BTCATL 28

28.

“Come back with first place.”

It was just after I had returned from the kingdom and resumed training. As usual, I was quietly sitting, controlling the mana flowing toward the butterflies bit by bit.

Startled by the sudden remark, I opened my eyes.

The butterflies fluttered.

Kallios stood in front of me with a slouched posture.

There was no subject in the sentence, so I had no way to interpret it.

“First place in what?”

“The Hunting Festival.”

I blinked.

The Hunting Festival—an event commonly held at least once by any major empire or large kingdom.

Normally, it’s a noble-exclusive event where animals are released into the forest, and hunters are ranked and rewarded based on what they catch.

However, the Hunting Festival of the Spirit Towers was a little different.

It was an event exclusively for spirit mages—one where they hunted magical beasts.

There were only two annual events where spirit mages from all four directional towers gathered: the Research Festival and the Hunting Festival.

Though most attendees were high-ranking individuals from other nations, the Research Festival was, in principle, open to outsiders.

But the Hunting Festival was solely for spirit mages.

C- to A-rank magical beasts were herded into a massive forest owned by the Spirit Towers, and spirit mages would hunt them.

Since magical beasts left no corpses, their rank and number were judged based on the number and size of their shattered cores.

Given how introverted and eccentric most spirit mages were, fewer participated compared to the Research Festival—but even so, all the top mages from each tower would gather.

And now he wanted me to come in first?

I was better than before. I had reached a point where I could regulate mana to a degree, and the butterflies no longer multiplied out of control.

Still, my control wasn’t perfect.

“The old geezer approved it, and that stingy… I mean, Razerdeen, approved it too.”

Kallios kept talking, unaware—or uncaring—of my inner hesitation.

“From what I’ve observed, your butterflies only get excited when they see another Nyx or when you’re hit with an attack strong enough to kill you or when they sense killing intent. None of that will happen at the Hunting Festival, so you’re safe.”

“Kallio…”

“That lunatic from the East won’t participate, so you’ll be the only dark spirit mage there. You’ve got your pride, don’t you? The pride of someone who formed a contract with a spirit too strong to control. Get first place.”

I wanted to tell him I’d never once thought of it that way, but the grim look on his face suggested he might unleash his spirits right there. Reluctantly, I nodded.

In any case, it was a good opportunity to gain real combat experience.

Looking satisfied, Kallios grinned and said he’d grant me any wish I had if I took first place.

After that, every time the Hunting Festival came up, Kallios would bristle with excitement and intensify our training. I found out the reason not long after.

“Ah, it’s probably because of when he first met me.”

Rdin had stopped by the training grounds to bring me a book and, upon seeing Kallios’s overly enthusiastic reaction to the festival, explained their first meeting.

“He’s full of himself even now, but back then he was completely drunk on his own power. Rumors had already started about him being the next tower lord, so he was even worse. The previous West Tower lord forced him to join the Hunting Festival, saying he needed to build camaraderie.”

Rdin gave a rare, sly smile.

“He didn’t want to ‘compete with savages,’ but he still seriously hunted magical beasts at the event. But I won first place. He’s always been good at talking, that one. I think we hunted close to 200 beasts between us.”

…Two hundred?

I stared at Rdin in a daze, shocked by the insane number he said so casually—when a black sphere suddenly blasted past at breakneck speed, embedding itself in the wall just behind where Rdin had been standing.

BOOM!

The wall next to me cracked loudly, and I flinched.

“What did you just say?”

Crimson eyes blazed with fury as they glared at Rdin.

[Kyaaaa!]

[So violent!]

[Violent human! Bad!]

The nymphs flew around Rdin in a panic. The butterflies, realizing the attack wasn’t aimed at me, simply flapped gently on my shoulders.

“I suppose that’s when he developed that useless competitiveness. But I was only seven years old when I formed my contract, even as a dark spirit mage. I was nothing like him—impulsive and unhesitant in violence after acquiring his power.”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

Had those attacks hit directly, I would’ve had holes in my body.

“Every year he struggled to beat me, but I always got first place, so I admit—it makes sense he has a complex about it.”

Despite the situation, Rdin kept provoking Kallios with a smile, not even trying to defuse the tension. I instinctively stepped back.

Behind him, Kallios was grinning, dark hair waving in the ominous shadow that pulsed with rising energy.

This was about to go very, very wrong.

[Asilla, go hide.]

[Not worth getting involved.]

[Right?]

[Humans are so stupid. Fighting over such dumb things.]

As Rdin seemed to forget I existed, I took my butterflies’ advice and quietly slipped behind a weapons display rack in the corner.

I even covered my ears, sensing danger.

A wise move.

Just moments after I hid, the training hall rang with massive explosions—loud enough that they vibrated through even my blocked ears.

