Chapter 116
Chapter 116
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: After Story (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Belnoa was sweating. He could feel beads of sweat trickling down his back. The weather wasn't hot. So this had to be cold sweat.
Sweating coldly, Belnoa thought to himself.
'Is this... really right?'
His mind was filled with doubt.
Belnoa looked ahead. There sat Professor Lania, leaning against the headboard of the bed, just as she always did.
But it felt completely different from before.
'Ashen Mage, Raniel van Trias.'
That was Professor Lania's true identity.
She had always seemed a bit suspicious, someone who enjoyed eccentric behavior... but he never could have imagined her true self was the Ashen Mage.
It made no sense.
He couldn't even begin to guess how it had happened.
But that wasn't Belnoa's concern. What he needed to focus on right now... were the words coming from Professor Lania's mouth.
"Belnoa, are you listening?"
"Ah, yes. I am."
"Yeah, well, when you think about it, the essence of a Battle Mage isn't all that complicated. If you keep rolling right up to the brink of death, your vision suddenly clears up, you know?"
She smiled.
"Ah, this could go really wrong. Once you realize that, you start doing anything to stay alive. Stacking up those realizations one by one and building them into a system—that's my fighting style."
She smiled so prettily.
"Enlightenment in extreme situations."
The words she spoke with a smile were anything but pretty.
"That's the core of a Battle Mage."
It was a radiant smile, like a flower blooming. So radiant that for a moment, he almost misunderstood what she meant.
'In other words, roll right up to the edge of death?'
Is this... really correct?
She didn't look like she was joking, no matter how he saw it. Belnoa's face turned pale.
'No, it's not wrong, exactly...'
Professor Lania was the Ashen Mage.
Who was the Ashen Mage? The founder of Battle Mages, Belnoa's current class.
The founder of Battle Mages was discussing the fundamentals of Battle Mages.
It was undoubtedly correct. It might be important enough to pull out a notebook and take notes right now. Yet Belnoa couldn't easily nod in agreement.
In the end, what slipped out was a half-hearted affirmation.
"I-is that so?"
"Something like that."
She nodded as if satisfied.
"Do you know how frustrated I've been?"
"Frustrated...?"
"That Combat Magic Department professor, who was it again...?"
"Professor Mackhart?"
"Yeah, him. What he says isn't wrong, but doesn't it make you feel stuffy listening to it? All that about physical combat being the foundation and whatever..."
Lania let out deep sighs.
Watching her shake her head as if she couldn't understand, a memory from a few months ago suddenly surfaced in Belnoa's mind.
'Probably one or two months ago.'
It was around the time Professor Lania had sat in on a Combat Magic Department class. Professor Mackhart's fervent voice from back then echoed in his ears.
-Physical combat is the foundation of a Battle Mage!
-Argh, if you can't even grasp the basics...
'...So Professor Mackhart.'
Was discussing fundamentals in front of the founder.
'Dizzying.'
Knowing Professor Lania's identity reframed all his past memories. Especially the practical exam where he'd poured everything into attacking her—it was laughable in hindsight.
'She really held back to my limit.'
Such thoughts could go on forever, but he set them aside for now. They were in the past anyway. Belnoa took a short breath and recalled what he needed to say.
He had something to say.
Something to ask.
Sensing the shift in Belnoa's mood, Lania finished her words and fell silent, patiently waiting for him to speak.
After a brief silence, Belnoa opened his mouth.
"Professor—no, Ashen Mage...?"
"Just call me Professor. That's easier."
"...Professor, there's something I'd like to ask you."
She tilted her head as if to say, go ahead.
Belnoa continued slowly.
"That day, in the alley in Cardinac."
As soon as he spoke, Lania let out a faint smile. She seemed to have some idea of what he was going to say.
"You told me to watch closely, that just watching would help."
"I did say that."
"...Yes, and I watched."
The light.
A light so brilliant it could blind.
"I didn't see everything, but I saw as much as I could."
"And?"
She asked what he felt.
