Chapter 32
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32
“…What did you just say?”
Ishtal Academy. Jeremy’s office.
A sharp voice sliced through the air of the office, a space as pristine and noble as the man himself.
Faced with such an unbelievable report, Jeremy had asked again, his tone uncharacteristically cold.
A suffocating pressure filled the room. The Disciplinary Committee member stammered as he continued.
“On President Freya’s orders, we were patrolling the area when we found a second-year student named Dandol collapsed in an alley. We transported him to the infirmary immediately. The culprit is still unknown, but according to Dandol’s delirious rambling, it was the work of Roen Devalis…”
Thud.
Jeremy closed the book he was holding and spoke decisively.
“It’s a pity, but it seems Junior Dandol is not yet in his right mind.”
“I-I suspect as much, sir. The head of the infirmary believes he may be suffering from memory loss due to repeated trauma to his jaw and skull.”
“……”
Jeremy closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
There had already been rumors that Roen had intervened in a territory battle between some of the academy factions over the weekend. And now, on top of that, came the bizarre news that Dandol had been attacked by Roen.
It was enough to make his head spin.
Leaning back in his chair, Jeremy fell into thought.
‘…If the information is accurate, then this is an undeniable reality.’
Denying a phenomenon that had already occurred was useless. What mattered was analyzing the situation and figuring out how to prepare for what came next.
‘First, I need to verify the authenticity of this report.’
He would decide on the rest later.
Just as Jeremy, having organized his thoughts, was about to dismiss the committee member, there was a knock at the door.
Knock, knock.
“Senior Jeremy, President Freya is here to see you.”
“Show the president in. You, wait outside.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
Jeremy had a good idea of what Freya wanted to discuss, so he sent the committee member out in advance.
A moment later, Freya entered the office. Jeremy rose from his seat to greet her.
“Welcome. This is the first time you’ve visited my office, President.”
As always, Freya was beautiful and noble, like a single flower blooming on a lonely cliffside. She bowed her head politely to Jeremy.
“I apologize for the sudden visit, Senior. There is something I must ask you urgently.”
“Please, have a seat.”
Jeremy gestured to a chair and poured a cup of tea, handing it to her. She sat with her knees pressed together, took a small sip, and set the cup down.
“What brings you all the way here?”
At Jeremy’s question, Freya finally spoke, her voice heavy with concern.
“…Senior Jeremy, do you happen to know about the conflict between Roen and Dandol?”
“Ah, I just received a report about that a moment ago. I heard Junior Dandol was taken to the infirmary and that Roen was allegedly involved.”
“Then this will be quick. Please don’t misunderstand me, but… did you by any chance foresee this?”
Jeremy tilted his head at Freya’s question.
“What do you mean by that…?”
“You gave me a hint the other day, didn’t you? That there might be some ‘good news’ soon. Since you made that remark right after our conversation about Roen, I thought you might be connected to this incident. That is why I came to see you.”
As Freya watched him with a serious expression, Jeremy let out a small laugh and brushed it off.
“Haha, so that’s what was bothering you. President, I believe there was a slight misunderstanding in our conversation.”
“A misunderstanding… you say?”
“Yes. You seemed troubled by the preparations for the upcoming sports festival, which is why I said that. I’ve found a way to procure some of the sponsorship items we were lacking. Since the contracts haven’t been signed yet, I couldn’t say for certain, so I simply told you there would be good news soon.”
“……”
“You seemed so worried about Roen’s situation that I just wanted to share at least one piece of good news. It seems I’ve troubled you unnecessarily instead.”
“Is that so… I suppose I made a ridiculous assumption. I’m sorry for taking up your valuable time.”
Freya bowed her head apologetically and rose from her seat without hesitation. Jeremy also stood to see her out.
“Not at all. Please feel free to visit anytime. You are always welcome.”
Freya gave Jeremy a silent nod and left the office.
Click.
The door closed, leaving the office silent.
“……”
Jeremy gazed for a moment at the sofa where Freya had been sitting, then slowly closed his eyes.
*
Freya walked down the hallway of the headquarters, lost in thought.
‘…Was it really a misunderstanding?’
There was nothing particularly wrong with Jeremy’s explanation. She had some lingering doubts, but it could very well have been a simple miscommunication, just as he said.
It just bothered her.
‘Hoo.’
Freya let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
‘If he says it wasn’t him, then it wasn’t him.’
Senior Jeremy wasn’t the type of person to lie. Their families had maintained a long-standing relationship since they were children. He was the successor who inherited the will and legacy of the Knight King: to protect justice and defend the weak.
Personally, he was a role model for everyone—kind, polite, and righteous. With an outstanding talent for swordsmanship and the social grace to be loved by all, he was practically superhuman.
Her own goal was to become more like him. In a way, Jeremy was the person Freya aspired to be.
“……”
In any case, if even Jeremy, who knew most of what went on in Ishtal, was unaware, then who could have done it? Freya’s worries only deepened.
*
The next day.
The extraordinary event of the territory battle faded into a distant memory, and I stepped back into my usual routine.
“Hoo.”
After finishing my morning routine of meditation and physical training, I headed to the magic training room in the basement of the Union’s main building.
