Here he was, again.
Standing on the balcony, swirling a glass of wine, watching the scenery below.
Dozens of people bound by thick ropes were led into a deep pit.
The pit was filled with light.
Fire, crackling brightly in the dim sunset.
If the person at the forefront of the line resisted being pushed into the pit, the guard would kick the person behind, causing the two to fall together.
It was a never-ending parade of burning bodies.
He sipped the drink.
Strangely, despite the wine being of excellent quality, it could not mask the taste and smell of burnt flesh.
"How dreadful," he said. "To think that I can smell this repugnant stench from over here. Don't you agree, assistant?"
...
"Assistant?"
Turning around, he could see his assistant, bloodshot eyes and a wide smile across her narrow face, half hidden in the interior's darkness.
The feeling he got looking at her was almost incomparable; it was akin to watching the pup you raised with your loving hands turn into a wolf baring its teeth at you. The inherent feeling of 'Where did I go wrong?'.
Her blood-soaked gloves reached out for him, cradling his face in her too warm hands.
Itsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfaultitsallyourfault-
"Gasp!"
...Knock
Ilrune awoke in a startle. Disoriented, he looked at the unfamiliar bedroom before memories of the previous day came flooding back.
'...Right. I met with Dean Amyse, who then unexpectedly threw me into a test. I passed it, and now I'm here. What is this unpleasant feeling? Did I sleep wrong?'
Knock
'I don't remember much, only that I briefly showered, then crashed into bed.'
Knock
'Also, who's knocking!?'
Irritated, Ilrune made a move to stand up, but the sudden bit of dizziness and black dots swarming his vision halted his movements.
'...Right, the potion. What am I to do with it?
Well, there's not much use to it anymore, right? It's a pity, right after I made a new batch too... I'll deal with it later. Let's not keep the person knocking waiting for too long... oh? She sent the artifact before I passed the test?'
The same dainty box Dean Amyse had showcased yesterday sat on the living room desk, shining slightly in the dazzling daylight.
'Even if I'm getting lax, telling if someone snuck in my room is child's play.
...Did she already expect me to pass? I didn't even know that there was going to be a quiz. How scary.'
He quickly dove through his equipment, retrieving Bernard Monet's file.
'I thought so too yesterday, but his face, it's really, truly ordinary. The type of face you'd see any day out in the streets. Easily forgettable.'
He then grabbed the box containing the magically engineered device and opened it.
The brooch had a trendy design, with tasteful decorative carvings and patterns. When Ilrune ran his finger on its sides, he could feel tiny symbols delicately carved with precision.
'These are likely the transformative runes. How quaint. It looks like a fancy brooch any noble would wear, so if I'm asked, I can name any popular accessory shop in Vilste.
Is this material... gold? I heard that it's pretty good for rune carving. Er... Something about mana retention. This is the real deal after all, not like an archmage would lie anyway.'
With a sigh, Ilrune dressed himself and fastened the brooch onto his left breast pocket.
'In a sense, I just need to teach kids while wearing a different face. No instructions yet, but my job should be pretty close.'
'Well,' he thought as he brought Bernard Monet's file closer to his face, examining it closely. 'Let's not keep the person knocking at my door any longer.'
Knock-
The door abruptly swung open.
"Heuk!" The servant jumped in surprise. It was the same man who guided Ilrune to his room previously, an elderly man with white hair and deep facial lines.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I had trouble with my... clothes," Ilrune, now wearing Bernard Monet's face, smiled nervously.
'The transformative device is pretty easy to use. I could move my appearance by focusing on Bernard Monet's face and channelling mana into it. The device then converts my mana into a spell... in a way that works. I'll figure it out soon enough, though. What it does tell me is that I cannot change into something I haven't seen before.
...If I hadn't been in a hurry due to the knocking, could I have turned myself into passable imitations of inanimate objects?
It also consumes more mana than I thought. I now have... 90%? Of my original mana left. Thankfully, it's not a constant ten percent loss, so I should treat this as a permanent loss and get used to fighting with ten percent less than my original amount.'
"Of course, this servant understands," the man replied as he made a light bow. "The dean requests your presence at her office at your soonest opportunity."
"She did? Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going quickly."
'After all, she promised to tell me the true details behind her commission if I passed her test. The sooner I know, the more I can prepare...
