Chapter 65
Chapter 65: Can You Read This? (1)
Dane had been receiving a lot of attention for various reasons since his admission.
The overwhelming talent he showed in each class, skills that were far beyond an ordinary genius, and even the fact that he passed the summoner’s special selection test at the age of fourteen, as if he still had a long way to go.
Additionally, the special selection test required him to subdue the 3rd-rank summons, Antares, which Dane managed without a single scratch.
This was something truly absurd.
“Did you hear? That Dane Sogres is even more talented than you’d think!”
“I heard he got into the Autonomous Department. Did something big happen again?”
“Well…”
“What? The freshman subdued Antares…?”
Because of this, the entire Summoning Department fell into great despair. People were already saying that there hadn’t been anyone as talented since Clare, but now a boy with crazy talent had come from a completely different department.
Of course, there were already some who argued that since Dane was an exceptional existence, comparing oneself with him would only lower one’s self-esteem and there was no point in doing so.
In any case, in addition to this, rumors quickly spread that Elgard, the chairman of the Summoner’s Association, would be severely reprimanded for this incident and would even have to step down from his position.
“There will be upheaval in the Summoner’s Association as well.”
“Once Chairman Elgard steps down, there will be a bloody fight to determine who will take over as chairman.”
“Ha! For something caused by a fourteen-year-old, it’s quite a big mess.”
It went without saying that Dane’s prestige had increased even further. But more than any of these facts, there was one thing that caught everyone’s attention the most.
It was Dane’s swordsmanship.
“Have you heard? I heard that the freshman in the Autonomous Department is now showing incredible talent in swordsmanship.”
“What? Wasn’t he skilled in spearmanship, summoning, and magic?”
“I heard there was one more.”
“Huh. How does that make sense? How can one person have four talents?”
“It doesn’t make sense. Do you think that House Sogres was blessed by the gods?”
Although magic and spearmanship were also used, his swordsmanship actually left the greatest impact, and this fact became widely known.
This story was passed around endlessly and even reached the ears of Kelthas Redfield, who lived like a bum and mostly ignored rumors around the Academy.
Of course, he had been thinking about this since the moment of the evaluation.
‘My blood is boiling.’
Yes, his blood was boiling.
It was the first time he had seen someone like him. He didn’t care about any of the other talents. Even just looking at his swordsmanship, Dane was insanely talented. Professor Kelthas realized for the first time that he was a person with such a strong desire to teach someone.
No, it was not a question of desire.
The boy in front of him right now.
The boy who was preventing him from living a comfortable life and enjoying a peaceful retirement.
But why was it that he had a good feeling about this? It even made his heart race.
“I want to teach you how to use a sword.”
So, Professor Kelthas spoke frankly.
“I’m curious how much of my teachings you can absorb.”
Dane remained silent.
Meanwhile, Professor Kelthas continued, “Well, I was thinking of taking a break, but…”
The reason Professor Kelthas was asking was that until he observed Dane’s test, he wasn’t very motivated. However, now his thoughts had changed.
He wanted to teach.
This boy had immense talent. If taught by one of the few Hexa-class warriors in the Empire, he could soon become one of the Empire’s greatest warriors.
No, he would make it that way.
“Why are you asking me?”
“Huh?”
Professor Kelthas was uncertain if he had heard correctly. Then he thought of something that might be true.
By any chance, did he already have a swordsmanship master?
Why hadn’t he thought of that?
There was something called morality in this world. Of course, he was the professor in charge, but…
Then Dane continued, “I don’t understand why my professor would ask permission to teach me.”
“Haha.” Professor Kelthas just burst out laughing.
“And I’m already learning a lot. So, as always, if I have any questions, I’ll come to you and practice at the time you set.”
“…”
He got completely sucked in. What the heck was with that boy? This was what made him more curious about Dane than his various talents.
This behavior was not befitting of a fourteen-year-old.
‘I’m really curious.’
Talented people often overestimated their talents and failed to read the room or died young after living a life of luxury. However, Dane didn’t seem to have that problem.
“I’ll continue to be in your care, Professor.”
Professor Kelthas realized that until Dane grew to a satisfactory level, he would never have the ‘leisurely retirement’ he had hoped for.
But he felt really good. He wondered if there had ever been anything like this since he came to the academy.
And finally…
He might have found it.
‘The secret technique that no one but me has mastered.’
Every warrior had a secret technique.
Naturally, Professor Kelthas also had one. It was the one that made him the commander of the Imperial Knights.
Finally, he found someone he could teach it to.
‘Maybe… he might even surpass me.’
No, it must be so.
Because he would make it so.
I never expected Professor Kelthas to make such a serious suggestion, but that didn’t mean I should be flustered or worried.
I never became a true swordsman in my past life. I was full of talent, but I realized it too late, and while on a rapid rise, I eventually died on the battlefield. Because of this, there had always been a longing in my heart regarding swordsmanship.
Of course, I had other talents, and I grew up happily enough not to be obsessed with swordsmanship, so it never showed on the outside.
But today I realized it.
“I didn’t think my heart would pound that hard.”
The fact that I still had a longing for swordsmanship.
A Hexa-class instructor came forward and passionately offered to teach me, so I’d be a fool not to accept. Perhaps… I might be able to reach the Hexa-class that I yearned to reach in my previous life much faster.
