hotmtlnovel Chapter 275: Academy Excursion (1)
Chapter 275: Academy Excursion (1)
Somewhere in the Zelver Empire, at Bethel Academy. Training ground.
Second-year students of the Knight Department took turns dueling under the instructor’s direction.
The duels were part of the test and they usually ended quickly.
A male student with ash-gray short hair tied back, Noah Bartin, gripped his wooden sword and kicked the sand. His target was a female student.
Noah swung his wooden sword with speed, but he was taken down by the female student’s agile footwork and a counterattack aimed at his back, sending him crashing to the ground.
“Ouch!”
Noah fell to the ground.
The female student rested her wooden sword on her shoulder and looked down at Noah.
“Marianne wins!”
The instructor’s declaration.
Marianne, the female student who defeated Noah, casually said, “Good job,” and went back into the crowd of students.
Noah got up and brushed off the sand from his clothes. His half-open, dead-fish-like eyes turned to the instructor.
The instructor was writing feedback.
“Go in, Noah.”
“Yeah...”
Noah answered half-heartedly and tried to join the students.
“You’re not improving at all.”
“...”
Noah heard the instructor’s additional comment that was spoken under his breath, but showed no reaction.
Class ended, and it was lunchtime.
Noah washed up in the shower facilities, changed into his uniform in the locker room, and headed to the cafeteria of Bethel Academy.
“...”
The academy cafeteria was bustling with students. Eating in such a place was quite overwhelming.
Noah bought a simple meal and ate alone behind an unoccupied building.
He didn’t mind not having friends. Noah wasn’t particularly lonely.
Even in this place filled with youthful energy, there were those living a dull, gray life like him.
A cool, quiet, and dark place like the shaded area behind the building suited him well.
After finishing his meal, Noah looked up at the towering clock tower with blank eyes.
“...Was it tomorrow? Or the day after?”
He had heard that the top prestigious academy in the empire, Märchen Academy, was conducting an excursion program.
Noah’s younger sister was selected as an exchange student for Märchen Academy. When the time came, she was to go there on an excursion.
Noah and his siblings lived as lower-class people in the Helize Church.
Among them, Noah achieved the incredible feat of passing the entrance exam to one of the most prestigious academies in the empire, Bethel Academy.
His younger sister was born with exceptional talent, unlike Noah himself.
As lower-class members of the Helize Church, they could receive scholarships at Bethel Academy. However, they had to cover the remaining tuition through part-time jobs.
Noah felt his limitations at this academy. The students’ level was too high, as expected from a prestigious academy. He couldn’t imagine surpassing them.
On the other hand, his sister was a genius with a bright future. She was selected as a exchange student to the top academy, Märchen Academy, and had outstanding talent. Noah thought that someone as flawed as himself should not be with his sister.
His sister deserved to experience a beautiful youth and a bright future more than anyone else.
“...!”
During the meal, gray mana seeped from Noah’s fingers. It was thin, appearing to be both solid and liquid.
Startled, Noah hurriedly covered his fingers.
He looked around. No one was in sight.
“What’s happening to me lately...?”
Iron mana.
It was a power forcibly inherited from the fairy Rachnil, and Noah had not been using it. The reason was simple. When he used the power, he couldn’t control himself, and nearly beat his sister to death once.
The Knight Department didn’t care about mana. Thanks to this, there were no element surveys or mana measurements, allowing him to hide the power of iron.
Lately, for some reason, the iron mana pulsed sporadically. Whether something had happened to the fairy Rachnil or there was a problem with his body... Noah couldn’t tell.
***A carriage arrived at the front gate of Märchen Academy.
“Wow!”
She had dressed up as much as she could, but she still looked plain. She carried her luggage with both hands, looking around in admiration.
During the semester, only supply carriers or island residents could pass through the guard post. For a child to enter Märchen Academy at this time, there was only one possibility.
The excursion program.
The girl was one of the five selected participants. She was Taryn Bartin.
“Ugh...”
Taryn Bartin passed through the luxurious gate and surveyed Märchen Academy.
The scenery of the empire’s top academy far surpassed the splendor Taryn had dreamed of.
“Wow! Amazing!”
Taryn exclaimed in admiration as she stretched out her arms and waved them enthusiastically.
Unconsciously, Taryn wandered around, marveling at various structures, natural scenery, and buildings comparable to artworks. She had been exclaiming in wonder for 30 minutes.
“...Where am I?”
She had gotten lost.
She took out a letter from her pocket. The envelope had originally been sealed with the wax seal of Märchen Academy, but Taryn had already unsealed it, so it opened easily.
