Chapter 889

“Uh, so, the Prime Minister’s statement at the time was quite political, and depending on interpretation, it could be seen as undermining the authority of the royal family…”

In Lecture Hall 2 of Building 2, the Basic History of Bariel class was underway. The professor’s slow, dragging explanation split the students’ reactions sharply.

Some were trying hard to stay alert and focus—

While others were out cold, snoring away as if they’d been knocked out.

Snore… snore…

Snoring sounds echoed from all corners, but the professor paid no mind and slowly flipped the pages of his book.

Knock knock.

“Yes?”

The professor adjusted his glasses and turned toward the door. The sound of the door sliding open sharply snapped the dozing students awake.

“Good afternoon.”

A young child, about five or six years old, with platinum blonde hair stood confidently at the entrance. Behind him, a few older students stood awkwardly. After exchanging brief eye contact, the child nodded and disappeared down the hall.

The professor adjusted his glasses again and asked,

“Ian Hadel?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Please take the empty seat.”

“Thank you.”

Ian scanned the room and found the vacant spot. It was beside a kid who kept mumbling to himself with his head bowed. The seat was in the third row from the front, and strangely, it was the only empty one.

“Ian Hadel? The magician?”

“Wow, so Energess really did come.”

“I told you! Why didn’t you believe me?”

“Shh, they’ll hear you.”

Ian sat down and glanced at the kid next to him. The boy had long black hair and was staring fixedly at the blackboard. His name tag read ‘Hans.’ Ian cautiously whispered,

“Hi.”

It was his first day at school, first class, first friend. Nervous but excited, Ian greeted him, but the reply was flat and indifferent.

“Uh, hi. Please don’t talk during class.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Meanwhile, the other students whispered among themselves, gossiping about Ian—the first-ever student magician.

Hans ignored them all, glaring silently. “Those who can’t study just sleep like before. Why so noisy? Never seen a midterm transfer student?”

“Whoa, look, Hans’ eyes are open.”

“Shh, quiet.”

Everyone in the class knew how serious Hans was about his studies. He wouldn’t tolerate any chatter, and he especially didn’t want the kid next to him to fall asleep. It distracted him. That’s why, in the packed lecture hall, Hans’ seat was the only one left empty.

“…Where were we?”

“The part about the Prime Minister’s statement.”

“Oh, right. That’s it.”

Ian glanced at the blackboard and Hans’ textbook before opening his own book.

“At that time, Emperor Jin Verosion led the Great Magic War to victory, but he had deep conflicts with his supporters, causing considerable turmoil within the royal palace…”

Ah, that name sounded familiar. Ian’s eyes lit up at ‘Jin Verosion’—the iron-willed emperor who saved him from Kroni and guided him to the Magic Department.

“…Especially, the so-called ‘Unknown Magician,’ known as the Golden Magician, was sentenced to record erasure, leaving a blank in history. However, based on records left in Burgos, Clifford, and Luswena, scholars have been able to piece together some details. The content is as follows: ‘Jin Verosion successfully suppressed the rebellion of the Golden Magician, solidifying his power—’”

“Professor.”

Hans raised his hand and asked,

“Regarding the Unknown Magician, if he was hailed as the top contributor to the Great Magic War, he must have been incredibly powerful. How did the royal palace manage to suppress him?”

“Hmm. At the time, he completely lost his standing in the Magic Department due to conflicts with the palace. Cornered and desperate, he staged a rebellion. During that process, the conspirators made mistakes, and information leaked. He ended up in a situation even magic couldn’t fix—that’s the consensus among scholars.”

“How foolish.”

Hans snorted, and Ian, who had been quietly listening, raised his hand. The professor nodded, inviting the question.

“If he was that powerful, wouldn’t he have had no need to conspire with others?”

Since he came from the Magic Department, he must have known the palace’s security system very well. So why did he risk everything?

Hans shot Ian a sharp look. What was he saying? No matter how strong, how could one person take on so many magicians alone?

“That’s a good question, Ian Hadel.”

Huh? Hans turned to the professor in disbelief.

“There are several puzzling points about the rebellion. Some scholars even argue that Emperor Jin Verosion staged the whole thing to strengthen royal authority.”

“…What could have driven the Unknown Magician to go that far?”

“Only the person involved would know. If it was truly to strengthen the throne, we can assume he was a loyal subject.”

“Even if it meant risking death?”

As if waiting for this question, the professor’s eyes sparkled.

“A deeply loyal person could certainly do that. That’s the basis for the scholars who support the staged rebellion theory.”

“What is that based on?”

“After the record erasure sentence, traces believed to be from the Unknown Magician were found all over Gaia.”

Meaning he didn’t die but wandered across Gaia. If he truly harbored rebellion, he would have been executed immediately.

Hans frowned, puzzled. He had done some preliminary study before entering Energess, but he’d never learned about this. The professor’s story was probably a minority view not accepted by mainstream academia.

“Of course, whether it’s true or not is still debated. That’s the problem with record erasure—it leaves so much confusion for future generations.”

Tsk. The professor adjusted his glasses and cautioned the students.

“What I just shared is a minority theory, not officially recognized by academia. Take it lightly.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Now, moving on…”

Trailing off, the professor flipped the page, and Ian gripped his pen. The soft scratching of notes filled the room pleasantly.

Tick-tock.

“…That’s all for today’s lecture.”

