Chapter 22

Unprecedented. That was the only way to describe the situation.

The trial, meant to efficiently weed out the candidates, had been utterly ruined by a single person.

Dale’s Life Points: 59. All others failed.

Though it was called the ‘Life Point Battle,’ who could have imagined one would monopolize all the others’ life points?

Exclamations of horror erupted from all corners.

Dale raised his head impassively. He looked toward those watching him from afar, atop the black magic tower.

He had no interest whatsoever in the novice mages who had been here from the start.

Dale’s true opponents, the ones he must prove himself against.

Just as the Saxon Knights, the Night Raven Order, had asserted themselves as the Duke of Saxony’s personal guard through force. The elders of the Black Magic Tower, whom he commanded as its master… The ‘Black Guard’ were no different.

And the ‘Tower Trial’ had only just begun.

──The Tower Trial, Second Tier. And the Second Trial.

Defeating the tier guardian, the ‘Flesh Golem’.

A monstrous creature composed of a colossal, several-meter-tall body and a mass of bulging, muscle-bound flesh that seemed ready to burst.

Needless to say, it was no foe a mere third-circle mage could handle alone. This was, after all, a cooperative battle where multiple testers pooled their strength and wisdom to face it.

And there was one problem.

“Ah…”

Only those who survived the ‘life point battle’ of the first tier may take the second tier exam.

But.

“I knocked them all out, really.”

In other words, it meant there were no allies to join forces with. It didn’t really matter either way, though.

Dale gave a wry smile as he looked at the flesh golem.

An opponent that required the combined strength and full effort of numerous magicians who had just begun the tower’s trials to even guarantee a chance of victory.

The flesh golem roared, and the audience gasped as they watched its thunderous form. No matter how astonishing Dale’s talent had just been, the opponent was the opponent.

He still couldn’t use the artifact ‘Shadow Cloak’. However, he could use magic other than resurrection and enhancement.

An opponent who allowed him to unleash his full power as a mage.

‘That’s enough.’

That single fact was enough for Dale. More than enough.

It was his chance to finally test his true worth, having reached the third circle.

Suddenly, the flesh-and-bone golem roared and charged forward, pounding the ground with its hooves. The sheer force of its advance felt like a tank rolling over the field, and in that very moment, everyone in the arena held their breath.

Dale remained utterly still, silent as a statue.

The flesh golem’s fist slammed down right before Dale’s eyes. Just as it seemed the golem’s blow would land a ‘critical hit’ on Dale, shattering his life point necklace…

“Accelerated Decay.”

Refined dark magic swirled up from beneath his feet, enveloping Dale like a veil.

The flesh golem’s blow struck directly into that veil of darkness.

Just inches from Dale’s face, the flesh of the golem began to rapidly rot away, starting from the tip of the flailing fist.

Fresh phase, expansion phase, collapse phase, post-collapse phase.

The entire process signaling an organism’s demise was condensed into a single tick of the clock’s second hand.

──The decomposition of organic nitrogen compounds by putrefactive bacteria.

Biochemical warfare against monsters in ‘that world’ was one of the crucial strategies, alongside thermal weapons.

The people of this world refer to such biochemical warfare as ‘black magic’.

Moreover, the knowledge from his past life as commander-in-chief of the Humanity’s Last Stand was by no means limited to high school level.

──In a sense, it could even be said to surpass Black Magic.

Added to that was the hellish horror of that battlefield—where corpses rotted and maggots, beetles, and flies swarmed.

The boundary between life and death that Dale had walked his entire life.

Only when combined with such intense experiences and understanding—so profound they could never be forgotten even if one wished to—could it become the trigger for magic.

A miraculous convergence of elements where even one misalignment renders the whole impossible.

Amid the pungent stench of decay that seemed to pierce his nostrils, Dale raised his head impassively. It was the all-too-familiar smell of death.

“…Absurd.”

Just as those unable to enter the audience hall watched the ‘Tower Trial’ through the magic projector inside the tower, the Black Duke also watched his son Dale’s exploits from one of the tower’s chambers.

Alongside his most trusted chief secretary, the Black Proxy Eris.

Absurd. That was her pure impression after witnessing Dale’s actions.

For someone who rarely showed emotional disturbance, it was the utmost astonishment she could display.

Corrupt magic is exceptionally high-level even among dark magic, far beyond the comprehension of mere third-circle ‘young mages’.

It is a highly advanced magic that can only be wielded by those who have deeply mastered the principles of the process of life and death. To utilize it on the spot as a form of ‘combat magic’ requires a power of the second degree.

“It reminds me of the Tower Lord’s childhood.”

Yet, alongside Dale’s talent, the ‘name of the Black Duke’ carried such weight that one could not help but accept this fact.

The mere fact of being the son of the Black Duke carried enough prestige to convince people.

That was the power possessed by the continent’s foremost dark mage, the dark mage, the Dark Lord.

“…….”

The very thing that silenced even such a man was Dale’s most terrifying aspect.

At the end of that day.

Dale had safely broken through the 10th tier, proving himself, and the astonishment of those who witnessed his feat was beyond words.

It was a record-breaking feat in itself, and the performance Dale displayed during the trial was even more astonishing.

And now, after several days of rest, the trial for the 11th Tier was approaching.

