I Have been Reincarnated As a Lazy, Arrogant Noble, but When I Destroyed The Scenario Through Effort, I Became The Most Powerful With Extraordinary Magical Power - 86

Chapter 86 – Defensive Magic

“Well, showing it might be quicker.”

The vast gymnasium of Noblesse Academy.

A woman in a white coat, looking somewhat lethargic, stood before us, holding something that looked like a cigarette. She had brown short hair, a good figure, and looked great in tights. Just for clarification, there are no cigarettes in this world, so it was just a white stick.

It was mid-winter, making the courtyard less suitable for classes. Therefore, we had come to this roofed place.

Although it had a wooden theme and the interior looked like a typical gymnasium, it was enchanted with special magic, so it could withstand some magic attacks.

The reason for its resilience was the defensive magic that had been cast on it in the past.

At Noblesse Oblige, many people focused on learning swordsmanship and offensive magic, mainly because monsters were widespread. Generally, monster hunting relied on surprise attacks.

Fighting head-on with a loud voice was usually only a last resort, and the norm was to strike from a concealed position. Due to this, defensive magic was often overlooked.

But due to recent calamities and the consideration of future dangers, the academy’s headmaster had recruited a specialized teacher. This is not from the original work, but I recognized this person, so I was surprised.

Her name is Coco. She didn’t disclose her first name because she found it embarrassing. It wasn’t revealed in the original work either.

“Alright, Duke-kun, don’t hold back.”

“Uh, alright!”

As students advanced in their grades at Noblesse, they had the option to choose elective classes to enhance their attribute magic characteristics. Of course, traditional classroom learning and training were still part of the curriculum. While advanced defensive magic allowed for the application of various attributes, the basic principles of the spells remained the same.

Whether it was Dark Defense, Wind Defense, or Fire Defense, they all traced back to the same fundamentals.

In this vast world, specialists in defensive magic were quite rare. In the original work, I only knew of one.

And now, to my surprise, that person had become a teacher.

Her name was Coco, but she didn’t reveal her first name, which she found embarrassing. It wasn’t disclosed in the original work either.

“Now, if you’re ready, give it your all.”

“Um, are you sure? You’re quite strong!”

“Go ahead.”

“Alright! Body Enhancement: Power-Up!”

Duke surged with magic power.

Coco spoke in an unconventional, laid-back manner. In the original work, she was known for being extremely lazy. Her appearance in the story was due to her hometown being targeted, and she reluctantly had to step in.

I wonder how she was persuaded to become a teacher.

As the students watched, Duke continued to build up his magic power. Even among lower-level students, his power was considerable.

In contrast, Coco quietly chanted a spell.

“Defense Shield.”

It was the first basic spell that beginners learned when they started studying magic.

Laughter could be heard from the students, and I was almost tempted to join in.

What was going on?

Naturally, Duke, who was about to launch an attack, was bewildered.

“Come on, give it your all. If you manage to break it, you’ll earn a lot of points.”

“Really!? Then, here I go!”

With a declaration, Duke struck with all his might.

A thunderous noise reverberated, but the defensive magic remained intact.

I secretly watched a time-lapse with a flash of curiosity, but it wasn’t a special spell.

What on earth was the secret behind this?

“Alright, thanks.”

“My right hand hurts…”

Duke lowered his shoulders dejectedly, and Alan and Shari comforted him.

He seemed like a lapdog. Well, that was his actual role.

“What’s going on, Teacher Coco?”

“Haha, Teacher, huh? But you shouldn’t ask about everything. Let’s think about it a bit more.”

And so, we pondered.

Perhaps it was about magic density, as Milch Sensei mentioned? No, that didn’t seem right because I couldn’t sense any magic.

“I doubled my magic power!”

“Sorry, that’s incorrect.”

“Special defense magic!”

“Sorry, that’s also incorrect.”

Similar answers continued, and no one seemed to understand.

After a while of silence, Cecil quietly raised her hand.

“I felt the magic was meticulous, and the runes were delicate. But that’s all.”

Students tilted their heads, not understanding what she was saying. Coco, still holding the cigarette-like object, smiled and stumbled for a moment, but then regained her composure. With a smile and a thumbs-up, she looked free-spirited.

“Cecil-chan, correct. Add five points.”

“Thank you.”

However, the meaning of her response remained a mystery.

Afterward, Coco slowly and deliberately demonstrated defensive magic in mid-air using her finger to make it easier for us to understand.

“Unlike attacks, defense is more challenging than people think. Even a slight misalignment in form can reduce its effectiveness by half or even more. The problem is that no one understands this.”

I understood the logic, but I still found it hard to believe.

Next up was the female student known for firing the strongest magic cannon.

“Well, let’s see, Karta-chan. Go ahead and cast a spell from there. This time, focus on magic defense.”

“Huh? Um, how strong should I go?”

“Hmm, you can go all out if you want, but I’ve heard the rumors, so maybe try about half strength?”

Karta’s magic cannon was incredibly powerful, a fact that any lower-level student knew. Even at half strength, it was formidable.

Could it really be blocked with something as simple as a basic defensive spell?

Of course, everyone was watching intently, including me.

Karta’s expression changed, and she unleashed her magic.

It was fast, sharp, and massive in size, with tremendous power.

But…

*BOOOOM!*

Just when it seemed to hit directly, Karta’s magic cannon shattered into pieces. The defensive magic remained entirely intact.

“Wow, Teacher Coco!”

“It can block a magic cannon with a basic spell!?”

The shock was even greater than when Duke had tried.

Karta’s magic cannon had been effective against dungeon bosses like Sirens and Stampits.

