EP.174 Braver, and the Nightmare (4)
“Today’s class ends here.”
After two hours of lecture, it was finally over.
Students, having spent almost all of their time in a trance except for the first few minutes, let out sighed breaths. Among the sounds of sighs and murmurs, Kelharlem gracefully descended from the podium.
The looks on the students’ faces as they viewed his back were notably different from those at the beginning of the lecture.
When he confidently stated ‘No’ regarding the unsolved problems in elemental magic, they had thought him arrogant, a wizard full of himself, but now that evaluation had long since been overturned. Their eyes reflected a sense of respect.
It was indeed a worthy lecture.
This two-hour session was perfect for those students aspiring to become Wizards. It addressed questions they had pondered at least once. Yet, when they were stuck for answers, this professor provided them with a guideline.
They could see the direction.
They realized how to approach the problems.
“Hmm, uh…”
“Oh, there’s a method like this. We can do it this way…”
Kelharlem’s new method for utilizing circuits had many students scribbling in their notebooks. It was an innovative approach. Despite its strangeness, there was a sense of familiarity creeping in among the students.
“This feels somehow…”
“It’s similar to Professor Rania’s lecture.”
That was the lecture they attended at the end of the first semester.
Professor Rania’s methods for basic spell application were aligned with the current class.
Finding the unfamiliar within the familiar. The process of one spell breaking into dozens of branches. Seeking enlightenment amidst the newness.
While the topics differed, and the methods of handling the circuits diverged, the core concept shared a commonality. Students felt a peculiar sense of déjà vu.
“…You know, I wonder if it’s just me.”
“What is?”
“It seems like I understood today’s lecture better than Professor Rania’s…”
Someone mumbled that.
Even though it was a soft whisper among themselves, a certain professor with particularly keen ears couldn’t help but hear it. Rania’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Ehh, isn’t it because you heard Professor Rania’s lecture first? Maybe it was easier to understand since it felt like a theme you’d heard before.”
“Is that so? Yeah, that makes sense.”
“But hey, it’s nice there’s no assignment, right?”
“I can agree with that.”
Ha ha, light laughs floated among the students.
“I wish he would stay in Apuria.”
“Right? He seems like quite a skilled wizard. Being a Wizard class, he’s foundational, like he said…”
Just small talk among friends.
The topic quickly shifted, and their banter flowed elsewhere, but… a small-minded wizard couldn’t just let that conversation slide.
Shiver.
Rania’s shoulders trembled.
“…Professor?”
Only Resti, sitting next to her, glanced at Rania with a look of confusion. Just then, Rania abruptly turned her head.
“Resti.”
“Yes?”
“Battle Mage.”
Rania pronounced each word with sincerity, emphasizing every syllable.
“What do you think of the Battle Mage class?”
“…Huh?”
Resti blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. Not grasping the intent behind the question, Resti tilted her head.
‘What do you want me to think…?’
Honestly, she hadn’t given it much thought.
Resti was majoring in both Summoner and Wizard classes. The classification of classes didn’t hold much significance for her.
“Um…”
Should she just speak her mind?
Resti continued, voicing her impromptu thoughts.
“Using stock to increase spell casting speed, and by stocking various spells… it’s a class capable of creating a lot of variables in real battles, isn’t it?”
“Right, that’s correct.”
“Also, mixing in martial arts and offensive spells means it doesn’t get countered easily, I’ve heard. The Ashen Tower has a lot of literature on it. I guess since it was created by the previous Master of the Tower…”
That part was true.
There were indeed plenty of books about the Battle Mage class at the Ashen Tower. Just on the first floor, in the visitors’ waiting area, there were dozens of them lined up.
Having said that, Resti cautiously observed Rania’s reaction.
“Exactly, that’s right.”
Rania nodded repeatedly, satisfied, like a parent receiving praise about their child. Seeing that, Resti began to understand why Rania had been tense during the entire class.
‘…Well, since it’s a class created by your brother.’
Raniel van Trias.
The Battle Mage was a class designed by that Ashen Mage. Perhaps it felt uncomfortably familiar when that class was called “without foundation”.
‘I felt this way before…’
She’s sensitive whenever topics related to the Ashen Mage come up. I wonder if she’s on good terms with her brother? Resti had no way of knowing.
“Sure, this is it. What if it doesn’t have much foundation? It’s a highly efficient class.”
While Resti pondered such thoughts, Rania continued to mutter, resting her chin thoughtfully.
Clatter.
Dismissing Rania’s demeanor, Resti gathered her things and prepared to leave. It was time to move to another classroom for the next lesson.
“Well then, Professor Rania, I…”
Just as she was about to excuse herself, Rania murmured something.
“…I’ll prove it.”
Her voice was eerily ominous.
Resti flinched and shivered.
‘Prove? What about?’
Was “prove” supposed to sound that sinister?
A strange unease made Resti stop dead in her tracks. In an awkward stance, she turned her gaze towards Rania.
“Prove, prove…”
Even though the lecture had already ended, that professor seemed to be engrossed in some other topic.
“Hmm? Oh, sorry.”
Feeling Resti’s stare, Rania turned her head, letting out a sigh. With a smile dancing on her lips, she said,
“Yeah, go on. You’ll be late for your next class.”
It was the usual soft voice.
However, hiding beneath that softness lay a razor-sharp edge. Sensing this, Resti nodded slowly, ever so cautiously.
