The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 13



Only Krnovel

Episode 13

On the way to the restaurant.

Quilbian looked at the cadets wandering around freely. To be exact, he looked for Twella among the cadets.

“There’s no Twella, so stop looking. Your eyes will go blind.”

“Where is Twella?”

“Well, I hope you’re doing well. More importantly, asking about Twella… … .”

“I never spoke first. The ascetic brought it up.”

“That’s true.”

The restaurant came into view. Quilbian asked with concern.

“Is it okay to go to a restaurant when it’s not meal time?”

“A regular cadet would be punished for loitering around the cafeteria outside of regular hours, but you’re not a regular cadet, you’re a ‘material’, so it’s okay.”

“ingredient?”

Instead of explaining, Altera just smiled and went into the restaurant. I hurriedly followed her and went inside.

“That’s a good thing.”

What went well?

Quilbian looked at the ascetics sitting in the dining room while listening to Altera’s words.

Four ascetics sat at the table, each with one disciple.

The cadets were eating the food very slowly, and the ascetic just watched them.

It was an unfamiliar sight.

A cadet having a one-on-one meal with an ascetic.

“Just sit down. I’ll get the food.”

I sat down where Altera had pointed.

I worried that I would be looked at with suspicion, but the ascetics didn’t even look at me as if they weren’t interested.

Quilbian pretended to be calm and looked at the cadets.

They weren’t from the Friendship House. They seemed to be from the Seongsil House. First of all, they weren’t students with excellent grades. I remember all the students with high scores.

Why are those children facing the ascetic?

“Now, here comes some delicious pig feed.”

Altera held out a bowl of black porridge. Thanks to the magic, it smelled fragrant.

“It was a disappointing result of 12 seconds, but at least we made it to the starting point.”

“Is it okay now?”

“I guess I deserve to know at least the outline.”

Alterea, who had been slapping the spoon so loudly that it made a clicking sound, pointed at another ascetic with the tip of the spoon.

“Why are they doing that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Isn’t this a similar situation to ours?”

“That’s not it.”

“Why?”

Quilbian turned his head and looked at the thin-eyed ascetic.

At first glance, it looks like a human.

But if you look closely.

“Because that’s not a person.”

“Then me?”

Altera furrowed her eyebrows.

“The ascetic is a human being. At least he appears to me as a human being.”

“The distinction has been made. There are now four goblins and four humans who have been treated as materials. You and I are considered separate.”

“What are the ingredients?”

“You’ll find out soon, so just eat. If you just sit there blankly, they might suspect you.”

“Well, it’s especially delicious today,” Altera hummed as she ate her porridge.

Quilbian also moved his hand. He needs to eat to gain strength.

It was when I was halfway through eating the food.

“Do you need this friend?”

The thin-eyed ascetic on the right stood up and said.

“I don’t need it.”

“That doesn’t fit my ‘nack’.”

“Me too.”

The other ascetics answered. Altera, who had remained silent until the end, answered with a faint smile.

“It looks nutritious.”

“Then I will handle it.”

treatment?

The ascetic approached the cadet. The cadet ate the porridge with a blank expression on his face, as if nothing had happened.

“Look carefully.”

Altera’s soft voice was heard, and soon the processing began.

The ascetic’s arm grabbed the cadet by the back of his neck.

Crunch, a finger dug into his neck. Blood flowed out profusely, but the cadet showed no reaction.

He simply lifted his spoon toward the black porridge.

Quilbian turned his head.

Red blood, flesh.

There was a crunching sound. There was also a thud, the sound of something hard being crushed.

Quilbian could clearly imagine what was happening right next to him.

“look.”

Altera said.

“See? That’s the real world you’ll have to face. You should check it out. By the way, that’s a very gentlemanly thing to do. It’s neat.”

Altera ate the food with a bored expression on her face in her room.

Quilbian couldn’t understand it at all. How, how could he eat after seeing that…

“Quilvian, magic doesn’t end with learning it. Once you realize it, you have to put it into practice. Did you really think that if you just learned magic, everything else would magically be solved? Oh, I don’t know the word magic.”

My breathing became labored. Even as Altera continued to babble, the sound of flesh being chewed continued.

“The Sky Wall. We have to go beyond it. To go beyond that, we have to deal with those things. I don’t need scholars. I need warriors. Warriors who can fight and win. Twella is a great person. He’s capable. And he knows what he has to sacrifice. What about you?”

Hoo, hoo, Quilbian shut his eyes tightly, holding back his excited breath.

The smell started to rise.

The smell I smelled every time the ceremony was held. The smell of melted flesh and undigested porridge.

Chubbuck, chubbuck.

The sound of wet footsteps was approaching. At the same time, the horrible smell was becoming stronger.

“Two days. You have plenty of time to think. Didn’t Twella say? Stop learning magic. If you think you’re smart, make the right choice. People are born with a set amount of weight they can handle. If you force yourself, you’ll get crushed.”

I opened my eyes to the sound of something being crushed.

With a thud, something rose up onto the bowl of porridge.

It took me a long time to understand that that was the human head.

There was only darkness where the eyes should have been. Blood-stained hair, a mouth gaping open, a long, limp tongue hanging out.

“I think this material might be helpful to me, wouldn’t you like to pass it on?”

Quilbian slowly raised his head.

