Episode 16: Table Duel (3)
[Details] Withdrawal
[Amount Withdrawn] *2,637 (Thunder Strike)
[Amount Deposited]
[Balance] *63 (Eirena Academy)
“Phew, not bad for a first try, right?”
Sideu shook his tingling arm.
The ‘Thunder Strike’ he had used for the first time had made an electrifying debut, just like the lightning before.
He had used up every last bit of his remaining mana, but since the match was over anyway, there was no need to worry.
However, the Passbook seemed to have many complaints.
Soon, her nagging voice followed.
[The amount of wasted mana is significant compared to the output. It is recommended that you improve your proficiency. As I always say, you must cherish every bit of mana.]
‘Would it kill you to give me some praise?’
He had merely used his remaining mana without worry, yet the Passbook’s words stung.
For something that managed his mana, she was the stingiest cheapskate there was.
In any case, paying no mind to the Passbook, Sideu bowed his head.
It was the relaxed posture of a victor.
“Good work.”
“Uh… ung? Yeah, good work! Everyone see? That’s how it’s done! It’s not hard, it’s simple! You can win with basic bolt magic just like Sideu! Who’s next?”
“I’ll try!”
“Pick me!”
Haemeondeu, who hadn’t expected Sideu to win, laughed heartily and pointed at the table.
The students were beginning to take interest in the ‘Table Duel,’ which was now in full swing.
Hands shot up to volunteer, and unlike before when they had been frightened, everyone looked like they were having fun.
“Thanks for the good match.”
“Tch…….”
Sideu approached Jii, who had collapsed some distance away.
The boy, his face scrunched up in a deep frown, refused the hand Sideu offered.
Then, a short mutter grazed his ears.
“Don’t look down on me.”
Jii grumbled briefly and disappeared back into his group.
He had wanted to avoid standing out from the very first day of class…….
If he had known this would happen, he should have held back and just lost.
By the way, he remained bothered by what Jii had said about seeing his application.
“Come, come! Who wants to try? Barian? Goel?”
“Me!”
“I’ll do it!”
While the volunteers were fired up, Sideu surveyed the lecture hall.
A lecture hall with beautiful stained glass and enough room for hundreds of students.
Reiya, sitting in a corner, caught his eye.
Since there was no one he particularly knew, the boy’s steps naturally headed in her direction.
“Are you alright?”
“Uh… uh? I’m! I’m fine…….”
Caught off guard by the sudden greeting, Reiya lowered her head.
Even though they had made eye contact before he approached, it seemed she was too shy to speak first.
When he quietly checked Reiya over, there were no scorch marks from the fireball on her uniform.
Perhaps the Academy uniforms were enchanted with basic protective spells as well.
“Thanks for the book yesterday. I’ll read it slowly and return it.”
“Yes…….”
Smiling brightly, Sideu sat down next to Reiya.
A smile spread across Reiya’s lonely lips at his appearance.
After looking around briefly, Sideu tilted his head.
He looked like he was searching for someone.
“By the way, where’s your younger sibling? If they enrolled this year, they should be in the same year as us.”
The boy who had definitely been called ‘Reireu’ was wearing a uniform, so he was clearly an Academy student.
Yet since Reireu hadn’t been visible since Reiya got down from the table, the question had sprouted.
“Um…….”
A stammering finger rose and pointed toward the table.
And at the unfolding situation, the mouths of everyone in the lecture hall, including Sideu, fell open.
“Fireball!”
The magic used by new students was nothing special.
Unless they had a special family magic passed down through their house, like Jii.
Most relied on basic magic like bolt magic or fireball.
Even Sideu, who had mastered ‘Thunder Strike’ through self-study the day before, was exceptionally special.
And the boy facing Reireu was no different.
Compared to the fireball shot by Iris, it was a feeble size, but that was the average level for new students.
However, what stole everyone’s attention was not the fireball.
It was because of Reireu’s ‘special technique’ in defending against it.
“Magic Missile!”
Fwoosh, boom!
“Gack!”
Along with a flash of light, the opposing boy was blown away.
Less than a minute had passed since the duel began.
Haemeondeu gaped at the sight of him subduing a boy three years older than himself.
“Al-alright! That’s what I’m talking about! We’ve got a lot of promising ones this year, don’t we? Did everyone see? The youngest successful applicant in Academy history, Reireu Wein! He’s twelve this year! Underestimate him because he’s young, and you’ll be in for a rude awakening!”
“Wein? Which house is Wein?”
“Ah! I’ve heard of it! Where was it?”
At Haemeondeu’s fuss, the surrounding students murmured.
Considering the average admission age was fourteen, Reireu had effectively entered two years early.
Moreover, the technique he showed on the table was more than enough to draw everyone’s attention.
“Sister! I won!”
Reireu looked for his sister in the corner.
Reiya beside Sideu also waved her hand, and the students who realized the two were siblings swallowed hard.
Some who had probably planned to pick on Reiya based on their first impression of her must have given up after Reireu’s entrance.
“Could he have dismantled that magic? In that short moment?”
“Yes… Reireu has that ability…….”
Under the concentrated attention, the girl lowered her head.
Her face, red like an apple, showed a shyness beyond limits.
To think that the younger brother of such a shy librarian would be such a genius.
Reireu sat next to Reiya, leaned against his sister’s arm, and smiled brightly, and Reiya likewise patted her younger brother.
And his fierce glare seemed to say, ‘If you touch my sister, I will not let you go.’
But when the boy spotted Sideu, he returned to a kind expression.
“Brother! We meet again? I saw your fight, Brother. That Thunder Strike was powerful, wasn’t it?”
“Thanks. You were amazing too, weren’t you?”
