Chapter 125

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 125: Artificial Island, Ivemir (2)

In the northern part of the continent, there is a lake called Sylvarine.

Its waters are so cold that even most fish cannot survive, making it a lake of death.

Behind the lake, the crimson mountain range comes into view, creating an enchanting and mysterious landscape.

248 years ago, an emperor, captivated by this mysterious scenery, ordered the construction of an artificial island on the lake.

The project was massive, even by today’s standards, requiring an unprecedented amount of labor, resources, and funding, all recorded as historical feats.

“Just the construction itself took over 20 years. It’s practically a landmark of the empire.”

Oscar, sitting in the passenger seat of the car, muttered to himself.

Fran, who was behind the wheel, responded,

“There was such an incredible place up north? That’s strange. Then why haven’t I ever heard of it?”

“…Because it’s a stain on the imperial family’s legacy.”

The artificial island of Ivemir.

It was a place constructed solely to host the Night of the Mages.

However, the event ended in complete failure.

‘After that, the artificial island was thoroughly abandoned.’

Even if they had wanted to make use of it, it would have been difficult.

The location was so remote, even for the northern region, that access to it was nearly impossible.

What was once expected to be one of the emperor’s great achievements became an embarrassment and was forgotten.

“Hmm, so they canceled the Night of the Mages even after investing so much?”

“I told you, someone died during the event.”

“Well… it might sound a bit psychopathic to say this, but isn’t death at such events pretty common? Even in the imperial Festival of Swords, knights die in droves, but it’s never been canceled.”

Now that he mentioned it, that was true.

Though brutal, deaths were indeed commonplace at such competitive events.

‘…Could there be some deeper secret behind the cancellation of the Night of the Mages that I don’t know about?’

As he pressed his lips together in silence, Fran shot him a curious glance.

“What’s this? You don’t know something?”

“Of course I don’t. I’m only human.”

Besides, the Night of the Mage was an event shrouded in mystery for him, too.

In his previous life, he had only skimmed through some related texts, so he didn’t know much about it in detail.

“Heh, finally, you seem a bit more human. Anyway, speaking from a merchant’s perspective, with that much investment, they would’ve just silenced people and continued the event, even if a few lives were lost.”

“…”

He agreed.

In this world, there were times when money or prestige weighed heavier than human life.

As Fran’s words began to sound more convincing, a voice interrupted them.

“Hey, stop chatting and focus on driving. What if you get into an accident?”

Veronica, sitting in the back seat, scolded Fran while clutching the handle on the car’s ceiling tightly.

She still regarded Fran, who was driving, with a doubtful gaze.

“I won’t crash! I really do have a license. I got it right after graduating from the academy’s high school division.”

“…So it’s just a license you’ve never used.”

“Still, I haven’t had an accident so far.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

Though they had only been in the car for a mere 20 minutes.

Through the rearview mirror, Fran glanced at Veronica and suddenly asked,

“You’re not scared, are you?”

“Scared? Ha! Are you accusing me of being scared? Don’t twist my words. I was just concerned!”

“For someone who’s not scared, you’re gripping that handle pretty tightly.”

“This is… because the handle feels so nice to touch. It’s really soft.”

“Hmm.”

As Killian silently watched the scenery outside, he yawned lazily and closed his eyes.

“I’m going to nap. Wake me when we arrive.”

At this, Veronica freaked out.

“Hey, hey! You can’t sleep! What if he dozes off while driving because you’re sleeping too?”

“As long as the person in the passenger seat doesn’t fall asleep, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not!”

As Veronica and Killian began their usual bickering, Oscar turned his head, ignoring them.

“How was your closed-door training? Did you make any progress?”

“Progress… well, yeah, I guess you could say that.”

A faint confidence gleamed in Fran’s smirk.

It seemed like he had gained something during his training.

“I’m curious. Honestly, with your current physical condition, swinging a whip more than three times should be impossible.”

“…And yet, you were the one who said I should aim for at least ten minutes last time?”

“The goal of training is to always aim high from the start.”

“Unbelievable.”

Fran chuckled in disbelief, his eyes shining.

“Anyway, I’ll show you when we reach the village near the lake.”

“A village near the lake? What’s its name?”

“It’s marked as Winterra on the map.”

Winterra.

Winterra.

Oscar rolled the name around in his mouth a few times, finding it oddly familiar, until a small gasp escaped him.

“Ah.”

He had completely forgotten.

The elixir left behind by Allan Winterhart, the man he had freed in the Starlight Mountains, was there.

The group arrived at Winterra three days after leaving the White Tower.

Fortunately, there were no accidents.

A few wild deer had jumped onto the road and blocked the way, but that was it.

“Wow, it’s freezing here.”

Winterra, also known as the Winter City.

The name came from the fact that snow fell year-round and rarely melted.

The group rented rooms at an inn and ordered a light meal at the tavern on the first floor.

“Fran, after we finish eating, we’ll spar behind the mountain. Just so you know.”

When I said that while wiping my hands with a napkin, the others reacted first.

“A spar?”

“Can I join?”

Veronica and Killian, who had reflexively asked, turned their gazes sharply to Fran.

Fran, startled, leaned back slightly.

“W-What’s with you two? Did I do something wrong?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Don’t tell me you’re planning to run away after winning once?”

It seemed Veronica had been waiting for a chance to avenge her previous defeat.

“I want to face that whip myself.”

