Chapter 118: The Second Buyer (1)
I shouldn’t have agreed to be his disciple. Somehow, I felt more tired than when I faced Saint Aimar.
“I mean, why is an old man rushing in like that?”
Professor Kelthas suddenly started emphasizing ‘actual combat training’, saying that from now on there would be no need for rules. Thanks to that, I couldn’t spar with Professor Kelthas like I used to, and we were sparring under equal conditions.
“Ugh, it hurts.”
Professor Kelthas was the most passionate person I’d ever met. It was to the extent that, whenever I succeeded in counterattacking occasionally, he smiled.
It was as if he was a teacher who was truly happy with his student’s growth.
Then he said he would observe me thoroughly and train me according to my skills.
He probably really would. After all, he was the one who noticed right away that I had created one more core at Thermion Mansion during our sparring session.
“I’ll have to clear out my schedule on days when we have a spar.”
If it went on like this, it would be hard for me to coast by. Of course, I’d never done anything half-heartedly, but I still needed to be a little more determined.
If I thought about it, Duke Thermion—whom I couldn’t overcome in my previous life—was a Hexa class. Now, someone of the same level of skill was teaching me.
There was actually a lot to learn. After all, my swordsmanship was ‘still’ being perfected.
In fact, there was no such thing as perfection in swordsmanship. Therefore, I was now gaining ‘real-world experience’ and becoming stronger at a much faster rate than in my previous life.
“Hmm. It’s a shame.”
Since I felt like I needed to train more, I wondered if I was becoming addicted to becoming stronger like the students from the Physical Beauty Club.
Anyway.
I headed to the Forest of Bonia, as I promised my friends. I could see Leila swinging a sword, and Ernest shooting a bow…
“Huh?” I also confirmed that there was one more person.
“Welcome, Mr. Dane!”
As soon as he saw me, he ran over to me and greeted me politely.
Dorian Artaq.
He was the former president of the now-disbanded Physical Beauty Club and one of the unsung heroes of this year’s Festival.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I came to train!” he exclaimed.
“Train?”
Why was this man, who was crazy about gaining muscles and should have been in the sewer gym we built for him, suddenly here?
“Th-that… I think I need to hone my martial arts a little more.”
“All of a sudden?”
“I realized that muscles aren’t the only thing that matters!”
At those words, I suddenly remembered what had happened at the fortune-telling booth.
Dorian had been subdued by the two students from the Sword Society, whose names I immediately forgot. He hadn’t even had time to react.
Then I remembered that Priscilla was there, too.
“Aha.” I smiled at Dorian. “Alright. That’s right. Muscles aren’t the answer.”
“S-so I wanted to ask, Mr. Dane.” Suddenly, Dorian said something unexpected. “I-I want to become stronger!”
“Then you can go and practice.”
“That’s not it… I want to learn from you, sir!”
What the hell?
Leila, who had come up next to me, chimed in, “At the time, you subdued those two without lifting a finger. He was completely convinced by your strength.”
Ernest added, “We’ve gotten used to it, but Dane’s skills are unbelievable to people who see them for the first time.”
Why were they like this again?
“Is there another reason?” I asked Dorian.
“…”
“Well, if you don’t want to say it, you don’t have to.”
I think he knew what I meant without me having to say it.
It was a good motivation. There were many men who lived with that goal even on the battlefield.
In a broader sense, the goal was to protect the country where you and your family lived. In a narrow sense, it was to survive and reunite with the person you loved.
Wasn’t it always like that?
“You want to become stronger?” I asked.
“Yes!”
“Alright. And you’ll do anything?”
“Of course!”
I had just the thing in mind.
Of course, not for Dorian.
It was for Leila, Ernest—who could later become somewhat more skilled—and myself.
Rather, this was better. I could test it out.
Pzzzt.
I opened my subspace and took out the ‘Illusion Generator Mk.2’. It was the one I gave to Priscilla and got back when she broke up with her boyfriend.
“Over here should be fine.”
I placed the illusion generator in a reasonably wide area and inserted the special mana stone I had made earlier.
“Go and stand over there.”
“O-over here?”
“A little further back. Yes, right there.”
Dorian still didn’t seem to realize what I was trying to do.
Leila, who was relatively quick-witted, asked me, “You want to train him with an illusion?”
