“Captain, no matter what, taking a student who just joined the Command Department is…”
“Even if you say so.”
The woman with fiery red hair, Raviata, continued speaking while waving the paper in her hand.
“This kid, he’s written this without even having been to Mezaiya. Could you write a paper of this level on a dungeon you’ve never visited?”
“Of course not, but…”
“I never thought of this either. A dragon heart, for heaven’s sake!”
“But it’s just a desk-bound theory, isn’t it? Believing this and taking him along is…”
“Of course. But isn’t that why we’re going to verify it? We have to go there anyway.”
“Hmm…”
James who was also a member of this adventurer party furrowed his brow and fell silent at Raviata’s words.
After all, as Raviata said, this paper wasn’t something to be dismissed as mere fantasy.
“‘In the Great Mezaiya Forest, there are unpredictable heavy rains. However, this is only because human perception is limited. It is said that phenomena we do not understand occur outside our awareness, which is why we judge them as anomalies. And The conclusion this kid came to is Dragon Heart…”
A dragon heart.
Words that could heat even the cold heart of an adventurer.
The heart of a great being who was said to stand at the pinnacle of all ancient races was rumored to be so pure that it could be considered a source of magical power.
If obtained, it might even lead one to immortality.
By human standards, one would gain power close to that of a god.
In Shane’s paper, he concluded that the reason for the heavy rains in the Great Mezaiya Forest was due to a dragon heart.
Specifically, he wrote that it was presumed that a dragon’s corpse was buried there.
“As it says here, it’s not just a fantasy. According to ancient literature, when the magical power in a dragon’s heart returns to nature near the place where a dragon dies, various anomalies occur. At the time, there was no technology to outline the magical patterns, so detailed records were lacking. But if, as this paper suggests, the corpse of a dragon….and an elder dragon no less was sealed there, then the theories of other scholars regarding these anomalies also fit exactly.”
That was it.
What Shane did was present hypothetical evidence to support the already widespread theories about the Great Mezaiya Forest.
“And if you look here, it even explains the reason.”
[If the great sealing of Akasha was performed just before the dragon’s death, then it would be possible to define the endless waves of magical power in the Great Mezaiya Forest.
Due to the great seal, the dungeon created is a “frozen world” meaning that the magical power was also trapped and could not return to nature by the world’s will. This would endlessly repeat the phenomena of that time.
However, this is not a simple repetition. Although the magical power was sealed by the world’s will, magic is originally an element that constituted the world. It can’t perfectly resist the world’s will, but it constantly changes its elements in an effort to restore the nature that was damaged by its own presence.]
This hypothesis presented in the paper caused a huge stir, with scholars belonging to various schools of thought pulling out and cross-checking the Great Mezaiya Forest’s papers they had published in the past.
Of course, since the secrets hidden in the dungeon had yet to be revealed, this was just the beginning.
And there were those whose excitement matched that of the scholars.
The adventurers.
They didn’t possess the scholars’ level of knowledge.
But at least they understood that the Great Mezaiya Forest contained the corpse of a dead dragon!
This drew immediate interest not only from adventurers but also from nobles.
“So, we should take him before others do. That shows we have foresight.”
“Hmm… Then at least we should test him. It’s one of the five great cradles, after all. If we take him there, he should at least be able to protect himself.”
“Yes, yes, I got it, I got it. When have I ever done things my own way?”
“That would be right now, wouldn’t it?”
At the moment the two were deep in conversation, the door opened and two other people entered.
“Hello, I’m Professor Zahard from the Command Department.”
“Hey, Zahard! Long time no see.”
Professor Zahard who was relatively young quietly bowed his head in response to Raviata’s greeting.
“Yes. It’s been a while.”
“Oh my, still so stiff as ever. But we’re from the same class, after all.”
“Aren’t you Princess Raviata? I have to be polite.”
Shane immediately reacted to those words.
The wandering state of Raviata.
Raviata’s adventurer party was on par with the now-defunct Hermes adventurer party.
They were a small elite group known as the “wandering state” for their tremendous fighting power.
In fact, they had such great fame that when the Seven Cradles were still standing, they made significant contributions to the subjugation operations of the First and Second Cradles.
Shane knew from his previous life that Raviata had a great interest in the dragon heart.
However, even Shane hadn’t expected the wandering state to step forward directly from the beginning.
“Anyway, that’s what I mean by stiff. So, is that expressionless guy the main cause of the commotion?”
“Yes, he is. Student Shane, say hello. This is Chloe Raviata, the leader of the Raviata adventurer party.”
“…Hello, I’m Clayton R. Shane.”
When Shane politely greeted her first, Raviata showed interest.
“Wow, you’re different from what I’ve heard in the rumors. And the name Clayton belongs to quite a famous family… You’re well-mannered too.”
Had she done some research before meeting him?
Shane responded without showing any displeasure.
“I heard you came regarding the collaboration on the exploration of the Great Mezaiya Forest.”
Raviata smiled broadly at his words.
Raviata wasn’t affiliated with any other country, so she had no official status.
Of course, who would dare look down on the leader of the wandering state of Raviata? She was pleased to see that Shane’s expression didn’t change even though he knew that a non-noble was investigating a noble.
This meant he understood the basics of this world.
“Hmm, getting straight to the point suits my personality. Good, I came here for the reason you mentioned. Naturally, it’s about this thesis you wrote.”
“Of course, you’ll be accompanying us to the Great Mezaiya Forest.”
“If the contract goes well, there will be opportunities to make a mark inside the cradle.”
