novelraw Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Chapter 12
A rather large building situated next to the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground's dormitory.
This building had been constructed solely for the purpose of Mana cultivation.
Inside, there were ten rooms, each with a structure that could comfortably accommodate up to ten people.
And now, for the first time, the Trainees had made their way to this Mana cultivation chamber in order to learn both writing and Mana cultivation methods.
Feyr and Beheli were no different from the other Trainees.
The two headed to the first of the ten cultivation chambers.
Feyr looked around the interior of the chamber and thought.
'Looks just as bare as I remember.'
The inside of the cultivation chamber was, quite literally, bare.
The only thing present was a lantern illuminating the room.
It was the kind of place one might mistake for a Wall-Gazing Hall rather than a Mana cultivation chamber.
'Bleak as ever, but this is how Mana cultivation chambers are supposed to be.'
Nothing else is needed when cultivating Mana.
All that's required is one's own body.
Having something else present in the chamber was more of a hindrance to Mana cultivation than anything else.
Because if the surroundings were cluttered and disorderly, it made it difficult to focus on Mana cultivation.
And so.
'Truly an inefficient layout.'
Mana cultivation chambers are, for the most part, individual rooms.
But this place was structured for multiple people to share.
The disorderliness aside, there was also the possibility of someone disrupting another's Mana cultivation—making this chamber's layout the worst possible arrangement from a cultivation standpoint.
'Though from the family's perspective, it would be a different matter.'
The family only needed to select a handful of elites.
Those who fell behind in the process would naturally reveal themselves from small details like this.
And so the family had deliberately designed the cultivation chambers this way.
Feyr clicked his tongue and settled into a corner.
Beheli also naturally drew close and sat down beside Feyr.
'He comes over on his own now.'
It was like a dog recognising its owner and trotting over.
When Feyr looked at Beheli with a satisfied gaze, Beheli furrowed his brow.
"Why. Looking at me like that."
"You look like a dog."
"Wh—what?"
Beheli's eyes went wide at Feyr's words.
He'd said it quite literally because Beheli really did look like a dog.
At any rate, Feyr picked up the language dictionary.
In order to put into action the good idea he'd come up with while looking at Beheli just moments ago.
'I can't sit the exam right away either, and I still need to deal with the Blood-Attribute Mana—so I'll spend a week teaching Beheli.'
No matter how gifted one may be, learning both writing and a Mana cultivation method takes at minimum a month.
In his past life, it had taken even him a full month and a half to master both.
He recalled Beheli having taken about two months as well.
Like so, learning both writing and a Mana cultivation method takes a considerable amount of time.
But this time around, that time could be drastically cut short.
'Because I'm here beside him.'
Feyr had already mastered both writing and Mana cultivation methods.
Which meant he only had to teach Beheli.
On top of that, Feyr even had prior experience teaching Trainees.
Teaching something as trivial as language or a Mana cultivation method was, to him, as easy as falling off a log.
All the more so for someone with talent like Beheli.
'One week.'
That much time would be more than enough for him to pick it all up.
If he couldn't keep pace regardless, he'd simply fall behind in the end.
'More than anything, if he mastered both writing and a Mana cultivation method entirely on his own within a week, there's a chance he'd end up being suspected as a spy from some other family for no good reason.'
The sight of Feyr teaching Beheli would appear to the instructors as though the two were studying together.
That way, they would think the two had mastered both writing and the Mana cultivation method together and achieved results quickly.
In order not to draw unnecessary suspicion, Beheli had to learn everything within a week.
'Still no intention of sharing the top-rank reward with him, though.'
Either way, there was nothing wrong with growing faster than others, was there?
In Beilhart, being overwhelmingly superior to everyone else was, in and of itself, enough to earn far better treatment.
There was no need to say that not receiving the top-rank reward meant one's progress was slow.
The strong are respected.
That was Beilhart's absolute and inviolable rule, after all.
'Beheli has yet to achieve anything.'
That was precisely why he needed to grow quickly.
The Beheli of right now didn't even have accumulated Mana, let alone a Ring.
Nothing but innate physical ability and raw talent.
That was why it was important to bring that talent into bloom as swiftly as possible.
Having concluded his thoughts, Feyr cast a sideways glance at Beheli.
Beheli had his language dictionary open and was scowling at it.
He appeared to be struggling with the writing itself, just like the other Trainees.
'I was the same once.'
Feyr let out a small smile and opened his language dictionary.
And then proceeded to flip through the pages.
At quite a rapid pace.
Chwarararak!
At the sound of the pages turning, Beheli's gaze shifted toward Feyr.
Just what on earth was he doing?
It wasn't only Beheli.
The surrounding Trainees wore the same expression.
But Feyr, as though utterly indifferent to everyone's stares, quietly flipped through the pages.
Before long, Feyr closed the language dictionary and spoke.
"Done reading."
What was that supposed to mean?
Beheli stared at the dictionary in disbelief.
About a hand's span in thickness.
