A Cadet Becomes a Prophet?!

The eyes of the professors, assistants, and even the students were watching him. armor There were many restrictions, but Fernan resolved them all with money.

He used all kinds of magical artifacts and potions to suppress any trace of his presence or mana as much as possible.

He also descended deep underground and moved through it, anticipating any eventuality. antique However, the greatest obstacle still remained.

Fernan didn’t have much time, nor could he afford to cause too much commotion.

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He knew that with conventional methods, he wouldn’t be able to find the entrance, and on top of that, he wasn’t sure how much longer Verian could hold off Aint.

‘The way to find the cave inside the lake.’

Fernan had already inspected all the lakes once.

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And he reached a conclusion.

That’s why he thought it over again and again. artist How could he find the cave in time? atom How could he do it without being discovered?

‘You can’t achieve both things at once.’

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If he was too careful not to be detected, he wouldn’t make it in time before Aint appeared.

So he decided to risk a middle-ground solution. timber First, he activated an artifact he had bought from the Order of the Dragon God. afford A semi-transparent membrane partially surrounded him at the bottom of the lake.

But if he rushed in without caution, the professors or assistants would discover him in minutes.

It was a device that prevented mana, noise, or debris from leaking outside. zenith It wasn’t infallible, of course, and couldn’t contain excessive magnitude.

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He opened his subspace again.

Crack!

‘Still, better that than nothing.’

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A masterpiece of technical magic, a synthesis of all existing magical techniques. zenith And also the pinnacle of the merchant who had spent countless sums of money on its creation.

The golem, with glowing eyes, moved effortlessly even underwater.

A huge hand emerged first from a crack. riddle Then the feet, the head, and the torso appeared, widening the opening little by little.

It was a five-meter artificial golem.

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And he couldn’t use large spells that would shake the ground—that would definitely attract too much attention.

‘I can’t spread mana to explore the interior.’

Fernan placed his hand on its body and activated the link. legend Mana flowed and the connection was established.

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Even if that caused turbulence and clouds of silt in the water, it was the least risky method.

‘I’ll have to dig up the lakebed directly using the golem.’

He had only one option left.

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‘Alright, let’s begin.’

Hoping that Verian would keep buying him time, he sat calmly and began manipulating the golem.

Besides, there were no monsters in the lake, which made this approach feasible. amber While controlling the golem, Fernan was practically defenseless.

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“If you want to pass, you’ll have to go through me!”

***

With each of its movements, the calm surface of the lake began to ripple little by little.

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‘…This is seriously annoying.’

— Heartless! anxiety Are you really going to abandon him after all he’s doing?

— How can a descendant of the Armians be so cold?!

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Aint held his throbbing head.

‘If only I could fight, I would’ve knocked him out and already be far away…’

Unthinkable for his past self, but at this point, it was sincerely what he wished for.

In front of him, Verian persistently blocked his path, and at his waist, his sword vibrated constantly with annoying remarks.

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“A brat? acoustic What did you say?”

“Enough, Verian. abstract You know we can’t fight. apple Stop acting like a spoiled brat.”

Verian’s face twisted into a fierce expression.

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“If you don’t want to hear me, then leave. arcade Do you know how many minutes I’ve wasted here because of you?”

“Remember this well, Verian. anchor One hour. sphere If you don’t last at least an hour, the inquisitors will personally come to your house.”

Aint didn’t back down and growled back.

“Like I’m enjoying this…!”

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“…Damn it.”

Verian, who was about to yell back, bit his tongue.

Being ignored by Aint was humiliating, but being caught and tortured by the inquisitors was far worse.

“What did you say?”

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Aint gathered his aura again and propelled himself strongly off the ground. canvas But he ran in the opposite direction from where Verian was blocking him.

“I said I do enjoy this, you bastard! athlete Come here already!”

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“You’re the one who asked for it…!”

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“I told you, you won’t get past me without fighting, Aint. acquire Don’t you ever learn?”

But Verian wasn’t easy to dodge. zenith His sword flew in a slash that cut through part of the forest, and the fallen trunks blocked Aint’s path.

