Chapter 5
Bien grabbed Ethan by the collar and dragged him into his room.
Bien pushed Ethan against the wall and said.
"That's not a very funny joke."
"Does it sound like I'm lying?"
"Wouldn't it be better if it were a lie? If it's true, I might kill you to silence you."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Ethan said, lifting the corner of his mouth.
"Do you think soone approaching you saying they know a secret would co without any plan? If sothing happens to , a letter I wrote will be automatically delivered to soone."
"I don't know. Do you have any proof that I work for the Imperial Inquisition?"
"You have a very precious book, don't you?"
Bien drew his dagger.
"How did you...?"
"As you said, I'm a notorious ruffian. I'm short on money these days, so I just looked around to see if there was anything valuable in soone else's room."
Bien made a cold judgnt, just as Ethan had expected.
"If you knew I worked for the Imperial Inquisition, you could have just reported it."
"Honestly, how would that help ?"
"Do you want money?"
"If you were the child of a wealthy family, maybe, but what I want from you is sothing different."
"Sothing different?"
"You're the top prodigy in the first year."
"...Do I have to admit that myself?"
"Aren't you?"
"I'm, I'm embarrassed."
Bien avoided Ethan's gaze over his glasses and blushed slightly. Ethan thought it was an unexpected side.
"Anyway. You saw that I barely passed Basic Magic Practice, right? But if things stay like this, the Basic Magic Practice in the second sester will be difficult."
"...Surely not."
Ethan said.
"Teach magic."
At those words, Bien's expression beca sowhat complicated.
Ethan's plan was simple.
In fact, it wasn't just Arka. Including the family head, Count Charasen, the family's mages, and even the family's 'guests' had confird to Ethan, for various reasons, that he had no talent for magic. But things that cannot be known always happen.
Ethan was also too young to give up on sothing.
It was as Ethan expected.
"Alright."
"Really?"
Of course, there were parts that exceeded Ethan's expectations.
"However, there is a condition."
"A condition?"
Ethan checked the newly appeared Quest.
[Quest Generated!]
[Quest: Improve relationship with Bien Palmaize (D).]
According to Demi, the appearance of a Quest was proof that it was a valuable challenge.
Ethan replied.
"Alright. What's the condition?"
Three days later, fighting against an automaton wielding a sword, Ethan was regretting accepting Bien's condition.
∞
An automaton is a weapon controlled by a puppeteer. They are generally made of wood, but can also be made of composite materials such as iron, stone, or ceramic. They usually have a torso, a head, arms, and legs, taking on a human-like form, and their appearance varies depending on the puppeteer. The automaton Ethan was currently facing was not much different from a scarecrow used to scare away birds, except that it had legs and wielded a sword.
'Usually, scarecrows don't try to kill .'
Ethan dodged the automaton's sword. It felt less like swordsmanship and more like random swinging. But even that can kill a person. It was sufficiently threatening.
"I dulled the blade, so you probably won't die even if you get hit, right?"
"Probably?"
The one who said that was Rinave Promorus, a magic student from the sa school, Ethan's senior, and the chairman of the Combat Magic Society.
Rinave looked like a typical Patallian, with darker skin than the people of Yurmus and lustrous golden hair. Perhaps due to the influence of ancient magic, Patallians sotis have diamond-shaped white spots on their faces, and Rinave had that spot on the bridge of her nose.
Rinave continued to speak.
"But boy. Don't forget that simply not dying isn't enough to approve your mbership in the society."
"Who are you calling boy?"
As Ethan hurriedly fled from the automaton's attack, Rinave laughed.
Bien's 'condition' was joining the Combat Magic Society. Bien ntioned that he would continue to participate in Combat Magic Society activities during the vacation, making it difficult to set aside other ti, that the Combat Magic Society eting room was spacious and had a lot of resources, making it advantageous for actually teaching magic, and that there would also be things to learn from other seniors and classmates belonging to the Combat Magic Society.
