novelraw Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 23: Second Table of Contents
I found a hallway where there were no students around.
“One thing I’m curious about.”
“Yes.”
“It’s an era where an Archmage named Archis Eimer became an incompetent and shameless Archmage, so does that mean my master is the same?”
“Uh…”
Banshi wore an expression that showed she found it difficult to answer.
“Judging by your face, I guess so.”
Instead of answering, she only nodded carefully.
“Then even the books my master wrote must have become forbidden books.”
“You’ll learn about that once class starts. When you move up to 1st Class, the second table of contents appears in the Magic History textbook.”
“From what I’ve seen in the classes starting from Class 0, everything related to me is being twisted into brainwashed truths. Like how they teach that the darkness element is the strongest element.”
“You observed accurately.”
Well, it made sense. They hid Tyrant’s atrocities, and the fact that he had become an Archmage had to be justified.
What fault did the students have?
They knew nothing, so they simply believed whatever the teachers told them.
The upper stream had rotted, so the lower stream was slowly rotting as well.
At that moment, the Mob vibrated. When I checked, it was a call from Kiena.
I gestured to Banshi to stay quiet, then answered.
“Yeah, Kiena. What’s up?”
—Artel! Where are you? I have something to brag about!
Her voice sounded extremely excited.
Did something good happen during class?
“What are you bragging about?”
—The teacher in charge of summoners said it! That summoners are the strongest among all mages! Stronger than elementals!
“Really?”
But that didn’t match what I knew.
I glanced at Banshi’s reaction.
She only nodded with a blank expression.
It was as if her face was saying, ‘This is another one of the distorted truths.’
Summoners had clear limits, like the Emmet Family.
Contrary to what Kiena had heard in class, summoners were considerably weaker than elementals.
Since they didn’t handle the elements directly but summoned divine beings that fought in their stead, their limits were obvious.
The density and size of the mana a mage possessed strengthened the summoned divine being, but even so, compared to an elemental of the same circle, the difference in power was large.
Tyrant seemed to have twisted even the definition of summoning magic.
—So they said summoners are the mages most likely to enter the main school!
But Kiena was earnestly boasting out of genuine happiness.
I didn’t want to spoil that innocence.
“Really? Congrats. So summoners are that kind of mage.”
—I’ll work hard too! Let’s definitely go to the main school together!
I had never said we would go together, but Kiena was fired up with determination.
“Alright.”
—Where are you? The next class is starting soon, let’s go together!
“No, I’ll go separately. Go with Hei first.”
—Okay. Come soon!
After ending the call with Kiena, I looked at Banshi again.
“A world where summoners are stronger than elementals… From your perspective, is that true? Did summoners actually become stronger than elementals as time changed?”
“What exactly do you mean…”
“You were in 1st Class for five years. Since you participated every week in the weekly common class, Magic Sparring, you must have fought summoners too, right?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. At least the 1st Class summoners I fought didn’t seem stronger than elementals.”
“You’re a 6th Circle now. When other 1st Class elementals fought summoners, did you ever feel anything like that?”
Banshi thought for a moment at my question.
Then her answer was, “No.”
“Then why do they say they’re the strongest mages? It sounds like they’re calling them the most precious talents among all mages.”
“Does it… mean that?”
It looked exactly the same as saying that among elementals, the darkness element was the strongest.
Darkness elementals and summoners.
When I put those two together, only one person came to mind.
Sylarid, the double caster who was both a darkness elemental and a summoner.
Tyrant had killed me, saying he would absorb the man’s power, so Sylarid was clearly the great wall Tyrant needed to surpass.
In the darkness element class taught by Draco Former, he didn’t say anything about having the highest chance of entering the main school.
But since he said darkness was the strongest among elementals, that naturally implied they had the highest chance of entering the main school.
And then summoners too.
Tyrant seemed determined to gather only darkness elementals and summoners into the main school.
‘I really hope it isn’t the plan I’m thinking of.’
A plan where he used students as materials to harden his mental power and potentially absorb Sylarid’s power.
But given what I had seen so far, it seemed correct.
“Class is about to begin.”
As I stood there quietly in thought, Banshi spoke softly.
“Ah, right. I should go. Where’s the classroom?”
“I’ll guide you.”
So I walked down the hallway beside Banshi as she guided me.
“You’ll run into my friends soon, so don’t ever use honorifics. Keep your mind sharp.”
Before reaching the classroom, I firmly warned her.
“Got i—yes.”
Her voice was still anxious, but at least she showed effort, so I could be relieved.
“You’ve met Hei already. Have you not met Kiena yet?”
“No, I, uh, no.”
“Get along with them. You decided to be with me, after all.”
Banshi only nodded.
The daily common class, ‘History of Mages 2’, was held in Classroom 1.
All the slightly more than thirty students of 1st Class were gathered.
Because of that, I also had to see Russel’s unpleasant face.
Russel glared at me for no reason while passing by.
‘Fine, I’ll overlook it since you’re still young.’
If he acted like that even when he became a 6th Circle, I would really have to teach him a lesson then.
