Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 25

25. Dolph and Gibson

Admun led the red-eyed boy into a narrow alley next to the shop.

‘Red eyes…….’

Even though he had only lived in Ias for a short time, he couldn’t fail to recognize the mark of Delema.

That’s what made it even more confusing.

‘The way he looked yesterday was real.’

Ain Kan. The boy in front of him had clearly proven that he was a descendant of Adonis Kan.

The bewilderment soon prompted him to speak.

“Ain, what is going on?”

Admun, unable to bear it, initiated the conversation.

“Those eyes are Delema’s, aren’t they?”

In the end, he spoke the name.

Delema.

The main family of the Pentagram and the force that made them like this. It didn’t make sense that someone with those eyes was a descendant of Adonis.

“Haa. I was going to explain it someday, but I didn’t know it would be this soon.”

Ain frowned, looking troubled.

“Listen carefully. I can’t explain everything to you right now. Instead, I can assure you of one thing: I am truly the master of this place.”

“I’m so confused.”

“I understand. But can’t you just trust me for now?”

With those words, the color of his eyes turned black.

“I can change my eye color like this. Because of the situation I’m in, I have no choice but to pretend to be a Delema bloodline… Please believe that.”

The sight only added to the confusion. What if this person was of the Delema bloodline, acting like a descendant of Kan?

‘But he even broke the barrier inside the underground plaza…….’

No matter how great Delema was, that was impossible. The mages of the renowned Magic Tower hadn’t been able to break the outer barrier for three years.

It wasn’t a barrier that this young boy could break as soon as he saw it.

‘I don’t know what the situation is, but to me, this person is still a descendant of Kan.’

Admun steeled his heart. He couldn’t make the mistake of doubting him when it wasn’t even certain that he was of the Delema bloodline.

“So that’s what it was…….”

Instead, he decided to pretend not to know for now.

“Ain, you came to Ias from the beginning with the intention of infiltrating the Magic Tower.”

He deliberately continued in an exaggerated manner.

“So you disguised yourself as Delema. Is that a disguise technique left by Adonis? I heard that changing eye color is something that even most wizards can’t do!”

Only then did Ain slowly open his mouth.

“……That’s right.”

His eyes subtly comforted him, as if to say thank you for playing along.

‘Please tell me the truth someday.’

He clenched his fist tightly, vowing to work harder to build that trust so that Ain could confide any secrets to him.

“Is that chubby young master the friend you met at the Magic Tower?”

He smiled slightly and gestured towards the restaurant.

“Ah, that child is a descendant of the Gibson family. A knight family that used to be close to Adonis. That’s why my heart goes out to him. He’s in the Magic Tower now, but he’s destined to become a knight someday.”

“Oh……! I see. That young master called you Ian, is that the alias you use in the Magic Tower?”

“Ah, right. Ian Delema. You can call me that.”

* * *

This was the best option. I couldn’t tell Admun now that I was Adonis. It would only create animosity.

‘Pretending to be Delema…….’

In fact, it was a ridiculous story. There was no way Delema wouldn’t know that someone was impersonating them.

Admun would surely know that fact, so I couldn’t completely dispel his suspicious eyes. However, he had just decided to trust me, for the time being.

‘He’ll gradually find out.’

Before I knew it, Admun had naturally joined the table.

“Who is this handsome hyung [older brother/male friend]?”

Drew stared blankly at Admun.

“We met when I was in Delema.”

That’s how I decided to gloss over the story with Admun.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Admun Dolph.”

“Oh! I’m Drew Gibson. Nice to meet you too!”

My heart had dropped because of the sudden appearance of Admun. But why did my nose tingle now?

‘Dolph and Gibson…….’

A scene I thought I would never see again was unfolding before my eyes. I couldn’t help but feel deeply moved that they, my comrades and friends from a thousand years ago, were gathered together again.

“Young master, what’s wrong?”

