C93
"Good judgment. Ignoring 9 out of 10 just because you got 1 is a foolish act. You should never stop thinking in any situation. Everything in the world is determined by the amount of thought. The same goes for battle."
"Don't be mistaken. I will never forgive you."
“Kaka! If you have the guts, there is nothing better. Shall I guess? You're the type who grows in actual combat. A school that teaches only the conventional things doesn't suit you. What do you say? Won't you come with me? Then I'll make you the best mage."
"Don't talk nonsense. The teachers here are much more respectable than a murderer like you."
"Then tell me, what have you learned here? Photon Cannon? Red Wave? If not that, do they even give advice on the Immortal Function?"
Shirone's eyes widened slightly.
"How did you know...?"
Arcane burst into laughter. It seemed he enjoyed being a teacher for this reason. Gathering children who didn't know the ways of the world and talking nonsense to their hearts' content.
"Truly rare. Rare indeed. Is the Immortal Function an ordinary realm? However, my child, there are many terrifying monsters living in places you don't know. If you get along with them there..."
Arcane smiled, squinting one eye.
"Unlockers aren't that rare either."
Shirone swallowed dry saliva. How many battlefield do he have to cross to be able to say that an Unlocker is not rare? The accumulated experience itself was a different character regardless of skill.
"I've met 7 in 100 years. Four were decent and three were killed. The Unlocker's hallmark is its uniqueness. The possibility of distortion is infinite. But untempered uniqueness tends to die in front of greater stability."
It was an annoying but irrefutable statement. Individuality could be a variable that ignores objective power, but on the other hand, it was a double-edged sword that sometimes loses its strength in front of a regular method.
"There's nothing for you to learn at a school that teaches only the same things, ignoring individuality. You need to sharpen your unique talents. If it were me, I could do that.”
"I don't learn magic to take someone down. Don't label me as the same person as you."
Arcane read the conflict in Shirone's eyes. No wonder. Without an obsession for magic and a similar ambition,he wouldn't have reached the position he is now.
"You might think everyone likes you now. But people are inherently friendly to great individuals. It's not because they particularly like you as a person. Do you think you can interact with such hypocritical people forever?"
Everyone frowned at Arcane's words.
But Shirone just listened in silence.
"Get stronger. So they can't ignore you forever. If not, they will trample on you. Can you avoid fighting with a nice excuse when such a situation comes?"
Arcane spread three fingers.
"3 years. I'll make you skilled enough that no one on the continent can ignore you within that time. Do you think 3 years is short? I don't. If we maximize your individuality, it's not impossible at all."
At least for Shirone, it was not nonsense. As an Unlocker, there was almost no benefit for him to give up the guidance of an archmage and stay at school. At best, it would make it easier for him to get a job in the mage society?
“You are right.”
Iruki and Nade's faces darkened.
"Shirone...."
If it was true, there was no need to deny it. Unlockers had a unique position in the mage society, and there were limits to improving their skills through the standardized education of magic schools.
"Maybe you're right. But even so, I won't follow you. School is not a place for me to fight, but where my life is contained. Teachers, friends, a sense of belonging. I don't think you can give me any of that."
Arcane frowned. He couldn't help but admire the brainwashing ability that Alpheas had used on the students, whatever tricks he had employed.
"You're being deceived now. Once you live your life, such things are not important. If you weren't strong, you would have been just mediocre kid at school. Proving your strength is everything in life."
"If that's really everything, then why are you doing this?"
"What?"
"What's left for you, now that you've fought your way to becoming an archmage? Everyone hates you. In fact, aren't you lonely too? You can't prove yourself any other way since nobody cares about you."
Arcane gritted his teeth with a reddened face.
"You're talking nonsense. It's the law of the strong to be lonely. The weak gather because they are weak. Look at the situation now. Everyone is kneeling at my feet. I rule over them. This is loneliness."
"No. You're just a murderer that no one cares about."
The word murderer sparked madness in Arcane's eyes.
"Hahaha! That might be true. But did you know? I once had a comrade too. But he led everyone around him to ruin. That's Alpheas, whom you admire."
Shirone didn't believe it. He had heard from Ethella that the two had a grudge. The Alpheas he knew was never the one to lead others to ruin.
"I don't know what happened in the past, but I won't listen to you. Because you're a murderer. And because you're still committing murder."
"A murderer, huh? Even if I told you… that Alpheas is a murderer just like me?"
Shirone's eyes widened. This time, he couldn't help but be shocked.
"That's a lie. What do you know about Principal Alpheas?”
“Kakaka! Of course, I know. That little brat was my disciple."
"What... did you say?"
Shirone was at a loss for words. Since childhood, Alpheas has been a pioneer of light magic. How could someone who practices dark magic be his master?
Arcane seemed to feel the irony himself, as he looked up at the sky with a distant look in his eyes. The events of that day were still as vivid as yesterday. He stopped thinking and looked back at Ethella.
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
