Wizard Stone - Chapter 721



Only Krnovel

721. Footsteps (2)

It’s sudden.

I thought you might have something to do when you came this way, but I never thought you would ask me this question.

Well, it’s nothing compared to the question of whether it’s you or Elihal in the past…

“When you say you, who exactly are you talking about?”

“This is Baronet Roy Marton.”

“Then you’ve come to the right place. That’s me.”

He didn’t ask me how I found him. I could have seen him with a flame on his shoulder and using a fire whip to climb up to the roof.

There was also the possibility that he might have smelled something here.

“Did the Master send you?”

“yes.”

The elf took a letter out of his bosom and held it out. Roy moved to his seat and took the letter instead of speaking.

The letter had a pattern I had never seen before on it. Judging from the trees and leaves, it seemed to symbolize the territory of Elihal.

In other words, it is a letter sent officially.

“What is this?”

“This is an invitation.”

“hmm.”

Roy, who was wondering what to do, decided to read the letter first. It seemed better than asking the elf about this and that.

As expected, the letter was not long. It said to visit the estate when the work was done.

There was even a signature spell at the very bottom, as if it was written by Elihal.

I don’t think I can refuse this time. He even gave me an excuse to get out, so I can’t just ignore him again.

Of course, I have no intention of revealing that fact right now.

There were too many eyes watching for that.

“Do I have to answer now?”

“no.”

“Okay.”

Roy nodded and immediately had Nop go get the sleeping bag.

Just like last time, I couldn’t just let the elf go. No, today was even worse.

As time passed, more and more people started to gather.

Quack!

“You’re here. Take a ride.”

“thank you.”

Fortunately, the elf did not refuse, and only then did the situation end. People looked in the direction where the elf had disappeared with regret.

Seeing that made me certain. It seemed impossible for Mila to live in an ordinary territory as a full-fledged elf.

I realized that it wasn’t for nothing that Elihal made and distributed earrings.

“You kept me waiting.”

“No. More importantly, the elf is incredibly pretty.”

“It’s my first time seeing an elf.”

“Me too. Am I a girl? Or maybe a guy?”

“… …don’t move.”

After talking to the two people, Roy went straight to find Florence.

As expected, Florence allowed him to go out. It seemed as though he had already heard the story.

Indeed, it was strange that Elihal himself had sent the elf, but he had not given permission.

However, it was a bit strange that there was no other word.

I thought he would ask me something like why I called and when I thought he would be home. But somehow he didn’t ask any questions at all.

Were you busy with the gold mine and hiring mercenaries? Or did you intentionally want to end the conversation quickly?

I don’t know.

Honestly, it didn’t really matter.

This side is also inconvenient, and I have work to do.

Before we know it, there’s only a week left until the graduation exam.

It’s time to slowly wrap up the teaching.

So who should we start with?

“Your Highness.”

“Diane.”

“Is this a good time for you? I have something I’d like to ask you.”

“what?”

That’s a good thing. I was already thinking about Diane.

That’s because he was the least likely to do mercenary work.

It’s not because she’s the count’s niece, but because Dian herself isn’t interested in being a mercenary.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I was sloppy with the graduation exam.

Although I may have included some personal opinions since the mercenary I was with was Tali, my evaluations were good throughout the test.

At first, I thought he would cause friction with Gordon or be a nuisance with the name Bellerin… … .

“Your Highness?”

“Oh, sorry. What did I say?”

“It’s the war on the Segemor side. I asked if you had heard anything.”

“It’s just like I said before.”

Dian’s face darkened slightly at the words that there had been no further calming down since then.

This is usually the reaction I’ve had since I was told about the Water Shield technique. My expression gets worse every time I hear about the Segemor War.

No, to be exact, it was like that every time I heard Borl’s story.

“Are you worried?”

“I guess so. I think it would be really uncomfortable if you passed away.”

“It’s okay. Borl won’t care about that.”

If he was someone who cared about that, he wouldn’t have shown you that skill. If he had, he wouldn’t have chosen it in the first place.

Well, there wasn’t much of a choice… … .

Even if I say I know the water attribute wizards, they are only like Elihal, Borul, and Tallinn.

Isn’t it something that I can’t dare reveal to you the vision of Elihal?

There are no particular technologies that can be omitted here in Tallinn.

I didn’t know anything about things like welcome magic and magic traps, and it was hard to see the draw magic as a vision.

Amit was also excluded for the same reason. In Amit’s case, I haven’t even seen him use magic properly.

… … Looking at it that way, Amit is a magician of the magic tower. I haven’t even seen the magic tower and its magic.

All Amit told me was about the Wizard Stone and… … .

“James.”

“yes?”

“Don’t you know James? He’s the wizard who made it rain in Harvey.”

“I know. I just wondered why James suddenly showed up.”

“I suddenly remembered one more thing I could teach you. Have you ever heard of a well that never runs dry?”

“This is my first time hearing about it.”

“That’s good.”

Roy briefly explained the well and lump magic he had seen in Harvey.

