The air compressed before his eyes took the shape of a blade and flew forward at tremendous speed.
Everyone’s gaze followed the projectile toward the dummy.
WHOOOOSH-
POP!
Soon, with the sound of bursting air, a quiet silence followed.
The projectile had definitely flown forward, but the dummy stood there perfectly intact, as if nothing had happened at all.
Gale, who had watched the sight to the end, raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
Relaxing his stance, Gale said, “That is all.”
Silence fell over the exam hall.
As he watched, a small smile appeared on Deren’s face.
The first to speak was Plea.
“That is... impossible. Where in the world did you learn magic like that...?”
The other examiners who had watched the magic seemed to feel the same way, and they looked at Gale as if waiting for an answer.
Gale answered with a calm expression.
“I learned it from my teacher.”
Listening from the side, Deren burst into a broad laugh.
“Khahaha. He’s a find. A real find! You there! May I ask you one thing?”
“Please ask.”
“Why did you apply to the Imperial Army?”
“The reason, sir?”
Deren spoke with a smile, but Gale felt a strange pressure in his words.
“How could I not be curious when such a capable talent as you has come to the Imperial Army, which does not even pay well?”
Gale fell into thought.
‘The reason I applied to the Imperial Army.’
Many things had happened in his past life.
He could not remember every single one, but the starting point had been the Imperial Army.
The moment the Imperial Army, which was supposed to protect everyone, became corrupt, everything collapsed.
Then, in order to protect everyone, he first had to protect the Imperial Army.
That was the conclusion Gale had reached.
After finishing his thoughts, Gale said, “To protect everyone.”
At those words, Deren laughed softly.
Plea said, “You are a rare type in this selfish world. I like that.”
“How amusing. You may leave.”
“Thank you for your efforts.”
Gale maintained his manners to the end and left the evaluation room.
Once the door closed, one examiner said, “What exactly just happened?”
At his words, the other examiners looked at him as if he were pathetic.
He spoke as though he felt wronged.
“In the end, that boy’s magic did not even shake the dummy. Was he not the same as all the immature mages we have seen today?”
At that, a snort came from beside him.
It was Plea.
“You truly... know nothing.”
At that moment, Deren extended his palm forward.
“Everyone, be careful.”
Then the dummy that had been standing quietly began to shake.
Soon, it emitted a red light and caused an enormous explosion.
CRASH!
With the blast, fragments of the dummy flew in every direction.
However, those fragments did not reach the examiners because Deren had deployed a massive mana Barrier.
Seeing the Barrier that shone with a blue hue due to the extraordinary purity of its mana, Plea exclaimed in admiration.
“Oh my, what a wonderful Barrier.”
“When I was young, it was three times thicker than this. How cruel time is.”
When Deren withdrew the Barrier, the man beside him, startled, said,
“What in the world... was that?”
At his question, Deren laughed softly and said,
“They say that when a master swings a sword, the target does not even know it has been cut.”
“What... does that mean?”
Plea spoke.
Her voice made it sound as if she found him too pathetic to even deal with.
“It was that boy’s magic just now.”
“His magic?”
She continued.
“Inside that dummy is a Latium jewel engraved with a protective magic formula.”
“I know that. Is that not why the others could not even scratch it?”
“You know one thing and not the other. I am saying the magic of that boy named Gale pierced the Barrier and cut the jewel.”
At that, shock appeared on the face of the examiner who had been so heated until just moments ago.
The Barrier placed over the dummy had been made by Deren, and it was magic composed with a formula of at least 2nd Tier or higher.
To shatter it in an instant meant he had used magic of an even higher tier.
“Are you saying... that is possible?”
“You saw it with your own eyes, did you not? Haa. At this rate, it would be difficult to say you saw it at all.”
“Exactly. To think this is the level of an Imperial Army examiner.”
A boy in his teens had pierced Deren’s Barrier in one stroke.
That fact alone was shocking enough, but once he realized he had seen it happen right before his eyes and failed to notice it, shame rushed over him so intensely he could hardly bear it.
Then Deren said, “What does the promising talent of the Red Magic Tower think of that boy?”
“The attribute he uses is different from mine, but... he is interesting.”
“Is that all?”
“Interesting enough that I want to pull him into the Magic Tower.”
Deren laughed.
“That will not do. That child already wishes to join the Imperial Army. Haha!”
“Who knows? He might drop out during the noncommissioned officer training course later.”
“Then I will take him in, so do not worry.”
“You are still as greedy as ever.”
“Could I ever compare to the Magic Tower, coveting another’s rice bowl?”
A fierce battle of nerves continued on one side, but for one person alone, for the man who had been shouting in anger just moments earlier, this place was like sitting on a cushion of thorns.
All he could do was look at the wreckage of the broken dummy and repeat that boy’s name to himself.
***
When Gale stepped outside, the attendant who had guided him in the exam hall smiled and said, “Thank you for your efforts. The results are scheduled to be announced tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you.”
After following the attendant outside, he found the night sky dyed pitch-black.
Amid the cool evening breeze, Gale stretched his arms.
“Nngh. It’s already this late.”
As his tension gradually eased, he recalled the moment of the exam just now.
The blade of wind Gale had fired had succeeded in cutting through the protective barrier and slicing the dummy.
