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Chapter 76

After successfully completing my application, I lingered around the checkpoint for quite a while to assess the level and scale of the volunteer mercenaries.

"Yuhan."

Suddenly, someone called me from behind.

Turning around, I saw it was the knight who had processed my application earlier.

"I'm glad I found you. I have something urgent to deliver."

The knight said, holding out a rolled-up document.

When I looked at him with a questioning expression, he added an explanation.

"It's a summons to the war command center."

"...The war command center? At this hour? Why?"

"Well, I haven't heard the details either."

The knight shrugged his shoulders as if he knew nothing.

The scroll only said to come as quickly as possible and contained no other information.

I was left to ponder the reason myself.

"But it seems to be quite an urgent matter."

"Why?"

"This has never happened before. The command center summoning someone like this. And you haven't even been registered for long."

"Hmm."

He was right.

It had only been about three hours since I filled out the application.

The fact that they sent these summons in such a short time meant there must be some problem at the war command center.

Or maybe they had something urgent to tell me.

'Should I go?'

I was troubled by the summons with no known cause or reason.

'But Mister and Kayla will be waiting...'

I promised to return soon, and they would surely worry if I disappeared without a word.

Especially Thompson, given his personality.

I was more worried about what he might do on his end.

"Anyway, go quickly. They said they have a carriage waiting for you over there."

I couldn't refuse either.

They even sent a carriage, how could I refuse?

Moreover, the commander of the war command center must be a very high-ranking person.

Finally, after much deliberation, I came up with a solution.

"You'll be here all day, right?"

"Huh? Ah, yes. Not just today, but I have to stay at the checkpoint until the recruitment is over."

"That's good. Then, just a moment."

Swiftly, I grabbed a blank piece of paper and a pen nearby and diligently wrote something down.

It was a message for Thompson, in case he came rushing here.

'Hmm, this should be enough.'

Handing the finished message to the knight, I said,

"If someone named Thompson comes looking for me, please give him this."

"Thompson? Ah, isn't that the name of the mage you applied on behalf of earlier?"

"Yes, that's right. He's an uncle with bronze skin and bigger than most knights. You'll know who he is as soon as you see him."

"Bigger than most knights? Is he really a mage...?"

The knight seemed to have doubts, but in any case, the message delivery was successful.

With this, I could go to the command center without much worry.

I immediately headed to where the knight had pointed, and indeed, a carriage was waiting.

There was even a coachman.

"Are you Mr. Yuhan?"

"Yes, I am."

"If you come this way, I will escort you."

Unlike other coachmen, he was quite elegantly dressed and guided me very courteously, bowing his waist.

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like they hadn't called me in for something bad.

Erasing the possibility that I had been worried about, I boarded the carriage.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The carriage slowly started to move forward.

Feeling the rattling, I fell into thought.

'Why did they call me?'

Earlier, I had just brushed it off, thinking there must be something urgent, but it was better to think about it now.

That way, I could be prepared for whatever happened.

'First of all, judging by the coachman's attitude, it's not a bad thing.'

I looked at the situation from a third party's perspective.

'A 4th Circle mage applied with less than two weeks left before the war... ...Could there be a problem with that?'

This wasn't enough to go on.

In other words, it was a matter that needed to be viewed from a broader perspective.

I went over the situation step by step, thinking about the reasons.

Fortunately, something came to mind.

'...Come to think of it, the level of the volunteer mercenaries was terrible, wasn't it?'

It was only a few hours of observation, but that was enough to tell.

That the level of applicants was very low.

Of course, it was possible that today was just a particularly bad day.

But what if it wasn't? What if it had been like this all along?

Surely the war command center would be quite anxious.

With a large-scale war looming, only those who were of little help were applying in droves.

They must have been racking their brains over the lack of manpower.

'...And that's when I applied.'

It must have been welcome news to them, like rain in a drought.

And it wasn't just me.

There was also Kayla and Thompson.

Three precious mages applying together at once, they must have been even more pleased.

Of course, this wasn't a reason to call me in separately.

There must be something more to it.

As I continued to ponder...

'...Aha?'

A thought crossed my mind.

"I see."

I thought I knew why they had called me to the command center.

***

About an hour after I boarded the carriage?

Clunk-.

"Mr. Yuhan, we have arrived."

The carriage suddenly stopped, and the coachman knocked on the door.

It seemed we had arrived already.

"We’ve arrived faster than expected?"

"That's because there's a dedicated road between Sector 4 and Sector 3. Here, this way."

"Ah, thank you."

"Then, I'll be off..."

The coachman escorted me to the front of the building, bowed politely, and returned to the carriage.

Seeing him hurry, it seemed he was going to pick up someone else.

Well, it's none of my business.

I turned my gaze to the building in front of me.

"So this is the war command center."

I had heard that this place was hastily built in preparation for the upcoming [Blood Moon Prophecy].

[TL/N: From this Point onwards I’ll Address (The Prophecy of the Blood Moon) as (Blood Moon Prophecy)]

However, the building was neat for something like that.

Perhaps they were using a pre-existing building?

Well, it's Sector 3, so it's only natural.

There are no shabby buildings here.

Aside from the building, even the streets were clean without a speck of litter.

Anyway.

Chuck, chuck!

