Soul of Searing Steel

For the residents of Moldavia, Starfall Year 832 was a year that had many ups and downs. The winter of the year’s beginning seemed additionally long due to the aftermath of the Dark Tide. If the liege’s mansion did not lift taxes from the hunters and civilians living in the mountains and the forest or provide them with support, those people might have to face the cold and starvation during the winter.

However, the series of reformations implemented by the new count after he stepped up to power had changed everyone’s perspective of him. This young and new count, Joshua van Radcliffe had not only launched a large-scale maintenance of the streets and basic constructions all over the city, but also acquired a number of investments and launched two major projects near the Mount Nissia.

In some cases, spending money on constructing infrastructures of the city was not merely expenditure without reason. Large-scale constructions could lead to more employment and consumption, which would greatly boost the economy of the territory. Furthermore, the baron seemed to be emphasizing more on education. He had established quite a number of elementary schools and recruited many scholars to be teachers of his schools. As a result, most of the children who attended school would stay there for an entire day. Meanwhile, some of those in the labor force that had their hands tied because of their children were now liberated. Because of that, they could work and boost the economy of the territory as well.

The main city of Moldavia, Broken Sword Tavern.

This well-known tavern was owned by an elderly half-elf ranger. He lost a hand during his adventure forty years ago and he simply withdrew from the dangerous industry. Afterward, he took a fairly generous amount of money, enough to start a tavern. The ranger once had the strength of a Silver. Although he had lost part of his strength because of losing his arm, his exquisite knife throwing technique still intimidated many, both old and young. Perhaps because of common topics to discuss, numerous adventurers or mercenaries were all regular customers. Additionally, his bartender skills satisfied their needs.

Today was Starfall Year 833, 14th of February. Another snowstorm came by. The snow had blocked the road connecting the outside world. Many bounty hunters and adventurers who were ready to go to the Dark Forest to locate their targets for their quests could only sigh and delay their plans for the moment. Hence, most of them would just hang out at familiar places, talking and drinking. That was how they passed their time.

Hence, Broken Sword Tavern was crowded at that time.

However, it was strange that these people were actually talking about the same thing.

“My friend, are you sure you are not mistaken about it?”

Sitting at the window side, a middle-aged man with a thick beard and a glass of wine that was half the height of his arm spoke to his friend right in front of him with a serious face, “The liege is preparing to establish a magic academy? Are you sure that the news on the municipal administration side said that?”

“Well, of course. Don’t look at me with that skeptical look on your face.”

The young half-elf wearing a leather armor who was sitting opposite the man answered his question without hesitation. Then he grabbed the glass from the middle-aged man’s hand and took a gulp of the drink. He shook his head and said, “This news really can’t be any more real. The notice was stamped with the count’s family emblem! Don’t you know how good my memory is? It is the absolute truth!”

Seemed to be shocked by this news, the middle-aged man touched his beard and did not have time to be angry with his partner who robbed him of his drink. He frowned and pondered upon the news. “Something is not right though. We have many powerful knights, warriors, and archers here in the North. Anyone can simply gather seven to eight of them without much effort. Meanwhile, most people’s bloodlines and gifts are more inclined towards those classes. It’s also easier and more convenient to locate a teacher. So why did they establish a magic academy instead?”

“God knows why.”

After drinking the wine from the glass in one go, the half-elf looked as if he did not care about it at all. “Since I’m just going to let my child try out on their entrance test anyway. If my child has the gift, it will still be alright if he does not follow into my footstep to becoming an archer. Well, that brat isn’t willing to practice anyway… After all, my ancestor has the bloodline of the elves. It might be possible that he could turn out to be a mage in the end.”

“Your boy?” After hearing that, the middle-aged man had an odd feeling as he spoke, “Isn’t magic something that only the nobles can afford practice? How did you even end up with that conclusion? I think you shouldn’t throw away all your savings…”

“Hahaha! Of course I won’t,” interrupting the man while he was speaking, the half-elf burst into laughter, “I’ve asked the guards who brought the news. They said that as long as we are residents of Moldavia, we only need to carry our own documents along for a free test. Meanwhile, I’ve also heard that the fees aren’t really that expensive. So it should at least be worth a shot!”

