Chapter 46

◈ Chapter 46: A Dangerous Bet (3)

To be honest, when Chris first suggested a bet to me based on Aiden and Jeban's sparring match, I was secretly delighted.

It was a bet I had to win, no matter what.

It's not that Jeban lacks skill. He is also a student who has embarked on the path of magic by entering Seorun. He must certainly have the talent and the skill.

Especially, students from wealthy merchant families or noble backgrounds have received thorough early education since childhood, so it's natural that they would be far ahead of commoner students from the beginning of the semester.

It had only been two weeks since the new semester started.

There still wasn't enough time for commoner students to catch up with the nobles.

But that's okay.

Aiden is different from other students.

I wasn't wrong to think of him as a 'shounen manga protagonist.'

'Chris Benimore probably doesn't know that at all.'

If he was in charge of the first-year manifestation class, he must have checked the list of students and identified any unusual ones.

But even so, Chris didn't seem to consider Aiden particularly important.

Here, I realized one fact.

Chris Benimore probably didn't even glance at the list of commoner students.

'He probably only memorized the names of the noble students he should pay attention to.'

It's a disqualification as a teacher, but I can understand.

He was born a noble, lives as a noble, and will continue to live as a noble.

It's only natural that he would find it unpleasant to remember commoners, who live in a completely different world from his own.

In that case, it's quite a wise judgment to simply ignore them.

I don't intend to blame him for judging students by their class or discriminating against them.

This is the kind of world we live in.

'But he probably didn't expect that this would trip him up.'

Aiden was able to enter Seorun despite his lack of magical knowledge solely because of the [Unique] magic he possesses.

It was a kind of admission benefit, but that doesn't mean Aiden is bad.

The current headmaster's greatest wish is for more students who have learned such rare magic to gather at Seorun.

'Even if he realizes what kind of magic Aiden has learned at the last minute, it's probably too late.'

The bet has already been established. Claiming it's invalid because he didn't know would only expose his own inadequacy for not checking the information beforehand.

Chris will have to continue this bet, even if he realizes Aiden will win against Jeban. This is not just a duel between Aiden and Jeban, but a matter of pride between me and Chris as a teacher and a magician.

'So, what is this guy saying?'

What? He wants to win on his own strength?

For a moment, I couldn't understand what nonsense he was spouting.

I couldn't help but realize how stubborn and righteous this Aiden is.

He's the kind of guy who would even offer to help a werewolf that threatened his life. How could he be any more noble?

I was about to tell him to get a grip, but I fell into a slight dilemma.

'This might be a good opportunity to test him.'

To see just how much Aiden has developed.

Yes. Pushing only the [Unique] magic he knows would make him too one-dimensional.

It wouldn't be bad to confirm his will and his talent for learning something new during this opportunity.

Attribute element manifestation is too basic to judge Aiden's talent based on that alone.

Then.

'I should teach him something more concrete.'

I glanced down at Aiden.

He seemed to sense my gaze and flinched.

"Aiden."

"Yes, yes."

"If you really want it, fine. For the remaining three days, I will teach you methods to prepare for the sparring match."

"Really? But that's... "

"The dice have already been thrown. Chris will probably give Jeban some advice or teach him basic magic. This is not just a duel between you and Jeban, but a matter of pride between me and Chris as a teacher and a magician."

"Then... will I learn Mr. Rudger's magic?"

I shook my head. Teaching magic is impossible from the start.

"There's no surefire magic I can teach you. We only have three days left, which is ridiculously short to learn anything."

If it were something as basic as attribute element manifestation, it wouldn't be necessary to reiterate it.

"But that doesn't mean there's nothing to teach."

A mage's sparring match is not purely about magic.

Speed of spell casting?

Vastness of mana?

Accuracy of magic?

No.

That's not enough.

The idea that a mage only fights with magic is just a prejudice.

"Aiden. I will teach you how to fight against a mage."

"Really?"

"Yes. However, we only have three days left. It will be very tight, and I can only teach you the basics. It will be very difficult. You might fail. Do you still want to do it?"

"Yes! I will do it!"

Aiden answered loudly, as if he had made up his mind.

Yes, a good attitude.

Of course, I wasn't going to help him even if he refused.

"Then let's start today."

"Yes, yes? Really?"

Aiden's face turned slightly surprised, probably not expecting to start immediately.

I nodded and gestured to the two people watching us from a distance.

"You two as well."

"Huh?"

"Us too?"

Leo and Taeji. They were taken aback when I called them but couldn't refuse.

Of course. Aiden won't be the only one moving, and it seems they will continue to be together.

If their skills improve, I'll pour all my efforts into the trio.

Three days left.

Chris and Jeban are probably already celebrating, thinking they've already won.

I don't intend to interfere with their celebration right now.

How much they indulge in their imagined victory is their own choice.

But will they still enjoy that freedom after seeing what happens three days from now?

A little.

I started to feel excited.

* * *

"Ugh. I'm dying."

It was a dark night, with the sun completely set.

Aiden, who had returned to the dormitory, collapsed onto his bed, his body exhausted.

He had been proud of not missing any training since coming to Seorun, but Rudger's training was beyond his imagination in terms of difficulty.

Was it because Rudger was a former soldier?

Aiden, recalling the grueling training Rudger had given him, Leo, and Taeji, rubbed his aching body.

'I didn't expect it to be this physically demanding.'

What Rudger taught was not about manifesting magic or casting spells, but literally about using his body.

No, he did use his mind. He had to use his body and mind simultaneously.

Because of this, Aiden couldn't count how many times he had rolled on the training ground floor.

It was hard to believe he had to do this for two more days.

'But, I feel like I've developed somehow.'

Rudger's teachings were incredibly demanding, but Aiden didn't complain and silently followed through.