Raviata’s demeanor showed she was well aware of her superior position.
In reality, no matter how influential Shane’s family was within the coalition, if he tried to pressure an adventurer party like Raviata’s, he would be ostracized by everyone.
In the coalition, adventurers were regarded as almost sacred beings.
Shane was well aware of that fact but had no intention of being taken quietly.
“May I see the terms?”
“I like your attitude, but unfortunately, our adventurer party doesn’t move solely on my decisions yet. James!”
At Raviata’s call, the young man who had been standing beside her stepped forward.
“Hello, I’m Ardia James, the accountant for the Raviata Adventurer Party.”
When Shane greeted him in the same way, James continued with his explanation.
“As you know, Mezaiya harbors dangerous monsters befitting its treacherous natural disasters. This means we need to test for a minimum level of fighting power.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, and from what we have gathered, Student Shane’s practical evaluations haven’t been particularly good until last year.”
This was true.
Before his regression, Shane was overwhelmed by Klein during this period of time which left him feeling intimidated, though he didn’t show it outwardly. Such a psychological state was bad for a mage.
As a result, he would easily panic in any duel and couldn’t control his emotions.
So it was impossible for his evaluation scores to be good.
“Of course, it’s somewhat average, but honestly, entering the Great Mezaiya Forest with this level of skill is practically a suicide mission.”
James’s expression didn’t convey any particular malice, but his eyes clearly signaled that Shane should know his place.
Knowing one’s place meant discerning when to step forward and when to hold back.
In truth, James still believed it was premature to collaborate with Shane.
He wanted to prevent an immature sprout from being intoxicated by honor and dying before it could even bloom.
Of course, maintaining such an attitude after being the ones to propose the collaboration in the first place was far from polite.
“Come on, don’t be so harsh—”
“If a test is necessary, I will take it.”
“Hmm?”
Just as Raviata who had been eager to collaborate with Shane tried to lighten the mood, Shane interrupted her.
“But first, let’s hear the terms of the contract.”
Then Shane looked at James with a calm gaze.
“…This was my mistake. I acknowledge it and apologize. Sorry.”
Faced with Shane’s calm eyes, James was the first to back down.
Despite being the accountant of the renowned Raviata Adventurer Party, he didn’t hesitate to bow his head to Shane.
This was because they were an adventurer party with a certain reputation.
Adventurers could lose their manners when it came to their interests and safety, but they always had to follow proper procedures for contracts.
At that moment, James had insisted on testing Shane without even showing him the contract details first.
This was clearly a violation of the basic order that adventurers should uphold.
Therefore, James offered a clean apology without any excuses for his actions, and Shane quietly accepted it.
Just that alone raised Shane’s standing a bit in the eyes of Raviata and James.
At the very least, he wasn’t a clueless novice.
“Hmm…”
As he looked over the contract he had been handed, Shane read it carefully then nodded and said,
“How will the test be conducted?”
“We’ve seen enough of your dungeon progress from the academy exams, so we’ll focus on pure combat ability. It will be a simple duel. Shane’s victory condition will be to land a hit on me.”
Additionally, James mentioned that he wouldn’t use magic.
Although he was in charge of Raviata’s finances, that didn’t mean he was entirely without combat skills.
On the contrary, he possessed greater strength than most veterans of first-rate adventurer parties.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to protect Raviata’s wealth.
“……”
However, when Shane remained silent, James spoke again.
“Are you dissatisfied with the conditions? But we have to do at least this much……”
Once more, Shane interrupted.
“I have something to add. Since it was Raviata who sought me out, I believe I have the right to say a word.”
It wasn’t Shane who was at a disadvantage here. It was them.
Even if James didn’t think so, Raviata had come all the way here for Shane.
“……Alright. What is it?”
“If I win the duel, I want to include changes and additions to the contract. In return, I will change my duel opponent. My duel opponent is—”
As he said this, Shane’s gaze shifted from James to the sofa in the back.
There sat Raviata who was smiling as if finding the situation amusing.
“Eh. Me?”
Of course, it didn’t take long for that smile to turn into astonishment.
***
“Student Shane, are you really okay with this? Even with the condition of not using magic…”
“That’s not the only condition, is it?”
“Hmm…”
Zahard let out a sigh at Shane’s words.
In fact, this duel was set up in a way that was so favorable to Shane that it was hardly deserving of the name “duel”.
The time limit was ten minutes in total.
If Shane couldn’t make physical contact with Raviata within those ten minutes, he would fail the test and the mission would be canceled.
Of course, given Raviata’s combat skills, she had the penalty of being unable to move from a certain area for the first five minutes of the duel.
However, even without using magic, someone of Raviata’s caliber would have no trouble crushing someone like Shane.
The time limit might be ten minutes, but once Raviata started moving after five minutes, Shane would have no means to deal with her.
“I’ve already thought of a way to handle it. And even if I fail the test, it doesn’t really matter.”
Of course, it would be a shame not to go with the famous Raviata Adventurer Party, but it wasn’t something worth risking his life over.
After all, it wasn’t just the Raviata party that needed Shane.
“Since you put it that way, I won’t interfere any further.”
With that, Zahard stepped back and Shane soon found himself facing Raviata in the training grounds within the academy.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s begin.”
Without even a simple preparatory movement, Raviata stood in the center of the training ground and looked at Shane, who wasted no time concentrating magical power in his hands.
And the moment Raviata noticed the concentration of magical power in Shane’s hands—
Bang—!
A magic projectile the size of a fist shot toward her.
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