Chapter 10
After the battle cleanup ended, the three students headed to the makeshift dining hall.
The two boys with swords were completely drunk on the first achievement they had ever earned.
“Did you hear? Sir Joshua looked at us and said we did well.”
Talleon answered and let a faint smile slip out.
If it had been him from a few days ago, he could never have imagined this.
He had never thought he would feel this much respect for someone who was only two years older than he was.
Yet the Joshua he had seen with his own eyes was an incredibly capable man.
He was both leader and commander.
Talleon believed that as a knight apprentice, he should obey his commander’s orders faithfully and feel joy when they succeeded.
“I heard. Honestly, when you went up to the second floor I thought something bad would happen, but somehow it looks like it worked out. Tell me what happened. How in the world did you hold out?”
Gavinu glanced at Tania, who sat beside him.
She had been staring blankly for a while now, as if she were someone under a spell.
“She really lost her mind. Are you sure she did not get hit by something?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it?”
“Our senior’s magic.”
“If it is magic, can’t every academy apprentice use it?”
“Idiot, if the magic I saw were something anyone could use, do you think I would be this impressed? It is special.”
Holy magic.
Tania remembered seeing that name in an old book in the library.
There were countless elements that could be embedded into spell formulas, but only a handful of people could manipulate light.
You needed both talent in your bloodline and the ability to control it.
The Pallarion family had once met both conditions, but at some point the line had supposedly died out.
That had led to their downfall.
Rumor said no one could handle light anymore.
But that was wrong.
There was one left.
He might very well be the only one in the world.
“We are knight apprentices, so we don't really know about that stuff. Anyway, if you, the so-called prodigy, say it is amazing, then I guess it is amazing.”
“That’s not all! Senior already cast his magic, then added another formula on top to make it move. It is called stacking formulas, and the chance of failure is really high. But even in that chaotic situation, he succeeded in one try.”
Tania spoke in an excited rush.
Thanks to the zombie clean up, a few of the rules Joshua had set were gone, and not raising their voices was one of the rules that had vanished.
“Okay, okay. Calm down. Even if you don't tell us, we already acknowledge his abilities.”
Talleon gestured for her to settle down.
“Yeah. More than that, we should praise what we did ourselves. For me and Talleon, this battle was our glorious first battle! Do you know how exciting that is?”
“…I don't know.”
“I guess a mage does not understand what honor is huh?”
“It’s not that. It is just that senior did all the work this time. We only backed him up on the side. If you put it into numbers, senior was eighty and we were twenty.”
“Then we just have to celebrate that twenty.”
Tania tilted her head.
Gavinu looked less like a knight celebrating victory and more like a mercenary who had drunk himself happily.
He was rough and unpolished.
At the same time, she felt that this playful attitude might be his true nature.
“It would be nice if we had some alcohol. Ah, I saw him carrying a few bottles. Should I go ask him for one?”
“It is better if you don't. Senior would probably never give it to you.”
“That’s probably true huh? How unfortunate.”
Gavinu set three empty cups on the table.
He poured the remaining water into the round hollow of each cup and handed them to the other two.
Then, more eagerly than anyone, he tossed back his drink.
He made a very refreshed sound from his mouth, as if he just had liquor.
Tania tilted her head confusedly and sipped the water he had poured.
As she suspected, it was just water.
Pure water without a single gram of alcohol in it.
“How was that? You fell for it, right?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t a bad performance.”
Tania smiled gently.
Just chatting about trivial things like this made her feel at ease.
‘I hope this peace still lasts when I wake up.’
She had already repeated that same thought to herself many times.
And she had been disappointed as many times as she had prayed.
This wish would not come true, just like always.
Even so, she kept praying.
It had become a habit, something that now clung to her body like a natural reflex.
* * *
[Quest cleared.]
[Battle to the death with the zombies in Dormitory Building 4.]
[You obtained 10 coins.]
It had been close. It was lucky I had planned for it. If I had not been awake at that moment…
A chilling thought flashed through my mind.
I had almost lost my life.
I had almost been surrounded by zombies in my sleep and ripped apart alive without a sound.
I let out a sigh of relief.
The greatest gain from this battle was not the coins.
It was the lesson that I must never let my guard down.
Good thing I stood watch. My body was tired, but my head stayed on my shoulders. That was enough.
As long as I stayed alive, I could plan what came next.
Using the lesson I had learned as my companion, I patrolled the dormitory.
So that had been the last of them?
After sending the students downstairs, I searched the third and fourth floors again.
There were still zombies that had not heard any noise and stayed where they were.
I had to be thorough.
Even the smallest carelessness could trigger a butterfly effect I could not imagine.
Now it is certain.
Thud, I closed the last door.
Dormitory Building 4 had become a clean zone.
Yet that fact would not bring any real comfort to my situation.
Even if the inside was cleaned up, the enemies outside were still there.
Every night their numbers increased by dozens, by hundreds.
We would have to stand watch at the gate every single day, and we also needed to be ready to meet the knight order.
Is this just a brief rest? No, it might be less than that.
All the muscles in my body screamed.
My skill in handling mana had increased, but this was the backlash of pushing it to the limit every time.
If not for [Patience], I probably could not even stand properly.
On top of that, once my holy power recovered, I had to open the personal storage right away.
It was a horrifying schedule.
I wonder what the kids are doing.
When I came down the stairs, I heard laughter from the direction of the dining hall.
They must have built up a lot of stress.
At the very least, for today, I wanted to let them talk and laugh as much as they wanted.
