NOVEL NEXT Chapter 81
Sit down.
Dazedly sit and stare into nothingness.
It was the first thing Leon Rothe Dale did when he arrived at the training ground.
‘What is he even trying to do?’
Even though it was the weekend, there were quite a few students from the Department of Swordsmanship at the Academy’s training ground.
Some were sparring with each other, and others were receiving guidance from their seniors.
But none of them found Leon’s behavior strange. It must have meant that they had witnessed him acting this way numerous times already.
Amidst the indifferent reactions, Leon simply remained seated.
He would occasionally stretch out his legs uncomfortably, adjust his posture, and sometimes meet my gaze with a humble smile, followed by an unpredictable glare.
“Will you keep your promise?”
“…”
It was at that moment that an old professor from the Department of Swordsmanship, uninvited, let out a deep sigh beside me.
“This happens every single day. He never misses a day.”
Professor Brennan. In the original story, he played the role of a supportive ally to the protagonist’s group. I decided it would be wise to stay silent and listen to what he had to say.
“Leon is completely dazed throughout his lectures. And then… after classes, he comes here alone to the training ground and repeats this behavior. He sits like this until late in the evening, and only then does he start to swing his sword. He continues until well past midnight.”
And when the sun rises, he returns to his usual dazed state.
“The skill itself… yes, it’s outstanding. Our top student. To be precise, after that incident, he has returned to dueling with the student who had taken his place as the top, sometimes winning, sometimes losing embarrassingly to underclassmen despite his superior abilities.”
“This doesn’t sound like mere fluctuation in performance.”
“Leon is unpredictable. …Utterly.”
The medicine our company provided to Leon was supposed to be administered twice daily.
It seems that as soon as the sun sets, he takes his first dose and commences his solitary practice. Judging from the words he had said to me earlier—”If his skills improve, he might get more free medicine.” It was evident that this was what he believed.
After swinging his sword in a state of intoxication for hours until the effects wear off, he would take his second dose.
‘That’s been going on for over three months?’
He was certainly no ordinary man.
It was also clear what type of drug user Leon was.
It didn’t seem like he was a dependent addict who took drugs out of sheer necessity to sustain his life. According to Professor Brennan, during the day, Leon managed to attend classes and participate in exams relatively normally.
Rather, Leon seemed closer to a habitual type, someone who craved the drugs because they made him feel so good, to the point that life without them felt meaningless.
Breaking the addiction of this type was not easy. In some ways, it was even harder.
So the problem now was deciding his future treatment. If left to the regime, it was pretty obvious he’d find his way to Temseugung just to ask for more drugs. Maybe…
“Sir Alan.”
Professor Brennan’s quiet voice reached my ears.
“What is it?”
“Though I know you’re destined for higher places, you were once a student I personally taught, so I’ll speak frankly. Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
“… I heard this through my connections in the military. Apparently, there’s a rumor that an elf, who might have been the most powerful magician on the continent and possibly one of Medelin’s head elders, stumbled and got killed by a sword because he forgot his incantations.”
“…”
Professor Brennan, seemingly aware of my reaction but determined to speak his mind, stiffened slightly. It was understandable that he would feel disheartened seeing a once-promising student like Leon behave this way.
Leon wasn’t introduced to drugs by me but by Anais’ health syrup, and what he was currently taking wasn’t heroin but morphine and ephedrine. I didn’t argue. After all, I knew I had started this mess.
At that very moment, Leon suddenly stood up.
“You’re all just opium, aren’t you?”
Then, with graceful movements, he drew his sword and took a stance, even though no one was in front of him. Professor Brennan’s expression darkened.
“Of course, elves were our enemies… but that’s not what I meant. Was it really necessary to feed such a talented person heroin? Those weird mumbles, Monglongyi and Bulongyi—could those be forms of heroin? Is that what your concoctions are called?”
“That’s not true.”
“If it’s not heroin, there’s no way someone would end up like this…!”
“…”
“Even worse… some people say that because Leon has a close relationship with Her Highness Anais, Her Highness Siena intentionally caused his downfall. While I think it’s just a conspiracy theory, these whispers don’t come out for no reason. Please don’t take it personally.”
Such rumors were spreading even among the professors. It did sound plausible. Especially considering my nominal liege, Siena’s, image. Professor Brennan likely regretted his somewhat disrespectful words after speaking them, as he glanced nervously at me, yet I had no intention of retaliating. I needed a reason to request Leon’s supervision.
“Alan. Or, Sir Alan. The purpose of my intentions…”
“There’s no need to worry, Professor. I don’t hold it against you.”
“…Thank you.”
Even now, Leon seemed to be locked in a confrontation with an invisible opponent.
‘Anyway, keeping him here at the Academy would be difficult.’
