The Reincarnated Archmage’s Journey Chapter 111 : Past Events (1)

Chapter 111: Past Events (1)

Changing the evaluation criteria, huh.

The corners of his lips suddenly lifted, and even the atmosphere he gave off felt sohow different.

To be precise, it wasn’t oppressive or hostile, but since the mood had shifted so abruptly, I didn’t feel particularly pleased either.

“Changing the evaluation criteria just for —what do you an by that?”

I asked while maintaining my status as a student.

“The passing standard for 5th Class of Elentalists is developing one’s own magic. But I’ve been watching your abilities since 1st Class, so I know them well.”

As expected, it ant he had monitored my every move through mobs.

“You’re different from other students. I don’t know the details, but while the 5th Class assignnt is the most difficult task for ordinary students, I think it must have been the easiest for you.”

I had no intention of denying it, so I simply nodded.

“But you see. I recently heard an unbelievable rumor, and I really wanted to confirm it with my own eyes.”

Etar wore a relaxed expression.

A rumor…?

I had no idea where or how such a rumor had started.

And I couldn’t even guess what kind of rumor Etar had heard to make him act like this.

“They say you are my master, Arkis Air.”

“……!”

At that mont, I lost my composure just a little and failed to control my expression.

I had no idea how Etar knew of my existence, or where that fact had leaked from.

“My master, who passed away 300 years ago—how could he be like this? It’s not sothing that can be explained by common sense. Don’t you agree?”

“…….”

I restrained my words as much as possible.

But there was no trace of hostility in what he said.

I had clearly believed that Etar would try to eliminate the mont he learned I was alive.

After all, despite knowing the truth behind my death 300 years ago, he was now serving as the branch head, and 250 years ago, he had even burned the Emt Family down with his own hands.

In other words, if Etar truly had changed, then he was a mage I would have to eliminate myself before going to et the Tyrant.

But…

Strangely enough, the words Etar spoke now were tinged with longing and warmth.

“I don’t believe rumors alone. So I’ll give you a test question. There’s a magic that holds mories for —try to guess what it is. If you really are my master, Arkis Air, it won’t be a difficult question.”

A magic that held mories between Etar and ?

With such an obscure hint, I couldn’t tell which magic he ant.

The magic I had taught Etar was as nurous as the spells written in the Ed Family’s grimoire.

Still, I didn’t feel like refusing Etar’s proposal.

No matter how I thought about it, it was strange.

If he truly knew I had been resurrected and wanted to eliminate , he could just kill outright—why go through such a troubleso verification process?

‘Why does he want to confirm so precisely?’

A possibility crossed my mind.

Perhaps I had misunderstood Etar all along.

His current attitude didn’t belong to soone trying to confirm my identity just to erase .

It felt more like he was trying to be absolutely sure whether I was soone he could truly trust or not.

As if he was guarding an important secret and deciding whether or not he could share that secret with .

Just like when I first t Banshi in 1st Class.

And perhaps that was also why he kept addressing as ‘Master’ so punctually.

Because I knew that it wasn’t intentional, but a very natural way of speaking for him.

“Begin.”

Etar soon manifested a spell.

A spell I had been seeing frequently lately—Orbification.

As if erecting a massive barrier between Etar and so that we could not reach each other, he manifested Orbification.

A gigantic, brightly blazing Orbification.

Far larger and more powerful than Nylon’s Orbification.

Due to its influence, the facilities inside the auditorium began to lt like ice.

And then I understood what Etar was trying to say.

‘mories…… so that was a mory for you, Etar?’

It was from when Etar had been my Disciple.

Back when he had just learned Orbification, unable to contain his joy, he had shown it to , wanting to boast and receive praise, and had manifested Orbification right in front of .

But instead, I had scolded Etar for his Orbification.

The reason was simple.

Because his magic, having lost its distinctiveness, extinguished far too easily.

The flas Etar wielded contained many opposing emotions.

Contempt, respect, anger, gentleness, fighting spirit, and more.

They were words that couldn’t possibly harmonize with one another, yet strangely, all of them were present in Etar’s magic, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

That was why I had given Etar the nickna ‘Fla of Harmony’.

Though it looked discordant on the surface, within it lay perfect harmony—that was why I nad it so.

The story of how that nickna later changed to the Lamp of Justice ca a bit afterward.

But oddly enough, when he manifested Orbification, his flas lost all distinctiveness and simply burned intensely.

That was why I had no choice but to scold him.

‘Etar, did you want to hear those words again?’

Thinking back on it now, it was true that only Etar and I had been there at the ti.

In other words, if I truly was Arkis Air, then he believed I would rember exactly what I had said back then—that was why he had given this task.

‘Still, how insolent. Daring to test one’s master.’

I slowly walked toward Etar’s Orbification.

To avoid being affected by the magic, I had wrapped Flewd around my body.

Because of that, I could feel that my hair and eyes had already turned white.

I placed my hand on Etar’s Orbification.

The auditorium’s facilities had all lted and turned into magma already, but thanks to Flewd, I suffered no harm even when touching the Orbification.

Etar’s Orbification.

It was the sa.

The very sa Orbification from the distant past, the one I had scolded.

An Orbification where all distinctiveness had vanished like the lted facilities, leaving only intense flas burning.

