Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains.
Sitting in his office, Aol squinted his bleary eyes and let out a sigh.
Despite expecting the pile of docunts on his desk to gradually decrease, it stubbornly refused to diminish.
‘Even after an all-nighter, there’s no end in sight…’
Since he had always delegated estate affairs to his wife, his hands were slow, now that he had to handle them after a long break.
Just when the tempting thought of cutting a few corners crept into his mind, there was a knock at the door.
Knock, knock—
Aol swallowed nervously. “Co in.”
His wife entered, smiling brightly. “You were just thinking of sothing sneaky, weren’t you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Liar. You’re itching to go see the boys right now.”
Aol had no witty retort. He did indeed want to see how Mircel, whom he had recently trained, was faring and to confirm with his own eyes the achievents his eldest son had been praised for by the emperor.
Left with no choice, Aol swallowed his pride and confessed his true feelings. “I’ll finish the work later. I must go see them.”
“Don’t even think about it. Sit down.”
Her words were firm despite her smiling face.
Seeing the displeasure on his wife’s face, Aol flinched.
“I’m the one who’s been handling all your duties. Should I really have to sit here the whole ti during such an important event?”
He had no answer to that.
His wife had been waiting eagerly for this day, just like him.
Although he had suggested they go together, her ticulous nature wouldn’t allow for postponing their work.
‘If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I should’ve shared the workload regularly…’
In the end, he had only one option left—quickly skimming through the docunts and stamping them.
“Thinking sothing sneaky again?”
“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’ll review them afterward. Please, fulfill your duties as the lord of this land properly.”
Aol clicked his tongue softly.
His wife ignored his reaction and left the office.
Once in the hallway, she glanced at the door and smiled mischievously.
‘I hope Father doesn’t co.’
‘Did Hersel put you up to this?’
‘Ah, no…’
She recalled her conversation with Mircel when he visited.
It was obvious that Hersel, who had secretly enrolled in the magic departnt, had instructed his younger brother.
Though she felt slightly annoyed, she also felt reassured, thinking that Hersel was taking good care of his sibling.
‘At this rate, he won’t finish before the deadline.’
Though the reason wasn’t ideal, she felt sowhat relieved.
Watching her husband, who usually dropped everything to run off to dangerous regions, struggle with work was a small source of amusent.
***
The dod ceiling lood high above.
The giant skeletal remains of a chained monster swayed gently.
It was shaken by the booming voice of an old, bald man wearing a robe with a compass badge.
“This is an outrageous waste of budget!”
The gloved fist of the old man struck the table, causing the air to tremble.
Five other elderly n nearby frowned.
“Hey, stop banging on the table. It’s giving a headache.”
“Be grateful that my fist didn’t land on Arental’s face!”
“Tch, it’s not like I can’t understand your frustration.”
All eyes turned to Arental, a middle-aged man who was the youngest among them.
Despite the harsh glares from his senior colleagues, Arental maintained a good-natured smile.
“Haha, I only acted because I believed it was worth it.”
“Are you smiling?”
“This guy has no sense of the situation.”
Though it seed as if magic and swords might fly at any mont, Arental was also a senior mber.
Before the situation could escalate into an all-out brawl, one of the more rational elders stepped in to diate.
“We understand that the collapse of the fortress necessitates significant restoration costs. However, Arental, what you did is unacceptable.”
“I proposed additional budget allocations in case of unforeseen expenses. Everyone agreed to that.”
Arental responded while placing a docunt with the elders’ seals at the center of the table.
The vague budget proposal lacked specific details on potential additional costs, naturally drawing the ire of the elders.
“We expected a maximum of 30% over the total cost, not triple the amount!”
“You deceived us!”
“This isn’t sothing we can overlook lightly. It could jeopardize the entire organization!”
Calls for Arental’s dismissal, trial, and even execution were thrown around.
He had anticipated such reactions.
Support for active Pathfinders had already decreased.
Although there had been recent supply distributions, future issues could arise, potentially leading to casualties.
