──[ Purpose of the Dark Mountain Practicum ]──
The Dark Mountain practicum is intended to cultivate a mage’s real-combat ability.
Today’s mana concentration is not particularly dense, so the probability of powerful magic beasts appearing is extremely low. However, for safety reasons, entry above an altitude of 500 meters is restricted.
The total “Dark Mountain Practicum Score” that Debutants must earn is 10 points. There are only 6 practicum opportunities per semester, so please work hard.
１. Discovery of Magical Materials
：Analysis reports on 3 or more pharmacological or magical materials (1 point per 3)
２. Witnessing a Magical Phenomenon
：Records of experiencing spacetime, conceptual, or abstract phenomena (2 points each)
３. Combat with Magic Beasts
：A magic beast’s corpse or records proving its slaying (2 points each)
４. Magical Enlightenment
：Submit a report on your personal growth achieved in the Dark Mountain (maximum once, 1 point)
※ If you happen to encounter any “outsiders,” be sure to report it to your supervising professor!
────────
“The Dark Mountain practicum…”
The nameless man picked up a piece of paper scattered on the floor of the Dark Mountain. The corner of his mouth, buried beneath his beard, twisted with a faint snort.
“A practicum, eh… brings back old memories.”
The paper in his hand soon caught fire, and the flames spread to the corpses strewn around him. They were agents of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau who had been chasing him until now.
The paper and the corpses burned down into traceless ash.
“Sorry ’bout this. But what can I do? I’ve got to live too.”
The man trudged on. The 「Barrier of Chaos」 he had created was still intact.
“…?”
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly sensed a trace of magical power. It was a pure mana, sharp enough to stab into his mind.
“Hm…”
He blinked and looked in that direction. A wind spirit carried the scent of mana to him.
It was fragrant.
“…I really have gotten old. Now even little things make me curious.”
Unable to restrain his curiosity, the man muttered as though lamenting and changed his course.
* * *
The Dark Mountain. The outskirts of the Imperial University’s grounds, and a dangerous zone as isolated from the capital as an uninhabited island.
This mountain occasionally produced demonic energy, and magical phenomena were not uncommon, so it contained exceedingly dense mana.
Because the environment was like this, the fish that grew in the mountain were extraordinary not only in taste, but also in nutrition and calories.
“Ah… So this is life…”
The taste of fish lingering in her mouth, and the full, languid afterglow. Epherene rubbed her smooth stomach, then looked at Sylvia.
“By the way, what happened?”
“…!”
Sylvia, who had been nodding off, belatedly assumed a guarded stance.
“Time got tangled. You wouldn’t know.”
“Tangled?”
“I wandered around the mountain for 20 hours.”
“What? 20 hours? No way. The sun hasn’t even set yet.”
At that, Sylvia “drew” a metronome with magic. The metronome manifested by her three primary colors ticked—tocked—once every second, marking the passage of time.
“That’s the time I perceived. This metronome moved exactly 72,653 times. 20 hours, 10 minutes, and 53 seconds.”
“…Yeah. I can tell from your clothes.”
Epherene, who had been thinking it over, soon nodded as well. Sylvia’s attire was far too compelling as evidence.
After all, that lofty and noble aristocrat from another world wasn’t someone who would get dirty in a mere three or four hours.
“I didn’t notice. Was it a magical phenomenon?”
“You’re stupid.”
“…I did feel it too, you know? Anyway, let’s go to the Steel. Deculein’s Steel.”
At that, Sylvia’s expression turned somewhat displeased. Her eyes, narrowed into straight lines, glared at Epherene.
“Impudent Epherene.”
“Haa… What is it this time?”
“Professor Deculein is not your friend.”
At those words, Epherene let out a hollow laugh. It was absurd.
“…Fine. Professor Deculein, that Head Professor, told us to report to the Steel if anything happened. It was nearby, right? Let’s go.”
Epherene walked along the stream. Sylvia followed her.
Before long, they discovered a Wood Steel shuriken fixed in midair.
