Chapter 72

Chapter 72
## Chapter 72

“When you teach Siern, you will have many questions.”

Before heading north, Dereck visited Lord Melverot to give his final confirmation.

Melverot, who was working while sitting with his legs crossed arrogantly, was pleased with Dereck’s intent, but as Siern’s father, he had something to say.

“Many mages tried to teach Siern and gave up. Each had their reasons, and many ended up badly.”

“…”

“I only want Siern to adapt well to noble society. To learn magic correctly according to the star-level system and to become a lady worthy of the Rochester family. I am not interested in anything else. Keep to yourself any questions that arise during that process. That is all.”

Although it sounded simple, Melverot’s expression contained a hidden nuance.

It seemed he was hiding something, but Dereck was not in a position to interrogate him.

Furthermore, he wasn’t particularly interested in the details. He only needed to win over Siern and teach her what was necessary.

Even so, he couldn’t shake off a strange sense of intuition.

***

An icy wind was blowing.

The carriage, completely destroyed by the monster’s corpse, was no longer of any use.

Passing by the terrified servants, Dereck took a step forward and spoke.

“Lady Siern. I am Dereck of Ebelstein.”

He had decided to try his first strategy: communicating through dialogue.

He knew that many instructors had tried it without success, so he didn’t have high expectations. The fact that she didn’t care about the beast carcasses or the stench of blood made it clear she wasn’t a reasonable person. Still, he decided to try.

Then came an unexpected response from the girl holding the bodies.

“I heard about you from Serena.”

Her disheveled hair fell over her forehead. Her white eyes, visible between the strands, stared fixedly at Dereck.

Her voice was clear and pure, with an intellectual air. Her tone was serene and balanced, and for an instant, she gave the impression of being a kind and elegant person, were it not for her bloodied appearance.

“I heard you are here to teach me magic.”

“Yes. Although I am of humble origin, I make a living teaching magic.”

“Interesting.”

Surprisingly, the conversation seemed to be working.

Just when Dereck thought his first method might work, Siern’s bluish hair began to float and magic surged through her body.

A blue energy began to radiate from her white eyes, and she smiled ecstatically.

“Then… you must be stronger than me?”

“What?”

As soon as Dereck replied, Siern disappeared.

Her movements, which blended with the icy wind, were difficult to follow with the naked eye.

When Aiselin and the servants blinked, Siern was already in front of Dereck, her skirt lifted by a gust of wind as she floated.

Her bare feet sank into the snow, and in that instant, a huge wall of earth rose up to crush Dereck.

There were no incantations or preparation. The speed of her movements did not correspond to the body of a simple girl.

Transformation magic? Level 3? No… almost a complete level 2.

Dereck couldn’t help but be surprised.

There are exceptional talents who reach level 3 before their coming-of-age ceremony.

With the support of a prestigious noble family, one or two such talents might emerge per generation across the entire continent.

But for a girl in this barren land, with so many failed instructors, reaching this level… was almost impossible.

*Crash! Crash!*

Dereck retreated quickly to dodge the earth wall and lowered his guard. His gaze turned serious.

*Zas!*

The earth walls kept trying to crush him, but the magic arrows he conjured instantly shattered them before they could even form.

Not only were the servants surprised, but even Siern opened her eyes wide in shock.

Dereck’s reaction speed far exceeded the norm.

“From the beginning… this isn’t careless magic. Nor does it seem like wild magic. What kind of person is this man?”

There is an immutable truth about magical talent: effort, instructors, and a good environment influence its development.

But if one had to choose a single deciding factor, it would be blood. First, blood. Second, blood. Even a third… it’s still blood.

And this girl was the daughter of a six-star mage. Her high level was no surprise.

However, her magical style was very different from Melverot’s. It was hard to believe she was the daughter of a man who had strictly followed the aristocratic magical path.

She was so free and spontaneous that one would even doubt she was his biological daughter.

“You dodged it?”

Siern, recovering her cold expression, snapped her fingers and looked at Dereck. Her attack had been loaded with murderous intent. She was not a girl who knew how to hold back.

If classified by stars, Siern’s magic would be close to level 3.

Level 2 Transformation Magic: ‘Earth Wall’.

Level 3 Transformation Magic: ‘Acceleration’.

However, her magic did not seem to be limited by that system.

“Lady Siern.”

Dereck’s tone became even more somber. He straightened up, adjusted his loose-fitting leather gloves, and looked at her sternly.

“You must not attack people without reason.”

First, one must establish the correct rule. That was Dereck’s style.

Diella, Ellen, and Denise always said the same thing. Dereck always told the truth.

Correct principles are irrefutable. But Siern let out a mocking laugh as she looked at him.

“You seem like someone from the southwest. They say the open plains and mild climate there are like paradise.”