When I arrived, I was greeted by a series of doors lining a long, white corridor. Unlike the physical training room, which was wide and open like a gym, the magic training rooms were divided into individual chambers to accommodate the secretive nature of a mage's research.
I opened one of the doors and entered to begin my magic training in earnest.
The room was enclosed by white walls on all four sides. These magically processed walls completely sealed the room from the outside world, meaning you could unleash magic to your heart’s content.
I looked around the white room, lost in thought.
‘Roen is a third-rate mage who’s hopeless at conventional magic, specializing only in alchemy.’
Roen couldn’t even conjure a small flame on his own. The chain of mana I had used to subdue Chepesi yesterday was nothing more than a spell that had been stored in a crystal ball. In principle, it was no different from a mercenary with zero magical knowledge using a magic scroll.
‘But just because Roen couldn’t use magic doesn’t mean I can’t.’
I was a ‘player,’ and I had the system’s help. Just as I, a novice, had successfully used alchemy and awakened an ability in Spiritology, perhaps I could break through Roen’s blocked magical talent.
‘Let’s give it a try.’
“Hoo.”
I took a deep breath, stared at the white wall, and drew up my mana.
Inside the silent training room, I closed my eyes and focused. I began to feel a strange energy pulsing near my heart.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
As I concentrated on the faint current flowing through the blood pumped from my heart, I felt a sense of exhilaration. It was the same power I felt during meditation and mana breathing. When I focused my will, the energy slowly began to move according to my intent.
Swoosh—
I channeled this wave-like energy toward my right hand and quietly chanted the name of the spell—the most basic offensive magic available to a mage.
“Fire Bolt.”
Vwoom—
For a moment, I felt a hot sensation in my hand as the mana prepared to explode.
Fizzle—
Then, like a blown fuse, the mana gathered in my hand scattered in all directions.
“Ugh!”
A sharp pain shot through my heart. I clutched my chest and collapsed.
“Hah… hah…”
I lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath until the agony subsided. Once the pain faded, I leaned my back against the wall and opened the system window.
Ting.
Just as I expected.
- Your Vitality has decreased due to Mana Backlash.
‘So this is a mana backlash.’
To feel this much pain even with the Sense Sync function reducing my perception… it was no wonder mages died from this.
‘His constitution is still a mess, I guess.’
I frowned and examined my status window. It seemed that even with a player’s soul, I couldn’t immediately override Roen’s physical limitations.
“Status Window.”
Ting.
[Vitality: 28 (-22)]
[Agility: 20 (-10)]
[Strength: 18 (-9)]
[Mana: 37]
[Intellect: 33]
[Charm: 90 (-63)]
Aside from the drop in Vitality, my stats had increased slightly. It was a meager but tangible result of my consistent training. I scanned the window, recalling the game's mechanics.
‘…Basically, base stats in Myrillin Saga range from 1 to 20.’
An ordinary person would have stats around 10, while a hero would start near 20. From there, it was about development. If a stat reached 30, you could make a living in that field—as a private soldier or a potion merchant.
Those with talent could reach 50, enough to become a proper knight or mage. If a stat was over 80, you were a master or grand mage, a figure for the history books. And a stat close to 100? That was the level of a true hero.
From that perspective, Roen’s current stats had a long way to go. To stand alongside the named characters in the main storyline, I needed to be much stronger.
‘Still, this will improve over time.’
I clenched my fist. I had growth bonuses to my physical stats from my class change to a martial artist, and bonuses to Mana and Intellect from the Nine Yin Severed Meridians trait. My stats would resolve themselves as long as I trained.
The real problem was my traits.
“Traits.”
I opened the window and re-examined the two problematic ones.
[Nine Yin Severed Meridians]
• An excess of yin energy has overloaded your physique and magic circuits, causing an abnormality in your mana heart.
• Growth efficiency for Mana and Intellect stats increases by 100%.
• Vitality, Stamina, and Strength are halved.
• Yin energy is amplified. Lifespan is significantly reduced.
[Half-Human, Half-Demon]
• You are born of a demonic bloodline, with both mana and demonic energy flowing through your body. You inherit racial traits of both demons and humans.
• Magic resistance and demonic energy resistance are increased.
• Divine magic and spirit magic resistance are decreased.
• An event will occur if Affinity reaches 0 or 100.
Current Affinity: [52/100]
“……”
I suspected the interaction between these two was what prevented Roen from using conventional magic.
‘The Nine Yin Severed Meridians is manageable.’
This trait could be cured later after I milked the stat bonuses. The cure was complex, but I knew the method. That left Half-Human, Half-Demon—an inherited bloodline trait with no cure. It was a ticking time bomb; if my identity was ever discovered, it was game over.
‘That’s impossible to fix unless I’m reborn.’
I shook my head with a bitter smile. A temporary race change might be possible, but deleting a bloodline was unheard of.
‘I’ll look for a way, but it doesn’t look hopeful.’
I let out a deep sigh and stood up. To use magic normally, I had to bypass these traits. Solving this the conventional way would take years.
But this was Myrillin Saga. Conventional methods weren’t the only ones available. If I used a bit of a workaround… it wasn’t entirely impossible.
‘I should have a meal with Bell today.’
One of those workarounds involved Bell, the commoner student I met in the Intermediate Magic Theory lecture. I was going to need her help.