Chapter 16 — I’d Like to Raise You Myself

1

The day after the commotion.

Manus was being lectured by Alano from early in the morning.

She had been waiting for him in front of the dormitory since dawn.

-Of course, he understood her feelings, but Manus didn’t feel the need to explain.

He thought it was better to show through actions rather than blabber on.

But Alano seemed to think differently.

“I wish you’d at least say something. There are quite a few people worried about you.”

“-You know better than anyone that I won’t be in danger.”

“You speak so nonchalantly. From my experience, the tower was a truly dangerous place. Even if you’re a genius, unavoidable things can happen.”

Manus gave a small nod at her words.

His heart fluttered.

In his previous life, and in Manus’ life, these were the only people who had ever worried about him.

He had always been alone.

“I’m not used to it.”

“-Huh?”

Manus looked down at Alano quietly.

What lived in those eyes that sparkled like deep lakes?

Alano, who had grown up loved by the Harrison family, couldn’t understand what that was like.

She didn’t have the courage to confirm what lay beneath those deep emotions.

But, but shouldn’t she grit her teeth and try at least once?

“Having someone worry about me. It’s not something I’m used to.”

“-I’m a Harrison. I’ve been watching over you for the past year, but not anymore.”

“Thank you. I’ll report from now on. Friend.”

Manus’ expression changed.

Instead of his usual blank face, he wore a faint smile.

Overlapping with the gentle spring breeze, it struck Alano’s heart directly.

“-Oh, you definitely need to.”

“I will. See you in class.”

Manus turned away first.

Alano stood there for a while.

It was such a deadly face.

Her temperature suddenly rose.

“Th-then I’ll be going.”

“Take care on your way.”

Alano moved away, hiding her slightly reddened face.

Manus turned his head to look at three people coming to the school grounds in the distance.

Today was the day of the ability assessment, wasn’t it?

It wouldn’t be bad to watch.

Manus moved towards a spot where he could see the ability assessment well.

Well, let’s see how much they’ve grown?

‘Class… I’ll go in a little later.’

The second-year classes were too easy now.

With Caesar’s talent, there was nothing to learn, so being a little late wouldn’t matter-.

His eyes casually looked at the three people.

“Will they all be able to get into Class A?”

Just a few pieces of advice should be enough.

That’s the kind of characters they are.

2

“So you still don’t know the cause?”

“That’s right. We’ve only just started investigating.”

“You really almost died, huh.”

Today too, the three walked side by side through the school grounds.

Pearson had been pondering since last night.

‘What can I do…’

-That putting up a shield isn’t cowardly.

He never thought that senior would say such a thing.

He thought he would tell him to proudly overwhelm others with his skills-.

“What was it like when you went up the tower with the senior?”

“-It was amazing.”

“In what way?”

Anais was curious.

What would Manus, that top performer, be like in the tower?

She was very curious.

Whether he’d be a tyrant or a reliable senior.

Pearson lifted his head, thinking about what happened last night.

“He uses magic like he’s swinging a sword, you know? It’s just ideal, truly ideal.”

“I’m so jealous-. What about attributes? Did he use different attributes freely too?”

“Of course-. When masked guys come at you from front and back, he uses [Edge] with one hand and blocks with [Igni] with the other, then zap with electricity-!”

Able to use all attributes, fast casting speed, tremendous power, and no lack of mana.

What should this even be called?

Is there actually anyone who can beat him?

Anais looked at Kael beside her.

Yeah, maybe she could do it.

Though she was the quiet type, she was definitely a genius.

“I challenge you, Kael.”

“-Huh?”

“Try to catch up to the senior in a year. You two seem similar.”

Kael smiled brightly.

“Is that so?”

“Isn’t today the ability assessment? Let’s aim for Class A!”

Having people cheering you on like this.

It was always a good feeling.

She hoped this daily life wouldn’t be broken.

If something like that happened again, it would be quite sad.

Maybe, she could even lose the will to live.

Kael took in their faces and smiles with her eyes.

She had a feeling she would do well in today’s assessment.

[All first-year students, please come to Field 2.]

It finally began.

The sight of first-years pouring out of the school grounds was spectacular.

Kael suddenly felt a gaze and shifted her eyes.

In the distance, she saw Manus with his robe fluttering.

With the one she admired watching, she couldn’t slack off.

Kael clenched her fists tightly.

It was a declaration of determination.

“Is everyone here? We will begin the ability assessment. First up is student Kael.”

The feeling of dozens of gazes hitting the back of her head wasn’t very pleasant.

She kept her words few, disliking stepping out alone.

This place called the academy was like a fierce battlefield.

Since everyone except true friends saw her as a competitor, of course she would be conscious of it.

Still, if she had to do it, she would show a similar appearance while thinking of him.

“Kael. You may begin.”

The ability assessment is divided into various processes.

Magic manifestation.

Manifestation speed.

Accuracy and duration.

Practical test.

Crisis response ability.

‘If it were the senior, how would he have stood before them.’

She wanted to go back a year.

She wanted to flip through his diary and see the past.

If there were memories of this day, she wanted to refer to them and copy them.

With what mindset did the senior overcome the pressure?

Thinking of Manus, Kael felt her trembling subside.

She thought of his calm eyes.

Thinking of his expressionless face and tight-lipped mouth, she deployed her magic.

“Ooh-.”

Someone exclaimed in admiration.

A vivid crimson flame burned brightly.

The basic yet destructive standard magic: [Igni] burned modestly.

