Episode 92. Settlement of Capotini (2)
“Is this our annex?”
Kuze asked with a look of caution.
A quiet alley on the outskirts of Capotini. The building in front of you looked like an ordinary warehouse on the outside, but the inside seemed empty.
“No. I’m just going to do some work here and then move on.”
“Work?”
“Why can’t your master enter the magic school right now? It’s because he doesn’t have mana.”
“So you mean you can create mana? Is that possible?”
Rosenthaler flicked the cigarette he was holding between his lips. Then, with a leisurely expression, he opened the warehouse door.
Kukukukung.
As Rubin and Kuze had sensed, the interior was empty. Rosenthaler led the group to the center of the warehouse.
“Now Kisling will create fake mana for you.”
“Fake Mana?”
“I know very well that you assassins cannot have mana. However, in order to enter the magic school, you must first have a minimum amount of mana, so let’s do a trick.”
Rubin frowned. Mana had already been able to get it thanks to Chloe’s help, but it was something the Imperial Order couldn’t find out about.
I wondered what on earth their intentions were, but the imperial edict’s method seemed more sloppy than I had expected.
“Illusion? Is that enough to get you admitted?”
“It’s just another form of illusion. It’s not that simple, so don’t worry.”
At Rosenthaler’s subsequent instructions, Kiessling moved. He brought the items he had prepared and stood opposite Rubin.
It was a fountain pen with an unusually sharp tip. Rubin knew that it was some kind of magical tool. The tip was made of mana stone, and the ink was also refined mana stone.
It seemed like a magical tool that couldn’t be easily found anywhere.
“It was something we had a hard time getting. It was obviously impossible for us to get it, and we had to go through the chief.”
“Does that mean you didn’t come from the palace?”
“I received help from the imperial nobility.”
Among the imperial nobility, there is only one place that can provide such magical tools. It is Chloe’s family, the Witherspoons.
“Please take off your top.”
Kiesling spoke politely, and Rubin immediately complied. As Rubin put down his luggage and took off his coat, Kiesling turned around to the back.
Kuze, who had been watching quietly, stepped forward.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“Hey, don’t worry too much. I’m just getting a tattoo for fake mana.”
“Is that a tattoo?”
“It might hurt a little. But it’s nothing to the assassins, right?”
“Are you saying that if I just get a tattoo, I’ll get mana? Are you sure about that?”
Kuze’s eyes twitched. He didn’t like Rosenthaler. He hadn’t expected to be given this mission before he even entered the camouflage annex.
“Does our master know about this?”
“Of course. It has already been delivered. There were no objections.”
Rosenthaler also glared at Kuze with bloodshot eyes, perhaps annoyed by his hostility. This time, it was Rubin who sorted out the situation.
“I’m ready, so let’s get started quickly.”
Kisling carefully picked up the magic tool fountain pen.
“There is some risk involved, but it’s not serious. If mana is injected like this, a mana ring will form inside your body.”
“But you’re saying it’s fake?”
“That’s right. It’s just an illusion, in name only. Of course, it won’t work properly. But to others, it will feel like it has mana.”
“How long will it last?”
“About a year. After that, you’ll need to get the tattoo re-tattooed. Of course, if you complete the mission before then, you won’t need to get it re-tattooed.”
Whatever the mission, Rubin was confident. He had two dark embers, as well as aura and mana.
That’s when Rosenthaler intervened.
“Be careful, if you install it without thinking, you’ll get caught right away.”
“That won’t happen, so worry about yourself. Anyway, fake Manara. No matter what I do, I won’t be able to escape being a bottom student.”
“But that’s fortunate. Here, unlike other places, they don’t expel students for poor grades.”
Kissling was right.
Unlike other places, Capotini Magic School is a place that is far removed from the sense of being chosen. As a magic school representing Samhwi, all of the students were people who had acquired mana.
Compared to other magic school students who are born with mana, they are bound to be less arrogant or haughty. The school culture itself is equal and free. Of course, this is only ‘compared to other magic schools’.
Anyway, unlike most magic schools where there are more dropouts than graduates, this was a place where almost all students could leave the school with a diploma.
Rubin is the same. As long as he doesn’t cause trouble, he can live undercover.
Even without fake mana, Rubin’s three rings would make it possible. Magic school life wasn’t difficult.
But, the real problem was different.
‘I might be able to get Mana.’
It was Kissling. The Witherspoon family’s fountain pen that injected fake mana could react with the ‘real mana’ in Rubin’s body.
Of course, most people wouldn’t notice it since it’s such a weak reaction, but Kisling, who performs the procedure, was different. Injecting fake mana is a delicate task that requires concentration.
‘We’ll need some trickery.’
“Then let’s begin.”
