novelraw Chapter 119 : Disguise (1)
Chapter 119 : Disguise (1)
Chapter 119: Disguise (1)
“What's so funny?”
“No, didn’t you see Sparkle’s personality right in front of you just now?”
“I did.”
“So how was it? Sparkle’s personality, as you saw it, Arkis-nim.”
“Well…….”
Honestly, I wondered if she really was a professor, but even so, I did feel a certain human side to her.
“It wasn’t bad. Still, it seemed like she needed a bit of fixing.”
“Even so, she’s become much calmer since getting fired from her professor position.”
“I see. She improved pretty quickly, huh? I guess I should say that’s a relief.”
Thinking that her rowdy personality was gone made me feel strangely empty somewhere inside.
“Then do you agree with having Sparkle in charge of the Fire Element?”
“Yeah. But do I really need to attend classes, even in the 6th Class?”
“There’s no absolute need, but do you have something else to do?”
“I’ve told you repeatedly—I need to train my body in order to use Vision Power. I don’t have time to attend school classes.”
“Ah, right. Then let’s do that.”
After meeting Etar and having the school administrators learn of my identity, I definitely felt more at ease.
I asked Former something I had been most curious about ever since I went to the 5th Class.
“Former.”
“Yes, Arkis-nim.”
“Now that you know my identity, no matter what I ask, you can answer without hiding anything, right?”
“Of course. Is there something else you’re curious about?”
“Yeah. When I entered the 5th Class, Sylarid’s aura was clearly in the auditorium, and there was a strong smell of blood coming from you. What on earth was that about?”
“Ah…… that?”
Former began to explain.
The professor of the 5th Class was a mage named Draco Deven, and apparently he was a fairly skilled mage even among the Draco Family.
However, there had already been a change in the class system starting from the 3rd Class.
Specifically, all subjects held their classes simultaneously at 10 a.m.
Because of that, since I was a Double Caster at the time, I had to choose between the Fire Element and the Darkness Element. By choosing the Fire Element, I was able to hide my abnormally high-level Tap-Taking from the Draco Family.
But the 5th Class professor was also a mage from the Draco Family.
It was something that had been carefully concealed, but since it seemed like it would be exposed anyway, the explanation was that he had simply been eliminated.
“What does that have to do with Sylarid’s aura?”
“Arkis-nim, since you were once at the top, you know, don’t you? About the altar.”
How could I not know?
I was the one who had organized the Archmage’s Royal Guard and had them protect the students because of that altar.
“Ever since Arkis-nim disappeared, the Draco Family repeatedly researched the altar as well. As a result, they learned methods to replicate the altar or connect it to other locations.”
“…….”
To be able to arbitrarily manipulate Sylarid’s altar.
As expected, a lot had advanced over the span of 300 years.
“Since I grew up in the Draco Family, I also knew that method. I temporarily installed an 8th-grade altar in the 5th Class auditorium, then confined Deven and eliminated him.”
“Then…… that vibrating smell of blood was…….”
“Yes. I personally stepped in to deal with Deven and suppress the altar. I think it was because the wolves’ blood covered my body.”
Even when I maximized my five senses using Flewd magic, I couldn’t distinguish whether it was the smell of human blood or animal blood.
Blood, once you actually smell it, all gives off the same scent.
That was why I had been misunderstanding that Former had massacred people.
“Now that clears up one of my own questions. The Banshi’s note that came from the secret room—it felt like it was monitoring something. Was that because it was monitoring the class?”
“Yeah. Because I thought you were intentionally and continuously killing someone.”
“So that misunderstanding happened again.”
Former answered as if it were nothing.
There was no sign that he felt bad or anything like that.
And there was one thing I realized—Former was actually quite an affable mage.
Even after knowing my identity, he didn’t act awkward or intimidated, and instead talked comfortably, like a friend he had known for a long time.
It seemed his childhood had played a big role in that.
Although he was Etar’s son, he had been forced to mingle with the Draco Family just to survive among them.
Back then, it must have been an ordeal painful enough to kill him, but now that he had endured it and grown into an adult, it seemed to have become one of his own strengths.
“It must’ve been tough, growing up in the Draco Family.”
As I thought that, something a bit out of the blue slipped out.
“Well, it’s all in the past now, isn’t it?”
But Former still answered calmly.
Still, one pitiful thing was that he didn’t deny it.
It really must have been unimaginably difficult.
“Aren’t you hungry? You’ve only been sleeping all week, so it seems like it’s time for a meal.”
Former changed the subject.
“When you say it like that, I think I am hungry.”
“Since you can’t move, I’ll bring the food to you. And…… what should we do about students Kiena and Hei? Should we restrict access to the infirmary?”
“Why bother asking that?”
“You have a lot to think about, so I thought frequent visits from the two of them might break your concentration.”
Now that I looked at it, he might actually be somewhat considerate.
What was certain was that when I didn’t know Former’s true identity, he really had been a Vice Headmaster I disliked—but in truth, that had all been an act.
The 모습 I was facing now was Former’s true self.
“Yeah. If possible, do that. I don’t really want to run into them until vacation ends.”
“That’s easy enough. We can just threaten them with expulsion.”
……On second thought, he didn’t seem all that considerate.
When he answered just now, he looked extremely pleased, as if he were excited at the thought of expelling them immediately.
“Then I’ll be in charge of your meals. That’s fine, right?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“I’ll be back.”
Former left the infirmary like that.
I lay back comfortably on the bed, putting my full weight into it, and thought.
‘A method to train the body…….’
Come to think of it, back when I was at the top, I felt like I’d had a similar conversation with Garent, but I just couldn’t remember it at all.
