I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 667: Where the Wind Goes (2)

The inner fortress of Galahad Castle.

Rudger, heading toward the passage leading inside, asked Surna:

"Is Violetta alright?"

Outside, the Crusaders were arriving one after another.

They had created a first line of defense with thorn vines modified by Sedina's power, and were making various preparations behind it, but considering the Crusaders' strength, they would soon be pushed back.

This wasn't a battle they could win from the beginning. It was right for them to focus on holding out as long as possible to buy time.

Among them, at the forefront of the battle was none other than Violetta.

She had talent in wind magic, but it wasn't enough to make an impact in war.

If she developed properly, she could reach the 5th rank, but the 6th rank would be impossible.

And using a single elemental attribute was even more difficult than achieving that 6th rank.

From the beginning, it wasn't a realm that could be reached simply through effort.

But now, Violetta had become a single-element user.

She had claimed the title of the "Empty Colour" that didn't yet exist in the world.

And what made this possible was Surna.

"Of course not."

Surna answered honestly.

"I forcibly elevated her to a realm she couldn't normally reach. Forcibly raising the rank of magic damages the body and causes mana to go berserk, so a single-attribute elemental user? It would be even worse. Even if she survives, she might suffer aftereffects for the rest of her life."

"......"

Seeing Rudger's expression become serious, Surna asked:

"I'm surprised. You could blame me for doing such a thing."

"It was what she wanted."

Surna had given Violetta plenty of warning about the dangers.

Despite hearing that, the final decision was ultimately Violetta's own.

"You don't need to worry that much."

"What do you mean?"

"The method I used is closer to fooling the world forcibly. At the same time, I helped the young lady perform a kind of self-hypnosis."

Self-hypnosis that she could use 'only' wind attribute magic.

At the same time, suppressing her talent to prevent her from using other magic.

After pushing herself to the limit and suppressing herself, she couldn't reach her desired ideal, but she could achieve a similar form.

However, it was ultimately a matter of time.

That temporary form would eventually return to its original state.

In that process, Violetta would suffer significant aftereffects.

Perhaps she's consuming her own body in real-time by pushing herself too hard now.

Rudger was worried about such aspects, and Surna knew it well.

"But there are rare cases. I set up a situation where I deceived a fake into thinking it was real, but it actually became real."

"Becomes real?"

"Of course, there are conditions. They're needed step by step. The first step is already passed. She has strong sensitivity and talent for wind attribute elements. Thanks to that, she could become a mage of Empty Colour, albeit similar but not quite."

"Are there other conditions?"

"At minimum, the surroundings must be imbued with the energy of clear wind. In other words, the environment needs to be created. That became possible thanks to the elf."

In that sense, the presence of Vierano, who handles wind spirits, was a great help.

"Moreover, above this Bretus Holy Kingdom, there's even a Wind Elemental Lord. In terms of environment, it's optimal. Just by existing, it purifies the atmosphere."

"What's the other condition?"

"This is the last one, but ultimately what matters is the user's will."

Surna said that and then shook his head.

"No, not will. That's an insufficient expression. If I had to say, it's closer to 'madness.' You understand too, right? More important than effort is talent, and more important than talent is madness."

Rudger nodded.

The world doesn't work on effort alone. There are many people with talents that too easily overcome such efforts.

Even if they do the same thing, if someone needs to see it 10 times to learn it, while someone else gets it after just one look?

From the very stage of learning, there's already a 10-fold difference in speed.

Moreover, those with talent have no clear limits.

Geniuses pass through the ceiling that blocks efforts as if there's no ceiling to begin with.

But occasionally, there are those who break through the limiting ceiling without talent.

Is it because they put in more effort than others?

That's not it.

"What matters is madness. Vomiting blood, grinding bones, consuming the soul. You need a ruthless determination to achieve it no matter what, even if it means throwing away everything."

That madness is a double-edged sword, damaging the user's body and mind.

But very rarely, extremely rarely, it provides a starting point for advancing to a new stage.

"You can trust me when I say I have an eye for people. That young lady will surely grasp beyond her limits."

Perhaps she might become truly a real [Empty Colour] mage, not a fake.

"I see."

Rudger decided to trust Violetta.

Outside, she wasn't alone; others were with her.

"Let's do what we need to do. So, did you find the passage?"

"Yes. As expected, it's 'sealed.' We need something like a key to get inside."

Rudger and Surna, who were going down underground, stopped.

At the end of the underground passage beneath the castle was a round stone door.

Contrary to Rudger's worries, Violetta's wind grew stronger and more precise.

Not only did she gather the pollen that War Mages pushed away all at once and carry it with the wind, she also created localized gusts around the area, causing dense smoke to rise over the flower field.

"Put on gas masks!"

The War Mages put on their mask-shaped gas masks that they had brought in advance.

On both sides of the brass mask covering the mouth and nose were purification canisters.

This should protect them from the effects of the suspicious pollen.

That thought changed the moment they saw several people at the front collapse.

"Could it be poison?"

"But we're wearing gas masks properly!"

"Everyone be careful! Administer antidotes and neutralizers!"

The War Mages took out the antidotes they had been supplied with in advance.

It was a special product in the form of an ampoule syringe that, when injected into the thigh, greatly increased resistance to poison and provided detoxification abilities.

After administering antidotes to their fallen comrades, the War Mages belatedly discovered something strange.

"Wait. This isn't just collapsing. These guys have simply fallen asleep."

At these words, other War Mages asked what he meant.

