Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

Training Addict Magician in a Growth-Focused Story

EP.21 Regular Exchange Festival (3)

“It’s a demon sword.”

Kito, who had approached Leon unnoticed and was now examining the wooden sword with him, spoke in a low voice.

“A demon sword?”

“I can’t examine it in detail, but the strange flow of mana around that sword… it can only be a demon sword.”

Hearing this, Leon’s face stiffened. In his experience, weapons labeled as demon swords usually had negative effects on their owners. They could drive one mad with bloodlust or force a soul-binding contract, among other things.

While Leon frowned and stared at the wooden sword, the light brown surface of the fully cracked wooden sword fell away with a soft thud. What was revealed was a darker brown wooden sword.

“…”

Leon tilted his head to the side, staring blankly. Should he feel disappointed or relieved? With a sense of odd emptiness, he looked at Kito, who averted his gaze and said,

“…It is a demon sword.”

“…”

“The true form hasn’t been revealed yet. Pick it up.”

Leon cautiously approached and tried to pull the wooden sword out directly but stopped. On a whim, he attempted to lift the wooden sword using basic telekinesis.

“Huh?”

He had tried it because he felt uneasy about touching it, but the wooden sword, which hadn’t budged before, now floated in the air according to Leon’s will.

“It seems something has changed.”

Leon planted the wooden sword back into the ground and cast an appraisal spell. However, the spell revealed no abilities.

“It’s not that it has no abilities… the appraisal spell doesn’t work on it?”

That seemed like a reasonable conclusion.

“…It’s definitely a demon sword.”

Leon looked at Kito, who was shaking his head covered in gray feathers.

“How can you be so sure?”

“When you… planted the sword in the ground just now, I felt an unusual wave of mana.”

“A wave?”

“A very unpleasant feeling… I can’t determine its exact ability since it was planted in the ground…”

Kito muttered with a serious expression, as if trying to gauge something. Listening quietly, Leon pulled the wooden sword out again and floated it in the air. He then slowly moved the wooden sword towards Kito.

“…What are you trying to do?”

“You said you weren’t sure.”

“So, you’re going to experiment on me?”

“We don’t have any other way. If we touch it to your body, we might find out something. It’s just a wooden sword, it shouldn’t be too bad, right?”

Kito stared at Leon silently. Under that gaze, Leon’s curiosity waned.

“If you think it’s dangerous, then forget it.”

He would have to figure it out through direct use. He wasn’t sure if he could use an unknown weapon in a critical situation against an enemy.

“Fine, I was getting frustrated with your lack of resolve anyway. If I tell you to pick it up, just pick it up. Why are you so suspicious…?”

“Is that what you’re upset about? Isn’t that holding a grudge for too long?”

“You’re one to talk.”

Kito’s expression didn’t change much, but if he were human, he would have clicked his tongue. Leon stared at Kito’s healthy-looking face for a moment.

“You said it felt unpleasant, but it wasn’t enough to threaten you, so touching it briefly should be fine.”

Watching Kito’s somewhat triumphant expression, Leon didn’t hesitate to touch the wooden sword to Kito’s body.

“Ugh…”

Kito’s massive body flinched. Seeing no further reaction, Leon poked Kito again with the wooden sword.

“Stop it…!”

Ignoring the plea, Leon aimed the wooden sword at Kito once more.

“I said stop!”

Kito finally rose, but avoiding the wooden sword with his massive body proved difficult. Realizing this, Kito’s entire body suddenly glowed brightly. The enormous light rapidly shrank to about 30 centimeters in size. The small light swiftly dodged the wooden sword and approached Leon. As the light faded, Kito’s true form was revealed.

Leon muttered in astonishment.

“A female…?”

“Ha ha ha! You just realized that now?”

What Leon had thought was a monstrous bird had transformed into a female figure with long gray hair. While her hands, resting on her waist, were human, a slight tilt revealed gray feathers covering the backs of her arms. The front of her body resembled a small fairy-like female, but the back was feathered, giving her a half-human, half-beast appearance.

Kito fluttered her gray wings, flying frantically in front of Leon. Leon felt a sense of betrayal.

“You could use magic…?”

Kito’s movements came to an abrupt halt.

“…Are you saying that I was slacking off even though I had fully recovered?”

When Leon nodded, Kito snorted.

“We haven’t found the core yet. Polymorph is a magic that beings like us naturally come to understand when a spirit inhabits us.”

“So, you can use magic now.”