“Yes. You noticed?”
“I’ve seen that before. But illusions aren’t real. I don’t think it will help much.”
“Let’s try and see.”
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Rainypup]
[Proofreader – Harley]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
Since ancient times, when fighting with one’s body, reflexes and the ability to respond to situations were important.
That was why I prepared this.
Grafting magic onto an illusion generator.
Whooong.
I rearranged the magic code in the air to create a three-chain magic, «Magic Barrier». It wrapped around Dorian, effectively trapping him.
“S-sir?”
“It’s not over yet.”
I added a bit of mana to the illusion generator. It was a bit weird because I was modifying Arabella’s invention, but it was fine.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m making it so magic will flow from the illusion,” I explained.
“Is that possible?”
“Yes. Probably?”
I’d never done it before, but I was going to try it.
“It’s working.”
I succeeded at once.
“…Are you amazing, or is this just simple magic?”
“Maybe the former?”
“Really, you…”
Leaving Leila behind, who was shaking her head in disbelief, I checked the magic of the illusion generator.
Kzzt.
It worked.
The mana I injected caused a weak electric current to flow once the illusion created by the generator touched someone.
There was no reality in illusion, so it was impossible to practice with just that. But what if I added my mana to the magic that created the illusion so that some kind of interaction occurred the moment we made contact?
You’d probably have to dodge with all your might.
“Done.”
“S-sir! What kind of training is this?”
I gave a short answer to the bewildered Dorian, “Avoid the wyverns.”
“What?”
“Do your best.”
I activated the illusion generator right away—
“Kwaaaaaah!”
A giant wyvern appeared.
“It’s an illusion, but it hurts if it touches you. So avoid it carefully,” I warned.
“S-Sir! I-it hurts!”
“It’ll sting a little. If you get hit more than three times, your training for the day is over. Dodge well.”
I arranged the final code like that and finally made the wyvern move, and a scream erupted from inside the dome.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Oh, you dodged the first attack well.”
As a martial arts major, I was sure he’d be good at dodging. But how long could he last?
Of course, the tension would be less than in a real fight, but it was true that you had to avoid it at all costs because once it touched you, a sharp electric current would shock you.
There was even a rule that if you got hit three times, your training would end, so unless you really hated it, you’d have to endure it to the end.
Of course, I could probably cast other magic as well. Harsher spells, like something that caused burns when touched.
“Dane, that looks fun. I want to do it,” Leila said.
“When Dorian is done, go and try it. What should I summon for you?”
“Um… I guess there’s nothing better than something fast when it comes to improving reflexes, right?”
“I’ll choose a decent one for you.”
Leila watched the bloody battle inside the magic barrier with curious eyes, then sneaked over and began coaching Dorian.
“Alright, keep moving! That’s it. This time, they’re coming from behind!”
I approached Ernest and said, “You worked hard.”
There were quite a few scars on his hands, evidence that he had been pulling the bowstring without rest. Now that I thought about it, his muscles seemed to have grown a bit more.
“I guess the Physical Beauty Club members are good at teaching.”
“Yes, that’s right. I think muscles are beautiful.”
“…”
This one seemed to be getting brainwashed, too.
“You’ll do that soon, too,” I said.
“R-really?”
“Yes. There’s no reason you can’t. Of course, let’s start with archery today. Get your bow.”
“Yes!” Ernest took up his bow obediently.
“Nock it.”
“Oof!”
His drawing speed had also accelerated, but it still wasn’t enough. If he was going to provide support fire from behind as Ernest wanted in the future, he’d need to be faster than this.
“Remember, in real life, there’s no time to be so relaxed about drawing,” I stated.
“Oh, I see! I’ll try again!”
After he repeated the same thing over and over again, I stopped him for a moment and had him shoot.
“The target is over there, the third dummy. Hit the head.”
“The head? From this distance?”
“Try it. There’s no reason you can’t.”
Ping!
As Ernest let go of his bowstring, an arrow flew past and grazed the scarecrow’s shoulder.
It wasn’t a bad result. He was aiming at a target that had been suddenly modified. However, there was still a long way to go.
“A little faster.”
“This time, right after your first shot.”
“Change your target now. Down.”
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Arrows flew without stopping. Ernest was literally gritting his teeth. I continued to whip Ernest into shape by presenting him with various situations that were similar to real-life situations.
