Make Dark Fantasy Great Again

Chapter 53: Mages and Clergy (1)

“You know...I’m honestly a little relieved this happened to you.”

Fienne spoke while Meltas was explaining the severity of Risir’s condition.

“Really, who else in the world would be like you? It’s too much, the way you grow stronger every other day. I was worried you would suddenly explode or something. It’s a relief it’s just this.”

“Hm. I understand what you mean.”

I did get what the two were getting at. Frankly, I also found my growth rate too unnatural. Since it benefited, I simply brushed it off as a good thing with nothing to complain about. But looking back objectively, there were more than a few things that didn’t sit right.

But now that something like this happened, I actually felt relieved.

Turns out, I’m still a proper part of the grand order of nature. Guess I’m not completely abnormal after all.

“It means I’m just a normal human after all.”

“No, you’re not.”

“No indeed.”

“Wah?”

Of course, that’s just a way of putting it. Objectively speaking, this was hardly a welcome situation.

I resolved an incident, made a name for myself at the Gray Tower, and did the same among the adventurers.

Just when the tide was finally turning in my favor and it was time to start rowing, a hole suddenly appeared in the bottom of my boat, and now I’m stuck bailing out water instead.

Reaching a level I could never have imagined in the past was definitely an achievement worth celebrating, but that didn’t change the fact that, in this city, I was still just an outsider. Practically a nobody.

There was still a long road ahead before I could truly establish myself here.

Oh, come to think of it...

Something suddenly came to mind, so I turned to Sir Meltas and spoke.

“Sir Meltas. It just came to me, but what happened with that matter?”

“Ah, you mean the black mage incident and the Supporter application?”

“I must sound like I’m rushing you. My apologies.”

“No, why should you be sorry? If anything, the Tower should be apologizing for putting you in this position.”

Meltas let out a deep sigh.

“If I were to give somewhat of an excuse for the delay...Do you know, Risir? Right now, you’re quite the hot topic in the Tower.”

“Me? Because of the black mage case?”

“Exactly. Hard to believe, but not everyone is pleased that you resolved that issue.”

Fienne scoffed beside me. She seemed to have figured something out.

“Let me guess. Because Risir is an outsider, and not even a noble, acknowledging his achievement would be an embarrassment for the Tower? And no doubt, this must be coming from the higher nobility.”

Meltas gave a wry smile.

“Right on the mark. At the end of the day, a mage tower isn’t just a place for mages and scholars to pursue knowledge. Before that, it’s also a place where people and nobles coexist, which means all kinds of petty power struggles happen behind the scenes.

Risir, some powerful figures in the Tower aren’t happy with your success. Marina, myself, and Master Didoa are speaking out in your favor...but the pushback is stronger than expected.”

“And what exactly do these dissenters want to do about it?”

Fienne sounded frustrated, as if it were her problem.

“Their goal is simple: to protect their reputation. In other words, they want to sweep the black mage incident under the rug entirely.”

“Because officially recognizing Risir’s contributions would mean publicly acknowledging the problem in the first place. So they’re trying to stop that at all costs.”

“Exactly. And once again, Risir, I truly regret that it’s come to this. But, there is some good news.”

“Good news?”

“Yes. According to Marina, Miss Henya has seen enough and decided to step in.”

“Henya? Really?”

“Indeed. As a direct descendant of the great noble house Mastien, her involvement is something to be optimistic about. And there’s one more piece of good news—your Supporter qualification has been approved.”

“Ohh...”

“Before long, you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits of being an official Supporter and take on new opportunities. Which means, for now, the only thing you should be focusing on is your recovery.”

Clap!

Meltas suddenly clapped his hands, shifting the atmosphere.

“To sum things up, there are two main things you need right now.”

“Fienne and Sir Meltas? Haha! Just kidding.”

Both Meltas and Fienne let out deep sighs beside me.

“Is this man really sick? It’s a miracle he’s even functional. Honestly, if he were just a bit worse off, it would’ve been better. At least he’d be stuck in bed and unable to talk.”

“And what exactly would you do with me, lying there helpless?”

As I wrapped my arms around myself, Fienne’s face twisted in irritation.

“I’d really love to do something.”

“Risir, I’m relieved to see you in good spirits, but I trust you’ll be more cautious with your actions. Among the two things you need right now, the first is clear. Proper rest and recovery.”

“I thought I just needed to be careful with my mana control?”

“That’s true, but hearing you say it makes me uneasy. I feel like you’ll find a loophole and do something reckless anyway. Just to be safe, what exactly do you plan on doing while being careful with your mana?”

