Chapter 1: Dereck (1)
Dereck’s first teacher was a shabby old man who begged in the slums.
Even in Ebelstein, a renowned metropolis on the continent, there were slums where the destitute gathered. At the entrance to a dark alley frequented by thugs and prostitutes, the old man would loudly proclaim to the empty air that he was a great wizard, as if he had lost his mind.
“In my prime, I was a grand wizard who soared through the skies in the Great Northern War!”
“The famous Grand Duke Beltus even personally sought me out to deal with the monsters in the frontier! Haha!”
The few remaining strands of hair on his wrinkled head were filthy, and his worn-out leather shirt and pants were stained with dirt and leftover food. To anyone who saw him, he was nothing more than a mad beggar, so naturally, no one believed his words.
“Ah, these fools… Tsk!”
Hurt by their disbelief, the old man would occasionally shoot fire into the air or summon a gust of wind.
In an era where magic was rare, even the most basic magic was an invaluable skill in these slums. Passersby would applaud or exclaim in awe at his magic, but those with a bit of knowledge would critically remark:
“I understand you can use magic, but your scale is too small to call yourself a grand wizard, don’t you think?”