NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18
EP.18 Class Assignment Exam (2)
Whoosh!
The Master of the Black Tower, Yetual, is a flexible individual.
Zoom!
His situational judgment is quick. He is not rigid. He pursues efficiency over formality. He is not bound by rules.
Clang!
Unlike the elders who have become conservative and stiff sitting in high positions.
Ta-da!
Yetual always pursued only the interests of the tower, even if it meant stepping outside the bounds of morality. He has never hesitated, even if it would draw public outrage.
Bam!
‘That must be why he was able to find that child.’
The nightmare of dusk, Belnoa, who has obliterated the gloom.
The best talent Yetual discovered.
As he recalls their first meeting, Yetual lets out a grim smile.
Chuckle!
Yetual does not have a negative perception of the organization lingering in the slums, called the Dusk. Of course, he knows they are dirty. He knows they engage in illegal activities.
Hmm…
But what of it?
In the black market there, he can obtain materials that are hard to find elsewhere. As long as they are paid, they will undertake any filthy task without hesitation. To Yetual, Dusk is just a handy horse to ride.
Whack!
Then one day.
As usual, Yetual visited the slums to buy materials. But that day, the slums felt strange.
Crash!
The magical lamps illuminating the slums were broken.
In the alley, the dark was thick with the stench of blood.
The organizational members who usually guided him were nowhere to be seen.
Thud.
And then…
Crack, splat!
He heard the sound of something being smashed down and splattering continuously from somewhere.
Smash!
As he approached the source of that sound…
Yetual came face to face with a boy.
Gasp!
‘A ghost.’
The boy, covered head to toe in blood, stood alone atop a pile of corpses. Yetual clearly remembers that boy’s appearance, which was almost ghost-like.
Whoosh!
If anyone could do it, it would be him.
If this boy could blossom his talent even in the filthy back alleys, he could chase the shadow of Raniel.
The thrill Yetual felt that day would never be forgotten.
Ha!
“Many are mistaken.”
Reflecting on that day, Yetual smirks bitterly.
People often misunderstand that Belnoa obliterated the Dusk only after entering the service of the Master of the Black Tower.
Whoosh!
But the truth is different.
Belnoa was a perfected monster even before entering Yetual’s service. That boy obliterated the slums without having learned anything.
Wham!
‘He was a monster.’
An untrained child.
He obliterated the Dusk that had ruled the slums for decades. That ghostly talent was unmatched.
Snap!
“The Master of the White Tower trained the Northern Duke’s son, they say.”
Rumors spread that this Northern Duke’s son was the strongest among the new students. Wizards say there’s no one who can beat him if it comes to an actual fight.
Heh!
“Funny story.”
Yetual sneered at that rumor.
It’s a story made by those who haven’t seen Belnoa.
Sure, he might lose in a fair contest. But if it’s ‘real combat’— a life-and-death struggle…
Clank!
Belnoa wouldn’t fall behind anyone.
Hmmm…
Yetual stroked his chin while glancing at the documents on the table. The progress of the class assignment exam. As he requested, Belnoa will face Lac one-on-one.
Grin!
‘What an opportunity to flatten the snobby White’s nose.’
As Yetual smiled bitterly, something abruptly caught his eye in the document.
“…Huh?”
An item that should have been blank.
The name of the teaching assistant responsible for the northern section assigned to Belnoa and Lac was filled in.
‘…Someone has been assigned there?’
That couldn’t possibly be fitting for a teaching assistant, right? At least a professor should be there to mediate that fight.
‘What a plucky little brat.’
Curious to check the name filled in the item, Yetual shifted his gaze there.
And then…
“Ah?”
Yetual stiffened briefly.
‘Rania…?’
Rania van Trias.
Upon confirming that name, Yetual’s eyes flickered momentarily. But just for a moment, he quickly organized his thoughts.
‘…Is executing the plan still feasible?’
