On the border between the land of the Wargans and the Kingdom of Holy Mary, Baron Charlie was playing with the women in his harem when bloody sounds from outside caught his attention.
Rocky Town, usually a desolate place, was so poor that even the Wargans ignored it. This made the Baron unconcerned.
"Charlie, when are you going to make me your Queen?" said Sidney, a blonde woman whose private parts were almost visible.
A flirtatious smile appeared on Charlie's pimply face. Despite the constant knocking on the door, he ignored it.
"Give me a month, darling," Charlie said. "I'll make you my Queen."
Sidney pouted and rolled her eyes. "You said the same thing last month, but you still didn't keep your word."
Charlie sighed. He looked into Sidney's blue eyes, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her closer. "Forget about that now, let's spend some special time together."
Just as Sidney was about to speak, the door was knocked on harder than before, causing Charlie to stand up angrily and head towards the door.
Sidney showed a mocking smile behind Charlie's back. She was only sleeping with him for his money.
"I told you not to disturb me! Do you want to die?" Charlie shouted in a voice harsher than usual, trying to impress Sidney.
But when he opened the door, his eyes froze in place.
Standing at the door was a tall man with long black hair and blue eyes. His beard was unkempt. His hair looked greasy. There were dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.
Despite this, the man exuded a very intimidating aura. He wore a mask covering his mouth, designed like a wolf.
The man was wearing a long gray vest made from wolf fur. On his back were two swords, and four daggers were strapped to his waist. He had gloves on his hands.
This man was the legendary mercenary Talon. Once a hunter, Talon was unmatched in combat, even if he wasn't particularly strong in magic.
He was the only person who dared to deny the existence of the gods. Even Thomas wouldn't openly challenge the gods, but Talon defied them.
"Are you Baron Charlie?" Talon's almost predatory voice sent chills down Charlie's body. The bloody scene behind Talon almost made Charlie wet himself.
"Y-yes, that's me!" Charlie spoke, gathering his courage, only to be suddenly thrown back by a punch to his stomach.
Sidney screamed and lifted the fallen Charlie. "Charlie, what happened to you!?"
Charlie clutched his stomach, crying, and ignored Sidney. Meanwhile, Talon's footsteps echoed. Sidney glared at Talon angrily. "You idiot! How did you manage to walk in here so easily?"
"Guards!" Sidney shouted in alarm. When no response came, she shouted again, "Guards!"
Seeing Talon approaching her step by step, Sidney retreated in fear. "Do you know who I am?!"
"Who you are is irrelevant in my eyes," Talon said as he turned his gaze towards Sidney's eyes. His gaze almost gave Sidney a heart attack. Talon continued, "The only thing that matters to me is how many nobles I've killed."
Talon slowly drew one of the long swords strapped to his back. As Sidney retreated, crying, Talon's bloody aura shook the entire room.
"Stay back, Monster!" The fearless demeanor Sidney had just moments ago had melted away, replaced by the fear of death. Talon lowered his sword and looked into Sidney's terrified eyes with his dead ones.
"Are you afraid of me?" Talon closed his eyes, as if in thought, then his expression grew even more ruthless.
Talon leaned slightly forward. His dead eyes gleamed with a cruel light. "That's good..."
"You should fear me, so I can feel satisfied after I kill you..."
As Sidney's fear intensified, Charlie suddenly lunged forward, swinging a knife at Talon. "Stay away from Sidney!"
Despite the knife, Talon did nothing and allowed it to stab into his kidney.
"You shouldn't have messed with me!" Charlie shouted with a mix of bravery and arrogance, but suddenly Talon's hand moved, grabbing Charlie by the throat.
"Fool, never drop your guard until your enemy is dead."
"What?!" Charlie exclaimed in shock. The hand on his throat suddenly began to tighten, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Meanwhile, Sidney, shaken out of her thoughts by Charlie's actions, tried to help him by charging at Talon, but Talon's fist smashed into her face, breaking her teeth and sending her flying to the other side.
Charlie screamed, his breath cutting off. As Talon lifted him into the air, Charlie's feet left the ground.
Talon's eyes examined Charlie's face as it began to turn purple. "Your existence disgusts me."
"Too arrogant, too greedy, too thoughtless..."
Talon muttered as if talking to himself. "Too selfish and unskilled. Your existence is unnecessary."
As Charlie slowly lost consciousness, Talon's voice finally faded. Talon carelessly dropped the body to the ground. Then he looked at the bleeding and crying woman named Sidney in the corner.
"Woman, do you think I'm cruel?"
Despite the pain, Sidney managed to speak after hearing Talon's question.
"You're a bastard who deserves to die!"
Talon's eyes narrowed, and he then began to walk towards Sidney, step by step. Sidney retreated until her back hit the wall.
"Even if you kill me, the patrols will be here soon! You'll die!" Sidney shouted with the last of her strength, but Talon was unfazed.
"Woman, would you like to see something interesting?"
Surprised by Talon's question, Sidney didn't understand what was happening as Talon began to remove his mask.
When the mask fell to the ground with a soft thud, Sidney screamed in horror.
Talon's mouth was filled with long, sharp teeth like a wolf's. As Talon approached Sidney, his long tongue slithered out of his mouth and licked the blood off Sidney's face.
As Sidney's expression showed disgust and terror, Talon's mouth suddenly widened and swallowed her whole.
