Chapter 230
After the joint final exam with Rikeion.
It has already been about two months since Academia entered break.
Ocell Lampit Borg, who is cursed by Vargan at the fringes of the Formist organization.
He was staying at Academia during the break instead of going back to his hometown.
‘Now’s the time to focus on breaking the curse. It’s not a time to laze around in the mansion.’
Borg discovered that the curse he was under was gradually weakening over time.
Stuck in the dormitory, he deliberately engaged in actions that would provoke the curse each day.
He purposefully harbored malicious thoughts towards Vargan and impure ideas about Erica.
Every time he did so, he felt the familiar pain spread throughout his body, tormenting him.
However, instead of contorting in agony, a cheer erupted from Borg’s face.
Pain was joyous.
The constricting breath felt welcoming.
It might seem like he enjoyed suffering, but there was a reason.
‘It’s almost time…. I can tell. If I keep this up just a little longer….’
Twisted around in his chair, Borg wiggled.
With a goofy smile and a tingling aftershock, he felt his heart race faster, as if protesting.
‘Looks like that’s enough for today. If I push any further, I might actually die.’
He had his own standards.
He wouldn’t overexert himself.
It would be counterproductive to die trying to lift the curse.
He was counting the days until he could get revenge on Vargan—no point in dying now.
Taking a deep breath, Borg stepped outside.
The cold winter night air rushed into his lungs, sending shivers down his spine.
Even with the expensive fur scarf made from minks, he couldn’t completely shake off the cold.
Wandering around Academia at night, Borg eventually found himself near the Grand Clock Tower, looking up at the majestic structure that loomed over him.
‘Now that I think about it, the Ancient Dragon was flailing around trying to get to this place during the festival. If it had succeeded, it might have brought down Academia.’
Borg had never been inside the Grand Clock Tower.
Access was restricted, making it impossible to enter unless you were one of a select few.
Even after the festival, guards had taken up positions at the entrance.
The once complex array of magical spells protecting the Grand Clock Tower had become even more stringent.
The border of the Grand Clock Tower, which had previously only been protected by complicated multi-layered magic spells, had become even more severe.
‘If I could just figure out that control device… it would all be over.’
No matter how lowly he was, Borg, a devotee of the Formist planted to overthrow the Academia, had quite a bit of information.
The massive Mana Stone, the source of the airborne city.
The ‘control device’ of that Mana Stone existed inside the Grand Clock Tower, and it was the essence of that gigantic stone.
‘Well… as long as the Chancellor Gulemashia is here, it’s an impossible story.’
In the past, Professor Lucien, who led the Formist at the Academia, had managed to obtain the internal blueprints of the Grand Clock Tower.
It was literally a detailed explanation that listed what kind of spells were in play and what the solution formulas were.
However, even so.
The Formists sneaking inside the Grand Clock Tower failed to neutralize the control device.
To be precise, they gave up.
The reason was simple. The moment they touched the control device of the Grand Clock Tower, a signal was immediately sent to Chancellor Gulemashia.
‘That old man is a presence even the Archbishops avoid. If handled poorly, it could uproot the very foundation of the Formist. What can be done?’
Ultimately, it was just a pipe dream.
Even knowing the method, they couldn’t even attempt it.
“Ugh. It’s cold.”
Borg shivered involuntarily.
Having taken a decent walk, he tried to turn back to a warm room, but…
“Hmm? What’s that?”
Borg hid himself.
He squinted as he watched a shadow approaching the entrance of the Grand Clock Tower.
‘A woman…? A tail? Wait, that thief girl?’
Frieda confidently walked up and showed something to the guards.
Then, the guards, who were supposed to be guarding the entrance, stepped aside, and Frieda entered as if she were familiar with the place.
‘What’s going on here?’
The Grand Clock Tower was one of the most important facilities inside the Academia.
To enter such a place so easily? Especially someone so lowly?
‘No way. Barghan must be preparing something.’
Despite his legs shaking from the cold, Borg continued to keep watch.
‘Recently, the movements of the Formist have been unusual. They were busily preparing something. Could it be related?’
Essentially, Borg, who had become like a severed tail, was completely unaware of what Barghan and Frieda’s Formist were up to.
He was only receiving less important information, with all the good stuff cut out.
Before long, it wasn’t long until Frieda came out again.
As if nothing had happened, she showed something to the guards and vanished.
The guards pretended as if they hadn’t seen anything, as if they had been slipped some cash.
‘Suspicious. Extremely suspicious.’
Borg, seemingly having forgotten even the basic duties of the Goddess Church, bit his nails in a fit of revenge against Barghan.
He pondered that perhaps this could be a clue not to the collapse of the Academia, but to the downfall of Barghan.
*
Erica was residing in the Academia during the break alongside Barghan.
Having worked up a sweat researching magic in her room, she cleaned herself up and was on her way back.
Erica could now roam outside on her own.
Although she still hesitated in crowded places and her hands would bead with sweat at the sight of unfamiliar faces.
The place felt reluctant and unfamiliar, causing beads of sweat to form on her palms upon seeing a stranger.
Considering how things were at the beginning, it was fair to say that the situation had improved quite a bit.
