Mystery Tales Under the Moonlight

Chapter 38: Category Determination Exams at the Academy (15).

ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

I wanted to be strong.

Whether it was to protect myself.

To protect my family.

Or to achieve my ambitions.

And... even to escape my fears.

Because I was weak, I couldn't protect anyone.

As I grew older, those thoughts dominated my mind.

I wanted to protect my sister.

To become stronger, I distanced myself; not staying was a given.

Throughout my life, I had bad luck; I didn't want to cause her more misery.

It's okay, she's fine; she doesn't need someone like me.

Day by day, those thoughts became convictions and turned into hatred.

Gradually, I no longer needed my sister; the little boy relied only on himself.

I wanted my father to be proud of me, and I did everything he wanted.

To be stronger, I endured his training and harshness.

As long as he was satisfied with me, what was the harm in being a little harsh?

My emotions began to wither away little by little.

At first, I was upset; gradually, the feeling became dull.

In the end, I no longer felt like before.

A face devoid of expressions, his gaze harsh, rejecting warmth or affection.

My misery about my luck was no longer present.

It was taken for granted that a person would suffer; sadness and complaints about it wouldn't fix anything.

One can only rely on oneself.

Going through assassination attempts, kidnapping, and abuse, even attempts to disown him.

The little boy resisted them all, like a cockroach clinging to life, the boy defied surrender.

Gradually, he no longer cared about anything.

A puppet doing what it was commanded.

He didn't want that.

And so, he freed himself from his father's control.

At that moment, I realized that I no longer needed my father.

I wanted to be strong so that I could see my mother.

When I became strong, no one would stop me from meeting her, right?

That was my dream.

That was a wish the pure-hearted boy wanted.

But still... in life, a person changes, and with him, aspirations change.

His heart faded little by little.

Starting from white, passing through gray, reaching black.

The boy became dreamless.

In the end, the desire to meet his mother was no more than a task to be accomplished.

Like a machine programmed to execute tasks.

Will and desire no longer had anything to do with it.

Gradually, there was no longer a desire for that in my heart.

As it happened before, I simply realized.

That I no longer needed my mother.

I don't need anyone; I can only rely on myself.

No one needs me; I have always lived while someone benefited from me, and I benefited from someone.

What is called "pure human emotions" had nothing to do with it.

In this world, only benefits govern.

And so, I accepted that I would live alone.

To live alone in the world, I must be strong.

Strong enough to face troubles alone.

Therefore, I wanted to be stronger.

That was what I thought, and that was what I understood.

The blue-eyed boy, for him, living was meaningless.

Life had always been full of ups and downs and was unpredictable.

Things don't go as we hope they will, and they don't go as we don't want them to.

In some cases, it takes a little time for some to discover their life path.

And in some cases, discovering the path of life takes a long time.

Yet, no one lives an easy life.

Everyone has their own stories.

Fernando had always lived with one idea.

I am cursed.

The cause of his father's misery, the cause of his sister's misery, and the cause of his mother's death.

If that isn't a curse, then what is?

He accepted that idea as a truth he had to live with and believed that his existence was meaningless.

Because he feared death, he tried to find meaning in his life, and thus, the boy suffered all along the way.

Until the day of his final surrender came.

And somehow, the boy survived and changed his mind.

No, he finally matured.

For the first time in a long time, he felt clarity.

Without a burden weighing him down or plans to weave, without matters to consider.

His only companion lying in his hands was his sword.

The sword that had been with him all along — for the first time in a long time, he felt he was holding it correctly.

It was a moment he wanted to feel once more.

At that moment, the boy questioned and interrogated himself.

Why do you want to be stronger?

In the past, he would have answered that he wanted to be stronger because of the world's cruelty.

He might answer because of others, whether out of hatred or love; it was the same.

But now?

Why do you want strength?

There is no truly deep reason.

"I want to be stronger because I have a feeling"

A feeling that there is something I want to achieve.

That is my mental clarity and peace of heart.

To be stronger so that I do not regret.

To live without regret; it is that simple.

Many err in their goals and compare the importance of those goals with others and feel burdened.

Many believe that your goal must be acceptable and noble for you to have the confidence and perseverance to achieve it.

