CHAPTER 20 – KNIGHTHOOD (2)

June 23, 2022 — 3 Comments

After the practice, I had a private meeting with Instructor Lee Hanwol in the 2nd main tower.

The question I heard from him as he handed over the promised product.

‘Why don’t you use other magic?’

For that question, I thought the time had come.

There was no explanation for why Baek Yu-seol did not use magic in the game. The character ‘Flashing Baek Yu-seol’ had little to no backstory and was simply inserted into the Stella Academy as an extra.

But the truth was quite different. Every action I took had no choice but to draw someone’s attention, and I can’t keep making personal excuses.

Therefore, the answer to Lee Hanwol’s question was without even an excuse, ‘I am incapable of using magic. I will have to answer truthfully.

A student entering a magical school who is unable to use magic? Did this make sense?  What kind of repercussions would the ‘wizard who can’t use magic’ have on my schoolwork, career, and social life?

If I am extremely unlucky, I may be expelled from school. I can’t get past it because it was not a game.

However, as I looked confused for a while, Lee Hanwol stopped my answer first.

‘No worries. We also respect your beliefs. …but, you have decided to walk a rather difficult road ahead. Yes, it is admirable, but it is also worrisome.’

…..Yes?’

Before I could even understand what he was talking about, Hanwol said that he understood everything, exhorted me, and sent me out telling me to keep working hard in the future.

I’m not sure, but it was definitely a positive result. In any case, my inability to use magic could cause problems such as expulsion, but since wizard Lee Hanwol acknowledged it anyway, there wouldn’t be any problems for the time being.

Afterward, on the way out, I met Hong Bi-yeon and she handed over the item I had been waiting for.

Magic Sword, Terifon Sword.

“Look at it.”

It was not flashy, but it had an old-fashioned charm hidden in its simplicity. That was the description of Terifon in the game.

It was actually quite lovely. A transparent pearl-like crystal shimmered in bright colours at the tip of the 20cm-long silver rod. The colour was said to change depending on the attributes used.

In my case, I had no attribute, so there was no change even if I hold it still.

“After all, it took the shape of an intangible sword.” It’s difficult to find something like this.”

I was glad for the princess’ help. Even if I used all of my family’s income I had accumulated so far, I could never be able to obtain a magic sword of this level.

Now that I have this, I think I can relax for the next episode.

‘If Fuleim had held this, it would have been very colorful.’

The protagonist, Fuleim was a very special existence. Even though she was a human, she could wield the magic of elves, dwarves, and angels.

A holder of multiple attributes different from Haewon-ryang and Mayu-seong, who will deal with all five attributes in the future.

One of this wand’s characteristics was that it constantly drained the user’s mana. As a result, it was impossible to use unless you were a fairly skilled wizard.

Fuleim, on the other hand, possessed the [Fortune Breath] and the ability to restore mana by praying to nature. As a result, she could use this wand to perform a special move.

But, what about me?

I had no mana anyway.

Because of the magical leakage delay, mana was constantly being absorbed into the body, and I couldn’t accumulate even a speck before it was discharged.

In other words, the concentration of mana contained in my breath would soon become the output for the Terifon.

[Magic Leakage Delay Lv.2]

* Strength increased by 05%

* Agility increased by 08%

* Sense Enhancement by 15% 

*Sixth Sense: ‘Activated by consuming the user’s mental strength, faintly senses the mana phenomenon that occurs within an 18m radius, and ‘cognitive acceleration’ is activated.

Automatically triggered when it is judged that a crisis has come to the user.

*Blood Mana Circulation Rate: 1%

When I checked the Magical Leakage Delay skill description, the circulation output was 1%. There was no such phrase when I first reached level 2, but it was created after I learned mana breathing.

It’s only at 1%…

Next, I checked the abilities.

<Baek Yoo-seol>

* Ability

[Mascular Strength: 1-star 77%] [Sense: 2-star 29%]

[Agility: 1-star 87%] [Health: 1-star 55%]

[Endurance: 0-star 97%] [Mental Strength: 1-star 43%]

[Mana: -] 

*Remaining Experience Points: –

*Skill list

[Blinking Lv.1]

*Characteristic

[Magic Leakage Delay Lv.2]

There was no opportunity to gain experience, but as the level of the magic leak delay increased, some of the stats increased. In particular, every time I gained experience, I invested in my senses, and it rose noticeably.

‘It’s hard to train muscle stats with simple iron.’

Where am I going to get the protein? My stamina and muscle strength increased slightly after consuming the root I received the other day, but not significantly, “Well, I’ve got a weapon anyway, so I should go on a dungeon tour,” I reasoned.

