YM778.TV Book 2: 330
“Yes.”
The male cadet nodded as he responded. Peran turned to look at this cadet’s face before narrowing his eyes slightly.
This cadet, what was his name again?
‘…ah.’
Douman.
That was definitely his name.
“Umm. Th-, there…”
Douman’s eyes swiveled back and forth and he began to stutter. Being stared at so silently by Peran made him worried that he might have made a mistake.
Peran smiled slightly to ease his anxiety before falling into his thoughts once again.
Frey Blake.
Of course he knew him. He’d been a hot topic in the academy from the moment of his admission.
As the third son of Count Blake, it was natural for him to draw attention. After all, the Blake Family was one of the magic families with great influence in the empire, especially Isake Blake, the current head of the family, who was a 7 star Archmage and the Tower Master of the 6th Magic Tower.
‘Father praised him.’
Although Shepard Jun had a mild personality, his view towards magicology was much colder than anyone else.
Therefore, the fact that his father praised him was enough to give a hint of Isaka Blake’s capabilities.
Nevertheless, Isaka wasn’t the only one that was famous.
His two sons Mischael and Heinz were both geniuses who stood out from a young age. In addition, they were very popular among the noble young ladies due to their outstanding character and beautiful appearances.
With their performances, everyone had high hopes for the future of the Blake Family.
But what many people didn’t know was that there were actually three sons in the Blake Family. The same was true even for Peran. The name Frey Blake was something he’d never heard before.
That’s why he’d become interested.
Peran was deeply interested in the title ‘genius’. In the first place, the reason he’d gone to Westroad Academy was to look for a genius, which made his interest increase even more.
Since he was a member of the Blake Family, then his talent should be around the same level as his own.
…But Peran’s expectations were soon dashed.
This was because many rumors about Frey Blake began to spread.
[The Shame of the Blake Family.]
[The Greatest Dunce in the history of the Westroad Academy.]
[Trash who had absolutely no talent for magicology.]
In less than a month, he received no less than five such titles.
Peran only found out later that Frey was the half-abandoned child of the Blake Family. This wasn’t because he was an illegitimate child or anything of the sort.
If there was a reason, it was purely because of his abysmal mana sensitivity.
Frey didn’t feel mana until he was already in his teenage years. And the magic families were well aware of how miserable that fact was.
‘…but it’s a bit strange.’
Mana sensitivity was deeply influenced by one’s innate talent. However, even if you are not born with it, it is possible to use special elixirs, training, and teaching during childhood, when the muscles were not yet fully developed, to partially convert someone’s body.
In other words, this meant it was possible to artificially create a body that was suitable for mana.
Of course, it was insufficient in many ways to those who were naturally talented, but it couldn’t be denied that it was the second best alternative that a majority of magic families used to ensure the continuance of their line.
‘There is no way the Blake Family doesn’t know that.’
Was his talent so bad that even those methods wouldn’t work?
If that was the case then why did they send him to the academy? Were they planning to have him learn magicology in a systematic manner?
Or…
“It is said that he changed a lot recently.”
“What do you mean?”
“That…”
As he listened to Douman’s explanation, Peran’s expression changed slightly.
Frey Blake had been severely bullied in school for the year or so that he’d been there, but his personality had suddenly changed one day as if he was a completely different person. Not only that, he seemed to have received great enlightenment in magicology as he defeated the students who had been bullying him one after the other.
“I heard that members of other clubs were also beaten pretty badly.”
It was at that moment that Peran understood why Douman had brought Frey up to him.
“You want to recruit Frey Blake to our club?”
“Yes.”
Douman nodded.
At that point, Peran couldn’t help but feel curious about Frey.
But he only nodded his head coolly.
“Do it yourself.”
* * *
Nevertheless, things took an interesting turn.
“…he refused?”
“Yes. That cheeky bastard… I can’t believe he’s looking down on us just because he gained a bit of skill.”
“It’s not just a bit of skill. I heard he even defeated Alex Drimid.”
“That… Yes.”
Douman could only nod his head slightly with a disgruntled expression.
Alex Drimid was one of the more talented cadets who had even participated in a relatively famous magic competition and reached the round of 16. Of course, Peran believed that there were some underhanded dealings at play between his family and the organisers of the competition, which allowed his luck in the matchmaking to be exceptionally good, but even then it was still a surprising feat.
It was amazing for a cadet class Wizard to advance to the round of 16 in an official magic competition.
“Did you tell him [■■■■ ■■]?”
“Yes. But that didn’t work either.”
“…”
When he heard that he’d rejected their offer, Peran’s curiosity about Frey became even stronger.
In fact, Peran wanted to meet him for himself, but, unfortunately, their vacation was soon approaching. It had been a while since he’d last shown his face at home. Moreover, this time, he would be forced to have a conversation about his engagement that he had been avoiding, so Peran didn’t have a choice but to go.
‘…it can’t be helped.’
No matter how much he wanted it, he didn’t have the time to spare.
So, unfortunately, he would have to postpone their meeting for a while longer.
Or so Peran had thought, but after a while, he was able to meet Frey.
During his trip home no less.
* * *
They were attacked by pirates.
Nevertheless, Peran wasn’t really concerned. This was because there were two Battle Mages from the Magic Tower accompanying them, and he was confident in their skills.
However, the pirates were also accompanied by their own reinforcements that no one could have expected.
A Lich, a high ranking undead. One that was at 6 stars no less.
…He didn’t even think about fighting back. There was no way for them to break through. It was at that moment that Peran realised just how much he was like a frog trapped in a well.
The feeling of helplessness that he was experiencing for the first time reminded Peran of the fear that he’d all but forgotten.
Nevertheless, he never showed any signs of his emotions on his face.
As a member of the Jun Family, the son of an Archmage, and above all else, as Peran Jun.
He needed to be confident in everything he did.
But when he forced his body, which was half frozen by fear, to move, another man moved before him.
Frey Blake.
Peran couldn’t help but stare blankly at this figure.
In an instant, the Lich as well as all the pirates were killed.
Unhesitating judgement, determination, and amazing magic.
When he saw this, for the first time in his life, he thought of the word ‘amazing’ while looking at someone his own age. He genuinely felt admiration and respect.
It was a bit different from the respect he had for his father.
Peran wanted to know more about him.
He wanted to talk to him.
…And more importantly,
He wanted to be friends with Frey.
(TL: *sweats* People are suggesting I modify, cut, or skip chapters, but it’s not my place to do so. I’m simply translating the author’s work from Korean to English(as closely as possible) so you guys can read it. Anything besides that is not something I’m willing to do. Although, I will say there are times when I correct things or embellish(slightly), those are always minor and far in between.
I’d understand if you guys want to skip a chapter or two since I also do it when I feel a novel I’m reading is moving too slowly or the chapter is basically filler(*cough* this one). But please understand, I’m just a lowly little translator, not the author.)