Chapter 117: War of Destruction (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 117: War of Destruction (3)
Daisy is strong.
To put it simply, she possessed decent skills even within the Magic Department and had an absurd growth rate.
As a Saintess, her immense divine power allowed her to perform feats that ordinary swordsmen or mages couldn't dream of.
Was that all? In a world where the primary enemies were dark mages and the Demon Tribe, her divine power naturally dealt additional damage, not to mention fixed damage.
On top of that, she was mentally resilient.
That was usually the case for RoFan female leads, but she would throw herself into danger for her friends without a second thought.
She punished the sins of the Holy Kingdom without hesitation, and finally, she endured the relentless romantic advances of the RoFan male leads by feigning ignorance.
The unrequited affection of the Empire’s prince, princes from other powerful nations, and various famous nobles...
If it were me, I would have vomited blood and run away at that last part.
Yet, she waited for those guys to come to their senses, still considering them friends.
To some, it might look like she was managing a harem, but to me, her endurance seemed like that of a high priest undergoing asceticism.
Of course, I wished she’d use some of that endurance to strip away the "boyfriend (fake)" title she’d slapped on me.
Anyway, Daisy is strong.
She is strong both mentally and physically.
And her talent could be described as even greater than that.
However, even considering all of those factors, they couldn't explain Daisy’s current combat power.
Most of her current strength came from her Magic Sword.
Specifically, it was combat power achieved through the power of the Magic Sword used by the Demon King—who, based on the content Boradori had seen, could be considered the final boss.
Not only does it infinitely absorb the opponent's mana, but the wielder can also use that mana themselves.
For someone like Daisy, who can use divine power for physical enhancement and healing, it was a Magic Sword that made long-term battles increasingly advantageous.
In fact, the thing was so perfect for her that I wondered if it had been made specifically for Daisy rather than the Demon King.
Watching Daisy hold that sword, I was honestly jealous.
Ah, that should have been my sword.
If I had that, I feel like I could win against anyone!
At this point, I could even understand Gollum wanting the One Ring!
It was then that Uncle Aeryun asked for my cooperation.
It wasn't just a personal request; he formally requested cooperation from Leon as well.
A Magic Sword production collaboration between the Empire and Leon.
If Dale had heard of this, they would have thrown a fit, but honestly, it wouldn't have been strange even if there were a business agreement with Dale.
If the people in the Empire were at all competent, they must have realized it by now.
That something unusual was happening, centered around the Academy.
Given that the Academy had been breached like this for over a year and yet the Director and Uncle Aeryun still held their positions, the Empire must have evaluated these RoFan incidents as something inexplicable.
That was likely why they reached out to Leon without hesitation.
Indeed, it was a move worthy of an Empire—maintaining its statehood despite absorbing numerous nations and cultures.
"A Magic Sword test, huh?"
I knew the Empire was manufacturing Magic Swords from a previous incident.
As a bonus, I had received a few Magic Swords to train that Minor Sword Emperor brat.
However, this Magic Sword was on a completely different level from the previous ones.
And for good reason.
"You're making a Magic Sword by grinding up demons?"
"Why are you looking at me like I'm a madman?! You're the one who suggested it!"
"I didn't think you'd actually do it just because I said so."
"This little brat..."
The recipe for crafting an artificial Magic Sword.
It had proceeded.
And with me as the person in charge.
"I'm Derf, the one who swings the hammer."
Seeing as they had even recruited a Dwarf, they seemed serious.
"I'm Adam Smith, the one who swings the sword."
"Have you handled Magic Swords before?"
"I'm a Magic Sword expert."
"You don't look old enough for that..."
"I'm one of the people who ripped that front leg off."
"Then that's enough."
After confirming that we got along quite well through our conversation, we created and tested several mass-produced Magic Swords.
We eventually reached the point of crafting a Magic Sword with a 1% demon front leg meat content, and for the first time, we deployed it for a mage hunt.
"How was the effect?"
"The magic amplification seemed to work well. The anti-magic seemed to work fine too."
"Magic amplification? I put in mana amplification, but I didn't put in magic."
"It's the same thing."
"You say things that would make mages vomit blood so casually."
Actually, I think there were some guys who did vomit blood and collapse.
That was probably just due to a lack of exercise.
No matter how much of a Magic Spammer they were, would they really vomit blood in rage while shouting, "That's not magic!"?
"So. Was there anything uncomfortable while fighting?"
"Since I was raised to be a loser by birth, I kept wanting to lose because the opponent was a prince?"
Actually, there were several moments when I could have won, but my instinct for defeat flared up, and I almost lost.
To think the instinct would trigger even for royalty from another country.
I wasn't planning on fighting him, but I was getting worried that it might even trigger against the Demon King since he was a 'King.'
"Damn it, I'm asking about the sword! Not about you!"
The sword, huh.
"Compared to how much mana it sucks up, the output is weak?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? It's designed to emit at least twice the mana it takes in. For someone like you with an ignorantly large amount of mana like an elf, where else would you find a sword like this?"
"The Saintess's sword."
"I told you, that thing makes no sense!"
I knew that too.
According to Boradori, it was a weapon made in the Mythological Era.
No, beyond just a weapon, it was said to be a replica of a divine artifact used by the gods.
Even if it wasn't the real thing, it was said to be a trace of the effort put into creating a divine artifact.
No matter how much of a Dwarf he was, he couldn't possibly create something like that right away.
"...So, it'll probably be possible after about ten more tries, right?"