"Fallen asleep? Could it be that the pollen itself acts as a sleeping agent?"

"Even so, it shouldn't be able to penetrate the gas masks."

As they were muttering, some of the War Mages' eyes glazed over, and they collapsed onto the flower field.

"...Damn it."

From the beginning, there was no poison in the pollen.

Instead, this pollen had the effect of putting people to sleep.

The War Mages who had injected the antidote fell asleep one by one.

Since it wasn't poison to begin with, but rather something that suppressed the central nervous system, the antidote was useless.

But even so, to penetrate the gas masks?

A veteran War Mage immediately pinched his forearm.

There was pain, but it was notably less than usual.

"...! Everyone, don't expose your skin! This powder is absorbed through the skin too!"

"What? What are you...?"

"Reinforce your bodies with magic power! This isn't just an ordinary sleeping fragrance. Consider it imbued with something like a Demon Lord's authority!"

The War Mages who made the judgment reinforced their bodies by surrounding themselves with magic power.

The magic circulating inside their bodies pushed away the pollen's energy, but by that time, more than 300 people had already dropped out.

"If we raise resistance with mana, it's fine, but it's useless for regular infantry."

The same goes for the armored units in tanks.

This fine pollen would seep into the tanks and put the drivers to sleep.

'If we were ambushed here, we'd be helpless, but there doesn't seem to be any sign of that.'

The veteran with command authority quickly analyzed the situation.

'Is it because they're at risk of getting caught up in it too? If not, is the goal simply to neutralize us intentionally?'

Considering the difference in strength, the latter seemed more likely.

'It suggests they have some plan to hold out against this many troops. We keep getting reinforcements, but they probably don't have many in number.'

It probably had something to do with what the Demon Lord was doing.

'But it's not easy for us either. If it's this difficult on the path to the second checkpoint city, who knows what's lurking beyond.'

The biggest problem was that they couldn't use regular infantry.

They had managed to push through the thorn vine forest somehow, but the flower field filled with sleeping fragrance would be different.

'What if we bomb it all away?'

Recalling the thorn vine forest, he shook his head.

'I don't know exactly what they did, but the flora here shows reproduction abilities beyond what elven druids use.'

In particular, the thorn vine forest had resistance to fire, and the forest itself was no different from a living fortress capable of interception from a distance.

The flower field would be no different.

'Unless we change the terrain itself, it will be difficult.'

How much explosive would need to be used for that?

That would be fine. The problem was what came after.

If the path was completely blocked, they would have to take a detour, and in that case, the consumption of supplies and time would increase enormously.

Thinking about it, it was clear.

The enemy was intentionally trying to buy time.

If so, they needed to settle this as quickly as possible.

The veteran War Mage reported this to the rear.

"A flower field full of sleeping fragrance?"

"It also has a diffusion effect, so we can't carelessly burn it with fire magic."

"Looking at the thorn vine forest, it probably has resistance to fire as well."

"The sleeping pollen is also a problem. Even 4th rank War Mages couldn't withstand it and collapsed."

"Even at 4th rank, they wouldn't collapse if they used magic to increase external resistance. But the problem is with the regular infantry..."

"If gas masks don't work and it seeps through the skin, there's no way to approach unless completely wrapped up."

"Yes. And since they're deliberately buying time, it seems difficult to move slowly while erasing the flower field."

"Indeed. Is the Demon Lord trying to do something?"

The command center quickly reached a conclusion.

"In that case, we'll also play our trump card as quickly as possible."

They decided to send elite forces consisting of mages, knights, holy knights, and priests.

Originally, they had planned to push through with the firepower of infantry and armored divisions, but the Demon Lord's army's defenses were not to be underestimated.

"If we had an air division, we could have ended everything with bombing."

Looking at the sky filled with dark clouds, it was clearly Heathcliff's doing.

But it didn't matter.

Even if they only sent out the knights, mages, holy knights, and priests they had here, it was enough power to easily erase a country.

Knights reinforced with aura and holy knights surrounded by divine power stood at the front.

Behind them were mages and priests.

It was a combination of knightly orders and magic schools from around the world.

There had never been such a diverse gathering in one place in history.

Normally in such cases, there would be mutual checks, but they neither opposed nor fought each other.

Fighting among themselves while facing the same enemy, the Demon Lord, would be foolish.

But they weren't actively helping or collaborating with each other either, so synergy was difficult to expect.

'But that only applies when there's a moderate number gathered.'

With this many moving simultaneously, there was no need for cooperation.

The elite of the Crusaders finally passed the flower field and the second checkpoint city began to appear beyond.

"Everyone be careful. We don't know what else might appear from here."

It was a tense situation where a battle could break out at any moment.

They crossed the half-destroyed barrier and entered the second checkpoint city.

"How dreadful."

The city was literally smashed.

Debris from buildings made of holy stone was scattered everywhere.

"Survivors?"

"Probably none. I heard everyone fled."

"Those who didn't would be dead."

An eerie space with no sense of human presence.

Standing in the center of the ruins under a sky full of dark clouds made the feeling even stranger.

It was then that thick fog rose and began to envelop the second checkpoint city.

"Fog? Suddenly?"

"Everyone be careful! Something's coming!"

The gray fog instantly made the surroundings hazy.

Due to the thick fog that made it difficult to see even a step ahead, everything in the world lost its boundaries.

A sound echoed in the ears of people preparing for battle.

-Awoooo.

It was the sound of wolves.