Beyond the Dividing Wall
Whoosh— A fierce wind howled.
I clutched my collar tight to keep it from flapping away in the gale. My current spot was the northernmost watchtower on the outer castle wall. The barrier that divided the boundary from the continent.
"Hmm…."
It was a bizarre sight. The snow piled on the ground cut off abruptly right in front of the wall, as if someone had forcibly drawn a line. The snowflakes falling from the sky sizzled and boiled the moment they touched the black-red earth, vanishing into black smoke. In place of the snowy field stretched grotesquely enormous plants. And a few magic beasts with twisted forms.
Animals and plants—their shapes were so faint it was impossible to tell their original forms.
"Magic beasts pour out from there once every season or so."
A hardened sorrow flickered across Arwen's calm expression as she spoke.
"The last wave was three months ago. A lot of people died."
Inside the outer wall loomed a vast cemetery. Flowers lay before tombstones etched with different names. From weathered stones faded by time to sleek marble ones that looked freshly made.
All of them symbolized two hundred years of struggle, the foundation propping up the Empire.
I was mulling over whether to say some words of comfort when a soldier came running toward us from the opposite wall.
"Loyalty! You've arrived!"
"Good work. Anything unusual?"
He was one of the sentries on watch.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, but judging by the magic beasts' movements, the next wave should be about a month away."
Ferocious gazes from the magic beasts gleamed beyond the boundary.
"I see…. We'll need to increase the watch personnel just in case."
"Yes, ma'am! Loyalty!"
Leaving the soldier's salute behind, we descended the wall. Arwen's white cape fluttering in the wind looked almost like swirling snowflakes—or frozen tears falling.
The next day, Kian and Marcus returned pulling a carriage brimming with gold.
It was twice the amount of gold coins I'd quietly siphoned from the count over the past month.
"We're back."
"Ahem, ahem! You did great."
Kian, facing me, was a bit taller now, so I had to crane my neck all the way up to meet his eyes.
This kinda kills my dignity….
I furrowed my brow slightly, and Kian quickly dropped to one knee.
"How'd it go with the imperial side?"
"I picked out the tribute items appropriately and handed them over. The princess seemed eager for support bases too—she said she'd personally help stabilize the North."
"Mm-hmm."
I nodded, hands on my hips.
True to form, tribute goods supplied to the royal or imperial family always doubled in price. In Korea, even crappy watches turned into luxury items with a fake "Europe Royal Limited" label.
The North's specialties were genuine luxuries, but who would've thought a few hundred pelts and some salt would turn into this much gold?
"Ahem."
That color never failed to lift my spirits, no matter how many times I saw it.
Kian then approached Arwen and handed her a paper densely packed with writing.
"The report. The princess's letter dissolved into mana the moment I read it, so I copied it down."
"Impressive. Thank you."
Peeking at the report beside her, I saw detailed breakdowns of prices by item, reactions from the capital folk, and proposals for future plans—all crammed in tight.
"Then I'll go rest now…."
Even during the flight back, he'd been working nonstop—dark circles stretched all the way to his jawline.
"Yeah, get some rest. I was thinking of researching magic together, but…."
"Let's go."
"Huh…?"
The fatigue in Kian's eyes vanished, replaced by a spark of eagerness.
"No, you're tired. Rest up."
"I got plenty on the way back."
Or you'll burn out and quit!
I shoved his protesting body—insisting on heading to the wall right then—straight into his room.
Managing your workforce's condition is a big deal.
It had only been two weeks. Since Kian, who'd been living in the capital, came up North.
Yet in that short time, seeing the capital's sights again made Kian deeply realize one thing.
His standards had risen too high.
The Solum Empire was the overwhelming superpower among countless nations on the vast continent. Naturally, the level of its mages—strategic weapons and administrators—was on another plane.
The Empire's capital, the city of magic.
But to Kian's eyes, the capital developed by the empire's finest mages was pitiful.
More precisely, it was behind. Behind the North.
The gaze of the boy who once studied magic in the capital, dreaming of its splendor.
A blasphemous gaze.
For the Empire's sun to lag behind the barren North? If anyone read his mind, the heresy inquisitors might drag him off.
"So, we'll install the turret here."
"…A turret, you say?"
The culprit who'd planted blasphemy in his heart stood right in front of Kian—a bit lower.
Ruen.
A girl whose appearance left no choice but to think her young.
But Kian had felt her magic prowess firsthand.
Mages who transcended boundaries all shared traits. First, unique magic of their own. Second, eccentric personalities.
And finally, despite their advanced age, they all looked youthful.
As youthful as their long records in history.
Traits common to all who caught Ruen's eye.
Plus, her eyes held a brilliant hue unlike any mana attribute he'd seen.
So naturally, Kian's reason accepted it.
Kian didn't believe in the divine, but if chosen ones existed, he figured he was the only one.
And that conviction solidified the moment he set foot in the North.
Fate had led him here.
A legendary archmage hid in the North.
And fate made him her disciple.
All speculations that dawned on Kian upon his return North.
Luck visits everyone, but heavenly fortune? Not so much.
"Exactly. But we can't have it hitting other soldiers by mistake, so we'll add a function to track only magic beasts."
"…Yes."
Kian felt uneasy.
Innocent curiosity gleamed in Ruen's voice.
"Then we'll need to test if it properly distinguishes humans from beasts, right?"
"Probably."
"Alright, stand still there."
A massive mana surge rippled from Ruen's hand.
Even knowing a hit wouldn't end well, he had no choice but to answer.
"…Understood."
All greatness comes with risk.
From countless collisions with walls in memory, he'd felt his skills leap forward.
That was Ruen's training method, and Kian accepted it.
A mana arrow shot from my hand grazed Kian's hair.
"Hmm…."
A bit too close.
I dismantled the deployed magic circle and adjusted the arrow's trajectory curve.
The magic tracked everything except signs of human life.
Inanimate objects were exceptions, of course.
"Professor… how do you use magic?"
"Huh?"
Kian asked, exhaling the breath he'd held.
How, huh….
His question made me mentally replay my process for using magic.
The moment I fell into this world, I could see mana.
Prismatic flows of light. Mana.
Just reaching out to what I saw let me touch it.
Touching meant I could shape it as I wished.
My magic circles worked the same way.
I called it writing formulas, but really, it was just kneading mana with my hands into the desired form.
"Uh…. Just kinda like… this!"
I flailed hands and feet to demonstrate desperately.
Watching him, does my magic really differ that much from other mages…?
He might demand to drop out saying there's nothing to learn, so I put my all into it.
"…I'm ready."
Kian, who'd been staring wide-eyed at my gestures, closed his eyes in resignation.
Arms spread in an immobile stance.
Perfect unity with the target.
"Better to experience than explain. I'll feel the mana flow."
As expected of our class valedictorian. Number one out of a total of one.
A stance worthy of applause.
To meet Kian's expectations, I shaped an even larger mana arrow than before.
I drew the bowstring to my shoulder tip, and the next instant, the arrow traced a beautiful arc.
—BOOM!!
Beyond the wall, behind Kian, the black-red dead tree vanished without a trace.