Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: First Real Battle, Nice and Easy
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“It's hot! It's really hot!”
“Crazy mage! That's not a Fire Wall, that's a Fire Wave!”
The dawn training ground was a vision of hell. Dain and Yuria were running for dear life, dodging the ferocious wall of flames bearing down on them from behind.
Erendel floated in the air, sipping coffee as she waved her staff like a conductor's baton. With every flick of her wrist, the flames surged faster or slowed to a crawl. She moved with the casual ease of someone playing a rhythm game.
“Yuria. Your feet are slowing down? You'll get burned at this rate.”
“Master, please! The spots you hit me yesterday are still throbbing!”
“No whining. Just pump mana into body enhancement. You saving it to boil soup or something?”
“If I knew how, I'd have done it already! You beat the crap out of me before even teaching me!”
“Didn't I teach you? Must've slipped my mind. But you should pick that up on pure survival instinct. Back in my day, I learned it dodging dragon breaths.”
“That's 'cause you guys are the monsters!!”
Dain was outright bawling beside her.
“I'm not even a mage! I don't know how to use mana! I'm just a sturdy regular person!”
“Then trust your instincts! If you wanna live, your legs'll move on their own! Have faith in your bloodline!”
I watched the whole chaotic scene with deep satisfaction.
It was definitely working wonders. Dain's running speed was picking up by the second. People really only unleash their potential when there's fire under their feet.
I fished some jerky from my pocket, chewed on it, and rummaged through my inner pocket. Then I pulled out a communication orb glowing with a soft blue light.
The two women's shrieks as they lapped the track made for the perfect background music. I channeled mana into the orb.
Wooong-.
A moment later, a small holographic screen flickered into existence in midair, revealing the face of an exhausted woman.
[...Kasian?]
It was Princess Elicia.
Her dark circles told me she'd been up all night.
“Yeah, you picked up. Not sleeping?”
[Sleep? You know the state of the palace right now...]
Elicia rubbed her face dry and let out a deep sigh. Her expression was half-soulless, like her spirit had checked out.
I'd handed things off to her, but I still needed to check in periodically.
With most of the Imperial Knights' command structure smashed to bits, even basic public order would be a stretch. The academy would send fresh talent once break started, but that was still a ways off.
Straight to business.
“How's the palace vibe? Any of the rotten water drained out?”
[It's recovering a lot. Thanks to you... uh, disciplining the noble faction heads, tax collection rates are up too.]
“How much central authority's back? Local lords treating imperial edicts like toilet paper was just yesterday.”
[Recovering slowly, but surely.]
A faint spark of strength entered Elicia's voice.
[After crushing the last rebellion, the nobles are flat on their bellies. We seized the opening to push through tax audits. Central treasury's breathing easy now, and imperial-sealed documents aren't ignored in the provinces anymore.]
“What's their deal? When did they ever roll over like this?”
Nobles don't budge without profit. Obeying now meant some serious pressure had been applied.
“What exactly did you do? Get some leverage?”
[No. Just... pulled a little string. Sent an official cooperation request to the Holy Kingdom.]
“Holy Kingdom? What do they have...”
[To root out potential heretics hiding in each territory, we requested dispatch of Papal Inquisitors. With full imperial backing, of course. Funds are plentiful.]
“......”
I was speechless for a moment.
Unleashing Inquisitors under imperial oversight?
That wasn't an audit—it was a straight-up threat to torch entire territories if anything turned up.
The moment those guys showed up, territories would get flipped upside down. Under the sacred banner of heresy hunting, they'd ransack everything from secret ledgers to bedrooms, even mistresses' houses.
Refuse? Might as well advertise yourself as a heretic.
Checkmate.
“Whose mad brain spat that out? Not from those pure little neurons of yours.”
At my question, Elicia tapped a book on her desk corner—thicker than a brick.
[Very Simply Learning The Prince]
The 1,567-page textbook I'd given her, penned by Alexander.
[It was in here.]
“......”
I pinched my forehead.
'Alexander, you crazy bastard...'
What the hell did he write in there? It was The Prince. Political philosophy. Why was it teaching hitmen tricks and fanatic wrangling?
Then again, the guy wasn't exactly sane. He treated “if words fail in council, just axe 'em” like gospel truth.
[It worked wonders, though? Just the rumor of Inquisitors has lords voluntarily coughing up back taxes.]
“Yeah... well... results matter...”
Better than the empire crumbling. The naive princess toughening up was a hundred times preferable. She was blackening in all the right ways.
“Keep the pressure on. Academy'll sort and send military types soon.”
[Understood. I'll be waiting. Thank you always.]
I cut the comm and turned. The training ground entrance was getting rowdy.
“Ughhh... so sleepy...”
“Why's there assembly this early...”
“Drank way too much last night...”