Otherwise, Kito could have polymorphed and escaped when she was bound in shackles.

“Ah, using magic suddenly makes my head spin…”

As Kito flapped her wings and tried to land on Leon’s shoulder, Leon quickly dodged. Despite her words, her face looked too healthy.

“Well, if I slept for 40 years, my face would look good too…”

Leon didn’t feel envious. Living without worries and enjoying leisure might be a blessing, but it wasn’t something that applied to him. If he slacked off despite being pushed to become stronger, he wouldn’t have any excuses if he were sent back to his original world unable to use his legs.

“But it’s still annoying.”

Leon looked at Kito with a cold gaze. Kito floated back in front of him and spoke.

“Hmm, aren’t you curious about the demon sword’s ability?”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“It disrupts the flow of mana.”

“Disrupts?”

“It means it shakes the mana of anyone who touches this wooden sword. A mage would be hindered when trying to cast spells.”

Leon fell into contemplation over the unexpected ability. A method to use it as a weapon immediately crossed his mind.

*****

Arpina sat in one of the highest seats in the massive circular arena.

Next to her sat a bald-headed mage, occupying a seat slightly more central than hers. In the absence of the Tower Master, the bald man, Berford, was acting as the interim Tower Master. This had been the case ever since he gave up on training and returned.

Although the difference in skill between Berford and Arpina was not significant, Arpina found the role bothersome, so the authority naturally fell to Berford. He accepted it as if it were only natural.

“We lost…”

Berford sighed quietly.

“It would be strange if we won.”

Arpina spoke nonchalantly, her tone ambiguous as if she were speaking to him or to herself.

Since Arpina settled here, the Widia School had consistently ranked 4th or 5th among the eight schools for the past 20 years. This was expected, given that Raidera was solely focused on his own training. None of the Tower Masters among the eight schools could be said to possess overwhelmingly superior skills. They were all at a similar early stage of insight.

However, while other Tower Masters had resigned themselves to focusing on their administrative duties, Raidera had not yet abandoned his obsession. It was only natural that people were drawn to a magic tower where an insightful-level mage consistently revised magic books and researched and published the latest magic.

Berford, who had aligned himself with this, was not without responsibility.

“Hmm… It’s only the first day, so there’s no need to be disheartened…”

Pretending not to hear Arpina’s words, Berford muttered to himself as he watched the various duels taking place in the arena, still holding onto some hope. It might have seemed strange for a mage of the Mystical level to be so affected by the duels of mere apprentice mages, but no one around found his attitude odd. The benefits of securing the first place were that significant.

‘The priority for relic exploration is indeed attractive.’

However, Arpina had already given up.

Seeing the accumulating losses of the other disciples, except for Rowen and Ria, the outcome of the upcoming duels was already apparent.

‘If the duels were structured so that the winner continued to duel, things might have been different.’

According to the duel rules, each disciple from the schools could only participate once, and they could only re-enter when the dueling school changed. After each school had dueled once, the rankings were determined.

Arpina thought fondly of Ria’s overwhelming talent, who had never lost a duel, and naturally, her thoughts drifted to Ria’s childhood friend.

‘If he were here, we might have secured a few more wins.’

She had heard he was holed up in the training room. Arpina shook her head.

‘He’ll come on his own.’

Even with the talent of a tri-attribute constitution, it wasn’t easy to remain dedicated to training consistently, no matter what hidden methods one might have.

‘I should be thinking it’s admirable.’

Arpina wasn’t someone who ignored such diligence. Yet, why did she feel a sense of resentment? She recalled the determined look in Leon’s eyes—a look that came when one had a clear direction.

‘Possessed…’

“Arpina.”

The call from the female mage sitting quietly beside her snapped Arpina out of her thoughts.

“What is it?”

“Have you prepared for the meeting?”

“That’s Berford’s responsibility.”

“Oh, I heard he had given up on training, but it seems he’s fully committed now.”

“He must have had enough of self-indulgence by now; it’s time for him to work hard.”

“Still, don’t you have anything to say? About the noisy Black Tower these days…”

Arpina pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Raidera turned things upside down once, so not particularly…”

“Is that so.”

The woman muttered as if she understood, but her face still held unresolved questions. Arpina noticed this and asked,

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s nothing. There was information that Tenelon-affiliated dark mages had settled near Widia. But since Raidera intervened, it must have been delayed information.”

Hearing this, Arpina frowned, feeling a peculiar unease.

“Was there any mention of dealing with the Tenelon lot…?”