< 87. The season goes beyond spring to summer (4) >
#87
Kwajangchang!! Cages containing small animals began to pour down one after another. Ronan’s mouth fell open as he saw the sight of the entire wall collapsing.
“General.”
Without even realizing it my words came out in vain. It was truly an ability I had not seen in a long time. Although it was so weak that it could not be compared to what I had seen in my past life I could see at a glance that it was the same power. Ronan supported Adeshan and admired the laboratory that was becoming a zoo.
“Are small animals still the limit?”
-Shoot! Squeak!
-Piyoot!
Animals that escaped from their cages were running wild. Sparrows were flying around grinding up bird droppings. Meanwhile a group of mice had sneaked into the complex mechanical device. Since most of them were rodents or small birds they were not threatening but they were still capable of causing a mess.
Even as the chaos was going on the cages containing the animals continued to fall. Rodin who came to his senses late frowned.
“shit.”
Expensive magic tools were being broken in real time. He snapped his fingers and the stone floor rose up and blocked the wall. A moan escaped his Adeshan’s mouth as he lowered his head as if he had fainted.
“Uhm….”
“Are you okay?”
“Ronan? Hot…!”
Adeshan opened his eyes. When she realized that she was leaning against Ronan she hurriedly raised her body.
“I’m sorry. “It was heavy…!”
“are you okay.”
Ronan laughed. It was a smile with a hint of bitterness. Adeshan’s response full of humanity brought him back to reality again.
I knew it. Developing his abilities did not mean that the general’s personality at the time would return. He looked around the lab and Ade Shan covered his mouth with both hands.
“But what is all this about…?”
“It’s a senior’s work. “It kills me.”
“I did it?”
“Okay tell them to gather here. “It might still be too much to just think about it.”
Adeshan tilted his head at the inexplicable sound. Ronan responded by pointing at the animals with the tip of his chin. Eventually a voice full of suspicion came out of her mouth.
“…gather here?”
At that moment something strange happened. The noisy laboratory suddenly became quiet. Then the animals that were rioting or hiding in every corner began to slowly approach. Adeshan seeing the field mice flocking at his feet was scared and backed away.
“What?!”
The condition of most animals that fell from high places was not good. There was a canary that walked on two legs with a broken wing and a vole that died with a piece of glass stuck in its stomach. Nevertheless the animals approached Adeshan as if they were possessed by something. Ronan said.
“That’s the ability of a senior.”
“…Collect mice?”
“It is like that now. “Tell us to go back to the cage this time.”
The animals were lined up in rows and rows as if they were soldiers undergoing formal training. Adeshan noticed a cloudiness in their eyes. She opened her mouth again.
“Go back to us.”
Then something strange happened again. The gathered animals began to crawl in looking for a good one among the cages scattered on the floor. Adeshan suddenly felt extremely dizzy and shook his head. The puffiness stuck in the animals’ eyes disappeared.
“Kwiik?!”
“Sweet!”
The animals that had come to their senses looked around. It was the moment when they were about to run out in all directions again. Kugoogung! A hemisphere of rock covered them. Jaradin’s voice came from behind.
“Well done.”
“professor…!”
Zarodin let out her sigh of relief. She almost got into trouble. It was not easy to forcibly remove the animals hidden deep within the magic tool.
He used earth magic to restore the messed up laboratory. Dozens of hands made of rock moved and picked up the debris. Ade Shan asked shrugging his shoulders.
“What happened to me? Ronan swung his sword and suddenly became conscious….”
I felt strange. I couldn’t feel any of the mana flowing through her body. Jarrodin opened her mouth.
“All the existing mana in your body has disappeared. “I don’t know what happened.”
“yes? That means…”
“okay. You have bloomed shadow mana. “Can you feel something like a lump settling in your chest?”
Ade Shan nodded his head. Indeed something cool was pulsing deep within my chest. It felt strange but not unfamiliar. It felt more familiar to her than the Mana she had dealt with all her life.
“That is the strength you must cultivate in the future. A core made of shadow mana.”
“Core…!”
“okay. “You must now be able to use that power rather than just regular mana.”
Adeshan’s eyes widened. It was a core that could not be created despite so much effort. Jaradin explained that shadow mana is also a type of mana so anything that can be done with mana is possible. Things like manifesting sword energy or awakening auras.
“It will take a lot of effort. “It’s like starting again from scratch.”
Adeshan immediately understood what he meant. Her current skills were not even up to the level of her sword user. This was because she had lost all of her existing resource mana.
