novelraw Chapter 193 : Chapter 193
Chapter 193 : Chapter 193
Chapter 193: Studying Magic (2)
The landmass was connected, yet the North and the continent were often classified as different lands.
Partly because the name Serzila carried such weight, but also because they truly felt different to those who lived there.
For mages, however, that difference did not apply.
They were born different to begin with.
For those who had spent their lives hiding and fleeing since birth, adaptation was an easy and trivial matter.
That was to say, the North’s peculiar temperament posed no real problem for the relocated Liberation Faction.
That did not mean they were careless or complacent.
Serzila was merely a place where one could live with relatively less fear, not a land where a mage could live without fear at all.
If discovered, one would die.
Whether the Church existed or not, that fact did not change.
Only the probability of discovery had decreased.
And that probability was lower than one might expect.
At least for the Liberation Faction.
Those who had survived in hiding even on the continent found the Churchless North closer to paradise.
Especially when Ellen Serzila herself had officially guaranteed their identities.
“Be careful. If you are discovered, you still die.”
Oselin’s warning—spoken daily despite her exhaustion—was not forgotten.
Outwardly, the Liberation Faction acted calm, but inwardly they lived in constant tension.
Today, however, that tension could not help but surface.
At least for Greg, whose dream was to become a hunter.
“Nervous?”
“Yeah. I guess I am.”
“It will be fine, big brother. I am here too. They say in the North, no one clenches their fists in front of a child.”
Duke was wrapped head to toe in thick clothing, only his eyes visible.
“Thank you.”
Greg smiled awkwardly and patted Duke’s head.
The admirable youngest had come all this way into the cold because he was worried about Greg’s first day at work.
“They say you will be popular too, big brother.”
“Who says?”
“Uncle Kubel.”
“Ah, that…”
Shura’s father.
A mage who went on patrols alongside knights.
Kubel had become a well-known name even among the Liberation Faction.
“They say knights like big people.”
Greg looked down at his own body and smiled bitterly.
He was not small, but Kubel was in a league of his own.
Kubel was the largest person Greg had ever seen.
And it was not fat—every bit of it was muscle.
“Why are you so nervous, big brother? You admire knights, do you not?”
In the North, being a hunter required more than just hunting animals.
One had to be able to deal with the occasional magical beast as well.
From another perspective, a knight of the North was the ultimate hunter.
They roamed the Boundary, hunting magical beasts and mages alike.
The mages in question were mages of the Otherworld.
Men like Pedro, who had once tried to kill them.
So it was only natural that Greg admired the Barrier Knights.
“I just never thought I would meet them like this…”
Greg nervously flipped through his stack of papers.
That was when—
“Is this the place?”
A cloth door was pushed aside as the first visitor entered.
Muscular and imposing—clearly a knight.
Or rather, appearances did not matter.
Only knights could enter this outpost.
Greg’s workplace was a newly established checkpoint at the garrison before the Barrier.
“I was told to take a test.”
The knight growled the words.
Greg swallowed.
Smack!
A crisp sound rang out as the knight behind struck the first one on the back of the head.
“What are you doing, Sir Pisaro?”
“Shut up and do it.”
“Yes.”
The struck knight obediently complied.
It seemed the one who struck him was a senior.
“What do I do?”
“I-I will explain.”
Greg spoke while swallowing nervously.
“I will ask one question. It is only one today, but later there will be more, and they will become harder… If you answer correctly, go left. If you answer incorrectly, go right.”
Greg pointed behind him.
To the left was an exit marked with a circle, to the right one marked with an X.
“What happens if I get it wrong?”
“Are you part of today’s patrol?”
“I am.”
“If… if you fail… today’s patrol will be canceled.”
“What?”
The knight’s face twisted.
At the same time, another crisp sound echoed from the back of his head.
“If you fail, one of those who pass will take your place on patrol.”
“That is ridiculous!”
The knight protested with a pained expression.
Truly knights, Greg thought with admiration.
They wanted to head into the deadly Boundary no matter what.
“Hey, Grubin. If you are not confident, step aside.”
