Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: A Stupid Day
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【How foolish.】
Atop a branch of the World Tree.
Caden had reached a height no one else could touch, and he could no longer maintain the joking, laughing face he'd worn in front of the group just moments ago.
“Hoo… This is tough.”
His breathing was as thin as a sheet of paper that might scatter on the wind.
His lips trembled, and his complexion grew ever paler.
【How long do you plan to keep living, Caden?】
“Mormot? Even if you say that, I’m not dying.”
Caden gave a wry smile.
But even that smile didn’t last long.
Puk—!!
Caden’s fingertips pierced straight through his own chest.
From the gap poured not blood, but a jet-black shadow.
—Plip… plip, plip.
A pitch-black darkness that swallowed the light.
As it flowed out, color slowly returned to Caden’s face.
【Veronica could do it.】
“…No. Not that. Never.”
【Why not?】
Caden slowly withdrew his hand as he spoke.
Even then, the jet-black shadow kept flowing ceaselessly.
It was as if it were saying that as long as he breathed, the darkness would never fade.
“…Does she look like a monster with no emotions to you?”
Veronica was strong.
Strong enough to shatter the world’s order.
Even if every civilization united against her, they couldn’t match her alone.
But… strength was solitude.
She stood purely at the pinnacle.
In a place no one could reach or climb to.
【To her, our lives are mere instants. Is there any reason to fear such an instant?】
Veronica was a dragon, after all.
A race that lived eternally.
Even elves, who lived far longer than humans…
The entirety of their birth, life, and death was just a “blink” to Veronica—an instant that passed in the wink of an eye.
“…You’re right.”
【……】
“But… she accepts our instants as eternity.”
Veronica was foolish.
She knew lives were mere instants—
Yet she turned those instants into eternity and embraced them.
She tried to remember beings who would die and vanish, cling to passing bonds, and defy the flow of time itself.
Things that should mean nothing in a dragon’s timeline, Veronica made meaningful.
“So… we can never place that burden on her.”
【You will die in the end, Caden.】
“Yes. I know.”
【She will be alone forever.】
“…Probably.”
【And still, you’ll stay?】
“As long as the world allows… I can’t entrust my death to her.”
Veronica—the strongest, loneliest, and most foolish being in the world.
But also the one bearing more wounds than anyone.
Caden—
Could never tolerate adding one more atop those wounds.
“And… there’s one thing you got wrong.”
Caden looked down.
Beneath the World Tree’s massive branch stood the students on the ground.
Playful, exhausted, curious, sometimes seeming downright dumb…
But one fact was clear.
Right now, in this moment, they all stood on the same ground.
“At least… we’re together with them right now.”
And—
“Hey. What’re you doing up here?”
A voice rang out abruptly.
Caden didn’t even turn around, but he knew who it was from that prickly tone.
“Why, getting your voyeur kick while muttering to yourself, you pervert?”
Veronica stood a short distance away, looking annoyed at Caden talking to himself.
Caden casually drew in a breath.
Whiiiiiing—
Was it his imagination, or did the breeze that should’ve been gentle feel like a gale with Veronica’s arrival?
Even the blanket draped over her shoulders like a cape fluttered away on the wind.
Caden watched it fall toward the base of the World Tree, a vein bulging on his forehead, but…
He quickly composed his expression and shot back.
“Oh? Didn’t you entrust them to me, Veronica?”
“Yeah, but so what? No peeping.”
“I wasn’t peeping.”
“Then my eyes are playing tricks? Huh?”
“That’s exactly it, Veronica.”
“Did you hit your head when I punched you earlier?”
Veronica tilted her chin up and took a step closer.
Yet Caden didn’t waver.
“I’m not so weak that a feeble punch from you could hurt me?”
“Fine, let’s see you die today.”
***
“So anyway—”
That was when Violet was gesturing animatedly as she explained to the group.
Kwaaaang—!!
The boom came from far away, but the vibration reached even here.
Leaves rained down from the surrounding trees from the impact.
Everyone’s heads snapped around in unison—including mine.
The source of the boom: atop one of the World Tree’s massive branches.
“Hmm…”
“What is it?”
“Someone fighting?”
“Looks like a fistfight.”
But it was too high up; no matter how hard we squinted, we couldn’t make anything out.
No, the angle itself hid everything from view.
The only thing clear was this:
Something chaotic was going down up there.
And—
“Ahem.”
Violet cleared her throat a couple times.
She’d apparently decided to ignore the mess above and continue her explanation.
“So, yeah, we play, but since we’re here in the Great Forest for this ‘training camp,’ let’s actually do some training.”
To sum up Violet’s point:
What we’d done so far felt more like a “trip.”
The Great Forest was just a change of backdrop for our usual routines.
But at its core, this was a “training camp.”
So playtime was fine, but let’s focus on training.
Clap!
A moment later, Violet clapped her hands together.
“Alright, underclassmen! Let’s knock this out quick and then have fun!”
“Woooah!!”
“……”
Everyone nodded calmly…
Except Seros, who was raring to go.
Could this really be the same guy who’d turned into a lump of charcoal in one second and revived in five? His energy was off the charts.
I was starting to get chills from that superhuman mental fortitude.
“First, let’s warm up with a few laps around… then sparring?”
“Sounds good.”
“…Not bad.”
Rustle.
The mood was naturally agreeable.
Amid it all… I felt a bit embarrassed but quietly raised my hand.
“Hm? What’s up, little bro?”
[I’m the patient here.]
“Uhmm…”
At the word “patient,” Violet tilted her head and eyed me closely, then shifted her gaze to Lev standing behind me.
Tap.
Lev placed a hand on my head and shook his slowly.
“So, can you spar a bit later? No need to push yourself.”
[I’ll try.]
