Chapter 119

The next day.

In the same place where he had defeated Verian, Aint now faced his next opponent.

───!

Their swords clashed.

A shockwave exploded.

Shattered fragments of aura flew in all directions.

In just an instant, dozens of exchanges unfolded, so fast and fierce they were impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.

The dueling ground cracked, forcing the spectators to step back.

“……”

Valoshi Bienderk, first place of the first year, silently regulated his breathing.

His opponent, Aint Armian, also watched him with his sword raised.

“When I saw you defeat Anto, I figured this day would come—but I didn’t expect it to be today.”

“This?”

“The day you would fight me as an equal.”

“You’re wrong, Valoshi. We’re not equal. I’m here to beat you. Me, beating you.”

It wasn’t baseless confidence.

In fact, Valoshi felt it even more than Aint did.

‘I never imagined I’d be outmatched in aura within the Academy…’

It was true—he had taken countless elixirs since childhood thanks to his family.

Did the ruined House Armian really have that kind of economic power?

This was the first time he felt genuine danger.

Not even Rob Kaelin had made him feel this.

‘No, Rob Kaelin was different.’

He was in the same category. A genius with talent.

He had wielded a sword three years before Valoshi; losing to him had been natural. He didn’t give it much thought—he knew that in three years he’d surpass Rob.

But he never expected someone to rise from below while he only looked up.

Valoshi smiled under the pressure that now weighed on him.

‘If I lose, it’ll be because of thoughts like these. I can’t lose.’

“No, not yet. I have reasons not to lose.”

“What a coincidence. So do I.”

It was Valoshi who moved first.

Bienderk’s sword was elegant.

Like the roses that symbolized his house: soft, beautiful, but full of thorns.

Dark blue aura roses bloomed across the dueling ground, expanding into a domain that trapped Aint and covered him completely.

Everyone thought it was over.

Until a white light filtered between the petals of aura.

────!

The radiance engulfed the entire dueling ground.

When it faded, not a trace of the roses remained.

Only Aint and Valoshi, standing, having swapped positions.

“Who won? Aint? Valoshi?”

“What happened?”

“Wasn’t it Aint who won?”

“They both look untouched…”

The students murmured.

They hadn’t seen anything due to the light, but the duelists knew the result.

“Ha… I really lost.”

Valoshi’s sword fell to the ground. His hand trembled with spasms.

‘The light pierced through my roses and destroyed them all. No technique—just brute force.’

His aura had been crushed completely.

His face twisted with a mix of emotions he couldn’t even describe.

“I won’t be able to face Jace.”

He recalled then the conversation he’d had with him.

“I’m withdrawing. I’m not interested in the championship. Even if I lose here, I’m still first in the Magic Department.”

“If Verian surrendered to Aint, do you think it’s fair for you to arrive at the final exhausted? It should be equal.”

Valoshi didn’t know what he was planning, but he found no reason to refuse.

He thought he could beat Jace, and then Aint too.

That’s what he believed.

He, who had always lived winning.

Yes, he had known defeat.

At the hands of his family’s elders.

Against Rob Kaelin.

But those were rivals that justified it.

Aint Armian was not.

And yet, he had lost.

To a fellow yearmate.

Valoshi collapsed.

“…My sister said she never lost since entering the Academy.”

Could he not be like her?

He let out an empty laugh.

“Valoshi, good match.”

Aint extended his hand.

Valoshi looked at it in silence.

The one who had handed him his first true defeat.

More than sympathy, he felt hostility.

“Make friends with Aint Armian.”

He then recalled the words of his father before entering the Academy.

With a bitter grimace, he shook his hand.

“I didn’t think you’d become this strong in just one year. It’s unprecedented.”

“I got lucky.”

“Lucky? How much luck does it take to be number one in the Academy? Share some with me.”

Valoshi tossed aside his half-burned protective artifact.

The top spot of the first year was decided.

***

After the end of the exams

The unified exam had concluded.