The plan he had in place. Should he revise the plan to poke at the White’s disciple using the exam as an excuse?
Thinking of Belnoa, Lac, and the assistant professor Rania in one location, he realized that’s unnecessary.
Just recalling the girl’s abilities seen from the podium, the answer came easily.
Her stockpiled spells.
Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of spells perfectly under control.
Boom!
‘At least, comparable in skill to the Master of the Ashen Tower.’
She is a figure of such caliber.
‘In the supervision of someone of that ability, could Belnoa’s sorcery be activated?’
No, it would be impossible.
No matter how cocky Belnoa might be, he couldn’t conceive of doing anything in her presence.
‘She likely has confidence to control any situation.’
That confidence would be why she took that assignment.
Genuine confidence from her abilities.
Hmm…
Yetual sighed, rubbing his temples.
“…I’ll have to change the plan.”
He had intended to use the exam as a pretext to poke at the White’s top disciple, but… this changes things a bit.
‘No need to get ahead of myself yet.’
Yetual pulled out a letter.
It was a message to send to his disciple.
—
Two days since the entrance ceremony.
I had been enjoying leisurely days. Every single day was new.
Ding!
Apuria Academy.
This place, said to be the best academy in the royal capital, has facilities beyond my imagination.
Wow!
Was that a former royal chef creating meals?
Or perhaps a famous alchemist who brews coffee? The extravagance and luxury of the facilities seems endless when I try to describe it.
Wow!
Is it possible for meals to come on time, and still be warm?
Nibble!
For me, that was a luxury. In battlefields, it was normal to eat cold canned food.
“Here it is, professor.”
“Oh, thank you.”
As I sipped the expert-done coffee, I rested my chin on my hand while looking out the window.
The gentle sunlight streaming down is warm.
The breeze makes the petals flutter.
Such a peaceful scene that feels strangely familiar, I seem to be getting used to it bit by bit.
Ahh!
“Such a lazy day.”
As I enjoyed my rare leisure, I gazed out the window. I could see teaching assistants occasionally among the students moving around the academy.
‘…They look like undead.’
Blank eyes.
As I watched those who walked with limp limbs, I first felt pity for them.
For me… I might be enjoying a leisurely life with just the right amount of work given by my master, but is that what it’s like for teaching assistants?
‘Ah, is that why they split me in two when they saw me?’
Living like that must drive one mad.
What?
“Hmm, Ms. Rania seems to be quite relaxed.”
“Yes?”
“Have you finished all the paperwork assigned to you? I see you at the café often and on the benches around the academy, quite leisurely…”
“I submitted it yesterday?”
“…What?”
That guy who always seemed to have his mouth full… What was his name again? Cesar?
‘He sure lives a tiring life.’
He keeps going on about how the supervisor must be thorough, and that they must be prepared to take responsibility if anyone gets hurt… but honestly, it isn’t exactly riveting advice.
‘Aren’t we supposed to stop anyone who looks about to die once we see a fight or something?’
Unfortunately…
I have had plenty of experience mediating such fights.
Crash!
-Don’t back down, it’s the warrior’s shame!
-You don’t die running away, you die fighting! Winning is what matters, my lady!
Indeed.
Flap!
“Ugh.”
Arrows flying everywhere.
That holy missile spell, or whatever it’s called, bursts limbs just by touching.
‘Now that I think about it, I think Sarah used the holy missile on Remia more than on the demons.’
I didn’t forget my bafflement seeing their proficiency grow every time they fought like that.
It must have continued like that for about three months of our travels, right?
After four months, when Kyle, Sarah, and Remia entered that luxurious inn together, there were less fights…
‘Oh? Now that I think about it, isn’t that annoying?’
I should have just let one person die back then.
“Oh dear.”
Suddenly, that thought prompted a bitter laugh. I wonder if they still live like that without someone to keep an eye on them.
Well, they’ll figure things out for themselves.
