Magic Is Learned For Nothing [EN]: Chapter 397

Magic Learned in Vain – 398

# 398

Finding a New Headmaster (2)

Duke Trebia of the Neck House Kingdom couldn’t shake his grim expression.

He replayed the videos sent by Connery and Barrymore countless times.

This had been a long-term project.

He had invested a full decade to get the Gong King under his thumb.

The most crucial thing was to never let him think he was being used.

Instead, he had to believe he was using them. In fact, he thought that once he became king, he would get rid of them.

It didn’t matter.

Duke Trebia had already spent ten years gradually eroding his character.

The very act of him becoming king would benefit the Neck House Kingdom.

But all of that had crumbled.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Duke Trebia said calmly. His mind was as tangled as a skein of yarn, and his heart was heavy, but he couldn’t show it.

The king, to whom he had sworn lifelong loyalty, was dying.

His dream was to strike the Baroque Kingdom with the king and secure a foothold for continental expansion.

But the king had fallen.

With the king’s fall, the kingdom swayed like a ship that had lost power. Taking advantage of the moment, the opposing nobles, who had been biding their time, rose up like wildfire.

They constantly harassed Duke Trebia over every little thing.

Moreover, the failure of the plan to devastate the Holy City of Poman using the Bone Dragon had significantly reduced his standing.

With even this failing, it was terrifying to imagine how they would react.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t show weakness.

To make the Neck House Kingdom as powerful as the Empire, he could never show a weak side.

Creak.

Smith and Reeves entered the office.

Duke Trebia, Smith, Reeves, Connery, and Barrymore. These five were comrades who had worked together for a long time.

“You called for us?”

Smith and Reeves chuckled.

However, seeing Duke Trebia’s stern face, they immediately stopped laughing.

They realized that something serious had happened.

“Sit down.”

Duke Trebia pointed to the chairs across from him.

“Yes.”

Smith and Reeves carefully sat down. A silence so heavy it was hard to breathe enveloped the office.

Smith and Reeves waited for Duke Trebia to speak. Clearly, he had something important to say.

“This…”

Trebia held out a magical artifact to them.

“What’s this…?”

“Seeing is believing.”

“Understood.”

Smith and Reeves followed Duke Trebia’s instructions. They activated the video magic playback device.

Their expressions, initially curious, gradually hardened.

Now, they were filled with shock.

Finally, they burst into tears.

They were following the same emotional rollercoaster that Duke Trebia had experienced.

The video contained footage taken by Barrymore.

-Hi, everybody! My friends! How are you doing? I’m enjoying a wonderful vacation with that old geezer Connery. Where, you ask? Where else but in the neighboring country. Connery, come on. Say hello to our friends.

Barrymore forcibly pulled Connery into the frame.

Connery frowned but didn’t complain. He waved his hand, saying, ‘Hi!’ with Barrymore.

So far, there seemed to be no problem.

It seemed that Duke Trebia’s mission could be successfully completed.

But…

As the screen changed, the situation worsened.

-Oh, crap, the human modification knights, our trump card, have been annihilated. What the heck? What is that army? They’re incredibly strong! Wow! Marquis Ebola is down! Is that even possible? Marquis Ebola underwent human modification twice and became a superhuman reaching the 7-star level. 7-star! A Sword Master! And he’s taken out in one hit! What is that monster?

Barrymore’s panic was evident.

The Gong King had to suppress the royalists. The incomplete weapons deployed for that purpose were the human modification knights. A technology that could upgrade abilities by nearly 50 percent compared to their original potential.

In exchange for upgrading their abilities, their lifespans were drastically reduced.

It was a win-win plan to hand the kingdom to the Gong King while weakening its national power.

But something unexpected happened. The human modification knights were wiped out.

-This is the last resort! This will remain a sin for us. But there’s no other way left! We’ll turn them all into undead! Yes, all the humans here can just die!

-I can’t believe it. What on earth is happening! Hundreds of wyverns are appearing, carrying ogres.

Look! Can you believe it?

Look at the wyverns’ and ogres’ equipment! They’re all magical items. Physical defense! Magical defense! They have it all! Unbelievable! They’ve formed a secondary barrier with divine magic. What kind of crazy bastard decked out those monsters with magical items?

No!

Even the last resort has fallen!

Escape…

I’m going to escape.

Suddenly, the screen flickered.

Something popped out of a makeshift portal and swallowed Barrymore whole.

-Barrymore!

Connery, his eyes rolling back, used every means at his disposal to attack whatever had swallowed Barrymore.

But…

Thwack!

Connery, the most powerful mage in the Neck Mouse Kingdom, was defeated so pathetically…

His head was smashed like a watermelon dropped from the second floor.

Blood gushed from the neck of the headless Connery like a fountain into the sky.

Whatever it was absorbed all of Connery’s blood and burst into maniacal laughter.

-Are you watching, Duke Trebia! It’s me. I’ve returned. Wait for me. I’ll be there soon. Duke Trebia! Kkhahahahaha!

The video ended like that.

“This… isn’t a fabrication, is it?”

Smith asked after taking a deep breath. Yet, his voice was trembling.

Connery and Barrymore.

They had been working together for over 10 years. They had met through work, but after crossing so many life-and-death situations together, a sense of camaraderie bound them together.

And those comrades…

Were killed so tragically.

He wouldn’t be so angry if they had just died.

It…

Crushed Connery and Barrymore to death. You could tell from their hopeless eyes just how much despair and pain they had died in.

“It’s not a fabrication.”

“That monster… isn’t it the lich we met back then?”

