novelraw Chapter 111 : Past Events (1)
Chapter 111 : Past Events (1)
Chapter 111: Past Events (1)
Changing the evaluation criteria, huh.
The corners of his lips suddenly lifted, and even the atmosphere he gave off felt somehow different.
To be precise, it wasn’t oppressive or hostile, but since the mood had shifted so abruptly, I didn’t feel particularly pleased either.
“Changing the evaluation criteria just for me—what do you mean by that?”
I asked while maintaining my status as a student.
“The passing standard for 5th Class of Elementalists is developing one’s own magic. But I’ve been watching your abilities since 1st Class, so I know them well.”
As expected, it meant he had monitored my every move through mobs.
“You’re different from other students. I don’t know the details, but while the 5th Class assignment is the most difficult task for ordinary students, I think it must have been the easiest for you.”
I had no intention of denying it, so I simply nodded.
“But you see. I recently heard an unbelievable rumor, and I really wanted to confirm it with my own eyes.”
Etar wore a relaxed expression.
A rumor…?
I had no idea where or how such a rumor had started.
And I couldn’t even guess what kind of rumor Etar had heard to make him act like this.
“They say you are my master, Arkis Aimer.”
“……!”
At that moment, I lost my composure just a little and failed to control my expression.
I had no idea how Etar knew of my existence, or where that fact had leaked from.
“My master, who passed away 300 years ago—how could he be like this? It’s not something that can be explained by common sense. Don’t you agree?”
“…….”
I restrained my words as much as possible.
But there was no trace of hostility in what he said.
I had clearly believed that Etar would try to eliminate me the moment he learned I was alive.
After all, despite knowing the truth behind my death 300 years ago, he was now serving as the branch head, and 250 years ago, he had even burned the Emmet Family down with his own hands.
In other words, if Etar truly had changed, then he was a mage I would have to eliminate myself before going to meet the Tyrant.
But…
Strangely enough, the words Etar spoke now were tinged with longing and warmth.
“I don’t believe rumors alone. So I’ll give you a test question. There’s a magic that holds memories for me—try to guess what it is. If you really are my master, Arkis Aimer, it won’t be a difficult question.”
A magic that held memories between Etar and me?
With such an obscure hint, I couldn’t tell which magic he meant.
The magic I had taught Etar was as numerous as the spells written in the Ed Family’s grimoire.
Still, I didn’t feel like refusing Etar’s proposal.
No matter how I thought about it, it was strange.
If he truly knew I had been resurrected and wanted to eliminate me, he could just kill me outright—why go through such a troublesome verification process?
‘Why does he want to confirm me so precisely?’
A possibility crossed my mind.
Perhaps I had misunderstood Etar all along.
His current attitude didn’t belong to someone trying to confirm my identity just to erase me.
It felt more like he was trying to be absolutely sure whether I was someone he could truly trust or not.
As if he was guarding an important secret and deciding whether or not he could share that secret with me.
Just like when I first met Banshi in 1st Class.
And perhaps that was also why he kept addressing me as ‘Master’ so punctually.
Because I knew that it wasn’t intentional, but a very natural way of speaking for him.
“Begin.”
Etar soon manifested a spell.
A spell I had been seeing frequently lately—Orbification.
As if erecting a massive barrier between Etar and me so that we could not reach each other, he manifested Orbification.
A gigantic, brightly blazing Orbification.
Far larger and more powerful than Nylon’s Orbification.
Due to its influence, the facilities inside the auditorium began to melt like ice.
And then I understood what Etar was trying to say.
‘Memories…… so that was a memory for you, Etar?’
It was from when Etar had been my Disciple.
Back when he had just learned Orbification, unable to contain his joy, he had shown it to me, wanting to boast and receive praise, and had manifested Orbification right in front of me.
But instead, I had scolded Etar for his Orbification.
The reason was simple.
Because his magic, having lost its distinctiveness, extinguished far too easily.
The flames Etar wielded contained many opposing emotions.
Contempt, respect, anger, gentleness, fighting spirit, and more.
They were words that couldn’t possibly harmonize with one another, yet strangely, all of them were present in Etar’s magic, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
That was why I had given Etar the nickname ‘Flame of Harmony’.
Though it looked discordant on the surface, within it lay perfect harmony—that was why I named it so.
The story of how that nickname later changed to the Lamp of Justice came a bit afterward.
But oddly enough, when he manifested Orbification, his flames lost all distinctiveness and simply burned intensely.
That was why I had no choice but to scold him.
‘Etar, did you want to hear those words again?’
Thinking back on it now, it was true that only Etar and I had been there at the time.
In other words, if I truly was Arkis Aimer, then he believed I would remember exactly what I had said back then—that was why he had given me this task.
‘Still, how insolent. Daring to test one’s master.’
I slowly walked toward Etar’s Orbification.
To avoid being affected by the magic, I had wrapped Flewd around my body.
Because of that, I could feel that my hair and eyes had already turned white.
I placed my hand on Etar’s Orbification.
The auditorium’s facilities had all melted and turned into magma already, but thanks to Flewd, I suffered no harm even when touching the Orbification.
Etar’s Orbification.
It was the same.
The very same Orbification from the distant past, the one I had scolded.