BOOM!

BOOM BOOM!

KABOOOOOOM!!!

[Kyaaaa!]

[Asilla, save us!]

Dust and debris flew like a storm behind the display rack.

Clinging to the rattling wood, I held on for dear life.

The nymphs shrieked with terrified laughter. Unlike when they were near my butterflies for just a few seconds and cowered in fear, they didn’t react the same to Kallios’s explosions.

Maybe they were used to this?

Eventually, the booming sounds stopped. I peeked out from behind the half-broken display rack.

…Did an earthquake hit?

I wiped my face, knowing I must look absolutely terrified.

The walls of the training hall were intact, but the floor was another story.

Cracks ran through the earth, and giant holes pockmarked the ground like a natural disaster had swept through.

“What on earth… Razerdeen! Kallios!!!”

The tower lord, seemingly drawn down by the commotion, entered the training hall and yelled in a metallic voice as he saw the devastation.

Even as he clutched his neck and collapsed, Rdin smiled peacefully as if nothing had happened, and Kallios chuckled beside him.

It was a ridiculous sight.

Time passed quickly.

After that incident, Kallios trained me even more intensely, eyes blazing like he was going to drag me to first place by the scruff of my neck.

Rdin dropped by occasionally to tell me I’d handled even S-rank beasts before and there was no need to worry—but unease was unavoidable.

That was back when the situation had cornered me, when my body had been tense with anxiety.

I read through documents about magical beasts to prepare for the upcoming festival.

I rubbed my eyes and lifted my head, stung awake by sunlight on my face.

My back ached.

I must’ve fallen asleep at my desk after staying up late reading documents.

“Eat up.”

Kallios, who had been waiting outside my room since morning, dragged me straight to the dining room and sat me in front of a spread big enough for two people.

Though I’d only had a few bites, I already felt full. Every time I tried to set my knife down, crimson eyes glared at me.

“You need to eat a lot when you’ll be using energy—especially someone skinny like you who looks like she’d snap from a tap.”

I blinked as he glanced at my wrist.

I’d gained some weight since arriving at the tower, but apparently not enough. Though I didn’t think I looked that fragile anymore.

I returned to my room, changed into comfortable clothes, and threw on a light robe.

—“If you dress like you did in the North, you’ll roast before you even enter the forest.”

…Taking Kallios’s advice, I picked the thinnest outfit I could, then pulled out a disposable teleport stone from my desk drawer.

Spirit mages being harmed by magical beasts during the Hunting Festival was rare—but not impossible.

So the tower lord had given all participants a teleport stone the night before.

A one-use magic tool that could instantly extract you from the beast-filled forest.

I checked that it was secure on my person and headed down to the first floor.

“I mean, but still…”

“So that equation is…”

“You’re probably right. Still…”

The hall was packed with people dressed in all kinds of outfits, chatting noisily.

Each of them had a spirit by their side.

I had seen many spirit mages during my time here, but never so many at once.

“The Northern Tower has a pretty big group. Only the minimum necessary stay behind to guard the tower—the rest are required to attend. When all four towers come together, it’s quite the sight.”

I nodded at Kallios’s whispered comment from behind me.

Just seeing this group was impressive. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like once all the spirit mages from every tower gathered.

Soon, Rdin and the tower lord began leading the people out, and Kallios followed. We descended to a massive teleportation array in the tower’s basement.

It was said that the four towers were connected via this array so they could respond immediately if anything went wrong—but it hadn’t been used in years outside of the Research or Hunting Festivals.

It spoke to the strength of the towers.

Once all spirit mages were inside the array, the tower lord began activating it.

The countless glyphs etched into the floor began to glow gold, and, like when I’d gone to the capital, a queasy feeling rose in my stomach.

Blinding light filled my vision—then slowly dimmed, revealing a new, unfamiliar location.

Some distance from the array stood a man with dark brown hair.

He scanned the crowd, then flinched slightly when his gaze landed on me.

…What was that?

“Welcome to the Western Tower, spirit mages of the North. Since our tower lord is currently away, I, Johann, the chief administrator, will greet you in his stead.”

He glanced at Kallios nervously, but Kallios just grinned like nothing was wrong.

Outside the tower, several transport ships waited.

Kallios hadn’t been exaggerating—if you wore thick clothes, you’d overheat before even entering the forest.

Even on the flying ships, my body—accustomed to cold—screamed at the sudden heat.

Eventually, a massive forest surrounded by a large barrier came into view.

Once we entered the barrier—likely maintained by some special magic—the temperature dropped a bit.

In the wide plain just outside the forest, people were already roaming freely.

As the ship descended slowly, I took a deep breath.

The Hunting Festival had begun.