knew plenty of high-level magic, but he often preferred to use more common ones with his powerful maximizers. It allowed him to experiment more often, especially because in his time, the number of advanced spells was more limited. Now that he had access to more threads of magic, he wanted to explore how far he could push himself in the development of a new spell.

Initially, he’d thought about working on an advanced version of butterfly, but he quickly pushed that from his mind. He needed something new, something that could stand as a shining example of power. He needed a spell so potent that simply uttering its name would send his opponents scattering for the hills and make them beg for mercy. The threat of power was often more effective than using it. In fact, the rumors that had spread about him during his time often made it so he didn’t need to lift a finger to solve most of his issues. He simply needed to show his face, and the problems solved themselves. No one wanted to risk angering someone others called the God of Magic.

[How about something with fire? Everybody likes fire. Except for the people getting burned by it.]

Fire. Sen had seen how potent the fireball spell was under Maxima. A new high-level fire spell could be useful. But if he was going to do this, he was going to go all the way. “The wards in the room, are they sufficient for my full power?” he asked.

[Not the ones in place before, but Mori’s adjustments should hold. Worst-case scenario, Mori’s wards will consume themselves while preventing you from destroying the school, and you’ll need to have him reapply them next week.]

Sen nodded. Good enough. As long as he didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone. He withdrew three high-grade fire magic essence spheres and placed them in a triangle around himself. He focused on his mana, and the orbs thrummed as they resonated with his body. They slowly lifted into the air and rotated around him. Rather than absorbing them inside himself, he poured mana outward. Each of the three spheres erupted into flames around him.

His eyes opened, and an aura of flame came to life inside his pupils. He inhaled, all of his mana becoming the essence of fire itself. Fire. Ever-consuming, all-destroying, the world’s most natural of magic. He imagined a burning landscape in the distance. A sea of fire. He knelt and his hand hit the floor. The three spheres dissolved, melting into the ground and rapidly spreading all around him in every direction.

Mana rushed from his body like wind and spread the flames forward. When he spoke, the words echoed as if they came from the flames themselves.

“Tri-Infernal Hellscape!”

The world was awash in flames. The power of this spell was obvious as molten cracks spread along the ground around him and a searing heat filled the room. This was the type of spell that would leave an impression on his enemies.

And all of this was without a maximizer.

Mori’s wards dissolved in an instant, and the spell dissipated before it could expand and swallow the academy.

[Congratulations. This spell will certainly kill everyone from the rival academy, everyone from your academy, and every innocent bystander within a four or five-mile radius.]

Sen took a breath and closed his eyes. The new spell settled towards the top of the threads of magic. He’d made good progress today. Whether he would need it for the academy war or not, it was in his arsenal forever now, and he couldn’t wait to find an opponent worth using it on.

They waited in the academy's courtyard for the official Academy War team to be announced. All potential competitors had been approached and had either accepted or rejected the offer. Though Sen couldn’t imagine under what circumstances someone would reject a chance like this. It was probably mostly intended to give the students a chance to negotiate, something he’d taken full advantage of.

Dean Withershade took a back seat at this ceremony. Professor Calabari was in charge of the Academy War team, so he would make the announcements today. Sen had a sneaking suspicion the list would be eerily similar to the top-ranking list. But there was always the chance Calabari surprised him.

The professor cleared his throat as he looked out at the student body. “The Academy War is a tradition upheld every year to honor the students and faculty that came before, the ones who paved the way and allowed us to create a safe haven for students from all over to come and learn about the beauty of magic. This year, Brightsail intends to stand and declare to the world that we are as mighty as ever. And so, I’m proud to announce the students who will carry our glorious name and make that declaration in just two short weeks.”

Sen already knew how this would go. When his name was called, he would go on stage and stand next to the others. Now all that was left was to see who his teammates would be.

“First up,” Calabari said. “Susanna Tower, fourth-year.” A woman with sky-blue eyes and long blonde hair that hung down to her waist stood. She wore her academy uniform, though she’d opted for a gold tie. She was popular based on the audience’s applause and shouting. Susanna didn’t move from where she stood; instead, a golden light grew from her body. She was using some kind of magic. From the aisle, a large golden hand grew from the ground. It leaned over and held its palm out for Susanna, who stepped gracefully onto it. The hand then transferred her from among the seats to the stage. She took her spot next to Professor Calabari and stood with her head held high.

“She favors creation magic. She’ll be a good teammate for you,” Milim whispered, nudging him. He hadn’t been able to keep the secret from his friends. Of course, when he said he had something to tell them, Orttha had kicked all the other students out and locked the library again, thinking it was about cults. When he realized it was about the Academy War coming up, he realized he’d jumped the spell. Sen waited until he’d let the other students back in to ask him a simple question about cults.

Orttha hadn’t thought it was as funny as Sen did.

“Our next competitor,” Calabari announced. “Girch Hammerrock, fourth-year!” A group of men grunted their support. Girch was a tall, heavyset man with arms that looked like they could crush heads. It was clear he hadn’t skipped out on the strength stat. If a dreadbeast saw Girch alone in the woods as a boy, it might’ve adopted him. Girch stood from his place in the third row. He crossed his arms and glared at the people in front of him. It didn’t take them long to get the memo. The students sitting in his way quickly lifted their chairs out of the way to form a path. When they were finished, he made his way to the stage and stood next to Susanna. He took up two or three times the space she did. She smiled at him. It seemed they were friends.

Professor Calabari seemed pleased with the reception so far. Sen wondered if his next pick would inspire the audience just as much. “Third, we have Snake!” Professor Calabari shouted.

