Chapter 31 - 30 : wave

Chapter 31: Chapter 30 : wave

A wave of heat and dust rushed across the area, and a number of candidates were knocked down by the force of the blast. The rocks near the top of the mountain broke apart, and large masses of them slid downward.

Out of the dust emerged the body of a huge ogre that had been hiding behind the height.

It was a little larger than the Titan Ogres around it.

The explosion gave it no chance to flee.

A large part of its body vanished amid the fire and the rocks.

The roar that had been directing the beasts stopped.

Confusion took hold among the ogres.

Confusion spread among the ogres. Some rushed in one direction while others fled along another, and soon the Titan Ogres began pulling back one after another.

There was no need for a second spell.

Once their leader died and their order was lost, the beasts chose to stay alive rather than press on with the attack.

They withdrew toward the mountain passes until the sound of their steps faded away bit by bit.

Noah stood looking at the charred crater the spell had left behind.

He might hold a mana reserve greater than that mage’s, but it meant nothing if he did not know how to use it.

The mage had not needed hundreds of ice needles or a long battle with one plan after another.

A single spell had ended the battle.

"This is why I need the Academy."

Noah lifted the weapon Charles had given him a little, and his eyes turned coldly toward where the mage’s attack had struck.

Raising the amount of mana alone was no longer enough.

He was in need of techniques that could transform that potential into tangible power.

One of the supervisors raised his voice:

"Clear the area! We move at once. The smell of blood will draw things worse than these ogres."

The escorts began gathering the wounded and the dead.

Now that the reinforcement had ended, its effects showed on them more plainly. One of the men sat on the ground, unable to stand. Another trembled every time he tried to raise his arm.

Silva himself was breathing with difficulty, and fresh traces of blood had appeared beneath his nose.

Noah watched them with interest.

The reason did not matter now.

What mattered was...

While they were collecting the bodies, he noticed something else.

One of the escorts searched the clothes of a dead candidate and pulled out a small pouch. He opened it, and several pieces of Magic Crystals appeared inside.

He handed it to one of the supervisors.

The same thing happened with different bodies.

Noah watched in silence.

The crystals were not sent to the friends of the dead, and they were not kept with their bodies.

They passed straight to the mages.

He remembered their talk about the reward.

Now he understood another part of the mission.

Perhaps these crystals were part of the fees, and perhaps the Academy’s rules allowed the escorts to take the belongings of anyone who died during the journey.

The reason did not matter now.

What mattered was that mages of this level had not overlooked the Magic Crystals found on the dead.

Their value was greater than he had reckoned before.

His eyes passed over Raphael’s body as it was dragged away.

He did not linger on it.

A month passed after the Titan Ogre attack.

During those days, Noah came to understand that the ogres which had nearly wiped out a large number of candidates were only one of the dangers living inside the Mountains of Death.

The deeper the caravan pushed in, the stranger the creatures that appeared.

One time he saw flocks of Wyverns between the peaks. Their broad wings cast shadows over the carriages, and some of them let out sharp cries.

In one of the valleys, they watched long, massive serpents moving among the rocks as though they were part of them. Most of the candidates did not notice them until one of the supervisors raised a magical barrier around the caravan.

But what stayed in everyone’s memory most was the beast that appeared on the seventh day.

An enormous mountain leopard.

Its body stretched tens of meters along one of the rocky ledges,It stood watching the caravan.

One of the supervising mages stood facing it.

The two of them went on watching each other for long moments.

Then the leopard turned and left.

The mage did not cast a single spell.

He didn’t need to.

The beast was clever enough to know when it had to fight and when it had to keep its distance.

It is clear that the behaviour of the supervisors changed after the battle with the Titan Ogre.

Defensive runes appeared on some of the carriages whenever a large group of beasts got close, and one of them got in before it could reach the candidates.

No more deaths occurred.

For most of the candidates, this was cause for relief.

Noah, though, guessed the reason. They must have had a certain quota they were required to deliver to the Academy, or else they would be punished. He could think of no other explanation.

Noah sat at the front of one of the carriages and took hold of the reins.

He had grown used to driving over the past month, so much that Silva no longer watched his hands each time he took over the task.

The man sat beside him and leaned back.

The marks of the battle had almost disappeared from his face, but Noah noticed that he had not used the reinforcement technique again since that day.

Silva said:

"We’re close."

"To the Academy?"

"To the reception station."

Noah looked at the road ahead.

"And what happens there?"

Silva took a small flask from his side and drank from it before answering:

"Registration and a blood examination. In general it’s just a preliminary assessment. After that you’ll be moved to the Academy’s inner lands."

Noah’s hand paused a little over the reins.

"A blood examination?"

"It’s similar to the blood test in your noble house, but more precise."

Silva went back to his flask.

"Don’t worry. I don’t think someone like you will run into any trouble."

Noah did not answer.

The problem was that he didn’t know what the test might show.He had learned to hide most of his mana inside the Magic Marrow, and he could make his blood look as though he had not yet opened the first gate.

But what if the Academy’s instrument did not rely on the amount of mana moving freely in the blood?

"As far as I know, the crystal just measures the density of mana inside the blood. That’s all I know."

Noah started to feel a bit more relaxed.If what he said was true, his current way of doing things should be enough.

Even so, he still felt a bit uneasy.

The past few months had taught Noah not to trust his first impression of something until he had studied it properly.

As time passed, the surrounding land changed.

The caravan left the land.Candidates were quiet.A valley, wide and mountainous, lay ahead.Within it, there were buildings, tentsand towers, and hundreds of carriages moved on roads.

Hundreds of candidates!

Some his age, some a little older.

Family crests he had mostly never seen in his life were spread across their clothes.

Lupton was an enormous name inside the region where he had lived.

But for the first time, Noah saw a place where the silver crests were everywhere.

The caravan stopped at an outer gate.

The supervising mages got down first and spoke with a group of Academy staff before the candidates were told to leave the carriages.

One of the men who received them said:

"Welcome to the Academy’s outer registration station. You’ll undergo examination and registration here before you’re allowed to move to the inner lands."

He looked at the group before adding:

"Follow the instructions, and don’t touch any tool or rune you aren’t asked to touch. Some of the things here won’t tell the difference between curiosity and aggression."

He had no intention of trying anything.

The staff member led them to a large white building that looked like a tent from the outside, though its frame seemed sturdier than cloth.

Fine magical runes covered its surface.

Noah noticed them at first glance.

He did not try to use Mana Perception on them.

Instead, he lowered his mana sense a little.

After everything he had hidden throughout the journey, it would be foolish to stretch his awareness toward an unknown formation inside an Academy facility and find out later that someone could feel it.

He kept looking ahead, focusing his eyes on the road in front of him.

He did not try to read the runes.

He did not try to make sense of their arrangement.

And he did not stare at them any longer than he should.

Everything strange in this place deserved caution before curiosity.

Charles walked beside him for a moment, then looked toward the runes.

"You don’t seem interested."

"I’m interested in staying away from things I don’t understand."

Charles laughed.

"A wise choice."

They entered a small courtyard in front of the building.

A staff member sat behind a long table and began handing out registration papers.

The line moved quickly.

"Name, age, house, and region."

Noah took hold of the pen.

He wrote:

Noah Lupton Charlemagne.

When he finished, he handed the paper back.

The staff member looked at it, then pointed to a door on the side.

"Go in. Follow the examiner’s instructions."

Noah opened the door.

The room was wider than he had expected.

An old woman with white hair sat behind a black table, and in front of her a clear crystal ball rested on a metal base.

The woman lifted her eyes to the paper.

"Charlemagne..."

She looked at Noah quietly.