Admun asked worriedly, noticing my reddened eyes.

“It’s nothing. Let’s get out of here when you’re done eating.”

I wanted to spend a little more time with these guys.

‘I was going to slowly tell Drew about the movements anyway. We should all go together.’

[You’re going to tell Admun too?]

‘Yeah. There were many parts of him that needed to be refined.’

Having someone to train with had many positive aspects. Just like the other kids in the Delema Academy worked hard when they saw me and Ariel, it was bound to have a good influence on each other, beyond simple competition.

“Drew.”

“Yeah?”

The guy who was still picking at the fish tail looked up at me.

“Shall we train somewhere other than the Magic Tower today?”

“Oh, good!”

“Admun, is your schedule okay too?”

“Of course.”

Then Drew’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, is Admun hyung joining us too?”

“Yeah. Wait outside first.”

“Okay!”

He seemed to like Admun quite a bit. I grabbed Admun, who was about to get up from his seat.

“Admun, I have a favor to ask before you go out.”

“Just tell me.”

I whispered a secret request in his ear. Admun tilted his head for a moment after hearing the contents.

“I understand.”

He nodded without asking why.

* * *

We headed to an inn near the market. It wasn’t shabby, but it wasn’t luxurious either. It was an inn that Admun had chosen.

‘Why this kind of place…….’

He seemed to read my mind and whispered to me.

“This is more than enough for me.”

“You should have gone to a better place. You don’t have to worry about money.”

Even with the allowance I received from Delema, I could have easily afforded a luxury inn. But Admun just smiled.

“It’s okay. This is enough. I’ve only been sleeping outside for three years, so this is heaven.”

I wanted to give him better treatment, but what could I do? If he liked it, I had no choice but to go along with it.

The only good thing was that the room itself was large.

‘The room is big because it’s old.’

Recently built modern accommodations had good facilities, but they tended to be small.

‘It’s better for training.’

After closing the door, it was time for the usual strength training.

“Young master……. Is this really helpful?”

It was natural for Admun to have doubts after being told to do 1,000 push-ups.

“Of course. Admun needs to start with strength training first. I’m going easy on you with the sit-ups because you hurt your leg.”

In contrast, Drew moved his body lightly, as if he was used to it.

‘I need to teach Drew the proper Aura cultivation method now.’

I gestured to Drew, who was diligently filling his reps.

“You said you felt a strange energy before, right? Like something was building up in your body.”

“Yeah. It’s similar to mana, but it feels a little different. I can feel it much better than mana.”

“Good. From now on, you’re going to gather it in your body like mana.”

“Gather this? Where?”

“In your muscles. You’ve been practicing feeling muscle stimulation until now. Use that sensation to absorb the energy into your muscles. Like this.”

I showed him first.

I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. Like the air floating around, I could feel the energy of mana and Aura.

The energies naturally entered my body with each inhale. Mana settled in a circle around my heart.

Aura naturally approached the place where the dantian [energy center] used to be.

Woo-woo-woo……. [sound effect]

However, there was no dantian for them to stay in. They lost their way and tried to escape with each exhale.

At that moment, I sharpened the nerves in my muscles.

Abs, lats, pecs, deltoids.

The muscles all over my body twitched, and the Aura reacted.

The guys who were circling around the muscles as if searching, soon settled there, as if that place was also good enough for them to stay.

“Hoo…….”

When I opened my eyes, Drew and Admun were gaping.

It was natural for them to be surprised. The bright yellow energies around my body were overflowing and scattering.

[Now you can freely enter a state of ecstasy.]

A phenomenon that occurs when a high-level martial artist trains Aura. The gathered Aura reveals its form and glows, as if it had found a good vessel to stay in.

“Wow……. Awesome. What was that just now?”

“This is what you two will be doing from now on.”

Of course, it would be impossible to do it like me right away. I had the experience of only operating Aura after eating, so it was possible.

