CH 11

The book in his hand flashed. Then, a red dragon appeared, burning with fire in the air. Nathan’s eyes lit up at the sight. He had seen some magic before, but it didn’t really move him. However, the image before his eyes made him feel that this was truly magic, which made his heart flutter.

“As you know, Belganus was the first dragon to appear on this land. He was the ‘head of the dragons’, the ‘Great Sage’ (대현자) who gave wisdom to humans, and a ‘prophet’ who listened to God. In this way, all dragons have mastered magic, and we have decided to call them ‘sages’. Among them, Belganus was said to be so powerful and possessed more power than any other dragon that he was called the Great Sage.”

Whenever Melkiel talked, the illusion that appeared in the air changed every moment and made him more immersed in the story. It was like Melkiel was reading a fairy tale.

“Originally, magic was reserved for dragons. It was a power that humans could not even dare to overcome. However, these days, many people are able to use magic and it naturally permeates into their lives. The reason was due to the grace of Belganus. Belganus wanted humans and dragons to coexist with each other. To fight against a common enemy. I don’t even have to tell you what the common enemy is, right?”

“Yes! Demons!”

“Dungeons, too!”

“Yes, and in ancient times, ‘dungeons’ were the biggest problems.”

Various dungeons appeared, such as in the mysterious cave, or as a strange space under the lake, or in the fields, and evil-looking monsters appeared around the entrances.

“At that time, it was an unfortunate world for humans and dragons to live in. Dragons with great power had fewer populations than humans. Of course, not only humans live on this land, but also a small number of other races, such as the elves, the dwarves, and the beasts. Well, they too were weaker than the dragons, so it was difficult to keep order in the world by themselves. On the contrary, humans were the most numerous but powerless of all the creatures on this land. They used weapons, but they couldn’t use ‘magic’, so it took dozens of humans to defeat one monster.”

The images of various races quickly appeared and disappeared, showing humans fighting against demons. The illusion was so vivid that Nathan frowned at the cruelty displayed, uneasy However, Melkiel’s voice was still soft.

“The situation is very different from now, isn’t it? The balance of power was out of order and the ecosystem was in jeopardy. It was not unusual for a village that was fine yesterday to disappear from the map the next day. At this time, Belganus made a prophecy.”

Nathan sighed briefly. He seemed to know what Melkiel was going to say.

“[In the distant future, a hero will be born to save the world.]”

The words that came out, strangely, stuck in Nathan’s ears, like Melkiel said it with mana. Nathan knew the prophecy because it was mentioned in <Hazard>.

“It was impossible to get rid of the dungeons altogether at that time. In addition, Belganus’s prophecies were absolute, following the words of God. So far, all of his predictions have come true. As a result, the dragons made a decision. First, the dragons taught humans the concept of ‘mana’, and finally, taught them how to use ‘magic’. Then they used all their power to seal the dungeons that spread all over the continent and waited for a hero to be born to save the world. They decided to leave it to future generations.”

And what followed was similar to what Nathan had read in the original novel. He was inwardly amazed and waited for his next words.

“These days, dragons are more like fantasy recorded in history, but the fact remains that they once existed. My eyes hold the proof and so many of their stories have been recorded and passed down by humans. Well, I ended up saying a lot of things that had nothing to do with class. Let’s move on for now…”

Then he quickly turned a page of the book. Each time, the images floating in the air quickly changed. When Melkiel stopped turning the pages, what appeared was a dragon using magic.

“Magic is the most beautiful and mysterious thing in this world.”

Nathan agreed with that. The magic he had seen so far was truly mysterious and the magic present before his eyes right now was beautiful.

“Magic begins with ‘language’. People who do not know magic are often mistaken. Magic begins with language—that is, ‘words’. You’ve all heard of it, right? There is a saying: ‘words have power’. Words can sometimes be blades that hurt people and sometimes they save people, but words alone don’t make the magic work. You need three things to use magic. So, who wants to tell me what those three things are?”

The students looked at each other and raised their hands. Melkiel glanced through the crowd once and pointed out one person.

“Yes, Student Remburton (렘버튼), please tell me.”

Remburton was a boy with dark blue hair—almost black—tied together. The boy called “Remburton” dressed neatly in a school uniform opened his mouth.

“The first is mana, the second is the medium, and the third is the magic circle.”

“That’s right. You did a great job.”

Remburton spoke in a rather blunt voice and Melkiel praised him more than he expected. Nathan was surprised for another reason than Melkiel and was relieved that he was sitting in the back.

‘Why is Remburton here…?’

Nathan was so surprised to hear the name Remburton that he could not properly manage his facial expression. He covered his mouth with his hand on top of which his chin rested and looked out of the window. Nathan’s mind began to run busily.

‘Remburton Barcella (렘버튼 바르셀라).’

Nathan knew him because, of course, he was one of Hazard’s colleagues. But there was another reason why Nathan was surprised. The fact that he, who supposed to be in the Swordsmanship Department like in the novel, was in the Magic Department shook Nathan.

‘It’s different from the original. Why? Originally, Remburton should be in the Swordsmanship Department. He’s supposed to be with Hazard… Why are you in the Magic Department? Of course, any human who can handle magic can learn magic. But it is strange that he, who has only learned swordsmanship since childhood, suddenly transferred to the Magic Department to learn magic…!’

Nathan chewed his lip without realizing it. He didn’t do anything, but it was a bad sign that the story was changing. He needed to find out why, but how could he figure it out by himself?

‘Should I talk to Remburton…? But perhaps Remburton knew Nathan, who was in the same Swordsmanship major. Then it wouldn’t be good to blindly rush into a conversation.’

Remburton, the second son of the Marquis Barcella, met Hazard for the first time in elementary school and had been with him ever since. In short, they were childhood friends. He believed in the powerless Fifth Prince, and became his knight and colleague. It was he who joined Aurora Academy and became Hazard’s first colleague.

So maybe it was because of Hazard that he came to the Magic Department. What might Hazard be interested in the Magic Department for…? In the original work, Hazard himself studied swordsmanship, so he met his early colleagues and made friends with them. Of course, Hazard didn’t meet all his colleagues only in the Swordsmanship Department. There were also people in the Magic Department and the Spirit Department. However, Hazard recruited a wizard shortly after he went on an adventure.

“…words are used to define what kind of magic will be created, magic tools (the medium) help mana flow more finely and more precisely, and magic circles play a role in realizing the phenomenon of intangible words.” (TN: as in, magic circles put the magic words into effect; makes the magic happen, etc)

But Nathan’s thoughts did not last long. Melkiel’s class was also necessary for Nathan today, so he decided to postpone the issue of Remburton for a while.

* * *

A navy-haired boy was crossing the halls of the Magic Department with a modest pace. The unique fierce face was so cold that the passing students were frightened and avoided the boy. Either way, the boy, Remburton Barcella, didn’t even care. Remburton quickly left the Magic Department, heading to the Swordsmanship Department. However, when he arrived at the entrance of the Swordsmanship Department building, Remburton stopped for a moment without entering the building. After a brief pause, Remburton turned away and headed elsewhere.