Chapter 258
Chapter 258
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: Wow! Double the Nightmares! (4)
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Aphria is home to nightmares.
The target of those nightmares changes with the tides of time. The first was Rosel van Trias.
Rosel van Trias.
One of the elders of the Ashen Mage Tower and the man who raised generations of Ashen Mages, he bestowed upon his students terrors beyond imagining. Even now, his infamous reputation has faded somewhat...
"Rosel van Trias."
"Huuuugh...!"
Whisper the name "Rosel van Trias" to any Aphria graduate... and they'll bolt upright from sleep, racing straight to the lab.
Endless marathon lectures.
Mountains of assignments that offered no respite.
And for those rare students who earned top marks and started puffing up with pride... he'd drag them off to the lab, insisting they not rest on such meager laurels.
A professor truly worthy of the nightmare title.
But now, Aphria's nightmare refers to someone else. The graduates wouldn't believe it... but astonishingly, it's true.
The second nightmare is Lania van Trias.
True to her status as the nightmare master's prized pupil, the classes she teaches come loaded with assignments from the very start. Sure, new professors fresh into the role at a young age can get carried away with enthusiasm... but that's not quite the case with Lania.
This much is obviously doable.
I managed it, so you can too.
To her, that's just "common sense."
With a mindset that's utterly broken, her classes could never be normal. The students can only weep tears of blood.
"Is there a nightmare worse than Professor Lania?"
"No way."
"Be serious."
A nightmare for the ages.
There can't possibly be a professor worse than her.
That's what the students thought as they bestowed upon Lania the title of Aphria's Nightmare. But if there's one thing they got wrong...
"You can all do this!"
...it's that there's no rule saying there can only be one nightmare.
"Shall we start with a light warm-up today as usual?"
"I'll run alongside you. Having someone there with you makes training so much easier. My old instructor always ran right by my side."
"One-two! One-two!"
The nightmares have multiplied.
A new one has emerged, armed with pure innocence and kindness.
The Spear Hero, Garahal.
It didn't take long for the man teaching morning classes to earn the moniker "Aphria's Nightmare."
Insane training volumes.
Restraint magic tools typically used only by battlefield knights.
A bright, cheerful smile as he whispered that yes, they could all do it.
"This is all I have to teach you."
"I just hope it helps."
But the cruelest part? They couldn't refuse his lessons. Garahal was an active Hero, and receiving instruction from him was an immense honor.
'And the results are undeniably effective...'
Painful as it was, it worked.
Tearing their muscles to shreds day after day, the Combat Magic students were steadily forging bodies worthy of first-class knights.
"I miss her."
"Professor Lertia... I miss her so much...!"
"She was our only light...!"
Shedding bloody tears, the students recalled the one stern but truly dedicated professor they'd known.
"I hate Professor Lania for turning Hero Garahal into a nightmare. Why must we endure this trial?"
"Isn't she the root of all evil?"
"Everything bad traces back to Professor Lania."
Sharp glares rained down on Lania.
But as always...
Lania paid no mind to the stares of others.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
"One, two, one-two!"
Shouts echoed from beyond the window.
Peering out through a cracked pane, she spotted Garahal running laps on the training field with the students. He looked immensely satisfied.
"He's teaching well."
Garahal seemed well-adjusted to life at Aphria.
After watching for a moment, she turned back to her desk. Stacked there were documents on Garahal that Kalt had procured for her.
Rustle.
She flipped through the pages, reading each report.
They detailed the operations Garahal had joined, along with brief summaries of each mission.
"I looked them over, but I didn't spot anything unusual."
That's what Kalt had said.
If Kalt—her wartime aide—saw nothing amiss, then it was normal to find nothing here either.
'But.'
Some things escape even Kalt's notice.
Especially when they involve Heroes.
People often make the same mistake.
Assuming a Hero's starlight is infinite. That Heroes can do anything, with no limits. That with enough resolve, a Hero can achieve the impossible.
"No such convenient power exists."
She smiled wryly and turned the page.
A Hero's starlight is never infinite.
It depletes steadily, and once exhausted, it requires rest to recover. Heroes have clear limits too.
'The total amount of starlight doesn't increase.'
There are ways to use it more effectively, to squeeze out better results... but the absolute quantity never grows.
And as far as she could remember, Garahal possessed only a scant amount of starlight. He couldn't even hear the common whispers of the stars. He couldn't burn his starlight like Kyle to charge ahead.
'He'd collapse in under a minute if he tried.'
That was Garahal.
A man with neither quantity of starlight nor any special gift (??).
Dubbed a dullard by all.
Yet Garahal had chased Kyle to his heels through effort alone. He'd attained near-superhuman strength and forged techniques uniquely his own.
'He caught up, but...'
He never became Kyle.
It was a cold, cruel truth... but Garahal could never reach Kyle's level.
Because his starlight was insufficient.
Because he lacked Kyle's gift (??).
Because he had no uniqueness like Chloe's.
And so, Garahal never became Kyle.
He never became the invincible Hero, the symbol of victory. She knew that fact all too well.
"I know."
"There were so many we had to abandon because they were too weak, so many we had to let go because we fell short. So many."
Garahal had told her as much.
"But what can you do?"
"I have my own way."
"A path allowed only to me."
"Is this that path, Garahal?"
She glanced at the documents in her hand.
They listed every mission he'd undertaken over the past year. And between those missions? Not a single gap.
Starlight isn't infinite.
You have to rest at some point.
But Garahal hadn't.
