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The fatty opened his mouth with a smug expression.

“A flame spell that blooms through the mediation of my and Sarins’ souls!”

At first, I was surprised, thinking he was chanting a spell….

But soon I realized that I had no memory of such a spell.

That’s right.

It’s just meaningless showmanship.

“Haaaah!”

The fatty crossed his hands so fast they were invisible, while making strange noises with his mouth.

“Chachachach!”

Finally, when the guy let out a strange yell, clasped his hands together, and even drew a triangle…

I couldn’t take it anymore.

Let’s go. Let’s get this over with.

I wrapped ‘Wind Barrier’ around my entire body, jumped towards the fatty, and chanted a spell.

“Slippery Earth, Grease.”

“What the, ugh!”

The moment the fatty slipped and fell on his butt…

I jumped diagonally, overlapping the Wind Barrier on my right foot, and stomped down towards the fatty’s face.

The so-called ‘Fly Like the Wind and Stomp’.

Meanwhile, a Fire Sphere shot out from the guy’s hands, but it didn’t matter. It’s only as powerful as a Fireball.

I split the Fire Spear with my foot in the same flying stomp motion, landing a kick right on the fatty’s face.

Wham—

“Guuueeeek!”

Situation over.

From then on, I just let my instincts take over, diligently stomping on the fatty’s entire body with both feet.

Thud— Thudthudthud—!

“Guuueeeeeaaaak!”

When I came to my senses again, the fatty was unconscious with bruises all over his body, and everyone around me was staring at me in shock.

“…You, you.”

The one whose expression changed the most was Instructor Dyke.

His jaw was practically on the floor as he stared at me blankly.

“What is this… How did you do that with a chant…”

After a long silence, the instructor suddenly blurted out these words.

“Where did you learn Earth magic?”

“You’re talking nonsense again.”

“Don’t tell me you have connections with the Yellow Tower?”

“I don’t.”

“Grease is a Specialized Spell with an undisclosed manifestation method. How did you learn Grease?”

An undisclosed spell?

Grease is a basic spell. It’s quite useful among lower-circle spells.

I briefly met Dyke’s eyes. He didn’t seem to be lying.

The Yellow Tower is specialized in Earth magic, so are they trying to monopolize it? Does that mean other Towers have undisclosed spells too?

‘What a stupid thing to do.’

When I didn’t answer, Dyke’s expression hardened, and he left even though the training time wasn’t over yet.

* * *

I quickly grabbed a bite to eat and gathered my subordinates.

Most of them were frowning, and some even looked completely despondent. The instructor had backed down from me without a word, so it must have felt like the sky was falling.

I know a great way to cheer them up in times like this.

“Those with frowns on their faces, step forward.”

The trainees’ faces instantly brightened. That’s how much I care about my subordinates.

“Alright, then run!”

“One! Two! Three! Four!”

By the time we finished a lap around the mountainside, the sun was setting.

The trainees each let out a sigh and started doing squats without being told.

Having done it a few times, they all held up pretty well today.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll let them off easy. We have a long way to go, so it’s time for the next step.

“From now on, we’ll combine magic. Maintain the squat position and manifest a 1st Circle Fireball.”

“Ugh…”

Among the trainees who were frowning, two guys had a gleam in their eyes.

Zion and Makan.

The two of them seemed to have been inspired by what they saw from me in the morning.

They were running around the training ground, drawing Fireball sigils as if they had been waiting for this. It was quite gratifying to see that they understood my intentions.

Since they’re so eager, I should reward them.

I joined them, running around the training ground while chanting the Fireball spell.

Faster than them, with several times the power.

It was quite a sight to see Zion’s face contort in frustration.

Yes, practice like your life depends on it with that anger.

You’ll soon realize that you can never achieve this with sigils.

Just then…

“Hey!”

A familiar voice sent chills down my spine.

The fatty, with bruises all over his face, was walking towards the training ground.

“Can I join you?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Only my subordinates can participate.”

“Then can I practice with you if I become your subordinate?”

The fatty’s eyes sparkled as he looked at me, and I couldn’t help but take a step back.

“I can’t accept you as a subordinate.”

“Then how can I become your subordinate? I really want to learn Ruin’s magic. It’s a type I’ve never seen before.”

“Just shut up!”

Listening to the fatty’s tone of voice made my nerves tingle.

I even felt uncomfortable hitting this fatty. When I hit him earlier, it didn’t feel good even then.

“Create a Mana Circle. If you can’t, don’t ever talk to me again.”

“Hmm…”

It seemed to work, thankfully, as he quickly came up with an excuse.

The fatty lingered for a while, then turned away with a dejected look.

I found myself staring at the fatty’s back, and in the meantime, his right hand rose into the air again.

Only three fingers were extended.

Thumb, index, and pinky.

* * *

I barely managed to get rid of the fatty and looked around, only to see that the trainees had already gone into their quarters.

Only Zion and Makan remained, still training.

I was about to grab the deserters and break their legs, but Zion’s face caught my eye.

He was limping on one leg, his body clearly at its limit, but he was still forcing himself to run alongside Makan, shooting Fireballs.

Hmm…

Suddenly curious, I stopped them.

“That’s enough training for today.”

Zion crouched down on the spot, letting out a deep sigh.