Killian, who had only watched the sparring from the sidelines at the training grounds, seemed to have developed some competitive spirit of his own.

This situation worked out well for him.

He could sit back and let them test Fran instead.

“Seems like it’ll be fine. The problem is you, Fran.”

“Me? Why am I the problem?”

“The issue is whether you can handle two people at once.”

“Ah.”

His whip was a culmination of complex techniques infused with the power of Wind Spirit and Steel's Breath.

It wasn’t just about swinging the whip; every swing caused his stamina and mana to surge violently.

‘That’s why, in the past, I could only swing it three times.’

He had secluded himself for rigorous training, hoping to fix that.

So, there must have been some improvement.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

But Fran scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

“Well, actually, I still can only swing it three times…”

“?”

Hadn’t he mentioned he made some progress during his training?

As Oscar tilted his head in confusion, Fran hurriedly explained.

“The number of swings hasn’t changed, but I’ve improved the ‘Dance of Steel.’”

“…Improved it?”

That was a technique perfected by the 7th Tower Master, renowned and proven in its time.

What more could possibly be added to it?

“Um, I think it’s faster to show you than to explain.”

“……”

Once again, he displayed that peculiar confidence.

Thanks to it, the group’s meal ended at an unusually fast pace.

“This spot should do, right?”

An empty clearing on the moonlit hillside.

The first to step forward was Veronica.

“Of course, I’ll go first. No objections, right?”

“Hmm… Got it.”

Knowing how fierce her competitive spirit was, Killian nodded readily.

There was no rush; the sparring wasn’t limited to tonight.

As Veronica began stretching lightly, Fran approached Oscar and whispered.

“Oscar, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“You know that technique I said I improved? Honestly, I still can’t fully control it.”

“…You can’t control something you’re wielding yourself?”

“Hey, this is actually an improvement. At first, it was a complete mess. I even knocked myself out with my own whip.”

What kind of modifications could he have made?

Oscar nodded slowly.

“So, you’re asking me to step in if things get dangerous?”

“Yeah. With you at Level 4, I feel like you could handle this easily.”

“Alright. Don’t worry and give it your all. I’m curious to see what you’ve got.”

Just what had he gained from his secluded training?

At that moment, Veronica called out.

“I’m ready!”

“Alright, here I go.”

Fran pulled out his whip and stood at a suitable distance from Veronica.

Tension quickly filled the clearing in the forest.

“Begin.”@@novelbin@@

As soon as Oscar gave the signal—

『Whirlwind Arrow』

Veronica’s spell materialized behind her.

‘Oh?’

She had clearly mastered a combat style suited to her.

Seven arrows formed in an instant and surged toward Fran.

“……”

Fran calmly tracked their trajectory before finally activating the ‘Dance of Steel.’

“Huh?”

Watching Fran swing his whip with his arms crossed, Oscar furrowed his brows in confusion.

‘What the… it’s the same as before?’

The speed, power, and even his stance were identical to before.

Paaang!

Fran destroyed four arrows in an instant and dodged the remaining three by diving to the side.

“It’s useless.”

The first seven arrows seemed intended to buy time.

With dazzling hand movements, Veronica completed her magic circle and murmured.

“Embrace of the Twin Winds.”

Boom!

Four massive hands made of wind formed in midair and closed in on Fran.

‘While wind alone doesn’t have immense physical force…’

Being crushed by something that large and with four of them? It wouldn’t leave anyone unscathed.

“This is over,”

Killian unconsciously muttered, and Oscar nodded in agreement.

‘This is where I step in.’

Just as he decided to intervene—

Slaaash!

With his second whip swing, Fran tore through the four wind hands.

“……!”

The destructive power was about twice what it had been before.

Oscar instinctively focused mana into his eyes to analyze Fran’s body.

‘This guy…’

It wasn’t some extraordinary technique.

He had simply amplified his internal mana by twofold.

“Huff… huff…”

Even so, sweat poured off Fran’s face like rain.

Of course, it made sense.

The Dance of Steel was already a technique that consumed immense stamina and mental energy.

‘…I see.’

There was a fundamental gap between the 7th Tower Master and Fran.

Fran’s physical abilities, stamina, and athleticism were not on par with the 7th Tower Master.

‘And those aren’t things you can significantly improve with training in a short period of time.’

The more stamina-draining a technique was, the more true this became.

So, was he supposed to remain stagnant, unable to grow, until all his limitations were resolved?

“……”

No.

Fran had found his own answer to this.

‘If my body can only handle three whip swings.’

Then he would make those three swings perfect.

He decided to swing the strongest and fastest whip in the world within those three chances.

A beast’s battle strategy that required ending the fight in three attacks.

“Huff… huff…”

Sensing Fran’s mana amplifying further, Oscar intervened in the sparring and stopped him.

“This isn’t a real fight; it’s just a spar. This is enough.”

“……”

When he pried open Fran’s clenched hand, it was soaked in blood.

Three times.

Despite all his efforts, Fran couldn’t exceed the limit of three swings.

But he had forged a path forward.

And there was only one thing Oscar could say after seeing this.

“This is enough for me to trust you with my back.”

“…Then don’t tell me to get out of the way again.”

Was it because of what happened at the mosque?

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Oscar smiled faintly and nodded.

“If a similar situation arises again, I’ll trust you to have my back.”

Only then did Fran finally relax and smile.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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