episode_0020

The situation instantly became chaotic due to the engagement between the knights in black steel armor who entered the great hall and the black mages.

The black mage wearing a robe with a red emblem also could not hide their look of panic.

Mark did not miss that opportunity.

Other black mages next to him stepped forward to stop him, but a subtle flow of mana stopped their movements.

“Youngster! Step forward!”

Principal Ryum Kitokal squeezed out his remaining mana.

No one was blocking his path now.

His blade flew towards the neck of the black mage wearing the robe with the red emblem.

Although he was merely a freshman who had just entered the academy, the strike was sharp because he had accumulated training in his own way.

Slice

The head of the black mage, who appeared to be the leader, fell off.

A tremendous roar from somewhere was heard, and an explosion also occurred, but this was not very important.

Soon, the black mages’ puppets started to fall like dolls, as if they had lost control.

The magic circle that filled the floor of the great hall also gradually faded and lost its form.

Even among the black mages who were engaged in combat, they stopped their actions as if they had sensed something.

The gazes of the black mages, the hostages, and the knights in black steel armor, including Seraphina Serion, were directed towards one spot.

A boy holding a dull sword used by a guard had defeated the black mage in the red-emblazoned robe, who appeared to be their leader.

“Their leader is dead! Deal with the remaining remnants!”

Seraphina Serion shouted loudly.

The knights’ fierce blades extinguished the lives of the black mages one by one.

Since the black mages also seemed to feel that their leader had been defeated and their morale was broken, the situation was quickly sorted out.

“He did it… youngster…!”

Principal Ryum Kitokal stared at a boy standing conspicuously in the center of the great hall.

And he thought. Perhaps he himself might get to witness the birth of a new hero.

. . .

“Huff… huff… No… no…”

Before long, the black spears lodged in Ropel’s body had all disappeared.

It was probably because the person who cast the magic had died.

However, the injuries he sustained from the purple spear were still in a serious state.

Even though she tore his clothes to cover the wounds all over his body, the bleeding did not stop.

Ropel also seemed to have lost consciousness after squeezing out all his remaining strength earlier, merely struggling to take rough breaths.

Elizhio supported such a Ropel and hurried towards the outside of the building.

Her breath was already panting due to his large build and her poor physical condition, but she did not stop walking.

He had thrown himself in front of her for her sake, when she was no different than luggage.

She could not abandon his goodwill for just this much.

Instead, she moved her trembling legs even faster.

“Pl… please… please… don’t die…!”

He was a precious friend, perhaps the first she had made in her life.

She fidgeted, and her eyes became moist.

His injured state was serious.

No matter how much she hurried, it seemed she wouldn’t make it in time.

As she was feeling anxious about what to do, her eyes spotted a warehouse.

Perhaps, if things had gone normally, it would be where props to be used for introducing each faculty during the entrance ceremony were gathered.

In this moment, her brain spun quickly.

“C-could it be…!?”

Elizhio first laid Ropel down on the floor in a comfortable position.

And then she frantically rummaged through various boxes in the warehouse.

If there were items from each faculty, there would also be materials related to alchemy.

“Th-that’s a relief…! The condition isn’t good… but there are enough materials…!”

Although some materials were buried under debris or spilled, making it difficult to find ones in proper condition, the situation was urgent.

She gathered the medicinal ingredients that were dirty or had traces of being stepped on in one place and poured them into an empty flask.

She lit a fire, adjusted it to the proper temperature, and then prepared the potion.

Soon, a healing potion emitting a soft red light was created.

Just because the ingredients were available, not all alchemists could prepare a potion so quickly within a limited time like this.

This was only possible because Elizhio Gremlina was a genius alchemist.

She quickly took the prepared medicine and approached Ropel.

And then, she carefully opened his mouth and poured in the potion little by little.

Gulp gulp

Ropel instinctively swallowed the liquids entering his mouth.

One second

Two seconds

A stifling silence descended between the two.

She was anxious.

Was the combination ratio incorrect?

Or was the condition of the ingredients too poor?

“Cough!”

With Ropel’s cough, the silence was broken.

His rough breathing stabilized, and his pale complexion also returned to normal.

Although new flesh did not grow on his serious injuries, the bleeding stopped.

Although he had not yet regained consciousness, his condition had noticeably improved.

