Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 88

[ 88. Shoot toward the dawn (1) ]

#88

Under the deep blue sky, white cumulus clouds were sliding. After training, Ronan returned to the club building.

All the members were gathered, probably because the time zones overlapped by chance. Marja and Braum were arm wrestling across a bar table.

“Geuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!”

Braum gave enough strength that he wondered if the veins were tearing his scalp, but in the end he was defeated by Marja. Quaang! His body collapsed on the floor.

“Cheer up!”

“Part…delicate!”

Marja, who exclaimed in victory, swept the silver coins piled up on the table. It smelled of illegal gambling, but Ronan didn’t particularly sanction it. That way there will be room for it later. Asher was talking to Schlieffen in that corner.

“My brother is also a wizard.”

“Is that so…?”

“okay. I am undergoing training to one day enter Phileon. I’m just asking this because I’m curious, but judging from your knowledge of growing up in your hometown, which do you think Iril would prefer between a ceramic cup and a glass one?”

Ophelia was supposed to be sleeping on the second floor of Bona Mana. Seeing the riotous scene, Ronan smiled. Even when I first came, it was no different from an abandoned house, but now it’s not too bad that it’s quite lively.

“I’m here. Varen.”

Ronan took a piece of paper and left the building. The place he headed was the Phileon 13 Tower where Professor Varen Panassir was.

When I opened the door, Wearlion in a suit caught my eye. He was reading a book, sitting on a sofa large enough to bury his huge body completely in it.

Marfez, the dream bird that would become Sheeta’s parent, was curled up in his lap, grooming her rich blue feathers. Ronan’s eyes met Baren’s, and he closed the book and said hello.

“Oh Ronan. See you soon. Are you doing well with my assignment?”

“no. I guess I’m not good at growing things. This is already the fifth.”

Ronan let out a deep sigh. In the last class, Baren’s assignment was to grow bread aloe, a plant that feeds many fantasy species.

It was an easy plant to grow with just sunlight and water at the right time, but Ronan frequently turned the pot into a coffin of bread aloe. Varen stroked his mane and smiled.

“Haha, it’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. If you don’t give up and keep working, you’ll see results someday.”

“Hmm?”

Ronan tilted his head. It was a response that was not typical of Baren, with a strangely cheerful tone in his tone. Originally, he would have mourned the death of an innocent life and even offered a memorial service.

“Is there anything good?”

“Does it show?”

“Great.”

“Hey, I heard you. Would you like to try this?”

Baren, who got up, came out of the car. It wasn’t the usual black tea. The bluish liquid gave off a familiar scent. Ronan’s eyes widened after he had just taken a sip.

“This…!”

“I don’t know how to thank you.”

Baren smiled softly. The tea tasted like the one Sarante had served her before. The mana floating around him felt clearer than usual. The fatigue that had built up in his eyes melted away like snow.

“Have you succeeded in cultivating it? You said you wouldn’t eat until then.”

“That’s right. I succeeded earlier than I thought.”

It was already three months ago. Ronan handed over most of the herbs he brought from the Baidian Mountains to Baren. There were quite a few unknown species among them, but instead of eating them straight away, Baren decided to grow them.

“Even considering it wasn’t grown from leylines, it’s amazing. Placentas are much more effective than commercially available herbs. Maybe there will be a revolution in the potion industry.”

“Sooner or later, I will sit on the money cushion, Varen. congratulation.”

“I plan to use it only for research for the time being. Take this too.”

Baren held out a small wooden box to Ronan. When I opened the box, nine neatly arranged glass bottles caught my eye. A strangely colored liquid was dripping from the inside of the bottle.

“What is this?”

“A potion made from herbs that were successfully cultivated in the first place.”

“Heh, I’m giving you all these things.”

“This is something I prepared to give to student Ronan in the first place. Please use it wisely.”

Ronan laughed when he saw that the bottle cap was in the shape of a lion’s head. Suddenly, a feeling of extreme bewilderment reared its head.

While someone was pooping because he couldn’t grow a single stupid bread aloe properly, this hairy man succeeded in cultivating a rare herb unknown to academia and even made a potion. After emptying the teacup at once, Ronan held out a piece of paper.

“Why are you grateful? I have a present too.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a club activity plan.”

“Huh!”

Baren almost dropped the teacup. Marfez, who had been hit by the splashed tea, woke up in a fright. Baren asked in a trembling voice.

“Where are you going this time? Why…”

“If anyone sees it, they’ll know that they’re going to send troops. It’s all written there, so read it.”

“Ah…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…”

Baren felt that his eyes were getting dark. The shock of the club’s activities, which was unilaterally notified last time, was still not going away. Unauthorized ghost horse rental wyvern massacre and sword fight with swordsman Jaipa. Taking a deep breath, Varen picked up the paper and began to read.

