NOVPUBI’ve seen Relics with my own eyes—and I carry a fragment of one myself.
Not all Relics are the same, of course, but I know why they’re called “Relics.”
And because of that, I can be certain.
This <Philosopher’s Stone> is absolutely not a Relic.
‘The Headmaster said I stole the Philosopher’s Stone.’
And she claimed it was a Relic.
But the Philosopher’s Stone I saw with my own eyes—this isn’t the kind of Relic I know. This is just a stone, one brimming with an absurd amount of mana.
In that moment, I had no choice but to assume the worst.
A chill shot down my spine.
The Forest of Silence, despite its name, echoed with the wailing of wandering spirits and lingering thoughts.
At times, even mutated beasts—magibeasts—roamed its depths.
But at some point...
All sound had vanished.
Now it truly matched its name: the Forest of Silence.
‘It’s gone quiet around me.’
I looked up at the sky.
Above the dense, ashen conifer canopy.
Under the clouds that cloaked the night sky and kept it hidden.
Something was floating there.
It was far off, but I saw it clearly.
And I saw it begin to swell with strength and light.
“......!”
I instantly summoned my mana.
At the same time, I reactivated the <Ater Nocturnus> magic beast and swiftly wrapped it around my body.
Shrrrrrk!
A shadowy cloak like black silk whipped around me, wrapping me like a mummy. Enveloped in the dark veil, my body sank into the ground like it was melting into a swamp.
And at that moment—
A star fell from the sky.
* * *
KWAHHHHHH—!!!
A blinding white explosion erupted at the heart of the Forest of Silence.
The brilliant white light, scorching through the dark, spread like a massive dome, swallowing part of the forest whole.
A violent storm swept out in every direction, scattering shards of branches and fragments of stone.
The white dome, expanding as if it would consume the entire forest, finally ceased its explosive growth and slowly began to fade.
Ssssss...
When the light vanished, nothing remained.
The trees of the Forest of Silence, the floating thoughts suspended in the air, even the magibeasts that had once saturated the forest’s energy—
They had all retreated, as if in fear and reverence of a single being.
“It’s over.”
As the clouds parted, moonlight spilled from the sky.
Her snow-white hair shimmered faintly beneath the moonlight.
Elisa Willow, the Headmaster.
She descended from the sky and landed at the center of the devastation she had created.
A terrifying sight, as if a star had plummeted from the heavens and crashed to earth.
In the place where everything had been annihilated, only one form remained intact.
“I’ve got the fake Philosopher’s Stone.”
The Headmaster murmured, glancing around. She lightly spread her mana into the area, but nothing responded.
The cockroach-like pests who’d infiltrated Seorn had all been dealt with in that single strike.
All thanks to the bait—the object bearing the name of the Philosopher’s Stone.
‘I was hoping for something bigger to bite, but... I guess that was too much to ask.’
The Headmaster gave her head a small shake.
She had no intention of staying here for long. That high-tier spell she’d just unleashed had calmed the surroundings for now, but this forest would soon reclaim the ruins as part of itself.
‘I’d like to erase this whole forest if I could.’
But even for a high-tier mage like her, erasing this place alone was out of the question.
And anyone entering with half-baked power would lose their mind to the forest’s mana.
Annoying, but there was no choice but to leave it be.
‘I’ll just tell the others I dealt with it appropriately.’
Elisa had intentionally called for assistance from another teacher to keep this entire incident off the record.
Ludger Cherish had been the prime example.
She had reached out to him not just because he appeared competent, but because she still hadn’t dispelled her lingering doubts about him.
A part of her had wondered—what if Ludger had been here?
‘What could’ve happened?’
Even mages of similar caliber wouldn’t easily block the spell she’d just cast.
Especially since it had come so close to a surprise attack.
Even a mage wouldn’t survive getting caught in that blast.
If Ludger had been here, he’d be dead too.
‘Let’s hope that’s not the case.’
It was a personal hope.
At the very least, she wished a man of that caliber wasn’t a traitor to Seorn.
