bookpower Chapter 251 : Chapter 251
Chapter 251 : Chapter 251
“You said it looked like he was seeing mana? How could you tell?”A startled Radel asked the third-year senior.
The third-year hesitated before answering.
“You saw us using water element magic just now, did you not? Most people look at the water itself, but that kid was following the flow of mana at the time.”
So that was what being a third-year at the Academy meant.
Radel was impressed by the senior’s powers of observation.
“That is truly impressive. You have a sharp eye.”
“It is nothing special. You pick things up by instinct when climbing the Tower of Combat…”
The third-year scratched his head.
It was the intuition he had honed as a combat magic major who had made it to the third year.
He said that every time they challenged the tower, it became second nature to gauge how quickly monsters reacted to mana.
If it looked manageable, they attacked. If it did not, they ran.
It was the result of the third-year’s tearful efforts to avoid failing by any means necessary, rather than simply improving his magical ability.
Radel turned to Leo.
“Can you tell me what you saw when we used magic?”
Leo frowned.
Even if he did not know what mana was, his instincts told him that things were taking a strange turn.
Somehow, it felt like he should not say anything unusual or suspicious here.
“What do you mean what did I see? Water just came out of the staff, that is all.”
Leo spoke as if it were nothing, but Radel reacted with surprise and asked,
“Is that true? Water came out of the staff?”
“Huh? Y, yeah, it did.”
“How did it come out?”
“Well, I mean, water came out of the staff, and… the light was all blue and sparkling…”
For someone like Radel, who had practically dominated the Academy’s first-years, reading Leo’s state of mind was easy.
By deliberately acting surprised at something trivial, Radel made Leo flustered enough to blurt out exactly what he had seen.
‘Got him.’
Hearing Leo’s answer confirmed that the third-year senior had been right.
Blue, sparkling light.
What Leo was describing was unmistakably the form of mana.
“It is certain. You were correct, senior.”
It was impossible for an ordinary person with no ability to use magic to see mana with their eyes.
At first, Radel could neither see nor feel mana.
Only after increasing his mana sensitivity through his ancestor Hayden’s training methods and the secret training ground did it become possible.
However, people born with the aptitude for magic naturally saw mana.
In Leo’s case, he had likely never realized it because he had never encountered a proper mage before.
One had to watch magic being cast to notice the flow of mana.
Leo, flustered by Radel’s words, asked,
“W, what are you talking about?”
“Being able to see mana means you have the talent to handle Magic Power. The talent to become a mage.”
“…I have talent for magic?”
Leo’s expression turned dazed.
He had hated mages more than anyone, and now he was being told he had the talent to become one.
“That is a lie.”
“It is the truth. Ordinary people do not see blue light the way you do.”
Radel’s confident tone only deepened Leo’s confusion.
If what they said was true, did that mean he had to learn magic?
‘Then what about the sword?’
Well, if he could learn magic, would he still need a sword…?
Another voice echoed inside Leo’s mind.
“…That cannot be.”
Did not the Horizon Knights value mages more than swordsmen anyway?
“No!”
Leo suddenly shouted.
If he admitted, even for a moment, that he had talent for magic, it felt as if the world he had lived in until now would crumble.
‘That is impossible.’
Yet Radel remained calm.
As if Leo having magical talent were the most natural thing in the world.
‘Can I really learn magic…?’
Leo realized that the reason he had hated mages all this time was because his envy had been greater.
It was not hatred, but jealousy.
The boy’s heart wavered.
***
“It really is strange. Being able to see mana is an extraordinary talent.”
“Exactly. People usually consider it impressive just to feel mana.”
The third-year seniors murmured in disbelief after seeing Leo’s reaction.
Having run out of steam from his earlier outburst, Leo sat in a corner of the shade, staring blankly at the desert.
“Just leave him alone. He just found out, so he must be confused.”
At Radel’s words, the third-years nodded.
“He was an anti-magic discriminator, after all. That makes sense.”
“He was the one who said he would take revenge on mages…”
“That must be awkward.”
At that, Leo suddenly sprang to his feet and glared at the seniors.
“I said it is not like that!”
Avoiding Leo’s ominous air, the third-years hurriedly slung the canteens over their shoulders.
“Oh dear, this is not the time for that.”
“Your Highness, we will head back down.”
“The Lizardmen down there are probably looking for water by now!”
They fled with practiced ease.
Leo drew his sword behind them, ground his teeth, then sheathed it again.
The more one looked at him, the clearer it became that his temper was far from ordinary.
Radel chuckled softly, thinking of his own younger brother with a similar personality.
Come to think of it, even their names were similar. Leo and Leon.
If Leon had not used magic, he might have grown up like Leo.
But Radel could not imagine a Leon who did not use magic.
With that pride of his, he would never choose a sword weaker than magic.
