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Swish! Swoosh!
A man with beautiful hair as red as flames swung his sword. His gorgeous muscles were laced with drops of sweat despite the cold morning air. His rising body temperature heated the surrounding air on the training ground.
“Still not enough,” he mumbled as he held on tight to his sword.
Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
That day’s battle.
That day’s loss.
That magnificent red spear haunted his thoughts.
He untangled his memories and examined them one by one.
After that, his muscles tensed again. Something cracked through the air. Was that the sound of a flame, or was it something else?
His sword ripped through the air; it grew, faded, and disappeared, but it wasn’t connected by anything as mundane as a wire. It trailed a tail of fire behind it.
As one might imagine, there was nothing in the training hall that was close to him within a radius of ten meters. So what did he cut?
What happened next answered that question.
The man returned his sword to its scabbard. As it rasped against the leather, an enormous tree ten meters thick fell to the ground with an earth-splitting roar. It was a giant tree that was relatively far from the training ground. And it didn’t stop there. The fallen tree burst into flames.
The man looked at the burning tree in silence. It then instantaneously crumbled into ashes. Just as he was about to take a step forward, he was interrupted.
“Congratulations, Your Highness.”
The man stopped as he heard a voice coming from behind him.
“You have broken through yet another wall.”
“This isn’t the full power yet.”
“I was astonished to discover that a knight could control fire without the help of Magma.”
Ulabis looked back at his loyal servant.
“It’s not easy. I know that I have reached power beyond A-Class, but that power places a lot of pressure on my body.”
“Is that right?”
“At times like this, I sometimes miss the power of Magma.”
“Can
 Can I ask what happened?” the knight cautiously inquired.
Ulabis didn’t answer for a moment.
“I have never once thought of Magma’s power as a cheat. Divine objects require talent to be handled well. The power to wipe out everything is not something allowed to the masses. Just like how Knights choose their own masters, the stones choose their own liege as well.” Ulabis stared into the distance. “In that sense, Magma was my pride.”
“If
”
“But suddenly, one day, a master appeared, and he could handle that power better than I could.”
The knight’s eyes widened at the unexpected revelation he had heard for the very first time.
“My ‘pride’ has been given to someone worthy, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“Well, if Your Highness deems it that way, then I understand,” the knight agreed. He revered his master too much to doubt him in the slightest. But if he knew what the Primordial Stones were, no amount of faith would have kept him under control.
Ulabis looked at him and smiled lightly.
“Ah, but what are you doing here so early in the morning?”
“AH!” The knight remembered his purpose, and his expression turned serious. “Well, you see
 Your prior orders aside, the Swallow Empire has been acting strangely recently. About twenty moderate aristocrats, including Duke Amor were purged yesterday evening. They were all known to oppose the current royal power.”[1]
Ulabis froze upon hearing his subordinate’s report. He knew clearly who was the real culprit behind the bloodbath in Swallow

“Grand Duke Lucifer
”
Ulabis’s eyes narrowed as he muttered the culprit’s name.
***
A novice mage’s jaw hit the ground after seeing the flames burn a hole in the ground.
“Chief Mage, no matter how we look at it, this is weird.”
“Hmm?”
The middle-aged man snapped out of his dumbfounded stupor. He—the one who had been speaking to Joshua—was Rodman, a Class 4 mage from the Tower.
“We all know that Fire Wall is a 4th Circle fire spell,” the novice mage quickly said. “You’d need to be Class 5 or higher to cast that spell by just saying the incantation.”
The young mage stopped and glanced at Joshua.
“...But what if it's magic that was memorized in advance?”
“That's not what I’m trying to say. Putting his affiliation aside, for a high-level mage to show up out of nowhere—isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”
Rodman remained silent as the question that the young mage had thrown back at him.
“Also, isn’t he too muscular for a mage?”
“Hmm
” Rodman was aware of this and swallowed nervously.
