Episode 8
After the entrance ceremony ended, I was walking out of the building. One student didn’t attend the ceremony at all, even though he was also a new student. I wondered what kind of attitude that was. Then he shook his head and looked at me.
It was Jeprin, Bishot’s escort knight.
He walked toward me looking very tired. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked thinner than before, making his face look sharp.
As soon as he saw me, Jeprin started speaking.
“You seem to be doing well. You look good. Ah… I heard you were the top student. Congratulations.”
“And you? Are you doing well?”
It was obvious he wasn’t, but I asked out of manners. Jeprin shook his head.
“No.”
He smiled, which didn’t suit him. His eyes bent gently. It was a smile of resignation.
“I haven’t been doing well. After losing like that, how could I? I’ve thought about it a lot since then. Why did I lose? What was I lacking? I don’t know. I think I’ll never know.”
“You had better technique, speed, and strength than me, so why did you lose?”
“Yes. You’re exactly right. Why did I lose? Why?”
“Oh, that? No need to think about it.”
I smiled back and said,
“You’ll never know.”
How could he guess that this was a novel world and I used my knowledge of the story to counter him?
No matter how much Jeprin thinks about it, he’ll never figure out the answer.
Jeprin smiled again. This wasn’t like him. Why was he acting like this?
“Do you know why I came to this academy? It was because of you. I didn’t know what you might do to Lady Bishot, so I came to protect her.”
“Oh, really?”
“But in the past two weeks, you haven’t even gone near her. You’ve only been training with your sword. You haven’t tried to meet her or follow her.”
Jeprin stepped back, tilted his head upward, and looked at the blue sky.
“I always thought I was the best with a sword. I knew there were stronger people out there, but I believed that with time, I would surpass them all.”
What’s he trying to say? I stayed silent and just listened.
“But I was wrong. I lost to you. We’re the same age, and you’ve trained for a shorter time than me.”
“So?”
Jeprin looked back at me.
“I was arrogant. I thought my small talent was everything. I’ve thought for a long time about what to do next, and now I’ve decided.”
“Decided what?”
“I’m leaving the academy.”
“What?”
“I’ll come back after I become stronger. Stronger than anyone. That time, things will be different. You can count on it.”
He’s just leaving like that?
I felt confused.
Jeprin’s big power-up events were all supposed to happen inside the academy. I planned to steal those events bit by bit so he’d stay weak. But now he’s leaving on his own?
Sure, him disappearing is nice. But what if he goes around and causes some unexpected trouble?
Wouldn’t it be better to keep him here?
I quickly thought it over.
And then I smiled and waved at him.
“Okay! Good luck! See you next time!”
Though it would be even better if I never saw him again.
It felt weird that he was leaving, but overall, this was good news.
Jeprin was one of the many “male lead” characters. And now, he walked away from Bishot’s ‘fish tank’ on his own. That meant I was safer.
So, this was good.
“Yes, I’ll come back stronger.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
In truth, I hoped he never came back. But I saw him off with a smile.
One less person who might kill me.
It wasn’t my plan, but I think this worked out well.
Maybe.
Humans have many desires, but is there anything stronger than the desire to sleep?
Maybe there is, but I couldn’t imagine it. Sleep is that important in life.
But what if you can’t sleep?
You’d go crazy.
That was the case for Ian Roadbreaker.
He already had trouble feeling emotions, so dealing with people was hard. And with his insomnia, he was always mentally exhausted, ready to explode with the slightest touch.
Ian was now my next-door neighbor in the dorm for top students.
I called him to my room. He looked like a high schooler sent to buy cigarettes for the first time.
In other words, rude and annoyed.
He wanted me to get to the point, so I did.
“Do you know someone named Navier? She’s a new student too.”
Navier was very famous in social circles. Mentioning her name would work in any situation.
And knowing Ian’s personality, I was sure he wouldn’t know she talked about him.
Just as I expected, Ian said:
“Who’s that?”
“She’s another new student. She knows a lot of stuff.”
I waited for him to show interest.
But instead, Ian cracked his neck and smirked.
“Just say what you want to say.”
“Hmm… This might sound weird, but I heard a few things about you from her.”
Even though I mentioned gossip, Ian just nodded, telling me to go on.
“I know you’re the Master of the Blue Magic Tower.”
“Oh? Interesting.”
“I also heard that the Blue Tower’s master can’t sleep. But I think I can help fix that.”
Ian tilted his head. His face didn’t change much, but I could tell he was taking me seriously.
“That’s funny. What makes you think someone like you can cure my illness?”
“I’m confident. We can even make a bet.”
“A bet? That you can fix my sleep problem?”
“Yeah. If I win, just grant me one favor.”
Ian didn’t even ask what the favor was. He just nodded and said with a mocking tone:
“If it’s a bet, then there should be a punishment if you lose.”
“It’s not much of a punishment, but I’ll tell you why Lord Katain died.”
The mood suddenly changed.
Ian’s magic power filled the room and wrapped tightly around my body.
He charged up magic bullets in the air, ready to fire at any moment.
“What did you say?”
“I said I’ll tell you why Lord Katain died. Doesn’t it seem weird to you? If he died from a disease, they would’ve at least said what it was.”
Ian’s spinning magic bullets roared.
“Tell me. Why did Katain die? If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”
It was rare for someone like Ian, who barely felt emotion, to react this strongly.
Still, I wasn’t scared. He couldn’t kill me. If I died, no one would be left to explain.
“Can we put the weapons away first? If I die, you won’t get your answer. You know that.”
I reminded him of that, and he withdrew his magic.
I knew a lot about Ian.
Including why someone with more skill than most professors still chose to enter the academy.
Ian couldn’t feel emotions. When he was born and looked up at the ceiling, that was the first and last time he cried.
He didn’t cry.
Even as a baby, when he was hungry or uncomfortable, he never cried. He didn’t laugh either.
No matter what toys or delicious food his parents gave him, Ian never smiled.
So he was abandoned at age 7.
By chance, he could touch and throw floating blue energy. That saved him.
Then he was taken in by the former Blue Tower Master and entered the Magic Tower.
He learned a lot from the Tower Master. He couldn’t learn emotions, but he memorized how to act in different situations.
Ian was grateful to his mentor, even if he couldn’t fully feel it.
But one day, the Tower Master died suddenly, leaving this will:
“Go out into the wider world and experience more. A new world will open to you.”
Ian thought “wider world” meant the academy. So he came here. That was his backstory.
“Let’s set the deadline for one month. If I cure your insomnia, I win. If not, you win.”
“One month is too long. Make it two weeks.”
“Okay, two weeks it is.”
Ian firmly cut the time in half, but I agreed easily. That annoyed him a little.
After he left, I tried to remember the sleep potion recipe. Of course, it was something made by Bishot.
Bishot was a genius in alchemy. Every school year, she discovered or invented something new that changed the field.
The potion I wanted to make now? In the original story, Bishot didn’t even try it until her second year.
It was the sleep medicine to cure Ian’s insomnia.
To Ian, Bishot was the only person who understood him.
While Ian was suffering from severe insomnia and needed her, Bishot found confidence in herself and realized that her alchemy could save someone.
She wished Ian could sleep peacefully, even when she wasn’t around, and created the potion.
In the original story, Ian drank it and fell asleep easily but lied and said it didn’t work—just to get closer to Bishot.
Still, the potion was extremely effective.
“Two weeks…”
I not only had to make the potion in that time, but also get Ian to use it, feel the result, and admit that it worked.
It was a tight deadline—but I had an advantage.
Bishot went through lots of trial and error to make it.
But I had the answer sheet in my hands.
