EP.90 Practice test where screams echo (1)
Victory is sweet.
Defeat is bitter, but there is much to learn.
Lark, you have already learned a lot in the North. Among the children your age in the North, there is no one who can compete with you. You are a great warrior.
If I want to have a decent fight with you, if I want to inform you of defeat… the warriors under my command will inevitably have to step forward. However, it is natural for you to be defeated by them. Don’t you think so yourself?
They have lived as warriors for decades.
For them, losing is not a humiliation. I’m not angry either. Rather, it is an honor to fight with them.
You can’t do that, Lark.
Warriors learn from defeat. To learn from defeat is to feel resentful when you lose.
Resentment from defeat.
Passion for finding ways to win.
Confidence that I will win next time.
That is the driving force of a warrior.
And, the resentment caused by defeat… can be felt by someone who is equal to you.
There is no one in the North who can give it to you.
So, go to the royal road.
Meet many people, be defeated, win again, and thus… learn.
“······.”
Erijl van Grace.
Lark looked around, recalling the words of his father, the great warrior and grand duke of the North.
It was an open sparring room.
There are not many students visiting Dalian, but there are not too few. They are looking at Lark with bated breath.
To be more precise, the nape of Lark’s neck.
Lark lowered his gaze. There is a dagger that stops just in front of his own uvula. Although it is a wooden sword whose shape is merely imitated by wood, it does not change the fact that it rests in front of Lark’s neck.
In comparison, what is your ax like?
At best, it’s about shoulder height.
far. That’s a long way to hit the opponent’s neck. If I moved the ax even a little, it was clear that the dagger would stab me.
‘is it.’
Lark opened his hand that was holding the axe.
The wooden ax fell to the floor with a clattering sound. Laying down weapons means surrender.
It’s humiliating, but it’s what a warrior must do.
Lark let go of the ax and raised both hands above his head. Then, he spoke to the person in front of him.
“···I lost.”
Only then did the opponent put away the dagger.
He lets out a short breath and takes a step back. His black hair swayed.
“Belnoa’s victory.”
The professor standing next to him reveals the results of the game. Belnoir strides away. Lark looked at the ax on the floor without leaving his seat.
‘Laying down a weapon is admitting defeat.’
The northern warriors called him a disgraceful act.
‘At the same time, it was said that it had to be done.’
A shameful but necessary act.
It’s a shame not to admit defeat.
‘Why?’
However, Lark never once considered this a shameful act.
‘If you lost, wouldn’t you have lost? ‘Is there anything to be ashamed of?’
That’s what I thought.
I’ve been thinking about it.
“······.”
As I looked at the ax on the floor, I felt an itch inside me without knowing why. I didn’t like something. His mind is full of thoughts about what it would have been like to have done this there.
I don’t know if it’s a shame or not.
Lark frowned with an emotion that I don’t know why.
‘···I’m not sure.’
It was a feeling that was still difficult for Lark to understand.
“I will announce the results.”
As Lark returned to his seat, the professor began to announce the results.
“I will recite them in order, starting from the lowest.”
The professor recites the ranking. The rankings, which are recited in order from the bottom, eventually reach the end.
“lakh.”
The last name recited is not Lark.
There is a name that comes after Lark.
“Belnoir. That’s it.”
2.
Roselle put down her coffee cup.
The table trembles slightly as the coffee cup is set down with a thud. At the same time, the shoulders of the girl sitting across from me are shaking.
“so.”
Roselle opened her mouth.
“Did you handle your work well, Raniel?”
“Yes, yes?”
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“Do you know what? Raniel? I, and the Trias family to which I belong, insist on political neutrality. This is because they know that it is not good for a wizard to interfere in politics. Thanks to that, I don’t hear many rumors about the royal family.”
That was true.
The only rumors coming from Roselle are news that all nobles would know.
“But, I just happened to be?”
Roselle grinned.
That smile had a creepy feel to it, so Raniel slowly looked down.
“I heard a rumor, what was it?”
“Yeah, really?”
“Yes, coincidentally, the rumor spread at the same time that your mission to guard the first princess ended.”
“Well, that’s quite a coincidence…”
“yes?”
Roselle narrowed her eyes.
“Isn’t it said that the First Princess is starting to capture the heads of each department?”
Tuk.