Clearing my thoughts, I approached the entrance of the building, and guards with spears blocked my way.

One of them looked me up and down and asked,

"What's your business?"

"I received a summons to come here."

I replied, holding out the scroll I had received earlier.

The guard captain carefully checked to see if it was forged.

"Ah, yes. I'll confirm your identity. Please present your identification card."

Beep.

I swiped my ID card on the device provided at the entrance.

"If you have any weapons, please submit them. This includes artifacts."

"Here you go."

I took off all the bracelets, necklaces, gloves, and so on that I was wearing.

"Please wear this."

"What is this?"

"It's an artifact that suppresses magic. It's a precaution in case of any accidents."

Only after I put on the strange-looking wrist guard was I given the signal to enter.

Certainly, the level of security was different from the rear areas where everything was handled haphazardly.

Nevertheless, I managed to get inside and soon found a room with a sign that read 'Strategy Room.'

I was told that the person who summoned me was in this room.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in."

I knocked lightly and opened the door.

The first thing I saw was a man with a curled mustache.

His presence here meant he was a very high-ranking person, so I bowed my head respectfully.

"I am Yuhan."

"I am Barus Garian."

He introduced himself and gestured for me to sit down.

I sat down as instructed and waited for a moment, then Barus sat across from me.

He spoke first.

"So, you're a 4th Circle mage currently enrolled at Asion Academy?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Why did you volunteer to be a war mercenary?"

"To gain real-world experience. It's something I can't get just by attending the academy."

That was about half a lie.

Honestly, I wouldn't have applied if there hadn't been a reward.

However, perhaps it sounded reasonable enough, as Barus nodded his head.

"Huh... you're a rare one. Unlike those know-it-alls who just brag while shooting magic from the back."

"I'm grateful if you see me that way."

"I like you very much."

Barus tapped his chin and fell into thought.

Then, as if he had remembered something, he opened his mouth again.

What was he going to say?

"So, are you doing well with your studies at the academy?"

An unexpected question about grades.

"Ah... yes. I'm getting satisfactory results."

"That's good to hear."

And then...

"Are you short of money by any chance? It must be expensive to attend Asion Academy... Isn't it a bit of a burden?"

"...I have a full scholarship, so it's fine."

"This is an amazing talent!"

A sudden question about money.

Questions about family, residence, career path, and so on...

I couldn't understand what he was trying to say at all.

It felt like I was looking at an NPC trying to increase their affinity with a player.

At this rate, it seemed like we would be up all night, so I had no choice but to bring up the topic myself.

"So, the reason you called me...?"

Only then did Barus put on a serious expression.

"Is there anything you want? Tell me everything if you do."

Of course, the content was still absurd.

Suddenly asking for what I want?

"...Excuse me?"

"I'll grant you all of them."

Barus opened his eyes wide as if he wasn't joking at all.

It seemed like he had been saying strange things to find this out...

First, I needed to hear what they wanted.

"What do you want from me?"

When I asked that, Barus slid a document across the table.

I checked and saw it was the application I had filled out earlier.

His finger was pointing to the special notes section.

[Can provide support from some academic societies.]

"Is this written here true?"

'I knew it.'

As expected, there was no other reason for them to call me here but this.

The support of the academic societies.

From the war command center's point of view, there was no better option than this.

It would be a sure way to fill the shortage of manpower.

"Yes, it's true."

"Then I'd like you to help us. What do you think?"

The point here was to figure out how much they wanted.

"What kind of support are you looking for?"

I had already discussed this to some extent with the head of the academic society.

He said that they could provide support in the form of necessary supplies, food, and even some artifacts as a welfare measure.

If the war command center was asking for something like that, it would be reasonable to comply.

In return, I could get something better.

But...

"We need more mages. With our current forces, there's no way we can win this war... If you grant my request, I will definitely give you what you want."

Barus demanded human resources, not material goods.

He held my hand with a desperate look.

Honestly, I wanted to help, but this was a bit difficult for me too.

"I'm afraid it's difficult to get students to participate in the war. Most of them tend to avoid war, and it's actually very dangerous..."

As I was about to refuse...

Barus shook his head and interrupted me.

"I'm not talking about the students."

"Excuse me? Then..."

"We already have enough manpower. What we need now are high-ranking mages who can influence the war on a legion scale."

High-ranking mages.

That meant mages of the 7th Circle or higher.

In other words, he was asking me to get support from the elder mages of the academic society.

'Huh.'

It was absurd.

Asking me, a mere academy student, to do that?

Shouldn't he be going directly to the academic society?

'Who am I to bring such people?'

As I was making a dumbfounded face at the thought...

Barus continued.

"Asion Academy values the safety of its students above all else, right?"

At the same time.

Thump!

Thump, thump, thump!

Chuck. Chuck. Chuck!

My heart warned me of danger as dozens of guards suddenly stormed into the strategy room.

All of them pointing their sharp spearheads at me.

"...It seems my choice didn't matter from the beginning."

"I'm sorry. I had no other choice. It's an urgent situation."

Barus Garian.

I thought he was a foolish person, unbefitting of his position.

But now that I see him again, he's a cunning and bold person.

"Will you cooperate?"

Honestly.

The minds of the people in this world are unpredictable.

How could they even think of taking an academy student hostage?