Speaking of, I haven't taken a high-risk commission in a while. I almost miss it, the sense of danger.'
***
Twack!
A thin mana arrow pierced through several rats, pinning them to the floor. Unlike normal rodents, these were easily multiple times larger, with yellowish, enlarged front teeth and red eyes.
'Tch. All that changed is that they look like they spread diseases faster.'
Ilrune scoffed as he swatted away rats courageous enough to approach him. The fast-paced mana arrows, guided by his hand, viciously butchered the monsters, reflecting his current frustrations.
'Miss the sense of danger? Prepare? How about I resign immediately?'
Twack!
Three rodents fell, splattering dark blood onto the sewer walls.
"This is driving me crazy..." Ilrune mumbled, gritting his teeth.
- As I've previously said, Bernard Monet is a missing 'Fundamental Botany' and 'Advanced Magical Plants' expert from the Dawn Tower.
He recalled his morning with a grimace. Dean Amyse's cold voice had felt like an impending snowstorm, bearing an avalanche of bad news.
- He was also supposed to attend as our new lecturer this year. I've been one of those who last saw him.
'Isn't this basically like a mystery-thriller plot? Students discover that an intruder had been impersonating their missing teacher! There has to be something she's not telling me about his disappearance.'
Twack!
"This is insane, really," he sighed.
'I knew this wasn't a simple get some money while filling it for someone busy elsewhere. It's never this easy.'
- The current situation in the Academy is precarious as well, so I needed him to be present to balance it out.
- Hold on. Could there be conflict among the teachers?
While he listened to the dean, Ilrune had recalled a conversation he eavesdropped on a while prior.
- Did you hear? Welxorth Academy has a new Dean!
- Pal, she won't even have time to be Dean, I heard there's a shit ton of work, enough to fill an office with paperwork!
- There are rumours of inter-teacher bullying too...
- As well? That's a lot of work waiting for her to finish!
'I didn't think much of it at the time... I can't believe I didn't make the connection earlier and got into this mess.'
Twack! Drip, drip..
He sighed, wiping the liquid whiplash off his pants.
'...Damn it, I can't lie, this is a pretty interesting mystery despite it all. Why did Bernard Monet disappear? Was it an orchestrated move? Who would've come if I couldn't fill the space?'
- The previous dean had supported the Nobility faction, resulting in many conflicts among teachers and students. I'm expected not to support any of them, leaving them to battle amongst themselves for power.
At the time, the dean's voice had sounded particularly heavy and tired, as if she were bearing a large burden on her shoulders.
'Apparently, Welxorth has three unofficial parties of interest: Nobility, Egalitarian and Temperance. The names pretty much sum them up... Arrogant, stubborn, and cowardly.'
- He was supposed to fill the second main role in the Temperance faction. There's no need to worry. You don't need to do anything hard; your coworker will handle everything important.
"..."
Twack!
"Ah... curse it all."
'And she ended the briefing like that! No instructions!'
Ilrune swatted at an approaching rat, mildly transposing the dean's face onto its figure. Swiftly and stealthily, two more mana arrows disposed of the last rats.
'Don't tell me I'm supposed to go in blind? No faction I should support? Act as a placeholder for one semester, and I'll be paid handsomely? What nonsense. I'd rather have a detailed plan than a freeform approach... Should I devise something?'
"Let's finish this commission first," Ilrune sighed, pulling a glass bottle from his travel suitcase[1]. A light gold liquid swirled in it, glittering briefly despite the dim sewer lights.
Pop!
Opening the bottle, Ilrune splashed his surroundings with its contents.
With shiny white sparks and a hiss of smoke, the dead rats dissolved into the ground, leaving small, red, ruby-shaped stones on the ground.
'Since Vilste is a port city, it's easier to get holy water from the Church of the Fated than from any other. Thank the deities, I don't have to wait in line at the Church of the Eversun to replenish my stock. That would've taken me years.'
Ilrune recalled the last church he visited with a shudder.
"There were so many people that the line ended up extending to the market..."
'I guess it can't be helped. Out of all seven orthodox religions, the Church of the Eversun is by far the most popular. Anyone would want to get their share of holy water.'
With a wave of his hand, the ruby-shaped stones floated up, neatly forming a line that headed into his bag.