My mana output was still low, so the terifon’s power may not be as strong, but the performance was so good that it could be used much later if it grew a little more.

I wondered if this was enough to clear a low-grade dungeon contained in the Copper Glasses.

But, before that.

“…should I practice how to use a sword?”

Living as a modern man, I had never attended a swordsmanship class, so I had little experience with actual swords. Since there was no separate swordsmanship-related skill, the only way to train myself was by swinging a lot.

S-Class training ground.

There was a practise field here to improve players’ sensory stats, and it was similar to a ‘pitching machine’ that shot a baseball.

The characters practise blocking and avoiding magic bullets fired at various angles and speeds, and the increase would have been faster if the player who raised his senses manipulated them directly, but most preferred ‘automatic training by pressing buttons.’ Because the efficiency was low, the characters had to train themselves while they ate or slept.

“It would be nice to have something like that in real life.’

As soon as I pressed the button, a light appeared on the screen in front of me.

[Magic Pitching Machine Step 1 Start!]

[Try to respond quickly to the attack and unfold the magic shield!]

Tusiung! As a red sphere flew in aiming at my left thigh, I immediately pulled out the Terifon.

From the top of the 20m long silver wand, a pure white flash of light rose about 1m.

A visual that reminded me of a lightsaber from a sci-fi movie!

Taang!! When the sphere was struck with a light-hitting sound, Terifon’s mana shook. If my breathing is disturbed, the holding power of the magic sword would also be disturbed.

‘Concentrate! Concentrate!’

Tusiung! bang! Tusiung! bang!

The direction of the flying magic sphere was not fixed. Except for the floor, the ceiling and all four directions were trajectories.

How can you stumble and wield a terifon?

[Step 1 Clear!]

[All 20 hits! Wow, can you be a baseball player?]

The first training ended in an instant.

I had no idea how to use a sword, but that could be due to the monster-like reaction speed of the magic leak delay. To some extent, it was possible to swing the sword in response to the incoming attack.

When I saw the perfect scoreboard, my confidence soared.

“It’s doable. Please raise it to level five.”

[Step 5 Start!]

Pa-Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bak!! “Oh! Please! Kekk ! Argh!”

…And, in the midst of countless magical spheres flying in from all directions, I escaped as if I was running away.

“Heh, hey.”

It was impossible to even maintain the shape of the Terifon. If I swing it once, five would fly, if I swing it twice, fifteen would fly. What the hell was that?

How do I block it?

“It’s crazy that…”

After lying on the floor to rest, I went back to Ogi and pressed the 5th step start button.

Pa-Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bak!! 

That day, I had bruises all over my body.

* * * * * * *

“In elementary and secondary school, all of your coursework would have been theoretical.”

Time for the mandatory subject, ‘Defense Against Magic.’

“During the previous dungeon practise, many students were unable to properly use their magic. It’s entirely natural. This is due to the fact that proper magic is learned from the age of seventeen, in high school.”

The students in Class A-S flew around a lot, but the students in Class F-D’s lower ranks who hunted monsters properly could be counted on one hand.

“However, starting today, we’ll have time to practise proper magic and implementation.”

At the words of the defense magic professor Berayon, the eyes of some students changed.

In elementary and middle school, the use of magic was extremely limited, and it must have been quite tiresome to only study the theory of dungeons and magic.

However, from the age of seventeen, they practiced magic and blow away the stress, and then there are people who show off their unique talents.

‘You have to be able to use magic too…’

Baek Yu-seol lamented inwardly.

First of all, I was taking it because it was a required course, but honestly, it was close to a waste of time.

This course was available at any time. There were students from Class F to Class S present because it was a mobile class where you could listen to lectures. Before even beginning, Berayon distinguished between “remarkable” and “not-so-remarkable” students.

‘You did a good job lined up by grade.’

Even the lower classes were capable of learning, but it would be far better for the image to be visible to them if they were taught primarily in the B-S classes, which have the potential to rise even higher in society.

“Come on, let’s all raise our canes.”

As the students pointed their wands into the air, Professor Berayon explained.

“Once upon a time, there was an era when magic was imaginary. In the days when the defense was determined by their own will, the wizards defended against the enemy’s attack by simply spewing out manna ignorantly.”

Berayon gently shook his staff.

“But not anymore.”

In front of him, a circle of blue magic floated.  Entangled in a complex magic circle, this was Professor Berayon’s magic circle specialized in defensive magic.

“Magic Shield is like a kind of ragged iron plate. It is possible to further increase the strength by adding runes related to defense such as hard, strong, hard, resilient, durable, and tough.”

