“Steady yourself, Your Majesty of Carnatic. Though we have learned the truth, this is still not a situation in which we can let down our guard.”
“D-Dragons. If only those accursed creatures had not been there, we would not have been pushed back like this.”
At the trembling words of the King of Carnatic, the rulers nodded as if in sympathy.
“In truth, not all of the dragons have participated in this war. In particular, the one who could be called the strongest of them all, the Dragon Lord Kranus, has yet to appear on any battlefield. The same goes, of course, for the other two dragons presumed to be Ancients. Therefore, the only Ancient-class dragon currently taking part in the war is the Red Dragon Verkis. Of course, our army has suffered the greatest damage at Verkis’s hands.”
The Kingdom of Kanduras bordered the Fellusia Mountains. The one who had played the most distinguished role in bringing that kingdom down was none other than the Red Dragon Verkis. And he was the dragon who had acted most vigorously, already becoming an object of terror that humans could not resist.
For that reason, among the rulers who heard his name, there were some who secretly clenched their molars.
“At present, Kranus is presumed to be staying in his lair while controlling the sea route between Truvenia and the Arcadia Continent. Since he is continuously operating magic formations that block undersea currents, various whirlpools, and teleportation, the amount of mana he consumes should by no means be inferior to that of the other dragons active on the battlefield. According to the investigation by our intelligence bureau…”
Sergei paused for a moment, then his expression turned grave.
“In approximately ten years, they will have to enter their period of sleep no matter what happens. Our investigation indicates that, beginning with the Dragon Lord Kranus, the other dragons will enter their sleep periods one after another. If they do not, they will no longer be able to function.”
The faces of the rulers, on which a brief sprout of hope had begun to emerge, darkened once more with despair. The King of Carnatic, who had risen from his seat, shook his head from side to side.
“H-How are we supposed to endure for ten years?”
For a human army to hold out for ten years against the allied forces of dragons and orcs seemed, at a glance, impossible. No, the honest assessment of the front-line commanders was that, three years later, when orc reinforcements were added, the tide of battle would be rapidly overturned. To tell them to endure ten years in such circumstances… Most of the rulers showed that they found it absurd. But Sergei’s attitude was resolute.
“There is no other way. In order for the fate of humankind to continue, we must endure those ten years no matter what sacrifices we must pay. Once Truvenia falls into the hands of the orcs, humankind will be destined for extinction. Even if half of Truvenia’s population dies in battle, this is something we must accomplish.”
He looked around at the tense faces of the rulers.
“From this moment on, recruit support troops on a massive scale. In preparation for the deployment of the orc reinforcements, conscript and train anyone capable of holding a sword, regardless of age or status. That is the only path by which we can survive.”
At the bleak words that burst from Sergei’s mouth, the rulers’ faces hardened without exception. Because of a single mistaken decision—failing to establish a cooperative relationship with the Arcadia Continent—the humans living on the Truvenia Continent had, in a word, fallen into a grave fate.
Deng, deng, deng.
The clear bell chimes spread, wrapping around the city streets. With the sound of the bell, Feldrian’s morning had dawned. Under ordinary circumstances, it would have been the time when people bustled about to greet a new day, and the bell would have announced that hour precisely. But the meaning of the bell had long since changed.
That was true for the citizens, of course, but especially for the soldiers defending the walls, this bell could not help but hold even greater significance. In other words, the bell meant that the soldiers had managed to keep their lives for one more day. In a time like this, when raids by orc guerrilla units were frequent, the lives of the wall guards did not last long. Every morning, without fail, several defensive squads had been dismantled and vanished.
In other words, nights of terror had continued, in which dozens, even hundreds, of fellow soldiers died each night.
“You managed to survive, huh?” That phrase had now become an ordinary morning greeting among the soldiers. That was how desperate the situation was. The number of orc guerrillas being reinforced was beyond imagination, and the morale of the soldiers only continued to break under the air raids that came almost every day.
However, the royal castle located at the center of Feldrian was, in contrast to the area near the walls, nothing but peaceful. Because its security network was so strict, the guerrillas could not possibly infiltrate this far. Most of the orcs were intercepted near the walls, fought, and died there.
Perhaps because of that, the daily lives of the royal guards stationed in the castle were entirely different from those of the wall guards. Dozens of royal guards stood watch at the castle’s main gate. Their armor, polished clean, bore no trace of battle at all, as if proving the serenity of the place.
However, as the bell rang out, there was one thing that changed within the palace as well: people were gathering in twos and threes at a certain place inside. Most of them were young men and women whose faces were still full of youthful softness. Some were young men of rather robust build wearing light armor, while others were slender youths with blue robes wrapped around their bodies. Their identities were none other than trainees of the academy. Each of them carried the swords or books they had prepared and was moving toward the place where they would receive instruction.
If one were to name the most important thing for humans, it would undoubtedly be education, the cultivation of the next generation. Of course, even in a time like this, when the future was bleak, education alone was carried out without the slightest wavering. Even as soldiers died ceaselessly on the brutal battlefield, these students had devoted themselves to their studies in peace within a place protected by a sturdy defensive line. All of this was preparation for a better future.
Droizen, one of the professors in charge of the magic faculty at the Feldrian Academy, at least thought so.
“But, you see…”
An old man with a gaunt, small frame, but with eyes that left a powerful impression. The professor of the magic faculty named Droizen was currently absorbed in preparing for the class that would soon be held in a lecture room of the academy building. After gathering all the teaching materials needed for magic instruction and laying them out on the desk, he cast his gaze out the window. Reflected there was the sight of students coming in twos and threes to attend class, entering the building. Droizen watched them for a moment, then suddenly let out a lament.