"Unfortunately, it's necessary for adventurers like me to get some if I want to complete corruption-related commissions. If it's not properly banished, it'll try to complicate things for me."
'I'm using Dean Amyse's sponsored funds to buy it anyway. I need to finish these commissions quickly, before the semester starts. Well, I wanted to refuse Dean Amyse after learning the details at first, but...'
Ilrune couldn't deny the feeling rising in his chest. His loudly beating heart filled his hearing, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
'Ahh, humans are so interesting. I'm so curious. I want to know more, drop everything and investigate the situation. If the risk level can be assessed and controlled... this is doable, no?'
Curiosity gnawed at his instincts like a starved beast.
***
What is corruption?
Well...
"I remember reading a manual hypothesizing about it. 'Corruption is the vilest thing to exist. Its overall goal is to eat, and it has a living characteristic with a high affinity for survival at all costs,'" a scholarly youth with golden blonde hair and long pointy ears explained. "Divine magic is most effective against it."
"The author isn't wrong. But Cellan, spare us the essay," a young woman objected, raising her hand. The arrogant look on her face felt undeniably noble.
"Az's right! The words went right through one ear and out the other..." another added. It was a teenager with a headful of fluffy pink hair and deep blue eyes like the deep ocean.
"As expected of Kaeth." Cellan shook his head in feigned dismay. His hair, tied half-up, half-down, shone brightly under the sunlight like a jewelled crown.
"Hey, wait, what is that supposed to- my eyes! Put that damn hood back on! Az, get him to stop! My eyes!"
"How is it my fault-"
The three teenagers who had been discussing in a small clearing soon turned that discussion into a physical dispute. The fourth and final member of this eccentric group watched the squabble in silence, a slight, romanesque smile on his lips.
Rustle. Something approached from the cover of the forest floor.
However, he wasn't distracted from his post as he quickly turned around and shot a burst of mana into the forest.
The dying squawk of some creature told him that his spell had hit the mark.
"What was that?" the arrogant young woman nicknamed Az turned her head in puzzlement. "Wilroy, what happened?"
She had felt the disturbance in the mana flow and looked towards the fourth member, Wilroy, raising her eyebrow in question.
Cellan, who was stuck between her and Kaeth, also raised his head.
"There's nothing to worry about, Azziel. A small disturbance," Wilroy explained dutifully. He seemed to tell them to quickly go back to their fight, as he would protect their peace.
Fortunately for Cellan, the tone-deaf Kaeth let go of him and walked over to Wilroy's side, ignoring the latter's slight protest.
"Whoa, what'd you kill? Think it's edible?" Kaeth asked, already foraging and poking around the bushes. "I always wanted to try- eh? It's a sewer rat. Ew."
A large rat with red eyes hung from the scruff of its neck in his hand, its mouth still open in an attempt to lunge at prey. It had frozen still after Wilroy had killed it, and its pose was quite grotesque.
A moment of silence lapsed, likely for the small group to thank the deities for not making humans that ugly.
"I hope I look better than that when I pass," Cellan subconsciously commented, breaking the stillness. As if his words re-animated the group, everyone got back into motion.
"Hey, Az, it looks like you!" the pink-haired teen joked, swinging the rat towards the brown-skinned, arrogant woman.
"Ha. Funny coming from you," she scoffed.
The young woman kicked the creature back to Kaeth, who yelped and ducked.
"Anyone's got holy water? Let's get the core and sell it when we go back."
"I don't."
"Nope."
"None."
Faced with the three negative answers, Azziel frowned. Her elegant face seemed to convey the words 'Why am I with these idiots?', to which the three targeted smiled awkwardly.
"Forget it. Someone'll have to drag it back to the Adventurer's Guild," she sighed.
"We should give the money to Wilroy. After all, he was the one on guard duty," Cellan commented, gesturing towards the latter, who gently shook his light beige hair.
"If Azziel wants it, she can have it. I don't need money," the teenager smiled slightly. There was a sliver of romantic charm to it.
"Ah, my dear, lovely little Wilroy-"
"I'm older than you-"
"Who cares? My kind soul, who never misses the opportunity to give away what is his to others... a true hero!" Kaeth patted his friend's shoulder with one hand, the other gesturing wildly towards the sky.
