The Gloomy Alchemist, Part 4
Marc Visus was of commoner birth, but by a stroke of good fortune, he had managed to enter the academy.
This was thanks to his connection with a young lady of the high nobility, the daughter of the Duke of Tistina, since childhood.
Of course, that connection alone would not have been enough to secure his admission.
Whenever he swung a wooden sword by himself, his childhood friend Lilit Tistina's bodyguard would occasionally approach and offer him pointers.
As time passed, these brief lessons bore fruit, eventually catching the eye of the Tistina family's head swordsmanship instructor.
According to the instructor, Marc Visus was a prodigy of the sword.
With all these factors aligning, Marc was able to enter the academy as a student of the Knight Academy.
Listening to Principal Rium Kitokal's speech at the entrance ceremony, Marc's heart had swelled with excitement.
I will make a name for myself, build my reputation, and become the strongest knight—a hero.
It was the first time the commoner-born boy had ever dared to dream.
"...wake... up..."
"Wake up...!"
"Ah!"
Marc Visus opened his eyes to a faint voice calling out to him.
As he tried to stretch his stiff body, a sharp pain flared through every joint, forcing a groan from his lips.
"Ah, I think he's finally waking up."
"Ugh... my head..."
"...My boy! Are you alright? Are you coming to?"
Marc turned his head toward the voices. There, he saw the academy's young vice principal, Heeris Morgan, and the principal, Rium Kitokal.
"You two are...!"
"Shh, keep your voice down. They seem busy, but they are still keeping an eye on us!"
"They...? Ah... now that I think about it..."
Marc retraced the events that had occurred before he lost consciousness.
The magic circles that had suddenly appeared during the entrance ceremony, the abrupt explosions, and the dark mages who had indiscriminately unleashed spells all over the area.
From the looks of it, the academy was under a terrorist attack by dark mages.
Looking around, he realized that the majority of the students and faculty, including himself, had been bound hand and foot in the center of the Great Hall.
"Are we... hostages now?"
Marc, having just regained consciousness, asked the two men.
"It appears so... but the reality of our situation is far worse."
"The building's structural integrity was severely compromised after the initial explosion. It's only a matter of time before the ceiling collapses on us."
"Unless help arrives soon, everyone here will perish."
"Furthermore, they have been drawing a massive magic circle around us. Considering the nature of their magic, this circle is undoubtedly..."
"Yes, they likely intend to use us as sacrifices. Judging by the number of hostages and the scale of the magic circle, they must be planning to cast some colossal dark spell."
Vice Principal Heeris and Principal Rium hung their heads, their expressions grim.
"What is the situation outside?"
"Most of those dark mages aren't particularly skilled, so the stronger students and the guards should have subdued them quickly. They are likely hesitating to breach the hall because we are being held hostage."
"In that case... what if those of us inside subdue them?"
"What...! Don't be absurd! That is far too reckless!"
"Didn't you just say most of the dark mages aren't that strong?"
"But there is one extremely dangerous individual among them... the one wearing a robe with a red pattern! The other dark mages and their puppets were easily handled by our academy guards. But the moment that red-patterned robe appeared, the tide of battle turned instantly. Even with my help—and though I am old, I was once an Advanced Mage—we couldn't stop him. He must be a high-ranking dark mage... at the very least, we would need a Sword Master to face him."
"But doesn't that also mean if we defeat him, the situation will be resolved?"
Marc's eyes burned with a strange, intense light.
"Are you... truly serious?"
Vice Principal Heeris asked, his eyes filled with concern.
"If we just sit here, we die anyway. Shouldn't we at least struggle with everything we've got?"
"Hoho... youth is indeed a splendid thing. Well, I suppose we have no choice."
Principal Rium covertly cast a spell, conjuring a tiny spark at the tips of his bound fingers.
He then burned through the ropes binding himself, the vice principal, and Marc.
"You are correct. Waiting idly will only lead to a dog's death."
"Huff... puff... W-Wait a minute... P-Please slow down...!"
"...We've been walking this whole time, though?"
In truth, Rofel and Eliseo were moving with extreme caution to avoid detection by other dark mages.
However, for Eliseo, who spent all her days cooped up in her laboratory, even this mild level of physical exertion was clearly exhausting.
