Chapter 5 (2/2)
Could I become a magician?
Could I become stronger?
Could I become a great magician?
It was questions like, ‘Could I become the strongest magician?’ that used to be hard to even imagine asking.
Of course, the answers to these questions were obvious.
‘I need to do it.’
* * *
* * *
With Fireball in one hand and Iceball in the other, I stood in front of the scarecrow.
This scarecrow with its weird nose and eyes that weren’t even manufactured properly looked as if it were mocking me.
Because of this, I didn’t hesitate to recreate my punching form and strike the scarecrow.
“Left hand!”
Kaboom!
The Fireball held in my left had exploded the scarecrow’s head off and burnt it as soon as it made contact.
“Right Hand!”
Ching!
The Iceball in my right hand froze over the burning scarecrow.
And then,
Crash!
The frozen scarecrow broke into a million pieces as I struck it with my empowered fist.
‘Wow.’
Upon seeing this unbelievable strength, I took a step back.
Quest has been completed.
Rewards will be given.
Strength has increased by 10.
The scarecrow that was mocking me just a second ago had ceased to exist.
Only branches scorched with burn marks were scattered along the floor.
“I destroyed a scarecrow…”
It was only a scarecrow, but why was I so moved?
I knew.
Because for some, it was just an ordinary scarecrow
But for me, it was an entity that was too strong for me to even touch.
An annoying creature that was always outside my magic’s range, always mocking me.
I had dreamt of it for the 6 years I had been in the academy.
That one day, I would use my magic to knock that scarecrow over.
Till now, I had time and time again been stopped by the ‘Release’ step of the casting.
But today, that dream was made real.
With nothing but this fist.
“This is… the magic of Draka.”
I stared blankly at the destroyed scarecrow remains.
I quickly pinched myself and rubbed my eyes.
It was not a dream.
It wasn’t a hallucination either.
All of this was real.
I collapsed to the ground and exclaimed,
“Woah.”
I laid down face up on the hard dirt.
“…It’s pretty.”
The moon that shone through the dark night sky looked more beautiful than ever before.
Even the hard dirt ground felt like a soft bed.
Laying like this, my body started to feel the exhaustion.
The exhaustion of today’s exercise, coupled with the sorrow of the past six years, came crashing down on me like a waterfall.
My eyes became heavier.
I needed to wake up.
I needed to…
…whatever.
Zzzzzzz…
* * *
After waking up, I became famous for another reason.
“What the? Is he seriously sleeping here?”
“It looked like he trained here till early morning. Sheesh. I think he’s asleep.”
“Shouldn’t we wake him up?”
“……”
I must’ve been crazy.
No matter how tired I was, to sleep on the dirt like this…
“No way… Is he dead?”
“There’s no way. He was fine even after getting hit by Lightning B- Woah! Ruin! You startled me.”
However, I opened my eyes like nothing was wrong.
Then, I casually stood up, stretching and cracking my neck.
“Why are you all gathered here? First time seeing someone sleep outside?”
“Yea, it’s my first time seeing a noble sleep outside in the dirt when such a good dorm is only 100 meters away.”
“……”
Damn.
Couldn’t argue with that.
“Ruin, did you get drunk?”
“What do you mean drunk? I was so tired that I fell asleep instantly.”
It looked like there were about 10 people here spectating me.
From them looking at me like I was a rare animal, embarrassment finally came over me.
I wanted to go hide in a hole.
However, I tried to act nonchalantly while grabbing my stuff and started heading towards the dorm.
“That’s amazing… in more ways than one.”
“By the way, that broken scarecrow… Did Ruin do that?”
“There’s literally no way.”
Their gossip crept into my ears, but who cares if they talk about me?
Strangely, the small smile on my lips refused to leave.
How long ago was it since I’d woken up so refreshed like this?
To give an answer, this would be the first time since entering the academy.
As I entered my dorm room, my roommate, Jason, questioned me while he was brushing his teeth.
“Yo, Ruin. Did you sleep out somewhere yesterday?”
Well, I guess I did ‘sleep out’side.
I shrugged my shoulders instead of answering him.
Jason narrowed his eyes at my answer.
“What? Wait. Did you go outside the academy grounds? Or… Oh shit! Did you go meet a girl? Till this morning???”
Jason Damon.
The eldest son of the Damon house, who garnered their immense wealth through casting and mining metals.
To me, who had a hard time calling anyone in the academy a ‘friend’, he was nice.
A crazy bastard that would jump the academy fences to go enjoy wine and women when he was bored.
They sometimes say you’re more comfortable with a person of the complete opposite personality.
Jason and I were pretty comfortable in that sense.
“It’s nothing like that!”
“This bastard! You finally woke up after getting hit by that lightning. ‘No~ I can’t die like this! All those days I wasted reading through only books! I need to become a real man!’”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“So, sir Ruin, how does it feel to finally become a man?”
“……”
I didn’t want to talk to him anymore.
“I’m going to wash up.”
I went into the bathroom with my towel.
Jason was muttering something about,
‘That’s right. You should clean yourself. Rub Rub.’
He was definitely insane.
Whoosh!
I floated in the bathtub filled with warm water.
“Ah. right.”
While floating, I remembered that I forgot to check the Quest after waking up.
“Quest.”
I was still not used to this half-transparent window that appears in front of my eyes.
I would get used to it, right?
There was not much of a difference in the Quest than from yesterday.
Well, to pick out a specific difference…
Repeatable Quest
Body Training I
Since you have become a Player connected to Draka, Destroyer of Worlds, you need to train your body in preparation for your increase in strength.
Punch: 0/200
Kick: 0/200
Spin Kick: 0/200
* Reward: Strength +10.
“……”
The reward was still the same ‘Strength +10’, but the training requirements doubled.
“Sigh… This is going to be tiring.”
However, the smile on my face wasn’t fading anytime soon.
——