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#158. Frozen Things (2)
The moment I caught sight of the bruise on the inside of Ayla’s sleeve.
widely!
Ray grabbed Ayla’s wrist and dragged her to the middle of the table.
Ssuk─
The sleeves fell down, revealing bruises all over his arms.
“… … !”
An extremely embarrassed Ayla shook off Ray’s hand and lifted up her sleeve.
He immediately pulled his body back to widen the distance and drew up the mana of the ring.
Crackle! Crackle!
A number of ice picks sprouted.
As if it was about to shoot at Ray at any moment.
“… … .”
Ayla said nothing.
However, the girl’s wary eyes and quickened breathing from surprise were conveying her message instead.
“… … .”
Ray also remained silent.
Even though the opponent could have shot an awl if they wanted to, they didn’t raise their mana at all.
Just looking at the arms covered with clothes─
“Is that what Binjin is like?”
─asked.
“… … !”
Ayla’s eyes twitched violently.
The emotions of many people who were tied up on the ice also showed great vibrations.
Ray was able to solidify his guess from that appearance.
“That’s right, Binjin. Judging from the shape of the mark, it looks like a whip-like tool was used. Judging from the slightly different shades of color, it doesn’t look like it was done once or twice.”
“You…! Your voice is too loud…!”
Ayla looked around quickly with a puzzled look on her face.
This was one of the restaurants run by the Amon family, and the conversation could easily have reached Binjin’s ears.
“Don’t worry. I’ve set up a soundproofing spell and a distortion field. No one outside can hear our conversation. You can’t even see the ice pick. You’ll just see us quietly drinking tea.”
Only then did Ayla’s head, which had been rotating rapidly like an anti-aircraft turret, stop.
“When on earth did that happen…?”
“From the moment I first sat down.”
“… … .”
Ayla, who had been silent, spoke.
“I didn’t get hit by the teacher. I just fell and got a bruise.”
“… … .”
How on earth do you fall and leave such a snake-like mark?
You’re not that good at acting.
I’ll have to teach you later.
Ray thought so and asked a question to confirm.
“Is it true that you got hit by Binjin?”
“no.”
“Were you punished with a whip or something?”
“Even if it’s not like that.”
“Is that right?”
“You… want to get hit by me…?”
As the question was repeated, Ayla’s fear of Binjin grew.
In questions that directly included the words, “Yes, that’s right,” fear of my father also swelled.
“Did your father hit you too?”
“… … .”
That was the moment.
A bright red anger rose in Ayla’s bowl.
“It’s none of your business.”
The red flames appeared to be unaffected by the ice sheet.
Ray, realizing that he had hit the nail on the head, completely changed the subject of the question from Binjin to his father.
“Your father got hit too.”
“That’s a rude question.”
“When did you get hit?”
“You’re being so rude right now.”
“When you were young?”
“Don’t meddle in other people’s family affairs.”
“When you were young.”
As she spoke of her father, Ayla’s ice rink became even bluer.
Ray could sense it.
The reason there is ice in Ayla’s bowl is very likely due to the violence her father suffered when she was young.
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‘Trauma.’
Past events create present emotions.
Well then, in my case.
What incident caused the ice sheet in my heart to become frozen?
Then Ayla stood up from her seat.
“I can’t talk to a rude person. I have to go.”
Ray immediately took out a dictionary.
Ayla flinched when she saw the dictionary half-manifested in her bag, then hurriedly picked up the menu and covered her head.
“… … .”
“Don’t hit me…?”
“… … .”
“You’re not going to hit me…?”
“… … .”
“If I put my shield away, you’re going to hit me…? I know that.”
Ray thought for a moment.
The reason why Ayla’s bowl became covered in blue ice and had blue stains was ultimately due to her father and Binjin’s violence.
‘Is it violence to take out a dictionary and provoke someone’s fear?’
Ray took a moment to chew on the dictionary definition of violence.
