Clack clack.
Inside the carriage to Dmitry, Felix checked the documents he had prepared in advance.
‘Dmitry. A place called the holy land for blacksmiths in the Cairo Kingdom.’
He heard rumors about it. The quality of metal in Cairo was very good, and most of them were known to come from Dmitry.
Actually, it wasn’t a place that would interest Felix much. Swordsmen who handle swords would consider Dmitry a great place, but most magicians would go to Kronos.
Among the thirteen Magic Towers in the continent, seven of them, including the Heavenly Lord, belonged to Kronos. The Magic Towers were clearly classified as a neutral force, but as the majority of the Magic Towers were in Kronos, Kronos was evaluated as a sacred place for magicians.
And Phoenix also wanted to settle in Kronos. It was safe to say that the infrastructure for magic was the best in Kronos. But that couldn’t happen due to Frank’s weak power.
And to Felix, the Cairo Kingdom had no merit. There were no Magic Towers in that place, and the kingdom’s level to nurture its magicians was very low.
If it weren’t for the letter from Roman Dmitry, Felix would have never even set foot in this place.
‘Roman Dmitry. A genius swordsman who appeared in the Cairo Kingdom and is the youngest person to get a rank by defeating Butler. He didn’t get an official rank yet, but no one doubts his skills.’
Roman Dmitry—the main character of this story. Even Felix knew about his huge reputation.
Usually, weak nations manage to get two to three people in the Public Ranking, but Roman Dmitry defeated Butler in his mid-20s. It was something that people talked about.
Starting from the 50th rank, no one would dare call the name of that person or his nation weak, except for the empire. After the birth of a genius who could break the boundary for the first time, even people in Frank remembered the name ‘Roman Dmitry.’
If it was an invitation from Roman Dmitry himself, he thought it was worth trusting. Besides, according to what he heard and found out, wasn’t the Dmitry family well-known in Cairo?
‘Roman Dmitry gave his word that 1,000 gold for a month would be provided just to spar with him. What could he be thinking? What could be his reason for contacting me from a faraway nation of unknown origins? For the Phoenix Magic Tower, getting 6,000 gold for half a year is a good amount. We can survive for a while.’
His head was full of complicated thoughts about Dmitry. If the Magic Tower master hadn’t disappeared, then Felix wouldn’t have been suffering like this.
Shh!
And he pulled the curtains.
Tak.
Outside the window, he could see Dmitry.
The truth was that he had prejudices against Dmitry. The territory of Cairo itself wasn’t amazing, so it was said that the nations on its outskirts would be lax.
And now? From the distance, a massive mansion could be seen.
“… this is Dmitry.”
The outer wall. Dmitry mobilized their family’s craftsmen to build the strongest and tallest wall in Cairo. The gray walls of the estate would overwhelm the people just by looking at them, and the magic circles on them were donned for magic attacks.
This was too much preparation for such a sthemall estate. Even if it was an estate of the most well-known family in Cairo, this seemed too much.
Furthermore….
“Stop.”
The mighty steel gates. Dmitry’s guards moved in perfect order and aimed their bows. Even though this wasn’t wartime, they asked for the business of those who wished to enter.
“Please state the purpose of your visit.”
“My name is Felix of the Phoenix Magic Tower. I came here upon the invitation of Roman Dmitry.”
“I will check it for a moment.”
Felix stepped out of the carriage and identified himself. The waiting time was short. The guards had been given a guest list in advance, and after checking Felix’s name there, they opened the outer gate of the two gates.
Even if something went wrong, it was to halt the movement of the intruders only until the gate, at which point they would be unable to enter the estate.
Kiik!
The gates opened. The guards proceeded with the inspections in a well-organized manner. Some looked at Felix’s face more carefully, and some at the carriage. This made him admire the place. Normally, the estates on the outskirts are lax with security, and they don’t have a system in place, but Dmitry’s guards didn’t appear to be.
And that wasn’t all. Felix’s eyes trembled as the guards marched by.
‘This isn’t a lie. At the very least, they received enough training to have their own system.’
It was unexpected. Dmitry was famous for its blacksmiths. The family’s power was not highly regarded, but what he witnessed made him change his opinion of them.
After such a bold but short security check, what greeted Felix were the neatly moving roads and various types of buildings.
‘It is certain. The Dmitrys are not the type of people who take their lives lightly on the outskirts. The well-thought movements of the guards, the solid walls, and the interior show how much the Dmitry family is investing their money into making a good environment for their people. A family like this is being looked down on just for being on the outskirts. As expected, rumors can’t be trusted.’
Suddenly, even before reaching the mansion, an amazing image unfolded before his eyes.
If the shabby environment was like slums only a year ago, now it was beautiful. After a major investment from the mines, Baron Romero reflected on Roman’s opinion and actively changed the estate.
In preparation for an unexpected war, he didn’t just train the soldiers. He got the walls repaired and also changed the living style of the people.
Even before, Baron Romero was kind to his people, but he lacked experience dealing with the flaws in people’s personalities, and this time he took Roman’s advice.
In just one year, Dmitry had changed. Felix, who had just stepped into Dmitry, couldn’t think of any other version of this place.
‘Maybe I underestimated Dmitry?’
