I was outside the academy.
Despite being busy with student council work, there was a reason I was here.
"That's not how you do it."
"Isn't this close enough?"
"No, not at all. Do it again."
The person admonishing me was Serina.
Priscilla placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Do your best."
Should it be considered a wolf's hand or paw?
It felt odd to be comforted by a wolf.
I was currently learning about elemental magic.
After the joint assessment, I had consulted with Cromwell.
The plan was to collaborate with Evan and draw in the rebels.
It was a strategy to diminish the power of the rebels.
However, Cromwell's absence from the academy was a problem.
He had gone to the capital for a meeting.
Originally, McDowell should have attended the meeting, but due to his condition, Cromwell went instead.
Cromwell and I had looked for a professor who could help us.
Someone knowledgeable about the rebels and capable of facing them.
The ideal person for such a task was Robert, but he was not currently at the academy.
He had taken a leave of absence for this semester.
Thus, the person I sought help from was Professor Mcguire.
With Cromwell heading to the capital, Mcguire, who was at a conference, returned to the academy.
The academy had a rule that a certain number of professors couldn't be away simultaneously.
If too many professors took leave or went on business trips, some of those who were out had to return.
Having too few professors in the academy posed a security risk and burdened the remaining faculty with work.
I couldn't expect much help from Mcguire.
Being a research-oriented professor specialized in magical tools, he could only provide support with magical tools and was not capable of direct combat.
Research professors lacked both the physical endurance and experience in combat, performing worse in battle than Astina or me.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})I had thought about asking Gracie for help, but Cromwell strongly opposed it.
Gracie was already in poor condition due to the midterm incident, so asking for her assistance was a bad idea.
Cromwell promised to return as soon as possible, but I couldn't rely solely on that.
Still, what had happened had happened.
I had to find a solution to the problem.
I wasn't sure who the rebels would send, but since they were attempting to recruit students directly from the academy, it was likely to be a formidable opponent.
So, I sent a letter to Astina.
Originally, I wanted to meet her in person, but she declined the meeting.
Not knowing the reason, I had no choice but to send a letter.
Astina readily accepted my request.
The next thing I did was to seek out Rie.
I entrusted the student council work to her and explained my situation in detail.
"Can I get some help from Serina?"
With dark magic, the current situation was a bit tricky.
I can't expect quick growth in magic within a short amount of time.
So, I chose elemental magic.
I had never properly learned elemental magic, so even a little learning could lead to significant growth compared to other skills.
"It's been a while, Rudy Astria. I've heard from Princess Rie."
That's how I came to meet Serina.
Dressed in black, befitting her royal secret service role, and her blue hair neatly tied up, she had changed much since the last time I saw her.
Initially, her impression was good.
Even though she once tried to kill me, she seemed different now.
She had even saved Luna and me, so there was no reason for me to dislike her.
However.
"Hmm... That's not how it's done."
Serina was not a good teacher.
"Think of it as handling mana. It's not Priscilla taking it directly from you, but you passing it to Priscilla."
"So... how do I do that..."
Already tired from continually using Priscilla, Serina's nagging was giving me a headache.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})What exactly is mental strength, and how am I supposed to use it like mana?
Serina explained the method she learned from her mother.
The most efficient way to use Priscilla was not for her to draw out my energy, but for me to share it with her.
Even hearing this, I couldn't understand.
Priscilla is an elemental controlled using my mental strength.
To tell me to share my energy with Priscilla meant dividing my mental strength.
Can a person's mind be divided and shared like that?
Mental strength wasn't an energy I could handle like mana, and I had never felt it as an energy.
I merely relied on my senses and tried to do as Serina said, but it wasn't easy.
As I frowned, trying to figure it out on my own, Serina handed me a warm cup of tea.
"Let's take a break. This isn't something that gets better with more time."
"Yeah, thanks."
I took the tea from Serina and brought it to my lips.
"It'll be hard to do it in a week, as you said. Even my mother took a long time."
"Then, doing this will allow me to perfectly control Priscilla?"
"I'm not sure about perfectly. But you'll be able to control her enough to prevent a rampage."
"Not rampaging…"
That raised a question.
Why did Serina's mother pass away?
If she could control Priscilla to the extent of preventing a rampage, weren't there other ways?
As I harbored my doubts, Serina spoke first.
"My mother caused her own rampage."
I widened my eyes at Serina's words.
"She triggered it herself?"
To trigger a rampage meant she faced certain death by her own volition.
Who could she have possibly fought to be willing to face death?
Then Priscilla spoke.
"The opponent was incredibly powerful. She couldn't retreat, not with Serina behind her."
