Chapter 58: I Believe I Can Fly (2)

“I see you made a reckless mistake.”

As soon as I regained consciousness and tried to sit up, I was met with the sight of the wild Humboldt, cloaked in a fur mantle.

His outfit was roughly made of leather, tightly wrapped with fur boots and gloves, and numerous weapons fastened firmly across his back and waist.

That’s a quiver, that’s a dagger, and is that a hand axe?

The old man met my eyes and spoke in a calm voice.

“You exerted excessive force without any physical training. Your entire body is covered in burns and bruises. Your skull and left arm are fractured. Your left ankle and leg, right thigh, and rib cage are all shattered. It’s a miracle you’re still alive.”

What was strange was that the moment I came to, I felt no pain at all, but as he named each injured part, the pain flared up vividly.

Now, my whole body felt like it was on the verge of death from the pain.

But then, a shocking voice rang out, enough to make me forget all the pain.

“Three hundred thousand gold.”

“Huh?”

“That’s your medical bill.”

W-Wait, how much did you say? Three hundred thousand?

Startled, I sat up abruptly.

“Uwaaaaaaah?!”

“You’re crazy.”

I immediately collapsed backward, groaning in agony.

Damn it, it hurts so much!

The pain now was even worse than when Albatron extracted my soul.

Just how badly was I hurt?

“W-Why is the treatment so expensive? Even the best potions only cost a few thousand gold.”

“Elixirs.”

“Huh?”

“I told you it was a miracle you survived. You needed an even greater miracle to live. Three hundred thousand gold is the price of that miracle.”

“No, that can’t be…”

I looked around for someone else in the room.

Jason was there, watching me with a worried expression.

“Jason! Is this really true?”

“Hmm… it is. Raward, you really nearly died.”

No matter what, three hundred thousand gold seemed like a rip-off.

When Deon Craphy ruined our family, the despairing debt was only ten thousand gold.

Duke Helpion invested a huge sum of one hundred thousand gold in me.

The Helpion Duchy is such a wealthy territory with three million gold in reserves, and yet a single potion costs three hundred thousand gold?

Haha.

So my life is worth three hundred thousand gold.

“So… how do I pay?”

“Uh… can I pay on credit?”

Humboldt glared at me silently with a stern expression.

No need to say anything; that look was like a curse.

“I’m the Chief of Staff of House Helpion. If I contact them, maybe they’ll send the money…”

A bit pathetic, but I tried to leverage my position.

This man is an Intermediate Swordmaster, right?

If I say Duke Helpion’s name, all the inspectors who look up to him might take me seriously.

That’s what I thought, and spoke up, but Humboldt didn’t budge.

“There’s interest. Three thousand gold per month.”

He just added that one sentence.

“…I’ll bring the money as soon as I can.”

I decided to send a Magic Message to the Helpion Duchy to plead for funds.

Humboldt stared at me as if to say, “We’ll see about that.”

Why does he look so terrifying when he’s not even a thug?

“You’ll go now.”

Ah, right, this is old man Humboldt. I shouldn’t let him leave so easily!

“Sir!”

Just as he was stepping out of my room, he turned his head to look at me.

“I want to hear about Lady of the Tower, Talio!”

“I told you there’s nothing to tell from that time.”

“No one at the tower remembers anything from those days! Please, help me. Think of it as saving one life…”

“Saving? I’ve already saved you today. Now prepare the money.”

With that, Humboldt left without another word.

If only I wasn’t in so much pain, I would have begged him once more.

Jason looked at Humboldt’s retreating figure, then came over to me.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I’m about to die.”

“But the old man’s elixir works well.”

“You speak as if you’ve experienced it.”

“We’re from the Magic Tower, aren’t we? Sometimes we get seriously hurt during experiments. Every time, Humboldt treats us.”

“Do you pay three hundred thousand gold each time?”

“Ha ha, I told you, we don’t mind spending money on experiments.”

Three hundred thousand gold feels like something to be stingy about.

Ugh.

“Is there a fastest way to send a message to the Helpion Duchy?”

“Magic Message requires the recipient’s code. Do you know anyone?”

The duchy’s mages include Viscountess Jamie and Lady Elcia, but neither know the Magic Message codes.

Jason looked at me silently and shook his head sadly.

“For now, we can contact the Squaret Duchy. We’ll have to go through them to reach the Helpion Duchy.”

“Please, um… will we get a response within a month?”

“There might be a reply, but I can’t guarantee the money will come.”

True… but it has to come.

If it doesn’t, I’ll be in real trouble.

“By the way, Raward, do you remember what happened?”

I nodded.

The last sensation—I definitely felt my body being propelled at high speed.

It was a feeling far beyond simply running.

Yes.

Just like the book said, it was truly a sensation close to ‘flying.’

“Incredible.”

“Maybe you accelerated your mana too much. You need to find the right balance.”