“…Hmm? For some reason, it is normal this time.”

“of course. What do you see me as?”

“The Library is a famous place in the Dawning Magic Tower. Are you going alone?”

“yes. It’s not like I’m dragging several people.”

Varen shrugged his eyebrows in surprise. Ronan added an explanation that he submitted a club activity form simply to increase outing time.

Baren, who was carefully examining the plan, nodded. There was nothing in particular to be an issue with.

“great. I will allow it. I hope you do the same next time.”

“Ah, looking at the result, there have been no problems so far. The tea was good.”

Ronan left the Oval Office. Looking at the place where he disappeared, Varen muttered as he stroked Marfez.

“It won’t be a big deal this time. Isn’t it?”’

– PHIIT.

slurp. Varen emptied the remaining car. His gaze accidentally landed on the bottom of the teacup. The deposits of herbs were arranged in the shape of a skull. It was described too precisely to be a mere coincidence. Baren put down the teacup and spoke to himself with his eyes closed.

“…please.”

****

Ronan had a long schedule, but he didn’t take anyone with him. The reason was that I didn’t think I would need a colleague to do boring data research.

Two days later it was departure day. He simply packed his things and headed to the sky pier located in the northern part of the islands.

It was to ride the Griffon Airship to the Dawn Tower. In the club activity plan, it was written that he would ride a horse, but human work was always different.

-Pui yo oh clothes!

-Puhihing!

The sky pier, which operated airborne transportation, was in the shape of a wide runway. The Pegasus who finished the runway were flying up with the carriage. The griffon, who had just finished flying, was eating meat in the corner.

“As I live, the day will come when I will ride something like this.”

Ronan murmured as he looked at the airship he was going to ride. It was so grand that it was incomparable to Rodolan’s convict wagon. Eight Gryphons lifted and transported a small ship remodeled with wheels.

As expected, the price of the boarding pass was not much different from renting a ghost horse. But Ronan paid the price without hesitation. At least in the system, there was no merchant who would not accept the IOU from Phileon Academy.

Ronan boarded the airship. The interior was luxuriously decorated, as if targeting the upper class, the main customers.

Through the large, round windows, I could see the outside scenery clearly. All the seats were in front of the windows. It was like two luxurious sofas facing each other with a table in the middle. Ronan laughed when he saw a bottle of wine on each table.

“Money is good.”

Despite the high price, quite a lot of guests were on board. Walking down the aisle, Ronan finally found his place.

There was already someone sitting on the sofa opposite. A girl with dark purple hair resembling a cat. It was a face I had seen many times. Ronan’s eyes widened.

“Ezebet?”

“Oh, Ronan-sama?”

Elizabeth, who had been looking out the window, turned her head. She, too, was a bit surprised. Ronan, who was sitting on the sofa, asked in a puzzled tone.

“Why are you here? Did you even run away?”

“Runaway, what are you saying!”

Elizabeth let out a blank laugh as if she was stunned. Of course, since he was wearing the same uniform as himself, he couldn’t have run away from home. Ronan, who giggled and took out a pipe, was stopped by a flight attendant.

“customer. Please smoke on deck.”

“Oh, can I go up on deck?”

Ronan put the pipe back in. Clearing her throat, she opened her mouth again.

“Hmmmm, this time I’m going to visit the Dawning Magic Tower.”

“An answer?”

“yes. Among the students who take the ‘Intermediate Fire Magic’ class, only the excellent ones are selected. It’s the place that produced the best fire mages of all time.”

Only then did Ronan notice that there were quite a few students wearing magic uniforms among the passengers. More than 10 people seemed to be the academy with a lot of money. After looking over the students, Elizabeth covered her mouth and giggled.

“Whoa, among these, am I the only one in first grade? Everyone is pathetic.”

“Awesome. I thought you were good at dealing with telekinesis.”

“Actually, telekinesis is almost non-existent. The attribute I am most confident in is fire.”

As Elizabeth said, a small spark was lit from the tip of her index finger. forgot for a while The fact that the girl in front of me is a genius who can handle three attributes.

As we were having a small talk, the airship began to take off. Uniformed flight attendants walked around and gave various warnings.

Airships capable of vertical take-off and landing did not require a run-up. Looking out the window, the ground was already slowly receding. Ronan crossed his legs and opened his mouth.

“It’s boring, but it’s okay. Let’s talk.”

“great. Even so, I didn’t want to hang out with those sheep.”

Elizabeth also nodded happily. It took more than 10 hours to reach the Dawn Magic Tower, located at the eastern end of the continent, even by airship. It was a good thing to have a horse companion.