Perhaps it would be better to encourage his withdrawal and relocate him to an area with a potential threat from Demon Worshippers.
The Demon Worshippers were not a group that openly revealed their existence. Still, if things followed the original story, as soon as the winter break of the Academy began, they would likely start their activities in Lebspadow, a major city in the eastern part of the Empire. Though there was no guarantee the original narrative would hold, it would serve as a decent insurance policy to have him there, even if he turned out to be no help at all.
‘At the very least, it would be better than leaving him under the current regime.’
With that decision, I left the training ground.
If nothing unexpected happened, I wouldn’t see Leon again. I didn’t feel any sense of emergency. Although we had lost a genius, the Empire was still intact. Having preserved its strength by avoiding a war with the elves, we would likely be better able to handle forthcoming events. I intended to contribute to my own safety as well.
Let him go with respect and forget cleanly. That was my resolution.
…
However, the unexpected happened sooner than expected.
After being forcibly invited by the Academy’s principal for a formal tea session, as I was about to leave the Academy…
“Alan giiii—!!”
Professor Brennan came running and grabbed me, his eyes wide with distress, his face contorted as if he had witnessed something he shouldn’t have. When I asked what was going on, he just pointed at the training ground building in response.
“What?”
“You’ll see when you look, you’ll see!”
Eventually, I was dragged back against my will. Upon arrival, I had to admit the old professor’s commotion wasn’t unwarranted.
What was clearly a daze-filled training ground moments ago was now bustling with a crowd.
It wasn’t just the students of the Department of Swordsmanship who had gathered—professors and other staff members alike were staring at the same spot with shocked expressions. Their numbers totaled easily several hundred.
And the target of their stares was one person—Leon Rothe Dale.
“It’s not a lie, is it? Why wouldn’t you believe me?”
The boy had his eyes wide open, interrogating an unrelated student. However, no one was laughing.
This was because of the clear, shimmering aura emanating from the sword in his hand.
An unstable yet undeniably visible white aura, a tangible manifestation of energy even to the naked eye.
Its significance was singular.
“Huh.”
Leon hadn’t been lying.
**
An uncomfortable silence spread throughout the venue.
In a normal situation, the entire Academy should have been immersed in festival-like joy. It might have even been an understatement to call it a festival—this was the moment a prodigy had reached Master-level ability while still in school. The professors of the Department of Swordsmanship were all set to receive commendations, and generous funding from the Ministry of Education was practically guaranteed.
But the expressions of those observing Leon were not bright.
“Is it really true…? He was just lying there.”
“A few times. Didn’t you just see him use an Aura Blade? They were about to get Alan before he lost control, but the professors managed to calm him down.”
“How did he achieve this before graduation? What age was Grant, the Vice-Captain again?”
“Why is the atmosphere weird?”
Occasionally, such murmurs could be heard.
‘A situation that should’ve made everyone cheer with joy.’
These people seemed to know Leon well enough to be shocked instead.
A 1st-year student who was once at the bottom, then a sudden genius shining in the second year, and now, a drug addict yearning for Monglongyi and Bulongyi. It wasn’t surprising that the fact that such a character had achieved a superhuman level of mastery wasn’t something anyone could be straightforwardly happy about.
To be honest… I was just as surprised.
‘I thought he was lying just to get more drugs.’
What I had just witnessed wasn’t something you could easily dismiss.
A tangible aura, wavering, turning wispy, then brilliant again upon his denial of me—this cycle continued until Leon eventually collapsed from exhaustion, lying down with an expression of extreme satisfaction now.
At this point, Leon was now destined to become a person of national interest, whether he liked it or not.
‘Abstaining from drugs at this point would be tough.’
Masters were, naturally, superhuman.
While not a complete transformation, they said your body underwent gradual enhancements once you reached a certain level. Observing Master Marcela, it seemed that the advancement in level didn’t necessarily affect the brain’s limbic system, but comparing them to regular people would be inaccurate.
It was still an ambiguous situation hard to quantify.
Just as I was deep in thought… Leon seemed to regain his senses and pointed at me. Then he slowly spoke.
“Since the drugs got me here, give me more. Definitely give me more bulongyi—ephedrine and morphine. Without the drugs, I wouldn’t have made it this far. I couldn’t have. Together, they have meaning, so please ensure the ugly uncle gives me more.”
Even in this situation, he still sought only the drugs.
At first, I tried laughing it off due to the surrounding atmosphere, but a subtle sense of awkwardness soon crept in.
It was because the Academy members’ gazes began to shift toward me.
The old professor who had indirectly criticized me, the Academy principal who had rushed over, even the youthful faces of the Department of Swordsmanship students—all of them. Every single one.
“…Sir Alan, could it be…”
Hundreds of eyes staring at me, not in celebration of an incredible achievement but in inquiry.
The look in their eyes was easy enough to decipher.