“So this is Professor Deculein’s cherished possession…”
“Impudent Epherene.”
“…Professor Deculein’s cherished possession?”
Looking at it up close, it was quite a fascinating shape.
Like a pointed icicle on both sides, or perhaps a neat crystal.
In any case, Epherene tapped on the Wood Steel and spoke.
“Ah, ah. Ah, ah. Can you hear me?”
Epherene waited for a moment.
Soon, along with a wooooong… resonance, a reply came back.
─What is it?
“Phew.”
Epherene let out a sigh of relief. Then she said to Sylvia,
“You say it.”
“…”
Sylvia shook her head. She did not want him to know that she had gotten lost.
“What now…”
Having no choice, Epherene spoke herself.
“It seems a magical phenomenon has occurred. Time appears to have become tangled.”
─I see.
“Yes.”
─……
Click—
The communication cut off. Flustered, Epherene sent another signal.
“Um, um, Professor? It’s a magical phenomenon!”
─What do you expect me to do about it?
“Pardon?”
─This is a practicum. Resolve it on your own. If it is a magical phenomenon, make sure you write a proper report.
The communication ended just like that. Epherene stood there blankly, and Sylvia shrugged for no particular reason. Somehow, the gesture looked smug.
“Maybe it didn’t work because it was you.”
“…Agh, seriously.”
Epherene’s face twisted.
“Whatever. If communication works through this, doesn’t that mean time is fine?”
“It seems to be fine around the stream.”
─That ain’t it, child.
Suddenly, a voice rang out. The two of them were greatly startled and turned toward it.
Rustle── Pushing through the bushes, a middle-aged man in a robe appeared.
“Golden-haired child. This time-chaos phenomenon is my barrier. Seems you were unlucky enough to get caught up in it too. I’m sorry.”
“…”
A number of fireballs gathered behind Epherene’s back, and Sylvia instantly memorized Barrier.
“…Ohoho~ What fierce children~? I’m explaining myself, and yet you’re this aggressive?”
But there was no hostility in him. Rather, he only seemed interested.
“Who are you?”
Epherene asked, still on guard. Then the middle-aged man leapt lightly and approached in an instant. He was as tall as Deculein, and his body was solid.
He gave them an amiable smile.
“Nice to meet you. I am ‘Murkan.’ The proof is this staff here. You are mages, so you’ll understand if you look at it, yes? It is a 「Fragment of the World Tree」.”
“…!”
The two of them widened their eyes.
Those who lived in the “Gahala Desert” at the southeastern edge of the continent bore somewhat unusual names. Among the most famous mages from that desert were Demakan, Murkan, and Rohakan.
Among them, the name Murkan was also famous as the son of Demakan’s younger brother.
In other words───
He was a relative of an Archmage!
* * *
At the entrance to the Dark Mountain.
The practicum had begun at noon, and now that it was three in the afternoon, the Debutants returned one by one. They reported the results of their practicum to the supervising professors.
“Confirmed the herbs, then.”
“Yes~”
There were a total of six supervising professors today. Excluding Deculein, who was in overall charge, they were all newly appointed professors. They held the rosters and scribbled down the Debutants’ practicum scores.
“Professors!”
Just then, a young knight came running in a panic from the direction of the Magic Tower. He was accompanied by a group of police.
“This is bad! This is bad!”
“What’s the matter?”
The professor who asked back was Kelodan. Because of his thick lenses and rustic way of speaking, he was famous for the nickname “Four-Eyes.”
“An urgent report has come down from the Intelligence Bureau. They say Rohakan has entered the Dark Mountain!”
“What, Rohaka, Rohakan─?!”
“Yes. Apparently, he was discovered by the Intelligence Bureau while impersonating Murkan.”
The professors’ eyes widened.
“The Intelligence Bureau agents and police have already begun pursuit, and knightly support has also been requested, so…”
Before he even finished speaking, they climbed the mountain.
Rumble, rumble, rumble──
They soon entered the mountain and reached its middle slope. The number of knights and police had doubled before they knew it.