The potion had worked.

“Th-that’s a relief…!”

As her tension was released, she plopped down onto the floor.

“Sob… sob… It’s a relief… really… truly a relief… Ropel…”

Her heart sank, thinking she would lose her first true friend like this.

Murmuring those words, she leaned her face against the chest of the collapsed Ropel.

Thump thump. She could hear his heart beating rhythmically.

Listening to that beat, she also felt her mind strangely settle down.

. . .

Afterwards, Elizhio and Ropel were rescued by the guards and knights who entered immediately after the incident and could be transported to a medical facility.

And now, Elizhio was feeling nervous in front of the hospital room where Ropel was.

She had no significant injuries and could be discharged quickly, but Ropel’s case was different.

This was because the aftereffects of repeatedly using high-level healing potions during the fight with the black mage Arise, and the injuries he sustained immediately afterwards, were severe.

Therefore, today was the third day he had been lying in bed.

“H-hooh… hooh… D-don’t be… n-nervous… Just… just give thanks…!”

Even as she said that, she did not stop trembling.

And then, after taking a deep breath, she opened the door in front of her.

“H-hi… hi… Hello…!”

“It’s Elizhio! Hello, nice to see you.”

Lying in bed, Ropel greeted her with a warm smile.

He was just reading a newspaper, and bandages were still wrapped around various parts of his body.

Seeing his condition like that, she felt a sense of apology.

“I-it’s nothing else… I… I couldn’t thank you… for… that time…”

“Thanks? It was nothing special, why bother? Rather, I was wondering if I might have unnecessarily put you, who might have been safe hiding alone, through a dangerous experience.”

Ropel replied with a smile.

“And anyway, if it wasn’t for the potion you used, I might have died there long ago.

Rather, I’m the one who wants to say thank you.”

He reached out and took Elizhio’s fidgeting hands.

“It’s late now, but let me say it while I have the chance, Elizhio, thank you so much for helping me back then.”

“Huh? Oh… oh…! I-it was… n-nothing special…!”

Without realizing it, she blushed.

Then, she remembered the items in her bag.

“Oh… and… and here… Still… I felt I had to… give something in return… Th-these are potions… I… I made myself…”

She soon began taking out various types of potions from her bag.

“Th-this is good to drink when you’re tired… This is good to drink when you wake up in the morning… And this is good to drink when you’re studying…!”

Oh…! But you should avoid drinking them together. You need to drink them at regular intervals for the effect to be certain…”

Ropel’s bedside was quickly filled with all sorts of potions.

And then she continued explaining the characteristics and effects of each potion.

It was a story that might sound boring at first glance if you weren’t interested, but Ropel listened carefully to every single one of her words.

The stories were so long that they continued for a full hour.

If he had let her, she was in a mood to trace back even to the origin of alchemy.

Perhaps noticing belatedly that she was the only one talking excitedly, she cautiously changed the subject.

“Um… but… was there… anything else… said… around…?”

“Huh? Oh right… They were asking the victims about the situation of the incident back then.”

Well… I said I got caught by one black mage while escaping due to bad luck and got injured like this.”

“R-right… It was really dangerous back then…”

“Exactly… I heard there was a separate black mage who led the incident, and they were incredibly strong.”

The black mage member we met was also very strong, so how strong would the leader be? Oh, just imagining it is scary, so scary.”

As if the memory of that time came back, Ropel winched.

“R-right…! Th-that’s why it’s still chaotic outside…”

They say the one who de-defeated… the leader… is none other than among… among us freshmen…”

“That’s right! I was so surprised when I first saw that news, I didn’t know.

I don’t know where they came from or what they were doing, but they’re truly amazing, aren’t they?”

Look. It’s even in the newspaper I’m reading right here.”

The newspaper he handed over had this written on it.

‘Freshman from Commoner Background Defends the Academy!’

‘Opponent was a Top-Tier Black Mage..! A New Supernova Has Appeared!?’

‘Academy Principal Guarantees It! “We Have Witnessed the Birth of a New Hero”‘

And there, a large photo was printed of a freshman from the Knight Faculty with a proud face, taken while receiving an arm around the shoulder from Principal Ryum Kitokal.

That freshman from the Knight Faculty was none other than Mark Visus, the character who appears as the protagonist in the original game.