Chapter 191 : Illusion (1)
Chapter 191: Illusion (1)
♠ ◆ ♥ ♣
A life-or-death duel against a powerful opponent always left behind a lot.
In particular, obtaining the Technique of Sword Mastery Over Weapon was a great gain.
Thanks to the elixirs Carl had consistently consumed since childhood, he had built up a considerable amount of internal energy, and with the advancement of Mana Beads, there was even anticipation of gaining additional internal power.
Whoosh, whirr.
Without Carl even swinging his hand, four swords danced in midair, tracing sharp arcs.
Previously, even if he had internal energy to spare, the mental strain made it difficult to wield even one sword, but now he had reached the stage where he could control multiple swords for an extended duration.
“Ugh, this again…!”
It was the cadets who were having a hard time.
As the training in the Technique of Sword Mastery Over Weapon, previously limited to Laysis, gradually expanded in number, it began to affect them as well.
Now, in the training hall, each of them was fiercely engaged in combat against independently moving swords.
‘This is quite difficult.’
With his hands clasped behind his back, Carl continued the fight against the cadets, suppressing the throbbing sensation in his head.
If he were to kill them, he could cut them all down in the blink of an eye.
However, simultaneously fighting multiple opponents without injuring them, while aiming only to subdue, was a taxing task—even for Carl.
Clang!
At that moment, a sharp high-pitched sound rang through the training hall, drawing everyone's attention.
Maximilian’s final strike, delivered with all his might, shattered Carl’s controlled sword.
“…Ah.”
Just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion after swinging his final sword, Maximilian opened his eyes wide at the sight of the broken blade.
“I-I won!!!!”
It was the fifteenth day since training had resumed.
For the first time, he had managed to score a point against Carl without getting defeated.
Maximilian even threw away the greatsword in his hand and let out a near-screaming cheer as he half-collapsed onto the ground.
“Haah, I’m jealous.”
“I think I’m getting close too.”
The other cadets looked at Maximilian’s accomplishment with envy.
‘Not bad.’
Carl smiled faintly.
He had known about Maximilian’s grit since the very first day of enrollment.
That’s why he had trained him even more harshly, yet the boy didn’t give up and even managed to break Carl’s sword.
He had finally reached a level where he wouldn’t get beaten up wherever he went.
Tap.
With that moment as the turning point, Carl retrieved all the swords that had been pummeling the cadets and returned them to their original positions.
“Huh?”
“Training's over already today?”
“Or are we going to learn something else?”
On a normal day, they would have trained until sunset, so why stop so early?
They all assumed he was planning to do something different, but Carl shook his head and apologized.
“We’ll stop training here for today. Unfortunately, another appointment has come up.”
“Oh.”
“I see. It can’t be helped.”
“Honestly, we’re already grateful you taught us this far.”
The cadets nodded.
It was already unusual for someone of Carl’s level to leisurely teach them here.
Surely he had plenty of responsibilities of his own.
They felt deeply thankful that he had spared so much time for them until now.
“I’ll be returning to the Imperial Capital now. We’ll meet again once the break is over.”
There were already only about twenty days left until the end of the break.
As they let out dry chuckles at how quickly the time had flown, Laysis awkwardly sent Carl a voice transmission.
–Can I go with you?
–It’s still too soon. This is the most important time for you, Laysis. You won’t be late even if you stay and absorb everything you’ve learned from me first.
Carl advised her seriously.
Laysis had naturally stood out far more than the other cadets.
It was only natural, given the investment he had made in her, but her own talent also played a big part.
Following Carl to the Imperial Capital wouldn’t be a bad option either.
But there were experiences she could only gain in this exact moment.
So Carl decided to look ahead to the next time.
–What about me?
The next message came from Yuria.
She had already noticed that Carl and Laysis had communicated in secret and decided to join in.
–What do you mean?
Carl feigned ignorance, brushing off Yuria’s message, but he couldn’t fool someone as sharp as her.
–You turned Laysis down when she asked to go with you, right? Because she just got on her growth track.
–That’s right. Laysis still needs more training.
–But I wouldn’t be a problem if I came with you. And it’s about time you showed me what you’ve accomplished.
–Hmm.
Carl paused in thought.
Unlike Laysis, there were still a few things he hadn’t told Yuria yet.
But it was only a matter of time.
Eventually, he would need to fully join hands with her too, so it was inevitable.
–Very well. Get ready.
–Okay.
Yuria raised the corners of her mouth in satisfaction.
Thus, under the pretense of returning to the Imperial Capital, Carl, and Yuria, who claimed to be heading back to the Gray Magic Tower, left the cadets together and stepped onto the Teleport Gate.
Vmmm.
In an instant, they were transported to the Imperial Capital.
Yuria let out a short breath and raised her head.
“Ah, I’m finally feeling stable.”
“Did you not like Althausen?”
“I’m not fond of sea breezes. Especially that salty smell. I didn’t like it even when I was on Earth. So I had to constantly purify the air with magic while traveling, and my mana nearly ran dry.”
