Chapter 50

The academy is like a small kingdom.

Along with the school’s inherent closed-off nature, the hierarchy among students is absolute, and one’s standing is usually determined by the power of one’s father and family.

Even within the gathering place of the empire’s foremost noble offspring, distinctions of rank persist, and a myriad of circumstances—including factional allegiances—weave together, causing diverse groups to form and dissolve repeatedly.

In that regard, Leonard Walter was a small king reigning over the Imperial Academy.

He was the eldest son of Count Walter, one of the Elders of the Crimson Mage Tower, and the foremost talent in the Academy’s highest faculty, the Third Circle.

At just twenty years old, he had already reached the realm of a Third Circle Master, standing on the very threshold of the Fourth Circle. He was the foremost elite of the Imperial Academy.

Passing the upcoming graduation exam is practically a sure thing.

Following the elite path of the Crimson Mage Tower, this talented victor will walk the road to success.

The expectations placed upon his son Leonard by Walter, the Elder of the Crimson Tower, were of an indescribable nature, and for that reason, even the Academy’s professors were eager to appease Leonard.

And under Leonard Walter’s rule, the Third Circle Faculty of the Imperial Academy maintained smooth order.

That was, until the very day Dale invaded ‘Leonard’s Kingdom’.

Shortly after arriving at Huangdao.

As a student invited solely for the ‘Exchange of Black Magic’ and as the successor to the Black Magic Tower, Dale was present there.

In the lecture hall where Academy professors taught alongside students from the highest faculties of the Third Circle. Alongside young mages who had yet to complete their graduation exams.

In a certain sense, it was an utterly awkward scene. The sight of the young eldest son of the Saxon family mingling among the noble offspring in their twenties and thirties.

“…In other words, it goes without saying that the Fire attribute and the Water attribute are mutually antagonistic.”

The Academy professor, a 4th Circle Master, continued.

Even though he taught third-circle students, a mere one circle below his own, the wall between third and fourth circles was something that could not be compared to the difference in previous circle numbers.

After reaching the 3rd Circle realm and becoming a formal mage of the Magic Tower, it was not as rare as one might think for someone to devote their entire life thereafter and still fail to reach the 4th Circle realm.

Therefore, the 3rd Circle realm was akin to a person becoming a proper mage, while a 4th Circle mage represented a ‘realm beyond that of a proper mage’ and simultaneously served as the final destination where the vast majority of ordinary mages hit a wall and were defeated.

And the next realm is the domain of the 5th Circle, where one can establish their own standing within the Tower…

Only upon reaching the realm of the 6th Circle can one be reborn as an elder of the Magic Tower, and across the entire continent, there are but a mere handful of 7th Circle mages.

Above that lies the pinnacle of what a mage can achieve: the realm of the 8th Circle.

The five mages, including the Crimson Mage and the Black Mage. The five lords of the Magic Tower, reigning over the tower in black, white, red, blue, and green—the five colors.

The world of magic is one where pure ability reigns supreme, yet ironically, the very measure of that ability is ultimately determined by bloodline.

“Professor!”

It was then. Amidst the professor’s ongoing lecture, a man suddenly raised his hand. He was a handsome blond man who, at first glance, captured everyone’s attention.

“Le, Leonard…!”

The moment he raised his hand, the Fourth Circle professor’s face turned ashen.

“D-Do you have something else you wish to ask?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that…”

At the professor’s question, Leonard quietly shook his head.

“The class is just so boring, you see. Would it be okay if I took a quick nap?”

He casually drapes both legs over the seat in front of him. Laughter erupts from all around.

“P-please, do as you wish…”

“Are you bowing your head in confusion before the words of a mere student?”

Leonard asked again, mockingly.

“It seems you, Professor, should reconsider our ‘Ideology of the Red Magic Tower’. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I… I shall take that point to heart once more.”

Dale was so dumbfounded by that attitude, which paid no heed to the stares of those around them, that he fell silent. Yet the Fourth Circle Academy professor, who should be teaching and guiding students, merely bowed his head obsequiously before Leonard.

As if this place were his kingdom.

Even the relationship between student and professor was no exception. No, rather, the very servility of professors bowing before students was the Crimson Tower’s ‘deliberate educational policy’ to emphasize the importance of power.

The Crimson Tower worships only order achieved through force. Thus, the Imperial Academy was the very embodiment of imperial society, driving that truth home with brutal clarity.

The weak can have everything taken from them, while the strong can seize everything. The Imperial Academy was nothing more than a laboratory for brainwashing the empire’s elite into accepting that reality.

For the survival of the strong was the very spirit of the age the Empire pursued.

