Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 8

8. Drew Gibson

A solitary time when only moonlight illuminated the world. An unfamiliar knock created a discordant sound.

‘Who is it?’

Oberon merely blinked.

‘Could it be McDuff coming for revenge?’

[Nah, no way. No matter how eccentric he is, he wouldn’t cause a ruckus inside the dormitory, would he?]

‘Well, yeah. That’s true.’

It was Alloy who had earnestly warned me before going to the dormitory that students who caused trouble in the dormitory would be immediately expelled from the academy, and that there would be no exceptions, even for Delema.

[Then who is it?]

‘Let’s just open it.’

If I were to hear that Auror was in trouble or something, the situation might become complicated. Approaching the door cautiously like that, I took a deep breath, turned the doorknob, and pulled.

“Ian!”

A brown-haired boy thrust his chubby cheeks forward.

“Drew?”

With that bright smile, the tense atmosphere that had been lingering in the room vanished in an instant. He naturally stepped into the room.

“You’re not asleep yet?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“You were so cool earlier!”

“……What?”

Then he waved his hands in the air, looking like he was playing tug-of-war.

“McDuff’s expression earlier was priceless!”

I shrugged. I had simply wanted to make McDuff look more ridiculous because I didn’t like him.

“You were really amazing. There’s a difference in talent even among the Delemas.”

Drew raised his chubby thumb.

“Thanks. Glad you think so.”

“Huh? Ah, yeah!”

“Anyway, is that what you came to say?”

That was meant to say, get to the point. No one would come to someone else’s room late at night just to give compliments.

“Well, I also wanted to get to know you better!”

“Yeah……?”

Our eyes met. An awkward atmosphere hung in the air for a moment. Drew’s lips twitched again.

“You see, I’m not from a particularly well-off family, so I don’t have many friends here.”

For me, that statement was ironic.

‘The Gibson family isn’t well-off…….’

In my memory, Gibson was one of the martial families with absolute power. Of course, after the tyranny of the Five Stars, the situation had reversed.

Well, whatever, it wasn’t a bad thing. The more friends, the better.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get along in the future.”

“Oh! Really?”

Drew’s face was full of smiles.

‘What’s so good about it?’

[It’s probably because a Delema’s kid is offering to be his friend. Go out into the world, and there would be a line of kids trying to get in touch with you.]

True. The power of Delema was immense even 1,000 years ago. However, it was just uncomfortable that the Gibson family’s bloodline was acting like this.

The hesitant guy’s mouth opened again.

“Then, could I possibly ask you for a favor?”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“I was wondering if I could know your secret.”

“What secret?”

“How you moved mana so well.”

Drew smiled shyly. The freckles on his chubby cheeks twitched.

‘A secret…….’

Suddenly, a fun idea came to mind.

‘Oberon.’

[Why?]

‘Should I raise him?’

[Huh? Raise him? What are you talking about? You’re still a kid yourself, you know.]

‘No, not like that. I mean, train him as a swordsman.’

Oberon was startled and spun around in the air.

[Hey, you’ll be in big trouble if you get caught! I told you, what kind of treatment do knights get these days? Moreover, training a knight in a magic family is suicide, you know?]

‘Come on. Who would notice? My training method isn’t the usual way knights do it anyway.’

[Strength training?]

‘Yeah. He’s from a martial family, after all. When I saw him during the day, his mana control didn’t seem to have any talent. Who knows? He might have a great talent for swordsmanship.’

In the end, Oberon shook his head.

[Well, if it’s the name Gibson, even crying children would stop. I don’t know if that crazy talent has continued even after a thousand years.]

‘Besides, I owed the Gibson family a debt. I can just think of it as paying it back now.’

Leaving Oberon, who was grumbling about why I was asking when I had already made up my mind.

“Drew?”

“Huh? Yeah!”

The first friend I ever made. I decided to give Drew a gift.

“If you’re curious about my secret, close the door and come in.”

* * *

“……Ugh. Ugh. How long do I have to do this?”

The sweat that had formed on Drew’s forehead dripped down his chin. His soaked hair was shaking up and down.

“100 more to go!”

“Ehhh! A, a hundred more?”

Drew was repeating squats.

“Yeah. You have to do that much to feel the sensation in your lower body.”

I was planning to make him feel the stimulation of his muscles in detail.

[But isn’t it too intense from the first day? You’ve been doing it since you took your first steps, but he’s doing it for the first time. This is like child abuse.]

‘It’s definitely an effective training method. If I teach him the Auror cultivation method later, he’ll definitely be able to grow quickly.’

[Oh my. You ignorant fool.]

Oberon could only look at Drew, who was sweating hard, with pity.

“Haa……. Haa…….”

Half exhausted, Drew collapsed to the floor. He had already completed 100 more.

“R, really, if I do this, will I be able to control mana better?”

“That’s not it.”

At my answer, his eyes widened. He seemed shocked, his mouth wide open.

“Because this isn’t the end yet.”

“Huh? Th, then?”

The routine I had prepared for Drew still had more left. He had only completed one movement.

“I’ll tell you, so let’s do the rest.”

After that, Drew’s rough breathing continued for a long time.

‘His tenacity is good.’

As expected of Gibson. He didn’t give up until the end. When I told him that he had to do push-ups after sit-ups, his eyes seemed to get watery…….

Anyway, Drew headed to his room only after completing all the routines.

“He’s following along better than I thought.”

