The next morning, Jin Haru stood in front of the giant gate of Avalon Magic Academy.
He looked like a zombie.
His eyes were bloodshot, his body sore from the exam, and the backpack on his shoulders was so light, it looked like he forgot to pack.
A tall instructor with a bored face looked at him.
"Jin Haru, E-Class. Go left, down the stairs. Basement."
"…Basement?" Jin blinked.
"E-Class belongs in the dungeon level," the instructor said with a sigh. "Try not to faint again, 'Fire Boy.'"
Muffled laughter came from nearby students.
Jin Haru forced a smile. Inside, he was burning.
Mock me now… Once I reach Level 100, I'll make this entire school eat their words.
---
The E-Class classroom was exactly what he expected.
Cracked walls. Broken windows. A single blinking magic lamp that sparked every few seconds.
The students?
One guy was sleeping in a corner with drool running down his chin.
A girl was humming while stacking empty potion bottles like a tower.
Another student whispered to a lizard on his shoulder, "Tell them I'm powerful, Steve."
Jin took the only empty seat and tried to stay quiet.
Then came the voice.
"Hey… Isn't that the guy who fainted before the exam even started?"
"Yeah! Fire Boy! Did he come back to die again?"
The whole class laughed. Even the sleepy kid chuckled in his dream.
Jin ignored them.
Let them laugh. Let them mock. I am not the weak Jin Haru. I am the Demon King.
He opened his system screen under the desk.
> [Level: 1]
[Title: E-Class Reject]
[Demon King Core: Locked] — Unlock at Level 10
Jin narrowed his eyes.
I need to level up. Fast.
---
That night, after everyone in the dorms fell asleep, Jin climbed out of the window with a rope he made from bedsheets.
He landed with a loud thud. His weak body groaned.
"Ugh… I miss my old demon body," he whispered, holding his back.
He made his way into Darkroot Forest, just outside the academy's magical barrier.
The trees were huge and twisted, and creepy noises echoed in the dark.
Suddenly—
SPLAT!
A green slime dropped from a branch above.
It jumped at him.
"AAAAAAHH!!"
Jin screamed like a little girl and fell backward. He threw a rock — it hit the slime and bounced off.
"…I'm doomed."
Then he remembered in the original Jin haru memory. Slimes had a weak core inside.
He grabbed a sharp stick and rolled under the slime as it bounced again.
With a lucky stab — POP! — the slime exploded.
> [You defeated: Forest Slime]
[+50 EXP]
[Level Up! Level 2]
He grinned.
"One down. Only… nine million to go."
---
By the time the sun rose, Jin Haru had killed 50 slimes, 10 wild rabbits, and 5 aggressive mushroom.
He was bleeding, covered in dirt, and smelled worse than a toilet spirit.
But his screen now read:
> [Level 10]
[Demon King Core: Unlocked]
[New Skill: Demon Sight — Activated]
He blinked. The world changed slightly.
He could see glowing lines in the air — magical veins. Hidden traps. Weak points on trees. Even far away, he could sense a beast's power level.
Jin fell to the ground, breathing heavily but smiling like a maniac.
"…Let's see who's the joke now."
Jin Haru returned to school just as the morning bell rang.
His uniform was ripped, his shoes were muddy, and his face was scratched like he fought a wild boar.
A student pointed.
"Oi, is that Fire Boy?"
"He looks like he rolled in a monster's bathroom!"
Laughter echoed in the hallway. Even a teacher paused mid-step, blinked, then quietly walked away.
Jin Haru forced a casual grin. "Morning, peasants."
Everyone just stared.
---
Inside the E-Class classroom, the homeroom teacher — a sleepy-looking woman with a teacup in hand — raised an eyebrow.
"You look like trash, Mr. Haru."
"Thank you, ma'am. I worked hard."
She shrugged and started her lesson.
---
As the other students ignored her or slept, Jin opened his system menu under the desk.
> [Level: 10]
[New Skill Unlocked: Demon Sight]
Jin activated it.
Suddenly, the world shifted again.
Lines of mana flowed across the room. He could see tiny sparks around the teacher — high-level aura. Most of the students had almost no glow.
But one student… the quiet boy who talked to his pet lizard…
He's hiding something.
Through Demon Sight, Jin saw a strange dark mist around him. A cursed object in his pocket?
Interesting. Maybe a potential ally… or a future corpse.
---
Later that day, Jin walked through the cafeteria with his meal tray.
As expected, a group of rich-looking students from A-Class blocked his way.
"Yo, FireBoy. E-Class eats after us," one of them said, bumping Jin's tray.
His food flew and splattered on the wall.
The cafeteria roared with laughter.
Jin smiled politely.
"Ah… thank you. I wasn't hungry anyway."