He'd finished reading a dictionary that thick in under ten minutes?
Just like that, flipping through it casually?
Was that even possible?
Feyr smiled as if he already knew what Beheli was thinking.
"Don't believe me?"
"No."
"Then I'll teach you writing. That'll make you believe me, won't it?"
At Feyr's words, Beheli's eyes narrowed.
And then he asked, suspiciously.
"Teaching in a strange way. Is that not so."
"Don't worry. I'll get you to master not just writing, but Mana cultivation as well."
Even at Feyr's confident reply, Beheli kept his eyes narrowed.
Then, as if reluctantly conceding, he gave a small nod.
"I'll trust you."
At Beheli's answer, Feyr curled the corner of his mouth into a grin.
And said with confidence.
"One week."
"What?"
"I said I'll have you master everything within one week."
At Feyr's confident answer, Beheli let out a small chuckle.
How on earth was he going to get him to master all of it within a week.
Just as Beheli was thinking that—
"Open the book."
Feyr said in a cold voice.
"What?"
"Open the damn book."
At the sight of Feyr, whose voice now carried killing intent unlike before, Beheli had an instinctive feeling.
That he'd gotten himself into something bad.
***
Exactly one week passed from that day.
"Splendid."
Feyr nodded with a satisfied look and said.
And Beheli……
"Ughhhhh……"
Was collapsed on the floor, trembling all over.
And in a thoroughly battered state, at that.
Beheli glared at Feyr and thought.
'That madman. Gets it wrong and he beats you.'
Over the past week, Feyr had driven Beheli relentlessly in order to teach him writing and cultivation methods.
Get a problem wrong, and he'd be beaten.
Fail to remember the meaning of a word, and he'd be beaten.
He was even beaten for speaking incorrectly.
Why?
No idea.
'……At this point, didn't he just want to beat me?'
The moment Beheli was thinking that, Feyr, wearing a refreshed expression, tore the crumpled language dictionary cleanly in two.
"Ah, that was quite a satisfying week."
Feyr said so, stretching with a yawn.
Beheli stared at Feyr in disbelief and thought.
'Completely unhinged.'
In any case, as a result, Beheli had managed to memorise the entirety of the writing and the Mana cultivation method theory within a single week.
Even Beheli himself had judged it to be near-impossible, yet in the end, he had produced the result of success.
As Beheli wore a dumbfounded expression at that fact, Feyr nudged him with his foot and said.
"Stop lying there and get up."
"Fine. Stop kicking me."
At Feyr's urging, Beheli forced his body upright.
After being beaten so thoroughly over the past week, his entire body was still aching.
Feyr watched Beheli with a small smile, then raised his hand.
And then.
Kuk. Kuk.
He began pressing his fingers against various points on Beheli's body one by one.
At Feyr's sudden action, Beheli asked curiously.
"What is. This."
"Acupoint Strike."
Acupoint Strike.
A technique that presses on specific meridians or pressure points.
Depending on the location pressed, it can be used to torture or incapacitate an opponent, while also producing effects such as relieving pain.
'Though of course, a small amount of Mana is needed to achieve its proper effect.'
The Acupoint Strike Feyr performed on Beheli was one that eased the tension in his muscles.
"Not in pain anymore. My body."
Beheli looked at Feyr with curious eyes.
At Beheli's gaze, Feyr smiled wryly.
'The Acupoint Strike was the result of struggling to survive even one more moment.'
On missions, having even one more skill was an advantage when it came to surviving.
And Feyr had learned the technique of Acupoint Striking in order to survive.
'In the past, it was the result of trying to stay alive.'
But now it was different.
Not a means to survive, but a means to exact revenge.
That was how he would use it.
'In fact, when I ran into those Hertzel bastards before, it did come in handy.'
Feyr looked at Beheli, who was still marvelling, and said.
"Get up. Let's go sit the exam."
"Taking it today. The exam."
"Yeah, we've already learned everything there is to learn, haven't we?"
Beheli nodded in understanding.
The two then left the Mana cultivation chamber and headed toward the main building, where the head instructor's office was located.
Upon arriving at the front of the main building, Feyr looked at Beheli and said playfully.
"The exam—you go first."
At those casually dropped words, Beheli shook his head firmly.
"No. You go first."
"The reason?"
"The top-rank reward. You receive it."
Beheli's reply, carrying a sense of loyalty.
Feyr found that answer strangely warm.
'As expected, a fellow who knows how to return a kindness.'
There would never be a day Beheli betrayed him.
How could he be so certain?
'I can't help but be certain.'
Recalling those days, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"……yr! Get out of the way!"
In the memory he recalled, Feyr himself had been wholly absorbed in cutting down the enemy before him.
And so he had failed to notice the sniper shot fired from afar.
And as a result—
"……!"
Beheli, who had been in the same unit, shoved him aside and took the spell with his own body.
He hadn't died, but had sustained serious injuries that left him unable to function properly for a long time—that much he remembered.
He had asked him at the time why he'd done it, and the answer that came back was truly characteristic of Beheli.