Fourth-years trickled in, rubbing crusty eyes. The notice for palace volunteers must've drawn a decent crowd.
“Huh? Who's that running over there?”
“That behind them... fire?”
That's when Yuria and Dain spotted the incoming students. Their eyes lit up like predators.
“Hey!! What the hell are you doing!!”
Yuria bellowed.
“Show's over? Don't just gawk—get in here! Late joiners get post-class gravity acceleration in the warehouse, you hear?!”
Dain jumped in, waving frantically.
“Yeah! We can't be the only ones dying!”
The infamous water ghost ploy.
Pain doesn't halve when shared—it just means you're not suffering alone. Purely human, utterly devious instinct.
“...Huh?”
As the students stood dumbfounded, Erendel's staff slid smoothly through the air.
Fwoosh-!
The wall of flames expanded to engulf the entire training ground.
“You could come in whenever you wanted. Leaving? Not so much.”
“Gyaaaaaaa!!”
“Kyaaaaaa!!”
With Erendel's decree, the infernal morning roll call kicked off.
Several hours later.
The training finally wrapped up when the sun hit midday. The training ground floor was littered with fourth-years sprawled like corpses. They panted raggedly, their breath reeking of acetone.
I approached the flattened Dain and tossed her a water bottle.
“Still alive?”
“...Ki... kill... me... please... mercy kill...”
Dain could barely sip the water, not even enough strength to twitch a finger. Panting like this from just a few hits... she had a long way to go.
“Every muscle... screaming... no sensation... what sin did I commit in my past life's past life...”
“Quit whining. It'll all be gone by tomorrow. Trust your bloodline's recovery power.”
“Ughhh... that's the scary part... I wanna stay knocked out forever...”
I squatted down beside her.
“Hey, Dain.”
“What... spare me...”
“What's the next scenario?”
I lowered my voice so the other students couldn't hear.
“Huh?”
“The original story. Events around now. Anything big? Not the peaceful daily life crap like festival dances and kisses—something problematic.”
Dain stared blankly into space, dredging up memories.
“Hm... this is right before finals...”
She pondered deeply, then her eyes suddenly widened as something clicked.
“Ah!”
“What? You got it?”
“Right. This is... kinda big.”
Dain whispered with a grave look.
“Exactly one week from now, the heroine Alice gets kidnapped by a black magic cult.”
“Kidnapped?”
“Yeah. She sneaks out to the city at night for supplies... and black mages snatch her. Something about using her as a sacrifice... anyway, the male leads go rescue her, and love blossoms in the crisis...”
“Love blossoms my ass. That's big?”
“Huh?”
“One schoolgirl kidnapped—what's the fuss? Thought it was plague or something.”
“.....”
Dain shot me an incredulous look.
“Senior... don't downplay it. Those black mages are basically this story's final bosses? It's a pretty serious arc! The world's top villains!”
“Final bosses? Them?”
I couldn't help but snort.
“You're joking. In my genre, they're just Mob Extra Group 1. And I made that black magic—what's to worry about?”
Like neighborhood thugs declaring world conquest.
Five hundred years ago, I fought legion commanders who could vaporize entire mountains. Kidnappers now? Peace had lowered the villain bar.
“You said final bosses, right?”
“Yeah...”
“Then wipe 'em out now, and the academy's trouble-free forever?”
“But... that'd twist the original way too hard.”
Dain fidgeted awkwardly.
“That kidnapping's what awakens Alice as the Hero of Light. Her desperate will to save her friend bursts her potential, shocking the male leads—that's the highlight...”
“No plans to awaken her.”
I cut her off firmly.
“Why awaken some bleeding-heart enemy sympathizer? She'd just be dead weight. Drop her in my world, she'd die day one.”
Kyle used to be that type.
But he had freakish power, so it worked. No time for a walking lightbulb with decent spirit affinity.
“Kill the final bosses, chance the heroine and male leads don't hook up?”
“Hm... probably slim? She builds bonds with them at salon teas anyway.”
“No issue then. Better you snag that EXP than her, right? Your potential's superior anyway.”
“You don't mean...?”
“Perfect timing. Fresh prey. Been wanting to test your skills anyway.”
I grinned and patted her shoulder.
“Hey, Dain.”
“Why call my name all creepy... don't act chummy...”
“Next week: real combat drop.”
“Ehhhh?!”
“Target: total wipe of those so-called final boss hideout. Like a stroll—nice and easy.”
“M-me... first day tumbling today? No skills yet?”
“You grab a sword, Aura Blade pops out; swing, sword beam flies—why need skills? Smash a few black mage skulls, you'll level up fast.”
“......”
“Just follow me and stomp everything. No witnesses? It's an assassination—you know the drill?”
“......”
Dain's face drained to ashen again. The extra's scream of doom—hunting the rofan final boss before even graduating—echoed silently in her throat.