"That's harsh. Even I would be hurt if you spoke to me like that."
The Saint pulled a pitiful face, and Ruina realized her slip-up.
"Ah—my apologies. I never meant it."
"Haha, I'm only teasing."
As though nothing had happened, the Saint's once-drooping eyes returned to normal.
"So, what's this about? I think this is the first time you've summoned me at the Academy, Brother."
"Ruina, aren't you going? Or have you changed your mind?"
"I'm going. Lord Jace, I apologize again for my rudeness."
"No, really—don't worry about it. Haha."
Ruina cleared her throat and stepped outside.
The moment the door closed, the smile on Jace's lips vanished.
"I didn't believe the rumors, but they must be true after all."
"Rumors?"
"The rumor that you've changed, Brother."
Fernan merely shrugged.
"Skip the idle talk—let's get to the point."
"Fair enough; time is money."
Fernan explained his objective and what he wanted, then laid out the plan and the part Jace had to play.The goal was no longer mithril but the Spirit Herb.
"Interesting. That's so like you, Brother—going after the Spirit Herb during the first-years' survival training."
"If we'd found out sooner, we wouldn't have needed all this."
"True. They'll be wandering everywhere; one of them might stumble on a Spirit Herb—not a bad strategy."
"Do you need time to think it over?"
"No," Jace shook his head.
"Seeing how far you're willing to go, this Spirit Herb must be worth a fortune—and tempting as that is, I can't afford to cross Pellenberg. I'm in."
He drew a circle with his fingers. "Just make sure I get plenty of these."
"There's no such thing as a free donation in my book."
"It's an offering to God."
"God, my foot. I'll increase the Academy branch's orders and credit the merit to you."
"Blasphemous—but if the money's good, I'm satisfied."
Jace flashed a thoroughly worldly grin.
"Then do a good job."
"Yes, Brother. You can count on me. I may not look it, but I'm still the top first-year in the Faculty of Magic."
And that was exactly what puzzled him.
Why isn't Jace Bainz one of Aint's companions?
Aint's enemy is the demons—and the people who fight demons most fanatically are the Dragon God Order.
Because demons are an accursed race? Because they want to wipe out humanity?Those are reasons, of course, but not the biggest one.
"Magic belongs to dragons? Nonsense! Magic is our creation—our own authority!"
A demon had uttered that heresy a thousand years ago, striking the Dragon God Order's reverse scale.
So why wasn't a Saint of the Dragon God Order fighting on the front line alongside Aint?
Does he join later? A guy like Jace could've been a companion from the very start.
Compared with Valosi, the knight-faculty valedictorian, Jace was at least as good—if not better.
Well, it wasn't a critical issue.In the end, Aint would sort it out.
"But there's still a whole week until the field exercise, isn't there? Do we really have to wait for it?"
Jace's words snapped Fernan out of his thoughts.
"Of course, if I get it before then, this whole conversation will have been for nothing."
"The fact that we're even having this conversation must mean you haven't pinpointed the location yet. Since I only get paid if this works out, I'll be praying you don't find it before then, Brother."
"What a curse."
Fernan casually flicked his fingers.
A gold coin jingled as it landed in Jace's palm.
"Consider that your down payment."
"Brother."
Jace's expression turned serious as he accepted the coin.
"The Dragon God abhors those who try to settle contracts verbally without paperwork. Shouldn't we go over the details—how much, how exactly, and what you're ordering?"
Fernan clicked his tongue.
This was why he usually avoided dealing with Jace. You couldn't just gloss things over or get freebies with him.
"…Fine."
He pulled out some paper.
And thus began a fierce negotiation, both sides trying to minimize losses.
"Thank you. I'll do my best to meet your expectations. Call me again when the detailed plan is ready. I'll keep polishing my duplication magic in the meantime."
"I want the goods delivered as soon as possible."
"I'll send most of them right away. The artifacts won't take more than five days."
Satisfied with the outcome, Jace left with a big grin.
And for good reason—the items Fernan had promised to purchase were quite valuable. But that was only half the story.
"I've made a profit."
Sure, it wasn't a small sum to pay, but most of the items were things he needed for this operation anyway.
The Dragon God Order was the continent's most powerful magic organization, and the magical goods they sold were among the best in the world.
"The teleportation device was from the Dragon God Order too."
In fact, many of the artifacts Fernan frequently used were purchased from them.
The Pellenberg family did have talented mages, but they couldn't compare to the fanatics who treated magic as religion.
"The supplies should be delivered soon…"
Fernan unfolded a map.
It was a map of the southern forest, where the first-years' survival training was scheduled.
Just like the northern region, the southern area was split into two zones: the southwest featured a beautiful forest and lakes, while the southeast was a damp marsh.
Since the monsters in the forest were weaker than those in the marsh, the first-years would obviously be training in the southwestern forest.
"The southern marsh, huh."
That was the first place he had run to after getting struck by lightning, hoping to verify if the prophecy was real.
And sure enough, he had found Aint there—and a dungeon. He'd looted the magic lamps installed in it.