“Head Professor! This is serious!”
Deculein, who had been sitting on a chair halfway up the mountain reading a book, lifted his head. They immediately ran to Deculein and explained.
“…Rohakan is currently in the Dark Mountain!”
Deculein’s reaction was strange. Even after hearing the tremendous name of Rohakan, he remained perfectly calm. In fact, he seemed more bothered by the smell of sweat coming from them.
“Um, perhaps. Do you not know Rohakan?”
“I know him. How could I not?”
“Ah, sorry, sorry ’bout that.”
He knew who Rohakan was. He also knew his current infamy.
The worst criminal of the present age, and one of only ten wanted men on the continent at the rank of “Black Beast.”
─[ Main Quest: Rohakan’s Circumstances ]─
◆Overview
：Rohakan’s Circumstances
◆Objective
：Encounter Rohakan.
◆Reward
：One Item Catalog
：Shop Currency +1
─────
At the same time, he was a major named character who occupied a place in the Main Quest.
Rohakan was not a villain. Rather, he was one of the central figures who would lead this Main Quest to the end, someone who “absolutely must not die” before the final boss.
“We will proceed with the search. Will you accompany us, Professor?”
The knight “Rawein” said.
Deculein stared at him quietly, then snapped his book shut.
“Very well. However, I will move alone.”
“That will not do. Do you truly know who Rohakan is?”
“That’s right. His infamy for slaughtering dozens of Imperial mages—”
The professors, police, and knights gathered there in force all turned pale and tried to stop Deculein.
“You would only be a burden, so I am telling you to get lost on your own.”
But he merely cut them all off as if in contempt.
…From Deculein’s perspective, he had no choice. He had to drive them away.
However, everyone who had no way of knowing the circumstances behind it was rendered speechless by his overflowing confidence, no, his utterly arrogant attitude.
“…Yes. Do as you wish.”
Soon, the knights led by Rawein gritted their teeth and passed him by. The professors and police bowed their heads with somewhat uncomfortable expressions.
“…”
When the area had fallen quiet like that.
Deculein moved alone.
His search efficiency was far superior to anyone else’s.
“Move.”
The Wood Steel he had swiftly scattered through the mountain.
He resonated with all of it and searched for Rohakan’s location.
His foremost objective was to find Rohakan before those knights did.
* * *
“That ruffian became the Head Professor? What in the world did he pull?”
Within the warmth of the crackling—burning campfire, Murkan spoke. Epherene nodded, and Sylvia lightly bit her lower lip.
Epherene asked,
“By the way, do you know Professor Deculein well?”
“Of course I do. I taught that boy.”
“Whaaat?!”
“…!”
Epherene’s and Sylvia’s eyes widened. Murkan gave a faint laugh.
“…Why? Is it that surprising? You should know from my name, no?”
“Wh-when, when did you teach him?”
Epherene kept asking, while Sylvia remained still. It was a common way for nobles to make use of commoners.
“Was that 20 years ago? Back then, that ruffian was still very young. I was his tutor mage. I was short on money, you see.”
“What was he like back then?”
Deculein’s childhood, which no one knew.
An unofficial history that could not be heard anywhere else.
At Epherene’s urging, Murkan stroked his beard and continued.
“He was a prodigy. Even as a young child, he learned university-level material with ease. But his nature was not good. It may have been because of the pressure from his parents, but he had no feelings like empathy or pity.”
Murkan, recalling those old days, furrowed his brow.
“Mages are usually like that, but he was especially severe. You might say he was living proof that human nature is evil.”
“…”
At that cold assessment, Epherene blankly opened her mouth. Sylvia, as though taking offense, said,
“He is one of the most skilled and famous professors in the current magic world.”
“Eh? That boy is?”
“Yes.”
“How did that happen? Though I have been cut off from the secular world for five years.”
Sylvia took out the Wizard Journal from her bosom. It was an article that included an interview with the Chairman about Deculein, the anecdote of him breaking the demon’s barrier, and so on.