It wasn’t easy for an eleven-year-old child to even do push-ups.

[So, is it because the blood of a martial family is different?]

It was understandable. Gibson was a family that produced the best knights at the time. It was a waste of bloodline to just hold a staff.

“Well, now that he’s gone, let’s do the next training.”

I picked up a long stick from the corner of the room and drew it horizontally. The last routine that I couldn’t show Drew: 1,000 horizontal swings remained.

Whoosh!

After cutting through the air with the stick, I turned my head towards Oberon.

“Ah, but I hope I haven’t lost a friend today?”

[Who knows?]

* * *

The academy’s time was fast. Three seasons had passed, and the chilly wind now hardened the face.

“Ian!”

Ah, right. Fortunately, the unfortunate event of losing my first friend did not happen. Rather, Drew followed me around as if he were my gum.

Magic lessons during the day, secret training at night. He hadn’t given up until now.

“Today is free training time.”

Due to Alloy’s absence, it was a day to practice individual achievements. As soon as we arrived at the auditorium, Drew’s mouth dropped open.

“Wow, everyone’s amazing.”

A place where the elites of magic families gathered. The time of three seasons was quite a long time for growing children.

Wooong!

Mana was blooming from all over the place.

‘There are no kids who can’t feel mana anymore.’

Among them, Ariel and McDuff were outstanding. It was a remarkable achievement even among the elites, and both of them were already blooming plausible elements.

Chwareuk!

A stream of water bloomed from Ariel’s fingertips, adorning the air. It wasn’t yet a specialized magic like a water ball, but she was a child with excellent mana sensitivity to water.

“Amazing…….”

Drew’s mouth dropped open at the sight.

“There’s no need to be envious. You’re doing well enough too.”

“Really? But, I’m still struggling to even feel mana…….”

There was a reason why he was envious. He showed the worst mana sensitivity even within this class.

“If you keep doing what you’re doing now, you’ll be able to see the light someday.”

However, I was sure.

‘This guy is a genius.’

His achievements were shining not in mana, but in Auror training.

[He’s saying things he doesn’t deserve. He doesn’t even know how talented he is.]

‘That’s what I’m saying.’

The name Gibson still lived up to its name even after a thousand years. He was feeling Auror so quickly that it surprised not only me but even Oberon.

Perhaps, if compared to the talent of a magician, it would be around McDuff or Ariel, or even more.

‘Well, he still can’t even distinguish whether it’s Auror or mana.’

I patted Drew’s drooping shoulders.

“Don’t worry, you’re doing well now too.”

I swallowed the words that if he just followed me, he would be able to devour those kids.

‘The real problem is me.’

Ariel and McDuff’s growth was making me anxious.

‘Magic implementation…….’

Even though I had mana corresponding to 3 stars in my body, implementing it into a specific substance was another problem.

‘How do you even use magic?’

Simply attracting mana and expressing it as magic were clearly different areas. It was a very unfamiliar feeling.

[It’s probably because you’re only familiar with the energy inside your body. That’s ultimately an area of expressing it outwards.]

‘I feel like I almost know.’

[If it doesn’t work out, let’s just focus on swordsmanship. If you become a 9-star knight, those guys will be nothing. You even said you’ll be 10-star in this life.]

‘That won’t do. Magic is as important as swordsmanship. To even understand the magic that the Five Stars used, I need to be at least 8 stars, maybe even 9 stars or more.’

To uncover the Five Stars’ schemes, I couldn’t neglect learning magic either.

‘If you know yourself and your enemy, what is it?’

[Ugh. You’re so great, really! Anyway, don’t ask me about learning magic!]

‘I might as well go somewhere and get a magic constellation [a mentor or guide in magic].’

Indeed, learning comes with even greater achievements when breaking through such walls. I instinctively felt that this was the time for me.

‘I can’t get a sense of it at all.’

But a ray of hope came down to me.

It was the very next day.

“Ian, follow me this way for a moment.”

After class, Alloy quietly called me.

‘Why is he calling only me separately?’

[Who knows? Isn’t today the day he’s going to take revenge for what happened during the test?]

‘Don’t talk nonsense.’

Alloy, who I had been watching for the past few months, was not the type to hold grudges. He was a bit playful, but he was just faithfully fulfilling his duties. Oberon was also joking because he had figured him out.

“What’s the matter?”

“Someone is looking for you.”

My head became even more complicated at those words.

‘Is he going to assign me a secret teacher or something?’

[He might, because you’re good at feeling mana but can’t use magic.]

‘That would be great. I need to quickly learn basic magic and go to the Magic Tower.’

That was my current goal. I needed to get out of the family to be able to train more freely as a knight. I also needed to find out what the Five Stars had done.

‘First, I need to get out of Delema.’

[Yeah. Let’s get out of this damn house. Let’s go out and wield a sword proudly. Or even grab a butcher knife at a slaughterhouse!]

The place Alloy followed me to was an empty lot behind the academy. There were two people waiting there.

“Ah, Uncle! Was he coming too?”

One was McDuff, who shouted without warning. And the other one was…….

[Isn’t that the third son from back then?]

It was Liu Delema, who was in charge of the event at the first birthday party.

“Yo. Long time no see?”

I sensed it.

‘This, could it be! Is he going to pass on Delema’s secret technique?’

[Ooh?]

The time for nurturing the successors of prestigious families that I had only heard about had come.