Mastering her newly acquired abilities and mana of shadows would literally require her to break her bones. Adeshan nodded.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“You have good posture.”
Jarodin smiled. She seemed to know why she was Butterfly Rose’s favorite. Even though she had lost everything she had built up her eyes sparkled with determination. She was silent for a moment then Jarodin spoke.
“The problem is the ability of your shadow’s mana. “It’s too dangerous.”
“that’s right. “What exactly are my abilities?”
She said Ade Shan was anxious and she asked. Her little animals clearly followed her own instructions. The sight of her not losing her blindness even though she had become Changi was almost creepy.
“I think we’ll need to do more research to find out more details. First of all it seems clear that it is an ability to take control of one’s mind.”
“Take control of your mind?”
“okay. It’s a power that even Archmage Lorhorn couldn’t attain. “I also only thought of it as a realm of fantasy but I didn’t know it existed.”
He explained to her what he had guessed about Adeshan’s abilities. Her face turned pale after hearing her explanation. Ronan recalling her past life twisted her lips.
‘It is a power that is undeserved no matter who it is given to.’
Adeshan’s power was to impose her will on living things and make them aware of them. It was a power so powerful that it could not be compared to simple curses such as illusion magic or frenzy which were just a trick of the eye. The characteristic was that as the number of targets increased the power decreased and as the number of targets increased it became stronger.
In his previous life General Adeshan utilized this ability appropriately and created a legend of invincibility. Applying the ability to 100000000 people could only achieve the effect of boosting morale and ensuring that orders were clearly recognized but that alone was incredibly effective.
If she wanted to she could have narrowed down the scope and formed a deadly force that would blindly follow her words. Ronan recalling the time of the final battle twisted her lips.
‘It’s the ability to be infinitely cruel.’
Life repeated three times wore Adeshan down. Ronan remembered the soldiers rushing towards Ahayute to buy time. There were not many people who carried out orders solely on loyalty and willingness.
Except for the stupid punitive comrades and some honorable knights. The eyes of many who were running towards death were colored with a dull light like animals whose minds had just been taken over.
For some reason I had mixed feelings. Will this girl also give such an order someday? After finishing her explanation Rodin turned her head.
“Go back first. “I’ll go after cleaning up.”
“I’m sorry Jarudin. “For breaking an intact object.”
Ronan apologized scratching her head. Even at first glance her collapsed hexagonal pillars looked extremely expensive. She was actually a magic tool worth buying a couple of her mansions but Zarodin calmly shook his head.
She said “That’s it. “I will deduct this amount from the debt I owe.”
“It’s nice that it’s exciting.”
“If every last one had been broken I might have worried a little. “Go back.”
The two people took a step back. Adeshan remembered the way he came so he was able to leave the main building without difficulty. The sky was still clear and the air was muggy.
They stood side by side and walked down the street in a haze. The sound of cicadas could be heard like a distant echo. Ade Shan glanced back and saw that she was lost in her thoughts with her lips pursed. Ronan didn’t bother to talk to her.
‘It’s just embarrassing.’
It must have been a day like ten years to her. She awakened unprecedented abilities and lost all the mana she had accumulated. Ronan shrugged his eyebrows. Somehow I felt a sense of kinship. Now Adeshan has also become a talented half-puni.
At that time she noticed the chirping birds sitting on the street trees. She suddenly stopped in place and Ade Shan raised her hand.
“Come here.”
“tweet.”
A bobcat flew in and sat on her index finger. Its white and fluffy appearance was extremely cute. But Adeshan’s expression was not very bright. When she saw her cloudy eyes she opened her mouth.
“Ronan. “You said that eventually my abilities would also work on people right?”
“yes. “As long as you work hard.”
“Is it okay for this kind of ability to exist in the world?”
She has Ade Shan unlock her powers. As soon as the bird’s eyes cleared it flew away as if running away. Ronan said.
“If you are a senior you can make good use of it.”
“scared. “I’m afraid I might misuse my abilities without realizing it.”
“You can do that.”
“I might become a monster. He manipulates others as he pleases tramples on their true feelings intentionally causes fights and causes countless people to die….”
Ade Shan tugged at her tail. Normally I would have thought of ways to take care of my own interests but he was a very kind person. Ronan who was gently smoothing her chin opened her mouth.
“I will stop you then.”
“What if I try to control you too?”
“We have to do something. “Don’t worry.”
Ronan said calmly. She smiled faintly as Adeshan glanced at the side of his face.
“Yes then I feel relieved.”