Computing and chanting more and more solid magic formulas in a short time was the key to defense.

“Then, let’s all do it.”

“Magic Shield!”

With the chanting of the students, blue lights flashed from all directions. Some students chanted the distorted Magic Shield, and some students created a Magic Shield with poor defense because some formulas were missing, but there were some who made the perfect Magic Shield.

They either had an early education in the family or were gifted students.

“Um! Kowazen, even though it’s your first class, your shield is almost complete. That’s good. Lesrian, you’re good at it too.”

“Haha, thank you.”

“thank you.”

Berayon looked at the students of noble families and praised them a lot. Even if their magic wasn’t really that great.

Finding a reliable supporter in the magical society was as difficult as picking a star in the sky, and because Berayon was a commoner, he needed to be seen by noble students.

‘I can’t believe that professor is still in Stella.’ ‘Oh, I hate it.’

‘I’ll take another professor’s defense classes.’

This level of corruption was, in fact, a daily routine in the magical society, so there was nothing the students could do but quietly mumble.

‘This batch certainly has a lot of good students.’

Berayon was walking slowly, observing the conditions of the students, when he heard someone giggling behind him.

He tried to point it out but paused for a moment when he realised the target was ‘Yuslek’s gang’.

Berayon was an instructor rather than a professor. Defense Instructor. He needed personal connections to stay connected to the Stella Academy, and one of those connections was the family of a student named ‘Morso Dorden’ of the Yuslek gang.

Some of them were sponsored by the Dorden family, and because they belonged to the Scalven Empire, he could not blame them, so Berayon approached them with a smile as nice as possible.

“You guys, what’s going on?”

“Oh, Professor. Look at that student over there.”

“Giggle, why aren’t you doing anything?”

“Shouldn’t you at least give him a penalty?”

“What?”

When he returned his gaze to Yuslek and Morso’s sneer, he noticed a student named Baek Yu-seol standing still and doing nothing.

‘Is he the student in class S?’

Baek Yu-seol was already famous among professors. As a commoner advancing to S class, he had an excellent record of being ranked 5th in dungeon practise, resonance with an upper-intermediate level wand, and above all, he was unique in that he had a ‘knight spirit’ that did not use magic.

He was already attracting attention from the magic world, but Berayon didn’t like it very much.

‘Knighthood is just…. he just wants to stand out by himself.’

There were bound to be those who did not recognise Baek Yu-seol’s beliefs, just as there were those who did. Unfortunately, there were many more professors who refused to accept his beliefs.

They refused to accept the unusual change of using only a sword in a world where everything was already standardised by magic.

‘The principal seems to want to leave that student alone, but …’

But, he never said anything about the professors?

‘Anyway, that student’s characteristic is flashing magic. Did he say that he doesn’t use any other magic other than that?’

Berayon, who suddenly came up with a good idea, raised the corner of his mouth slightly and approached Baek Yu-seol.

“Baek Yuseo. Why are you doing nothing?”

“Well.”

Baek Yu-seol pondered the answer for a moment.

If he said you can’t, he will be given a penalty point for giving up without trying.

Besides, that professor, Berayon, was notorious for his misdeeds during the first year episode, so once he was caught, he will be bullied by him for the rest of the year.

I remember Fuleim as the embodiment of justice. If I wait until then, I’ll die of anger. It’s better for me to do my own thing.

“I’m learning other defense techniques, so I don’t need to learn basic magic.”

At first glance, this may seem like an absurd answer, but in fact, it was quite common for students to reject this basic education.

In some cases, students who learned the magic of blood relatives as direct family members learned succession magic that was far superior to the magic taught at school, allowing them to reject the professor’s magic.

Hong Bi-yeon Adolevit, a fifth ranker, was an example of someone who did not learn normal flame-based magic in school because she was studying the legendary bloodline magic of the flame world.

“Oh, is that so? It’s your own defense technique. I’m curious.”

However, the story only applied to students from well-known families.

What would happen to the teaching authority if all the students rejected the professor’s class on the pretext of succession magic?

Therefore, there was usually only one method chosen by professors to prevent it.

To order a demonstration of magic.

“Then, in order to set an example for other students with that great defense technique, how about going up to the podium and demonstrating it yourself? The opponent is… Yeah, I don’t know. It’d be better.”

And the magic demonstration was usually done as a ‘great practice’.

As Berayon licked his lips and spoke, Baek Yu-seol sighed and nodded.

“That’s right.”

That’s fantastic. It was also an excellent opportunity to test the defensive technique I had been practising with the terifon for a few days.