Belnoa answered. It was an answer he'd repeated to himself many times. There was no hesitation as the words left his mouth.
"I saw the end point."
The words were plain.
So plain that understanding their meaning was easy.
"The end point..."
Lania mulled over Belnoa's answer, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him. She asked,
"Did you learn anything?"
"...I never imagined you could offer 'that' to the stars too. And that's what I want to ask about."
Belnoa glanced at his own arm.
His still-unhealed arm was twisted. It would need a bit more time to recover.
'Because I used everything I had.'
Fingers, arm, muscles, blood.
He'd offered everything he could. The price was heavy. Some wounds might never heal.
'But I didn't reach it.'
He'd hit a wall.
When he needed power, there was none. To pierce an enemy stronger than himself, Belnoa needed a weapon.
"How do I..."
Belnoa looked up.
He gazed at the mage who had claimed victory from someone far stronger. At the strongest mage he knew. And asked,
"Can I put my lifespan on the scales?"
He'd thought about it countless times, but Belnoa couldn't find the answer. He'd considered lifespan as part of the body, but the trade didn't add up.
'If I knew how to offer lifespan.'
I could have beaten that Black Knight.
Maybe even protected Chloe. Belnoa wanted to know that method.
The way to victory against a superior foe.
The way to bear the unbearable.
Belnoa
Believed he had to learn it. Chloe would be targeted by more people ahead. Some might be beyond what he could handle.
'I have to learn it somehow.'
So Belnoa asked.
"How do I..."
"Belnoa."
A soft voice cut him off.
"Don't even think about that."
"...Pardon?"
"Don't think about offering your lifespan unless you absolutely have to. If someone like you, who's only learned the basics of the scales, puts their lifespan on it..."
She tapped her own head.
"You'll go insane."
"...Go insane?"
"Do you know about the mad mage Kelrhalhm?"
The mage of the fallen kingdom.
'The madman once called a sage, Kelrhalhm.'
He'd heard the name.
Belnoa nodded. Lania smirked and continued.
"Offering lifespan means pulling future potential into the present. It's forcing power your soul can't handle onto it. It's volatile power, but..."
She opened her clenched fist wide.
"Sometimes, the soul can't take it and shatters."
"The soul... shatters?"
"Yeah. You either go mad or die. One or the other. Kelrhalhm went mad. He was lucky, that old guy."
...Is that something you call lucky?
As Belnoa blinked in confusion, Lania flicked his forehead.
Snap!
"I only do it judging the situation, and here you are, a greenhorn, trying to offer lifespan already? Dream on, kid."
"...But."
"You don't need that."
She said.
"Didn't I just say I'd roll you guys harder? Hey, were you even listening?"
Belnoa rubbed his forehead and looked at Lania.
"You know now, right? Who I am. Out of all those students, you're the only one who knows."
"......"
"And I'm the one saying I'll teach you. Personally."
Don't you get what that means?
She looked at him like he was hopeless. Her gaze was no different from when she stood at the podium in the lecture hall.
"I've got the full curriculum ready for you guys, and I'm thinking of advancing it a bit. Curious? Want me to tell you?"
She spread her fingers and spoke.
"First, for freshmen, we get you into the basics of the scales. Beyond that, dismantling advanced circuits might be doable..."
Belnoa listened silently to the plans flowing from her mouth.
'Getting a foot in the basics of the scales as a freshman.'
The starting point was absurd. Hearing the prerequisites alone made him chuckle dryly.
"And also..."
She kept going.
She outlined learning goals and a rough one-year plan. Some were already accomplished. As she spoke, Belnoa's eyes changed.
"Then, starting second year first semester, for real..."
It wasn't limited to one year.
She laid out plans that must have been prepared ages ago. Absurd plans. But for some reason.
"From third year onward..."
Was it because she was the Ashen Mage?
Or because of the classes she'd shown over the past few months? Or both?
"By the time you graduate..."
For some reason, Belnoa
"You'll at least be able to take down Skeval."
