Chapter 117

Once the matches were decided, Fernan headed to the Golden Turtle Guild.

“Are you planning to surrender?”

The one who followed him was Luina, who asked him directly.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because of your expression.”

“It’s true that I don’t enjoy wasting energy on something with an obvious result, but I never said I would surrender.”

“So you’ll fight?”

“I didn’t say that either.”

Fernan shrugged.

In truth, he had already decided to lean toward surrender. It was better to focus on the repechage than to face Luina unnecessarily.

‘After all, the ranking is secured through the losers’ matches.’

At the very least, he needed to stay within the top 10 to avoid being expelled from the Rabidus Hall.

“I want to fight you seriously.”

“Me? Why?”

“There’s no opponent who compares to you.”

“I’m just a merchant.”

“A mere merchant doesn’t kill a demon’s summon in a single strike.”

“That wasn’t me…”

— Kyu!

Wooden, hanging from his neck, raised his radiant hand.

“He did it.”

“Wooden is your golem. So you did it. You can fight with him if you want.”

“Artifacts are forbidden in this exam.”

“Golems are considered magic, not artifacts.”

That was true. But Fernan had no intention of revealing Wooden in public just to win an exam.

“Impossible.”

Wooden was his last resort, his final shield and sword.

“Why do you insist so much on fighting?”

“Do you think I’m crazy about fighting?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“I just don’t want to be a burden.”

“Burden? You, a burden?”

With what rotten eyes could anyone call a future Royal Knight a “burden”?

“I didn’t hear it from anyone, it’s my own thought.”

“Why? You’re the champion of the jousting tournament.”

“But I couldn’t fight properly against Andromalius.”

“Yet you defeated him.”

“If it weren’t for Aint’s light, his power wouldn’t have weakened. If it weren’t for the traps you set, he never would’ve shown an opening. If it weren’t for Wooden, we never would’ve finished off that serpent. And if it weren’t for Verian and Aria, I would’ve died more than once.”

Luina clenched her teeth, her voice hardened, and her fingers trembled as she recalled those moments.

“If it weren’t for the cooperation with Aint, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat Andromalius.”

“That was a demon from legends. Aren’t you setting the bar too high?”

“It was legend, but now it’s reality. Fernan, you know better than anyone. That was just the beginning. Do you think you’ll always be able to rely on Aint’s help?”

Fernan fell silent.

Luina’s words hit the mark.

“Also, to the north of Bercheff, monsters are hiding. Are you sure none of them are demons?”

She was right. The future would bring even greater chaos.

Countless demons would be summoned, and armies of monsters would ravage the continent.

“My duty is to eradicate them and protect Bercheff.”

Aint wouldn’t always be there.

Could she guarantee she’d never have to face a demon alone?

‘…She’s better than me.’

Fernan admitted he had relied too much on the book of prophecies.

He believed that since the book said demons would appear one by one, it would always be like that. But what if not?

The future was already altered. Nothing prevented dozens of demons from appearing at once.

She had to be stronger. Surviving meant becoming strong.

The fact that she, without the book of prophecies, understood this better than he did made him feel pathetic.

“…I understand, Luina. I’ll do my best too.”

“Thank you.”

She bowed her head in gratitude.

She didn’t even touch the chocolate before leaving.

***

The next day

“Begin the match!”

“……”

“……”

The referee announced the start, but neither Fernan nor Luina moved. They simply stared at each other with determination.

“Luina, I’ll fight with the intent to beat you.”

“With the intent, not the desire?”

“Your words yesterday made me think, but my essence is still that of a merchant.”

If Luina sought strength by thinking of demons and the future, Fernan had decided to focus on raising and sharpening talents like her.

He was a merchant, a support for warriors.

He had no intention of defeating her, but he would pressure her as much as possible to give her experience.

Tap.

With a light tap of his staff against the ground, he began casting.

Whoosh.

The ground beneath Luina’s feet turned into quicksand, pulling her down.

But she escaped easily, her feet glowing with a blue light.

In an instant, she covered twenty meters.

A rock fist rose in her path, but it only delayed her half a second before crumbling.

Crack!

A raging blue aura slashed Fernan’s neck. His head rolled—but it was only a mirage.

Suddenly, the shadows of enormous rocks covered the field.

It wasn’t just one—there were many, covering the entire arena.

Evade? Impossible.

“And you said you were weak…?”

Luina hardened her aura and concentrated it into her sword.

───!

Her sword split the largest rock, but it wasn’t ordinary stone—it was a magically reinforced projectile, as hard as steel.

