Arc 2 Chapter 4 : Caught in the act?

[Raul PoV]

A few days later, the break came to an end, and every academy student had returned to their respective dorms. After the exam results came in, my ranking climbed to fourth in the second-year class, and twenty-fifth among the entire academy's student body.

There were also a number of talented students in the third-year class. They were currently still completing their field training assignments across various regions of the Empire and wouldn't return until just a few days before the year-end tournament began.

"Does anyone know what Unreality Field is?" Instructor Torun asked, currently teaching the advanced class.

Valeria raised her hand and answered. "Unreality Field is a manifestation of a defensive mechanism that emerges from the evolution of a person's mana."

Valeria's answer wasn't wrong, but it was incomplete—the reason someone could use Unreality Field wasn't quite that simple.

A person needed to be struck repeatedly by others' spells for their own mana to evolve. But foreign mana entering your body was inherently dangerous if you didn't know how to balance it.

Foreign mana entering your body would throw your own mana into disarray. That's why someone would struggle to activate their own spells right after being hit by an attack carrying a high concentration mana from others.

"You're right, Valeria, but do you know how that actually happens?" Instructor Torun asked further. This time, Valeria couldn't answer.

"Let me show you directly instead," the instructor said, stepping into the center of the dueling arena. "Valeria, come here and try firing a enhanced spell at me."

Valeria stood and walked to the center of the arena. She stood roughly thirty meters from the instructor. She extended her hand, and a magic circle appeared in front of her palm.

A green beam of light shot out, streaking toward the instructor. An explosion erupted as the spell struck his body. But once the smoke cleared, the instructor stood there completely unharmed, without a single wound.

"Huh? How is the instructor fine after taking a direct hit from Valeria's powerful spell!?"

"So then, how are we supposed to defeat someone using Unreality Field!?"

The students watching looked utterly amazed, clearly thinking that mastering this technique would make them unbeatable.

"This technique can only be used while your body stays completely still. Only those who've truly mastered it can use it while actively fighting," the instructor explained.

But that wasn't entirely accurate. The real weakness of this technique was that while using it, a person couldn't simultaneously use Multi-casting to deploy several spells at once—which was why the technique tended to suit fighters and knights more than mages.

"This isn't an absolute defense mechanism," the instructor continued. "Concentrated magic attacks and attacks from a profound codex can penetrate the Unreality Field with ease."

Again, not entirely accurate. Unreality Field became far harder to maintain if the user was actively fighting or moving, since their focus would be divided, weakening the field's defense considerably. Under those conditions, even a basic spell could break through it.

"Alright, by graduation, all of you should be able to master this technique, especially the Knight-track students," Instructor Torun said. "So practice mastering it—but don't overdo it, since foreign mana lingering in your body isn't something to take lightly."

Unreality Field was one of two techniques I wanted to master in the near future. Both were incredibly useful without requiring vast reserves of mana—all they demanded was fine mana control.

The second was Redirect, a technique capable of turning someone else's spell back against them. But this one was even harder to execute than Reject Impact, which I already used regularly.

The risk of failure in actual combat was also higher. That was because balancing foreign mana raging inside your body, aligning it with your own, was extraordinarily difficult. It was like trying to still churning water in a basin using nothing but your bare hands.

Timing, momentum, and my own composure all had to line up perfectly the instant someone else's spell made contact with my body.

Unreality Field and Redirect—both techniques that demanded very little mana but delivered incredibly useful effects. So why were techniques like these so dangerous to master and execute?

I always envied those overpowered protagonists who could throw around game-breaking spells however they pleased, without a shred of risk in combat. They always got to use these spells so effortlessly, without needing to meet any conditions whatsoever.

Let's take a look of my trump card spells for now.

Reject Impact—using this spell automatically paralyzes my arm for several days afterward.

Prince of Darkness—this Profound Codex is completely useless unless I'm standing in darkness. Unless I can develop to the next stage of this magic

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Shadow Link is the exact opposite—only useful when my surroundings have enough light to actually cast shadows.

Shadow Lock—I haven't actually used this spell yet, but the same limitation applies: my enemy needs a sufficiently large shadow for this spell to work effectively.

I had no choice but to unlock the remaining skills across each of my Profound Codex themes. But the real problem was that Raul's character simply didn't have any powerful AoE attacks, even if I unlocked every single Profound Codex this body possessed.

He'd only gain a powerful AoE once a demon granted him strength after he sold his soul. But that path wasn't one I could take—it would mean letting my body fall under their control entirely.

Which was exactly why I planned to gamble when one of The Masquerade's members eventually tried to recruit me. Joining them would grant me a random unique skill, at the cost of the Temple of Goddess Diana's authorities hunting me down the moment I appeared in public wearing that mask.

It seemed I was starting to regret making Raul's character this weak.

After class ended, I headed back to the dorm. It was only noon, and I had no more classes scheduled for the day. I figured I'd pay Olen Musk a visit to check on the progress of the artifacts I wanted made.

After that, I'd also stop by the entertainment establishment to check on Aliya's progress becoming an assassin, before assigning her any important missions.

