NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27
After the participant list for the academy representatives was publicized, the academy became very busy organizing the cheer team and the guards of honour.
However, as the main representative, I didn’t have to bother myself with these preparations and only focused on training.
It was the precious time period just before the Grand Festival where I could inspect myself.
“If my physical abilities are at this level, I think I’ll be much stronger than a trainee knight.”
Currently, my <Body Arts> had increased to level 11, and I had even mastered the basic knight teachings of the Heavenly Martial Arts taught to me by Lord Coulter.
“I’ve taught you all I could. After this is outside my jurisdiction. You bastard… You’re an absolute monster. I had some doubts before, but who would’ve guessed that you would learn the entirety of the Heavenly Martial Arts in just one month.”
To learn martial arts beyond this, I would either search for a secret manual, or learn professionally from a martial master.
I guess I could be considered a beginner martial arts graduate.
Also, I didn’t just learn martial arts.
From time to time, Professor Hydel came and helped me with my magic as well.
“Currently, the level of magic you can materialize seems to be about 5th-class Novice.”
Currently, my magic level was 5th-class Novice.
“For you to be a 5th-class Novice magician at the age of 16… Sometimes, your genius talent scares me.”
Compared to the academy average of 2nd-class Master and 3rd-class Novice…
My incredible effort would be enough to gain recognition from that stoic Professor Hydel.
Since they say that the Archmage Frolian Ignit was, like me, a 5th-class Novice at the age of 16, it truly was a historic record.
However, no matter its impressiveness, this was only a record from within the Radian Kingdom.
If you expanded the scope to cover the continent, there existed many records that exceeded this one.
The Fire King Teron, the one currently called the King of Magicians, became 5th-class Novice at 14-years-old, and he was already a 6th-class at the age of 16.
Well,
“If I didn’t have my Magic Evocation Disorder, I may have been comparable to Teron.”
Teron, unlike me, didn’t suffer from Mana Evocation Disorder.
This was a huge difference.
That’s right.
If I didn’t have my Mana Evocation disorder, I maybe could have contested the record of Fire King Teron.
‘Well, it’s all useless.’
It was a useless dream.
I had already passed 16, and I was already a 5th-class Novice magician.
I became an entirely new type of magician called a Player, and I had been spending most of my time diligently completing my repeatable quest.
“Isn’t that right?”
I laughed jokingly while looking towards Straang.
At that, Straang tied a napkin around her neck and said to me,
“Of course! If you know it so well, just feed me already.”
“Anyway, you're always demanding food. Food. Did a spirit who starved to death in its previous life get attached to me? Have I ever not fed you?”
“A spirit who starved to death? It’s close. In my previous life, Draka was so lazy compared to you, demanding for food became a habit.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t ever let my baby starve.”
“Oh? You’re pretty cool.”
Martial Arts, Magic, Quests.
I didn’t neglect any of them, focussing on training for the final hour.
“Then, I await a good result at the Grand Festival.”
“Ruin, good luck!”
And I could finish preparations for leaving the academy while receiving everyone’s cheers.
Finally.
It was time to leave for the dukedom of the Raynac Imperial Federation, Altein, where the Grand Festival would be held.
* * *
The journey towards the dukedom Altein, a part of the Raynac Imperial Federation and where the Grand Festival would be held, was a decently long trip that would take over 20 days.
But for the Ignit Magic Academy, they had one of the two locations in the Radian Kingdom where you could change onto the superspeed ‘Mana Train’.
‘Mana Train’
A modern convenience that was at the forefront of magical engineering.
A privilege that could only be enjoyed by magicians capable of manipulating mana.
Only magicians registered by the Magician’s Tower could utilize it, and if you did use this superspeed Mana Train, you could arrive at the Altein dukedom in just 30 minutes.
Of course, since I wasn’t registered with the Magic Tower, I had never even used it once.
This was also true for Straang.
“Damn. What’s all this? The world really has become a better place. Back in my day, the fastest method of travel was riding on the back of Draka and flying for some time and…”
However, the students who were participating in the Grand Festival were given an exception to use the Mana Train.
And here, the many students, including Jason and me, held expectations of being able to experience the Mana Train for the first time.
“Woah, so this is the Mana Train… This is my first time getting on one. Don’t they say it’s really fast?”
“This is that, right? The palace and the academy. The thing that’s only in those two places. They say that in the Raynac Imperial Federation, they have over 100 transit points for these mana trains.”
“Of course they would! How could the Empire and here compare? We’re the smallest of the small nations.”
A few students, including Jason, muttered amongst themselves while looking dumbfounded.
From their faces, it was obvious they were brimming with anticipation at being able to experience the magical engineering.
However,
There was a guy who crushed this atmosphere.
“Tsk. You bumpkins. To get this excited over a mana train…”
“…what?”
“Jason Damon, stop acting like a country kid and stay silent.”
“You bastard!”
“Tsk… How vulgar.”
* * *
* * *
The guy’s name was Hankus.
As a lackey of Michael Galehill, he attended the Magic Festival last year with Michael Galehill, so he had experienced riding a mana train before.
About 10 other students stood with Hankus.
To put it simply, these guys were part of the ‘Michael Group’.
“You guys… If you think that Ruin here will show some miracle in the Grand Festival, you better give up. To be so full of himself just because he was lucky in the first semester tests. How could this pathetic guy be the representative…?”
