Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The First Trial
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* * *
‘More people here than I thought.’
Just because it was called the City of Death didn’t mean it was as gloomy and ominous as its name suggested. But even considering that, the torrent of people bustling beyond the carriage window was no ordinary sight.
It wasn't hard to guess why.
Even in this world, magic was a rare spectacle.
And during this period each year when the tower’s trial took place, the tower’s interior was specially opened to the public for their entertainment.
In a way, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the greatest festival in the city where the magic tower stood.
After all, the ‘Trial of the Red Magic Tower’ in the Imperial Capital was one of the largest-scale events in the entire empire.
Furthermore, in the case of the Black Magic Tower, it had only begun to open its doors to the public during the era of Lord Black, making it an event of particular interest. And that fact meant only one thing.
“A great many people will be watching you.”
My father, Duke Sachsen, spoke up.
It was my first time revealing my existence to the world of magic, and to the public.
Until now, Dale’s exploits had been nothing more than exaggerated rumors passed from person to person. But proving myself before the eyes of those who would now watch this trial was different.
The meaning this act would carry was different as well.
“Yes, I know.”
There was no way Dale didn't know that. It was precisely because he knew that he had so hastily reached the 3rd Circle and volunteered for the tower’s trial.
*Jolt.*
At that very moment, the carriage came to a halt with a slight shudder.
“It seems we’ve arrived.”
My father, Lord Black, said calmly.
“We humbly greet you, Lord Black!”
“We greet you, Your Grace the Duke!”
As the father and son stepped out of the carriage, the waiting elders of the Black Magic Tower bowed in unison.
“Look, it’s Young Master Dale!”
And from a distance, the gazes of the crowd focused on the young prodigy of the ducal house.
“To have already reached the 3rd Circle at such a young age…!”
“They said he was a magical genius unprecedented in the empire, so the stories were true!”
“No, I heard his swordsmanship is on par with the ducal knights!”
‘How embarrassing, how utterly embarrassing.’
In a way, I was the main star of this trial.
“Young Master Dale.”
Just then, a woman of mysterious age cut through the elders and approached me.
“Eris.”
“I humbly greet you, Master of the Tower.”
The Agent of Black, Eris.
An elder of the tower and the chief secretary who oversaw the tower's affairs in Lord Black's absence.
“It is an honor to escort you, Young Master Dale.”
“The pleasure is mine, Miss Eris.”
She was a cold woman in a gray suit, her monocle gleaming.
“She will assist you while the trial is conducted.”
“Yes, Father.”
With those words, Lord Black strode forward, leading his elders.
“This way, if you please, Young Master.”
Her voice was cold and devoid of emotion. I followed Eris.
“The academy graduates who will be taking the trial with you are waiting.”
Academy graduates, young 3rd Circle black mages. They were the competitors who would face the ‘Tower’s Trial’ with Dale from the very bottom.
Though whether one could truly call these fledgling 3rd Circle mages ‘competitors’ was another matter entirely.
* * *
‘Little monster…’
That was the raw, unfiltered impression of Belic, a 3rd Circle mage, upon meeting Dale of House Sachsen, the ducal prodigy.
—The Tower's Trial, First Floor.
‘Life Point Scramble.’ A battle royale.
That wasn't to say it was a deathmatch where they literally staked their lives.
Each participant was given a ‘Life Point Necklace’ enchanted with a shield spell. They could raise the corpses scattered about to defend themselves or attack their opponents.
Upon receiving a ‘valid strike’ equivalent to a fatal wound, the Life Point Necklace would shatter as the shield magic activated—resulting in elimination.
The ‘attacker’ who delivered the valid strike would then have one point added to their Life Point Necklace.
Ultimately, only those who accumulated a score of +3 or more would earn the right to advance to the next floor.
In other words, besides one’s own life point, one had to secure at least two more.
It was a trial designed to weed out the dozens of applicants quickly and efficiently.
The rules of the ‘Life Point Scramble’ itself were common, used in various forms by all five colored magic towers, and even among knights.
It was no exception for filtering out the fledglings who poured into the first floor of the Black Magic Tower each year.
—It should have been.
But when Dale entered the trial grounds, a number of black mages formed a team and animated undead soldiers to test his skills.
‘I knew this would happen.’
At the center of all the attention and wariness, Dale raised a single undead soldier, encasing its entire skeleton in a sheath of chilling frost.
The undead soldiers clashed in a disadvantageous one-versus-many situation, and soon, a slaughter… no, a bone-slaughter began.
It was like a Sword Master slaughtering grunts in the heart of an enemy camp.
Dale’s undead soldier swung its bone blade, and the frost clinging to it scattered with a menacing, blue glint.
*Clang!*
The moment the bone swords collided, a swarm of frost surged along the blade and wrapped around its opponent.
*Crack, crackle.*
It enveloped the enemy, then froze it solid.
“W-Water magic!”
“A dual attribute user… no way.”
As soon as the mass of frost consumed and froze the opposing undead soldier, the skeleton's blade plunged into the ice.
*Shatter!*
That was the end.
With that single blow, ice crystals scattered in all directions. The undead soldier had shattered as helplessly as a glass bottle dropped on the floor.
“One.”
Dale muttered nonchalantly. The scattered shards of ice began to swirl back toward his undead soldier.
Not to bind and freeze an opponent as before, but…
*Clang!*
…to form armor and a shield to block the attacks of the enemies swarming from all sides.