“That’s right. I hit him hard back then. I thought he was dead… but it seems he wasn’t.”

“He’s completely insane. Just watching the video makes me want to throw up. It feels like his madness is spreading here.”

“I felt the same way. The problem is…”

“He’s much stronger than when we met him, isn’t he?”

“That’s right. Even back then, he wielded 7th circle magic. He was a step above Connery. But as you can see in the video… he wields magic comparable to a demon king. At least 8th circle.”

“Unbelievable. How did he get so strong in just a few years?”

“He must have found some incredible item in an ancient dungeon.”

“For such a monster to target you, Your Excellency. This is no ordinary matter.”

“I’m more furious that he ruined our century-long plan than that he’s targeting me.”

“Do you think he brought in the wyvern and ogre legions?”

“At the very least, there’s a connection. Look! Do you see this scene?”

Duke Trebia rewound the video. The undead legion, the human army, and the ogre legion were all mixed together, engaged in fierce combat.

“Here…”

Duke Trebia pointed to a specific spot.

“A Bone… Dragon.”

“That’s right.”

“Someone is controlling the Bone Dragon. Do you think that makes sense? It’s a monster that even we can’t control. And that monster is on the side of the humans, fighting against the undead legion.”

“It’s all unbelievable.”

“I’ve replayed the video countless times myself.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“If he’s gone crazy trying to catch me… I’ll have to accept it.”

“He’s no ordinary dangerous guy.”

“Yes, we’ll have to treat him accordingly. Activate them.”

“By ‘them,’ do you mean… Wouldn’t that be too dangerous? It could be like calling a tiger to chase away a wolf.”

“This guy…”

Duke Trebia pointed to the lich Mamon, who was unleashing maniacal magic while his long hair fluttered.

“Is worth it. He has a lot of information as well as power. He must be connected to these monsters. Let’s avenge Connery and Barrymore.”

“We’ll crush him thoroughly. So he can never be resurrected again.”

Smith and Reeves gave cruel smiles as they glared at the lich Mamon in the video.

* * *

The Legion and the Shuttle were heading towards the Blood Sand Desert on the border to find a new headmaster.

The headmaster of the territory-

At first, he asked Baserabap.

“Teacher, I would be grateful if you could dedicate your later years to fostering younger talents.”

“Fostering younger talents?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of fostering?”

“Fostering younger talents who teach the 8-year-old kids who newly enroll every year, about a thousand of them.”

Baserabap chuckled.

He knew what Legion meant by saying that to him.

A new king had been crowned a few days ago.

The current king stepped down as the former king, and Laujel took over his position.

Laujel ordered a three-day festival for all the people. He opened the closed granaries and allowed them to eat and enjoy themselves to their hearts’ content.

In other words, the Legion territory had lost a capable headmaster.

The probability of Laujel returning as headmaster was zero.

Legion also felt it while watching Laujel.

He is fit to be a king.

There was someone else who was meant to be king.

What was fortunate was that Laujel treated Legion as his older brother when they met privately.

He didn’t know why he treated him so kindly, but it wasn’t bad from Legion’s point of view.

Thanks to that, the position of headmaster in charge of the children’s studies in the Legion territory became vacant.

Frankly speaking, Baserabap also wanted to accept Legion’s offer.

He thought of Legion as his grandson.

He was also old.

He was already over eighty.

He was too old to handle state affairs vigorously.

His teacher had told him in the past.

-I have never reached the 8th circle [a high level of magic]. But you can. You are a genius unlike me. When you reach the 8th circle, the rate of aging decreases significantly. According to ancient texts, mages above the 8th circle lived to be over two hundred years old.

Knowing that, he desperately reached the 8th circle…

His teacher lied.

It is true that he is as energetic as a young man. But aging has not stopped.

He continues to age.

He instinctively feels it.

Now I don’t have much time left to live.

That’s why he wanted to spend his last years teaching children and staying by Legion’s side.

But…

King Laujel held his hand tightly and asked.

“Please help me until the internal affairs stabilize.”

He couldn’t refuse the king’s request.

Baserabap was too old to only look after his own well-being, but he loved this country too much to coldly refuse.

“I understand. Your Majesty. I will help as much as I can.”

Baserabap postponed his own well-being.

“You need a headmaster, right?”

He asked Legion.

“Huh, well, yes. But I thought it would be nice to be with Baserabap-nim. There’s a lot to learn, too.”

“I’m grateful that you think so… but I still have a lot to do.”

“Hmm.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“Of course, I am. It was a golden opportunity to have the Great Sage Baserabap-nim as the headmaster.”

“Is that so.”

Baserabap looked at Legion with an amused expression. He realized that he had underestimated Legion. The three guardians of magic had overestimated him too much, but he didn’t think so.

He is a much more amazing person.

But that was also wrong.

He was about 10 times more amazing than he thought.

If it hadn’t been for Legion, this civil war would have been decided long ago.

He had lost at least three times.

Legion and Dreiser were the ones who turned it all around.

Now these men will support the kingdom.

I guarantee…

As long as they protect the kingdom, it will never fall to foreign invasions.

But it wasn’t without its drawbacks.

Legion and his subordinates were too focused on force. It was practically absurd that the power of one noble’s territory was equal to the national power.

However, the new king turned a blind eye to it. Perhaps it was because of the sense of belonging he had to them.

They are the den of lions.

They needed someone to soften them.

It would have been nice if that was him…

Unfortunately, he would have to wait for the next opportunity.

“Shall I introduce you?”

“Yes? To what?”

“A new headmaster.”

“Who is it?”

“A very great person.”

Baserabap smiled at Legion.