“……”

Ignoring the mocking laughter echoing from all sides, Dale turned his head. For a moment, his gaze met Leonard’s.

“Ah, look who it is.”

The moment Dale and Leonard’s eyes met, Leonard shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly. He couldn’t care less that the professor’s lecture was in progress.

“Why, isn’t that the ‘Black Prince’ himself!”

“……”

“They say you’ve already reached the third circle at that age? And then you won a major victory in the Black and White Tournament, single-handedly defeating the ‘Orc Warboss’!”

Dale didn’t respond to the blatant mockery directed at him.

“Truly the heir to the Saxon Duke’s house!”

They simply maintain an impassive silence. This is not the North. And no matter how notorious House Saxon may be to the nobles of the Imperial Capital, here at least they are merely a great prince from the northern frontier.

Hiding behind the Emperor’s name and the shield of the Red Mage Tower, they have no reason to fear anything. No, rather, it is the recklessness and arrogance of those who cannot easily bow their heads as ‘proud mages of the empire’.

It was a truly foolish notion. But expecting young men barely twenty, brimming with youthful vigor, not to be foolish would be unreasonable.

Kids are all like that, what can you do.

Anyway, to Dale, he looked like a kid whose blood hadn’t even dried on his head.

“People’s stories always get exaggerated, you know.”

He simply turned his head indifferently and remained silent.

He paid no heed to Leonard’s expression, which twisted openly behind his back.

Magic lessons inevitably involve practical application. And during the subsequent class, the first commotion finally erupted.

“Um, do we really have to go this far?”

“So, you can’t follow my instructions, is that it?”

“Ah, no. That’s not it. Even so, the eldest son of the Saxon family…”

Leonard tilted his head, and one of the students his age quickly bowed his head in embarrassment.

“Yeah, so you’re the one doing it.”

Seeing this, Leonard burst out laughing.

A short while later, they paired up to practice their offensive and defensive coordination using fire magic. And it was then, while Dale—who couldn’t possibly have any expertise in flame magic—was watching their practice from a distance, that it happened.

“Professor!”

Leonard raised his voice again toward the professor. At those words, the professor shrugged his shoulders and swallowed hard.

“For the rare occasion of the Black and Red Magic Towers exchanging envoys, the Saxon family’s young master has made his journey here.”

As if he couldn’t contain his amusement.

“Shouldn’t there be a ‘magician’s exchange’ befitting the occasion?”

An exchange between magicians. In the current situation, that phrase could only mean one thing.

“No, even so, might it still be too dangerous for Lord Dale?”

“Very well.”

Faced with such blatant provocation, Dale didn’t refuse the proposal. Instead, he resolved to teach that damn brat a lesson and rose to his feet.

“Then…”

It was at that very moment.

“I, I will face him!”

One student, cowering in fear, hesitantly raised his hand, volunteering to face Dale.

‘Oh ho, look at this.’

After grasping the situation, Dale finally swallowed his words in utter disbelief. It was a truly pathetic way to handle things.

In a way, no matter how you looked at it, it was likely a form of self-preservation born from fear of the Saxon Duke’s notorious reputation.

That made the patheticness all the more unbearable.

“D-Dale. You are aware of the rules regarding exchanging attacks and defenses with magic, correct?”

Dale nodded at the professor’s question. The two mages repeatedly attacked and defended in turn, then switched roles and performed again. Dale knew this well.

“Is it acceptable not to take the Life Point Necklace?”

Nodding, Dale asked in return.

“The… Life Point Necklace?”

The Life Point Necklace. A protective device that activates a shield spell and simultaneously shatters upon receiving a ‘critical hit’ close to a fatal wound.

It’s rare for ordinary students to use equipment of that caliber. Even if an unexpected situation arises, there’s a skilled mage present to control it.

“In the unlikely event that casualties occur in this workshop, and lives are lost—”

“……?”

But fluttering the ‘Shadow Cloak’ disguised as a black sercote, Dale retorted.

“Whose responsibility would that fall upon?”

“……!”

“Are you saying it’s acceptable to cast magic with the intent to kill?”

From the darkness beneath his feet, he conjured the ‘Shadow Blade’, its icy-blue edge gleaming as if poised to strike at any moment.

“Professor, if it ever comes to that, could you really block my strike?”

“Ah, no! Wait, that’s not what I meant!”

At Leonard’s threat, the expression of the student who volunteered to face Dale turned pale.

Not everyone ignored Dale like Leonard did. No, this entire situation stemmed from Leonard’s cowardice, fearing the Saxon family’s notorious reputation. Even if their pride refused to accept it, many among them believed in the ‘Black Prince’s’ fame without a shred of doubt.