Yet Arental had a plan.
“We can make up for it.”
For a mont, silence filled the room.
The elderly n’s faces froze, dumbfounded by the absurd statent.
“What?”
When the bald elder, who was the first to regain his composure, asked, Arental called for his secretary.
“Noras, co in.”
The sound of shoes echoed across the tense atmosphere like stepping on thin ice.
Noras, trembling all over, cautiously opened a gold-embellished box.
The elders squinted, their faces questioning what it could be.
Soon, their eyes widened in shock as they saw the letter inside.
“T-That red seal…?”
“…Could it be a ssage from His Majesty?”
A shield divided into four sections—a clear emblem of imperial authority.
The sudden appearance of an imperial letter at such a delicate ti left the elders visibly shaken.
“At a ti like this? Why now?”
“Arental, does this have sothing to do with you?”
“Well, we’ll find out soon enough. Let’s have it read.”
With a tense expression, Noras cleared her throat and reverently read the letter aloud.
Skipping past the formal greetings and expressions of utmost reverence, the ssage was remarkably brief:
[If you win, I will fulfill your request. If you can, that is.]
“This concludes His Majesty’s ssage,” Noras finished.
The content was unmistakably sarcastic, the taunting tone evident in every word.
And the word “win” stood out clearly, carrying an obvious implication.
“If Frost Heart wins the upcoming Integrated Tournant, His Majesty has promised to open the Treasury.”
At Arental’s words, the elders’ jaws dropped.
The Imperial Treasury was known to be filled with priceless treasures beyond imagination—a veritable vault of the empire’s greatest relics.
Opening it would an granting access to unimaginable wealth and resources.
Even if they requested sothing modest, it would still be enough to cover any budget shortfall.
“Surely, you don’t expect us to be satisfied with just this?”
“I never thought you’d be foolish enough to fall for this, Arental.”
“This is mockery, plain and simple. His Majesty knows it’s impossible, so he made such a bold statent without hesitation.”
As the elders pointed out, the emperor’s attitude must have been one of disdain, as if thinking, ‘How dare they?’
A light-hearted reply thrown without serious intent.
But if such a thing were to actually happen…
“Let’s discuss my position after the results are out.”
With that, Arental left the chamber.
Once he was gone, the elders exchanged scoffs.
“Has that young fool lost his mind already?”
“Winning, huh. Now, if he had said third place, that would have sounded more realistic.”
“He must be acting on that report.”
“Ah, the spirit nonsense again? To think he’s falling for a ploy to ask for more funds. How naïve.”
One of the elders, who had been attempting to diate the tension, shook his head.
“I don’t believe Arental is that foolish. He must have a plan. Could it be… that?”
The bald elder’s eyes widened.
“If it’s that…?”
“That? What are you talking about?”
“Oh, you know. That filthy business.”
For the Academy, nothing was more valuable than winning the Integrated Tournant.
It spurred fierce competition, and at tis, even led to underhanded sches aid at eliminating rivals.
Though such tactics had diminished over ti, underhanded dealings still occasionally took place beneath the surface.
“If Valient and Wisdom fail to arrive on ti, there’s a chance.”
“No way. Are you suggesting Arental would stoop to dirty tricks himself?”
“Of course not. But there are plenty of others who would do such things, considering the scale of the event.”
There were nurous potential saboteurs.
Families seeking victory for their offspring.
Gamblers desperate for a specific outco.
And the shady operators who thrived on fulfilling these desires.
***
A smoke-filled hall.
A limping woman carefully read a piece of paper aloud, repeating the words to herself.
“The odds on Valient are insane…”
Hetherson, who had been half-drunk, tilted his head in curiosity.
“It ans that if sothing unexpected happens, our payout will be massive.”
“But we’re treasure hunters. Do we really have to get involved in this kind of thing?”
“This ti, there’s no choice. It’s important enough that even drug dealers have been recruited.”
Elena crumpled the paper in frustration.
“Still, why are we being asked to ss with a bunch of kids for so lousy event?”