In reality, that is a completely wrong and absurd view.

Contentment and will, even if your goal is simple, so what?

What makes a person persevere is not circumstances or experiences.

Perseverance cannot be gained through experiences; it exists within ourselves; life experiences only make it clearer.

For many years, Fernando did not understand this.

He made himself the burden of leading the family and meeting the mother, protecting his sister, and making his father proud.

He never asked himself what he wanted; he just felt that this was futile.

That was the biggest mistake he made in his life.

It is wrong to treat our feelings lightly because of others.

As long as it continues like that — he will end up wearing masks all the time.

He will be someone else instead of himself.

In the end, he will no longer know himself, and he will lose himself forever.

That truth is not something that can be understood by intelligence or wisdom, nor by experiences.

Deep inside your heart, look at yourself and ask what you want.

If you want to protect someone, protect them; if you want to treat people kindly, do so.

What if you want to become strong? Train and work hard, gather money and resources that help you become strong faster.

What if your desire is simple, like owning a house? Gather money, buy the house, maybe build it yourself.

The world is big, and we are just tiny creatures.

This is the truth of life; there is no disaster that befalls us that we cannot handle.

From the beginning, it was about a person's connection with themselves.

Hours passed, and a chance encounter came to him, a red-eyed boy knocked him unconscious and brought him into his play.

He told him that he would give him strength.

Did he want to take advantage of him?

To overthrow his family? Or perhaps he was a hired killer by the wife of the second family head?

He thought none of that.

The strong do not need to exploit the weak.

Was Leon strong?

Strong "only"?

The word strong was something trivial to say.

Its depths are unfathomable.

Not to mention everything, he felt Fernando's despair.

Please note that he was a professional at hiding his emotions, so he did not know how Leon felt about his misery.

This mysterious boy made him meet some people.

He met a teacher and met classmates.

There was still much he had not yet grasped, but that was the truth.

The boy was no longer alone.

He had not reached complete clarity and only felt confused by how the course of life was turbulent.

And yet, if you asked the boy what he wanted?

Simple to the point of being unexpected.

"I want to understand myself"

The boy knew that there was something missing in his life.

And finally, he knew the answer.

No, he only knew part of the answer.

What remains to be done, only time will tell us.

An empty arena, the blonde boy stood alone.

The building was silent, giving a sense of separation.

He looked with his eyes towards the door in front of him.

His opponent was supposed to appear from behind the door.

His eyes flashed as he remembered the rules of the second test.

Each person would go through three battles, in three different conditions.

The first battle would be a natural fight, without combat techniques and without magical energy.

The goal was to use the mind and body, without relying on external sources.

In battles, it is not uncommon for a person's magical energy to run out during the fight.

Thus, it was essential for a person to know how to fight with their own cunning to have a chance of survival.

The world was unforgiving.

The second battle would be a free fight, where all means are allowed.

Naturally, there are many measures of strength, speed, endurance, magical energy, and so on to draw from.

It can be said that this test is what many look forward to.

And finally, a team battle.

Students will be gathered in a giant arena.

They must form teams together and fight hordes of phantom monsters that the academy has dedicated their efforts to create.

Clank—!

The sound of gears resembling the movement of a giant machine.

The door in front of the boy's eyes opened.

"kekeke, I wonder who the lucky one is to duel me among everyone?"

His voice was mocking as he laughed loudly.

A long-haired boy, with an average face, somewhat tall, there were blemishes and pimples on his face.

His walk was pretentious.

In this world, there were poets who wrote poems, wrote and told stories.

Even with his isolation from others, Fernando had heard some stories here and there.

The pretentious young master.

A common villain in martial arts novels, where he annoys the hero and becomes a stepping stone for him.

Fernando couldn't help but compare him to that, even with his indifference.

Bfft—!

An involuntary laugh escaped his mouth.

The boy who walked with swagger didn't notice, as if the place belonged to him.

After getting close enough, a mechanical voice could be heard.