She owed this progress to Vargan’s unwavering dedication and Erica’s own efforts.
“There’s really no one here.”
As Erica gazed at the desolate Academia, she thought.
It was vacation time, and many students had signed up for the expedition to track down Gamigin’s traces.
Alicia and Diphelia were among them.
While she stayed behind to assist Vargan through his trials, most of the talented individuals recognized by Academia had enlisted.
In truth, Vargan had worked hard to alleviate Erica’s anxiety.
As for Erica, she was busy trying to be of any help as Vargan’s right hand.
After regaining her sight, the next sense Vargan lost was touch.
“He really struggled back then…”
The state in which Vargan lost his sense of touch was truly “serious.”
At one point, she wondered if he should just stop the trials altogether.
It took him five days just to rise and sit on a chair.
Six additional days were required for him to walk.
It was as if he were someone whose nerves had short-circuited.
With the aid of various spells, Vargan managed to carry on with life.
Naturally, he needed someone to assist him, and Erica stayed by his side day and night.
Every time Erica saw Vargan struggling to steady himself, it felt like her heart was being torn apart.
However, knowing how much he longed to complete the unique spell, she hid her tears and managed the tasks he had set.
Clack—.
Erica’s steps naturally headed toward the boys’ dormitory.
Upon reaching Vargan’s room, Erica inserted the key, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
She didn’t turn on the lights.
Walking straight, she soon encountered a small room.
—Grumble.
Kry quietly emerged from inside.
At first glance, he had an appearance that could startle anyone unfamiliar.
But after spending months getting to know him, Erica was aware of Kry’s charm.
“Feeling bored, huh?”
Erica stroked Kry’s fur with both hands, doting on him.
Kry, in turn, enjoyed her touch and emitted pleasant sounds.
After a while of purring, perhaps he had enough, as he returned to his little room.
Erica followed him in.
The first thing that caught her eye inside was a large, black “egg.”
It was big enough to easily accommodate an adult man.
Gazing at the egg, a deep concern settled in Erika’s eyes.
—Erica. You’ve really been through a lot this past month.
That was a memory from just a few minutes before the long and arduous trial of touch had concluded.
Having endured and finally succeeded in moving at his will, Vargan had spoken these words while facing her.
—But I’m sorry. I had no time to reward your efforts before I had to part from you.
The “parting” that Vargan referred to here was different from the “where are you going?” that Erica had mentioned at the theater.
It was a brief separation.
More precisely, it was a month-long separation as he faced his final trial.
Erica reassured herself that there was no need to worry.
Her anxiety had notably improved, and with familiars like Kkamag and Kry by her side, everything would be fine.
Having the same familiars by his side made him feel okay.
So he told her to focus only on the last remaining trial, not on himself.
Vargan and Erica parted ways like that.
Even in the same space, they weren’t together.
Even spending the same time, they carried different weights.
Swish.
White Erica’s hand glided softly over the surface of the black egg.
The smooth shell seemed sturdy enough to withstand a fall from the Academia, without even a hint of roughness.
It was merely a wall, or rather just a thin layer separating them.
Erica had no idea what was happening inside or what was going on.
“…….”
Even just the trial of touch had brought so many trials upon him until now.
Erica had no choice but to wait for Vargan.
Just hoping that he could finish it safely without any problems.
After a long time, she brought her hands together and prayed to Yggdrasil, recalling him.
“Vargan….”
Erica said this while gazing at the black egg.
Clinging desperately to the words he had told her months ago, “Of course, I prepared countermeasures for the trial.”
Tonight, too, she kept her place, separated by a wall from Vargan.
*
“H-ha… they really don’t give me a break.”
I couldn’t tell how much time had passed.
Since entering the egg, my sense of time seemed to have completely vanished.
Is this due to my senses being toyed with at will?
Whatever it is, it’s definitely not a pleasant feeling.
I love to manipulate others like puppets, but I can never accept being that puppet myself.
If this were just the trial of unique spells, or if it wasn’t contributing to my growth, I would’ve thrown in the towel and exited immediately.
‘Of course, even if I wanted to leave now, I can’t.’
I have no idea how things are going outside.
The inside of the egg is completely cut off, like a separate world that defies common sense.
I merely overcome the phenomena the trial presents to me.
I can’t gauge how many more I have left, or what percentage I’ve progressed, but I must.
I have to confront whatever comes my way.
I have to find a way to survive, no matter what.
That’s the trial for this last month.
“Ah, I see. This time it’s the invasion of the great army. This is what it means.”
A somewhat aggressive smile broke out as adrenaline surged through me.
Right now, I’m standing on the edge of a cliff.
This isn’t a metaphor; it’s a fact.
And the vast land laid out before me.
The ground trembled as a massive army approached, as if an earthquake had struck.
They might look a little different from Altife, but it didn’t change the fact that these monsters were coming to take me down.
Fifty thousand? Sixty thousand?
I don’t know.
This damn trial has prohibited me, a magician, from using magic this time.
Instead, it seems to be telling me to use the sword that’s stuck there.
It seems I’m supposed to slice away with it.
“Fine. Let’s see how this goes.”
Sorry, but I didn’t grow up soft enough to fall at this level.
