Academy’s Genius Mage

It was something that might have been expected.

The Vinettia Family was renowned for their masterful swordsmanship.

And Sir Lancelot was a seasoned knight of the royal guard. Therefore, the common ground of “swordsmanship” naturally formed between them.

‘There could only be a mentorship relationship between an elder knight and a young heir from a family of swordsmanship excellence.’

It was rare for the secrets of familial martial arts to be taught directly. Often, the foundational knowledge in martial arts was built by bringing in external masters.

Encountering various martial arts from different teachers broadened one’s perspective.

Moreover, when one hit a stalemate, external experts were often called upon to resolve such blocks, whether in swordsmanship or magic, as familiarity often became a significant hindrance.

Perhaps, in such circumstances, Lancelot and he formed a bond.

“Unlucky meeting him here of all places!”

Milo remarked.

“Eventually, you were bound to meet. It was only a matter of time. But you don’t seem that surprised?”

“I had a rough idea!”

Milo replied.

“You always had an impressive intuition!”

Ian commented.

“The term ‘defection’ applies to a very limited set of scenarios. Anyone aware of your admission background could have speculated!”

Milo nodded, then resumed his forward gaze.

Ian glanced back.

Edel was engrossed in map-making, paying no heed to their conversation.

“So, any regrets?!”

Ian asked.

“Not at all. Choosing the path of magic, I have no regrets, and I won’t have any in the future. It’s just the prejudice from others… they can be taxing at times.”

“Time will solve that issue!”

Ian assured.

“How so?!”

Milo inquired.

“If you become an archmage, your family’s perspective will change. Joining forces with your brothers could turn your family into something extraordinary.”

A family producing an archmage would be recognized as a distinguished house of magic.

In other words, the Vinettia County could become a distinguished house of both swordsmanship and magic, potentially aspiring to an earldom.

Milo shrugged and laughed.

“Do you really think I could become an archmage?”

Usually, an archmage referred to a mage of the seventh circle.

Milo, being at the latter stage of the second circle, would need to advance five more circles to achieve that.

As one climbed higher, the effort and time required to form a circle increased exponentially, demanding innate talent and physical condition as essentials.

Milo’s expression didn’t exude much confidence.

“There’s a 50 percent chance!”

Ian said.

“That high?”

“It’s simple — you either become or you don’t. Two options.”

“Sounds like wordplay, but hearing it that way eases my mind!”

Milo admitted.

“Life depends on how you perceive it!”

Ian remarked.

His tone, though not particularly tender or kind, lent strength to Milo with each word.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this!”

Milo confessed.

“Don’t say it if it’s embarrassing.”

“We’ve only known each other for about a month.”

“I said don’t say it.”

“But it feels like you’re the only one who understands me. The people I’m blood-related to despise me. Isn’t it strange?”

The two, even as they guarded their surroundings, seemed connected by an unseen thread, sensing each other’s emotions.

Milo seemed to have a special place in Ian’s heart.

‘I feel the same way, Milo.’

There was no need to voice it out. Milo would likely understand without it being said.

Ian had led a solitary life, devoid of meaningful friendships.

In many ways, his life had paralleled Milo’s.

There stood unseen walls between people.

It took a significant amount of time and sometimes social conditions to break them down. Yet, fated empathy was an exception.

At times, it could dramatically tear down these barriers, just as it had between Ian and Milo.

‘Just wait a bit longer. Someday, I’ll share my story with you too.’

Then, a rustling sound came from ahead.

It wasn’t the usual sound of nature. It was the heavy sound of something trampling the grass.

“Is it them finally showing up?”

Another indication of unwelcome guests was Milo grasping his staff tightly with both hands.

Ian turned his head.

Edel was still drawing the map.

“Edel!”

Ian called.

“Yes?!”

Edel responded.

“Prepare for battle.”

“Eek!!”

Edel squeaked in surprise, hurriedly stowing away his pen and map while clutching his staff tightly.

Simultaneously, a strange voice reverberated around them.

The shadows appeared first.

The figures were quite small, about half the size of an adult. Yet, in the hands of the green monster that soon emerged, there was an ugly weapon, smeared with blood.

It had long, pointed ears and coarse, thick fur covering its body.

With drool dripping down, it wore tattered leather around its lower parts.

“A goblin as the first opponent, huh. Not a bad draw!”

Milo murmured as he swung his staff back and forth.

Whoosh! Whoooosh!

The sound of something slicing through the air echoed, and Ian Oracle clicked his tongue as he watched.

“If that’s what you’re going to do, wouldn’t it be better to just fight with a sword?”

“The sword is just for decoration. Isn’t the feel of impact what counts in a man’s fight?”

“Bring a hammer next time.”

“That’s a bit troublesome.”

There were six goblins in total. They held crude weapons like hand axes, small swords, and something resembling chains.

At that moment, two goblins put something in their mouths.

Ian, who had been observing them closely, quickly reacted using his mana-enhanced vision.

“Shield.”

Swoosh!

Ian deployed a protective spell to shield both Edel and himself.

Milo turned around with an expression of surprise.

“Still the same shield?”

“Do you think changing spells is that easy?”

“Hmph. Just a matter of time, huh.”

Swoosh, swoosh!

Sharp sounds accompanied the flight of venomous darts.

Milo dodged, while the needle, coated in a purple poison, struck Ian’s shield.

“Be careful. It hurts a lot if you get hit.”

“You be cautious. The shield doesn’t reach that far.”

“If I overextend the mana radiation, will it affect them too?”

“Seems possible.”

Ian reached out his hand and asked again.

“How should I do it?”