“If you are scared, I will go first.”
Knights outside the outpost shouted one after another.
It seemed the line had grown quite long.
That was only natural.
Starting today, the First Knight Order could not go on patrol without passing the test.
“Wh-what if everyone fails?”
“Then today’s patrol is canceled, I am told.”
“Who said that!”
Grubin demanded.
“That bastard slept yesterday.”
“Harad said so, did he not?”
“Then you lose Fireball and Kubel too.”
The knights in line snickered.
“If Harad said so, then we do it. Ask the question.”
“……”
Seeing Grubin become obedient in an instant, Greg was once again struck by Harad’s influence.
If Kubel was a mage equal to knights, then Harad was a mage above them.
“I-I will ask the question. Ahem!”
Greg pulled out one sheet from his stack.
“You encounter a mage whose Origin is water during patrol.”
“A big catch!”
“…Instead of charging in immediately, you wish to determine the mage’s Rank.”
“Why bother?”
“At this time, how would you determine their Rank? Multiple choice.”
“One. Observe the speed of spell manifestation. Two. Gauge the scale and effective range of their spells.”
“Three. Do not give them time—attack immediately. Four. Test the power of water magic with your sword or body—”
“Four!”
Grubin shouted before Greg could finish.
“Incorrect.”
Greg hesitantly pointed toward the exit marked with an X.
“Why!”
“…All answers except number four were correct.”
Greg had expected a riot, but Grubin was surprisingly compliant.
He exited quietly.
“Why is number three correct?”
Pisaro, the next in line, asked.
“Was the question not about determining Rank?”
At Pisaro’s question, Greg checked the paper.
As if anticipating this, there was a note attached.
“If an opportunity presents itself, killing the mage without determining Rank is also correct.”
“I see. Do not enjoy the fight unnecessarily.”
“Yes. It says not to hesitate by overthinking, but also not to rush in blindly…”
Pisaro nodded in understanding.
“I see. Not exactly an attitude knights would like. Was there an answer to that objection as well?”
“…Y-yes.”
Greg spoke cautiously.
“It says that since Serzila has permitted it, if told to do it, then do it…”
***
In his past life, they had failed because they were ignorant.
‘They had no excuse to be ignorant.’
In Harad’s view, it was because they had been coddled.
The Elaine of his past life had wanted the North to remain ignorant.
Grand Duke Aratus likely thought the same.
Ignorance was a tradition and inertia of the North.
“You encounter a mage in a green robe during patrol. Which faction does this mage belong to? Number one—”
“I can see it. That is a Robe of the Earthquake Tower.”
“C-correct.”
“But there is an error in the question. I thought Otherworld mages cross our Boundary wearing whatever they please.”
“…That is part of the correct answer.”
“A trick question, then.”
Pisaro passed cleanly and exited through the circle-marked door.
“Harad.”
Pisaro greeted Harad cheerfully upon seeing him standing guard at the exit.
“Are the questions not too difficult?”
“I made them difficult for you on purpose.”
“For me?”
Pisaro was the most astute and practical knight in the First Knight Order.
“If I gave you the same questions as everyone else, that would be unfair.”
“So the difficulty differs by knight?”
“That is what gives it meaning.”
One must not stagnate.
If one learns something, one must learn the next thing.
That was Harad’s rule, and he already had permission.
“Did you really get permission from His Highness?”
“Yes. From both the Grand Duke and the Grand Heir.”
From Grand Duke Aratus, and from Grand Heir Elaine.
Most importantly, from the Elaine of his past life.
So from now on, knights had to be less ignorant.
They could be ignorant about anything else, but not about magic.
“Ask the next question.”
A newly arrived knight spoke.
“Please make it an easy one.”
Thus, the First Knight Order was cooperative.
The Second and Third Knight Orders were the same.
Patrols had become a reward rather than a duty.
‘This is even more effective than I expected.’
Of course, that was not because Harad was exceptional, but because Serzila was.
‘If you tell them to learn, they will not.’
They had to be forced with power.
And not just any power—it had to be the power of Serzila.
