Chapter 118: War of Destruction (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 118: War of Destruction (4)
The professors of the Swordsmanship and Magic Departments couldn't help but agonize over the situation.
Should they stop it, or should they let it be?
While no major issues had surfaced yet, they didn't know what might happen if the students continued to clash during such a sensitive period.
However, the professors' deliberation didn't last long.
"Kids are supposed to grow up fighting."
"Don't the fourth years do this periodically anyway?"
The Head Professor of the Swordsmanship Department, Sword Emperor Aren.
The Head Professor of the Magic Department, Grand Mage McGregor.
Since those two viewed the incident favorably, it became awkward for the subordinate professors to voice any objections.
"In my day, I used to seek out famous people just to duel them. Some even tried to kill me to hide their defeat."
Aren smiled softly, lost in old memories.
Compared to those days, fighting within the framework and rules of the Academy was nothing.
"You've grown old."
McGregor, the Magic Department professor, let out a deep sigh.
"But it’s not a bad thing. I have much to say about how it came to this… but as a professor, I can't help but look kindly upon students engaging in voluntary learning."
He, too, had seen that 'video' circulating in the Magic Department.
That was why he empathized with why the magic students were stepping up as if they were spitting blood…
"Gaining practical experience like this will be helpful."
The situation in the Empire was unusual.
He had expected chaos, as the power struggle to become the next Emperor was in full swing.
However, the current incidents were far removed from the Imperial Court.
Something much larger, perhaps something the fate of this world depended on…
'It might just be my delusion.'
In fact, it would be better if it were.
The delusions of an old man would be far more beneficial to the world.
But the constant incidents occurring at the Academy and the repeated appearances of dark mages kept McGregor in a state of perpetual anxiety.
Silence. Even if they were caught in that monster's schemes.
There had been a time when the students' lives were helplessly held in their grasp while he could do nothing.
To a degree bordering on PTSD, McGregor was wary of dark mages.
However, the Sword Emperor was different.
"The youngsters will do fine."
People looked at him and said he had reached a state of transcendence, becoming detached from the world.
But McGregor, who knew him in his youth, knew the truth: he simply hadn't grown up yet.
"It is the role of the old to protect the young."
"The students aren't weak. In fact, weren't the students the ones who resolved the incident while you were knocked out?"
"…Urgh."
McGregor fell silent at Aren's sharp jab.
Indeed, there were students who had actually subjugated Silence; what could he say when he had just been lying there?
"Well, I agree that it's a good thing for the students to improve their skills. In the process, didn't one of my students even start using magic?"
However, McGregor's mouth opened naturally at the following words.
"You. That student who supposedly used 'magic.' It wouldn't happen to be Adam Smith, would it?"
"It is, though?"
Seeing Aren nod nonchalantly, McGregor's mind went blank.
"Silence!"
"Whoa, you startled me!"
"To call that magic! No matter how ignorant you are of magic, there are things you should never say!"
"What are you making a fuss about now? If fire and ice come out of a sword, that's magic!"
"You rascal?!"
At the Grand Mage's fury, the surrounding mana began to vibrate.
"Take it back!"
He looked ready to fire off a spell at any moment. An ordinary person would have bowed their head and apologized immediately.
Unfortunately, the man before him was the Sword Emperor, the pinnacle of the sword.
And in his youth, he was a man who had committed all sorts of eccentricities in his thirst for battle.
Now that he was older, he was restraining himself out of social awareness.
But if the opponent wanted to fight first, he was never one to back down.
"Adam Smith is an. Ex. Cel. Lent. Mage."
"You brat!"
The world froze along with McGregor's rage.
It was an ability that literally showed the dignity of a Grand Mage, something even Arwen, who used Dale's secret magic, could not replicate.
"Oho."
But his opponent was the Sword Emperor.
Thirty minutes later, the battle that half-destroyed the Magic Department's faculty office began.
Passing students made eye contact.
Shing. A Swordsmanship student, confirming the other was from the Magic Department by their uniform, spoke.
"……Let's fight."
Normally, the Magic Department would have brushed it off, calling them battle-crazed swordsmen.
"Bring it on."
But the Magic Department student nodded the moment they confirmed the opponent was from the Swordsmanship Department.
"……"
Watching this, I thought seriously.
At some point, the Academy had become a place where a duel broke out the moment eyes met.
The fortunate thing was that it wasn't a mad card game, but a pure clash of martial force.
"Is it okay for the Academy to be like this?"
What kind of place was the Imperial Academy?
Some might think of it as a facility with zero security that gets bypassed by dark mages like a high-pass lane every time.
Others might think of it as a RoFan stage where people just flirt instead of studying.
But officially, it was the continent's finest academy, a sacred place of learning where one studies and grows.
In 그 sense, was the current state of the Academy desirable?
"…The training grounds are full again."
It could be said to be very desirable.
There are numerous clubs in the Academy, but the largest factions are the Swordsmanship Club, which almost every Swordsmanship student joins by default.
And similarly, there was the Magic Club, which the Magic Spammers joined by default. These two clubs were usually very active.
