Chapter 74 — Ignorance Sometimes Breeds Courage

1

After Professor Mia left, Professor Trail drummed his fingers on the desk, lost in thought.

Her words lingered in his mind, refusing to leave.

Professor Mia had carefully, yet decisively, pointed out the dark aspects of Mythos Academy.

Mythos Academy selects and nurtures the talented.

A curriculum far removed from equality.

In the midst of endless competition and evaluations, many fall behind and drop out.

[That shouldn’t be the case, should it?]

Professor Mia had said it was time for change.

The nobility.

Especially those from established families are born with a weapon in hand, so to speak.

Their blood, thick with inherent magical power, granted them unique abilities.

It’s fine for such individuals to enter the academy.

But what about the others?

How are those without any connections supposed to survive in this competition?

[This time, I’d like to draw out the talents of those who have been hidden.]

[Please help, Professor.]

“It’s difficult, so difficult-.”

Sigh-.

He let out a heavy breath.

His gaze drifted to the long pipe hanging on one side.

Though he had quit long ago, he found himself desperately craving his old habit.

She had brought up one of the biggest issues.

Even now, invisible conflicts were slowly brewing within the academy.

It was no longer the old days when nobles led everything and commoners had no power.

These days, capable individuals were emerging from among the commoners as well.

“I wonder what the Chairman thinks. And…”

As a noble himself, Professor Trail knew.

The nobility.

The potential of those called ‘Royal Blood’ was beyond what ordinary people could match.

Their vested interests will continue into the future.

Given their closed nature, it’s nearly impossible for a new family to appear and overturn the status quo.

Professor Mia’s words could potentially shake the very foundations of this country, this continent.

His concerns deepened.

‘For now, I should keep this conversation buried.’

In the end, he reached for the long pipe he had hung aside.

Though there were fine cigars available, he couldn’t quite give up his pipe.

2

The Black Eagle class.

In this place where commoners particularly thrived, an interesting piece of news arrived.

Caesar Manus would be taking the evaluation with the third-years.

Those who especially disliked the nobility heard this news.

Leveli-Malito.

Though it started as a gathering of commoners, it had now grown into a group with vested interests within the academy.

A red-haired young man visited this place.

“Is that really true?”

“Yes, I’m a commoner too, after all. Why would I side with the nobility?”

“Right, it was Lupera, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

The third-year of Leveli-Malito was skilled enough to manifest blades of mana.

It was a technique commonly known as Aura.

While magic has classes, warriors are divided into certain realms.

The realm where one could manifest Aura was commonly called ‘Sword User’.

It’s said that with a single sword, they could match dozens of soldiers, hence also known as the realm of the ‘Decurion’.

It was also a basic qualification for third-year Eagle class students.

“Hmm-. This should be interesting.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What else? We need to put those noble noses in their place.”

“But it’s Caesar, you know?”

Caesar.

The pressure that name carried was considerable.

One of the strongest noble families.

They say he’s called a tyrant due to his innate talent and cold, cruel personality.

But that’s only up to the second year.

From the third year, both the education received and the quality of evaluations change.

The same goes for skill level.

It’s also the time when one starts to establish themselves as a mature adult.

“We’re in the same A class too, you know?”

“That’s true.”

“We’re all in the same A class, why be scared? Let’s face them head-on.”

The third-year Eagle class students began to conspire.

Lupera quietly smiled.

Things progressed smoothly as he simply relayed the facts someone had told him.

The problem was himself.

He had no intention of antagonizing Caesar for the time being.

This morning’s encounter had made him acutely aware of his own inadequacy.

He needed more time.

[I see talent in you that could rise to great heights.]

[Why, do you think I can’t teach you?]

[Prejudice is bad. That’s what history teaches us too, right?]

He had no choice but to believe what that person said.

In fact, over the past few days, he had achieved a dramatic increase in skill.

There was still plenty of time, and while he might not match Caesar, he could certainly hunt others.

Mythos Academy tended to be lenient about ‘unexpected accidents’ during duels or evaluations.

This was because professors capable of high-class healing magic were always on standby.

If he could exploit that point-.

‘I’ll become more than just an ordinary commoner.’

Lupera clenched his fists tightly.

The modest past he had lived was now gone.

The old self who had barely made it into Class A after being pushed around by nobles was also goodbye.

He wanted to climb higher.

Commoner.

He wanted to shatter the future that had clear limitations, one that couldn’t be changed no matter how much he struggled.

That’s why he was prepared to use any means necessary.

“Hey, why don’t you join us in conquering the second-years while we’re at it?”

“It’s about time we expanded our influence in the Serpent class too.”

“I’m all for it.”

Lupera nodded readily.

Professor Mia’s lesson came to mind.

Coincidentally, today’s lesson had touched on such matters.

A foundation is truly important, and having a force that supports one’s actions is crucial as well.

Public opinion becomes justification, and justification creates a greater cause.

When forces clash, this is the most basic yet incredibly important factor.

‘This isn’t bad at all.’

The Serpent class.

The nobility’s influence was particularly strong among mages.

It was extremely rare, almost non-existent, for commoners to have special abilities.