"Do you think that's how it works?"
I thought grinding up a few more demons would do the trick, but apparently not.
"To be honest, I don't know why this even works. I've heard stories about putting in human souls or grinding up bones in ancient times."
...I actually knew that worked.
I think I heard that adding bone meal strengthens it because of the carbon.
Of course, it didn't mean it would be enhanced with special abilities like a demon's.
"I'd like to have another demon to check if this is a unique ability of the Demon Tribe or if there are differences between individuals, but that's probably impossible."
"I caught one a while ago, though?"
"...That's the one we used for this."
"I caught another one besides that."
"......?"
"And if I ask the Saintess, I think I could probably rip off a leg for you."
"......???"
It seemed he thought only one demon had popped out.
"If there's one, you have to assume others can pop out too."
"...Are you a lunatic?"
I told him the common sense of the RoFan world, but all I got back was an insult.
But there was no need to get angry.
Pioneers were always treated like madmen.
By next year, the general public would probably realize that the Demon Tribe actually exists.
"At the latest, at least one demon will appear during the first semester final exam period. If you don't believe me, come out and see for yourself."
"...Be honest. You're a dark mage, aren't you? You're summoning them so you can use them as materials, right?!"
"How could you say something so wicked?"
"That actually has more probability, you brat!"
This, too, was due to his ignorance of this world, so I wasn't angry.
As everyone knows, the probability in a RoFan world is entirely dependent on the beauty of the female lead and the male lead candidates.
Therefore, one had to accept that dark mages would pop up like seasonal produce during every major incident, and demons would appear out of nowhere.
"I'll catch another one for you if they show up again."
"...I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd hear someone talk about the Demon Tribe like they're some rare mineral."
"A Dwarf who makes Magic Swords out of those demons isn't one to talk."
"...Is that so?"
For the success of the Magic Sword, it was necessary to catch many more demons in the future.
"I wonder if a demon will just fall from somewhere..."
"You crazy bastard..."
This was all for the sake of our research.
It was truly unfair.
While someone who had fallen in love with Magic Swords was busily participating in their manufacture.
A massive stir had been created within the Academy.
—Arwen has been defeated.
Adam knew that this alone would cause no small stir.
However, the events that followed far exceeded his expectations.
"Arwen lost? With magic? To the Swordsmanship Department? It wasn't magic? They said he used fire and ice magic. A magic wannabe? What even is that?"
Many students had seen the duel between Adam and Arwen.
However, most of them were second-years.
Plus a small number of first-years who had come out of curiosity.
The third-years, who had to start thinking about their futures, and the fourth-years, who were being deployed to the field for those futures, didn't have time to watch second-years bickering.
"Lord Arwen lost? No way."
"The guy who beat most third-years even when he was a first-year?"
"Ugh. Why did the thesis work stop? I can't enter the Magic Tower if I don't finish this. What? A second-year lost? What does that matter? Ah. The guy who lost is the Prince of Dale?"
A genius who had made a name for himself in the Magic Club since his first year.
Yet, a weirdo who prioritized a strange club called the Flower Arrangement Club over the Magic Club.
The Prince of Dale, the rising star of the Magic Department.
The one who made first-years admire him, second-years envy him, third-years marvel at him, and fourth-years flatter him—had been defeated.
...That being said, not much was supposed to change.
Arwen was only human, and no matter how great he was, he could stumble for a moment.
However.
"...The Swordsmanship Department is quite interesting these days."
"Magic? Maaaaagic? That, that's magic?"
"Fireeeeeee lol. Hey, how about we write our next thesis on 'Regarding Fire Magic'?"
The story began to change as the video recording of Adam and Arwen’s magic(?) duel, secretly filmed by someone, began to spread.
"This is a declaration of war from the Swordsmanship Department!"
"Guys, issue a mobilization order for the Magic Club."
"This week's thesis topic is 'On How to Better Beat Those Swordsmanship Brats'!"
The Magic Department rose up.
The vanguard was the Magic Club.
They stormed into the Swordsmanship Club and demanded a fight.
For the Swordsmanship Club, it might have been a bolt from the blue.
"You want to fight?"
"Fine by me."
"There aren't many chances to fight mages except for the Founding Festival anyway!"
The sword-swingers, whose thoughts were immediately followed by action, did not avoid the coming fight.
"Me?"
"Against the Magic Department?"
Of course, a few freshmen showed signs of normal thinking.
"That is what it means to be a swordsman."
"Is a knight supposed to avoid a fight that comes to them?"
"Speaking from my Academy experience, another dark mage is going to show up within the next three months. We need to practice anti-magic combat in advance for that."
The seniors did not let them escape.
"Kyah!"
"This is what true magic is!"
"Come at me, you sword-swinging brats!"
The Magic Department students, whose eyes had flipped at the 'magic' of a certain magic wannabe, were an added bonus.
Thus, the freshmen fought the Magic Department without even knowing why.
"......"
"......"
As the saying goes, a sword without resolve is not sharp.
The freshmen, fighting without knowing why, were defeated.
"This is what true magic is."
"You stupid sword-swingers."
Not only were they beaten without knowing why, but they were also insulted without knowing why.
"...Now I'm pissed."
Thus, the freshmen sharpened their blades not with resolve, but with anger.
Before long, duels between the Swordsmanship Department and the Magic Department became a daily occurrence.
And the person who had instigated the struggle...
"...No space again?"
Was merely grumbling that there was no room left in the training grounds.