With that thought, Elisa picked up the “bait” and once more took to the skies.
* * *
‘Honestly, that was close.’
From a distant point, Ludger watched the Headmaster leave and wiped the cold sweat trailing down his temple.
‘The Headmaster herself made a move. If I’d reacted a second slower, I’d be dead right now.’
The spell the Headmaster had used. An explosion of light like a meteor striking the earth.
The scene of a forest quadrant obliterated, as if a missile had detonated, was terrifying even from afar.
So this is what magic from a 6th-circle mage looks like.
It was hard to believe that he had just been standing in that very spot moments ago.
He had only survived thanks to the <Ater Nocturnus> he wielded.
‘Good thing I preset the coordinates.’
In this world, teleportation magic doesn’t officially exist.
Well, it does exist—but more accurately, no such spell is “publicly known.”
That’s why students had been so shocked when Ludger demonstrated coordinate designation magic in class.
Magic manifesting across space—it was a shocking concept to them.
So for a person to cross space using magic? That was, by common sense, impossible.
In fantasy novels from his past life, there had been things like “Blink” and “Teleport.”
But those don’t exist in this world.
And yet Ludger had used it.
The method was simple. It was thanks to the unique traits of the magical beast he employed.
The magical beast ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) itself was both a summon and a spell.
Unlike most magical beasts, which took the form of creatures, Ludger’s took the form of clothing—something he wore directly.
By relocating <Ater Nocturnus> through a coordinate designation spell, Ludger himself could move with it.
You needed to be able to use coordinate designation spells, and you needed <Ater Nocturnus>’s particular nature to make it work.
Which meant this was a form of spatial teleportation unique to Ludger alone.
‘Still dizzy.’
Ludger retrieved a pill from his inner pocket with slightly trembling hands and popped it into his mouth.
As pure mana flowed into his brain, the tremors in his body began to subside.
The downside of this magic was its severely limited number of uses.
Not only did it consume an extreme amount of mana, but the body, having been dragged through space by the spell, suffered intense nausea and pain.
Even a hardened knight would pass out from the side effects.
The only reason it was bearable at all was because of the medium—shadows.
If it had been any other elemental type, it would’ve been a disaster.
‘Still... the Headmaster getting personally involved? I didn’t expect her to move to this extent.’
Ludger suddenly recalled how she’d asked for his help.
‘Could she have planned this from the start?’
He paused at the thought, then shook his head.
If that were the case, there would’ve been no need for such a roundabout method.
Pretending to entrust it to other instructors while acting on her own—she must have wanted to settle this affair in secret.
What Ludger had overlooked was that he’d moved far faster than the Headmaster had expected.
Elisa Willow had intended to resolve everything herself, then inform Ludger and the others after the fact.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
She never would’ve expected someone to find the enemy first—especially in the Forest of Silence—before she did.
‘And even that Philosopher’s Stone turned out to be fake. So this is the caliber of Seorn’s Headmaster. I can’t afford to let my guard down.’
Even among Seorn faculty, the truth was something you kept hidden if it meant handling things efficiently.
Ludger shuddered slightly.
It was a fresh reminder that she was no ordinary person.
‘I need to be even more careful not to be exposed.’
If the Headmaster were to discover his true identity, or if the Black Dawn were to uncover it—
Either outcome would end disastrously.
Especially after seeing the strike she had unleashed just moments ago, Ludger was now certain.
She was someone he had to be wary of.
‘The only potential gain here was the Philosopher’s Stone, and even that turned out to be a fake.’
By most standards, it amounted to nothing but loss.
But Ludger felt no regret.
‘I left a trace behind.’
The Philosopher’s Stone that Demires had stolen wasn’t a real Relic—it was a fake, carefully crafted by the Headmaster.
Still, that didn’t mean the real Philosopher’s Stone didn’t exist.
When she’d summoned him privately to speak, Ludger hadn’t sensed anything odd in her words.