“Ah, so that’s why, even when entering the ruins…”
“That topic is forbidden!”
Yuria cut in sharply, stretching her hand toward Carl’s face.
Of course, Carl lightly stepped back to dodge and pointed ahead.
“Let’s go. By the way, aren’t you stopping by the Magic Tower?”
“I already paid my respects as soon as break started. I told them I’d be going around with friends, and they seemed pleased. I used to always be alone before entering the university division.”
“You didn’t have any friends. Except Laysis.”
"…Could you not point out the painful part? I’m already aware of it. I’ve worked hard too."
To that, Carl nodded.
It was clear that her personality had softened quite a bit since the start of the semester.
"And also."
Yuria placed her hand on her hip and looked at Carl as she continued.
"Could you talk more casually when it’s just us? How long are you going to keep acting so distant?"
"I’m comfortable like this…"
"You’re not, are you? I can tell it’s a formal way of speaking."
"Hmm."
Carl gave a wry smile.
No one else seemed to feel any strangeness—except her.
Was it because she came from a different world than Artenia?
After a brief contemplation, Carl nodded and agreed willingly.
"Alright. But don’t regret it."
"Yeah, that suits you much better."
Yuria nodded in satisfaction at the slightly lower, weightier tone in his voice.
"So, where are we going now?"
"You knew I had an organization under my command, right?"
"You told me."
"It’s called NOX. The group tied to the terrorism incident during the entrance exam…"
As Carl continued his explanation, he saw Yuria’s expression and let out a small laugh.
"So you already knew."
"You think I wouldn’t?"
"How did you know? I only dropped hints here and there—I never outright said anything."
Carl was curious.
If Yuria, an outsider, had figured it out, others might have noticed too.
When he asked in hopes of identifying and correcting that risk, Yuria shook her head, telling him not to worry.
"It’s fine. No one else would ever notice except me."
"Is it related to the knowledge you possess?"
"No, if I had to say…"
Tap.
Yuria reached out and tugged on Carl’s sleeve.
This time, Carl allowed himself to be pulled and followed her lead.
Sniff sniff.
Yuria sniffed his hand, sleeve, and arm, then looked at him meaningfully.
"You saved me during the entrance exam, didn’t you?"
"…I did. You were one of the cadets under close observation."
She was a key individual at the top of the list of people he needed to get close to.
If she had died in that terrorist incident, everything would have been for nothing, so he had gone out of his way to save her.
"You must’ve let your guard down then. Didn’t expect that the girl lying unconscious would remember your scent, huh?"
"…Ah."
Carl’s eyes widened.
When wearing NOX’s mask, his physique, aura, and even scent were all concealed.
But he hadn’t considered that when he rescued Yuria.
So remembering his scent and linking it to his identity wouldn’t have been difficult.
"How long have you known?"
"Not long. Since the day of the end-of-term ceremony, when I went to the garden and confessed that I was a Player too."
Carl nodded.
That was truly something only Yuria could have noticed.
Still, it was something worth keeping in mind, so he committed it to memory as they exited the Teleport Gate and began walking.
"Well, that makes things easier to explain. I’ve been planning this organization since I was a kid. I used the knowledge in my head to seize the underworld of Leipzig and even expanded into the capital."
"That’s impressive. It couldn’t have been easy to reach the capital in any way. …Wait a second, then that means the Madeira Trading House too—"
"Yes."
Carl nodded with a sly smile.
"The Madeira Trading House is also one of the organizations under my command. It handles several pillars of NOX’s funding."
Creak.
Carl answered Yuria as they naturally boarded a carriage.
It bore the Madeira insignia, and as soon as Carl and Yuria boarded, it set off for their destination.
Though no instructions were given, it moved on its own, prompting a quiet murmur of awe from Yuria.
"That’s really impressive. I only ever focused on my power build and never even considered leading an organization."
Yet she hadn’t neglected her own strength either.
From Yuria’s perspective, Carl could only appear monstrous.
‘What kind of person was he in the outside world? With that brain of his… a lawyer? A doctor?’
She was curious, but it felt too awkward to ask directly, so she held back.
For a while, the carriage crossed the city’s streets.
After passing through the commercial and residential districts and entering the Harlem district, Yuria narrowed her eyes and looked around.
"This is the perfect place to set up a secret base."
"From here on, everything belongs to NOX. Even the vagrants wandering outside are members of our organization."
"Heh."
Yuria scanned her surroundings.
She sensed presences hidden so stealthily that even her magic could barely detect them.
They were only revealing themselves because Carl was with her.
If a total stranger were to visit, they’d easily mistake it for a real slum.
Tap.
They arrived at a warehouse that served as an entrance and descended the stairs into NOX’s base.
Carl led the way while Yuria suppressed her pounding heart and followed behind.
‘Feels like I’m entering a secret base.’
Technically, it was a secret base, but this was her first time entering such a place since arriving in Artenia.
If it weren’t Carl, she would never have followed.
Soon, they reached their destination, and Carl gestured inward as he spoke to Yuria.
"Welcome to NOX. You’re the first outsider ever to set foot here."