Upon appraisal, those magic lamps turned out to be masterpieces, incomparable to ordinary ones in both magical and artistic value. He planned to auction them off soon for a high price.
The proceeds were all going to fund his secret organization, Golden Pillar.
"I've got the framework now."
He'd secured the ultimate ally—a Saint of the Dragon God Order.
Now, all that was left was to flesh out the details.
"Let's see here…"
Rummaging through the documents on the table, Fernan finally found what he was looking for.
[Imperial Year 999, Empire Armian Academy, First-Year Semester 1, Integrated Survival Class Curriculum]
He had already obtained the planning document for this year's first-year survival exercise.
It included details on the deployment of professors and teaching assistants, security measures, and more.
Fernan memorized it all.
Tight schedule.
There was only about a week left until the exercise, and the southern forest had a total of seven lakes.
In one of those lakes, the Spirit Herb, the mithril, and the guardian spirit beast were all slumbering.
The problem was, he didn't know which one.
His memory from the prophecy only showed Aint diving to find an underwater cave—but not which lake he dove into.
That's why Fernan was taking extra precautions—volunteering as a TA, bringing Jace in.
There was still a week left, but with classes to attend, he wasn't confident he could search all the lakes in time.
"Well, let's get going."
His goal over the next week was to check as many lakes as possible.
He quietly hoped the first one would be the right one.
The sun was setting—twilight cast its golden light.
It was dinnertime, even for students with the busiest schedules.
Fernan knew this was also when the guards changed shifts.
"All zones are monitored by magic."
The entrance to the forest was no different.
Rather than being checked by people one by one, it was managed through a system and recording devices created by magic to monitor for major issues.
It was the most efficient method, inevitably chosen to manage such a large area, but it had the fundamental flaw of never being truly perfect.
After stopping by to give Berian a few instructions, he stood before the entrance leading to the southern forest. Technically, it wasn't the official entrance, but a hidden path.
'By now, they should be handing over the shift.'
Taking advantage of the confusion during the shift change, he held out the faculty ID he had secretly acquired. A concealed magic circle quietly opened up.
"Good. It works."
Wearing an invisibility cloak, he threw himself into the forest.
Rrrrrk—
Wolves with red fur, each over three meters tall— a pack of Hellhounds sniffed the air and prowled the area.
After lingering for a while, the Hellhounds soon disappeared in another direction.
Moments later, a dark silhouette dropped from a tree with a thud.
"This thing works like a charm."
He hadn't expected the Hellhounds' sense of smell to be paralyzed so completely.
As expected, it was a product of the Dragon Cult.
"Let's see… the lake…"
Not long after, Fernian arrived at a massive lake. There were seven such lakes in the southern forest.
"So I need to find a cave hidden somewhere here…"
"If you don't really think about finding it while looking, you'll never find it."
That's how well-concealed the entrance to the underwater cave was.
—Obviously. If it were easy to find, it would've been stolen already.
"Well, yeah, that's true."
Aint had squeezed his body through a small crevice visible on the rocky, gravel-covered floor.
It felt less like a cave and more like a descent underground.
Recalling a fragment of the prophecy, Fernian clutched his head and tore a scroll.
Though it had a time limit, the Breath spell enveloped his body, allowing him to breathe underwater.
As he dove into the water, the seemingly calm lake revealed its inner world to his eyes.
The water was clear and pristine. Instead of monsters, fish swam about. Fernian brushed aside a freshwater crayfish crawling along the lakebed and placed his hand on the gravel-filled bottom.
'This is exactly why I became an Earth Mage.'
It was a subtle difference, but his highest natural affinity wasn't Earth—it was Flame. Yet he had chosen Earth as his main attribute for one reason alone:
To find metal, ore veins—money.
His mana seeped into the earth. Carefully and meticulously, he scanned below, and even further below.
Hours passed like that. Just as the scroll's effect was nearing its end, he was finally able to confirm it.
"This one's a dud."
It was disappointing, but that was as far as it went. There were still six lakes left.
How much longer did he scour through the water?
Cutting back on sleep, Fernian managed to check all seven lakes in just one week—a monumental effort.
The resources he had poured into the endeavor were considerable. It was undeniable that his duties with the merchant guild had been somewhat neglected as a result.
Even after all that—
"All seven were a bust?"
There were no results.
Could there be another lake I don't know about?
No way. He had checked the maps countless times. Aside from the seven, there were no other lakes in the southern forest.
Fernian, after some thought, reached a conclusion.
"It's magically concealed."
Someone had clearly used magic to make it difficult to find. No wonder no one had discovered it even after a thousand years.
He had underestimated it. He had taken the First Emperor too lightly.
"…Guess I should be glad I at least made preparations."
That was the only consolation.
"Damn it." Fernian cursed under his breath.
And the day after Fernian came up empty-handed—
"We will now begin the joint training exercise between the Knight Department and the Magic Department."
"It was originally scheduled to take place in the northern mountains, but due to a small issue, the location has been changed. This survival training will now take place in the southwestern forest."
At last, the joint survival training for the first years had begun.