It was the fifth straight hour without a break. As the professor packed up and left the podium, most students collapsed onto their desks with groans—everyone except Ian and Hans.

So many interesting subjects, yet as freshmen, they were stuck with this torture.

“Hey, Ian Hadel?”

“Yeah?”

Ian looked up from his notes at his friends. They seemed hesitant but eager to say something. When he stared at them, one finally spoke.

“Um, do you want to have lunch with us?”

“Oh.”

Ian was hungry anyway. He glanced at Hans beside him.

“Sure. Hans, you want to come too—”

But Hans didn’t give him a chance. He jumped up, grabbed his bag, and muttered something nonstop as he left the classroom alone.

“Don’t mind him. He’s always weird.”

“He’s really passionate about studying.”

“Probably because of the scholarship. Maybe his family’s struggling.”

“Still, he’s way too sensitive. He suddenly hit me on the back of the head with his pencil case last time.”

“That’s because you snore too loud.”

“No, still!”

While hanging out with his friends, Ian kept glancing toward where Hans had disappeared. Maybe it was because he was impressed by how intensely Hans had focused during class. He just couldn’t help but look.

When Ian pulled out his lunchbox, all eyes turned to him. Everyone wondered what a noble’s lunch looked like.

“Ooooh!”

“Just meat?”

“Hana packed extra to share.”

“Wow!”

Ignoring his friends’ relentless fork attacks on his lunch, Ian glanced out the window. Hans was crossing the campus grounds. That was the main gate side?

Creaaak.

Hans stood outside the main gate, waiting for someone. The area was quiet. The guard seemed used to seeing Hans and casually wrote in his duty log.

Ding!

“Hans!”

A boy with long brown hair tied back, wearing a gentle smile, rode down the hill on a bicycle. Hans’ sullen expression brightened.

“Hyung!”

Skid!

The boy Hans called ‘Hyung’ stopped his bike and handed him a small lunchbox. It was just dry bread, jam, and a boiled egg, but it was all they had.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“No, I just got out.”

“Come inside and eat. You must be hungry.”

Because of Hans’ family situation, his older brother brought him lunch from work. It was the best food they had at home.

“Hyung, are you going straight back?”

“Of course. Studying hard as always.”

Ding!

The brother rang his bike bell lightly and smiled. The guard at the post looked up and nodded at the brothers.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Hey, you’re always working hard.”

The guard glanced at the lunchbox in Hans’ hand. They were a rare pair of brothers with a strong bond, seen every day as the older one brought meals for his younger sibling.

“Be careful, Naum.”

Naum nodded and pedaled back up the hill.

Hans watched his brother’s retreating figure for a long moment, then bit into the bread and swallowed. There was no time to be lost daydreaming.

‘My brother works so hard because of me. I have to get that scholarship no matter what.’

Hans quickly finished his lunch and turned to head back to the lecture hall.

“…?”

A strange pair of wings and a tail were visible atop Building 2’s roof.

Frowning, Hans squinted, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. The security guard nearby followed his gaze and looked up toward the roof of Building 2.

“Huh.”

That—

“Isn’t that a dragon?”

“…Why would there be a dragon?”

“Exactly. Why would a dragon be here?”

“…”

Though taken aback, this was Enerjes—anything could happen here. Hans shook his head and went on his way, while the guard, wearing a bored expression, picked up his radio to report the sighting.

---

“Hey, Ian.”

“Yeah?”

Ian answered with his cheeks stuffed full of meat. One of the students cautiously spoke up.

“We’ve got some time before the next class after lunch. Want me to show you around the school?”

“Hmm, hold on.” Ian glanced over the schedule the headmaster had given him. Just as the others said, there was about an hour and a half of free time.

“Alright. That’d be great, thanks.”

“Do you have a map?”

“No, I don’t.”

Was there even a map? They’d handed him everything else—how did they forget the most important thing? Ian thought maybe this was why the professor wasn’t popular.

The students smiled faintly at Ian’s answer.

“It’s okay. We don’t have one either. For security reasons, there’s no official map. Instead, we memorize the routes by taking notes as we go. The place is huge.”

“Oh.”

So that was it. Ian rolled his eyes and pictured the headmaster, Dashua, with his thick fur-covered face. He felt a little sorry.

“It’s not just big, the paths are complicated, and there are lots of hidden spots. It’s easy to get lost if you’re not careful.”

“I see.”

Ian had gotten lost a few times even inside Count Jacques’ estate. Maybe it was something like that. Once they finished eating, the group headed out, and the students kindly explained as they walked around the campus.

“This is the faculty building. It’s a bit different from the administration office. And over there is the library, cafeteria, training grounds…”

“Students who mainly study Eastern magic have most of their classes in the west wing. The buildings around the training grounds are for martial artists, including magic swordsmen.”

“And this way, Ian.”

They approached a flowerbed that looked like the entrance to a garden tucked into a bright corner of the campus. Unlike the other areas, it felt a bit heavy with a strange energy, and it was unusually quiet.

“This is?”

“This is a garden students often visit. The inside is much bigger and beautifully maintained. Want to go in?”

“Sure.”

Without suspicion, Ian followed his friends into the garden. They hadn’t even taken a few steps before the surroundings suddenly grew dense and lush. It felt like the scenery had changed in an instant.

Curious, Ian smiled and turned around.

“This place is really—”

Amazing!

Just as Ian was about to say it—

“…Huh?”

He realized he was alone in the garden.

His friends had vanished in the blink of an eye.