I approached him and sat down in the same position.

The sunlight had completely disappeared, but the training ground still held some warmth.

The head of the straw dummy I had hit with Fireballs was burning like a campfire.

We both stared at the crackling flames for a moment.

Zion slowly turned his head.

“Ruin Samael.”

Zion said, meeting my eyes.

“Does this really have any meaning?”

“Of course. The foundation of magic is physical strength.”

“You’re the only one who says that. I need to be able to trust it.”

“Why are you following along if you don’t trust it?”

“Because you’re stronger than me.”

“Dyke is stronger than me, though?”

“The instructor doesn’t teach us sincerely. But you’re sincere. I don’t know if you’re crazy or what, but you believe that the foundation of magic is physical strength. I can tell. You’re doing the same training as us.”

“You’re perceptive. Then why don’t you learn Mana Circle as well?”

“I’d rather not.”

I smacked him on the back of the head. The kid talks too much without even making a Mana Circle.

But Zion didn’t cower after getting hit. Instead…

“I need to get stronger.”

Zion’s face was burning red like the campfire.

‘Hmm.’

I was curious. Why was this guy, barely twenty years old, acting like this?

“Zion, where are you from?”

“Kaoto.”

“Family?”

“None, anymore.”

“Is that related to why you despise knights?”

“…”

Zion suddenly clenched his lips.

I could feel Makan looking at Zion with a puzzled expression.

After a moment of silence, Zion spoke again.

“My father was a merchant. Well, not your typical merchant, but…”

As the campfire burned on, Zion’s story continued for a long time.

By the time he finished, the surroundings were completely dark.

I shot a Fireball to rekindle the flames on the straw dummy.

Fwoosh—

‘Tsk, they say everyone has a story.’

Zion was the son of a shady merchant who mainly dealt in stolen goods.

One day, his father bought a strange sword at Kaoto’s underground auction, and that was the beginning of their downfall.

“A sword?”

“It was an ornate sword engraved with Rune letters.”

“Did it emit light from the Runes?”

“It was red. I remember it clearly.”

“Red light means it’s either a 5th Circle or higher Flame spell, or a holy relic. It must have been a high-level item. It’s strange that something like that ended up in an underground auction. Where was the auction house?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I know a lot about Kaoto’s commercial district, but I never went to pick up goods myself. My father didn’t take me because it was dangerous. Besides, he never told me the location of the underground auction house.”

“You should have handled it with care.”

“We’re not new to this business, we know that much. The problem was that it didn’t even take a day.”

On the very evening they bought the item, unknown knights raided their home, seized the sword, and slaughtered his entire family in front of him.

Zion sensed something was wrong and hid in a secret attic, luckily avoiding detection.

“Those damn bastards…”

Seeing Zion’s expression as he spat out those words, I was reminded of my own childhood.

“…”

As I listened to his story, I learned that Makan’s situation wasn’t much different from Zion’s.

Makan was a slave from Leon, a city near Kaoto.

Unable to endure the brutal abuse, he secretly escaped to Kaoto and eventually ended up in Samael.

I asked about the other subordinates’ situations, and they were all roughly similar.

Orphans, slaves, beggars.

None of them were without a story.

“…”

The three of us stared at the crackling flames in silence for a while.

As the fire gradually died down, I spoke to them.

“Go inside and rest for now. Oh, and tell Iron and Ain to come out here.”

“Why those two?”

“They have to do squats for another hour.”

I remembered clearly.

This morning, when the instructor came while they were doing squats, the two of them exchanged glances and collapsed.

“Alright.”

“Okay, then go in… Wait a minute.”

The moment I saw Zion’s subtly twitching lips, I felt a sudden chill down my spine.

“Come here.”

“…Why?”

As Zion backed away, I kindly approached him and smacked him on the back of the head again.

Wham—

“Ouch! Damn it, really.”

“Use honorifics, kid.”

* * *

A few days passed.

The instructor no longer cared what I did.

No, it felt like he was desperately trying to ignore me.

His attitude towards the trainees was the same. It was obvious to anyone that he was forcing himself to conduct the lessons.

Zion told me that the instructor would be returning to the Tower soon.

Once the useless instructor’s lessons were over, it would be my time again.

Today, as usual, I returned to the training ground after physical training, and someone unwelcome was waiting for me.

“Hey.”

It was the fatty.

I don’t know why he keeps hanging around me.

I have a feeling he has some sort of affection for me… which is even more disgusting.

Whenever I see the fatty, something inexplicable wells up from deep inside me.

Thinking about it carefully, it’s because I’ve never seen anyone like him, neither in my past life nor in this one.

The moment I saw the fatty, I clenched my fists and warned him.

“I clearly told you not to show up. Go away.”

“Hmph.”

But he puffed out his chest and smiled broadly, as if to show off.

That confident expression sent a wave of unease through me.

It was ominous.

Something was very ominous.

It felt like something huge was coming.

Alarms blared in the Crazy Mage’s mind.

I unconsciously tried to cover the fatty’s mouth, but his mouth opened first.

“Burning flame, Fireball.”

The mana in the air around the fatty fluctuated, and a small fireball ignited.

Fwoosh—!

It was definitely a Mana Circle.

————