As I entered the classroom this morning, the students—especially the girls—gazed at with intense, piercing stares. The rumors of my so-called "mischief" in the girls’ dorm had spread like wildfire.
I walked to my seat and sat down next to Marius.
"U-uh... Naoki... I’ve heard the rumors, they’re everywhere. I really feel for you... Pfftt." He tried to comfort , stifling his laughter.
Yesterday, when I ca back to my room in a disheveled state, Marius imdiately asked what happened. After I explained, he couldn’t stop laughing the entire night.
I sighed deeply, trying to accept the situation. Then, I looked over at Lyra and Freya, who suddenly walked up to .
With flushed faces, they said, "Naoki-sama, we heard the real story from Milly. We understand and don’t mind it." Lyra said, a little embarrassed.
"That’s right, Naoki-dono! It was all a misunderstanding. There’s no way Naoki-dono would steal a woman’s bra!" Freya said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention to .
"I get it, I get it! Please, let’s stop talking about that now. Let’s focus on the lesson!" I panicked and hurriedly tried to change the subject.
Just then, the professor entered the class and began the lesson. Today’s topic was the relationship between Magic and the goddesses.
The class explained how to increase one’s magical power and level by strengthening one’s belief in the gods. However, we first had to go over the origins of magic.
In the age of the gods, a great war broke out between the gods and an evil entity with divine power. After thousands of years, this evil entity spread its darkness to the world, creating the Demon King, which led to the rise of demons. To combat this, the gods created elental and supportive magic for humans and special races.
-God of Fire, Flareth
-Goddess of Protection, Miranda
-God of Thunder, Zarion
-Goddess of Wind, Zephyria
-Goddess of Earth, Terra
-Goddess of Water and Ice, Aqualia
-God of Nature, Gaia
-Goddess of Light, Solis
-God of Darkness, ???
Listening to this, I couldn’t help but wonder: why wasn’t the Goddess of Benevolence ntioned in history? Who exactly was that goddess?
I asked Envi, but he didn’t know either. He told that all information about the Goddess of Benevolence was sealed within his archives.
The professor continued, explaining that as humanity and the special races neared victory, the God of Darkness betrayed them, aiding the evil entity by granting demons the power of Dark Magic. The war between humans and demons lasted for another hundred years until the appearance of the Heroes, including Hiro von Blackmore, who founded the Blackmore family.
The Heroes managed to push back the demon forces, sealing them away and separating the Demon Continent from the rest of the world. The special races then chose to withdraw from the human continent, isolating themselves. The world was divided into three continents, and the conflicts gradually subsided.
I finally understood the history of this world. The professor then delved deeper into magic.
In Eldaris, humans who have magical talent usually specialize in Fire, Lightning, Wind, Protection, and Light magic. Whether in the Kingdom of Braveheart, the Kingdom of rcenary Gildoria, or the Kingdom of Magic Solara, all mages worship the gods, especially the ones associated with their elental magic, as a sign of gratitude for their bestowed powers. The average person masters only one elent; those who can control two are considered blessed, three elents signify genius, and mastering more than that is considered a miracle.
anwhile, in the Celestian Continent, ho to special races, they specialize in Earth and Nature magic. However, rumors also say they hide other powers that are unknown. This is because they keep to themselves and have cut off contact with the outside world.
Lastly, in the Demon Continent, Doomspire, demons wield Dark Magic, granted by the naless God of Darkness. Dark Magic is destructive and corruptive, making it extrely dangerous. Using Dark Magic is a serious offense in the human kingdoms.
However, there is a special case in the Kingdom of Braveheart. The founder of the Blackmore family was permitted to use Dark Magic due to his significant contributions in the fight against the demons. His descendants were also granted special permission, although none of them have inherited the ability to use Dark Magic.
Hearing this, I realized that using Dark Magic recklessly here would be extrely dangerous. Lyra and Freya know I use Dark Magic, but it seems they understand, since I’m from the Blackmore family. Still, I must be cautious and never use it in public.
...