“By the way, do you have any friends? Why does it feel like I’m always alone?”

“Don’t meddle with useless things.”

Elizabeth blushed like someone who had been stabbed in a sore spot. Ronan smiled and poured the wine that was on the table into a glass.

The airship, which had been steadily rising, reached the top of the clouds before long. The sound of sixteen pairs of wings flapping resounded loudly.

****

It’s been quite a while since it got dark outside the window. There was a carpet of dark blue clouds below the airship, so the ground was not visible.

“Damn it…”

The flight was going smoothly. However, even at dawn when the moon had set, Ronan was still unable to sleep. It was because of Elizabeth, who was talking nonsense while drunk in front of her eyes.

“Uhh Adeshan…isn’t she really perfect? It’s pretty and cool… Ah, I want to get married.”

“You will never drink again.”

Ronan sighed. In fact, it was something he brought on himself. No matter how cute he looked at him with curious eyes, he shouldn’t have let him drink wine. Ronan murmured, scratching his head.

“How can you do that with one sip, not just one drink? Are you pretending to be drunk?”

“Hey… that’s right. There’s no way the lady of Akalucia could get drunk with something like this… Gup! Shall I show you something interesting?”

Suddenly, a purple aura rose from Elizabeth’s body. It was her own unique power aura. At the same time, a small lion made of fire jumped up on the table. A contemplative Ronan snatched her wrist.

“Damn, I can’t stop right now.”

This was why he couldn’t sleep. If I woke up after a short nap and the airship was going down, it must have been this girl’s fault. Ronan took Elizabeth to the deck.

“Hey, that’s cool. what is this place…?”

Even as the strong wind ruffled her hair, Elizabeth giggled. He still showed no sign of waking up from his drinking. Ronan led her to the farthest part of the bow from the cabin.

“Okay, let’s talk about Adeshan. How did you become so close?”

“I can tell you all about it…! Hey, where do you want to hear it?”

“From start to finish.”

“aha! You have a good opinion…!”

Ronan stood next to her and drew his pipe. This is the fifth time I’ve listened to it, but I couldn’t help it. Drunk, she became ghostly quiet only when she spoke of Adeshan.

“That’s why…I was going to the library in the beginning of my school year…”

Soon after, a muffled voice began to flow through Elizabeth’s lips. In terms of content, there was nothing special about it. It was just a story that Adeshan helped me when I couldn’t even find a library because I had no friends, and they became close from then on.

“So…hehe did you see that hair? It’s like silk woven into the night sky…I’d rather be strangled by it…”

However, the part praising Adeshan was long, so it took quite a long time. It was even more effective if you put a question in the middle. Suddenly, a really curious question crossed my mind.

“Why are you so good only to Adeshan? You don’t care if you don’t have the ability.”

“Don’t compare your sister to the rest of the flock.ぅ. My sister is different.”

“So what’s the difference?”

“Oh, so…”

Suddenly, Elizabeth dragged her words. Suddenly feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders, Ronan turned to her.

“Ezebet?”

No answer came back. Only the faint sound of breathing could be heard. Elizabeth leaned her head on his shoulder and just shook her shoulders.

Ronan later realized that she was asleep. A clear liquid flowed out of her slightly parted lips.

“It varies.”

Ronan muttered that, but he didn’t particularly wake up Elizabeth. It was better to end it with some saliva on my shoulder than to get up again and watch the chaos.

How long has it been like that? Slowly, the sky on the side the bow pointed to began to turn red. The altitude of the airship has been lowered.

After breaking through the thick layer of clouds, I saw a huge structure in the distance. A circular garden spread around the tall tower.

The huge cylinder with 24 floors looked rather like a pillar connecting heaven and earth. I knew it without anyone explaining it. Ronan muttered as if possessed by something.

“Dawn Magic Tower.”

Behind the magic tower was the dark blue sea. It was the Dawning Sea, the eastern sea of the continent.

Before long, the red sun revealed its head beyond the horizon drawing a gentle arc. The rushing sunlight flooded the world in scarlet.

Suddenly, Ronan thought this situation was funny. The Dawn Magic Tower that receives the Dawn rising from the Dawn Sea. It was in the middle of giggling alone at a low-level joke. Suddenly, the griffons began to howl loudly.

-Hwi-yo-oh!

– Keek! keek!

“what?”

Ronan frowned. It was a sharp voice that sounded ominous.

At that moment, in the direction of the Dawning Magic Tower, a group of red lights flashed in succession. What is that? Swear words leaked out of Ronan’s mouth as he watched with his eyes narrowed.

“Fuck.”

Enormous fireballs, numbering well seven, were flying toward the airship. A terrifying sound of flames igniting the air was rapidly approaching.