“That’s right. Magicians like Doom Prime from the Raynac Magic Soldier Training School and Irene from the Women’s College are the real monsters. You guys don’t know since you’ve never versed them. However, Michael faced them every year. We would honestly have a better chance if Michael was picked as the academy representative.”
“Whatever the case, I don’t accept Ruin as our representative, so you guys figure it out yourselves.”
The Michael Group.
The ones who wanted to benefit even just a little bit by attaching themselves to the Galehill family.
Meaning, since I defeated their Michael and became representative, they harboured ill will towards me.
To let such personal emotions get in the way just before this huge competition was definitely a childish act.
But as the representative of the academy, I had to get all these guys together into a team.
“Ruin, aren’t you in a tough situation?”
“……”
As Straang just said in her amused voice, I was in quite the tough spot.
However, I chose the option that hid my current tough position.
Rather, I replied with a calm face,
“Michael would be delighted to know.”
“What?”
“The dog owner is about to be chased out of the academy, but the dogs who lost their master are still so loyal to him.”
As soon as I compared Michael and his underlings with dogs and their owner, the mood instantly turned cold.
“…You. Did you just call us dogs?”
“What a relief. You actually understood me. I purposefully took your intelligence into consideration to make it as easy to understand as possible.”
“Sigh… For this to be our academy’s representative. You’re not in your right mind.”
However, I didn’t stop.
More coldly,
No, more aggressively.
“What did Michael say he will give you if you act that crooked? Will he give you money? Will he give you glory? Or, if you mess up the Grand Festival, did he promise you a seat in the Galehill family?”
“Ruin, you bastard. You don’t know who you’re messing with…”
The reason they could retort like this was because they had put their trust in the Galehill name.
Rather than a nobody like Ruin Ardell, they still thought that Michael Galehill was their golden ticket.
They weren’t wrong.
At least, in this weak nation.
However,
“Listen up.”
The one they should place above Michael Galehill for this tournament…
The one they should fear more than the Galehill family…
Was me.
“The competition you guys will face in the Grand Festival is on a completely different level to the Magic Festivals you guys went to before. You should also know this, but if you get good results at this tournament, you’ll receive better opportunities that would exceed whatever you could hope to get from House Galehill.”
“Of course that would be possible if we get good results. However, is that even possible? The ones who enter this competition are all monsters. All the rich and promising students went to study abroad in those competent Magic Schools in the Imperial Federation. In the end, our fate is to be stuck in the Radian Kingdom and to work under the Galehill family. So, you guys should stop living in those dreams—”
I looked straight on at Hankus as he was talking and spoke up.
“It’s possible.”
Hankus flinched at my firm, yet overpowering reply.
It was like he was asking,
‘This guy, just what is he trusting in to act like this?’
I shrugged my shoulders.
“The Group Competition from the Olympiad Event requires teamwork more than individual ability. I’m thinking of creating the perfect unified team by taking into account your potential and talent. I’m confident since I’ve already constructed a plan in my head.”
“……”
“However, if you don’t trust me and I see you acting outside my control, I don’t have the smallest desire to carry you guys to the top.”
“What you’re saying is… you’ll compete without us?”
“That’s right. Rather than carrying factors that will interfere with our teamwork, I would rather take the scarecrows that would do nothing.”
The mood had become colder.
‘If you act outside my control, I’ll treat you as if you don’t exist.’
They say the easiest way a monarch could gain control of the masses was through building fear.
But they hadn’t yet accepted me as a monarch.
The words I just spat out were a double-edged blade.
If things went wrong, the team could collapse in an instant.
From this position, I said one more thing.
“Naturally, if we had the help of you 10, the competition will be easier. I’m confident. So, you guys think hard on this too. No matter how much loyalty you show to the Galehills, don’t forget the fact that there isn’t a Galehill there that would recognise your loyalty.”
Fear, and the cold truth of reality.
Even if they were a reckless bunch, it was natural that everyone had a desire to ‘succeed’.
Right, there was no Galehill here.
They were all banished from the Ignit Academy or under the threat of banishment.
Currently, Hankus and the Michael Group’s only hope in succeeding was to cooperate with me, the academy representative.
The only stance they could take after my threat of removing them from the team was…
“…The individual competition that’ll happen first. Don’t even think about losing it. If you do, I won’t listen to your plan throughout the entirety of the group competition.”
To accept my suggestion.
Of course, the condition that I win the first competition was attached to it.
“That’s fine by me.”
I was already expecting victory, so it didn’t matter.
Hankus withdrew while holding in his malice, and I turned towards Professor Hydel who was listening to us for a while, bowing my head.
“…Professor.”
“Has your team meeting concluded?”
“Yes.”
“That’s quite the teamwork you’re showing.”
“……”
Right.
He was listening to us the whole time.
However, he didn’t show any intention of interfering with our conflict at all.
The Grand Festival was a competition between students.
The accompanying professor was only there to guide them, and the authority over the team was given over to the academy representative.
Even if they led the team down a path of failure.
“If you’re done talking, let’s get going. It’s nearly time.”
“Yes.”
Professor Hydel flicked his fingers to start casting his magic.
The mana that flowed out from the tip of his finger swayed in the air for a bit, but then formed about a 2-meter-high door.
One of the greatest accomplishments of magical engineering had been revealed.
The ‘Mana Road’ and the ‘Mana Train’.
The Mana Road referred to a road in the sky created by forcefully compressing the mana scattered in the air.
And the Mana Train that ran on this sky road…
It flew straight towards the academy at a terrifying speed.
——