‘In some cases, that might be possible.’
It was not reasonable to make Ayla sit down again with the dictionary.
What he wants is to figure out the associated emotion of blue mana and ultimately find a way to melt the ice sheet.
Violence, far from melting the ice, only intensified the violence.
Ray, who decided to use a different method, said as he put the dictionary away.
“I will guide your younger brother.”
“what…?”
“You value your little brother more than yourself? Almost as your number one priority in life. I can help you maximize Ain’s magical abilities. In return, you have to answer a few questions.”
Ayla said after watching the dictionary being sealed in the bag until the very end.
“You’ve already committed so many acts of rudeness that what are you talking about? I have nothing more to say to you.”
Ayla, who had become more assertive again, put her hand on the distortion field and took a stance to leave at any moment.
“Hello. How are you?”
“… … .”
“I’m going.”
“… … .”
“I’ve never seen anyone as rude as you.”
“… … .”
“Really, go. Really, goodbye.”
“If you’re not going, sit down.”
“Yeah, I understand.”
Ayla returned to her seat quietly and then spoke with shining eyes.
“What is the teaching method of the top? Will they teach the same way? I would like to see the curriculum first.”
“The curriculum is particularly….”
“I don’t know your educational policy, but I want you to focus on the limits of elements, connections, formulas, and extreme numbers. Those are the most basic things. Otherwise, I can’t entrust Ain to you. And it’s also important to see how much you can raise your grades on the next test.”
Ray stared at Ayla.
Was he always this talkative?
“I don’t know what you mean, but when I fought Ain, I saw a few areas that could be improved. If you fix them, you’ll be much better.”
Ayla reacted immediately.
“Then fix it.”
“Instead, answer my questions.”
“…What is your question?”
“Why did you get beaten by your father and Binjin?”
Ayla asked after a moment of silence.
“Why are you curious about that…?”
“It’s a very important matter to me.”
Confusion, bewilderment, doubt, conflict, etc.
A lot of emotions swirled in the bowl.
Ray pointed out what Ayla was worried about.
“There’s no way Binjin will hear what we’re talking about today. There’s a soundproofing spell surrounding us, and I have no intention of telling anyone what I heard.”
“… … .”
“I don’t think Binjin would have thought you would have brought up such a topic. If he had been worried about that, he wouldn’t have made the two of you eat together in the first place.”
There was another rather long silence.
“I don’t remember exactly why I was beaten by my father. It was when I was very… young.”
Finally, Ayla opened her mouth.
“I must have done something wrong. I am useless and can’t do anything. That’s why I got beaten by the Master. It’s because I couldn’t get to the 3rd circle quickly.”
Ray tilted his head.
“Because I couldn’t get into the 3rd circle?”
“Yeah. I know you’re expecting a lot. I’ll have to quickly raise your circle to help you out… .”
“Do the other kids know you’re getting beaten?”
Ayla said, after a moment of silence.
“No, I don’t know. I’m the only one who gets beaten. Maybe… it’s because I’m the only one in the second circle among the kids…? I don’t know about my skills, but if you look at the speed of development in the circle, I’m the fastest.”
Ayla said she was called up to the tower every day and beaten with a whip.
With the sarcastic remark that they are born lazy and ignorant by nature and cannot move on to the next circle.
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“If it hurts… it hurts a lot. But it’s okay. But don’t beat me to the point where it leaves a big wound. If you apply medicine, it’ll get better quickly.”
Well, if you get a big wound, other kids will notice.
‘The next target is likely to be Ayla.’
Ray recalled the conversation he had with Binjin yesterday.
“I’m planning to have dinner out with Ayla tomorrow.”
“Um… Do you happen to know why that is?”
“It seems like you have quite a talent for magic. I’ll check on you in a comfortable place.”
Binjin thought for a moment, then smiled and spoke in a bright voice.