"You gave it to me. You did. Beef jerky. That's why."
For a reason as trivial as that, he was willing to throw himself into harm's way.
He couldn't understand it.
But precisely because he couldn't understand it, he could trust it.
And.
Because he could trust it, because he couldn't understand it—Beheli had vanished from this world before long.
And in the most cruel manner imaginable for him.
'An order had come down for Beheli, a foreigner, to massacre people of the same foreign descent.'
Beheli had frozen up in the face of those foreigners and could do nothing.
Even though they were of a different tribe, they were still, in the end, the same foreign peoples.
The foreigners, on the other hand, had misunderstood that Beheli had turned into the Empire's dog and raged at him.
Their fury had been born of misunderstanding, directed at an undeserving target.
And so Beheli had no choice but to meet his end at their hands—at the hands of those who were the same as him.
'This time, I have no intention of letting him die in such a wretched way.'
Feyr quietly steeled his resolve, then spoke in his usual easy manner.
"Is that so? Then I'd better go sit the exam first and come back out."
"Hurry up and finish. Waiting around. Is a pain."
Beheli said as much, and a smile rested at the corner of his mouth.
At Beheli's smile, Feyr likewise smiled and stepped into the building.
Upon entering the main building, one of the instructors inside looked at Feyr and asked.
"What brings you here."
"I have finished learning the writing and have come to sit the exam."
"What? You finished mastering it all in just one week?"
"Yes."
At Feyr's answer, the instructor let out a scoff of disbelief.
But given that Feyr had always been the sort to produce unexpected results, the instructor made himself accept it.
"Very well. Go wait in the examination room on the second floor first."
"Understood."
The instructor gave a brief explanation of how to get to the examination room, and Feyr headed straight there.
The instructor then made his way to the head instructor's office where Zak was.
Tok. Tok.
"Come in."
The instructor who had entered the head instructor's office gave Zak a brief bow.
Zak waved it off and began asking the reason for the visit.
"What is it."
"There is someone who has come to sit the exam."
"What? In just one week?"
"Yes, that is correct."
Zak narrowed his eyes and rose from his seat.
"I'll go wait in the examination room, so bring the exam paper."
"Yes!"
An exam in just one week.
An unprecedented thing, but Zak wasn't particularly surprised.
What was so difficult about learning a bit of writing.
Zak then arrived at the examination room.
He opened the door and stepped inside to find a single desk and a single chair placed in the room.
And seated there was Feyr.
"What? It's you again?"
"Yes."
Zak's demeanour of not being particularly surprised anymore.
At Feyr's utterly unabashed answer, Zak closed his mouth.
A brief silence settled, and in the meantime the instructor arrived at the examination room with the exam paper in hand.
The instructor handed the exam paper to Feyr, and Zak began explaining the exam.
"You have one hour. Solve all of the problems within the hour and submit."
"Understood."
"Then begin."
The moment he said begin, Zak took a pocket watch out from his breast pocket and checked the time.
The moment the word start fell, Feyr scanned the exam paper.
Feyr's eyes narrowed as he scanned the exam paper.
'This is more difficult than I'd have expected for a basic language exam.'
For some reason, it felt more difficult than the exam paper he had taken in the past.
But even so, there was no issue whatsoever in solving it.
Feyr had already fully mastered the writing, after all.
Feyr took hold of a quill and began working through the problems.
Roughly thirty minutes passed like that.
Zak had been standing quietly watching Feyr until he finished solving all the problems.
And at last, Feyr finished every single problem and said.
"I have finished."
"Solved it quite quickly for a worm."
Zak closed his pocket watch and collected Feyr's exam paper.
And the moment he looked at the exam paper, a crease formed between Zak's brows.
The reason was the contents of the exam paper.
'Is this not the intermediate exam paper?'
It seemed the instructor who had brought the exam paper had made a mistake.
But Zak did not inform Feyr of this and began marking it immediately.
And the moment the marking was entirely done—
Zak had no choice but to be shocked.
'A perfect score?'
Not only had he solved the entire intermediate exam paper in thirty minutes, but a perfect score?
To think that a greenhorn who had learned writing for a mere week could accomplish this.
'Was he born gifted in mind as well?'
Zak let out a long breath and looked at Feyr, then said calmly.
"Passed."
At Zak's declaration of a pass, Feyr gave a small bow of his head and answered with equal composure.
"Thank you."
"The top-rank reward will be issued including all rewards from the first exam onward, once the exam is fully concluded, so wait."
"Understood."
That was the end of the matter.
Feyr looked at Zak as though every moment was precious and asked.
"May I go and cultivate Mana now?"
At Feyr's question, Zak gave a small nod and replied.
"You may leave."
"Thank you."
At Zak's permission to leave, Feyr immediately exited the examination room.
Zak, left alone in the examination room, silently looked at the exam paper Feyr had solved and sank into thought.
Thinking to himself that it was a truly frightening talent—one that combined both martial prowess and intellect.