Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: Land of Ashes (1)
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Ten days had passed since the incident that struck Aphria Academy.
Though Aphria was still on hiatus, classes would resume normally in four days. The unexpected week-long break had made the curriculum a bit tighter, but it wasn't a drastic change.
'It's about the same as last semester.'
Aaron, the dean, must have been tearing his hair out over the disrupted schedule just as things were getting back to normal, but that wasn't my concern.
'His receding hairline and ever-broadening forehead are a bit heartbreaking, though...'
What could be done? Baldness was a affliction ordained by the heavens, incurable even by magic...
"You've got such a full head of hair; must be nice..."
I tilted my head back, recalling how Aaron always muttered that whenever he saw my master. My flowing locks cascaded over the back of the chair.
"Mm."
With only four days until the semester started, I sat in the Mana Trading Studies office. There were a few things to prepare before my month-long vacation.
'I stopped by to handle that.'
But my mind was occupied with other thoughts.
"...The Land of Ashes."
Yes, what more was there to say? My thoughts were filled with information about the Land of Ashes.
'The Land of Ashes.'
A place where endless plains had turned into wasteland.
Where all things had lost their color, reduced to mere gray ash—that was the site of the ancient kingdom. Now, only ashes remained...
'Once the most prosperous land.'
There was an era called the Golden Age of humanity.
Though descriptions of it were vague and muddled, it was clear the ancient kingdom stood at its center.
The ancient kingdom.
The nation that led humanity's Golden Age.
Its name, history, and size were unknown... but the occasional ruins offered glimpses of its grandeur.
Traces of towers that pierced the heavens.
Magical ruins discovered in various places.
Fragments of countless magical artifacts unearthed from those sites.
They contained things impossible to create or even approach with current technology. No wonder the saying circulated among mages: humanity's magical history had essentially reset with the fall of the ancient kingdom.
And so.
There was a time when countless mages desperately sought to restore the ancient kingdom's technology. They all failed, and now, only the Ashen Mage Tower remained from that era.
"Restoring the ancient kingdom's technology."
That was the Ashen Mage Tower's lifelong quest.
Having once held the position of next Mage Tower Lord there, I knew the weight of those words all too well.
'Scouring ruins, extracting circuits from artifact fragments to reconstruct them... building new circuits based on that.'
That's what I'd done through countless sleepless nights. Even then, I had been interested in the Land of Ashes—the presumed site of the ancient kingdom.
But we failed.
During my time as next Mage Tower Lord, we launched three expeditions, and all ended in dismal failure. The reason was simple: we couldn't reach the heart of the Land of Ashes.
Corrupted mana beasts prowling everywhere.
Land utterly tainted.
Crossing it would have required even me to risk my life. Back then, it was beyond me. So, it remained an uncharted territory.
'And Cardi wants to go to a place like that.'
I closed my eyes, recalling what Cardi had told me a few days ago.
"The Land of Ashes."
A place he said I needed to go with him.
"My homeland, Arcadia, reduced to ashes centuries ago."
The place I'd always questioned—he'd invited me to go there with him. There had to be a reason for the invitation now.
"Arcadia."
I murmured the name, savoring it.
"...What are you going to tell me this time?"
Cardi's past.
The tale of the old heroes, now a catastrophe.
Or perhaps the detailed reason for the ancient kingdom's fall.
Things I'd asked about repeatedly but he'd never answered—maybe this time I'd finally hear them.
"Mm..."
As I sat with my eyes closed, murmuring to myself, there was a knock at the office door. I opened my eyes. It was right on time for our appointment.
-Professor, it's Belnoa.
-It's Rak.
I slowly rose from the chair at the voices outside. Stretching lightly, I said,
"Come in."
There wasn't much to do before my vacation as a professor—just the basics.
"Here for your assignments?"
Giving them problems.
In other words, handing out homework.
"Right on time. Have a seat there? There's a lot, so it'll need some explanation."
I beamed brightly at Belnoa and Rak.
These assignments, pondered over for days, were sure to please them.
2.
"...You knew too?"
"Found out during break."
Belnoa blinked and glanced sideways.
There stood Rak, walking beside her, holding a letter—the same one she'd received recently.
'Sender: Lania van Trias.'
A letter from Aphria's nightmare.
Summarizing its contents:
'I'll be away from Aphria for a month, so train instead of slacking off.'
'Come to the Mana Trading Studies office for details on training and assignments.'
Up to here, it was ordinary.
A bit unsettling with the mentions of assignments and training, but acceptable. The problem came next.
'You know my identity, so I trust you'll follow without complaint.'
Lania van Trias.
Aphria's nightmare professor was the Ashen Mage Raniel—and you know it, so obey silently.
'Training from the Ashen Mage herself.'
For Belnoa, majoring in Battle Mage, the Ashen Mage was like a grandmaster. The pinnacle above all teachers.
Creator of the class.
The most renowned mage.
With that reputation, she offered training methods—follow without question. Belnoa had no right to refuse.
'So I was heading to the office...'
Belnoa rubbed her temple.
Apparently, she wasn't the only one who'd received the letter.
'Nor the only one who knows the professor's identity.'
She glared at the boy walking beside her and asked,
"So, how did you find out?"