Still…
We came to this training camp to get stronger together, so I couldn’t just sit it out sucking my thumb.
I’d join the sparring.
“Then rest here, little bro… Alright, underclassmen, let’s go?”
“Yes~”
The moment I heard that, regret hit me late.
Wasn’t running laps easier than sparring?
‘……’
Sparring would be tougher—no need to think about it.
I’d been too complacent.
I sighed inwardly and slowly turned around.
[You’re not going, Lev?]
“…No need.”
[Got it.]
I nodded at the very Lev-like response and rested my chin on my hand for a moment.
Normally, I’d chat with Lev, but right now, I had no spare energy.
‘The dream… no, but it felt too vivid for a dream.’
The dream from this morning.
An oddly lifelike, unsettling memory.
The abyss blooming, followed by starlight blanketing the entire forest.
That scene still lingered vividly before my eyes.
‘Was it really a dream?’
If not, who would’ve done such a thing?
…Carnel?
The keyword “stars” brought Carnel to mind.
But there was no reason for Carnel to use such magic.
No need for the hassle in the first place.
With a flick of his finger, he could slaughter the beasts—why waste mana on massive magic?
Carnel would’ve grumbled about the mana waste.
‘Hmmm…’
Lost in thought, I noticed the group gathering around me one by one after a few laps around the World Tree to warm up.
And just as Violet was about to speak up again as rep—
“Infidel.”
“?”
“You… fight me.”
My thoughts on the dream were still a mess…
But Erwin had challenged me to spar.
“Ooh… young blood, huh. Full of vigor.”
“…Violet, he’s only a year younger than us.”
“Younger than us by a year?”
“……”
I looked at Erwin and unconsciously ran a simulation.
Me vs. Erwin.
Matchup wasn’t bad.
With 【Abyss Dragon】 that pierced magic, it shouldn’t be too hard.
The issue… was whether my body could even move right now.
‘Impossible.’
That meant I had to win with magic alone…
Rookie who just started magic vs. magic maniac.
The outcome was obvious.
Overwhelming Erwin victory.
But—
“Of course… considering your condition, I’ll yield first strike.”
[?]
“I won’t move until you do.”
An outrageous condition.
I nodded up and down at lightspeed.
***
Erwin and I faced off in front of the lake.
The rest of the group sat a bit away, knees hugged to their chests.
“But didn’t Erwin lose last time?”
“Yeah.”
“Ooh… this matchup’s got hype.”
Violet and Carnel whispered quietly…
But Cradle students had long surpassed human limits.
Their whispers stabbed straight into mine and Erwin’s ears.
“……”
A thick vein bulging on Erwin’s forehead.
The humiliation of that day still burned fresh, it seemed.
‘Nice assist.’
I mentally gave a thumbs-up.
Before it even started, Erwin’s mentality was half dust.
[You really won’t move?]
“…What do you take me for, infidel?”
[Stalker guy]
“……”
[So you’re not moving, right?]
“…Yeah, I promise.”
Confirmation received.
Now, how to clinch the win.
‘Sneak attack, obviously…’
The question was how.
Throw a dagger?
Instant reject.
The moment I drew it, Erwin would react and move.
‘Magic circle?’
Draw a magic circle?
No go.
A circle drawn without directly channeling mana through my hand as medium was laughably crude.
Not even a proper strike—just a pretty doodle on display.
‘Then…’
Gurgle—
I summoned the abyss first.
My shadow rippled and spread, a chill darkness creeping silently across the ground, eroding it.
“……”
Erwin still didn’t budge even after I summoned the abyss.
Surprisingly so.
Apparently, this didn’t count as “moving.”
I’d prepped to dodge, only to feel awkwardly sheepish.
Gurgle—
The abyss spilling from my shadow just kept writhing.
Finally… Erwin couldn’t hold back and spoke.
“Hey… when do we start?”
[Now.]
“?”
Whoosh—!!
Before Erwin could open his mouth again, the mana hidden in the abyss flashed, forming a geometric structure.
《Abyss / Intermediate Magic》
「Eroding Stream」
Was it a dream, or a memory I’d forgotten? I wasn’t sure.
The scene of drawing a magic circle directly through the abyss.
I replicated it exactly—
And it was a resounding success.
Gurgle—
The abyss stream writhed like tentacles and seized Erwin’s legs, yanking them up.
Then… Erwin’s body arced through the air in a perfect parabola.
Elegantly clean trajectory.
Splash!
“Ow, jumping in on a cold day like this.”
“Must be freezing.”
“Into the water again.”
The group muttered nonchalantly, staring at the lake.
Meanwhile, I hadn’t twitched a finger, just adjusted mana and held up the whiteboard.
Scribbled messily…
[I haven’t moved yet]
Floated it on the lake surface.
But I realized soon enough.
No way Erwin could see writing on the lake from underwater.
Flick!
I swallowed my embarrassment and snatched the whiteboard by hand.
Given Erwin’s personality, he wouldn’t push to continue sparring like this.
Good enough wrap-up.
‘Here goes.’
I crouched by the lake and dunked the whiteboard into the water.
Hoping he might see it underwater.
‘But… will he?’
I thought it over.
Erwin was in the lake’s dead center.
…While I was at the edge.
Unless Erwin had Veronica-level eyesight, reading the whiteboard was impossible.
‘Tch.’
I eventually clicked my tongue and pulled the whiteboard out.
Turned it toward me—
[]
‘Huh.’
The writing was gone.
I twisted the whiteboard every which way.
Flipped it side to side, looked up from below, even spun my head full circle.
Still nothing.
Finally, I eyed the pen I’d used.
‘……’
Water-based pen.
Not the water-resistant oil-based one… but the water-soluble kind.
‘Gah.’
Today was an exceptionally stupid day.