episode_0033

It was right to respect preferences. Acel roughly bowed his head towards Celine and immediately exited the library.

“Hey, hey! Just wait a moment!”

Her shout was heard from behind. Acel turned to look at her. Perhaps having no knack for physical exertion, Celine was panting for breath after only running a short distance, looking directly up into Acel’s eyes.

“It’s not like that.”

There was no need to ask what wasn’t like that. He glanced at the book in Celine’s hand and chuckled, nodding his head.

“Alright.”

At that reaction, Celine’s face flushed red. She tucked the book into her arms and glared with her golden, glittering eyes.

“It’s not!”

“I get it, I said.”

Acel replied nonchalantly and continued walking. Celine grumbled and followed behind him.

“I just picked this out for fun. I had no ulterior motives!”

“No, I said I get it? Why do you keep following me?”

“It’s because I’m afraid you might spread weird rumors! Like, Celine of the Aurora Magic Tower is a weird girl who actually likes being dominated by others!”

“Aurora Magic Tower?”

Acel mumbled the words and looked back at Celine. That phrase grabbed Acel’s attention more than the words that followed. Although he had seen her face during the entrance exam, this was the first time he heard her name and affiliation.

Acel knew quite a bit about the Aurora Magic Tower. Stellar Magic, which handles the power of stars. A prestigious Magic Tower that specialized in researching and developing it. Although less well-known than other Magic Towers that deal with Elemental Magic, it was a monstrous group that easily ranked high when considering only their military might.

Stellar Magic requires a long warm-up, but its destructive power when manifested is vastly superior to other magic of the same rank. As it handles the power of stars, its might is truly beyond imagination. There was a reason why mages affiliated with the Aurora Magic Tower often participated in wars or large-scale subjugation battles.

It was only because their number was smaller than Flame Mages that they were relatively less noticeable. But wherever they were, they were welcomed talents. Their magic was generally flashy, which made it visually appealing.

Naturally, just because one can use Stellar Magic doesn’t automatically mean they are affiliated with the Aurora Magic Tower. To enter the Magic Tower, one must handle the techniques of the lineage they deal with beyond a certain level and pass an exam. This applied equally to Magic Towers of other lineages.

This was the reason why Acel hadn’t thought of Celine as affiliated with a Magic Tower. Seeing her unable to do anything and getting hit by Mana Interference, he had simply thought of her as a mage who could just use magic. Surprisingly, it seemed her skills were excellent.

Upon realizing this, Celine began to look a little different in Acel’s eyes. He had no intention of being selective about who he associated with, but there was no harm in approaching a Magic Tower mage first. Acel smiled faintly and matched his walking speed with Celine.

“If you’re affiliated with a Magic Tower, you wouldn’t necessarily need to come to the academy. You could learn there, and for practical experience, you could take requests handled at the Magic Tower level, couldn’t you?”

“My master forced me to submit an admission application. Said instead of just staying cooped up researching all the time, I should go out and make friends.”

“……”

A master who values human relationships over magic research. It’s unusual, but not unheard of. However, I wonder about the method being forced admission.

“But well, now that I’m here, I don’t really dislike it. I guess it’s better to live here than to constantly be interfered with by old people.”

“Are there not many young mages in the Magic Tower?”

“That’s how it is for us. Isn’t it the same for you? If you’re Gaebyeok-nim’s disciple, you’re part of the Witch’s Assembly, right? How is it there?”

“It’s similar.”

Acel replied and turned his steps towards the dormitory. Celine trotted alongside him.

“More importantly, how did you know I was Ena-nim’s disciple?”

“You’re already famous. Before the entrance exam, hardly anyone knew, but now probably everyone in the entire school knows? You shot that lightning around so much.”

“……I wonder if that’s good or bad.”

“Isn’t it bad? The professors are probably all sharpening their knives. Gaebyeok-nim’s reputation isn’t just high, it’s legendary. The Sorcery Department professors are probably itching to work you ragged already.”

It wasn’t welcome news. Acel sighed and fiddled with the bracelet wrapped around his right wrist. As he did so, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He made eye contact with Celine and asked with a curious expression.

“Speaking of which, what happened at the entrance exam? I took the test with Fernand-nim, but I don’t know what happened with the rest.”

“……? Weren’t you there for the assembly?”

“What assembly?”

“After the exam ended. The supervisors gathered all the participants and explained.”

“……Really?”

Acel scratched his cheek with an awkward expression. He had left the tent as soon as he felt somewhat okay, but it seemed the supervisors had conveyed something after that. He should have stayed a little longer.