“They’re about the sa age as us anyway.”
“Hmph, true. I’m still young, after all.”
She spoke in a slightly flustered tone, while Hetherson gave her a look that seed to say she was crazy, as usual, and calmly tried to persuade her.
“Don’t feel too bad. You were assigned to Valient, right? That ans they trust you.”
“Hah, whether we do it or not is up to us. Isn’t that right, Luon?”
Smoke curled around a sofa.
There was no doubt that Luon had reacted.
Elena approached the sofa’s backrest, shivering at the icy chill in the air.
“Luon?”
Luon’s body was encased in an ice crystal.
When she cautiously tapped it with her finger, the ice cracked with a sharp sound.
“I’ve been listening.”
Seeing Luon’s upper body erge, Hetherson felt a shiver down his spine.
‘This guy is truly a monster. To stay in that state for a whole week…?’
Hetherson couldn’t deny it—if he had to fight Luon now, he wasn’t confident he could win.
‘This isn’t sothing that can be achieved in just six months. It’s like ti flows differently for him. Was the shock really that great?’
It was likely due to his fight with the long-haired swordsman, Delruger.
If so, perhaps coaxing him would work well.
“Luon, this mission will be good for you too. I’m sure you’re itching for a fight, right?”
“That long-haired guy—will he be there?”
“No, but there might be soone even stronger.”
Hetherson grinned and said the na out loud.
“His na is Ares. He’s being considered as the next Sword Saint. Haven’t you heard of him? He might have surpassed Delruger a long ti ago.”
Luon’s eyes glead with interest.
“Ares Gel Derester?”
“You’ve heard of him too?”
“I’ve at least heard the na.”
But his expression quickly cooled again, as if he had lost interest. Just when Hetherson thought it was hopeless—
“Will Hersel from Frost Heart be participating too?”
Hetherson scratched his head.
He had already secured the list of participants in advance.
Moreover, considering Hersel was soone he could call his own disciple, it was only natural that he’d pay attention, even if Frost Heart was far from being a top contender.
“Right? But I’ve noticed you always seem a bit excited whenever that kid’s na cos up.”
“Enough with the chatter, Hetherson.”
Luon strapped his sword to his waist.
***
By the ti the sun had reached its peak, I set out toward the main gate.
The key mbers, who had been waiting in front of the carriage, looked visibly anxious, pacing nervously.
As I approached them leisurely, Bellman asked,
“Hersel, are you sure there’s nothing to worry about?”
It was a long-standing tradition that the road to the Integrated Tournant was fraught with all sorts of interference.
Where there was competition, there was gambling.
With many noble children from powerful families participating, all sorts of dirty tricks would inevitably co into play.
But as for Frost Heart?
“Relax, Bellman. Do you think anyone even considers us a threat?”
If they did, that in itself would be a form of recognition—sothing that Arkandric might actually be pleased to hear.
“…Still, they’ll be cautious around you, at the very least.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
The ‘one-second invincibility’ I had demonstrated was only in front of key mbers. No one was foolish enough to report it back to their families.
Besides, this wasn’t a one-on-one duel; it was a team competition where the outco was determined collectively. No one would be reckless enough to focus solely on a few individuals while ignoring the overall result.
Not to ntion, the other academies would be too busy keeping each other in check.
Still, to ease the worries of the anxious group, I pulled out my staff.
“If things go south, I’ll handle it with this.”
Thanks to the magic I had recently learned from Rockefeller, I had grown stronger.
Seeing the others smile in relief made feel sowhat better—it felt as though they were finally acknowledging my magical abilities.
“That’s reassuring. If you can prove yourself as a mage, even those planning to interfere will think twice and back off.”
“Shut up, Silla.”
To read Chapters ahead 👇
CH 216-220 (Integrated Academy Tournant) $3
CH 221-225 (The Underdog) $3
CH 226-230 (Who am I?) $3
CH 231-235 (Frostheart Vs Wisdom) $3
CH 236-240 (I want to lose) $3
CH 241-245 (Finals) $3
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