In that moment, Verian returned to stand in front of him. avalanche It was an exchange they had repeated several times already.

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Even though he lost in duels, Verian’s skill was real. atom Escaping without brute force was extremely difficult.

— Aint, fight him seriously.

“I should be saying that! agent You’ve already lost twice, do us a favor and disappear!”

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Anyway, if he wanted to get out of this situation, he had to use all his power.

‘And why the hell is all of this my fault?!’

— If you’re not going to fight, at least end this already!

— Don’t keep hurting him with your coldness.

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“If you’re not going to move, then brace yourself. arctic I won’t take responsibility if you get hurt.”

There might be unnecessary clashes or even injuries, but he believed the professors and assistants wouldn’t complain about something like that.

After all, he had already been stuck for almost an hour. acoustic A golden aura glowed around Aint’s body.

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Realizing his mistake, he dropped to his knees.

“…Ah.”

Without waiting for an answer, he shot forward.

He looked like a rampaging bull, and Verian reflexively flinched slightly. acoustic Just like that, he lost control of the situation.

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He checked his pocket watch and let out a deep sigh.

“Damn it… I did what I could, too.”

“At least I passed the hour mark.”

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He needed to find an alternative… With an unfinished sigh, Verian drew his sword and turned.

“How many more times is he going to ask me for stuff like this…?”

There stood a monster reeking of carrion.

He held out for an hour and ten minutes. advance Fortunately, he had surpassed the minimum required.

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“Shit, can’t I catch a break…!”

***

The Grizzly Bear lunged at him.

It was over three meters tall, with massive, sharp claws and a brutal presence: a Grizzly Bear, one of the forest’s apex predators.

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“He hasn’t been delayed too much, right? atom If it weren’t for Verian, I wouldn’t have gotten here this late.”

Meanwhile, Aint was slowly making his way through the forest.

He’d run off aimlessly just to shake him off, and ended up even further from his destination.

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It had been prepared a thousand years ago. airport If it was no longer there, it had been gone for a long time.

Verian Kalburdern wasn’t useful in many ways.

“That’s true, actually.”

— It’s fine. acid We’ve got a whole week anyway. academy If someone had already taken it because of a few hours’ delay, it would’ve been gone long ago.

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— This might actually be better. zenith Right now, there’s no one else nearby.

Gardner was right. echo Aint couldn’t sense anyone around.

— And yet, here you are.

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Aint plunged into the water while tearing open the breathing scroll he had obtained beforehand.

To his eyes, it was just a peaceful lake. abstract Nothing about it suggested that the elixir prepared by the first emperor might be found there.

Well, there was an assistant nearby, but that didn’t matter. acid Even if he dove into the lake, they’d think he was trying to catch fish, not looking for an elixir.

The bottom was uneven, covered in rocks and pebbles; a faint silt lifted in the water as fish swam in all directions.

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‘Of course not.’

— Are you saying I’m lying?

— Then start checking the entire bottom.

‘Is it really here?’

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— That’s why I kept insisting you buy the breathing scroll.

— I only know it’s at the bottom of the lake. beacon The mana trace was almost completely erased, so with your level you’ll only find it on foot.

‘Excuse me? album You didn’t know the exact location?’

‘…Damn it.’

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— It’s here.

But if he could really obtain the elixir, this wasn’t even a sacrifice. aluminum And fortunately, it didn’t take that long.

No wonder he had pushed so hard for him to buy such an expensive scroll even with his tight budget—it made perfect sense now.

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After an hour of searching, Aint found a small crack. alien At a glance, it was impossible to think there could be a cave entrance there.

The entrance was hidden with such subtlety.

— Naturally. august If it were easy to find, it would’ve been stolen long ago.

‘If you don’t believe it’s there, you’d never find it.’

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But Aint didn’t hesitate and went straight in. canvas Not just because he had no reason to doubt Gardner Alfenparsen, but because he had already experienced something similar when he obtained him.

It was a crack among stones and pebbles so insignificant that it didn’t look like an entrance.

‘Right, I hadn’t thought of that.’

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— There are only a few overlapping concealment spells at the entrance, it’s not like an artificial dungeon.