The professor explained that the power and level of magic could be enhanced by the strength of our belief in the gods and goddesses we worship. The stronger our belief, the more powerful our magic would beco. Knights, mages, and adventurers who practiced magic often visited temples to pray to the gods they followed, hoping to strengthen both their belief and their magic.
This explanation reminded of how magic worked in a way similar to the [Power of Incarnation] skill I received from the Goddess of Benevolence. That skill grew stronger as my hopes and will beca stronger, too.
I needed to investigate this connection further.
The professor continued, elaborating that the length and complexity of a spell’s incantation reflected the power of the magic being unleashed. The longer and more complicated the incantation, the stronger the magic would be. For example, Advanced and Saint-level spells required long, intricate incantations but were imnsely powerful. However, there was a thod that Saint-level mages used to compensate for the ti-consuming nature of these long incantations: they sped them up. This technique was also employed by God-level mages, though those levels of power were beyond human comprehension.
My mind wandered to the ti when Envi went berserk and unleashed Dark Magic. He hadn’t recited a single incantation. It happened in an instant, without any verbal spellcasting. Was that because it was Dark Magic, or was there another reason behind it? The question gnawed at , unresolved. I couldn’t shake the sense that sothing was off about that situation.
The class continued, and after it ended, Professor Alden called over. He had an unsettlingly neutral look on his face.
"I had a feeling you’d cause trouble. Even though you lost your mories, you still managed to make a ruckus just like always," he said with a sigh, clearly unenthusiastic as he began his lecture.
I had known he would ntion the incident. "But I heard you managed to reverse Kael’s magic. How did you do that?" Professor Alden’s eyes narrowed, suspicion in his gaze.
I imdiately began to panic, scrambling to find a reasonable explanation that wouldn’t reveal the true source of my power.
"I-it was because of my sword," I stamred. That wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either.
I tried to cover up my nervousness with a forced grin. "It’s a relic from my family, hehe... it can absorb magic." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, but I hoped it would be enough.
"Idiot, there’s no way he’ll believe that!" Envi scolded , though his voice was faint in my mind.
Professor Alden stared at for a long ti, scrutinizing in silence. I felt as though I were being dissected. Finally, he broke the silence, his voice less suspicious than before.
"Oh, I see. So, it’s because of the relic’s power. I thought you had mastered Fire Magic. Well, Naoki, you’re free to go."
I couldn’t believe it. I had sohow managed to avoid exposure. I had passed the test, though I still felt a rush of relief.
It seed like today was my lucky day.
....
The next day, we had practical classes. The class was taught by two instructors: Professor Alden for magic and Instructor Morgan for swordsmanship.
Lyra and Freya were with Professor Alden, working on their magic, while Marius, Luna, and I trained with Instructor Morgan to hone our swordsmanship.
To my surprise, Luna was an accomplished swordswoman. She wielded twin swords, moving with grace and precision that left impressed. I hadn’t known her skill level before, but now I realized that she was far more than just a student.
We were all allowed to bring our weapons and magic staffs to this class. The goal was to evaluate how far we had co with our swordsmanship and magic.
For the swordsmanship evaluation, there would be one-on-one duels between the students and the instructors. We all lined up in a row, waiting for our turns.
I tried to steady my nerves. I wasn’t particularly confident in my swordsmanship, but I knew I had to give it my best. When it was finally my turn, I stepped forward, the weight of the sword feeling unfamiliar in my hand.
Just as I was about to focus on the task at hand, a notification suddenly appeared before .
----
[!!!NOTIFICATION!!!]
Be cautious of Instructor Morgan!
Mini Quest: Defeat Instructor Morgan in training duel.
Reward: 10 Goddess Points.
Penalty: -
----
I blinked at the ssage, montarily stunned. This was the first ti I had received a quest without a penalty attached to it. It was... odd. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was sothing hidden beneath the surface of this quest. It felt like more than just a simple evaluation.
But despite my doubts, I took a deep breath and accepted the quest.
This wasn’t just about swordsmanship. It felt like I was being tested on sothing much more important, and I wasn’t about to back down now.
...
...
Reviews
All reviews (0)