Episode 4
* * *
That night.
After a tiring day, Dale returned to his room.
Knight Commander Sir Helmut has officially formed a force and is heading to the Demon King’s Territory, and Dale’s parents will be working hard to fulfill their son’s wish.
‘A married couple’s love should usually be good.’
Dale smiled bitterly as he thought about that.
Hyeonyo Sepia, who became a tutor, has not been seen since.
Dale sat cross-legged quietly on his bed filled with wool. He slowly reached out his hand, concentrating on the flow of mana flowing through his heart.
The magical currents flowing through the palm of my hand began to glow, carrying a chilling chill.
‘It starts with controlling my body first.’
It’s not that I’m trying to hide my talents. On the contrary, that’s why mistakes like today’s are so painful. Thinking about it that way, I started to care about Sepia, who wasn’t showing up.
──What?
Dale had once experienced Sepia’s astonished gaze upon him.
‘I don’t want to be considered a monster.’
At the same time, the mockery of the Holy Swordsman who had stabbed Durangdal’s blade behind his back came to mind.
‘In my next life, I will become a demon king without blood or tears.’
Conflicting winds.
Phew!
As soon as my consciousness was disrupted, a storm of magical power swept over me again.
“… … !”
The temperature around them began to drop rapidly. A grayish layer of frost settled over the entire room, centered around where Dale was sitting.
The bitter cold continues with temperatures below zero.
I hastily concentrated my consciousness and gathered my scattered composure. Then, the swirling frost once again transformed into particles of magical power and disappeared.
‘That’s a natural talent.’
After regaining his composure, he realized that he was not talking about his past life. He was talking about his current blood relatives who had inherited the blood of the Black Knight.
A vessel of the Demon King that was truly given by the times, to the point where there was no need for the intervention of past life’s wisdom──.
* * *
I couldn’t go to sleep even though it was late at night.
Dale eventually left the room and headed toward the ducal courtyard where he had spent the morning with Sepia, hoping to gather his wits as he walked across the white marble colonnade.
And there, an unexpected face was waiting.
Sepia was Dale’s tutor and the elf wizard of the 6th Circle Master.
“Teacher Sepia?”
“What are you doing at this late hour?”
Sepia also perked up her ears in surprise. Perhaps she was out for a night walk like Dale.
“That’s because I can’t sleep.”
“There must be a lot to think about.”
It is a truly childish answer. Nevertheless, her eyes, as blue as sepia crystal, smile affectionately.
“Congratulations on turning 8.”
“Thank you, teacher.”
A slightly belated happy birthday. Dale scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.
“So, I have a birthday present for you.”
“Is it a gift?”
“Didn’t you make a promise with me?”
Sepia continued speaking to Dale, who was tilting his head at the unexpected words.
“Let’s learn the magic that you want to learn slowly together.”
What was initially thought to take several weeks ended up being completed overnight. What Dale showed us during the process was even more surprising.
This child’s talent was dangerous. If in the future this child’s magic was to be wielded with malice, it was not difficult to guess the consequences.
That’s why being Dale’s tutor had more weight to it than Sepia had imagined.
“Come and think about the path you should take.”
“teacher…….”
Today, Sepia made up her mind through her conversation with the Black Lord. Just like Dale’s father, the Black Lord, made up his mind.
‘I hope that you will guide Dale in the right direction with your wisdom, Hyeonyo.’
The worn-out book in Sepia’s hand is a symbol of the decision the two of them made.
An 8th birthday present prepared for Dale’s future.
It was the magic book 『Basic Necromancy』.
* * *
A few days later.
The city of Saxony, built around the ducal castle, was the capital of the Duchy of Saxony and one of the largest cities in the entire empire.
A considerable number of people were bustling along the stone road filled with diamond-shaped crushed stones. Dale was also crossing the street among them.
There are no grandiose, noisy ceremonies that make it seem like the city is leaving.
It was hard to imagine that the noble prince of the Duke’s family would be walking around the city so defenselessly.
Of course, there are still two or three knights who are hiding their identities and escorting Dale. But that’s about it.
That’s because Dale’s trustworthy tutor, Sepia, is attached to him.
This is a passage that makes us understand once again how high the Duke and Duchess’ trust in Sepia is.
“You look really happy.”
“yes!”
Sepia also couldn’t hide her smile as she looked pleased at Dale’s childish smile.
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The two people, who had hidden their identities with robes, borrowed horses from the stable and headed to the plains outside the north gate of the city.
The north of Saxony is connected to the ‘White Mountains’ that lead to the Demon King’s Territory, so it is a place where most people have no business. Except for the occasional mercenary who receives a request from the guild to go and subdue monsters.
In other words, it also means ‘monster hunting ground’.
“From now on, I will teach you magic here.”
Sepia dismounted, leaving behind the duke’s knights guarding the two from afar. Dale followed her and dismounted as well.
“Here?”
Sepia nodded and quietly looked around. The plains were covered with snow. Soon, Sepia’s pointed ears perked up and moved.
“If you use Ice Bolt, can you shoot that?”
Over there, a rabbit is looking at me cautiously.
“A rabbit… … .”
“You must have had experience hunting with your father.”
Dale also had a lot of hunting experience at a young age, following his father.
This world is a world where the strong survive. From the time they become adults, children learn how to hunt animals, swing swords, shoot arrows, and kill people.
However, it is true that I have somewhat complicated feelings when I hear such words from an elf.
“All right.”
But there was no reason to hesitate.
──Taang!
He rotated his mana along the circle of his heart, loading the processed magical power onto his fingertips. A chilling, awl-shaped ice crystal struck down with the speed and destructive power of a bullet.