From the beginning, he had been aiming for the Latium jewel planted inside the dummy.
‘Who would’ve known there were two mana Barriers?’
Another small Barrier had been placed around the jewel.
If he had adopted a strategy of increasing the force and breaking the Barrier, cutting the jewel would have been impossible.
That old man, honestly.
Deren was the only one who would do something that meticulous.
‘Well, anyway, the exam is over now.’
Because the waiting time had been so long, the timing had become awkward.
He briefly thought about stopping by to see Runo, but not only were there no carriages running at this hour, it was also too late, so he decided to get an inn right away.
‘If I could have my way, I’d go to The Old Dragon’s Nest....’
The owner’s icy gaze came to mind, and Gale gave up on that idea.
With no other choice, Gale headed to any inn near the headquarters.
When he entered through the shabby entrance, an aged owner was wiping a glass over an old bar counter.
The first impression was not bad.
“I would like to stay for one night.”
When Gale spoke, the old man lifted his head and looked at Gale over his glasses.
“One gold for one night.”
After paying and entering the room, Gale saw its drearily furnished interior.
It was modest in size, with one bed and a small desk and chair.
‘This isn’t too bad.’
Gale roughly unpacked his belongings and sat at the desk.
The reason he sat at the desk instead of lying down on the bed right away was to organize what he had to do from now on and what had happened today.
It had only been one day, yet it felt as though many things had happened.
The people he met at the Imperial Army exam site were just as Gale had known them.
Yuria still seemed cold-headed, Deren was sly and Lionel was obnoxious.
Since the people he knew were acting as they had before, he felt reassured, though it was not quite reassurance.
In truth, after returning to the past, he had wondered whether the future that was supposed to happen would unfold exactly as before.
Although he did not remember every future event, he at least wanted to avoid the things he was certain of changing.
‘It’s a relief they’re the same... I suppose.’
In other words, that meant the Golden Dawn Society was also the same.
If left alone like this, they would surely grow at a tremendous speed and swallow the Empire whole.
Starting with people connected to the Imperial Family, to the generals of the Imperial Army, and even the merchants in the market.
He might lose every place he could rely on and end up fighting a lonely battle once again.
‘I’ll never... let that happen.’
It had already been nearly a week since he returned to the past and opened his eyes, but he had not changed a single thing, let alone the Golden Dawn Society.
One could think that a week was too short a time to change anything.
But if he considered the effect his actions would have on the future, it was by no means a short time.
From now on, he had to use his time systematically.
The process of reaching the result of saving the Empire rested solely on him.
From the moment he resolved to stand against the Golden Dawn Society, growing stronger was not a choice but a necessity, and the process of increasing his influence within the Imperial Army also had to be planned meticulously.
“I’ll pass the qualification exam, so... next is the training camp?”
The training camp was a process every noncommissioned officer candidate had to go through.
Gale had a reason to achieve good results in the upcoming noncommissioned officer training course.
It was to enter the Military Police, which was said to be where only the strongest and high-ranking nobles of the Imperial Army went.
‘If I want to keep the Golden Dawn Society in check from inside the Imperial Army, that’s the best option.’
There was only one way for Gale to be assigned to the Military Police, which was full of officers from the academy and high-ranking nobles.
He had to complete the upcoming noncommissioned officer training course with the best results.
If he graduated from the training camp at the top of the class, he could choose the unit he would be assigned to later.
Of course, the Military Police was the unit nobles wanted to join most among the Military Police, the Guard Unit, and the Scout Unit, so the process would never be easy.
‘That means there’ll be plenty of people aiming for the top spot, and plenty of bastards using dirty tricks.’
Some nobles gave bribes to instructors, and it was also common for them to inflict critical injuries on competitors during training while pretending it had been an accident, forcing them to withdraw.
In order to survive there and take the top spot, ‘I need to get stronger.’
At the final moment of his past life, when he had knelt before Raskal, who had received the power of a Celestial, he had thought the same thing.
“Power, huh.”
Gale rolled up his sleeve and looked down at the tattoo.
12,920 DAY
If it came down to it, he could make a deal with Deus and gain great power, but he had to be careful since it consumed his lifespan.
If he sold his lifespan without a plan and drew on power, he might ultimately die like a dog without even getting his money’s worth.
‘It wouldn’t be good to keep relying on Deus.’
If there was one saving grace, it was that Gale had magical talent.
Thinking about it, from the moment he returned to the past, the only thing he could trust was his own pure potential.
Gale steadied his breathing and focused his mind.
At present, Gale’s magical level was only 1st Tier.
With this level, taking the top spot during the training course was impossible.
There would already be excellent knights there, as well as mages who had flowed out of the Magic Tower.
Most of them would likely be 1st Tier, or 2nd Tier at best, but that difference was the distance between heaven and earth.
After looking inward at his mana heart for a long while, Gale thought.
If someone saw him, they would think it was insanity for Gale to challenge the 2nd Tier when only a few days had passed since he formed his mana heart, but Gale thought differently.
Since he had experience reaching the 6th Tier before, he possessed a certainty that was not quite certainty that even now, if he set his mind to it, he could aim for a realm beyond that in one stroke.
‘Then let’s give it a try.’