*Burping*
Talon burped as if it were nothing, picked up his mask from the ground, and placed it back over his mouth. His eyes showed a strange mix of satisfaction and disgust.
"Even though I hate it, I still have to do it." Talon thought of his little daughter and newborn son. "Urien, Irena, I miss you so much..."
Talon's dead eyes were filled with sadness for a moment. "I wonder if seeing me like this would scare you?"
Without thinking further, Talon sensed the militia patrol entering the town, and his eyes gleamed with a bloody light. "I hope you don't disappoint me..."
******
"I'm happy for you, Morrigan," Rachel said cheerfully. "For a moment, I thought you'd be sent to the dungeon."
"But thank the Goddess Frost you're okay..."
Morrigan nodded gently. "Don't worry, they won't imprison me that easily..."
It was Wednesday, and the first two classes were with Professor Thalindra Aranel, the Magic Professor. While Morrigan and Rachel were chatting, the Professor finally arrived.
As soon as she entered, a pleasant fragrance spread through the classroom. Some of the girls, upon catching the scent of her perfume, wondered what brand it was, while the boys blushed.
Thalindra looked at everyone with an authoritative demeanor. "Since this is our first lesson, we won't be practicing any spells."
A sigh of disappointment echoed from the students eager to learn magic. Thalindra gave them a disapproving look. "No complaints. Learning a spell isn't something that happens in one day."
"After all, Camelot wasn't built in a day."
After the class quieted down, Thalindra smiled. Then she began to speak gently. "Today, you will learn the difference between High-level and Low-level spells."
Marcus's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Is there a level difference between spells?"
"When you cast magic, you don't just inject your Mana; you must also pronounce the spell correctly in the magical language to control it."
Thalindra said as she raised her hand. "Let me give you an example."
"-Ignis Globulus-"
Suddenly, a fireball formed in the Professor's palm. The students watched in awe and excitement. After all, some of them were seeing magic for the first time.
After showing them, Thalindra canceled the spell, then whispered another spell.
"-Ignis-"
Suddenly, a blue flame appeared in the Professor's hand. Although it was a small fireball, the temperature in the room suddenly began to rise.
Morrigan liked the power of high-level spells. Rachel, on the other hand, cooled herself down by freezing the air around her.
After canceling the spell, Thalindra began to explain. "Ignis means Fire in the magical language. Although Globulus has no specific meaning in the magical language, it lowers the Ignis spell to a level that the caster can manage."
"That's why everyone at the Academy is first taught 'Ignis Globulus.'"
Morrigan's eyes sparkled; she instinctively wanted to try the Ignis spell but restrained herself.
"Professor, I want to try!" Alice's annoying voice caught the Professor's attention. Thalindra frowned. "You could hurt yourself, Alice. I don't recommend it."
Harvey, who wanted to see Alice fail, intervened. "Professor, why don't you trust your eager student? I think Alice can do it."
Encouraged by Harvey's support, Alice was thrilled. "Yes, please, Professor!"
After looking at Alice for a moment, Thalindra nodded. "Very well, but I'm not responsible if anything happens to you."
Alice nodded excitedly, then focused and raised her hand. "Ignis!"
"Wait!" Thalindra immediately wanted to intervene when she saw that Alice was using a high-level spell, but what she saw surprised her.
The white flames emerging from Alice's hand spread vibrantly and filled people with feelings of happiness.
"I feel more energized!"
"Incredible, even my hair looks better!"
"Alice, you're amazing!"
A chorus of praise for Alice erupted from the class. Alice scratched her head shyly, smiling happily.
"Silence!"
Thalindra's sharp voice quieted the class. She looked at the shouting students with anger. "This is a classroom! You can't scream as you please here!"
Professor Thalindra announced after calming down. "It is forbidden to use Ignis. Do not think of yourself as Alice. You may die."
As Thalindra scolded the class, Morrigan raised her hand to cast a spell. Just as she was about to speak, Rachel grabbed her arm. "Please don't doing Ignis, I don't want to die by accident."
Seeing Rachel's pleading eyes, Morrigan nodded. Then she began to control her Mana carefully.
"Ignis Globulus."
Suddenly, black flames erupted from Morrigan's hand, causing Rachel and the class to jump into action. Just as the black flames were about to spread uncontrollably, the Professor canceled Morrigan's spell with a single motion.
"What do you think you're doing, Lady Morrigan?! I told you Ignis was forbidden!" The Professor said with a sigh. Morrigan frowned. "I didn't use Ignis."
"Morrigan is right. She used the Ignis Globulus spell," Rachel intervened. Thalindra's angry eyes first showed surprise, then admiration.
"Well done, Lady Morrigan," Thalindra said, smiling after calming down. After scanning the class, her gaze rested on Morrigan's blue eyes. "Unlike the others, you have a real talent..."
"But Professor, she used Dark Magic!" said a male student. His religious devotion was apparent from the holy symbol he wore around his neck.
"Mind your own business, Dickhead!" Rachel snapped angrily. The Professor's eyes turned to the male student. "Get out. Now!"
The Professor's cold tone made the student flinch. Then, angrily, he got up from his desk, gave Morrigan one last look of disgust, and left.
After the male student left, Professor Thalindra's gaze swept over the class. "Don't expect any mercy from me from now on. I will deduct points for the slightest mistake."
As the students groaned, Thalindra continued with her lesson.