“It seems like something has broken into the palace wizard’s laboratory, but there are no traces of the break-in, so they say they are looking for outside personnel to advise…”
Tuk.
“Isn’t it said that a dent was found in the villa, as if a fist had been struck?”
Every time Roselle touched the table, Raniel’s head lowered little by little. By the time her head hit the table, Roselle burst out laughing.
“You really handled things quietly, Raniel.”
“Ah, ahaha…”
“Don’t laugh.”
“yes···.”
Roselle took off her glasses and put them down.
I put my hand on my temple and let out a deep sigh.
“These days, I have one doubt.”
“···Doubt?”
“The guy who is said to be my favorite student, my only student, doesn’t he actually ignore what I say? “That is the doubt.”
“······.”
Raniel is speechless.
Cold sweat just forms on his forehead. Looking at that scene, Roselle ends up laughing bitterly.
“It’s because of you that I can’t live up to my name, you bastard.”
In the end, it was always like this.
When I look at what my student is doing, I just sigh. However, you can’t just say something about it.
‘It actually works out somehow.’
Just this time it is like that.
I don’t know what kind of coordination they did, but the case seems to have been solved… and no one ever mentions the name ‘Rania’.
‘Even if you knew it, you wouldn’t know it.’
I’m just worried.
Even though I know it’s pointless meddling, I have the confidence to nag.
“Whoa…”
Roselle sighed, freshened the mood, and held out a coffee cup to Raniel. Ran El looked at the coffee cup blankly and opened his mouth.
“I’ll have that coffee later…”
“I know that your tastes are unnecessarily picky when it comes to coffee. “This is coffee from your favorite cafe, so don’t talk too much and just drink it.”
“oh···.”
Only then did Roselle look at Raniel, who was sipping coffee, with his chin resting.
“So, who was the first princess?”
“You seem like a very unique person.”
“Is it unique?”
“Because it was so unique, I think I was a little swayed.”
You were swayed? This guy?
Roselle blinked blankly.
‘···I heard that you were an extraordinary person, but I guess it was beyond my imagination.’
With that in mind, Roselle mentally adjusted the princess’s risk level upward.
smart.
Someone knocked on the professor’s office door.
“Who is it?”
-This is McHart. Wait, I came here because I had something to talk about with Professor Rania.
“Wait a moment.”
Roselle quickly turned his head and glared at Raniel. Raniel immediately understood the meaning contained in that gaze.
‘What did you do again?’
A questioning look.
Raniel responded by shaking his head violently.
“I didn’t do anything…!”
It was a voice filled with great resentment.
3.
The founder of the Battle Mage class.
Raniel van Trias looks at the professor sitting across from him. A familiar professor is sitting in his seat.
‘Professor McHart.’
He is a professor in charge of combat magic and a person who taught me a lot. Looking at him, Raniel once again recalled his old memories.
‘···Now that I think about it, haven’t I heard someone say that this person has no basics?’
When I think about it again now that I know the identity of the battle magic department, that is, the battle-mage class… it’s something that gives me a lot to think about.
‘Simply, a baseless class…’
Since the basics were absent from the beginning, it is inevitable to hear that it is a baseless class. Holding back the sigh that was about to escape, Ran El opened his mouth.
“So, what brought you here?”
“Um, do you see this?”
McHart pointed to his left arm.
Machart smiled bitterly, holding out his splinted left arm as if it were a battle lesson.
“Wasn’t there a time when demonic beasts with an ancient lich attacked Aplia?”
“Oh, yes. “There was.”
“At that time, I heard that unfortunately you were lying down due to demonic energy. Well, if you haven’t experienced the battlefield, it would be difficult to withstand demon energy…”
“yes?”
“It’s such a pity that you couldn’t show off your great fighting skills.”
Machart nodded as if he was truly sorry.
“Well, I helped in battle with the knights… but I got hurt a bit like this. Well, I think it’s an award I’m proud of because I did it for the students.”
“Ah, yes…”
‘Sarah, if I told that 88-year-old girl, she would have treated me, right?’
The words rose up to his throat, but Raniel held them back.
“Anyway, I’ve got an arm injury… so it looks like I’ll have trouble completing the upcoming Combat Magic Department practice test?”
“A practice test?”