He instinctively felt that this method would definitely help him.

'Why did Mr. Rudger say he believes in me?'

Did he not think Aiden would lose to Jeban? If so, what was the reason?

'Is it because of the magic I use?'

There was a possibility. Teachers have the authority to access students' information.

But I couldn't understand how Rudger could have such confidence based on that alone.

Rudger had never seen Aiden use [Unique] magic, so why was he so confident?

The magic Aiden learned was directly passed down from his master, so just hearing the name wouldn't give a proper understanding.

'Maybe Mr. Rudger knows something about my master?'

Aiden closed his eyes, thinking about this.

He was so exhausted that he fell asleep without even changing his clothes.

* * *

Two days later.

Aiden was running on the outdoor training ground, gasping for breath.

"Huff huff."

Rudger stood with his arms crossed, waiting for Aiden.

Upon seeing Rudger, Aiden pushed himself to run even faster.

Rudger, who had his arms crossed, extended his right hand.

At that moment, a white sphere of mana flew from Rudger toward Aiden.

"Grk!"

Aiden clenched his teeth and twisted his body to the side to avoid it. At the same time, he tried to summon mana.

Click.

"Wha?!"

His legs tangled, and he fell to the ground.

He avoided the magic, but Aiden had to roll several times on the ground.

Rudger slowly approached Aiden.

"Mana circulation is one thing, and moving your body is another. Don't try to do both at once; recognize them separately."

"Yes, yes!"

Aiden, covered in dirt, quickly got up.

"Since you failed again, add one more lap. Go."

"Yes!"

Aiden started running again.

Leo and Taeji, who were resting on chairs at the training ground, watched Aiden with eyes that seemed to see a monster.

"Wow. We're already exhausted and can't run anymore, but Aiden has such good stamina."

Taeji was genuinely amazed by Aiden's seemingly endless stamina.

She had also worked on building her stamina before entering Seorun, but Aiden was on a completely different level.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch up to him and eventually gave up.

"He has strong willpower."

In contrast, Leo, who was smaller in build, had less stamina and was the first to take a break.

But his eyes were sharper.

To Taeji, Aiden seemed fine, but he was actually at his physical limit.

He was still running because of his will not to lose in the public sparring match.

"Hmm."

Taeji, hearing Leo's words half-heartedly, stared blankly at Aiden.

The boy who didn't say a single word of dislike despite how badly she treated him.

The foolish guy who even smiled and invited her to eat together, calling her a friend.

She couldn't take her eyes off Aiden, who was training so hard. Even though he was dirty with sweat and dirt, it seemed too much to think that even that looked cool.

Aiden was already running another lap and charging toward Rudger.

Rudger raised his hand.

'He's coming.'

Leo and Taeji tensed up simultaneously.

Cold sweat formed on their clenched fists.

Rudger's magic, a basic manifestation spell [Glowing Stone], flew toward Aiden, who was almost exhausted.

It would hurt if hit, but since Rudger was holding back, it wouldn't be hard to avoid if he focused.

The problem was avoiding it while running.

But.

When Aiden twisted his body to the side while running to avoid Rudger's magic, Taeji couldn't help but jump up from her seat.

"He avoided it!"

"It's not over yet. The important part is what comes next."

Leo was right.

After avoiding the magic, Aiden had to counterattack.

Aiden immediately gathered mana. Without stopping his run, he manipulated mana and cast a spell.

A technique that requires using the mind and body separately while moving.

It might seem simple at first glance, but for someone who hasn't fully mastered magic, there's nothing more difficult than this.

It's harder than drawing a square with one hand and a triangle with the other.

Dividing attention.

And separately manifesting magic while moving the body.

'Aiden, you can do it.'

Leo clenched his fist.

A mage needs to concentrate a lot to manifest mana. The process of inscribing the spell is crucial for this reason.

Mages usually don't move while manifesting magic.

Therefore, mages are always exposed to danger.

To safely manifest magic, mages have traditionally surrounded themselves with barriers or shortened their spells.

But there are also those who take a completely different path.

Some thought that if not moving while casting magic is dangerous, then they should move while casting it.

Mages who don't just sit still but train their bodies to the limit while manifesting magic.

They are eccentrics who learn and explore magic while moving and adventurers who always challenge the unknown and fight against it.

Combat Mages (War Mages).

The method Rudger was teaching was the most basic fighting technique that such combat mages learn, [Mobility Spellcasting (Moving-Magus)].

"Whoosh!"

Aiden took a deep breath and summoned mana.

His running legs didn't stop. There wasn't even time to catch his breath.

Words were unnecessary. What mattered was willpower.

Manifesting mana separately while moving the body.

The spell appeared above Aiden's hand, which was running non-stop. Leo and Taeji, watching from a distance, opened their eyes wide and their mouths dropped.

And Aiden's magic unfolded.

A basic first-tier magic, the same [Glowing Stone] that Rudger had cast at him.

It was a weak and blurry magic compared to Rudger's.

But it clearly manifested and flew toward Rudger.

Crack!

But Rudger easily caught the [Glowing Stone] Aiden had cast with his gloved right hand.

Leo and Taeji, watching this, couldn't help but exclaim in disappointment.

They thought he might have managed to hit him once.

"Huff huff."

Aiden, panting, stopped in front of Rudger and tried to catch his breath.

"Aiden."

"Huff huff. Yes, teacher."

"You pass."

Thud.

As soon as Rudger's words fell, Aiden collapsed on the ground, a smile of accomplishment on his face.

"The sparring match is tomorrow, so take a good rest today."

"Huff huff."

Aiden didn't have the strength to respond.

Rudger smiled slightly at the sight and turned away.

"You can do it."

Aiden, too exhausted to hear, didn't catch those words.