Episode 50
The academy is like a small kingdom.
Its insular nature and the rigid hierarchy among students are absolute, often determined by the power of one’s family and lineage.
Even in a place where the scions of the empire’s nobility gather, distinctions are made based on the rank of titles, and various factions form and dissolve in a complex dance of alliances and rivalries.
In this regard, Leonard Walter was the reigning monarch of the Imperial Academy.
He was the eldest son of Count Walter, one of the elders of the Red Tower, and the top student in the third circle’s elite class.
At the age of twenty, he had already mastered the third circle and was on the brink of reaching the fourth, making him the academy’s brightest star.
Passing the upcoming graduation exam was a mere formality for him.
Destined to follow the elite path of the Red Tower, Leonard was a prodigy on the fast track to success.
The expectations placed on him by his father, the elder known as “Walter of the Fiery Blood,” were beyond measure, and even the academy’s professors were eager to stay in his good graces.
Under Leonard Walter’s rule, the third circle of the Imperial Academy maintained a smooth order.
That is, until the day Dale intruded upon Leonard’s kingdom.
Shortly after arriving in the capital.
Dale was there as an invited student for the “Exchange of Red and Black,” and as the heir to the Black Tower.
In the lecture hall where the academy’s professors taught the students of the third circle’s elite class, Dale found himself among young wizards preparing for their graduation exams.
It was an awkward scene, to say the least. The young heir of the Saxon family amidst a group of twenty to thirty noble scions.
”…In other words, it’s a well-known fact that fire and water are opposing elements.”
The academy professor, a master of the fourth circle, continued his lecture.
Even though the difference between the third and fourth circles was just one level, the gap was insurmountable compared to previous circles.
Reaching the third circle and becoming a formal mage of the tower was an achievement, but many spent their entire lives without ever reaching the fourth circle.
Thus, a mage of the third circle was considered a fully-fledged wizard, while a fourth-circle mage was “beyond a fully-fledged wizard,” a point where many ordinary talents hit a wall and falter.
The next level, the fifth circle, was where one could establish a position within the tower…
And only at the sixth circle could one become an elder of the tower, with only a few dozen seventh-circle mages across the entire continent.
Above that, the eighth circle was the pinnacle a mage could aspire to reach.
The world of magic was one of strict meritocracy, yet ironically, one’s lineage often determined their standing.
“Professor!”
It was then that a man suddenly raised his hand during the professor’s lecture. He was a strikingly handsome blond who drew the attention of those around him.
“Le-Leonard…”
The professor’s face turned pale as Leonard raised his hand.
“Is there something you’d like to ask?”
“No, it’s just…”
Leonard shook his head quietly in response to the professor’s question.
“The lecture is so dull. Would it be alright if I took a nap?”
He brazenly propped his legs up on the seat in front of him, eliciting snickers from the students around him.
“By all means, go ahead…”
“Are you really bowing your head to a mere student’s words?”
Leonard taunted again.
“Perhaps you should reconsider the ‘philosophy of the Red Tower,’ don’t you think?”
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
Dale watched in disbelief as the fourth-circle professor, who should have been teaching and guiding the students, bowed his head submissively to Leonard.
It was as if this place was Leonard’s kingdom.
Even the relationship between student and professor was no exception. In fact, the professor’s subservience to a student was part of the Red Tower’s “intentional educational policy” to emphasize the importance of power.
The Red Tower revered order through strength, and the Imperial Academy was a microcosm of imperial society that drove this point home.
The weak lose everything, and the strong gain it all. The Imperial Academy was merely a laboratory to indoctrinate the empire’s elites with this truth.
The survival of the fittest was the very spirit of the empire.
”…”
Ignoring the laughter around him, Dale turned his head. His eyes met Leonard’s for a moment.
“Ah, look who it is.”
Leonard exaggeratedly shrugged as soon as their eyes met, ignoring the fact that a lecture was in progress.