No, I showed it to you directly. I took a barrel, used water magic on it, and then applied the lump magic property.

“Take it and check it later. The water will have risen.”

“… … Is this really James’ technique?”

“I don’t know. I just looked at the well and guessed that’s what happened.”

In fact, if you think about it, it was the properties of lump magic that I learned first, but I didn’t necessarily reveal that fact.

This seemed better for Diane. She had a name for herself, but it was nothing compared to James’ fame.

At least that was the case for Dian, a water attribute mage.

“Why is your expression like that? Are you feeling burdened?”

“Of course it’s burdensome. I was worried whether I could learn Bor’s skills, but this is… … .”

“Not confident?”

“… … Yes. Do you regret it?”

“Did I tell you this?”

“yes.”

“No way. I told you. It’s not the vision that’s important… … .”

“It is important to have someone who can learn the vision.”

“Yes. There are no eternal secrets in the world. What good is it to learn something magical that you can’t show to others?”

Maybe that’s why he tried so hard to get out of the stone.

How worried I was when I met Elihal in the past and was imprisoned that the secret of the stone would be revealed.

“Of course, there are things I don’t tell you. For example, there are things I don’t think are good enough to show to others, so I don’t necessarily tell you.”

“… … So you’re saying you’ve already mastered this?”

“well.”

With those words, Roy concluded his consultation.

This was just right for Diane. She needed to leave some room for this.

And it was the same for other students.

During the final consultation, I gave them one or two homework assignments disguised as teachings.

So that when you get stuck on your homework, or when you finish it, you can come back to get new teachings.

Yeah, it’s kind of a bait.

I’ve been thinking about this ever since I spoke to Badam before. How can I create and maintain my own power?

For mercenaries, this may be okay, but… … .

The wizard seemed a little lacking. He needed something to hold onto.

For example, the patronage of a noble family.

And then the person who came to mind was Vivian.

When I thought about what Vivian did after receiving the sponsorship offer, the answer came to me right away.

teaching.

Yes, Vivian taught magic right away, even though she had refused to sponsor him.

The same goes for Elihal too.

Every time we met, he would ask me to do something, but in return, he would always teach me something.

In other words, bait has been spread.

And this bait wasn’t limited to magic. Unlike Vivian and Elihal, he had a variety of other baits.

For example, to Panum, who wants to catch a troll, he will teach him useful methods that he used when he caught trolls with mercenaries in Arpen in the past.

To show the unfamiliar David the reality of the lawless city of Atre.

Gale, who had great physique and stamina, was told to learn swordsmanship and had the experience of learning swordsmanship from a knight.

Belen’s advice to the weak-hearted Kina to be cool-headed.

Dali, whose hometown is near Segemor, tells the story of when he first caught a lizardman.

For Sirin, who was wondering what to do as a side job, there were various ways to make money, starting with selling water from the swamp and using magic.

For Naid, who is going to Ponche where his uncle is, please give him a letter of recommendation that can be used at the Mercenary Guild and Jacob’s Company.

To the innocent Barbara who seems interested in Eredin, a joke about being scammed by Eredin in the past.

For Jaden, who believes that Fireball is the best, there is advice that even small magic can have great power depending on how it is used, along with the incident in the ant hole.

Trish, who is determined to find her familiar and go to Harvey, is told about Jiro’s location, things to watch out for in Harvey, and the Giant Ant’s weakness.

And finally to Gordon… … .

“Are you talking about levitation?”

“Yeah. Have you tried it?”

Gordon hesitated but didn’t answer. Judging from the fact that he didn’t say no, he must have tried it before.

In fact, it is a natural thing.

It’s not like a guy who can lift rocks with telekinesis wouldn’t have practiced levitation.

No, maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe he’s gotten so strong because he’s been practicing levitation for so long.

anyway.

“How long can you last?”

“… … I can last ten, no, five minutes.”

Five minutes.

A skinny guy lasts longer than you’d think. No, is it because he’s skinny that he lasts so long?

“Then how high? How high have you been able to climb?”

“The height is… … .”

Gordon kept his mouth shut again.

Of course, I didn’t keep it that long, because I kept asking questions until Roy answered.

“Answer me.”

“… … It’s about 4 meters.”

“Four meters. Have you ever tried to go higher than that?”

“I haven’t tried it.”

Roy nodded as if he knew that would happen. It didn’t make sense that it could last five minutes and still have a maximum height of four meters.

“Why didn’t you try?”

“I tried.”

“Are you joking with me right now?”

“That’s not it… … . Whenever I try to go any higher than that, my concentration keeps wavering.”

“Do you feel like you can’t go any higher?”

“you’re right.”

“hmm.”

It seems like I have some kind of fear of heights.

Of course, it wasn’t that bad.

“I can overcome that.”

“yes?”

“They say that people who really have that kind of thing can’t even climb up a chair or stairs. It’s not that serious for you. No, it’s actually normal.”

“Is this normal?”

“Yeah. I did that too.”