They were clearly not criticizing someone for being frail. Most mages were petite, like dwarves. The problem had to do with the way mages live and how people see them. In contrast to knights, who also valued physical training, mages tended to lock themselves in their labs and focus on calculations and formulas unless they were growing their circles. Their lack of physical activity precluded any significant muscle development. In fact, some even abhorred any form of exercise, saying that it would fill their brains with muscles as well, impeding their intellect.
“I think I can make a guess.”
Rodman gave the younger mage a puzzled look and asked, “What is it?”
“It’s a unique characteristic related to the Mana Training Technique that a knight utilizes.”
Rodman’s eyes widened with realization.
“Haven’t there been someone like that?” the novice exclaimed. “Isn’t there a knight that could also wield the fire attribute like this man before us?”
“Ulabis
”
“Let’s try again. Another attribute other than fire this time,” the younger mage proposed. “If he’s a mage Class 4 or higher, he can easily use 2nd Circle magic even if he’s specialized in fire. If he still insists on using fire magic
”
“I get what you mean.”
Rodman nodded with a smile. He took a step toward the slowly dwindling Fire Wall.
“I'm sorry, but
”
“I can do that as well.”
Rodman cocked his head in confusion. Joshua stretched his palm out without skipping a beat, and a beam of light shot out of his hand toward the floor.
Bzzt!
Joshua was surrounded by white sparks, and, crack!
“Ahh!”
Rodman screamed in fear as a huge wave of electricity hit him. His novice companion was already backing away.
“What was the name of this again?” Joshua whispered with a little smile as he watched their reactions. “Lightning Wave?”
Cain and Icarus could only shake their heads at their master’s childish behavior.
“Isn’t he a complete fraud?” Cain remarked.
“Now you notice?”
“Is he a con man that sold his country in his past life?”
“Does it mean that he’s an archmage?” Icarus asked.
“Huh?”
“There is a saying: if a man lives his whole life keeping his purity, he becomes an archmage
”
“Are you talking about me?” Cain frowned upon hearing Icarus’ words.
“I didn’t say that.”
Icarus shrugged at Cain, who snorted.
“Please! Stop now!” Rodman shouted. “STOP! I get it already! I know you’re a mage now, so stop!”
Joshua smirked and reigned in Bronto’s power.
Rodman sighed in relief as he watched the lightning fizzle away.
“I’m not sure I’d survive if I asked you to show me something else.”
“Do I look like I’d do that?”
“I know, I know. I get it already!” Rodman turned away from Joshua.
“Don’t do anything else; the Magic Tower has eyes everywhere!”
“I see. I will remember that.”
“If you’re going to the Magic Tower, you will need to take that robe off!” Rodman turned around and growled at him. “After all, you have to be alone.”
“Ch-Chief Mage!”
“Stop giving any excuses!”
“It’s something else!” The young mage held up a brightly shining crystal ball. “Thetapirion’s tracks have been located!”
Rodman’s eyes bulged.
“What?”
“He’s with a woman!”
Rodman dashed toward the novice and questioned, “Where!?”
“They’re
 Uh
” The younger mage looked nervous. “They’re at the Tower of Trials.”
“HUH?”
“Apparently, Zephyros and Scorpino have already gone after them.”
Rodman bit his lip nervously.
“Let’s go quickly. We can’t be late.”
“Understood!”
“All the fish have taken the bait! Opportunities like this don’t come too often! Stay alert and be prepared! Gather around me!” Rodman roared out his instructions.
All of Rodman’s mages assembled at his becker.
Pshh!
All of them then vanished in a flash of bright white light.
Two people’s mouths were agape. The third looked pensive.
“Tower of Trials
 Thetapirion. I’ll make a move first,” Joshua snapped.
“M-Master!”
Joshua’s figure vanished before Icarus and Cain could stop him.
“How? How did he do it?”
Icarus and Cain could only stare blankly in the direction Joshua had gone.
1. Moderate (옚걎파) Political ideology-Moderate is an ideological category that designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. ☜