She took out the letter from the envelope and read it. It contained various details, essentially telling her to come to the Bartos Hall administration office.
However, the problem was that the date she was supposed to come was not that day, but two days later. Not knowing how long it would take to get to Märchen Academy, Taryn had left early and arrived too soon.
Since the academy was so vast, if she kept sightseeing the way she did, she might have ended up far away from Bartos Hall.
She had only used a few cheap magic tools at the church. She had never touched anything as fancy as what Isaac was holding.
Isaac said, “Here,” and handed the magic tool to Taryn. Taryn reponded, “Thank you!” and held it, circulating her mana through it.
“...!!”
It didn’t even allow her mana to flow into it.
The difficulty was incomparable to the magic tools she had used at the church. It felt like a high mountain was blocking her path. She had to circulate her mana as if piercing through that mountain.
Is this academy filled with people like this?
Taryn had been praised as a genius. Realizing that she was just a big fish in a small pond was quite a shock.
“It’s difficult...”
“Is it?”
Feeling dejected, Taryn returned the magic tool to Isaac.
Isaac took the returned tool and effortlessly circulated his mana through it. Taryn was astonished by the sight.
Her respect for Isaac deepened. This man was exceptional in both appearance and ability.
Her motivation flared. Taryn increasingly wanted to enroll in Märchen Academy, where there were likely many students like Isaac.
“By any chance, do you know all the famous people, Senior Isaac?”
“Famous people?”
“Yes. Like Senior Dorothy Heartnova, the Star Witch, Senior Luce Eltania, the Empress of the Midnight Sea, and Senior Kaya Astrea, the Emerald Wizard...! Or maybe you know the Saintess, Bianca Anturaze of the Helize Church, and Princess Snow White, who is famous for her supreme beauty, kindness, wisdom, and intelligence...!”
These were the reasons Taryn wanted to enroll at Märchen Academy. It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that Märchen Academy was currently experiencing a legendary moment that would go down in the annals of history.
For boys and girls aspiring to be wizards, nothing could have been more thrilling.
“Kind and, what...?”
Isaac let the various titles slide, but recalling White’s wailing, “Waaah,” he couldn’t relate at all to the description.
“And the most amazing one is definitely the Ice Sovereign. He’s here right now! This academy is just incredible!”
Taryn puffed out her breath excitedly.
“Well, of course, I know all of them.”
“Really?!”
“You’ll naturally get to know them. Senior Dorothy will graduate next year, though.”
“Wow! Wow... oh....”
Taryn marveled, then lowered her head. Suddenly, her energy drained away.
“What’s wrong?”
“Seeing you, Senior Isaac, I feel like I’ve lost my confidence. Outside, I’ve been told that I have some talent. But whether I can become like them... I’m not sure.”
Isaac adjusted his glasses, pondering what to say.
It might be unnecessary meddling, but he decided to share the thought that came to mind with Taryn.
“I don’t know if I should be the one to say this, but...”
“Yes?”
“If you work hard, you can achieve anything.”
Isaac gave Taryn a gentle smile.
To Taryn, it felt like a long moment.
Just then, they reached the palace-like building, Bartos Hall.
“That’s Bartos Hall. Ask the faculty at the information desk where the administration office is, and they’ll guide you. Take care.”
“Oh, thank you...!”
Isaac briefly waved before going on his way.
Taryn bowed repeatedly towards his retreating figure, then looked at Bartos Hall.
“It’s beautiful...!”
Bartos Hall was a place overflowing with aesthetic beauty. Taryn entered the building.
The grand hall filled her vision. She saw several students in uniforms. Taryn stood still for a moment, admiring them, then headed to the reception desk. There was a neatly dressed faculty member.
“Hello, could you tell me where the administration office is?”
“You’re an exchange student, right?”
“Yes.”
“You’re here much earlier than scheduled. The administration office is here. You can go up that way.”
The faculty member showed her a map and explained.
“Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
“Oh, by the way!”
Taryn’s eyes sparkled.
“Are those people here? Like the Star Witch Senior, the Emerald Wizard Senior, the Ice Sovereign...! Those famous people!”
“This place is dedicated to academic administration, so I don’t know if they would be here... But haven’t you already met one of them?”
“Huh?”
The faculty member looked at the long windows along the wall of Bartos Hall. Through them, she had seen Isaac and Taryn arriving together.
“You were just with the Ice Sovereign a moment ago, weren’t you?”
“...?”
Silence fell.
Taryn’s eyes grew wider and wider, threatening to tear from their sockets.
“Whaaat?!”
Finally, an exclamation leaked from Taryn’s tightly closed mouth.