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[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 14
Liam was flustered by Zeke's sudden appearance.
He already knew that Durban, the Siemens' swordsman, had been beaten by Zeke.
The direct lineage faction he served had ordered him to observe the situation for the time being.
Leon gritted his teeth at Zeke.
"Zeke Draker. You've become arrogant just because you've awakened your pure-blood."
Zeke looked at Leon's group and said,
"Bow your heads while I'm still being nice."
Leon's face turned bright red at Zeke's words.
Blinded by rage, Leon forgot all about his superiors' orders and shouted at his followers.
"What are you doing! Get him!"
Most of Leon's followers were upperclassmen.
No matter how special a freshman might be, they wouldn't normally stand a chance against an upperclassman trained in Aura.
But Zeke wasn't your average freshman.
As he loosened his hand, he said,
"Three seconds have passed."
The upperclassmen charged at Zeke.
"You arrogant bastard! We'll teach you some academy manners!"
Zeke, seeing the upperclassman rushing towards him, assumed a boxing stance and threw a jab.
Thwack!
The upperclassman, unable to dodge Zeke's straight jab, took a direct hit.
Zeke aimed to follow up the jab with a low kick to the thigh.
But the upperclassman, struck by the jab, lost consciousness and collapsed.
Zeke's movements, constantly enhanced by his Combat Sense skill, were on a different level compared to the other students.
Seeing an upperclassman fall with a single light jab made Leon and his group flinch.
Zeke looked at them and said,
"I'll give you one more chance. Bow your heads."
Leon, feeling the terrifying aura emanating from Zeke, broke out in a cold sweat.
"D-Damn it."
Leon shouted at the upperclassmen.
"What are you doing! Hurry up and grab him!"
At Leon's command, about five upperclassmen cautiously surrounded Zeke, closing the distance.
Looking at the faces of the approaching upperclassmen, Zeke muttered to himself.
‘I was truly pathetic in the past. To think I cried every day after getting beaten by these guys.’
Back then, the upperclassmen seemed like an insurmountable wall.
Zeke slowly raised his fist.
"Clench your teeth."
In an instant, Zeke's fist began its assault.
Whoosh!
His right hand shot out in a straight line.
Like a spear thrusting forward, his punch flew precisely towards the man's philtrum.
Kaboom!
It was as if the upperclassman's head had exploded.
His face caved in by a single punch, the upperclassman lost consciousness and collapsed.
Zeke didn't stop there.
Turning clockwise from where he stood, he punched the faces of the upperclassmen surrounding him.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Without even a moment to guard, the upperclassmen were knocked down by Zeke's punches.
They didn't even have a chance to use their Aura properly.
Zeke stood tall amidst the fallen upperclassmen.
Leon trembled as he watched.
'H-How...?'
The Zeke he knew, who used to cower in fear at the mere raise of his hand, was gone, replaced by someone completely different.
Zeke slowly approached Leon.
Leon quickly drew the sword from his waist.
Zeke's eyes narrowed at the sight.
"You do know what it means to draw your sword outside the training ground, don't you, Leon Conrad?"
While anything was permitted within the training ground, Draker did not allow the drawing of real swords outside of it.
Drawing a real sword was considered a life-or-death duel, and no one could be held responsible for any deaths that occurred.
Zeke looked at Liam Stone behind him and said,
"Liam Stone. You're the witness. Leon Conrad drew his real sword first, showing intent to kill, and I will respond with the same intent."
At the same time, Zeke also drew the claymore he wore on his back.
A murderous aura emanated from the gleaming blade of the claymore.
Although Leon stood with his sword drawn, he was already overwhelmed by Zeke's aura.
Zeke put down his teacup and took out a piece of parchment from his pocket.
"Professor. Could you take a look at this for a moment?"
Paynun glanced over the blueprint of the forge that Zeke handed him.
At first, Paynun's gaze was casual, but his expression gradually grew serious.
He asked Zeke, staring intently at the blueprint,
"Where... where did you get this?"