It wasn't just that. He'd thrown himself into missions beyond his level. Red slashes marked those files.
'Rescue operations someone rejected.'
Someone stronger than Garahal.
Probably Kyle and Destel. Missions they'd refused, forcing them to abandon someone. Those were the exact ones Garahal had taken on.
He'd saved the ones meant to be left behind.
Even though it should have been impossible for him.
'He accomplished the impossible.'
Reaching for what was out of reach.
Clutching what should have been released.
She knew how he'd made it possible.
"A trade."
To gain something, you must give up something else.
What had Garahal sacrificed?
She'd realized it the moment they shook hands.
"You've traded away your lifespan, haven't you, Garahal."
Sacrificing his own life to save another's.
Just like something Garahal would do.
"Hoo..."
A sigh slipped through her lips.
Bitter regret filled her mouth. She set the papers down and closed her eyes. Why Garahal had retired. Why Uncle Heinkel had urged him to.
She had a vague sense of the truth.
'I need to talk to him.'
Not as an Aphria professor.
As an Ashen Mage.
Knock knock.
She was lost in those thoughts when someone rapped on the office door. The sound echoed loudly in the empty room.
Creeeak.
Opening it, she found Garahal standing there, towel around his neck like he'd just finished class. He smiled at her.
"You're here after all, Professor Lania."
Chloe stood behind him.
"About that teaching method you mentioned last time. I have some ideas and wanted to discuss them."
"What brings Hero Garahal to Aphria?"
Words she'd once heard from Rox.
"To check on the next Hero's condition and aid in her training. He said he had something to teach her."
Now that she knew the truth, Garahal's purpose took on new meaning.
"...Come in."
She needed to steel herself too.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
Learning directly from Garahal.
Studying under a Hero.
When Chloe first heard, she couldn't contain her shock. An active Hero was like a grand senior to her.
And Garahal of all people.
To receive guidance from the most Hero-like Hero imaginable.
'An incredible opportunity, an unbelievable honor!'
For Chloe, who would one day become a Hero herself, this was a chance she couldn't pass up. She stole a glance at Garahal.
"So, what I had in mind was something like this..."
"Hm, not bad, but it lacks a bit of intensity..."
There he was, deep in conversation with Lania. Probably discussing his teaching methods in detail.
'I hear some weird words, but...!'
It'd be fine anyway.
Thinking that, Chloe fidgeted with her fingers. She'd been learning to properly wield her starlight, to manifest spells.
She was making progress.
But no matter what, she couldn't picture herself as a Hero.
The supreme Hero, Kyle Toven.
The most Hero-like Hero, Garahal.
Beings radiant like starlight itself.
Standing at the forefront, bringing hope or victory to others. Becoming a symbol. Could she ever be like them?
It was a doubt that dogged her relentlessly.
A question she'd yet to answer.
One she'd have to resolve someday. Mulling it over, Chloe looked up. Garahal and Lania were nodding at each other, their talk wrapping up.
"That's solid enough... but I'm a little worried. Isn't it too soon?"
"She has to go through it eventually, and better with you there. Plenty to show her."
"True, but..."
"Hey, you don't get it because you're not familiar with her."
Lania grinned playfully.
"This kid's a bigger monster than you think."
"A monster?"
"Better to see it for yourself. Chloe?"
"Y-Yes!"
Chloe shot to her feet.
"That spell you just finished, right?"
"Oh, the Circulating Fireball?"
"Yeah, that one. Show it to Garahal."
Lania led the way, with Garahal and Chloe following. In the empty spell training room, Lania activated a Combat Magic golem.
"Fire away. Don't hold back on cleanup—go all out."
"...Huh? But you said never to use it inside Aphria..."
"It's fine. Just fire once. I'll handle the aftermath."
Hesitating, Chloe moved her fingers anyway.
What she drew in the air was a perfect circle circuit. Every line connected seamlessly, drawn in a single stroke.
Slosh.
Starlight flooded from her fingertips.
The deluge poured into the circuit she'd formed. The moment the starlight surged through, completing the circle...
Rooooar!
Heat erupted from her fingertips.
Chloe had manifested the basic spell Fireball. But the platinum flames hovering before her... evoked the advanced spell Annihilation.
Seething inferno.
The flowing blaze formed a perfect sphere, circulating endlessly.
Its heat and size defied comparison to any basic Fireball.
"I've got the barriers up, so let it rip."
Lania waved lightly. Chloe nodded and snapped her fingers.
The completed spell unleashed.
The platinum fireball engulfed the golem.
Heat surged, white light scourging the area.
Thud!
As the blaze subsided, only ashes remained. The golem, which could withstand mid-tier spells with ease, was reduced to a charred heap.
"See?"
Lania jabbed a thumb at Chloe with a smile.
"You gonna say that's still not enough?"
"......"
Garahal stared at Chloe, eyes wide.
Shock, bewilderment, and a touch of bitterness flickered in his gaze. But the bitterness faded quickly, replaced by a faint smile.
"...My worries are eased."
His quiet mutter went unheard. Soon, he nodded with his usual smile.
"No way I could call that insufficient."
"Right?"
"Yes. We can proceed right away."
Lania approached Chloe.
She pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket.
"Chloe."
"Y-Yeah?"
"You're free over break, right?"
Chloe nodded without thinking.
Lania patted her shoulder.
"Let's go on a field trip."
"A field trip...?"
"Yeah."
"Where to?"
Lania answered curtly.
"The front lines."
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