A mass of frost that freely switched between Frozen Armor and Rapid Freezing.
It was a divine display of offense and defense in one.
“Two.”
*Shatter!*
As Dale’s undead soldier swung its blade, another undead soldier was smashed to pieces.
“Three.”
They fell, one-sidedly, unable to even counter a single strike.
“Using water attribute magic is cheating! It’s against the rules, isn’t it?!”
Watching this, one of the participants cried out in desperation.
This was a contest meant to purely test one's capabilities as a black mage.
The only magic permitted in this trial were the two schools of Corpse Animation and Corpse Enhancement. The use of any other magic was forbidden.
“Is there a rule that says you must use only shadow attribute magic to enhance the undead?”
Dale retorted calmly.
“Even if it happens to be a ‘living, moving suit of ice armor,’ that is.”
It was a clever argument, but not necessarily wrong. As if in agreement with his words, the trial was not halted.
A tacit approval.
“It seems to me,”
Watching the scene, Dale murmured nonchalantly.
“that everyone here will have to join forces.”
He said it with a smile that was hard to place as either childish or unchildlike.
“Don’t you agree?”
The rules were for a Life Point Scramble, a battle royale.
And yet, here there was only one common enemy and a group of collaborators trying to defeat him.
A mere ten-year-old boy was facing dozens of black mages and their undead soldiers alone.
There was no time to feel shame or self-pity.
“You guys hold back that undead soldier and aim for the caster!”
“He’s alone! Overwhelm him with numbers!”
Their opponent was the son of Lord Black himself.
Forgetting that this was even a ‘battle royale,’ everyone began to put their heads together to subdue Dale.
No matter how invincible Dale’s undead soldier seemed, it was the caster, Dale, who wore the ‘Life Point Necklace.’
A dozen undead soldiers moved to contain the single one, while the rest rushed to exploit the opening.
His opponent was now an ‘undead army,’ moving in perfect formation.
‘…Damn.’
Watching them, Dale finally clicked his tongue. Not out of panic, but because he had simply forgotten one thing.
‘Right, the use of artifacts is also forbidden.’
In the ‘lower floor trials’ for beginners and novices, the use of artifacts and grimoires was prohibited. That meant he couldn't borrow the power of his beloved sword, the ‘Shadow Cloak.’
Moreover, since magic other than Corpse Animation and Enhancement was forbidden, he couldn't use any separate water attribute spells.
Realizing this, Dale’s gaze returned to the undead army.
‘Looks like I’ll have to take the direct approach.’
Still, nothing changed. It just meant things had become a little more troublesome.
Dale charged toward the undead.
For a ‘normal mage,’ it was an act of pure suicide.
But as he voluntarily threw himself among his enemies, he narrowly dodged the bone blade swinging before him.
*Crack.*
The instant the bone blade cut through the air, Dale seized the opportunity to twist and break the undead’s wrist. After breaking it, he snatched the ‘bone blade’ protruding from the creature's arm.
A Bone Sword, instantly formed by manipulating the bones within the body to arm the undead.
He snatched that very sword and deflected a blow swung from behind him.
Skillfully wielding the white sword in his hand, he unleashed a fluid combination of martial arts and swordsmanship.
As a ‘swordsman,’ he began to face a dozen undead soldiers on his own. The rules forbade magic, but there was no rule against using martial arts and a sword.
“He even knows swordsmanship…!”
“So that’s the son of Lord Black…”
The Colosseum-like hall was packed with people who had come to witness Dale’s fame for themselves.
“The greatest genius in the empire—it wasn’t an exaggeration!”
“That’s Young Master Dale for you!”
The opponents in the trial grounds and the spectators watching from afar were not so different.
Awe.
Dale’s undead soldier single-handedly crushed its enemies, and Dale himself was not far behind, neutralizing the undead one by one.
He precisely identified the threads of mana connecting the undead soldiers to their casters and severed them with a swing of the bone blade in his hand.
It was a divine feat that would have been impossible without both the opponents’ inexperience and Dale’s own prowess.
Furthermore, without using the ‘Shadow Parasite,’ Dale’s undead soldier wasn't automatic either.
Swordsmanship and necromancy. At a time when dedicating oneself to one would be insufficient, the level of concentration Dale displayed was nothing short of astounding.
It was an astonishment that only those who, like Dale, aspired to be necromancers could truly understand.
At that point, the outcome was no longer worth debating.
When the supply of usable skeletons and corpses was completely exhausted and neutralized, the enemy army finally met its annihilation.
Dale, with his undead soldier, calmly walked forward.
“H-Hieeek!”
A blade swung, a shield spell activated, and an opponent's Life Point Necklace shattered. The ‘attacker,’ Dale, gained one life point.
A Life Point Scramble.
Against the participants who could no longer resist, a one-sided harvest of life points unfolded.
“P-Please, Young Master! I beg you…!”
“Come on, it’s not like you’re actually going to die.”
This wasn't a scramble. It was a monopoly. The word slaughter seemed more fitting.
Collecting the life points of the participants one by one, Dale strode forward, swinging the bone blade without a hint of hesitation.
Soon, only a single participant was left before him.
‘Little monster…’
And in the very instant the bone blade swung toward him.
That was the raw, unfiltered impression of Belic, a 3rd Circle mage, upon meeting Dale of House Sachsen, the ducal prodigy.