【Magic Department Rankings – 2nd Year, 2nd Semester】

1. Carlo Deneb
2. Ludger Schwaben
3. Neria Hapman
…
4. Fernan Pellenberg

“Like a salmon.”

Even though he had lost to Luina in the second round of the tournament, Fernan managed to secure the tenth spot in the repechage.

He had returned to the same place as always.

Not bad—as long as he wasn’t expelled from the Ravidus Hall, the ranking didn’t matter much.

“Carlo and Prince Ludger also returned to their original positions.”

“Yes. And Neria rose to third.”

The spots below second had changed, but essentially everything remained the same: the same ten occupied the top.

【Knight Department Rankings – 2nd Year, 2nd Semester】

1. Luina Bercheff
2. Harold Volcan
3. Alia Torta
4. Almon Done …

It was the same in the Knight Department.

Almon fell to fourth because he faced Luina after Fernan and was crushed.

Then he didn’t perform well in the repechage.

【Knight Department Rankings – 1st Year, 2nd Semester】

1. Aint Armian
2. Valoshi Bienderk …

In the first year, everything followed the prophecy book.

The first place in the exam matched the top of the course.

Aint Armian had reached the top in just one year since enrolling.

“A monstrous growth.”

“And you, young master, were part of it.”

“The heart of the Saintbird must have had a huge influence.”

“No doubt.”

The Saint bird—symbol of the Armian family and mythical beast of light.

Its heart surpassed any elixir and fit perfectly with Aint’s light magic.

‘It’s said even the First Emperor consumed it…’

That he could grow like this to become a hero who exterminates demons, like that emperor, was to be expected.

Knock, knock.

“Are you in there?”

The door creaked open.

“Come in, senior.”

“Found you!”

It was Gismond Ert, who had come after Fernan’s summons.

“What rank did you get?”

“Me? Twenty-first. I wanted to make top ten to live in the Ravidus Hall, but it didn’t work out.”

“Twenty-first is still a good result. Compared to before, it’s incredible progress.”

“I worked really hard.”

Gismond smiled, scratching the back of his head, and soon began looking around in awe.

“Wow, I didn’t expect a place like this above a simple tea shop.”

“It’s a place I use often. You’ll end up coming here a lot too.”

“If you call me, I’ll go anywhere.”

“Don’t forget that determination.”

“…What was that ominous-sounding comment?”

“Ominous”—pretty good word. Fernan shrugged and asked.

“Did you bring your things?”

“Yes, in the subspace bag you gave me. I packed everything I need. But… where are we going?”

“If someone knows demons will descend, what else can they do in their free time? Train, of course.”

Gismond nodded, as if he had expected that answer.

“So to Pandrein? Aint and Valoshi are going there too, right? And Flauros will be summoned exactly in that place.”

“No. I’m leaving that to Aint. We’re going in the opposite direction.”

“Opposite?”

“Yes.”

“Are you all ready?”

The one who entered through the door was Luina Bercheff.

“We’re heading north.”

To meet the Count of Bercheff.

And to search for clues about the monsters lurking in that region.

“But Fernan, why the rush? You haven’t even rested from the tournament…”

“Because some very annoying guy is clinging to me. To shake him off, I need to put some distance between us.”

“Annoying? Ah, I heard the rumor. Professor Harcon from Golem Magic got obsessed with you… haha, no, never mind.”

Under Fernan’s cold stare, Gismond shut his mouth.

“Let’s go already.”

Thus began the winter break.

***

Flash—

The teleportation circle lit up intensely, and the world flipped upside down.

When he opened his eyes again, a biting cold prickled his skin.

“Miss!”

Fernan, Luina, Gismond, Hyde, and even Luina’s nanny.

The five of them found themselves surrounded by the mages of Bercheff.

“Welcome back!”

The mages bowed their heads. Luina nodded calmly.

“Where is my father?”

“He’s waiting in his study. He ordered the others to be taken to their rooms first.”

“So be it.”

“Yes, miss!”