“Okay, practice test. Because the Department of Combat Magic places importance on practical combat, the weight of practice exams is higher than that of midterm exams. So, it’s a pretty important test…”
With a glance, McHeart looks at Raniel.
“Since we don’t have a suitable assistant professor, are you thinking of getting some outside help?”
“Oh, is that so?”
“And, as far as I know, there doesn’t seem to be another professor as good as you… Could I get some help?”
“To me?”
“You seem to have an expert in combat magic. Of course, I don’t mean to leave everything to you.”
Machart took out some documents.
Then, he spreads out the documents on the desk.
“The outline of the practice test has already been roughly decided. The composition is almost finished. “If you do it because it has to be done, you can change it a little bit or just act as a supervisor.”
The outline of the test is written on the unfolded paper.
“There are multiple copies?”
“I have prepared several. “You just have to pick one that you like.”
He hasn’t said he’ll do it yet, but it looks like he’s already accepted the offer.
‘Well, it doesn’t really matter…’
Raniel rested his chin and glanced at the paper.
Not long ago, she found out that combat magic was the department she modeled herself after. I don’t feel a sense of responsibility, but it’s not like it’s something that happens to others.
‘I also have personal interests.’
I wanted to see the students learning combat magic up close again. With that thought in mind, Raniel lifted up several pieces of paper.
“hmm···.”
The topics of the exam were diverse.
About four or five topics are selected, and the method of conducting the exam accordingly is written down.
“How does it look?”
“The topics are varied.”
“That’s why I’m thinking about it. “Which one would be good for evaluating students, and whether it would be suitable for a class called Battle Mage.”
Machart asked vaguely.
“Professor Rania, what do you think is the basis of a battle mage?”
“well···.”
I wonder if there is a foundation…
Raniel stroked his chin and looked at the paper. Among the topics written on the paper, one caught my eye.
“survival?”
“survival? It’s definitely an important topic. In the end, for survival on the battlefield…”
“Yes. “Whether your finger is broken, your tongue is cut off, or your mouth is torn and you cannot speak… the circuit that has been stocked in advance can be activated.”
“Uh, huh?”
“A quick response means it is useful for survival. If this is fundamental, then it must be fundamental. “You’ll have to live to see it first.”
“Yeah, right?”
Raniel tapped the paper.
“This is it.”
And then he asks a question.
“Can I change it a little bit?”
“···B-you dreaming?”
“I thought something was too bland. “If this is the case, isn’t there any point in practicing?”
“Is that so?”
Raniel nodded.
“You wrote that the situation in which a demonic beast is attacking you is artificially created using an illusionary magic tool, and you are looking at how to deal with an urgent situation.”
“Well, that’s right. To see a quick response…”
“Hey, this doesn’t work.”
She pretends to bend her fingers back.
“Why don’t you just snap your fingers and get started?”
“W-what?”
“The idea is to create a situation where a new circuit cannot be drawn and see how to deal with it.”
“Uh, hmm?”
McHart blinks.
Raniel tilted his head at MacHeart.
“Isn’t that better?”
He speaks in a tone that makes it seem like he is seriously thinking that way.
A thought suddenly occurred to McHart: ‘Did I choose the wrong person?’ A thought passes by.
“You said you could change it little by little, right?”
However, by the time I thought that, it was already too late. The girl in front of her stands up, holding a piece of paper.
“Yeah, whatever. “I will try.”
“No, you don’t have to do it…”
“I heard it’s hard to find? “I’ll just do it.”
gulp.
Machart swallowed dryly.
I had an ominous feeling. McHeart nodded slowly, feeling an ominous feeling that seemed closer to a prophecy than a premonition.
“Well, then… please take care of me.”
A word from the author (author review)
The episode where the subtitle says it all 😀
Now that I think about it, there is a function called Life Pick!
There is no indication of how many people made their life picks, so it is impossible to confirm the number… Still, it seems like quite a few people took their life picks.
I am truly grateful.
I am very happy that my work can be the best for someone. I think it is a great honor.
It’s already episode 90.
As we approach episode 100, looking back on the past four months, I can only see amazing things. It feels like a dream to have so many people read my writing.
I always write with a grateful heart.
It’s a shame that all I can think of is the very common phrase that the work exists because of the readers. In fact, I think that the most important things are contained in common and cliché sentences.
Thank you always.
I will always work hard 😀