“Well, from what I understand, this overflux is caused by my body being too weak to handle my own mana, right? So I figured I should train my body. After all, muscles are just as important as mana, aren’t they?”

“You’re planning to train your body now? Are you out of your mind?”

“Hm. Physical training, huh? A wise choice.”

I leaned in and whispered to Fienne.

“Fienne, it’s okay. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Shall we try again?”

She pouted.

Oops. I meant to spare her from embarrassment, but instead, I ended up delivering the final blow.

Her small lips jutted out in an adorable sulk.

“I’m an idiot for worrying about you. Do whatever you want.”

“But I don’t wanna? I’m only going to listen to you.”

“Then go die.”

“But if I actually died, you’d be the one most heartbroken~”

“How about you give me a chance to test that theory?”

“Risir, you and your wife get along well. It’s a lovely sight.”

“W-wife?! Who’s his wife?!”

“Did you not say so yourself?”

Meltas looked at Fienne with a puzzled expression, as if wondering what was going on.

“Anyhow. Speaking of training—Risir, the other thing necessary for treating your overflux is, in fact, physical conditioning.”

“What exactly is a body suited for a 5th-rank mage? Should I start by aiming to be harder than stone?”

“I’d usually argue against the very idea...but surprisingly, that might actually be the right approach in your case.”

“How could a person be harder than stone?”

“Didn’t you just suggest it yourself?”

This time, Meltas turned his confused gaze toward me.

“Of course, I don’t mean you should literally turn your muscles to stone. But did you know? Martial artists don’t suffer from overflux.”

“What?”

“Shall I put it simply? You’ve experienced extreme overflux due to an unprecedented leap in power. But if you were a martial artist? The side effects would’ve been minimal.”

“Because for them, an increase in power directly correlates to an increase in physical ability?”

Meltas nodded approvingly at Fienne’s question.

“As expected from Risir’s wife, you are very sharp. You’ve hit the nail on the head.”

Meltas clenched his fist.

“Martial artists channel mana through their bodies. Now, you might argue—isn’t it the same for mages?”

“Isn’t it the same for mages?”

“Subtly different. We mages store mana in our bodies and merely control it with our minds. But martial artists are different.”

“Do they wield the vessel itself?”

“That makes it sound a little crude. Think of it as their bodies not being vessels, but like swords. Swords reforged through mana itself.”

“Ah. So instead of just holding mana, they fully integrate it into their bodies.”

“Precisely.”

It finally dawned on me why I had never heard of overflux back when I was with the Bendel family.

For knights, who enhanced their bodies with mana to climb the ranks, overflux caused by the body failing to endure mana was a completely foreign concept.

“Then does that mean all 5th-rank and higher mages have physical abilities to match their mana?”

I glanced at Meltas’ clenched fist with awe. How much strength was hidden in the hand of a 6th-rank mage and a tower master?

“Not quite. Strength isn’t the only way to overcome mana. Long-term coexistence, and gradual acclimation. That’s how we mages rein in our power.”

“So I’ve grown too fast for my body to build that resistance.”

“Indeed. And...”

Meltas let out a long sigh before continuing, his voice heavy.

“This may not just be a temporary problem.”

I took a moment to process his words before arriving at my own conclusion.

“Given my current rate of growth, it’s likely that my resistance will never be able to keep up, even in the future. That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

“Correct. Even if you recover from your current overflux, if your growth remains unchanged, it’s only a matter of time before it happens again.”

“So my best option isn’t to rely on resistance, but to strengthen my body instead.”

Summing it up in my own words, it was simple: if I kept putting all my points into my main stat intelligence, I might die. I needed to increase some vitality as a sub stat, too.

After a brief moment of thought, I spoke.

“You know...isn’t being a mage actually inferior?”

“Nonsense!!!”

“I mean, think about it. Dying from your own power? That’s like some fish suffocating out of water.”

“Don’t project your personal problem onto the entire field of magic! Besides, at the rate you’re growing, even if you had chosen martial arts, you’d still be in trouble!”

“That’s quite the baseless slander against us martial artists.”

“Us martial artists?”

Fienne shot me a contemptuous look.

To think she couldn’t understand me...In the end, even the progenitor vampire was nothing more than another foolish mage.

Just as I was about to embark on my noble mission to enlighten these ignorant spellcasters with the wisdom of warriors...

Suddenly, a sharp breath hitched in my throat.

I tried to block a cough, only to feel blood staining my palm.

Meltas and Fienne both stared at me sullenly.