“You shouldn’t let your guard down.”

Fernan’s voice rang out as the split rock rejoined, as if it had a will of its own.

Boooom!

The roar was enough to crush an ordinary human, but Luina endured.

She broke through the rock and charged directly into the center of a wall of flames.

It burned. Fernan could manipulate fire at this level?

But it wasn’t unbearable.

With force, she parted the fire in two.

Now the path was clear.

Boom!

The distance shrank violently. But once again, Fernan’s body dissolved like a mirage.

The price came immediately.

Earthquake.

The ground opened beneath her, swallowing her into an abyss.

From below, flames glowed, and from above, piles of sand blocked any exit.

“Are you really trying to kill me?”

“Then will you surrender?”

The voice echoed from some unseen place.

“Surrender? On the contrary, this is exactly what I wanted.”

Her sword glowed blue and unleashed slashes downward.

The aura devoured the flames, carved a tunnel, and with a leap, she emerged upward.

A roaring lioness soared into the sky.

But suddenly, a giant blocked her ascent.

“…A golem?!”

Booom!

The golem’s fist crushed the lioness of aura, and Luina crashed violently to the ground.

“You said you wouldn’t use golems…”

“Did I promise that?”

Boom!

The golem landed, imposing. It wasn’t Wooden, but its size and toughness made it a formidable weapon.

‘To defeat a golem, the best strategy is to attack its summoner…!’

But she had no time. Another golem landed behind her.

“…Two at once?”

Few had ever heard of a summoner capable of controlling two golems simultaneously.

“Since I’ve been connected to Wooden, I see the world through a golem’s eyes. Controlling them became easier.”

“…And yet you still say you’re weak!”

Luina’s shout echoed as two golems charged at her.

***

“…I lost.”

“Haa, haa…!”

Luina’s sword pointed at Fernan’s neck.

“Couldn’t you at least let me land one hit before surrendering?”

“I don’t enjoy that kind of thing. I surrender. I surrender unconditionally.”

Fernan offered no resistance and immediately acknowledged his defeat, while Luina, nervous, collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

To any onlooker, it might have seemed that the roles of victor and defeated had been reversed, but it was inevitable.

“Using three golems was a mistake. It was overkill.”

“The moment you brought out a third, every movement started feeling unnatural.”

He thought two wouldn’t be enough and summoned another, but instead, the control destabilized and was less efficient than handling just two.

Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.

“Crazy, he controlled three golems at once?”

“Was Fernan really that strong? This isn’t just about having more mana from drinking a bunch of elixirs.”

“Wow, three golems at the same time? No wonder he’s first in his class.”

“This goes beyond the level of an outstanding student. Don’t they say even professors who use golems are limited to two?”

“And those are some of the top-tier golemsmiths!”

The fact that he controlled three golems at once—and cornered Luina with them—left everyone speechless.

“And Luina, who managed to break through and climb out in the end?”

“She’s insane. Did you see how the golems ended up? Shattered to pieces.”

“Her aura was at an insane level. When did she get so strong?”

“So her defeating senior Rob Kaelin wasn’t a fluke.”

“If someone thinks that was luck, their eyes are just for decoration.”

The students couldn’t stop expressing admiration at the battle between Fernan and Luina.

It had been a flawless fight from beginning to end.

“Well fought.”

Fernan extended his hand. Luina didn’t refuse it and stood up by taking it.

“I almost lost.”

“I told you, I’d fight with the intent to win.”

“Still, I never imagined you’d use three golems…”

“I regret it.”

“Huh?”

“I never thought you’d destroy all three completely. It’ll be cheaper to make new ones than repair them.”

He hadn’t expected her to completely break them to the point of being irreparable.

“In that situation I had no choice—they were way tougher than I thought.”

“I had specially modified them. Anyway, I’ll charge you for the golems.”

“…You’re the one who summoned them.”

Luina averted her gaze uncomfortably. Just then, the professor raised her arm.

“The winner, Luina Bercheff!”

The winner was decided.

***

The whole Academy was buzzing over the integrated exams.

But not everyone was.

One of the professors whose classes weren’t directly related to battle, Harcon Pallas, was among them.

“Times like these make being on the fringe the best.”

If he’d been involved in combat, he would’ve had to monitor and manage the crowds of students during the exams.

But as the professor of 『Golem Magic Engineering』, Harcon Pallas had no such obligation.

Although golemancy had long been recognized as official magic, it had long been considered secondary due to its limited usefulness.

It was inevitable.

To control a golem, the mage had to focus entirely on it, leaving themselves completely vulnerable in the process.

