Chapter 147: Summons (1)

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Maximilian had recently felt that his skills had improved noticeably.

‘When did it start?’

Had it been after entering Bayern and being stimulated by the change of environment?

No, that wasn’t it.

At the beginning of the semester, he had been too distracted, and he hadn’t felt himself growing.

Afterward, he had trained diligently while attending lectures, but it hadn’t felt like the radical surge he was experiencing now.

‘……Right, it was from then on.’

It must have been around the time when, under the pretense of treatment, Carl had beaten him to the brink of death.

Afterward, as if a throbbing tooth had been pulled out, he had felt refreshed, his muscles had become firmer, and he could draw out aura more smoothly.

Along with that, his progress in the family’s sword technique had instantly broken through a wall that had been blocking him.

‘I heard even Father hadn’t reached this level at my age.’

Had Carl’s fist been some kind of miracle cure?

Maximilian carefully opened his mouth while secretly glancing at Carl, who was training alongside him.

“……Gale.”

“What?”

“Carl, doesn’t he seem kind of different these days?”

“Carl?”

Gale tilted his head.

His friend’s eccentricities weren’t new, but it was rare to see him so distracted during training like today.

He kept sneaking glances at Carl, and now he was even spouting strange nonsense.

“His hair looks a bit longer than usual. Is he growing it out?”

“That’s just because it grew. Aside from that, doesn’t his atmosphere feel different? You know, that kind of thing.”

“Atmosphere?”

At those words, Gale narrowed his eyes and looked at Carl, who was swinging his sword in steady motions.

But to Gale, Carl looked the same as always.

It was just the usual Carl, so why was he making such a big deal out of it?

At Gale’s puzzled expression, Maximilian let out a short breath and shook his head.

“Never mind. I was stupid to expect anything.”

“You are stupid. You barely have enough time to focus on training. Do you want to get lower scores than me again with finals coming up?”

“……Of course not.”

Maximilian widened his eyes and gripped his sword tighter.

It felt like only yesterday he had entered the academy, but already the end of the first semester was approaching.

‘Time really flies.’

Especially since he had made several mistakes during the midterms.

If he wanted to make up for those points, he had to work harder, so he forced himself to stay focused.

The other cadets, too, were preparing with grim expressions as exams approached, so he couldn’t afford to be careless.

‘Still, it’s strange.’

Maximilian did not stop sneaking glances at Carl.

At the beginning of the semester, he had believed himself superior.

But now……

‘No, that’s not it.’

He didn’t know if Carl had caught up or if he had been hiding his skills all along.

He had heard that Carl was receiving guidance from Laysis—was that why he had grown so quickly?

Still, aside from all that, there was another reason Maximilian kept watching Carl.

‘I’m sure of it. His atmosphere has changed. I used to be able to sense Carl’s presence, but now……’

Even while looking directly at him, he only felt a vague, hazy impression.

Thinking maybe his senses had dulled, he looked to the side, but Gale’s presence, as he swung his greatsword and sweated, was sharper than ever.

So it was more accurate to say the change was on Carl’s side, not his.

“……”

Of course, Carl also felt Maximilian’s constant gaze.

He had even heard everything he had said to Gale.

‘His senses are sharp.’

It wasn’t the first time he had noticed.

Even during spars, when he had tested him subtly, Maximilian’s senses had been far more refined than the other cadets.

That must have been why he had faintly noticed the abnormality about him.

‘I’ll need to be more careful.’

Thanks to Yuria, Carl had gained insight and entered the realm of the Peak.

Each realm had a certain limit of growth, but with the progress of the Primordial Unity Divine Art, he had grown far stronger than the usual limit, so he had to be cautious.

The martial power he could now unleash was not lacking even compared to the Transcendent level.

Just like the Ice Crystal he had absorbed before, the continuous intake of elixirs supplied through NOX, combined with the explosive effects of the divine art, made his growth difficult even for him to gauge.

At this rate, within a few years, he might reach the wall of the Realm of Transcendence.

By then, he would have long surpassed the realm of the Unkillable.

‘To think I’d reach realms in such a short time that would take decades in the Central Plains.’

Never before had the reality of his Second Life felt so vivid.

Creak.

At that moment, the tightly shut doors of the Training Hall opened.

“Ah, Carl. So you were here.”

Everyone thought, as usual, that it would be Laysis or Yuria coming to call Carl, but when an unexpected face appeared, they stopped moving and turned their eyes.

Tap.

Louis entered the Training Hall with a faint smile, waving to the gathered crowd before looking at Carl.

Swish.

Carl lowered his sword.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Louis, what is it?”

“A summons. Everyone, mind if I borrow Carl for a while? It’s Bayern business.”

“I don’t really mind, but……”

Maximilian trailed off, but his eyes gleamed with interest as he looked at Louis.

For someone of Louis’ standing to come as a messenger, it must have been a significant matter.