“Just pull one of them over here. Next to me.”

“What are you planning?”

“Just do it. I’ll show you something interesting.”

Though not sure of Milo’s intentions, Ian unleashed his magic.

A streak of blue light shot out swiftly, binding the body of the goblin standing at the front.

“Squeak?”

Ian jerked his right hand.

Simultaneously, as if tethered, the goblin’s body soared through the air in an arc toward Milo.

“Screeeech?”

The goblin struggled with a look of panic, yet it couldn’t escape Ian’s magical bind.

In a real dungeon, dealing with a goblin would have been different. However, these goblins appeared weak, lacking any dark energy.

“Shriek!”

As the goblin’s scream echoed, Milo’s eyes gleamed. He swung his staff, held with both hands, with great force.

Thwack!

With a crisp impact, the goblin was sent flying across the cave, eventually crashing into the ground, trembling until it drew its last breath.

“Squeak?”

“Growl!”

“Squawk!”

The goblins were flustered. However, Milo seemed as hungry for a challenge as ever.

“It feels good! One more!”

“Your preferences are peculiar…”

Ian summoned his mana again and pulled another goblin towards Milo.

Thwack!

And then another followed.

Thwack!

With each repetition, the distance grew longer.

When one hit the ceiling of the cave on the other side and fell, Milo beamed with happiness.

“When I was a kid, it was a ball. It’s even more fun with monsters like this. Hyutcha!”

Thwack!

Precisely four goblins met their end by Milo’s hand.

Edel had been frozen stiff. It seemed that dealing with monsters using magic was more brutal than he had anticipated.

Now, only two creatures that had shot poison darts remained.

“Kieek!”

“Ki-eekk!”

The two creatures exchanged some form of communication and abruptly turned their bodies. Ian immediately formed a hand sign.

『Firebolt.』

Whoosh!

Boom!

The suddenly launched firebolts exploded towards the remaining goblins. One of them was instantly engulfed in flames, while the other was pushed back by the shockwave, crashing into the wall.

“Kuuek!”

The goblin that hit the wall vomited green blood.

‘It’s more powerful than I thought.’

This was the first time Ian had used magic on monsters.

The goblin that had crashed into the wall tried to get up, groaning. However, by then, Milo had approached and swung his staff.

“Farewell, my friend!”

Thud!

The battle concluded.

‘I can’t kill monsters with shockwaves, but I can disrupt them. Until I master Fireball, this seems quite useful.’

With just one battle, Ian came up with several options.

‘This is why real combat experience is valuable.’

Casting magic on people was very different from casting it on monsters; Ian found himself reflecting on this difference.

Meanwhile, Milo prodded the charred goblin with his staff.

When the staff touched it, the area turned to ash like charcoal.

“Wow. Not holding back at all, huh? To unleash such power with just a Firebolt.”

“If you underestimated it as just a Firebolt and got hit, you’d regret it, wouldn’t you?”

Milo suddenly felt fortunate to share a room with Ian, realizing that Ian exploited his opponent’s carelessness.

“What about the loot?”

“We need to start looking.”

Ian and Milo searched the goblins’ corpses.

They hoped to find something useful, but all they found were rusty metal and some shiny stones.

Milo dusted off his hands and stood up.

“They’re all broke. I guess since it’s not a real dungeon, there’s nothing much to gain.”

“We didn’t come here to make money, did we?”

Ian continued to inspect the goblin.

Using a dagger, he made a cut on the corpse, then took out a glass vial from his bag and began collecting the blood little by little.

At that moment, Edel took the glass vial from him and assisted Ian. Milo simply watched from the sidelines.

“What are you going to do with the blood?”

“Goblin blood contains traces of poison. It isn’t lethal to humans, but it’s one of those things you should be cautious about.”

“So?”

“Think carefully about why we entered here in the first place.”

Milo rested his chin on his hand, pondering, but it was Edel who figured it out first.

“Are you trying to investigate how much poison is in the blood? Since this is an artificial dungeon and there’s no magic, the toxicity in the blood might have been reduced.”

“As expected of a healer’s son, different from the rest. Learn from Edel, Milo.”

“Tsk!”

“Whoever created this dungeon likely designed several experiments. Studying the ecology of monsters must be one of them.”

“Wow! I hadn’t even thought of that… Ian is truly amazing!”

Milo grumbled, “Wow, amazing? You’re embarrassing yourself as a guy!”

Though he didn’t voice it, Milo genuinely thought Ian remarkable for thinking of such things.

Ian finished collecting the blood and sealed the glass vial.

“That should do it. Let’s take this to the academy’s lab and compare it to real goblin blood.”

“I’ll note it in the journal then.”

Once they finished organizing their surroundings, Ian sat on a nearby rock.

“Shall we share our thoughts on our first battle?”

“This wasn’t a fight; it was just a warm-up.”

“It might be for you alone. Don’t you think we should hear Edel’s thoughts too? His rear was exposed because you engaged in a peculiar game.”

“You deployed a shield anyway, didn’t you?”

“If a monster that could break the shield appeared, Edel would have been endangered.”

The mention of possible death turned Edel’s face pale.

The group discussed what they did well and what could be improved in the recent battle.

Sometimes, heated arguments occurred between Ian and Milo, but eventually, they reached a conclusion.

As a result, Milo was no longer allowed to play games with monsters.

In the next battle, they planned to form a strategic formation and fight according to each role.

“Let’s get moving again.”

“When are we going to camp? I’m hungry.”

“When we find an appropriate spot.”

Milo took out a piece of jerky, chewed it, and led the way into the dimly lit area.