Kiessling put his hand on Rubin’s left shoulder.
At that moment, Rubin intentionally released an aggressive smoke. The opponent was Kiesling. Unaware of the smoke surrounding him, he suffered from an inexplicable sense of tension.
‘What? Did I eat something wrong?’
Kissling swallowed hard and began to work. He had to draw the magic symbol he had received from the Witherspoons on the center of Rubin’s back.
The tip of the pen pierced the skin and entered. Soon, the blood that had formed into a droplet flowed out. However, if he hesitated, the pain would only prolong, so Kisling hurried.
Meanwhile, Rubin continued to spread the shadows so that Kisling would not notice his ‘real mana’. It was working, as Kisling’s face turned pale and cold sweat ran down his forehead.
Then Rosenthaler opened his mouth.
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“Even if your work goes well, you won’t be able to enter the magic school right away. The appropriate time to enroll would be two years later.”
“Then what should I do in the meantime?”
“You can just stay quietly in the camouflage annex set up nearby. Get used to your fake identity and adjust to the city. If you have time, you can study the rules and history of the magic school. After you enroll, you’ll be living in the dormitory.”
“What will happen to Kuze when I go to the dorm?”
“The Imperial Order will do its utmost to help you with that. We need to provide a place where you can keep an eye on your master. Isn’t that your tradition?”
“Are you going to send me to magic school together?”
“That’s too much. Let me set up a business nearby.”
Before he knew it, the pattern was almost complete. Rubin kept his eyes closed and bit his lower lip.
It wasn’t because of the pain of the tattoo. It was because of the change that had occurred in the third ring containing mana.
Three rings were rotating around the heart. Along with the feeling of a fourth ring forming next to it, my heart started to hurt violently.
‘It’s unpleasant. Is it because it’s fake?’
The dark smoke that was released momentarily shook with the strangeness I had never experienced before.
“… … ?”
It was then that Kisling tilted his head, feeling something strange.
Rubin hurriedly released more smoke than before, making Kisling feel that he had been mistaken.
“As expected, the Assassin Sword Kid is different. It seems he doesn’t even get sick.”
“There’s no one in the Assassination Sword Family who cries this much. And there’s one more thing I want you to do.”
“what?”
“Let me keep my false identity as I have been doing so far. I am Luden Poinen, the son of a third-class noble who made a fortune in the publishing business.”
“Is there a reason why it should be like that?”
“I met someone on my way to this city. Maybe we’ll run into each other at school.”
There was a possibility that his identity would be revealed? From the imperial command’s perspective, it couldn’t hurt to be careful. Rosenthaler readily agreed.
“It’s over.”
Kisling put down the magical tool he was holding. The moment the tattoo was completed, the nib crumbled in an instant.
Pseudo. Pseudo.
For a while, heat rose up on Rubin’s back. When the heat finally died down, Kuze came over and wrapped his top around him.
Now all that remains is the verification process.
Kisling approached Rubin and quietly placed his hand on his heart. Rosenthaler came up next to him and waited for his response.
“Hmm… I think it’s settled in better than I thought.”
“Is it true?”
“Yes. As expected, it’s different because it’s Witherspoon’s magic tool.”
“hmm.”
Soon, Rubin and Kuze went out of the warehouse first. While the two boarded the gondola and waited, Kisling organized his magic tools.
“Kissling. Is this the right one?”
Rosenthaler asked, stubbing out his cigarette, as if there was something uneasy about it.
“There is one thing that bothers me.”
“What is it?”
“Is it true that the Assassin Swordsman clan cannot possess mana?”
“Of course. Darkness and mana cannot coexist. But why are you asking? Was there mana inside Rubin’s body?”
Rosenthaler laughed at him, saying, “What nonsense are you talking about?” and walked out.
“… … ”
Kisling looked down at his hands. It was only for a moment, but he definitely felt something while working. It felt like the mana had been inside Rubin’s body from the beginning.
‘I must be mistaken. This is ridiculous.’
Kisling shrugged and hurried out.
* * *
Rubin’s annex was located in the eastern section of Capotini. It was a quiet neighborhood, and it was so remote that it was rare to encounter a magic student by chance.
Two years. That’s all I’ve been doing here.
After that time, Rubin would become a student at the Capotini School of Magic, and Kuze would become the owner of a non-magical bookstore on the border of the Magic Tower District.
The reason Kuze’s occupation was set like that was to continue the setting that the Luden family rose to third-class nobility through the publishing business.
Rosenthaler visited Rubin periodically, each time giving him information about the magic school or news from outside Capotini.
According to him, the plot to revolt in Philimond became known as the ‘Bleaching Morning’ and became a historical event.