To easily block it with a basic defensive spell…

I also had an automatic Emergency Barrier that continuously covered my body, but it was meant for emergencies. Using it would deplete my magic significantly. However, Coco’s defensive magic required minimal magic to cast, as it was chanted. I see, meticulous…

This level of detail wasn’t depicted in the original work, so it was quite enlightening.

After that, we carefully traced the defensive runes with our fingers and chanted the spells. Coco released attack spells one by one to test them, but each was easily broken.

By “meticulous,” she meant there was zero margin for error.

“Hmm, that’s impressive,” Coco said as she observed my runes.

She had been a disciple under Milch Sensei, so as long as she understood the method, she could replicate it.

But…

*Swish!*

Coco gathered magic power at her fingertips and shattered my defensive magic.

“Well, you pass, I guess.”

Although it had been easily broken…

And the student Coco praised the most wasn’t me.

Her name was…

“Shari, your runes are very beautiful.”

“Thank you!”

Her specialty, magic enchantment, involved delicate runes. I had considered that Shari might excel at it, but that was no disrespect. She had been training diligently.

Even though this knowledge wasn’t in the original work, I realized I needed to deepen my understanding.

“Alright, next.”

“I’m… ugh…”

It seemed that Alan wasn’t good at this. Well, he was far from being delicate.

In the end, only Shari and I received praise by the end of the class.

After school, I borrowed the gymnasium to practice defensive magic. I wasn’t satisfied with the results.

“Hmm, you’re surprisingly diligent,” Coco said as she appeared.

She had a sluggish tone but wore a somewhat smiling expression, approaching me.

“I had some free time,” I replied.

“I see, I see.”

Coco mumbled something.

And then… she attempted to hit me on the head with her right hand filled with magic power.

But that’s when the Invulnerable Zone Barrier activated.

Magic power leaked out considerably, but Coco widened her eyes.

“What are you doing—”

“I’m surprised. I’ve thought it was impossible since I first saw it, but this, it’s your original creation, right?”

“Well, yes…”

It was magic that combined darkness and light. Its magic consumption was horrendous, so I had intended to improve the spell at some point, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

“Hahaha, being serious, a genius, and hardworking, isn’t that too many attributes? But, you see, this is strange because… it doesn’t work without both of them.”

And then, Coco uttered words that seemed to see through everything, much to my surprise. My heart started pounding.

“…What are you talking about?”

“Hehehe, never mind. But more importantly, should we tweak this a bit more?”

“What do you mean?”

“This spell consumes a lot of magic power, right? The judgment runes for power balance are a bit lax. It’s good that it’s a permanent spell, but it might be better to allocate magic power a bit more efficiently.”

I was almost about to laugh at her remarks, but from her perspective, it made sense.

“Blocking both strong and weak attacks isn’t ideal, you know. If you’re interested, I can teach you.”

“Thank you, but… is it okay to pay so much attention to a single student?”

Professor Milk is my mentor. Everyone knows that.

But Coco is different.

My reputation hasn’t completely faded within the academy.

Coco must be aware of it to some extent.

However, Coco didn’t seem to mind as she chuckled.

“Well, because your magic is interesting…”

“Haha, that’s pretty straightforward.”

Come to think of it, Coco was lazy but proactive when it came to things she was interested in. Even in the original story, her actions changed once she became interested in Allen.

“Can I ask you one thing? Why did you become a teacher?”

“Why do you think?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hehehe, it’s a secret.”

“What’s that supposed to mean…”

“Well, there are various reasons.”

Everyone has things they don’t want to talk about.

But this was something I couldn’t have asked for.

“More importantly, do you want to learn or not?”

“If that’s the case, please teach me.”

“Great. In return, teach me the permanent spell later. I probably won’t be able to use it, but I want to at least understand the runes.”

“But I’m… still a student.”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff, kid. Alright, first, let’s incorporate the attack magic power values into the runes.”

Afterward, Coco and I worked together on improving the spell throughout the night.

She taught me diligently, to my surprise.

“Alright, let’s give it a try.”

“Sure.”

Coco aimed her magic cannon with her left hand and a small pebble with her right, and she threw them at me.

Just as they were about to hit me, the Invulnerable Zone Barrier activated.

But only the magic cannon. The pebble hit my head with a light tap. This was considered a threat… or rather, it was automatically determined as such.

Furthermore, the changes in the spell’s structure had significantly reduced the magic consumption.

I couldn’t help but laugh at how amazing it was.

“Wow, it’s perfect. But… when I think about it calmly, aren’t you too strong?”

“It’s thanks to you, Professor Coco.”

“Hehehe, you get it, don’t you? Alright, next, teach me the permanent spell.”

“Are you an endurance freak?”

Afterward, while we discussed runes again, Professor Coco…

“About the question from earlier, a friend of mine passed away. He was killed by some pseudo-demons.”

“…I see.”

The pseudo-demons had become more active than in the original story, and rumors had even reached Noble’s Oblige Academy. This was not a modification, but rather, it was worsening.

“…I thought that my magic might help as many people as possible. That’s why I became a teacher.”

The popularity of Noble’s Oblige was primarily due to its captivating characters.

From the protagonist who only looks ahead, to the friends surrounding him, the strongest seniors, and the teachers supporting the many students.

Even a slight change could significantly alter the main storyline.

“Weiss Fancent-kun, I’ve heard about you. Not the you from the past, but the current you. If anything happens to someone, help them.”

“…I’ll consider it.”

“Hehehe, you cheeky boy.”

I still loved this game, or rather, this world, Noble’s Oblige.