An Orbification where all distinctiveness had vanished like the melted facilities, leaving only intense flames burning.
“Etar.”
I opened my mouth.
“When you learned Orbification and showed it to me, I clearly said this while scolding you.”
Etar’s pupils widened.
“Your flames, having lost their distinctiveness, are nothing but crude, insignificant things that go out quickly. This Orbification is exactly the same as back then.”
I injected Flewd into Etar’s Orbification.
There was no need to manifest Flewd Orbification just to erase this Orbification.
Etar’s flames, having lost their distinctiveness, went out quickly if Flewd was injected and controlled to completely cut off the air.
That was how I had suppressed Etar’s Orbification back then as well.
And the same was true even now.
It was at the moment when Etar’s Orbification, which had melted even the facilities, vanished without leaving a trace, leaving behind only the auditorium, reddened as if fully roasted.
Thud!
The sound of someone collapsing rang out.
“Lord Arkis……! So it really was Lord Arkis……! Why did you only appear now……? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting…….”
Etar, his voice trembling with sobs, forcibly climbed down from his wheelchair and struggled across the floor, crawling as he tried to approach me.
“Etar……?”
“I’m sorry…… for daring to try to test you, Lord Arkis…….”
He crawled all the way to my feet and bowed his head deeply, offering his apology.
Was Etar truly not a mage who sought to erase me, but one who had longed for me?
If that were true, it meant I had avoided the worst possible outcome—erasing with my own hands Etar, my precious Disciple and ally.
“Hngh…… hhk…… the fact that you’re alive, truly… I’m so relieved.”
As his emotions finally overflowed, Etar broke down in tears.
5th Class training grounds.
The magical exchange between Nylon and Jeb went on for quite some time.
Judging by time alone, it was close to an hour.
But in the end, the one who collapsed was Jeb.
Only after his entire body had been reddened as if cooked, and he had suffered burns so severe that he couldn’t even bend his fingers, did he finally fall.
“Guhhh…….”
When he let out a groan, smoke billowed from his mouth.
“Alright, that concludes the evaluation for the teacher in charge of the Dark Element. Well, his capabilities weren’t bad.”
Compared to the critically injured Jeb, Nylon’s condition was impeccably clean.
There was only a small wound on his cheek, and even that was so minor it looked like a scratch from a cat.
“Clear away the corpse for now.”
With a fire-element wave spell, Nylon sent Jeb’s body flying far into the distance.
“So, who’s next?”
“…….”
He had spoken merely to continue the evaluation, but the other teachers were already frozen in place, too frightened to move.
Their gazes, as if by prior agreement, were all fixed on Jeb, who had been reduced to a near-death state.
“Huh? You’re scared you’ll end up like him? Don’t worry about that. Our family and his family have had deep grudges for generations. This was just a family dispute—it has nothing to do with you.”
“…….”
Still, the teachers couldn’t understand how Nylon could take Jeb’s critical condition so lightly.
Even if a stray cat collapsed dead in the street, no one would be this indifferent.
Moreover, if the Archmage were to learn that Nylon had said something like this, he would immediately dispatch the Royal Guard to the 5th Class of the Ed Branch School.
Yet Nylon, as if he were someone with no tomorrow, casually spat out words that amounted to a serious crime.
“Come on! Who’s next? I said I’ll go easy, so don’t wor—”
At that moment, as he was about to resume the evaluation, a message arrived through Nylon’s mob.
It’s all finished here. Clean up as you see fit.
It was Etar’s message.
It meant that the student ability evaluation was completely over, and there was no longer any need to keep the teachers detained.
‘That ended faster than I expected.’
“That’s enough. Everyone’s too scared to even do a proper evaluation. Let’s do it next time.”
Taking advantage of the situation, Nylon brought the evaluation to an end.
He released the barrier magic placed on the entrance to the training grounds and was just about to leave first.
“Professor…… what about Teacher Jeb? If we leave him like that, he might die…….”
One of the teachers asked.
“That thing?”
But such words didn’t even register with Nylon.
He used a term that didn’t even treat him as a person.
“If he dies, that’s good for me. Handle it yourselves.”
Leaving behind those cold words, he sharply turned his back.
The teachers left behind in the training grounds exchanged glances with one another.
With their eyes alone, they all conveyed the same thought.
‘What are we supposed to do about this……?’
“Get up, Etar.”
Etar kept bowing his head, as if he were trying to make some sort of endless apology.
All the while, he kept repeating, like a madman, “I’m sorry, Lord Arkis. I’m sorry…….”
“Etar, this is an order. Stand up.”
I deliberately didn’t withdraw the white coloration yet.
At the very least, it was a color Etar was deeply familiar with, and I judged that it would be better to maintain it in this moment we were sharing.
Only then did Etar finally raise his head.
For the first time at close range, I met his face head-on.
I didn’t avoid his gaze and stared straight at him until it felt like I might bore holes through him.
A sudden, lingering doubt had crossed my mind.
What if this, too, was an act meant to lower my guard?
The Tyrant had killed me that way, after all, so I thought Etar might be capable of the same.
But that was nothing more than my own overreaction.
Etar had always been a Disciple whose emotions and thoughts were plainly written on his face.
And that was still true even now.
“You’ve grown old, Etar.”