“I would be grateful if you would do so. This would be a great opportunity for Ayla! She might gain valuable insight and reach the 3rd circle.”
At that moment, Binjin’s bowl revealed strong expectations and desires for Ayla.
“The growth of my students is no different from my own growth. When I see them growing, I feel full and thirsty even without eating.”
That statement was also true.
‘At least from Binjin’s point of view.’
because.
As the level of your disciples increases, the quality of mana that can be extracted through exploitation magic will also increase.
… Binjin is training his disciples and using them as sacrificial lambs for his exploitative magic.
Traces of a magic circle remaining in the center of the tower.
It’s not hard to guess if you look at the colored mana that’s gathered in the empty space above like fog.
‘Dark blue mana.’
That’s the first evidence.
Dark blue was the color of the emotions most of the disciples in the mansion harbored, a sense of inferiority mixed with malice or fear.
“You said that students with good grades would be sent to the magic tower with a letter of recommendation, right? On the other hand, students with poor grades would be sent to the farm for a vacation.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
That’s a lie, of course.
Everyone who left for the magic tower and the farm would have been affected by the magic of exploitation, and would have disappeared, leaving only the emotions they had harbored in the air above the magic circle.
‘Khan would be a good example. The mana fragment that was attached was detected under the floor where the magic circle was drawn.’
That’s the second piece of evidence.
… and Binjin is trying to extend his reach this way.
Did you think that the elves, a race adept at magic, would have a lot of mana to extract?
It was strange that there was no ill will, but it wasn’t particularly surprising.
However, I have one question.
Where was all the mana extracted from the disciples used?
Given the circumstances, it appears that Binjin has been carrying out his secret work for quite some time.
Since he stopped exploring the ruins, he has been focusing solely on training disciples.
‘Mana extracted through exploitation magic cannot be used to strengthen rings. It is usually used to strengthen the performance of magical tools such as charging stones.’
However, nothing that seemed to be the result was found in the mansion or tower.
There didn’t seem to be anything like that among Binjin’s belongings.
“So, let me tell you in advance what to watch out for during the procedure… ”
Ray, who was concentrating on his senses while listening to Binjin’s explanation, soon found the answer.
‘Magic circle, under the floor, underground.’
There was something there.
Ray’s gaze, which had been sharpened, pierced the concrete floor.
What Ray’s vision captured as he descended deep beyond the physical barrier was… .
‘…Milky Way?’
It was a huge flow of mana.
The sight of it flowing leisurely along a set path reminded me of the natural phenomenon called the Milky Way that I had recently seen in a book.
‘There’s a lot of high-quality mana mixed in. This kind of artificial feeling can’t be found in the air. Was all the extracted mana put in there?’
Is it because the ability to see mana through objects is still limited?
The Milky Way twinkled very faintly, as if floating in the cloudy night sky.
Still, it wasn’t to the extent that he couldn’t sense it, and Ray continued his observation calmly and persistently.
As a result, we were able to figure out several facts.
‘It’s not flowing gently. It only appears that way due to the limitations of the field of vision, but in reality, it flows at a very fast speed. And the path is also more complicated and twisted than you might think.’
In other words, it wasn’t the Milky Way.
It was close to a blood vessel where blood was rushing in all directions.
And as the glimmer of mana became more familiar, a single, massive shape began to emerge.
It has the shape of a thick, long, endless curve… .
‘It moved just now.’
…it was as if it was gliding and making almost no sound.
And from somewhere, it lifted its front part of its body with all its might.
[Crack!]
I swallowed a piece of Khan’s mana that was floating around in the underground space.
After that, I lowered my body.
The sound has completely disappeared.
‘This was it.’
At that moment, Ray knew.
Where on earth did the feeling of unease I felt the moment I passed through the gate of Binjin’s mansion come from?
also.
The sense of discomfort was mixed with a sense of foreboding, similar to when I saw the stone tablet.
The boy’s heart began to beat.