Celine chuckled at Acel’s reaction and stepped slightly ahead of him, saying,

“First, the four of you who sparred with Fernand-nim are automatically accepted into the academy. Your scores were all top-tier, so you’ll reside in Wigel. So right now, the only people from the Knighthood Department residing in Wigel are you, Grace Veidel, Elena von Baldemia, and Ellen Hargelin, these four.”

“……”

“And among the remaining participants, those who stayed in the examination hall until the end are also confirmed for academy admission. Those who were confirmed this way had their scores ranked through a practical exam, and most of them reside in Pioren. Me too.”

“Then what about those who gave up or were eliminated during the exam?”

“If they passed both the written exam and the practical exam and exceeded the passing score, they were admitted. They were all assigned to Gayle and Wimble.”

Compared to the previous Luminous Academy entrance exams, this was quite an unusual case. That meant there were many variables in this exam.

“Who were the top student and second place?”

“I don’t know that. They said they’ll announce it on the day of the entrance ceremony. But… I think everyone who needs to know already knows.”

Celine pointed at Acel and continued.

“The top student of the Sorcery Department is you. The top student of the Knighthood Department is Grace. The second places are Elena and Ellen, respectively.”

Their names are annoyingly similar.

Celine grumbled that and sighed deeply.

“If it wasn’t for Elena, I would have been second place…”

“Based on what?”

Acel asked with a chuckle. Celine seemed offended, twitching her eyebrows as she replied.

“In this exam, no other mage was exceptionally active except for you, right? Then the strongest among the rest is me, so I’m second place!”

“That’s absurd.”

“What are you talking about?”

Celine retorted and walked down the path with bouncy steps. Then, at the fork in the road that divided into Wigel and Pioren, she mumbled in a slightly timid voice.

“So, so…”

“……?”

“You, you won’t spread rumors, right? I answered everything you asked, and I didn’t even get annoyed…”

“I said I won’t.”

What did she take him for? Acel shook his head and moved his steps towards Wigel. Celine looked at his receding back and shouted loudly.

“I trust you!”

Acel waved his hand nonchalantly in response.

After returning to the dormitory, he washed up and immediately locked himself in the research lab. He wanted to achieve some results on the simultaneous manifestation of Flame-attribute and Ice-attribute mana, which he had vaguely gotten a feel for today, before the inspiration disappeared. He was tired, but it was bearable.

After finishing about half of his research, Acel rubbed his heavy eyelids and got up from his seat.

‘Shall I just do this much today?’

There was still plenty of time until the entrance ceremony. Since he planned to wake up and go straight to the library, it seemed best to sleep around this time. Acel thought so and left the research lab, throwing his body onto the bed.

Falling asleep was instantaneous.

Likewise, waking up was instantaneous.

Acel woke up early in the morning, washed up, went down to the cafeteria, quickly ate a piece of bread, and headed to the library.

Perhaps because it was morning, there were fewer people in the library than yesterday. There were plenty of seats, and the number of flying books was clearly different. It had become much more comfortable. Acel smiled with satisfaction and retrieved the books on mana fusion theory, then began looking for a suitable seat.

Not long after, he found Celine hidden in a corner.

“Ah.”

Acel’s eyes subtly shifted towards the title of the book Celine was reading.

[50 Ways to Discipline Her Vol. 2]

Acel openly smiled, lifting one corner of his mouth.

Celine’s face turned bright red.

***

Drugs are a gift from God. The moment you ingest them, you can comprehend all the principles of the world and feel like you have become a god. Since God created them to bestow His senses upon humans, all humans should joyfully indulge in drugs.

Any cult that forbids this is a heretic who defies God’s will and must be purged. Their blood must be drunk, their flesh torn and buried in the earth, and their bones and organs ground into ingredients for drugs. This is God’s will and my will, as God’s messenger, so there is no shame in my killing.

Gervil shouted that to everyone. But the demon worshipers who heard it all twisted their faces in disgust.

“…Is that why you entered the kingdom’s great cathedral and committed mass slaughter?”

“No? I just wiped them out because they were annoying. They kept following me around and bothering me.”

“You crazy bastard, seriously.”

The man’s face turned red with fury, and he stood up from his seat. Gervil gasped, covering his mouth with both hands.

“How scary. Are you going to kill me?”

“That’s enough.”

One of the demon worshipers spoke towards the mocking Gervil. The man who had been furious ground his teeth and sat back down, and Gervil shrugged his shoulders, tilting his head from side to side.

“What a shame. I was curious what would happen if I turned demon worshipers into corpses.”

“Stop with your pathetic provocation, almsgiver. Just state your reason for coming and leave quickly.”

“Shall I? I didn’t want to stay long either.”

Gervil smiled faintly and gazed at the white-haired old man.

“I have a proposal. As you know, I’ve been running wild lately, right? But in the process, I left behind the symbols? rituals? you people use, or whatever they are.”

“……What did you say?”