“Okay, Drew, close your eyes and practice this. Admun, I’ll watch your martial arts.”

“Oh! Okay!”

Drew immediately took a stance and closed his eyes. But Admun made a sorry face.

“Although you are amazing, Young master, wouldn’t I still be superior in martial arts?”

He might have thought so. After all, what had subdued him last night was magic, not martial arts.

“Of course, my martial arts aren’t completely refined yet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t watch over you.”

I whispered in Admun’s ear so that Drew wouldn’t hear.

“When you attack with your fist, your shoulder joint tends to twitch first. Your shoulder shouldn’t move. Then it’s easy for the opponent to read your attack.”

“Huh? How did you figure that out?”

“I saw your movements yesterday and figured out the shortcomings. Don’t underestimate the descendant of Kan just because he’s young.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Only then did Admun bow his head and take a stance. It was the basic stance of martial arts.

“Good. That’s a good width for your feet. It’s good for jumping out explosively. But the position of your fist is too high. Then your abdomen is exposed, making it easy to take a fatal blow at once.”

The lecture continued for a long time.

‘He still seems to be lacking in stamina.’

Drew and Admun quickly became exhausted.

[But this is still amazing. It was at a level that even ordinary adult knights would have difficulty with.]

I used to train all day, but what could I do?

“Everyone worked hard. Let’s stop here for today.”

Only then did the children regain their smiles.

“Instead, Admun, after we leave, do 1,000 more push-ups and go to sleep. You have to do it slowly, feeling each and every stimulation.”

“Y-Young master? Do more here?”

“Of course. That’s how you can grow quickly.”

Since he was older than us, he would have to train even harder.

* * *

It was already dark outside. On the way to the Magic Tower with Drew.

“I feel like I know something, but I don’t know what it is.”

Drew, who had sweated a lot, was turning his shoulders as if he was in a good mood.

‘Keuh…….’

I couldn’t hide the corners of my mouth that were raised. It was thanks to the black bag in my hand.

Clang-. [sound effect]

The clear sound of liquid was heard every time I walked.

[Are you okay? Your body is still young.]

‘So what? My mind is already an adult.’

What was in the bag was alcohol. I had asked the restaurant through Admun to get it. He was 18 years old, so he could buy alcohol.

Although, I had to make the excuse that I needed alcohol to perform a memorial service for Adonis.

‘How long has it been since I had alcohol! I have to go to my room and save it.’

That’s when I entered the Magic Tower with the clanging bag.

“Where are you guys coming from?”

A voice was heard from the front. Andrei was staring with a glare.

‘Ah, the proctor [supervisor] is that old man today.’

There was a proctor in the Magic Tower. However, they didn’t actually work. Wizards had such strong personal tendencies that they didn’t like to be touched by others. So the proctor was just a hat without a purpose…….

‘But why is this old man out here?’

[He’s old and has nothing to do.]

I had no choice but to approach him.

“We just went out to eat.”

“Until this late? Do you think that makes sense?”

Then Drew cheekily stuck out his stomach.

“Hehe. I eat so well. I was a little late because I bought this and that at the market.”

However, Andrei didn’t fall for it easily.

“There’s a rumor that traces of the Anarchist Society were found in Ias today. So try to go early from now on.”

Anarchist Society.

They were the guys who shouted for freedom and terrorized various parts of the continent. There were such organizations in my time, so I thought so.

‘Even Ias?’

This was the city where the Magic Tower was located. It was a bit surprising that they had appeared in a place where high-ranking wizards were heavily stationed.

‘So that’s why this old man was out here.’

Only then did I nod.

[But I don’t think that’s important right now.]

Oberon pointed to Andrei’s eyes. His gaze, which had been scanning us, was now directed at the bag in my hand.

“But what is that?”

“Ah……. I brought some leftovers.”

I hurriedly made excuses. But the old fox didn’t miss his prey.

“Take it out.”

A wrinkled hand reached out towards the bag.