“I truly worry for Truvenia’s future. The students who should truly be learning have been conscripted and sent to the battlefield, while only useless ones remain…”
Since no students had yet entered the lecture room, the pent-up feelings in Droizen’s heart continued to spill from his mouth.
“Icarotte has already rotted. Students who truly possess talent for magic have to go to the battlefield in order to save the children of nobles. How does that make any sense at all?”
A sorrowful thought suddenly surfaced in Droizen’s mind. All at once, the thought that this was not right passed through his head.
—Education for the next generation shall be carried out under any circumstances.
This was a founding principle commonly applied to every nation existing on the Truvenia Continent. It was also the foundation upon which humans had pressed down the many similar races and enjoyed prosperity. Of course, on the surface, there seemed to be nothing wrong with putting that principle into practice. But the problem was that, here in Icarotte, that principle had been drastically distorted.
As a measure to prepare for the future, students of the academy were not to be conscripted under any circumstances. In Icarotte, that principle had long since been shattered.
It was the result of the narrow-minded greed of the nobles.
The war situation grew more precarious by the day. The scope of conscription had already expanded not only to commoners, but even to the households of nobles. In order to prevent conscription orders from falling upon them, high-ranking nobles had enrolled their sons and daughters en masse into the academy under false pretenses. Since it was almost certain that they would die if sent to the battlefield, the nobles mobilized not only enormous bribes but also every personal connection they possessed in order to save their children. As a result, students with no talent whatsoever for mana had entered the magic faculty.
There were even quite a few female students appearing in the knight faculty. Of course, the enrollment quota of each faculty was strictly fixed. In other words, because of them, the students who should truly have been admitted were instead being conscripted and dragged off to the battlefield.
That was precisely what Droizen was worried about. Of course, at the time, many professors of the faculty had risen in opposition to that measure, and naturally Droizen had been among them. But he no longer possessed the courage to refuse it. Not long ago, after the fellow professors who had formally raised the issue were all conscripted as War Mages and sent away, he had resolved never again to let those words leave his mouth.
“There’s nothing to be done.”
In his eyes, now colored with unavoidable resignation, the students entering one by one were reflected. Students chattering as they came in, as if the situation on the battlefield had nothing whatsoever to do with them. Of course, more than half of them were students who attended class halfheartedly—the sons and daughters of nobles who had fled here to avoid being conscripted.
Though the thought that they were pathetic crossed his mind, Droizen was already returning to his true nature as an educator. Because of that, he failed to notice a royal guard of small build standing by the rear door of the lecture room, his eyes flashing repeatedly as he watched him.
Soon, the class began. As befitted a natural-born scholar before he was a magician, Droizen quickly immersed himself in the lecture.
“Mana with various attributes is distributed throughout the atmosphere. It bears the attributes of the many elements that constitute the world. Listed in order, these are water, fire, wind, earth, wood, electricity, and iron—or metal. There may be elements that have not yet been discovered, but for now, I will set those aside in my explanation.”
The lecture room soon began to grow heated. The students’ eyes shone as they watched Droizen’s mouth. Their appearances clearly revealed an enthusiasm to acquire even a single piece of knowledge. Regrettably, however, the majority of the students were not immersed in the class. Though Professor Droizen was lecturing earnestly, they acted as if they had never had any interest in the lesson to begin with, whispering among themselves and exchanging words into one another’s ears. Naturally, it was a sight that would sap the strength from Droizen, who was explaining until his voice nearly burst.
But he did not mind in the least. Even if he scolded them, they would not listen, and there was also the risk that he would suffer trouble for nothing, so he had already withdrawn his attention from them. In any case, there was no denying that tremendous backing existed behind those children.
Their parents, who were high-ranking nobles.
“In the realization of magic, mana possessing the attributes of these five elements is used. In other words, the realization of magic is the rearrangement of the mana distributed throughout the atmosphere. First, I will begin a detailed explanation of Fireball, a basic offensive spell and the one most widely used.”
As the situation was what it was, the faculty’s education proceeded with its focus entirely placed on offensive magic. If by any chance the war expanded as far as this place, it was certain that these magic trainees would also be conscripted, and if that happened, they would have to serve the role of War Mages on the battlefield. But even as he lectured, Droizen was certain of one thing: the nobles would surely find some way to slip only their own children out.
“Fireball is fundamentally a flame-type spell. Naturally, mana with the attribute of fire is mobilized to realize this spell. Of course, if we consider the ratio of mana in the atmosphere, mana with the attribute of fire is among the scarcest, and rearranging it also takes the most time. Nevertheless, Fireball is the most widely used spell among all offensive magic. Does any student know the reason for this?”
Droizen turned his head and looked over the students’ faces. He saw several students flinch in surprise and hide their faces behind their books, but he pretended not to notice. He had already learned through experience that pointing them out would be of no use. Soon, one student raised his hand and answered.
“It is because flame-type attacks inflict the greatest damage upon the enemy. Among the five elements, mana with the attribute of fire has the greatest destructive power, and fire itself is also the element that symbolizes annihilation.”
“A good answer.”
Droizen nodded. It was not entirely to his liking, but it was a satisfactory answer in its own way.
“As Martin said, among offensive spells, flame-type magic possesses the greatest power. Of course, if one reaches the higher circles, water-type or wind-type magic can also display tremendous might, but for now, my explanation is focused on driving mana at the lower circles, so keep that in mind. Now, I will explain the method of rearranging mana in order to construct Fireball.”
As Droizen began lecturing with fervor, the students’ eyes grew even brighter. Of course, the students with no interest in the class soon began doing other things.