“The ‘Black Prince’ himself!”
”…”
“I hear you’ve already reached the third circle at your age? And you won a great victory in the Black and White Tournament, even taking down an ‘Orc Warboss’ on your own!”
Dale remained silent in the face of Leonard’s blatant mockery.
“Truly, the heir of the Saxon family!”
He simply maintained his calm silence. This wasn’t the North. And no matter how infamous the Saxon family was among the capital’s nobility, here, they were just a distant northern house.
Those hiding behind the emperor’s name and the Red Tower’s shield had nothing to fear. In fact, their pride as “proud mages of the empire” made them unwilling to bow easily.
It was a foolish thought. But expecting young men in their twenties to be wise was asking too much.
‘Kids will be kids.’
To Dale, they were just like children who hadn’t yet matured.
“Stories tend to be exaggerated.”
He turned his head away, maintaining his silence, unaffected by Leonard’s twisted expression behind him.
Magic lessons inevitably included practical exercises. And it was during one of these sessions that the first commotion arose.
“Do we really have to go this far?”
“So, you’re saying you won’t follow my lead?”
“N-no, it’s just… targeting the Saxon heir seems…”
Leonard tilted his head, and a fellow student quickly bowed in panic.
“That’s why you’re doing it.”
Leonard laughed at the sight.
Soon after, the students paired up to practice fire magic duels. Dale, who had no particular expertise in fire magic, watched from a distance.
“Professor!”
Leonard called out to the professor again, causing him to flinch and swallow nervously.
“Since the Saxon heir has graced us with his presence for this exchange between the Black and Red Towers…”
He spoke as if he couldn’t contain his amusement.
“Shouldn’t there be a ‘magical exchange’ befitting his status?”
In this context, a magical exchange meant only one thing.
“Or is it too dangerous for Lord Dale?”
“Very well.”
Dale didn’t refuse the obvious provocation. Instead, he stood up, determined to teach the arrogant brat a lesson.
“Then…”
At that moment.
“I-I’ll be his opponent!”
A student, visibly frightened, volunteered to face Dale, hesitantly raising his hand.
‘Oh, I see.’
Realizing the situation, Dale held back a laugh. It was a truly petty tactic.
In a way, it was a form of self-preservation, fearing the Saxon family’s notorious reputation.
That pettiness made it all the more intolerable.
“Lord Dale, you’re familiar with the rules of magical dueling, correct?”
The professor asked, and Dale nodded. Two mages would take turns attacking and defending, then switch roles. It was a practice Dale was well aware of.
“Do I need to wear a life-point necklace?”
Dale asked, nodding.
“A life-point necklace?”
A life-point necklace was a protective device that activated a shield spell and broke when a near-fatal “valid hit” was received.
Typically, students didn’t use such equipment. In case of an emergency, a skilled mage would be there to control the situation.
“If someone were to get seriously hurt or lose their life in this duel…”
”…?”
Dale, clad in his black surcoat, asked as he adjusted his “Shadow Cloak.”
“Who would bear the responsibility?”
”…!”
“Am I allowed to use magic with the intent to kill?”
From the shadows beneath his feet, a blade of darkness emerged, its sharp edge gleaming with a menacing blue hue, as if ready to strike at any moment.
“Professor, are you really sure you can block my attack if it comes to that?”
“N-no! Wait, that’s not what I meant!”
The student who had volunteered to face Dale at Leonard’s insistence turned pale with fear.
Not everyone dismissed Dale like Leonard did. In fact, this whole situation stemmed from Leonard’s cowardice, fearing the notorious reputation of the Saxon family. Even if their pride wouldn’t allow them to admit it, many believed in the fearsome reputation of the “Black Prince.”
Moreover, the academy’s professor, a wizard of the fourth circle, couldn’t possibly be unaware of the oppressive aura Dale was exuding.
The infamy and ruthlessness of the “Black Prince” were no mere rumors.
