EP.201 Land of Ashes (1)
Ten days have passed since the incident that struck Aplia.
Aplia was still closed, but in four days the school would be operating normally. Although the curriculum became somewhat tighter thanks to this unexpected week of vacation, there were no dramatic changes.
‘Because it’s similar to last semester.’
Dean Aaron was pulling his hair out because the academic schedule, which had barely returned to normal, was ruined, but that wasn’t something I needed to worry about.
‘The bangs that are receding further and the forehead is becoming wider is a bit heartbreaking, but…’
What can I do? Hair loss is a disease that cannot be cured even with magic, and is a disease brought about by providence.
“It would be nice if you had a lot of hair…”
Thinking of Dean Aaron mumbling that every time he saw my teacher, I tilted my head back. His flowing hair fell down the back of the chair.
“Hmm.”
With about four days left until the start of school, I was sitting in the mana trading professor’s office. It was because there were a few things I needed to prepare before going on a month-long vacation.
‘I stopped by to prepare for that, though.’
Actually, my mind was full of other thoughts.
“···Land of ashes.”
Okay, what more can I say? What I’m thinking about now is the information about the Land of Ashes.
‘Land of ashes.’
A place where the plains that have become wilderness spread out endlessly.
The place where all things lost their color and became gray was the place where the ancient kingdom was located. Now all that remains is a pile of ashes…
‘Once upon a time the most prosperous place.’
There is an era called the golden age of human history.
Although all the descriptions of that era were vague, I could tell that there was an ancient kingdom at the center.
ancient kingdom.
A country that led the golden age of human history.
Although its name, history, and size are unknown… the majesty of the ancient kingdom can be inferred from the occasionally discovered ruins.
Traces of a huge tower soaring into the sky.
Relics of magic discovered in various places.
Fragments of numerous magic tools excavated from the ruins.
The ruins were full of things that could not be made or accessed with today’s technology. How could such a thing be said among wizards? It is as if humanity’s history of magic was reset starting with the fall of the ancient kingdom.
so that.
There was a time when many wizards were eager to restore the technological prowess of the ancient kingdom. However, all of them failed, and as time passed, the only thing left of such wizards was the ‘Ashen Magic Tower’.
“Restoring the technological capabilities of the ancient kingdom.”
That was the Gray Magic Tower’s long-cherished wish.
Because I once sat in the seat of the next gray magic tower lord, I know well the weight of this one line of sentence.
‘Search the ruins, extract the circuit from the fragments of the magic tool and restore it… and restore the circuit based on that.’
Because those are the things I stayed up all night doing. Even during that time, I was interested in the ‘land of ashes’. Because the place where the ancient kingdom was presumed to be located was the land of ashes.
However, it failed.
While I was staying in the next Mage Tower, we went on three expeditions, and all three failed miserably. The reason was simple. This is because it was impossible to enter the center of the land of ashes.
Contaminated demonic beasts roaming everywhere.
Land that has been completely polluted.
Even I had to risk my life to cross that place. I don’t know now, but it was impossible for me at the time. Therefore, it was still an unknown place.
‘Cardi said let’s go to that place.’
I close my eyes and think.
What Cardi said to me a few days ago.
“Land of ashes.”
Where you need to go with me.
“My homeland, Arcadia, was reduced to ashes hundreds of years ago.”
Cardi asked me to go with him to a place I had always wondered about. As he came now, it was clear that he had a reason for making such an offer.
“Arcadia.”
I mutter while thinking over that name.
“···What are you going to tell me this time?”
Cardi’s past.
The story of old warriors who have now become disasters.
Or, a more detailed reason why the ancient kingdom fell.
I think that maybe this time I will be able to hear the things that I have been asking about but Cardi has not answered.
“Ummmm…”
That’s when I was drooling with my eyes closed. “Knock,” someone knocked on the professor’s office door. I opened my closed eyes. Now that I think about it, the promised time has come.
-Professor, this is Belnoa.
-This is Lark.
I slowly got up from my chair when I heard a voice coming from outside the door. I said, stretching lightly.
“come in.”
As it was something I had to do before the professor took a short vacation, it wasn’t really a big deal.
“So you came to get the assignment?”
Raising a problem.
So, giving a task.
“You’re right on time. Shall we sit there first? “There are a lot of assignments, so I think I need some explanation.”