Combat magic was applied magic studies concerning magic used in situations such as self-defense, combat, and war, or combat thods using such magic. Although the campus Combat Magic Society did not go beyond being a student club, it was true that mages who were alumni of the Combat Magic Society watched with interest.
Ethan also readily agreed to the condition Bien presented. He couldn't guarantee that only Bien and Vine were affiliated with the Imperial Inquisition. If so, eting other individuals in contact with Bien was valuable.
Of course, looking back, it was Bien's trap. To join the Combat Magic Society, one had to be able to defeat the automaton.
Rinave said.
"Still, I'll highly comnd your bravery for challenging the automaton despite barely passing Basic Magic Practice, boy. ...No. Is it ignorance rather than bravery? Although it looks that way on the outside, that automaton mimics the movents of a soldier trained for the battlefield. If you beco skilled in combat magic, that's the minimum combat power you'll encounter on the battlefield. In this society, there's no one who can't defeat that automaton."
"I never said I'd lose, did I?"
"Your fighting spirit alone is enough to pass. But I can't approve mbership just for that. Haha. Bien brought an interesting friend."
Bien replied.
"He's not a friend."
Ethan thought he could handle the automaton alone, but it wasn't easy. If it were slow enough, he would have thought about climbing onto its back and twisting its neck, but as Rinave said, it was more agile and smarter than he expected.
Ethan said to Demi.
Ethan put the dagger he was holding back into his pocket.
"What, are you giving up?"
"No."
"Then, you'll face it with your bare hands?"
"Yes."
Ethan was planning to use a 'Skill'.
∞
Before going to fight the automaton, Ethan entered Limbo that morning. Although he could confirm it from the first day, Ethan could enter Limbo when he fell asleep, being treated as being in a State of unconsciousness.
"Every day is not necessary, but today is different."
Ethan checked the Quest completion window.
['Quest: Survive for 3 Days (D)' Success!]
[Reward: Experience Points 12]
[Reward: D-rank Lottery Coupon]
And when he searched his pocket, he could confirm the D-rank Coupon.
Demi said.
"No."
Ethan walked over to the rchant.
"Can you recomnd sothing I need?"
"One more question. You said 'item', but I can draw more than just 'Items' from the lot. I can buy 'Archives' and 'Skills', right?"
The rchant raised his head and looked at Ethan.
Ethan held out the D-rank Coupon.
"In that case, I'll buy a Skill."
∞
The automaton looked at Ethan strangely, then approached with a tense posture.
Ethan took off his coat. Ethan prided himself on being agile, and thanks to that, he was able to avoid the automaton's blade. But that was all he could do. Simply dodging attacks wouldn't defeat the automaton.
The automaton rapidly approached and swung its sword. It was rely a simple downward swing, but it could naturally lead into a horizontal slash.
In an instant, the coat Ethan threw open as if discarding it beca entangled in the automaton's sword. The automaton didn't panic and stepped back while pulling its sword out. Rinave watched with interest, and Bien watched indifferently.
-Bang!
A firework Ethan took out of his pocket exploded right in front of the automaton's face.
Startled, the automaton staggered. With the sword entangled in the coat and while stepping back, it looked like it would fall over at any mont.
Ethan crouched down low, then wrapped his arms around the automaton's thigh. As Ethan pushed with his shoulder like that, the automaton fell over with a loud noise.
The automaton tried to swing its sword belatedly, but Ethan had already grabbed its wrist. With only the wrist, there was neither the strength to swing the sword nor the angle to swing it towards the enemy.
Holding the automaton's arm, Ethan raised both his legs onto the automaton's chest and straightened his back.
A technique to break the elbow joint. In Terra, they say you induce the opponent's surrender by causing pain without breaking it, but this was Damarat Yuma.
Ethan broke the automaton's elbow with all his strength.
-Crack!
What Ethan purchased from the rchant was .
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