Murkan accepted the article and read it.
“······Huh? Right below Adrienne?”
[Chairman Adrienne had said this regarding Deculain’s exploits: “I believe Professor Deculain’s combat prowess is right below mine. He is that much of a practical man, Professor Deculain. Whether politically or magically.”]
Murkan let out a hollow laugh.
“The brat became chairman and has already gone senile? It shouldn’t be the case at all? That ruffian’s talent was neither more nor less than average.”
“Contradiction.”
Sylvia cut in. Murkan tilted his head.
“Contradiction?”
“He’s a prodigy; how can he have no talent? That’s nonsense.”
“······Hahaha.”
Murkan laughed. Then he looked at Sylvia. The spiritual energy contained in his eyes sparkled vividly.
“Blondie, you are a prodigy and a genius. But Deculain was a prodigy with clear limits. I saw it at a glance.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
Efrin nodded repeatedly. Only now were the contents she had read in her father’s letter coming to light.
Sylvia did not like Efrin acting like that.
“However, think about it. If a child praised as a prodigy when young grows up and feels himself becoming ordinary? If he sees children who were worse than him overtaking him before he knows it? If he imagines those he looked down on as good-for-nothing trash mocking him someday?”
Murkan recalled those old days.
A young lad pitiful in his own way. Yet seeing the things he did, far from pity, one would end up wishing ‘if only he’d ruined himself even more—’.
“I thought Deculain would not be able to endure beyond that. No, it was a fate that no person could easily endure.”
From that point on, Deculain had been slowly crumbling.
“But seeing these articles······ two possibilities come to mind.”
“Possibilities?”
“Yes. Either all of this is a fraud, or a staged act, or else······.”
Murkan was thinking something and let out a small laugh.
“······He endeavored endlessly.”
“Endeavor?”
Efrin’s eyebrows twitched. Sylvia also wore a questioning expression.
No matter how they looked at it, Deculain’s image did not suit effort in the slightest.
“Yes. He is not a genius. I can guarantee that for certain. However, he was diligent, I tell you. Yet that diligence, that effort, broadly speaking, can be called a talent in itself.”
The Deculain Murkan remembered was, ‘at least’, diligent in his youth. He did not spare effort to grow on his own.
“Of course, I don’t know if this thought itself means I’m being deceived by that fellow······.”
Murkan tapped the article Sylvia had handed him.
“If that fellow truly grew this much, he must have worked like a madman. He must have pushed himself to the brink of death. I don’t know to what extent that effort was, but probably······ it was an effort that ‘only he in this world could endure’.”
To Efrin, who had been listening silently, those were hard words to agree with.
Had Deculain stolen her father’s theory as part of his effort?
Had he committed such wicked deeds as part of his effort?
“If that effort was enough to overcome his own talent······ well, I suppose a fellow born looking like a jewel rolled around like a stone at a construction site.”
However, Efrin realized before long.
No matter how much she wanted to deny it, Deculain had clearly achieved theoretical advancement.
If so, might he not have striven arduously to absorb her father’s theories?
During those three years, might he not have mastered and internalized all the legacy her father left behind?
Might he not have acknowledged her father with a humbler attitude than anyone and devoted himself to progress?
“Still, don’t trust him too much. Diligence does not necessarily indicate character.”
“······.”
On the other hand, Sylvia lowered her head. From the beginning, she had thought of Deculain as a ‘sculpture made of talent’.
Vaguely, that he was a person similar to herself.
That was why she felt somewhat strange emotions. Those subtle emotions tickled her heart.
If, as Murkan said, he was someone who had desperately worked like a madman.
If the current him was something achieved through effort. If he had reached his current realm through nothing but effort······.
Sylvia placed both hands on her chest. The pulse in her chest was beating unusually loud.
“Now. Enough old tales. How about it. Won’t you two receive my teachings once?”
“Your teachings?”
The two people, each submerged in their own thoughts, trembled simultaneously.