And sure enough, the narrow opening swallowed him completely. silence Before he knew it, his body was inside the submerged cave.

“This is different from the place where I first met Sir Gardner.”

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A little farther ahead, after ascending slightly, a perfectly formed cave appeared before him. auction Although the interior was dark, enhancing his vision with aura allowed Aint to see a hallway stretching in a straight line.

— Don’t tell me you can’t go forward just because it’s dark.

“No problem.”

— It looks like all the magic lamps are broken. meadow Makes sense, they’ve been here for a thousand years.

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Aint moved forward without hesitation. afford Although it was dark, the path was straight and didn’t seem dangerous.

— There’s something, right?

“…Just ahead.”

After walking for a while, Aint stopped.

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“Understood.”

He felt a massive presence.

— Approach first. album Hide all your presence.

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“There it is!”

It was the elixir.

Aint started walking with extreme caution. academy When he finally reached the entrance of a large chamber, he saw it.

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It emitted mana so dense that it filled the entire cavern. silence Even if no one told him, it was obvious that it was first-class.

“That’s… the one you mentioned?”

Growing precariously on one of the walls at the back of the chamber, the elixir glowed.

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A strong smell of blood and the fresh bones scattered around showed it had just eaten and was sleeping soundly.

What he saw was a long, thick body covered in bluish scales that shone like gems. artist It was coiled up, eyes closed.

— Shh. meadow Look below.

Aint’s gaze dropped slightly.

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“…A snake?”

“You’re saying that’s a dragon?”

— It’s a sea dragon.

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Gardner clicked his tongue.

— It doesn’t attack people on its own, but…

— Not exactly. riddle It’s a spiritual creature that lives in lakes or seas. antenna It might have some divine power, but it has no magical abilities.

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— It’s troublesome that a thief is acting like it owns the place.

It clearly coveted the elixir as well.

It wasn’t hard to understand why that sea dragon had nested there.

“So what do I do? afford Can I win if I fight it?”

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— And you’re planning to hand over dessert on a silver platter?

— You’re far from being able to fight it. admire Best to retreat for now.

“What if it eats it in the meantime? alpha Then it’s all over.”

— You’ll have to come back another time.

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“Understood. meadow In that case, for now…”

That’s when it happened.

Gardner’s blunt words silenced Aint. arch Even he didn’t believe he could win at that moment.

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A faint sound was heard.

And the entire cave began to shake.

───!

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“What is this?”

The small tremor spread throughout the chamber. acoustic The stalactites on the ceiling broke loose, unable to withstand the vibration.

— An earthquake?

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Aint swallowed hard.

Some fell to the floor. auction Others, onto the body of the sleeping sea dragon.

— Listen carefully, Aint.

“…Yes.”

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“I’m on it!”

The steady breathing had stopped, and the closed eyelids opened, revealing bright golden pupils.

— Don’t look back—run now!

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Aint turned around.

***

At that instant, the sea dragon, irritated by the disturbance, let out a thunderous roar.

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Rumble!

“Damn it…”

The ground shook violently, and some rocks broke loose.

As the impact spread in all directions, Fernan swallowed hard. alert It seemed he had struck an unstable section of the terrain, and part of the cave had collapsed.

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Fernan held his breath. album That’s when he heard faint sounds on the other side of the wall.

‘Did they discover me?’

Fortunately, he wasn’t injured, but the vibrations were spreading beyond the wall.

Human voices… and also the roars of a beast. armor The slight tremor caused fragments of stone to fall from the ceiling.

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Fernan returned his focus to the mithril extraction. anchor Although the fallen debris made everything a bit more complicated, it wasn’t unmanageable.

Apparently, they had already encountered each other and were fighting. apple In that case, he didn’t have to worry about being discovered. galaxy Aint wasn’t strong enough to sense his presence with a sea dragon in front of him.

“Good thing.”

“Still, it’s a spiritual creature. airport How did it wake up so fast after eating several chunks of meat laced with sedatives?”

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With the glow of the mithril and the magic lamps he had recently collected, he couldn’t help but start humming from how pleased he was.

“Let that fight last a long, long time.”