[Alisha PoV]

After a long twelve-day journey, we'd finally arrived at the capital of the Aragon Empire. From here, we headed straight for the Garcia family's mansion.

I found myself genuinely amazed by the bustling crowds and magnificent buildings at the heart of the strongest nation on this continent.

Its citizens looked energetic and eager to work, a stark contrast to the current state of my own country, where every day was overshadowed by fear of monster attacks that showed no sign of letting up.

Before long, we arrived at the Garcia family mansion. Peeking through the window, I saw my attendant already speaking with the mansion's guards.

Before long, the guards opened the gate. The carriage rolled forward again before coming to a stop in front of a magnificent house.

Stepping down from the carriage, I saw an elderly butler along with several maids waiting to greet me.

"Princess Alisha, welcome to the imperial capital, Terragon City," the butler said, bowing respectfully, followed by the maids behind him. "My name is Alfred, head butler of the Garcia household. We're here to attend to all your needs during your stay at the mansion."

"Thank you for the warm welcome, Alfred," I replied with a smile.

"My apologies that Duke Alvaro couldn't be here to greet you personally," Alfred said, looking genuinely regretful. "He's currently in an important meeting with the Emperor at the imperial palace."

"Ah, that's quite alright. I have no wish to interrupt Duke Alvaro's busy schedule with my arrival," I said, offering him some understanding. "That said, I would like to meet Master Raul as soon as possible—the man who's set to become my future husband."

Hearing my request, Alfred fell silent for a moment, as if thinking something over.

"Would it be possible to meet him tonight, once we've had a chance to rest?" I asked him again.

"The young master is currently at the academy, but come nightfall, I believe he'll be at that place," Alfred said, somewhat vaguely.

"That place?" I murmured, not quite understanding what he meant.

[Aliya PoV]

A few days after swearing my loyalty to the young master, I was immediately put through training to prepare for actual missions. Right now, he was watching me practice a series of movements using a dagger.

Still, it was proving difficult for me to execute properly. That was because the young master had ordered me to train wearing my entertainer's outfit and high heels—clothing entirely unsuited for combat.

"Young Master, could I change into something else?" I asked him. "I don't think I'll be able to master the technique you're teaching me dressed like this."

"I'm doing this on purpose," the young master answered, currently seated on the sofa, watching me. "You need to be able to do this dressed exactly like this, because out in the field, you'll be wearing that kind of outfit far more often, when getting close to a target."

What the young master said was true. It meant I needed to push myself even harder for this training to actually pay off.

I repeated the movements he'd demonstrated earlier—thrusting and slashing. Every motion needed to be precise, without a single mistake, so my strike would land squarely on a target's vital organs without ever missing.

With a body as weak as mine, failing to take down a target in a single strike could prove fatal.

"You're still doing it wrong," the young master said, standing and walking toward me.

He came up behind me, his hands settling on my arm and my thigh.

"Don't spread your legs too wide, and lower the hand holding the dagger just slightly."

I followed the young master's instructions. But the touch of his hands left my body burning. My breathing grew uneven, and for some reason, I found myself instinctively swaying my body against his.

Ahhh... he pulled his hands away from my thigh and arm, then stepped around in front of me.

"You're not focused, Princess Aliya," he said, sounding disappointed. "Don't you want to avenge your family?"

"O-of course I do. Forgive me, Young Master," I answered, lowering my head in shame.

"Extend both your arms," he ordered.

I obeyed, stretching both arms outward.

The young master then picked up a whip and struck both my arms with it, hard.

"Ahhh...!"

It hurt so much... my arms were left raw and bleeding from the blow.

"You need to take this more seriously, understand?" the young master asked, his voice flat.

"I understand, Young Master."

After finishing our training, we began discussing what was currently happening in the Kuwalid Nation. The young master explained how a growing number of immigrants from that country were attempting to cross into ours.

"Is the situation there really that bad?" I asked the young master.

"Exactly. I expect that nation will be thrown into turmoil again within a year or two," the young master answered casually. "When that time comes, you and Umaya can begin operations there."

"Is that so?" I murmured.

If I remembered correctly, the ones leading the rebellion against our family were the Wadiya Clan. According to the young master, they'd since become the wealthiest clan in the aftermath of the war, and the current Sultan, he said, simply did whatever they wished.

"I think it's gotten quite late. Let's continue this at our next session, Princess Aliya," the young master said, rising from his seat.

"Understood, Young Master."

We then walked out of the building together.

The place where we trained wasn't far from the entertainment establishment the young master had built. We'd rented this space specifically for the guards and intelligence agents operating under KJ's command.

After we left the building, the young master walked me back toward the entertainment venue, making sure no man with ill intent approached me along the way.

"Ah, so this is the man who's going to become my future husband?"

The young master suddenly turned at the sound of a woman's voice.

I followed his gaze and saw a strikingly beautiful gray-haired woman standing before us.

Her blue eyes, paired with that cold, distant gaze, made her look like something straight out of a legend, the kind of Snow White figure the bards often sang about.

"What exactly are you doing out here with a prostitute, Raul de Garcia?"