[ Prepare the two students for battle, everything is allowed except magic or special techniques, and the use of unnatural means is prohibited ]

[ The battle ends when one of the opponents surrenders or loses consciousness, performing lethal attacks is prohibited, or the student will be immediately disqualified and dealt with according to the actions taken ]

[ Student Fernando Nicola, student Chi Liwei, you may begin ]

After saying that, the environment fell silent for a moment.

"Hmph! To have such a lowly one dare to challenge me, this is a joke," Chi Liwei opened his mouth mockingly.

"You, lowly life, surrender and I will spare your life-!"

Bam!

His words were interrupted by a sudden punch to his face.

Kah...

A desperate scream escaped the boy's mouth.

"You talk too much," Fernando's voice was calm.

He stared coldly at this "young master" while recalling some information about him.

The Chi clan was a clan known for its wealth, and it was considered a medium-sized clan.

The clan's largest income was the dominance over monsters and trade caravans.

It is a rival clan to the Shin clan, and it was the reason the Shin clan had not yet become a large clan.

While the Shin clan dealt with information and intelligence, the Chi clan dealt with transportation; protecting trade caravans was a source of income that both clans competed for as well.

Since the two clans were neighbors, naturally, there would be disputes and conflicts of interest.

Better to keep a friendly relationship, you say?

Hahaha, not to mention when the working environment is similar — which must be constantly moving in, benefits cannot be shared; they are ambitious people!

People can share money, share food, or things, but not status and fame—!

In the past few years, the progress of the Shin clan has been steadily increasing.

And the reason is attributed to one person.

As they say, one defective gear spoils the work of the clock, and one rotten apple spoils the barrel.

Chi Liwei, possessing good talent, yet he had a scummy personality and hated hard work.

Unlike the boy of the same age, Shin Su, who was disciplined and worked hard.

These two were the most important pieces on the chessboard — played by the two clans, so they paid special attention to them.

Chi Liwei was a great disappointment to his family indeed.

But on the other hand, they couldn't simply get rid of him and abandon him.

If they abandoned him, the Chi clan would have no chance to resist the rapid rise of the Shin clan, and over time, they would simply become a stepping stone.

And so, despite being scum in character, due to his natural talent, his disgraceful actions were tolerated.

There were many attempts to correct his behavior.

Unfortunately, all failed.

Clans can be divided by their wealth into a simple division.

Small-sized clans, who mostly live in villages and isolate themselves, and there are those who are branches of larger clans.

Medium-sized clans, who in some cases govern provinces, and settle in an area they govern.

It can be said that medium-sized clans are the pillar that stabilizes the system and keeps it stable, not to mention they are the main forces in battles.

Large-sized clans, they are the powerful clans that govern and control resources and political affairs.

For Nanman, there were four large clans.

Every move a large clan makes can be said to be carefully monitored, so large clans do not take action themselves.

Instead, medium and small clans are used as chess pieces in the competition for resources.

This is to prevent chaos and for neighboring countries to benefit from it, and at the top of those countries is the Cairo state.

The ruling clan, that is the clan that dominates all beneath it, and is considered the tiger on the mountain.

In this era, and even now, no ruling clan has emerged in all of Nanman!

As Cairo does, Nanman also had what is called the imperial family.

Although they are the strongest in Nanman, the imperial family did not possess enough ancient power to rule without opposition.

And so, the balance of power in Nanman is maintained by what is called the Alliance of the Five Clans, led by the imperial family.

For Cairo, there was the same thing, but with a different name, which is called the Era of the Five Lords led by the ruler of Cairo, who is called Marcus.

The reason this boy Chi Liwei is known for so much is that he is the young son of the Chi clan.

Most likely, he did not suffer any bitter moments, which caused this arrogant mood and excessive chatter.

If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have wasted time talking and would have attacked Fernando instead.

"My face! Aah, my handsome face!!"

You son of a whore—!

Chi Liwei retreated in panic as his vision became blurry.

The punch hit his nose, forcing his body to shed tears.

His face was bloody, and as he retreated, he stumbled and fell, twisting his body and shivering slightly.

He almost fainted from the sudden pain…!

"You will regret this! You will regret this! I won't let this go unpunished!"

As he cursed and swore, the anger in his red eyes increased and surged!

This was the first time he had been hit to this extent!