“Alright. You’re doing well.”
Of course, I didn’t forget to give compliments here and there. After all, nothing discouraged a student more than unreasonable pressure.
“You’ve gotten a lot better,” I said.
“Really?” Ernest asked.
“Yes. Much more than before. Let’s keep practicing—just enough so that you’re not overworked. Skin injuries can be healed right away, but if your nerves or muscles are injured, it takes time to heal.”
If it was a skin injury, we could ask Priscilla. However, more complex areas, such as nerves or muscles, didn’t heal right away.
Getting hurt like that was more damaging.
“I’ll work hard and do well on the next expedition!”
“You don’t have to think like that. There are plenty of things you can do, right?” I smiled brightly.
“Oh, Dane. I’m looking for a place to explore inside the Academy!”
“Is there such a place?”
“Yes. There are plenty of restricted areas.”
Ernest was really into exploring.
“Be careful. If you get caught or get hurt, you’ll be in big trouble.”
If we were going together, it would be fine. However, if Ernest, who was currently at the peak of his confidence, were to wander around alone and have an accident, it would be a huge headache.
“Don’t worry. I won’t overdo it.”
Didn’t saying that mean he was?
“It’s not that I’m telling you not to explore, but you should be careful. No matter what.”
“Yeah, yeah. Leave it to me.”
Leave it to me. Yeah, well. What if something happened? If it was a place that would make for a great exploration, then he was welcome to it. All he had to do was not die.
Anyway, I went back towards the magic barrier.
“Oh, he’s holding up well.”
He lasted longer than I expected.
I thought he would last only ten minutes at most.
“It’s been over twenty minutes already. I think he’s been touched twice.”
“Then there’s only one left.”
Was this the power of love?
“Aaaaargh!”
He still had the strength to scream. If Priscilla had been here, I think he would have lasted an hour instead of twenty minutes.
“You’re better than I thought. Leila, should I do two?”
“I can do it once. I’m confident.”
I was laughing at Leila’s overflowing confidence, but then I suddenly got distracted by a call.
It was Cidrane.
⸢Hey, kid. How’ve you been?⸣
“It’s been a while, Mr. Magic Tower Head. How have you been?”
⸢I’ve been doing well.⸣
After exchanging greetings, we got down to business.
⸢I contacted you because you asked if I had found the next buyer.⸣
“Did you?”
⸢Who do you think I am? Of course I found one. It took some time, but shouldn’t we be careful?⸣
I nodded. I agreed 100% with the saying that we must be careful. I was going to sell it at a low price and slowly spread the word at first. Then, I would gradually increase the price. However, I didn’t want to just sell it to whoever from the beginning.
In that sense, the second buyer was just as important as the first buyer.
“What kind of person is it?”
⸢A person who desperately wants that mana stone. However, he’s a rather peculiar person.⸣
“Peculiar?”
A slightly excited voice came from the crystal ball.
⸢Yeah. They say they’re making some kind of groundbreaking treatment. It’s supposed to prevent infections and treat certain diseases…⸣
A cure.
How interesting.
There were many things in the world that couldn’t be solved with divine power.
Leila’s mother suddenly came to mind. I hoped Delward was doing well.
⸢Anyway, I heard that the equipment used in the process of researching it uses mana stones, but the efficiency is extremely poor, making it difficult to research.⸣
“Got it.”
⸢So, I think it would be better for you to meet them yourself. The first buyer was my vice-head, so I went myself, but I think you should see this one for yourself and judge.⸣
If a mage as good as Cidrane said I should meet them myself一
“I guess I should look into it just out of curiosity.”
I guess I’d have to prepare my disguise a bit since I couldn’t show my face. I had some good things for that purpose.
⸢Wait a minute, you’re an academy student, right? Can you leave whenever you want?⸣
“Of course.”
I thought about the voucher I received for winning first place at the Festival. That would be simple.
⸢Alright. Then I’ll contact you again soon. This is my first trip to the capital in a long time.⸣
Cidrane looked quite excited. I’d need to prepare a bit, too.
“See you soon, Mr. Magic Tower Head.”
⸢Yes. But how long are you going to call me Mr. Magic Tower Head? Try calling me Master. Ahem.⸣
“I’m hanging up.”
