Chapter 43

EP.43 Class Observation (2)

“Sometimes, I feel like you all take the Wizard class you’ve chosen a bit too lightly.”

Professor Charlotte of Intermediate Elemental Magic.

She is quite popular among the students. Many students like her because she is younger than other professors and her classes are flexible and engaging.

“Of course, you must think that the Battle-mage is the direction that today’s mages should pursue, right?”

Today is no exception.

As soon as she noticed the students' lack of focus, she started a casual conversation by bringing up a topic they enjoy.

“Well, I guess it’s understandable. After all, the Battle-mage class was created by the Ashen Mage, Lady Raniel, herself.”

The moment Lady Raniel’s name, the famous Ashen Mage, was mentioned, the students’ eyes sparkled.

‘Indeed, there’s no better subject to regain their attention...’

Charlotte smiled wryly and continued.

“Certainly, the Battle-mage class is far more useful compared to other classes. But, do you all know this?”

Charlotte wiggled her fingers.

“The Ashen Mage, Lady Raniel, was also a Wizard class.”

“What? Not a Battle-mage class?”

“She’s the founder of the class...”

Charlotte shook her head at the students' reactions.

“For the past 15 years, since she registered as a mage, she has always been a Wizard class. She never requested a class change.”

Why didn’t she change her class to Battle-mage, even though she created it?

This was a hot topic in the magical community for a while.

Various theories were proposed to explain this mystery.

She was too busy to request a class change, she respected her mentor Roselle, she wanted to preserve the foundation of the Ashen Tower...

And so on, numerous hypotheses were put forward.

But the most credible one was this. Recalling it, Charlotte spoke.

“Before standing on the battlefield, Lady Raniel was a mage who loved to research magic and solve difficult problems.”

A brilliant scholar.

A figure who solved countless difficult problems.

The Ashen Mage was closer to a scholar than an adventurer who used magic to slay monsters.

“And she always emphasized the fundamentals of being a mage.”

Mages are beings who uncover the unknown.

Exploring and defining the unknown is the essence of being a mage.

This was a phrase the Ashen Mage often repeated.

“Ultimately, she began using magic for ‘combat’ on the battlefield...”

Charlotte spoke the final sentence with admiration.

“Perhaps she wanted to emphasize that her foundation was as a mage who uncovers the unknown, a Wizard.”

This was an excerpt from one of the hypotheses.

She developed combat magic for efficiency on the battlefield but wanted to remain a scholar of magic, not a mage for war.

The reason she didn’t apply for a class change even after retiring from the battlefield must have been this.

Most scholars of magic thought so.

“Oh...”

The students let out a subtle sigh of admiration. Charlotte smiled faintly and began organizing her class materials.

‘Now that I think about it, there was such a hypothesis.’

Then, a hypothesis suddenly came to mind.

The most absurd hypothesis about why the Ashen Mage didn’t change her class.

-Maybe she just didn’t know she had created a new class?

‘What a ridiculous hypothesis.’

Charlotte shook her head.

It was a ridiculous hypothesis, and she wasn’t the only one who thought so.

‘The mage who made that absurd statement was reportedly beaten and expelled from the magical community, right?’

Yes, that’s how it was.

“The Ashen Mage wouldn’t do that.”

Charlotte nodded.

2.

‘Damn, what the hell is this rootless class?’

Raniel swallowed the profanity that rose to her throat. She couldn’t understand it at all.

Aphria Academy.

Wasn’t this an academy for the study of magic, for mages?

‘Then why are they learning martial arts?’

She couldn’t understand it.

Raniel glared at Professor MacHeart, who was pulling and tugging at her arms.

“Hurry up and follow me!”

She was dragged around.

On this warm day, she was supposed to swing her fists and study footwork. Raniel bit her lip.

‘I can understand the teaching to some extent.’

Raniel wasn’t unfamiliar with such experiences.

As a member of the knights, she had been forced to participate in such training to some extent.

This level of training.

It’s terrible, but she could tolerate it.

‘The problem is this damn... no, this professor.’

“Hurry up and follow me!”

The professor, who was shouting so loudly that his voice could deafen her.

His voice was annoying, but what really infuriated her were the words he spoke.

“You can do it, so why can’t you?”

How could she do something that was impossible?

“Like this! Like this! Is this difficult?”

How could she possibly do that?

Each of his words grated on Raniel’s nerves. She silently wished for the umpteenth time that he would shut up.

However, MacHeart’s nagging continued.

And finally, he used that word.

“This is the basics!”

Basics.

A word Raniel loved.

‘This is the basics?’

Raniel suppressed a bitter laugh. She couldn’t help but smile.

‘Basics are not like this...’

-This is the basics.

Hesitation.

Suddenly, Raniel’s body stiffened.

“...”

She felt a strange sense of familiarity in MacHeart’s tone. Something, something was familiar.

As she pondered this familiarity, Raniel listened to MacHeart’s words. Then, she began to hear them.

“You can do it, so why can’t you?”

-I can do it, can’t I?

Her own voice echoed in response to MacHeart’s.

“I showed you an example. It’s a problem you can solve by following me, isn’t it?”

-I showed you, didn’t I? You can follow me. Is it difficult?

Ah.

“Are you lacking the basics? Even this...”

-Well... Do you lack the basics? I thought you could do this.

Raniel’s eyes widened.

She seemed to have realized something.

‘All this, it’s all the words I’ve said before.’

She didn’t realize it when she spoke.

But now, as a listener, she understood.