The time that followed passed by so quickly. Nothing particularly noteworthy occurred. In the peace that came in early summer Ronan and Adeshan did their best to develop their individual abilities.
It was fifteen days later. Ronan found Adeshan training under the shade of a tree and shook his hand.
“senior.”
“Ah…Ronan.”
“Oh it’s a squirrel today.”
“Yeah…I guess I was crazy back then. “How did they manipulate me so much…!”
Adeshan was sweating profusely and giving orders to the squirrels. Ronan laughed as he looked at the five squirrel squads going through their formal training.
Because mental control consumed a great deal of mental power the answer could only be found through consistent training. She decided to start by mastering small animals.
“Drink.”
“Oh thank you.”
Ronan threw her one of her water bottles and then she headed to Nest’s training grounds. Soon the members of the team were spread out like suffocated fish and Schlieffen who was alive and well came into view. He was looking down at Marya and Braum with a look of incomprehension.
“Why can’t I do this? “Is it difficult to swing it 5000 times a day?”
“It’s like falling into it. “That’s why kids these days can’t do that.”
Seeing that each person was holding a weapon it seemed like they had undergone basic swordsmanship training. When even Ronan helped him Marya screamed in anger.
“You crazy squires! “Do you think everyone in the world is like you?!”
“Waha…wahahaha….”
A soulless laugh came out of Braum’s mouth who had already been exhausted. After Schlieffen joined all members of the martial arts department had to follow his training schedule. Naturally except for Ronan there was no one who could match Schlieffen.
There were so many complaints that one day I consulted with Adeshan. When she saw her schedule she cried out in horror.
“You can’t do post-training like this! “It’s not some kind of imperial special forces unit…!”
“Is there something wrong?”
“You have to train according to each person’s level. Is it really possible that everything has been done this way?”
“yes.”
“…I can’t do it. “Can you guide me?”
Ade Shan said that day she went back and forth between clubs and analyzed each and every member. Even though she lost her mana her keen insight was still intact.
Before long members were able to receive the optimal training method tailored to each individual. Marya who was receiving guidance from Adeshan asked with shining eyes.
“Senior. “Can’t you join our club?”
“Hmm?”
“Please. That crazy person is obedient to you. Wait a minute but what is your relationship?”
“If you ask what our relationship is…what should I answer….”
Adeshan hesitated and scratched his cheek. Marja treated her with an attitude that was somewhere between her gratitude and her wariness. I was at ease thanks to the prejudice that men don’t like tall women but honestly the two of them hanging out together seemed more dangerous than Ophelia.
“Ma Marya….”
Asher was tormented by her inexplicable pain every time she looked like that. Her bones weren’t broken and her blood wasn’t flowing but her heart felt like it was on fire. Even though she studied her magic even harder to soothe her mind her suffering did not subside. Anyway it was time for that.
Ophelia and Sita weren’t just playing around either. After the moon rose it was their time. One night Ophelia secretly took Ronan out of the grounds saying that she had a new magic that she had taught Sita.
“Bwaaaaaa!”
Quagwagwang! Sita showed the magic she had shown before spraying the mist of her blood and then exploding it all at once. And then losing her form she sat down on the shattered tree and let out her roar of victory. She smiled as if she was proud of Ophelia.
“I taught you this time… It’s a magic specialized for mass murder. It’s cool….”
“What on earth are you teaching your child?”
It might be useful though. Ronan added and laughed. Peace lasted for nearly two months. They focused on their school life and individual training and gradually developed their strength.
It was a day that could not be called midsummer. Ronan was training in the first arena taking off her top and feeding mana to her sword. In the past few months his body has become stronger.
“Take a look at it in moderation.”
Nabirose who had warned the distracted female students watching approached Ronan. In her hand was a piece of quite luxurious-looking letter paper. Nabirose said.
“They say the Dawn Magic Tower has been restored.”
“Whoa…what do you say…?”
Ronan who roughly wiped away the sweat turned his head towards her. Nabirose informed us that the Dawn Magic Tower which was said to have been damaged in an explosion has completed restoration work and has begun accepting people again. The corners of Ronan’s mouth rose.
“at las.”
It was a place that Sarante had told her to go to because she could find clues about Haeju. Ronan collected the mana contained in La Mancha.
He took out a pocket watch from his pocket. The clock to check the time when mana was fed to the sword showed that two hours had passed.
The season passed from spring to summer. Ronan dressed again came out of the arena. When he raised his head a higher sky came into view. White puffy clouds were gliding beneath the deep blue.