Was another interesting event being planned?

Maximilian shot Carl an eager look, as if demanding to be told later.

With a short nod, Carl stored his sword in its rack and spoke.

“Understood.”

Flash.

Immediately after, he used a cleansing spell to remove his sweat and scent, stepping toward Louis looking refreshed.

“Then, I’ll be back shortly.”

“Yeah.”

Carl left the Training Hall together with Louis.

Only after the presence felt from inside had faded did he look at Louis and speak.

“What is this about?”

“Walpurgis Night.”

“Ah.”

At Louis’ words, Carl let out a quiet exclamation.

『Walpurgis Night』

It was the joint event of the Imperial Academy, a fierce war where the achievements of the year and the superiority of the academies were measured.

“Are they preparing already?”

“The official summons will probably come around the end of the vacation. For now, they’re just gathering some of the main members. Also taking recommendations for candidates.”

Tap.

Louis lightly tapped Carl’s forearm with his fist, the corners of his mouth lifting.

“In other words, Carl, you’re one of Bayern’s core cadets.”

“It’s an honor.”

“Honor, my foot. You’re the top in theory, and your practical scores have improved a lot too, right? I remember you being within the top thirty, isn’t that correct?”

“Barely scraped in.”

“But your real skills are above that, aren’t they?”

Louis laughed heartily as he probed.

Those who knew, knew Carl was hiding part of his strength.

Otherwise, there was no reason that the lofty princess or the genius of the Gray Magic Tower would be clinging to him.

‘And his record up to now speaks for itself.’

Otherwise, there was no way to explain his feats from the Erendal Forest until now.

Of course, most cadets simply expressed ignorant admiration, saying Carl had grown remarkably.

At the very least, Louis had realized Carl had been hiding his strength from the beginning.

‘Is it because of his family?’

Carl had two older brothers.

The eldest, Carlos, had joined the Raging Flame Knights and was active as a full knight, while the fourth-year Darius must have been busy preparing for graduation.

Both were skilled, so the probability of Carl becoming the family head was extremely low.

‘So he hides his claws and waits for the right time?’

Since Louis was in a similar situation, he could sympathize with Carl’s position.

“Carl.”

“Yes.”

“Someday, we may be of use to one another.”

“……Indeed.”

Carl found Louis’ sudden words puzzling, but he nodded with a cautious expression, matching the mood.

“Well, I imagine you’ve already had a hard time in many ways, but what lies ahead will be even harder. To the point you’ll want to throw it all away.”

“Louis, do you feel the same?”

“I’ve already passed that stage, but I used to want to give it all up dozens, hundreds of times a day. What’s so important about that damned position anyway?”

At that, Carl realized what Louis was talking about.

‘Does he think I’m hiding my strength to aim for the head of the family?’

He was completely mistaken, but Carl did not bother to correct him.

If Louis thought so, then it was a misunderstanding Carl could use to his advantage.

‘Unexpectedly, I’ve gained good information.’

Carl had thought the successor’s position in Wolfsburg was firmly in Louis’ grasp, but apparently, that was not the case.

Hopfenheim’s side was solid, making them hard to approach, but with Wolfsburg, perhaps there was profit to be made by attacking that angle.

Creak.

The assembly place was the Training Hall.

Louis opened the door, and Carl followed him inside.

Several cadets were already gathered there, and a familiar man raised his hand when he saw Carl.

“You’re here.”

“……Brother Darius?”

“Here, I’m your senior, little brother.”

“Weren’t fourth-years not supposed to be involved in the event?”

Carl tilted his head.

Walpurgis Night usually involved only first, second, and third-years.

Fourth-years weren’t forbidden, but since they were busy preparing for graduation, participation was rare.

“The Headmaster personally requested me. I wasn’t planning to join any order anyway.”

Darius scratched his head and said he had been dragged into this nuisance.

‘So there was some kind of deal.’

Carl narrowed his eyes as he looked at his brother.

Darius might appear brutish, reckless, and irresponsible, but beneath that bear-like frame lurked a fox.

A sly and cunning fox at that.

He never did anything that would put him at a loss, was cautious, and valued future prospects above all.

Even giving up the position of family head had been his judgment that competing with his brother would be meaningless.

Better to maintain friendly relations and leech benefits than ruin family bonds through rivalry.

‘For such a Darius to bother showing up here.’

Just like with the previous external training in the Erendal Forest, it was certain there had been dealings behind the scenes.

“What did you receive this time?”

“What do you mean, receive? Must you assume I accepted something in exchange for participating here?”

“Didn’t you?”

“I came to support our lovely juniors. And perhaps help them win along the way.”

Darius lifted his head to look at the cadets.

“But don’t worry. I have no intention of going to the front lines. My role here is strictly as an advisor…….”

The smile on his face as he looked over the cadets deepened.

“As an instructor to train our juniors.”

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