As those meaningless thoughts drifted, I sipped my coffee when suddenly, jingle
, a sound caught my attention. I turned my head and saw a customer entering the café.Hmm…
I gazed at the customer.
He was looking back at me.
White hair, a slightly sharp impression.
And the axe slung at his waist.
What?
That face seemed familiar.
‘Ah, the representative of the new students, the Northern Duke’s son, Battle Mage Lac.’
I was thinking of that name when suddenly, he started shaking.
Gulp!
Then he began to hiccup.
It seemed like he was choking, hiccuping nonstop, and Lac quickly turned his head away from me, almost blatantly avoiding my gaze.
‘…What’s up with him?’
After Lac stood stiffly at the entrance for a while, the café owner spoke to him.
“Hey, student.”
“What, um…”
“Since you’ve come in, why not order something? Anything special you want to drink?”
The owner’s question made Lac look around, and eventually, he spoke in a trembling voice.
“Black… black water.”
“What?”
“I’d like the black water that person over there is drinking.”
“…You mean coffee?”
“…I think that’s what it was called.”
So he isn’t normal either.
I suddenly thought.
—
The Northern Duke’s son, Lac.
Having spent 17 years of his life in the northern mountains, he was now experiencing ‘civilization’ after entering Apuria.
‘The royal capital is so colorful.’
I slowly began to understand why my father told me to come and stay here.
‘So I was a frog in a well, wasn’t I?’
There were so many unfamiliar things.
Only new experiences.
Yet, Lac was enjoying it.
It was due to the teachings he had received from the warriors of the North since he was little.
Boom!
-Young master, don’t fear new things.
-If you stay in the North, your mind will harden. We can swing our swords, but you must aim for greater heights, young master.
Remembering those laughter-filled warriors who advised him not to stop learning new things made it only natural for Lac to notice the café while roaming the academy.
Wow!
‘Café surely means…’
A place that offers the ‘black water’ that the Northern warriors claimed only wise intellectuals could drink.
“Hmm.”
Lac slightly nodded and boldly stepped into the café. Attending the best academy in the royal capital now made him feel that he too could be called an intellectual.
Ding!
‘I want to try that black water.’
As Lac entered the café.
Gulp!
Lac swallowed hard at the sight of a beast crouched in one corner.
“…?”
The beast regarded him.
Its green eyes felt like those of a beast encountered on the midnight snowy mountain.
Hic!
Suppressing another hiccup, Lac turned his head away.
‘That person is definitely…’
Rania van Trias, the teaching assistant of Professor Rosel.
That formidable figure he met previously.
‘To think I’d run into her so quickly…’
Lac trembled with anxiety.
He hurriedly turned to leave the café, but just as he placed his hand on the doorknob, the warriors’ voices echoed in his ears.
-Showing your back is a warrior’s shame!
-You don’t die escaping, you die fighting! Winning is what matters, young master!
Yes!
With a deep breath, Lac looked up and confidently ordered the ‘black water’, the drink of the intellectuals, from the owner.
“Here you go, student.”
“Thank you.”
Holding that beverage, Lac turned to the beast. The beast seemed uninterested, merely gazing out the window.
‘Overcoming fear is essential.’
With a firm nod, Lac boldly approached the beast’s side.
Thud!
He sat down forcefully next to the beast.
Finally, the beast slowly turned its head.
“Um, hello.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m Lac von Grace, the new student this semester.”
As a student, Lac knew he had to show respect to the professor. Though merely meeting her gaze drained his strength, he still felt satisfied having bowed to greet her.
Was it the nerves? His throat felt dry.
Lac gulped down the black water.
Whew!
But it was bearable.
He emptied a third of it in one go, then grimaced at the bitter taste filling his mouth.
“Ugh.”
It tasted terrible.
Is this what the intellectuals of the royal capital drink?
Hmm…
‘This is also a mystery.’
Lac nodded thoughtfully.