[Crunch-.]

Before her was an orc controlled by magic.

Its pupils were dilated, but its savagery remained intact.

Sensing a threat, the orc began to move.

The muscular bulk charged fiercely, wielding a club.

It was intimidating enough for a student level, but Kael’s eyes remained calm.

She had already experienced chaos and overcome the brink of death.

A mere puppet moved by magic couldn’t shake her resolve.

An elegantly swung arm, with flames advancing from its tip.

Followed immediately by another casting.

“Ooh-!”

“Is this for real-?”

“How can a commoner cast at such speed-?”

A skill that evoked admiration from onlookers.

A flaming arrow struck the orc’s face cleanly without excess.

Boom-!

It was a small explosion sound, but the aftermath was the issue.

[Grrrr-!]

The orc panicked as its face caught fire.

Following that, an electric arrow struck the orc’s limbs.

The orc, electrocuted and shaking, was almost pitiful.

Kael poured out mana in a trance-like state.

‘Finishing blow.’

Her eyes sank deeply.

Her mana-glistening eyes precisely locked onto the orc’s head.

62 glowing line segments formed an even larger magic.

‘Magic I saw in the book.’

Textbooks contain countless magic formulas and it’s not an issue to study advanced books.

Rather, it’s encouraged.

Magic is practical.

No teacher would scold a student for pushing forward.

The magic she had found impressive unfolded in her hands.

[Perio]

A 2nd-Class magic of the physical system.

A mana-formed hammer struck the orc.

Kwang-!

With an impact sound that could be heard in the Eagle class, the orc’s face caved in.

Its eyeballs popped out and all its teeth fell out.

[Gruk-.]

The orc fainted with a short cry.

It was an exceptionally clean strike.

Clap clap clap-!

The professor controlling the orc with magic gave generous applause.

“Excellent! To be able to use 2nd-Class magic already, it reminds me of Alano. You should have no problem going to the next round.”

“Yes.”

She answered briefly.

After the orc comes a troll.

Though greatly weakened, this one wasn’t made to be defeated.

Crisis response ability.

How to deal with an overwhelming monster when encountered.

For mages, survival is as important as combat.

Some even argue survival is more important than combat, so that says it all.

Hoo-!

She took a small deep breath.

[Kuku-]

Unlike in typical fantasy novels, trolls here are slim and muscular. (TL Note: They are basically WoW Trolls)

They have much sharper tusks than orcs and a characteristically protruding nose.

Some even argue they should be seen as a race rather than monsters.

“The troll’s main weapon is the javelin. They can also use their own magic called sorcery. Well, shall we see?”

The professor’s smile deepened.

The troll didn’t suppress its madness.

This is why they’re still treated as monsters.

This ferocity and boundless cruelty.

It’s because they can’t control this that they’re not recognized as intelligent beings.

Javelin.

Faster and more accurate than magic, it was quite threatening.

[Huha-!]

The troll threw the javelin with a strange cry.

Trolls handle mana well.

The mana imbued in the spear tip was not negligible.

[Edge]

Kael calmly completed the magic.

Crackle-!

A single petal blocked the spear.

While in the midst of a precarious power struggle, the troll grabbed a second spear.

‘I too-.’

Kael’s opposite hand spread wide.

The magic she would use this time-.

[Perio]

Her head throbbed slightly.

It seemed the mana required increased exponentially as the class went up.

But, but she could do it.

[Huaaa-!]

“Deflect.”

She captured the trajectory of the spear flying in a straight line.

The hammer-shaped magic struck the spear tip.

Boom-!

Mana clashed with mana, making a loud noise.

The reversed spear returned faster than before, hitting the troll’s forehead.

It wasn’t a reflection but a deflection, so there was no lethality.

However, it was enough to knock the troll unconscious.

A brutal impact that incapacitated in one blow.

Truly remarkable talent and control.

“Ooooh-!”

“Did you see that? Did you see?”

“Wow, what was that? Is this for real?”

For first-year students, it was a fighting style they could only imagine in their heads.

No excess, just clean.

Even the professor widened his eyes.

It was surprisingly accurate and powerful magic.

“-I’ll finish now.”

Kael said bluntly.

In that appearance, the professor felt an echo of someone.

Yes, there was someone like this last year too.

He was called a tyrant among students, wasn’t he?

They even held a disciplinary committee because of his bad manners.

But he stubbornly pushed forward with that force and rose to second year as the top student.

‘In contrast, this student is very kind.’

Though it hadn’t been long since she transferred, her origins were different.

When you deal with many people, you develop an ability to see their tendencies.

Long experience gives you sharper intuition.

That data was saying:

A talent comparable to Caesar’s, but a much kinder student.

That’s why he had higher expectations.

Crackle-!

The troll perished, emitting a burnt smell.

It was a battle without any particular crisis.

“Wow-.”

Clap clap-.

Someone started clapping.

One, two-.

Drawn by that subtle charisma, all the students gave praise to Kael.

A subdued but elegant congratulation continued.

Kael lowered her head, seemingly embarrassed.

Then suddenly, she looked at where Manus had been.

‘He’s still watching.’

She could see him quietly clapping too.

Her heart filled with satisfaction.

“You did very well. Although weakened, it’s not easy to defeat a troll. You’ll be able to learn in a good place. Congratulations.”

“-Yes.”

Kael smiled faintly.

The teacher thought even that smile resembled Manus.

–TL Notes–
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