Right before class began, as always, when Kiena and Hei tried to sit on either side of me, Banshi took Kiena’s seat and sat next to me.
“…What? That’s my seat.”
Kiena spoke with a baffled expression.
“There’s no such thing as an assigned seat in this classroom. Whoever sits first owns it.”
When speaking to Kiena, she was as cold and stern as when we first met in the library.
“Who are you to suddenly sit next to Artel?”
“Banshi.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“I… like th— this guy. Why, is that a problem?”
Banshi quickly corrected herself after almost calling me this person.
And although I’d suggested she act that way, I didn’t expect her to say it that boldly.
“…”
At the same time, Kiena’s eyes widened.
“So stop making noise and just sit next to me, okay?”
Kiena reluctantly sat beside Banshi.
So the order became Kiena, Banshi, me, then Hei.
Tap tap.
“See, I told you I was right.”
Hei looked triumphant, proud that his prediction had been correct.
“Let’s just get ready for class.”
The brief commotion faded, and once all the students were seated, the teacher entered.
It was Teacher Muhead, the one who had given us our staves and wands.
“Alright, we’ll begin class immediately. Open your books.”
‘Chapter 2. The Full Moon Battle.’
Just as Banshi said, once I reached 1st Class, the blank sections became visible.
But the moment I saw the chapter title, my pupils trembled.
‘The Full Moon Battle…’
“This is a history of the Magical Society that we must learn. And a very important one at that.”
‘This battle…’
“It is a battle that took place about 450 years ago. A historic day when the sword-wielding society and the Magical Society, who had lived in isolation from each other, joined forces to subdue the butcher mage Sylarid.”
That was correct.
And the mages who participated in that battle were…
“At that time, Archmage Alarize Petra and his Disciple, Archis Eimer.”
When Teacher Muhead finished speaking, Banshi stole a glance at me.
It felt like she was moved by the thought that such a great person was sitting right beside her.
But Russel’s reaction was unexpected—he flinched and stared at me.
His pupils were trembling.
‘What’s with him?’
There was no way that little brat knew I was Archis Eimer.
It seemed best not to bother with him, so I didn’t even look his way.
Muhead continued explaining.
“And the swordsmen included the Great Swordmaster Oriant Aran and his seven disciples—eight in total. That is why the battle where ten fought to capture a single mage is called the Full Moon Battle.”
“Teacher.”
“Yes, Student Kiena.”
“Why did swordsmen come forward just to subdue one mage?”
As soon as class started, Kiena returned to her model student self.
She asked purely out of curiosity.
“It’s simple. Sylarid affected the sword society as well, and when swordsmen began to die because of him, it gave them justification to intervene.”
Up to this point, it was true.
In a world where so much truth had been distorted, it was surprising that he was teaching this part accurately.
Then Russel raised his hand.
“Yes, Student Russel.”
“As a mage of House Mihael, I was raised with the teachings of my family. Swordsmen look down on mages whose bodies are weak, believing they’re inferior. So how could such swordsmen be defeated by a mage?”
“Yes, that is correct. And the purpose of this lesson is to teach you all a very important truth proven by history.”
“And what’s that?”
“As a result of the Full Moon Battle, although Sylarid was sealed, all eight swordsmen who participated died. What does that tell you? Doesn’t it mean the mage was stronger than the swordsmen?”
Of course.
The brainwashing began once more.
A childish “who is stronger” argument presented by the school itself.
“The only survivor of the Full Moon Battle, Mage Archis Eimer. He then became the next Archmage, but later, he attempted to undo Sylarid’s seal. And the one who stopped that plan was the great current Archmage, Draco Tyrant.”
“And why did Archis Eimer try to undo Sylarid’s seal?”
This time, I asked on purpose.
This wasn’t even mentioned in The Main School’s Admission Requirements, which I saw back in Class 0.
I was truly curious how Tyrant had twisted this part.
“They say Archis Eimer went mad. He tried to kill mages and release Sylarid’s seal to resume the slaughter.”
It was so absurd that I actually let out a hollow laugh.
To think the best explanation they came up with was that I went mad and started killing…
What was even more ridiculous was that both students and teachers believed it without any doubt.
‘Despicable bastard…’
This was aimed at Tyrant.
Not only did he turn me into a heinous Archmage, he twisted history to brainwash students into thinking mages were superior to swordsmen.
Why go to such childish lengths, Tyrant?
‘I thought even a downfall had its limits, but perhaps I overestimated you, Tyrant.’
Even when he had been my disciple, his character was never admirable.
Among my six disciples, he had been the worst.
Still, as I guided him, he seemed to improve little by little, so I relaxed—but I never imagined it had all been part of a plan.
His foul nature had fermented for 300 years and now stank to high heaven.
In the end, this class was nothing more than a grand scam aimed at novice mages.
“And now, for the new students who have entered 1st Class, I will give a warning. You wouldn’t have learned this in Class 0.”
After the lesson began, it was the first time Muhead adopted such a solemn expression.