Seeing Paynun's reaction, Zeke realized he had come to the right place.
'There are many combat mages, but surprisingly few who can design magic-powered devices. This is fortunate.'
Zeke asked Paynun,
"Professor, I'll ask you directly. This magic-powered mechanism used in this forge... Can you design it?"
Paynun looked at the blueprint, then rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought for a moment.
He put down the blueprint, looked at Zeke, and said,
"I don't know where you got this, but... I think if you commissioned this to the Magic Tower, they would either refuse or charge you at least ten thousand gold."
Zeke was surprised by Paynun's words.
"How did you know that?"
Paynun smiled wryly at Zeke's reaction.
"When the Magic Tower receives a request that's not profitable, they indirectly say it's difficult to take on. Because no one would actually spend ten thousand gold to make a forge."
Zeke recalled that Gelion from the future had actually made this forge.
Though he didn't know if Gelion had actually paid ten thousand gold to the Magic Tower or hired another mage.
Paynun stroked his chin and said,
"To answer your question, it is possible."
Zeke's expression brightened at his words.
"Really? If so, I'd like to commission the design from you, Professor."
Just then, Paynun raised his hand.
"Before that, it would be good to hear my explanation first."
Paynun spread out the blueprint, pointed to the core part of the forge, and said,
"This part here is the core. Every magic-powered device has this core. But... as you can see, the core of this forge is unusual."
"What do you mean?"
"It's the size of a small core, but its output is greater than that of a large core. This is probably why the Magic Tower would refuse the commission."
Paynun continued his explanation.
"Furthermore, the output of this core needs to be freely adjustable with almost no time lag. It's an incredibly complex and difficult mechanism to create."
Zeke looked at Paynun and said,
"But you're saying it's still possible to design?"
Paynun said with a serious expression,
"There are two ways. The first is for me to design the mechanism, taking into account the two conditions mentioned above. The problem is that just calculating it would roughly take... about ten years."
Zeke's jaw dropped.
Paynun continued,
"The second is that if you have a high-compression magic stone, you can make this forge with a simple mechanism."
Zeke's eyes widened.
"A high-compression magic stone? Isn't that an ancient artifact that can't be made with modern technology?"
Paynun nodded.
"That's right. They're rare, as they're sometimes found in ancient ruins, and they're incredibly expensive. A magic stone with enough output for this forge would cost about three thousand gold."
Zeke fell into thought again.
Even if he was a pure-blooded Draker, it was impossible for a freshman who had just entered the academy to raise a large sum of three thousand gold.
If he became a formal knight of the main family, he would be able to obtain not only fifty thousand gold but also a high-compression magic stone, but it was impossible for him now.
'Hmm... I need Gelion's sword to fully utilize the power of my ether hall. This is a headache.'
Mana's power was closer to raw, pure natural energy, and since it wasn't something humans could handle in the first place, it was tricky to even perform applied techniques.
However, if mana could be converted into Aura, it would be possible to perform human swordsmanship using the power of the ether hall.
That's why the solar sword Gram was essential to Zeke.
'Damn it, but where can I get a high-compression magic stone right now?'
While Zeke was agonizing over this, Paynun was carefully examining the blueprint and exclaimed in admiration.
"By the way, this blueprint is really well-made. Apart from the core, the other parts have an incredibly efficient structure. This is something that's hard to find even in Golden Age ruins..."
Paynun's words brought Zeke to his senses.
"W-wait. What did you just say?"
"Huh? Golden Age ruins..."
Suddenly, something flashed through Zeke's mind.
'If it's a Golden Age ruin...'
One of the pieces of information from the future came to mind.
Zeke got up from his seat and said to Paynun,
"Professor, I'd like to request that you design the mechanism by the time I return."
"You're really commissioning the design? It could take about ten, no, fifteen years or more..."
"I'll bring it."
"What are you talking about?"
"A high-compression magic stone."
Zeke said with a serious expression.
"I have a way to get it."
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]