Amret also added a frame to the ‘Tower of Light and Rebellion’ as the last example of a traitor, like Haneke’s grandson, Felkion Brion.
-…I don’t know how many people will be sacrificed in the future.
‘My role from now on is to stop it and eradicate it.’
-I hope the author is the last… … .
Time passed quickly. Rubin avoided leaving the annex as much as possible before entering school. But that didn’t mean his daily life was leisurely. Most of the day was filled with training and research.
While growing Aurora through Haneke, he gradually perfected the new dark technique with Kuze.
And then, before we knew it.
“It’s the first day of class, Master.”
“I’m ready.”
The back of the mansion, shielded from the eyes of the neighbors.
It was the perfect place to train with Kuze.
Even if someone saw it, it wouldn’t be a problem. Since the nature of the smoke is invisible, to others it would just look like a father and son talking in the back room.
“Okay, then.”
The atmosphere in Kuze was different than before.
If we look at the level that Kuze currently has, it is true that it is similar to Rubin or not as good. Kuze also acknowledged that reality.
Acting techniques to deceive others, stealth techniques for emergencies, attack and defense techniques in battle, etc.
Although these were the general things that Roynenser taught his children, in that sense, Rubin had nothing more to learn from Kuze. It was all education he had received in his previous life.
Kuze’s true nature lies elsewhere. He is a ‘dark smoke researcher’ with a new perspective who creates dark smoke techniques. Rather than simply copying existing techniques, he has an outstanding ability to create new ones.
Being atypical had left Kuze with the stigma of being a failure, but not anymore.
“What do all the traditional dark smokes have in common? It’s the physical frame.”
Body. You can tell just by looking at the difference between it and Aura. If Aura is a power that only manifests after ‘the completion of the sword’, then Darkness is not like that at all.
Darkness ‘goes hand in hand with swordsmanship’. In other words, without that much darkness, you can’t even imitate the swordsmanship.
“Your Majesty, would you like to sense the stones here through your dark senses?”
Kuze drew a small circle on the ground and placed a large rock inside it.
Rubin did as Kuze had told him. He spread the smoke and covered the stone. Thanks to the smoke, the size and shape of the stone, and the distance between them became clear.
“Close your eyes.”
This time, I closed my eyes and sensed the stone through the smoke. The stone was still there. Even though my vision was blocked, I still felt the stone thanks to the smoke.
Jiik, Jiik.
When I opened my eyes, Kuze was drawing something on the floor again.
Kuze drew a line from Rubin to the stone. Then he drew a line back from the stone to Rubin.
“The body is the axis. The emitted smoke surrounds the object and transmits it back to the body. It returns.”
“hmm.”
“Through the returning darkness, we perceive the object and amplify the body’s senses. If you think about it, it’s a very simple principle.”
A principle so simple that I never dared look into it. It’s like gravity, for example. It’s the gravity that makes objects fall back to the ground when you throw them into the air.
The same goes for the dark smoke that the assassin spread. The dark smoke that was released had the nature of being pulled back to the axis of the body. Through that process, the assassin could sense things and maximize his senses.
This is such an obvious principle.
“We have to break this assumption so that we can create new, dark technologies.”
Kuze quickly erased the two lines that had been drawn between Rubin and the stone.
“Your Majesty, look.”
Kuze spewed smoke at the stone, causing it to rise slightly from the ground.
“I am not perceiving the stone now through my ignorance. My ignorance is not aware of the stone, it is just being released. That is why I do not feel the stone in my senses now.”
A strange light appeared in Rubin’s eyes. He thought he knew what she meant.
The idea was to release the smoke, but not let it return to the axis of the body. The idea was to focus only on pure outpouring.
“Don’t worry about the rocks, just focus on the eruption?”
“Yes, you have to deliberately break the nature of the dark smoke’s return. Then you can manipulate the eruption more delicately.”
Kuze asserted that if the eruption becomes more delicate, a certain space will be divided around the body, like a hemispherical dome.
If only it could be like that… … .
‘Enemies that enter this dome will have their movements slowed down, as if they were stuck in a swamp.’
Shadow force field.
It was the first magic trick devised by the ill-fated genius Kuze. It had not shined in his previous life, but this time it would be different.
“Would you like to try this stone first?”
Rubin bent down and looked closely at the stone. The important thing was not to feel the stone. Forget the stone, and let the smoke continue to erupt around the stone. Pure eruption.
“I’ll try again.”
Once I understood the principle, it seemed like I could see the finish line. But just because I understood it in my head doesn’t mean it will be realized right away.
Rubin kept repeating, releasing the smoke continuously, until the desired result was achieved.
‘There’s plenty of time. There are still two years left. Maybe… we could apply Blood Frost here as well.’
It might not be possible right away, but it could happen someday.