“Etar.”

I opened my mouth.

“When you learned Orbification and showed it to , I clearly said this while scolding you.”

Etar’s pupils widened.

“Your flas, having lost their distinctiveness, are nothing but crude, insignificant things that go out quickly. This Orbification is exactly the sa as back then.”

I injected Flewd into Etar’s Orbification.

There was no need to manifest Flewd Orbification just to erase this Orbification.

Etar’s flas, having lost their distinctiveness, went out quickly if Flewd was injected and controlled to completely cut off the air.

That was how I had suppressed Etar’s Orbification back then as well.

And the sa was true even now.

It was at the mont when Etar’s Orbification, which had lted even the facilities, vanished without leaving a trace, leaving behind only the auditorium, reddened as if fully roasted.

Thud!

The sound of soone collapsing rang out.

“Lord Arkis……! So it really was Lord Arkis……! Why did you only appear now……? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting…….”

Etar, his voice trembling with sobs, forcibly climbed down from his wheelchair and struggled across the floor, crawling as he tried to approach .

“Etar……?”

“I’m sorry…… for daring to try to test you, Lord Arkis…….”

He crawled all the way to my feet and bowed his head deeply, offering his apology.

Was Etar truly not a mage who sought to erase , but one who had longed for ?

If that were true, it ant I had avoided the worst possible outco—erasing with my own hands Etar, my precious Disciple and ally.

“Hngh…… hhk…… the fact that you’re alive, truly… I’m so relieved.”

As his emotions finally overflowed, Etar broke down in tears.

5th Class training grounds.

The magical exchange between Nylon and Jeb went on for quite so ti.

Judging by ti alone, it was close to an hour.

But in the end, the one who collapsed was Jeb.

Only after his entire body had been reddened as if cooked, and he had suffered burns so severe that he couldn’t even bend his fingers, did he finally fall.

“Guhhh…….”

When he let out a groan, smoke billowed from his mouth.

“Alright, that concludes the evaluation for the teacher in charge of the Dark Elent. Well, his capabilities weren’t bad.”

Compared to the critically injured Jeb, Nylon’s condition was impeccably clean.

There was only a small wound on his cheek, and even that was so minor it looked like a scratch from a cat.

“Clear away the corpse for now.”

With a fire-elent wave spell, Nylon sent Jeb’s body flying far into the distance.

“So, who’s next?”

“…….”

He had spoken rely to continue the evaluation, but the other teachers were already frozen in place, too frightened to move.

Their gazes, as if by prior agreent, were all fixed on Jeb, who had been reduced to a near-death state.

“Huh? You’re scared you’ll end up like him? Don’t worry about that. Our family and his family have had deep grudges for generations. This was just a family dispute—it has nothing to do with you.”

“…….”

Still, the teachers couldn’t understand how Nylon could take Jeb’s critical condition so lightly.

Even if a stray cat collapsed dead in the street, no one would be this indifferent.

Moreover, if the Archmage were to learn that Nylon had said sothing like this, he would imdiately dispatch the Royal Guard to the 5th Class of the Ed Branch School.

Yet Nylon, as if he were soone with no tomorrow, casually spat out words that amounted to a serious cri.

“Co on! Who’s next? I said I’ll go easy, so don’t wor—”

At that mont, as he was about to resu the evaluation, a ssage arrived through Nylon’s mob.

It’s all finished here. Clean up as you see fit.

It was Etar’s ssage.

It ant that the student ability evaluation was completely over, and there was no longer any need to keep the teachers detained.

‘That ended faster than I expected.’

“That’s enough. Everyone’s too scared to even do a proper evaluation. Let’s do it next ti.”

Taking advantage of the situation, Nylon brought the evaluation to an end.

He released the barrier magic placed on the entrance to the training grounds and was just about to leave first.

“Professor…… what about Teacher Jeb? If we leave him like that, he might die…….”

One of the teachers asked.

“That thing?”

But such words didn’t even register with Nylon.

He used a term that didn’t even treat him as a person.

“If he dies, that’s good for . Handle it yourselves.”

Leaving behind those cold words, he sharply turned his back.

The teachers left behind in the training grounds exchanged glances with one another.

With their eyes alone, they all conveyed the sa thought.

‘What are we supposed to do about this……?’

“Get up, Etar.”

Etar kept bowing his head, as if he were trying to make so sort of endless apology.

All the while, he kept repeating, like a madman, “I’m sorry, Lord Arkis. I’m sorry…….”

“Etar, this is an order. Stand up.”

I deliberately didn’t withdraw the white coloration yet.

At the very least, it was a color Etar was deeply familiar with, and I judged that it would be better to maintain it in this mont we were sharing.

Only then did Etar finally raise his head.

For the first ti at close range, I t his face head-on.

I didn’t avoid his gaze and stared straight at him until it felt like I might bore holes through him.

A sudden, lingering doubt had crossed my mind.

What if this, too, was an act ant to lower my guard?

The Tyrant had killed that way, after all, so I thought Etar might be capable of the sa.

But that was nothing more than my own overreaction.

Etar had always been a Disciple whose emotions and thoughts were plainly written on his face.

And that was still true even now.

“You’ve grown old, Etar.”