Apparently not.

There were a handful of claps, but nothing like the previous two competitors. Even Susanna and Girch seemed less than amused as Snake made his way to the aisle. So he wasn’t popular even among his peers. Snake’s smug look said it all. He didn’t care if people were happy he’d been chosen or not. He muttered something, and a swarm of spectral green serpents appeared around his feet, slithering forward as he stepped. They left a purple, acid-like substance behind that melted the carpet in their wake. When he reached the stage to join the others, the snakes faded away.

Milim shrugged. It seemed she didn’t know much about either the boys joining him on the team.

Oliver perked up. “I can help with this one! His powers aren’t all that well known. He takes a lot of quests, but he prefers ones where killing is on the table. If a quest says dead or alive? Well, he doesn’t read past the first word. You should be careful around him. He has a short temper,” he warned.

Sen was surprised how much Oliver knew about the quest Snake took, but it was good information.

“Our fourth competitor, a first-year student who made their way onto the student ranking list!” Calabari called out.

Sen smiled at Milim. “Of course we’ll be careful, won’t we, Milim?”

“Huh?” She turned to him in confusion.

“…Milim Alma!” Calabari called out.

Her eyes widened further. “Huh?!”

Samara and Oliver both shot to their feet. “What the heck, girl, why didn’t you say anything?” Samara demanded.

Sen smiled. His third condition had been his favorite. He’d hoped Mori might get chosen for the competition on his own, but that seemed less and less likely. Still, the chances hadn’t been awful, so rather than make Mori his request, Sen had attempted to secure a third teammate he could trust. He’d chosen Milim. He hadn’t wanted to draw too much attention to Ilm, since few people at the school gave her a hard time compared to Mori. But Milim was fairly well liked nowadays, especially since hitting the high-ranking list. He had a good enough relationship with her, and this way he wouldn’t be on a team of all strangers.

Milim shuffled up to the stage, carefully avoiding the trail Snake had left. He wasn’t actually sure if she would’ve agreed if Calabari had asked ahead of time, so he’d asked the professor not to. If she wanted to refuse, she still could, but this was an opportunity for her, and luckily, she’d decided to take it.

After Milim, Calabari called out a third-year student. Joseia Gremlin. A slender, brown boy with curly hair and freckles. Milim wasn’t here to give him the rundown on this kid, but that wasn’t a big deal. He’d ask later. Joseia stood, grinned, and then disappeared in a flash. When he reappeared, he was on the stage. Sen could track the movements, but a lot of the audience members acted as if Joseia had simply teleported onto the stage. His speed was incredible. He’d likely spent a lot of points leveling that stat.

Finally, it was his turn. The professor turned to the audience. “Yet another first-year who recently got attention during the town festival. A member of the high-ranking list and a promising young student. Sen Locke!”

Sen’s reception was only slightly better than Snake’s. Luckily, Snake noticed it too, and he wasn’t happy about it. The truth was, Sen wasn’t especially well-known, and he hadn’t made too much of an effort to make friends. Milim and Samara had fallen in with him because of the festival, but other than that he did his own thing. The Academy War was his chance to show people what he could do, and he intended to do just that.

Aside from Milim, the other competitors had all shown a little of what they could do. Sen figured he should as well. He wrapped Encapsulation around himself and channeled his mana for a massive spell.

Float.

He jumped off his seat and shot high into the air above the crowd toward the stage. His classmates looked on in awe.

“Thunder-strike Harmless-Maxim.” The harmless modifier would keep anyone from getting hurt; the spell itself would give him the spectacle he desired.

Invisibility.

He disappeared into thin air and allowed Float to dissipate as he flew above the stage. Lightning struck, hitting the stage next to Joseia. To the boy’s credit, he only flinched for a second. Sen landed a moment later, and his invisibility faded away. To everyone present, it would look as if he’d jumped into the lightning itself and landed where it struck.

The audience stared at him, dumbfounded. Mori stood up and clapped his hands quickly. The crowd around slowly joined him. After only a few seconds, his applause was on par with Susanna’s. Next to him, Joseia offered him a congratulatory nod. Sen returned it and turned his attention to Calabari.

How was that, Tutor?

[Show off.]

With that, all six competitors were on stage, and his team was set. These would be the people he fought alongside in the Academy War. Now, he just needed to hope Calabari had chosen their leader wisely.

“Please welcome your six future champions of the Academy War!” Calabari shouted, gesturing to them.

[Quick, pretend it’s all for you! Enjoy it! Memorize the feeling! You’ll never be this popular again.]

Tutor, run an analysis for me. Figure out how to remove an annoying interface from my brain.

[That’s easy, but you won’t like it. Lobotomy. Lobotomy’s all the way down.]

“And now, my last announcement,” Calabari said. “The leader of the Academy War team is a renowned position, and of course I took this decision seriously, as it will have a significant effect on our chances of success.”

Sen personally thought Susanna was the most likely candidate. She was a popular fourth-year, ranked number one on the ranking list, and according to a lot of people, extremely strong. If someone like that were in charge, he’d feel better about things. Of course, he’d feel best in charge himself, but prodigy or not, they weren’t putting a first-year in charge of something like this.

Calabari waited as long as he could for dramatic effect. “The leader of this year’s academy war will be…Snake!” he shouted.

The applause died down in an instant. Susanna and Girch looked at one another in horror. Joseia sighed. Milim shot a nervous look toward Sen.

Sen looked up and noticed Calabari’s eyes locked on him. Was this some kind of stupid revenge? Payback for all the conditions he’d made?

Sen took a breath. “Well, things just got interesting.”