“Is that so? I see…”

The middle-aged man went into deep thoughts. The test was free, and the fee was not expensive as well. The conditions were excellent… Then he should let his own children have a try as well.

After all, that was a ticket to become a mage. Who would not want to try to learn the mystical art of magic? After all, they had gone through all sorts of struggles the regular classes needed to face. In truth, even mages had all sorts of struggles to deal with in life. At least those sort of struggles would be new and fresh for them to grasp. In other words, they could experience new things.

In any case, the two of them were not the only ones who were talking about the news. Everyone else in the tavern was discussing among themselves whether the news was true or not. In the meantime, as time passed by, everyone in the city had found out about the news.

Meanwhile, on the North side of the city, home of scholars, study room.

The young boy Ivan and his sister Amelia were carefully studying a series of knowledge about class bearers under their grandfather’s tutelage.

As children that were still very young, what they need now was not some sort of high-intensity exercise. Instead, they would need to know what they were good at, and what they would want to do in the future. Also, they must understand the advantages and disadvantages of each class before they decide for themselves.

Although Edward was just an ordinary scholar, he also understood one or two things about magic and participated in several adventures. He clearly knew that if one wanted to push further on the path of a champion, one’s foundation must be solid and strong. Meanwhile, this sort of foundation was not just a physical condition in that regard. It was also a thorough understanding of the soul.

After knowing what you want and what your future goals are, and also know what you’re good at, you would become a person that knows your own capabilities and limits. Even if you had a ‘gift’ that was not really that good, at least you would not waste time and walk on the path of evil.

“Grandpa!”

Along with heavy footsteps, a tall and strong female servant came up to the study room and began knocking on the door eagerly. Her hands were so strong to the point that the door was about to be broken. Meanwhile, the children and Edward that were studying seriously could not help but be startled.

“Coming, coming… Naka, please knock a little more gently next time, will you?”

Although he was a little irritated that the female servant interrupted Ivan and Amelia in their studies, the old man also knew that the female servant had never behaved inappropriately during her years of service. It must be something truly important that would make her react that way.

Right after he opened the door, the servant Naka, dragged the old man out of the room with a joyful expression on her face. “Grandpa, look! Good news!”

“Ouch, my old bones… What is it that makes you so excited about… wait a minute?!”

After touching his own waist, Edward took the notice from Naka’s hand, furrowed his brow and starting reading the title of the notice. He was complaining a little bit in the beginning when he took the notice over, however, he could not even react and think about any other things after he read the title. Instead, he was fully focused on reading the notice after that. “Magic Academy? Does not rule out the possibility of expanding the academy into a Class Academy that provides courses for many classes? The natives of Moldavia are exempted from the need to pay any fee to take the entrance test. The natives of Moldavia will also receive special offers in regards to the fees? This…”

“What a generous count we have here… Good heavens…”

Upon taking a deep breath and calming his mind, Edwards closed his eyes and calmed down a little. He murmured with some words bit by bit as he attempted to suppress his excitement over the news.

Mages.

Although in the real battles, mages of the same grade or tier would not necessarily have advantages over other classes of the same grade or tier. However, this was a class that focused on research and preparation instead of battles.

As a truly treasured resource, the status of a mage was obviously more superior than that of other Classes other than the holy knight and the priest. Under the circumstance where preparations were made, any Class would not be able to beat the mage easily of course. And most importantly, other than the war mages, other mages would basically seldom join into battles directly. Their values as backup forces or supporters would be much higher than the role of cannons. Hence, their safety was usually guaranteed.

Even according to the dream of two children—slaying dragons, one mage would need to make preparation if he or she ever wanted to slay a dragon. Meanwhile, the success rate of that would be much higher than that of the other classes. If their parents were the one to receive the news about the academy, they would definitely agree to it as well.

So, after a brief moment, Edward went back into the study room. He glanced across the faces of Ivan and Amelia that were filled with suspicion and curiosity. Then he grinned at the two children.

“Little ones—would you like to be mages?”

After he said that Ivan and Amelia looked at each other and shook their heads, as they were confused. When they appeared to have finally digested the question, they nodded their heads earnestly.