“N-no, no, that’s not it…!”
The professor, shocked, waved his hands frantically.
“L-Leonard’s proposal is off the table! It’s canceled!”
“What…?”
Leonard’s face froze as he watched the professor defy him.
“What did you just say…?”
“I said Leonard’s proposal is canceled! Please, I beg you!”
The professor, who should have been bowing to Leonard, was instead desperately pleading with Dale. Not Leonard.
As a master of the fourth circle, the professor could sense the artifact Dale wielded. That malevolence was not something a mere student could withstand. In fact, it was a force even he couldn’t handle.
And if any harm came from Dale, the responsibility would ultimately fall on the professor.
Even though he was usually preoccupied with appeasing Leonard, this was a situation he couldn’t allow.
The professor wasn’t bowing out of fear of Leonard himself. It was because of Leonard’s father, Walter the Crimson, an elder of the Red Tower and a sixth-circle wizard.
“P-please, let’s pretend that proposal never happened.”
The professor was practically begging Dale.
“Very well.”
In response to the professor’s plea, Dale nodded calmly. The shadows that had been swirling at his feet came to a halt.
For a moment, Leonard stood there, fists clenched and trembling. Dale, unfazed, turned away.
The dark blade vanished back into the shadows of his cloak.
The terrible malice that writhed there.
Just by unfurling his “Shadow Cloak,” everyone could sense it. After all, they were all on the path of magic, and among the most talented in the empire. They couldn’t not know.
The fact that Leonard hadn’t directly challenged Dale to a duel was a subconscious acknowledgment of the “difference in class.”
That was not something a mere wizard could handle. Yet, seeing Dale wield that dark artifact as if it were part of his own body, only one thought crossed their minds.
The rumors about the Saxon heir might not be entirely false.
It was unthinkable.
That dawn, outside the Royal Academy, Leonard Walter was shouting among the women of the red-light district, gulping down alcohol.
“That damn bastard!”
“Aaah!”
He was beating the student who should have faced “Dale of Saxon” in a magical duel in his stead.
“P-please forgive me!”
“Forgive? You piece of trash!”
Thud!
Leonard kicked the student lying in pain, indifferent to the fear-stricken classmates and courtesans who tried to maintain their composure.
Walter the Crimson. An elder of the Red Tower, a sixth-circle dark wizard, and a noble with the title of Pfalzgraf. Leonard was his eldest son.
In this kingdom, no one dared to oppose him. Or so it should have been.
“The shadow blade shown by the Saxon heir, maybe the rumors were true!”
“Well, he is the son of the Black Duke, he might really be the most talented in the empire.”
“Yeah, even Leonard was too scared to act recklessly.”
“Maybe Leonard isn’t as great as we thought. Even if he’s the elder’s son…”
“Well, he can’t do much in front of the Tower Master’s son.”
The entire academy was buzzing with gossip about that day’s events. Even the professors, who should have been trying to appease Leonard, were now wary of “Dale of Saxon.”
“Damn them all!”
He couldn’t stand it.
At twenty, he was a master of the third circle and on the verge of reaching the fourth. An elite wizard.
Since childhood, everyone praised Leonard’s talent, and he believed without a doubt that he was the most gifted wizard in the empire.
Until one day, the name “Dale of Saxon” started echoing from the remote northern lands.
At eight, he carved his first mana circle, at nine, his second, and by ten, he had reached the third circle.
Every year, news of “Dale’s talent” seemed to completely negate Leonard’s existence. So he desperately denied it. He couldn’t believe it. No, he didn’t want to believe it.
It was just exaggerated tales spread by gossipers.
There was no way someone that young could achieve such feats. The most talented wizard in the empire had to be Leonard Walter.
”…It’s me.”
Stopping his kicks, Leonard muttered like a drunkard.
“I’m the true genius of the empire.”
Desperately trying to affirm his own existence.