I saw an ascetic with bloodstained lips. His jaw was split into three long segments, and three or four tongues could be seen inside.

Non-human things.

goblin.

I met the ascetic’s eyes.

Quilbian fell to the floor, vomiting out what was inside him.

“It’s still unrefined. And I can’t hand it over because it’s material that will help my Nak.”

Altera’s voice was heard.

“Then there’s nothing we can do.”

The ascetic returned to his place, holding the student’s head. Quilbian looked at the ascetic with eyes filled with fear.

The cadet’s head was being rolled into his chin.

It was scary, disgusting, and made my teeth chatter, but for some reason I couldn’t look away.

“how is it?”

Altera came into view.

“Scary? Just lifting a person with one hand and chewing them up. But that’s nothing. Think of that damn sun. Imagine a huge thing blocking your path. How about that? Don’t you want to run away?”

“… … .”

“Learning magic from me means having a go at them. It’s all the same whether you die this way or that, so you might want to give it a try.”

Altera raised her body up.

“But humans who have learned and developed magic are not just materials to goblins, but very precious materials. Precious materials are treated accordingly. Did you see the foolishly eaten creature just now? He’s happy. Because he doesn’t feel any pain or worry until the moment he dies. He just dies.”

The ascetics left the restaurant one by one. The students who came with them followed them, staggering.

The only ones left in the restaurant were Quilbian and Altera.

“If you become a precious material, you won’t die easily. If you’re unlucky, you might end up undergoing a miraculous experiment where your limbs are cut off every week.”

When I heard that my arms and legs would be cut off, I reflexively pulled both arms close to my torso.

The shaking wouldn’t stop. It was fundamentally different from the medium I saw yesterday.

Do I have to deal with those kinds of things?

What is a fight in the first place?

Couldn’t I just learn magic and escape from here?

“Quilvian. You don’t need to feel bad about yourself. That’s how normal people are. It’s abnormal not to tremble when faced with such a monster. It’s crazy not to run away. You’re a perfectly normal and straight-thinking person.”

Alteria’s face, from which the smile had disappeared, looked as cold as frost.

“I’m not telling you to die like those guys before, without knowing anything. While I’m using you as material and managing you, you won’t have any problems. So give up learning magic. This isn’t shameful, it’s a rational choice.”

“… … Twella?”

“I told you, he’s different.”

Altera pushed her face in.

“Think calmly. Are you two really that affectionate? I understand that you have developed a camaraderie because you shared secrets and overcame hardships. But feelings are always diluted. Do you think you can endure this shit?”

At the edge of my vision, I could see red blood and remaining flesh.

A chill came over me. Could I possibly continue to face this and still be okay?

“Twella is strong. Even if she encounters adversity, she will quickly overcome it. That’s the kind of person she is. But you? If she has trouble inducing even basic phenomena, will she be able to endure a fierce fight? There is a very high probability that you will become like that.”

Altera pointed to the table covered in blood.

“Twella will be sad when you die. But that’s all. Twella will overcome her sadness and escape this place. I will help her do so.”

“… … I don’t need it?”

“Yes. I’ve always said that people have set roles. I showed you this today because I didn’t have the confidence to convince you with words. I’m sorry.”

Altera patted his shoulder.

“Not everyone can be a savior. Only a very few can overcome the pull of fate. The rest are just swayed by it.”

fate.

Messiah.

The gravity of destiny.

It was an unintelligible speech.

But the sense of helplessness those words gave me was so real that it sent shivers down my spine.

“Am I eliminated?”

“No, it’s just ordinary. Being ordinary doesn’t mean you’ll be eliminated.”

“I wanted to help.”

“I think that kind of mindset is great. Don’t lose that mindset and cheer for Twella in the future. She’ll change this place. That’s her destiny.”

It was when Dadok left the restaurant with Altera.

Quilbian came face to face with Twella.

As if she had anticipated this situation, she approached me with a smile that said everything was okay.

“Quil.”

Quillvian wanted to call her name, but his lips wouldn’t move.

Just one day.

What happened in that day?

Twella had changed. Her appearance remained the same, but the light from her eyes had changed.

For a moment, her body felt as if it was touching the sky wall.

“Did you see it?”

Twella asked.

Quilbian nodded.

“It looked like a goblin. I know it’s a bad metaphor, but that’s what it looked like.”

“Because magic is the way goblins use their power. Since I have learned it, I can also be called a goblin in some ways. You are a small goblin.”

Altera stood beside Twella.

“I don’t think there’s any need to explain further since you’ve seen the distinction. Twella won’t have any problems. So don’t worry.”

Two people who are different from me.

Quillvian smiled, the word ‘together’ lingering in his mouth, hidden under his tongue.

“Won’t you be lonely?”

Twella didn’t answer, just smiled.

“If only I could help you… … .”

“Quil, to be honest, it’s a nuisance.”

“ah.”

A sigh came out.

Quillvian smiled awkwardly.

“I’ll see you later, when I get out of here. Until then, the ascetic will take care of you. So don’t worry.”

It was Twella who turned around, saying that she had to go.

“Let’s go back too.”

“… … I’ll go to my room.”

“No. You’re unstable right now. Stay in my room for the next two days. That’ll help.”

I followed Altera, who was walking ahead, and then looked back slightly.

Twella was nowhere to be seen.

(Continued in next episode)