Of course, I’m not talking about height. I was able to climb up to about 10 meters from the start.

However, the environment was a little different from Gordon’s. If it had been a normal flat land instead of a desert, he probably wouldn’t have been able to climb that high.

In that sense, it wasn’t really a lie.

“What you need is faith.”

“What kind of faith?”

“The belief in yourself that you will never fail at magic, no matter what the circumstances. The belief that if you fall from this height, you will never die.”

The second one is thanks to Nop, but I didn’t really talk about it.

Because it wasn’t needed yet and there were other alternatives.

“Have you heard of Feather Fall Robe?”

“yes.”

“If you have a Feather Fall Robe, you will have less to worry about. Of course, I don’t recommend practicing with a robe on from the beginning. Just try to practice without a robe until you reach a height where you won’t die if you fall. Roughly… … Up to about 10 meters, it should be fine.”

“10 meters.”

“At that height, you shouldn’t die unless you fall head first.”

“… … Even if I don’t die, won’t I break something or something?”

“You have to be willing to endure that much. Just don’t die. There are potions, and there are priests of the Sun Church. If that’s scary, then training in a place like a lake wouldn’t be bad. Do you know how to swim?”

“I can’t.”

“You can’t even go into the water?”

“No, that’s not it. But places like lakes are a bit… … .”

“Are you afraid you’ll fall to your death?”

Gordon nodded silently. Roy clicked his tongue as if he had expected that.

“You could fall to your death, or drown. It’s natural to worry about those things. That’s not the problem.”

“then…….”

“The problem is that you only worry.”

You worry too, probably more than other people.

Haven’t you been practicing things like fish-shaped flames and arrow deflecting just recently because of arrows that wouldn’t even fly?

There are many more besides this.

To exaggerate a bit, a significant portion of the motivation for magical training is like this.

“If you’re worried, you should prepare for it. Or do you think that if you don’t practice levitation, you won’t fall to your death? Do you think you’ll never go to high places or cliffs in your entire life? Well, if you stay at home all your life, that might not happen, but you don’t. You want to get out of the house.”

“… … How did you know?”

“How would you know? It’s obvious. If it weren’t for that, you wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

The same goes for other students. I don’t know for sure, but most of the students who come here are those who want to leave home or who haven’t signed a sponsorship contract.

If you’re going to be stuck at home or work for a noble for the rest of your life, there’s no reason to come here and suffer like this.

“And… … no.”

“yes?”

“It’s nothing.”

I don’t think it’s necessary to go so far as to say that it’s similar to my old self.

No, honestly, the comparison itself is a bit ridiculous. The current Gordon knows magic and probably doesn’t live in a stable or anything.

No, is that why you can’t come out?

Is it worth staying?

“Well, do as you wish. The choice is yours. Whether you want to practice levitation or leave the house.”

“… … If I could practice levitation and leave home, maybe… … .”

“Can you accept me as your disciple?”

“yes.”

“Well, that depends on how you change. Well, even if you don’t like it, I’ll at least teach you.”

With those words, Roy stood up from his seat.

As I said before, the choice was Gordon’s. All he had to give was one thing and one word, just like he had given to the other students.

I hope these two can be a small spark for Gordon.

“Gordon.”

“yes.”

“Congratulations on your graduation.”

* * *

“Then I’ll be back.”

“Take care on your way back.”

“If you think you’ll be late, write a letter!”

“okay.”

After greeting his colleagues, Roy quickly climbed into his sleeping bag and soon took flight into the sky.

I think I can finally get some rest now.

Of course, I won’t be able to rest that long. It won’t take that long to get to Baron Dibel’s estate… no, it won’t take that long to get to Elihal’s estate.

In fact, after dozing off a few times, at one point Nop screamed.

I never thought about why Elihal called me… … .

“Let’s go a little slower. Or we’ll fly a little higher!”

Roy shouted and quickly looked for a place to get off. He didn’t want to go all the way to the castle and get shot by an elf’s arrow.

I’ve gotten the elf down twice, but just in case. It can’t hurt to be careful.

So I’m looking for a place to get off… … .

Suddenly a village came into view.

It was a small village right next to the forest and mountains, and at first glance it looked insignificant. That was because it was so small.

however…….

“Nope! Let’s go over there.”

Quack!

“Just go.”

I was drawn to it for some reason.

The small town gradually came closer.

And at that moment.

“ah!”

I somehow figured out why I was drawn to it.

Now that I look back, there was a reason I was attracted to it.

Hunter Village.

When I came closer, I could see that it was almost the same as before I left.

Not only the dilapidated houses, but even the well in the middle of the village was still there.

So it was easier to find. As I turned my gaze along the path that stretched past the well and into the mountain, a small house appeared.

In front of the house, a man was chopping firewood, and behind him, a man with a prosthetic leg was watching him while chewing something.

A face that seems somehow familiar.

Roy jumped down from the platform as if possessed, and just before he hit the ground a name popped out along with the starter word.

“Jex?”