Moreover, as a mage who had reached the Fourth Circle, the academy professor could not have been unaware of the true nature of the overwhelming presence Dale was now displaying.

As if to say the infamy and cruelty of the ‘Black Prince’ were absolutely no lie.

“Ah, no, no…!”

The professor waved his hands frantically in horror.

“L-Leonard’s proposal is canceled! I cancel it!”

“What…?”

Seeing the professor dare to defy his words, Leonard’s expression froze.

“What did you just say…?”

“I am canceling Leonard’s proposal! I beg you, please!”

The professor who should have been bowing at his feet was desperately pleading before Dale. Not Leonard.

As a Fourth Circle Master Mage, Dale could intuitively sense it upon seeing the artifact. That malevolence was far beyond what a mere novice could block. No, it was a power of such nature that even he himself dared not confront it.

And should any harm come from Dale, the professor would ultimately bear the responsibility.

Even for him, who was desperately preoccupied with pleasing Leonard, this was an intolerable situation.

The professor’s bow wasn’t born of fear for Leonard himself. It was for Leonard’s father—Walter the Blood-Stained, elder of the Crimson Tower and a sixth-circle mage.

“P-please, could you just pretend that offer never happened?”

Instead, he bowed his head toward Dale as if begging.

“Very well.”

Faced with the professor’s plea, Dale nodded impassively. The shadows dancing at his feet froze instantly.

For a moment, Leonard could be seen clenching his fists and trembling violently. Dale turned his head away, paying him no mind.

The Sword of Darkness vanished once more into the shadows beneath the cloak’s hem.

The horrific evil writhing within.

The moment everyone saw it unfold—Dale simply spreading his ‘Shadow Cloak’—they all vaguely sensed it. After all, they too walked the path of magic, magicians hailed as among the empire’s foremost talents. They couldn’t possibly be unaware.

The very fact that Leonard didn’t immediately challenge Dale to a duel stemmed from an unconscious sense of the ‘gap in status’ between them.

That was no ordinary wizard’s burden to bear. Yet, as they watched him wield that artifact of darkness with the ease of an extension of his own body, only one thought crossed their minds.

The rumors swirling about the eldest son of House Saxon might not be entirely false after all.

It was impossible.

Outside the Imperial Academy that dawn. Leonard Walter raised his voice, gulping down liquor among the women of the red-light district.

“That damn bastard!”

“Aaah!”

He beat the student who should have exchanged ‘Saxony’s Dale’ and the magic workshop for him earlier with all his might.

“P-please forgive me!”

“Forgive? You’re fucking kidding me, you goddamn bastard!”

Thud!

Leonard kicked him relentlessly as he lay sprawled in agony. Yet even the terrified classmates and courtesans who witnessed this merely forced themselves to maintain their composure.

Walter the Bloodthirsty. Elder of the Crimson Mage Tower, a dark mage who had reached the 6th Circle, and a noble bearing the title of Imperial Count (Pfalzgraf). And Leonard was none other than the eldest son of that very Walter family.

At least in this kingdom, no one dared defy him. They should have.

‘The Shadow Sword wielded by the eldest son of House Saxon—it seems the rumors among connoisseurs were true after all!’

‘Well, he is the son of the Black Count. He might truly possess the greatest talent in the empire.’

‘Right. Even that Leonard fellow was too scared to act recklessly.’

‘Surprisingly, Leonard might not be all that after all. Even if he is the Elder’s son…’

‘Well, he’s got no chance against the son of the Tower Lord.’

The entire academy began whispering about that day’s events. Even the professors who should be scrambling to curry favor with him now fear not Leonard, but ‘Dale of Saxony’.

“Damn bastards!”

He couldn’t stand that fact.

An elite mage who had become a 3rd Circle Master at twenty, now standing on the brink of the 4th Circle.

From childhood, everyone had praised Leonard’s talent, and so he had never doubted that he was the most gifted mage in the empire.

That was until one day, the name ‘Dale of Saxony’ reached him from that remote northern wall.

At the age of eight, he carved his first mana circle; at nine, he completed his second circle──and by the age of ten, he had reached the realm of the third circle.

The annual rumors of ‘Dale’s talent’ felt like a complete denial of Leonard’s very existence. That’s why he desperately denied it, again and again. He couldn’t believe it. No, he refused to believe it.

He convinced himself it was merely an exaggerated tale, blown out of proportion by gossipmongers.

There was absolutely no way such an achievement was possible at that age. For the Empire’s most talented mage could only be one person: Leonard Walter.

“……It’s me.”

After stopping his kicking, Leonard muttered like a drunkard.

“I am. I am the empire’s greatest genius.”

Desperately affirming his own existence.