‘I don’t know what you’re thinking…’
She didn’t want to get overly involved.
Resti suddenly thought.
2.
Days had passed since Braver Kelharlem arrived in Apuria. During those days, the Hounds who took turns monitoring Kelharlem were completely baffled.
“So…”
The one in charge of this operation and the most skilled among the Hounds, Tracker Kalt began speaking.
“Is this the end of your observations and summary of Kelharlem’s daily routine over the past four days?”
He held up the report as if in disbelief.
It was an overly simplistic report. It wasn’t that the Hounds couldn’t write reports. Capable of learning everything necessary for their duties, their practical skills couldn’t be underestimated.
But, for some reason…
“Is this really all?”
Kalt flapped the paper in front of the Hounds, reading the words on it.
“Classes. Meditation. A walk. Meditation. Classes.”
“……”
“Classes, then a brief walk. More meditation. For three hours, just spacing out on a bench in the Apuria gardens.”
“Uh, that’s true. I saw it.”
An oblivious Hound raised his hand, but under Kalt’s piercing gaze, he quietly withdrew it.
“Is this really it?”
“It really is, Senior.”
The Hounds sighed as if they were just as incredulous, shoulders drooping.
“It doesn’t seem like he’s crafting magic circles, nor setting traps. I even thought he was finally doing something when he rented the lab to prepare for his next class… but it turns out he was just making a regular study sheet.”
One Hound casually said, hoping it might provide insight. He handed one of the sheets over. Kalt inspected it.
“……”
It was really just a study sheet.
There didn’t seem to be any hidden elaborate codes. Reading it vertically or horizontally, it was simply a bland study sheet with empty spaces.
“What the heck is this?”
Kalt’s remark spoke for the Hounds’ sentiments.
Who was Kelharlem?
A figure known as a Braver (狂人), treated as the most cautionary of superhumans. A mad wizard. That was how the world saw Kelharlem.
‘What is this…?’
But the reality was astonishing.
There was nothing remarkable. In fact, it was remarkably mundane. Preparing sound lessons for students. No flaws to be picked apart even under the most scrutinizing glare.
With a dazed expression, Kalt gazed at the study sheet when a Hound spoke up.
“Isn’t it that… he’s really just here to teach at Apuria?”
“That’s unlikely.”
Kalt declared firmly.
There must be a reason behind such a large manpower invested in Apuria. While most Hounds merely followed orders, Kalt was different.
He was a soldier on the battlefield.
While obeying orders is a soldier’s virtue, it’s different in the Phantom Territory. There are many moments when a soldier must make their own decisions.
Kalt had traversed through that Phantom Territory.
And so, Kalt understood.
There was something wrong with this operation. Princess Lruiel’s warning was not just idle chatter. Kalt knew that much. He furrowed his brows and spoke.
“Keep following in shifts. Just because nothing has happened thus far, doesn’t mean it won’t moving forward. Stay alert and continue as you have.”
The Hounds nodded in agreement.
It was the command of the renowned Tracker Kalt, a soldier with countless accomplishments on the battlefield. There were no Hounds here who would take that command lightly.
The Hounds took off to their respective positions.
Only after they disappeared did Kalt let out a long sigh, murmuring,
“…Your senior must be preparing for something too.”
That figure enveloped in the Apuria.
Raniel van Trias, the Ashen Mage.
Recalling his senior, Kalt took a deep breath. Certainly, there wasn’t another ally as formidable as the Ashen Mage.
‘Who else other than my senior could safely suppress a superhuman?’
It looked like he lived impulsively and reckless but… he was deeply thoughtful, contrary to appearances. Surely, he would be preparing for the current situation.
Most likely, he would.
While he didn’t overtly reveal it, Kalt regarded his senior with considerable admiration.
“Surely, he would have some plan.”
Kalt murmured thus.
3.
“I’ll prove the superiority of the Battle Mage.”
In the Mana Trading Studies Professor’s Office.
Sitting alone, Rania stared intently at the table. On the table lay a single sheet of paper.
“By demonstrating the practicality and superiority of the Battle Mage to a fool who couldn’t properly handle a balance and became half-witted… I have an obligation to do so…”
A special lecture application form.
“I will prove it, prove it…”
The lecture topic.
Rania began inscribing letters into the now-empty spaces.
Scratch.
The pen slid over the paper.
As she wrote, Rania reflected. Most people often misunderstand the Battle Mage class. After all, it was simply not well-known.
Practicality, usability, flexible tactics.
She acknowledged all of it.
Recognizing it, but the essence of the Battle Mage wasn’t those impressive-sounding things. It needed to be expressed in more crude terms. In Rania’s view, the essence of the Battle Mage was this.
[Subject: How to Eliminate Wizards]
Countering the Wizard class.
The Battle Mage class was born out of devised combat methods to hunt the ancient skull-headed wizard, Skebal, who had reached the extremes of the Wizard class. So, its essence lay in taking down Wizards.
Crushing those who are supposedly foundational.
It’s a class recognized for decisively defeating them.
“Who the hell dares to theorize about foundation in front of me…?”
Who does what in whose presence?
The victor is foundational.
Foundation is not bestowed; it is seized.
“I will seize it.”
A contradictory notion, but regrettably, no one was there to point it out. No one was there to mention that her class, after all, wasn’t registered as a Battle Mage but as a Wizard.
Scratch.
The only sound that echoed for a while was the pen sliding across the paper.