“Ah, I happened to get a demon worshiper’s brain from the black market recently. After subtly transplanting a part of it, I could figure out some of the rituals you use. Anyway! That’s not important—”

“You son of a bitch! It was your fault that demon worshipers have been known to be rampant recently!”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Shut up, you wretched bastard. I’ll cut off your head and use it as a sacrifice for the ritual.”

The man drew the sword at his waist and took large strides towards Gervil. Gervil sighed deeply and looked at him.

“Honestly. I hate hot-tempered people for this reason. They don’t even try to listen.”

“Shut up!”

The man shouted and swung his sword towards Gervil’s neck.

The swordsman, who had reached Master rank a few days ago through human sacrifice. The aura blooming on his blade was unleashed with momentum as if it would cleave the world. But Gervil’s expression remained unchanged. He brushed the dust off his face and glanced sideways at the swung sword.

*Crackle!!*

That was the end. The swordsman’s sword, along with Gervil’s neck, severed the space. The magic enveloping the hideout was split in two, and black blood spurted like a fountain from Gervil’s neck. The swordsman watched the scene and clicked his tongue.

“Damned mage bastard. Even his blood is utterly filthy.”

“That’s harsh. Those words just hurt a little.”

“……!”

A voice that shouldn’t have been heard rang out. The swordsman’s eyes widened, and he instinctively swung his sword. But with his shoulder pulled back, his arm turned into rotten flesh and fell off in chunks. The sword fell from his arm, which had lost muscle and nerves, and he gritted his teeth in extreme pain.

“Kueeugh…!”

“Quiet.”

The voice flowed from Gervil’s head rolling on the floor. Gervil’s body carefully picked up the head, and he smiled faintly, continuing his words.

“I am speaking.”

“……!”

As soon as he spoke, the swordsman’s tongue and jaw rotted and decayed. His oral cavity was instantly sealed. The swordsman hurriedly tried to grab his sword with his intact hand, but the crushing of his brain was faster. The swordsman died instantly, brain fluid and blood flowing from his ears, eyes, and nose.

A tragedy occurred with no magic whatsoever, simply from exposure to concentrated malevolent energy.

Although he had reached the Master level through human sacrifice, he was still a swordsman who had attained the rank of Master. He could face an army alone, and if he put his mind to it, he could flatten an entire city.

Such an opponent was killed by just energy alone. There was no need to explain how absurd that was.

“To continue what I was saying.”

Gervil said, rubbing his severed head back onto his neck. The elderly man swallowed hard and listened carefully to his voice.

“Because I’ve often left behind traces of demon worshipers, the Alliance, the Empire, and the Cult are suspecting that I might have become a demon worshiper. So the Alliance has even formed a subjugation force. They say they have to kill me before I summon a demon or something. I have no interest in idiotic demons.”

“……”

“Anyway. The important thing is from now on. Frankly, a subjugation force? It doesn’t matter. If I hide within my domain, even Ena-nim wouldn’t dare enter carelessly. So I’m barely paying attention to that. The important ones are you, the demon worshipers.”

Gervil continued speaking, raising the body of the swordsman whose brain had been crushed.

“Since rumors spread that I became a demon worshiper, several demon worshiper organizations have been contacting me recently. Aren’t you guys being particularly active these days? So, perhaps because of that, places suffering from labor shortages or places needing large quantities of sacrifices keep sending me proposals to join them.”

“……So?”

“So! Before I kill all those guys, send out a message. Tell them that if they dare to make a proposal to me from now on, I’ll turn them and the demon they serve into corpses together, friendly-like.”

Gervil spoke as he still wore a smile. The old man frowned and replied.

“……Is that all?”

“Huh? Of course. Why?”

“You raided this place, killed all our compatriots, killed the sacrifice, and even took the offering ritual, just to ask for that?”

“Yes. Because the owner of the brain I transplanted was affiliated with this place. Is there a big problem?”

Gervil asked, blinking his eyes. The old man’s face contorted. But he didn’t open his mouth. Compared to Gervil, the old man was no different from a newborn baby. He could lose his life with a single gesture from Gervil.

Even if they were demon worshipers, life was precious. The old man forcibly suppressed his boiling rage and clenched his fists tightly.

“……I will do that.”

“Good. I’ll consider the price paid by leaving your lives untouched. Ah, if the job isn’t handled properly, I think you know better than I do what will happen.”

Gervil said that, then abruptly stood up, but then remembered something and spoke, looking at the old man.

“Ah, I have a few more commands. One is to find a country that seems okay to consume appropriately, and the other is…”

Gervil’s lips stretched wide as he continued.

“That rumor about Gaebyeok having a disciple. Find out if that rumored disciple was taken in from the slums of the Kidwin Kingdom.”