“So it truly was approved by His Highness.”
“Then we must learn.”
“We should work hard.”
Knights in line whispered loudly.
If told to do it, then do it.
In truth, knights understood that better than Harad.
They would die if Serzila told them to.
“But does our captain have to take it too?”
“He does.”
“But he does not go on patrol.”
“Then tell him this. He was told to do it, and he did not.”
“…He should take it.”
Even Captain Toremot of the First Knight Order could not avoid the test.
‘There is nothing to worry about, though.’
There was no such thing as a truly ignorant Swordmaster.
Toremot would know enough about mages.
The outpost was bustling.
Greg continued to ask questions, and most knights failed.
“Why is mine an essay question?”
“Because the examiner decided so.”
“Who is the examiner?”
“Harad.”
“I see. Then there must be a meaning I do not yet understand.”
Jax, a knight large only in size, exited through the X-marked door.
“What is over there?”
Pisaro asked, watching the failed knights.
“There are wagons. Wagons going down to the territory.”
The merchant company where the Liberation member Rosen worked would be transporting knights today instead of goods.
“The failed knights will spend a day in the territory receiving education.”
Kubel and Anton were the instructors.
“Could I not learn from you?”
Pisaro seemed dissatisfied with the teachers.
“I do not have time for that.”
“……”
“If there is nothing more to learn from Kubel and Anton, then come to me. I will teach you then.”
Pisaro quietly left.
Being smart did not mean one liked studying.
***
“How did it go?”
Ellen arrived that evening.
“Why are you here? I was about to head down.”
“We finally meet after so long, and that is all you have to say?”
Three days.
Elaine had promised Arika to work for three days, but in the end she was held for a full week.
It was the result of Arika appealing to her emotions.
“I was curious.”
There was a barb in her words, but her expression was bright.
‘She ran away.’
Harad was certain.
She must have felt that she would be trapped forever if she stayed.
A week was already impressive.
Even the Elaine of his past life had never lasted that long as Grand Heir.
‘She endured because she is Ellen.’
In his past life, Elaine and Arika had been purely professional.
Ellen and Arika were different.
Ellen lived her way, and Arika understood her, changing their relationship entirely.
“So what happened? Today’s patrol was canceled, right?”
Ellen seemed certain that most of the First Knight Order had failed.
“The patrol? They already went out. Pisaro is leading them.”
“…?”
Ellen tilted her head.
Harad pointed at the knights lingering near the Barrier.
“They are the next patrol group.”
The First Knight Order exceeded not only Ellen’s expectations, but Harad’s as well.
Even with easy questions, they produced two patrol groups worth of passes.
-To be born ignorant and to choose ignorance are different things.
The Elaine of his past life had been right about that.
In short, the knights knew enough.
They had merely pretended not to know, pretended to be ignorant.
‘Disgusting.’
Harad called Duke over.
“Do it like before?”
“Please.”
Duke placed his hand on Harad’s chest.
A cool sensation manifested from the heart beyond, flowing through Harad’s body with his blood.
“I feel much better now.”
Harad exhaled deeply.
Duke smiled awkwardly at the sight.
“Are you really okay, big brother?”
“You can make it stronger. My Origin is hotter than you think.”
Harad patted Duke’s head and sent him back to Greg.
It was time for the two to head down.
“What did you just do?”
Ellen asked, watching with narrowed eyes.
“I froze my heart. It will thaw quickly, but my mind cools down quite a bit.”
“Why would you freeze your heart?”
“Because I was angry.”
It was one way to restrain his fiery temper.
“Surprisingly useful.”
“You sound like you have done it often.”
Ellen had never seen it before.
That was why her eyes narrowed.
“It is a secret.”
Harad grinned.
Ellen responded with a sigh, as if she had expected that answer.
“Why were you angry?”
“Because they were disgusting.”
“Who?”
“The knights.”
Harad pointed at the successful knights mocking the failures boarding the wagons.
All familiar faces.
‘In my past life, I would not have even spared them a glance.’
In his past life, no one passed except Gullen.
“Duke!”
Harad called Duke again.