"Alright, this area seems relatively safe. Let's take a short break."
Rofel said, though he did not lower his guard.
"B-By the way, you're a freshman this semester too, right? I-Isn't this your first time at the academy as well?"
"Huh? Yeah, it is."
"Y-Yet, you seem to navigate the halls so well... A-Almost as if you already knew the layout of this place..."
"Well... how should I put it? It's like I instinctively know where the paths lead."
"D-Do you always give... t-those kinds of answers...?"
Eliseo made no effort to hide her disapproval, looking thoroughly unimpressed by yet another vague response.
"But it's the truth. This is definitely my first time in this building, let alone the academy. Yet, strangely enough, every single corridor feels oddly familiar..."
"I-Is that so...? Wait... Ah... H-Hold on... Is that a wound? Y-You're hurt?"
"Hmm? Ah... this?"
Having rushed around to avoid the sentries while the building was collapsing, it wasn't surprising that he had sustained a few minor cuts.
"It's fine. A scratch like this is nothing."
"W-Wait... Come here for a second..."
Eliseo approached Rofel and pulled an Advanced Healing Potion from her robes.
She let a single drop fall onto Rofel's wound, and it began to heal at a visible rate.
"Whoa! Just one drop did all this?"
"Hehehe... I-I might not look it, but I'm actually quite good at a-alchemy...! This potion can be d-drunk or applied topically... Either way, the results are guaranteed...! O-Oh, but you shouldn't use too much at once... Because I focused entirely on emergency treatment, the healing potency is extremely high. If you use too much at once, your body won't be able to handle the rapid regeneration! A-And, this potion isn't just for healing; if you mix in d-different catalysts, the effects change completely...!"
Perhaps because it was the one subject she truly loved, Eliseo excitedly rambled on about her potions despite the perilous and urgent situation.
Rofel was a bit taken aback by her sudden shift in attitude, but he listened intently, hanging on her every word.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—her tedious lecture did not last very long.
A figure clad in a black robe, radiating a sinister and unsettling aura, was seen approaching from the far end of the corridor.
Rofel hid Eliseo behind his back and raised his iron pipe.
Eliseo quickly tucked the potion back into her robes and trembled violently behind Rofel.
"Ah... how lucky. My tracking spell only detected one person, but coming here in person, I find two...? Choosing this path first was definitely the right call."
The dark mage Arise revealed himself, his mouth splitting into a sickeningly wide grin.
Suddenly, two sharp, violet spears materialized on either side of him and shot toward Rofel and Eliseo.
Rofel swung the iron pipe in one hand, striking one of the spears to deflect its trajectory, while the other spear vanished in a flash of blue light as he reached out with his free hand.
He had cast Dispel, one of the basic spells.
Though he had only just entered the academy, he had already learned a few basic spells from the Teufel family.
"Oh? You can dispel magic of this level? Right, I see where you stand."
Arise remained completely relaxed.
The spell he had just cast was merely a casual greeting, requiring barely any effort.
After all, his goal was to take his time and torturously kill the two prey before him one by one; there was no need to end it in a single stroke.
Before him stood a young man and a young woman.
The boy's body was sturdy and well-trained, and he possessed enough mana to suggest he could cast spells, but that was all. As for the girl, both her physical condition and her mana pool were utterly unremarkable.
Against these two, Arise had absolutely nothing to fear.
What he desired, first and foremost, was one-sided cruelty.
That was why he had targeted students who were average and weak to begin with, tracking them with his magic.
As he raised one hand, the violet spears from earlier materialized once more.
This time, they were infused with far more mana, and their numbers had multiplied.
The moment the spears shot toward Rofel and Eliseo, new ones materialized to take their place.
Consequently, a relentless barrage of violet spears continuously spawned and flew from around Arise.
Rofel swung his iron pipe faster and wider, deflecting the incoming projectiles.
He covered any gaps in his defense by casting Dispel with his free hand.
However, as the spears grew stronger and more numerous, Rofel began to pant, cold sweat trickling down his neck.
Watching Rofel struggle, Arise's grin stretched even wider, splitting his face in a grotesque display.
As if the real show was only just beginning.