If I go, I will only ruin the mood.
If I were eighteen year old Joshua, I might have squeezed into that group and enjoyed my youth.
But for thirty year old Kang Minhyeok, it was nothing but a bother.
I needed rest.
I wanted to close my eyes even for a few hours.
I naturally turned the other way, went back to my room, and lay down on the bed.
Ten seconds was enough for me to fall into dreamland.
* * *
Several days passed.
It had been about fifteen days since I woke up.
Tania survived, so the knight order could visit at any time.
I had to greet them myself if possible.
The knight order, known as the guardians of the academy, was still made up of people.
In a situation like this, no one could know how they would behave.
All Tania’s fate did for me was give me a chance to run into the knight order.
I had to give up any expectation that they would show kindness.
“Today you plan to open the personal storage room, right?”
Tania came over.
Her eyes shone like someone who had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
“Yes.”
“Please let me help too.”
“I don't mind, but I will only leave the first formula to you. Nothing beyond that.”
“…Oh, layered formulas are still too much for me, right?”
That was not what I meant.
Disarming a spell formula gave good experience.
Basic formulas could be shared, but from layered formulas onward, I could not afford to yield them.
“There will be other chances. If there is an opportunity later, I will teach you.”
“Ah! I will look forward to it.”
I brushed it aside and walked toward the storage room.
When I stepped back from the spell covered door, Tania stepped forward.
She stretched out her hand.
Surprisingly, she finished faster than the last time she had tried.
“I secretly practiced by myself. Now I can handle basic formulas with my eyes closed.”
“…Well done.”
I swallowed dryly.
As her performance improved, the trait inside me lit its eyes.
[Clever] pushed me toward the spell and urged me to stand in front of it.
I really hope I don't ruin that smiling face.
I reached out my hand in the same way.
Mana flowed out.
And just like before, it shattered her hard work.
[Clever] was satisfied, but I was the one who had to deal with the awkwardness in reality.
[You have found a hidden space.]
[You obtained 5 coins.]
“About this, you see…”
“No, I think I understand what you mean now. You want me to work harder and reach the level where you stand, right?”
She had completely misunderstood.
Thankfully, she had misunderstood in a positive way.
If I kept my mouth shut, Tania would probably remember me as a good senior who wanted to instruct her.
“Interpret it however you want.”
“Hehe, I planned to from the start.”
I stepped into the storage room.
Long three tier shelves lined the walls, and square boxes were stacked tightly along them.
When I went closer, I saw names written in front of each box.
I pulled them down one by one and checked the contents.
“Mostly textbooks here.”
“If it is really important, people would carry it themselves instead of leaving it in a place like this. Still, once in a while, there are idiots who leave something useful behind.”
I reached into one of the boxes and pulled out a staff.
It was a short, stubby wand.
The material was beech, and the core inside seemed to be related to fairies.
The soft silver aura flowing through the wand proved it.
I gripped the staff and released mana.
Light gathered at the tip for a moment, then scattered in all directions.
It was rejecting me.
Staffs had a tendency to choose a suitable owner.
My mana did not match this staff at all.
“Tania, try holding this.”
“Gasp! This is a staff isn’t it? Are you really not going to use it, senior?”
“It seems it doesn’t go well with me. I already have a cross as a focus, so I am not desperate anyway.”
“Then I will accept it without hesitation!”
She jumped with joy.
For someone who had been casting magic without any focus, it was the perfect gift.
Leaving Tania to admire her new staff, I went through the box again.
At the back I found some vials.
Red liquid swayed inside them. They were potions.
The effects differed by type, but the ones in front of me boosted mana.
Three bottles in all.
If I reached a settlement, I could probably use them for barter, but there was no guarantee I would carry them safely until then.
After hesitating, I tilted my head back and drank them.
[Mana increased!]
[Mana increased!]
[Mana increased!]
[Mana increased by 30.]
They were better quality than I expected.
Each bottle raised my mana by ten.
It is a shame I could not find more armor or weapons. Looks like everyone grabbed those first when the chaos broke out.
I set aside my regret and walked out.
Tania left my side, saying she had something she wanted to try with her staff.
I headed toward the central corridor.
For daytime watch, it was Talleon’s turn.
The boy sat on the chair he had placed there and stared fixedly at the front gate.
“Your eyes are going to fall out at that rate. Staying tense is not bad, but if you overdo it, your body will give out.”
“Ah, don't worry about me. I might not look like it, but I am at least confident in my stamina.”
“…Noted. If anyone approaches the dormitory while I am asleep, you must wake me up right away. You also tell Gavinu, who takes over after you.”
Talleon looked a bit flustered.
“Does that mean survivors might come?”
“Maybe. I am going to rest for a while. My whole body is aching from using mana.”
“Please rest.”
I went back to my room and closed my eyes.
Would the knight order really visit today?
There was still plenty of time before the deadline.
So whether they came early or late, we were bound to meet, but I preferred the sooner option.
‘People always say if you are going to get punished, it is better to get it over with, right? There is nothing to gain from dragging this out.’
I felt dizzy as I stood at the border between dream and reality.
Was this sleep paralysis?
My eyes would not open, yet every nerve in my body remained awake.
Tap tap!
I heard someone knocking on the door.
At first I dismissed it as a sound inside my dream.
Tap tap tap!
This time it came stronger than before.
This was not a dream.
I forced my body up, and when I opened my eyes, Gavinu stood in front of me.
His collar was soaked with cold sweat.
“You need to come out right now. This instant!”