As he began to rethink his opinion, Felix’s expectations increased.
The moment he met Roman Dmitry, it was as he expected. He knew that his expectations, which had been inflated, wouldn’t be wrong.
“I am Roman Dmitry.”
A powerful voice and a charming appearance. After simply shaking hands, Felix felt overwhelmed.
‘He is no ordinary person.’
He hid his amazement. This meeting had a purpose. Since the deal wasn’t finalized yet, he didn’t want to give away his emotions.
“I will get straight to the point. First of all, please make sure that the conditions stated in the letter are true. If you can guarantee that they are, how about we start discussing the other details seriously right away?”
These were the words he uttered as soon as he sat down. 1,000 gold per month—it was the statement that brought Felix here. No matter what was promised, Felix decided to leave if there was even a slight change in the conditions.
Roman said,
“As stated in the letter, our conditions are clear. I will give you 1,000 gold every month, a total of 6,000 for six months, on the condition that you fight me daily. We are willing to pay you first on the first day of each month if you want. 1,000 gold isn’t a small amount, but we thought giving them beforehand would make you trust us more.”
“… they are good terms.”
Advance payment to build trust. If he himself said it, then it couldn’t be a lie. He believed in Roman Dmitry. He knew that he would have to pay that back if he could not do it right, but what didn’t sit well with him was why he was going this far.
“Honestly, I do not understand this. The purpose is to have simple fights, which means there is no need to spend such a large amount. If you just give away 100 gold, a lot of magicians will definitely come. But going all the way to the Phoenix Magic Tower to make a proposal? I want to know why you made a deal by offering me 1,000 gold?”
Roman definitely wanted Felix. He looked into Roman’s eyes, hoping for an answer, and Roman didn’t hide the truth.
“If you ask me like that, I will not drag it any further. Although your Magic Tower has been struggling a bit recently, the Phoenix Magic Tower was called one of the best talent holders in the continent when it was doing well. And you, Felix, can use 5-circle magic at the age of thirty. In particular, I heard that the fire magic is quite unique to the magic tower. 1,000 gold. It may not be a huge amount of money for most Magic Towers, but the situation at the Phoenix Magic Tower isn’t good. So I decided that I would buy your time. That was all. I wanted the most outstanding magician at one point to spar with me.”
It was an honest statement. Even though Roman gave him a nice evaluation, the statement about his Magic Tower’s failure made him unable to smile.
“I don’t expect much from Mr. Felix. However, I want you to do your best. In the process, you will not be held responsible for any injuries or deaths, so make sure to give it your all. If you can promise me that, then Dmitry will not break the deal with Mr. Felix.”
And at that point, Felix showed a strange expression. He wanted him to do his best. For some reason, it sounded as if Roman was sure of winning.
Was that why?
“You will really not regret it, right?”
Felix provoked him back.
They headed to the training hall. On their way, he asked Roman again, but he just told him to do his best.
‘Roman must be sure about winning. Is he being sincere, or is he just taking things lightly?’
Whatever it was, he didn’t like it. His own magic wasn’t weak enough to be handled easily for six months, and Roman said,
“I will give up the advantage, so attack first.”
It was a statement that lit the fire for Felix. When Roman said he’d give up the advantage and let him take the first hit, he smiled. This hurt his pride.
“Well, I won’t back down.”
And he raised his mana.
6,000 gold. The Magic Tower needed this money. However, he didn’t want to do badly or put his pride down for it.
‘I will make sure to end this fight at once by breaking his nose.’
Wheik!
Wheik!
A fire broke out.
The waves of mana that Felix created turned into flames.
“Fire Lance.”
A 3-circle magic with flames in the form of spears.
Powerful flames moved toward Roman Dmitry, and he avoided them with light movements.
This was an intentional attack. His pride didn’t allow him to overwhelm the opponent at the first attack, so he made an attack that the opponent could easily dodge.
“Inferno.”
Wheik!
As the fire grew stronger, it drew in the blazing flames and moved around him, and this attack surrounded him.
The circle was made of fire.
As Roman moved quickly to avoid the flames, Felix manipulated it to follow Roman’s movements.
The flames were moving as if they were living things, and while slowing down Roman’s movements with an attack, he prepared for another.
“Fire Wave.”
Wheik!
Wheeeik!
Flames exploded. The flames rushed in like waves, wanting to drive Roman into a corner.
Tak.
With the short time gap, Roman managed to escape the flames. It was a shocking move.
Roman was able to evade the magic quickly, but even that was anticipated.
‘This is the end.’
Memorize.
The magic he had prepared in advance rose.
“Rune Flare.”
A 4-circle magic. It was a powerful hit. He was convinced that Roman Dmitry would be defeated by this, as he had no way out.
Actually, he could have used a 5-circle magic, but thinking that Roman might die, he lowered the intensity.
Kwang!
Rumble!
The magic did work. The flames had spread throughout the area, and there was no way for Roman to escape.
This was the end. Even the best aura swordsman wouldn’t be safe with this.
The result of touching his pride. If he had chosen Felix as his opponent, he would have at least been wary of his skills.
But it was then…
Wheik!
The flames roared, and emerging from them, Roman Dmitry rushed to Felix.