‘There’s no way Demires and the other Black Dawn members would go to such lengths over a mere fake. There had to be a real one—something they had to be drawn to.’
The Headmaster must’ve realized the real one was at risk of being discovered—so she used the fake as bait to eliminate them all.
Which meant the real one still existed somewhere.
‘I left my trace on the fake, so the Headmaster will surely follow up to verify the real one. I just need to recall the mark I carved into the bait.’
That was why Ludger had, just before the Headmaster’s attack struck—
Inscribed a mark onto the fake, so subtle even she wouldn’t notice.
The fake’s own overwhelming mana output masked it from her perception.
‘I’ll move when the timing is right.’
Just as he made up his mind to finally leave the Forest of Silence—
Rustle.
A sound of a branch snapping underfoot echoed behind him.
“P-Professor...?”
“......”
Ludger slowly turned his head.
There, standing with trembling eyes fixed on him, was Flora Lumos.
‘Did she see?’
Ludger wasn’t concerned with why she was here.
The only thing that mattered now was the fact that she had encountered him in the Forest of Silence.
He clenched and unclenched his fist out of her line of sight.
What should he do?
Should he erase the evidence here and now?
That seemed too extreme. With a brief pause, Ludger opened his mouth.
“Flora Lumos. What are you doing here?”
“W-What? Uh, I... well, that is...”
Flora Lumos couldn’t bring herself to explain why she’d wandered into the Forest of Silence.
Because—well...
<‘How am I supposed to say I just followed a really good smell I’d never sensed before?!’>
And to make matters worse, the source of that scent turned out to be Ludger Cherish.
If she said that out loud, wouldn’t she sound like some kind of weirdo?
“You’re not going to answer?”
“W-What about you? Why are you here, Professor?”
In the end, that was all Flora could muster in response.
Ludger let out a small sigh at her flustered reaction.
Judging by her attitude, it didn’t seem like she’d seen the shadows swirling around him.
Still, there should’ve been guards stationed nearby—did she come in through some other path by chance?
“Flora Lumos. This forest is dangerous for a student like you. Return at once.”
“......I’m not that weak, you know?”
The Forest of Silence was dangerous—especially for students.
But someone of Flora’s caliber could hold her own here.
Especially since she had the rare trait of ‘magical synesthesia.’ If the mana in the forest turned dangerous, she could sense it and avoid it instinctively.
Now that she was here, Flora wanted to ask.
If he was the one who had come all the way here, cloaked in magic.
And if so—what kind of magic was that? 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
Just as she was about to ask—
She noticed the pill container in Ludger’s hand.
“Professor... what’s that?”
“...Nothing important.”
Ludger replied curtly and slipped the container into his pocket.
Flora stared at him suspiciously.
She had followed a mysterious scent into the forest—then suddenly a massive flash of light had erupted in the distance.
And at the end of that trail, she found Ludger.
“I...”
“Flora! Where are you?! Sniff...!”
Just then, a teary voice echoed from farther away—Cheryl Wagner, who had followed Flora into the forest.
Both Ludger and Flora clamped their mouths shut at once.
“Floraaa! I’m scared! Where did you goooo?!”
“...Sigh.”
Ludger exhaled and began to walk.
“Come along. I’ll guide you both out of the forest safely.”
“......”
Flora said nothing. With the mood broken, she gave up on asking anything further and quietly followed behind Ludger.
Ludger rescued Cheryl—who was being tormented by vengeful spirits dancing like specters around her—and led the two girls out of the forest.
At that moment, the patrol guards who had been surveying the forest’s edge spotted the three of them and approached, asking what had happened.
“The students entered the forest and got lost. I’m bringing them back.”
Ludger responded as though it were nothing serious.
The tracking units stationed near the forest had already begun disbanding, following the Headmaster’s orders.
Cheryl, sniffling, kept apologizing between sobs.
But Flora did not.
‘Why was Professor Ludger in that forest?’
And what kind of magic had he used?
Flora couldn’t take her eyes off Ludger’s back as suspicion continued to grow in her mind.