He tried to use his magical energy, but unfortunately discovered it was sealed!

This only increased his anger!

Shame, resentment, pain, wounded pride, and fear.

Emotions mixed and that only fueled his anger.

Who would have expected that his opponent was so despicable? He was truly a coward!

"..." Fernando was silent.

As the boy floundered, Fernando attacked fiercely.

He didn't even need to use his sword; his fists were enough!

Only a fool waits for his opponent to regain balance in battle!

The blonde boy with blue eyes rained down brutal blows on the long-haired boy.

ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Her blonde hair swayed in the air.

The sound of metal clashing could be heard throughout the environment.

I wanted to be strong.

Her sword danced like a cunning snake.

The sword was fast and agile, yet there was hidden power beneath this speed.

To follow my father's path, to overcome my loss of my mother.

Even if I was alone, as long as I became strong, I could rest.

Her opponent was a girl as well, struggling to keep up with her opponent's fast attacks.

This building sealed the person's magical energy, preventing her from using it normally.

At the waist, at the head, at the wrist, below the body, even when parrying with the sword itself, every movement was designed to eliminate her.

This was too much!

The most frustrating thing was that this blonde girl kept retreating and leaving space from time to time.

She even shamelessly fled when the opportunity arose!

She tried to provoke her with words, but she didn't even pay attention to it, leaving her powerless.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

She could only parry helplessly, making it a test of endurance, hoping to win.

She would not simply give up.

The crimson eyes of Chai Nayun flashed as she kept her distance from the girl.

She immediately understood her opponent's intention, and most likely, she would make it a test of endurance.

It was mostly the right decision; when a person is fast, they consume high endurance.

Those who use their speed do not enter a long-term fight, as that puts them at a disadvantage.

This could be said to be a bad omen for others.

Yet, that was part of Chai Nayun's plan.

She was restricting her opponent and retreating to provoke her.

Naturally, as long as she showed unrestrained speed, the opponent would unconsciously lean towards using the speed's weakness, which is endurance.

When I become strong, my father's path will be completed.

When I am strong, I will forget my sorrows and fulfill my family's goal.

When I am strong, I will no longer have a reason to live.

When I leave the world, I will not fear being alone.

When I die, I will no longer feel anything.

Thus, the pain will end.

This is what she deeply believed.

And yet... life is not that simple.

The path she walked.

The sword path, she had always been curious.

Why did her father love the sword?

Why was he obsessed with completing his own path?

While training day and night, she wanted to know how her father felt.

Unfortunately, she felt nothing.

It was as if one were a puppet.

Completely numb, the girl felt no emotion.

Only loneliness and darkness.

This is the path she walked.

Life is something like this; you will live in a foggy confusion all the time.

That confusion will turn into bewilderment, and bewilderment — over time, will become fear.

And in the end, you will have nothing left to face but loneliness.

But at the same time, it is also fair — this is how the world is.

There is no darkness without light, and no light without darkness.

On the human path, many experiences will be lived.

Whether those experiences turn into "liking" or "hating," "friendship" or "enmity," that depends on the person themselves.

The red-eyed young man she fought at first.

He was so strong that she didn't think they were the same age.

That young man introduced her to him.

A boy with fierce orange eyes, like tiger eyes.

The boy loved the sword and was obsessed with it.

Dio Antarius, if she were to describe him in a few words...

She could only say: the best she had ever seen wielding a sword.

Even while traveling through the regions in an attempt to survive and fight, had she seen a more perfect sword than this sword?

She could only shake her head in response.

She felt it immediately, the answer to her confusion.

Would the boy have an answer to her confusion and fear?

His journey as a swordsman, what he would live and what he would learn.

If she watched him closely, could she find a purpose to live for?

Does fear really nourish courage?

Clang—!!

The other girl was shocked; what she thought was an opportunity to win was actually just a trap.

No matter how much she held on and tried to drain her opponent, her opponent did not feel tired.

It was as if she had inexhaustible energy.

She felt despair and attacked with all her might, but she could do nothing.

With one final blow, her opponent was brought down.

Chai Nayun stared at her fallen opponent while falling into deep thought.

This opponent was indeed boring to fight.