The rabbit flinched on the spot and then stopped moving. It was instant death.
“Even if it is the same magic, do you know why its form can have infinite individuality depending on the magician?”
Seeing that, Sepia opened her mouth. In a slightly dark voice. Dale shook his head.
“It is said that the essence of magic is the ‘mirror of the mind.’”
“… … .”
“That is why a magician inevitably has to reveal the ‘landscape of his heart’ through magic.”
Magic is the materialization of mental images projected into this world through mana particles. Simply put, it can be said to be the power to turn imagination into reality.
So, strictly speaking, what people call ‘what kind of magic’ does not actually exist.
Names like Ice Bolt and Fire Wall are nothing more than a conscious promise to share a ‘firm image’.
That is why magicians constantly train their minds to control those images as they wish.
To get closer to the spirit that your magic seeks.
For example, the blue magic tower emphasizes ‘order through harmony’, while the red magic tower emphasizes ‘order through power’. Such ideas are projected into forms or phenomena such as water or fire, and become the foundation of the magic system that each magic tower builds.
“This might be a bit difficult for you, who are still young.”
After saying that, Sepia smiled bitterly. But Dale couldn’t smile. Because he understood the true meaning of what she was saying.
Right now, Sepia was peeking at Dale’s ‘true self’ through that very mirror of her mind.
The spirit that Dale’s magic pursues.
“──Your magic has the talent to take life.”
Sepia continues.
“When I first saw your magic, to be honest, I was scared.”
As expected, Sepia had already figured out the form of Dale’s talent. It was no surprise. However, what Sepia said next exceeded Dale’s expectations.
“That’s why I feel so fortunate to be able to teach you.”
“teacher……?”
Her blue eyes, like sepia crystals, smile lovingly.
“I feel like it was fate that I ended up with you.”
After speaking, Sepia took out the magic book 『Basic Necromancy』 that was kept inside her cape.
“… … !”
Unlike the ‘Grimoire’ that requires a binding mark, the ‘Spellbook’ itself can be read by anyone to learn and study the contents of magic. Nevertheless, the act of giving Dale the spellbook containing the secrets of necromancy had an absolutely serious meaning.
“Then let’s start class together.”
“Yes, sir!”
At Sepia’s words, Dale nodded vigorously.
* * *
A few weeks later.
A rabbit that had been chilled to the bone stood up, shivering, like a puppet dancing on strings.
A rabbit that moves like a zombie.
‘fast.’
Watching Dale grow up was a feeling of pure wonder for Sepia.
To be able to revive and move a corpse in just a few weeks.
Raising a corpse is the most basic of the basics for a necromancer. Therefore, it would not be difficult for Sepia, who is at the sixth circle level, to use this level of magic. However, in order to learn this very basic skill, the rookie students of the Black Tower need to train for several months at the shortest, or even several years at the longest.
It is on a whole other level than the Ice Bolt, which condenses the cold air in the atmosphere.
But that wasn’t all Dale’s accomplishments were.
“Then next.”
“Okay, teacher.”
Dale reached out his hand as if he understood. Once again, blue magic began to swirl around his fingertips.
As he tied a string of magic power to the dead rabbit and manipulated it like a puppet, a cold wind blew around it.
The swirling frost envelops the rabbit and builds an ice wall. At first glance, it seems like the rabbit is trapped in the ice, but the reality is different.
Dale moved his magic threads again, manipulating the zombified rabbit like a skilled puppeteer.
There are no restrictions on the rabbit’s movements. Rather, when Sepia tests out her ice bolts, the ice wall acts as armor to block Sepia’s attacks.
A suit of ice that wraps around and protects a dead rabbit. It is a 1-circle water attribute magic called Frozen Armor.
“I finally stopped the teacher’s bolt!”
“Yeah, that’s great.”
Dale shouted excitedly. Sepia nodded with a smile.
Although it was an ice bolt that had its power reduced, it was only a few days ago that Dale acquired the ‘Frozen Armor’.
However, the frozen armor protecting the rabbit that had just died had defensive capabilities comparable to steel armor.
‘The growth is unbelievable.’
Black magic and water magic. Since that day, Dale has been learning two types of magic from Sepia at the same time.
‘Please teach me water attribute magic.’
It was Dale’s will to learn water attribute magic, not just dark attribute magic.
Sepia was also hesitant at first.
A dual mage who uses magic of two attributes at the same time.
For example, it wouldn’t be a big deal for Sepia, who is an elder of the Magic Tower, to use necromancy or fire magic. However, a beginner who is just starting to learn magic would learn water and dark magic at the same time?
At first I thought it was greed.
However, it was not until Sepia told him that it was never too late to learn and take his time that Dale began to act stubbornly like other children his age.
‘The teacher said that we should find a way forward together.’
Or perhaps it could be said that he fell for the childish persuasion.
Since there was no harm in learning basic magic anyway, I started learning basic water magic along with black magic with that kind of thinking in the beginning.
This is the result.
A rabbit that is stiff and hardened from death, wrapped in a cumbersome armor of ice. Even taking a few steps would be daunting for a beginner.
However, the zombies, armed with ice armor, were jumping around lightly as if they were not wearing a single thread.
An incredibly smooth combination of the dual properties of water and darkness.
A sponge that absorbs everything as soon as it learns. If you can learn one magic at this speed, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call you a genius of all time.
Sepia absentmindedly recalled the army of the dead commanded by the Black Knight.
I imagined that very army advancing in their frozen armor, and a chill ran down my spine.