Saw possibility in those plans.
He truly thought it might be possible. It was a grueling path. Brutally harsh. But if he walked it properly to the end...
Maybe, he thought.
Belnoa asked as if entranced.
"Is that really possible?"
"I'll make it possible."
The Ashen Mage declared firmly.
"I'll get you there."
Her unwavering words carried conviction.
Belnoa fell silent.
...When he thought about it.
It was an incredible honor.
As good as seizing an unbelievable opportunity. Who was the person sitting before him, the one he was talking to like this?
The Ashen Mage.
A mage who had become a symbol.
Listing her achievements would take forever. Endless. Enough to fill a history book with her deeds alone.
That person said,
'She'll teach me.'
That person declared,
'She'll raise me to that level.'
Belnoa slowly opened his mouth.
"...I'll do it."
With resolute eyes fixed on Lania, he pronounced each word with force.
"I'll work hard."
Satisfied with the answer, Lania smiled.
"Good. Now go. I'm getting tired."
Belnoa stood from his chair.
As he headed for the door, he turned back just before leaving. She was squinting sleepily, looking at him like, what are you waiting for?
"......"
Belnoa bowed his head silently.
Bowed deeply, again.
"...Thank you."
A single phrase laden with meaning.
2.
Early in the morning, I stared blankly at my account.
I blinked at the gold deposited in my card.
"What the fuck is this."
A curse slipped out unwittingly.
Was I seeing it wrong? I asked my master to fetch a water basin, washed my face, then checked the card again.
The number stamped there hadn't changed.
That afternoon, Kalt came to see me. I pointed at my card and asked.
"Kalt."
"Yes, senior."
"I checked my card this morning, right?"
"Ah, looks like the deposit went through normally."
"I-is this right?"
The number of digits had changed.
"I had a bit of trouble preparing that. It's hard to report taking down the apostate without your involvement, so I fudged it a little... but it seems the royals have caught on that you and I have some connection now."
"And?"
"But what can they do about it? They're just grateful for the Ashen Mage's help, even like this."
Now they are?
As I gave him a look, Kalt let out an awkward laugh.
"They say you only realize true value after losing it. After you retired, the higher-ups must have been sweating bullets."
"Sweating bullets?"
"Yes, worries like what if you go to another country... Political issues seem tangled in it too, but I don't know the details."
"So this is..."
"Roughly a 'please keep helping us' kind of reward. They said they pulled in a hefty budget."
I looked at the amount on the card.
"Hey, Kalt."
"Yes, senior."
"Should I... just build a whole Mage Tower...?"
"One? Why stop there—build five. Can you give me one? Always dreamed of being a landlord."
Kalt seemed half-joking, but this warranted serious thought. As I sketched Mage Tower construction plans in my head, Kalt changed the subject.
"By the way, I heard the Black Tower Lord and his disciple stopped by."
"They did."
"No issues?"
"Not really?"
I rested my chin on my hand and said,
"They seemed full of enthusiasm. Looked good to me."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The day group assignments loomed close.
The students in Group E, where Belnoa belonged, blinked. They alternated glances between the paper in front of them and the boy who handed it over.
"Uh, Belnoa?"
"Yeah."
"What's this?"
"Group assignment."
He said calmly.
"Sorry for missing the last meeting."
He apologized out of the blue, then held up the paper. He crooked his finger toward the resistance stone on the table.
Flash.
The circuit on the paper glowed.
The circuit, absorbing about 1 pi of mana, produced a shadow stake. The stake targeted the corner of the resistance stone.
Crack!
The corner of the resistance stone shattered.
The fragments turned to dust.
"Uh...?"
The group members' mouths gaped open.
"Just copy and practice it."
Belnoa held the paper out to them.
Group E's members stared at Belnoa with wide eyes. Their gazes held even awe.
The runaway group leader had returned.
Having completed the entire group assignment.
Author's Note The runaway group leader returns after finishing the entire group assignment! This is possible only in fiction.