Their expressions practically screamed, “Really? You’re playing the sick patient card here?”

“Heh, heh. What’s your plan now, you devious magicians?”

Fienne let out a deep sigh.

“This devious magician would like to hear your future plans instead of nonsense.”

“...Like I said earlier, I intend to focus on stabilization and recovery while incorporating training as much as possible.”

“And where do you plan to learn swordsmanship?”

“I’m not sure. Sir Meltas, do you happen to know anything about the sword?”

“You’re asking me to teach you swordsmanship?”

“I just felt like a man wise as yourself might know a thing or two.”

“Really now, should I apologize for failing to meet your expectations? Well, I suppose I could offer something similar.”

“Spear techniques?!”

“My friend. You, er, really need to develop some sense of bias.”

Meltas took out a fist-sized notebook, scribbled something down, and then tore out the page, handing it to me.

“A martial art sutra?!”

“It’s a list of sword guilds in Bondalles that might suit you.”

“Aha.”

I took the note and scanned it over.

Then, a thought struck me.

“Speaking of which, Sir Meltas. Do you really think I can learn proper sword techniques from these kinds of places?”

In this world, swordsmanship wasn’t just about swinging a blade—it was the art of wielding mana through the sword. As a bastard, it was something I had spent years trying to obtain, only to fail in the end.

As far as I knew, true swordsmanship was a high-level technique that rivaled magic.

Meltas gave a wry smile. He appeared to understand the meaning behind my question.

“I can’t say you can get your hopes up. If high-level swordsmanship could be learned at any random guild that accepted anyone with money, why do you think nobles go so far as to bow their heads and become squires in other noble houses? Normally, it would indeed be a tricky situation. After all, the path of magic alone has no end to it.”

“Sounds like you’re implying that it doesn’t apply to me?”

“Indeed. That’s the part I’m betting on. I figure that you, of all people, will make something work.”

“That’s quite the irresponsible statement.”

“What does it matter? You’re not even my disciple.”

“That’s even more irresponsible...! I thought our bond was something deeper than that of a master and disciple!”

“Bah, so what? That master-disciple relationship was exactly what I wanted.”

“Oh dear...!”

I was left speechless as the old man, with his neatly braided hair, pouted like a child.

***A short while later, having finished my conversation with Sir Meltas, I was preparing to leave the lab.

“Sir Meltas, thank you for all the advice.”

“...By the way, lad. Are you really okay?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean your body. Considering what you’ve been through, you look...far too fine.”

“Well I did cough up blood earlier.”

“...In any case, do take care of yourself.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you. I’ll be off now.”

“Wait.”

Feryn spoke up.

Just a moment ago, she had been clinging to me, but now that her energy recharge(?) was complete, she had retreated to a corner of the room, keeping her distance.

“Old man, do you have any bowls or plates?”

“Hey, Feryn. That’s no way to talk to Sir Meltas.”

“It’s fine, Risir.”

Meltas chuckled like a doting grandfather and handed her a small tea saucer.

“What do you need it for?”

“For him. Isn’t he sick?”

“Oh? Feryn, are you worried about me?”

“...If you’re sick, Didoa will be sad.”

Feryn was unexpectedly fond of Miss Didoa, and even Didoa was taken aback by it. Apparently, Feryn was drawn to the similar energy their auras exuded.

That’s how Miss Didoa ended up with a pet wolf.

Honestly, I felt a little guilty. I had essentially dumped a stray wolf I picked up onto her.

However, there wasn’t much I could do. When low on energy, Feryn would stick to me like glue. But the moment she was recharged, she’d become cold and distant, as if nothing had happened.

At present, Didoa was the only person Feryn completely opened up to in her right mind.

Still, if there was one good thing in all this...

-An elemental that doesn’t find me repulsive? That’s shocking.

-Risir, would you mind if I took care of this child? Sorry if that’s an offensive question.

Miss Didoa seemed to like her quite a bit as well.

“This is for Didoa.”

Feryn placed the saucer on the ground. Then, shifting into her wolf form—

-Keh! Keh! Keh!

—she started gagging over the dish.

“Uhhh?! Feryn?!”

A clear, slimy liquid dribbled from her mouth into the saucer.

A moment later...a smooth, round bead dropped into the pool of mucus with a clink(plop).

Returning to her human form, Feryn wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Eat it.”

“...!”

That’s edible?

She gazed at me with confidence and anticipation, like a chef presenting a gourmet meal.

***

[Title : You know how you get traits at certain levels?]

Post : What happens if you already have an S-rank main trait and get another one of the same class?