“Compared to Brother, it’s nothing.”
Reireu smiled brightly.
Watching the humble boy, Sideu recalled what he had just seen.
The moment the massive flame approached, Reireu spread out a magic circle.
And raising his hand toward the fireball, three magic circles seemed to devour the fireball and ‘annihilate’ the magic.
But in reality, he had not annihilated the fireball.
Two of the magic circles rotated in reverse, reducing the fireball’s power, and the flame that passed through the magic circle in the ‘reverse order of its creation’ became a gust of wind and scattered.
He had not defended against or annihilated the magic—he had ‘dismantled’ it.
Moreover, this complex process occurred in less than a second after the fireball was fired.
Not only had some students failed to properly see Reireu’s ability, but it was also an ability that even the admiring Haemeondeu dared not imitate.
At this ability that could perhaps be called the ultimate shield, Sideu clicked his tongue in awe.
He was gradually growing interested in the Academy, which he had only had a bad impression of until now.
‘As expected, it was a good idea to come to the Academy.’
* * *
Spring, when green leaves grew larger and insects and birds grew busy.
A month had passed since Sideu enrolled.
Large leaves had unfurled on the branches where buds had sprouted, along with a bout of spring rain.
The chirping of birds and the sounds of grass insects were now close to everyday occurrences.
“Brother! Did you hear about the alchemy class? They say a teacher named Bein is coming as an external instructor.”
“Of course I heard. I know him personally.”
“Wow. Our brother is amazing!”
It had become routine for Sideu to go around with the Wein siblings.
Moreover, while staying indoors, the boy’s face had changed to quite a bright shade.
His physique, which showed a difference from other students, his eye-catching eyes from before, and the firm neckline connecting to a smooth jawline—one would believe him to be a model.
Of course, his skin was still close to a bronze hue, but his naturally grown hair made it impossible to believe he was the same potato-head boy as before.
Rather, this bronze skin boasted of Sideu’s vibrant, healthy appearance.
As expected, they say a man is all about his hair, right?
Now that he looked, Sideu hadn’t been that ugly of a potato after all.
“The weather is nice.”
Sideu looked around.
The garden, where green leaves had sprouted, was filled with many students.
He could see second and third years who had returned after vacation, and students who had made friends to their liking gathered in groups, making noise.
There were so-called ‘elite groups’ formed from the kingdom’s and city’s noble families, as well as those who could not join such groups and clustered in small numbers.
But no student approached Sideu and the Wein siblings.
“Th-that guy who got in through the headmaster’s connections…….”
Just then, he heard a familiar conversation.
It was a rumor that had been circulating recently—that Sideu had enrolled ‘through the headmaster’s connections.’
Of course, it was true that the headmaster had used his discretion to admit Sideu after he missed the entrance ceremony, so it was not entirely wrong.
‘Petty bastard.’
Sideu glanced at Jii, who was standing a short distance away.
At first, he had acted so friendly, but after losing the duel, he had not approached again.
This treacherous false rumor had probably been spread by that pale-faced boy.
Anyway, the sight of him spreading rumors after losing a fair duel was almost laughable.
“Brother. Don’t pay it too much mind. That pathetic Firepoo is just jealous of Brother. It’s all because Brother is so capable.”
“It’s fine. You’re the one who shouldn’t worry.”
Reireu smiled brightly and stuck close to Sideu’s side.
Thinking back, Reireu had acted strangely friendly from the first time they met at the library.
Whether he had mistaken Sideu for someone from a famous house like Jii, or simply felt close to the boy he had first met at the Academy.
Perhaps he thought positively of the boy who had been kind to his sister.
‘I wonder if the brothers are doing well.’
While being ostracized in all but name, Sideu thought of the monastery.
Despite having wanted to leave that monastery so badly, a choking sense of longing surged up.
But rather than wallowing in sentiment and suffering, becoming a magnificent mage would be his repayment.
Thinking this way, the boy was gradually growing accustomed to Academy life.
* * *
Sideu’s current pure mana capacity was approximately 540 mana coins.
Compared to the person who had boasted 13,210 coins previously, it was a modest number, but the amount recovered in a single day approached 13,000 coins, interest included.
While learning and attempting various magic through Academy life, Sideu showed rapid growth.
The past when he had possessed a mere ‘73 mana coins’ before obtaining the Passbook seemed laughable now.
And that night, a new offer from the Passbook arrived.
[A new product is available. Would you like to check?]
“A new product?”
Beneath the crystal orb glowing with magic, Sideu tilted his head.
Faint moonlight shone outside the dormitory window, and grey clouds drifted across the quiet night sky.
What broke this silence and stimulated Sideu was the Passbook, which had opened its mouth for the first time in a while.
Except for constantly urging him to use ‘loans’ whenever his mana was insufficient, this was the first time it had introduced a new product.
[As your pure mana capacity has increased, a new product has been unlocked. Would you like to check?]
“Really?”
At the Passbook’s request, Sideu laughed slyly.
It sounded less like asking whether he wanted to check and more like pleading with him to check.
Having grown familiar with the Passbook over a long time, Sideu threw out a light joke.
Considering all the help she had given him during that time, it was an undeniably impertinent joke.
“So are you returning to that kind tone you used when explaining things before? Be honest with me. You were putting on that voice back then too, weren’t you? Come on, I know everything!”
[Not at all.]
“It’s a joke.”
Sideu smirked and closed the book he was reading.
Since this was a rare occurrence, his heart pounded.
Soon, a familiar screen appeared before the boy, who sat up straight.
“Hmm.”
Sideu tilted his head and focused on the dense text.
As expected, the words were difficult to understand.
“What is this? Comprehensive insurance… service?”
To be continued in Episode 17