That’s why it wasn’t very suitable for combat.

Its primary use was as heavy machinery in mines or construction sites, but no one studied magic for that.

“Idiots who don’t understand the beauty of golems.”

Harcon pushed up the monocle he wore low on his face.

They didn’t get it. The true value of a golem was nothing so trivial.

They were grand, beautiful, powerful. How could anyone think of them as mere tools?

Harcon dreamed of crushing everyone’s pride someday.

By creating the ideal of all golemsmiths—the Auto Golem.

‘If I create an Auto Golem, I’ll change the course of magic.’

A golem that didn’t need to be linked to a mage, but could obey simple commands inscribed into its core.

He had only just found a thread of possibility, and it would still take years of research and refinement before bearing fruit—but that didn’t matter.

As long as there was even a small chance, that was enough.

‘I was going to present this at the Continental Conference to secure funding…’

Golemancy was one of the most resource-intensive branches of magic.

The Academy’s subsidy wasn’t enough, so he had planned to make a splash there—but everything had been ruined by the chaos of the corrupt.

‘First I’ll finish the blueprints, then find sponsors…’

But that day, he couldn’t concentrate. He kept getting stuck on the designs.

Out of frustration, he crumpled the paper and threw it into the bin.

“Professor Harcon, are you there?”

At that moment, someone visited his lab.

“Ah, Professor Nania.”

It was Nania Beris, who had recently joined from Fridian as the professor of 『Introduction to Spirit Summoning』.

Since spirit sensitives were rare, her subject was also marginal.

Both “non-mainstream” professors had gotten along well.

“What’s the matter?”

“Aren’t you going to watch the integrated exams?”

“I’m not interested. What’s there to see?”

After all, no one was using golems.

“I don’t know… I think there was something yesterday you might find interesting.”

“Something that would interest me?”

Nania handed him a newspaper.

【Academy Daily】

【The long-awaited duel finally happened! The top second-year Knight and jousting tournament champion, Luina Bercheff VS top second-year Mage, Fernan Pellenberg. A clash of the best two!】

【Everyone expected a one-sided win for Luina, but the unexpected occurred.】

【Fernan Pellenberg controlled three golems simultaneously. A hidden genius in golemancy?】

【Three golems in the integrated exams! He cornered Luina Bercheff. Can golems be viable in real combat?】

The newspaper highlighted the match between Luina and Fernan, the top students in their year.

Nothing strange—battles between the best were always hot topics.

But what caught Harcon Pallas’s attention was something else.

“…He controlled three golems at once?”

His jaw dropped.

Not one, not two, but three? Was that even possible?

“Yes. He controlled three golems at once and cornered Luina.”

“…Is… is that true?”

“Of course. I saw it myself.”

“Good heavens…”

“Is it really that amazing? I don’t know anything about golems…”

“It’s not just amazing, it’s monumental!”

Harcon Pallas was an authority in golemancy. Not just any authority—one of the top.

There was no one in the Empire who surpassed him, and probably not even across the two continents.

“Even I have a limit of two!”

Modern golems had to be directly controlled by a mage, linked to their mana like their own body.

Controlling two at once was like managing two different bodies with one mind.

And three?

Not only that—controlling a golem required a high level of understanding and knowledge of its structure.

Being able to handle three meant immeasurable mastery.

“…If this is true, that Fernan is a genius. A genius in golemancy!”

“I see.”

“It’s not just ‘I see’! This boy must dedicate himself entirely to golemancy. He has to give his life to this art!”

Harcon’s face turned red with excitement.

A talent.

In decades, no such prodigy had emerged in golemancy. A student who had to be secured at all costs.

“This kid must become a golemsmith! Why the hell is he wasting time with earth magic?”

With a leap, Harcon bolted out of the lab, scattering all his research papers to the floor.

“Fernan! Where are you?”

“Ah…”

Nania, now alone, let out an incredulous laugh.

“That much, huh?”

Of course, if someone told her a student could summon dozens of spirits at once, she’d be stunned too.

“So that’s why Aria was so insistent on keeping a close watch on Fernan Pellenberg…”

It must’ve been a shock of that magnitude.

“I just wanted to bring up something interesting, and look how it turned out.”

The prince-electors didn’t welcome Fridian.

And since several professors were under their influence, they didn’t easily accept Nania either, who had come backed by Fridian.

That’s why she had approached Harcon first, who didn’t have strong ties with the others.

“It’ll be hard to increase Fridian’s influence in the Academy… what a pain.”

With a sigh, she left the empty lab.