“Great.”
I was glad I came to the academy.
After creating a circle, I gained a deeper understanding of what magic was, obtained the Summoner’s sign and became a full-fledged Summoner, and now I was even going to learn more about swordsmanship.
Even so, I swung my sword quite a bit, since Professor Kelthas wanted to see my skills again while we were talking.
I learned quite a bit in the process.
I was born on the battlefield and learned the swordsmanship of the battlefield, so I had a wealth of experience and practical skills, but on the other hand, I was weak in ‘classic swordsmanship’.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t do it, it was that I had a relatively limited knowledge about it. Practice was practice, but ultimately, practice also came from the process of refining and supplementing theory.
So, in addition to swinging my sword, I decided to take some ‘theory lessons’ from Professor Kelthas.
Of course, it was not a separate course that gave credits.
“Should I think about making a sword soon?”
That was when I remembered the Thermion Blacksmith’s Insignia that Duke Thermion had given me. If I used it, I could create anything I wanted.
The swords I was using now weren’t bad, but the problem was that I didn’t have any desire for a good weapon right now. The habit of throwing away things that broke and using whatever was nearby without any regrets was not something that easily disappeared.
“Well, let’s take our time thinking about it.”
My body wasn’t fully grown yet, and it wouldn’t be too late to think about it when I stopped growing. Or I could create a famous sword that could be used continuously regardless of growth.
“Right, Karnas?”
“Kikreuk?”
“We should also start your training.”
“Kikreuk!”
At the word training, Karnas reacted strangely well. Did he understand that to mean I’d play with him?
I headed to the library to think about a suitable place. Since there was no information on him, my first priority was to find out what he was.
I thought about asking my second sister, but she seemed to be extremely busy with her teaching assistant duties. Even if I was her only little brother, I should do my own work.
“Wow.”
I was overwhelmed by the grandeur of the Academy’s library.
It was truly enormous.
It was an entire building.
How many books were there? Of course, it must be in the tens of thousands, and probably hundreds of thousands.
There were also many people. It seemed like there were professors as well as students.
It wasn’t a very quiet atmosphere, either.
There was a strangely comfortable noise coming from the students gathered together, either discussing or sitting somewhere studying.
“The Imperial Academy’s Library holds a whopping two million volumes.”
At that moment, a voice was heard from next to me. I turned my head and saw a woman wearing glasses, her hair tied back as she smiled broadly.
“This library, which is supported by the royal family’s patronage, contains books on everything in the world.” She smiled brightly at me. “Welcome to the Imperial Academy’s Library, Dane Sogres. I am Celia, the head librarian here.”
The faculty seemed to have a strong service spirit.
“You already know my name?”
“Of course. There has been no student more famous in this academy recently than you, Dane Sogres.”
The librarian also mentioned my older sisters.
“For reference, examples of students who were famous in the past include Arabella and Clare Sogres.”
Of course, my older sisters were also famous.
“I’m glad that you’re visiting the library. What brings you here? Feel free to browse around as much as you want, and if there’s anything you’re looking for, I can find it for you in ten minutes.”
There was a reason why the Academy was called the ‘cradle of learning’, given the existence of such an enormous library.
“I’m curious about the information on summons from ‘Beyond the Horizon’.”
“Aha. You must have gotten curious since you passed the special selection test some time ago.”
“Yes, well. Something like that.”
“Please wait a moment. There is a separate section for this, so I can direct you there.”
I followed Celia. As I walked, I saw a huge number of books and materials. I also saw students who were almost like zombies as they focused on studying. Would I be like that when I became a senior?
“We’re here.”
Before I knew it, we arrived at a place with a huge bookshelf. The books on it were neatly arranged. It was so big that it was about the height of three people and wide enough to fit dozens of people lined up.
How could I get the books down?
Celia demonstrated, saying, “Here. If you press the magic projector here, a list of all the books in this section will appear. Select the book you want and press…”
Thump!
The selected book came out of the bookshelf and slowly floated down.
After I got the book, I asked, “So, a machine inside pushes the book out and it comes down using levitation magic?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
“…How did you know?”
“I don’t think there’s any other way to explain it other than levitation magic.”
Although levitation magic was a 4-chain spell, it wasn’t a difficult one. But why was she looking at me like that?
“No, not that. The mechanical part.”
“Oh.”
I recalled that the Altheon Empire was pushing for magic engineering.
On the contrary, mechanical engineering was the pride of the Drenik Empire, to which I belonged in my previous life. I heard that the Altheon Empire intentionally rejected the use of mechanical devices…
Was that why she was reacting like that?
Well, it wasn’t like using it openly would get you killed or anything.
“I just heard it. The sound.”
“You heard a noise that can’t even be heard in this library.”
Although it was faint, I could hear it. I possessed ancient magic, so my senses were heightened to a certain degree. This was even more true in an environment where concentration was easy.
“Wow, that’s amazing! As expected of House Sogres.”
It felt really strange to be praised so unexpectedly for something so trivial.
Anyway, I looked through the book list. There were a few books that caught my eye with interesting titles, but overall the sample was too small.
Wasn’t there anything better?
“By any chance, are these all the books you have here?”
To my question, Celia gave an unexpected answer.
“No, there are more.”
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