#1288 Junior’s Adventure – The Promised Explosion 

“You’re that adventurer all the teachers are talking about, aren’t you?” 

Just as I’m trying to decide how best to blow up the targets and the school building in one flashy move, someone speaks to me. 

I turn around, and it’s that same girl who was being praised earlier, walking over with a middle-aged teacher trailing behind her, looking uneasy. 

“Ritany, are you done with your training already?” 
“Yes. I don’t think repeating these same drills will improve my magic any further. I’d much rather move on to the next stage, if you don’t mind.” 

Oh…! 
Now that’s the kind of line an elite honor student would say...! 

“Of course. My goal is to become the first human in history to achieve the title of World’s Strongest Mage. I can’t afford to stumble at the beginner’s level. And you.” 
“Y-Yes?!” 

Her sudden focus on me makes me flinch a little. 

“I’ve heard rumors about you. Something about blasting away a giant monster in an instant. The headmaster’s apparently all fired up about it, saying only magic could pull off such a feat.” 

Is that so? 
I can’t say I know the details of your academy’s gossip... 

“But personally, I think there’s been some kind of mistake. Magic is a sacred art learned through intellect and talent after rigorous study. It’s not something a self-taught adventurer should be able to use.” 

There’s a definite edge to those words. 
Then how does she explain me taking down the Terra Beast? 

“Even without magic, there are ways to mimic similar effects. Maybe you used some kind of trick to slay the monster...or perhaps the so-called ‘giant monster’ was a hoax spread by the guild.” 

Oh, that’s how you want to play it. 
Should I admire her caution for not believing easily, or pity her stubborn refusal to accept what she doesn’t understand? 

“Well, either way, we’ll find out the truth soon enough. I’ll see your skills for myself.” 

Oh? 
The time has come to show what I can do! 

“Just so you know, running up to the target and smashing it with your fists doesn’t count.” 
“Haaaa-hahaha! Excellent warning, Ritany! A very appropriate precaution for an adventurer of his sort!” 

That middle-aged teacher dares to laugh? 
Fine. Challenge accepted. For the honor of the farm and the Adventurer’s Guild, I’ll show them a performance they won’t forget. 

“Very well, but may I say one thing first?” 
“What is it?” 
“Did I… do something wrong?” 
“You’re saying that now?” 

...Right, wrong timing. 

I step up to the practice target. 
It’s a simple wooden board, so any basic attack spell would blow it to splinters in one shot. 

They’ve got several of them lined up, replacing each one after a test shot. 
An efficient system. 

Behind them looms a thick brick wall that’s probably there to catch stray spells. 
From here, it looks easily a meter thick. 

All right. I know what to do. 

“Could everyone step back a bit?” 
“Huh? Why?” 

Ritany, and now a bunch of curious students, start gathering, forming a crowd. 
Sensing an impending spectacle, they push closer, so I ask them again to move further back. 

“Are you saying it’s dangerous? Pretty confident of you, huh?” 
“Or maybe his control’s terrible and he doesn’t know where it’ll hit?” 
“Yeah, that sounds more likely!” 
“Would it even go behind him? That’s some next-level bad aim!” 

The whole group bursts out laughing. 
Yep, elite magic students through and through—full of pride. 

Anyway, good, they’ve stepped back far enough. 
Safety first. 

All right, here goes! 

“...Juuump!!!” 

I leap straight up, soaring into the air. 
My vertical jump record is around sixteen meters! 

From that height, I gather magic in both hands... 

“O’ spirits of flame and storm, combine and burst forth! Shower chaos upon all around you!” 

Two spirits, two elements—fire and wind—fuse into one violent force. 
The explosion that follows rips through the ground, obliterating the target and the wall behind it. 

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-?!” 

The crowd screams as the blast wave sweeps them off their feet. 

Hm. Perfect. 

I let the updraft carry me a little, enjoying a moment of weightlessness before landing gracefully. 
A massive crater yawns where the target used to be. 

Good thing I aimed downward. 
If I’d fired that horizontally, I’d have demolished the wall, wiped out the campus, and the news headline would read: “Magic Academy, Physically Removed!” 

Hm? You think that would’ve been fine? 
Don’t be ridiculous. 

“Wh-What happened...?! What?!” 

Ritany’s trembling at the sight. 
I think that was enough to make my point. 
Time for a cool one-liner. 

“This isn’t fire magic… it’s Explosion Magic!” 

That came out slightly wrong. 

Anyway, small clarification: yes, I can use... 
Elemental magic!!! 

My dad’s hopeless with it, and Mom only does potion-based alchemy and solmization chants. 
So there’s no genetic reason I should be able to use it. But ever since I was little, I used to play with the earth spirits, and somehow, I just… got along with them. 

First the earth spirits lent me strength, then water, then wind, and eventually fire. 

According to the spirits, my dad once did the Spirit King a favor, so technically he could use spirit magic too...if he actually tried. 

“If he only made the effort…” “Yeah, but he never does…” they told me, almost pitying him. 

Anyway, back to the present. 
The students are stunned, staring at the crater left by my spell. 

“Was that… magic?” 
“Can magic even do that?” 

I can’t blame them for doubting. 
From what I saw earlier, the difference between their everyday spells and mine is like the difference between a toy gun and a missile. 
I didn’t just blow up their wall, I blew up their common sense. 

Especially Ritany, the so-called prodigy, looks utterly crushed. 

“How… how can you use such incredible magic so easily? You never even attended the academy!” 
“Who says learning only happens in school?” 

If you’re willing to learn, the world is full of teachers. 
Limiting that to a single institution and using it to monopolize knowledge is how authority becomes corruption. 

And that’s exactly why I came here, even as a “trial student.” 

To shatter that false authority. 
To prove, on their own battlefield of magic, that the adventurers’ way is stronger. 

For the sake of the Guild’s dignity and peace, I’ll turn this whole academy upside down! 

“Well, marvelous! Our new student truly possesses astounding natural talent!” 

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap... 

A slow, solitary round of applause echoes across the ruined training field. 

A stout man, somewhere between middle-aged and elderly, walks forward with a broad grin. 

“To see such brilliance in a newcomer fills me with joy! The future of our academy is secure!” 
“I’m only here for a trial enrollment.” 
“Then by my authority, I grant you full admission! From this day forth, you shall serve as the academy’s top student and display your power to the fullest!” 

And you would be? 

“My apologies for the late introduction. I am Sugetaaya Modrov, Headmaster of the Royal Capital Magic Academy.” 

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“this isn’t fire magic… it’s explosion magic!” parodies megumins signature catchphrase from konosuba