Because of that, there were times when the training grounds were so full that one had to wait…
But that was usually a temporary occurrence right before exams or during the Founding Festival.
For the training grounds to be this packed when a dark mage invasion—no, final exams—were still far off was something that hadn't happened last year.
In other words, the current Pokémon meta, where people fight just by making eye contact, was a very desirable phenomenon that greatly helped students improve their skills.
"Daisy. You're a mage, right?"
"If you transferred to the Swordsmanship Department, you're a swordsman!"
"Are you abandoning the mages? Are you abandoning us, who were with you for a year?!"
"Abandon them! You are a proud member of the Swordsmanship Department, Daisy!"
…It seemed that wasn't the case for everyone.
"……Mr. Adam."
As soon as she spotted me, Daisy excused herself from the others and ran over, looking at me with cold eyes.
"What's the matter?"
"What's the ma-tter?"
Seeing Daisy's face full of pouty resentment, I narrowed my eyes as well.
"Don't you feel any pangs of conscience?"
"Huh? About what?"
Something to feel guilty about…
Damn, what is it?
"…The Academy has become strange! The Magic Department and the Swordsmanship Department fight the moment they make eye contact!"
"Daisy. You're in the Swordsmanship Department now. So you shouldn't say 'Magic Department and Swordsmanship Department,' but 'Swordsmanship Department and Magic Department.'"
"Is that what's important right now?! Even your way of speaking has changed!"
Is it important? Of course it's important.
What was the reason I worked so hard to beat down those Magic Spammers?
"It's important."
"Ah, yes."
Realizing the importance of the situation, Daisy nodded with a reluctant expression.
And then.
"Anyway! What are you going to do!"
As if snapping back to her senses, she shouted urgently.
"About what?"
"The Academy! If this keeps up, the Academy will!"
"The Academy will?"
"…Uh, well. I mean. It'll get stronger?"
"Then isn't that a good thing?"
"…I-is it? No, wait. It can't be good for them to be fighting each other!"
"Duels are something the Academy does regularly. Wasn't it a similar situation during exam periods?"
"T-that's true! But still!"
Daisy blinked a couple of times and tilted her head.
"I-is that so? B-but people keep telling me to choose between the Swordsmanship Department and the Magic Department…"
Naturally, as a member of the Swordsmanship Department, I wanted to tell her to crush the Magic Department.
But since she had just transferred, her hesitation wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
Therefore.
"Just fight them all."
"Pardon?"
"Use magic against the Swordsmanship Department. Use swordsmanship against the Magic Department. That's fair, isn't it?"
"…Is it?"
"If push comes to shove, it doesn't matter if you use both."
As I suggested the solution, I felt a pang of conscience.
It was because I had just released a monster into the world that should never have been let loose.
"Grrrrr!"
"……Are you a dog?"
I distanced myself from the Fire Spammer, who seemed to have forgotten human speech.
I was taught never to face a mad dog head-on.
"So, why did you call us?"
Fitting for club activities, I sat down with a strawberry cake that was supposedly trending in the Imperial Capital and looked at Uncle Aeryun, who had called for us after a long time.
Usually, people visit the club because they're bored or have nothing to do.
It was rare for Uncle Aeryun to gather all the members like this.
And every time he did, something significant tended to happen.
"We're doomed."
Once all the freshmen were gathered, he bluntly declared our doom.
"Has another trace of a dark mage been discovered?!"
At that, the freshman Irene asked in terror.
It seemed the sudden appearance of a dark mage last time had been quite traumatic for her.
"Such a trivial thing is not the issue."
"A trivial thing?!"
Seeing the freshmen buzzing about what could be more important than a dark mage being a 'trivial thing' made me sigh.
Well, these kids still had three and a half years of Academy life left.
They'd get used to it by next year.
Time was the only cure for this.
"The reason I gathered you all is… because I heard that exchange students will be coming as early as the final exams, or at the latest, by the start of the second semester."
"What?"
"What does that mean…"
The freshmen looked as if they didn't understand why exchange students coming to the Academy was such a big deal.
"……That's a problem."
"Who on earth…"
Taylor and the Fire Spammer looked shocked and serious.
"……"
And I was beyond words, utterly aghast.
No matter how much Boradori filtered the information she gave me.
She wouldn't leave out a major plot point like this.
"Who exactly is it?"
I asked, full of doubt, and Uncle Aeryun revealed the identity of the exchange students with a grave expression.
"Heterogeneous Species."
"……"
The club room fell silent once again.
Even the freshmen, who had wondered what the problem was, shut their mouths.
"If it's Heterogeneous Species…"
Even as I spoke, the future looked bleak.
Not just Elves, not just Beastkin, not just Dwarves, but Heterogeneous Species.
"Elves, Beastkin, Dwarves… I heard even the Dragonkin are coming."
Though Elves, Beastkin, and Dwarves are relatively familiar to humans.
'Familiar' is a relative term; the reality is that most people don't see one in their entire lives.
To make matters worse, even the Dragonkin, who live for their own pride, were coming.
"We really are doomed…"
It seemed the scenario had become incredibly tangled.