“What? Are you planning to do it again?”

Of course.

It’s dangerous, but the power is so tempting.

If I could control this speed and power properly—

Then no one could keep up with me as I darted across the battlefield, overwhelming my opponents.

My own ultimate technique would be complete.

But Jason looked more worried about my health.

“You could really die if you keep this up.”

“I know it’s dangerous, so I’ll take it slow.”

“Be careful. Three hundred thousand gold can easily turn into three million. That kind of debt can ruin your life fast.”

For some reason, I could feel Jason’s genuine concern.

“Have you had experience with this?”

“No, but I know a senior who did.”

“What happened to them?”

“They had to live as a research slave, going from tower to tower. The moment they left a tower, their debt became their own, not the tower’s.”

Ugh, terrible.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I said that and laid down, relaxing my tense body.

The pain and fatigue washed over me.

I had clearly pushed myself too hard the moment I woke.

“I’ll… try to wake up and get moving soon…”

“Good. Rest well. Training can wait until you get up. I’ll send a letter to the Squaret Duchy.”

“Thanks if you do…”

I answered so and surrendered myself to deep sleep.

I didn’t fully get out of bed until two days later.

Though I was up, my body was still in bad shape.

Every joint screamed at the slightest movement, and my body couldn’t perform at full capacity. Even a little exertion brought overwhelming fatigue.

I should rest more, but I didn’t want to waste the thoughts swirling in my head.

I decided to move a little and see if it was too much, then rest again if needed.

When I finally forced myself to arrive at the training grounds, Jason sat there with a dazed expression and greeted me.

“Ah, Jason.”

“I heard you only just woke up, but you came out? You’ll die if you keep that up.”

Haha, die?

Why say such scary things?

“It’s early, and you’re already at the training grounds.”

“Ha ha, my master is holed up, so I’m taking it easy. Otherwise, I’d probably die too.”

That makes sense.

Jason’s dark circles seemed to have lessened in just a few days.

But if taking it easy means coming out to train…

Is Jason more suited to be a warrior than a mage?

“I thought moving my body might help me feel better.”

“Oh, don’t push yourself. You’ve been down for days. Using your muscles too much now will be a problem. If you really want to, just do some light stretching.”

“I know, but I get impatient.”

I told Jason the thought process that led me to the training grounds.

After hearing me out, Jason nodded and offered new advice.

“Mages call the brain ‘magic muscles.’ The brain also needs steady training to deepen its abilities.”

“Magic muscles? That sounds weird.”

Jason chuckled and continued.

“Remember when we made paper airplanes and flew them like crazy? We gather data and mana movements from those times. It might sound old-fashioned, but writing things down helps organize thoughts better than just thinking.”

True.

When I studied at Delphi Academy, professors and seniors said the same thing.

Using your hands and muscles to learn something leaves a stronger impression than just using your head.

“Not a bad idea.”

“Oh, and when you take notes, you have to use the designated paper.”

“Designated paper?”

“The paper we folded into airplanes. It’s crumpled and worn out, so others use it. You have to take responsibility for your own work. There are about 300 sheets, so you have enough.”

“…I wasn’t the only one folding them.”

“Ha ha, I’m just as responsible, so don’t complain.”

Jason said this, punching the air.

For some reason, his punch seemed to carry more emotion than usual.

After that conversation, I locked myself in the Delphi Academy Library and began recording my realizations one by one.

The process of organizing my insights, opinions, and data into a single paper was more fun than I expected.

It reminded me of my academy days and the books I devoured in the Akashic Record.

For reference, I read other people’s papers and theses too, which was very interesting.

From Jason’s few-years-old thesis [Some Thoughts on the Physical Utilization of Circle Holders] to Glaysia’s [A Study on Establishing Magical Education Terminology for Infants].

Just reading the papers, you could almost tell what kind of person they were and what their research was about.

Would mine be the same?

That thought made writing more enjoyable.

I even referenced magic theses for footnotes and citations.

I went so far as to create a fancy cover and stamped my name, Laward Gordem, as the author.

Heh, anyone glancing at it might really think it’s a proper thesis.

Though I wrote it, the content was surprisingly plausible.

Cross-referencing data, I found that scientific papers often discussed wind and flight.

I combined these ideas to organize how I could refine my technique.

Jason was right.

Organizing realizations and information helped me get a better feel for how to practice and use this technique.

Still, I worried about injuring myself again practicing alone.

Maybe I should ask Alice to help train me?

Her movements at the training grounds last time were very agile.

Perhaps she could cover for me if I struggle to control my speed.

Alright, I decided on that and resolved to stop writing for the day.

This draft amounted to about 40 pages.

Later, I’d ask Jason to compile it into a proper book.

I tidied up the drafts and returned to my room.

I shouldn’t have done that.

If I had known how much trouble this series of careless acts would cause, I never would have.

I would come to regret this recklessness deeply in the days to come.