He walked past without reacting.
Inside, he was screaming.
I will burn your face off… after Level 20.
That night, he returned to the forest.
Using Demon Sight, he could now see monster spawn spots, avoid traps, and target weak points.
Slimes? Crushed.
Wolves? Outsmarted.
Bees? Still terrifying. He climbed a tree to escape.
By dawn, he was scratched, bruised, and exhausted, but he had reached Level 15.
> [Level: 15]
[Current Skill: Demon Sight]
(Next skill unlocks at Level 20)
He looked at his reflection in a pond.
Still a skinny boy. Still laughed at by everyone.
But deep in his red eyes, a faint glow sparkled.
"Let them mock me. When my next power unlocks… I'll turn this world upside down."
Morning classes were as boring as ever.
The teacher droned on about "magic theory," but E-Class didn't care.
One kid was picking his nose with a wand. Another was sleeping while floating upside down.
Jin Haru quietly stared out the window, still thinking about last night.
His muscles ached. He smelled like damp leaves. But his level was 15, and Demon Sight showed him everything:
The girl two seats ahead was cheating with a magic scroll in her sleeve.
The sleeping boy next to him? Faking it. He was using sleep magic to drain mana from the teacher.
And the teacher herself? She wore illusion makeup. She looked 25 but was actually… 58.
This power is dangerous, Jin thought. I love it.
---
During physical training, the teacher blew her whistle.
"All right, losers! We're doing combat sparring today. Try not to explode each other."
Jin flinched.
Combat? In public?
I can't use my powers until I hit level 20…
Then the worst happened.
"Jin Haru. You're first."
He stepped into the ring and looked across at his opponent.
It was the cafeteria bully from A-Class — the one who knocked over his food.
"Oh ho! Weakling's first? This'll be fast."
---
The match began.
The A-Class boy summoned a small fireball.
"Time to roast Fire Boy!"
Jin backed away. He couldn't block it. He couldn't fight back. He had no offensive powers yet!
But he could see.
With Demon Sight, he saw the mana trail from the fireball, and the exact moment it would flicker.
Just before it hit, he ducked under it — perfectly timed.
The crowd gasped.
"Did he just dodge that?"
The A-Class boy snarled. "Beginner's luck!"
He threw three more. Jin spun, ducked, and slid like a parkour ninja.
He wasn't faster. He wasn't stronger.
He was just seeing everything.
---
Eventually, the A-Class boy tripped over his own fireball.
Jin stepped back, hands up. "I surrender. I'm just a weakling."
The class burst into laughter again.
"Haha! He gave up!"
"Coward!"
But one student in the back narrowed his eyes.
No normal student could dodge like that…
---
Jin Haru left the arena with a grin.
His pride was untouched.
His power was hidden.
And the best part?
He'd just earned a bit of XP.
> [Level: 15 → 16]
After the dodging incident, Jin hoped to quietly return to his loser lifestyle.
He sat in the back. Ate plain bread. Nodded like a background character.
But someone had noticed.
A voice called him after class.
"Jin Haru. Stay behind."
It was a new teacher.
She wore a long black coat, glasses, and held a staff that looked like a crow's wing.
Her name: Professor Raelith — the scariest teacher in the school.
Rumors said she once destroyed a dragon's brain just by glaring at it.
Jin gulped.
---
In her office, Raelith sipped tea and stared at him for a long, awkward moment.
"You dodged every fireball from a Rank-B student. Without magic. Explain."
"I—I just got lucky…"
"I dislike liars," she said coldly. "Let's test your 'luck.'"
She flicked a small pebble at him.
His Demon Sight activated instantly. Jin saw the mana flow and bent backward.
Who dodges a pebble?!
Another flick. He twisted sideways. Then a fork. A pencil. A feather. A paperclip.
He dodged all of them like a dancer.
She sighed.
"Interesting. You're not strong. You're not fast. But you see magic itself."
Jin froze.
Had she figured it out?
---
She leaned back.
"I don't know what skill you're hiding. But this school could use a little chaos."
She stood and handed him a strange scroll.
"This is a pass to the Night Training Grounds. Students aren't allowed there yet."
Jin stared at the scroll.
She's letting me level up faster…
She smiled for the first time — a terrifying, shark-like grin.
"Surprise me, Jin Haru. I'm bored of geniuses. I want to see a monster."
---
That night, under moonlight, Jin Haru stood at the gates of the forbidden training zone.
Behind him: laughter, bullies, weak spells.
In front of him: monsters, death, and experience points.
He opened the gate.
> [Level: 16]
[Current Skill: Demon Sight]
(Next Skill Unlocks at Level 20)
He grinned.
"Let's go feed the monster inside me."