I smiled brightly at Belnoa and Lark.
Since this is a task that I have been thinking about for several days, I am sure the children will like it.
2.
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“···You knew it too?”
“I found out about it during vacation.”
Belnoir blinked and looked to the side.
There is Lark walking side by side with him. There was a letter in his hand, which Belnoa had also received some time ago.
「Sender: Rania van Trias.」
A letter from Aplia’s nightmare.
To summarize the story written in the letter in a few lines, it was as follows.
“I have to leave Aplia for about a month. In the meantime, don’t play and just train.”
“I will explain the training and assignments, so please come to the Mana Transactions professor’s office.”
It’s normal up to this point.
Although the words ‘assignment and training’ are a little unsettling, it is something you can nod your head to. The problem was the sentence that came next.
“Now that you know my identity, I believe the training will follow without saying a word.”
Rania van Trias.
Since you know that the identity of the professor called Aplia’s Nightmare is the gray wizard Raniel… I am telling you to follow the training without saying a word.
‘The training taught by the Gray Wizard.’
For Belnoa, who majors in the Battle Mage class, the existence of the Gray Mage is like a great senior. He is the highest being than any other teacher.
Founder of the class.
The most famous wizard.
I’ll give you a name like that and teach you ‘training methods’, so don’t listen and just follow along. The letter said so. Naturally, Belnoir did not have the right to veto.
‘So I was going to the teacher’s office…’
Belnoa pointed at his temple.
It seems that he was not the only one who received this letter.
‘It seems like I’m not the only one who knows the professor’s identity.’
A boy walking next to me.
Belnoir asked a question while glancing at Lark.
“So, how did you find out?”
“During vacation, I had to face the Sword Demon, Draka. “I realized it when I saw the professor overpowering a superhuman.”
“There’s no way I wouldn’t know that.”
A wizard who can subdue superhumans.
There wouldn’t be two wizards like that everywhere. As Belle Noah nodded her head absentmindedly, Lark also asked Belle Noah a question.
“Belnoa, when did you find out?”
“It’s like a group project.”
“Oh, you mean when you went missing?”
“uh. “At that time, I came across something that didn’t make sense, and I noticed it when I saw the professor dealing with it.”
“Nonsense?”
“Apostate.”
“That’s definitely true.”
The two nodded silently.
While a sense of empathy is forming for some reason, the two arrive at the door of the professor’s office. The two swallowed dryly in front of a door that looked like the entrance to a dungeon.
smart.
When I knock and open the door, I see Professor Rania sitting in her seat. Her gray hair flutters in the blowing wind, and her blue eyes sparkle. She smiled very kindly.
“So you came to get the assignment?”
Amid the gentle laughter, Belnoir and Lark feel a great sense of anxiety. They nodded slowly, remembering the nightmare hidden behind that smile.
Tuk-tuk.
She smiles beautifully as she points to the seat next to me.
“You’re right on time. Shall we sit there first? “There are a lot of assignments, so I think I need some explanation.”
There are a lot of assignments, so I think some explanation is needed.
From that single word, the two sense their fate. However, it cannot be avoided. It must be fate because it cannot be avoided. Feeling like livestock being dragged to the slaughterhouse, the two walked toward the seat next to Rania.
I felt like my walking was unusually heavy.
3.
“An incident occurred in Aplia last time, and you all fell into a nightmare back then, right?”
Before explaining, Rania brings up another topic.
That topic is something Lark and Belnoir are also familiar with. The two nodded to Rania’s explanation.
“Yes, I suddenly fell asleep…”
“When I woke up, the situation was over.”
An incident that struck Aplia about ten days ago.
Regarding the situation, it was only reported that a ‘special person’ residing at Aplia and three students worked together to resolve the situation… There was no detailed explanation of the situation.
“Perhaps he is a special person…”
Belnoa carefully asks a question.
Rania nodded slightly to that question.
“It’s me. There are two more with me. “It’s the students… I think they know it now that it’s been revealed.”
“also···.”
At those words, Lark shakes his head deeply.
Belnoa and Rania glanced at Lark, looking as if they were impressed. Lark nodded his head loudly, his eyes shining, and he let out an exclamation.
“As expected, you are the great gray wizard.”