Another gust of cold wind ruffled her hair. Despite the cold that would make most men shiver, she walked barefoot and without gloves through the snowy field.

Her appearance was unusual.

“Do you think that just because I don’t attack without reason, others will leave me alone?”

“That is what it means to live in a civilization.”

“Those words do not apply here in the north. Here you kill before being killed, you eat before being eaten. That applies to beasts and humans alike.”

The girl’s values were extreme.

Growing up in the cold of the north could explain that mentality, but Siern was a noble lady. Undoubtedly, she had lived more protected than most.

However, with a gaze as cold as ice, she spoke calmly.

“If you want to teach me… prove your worth.”

“And how much is that worth?”

“Not dying at my hands.”

The girl stood among corpses. She felt no guilt for taking a life.

Rabbits, wolves, deer, bears… whether they were beasts of the snowy fields or humans, if necessary.

The girl’s eyes, surrounded by bodies, were equally serene. For her, skinning a rabbit or a person was the same.

Some would call it purity. Others, madness. Dereck was clearly among the latter.

*Bang!*

Siern disappeared again, stepping hard. Her movements, gliding among the bare trees, could no longer be followed by the naked eye.

Just as Dereck began to concentrate on the sound…

*Zas!*

A spell was cast: “Sound Block,” level one. Siern had blocked his hearing.

“Her combat instinct is impressive.”

Dereck remained calm, while Siern’s pressure intensified.

Level one combat spells flew toward him: shockwaves, ice spears, fire arrows.

And despite all that, she did not cancel the level 3 ‘Acceleration’ spell she had on herself.

*Boom! Bang!*

Dereck felt a strange affinity as he watched her.

Her mere presence in that frozen tundra reminded him of parts of his own past.

But there were two key differences. She had been born with noble blood, a gift from heaven.

And her combat style was excessively crude.

For Dereck, who had endured countless battles, her movements were still immature.

*Crack!*

*Crunch! Crack! Crunch!*

Siern’s eyes flew open.

By the time she regained consciousness, all her combat spells had been shattered by magic arrows.

Intercepting magic before its activation was Dereck’s specialty. No matter how sharp someone’s combat senses were, it was not easy to deal with Dereck’s flexible use of magic.

This time, Dereck propelled himself from the ground and charged. The distance closed in an instant, but Siern jumped back, her messy hair fluttering in the wind.

“Trying to reach me at full speed? What a foolish idea!”

Just as she tried to mock Dereck for his “foolish idea,” a pang of pain ran down her spine.

It was a realm that transcended the five senses: the sixth sense. An instinct ingrained in Lady Siern, who had grown up wandering the north and hunting monsters.

*Thud!*

*Crash!*

Without advancing much distance, Siern rolled across the snowy ground.

Dereck’s foot was stepping on Siern’s shadow. It was the two-star combat magic “Shadow Binding.”

It was a spell that used mana to trap the opponent’s shadow and immobilize them. Although slow and impractical, Dereck compensated for those deficiencies with his innate magical sense.

“H-how did you do that…?”

She tried to ask him how he had localized her, but it was a useless question.

Dereck approached Siern, who lay on the ground because of the binding spell.

He had learned tracking magic directly from the legendary tracker mage, Drest Wolftail.

Dereck had already developed an ability to read an opponent’s movements through the flow of mana.

Level 3 transformation magic, “Acceleration,” was useful, but it had a fatal flaw: it left traces of mana with every movement.

That meant that, when facing a high-level tracker mage, every one of her movements would be exposed. They were experts at tracking and reading magical effects.

In combat, the natural enemy of a transformation mage was a tracker mage.

Of course, Siern, who had fought guided purely by instinct, was unaware of this theory.

And from the perspective of someone who lacked that knowledge, it seemed as if Dereck could predict all her movements.

“Miss Siern. If you continue to cause chaos, I—”

“Haap!”

Before Dereck could finish his sentence, Siern picked up a stone buried in the snow and threw it.

Caught mid-sentence and unaware, the rock shot out and struck Dereck’s temple before he could dodge.

*Thud!*

It wasn’t a mortal wound, but he lost concentration for an instant, nullifying the spell. Siern seized the opportunity to cast Acceleration again and shot away.

*Zas!*

Her movements were astonishing.

“…”

Dereck stood still.

A thread of blood ran down his temple. A drop fell with a splash onto the pristine snow, staining it red.

Dereck, who had been watching the scene in silence, finally brought his fingers to his forehead.

“Lord Dereck! A-are you alright?”

Aiselin, worried, ran toward him, but she caught her breath the instant their gazes met.

Because Dereck’s expression was unusual.

“…”

Dereck was, by nature, a person who did not let himself be swayed by emotions.