“Yes. My teachings are rather special. Aren’t you curious how I grasped Deculain’s talent?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
“Yes.”
They nodded their heads immediately.
A teaching from a relative who is an Archmage? This was unbearable. They had to receive it even if their arms and legs broke.
“However, there is a condition. I too have a wife and children in the secular world; deliver this letter to them.”
Murkan took out a letter from his bosom. Efrin hurriedly received it.
“Yes! I got it! Now tell us!”
“Heh heh heh. You greedy brat. Very well, I understand. My teaching, you say······ Behold.”
Murkan spread his palm. A spirit manifested above it. It was small, but Efrin and Sylvia were astonished.
Screeeeeech······.
It was the ‘Spiel of Light’, a spirit that combined every attribute of water, wind, earth, and fire.
There were even two small sphere-sized Spiels, and after circling the sky, each permeated into Sylvia’s and Efrin’s bodies.
“Urk!”
“······.”
Efrin clutched her chest, and Sylvia took a deep breath quietly.
Murkan spoke.
“Accept it carefully. Don’t make a fuss. Quietly, like that blondie.”
“It’s not blondie, it’s Sylvia.”
“Quiet. You shouldn’t speak, blondie.”
Sylvia was dissatisfied but soon closed her eyes.
Before long, a sensation arose as if a hot fireball was coiling in their dantians. They breathed deeply and connected their bodies with that fireball.
“Huu······ Huu······ I think it’s done?”
“······.”
“Ahahaha.”
Murkan laughed in admiration.
“As expected, you two are just as I predicted. You have tremendous talent.”
Deculain had suffered for three days and nights after receiving this Spiel, yet the two children had internalized it in a mere fifteen minutes.
“From now on, the Spiel will aid your growth within your bodies. My teachings are of this sort. To those with outstanding talent, it becomes fuel; but to those without talent, it becomes a burning fever instead.”
Efrin and Sylvia opened their eyes wide and nodded.
Suddenly, Efrin looked at the letter in her hand and asked.
“But why don’t you deliver this letter yourself?”
“Old folks all have their circumstances, don’t they?”
“Hmm.”
Then, Sylvia, who was sitting properly on the stone floor, spoke.
“Please tell us more stories about Professor Deculain’s childhood.”
“Hm? Are you curious about that?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm······ I don’t have much time, but······.”
Seeing children overflowing with talent after so long had gotten him excited.
Above all, it seemed not a single person had broken through his ‘barrier’ yet.
“Very well. I have quite many interesting episodes from teaching that fellow, so I shall tell you.”
Sylvia silently clenched her fist, and Efrin smiled slyly.
“Tell us an embarrassing episode first!”
“I was planning to do so anyway. That Deculain brat keeps etiquette impeccably, does he not? I once tested whether he would keep it even when I was taking a dump······.”
Murkan kept chattering even though he knew he shouldn’t. The two children’s reactions were too enthusiastic. Efrin’s expression was riveted, and Sylvia was even taking notes.
——However.
“So you were here.”
A voice flowing from not far away.
That tone, cold as a blade, cut the atmosphere in an instant.
“······!”
Feeling chills rising up their spines, Efrin and Sylvia turned around.
The dark shade of the forest.
A man stood within those deep shadows. His face was infinitely cold, and steel undulated behind his back.
Thud— Thud—
Deculain walked slowly. That elegant movement was more terrifying to the two than any calamity.
Soon, he stood at a moderate distance. Sylvia and Efrin stood frozen, cold sweat trickling down. More than anything, they feared ‘how much he had heard’.
“······I see. It’s been a while, my disciple.”
Murkan’s complexion had darkened as he spoke.
“Yes. It has been a while.”
Deculain replied, meeting his gaze.
“Rohakan.”
That name known by the entire world.
The worst criminal of the current era, and a fugitive who has made the Empire his enemy.
Rohakan, the Empress’s assassin.
“······?”
When that name left Deculain’s mouth, Sylvia and Efrin tilted their heads innocently.