If Priscilla spoke so, it meant the opponent was indeed formidable.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})I was curious.
"Who was the opponent?"
"I don't know... I only know that the opponent overwhelmed her with tremendous swordsmanship."
"Swordsmanship?"
"I've been investigating the incident lately."
Serina opened up.
"I found something about the last message left by my mother."
Serina pointed to a clock while speaking.
"Time. That was my mother's last message."
There was only one person that came to mind.
Aryandor, a wizard and swordmaster who wielded time magic.
As far as I knew, he was the only one who combined time and swordsmanship.
Serina must have been aware of this fact too.
"But I don't think the leader of the Rebels is the culprit."
"Because of the timing?"
"Yes, even considering appearance, it seems unlikely for someone of that age to possess such skills at that time. It doesn't quite add up."
The issue was the timing.
Serina's mother passed away about 10 years ago.
It was around the time Robert was exiled from the empire, and Levian fled.
Aryandor appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.
So, 10 years ago, he would have been around my age.
Serina's mother was a royal elementalist, a formidable force that no one could ignore.
It would have been difficult for Aryandor to match her skills at that time.
Moreover, it would have been strange if he possessed such skills then.
That was when Ephomos fell apart, Levian disappeared, and there were almost no notable figures in the empire.
If Aryandor had killed Serina's mother, a royal elementalist, back then, he would have harbored resentment against the empire from that point.
It would have been odd not to form the Rebels then.
That was a time when many grew resentful of the empire.
The empire had swept through the lower classes, which was expected.
If he had resentment against the empire, finding like-minded allies and overthrowing the empire would have been easier then.
There was no reason to act now.
Therefore, the conclusion was one.
There exists someone else who can wield time magic besides Aryandor.
That reminds me, it was puzzling.
Where did Aryandor learn time magic from?
Time magic couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere.
The biggest question was, if time magic already existed, why didn't the empire know about it?
If there were such a powerful magic user, the empire wouldn't have just let it be.
They would have arranged for a good house, like the Astria family, to keep them close to the empire.
Time and space had that much value.
Then, I remembered someone.
The Saint.
The Saint could use dimensional magic that dealt with both time and space.
However, the Saint's dimensional magic fundamentally differed from Astria's space magic and Aryandor's time magic.
Dimensional magic could not influence the current time and space.
It could only observe the future or other spaces.
Moreover, it was hard to consider the Saint, given the use of swordsmanship.
"My head hurts."
What was supposed to be a relaxing time became more complicated.
"I'll keep looking into it as much as I can, and if I find something out, I'll let you know," Serina said.
I nodded in agreement and resumed training in elemental magic.
"Please find my sister. Then I'll do anything."
Aryandor recalled the past.
His own impoverished and dying time.
It was after he was separated from his sister, who lived with him in the burning Ephomos.
Aryandor wandered the capital in search of his only family, his sister.
While wandering the capital, Aryandor met someone.
And Aryandor's life completely changed.
He learned time magic and swordsmanship from that person.
He became a swordsman with tremendous abilities.
"Become a being that changes the world. When you've changed the world, I'll come back to you."
Those were the last words of 'that person' who taught him magic.
Aryandor parted ways without knowing that person's face, identity, or anything else.
He only left with a few names and the promise to come back later.
The list that person handed to Aryandor was said to contain individuals necessary to change the world, and Aryandor set out to find them.
The first person he met was Jefrin.
Jefrin was regarded as a great wizard of the empire, comparable to the grand wizard Levian of the same era.
Such a wizard was dying old and sick on the outskirts of the empire.
The empire had abandoned Jefrin.
In her youth, she was provided with great treatment and environment, but as she aged and fell ill, Jefrin was exiled to the outskirts.
There was no one to care for Jefrin.
Lying on an old bed, Jefrin said,
"I need to... surpass him... somehow surpass Levian..."
Jefrin was consumed by feelings of inferiority and hatred.
As a wizard born in the same era as Levian, she felt inferior, and she despised the empire that had abandoned her.
Aryandor reached out to her.
He granted her youth with time magic and delayed her illness with various potions.
However, time magic was not omnipotent.
Changing her appearance did not mean her insides were altered too.
Jefrin was dying.
There wasn't much time left.
To survive, Jefrin needed the magic of eternal life that Levian had researched.
Thus, Jefrin began to help Aryandor, seeking to acquire Levian's magic hidden somewhere in the empire and to bring down the empire she loathed.
"Leader."
While contemplating these thoughts, Jefrin entered Aryandor's room.
"I'm leaving now."
Aryandor looked at Jefrin.
"Take care."
"Understood."
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