Even when Diella insulted him or when Ellen looked down on him, Dereck never showed any sign of agitation.

Even if someone he had just met tried to kill him, threw a stone at him, and made him bleed… his steel composure would remain intact.

However, Aiselin couldn’t help but swallow nervously seeing Dereck press his forehead and wipe away the blood.

Should it be called a ghostly aura, or perhaps murderous intent?

In Dereck’s cold gaze, one could clearly perceive an indescribable sense of intimidation.

The fact that he didn’t act recklessly in a fit of rage didn’t mean he lacked emotions. If he was in a bad mood, he was in a bad mood. He simply considered it something trivial.

That was why Dereck spoke in a low and calm voice, without raising it.

“Do you remember I told you I had thought of three methods, right?”

“Y-yes… yes, you did…”

He continued with a voice as sharp as a blade.

“It seems we will have to use the third method.”

“Lord Dereck…”

“If you have any objection, please state it, Lady Aiselin.”

Even in that situation, by asking for his companion Aiselin’s opinion, he demonstrated exemplary serenity.

Aiselin couldn’t object. She simply took a step back… and with a trembling voice, barely managed to speak.

“Please… have mercy…”

“Understood.”

In that instant, Dereck’s figure disappeared.

***

*Whistle!*

Siern held her breath.

She found herself face to face with Dereck, who had suddenly closed the distance and was staring fixedly at her.

The murderous intent in those red eyes was familiar to me. It was like that of the giant wolf I saw during a blizzard, when I wandered alone through the snowy mountains as a child.

In the wild world, everyone ends up in one of two positions: predator or prey.

That position is relative. A predator will not always remain so, and the prey will not always remain so.

In this vast world without rules, everything depends on whom you meet. If you run into a rabbit, you are the predator. If you meet a wolf, you are the prey. It’s that simple.

So… am I now the predator or the prey?

The moment I asked myself that question, Dereck’s hand reached out to grab me by the neck.

*Crack!*

*Crunch!*

However, with a sharp instinct, Siern grabbed Dereck’s hand and bit his calloused palm, hardened by training.

When he loosened his grip for an instant, she jumped back again, but it was a useless move.

No matter how much acceleration magic she used, Dereck seemed to know exactly where her movements were headed. In this case, the difference in speed was almost irrelevant.

*Snap!*

That was why Siern decided to move in a straight line to maximize the distance.

Trying to confuse him with zigzag movements wouldn’t work, so she decided to increase the distance with pure speed.

However, that too was part of Dereck’s plan. When the distance increased considerably, Dereck raised his hand and gathered mana.

*Zas!*

Dereck raised his hand and closed his fist tightly.

“The energy of the earth that embraces everything without hesitation…”

Siern’s intuition screamed at her that something was wrong.

Aiselin felt it too.

It was the first time she had seen Dereck recite a spell.

Dereck rarely did so.

The boy, who had reached the limit of his magical sense, had become so advanced that he could cast level 1 and even level 2 spells without reciting incantations.

*Whoooosh!*

The servants gathered there watched in disbelief.

The amount of mana gathering around the boy, who was about to undergo his initiation ceremony, far exceeded that of most children of the nobility.

*Zas!*

*Rumble!*

Dereck was not a fan of a combat style based on brute force. Despite being born with innate magical talent, in basic duels he relied more on his instinct for combat than on magic.

He frequently resorted to magic to deceive his enemies and gain a psychological advantage.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t fight with pure strength.

He simply chose not to. However, if it was a situation that required overwhelming the enemy with absolute power, Dereck would not hesitate to use high-level magic.

He had already reached a considerably high level among 3-star mages.

*Boom, boom, boom!*

The coming magic had to be avoided.

It was the moment Siern swallowed and took a stance. But the magic Dereck unleashed was something that couldn’t be dodged.

*Auge!*

The ground began to crack and a blizzard broke out.

“Ahhh!”

Level 3 Combat Magic: “Earthquake.”

It was a high-level combat spell that churned the terrain in a wide area, subduing the opponent along with the ground.

However, Lady Siern’s combat instinct had already reached its peak.

If the magic couldn’t be dodged, the caster had to be stopped. Even though the distance was dangerously large, she had to close the gap quickly and interrupt the incantation.

Just as Siern was about to activate her acceleration magic and dash forward…

The ground was no longer there.

Enveloped in a sensation of weightlessness, she saw Dereck performing magic from afar.

There was no emotional agitation in his gaze, even as blood ran down his temple.

“With this level of magic… has he already finished reciting the incantation?”

His rhythm when chanting was always several beats faster than anyone could imagine. At that moment, she understood. They were on completely different levels.

The murderous intent in the boy’s eyes was now that of a predator.

And the prey… was her.

*Zas!*

In the end, the only thing left was the fall.