‘When you hear it, it sounds like this.’

Raniel closed her eyes tightly.

It felt like she had gained a great insight.

Of course, Raniel and MacHeart were different. The examples MacHeart showed were poor, and his words were filled with malice. In contrast, Raniel’s examples were perfect, and her words were filled with sincerity, not malice.

However, Raniel didn’t know him.

She was merely reflecting on how her own words might sound.

This reflection eventually led to an insight.

And it touched on the essence of the problem she had.

‘This is what you meant, Master Roselle.’

Certainly, the ‘insight’ Roselle wanted wasn’t like this... but Raniel had gained an insight nonetheless.

Raniel turned her stiff neck.

There, MacHeart was still grumbling.

“I really don’t understand!”

Seeing the professor’s expression of incomprehension, what thought came to mind?

‘Hmm.’

Raniel combined the scenes in her mind into words.

‘I want to bash his head in.’

With what?

‘With a big rock.’

Raniel nodded slightly.

‘I’ve gained insight, Master Roselle.’

The insight was about her own mistake.

After 12 years, Raniel successfully completed her self-reflection and looked at MacHeart with a slightly dazed expression.

“Like this! Like this... hmm?”

MacHeart, who was demonstrating enthusiastically, suddenly stiffened. He slowly turned around.

‘Just now, I felt a killing intent.’

He felt a killing intent, something he only felt on the battlefield.

However, the only person behind him was a slightly dazed girl.

‘It must be a mistake.’

MacHeart decided to think so.

“Now, like this! Hurry up and follow me!”

He demonstrated enthusiastically again, unaware that Rania’s eyes were gradually darkening.

3.

“The second period of the class is an external practical session. Follow me.”

MacHeart Crevelt.

He had prepared a lot for this class. It wasn’t just to embarrass the young professor Rania.

MacHeart was a knight.

However, his mindset wasn’t quite that of a proper knight.

He was a person with a strong desire to show off.

He loved to display his skills and be recognized.

However, he didn’t have the skills to show off. As a result, MacHeart, who had honorably retired from the battlefield, was very satisfied with his job as a professor.

He could display his skills in the form of teaching.

He could satisfy his desire for recognition by seeing the reactions of the students who still had much to learn.

‘This time, the monster terror incident was unfortunate.’

For him, this terror incident was very disappointing. He should have been out there with the knights, exterminating monsters, not showing off here where the students gathered.

What he couldn’t show the students then.

He planned this class meticulously to show it.

-Field practice.

-Real combat with monsters.

Recently, Aphria had been caught up in a monster terror incident.

MacHeart seized on this point.

He went directly to Dean Aaron and used the excuse that the students needed real combat experience with monsters to secure this field practice.

“As announced in the academic notice a few days ago, this class will take place in the Crevelt family’s territory. The outer forest of the Crevelt family’s territory is where we raise monsters.”

The Crevelt family, to which MacHeart belonged, was a prestigious family that had produced many knights. It was natural that they had a few monsters for training.

“Of course, we have extracted the mana from the monsters we raise. Even if you get bitten, you won’t be contaminated. If you get injured, the priests will treat you immediately.”

The students’ expressions were uneasy, feeling a sense of revulsion towards the monsters.

“Don’t worry. The monsters are of a low level. They are the kind I used to take down bare-handed when I was your age.”

MacHeart headed deeper into the forest.

The students followed behind him.

“If you encounter difficult monsters, I will intervene immediately...”

As he said this, MacHeart stopped for a moment.

Something was off.

The forest where they raised monsters should have been patrolled by guards. But there was no one now.

‘...Something?’

Moreover, the lock on the iron cage, which was supposed to be locked, was broken.

“...Let’s walk a bit faster.”

MacHeart quickened his pace and headed towards the monster enclosure. The smell of blood grew stronger with each step.

‘The smell of blood.’

From some point.

The bodies of the monsters came into view.

The forest floor was littered with monster corpses. Blood flowed from the bodies, forming a continuous trail.

MacHeart followed the trail of blood.

And then.

“MacHeart Crevelt.”

Someone called his name.

There was no need to turn his head to see where the voice came from. The speaker was at the end of the direction he was heading.

“Huh.”

A man with brown hair and a gray coat.

He was sitting on a monster’s corpse, holding a knife in one hand and smoking a cigarette.

Rising smoke.

Chunks of flesh mixed with monster blood dripping from the tip of the knife.

It was a chilling sight.

“There was a reason you were suspected of being a traitor.”

The man spoke.

“The Crevelt family has produced many knights. A monster habitat? It’s plausible. I acknowledge it. You’ve been registered for a long time, so that’s not a problem.”

“What...”

“And this class.”

Huh.

The man exhaled a puff of smoke.

“Since Aphria was caught up in the monster terror incident, you’re teaching the students how to deal with monsters. It’s a good excuse. It sounds plausible. I can overlook it up to this point.”

Ignoring MacHeart’s words, the man continued. His tone was casual, like he was chatting in a bar, neither pressing nor interrogating.

“But.”

The tone changed in an instant.

“I can’t overlook this.”

The man, who had partially buried his knife in the ground, pulled it out and nudged the monster’s corpse beside him.

“This monster is not something the students can handle. It’s not even something a retired knight like you can handle.”

MacHeart narrowed his eyes and examined the monster.

‘Is that... a Dark Troll?’

As far as MacHeart remembered, there were no such monsters in the enclosure. If there were, they would have been regular trolls, not high-level monsters like Dark Trolls.

“This... something is wrong