The threshold that separates greenhorns from seasoned mages, where the difficulty of the trials escalates sharply.

Like Dale, early-stage testers who have broken through Tier 10 or higher join the fray. The opponents are no longer the academy’s greenhorn graduates, but those formally affiliated with the Black Magic Tower, wielding dark magic.

No more hunting trivial monsters like ghouls or flesh golems.

The ‘Life Point Necklace’ issued to examinees no longer guarantees 100% survival, and those taking the exam are permitted to use their full power.

Various artifacts, grimoires, and all manner of items purchasable through one’s own abilities or family background.

Additionally, to address the unprecedented massacre that occurred during the ‘Life Point Battle’ in the First Tier… an exceptional re-examination was permitted for the 59 Academy graduates who had been eliminated, excluding Dale.

“Dale.”

That night, as Dale prepared to rest after the exam, an unexpected face appeared before him.

“Teacher Sepia!”

Sapphire-colored hair and pointed elven ears peeking through. A beauty as cold as ice, with a faintly gentle smile.

“You did quite splendidly on the exam.”

Master Sepia continued with a smile. It seemed she too had witnessed Dale’s trial.

“And to achieve the third circle in a single day—your progress is truly astonishing.”

“It’s all thanks to your teachings, Master.”

“…Thank you for saying that.”

Sepia smiled and let the words trail off.

Her voice held a complexity that was hard to pin down, and Dale didn’t miss it.

When Dale decided he would no longer hide his abilities, and as he watched his disciple grow day by day.

As a teacher, what on earth is that blue-robed sixth-circle elf mage thinking?

He doesn’t want to be seen as a monster. Yet the achievements Dale has demonstrated have already far surpassed the realm of genius.

The difference between genius and monster is ultimately as thin as a sheet of paper, and the current Dale has stacked up nearly hundreds of such sheets.

“Teacher Sepia.”

After a moment of thought, Dale spoke up.

“Would you… go on a date with me?”

“A, a date…?”

At the unexpected words, Sepia’s face flushed a peachy pink. Just like a shy, young girl.

“Yes, since there’s a festival happening in the city for once!”

Dale said, feigning the innocence of a ten-year-old child who couldn’t possibly grasp the deeper meaning of the word “date.”

“…Hmm, yeah. Let’s do that.”

At that, Sepia finally spoke again.

“A date… Well, I suppose that’s not exactly wrong either.”

“Why do you say that, Teacher?”

“Nothing, really.”

Sepia smiled with an expression that said, ‘You’re still too young to understand.’ Very kindly.

And one thing Sepia overlooked that day was that Dale understood the meaning of the word ‘date’ very clearly.

‘That’s probably what they mean when they say someone’s heart is black.’

Watching him, Dale thought of it as if it were someone else’s business. Truly, it was so very true.

A pale, ashen winter sky. Even the biting wind couldn’t dampen the festival’s fervor.

Wizards gathered, people gathered, breathing great vitality and energy into the city of death.

A tributary of the Saxon River flowing through the Necropolis.

The river froze solid in the cold, and moonlight scattered across the ice shimmered like fish scales. Dale and Sepia were walking on the stone bridge over that very river.

“You just took a very difficult exam. Aren’t you tired?”

Sepia asked, her voice tinged with concern as they walked across the stone bridge.

“I’m perfectly fine.”

Dale shook his head quietly.

“Besides, it’ll be a few more days before the next exam begins.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

The brief exchange ended, and silence settled.

“……The moon is beautiful.”

Dale broke the silence.

“Hmm, you’re absolutely right about that.”

Sepia smiled gently at Dale’s words. Silence fell once more.

‘……Conversation just doesn’t flow easily.’

The silence wasn’t particularly uncomfortable. Conversations with Sepia were always like this.

But.

‘I want to get a little closer to my teacher.’

Not just as teacher and student.

Why? Even Dale himself couldn’t figure it out.

He just recalled that day, when they formed the 3rd Circle, that world of nothingness, that void.

That was an inescapable truth, and it was Dale’s true world.

Once I grasped that truth, ironically, Sepia’s tenderness pierced my heart. Her kindness, which had embraced me all this time without denying the monster’s face I possessed.

I liked Sepia, who believed in me as always. Or perhaps I just needed anyone to escape from ‘that world’.

From the endless ash-gray horizon and emptiness, from the bone-chilling loneliness, from his true world.

“I like you, Teacher.”

“……?!”

Dale spoke. Startled by the unexpected words, Sepia pricked up her elf ears.

“Wh-what did you just say?”

“I, I like Sepia-sensei!”

Dale continues with an innocent smile. Just like before, his face shows that of a child who doesn’t understand the weight of his own words at all.

“……Yeah.”

Sepia responded with a soft smile.

“I’m very fond of Dale too.”

Her voice was incredibly gentle and kind. The affectionate Sepia of everyday.

In the end, it was the bond between a ten-year-old human child and an elf. Nothing would change.

“Thank you, Teacher.”

That’s why Dale smiled softly. Turning his head away from the dark emotion in his chest, whose nature he couldn’t fathom.

‘…This second life is nice, I suppose.’

He pretends to be indifferent, as if it were someone else’s affair.

The ashen sky remained black and dark.