Luina followed the knights elsewhere, while the others were guided to rooms inside the lord’s castle.

“Please rest well.”

Fernan entered the room assigned to him and closed the door. Then he sat down in a chair and spoke.

“It’s an honor to see you again, my lord.”

“It’s been a while… though I can’t say I’m as pleased as I should be.”

There was a guest inside the room. Rather, not a guest, but the owner of the place.

Brown hair, a massive build, a face and body covered in scars, and a natural aura of pressure that demanded respect.

The blue eyes—identical to Luina’s—seemed to pierce through everything.

He was Albinos Bercheff, the Marquess and guardian of the northern frontier.

“Shouldn’t you be with Luina right now?”

“Reuniting with my daughter can wait until after I speak with you.”

“I heard you wished to see me, but I didn’t imagine it was this important.”

“Don’t use that sharp tongue of yours. I have matters to discuss with you.”

“I’m listening attentively.”

The count stared at him for a while and then began to speak slowly, with an unexpected opening.

“I’ve always considered my life a battlefield. I was born in war and fought day after day. But more than a complaint, I saw it as our pride.”

The north was never purely human territory.

The weak were expelled and eliminated. The monsters pushed out of the Demon Territory always ended up in human lands.

And to them, humans were the weakest link.

“A mistake on their part. In the last thousand years, Bercheff has never fallen.”

For centuries, Bercheff had endured there, turning it into human land.

But the wave a few decades ago was different.

“There had never been a hell like that. The walls crumbled, corpses piled up, cities collapsed, and human domains were wiped off the map. Screams and rivers of blood everywhere, and I—unable to protect anything.”

He lost his father, lost his brothers and sisters. Lost the wealth and territory the family had built, lost vassals who were like family.

Everyone said Bercheff was finished. That there was no hope.

“And even so, we endured. Where there’s a beginning, there’s an end. After a long battle, we expelled the monsters and reclaimed what was ours.”

But to declare victory, what they had lost was far too much.

“Only by restoring the territory did I feel I could stand before my father’s grave with pride. Tell him I had at least accomplished that—rebuilding our land.”

“……”

“To do that, I needed money. A lot of money. And that’s when I turned to your family.”

“I know.”

“We’ve lived under the same roof for a thousand years. I didn’t expect generosity without price, but I did trust there’d be no deceit. Yet when I asked for money, they told me to tear out my house’s pillars and sell them.”

“The amount demanded it.”

Pellenberg wasn’t a charity. At that time, Bercheff was a ruin on the verge of collapse, and they couldn’t lend without collateral.

“It was a lot of money, yes. I knew that. When a bowl breaks, you don’t just fill the bowl—you have to fill even the ground beneath it. How much water do you think that takes?”

With reason, he understood. With heart, he didn’t.

“They could have asked for land, rights—anything.”

“My grandfather believed there was nothing of value left in a devastated Bercheff.”

“I know. I would’ve thought the same. So in the end, I sold the very foundations of my house.”

And thus, the rights to the Golden Bull passed to Fridien.

“Even that wasn’t enough. We caught our breath, found stability, but real reconstruction needed more funds.”

“That’s why you came back to the Pellenbergs.”

“Yes. I thought this time would be different. But then they asked for the heart.”

“Isn’t that the same story again?”

“No. I don’t blame the merchant who demands fair payment. But at the very least, they shouldn’t have cheated us.”

And the marquess was right—the second situation wasn’t like the first.

Without asking for a heart, arms and legs would have sufficed as collateral to get money.

But those who wanted the heart made sure no one else would settle for less.

“And then you suddenly changed your attitude.”

“Because the situation had changed. The corrupt ones, the demons—they will begin to move.”

“Demons? Even to demons, you Pellenbergs sell goods. Sacrificing yourselves for the greater good? Don’t make me laugh.”

The marquess leaned forward. Just that motion made Fernan feel like the air had been knocked from his lungs.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me the truth.”

He growled.

“What’s your true intention?”