Even without the Dragon’s Blessing, he would surely have learned magic as a member of the imperial family.
In this world, it was common sense that magic was stronger than the sword.
Mana was the source of all power.
Swordsmanship could become formidable once it reached a certain level, but it was not on the same scale as magic, which directly used mana.
A master swordsman could swing his blade to split boulders and cleave even massive magical beasts in two.
But one could not block magic with a sword.
‘How was it in my past life, back in Korea?’
Radel recalled his time as a Hunter.
Hunters had various Skills, so even when using swords, they could unleash power comparable to magic.
It was even possible to block magic with a sword.
That was a sensation Radel himself had never experienced, since he had possessed only Basic Swordsmanship as an attack Skill.
In any case, in this world, the balance between magic and the sword was clearly tilted to one side.
No matter how much one honed the sword, it could not replace magic.
That was why mages were the strongest beings in this world.
***
Meanwhile, Ian Rau arrived near the pit after following the fleeing Lizardmen.
He could hear the Lizardman warriors encouraging one another.
“Just dig a little more!”
“We are definitely going to succeed today!”
Just dig a little more?
Ian Rau’s firm jaw twitched as he remembered the Lizardmen who had fled with shovels earlier.
“Are they really digging that seriously?”
He muttered as he hid behind a rock and observed the prisoners.
Lizardmen carrying shovels and dirt climbed up and down the ladder stretched across the pit, working diligently.
They had dug so deeply that the bottom was no longer visible.
“They ran that desperately just to dig this? What in the world is that?”
“In my opinion, it looks like a vicious form of human trafficking.”
The shaman beside Ian Rau swallowed hard as he offered his theory.
“Instilling fear and intimidation… They make the prisoners dig the ground themselves, then threaten to drop them one by one if they disobey. It is essentially a grave.”
“Grr… Those despicable bastards.”
The shaman shuddered as he spoke, as if even imagining it gave him chills.
Ian Rau, too, ground his teeth at the cruelty humans showed toward prisoners.
At the same time, he recalled the shaman’s earlier divination.
The reading that had revealed where Geheram was.
‘It is strange. It says he is deep underground.’
The shaman had said Geheram was beneath the earth.
But to think that instead of being buried dead, he was digging his own grave.
‘I do not know whether to call this fortunate.’
Geheram was even personally wielding a shovel to boost the warriors’ morale.
“Warriors! Today is the day we achieve our goal! Lift your shovels with vigor!”
“Uoooo! The chieftain is right!”
“Lift your shovels!”
Seeing Geheram, whose pride as a warrior was stronger than anyone’s, encouraging shoveling labor made Ian Rau’s head spin.
“This is absurd…”
CLANG!
Still, watching his kin suffer as prisoners did not sit well with him.
For now, they would need to escape this place and regroup with the other warriors.
“Facing mages and a griffin at the same time will not be easy. We should withdraw for now and prepare thoroughly before approaching again.”
After assessing the situation, Ian Rau made a swift decision.
That was when it happened.
“You filthy humans! How dare you make our warriors dig the ground!”
Someone shouted furiously.
One by one, others emerged from behind the rocks in response.
“For the crime of humiliating our kin, you will pay the price!”
“That is right! You shameless human scum!”
They were the Kau tribe warriors who had accompanied Ian Rau this far.
Seeing their friends, their comrades, and even their chieftain holding shovels, they had lost all reason to rage.
They were supposed to regroup in an hour, yet they could not even wait that long before charging in?
“What am I supposed to do with idiots like these…”
Ian Rau sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.
***
“It is an attack! The Lizardmen have come to reclaim the prisoners!”
“Lizardman warriors have appeared!”
Urgent shouts from the third-year seniors rang out from outside.
Hearing them, Leo flinched as he noticed the sudden gleam in Radel’s eyes.
‘W, what is that look?’
Among great swordsmen, there were those who could overwhelm opponents with nothing but their presence.
Carlos, the commander of the Horizon Knights, was one such swordsman.
Yet this prince was not emitting any aura at all, and still there was something chilling in his gaze.
‘And an attack, an attack! We should be preparing right now, so why is he smiling?’
A shiver ran down Leo’s spine as he looked at Radel smiling as if he were amused.
But the prince was not the only one behaving strangely.
Swish.
Gusto stepped out, pulling aside the tent of the Supreme Deity Order’s temporary treatment center.
“An attack? That is perfect.”
Perfect for what…?
Leo could not help but be horrified by the reactions of the people from the Academy.
“Indeed. Perfect timing. I was just getting bored.”
The red-haired Princess removed her gloves and smiled.
Shrrk.
Shartea silently drew her sword, while Armandy took out his staff.
On the faces of the Academy students preparing for battle, there was not a trace of tension.
Radel nodded and murmured,
“I was just thinking we needed more labor. This works out nicely.”
It was time to capture some new prisoners.