Oriant Garent once again came to the top, the upper world of the Swordsman Society.
In his arms, he held onto the cloud painting drawn by Quilte.
“Have you arrived, Garent-nim. What brings you here today……?”
The current Grand Swordsman, Vulcathos Milton, asked with his entire body tense.
“Ah, no. I just wanted to take a quick look at that Sealing Stone.”
“Is that so?”
“Don’t mind me. I just have something to think about.”
“Understood.”
Even though he had been told not to mind it, Milton couldn’t help but worry, yet he did his best not to show it.
Garent crossed his arms and stared blankly at the Sealing Stone.
That was when it happened.
As he quietly fixed his gaze on the emerald-colored section, he gradually felt as if his consciousness were being sucked into the Sealing Stone.
‘That’s strange. Is it because I’ve been sensitive and tired lately?’
To snap himself out of it, he shook his head vigorously and stared at the Sealing Stone again.
Before long, Garent stood perfectly still as if hypnotized, the focus completely disappearing from his eyes.
Milton’s figure vanished from in front of Garent, and in its place appeared his own 모습.
‘Huh……?’
A figure clad in shining armor. Beside it, a greatsword was planted into the ground.
‘That’s…… me from 300 years ago, isn’t it?’
It was the 모습 of when Garent had guarded the Sealing Stone at the top.
When he checked the Sealing Stone, the black coloration accounted for three-tenths of it.
The Sealing Stone that Milton was guarding was in the process of crossing from six-tenths to seven-tenths.
It was clearly the same Sealing Stone, yet the proportion of black was different.
‘Don’t tell me…… is it showing my past self? No, how?’
At that moment, a voice leaked out from within the Sealing Stone.
-Hey! Garent! Is this how you’re supposed to swing it?
“…….”
A voice that was familiar yet deeply missed to Garent.
It was none other than the voice of Arkis Aimer.
“You can’t even see it, so how would you know?”
-You’re a Grand Swordsman! A Grand Swordsman who only the strongest among swordsmen can become! Shouldn’t you be able to tell just by listening to the sound?
“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”
-I’m not joking. I’m serious. I’m an Archmage, so just by hearing the sound of mages manifesting magic, I can guess their level. Don’t swordsmen have something like that?
He remembered.
He had definitely had a conversation like this with Arkis Aimer in the past.
-Hngh! Chwah! Huryap-!
The bizarre shouts of Arkis Aimer flowing out of the Sealing Stone.
In the past, Arkis Aimer had often let out shouts like that.
The identity of those sounds was Arkis Aimer swinging his sword.
Arkis Aimer had pestered him endlessly to teach him that secret technique, often making those sounds and asking him to evaluate them.
Because of that, Garent had exchanged quite a lot of conversation with Aimer.
‘Aimer…….’
-Hey! Garent! I’m telling you, teach me a bit!
“Ah, come on! I told you, I can’t see anything, so how am I supposed to teach you!”
-You judge by listening to the sound, you idiot!
“Are you insane……. If I could just cross over to your side through this Sealing Stone, your head would already be separated from your body and rolling on the ground.”
-Oh my, how scary. The Grand Swordsman is trying to catch an innocent Archmage!
At that exchange, a snort of laughter escaped him despite himself.
‘Right. You and I used to bicker like that.’
Soon, Garent, standing beside the Sealing Stone, closed his eyes and listened carefully to Aimer’s sounds.
It was just as he was trying to focus on the sound he made while swinging his sword.
“I’m curious, though. That sword you’re swinging right now—where did you get it? Are there swords in the Magical Society?”
-No? I made it with magic.
“……So that’s possible.”
-Well, it’s simple. You make the Flewd sphere thin and long, then…… shape it into form…….
Arkis Aimer rambled on at length with explanations that were impossible to understand.
What even was Flewd, and what was shaping into form supposed to be?
None of those words applied to a swordsman.
“Enough. Swing it again.”
-Oh, looks like you’ve finally got the motivation. Now! Listen carefully! Slash! Huryap! Thrust! Haat!
“…….”
Only then did Garent realize Aimer’s problem.
Just as he said, when he listened closely to the sound, it was strange how the issue became obvious even without seeing it directly.
Especially when he shouted things like thrust and slash while swinging the sword, there was only the sound of air being cut—just ‘whoosh, whoosh.’
“Wait, do the thrust again.”
-Thrust! Haat!
Whoosh!
It happened again.
There was only the sound of air, and the truly important sound couldn’t be heard.
“……You, were you really just thrusting literally without using your feet at all?”
-Huh? You’re supposed to use your feet too?
“……Unbelievable.”
A thrust is a technique where you quickly close in on the opponent and strike a vital point.
That’s why your footwork has to be fast, and you need a running start.
But right now, Arkis Aimer had truly been performing a thrust in the most literal sense—just sticking his arm straight forward.
-How about you tell me how to do it first before reacting like that.
“Ugh, bend your waist.”
Garent said it with the intention of teaching him just the basics.
-How much? Like lying face-down on the ground?
“……Let’s just quit.”
But Aimer lacked even the most basic fundamentals.
He told him to bend his waist, and the guy thought about lying down.
Having no confidence in guiding him through words alone, and feeling like it would just hurt his mouth, Garent promptly gave up.
-Hey…… seriously……. A person’s getting their hopes up like this and you mess with them?
Aimer protested in a clearly angry voice.
“No, I’m genuinely curious. You’re an Archmage—why are you trying to learn swordsmanship? You mages hate swordsmen, don’t you?”
At that time, it still wasn’t the period when Garent and Aimer had begun seriously talking about true harmony.
So Garent couldn’t understand Aimer.
Not until he heard ‘that answer.’