That is a sentence that ‘someone’ uttered in class a while ago while talking about his own achievements.
“From what I heard, it looks like a disaster has come, and the great gray wizard…”
It doesn’t end with one word.
Rania’s eyes widen as she hears Lark’s words, which never fail to use the word ‘great’. Those eyes were trembling.
“Hey, hey…”
Belnoa stabs Lark in the side with his elbow.
And then he whispered to Lark in a low voice.
“Stop it… what are you doing teasing the professor…”
“huh? You’re making fun of me. “What does that mean?”
“···what?”
Lark blinks.
Very pure.
“Didn’t you say that the Gray Wizard was great? Aren’t you actually great? “The professor always says the right thing, Belnoa.”
“······.”
“It is not good to doubt the professor’s words. “The virtue of a good disciple is to always show respect and infinite trust to the teacher.”
That’s right… That’s true.
That’s true, but…
“…You’re not making fun of me?”
“Why am I making fun of the professor? “He is someone I respect.”
“really?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
This guy is serious.
I can say that because I sincerely think so. If you think about it carefully, even when Professor Rania said things like that in class, Lark knew the professor’s identity.
‘What was the child’s reaction at that time?’
Belnoa recalls the memories of that time.
“oh.”
Lark let out an exclamation.
“indeed.”
At the point when he remembered Lark’s expression as if he had truly attained enlightenment, Belnoir shook his head. At that time, she looked at Lark like that and thought, ‘He could react like that because he didn’t know the truth.’
but···.
‘Are you saying that was a reaction even after knowing everything?’
It’s admirable in another way.
Belnoir is left speechless by the surprisingly pure appearance of Lark.
“······.”
Belnoa turns his head to the side without saying a word.
There, Rania is there, even her earlobes dyed bright red. Rania can’t bear to raise her head.
‘I think I’m embarrassed myself…’
You have the awareness that you are embarrassed.
“Ah, anyway.”
She lifted her head, cleared her throat, and started explaining again. Her face was still red, but it seemed like they had decided to put an iron plate on her face.
“The spell itself that puts you in that nightmare is difficult to resist if there is no starlight or you are not at a superhuman level… but it will get better if you practice mental awakening. This is about that…”
She lists her training plan.
It was a pretty tight schedule. It was a training method that gradually increased, and it was a training process that Belnoa had seen somewhere before.
‘Ah, this is from the official knights’ curriculum…’
It will be helpful if you complete it.
Although it was tight, it wasn’t impossible. While Belnoa was looking at the training plan, Rania continued her explanation.
“And this is the method of using stock that I was originally going to teach you. Just do the assignment with the feeling that you will get the hang of it. “I will come back in a month and teach you properly.”
Saying that, she pushed the task towards Belnoa and Lark. It was not ‘passed’ through hand to hand, but was ‘pushed’ by hand on a stack of papers in one corner of the table.
“uh···.”
Belnoir blinks.
The amount of paper piled up was unusual. Belnoir looked at the tower of paper and Rania in turn.
“All of this?”
“huh. “Wouldn’t one month be enough?”
“That’s true, but I don’t just take professor’s classes…”
“what?”
“it’s nothing···.”
What can I say?
If you knew the student’s feelings, there would be no way he would be nicknamed Aplia’s Nightmare. Belle Noah began to divide up her tasks one by one, choking back tears.
“You can do it, right?”
“···I’ll give it a try.”
“I will do my best.”
Belnoir responds weakly, and Lark responds energetically.
Rania could not make eye contact with Lark and only answered in a low voice, “Yes.”
“This is an assignment given by the great professor…”
“Stop, please stop, Rak…”
Aplia’s nightmare succumbs to human innocence. With her new red face, Rania sent the two out of the professor’s office as if kicking them out.
“Hey, Lark…”
“What is it, Belnoa?”
“You’re kind of amazing…”
Belnoa, who was pushed out, expresses his sincere admiration for the human who defeated the nightmare.
“What do you mean?”
In fact, Lark himself seemed to know nothing.
A word from the author (author review)
The spell check site I always used changed to a 500 character limit today. For a moment, I broke into a cold sweat… It was a test site I had been using for almost a year…!
First of all, I looked for another spell checker, but I’m not familiar with it yet, so there may be some typos… ! Please let us know and we will correct it right away!