"Ran into Sword Ghost Draka during break. Saw the professor take down a superhuman."
"Yeah... hard to miss that."
A mage who could subdue a superhuman.
There weren't two like that around. Belnoa nodded absently, and Rak turned the question back.
"When did you figure it out, Belnoa?"
"Around the group project."
"Ah, when you went missing?"
"Yeah. Faced something insane, and saw the professor handle it—put two and two together."
"Something insane?"
"Apostate."
"...Yeah, that qualifies."
They nodded in silence.
A strange camaraderie formed as they reached the office door, which looked like a dungeon entrance. They swallowed dryly.
Knock knock.
Opening the door revealed Professor Lania seated, ash-gray hair swaying in the breeze, blue eyes gleaming. She smiled warmly.
"Here for your assignments?"
Behind that gentle smile, Belnoa and Rak felt immense dread, imagining the nightmare lurking beneath. They nodded slowly.
Tap tap.
She pointed to the seats beside her with a beautiful smile.
"Right on time. Take a seat? There's a lot, so it'll need explanation."
A lot of assignments, needing explanation.
That one phrase let them sense their fate. But escape was impossible. Inevitable, like livestock to the slaughterhouse, they stepped toward the seats beside Lania.
Their steps felt extraordinarily heavy.
3.
"There was an incident at Aphria last time too—you both got caught in the nightmare, right?"
Before explaining, Lania brought up another topic.
One Rak and Belnoa knew well. They nodded.
"Yeah, suddenly fell asleep..."
"Woke up and it was over."
The incident ten days ago.
Details were scarce—only that a 'special individual' stationed at Aphria and three students had resolved it.
"That special individual... was it..."
Belnoa ventured cautiously.
Lania nodded slightly.
"Me. There were two others too. For the students... it's public now, so you know."
"As expected..."
Rak nodded deeply, looking impressed. Belnoa and Lania shot him side glances. Rak, nodding vigorously, exclaimed with shining eyes,
"Truly, the great Ashen Mage."
Words 'someone' had uttered in class recently, boasting of their own feats.
"I heard a catastrophe struck, yet the great Ashen Mage..."
It didn't end there.
Lania's eyes widened at Rak's relentless 'great' modifier, trembling.
"Hey, hey..."
Belnoa elbowed Rak's side and whispered,
"Cut it out... no point teasing the professor..."
"Teasing? What do you mean?"
"...What?"
Rak blinked innocently.
"Didn't the Ashen Mage say she was great? And she is, right? The professor always speaks the truth, Belnoa."
"......"
"Doubting the professor isn't good. A disciple should always show respect and infinite trust to their master."
True... it was true, but...
"...Not teasing?"
"Why would I tease the professor? I respect her."
"Really?"
"No idea what you're talking about."
He was serious.
Dead serious, which was why he could say it. Thinking back, Rak had known the professor's identity even during that class.
'What was his reaction then?'
Belnoa recalled.
"Oh."
Rak's exclamation of admiration.
"Indeed."
His face full of genuine enlightenment. At that memory, Belnoa shook her head. Back then, she'd thought he reacted that way out of ignorance.
But...
'He knew and still...'
It was impressive in a different way.
Stunned by Rak's pure innocence, Belnoa was speechless.
"......"
She turned away silently.
There sat Lania, ears red as could be, head bowed in shame.
'Even she seems embarrassed...'
At least she knew it was embarrassing.
"A-anyway."
Lania jerked her head up, cleared her throat, and resumed. Face still flushed, but she'd resolved to play it thick-skinned.
"That nightmare spell is hard to resist without starlight or superhuman level... but mental awakening training will help. This is related..."
She listed the training plan.
A tight schedule, progressively intensifying—familiar to Belnoa from knight curricula.
'Ah, this is from the formal knight program...'
It would help if completed.
Tough, but doable. As Belnoa memorized it, Lania continued,
"And this is Stock usage I planned to teach—familiarize yourself with it as homework for now. I'll teach properly when I return in a month."
She pushed the assignments toward them—not handing over, but sliding the stack from the table's corner.
"Uh..."
Belnoa blinked.
The pile was enormous. She alternated glances between the paper tower and Lania.
"All of this?"
"Yeah. A month should suffice?"
"Sure, but I'm not only taking your class..."
"What?"
"Nothing..."
What was the point of saying it?
Aphria's nightmare wouldn't have that nickname if she cared about student feelings. Belnoa swallowed tears inwardly and divided the stack.
"You can do it, right?"
"...I'll try."
"We'll do our best."
Belnoa weakly, Rak energetically.
Lania, avoiding Rak's eyes, murmured a soft "Mm..."
"Assignments from the great professor..."
"Please, stop, Rak..."
Before human purity, Aphria's nightmare surrendered. Face crimson, Lania shooed them out.
"Hey, Rak..."
"What, Belnoa?"
"You're... kinda amazing..."
Shoved outside, Belnoa sent genuine admiration to the nightmare-slayer.
"What do you mean?"
Rak seemed oblivious.
Author's Note
The spell-check site I always used switched to a 500-character limit today. Broke out in cold sweat... I'd used it for nearly a year!
Found another checker, but not used to it yet—might have typos! Let me know, and I'll fix right away!