"I always feel unsettled when he does something like that," Cellan whispered to Azziel.
"I'm with you on this one," she discreetly responded.
"I don't need it. It's a useless amount of money."
"Ahh, right, how could I forget? Mister Wilroy Duciel, firstborn of Marquess Duciel, our cute little socialite. We're quite shabby right now, aren't we?" Kaeth grinned, swinging an arm over the young noble's shoulders.
It was like ocean waves and stone walls squabbling... Meaning that the waves were endlessly crashing against the walls, unable to get through.
"Not at all. It's merely a side effect of adventuring."
Once again, Wilroy delivered a simple answer that was full of truth.
"Ack- so sincere... my heart can't take it!" Kaeth dramatically put his hand over his chest, leaning backwards. "Won't the valiant Miss Azziel and clever Sir Cellan come help me?"
"Annoying bastard," the former sighed, the latter humming in agreement.
"Hey, I heard that!"
"Yeah? Fight me if you disagree." Azziel condescendingly waved her hand, inviting Kaeth. "I'll show you the way of the Farlanders."
"You say that, yet every time you get your ass kicked!" The pink-haired teenager wasted no time in lunging towards her, already conjuring a spell in his hand.
"Who says?"
"These guys..." Cellan sighed, taking a seat next to Wilroy. "Causing trouble everywhere since year one. We can't even complete a small commission in peace now that they've gotten skilled enough to destroy their surroundings whenever they fight each other."
"Indeed," Wilroy agreed. "At least it's entertaining."
The two stayed in silence for a while, contemplating life and enjoying the show as their fighting friends raged on.
Furrowing his brows, the noble youth spoke up. He seemed to have noticed something.
"Cellan, look at the rat. Isn't it odd?"
Their gazes focused on the dead monster. Mellow sky blue and soft sage green, belonging to Cellan and Wilroy, respectively.
"Is that... other traces of mana?" Cellan squinted.
When he focused his vision, he could see two different mana signatures. One ran through the stomach in a straight, disciplined line. The mana traces around it were clean-cut and cold. Cellan could easily identify it as Wilroy's mana.
The other trace was a shallow cut on the rat's back, which seemed to be the result of-
"Hunting."
Cellan startled. Wilroy had said the exact word that was running through his mind.
"Was it being hunted? By another creature?" He suddenly looked around in alarm. He hadn't sensed anything with his mana at all!
"There's nothing about." Wilroy shook his head. "I just scanned. No sign of other monsters. Thanks to those two, we have already hunted them all."
He gestured towards the fighting duo, then the two bags by the side of the wooden log. It was full of ruby-shaped cores, like those from the rat, mana cores.
"Thankfully," Cellan sighed. "Shouldn't you tell me that before letting me worry about our safety? Spare me the anxiety, please."
Wilroy didn't smile, but something like one tugged at the corner of his lips for a small instant. "Sorry."
Rustle. Rustle.
Slowly, clouds covered the sliver of light, leaving the clearing in an odd sort of shadow. The sounds of fighting quietly faded into the background.
Rustle.
The two friends stood up. Spells formed, mana ready to launch.
"Wilroy," Cellan said, an ominous tone to his voice. "You don't suppose the rat had a friend, right?"
"I don't sense anything." Wilroy furrowed his brows.
"Most monsters can't conceal their mana." Cellan agreed.
Rustle. The ominous sounds paused. The friends eyed each other, not daring to talk, and raised their hands higher. For what felt like forever, the forest awaited, with bated breath, the meeting of fate.
Then, as quietly as water falling in a pond, a slim figure broke through the feuillage. It was a man with unbelievably average Lurenean features, dirty blonde hair, and kind hazel eyes. He had multiple leaves and small branches stuck in his hair and casual suit.
Ilrune, who had just battled with the fauna to find the stray rat, froze as he came face to face with the teenagers.
Mellow sky blue clashed with hazel, a hint of blue.
"..!"
Unexpectedly, a scream tore through the forest, chasing the birds away.
[1] I'm talking about the 1900s vintage leather bags that are slightly square-shaped but still soft enough to be considered a bag. Traveler's bag, travel bag, travel suitcase, they are all the same considering the quality of the product back in the 1900s.