While the third-years keep that monster Manus in check, he would take down the nobles one by one.

He thought it was quite a plausible strategy.

There were a few that immediately came to mind.

What if he shared just a bit of his knowledge with them?

‘The picture is starting to form.’

Lupera smiled slyly.

The seemingly solid plan further boosted his self-esteem.

Now there was only one task left.

To drastically improve Lupera’s own abilities.

That was a problem she would solve in that unknown space.

She would likely provide a good method.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Alright~. Take care. Let’s do well, okay?”

Lupera nodded with a smile.

However, there was much he didn’t know.

The Tower of Ignorance was never meticulously constructed.

That sweet temptation bred unnecessary courage.

It was courage in the name of recklessness.

3

After diligently attending class, Manus headed to the club room.

They had agreed to finish discussing Emerson and Lupera today.

The third-year classes were a bit longer than the second-year ones, and by the time he opened the club room door, everyone had already arrived.

Everyone expressed their delight upon seeing him.

The smiling faces were quite pleasant to see.

[Hoing!]

The cotton ball leapt from his shoulder.

Albion settled onto Kael’s palm.

Sometimes it seemed to particularly like her, which was certainly befitting of a protagonist.

“Welcome.”

“Welcome, senior!”

Greeted by his juniors and friends, Manus took the empty seat.

Whether they were treating him as the de facto leader or not, it was the most prominent position.

Pearson raised his hand and spoke.

“Now that everyone’s here, I think we can start the meeting! Miss Emerson has gladly accepted our cultural exchange club’s invitation to join!”

“I look forward to working with you all. Since you saved my life, I wanted to be of help, even if just a little.”

Manus looked at Emerson and nodded.

Then, as a warning, he said:

“It’s dangerous work. You can’t disclose secrets. Are you still willing to join?”

“Yes.”

Her expression was resolute.

It was a different kind of confidence from Anais.

She was noble and elegant.

It evoked a feeling similar to seeing Manus’s mother, Beninitas.

If Anais had a childlike vivaciousness, Emerson gave off the impression of a haughty noble lady.

She spoke with her chest held high.

Her graceful gestures suggested she would make quite a name for herself in social circles.

“I’ve been looking for a place where my abilities could be useful. Watching you all fight, I realized this is a place where I can hone the abilities of the Primary family.” (TL Note: When she’s first introduced, she was called 프레이지아 (peuleijia), which I translted as Freya, now it’s 프라이머리 (peulaimeoli), which is Primary. My guess is that the author wanted Primary and just didn’t know how to write it and never bothered changing the previous chapters. Will not change previous chapters, in order to maintain fidelity…)

“Interesting.”

“Emerson. You’ve thought about this seriously and made your decision, right?”

Kael asked cautiously.

She was still worried sick about whether they were dragging a friend into a dangerous place.

Emerson smiled gracefully.

The Primary family has a strong spirit of exploration.

She was an inevitable member of that family.

“I love adventure. If I become stronger in the Tower, it will benefit my family too.”

“Since you’re non-combat personnel, wouldn’t it be fine if you stayed in the rear?”

“If it gets dangerous, you must quit at any time.”

Emerson nodded.

Everyone in the club room was looking out for her.

Realizing this fact made her so happy that she laughed out loud.

“Hehe, seeing all of you, I know I won’t regret my decision. I’ll support you from behind from now on.”

“Can we count on you for appraisals too?”

“Of course. Just trust me.”

Emerson boasted with a gentle laugh.

Everyone smiled brightly at her reliable appearance.

Increasing their forces was an encouraging development.

At the same time, it was also an extremely dangerous one.

The addition of new forces meant that the level of demons pouring out from the Tower would also increase.

Even if one were to ask, ‘That’s absurd. Why are you so certain?’…

There was no way to explain it other than saying it was the law of this world.

Manus naturally shifted the topic.

Now that the celebratory matter was over, it was time to move on to more serious issues.

“What are the results of observing Lupera?”

“He was… a bit strange.”

“How so?”

Alano explained the results of observing Lupera.

Though he had returned from the Tower, nothing seemed to have changed.

Morris, was it?

The memory of the friend that he had been very close to had completely disappeared.

As if only the memories from the academy had been carved out.

What Alano had seen was up to the incident in the cafeteria.

“I’m not sure beyond that. I think we need to keep watching a bit longer.”

“I see.”

Manus thought of one person.

Everyone should have memories of Lupera.

It’s just that something was suppressing those memories.

Manus’s lips twisted.

Because a detestable face came to mind.

A character that made him feel nauseous even when seen only in illustrations.

‘It was the same here too.’

Occasionally, when he saw that face, Manus would frown.

He was the second-in-command of Eresis, and a rival to the Traveler.

Unlike the Traveler who led believers around, he was a solitary researcher.

The problem had just been presented a bit earlier, and there was a variation on a previous question.

But if one has the ability to solve both the problem and its application, no type should pose much difficulty.

The solution was simple.

‘Unlike the Traveler, that guy is unnecessary.’

Therefore, getting rid of him quickly would be the best course of action.

–TL Notes–
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