Chapter 16: Thank You, Sorry, It’s Mine Now
When Nick Ironforge awoke from his long dream, what he saw was not the familiar ceiling but the silver starry sky of deep night.
The night sky after the daytime anomaly had always been like this; the stars were brighter than the twin moons. Because of these brilliant points of light, the night’s glow was even like an overcast day in the past. Perhaps because he had just woken up and was still a bit groggy, the young dwarf muttered subconsciously, “Who turned on the lights?”
“Who knows? Probably the Seven Gods.”
Then, Nick heard a familiar female voice, carrying a slightly lazy, soft tone from across from him. “You woke up really late.”
“Karin?” Turning over and sitting up, the dwarf instantly became much more alert upon hearing his friend’s voice. He looked up and saw the red-haired girl holding an iron rod, poking idly at a pile of campfire embers. On either side of the fire, his other two teammates, the Makarov siblings, were eating dry rations with water, their manner as fierce as two bears.
Seeing this, Nick’s stomach immediately growled with hunger. He let out a groan. After that, fully awake and recalling all his previous memories, the dwarf immediately shouted and asked, “Karin, what time is it now? Is the trial over?”
“It’s late at night on the second day.”
The red-haired girl tossed a piece of wood into the fire. Seeming tired, the usually energetic Karin spoke in a soft voice. “The trial lasted two days and one night. It’s over.”
Saying this, she looked up somewhat gloomily, frowning as she met the dwarf’s eyes, and complained, “Although I don’t remember clearly, I think I failed… Nick, you were probably one of the last to finish the trial. Did you pass?”
“Even you failed, Karin?!”
Ignoring the latter part of her words, the young dwarf widened his eyes in surprise upon hearing his friend’s complaint.
Winterfell Academy, Mage Department, First Squad. The four members were all top-tier outstanding students in the academy, each with their own specialties and strengths surpassing other students. The academy’s top student, Ivan Makarov, was the captain, while his sister, Amira Makarov, Karin, and he, the dwarf Nick, were the members.
In this squad, Captain Ivan possessed excellent practical spellcasting ability and good swordsmanship. His enchantment spells and magic capable of creating high-temperature flames, combined with a specially crafted staff, could instantly fire hundreds of explosive missiles. In terms of sheer firepower, he could be said to be the best in all of Winterfell.
Amira, regarded as a genius by many professors and even Principal Nostradamus, surpassed her brother in magical ability, firmly holding the academy’s top spot. Unlike most mages who could only use one or two types of elemental mana, this girl was born able to command all elements and could smoothly switch between casting various basic spells in combat. With powerful enchantments paired with stable crossbow and archery skills, she could single-handedly hunt dozens of low-level magical beasts in the forest.
Nick himself was proficient in self-enhancement spells—Stone Skin, Giant Strength, Agile Leap, Keen Sight, Enlarge Person… These spells, which actually touched upon some Silver-rank fields of self-enhancement magic, he could already cast skillfully within a second. His robust physique, completely unrelated to a mage, combined with various buff spells, allowed him to easily hold the front line for his team, relieving pressure so his teammates could cast spells smoothly.
With their team composition, hunting even Silver-rank magical beasts was not unusual. But Nick, who knew every member of his squad well, understood that each of their strengths and personalities were too extreme.
Captain Ivan Makarov, on the surface, appeared to be an approachable young man from the Northern Lands, easygoing and calm, as if he would only offer opinions after careful consideration. But in reality, Nick knew that his captain was a madman who couldn’t stop once a fight started—a mage who, when out of mana, would simply draw his sword and charge into a horde of monsters to unleash a Blade Storm. The dwarf had never seen such a person, even in legendary tales.
Amira Makarov, a beautiful girl with a refined temperament and sweet, cute appearance. Nick admitted that he initially agreed to join the squad because of Amira’s looks. But after spending time together, that bit of admiration and closeness had long been worn away—unlike her reckless brother, this sister’s favorite tactic was to lurk in hidden corners and shoot cold arrows, casually tossing out one or two sneak-attack spells. The dwarf had more than once suspected that Amira was actually a spy from the Rogue Department infiltrating the Mage Department. Was that cunning, treacherous, grass-crouching style of conduct really befitting a mage, known for their nobility? Wasn’t the talent of the Northerners wrestling with bears?
As for Nick Ironforge himself, he knew he was also an oddball. Although there were existences like battle mages who practiced both magic and martial arts in this world, a ‘mage’ like him, who relied purely on buffs and then fought with physical force, was probably a disgrace to all mages—no mage had ever been unable to even use Mage Hand!
But Karin was different.
Unlike Ivan, who seemed approachable but was driven nearly to explosion by hatred deep in his heart; unlike Amira, who appeared cute and dignified but would stop at nothing to achieve her goals; and unlike himself, a principled person who didn’t care whether he used magic or martial arts as long as he grew stronger—Karin, the daughter of a knight, was the only one in this squad who genuinely wanted to learn magic and had truly learned it.
When Ivan was driven by impulse and charged into a horde of monsters to slaughter wildly, someone always covered his rear, clearing a path for the Northern youth to return. When Amira’s hiding spot was discovered, someone always stood by her side to face the approaching threat together. And when he himself was surrounded by powerful monsters and about to collapse, someone always used one or two not-so-profound but exceptionally clever spells to save the situation.
If it could be said that three of the four in this squad each had their own strengths, then Karin was the core that bound these three into a team. Although Ivan was the captain, it was only in name; the squad’s command had always been in the hands of this seemingly ordinary red-haired girl. She might not be a genius in terms of power, but she definitely possessed outstanding wisdom. Even though Nick often bickered with Karin, he trusted her from the bottom of his heart.
But such a Karin said she had failed? If Karin, the most well-rounded among them, hadn’t passed the trial, then what about the others?
Just then, as if sensing Nick’s surprise, Ivan, who had been eating hungrily after two days without food, looked up. Chewing his dry rations, he spoke clearly, “We didn’t fail, but whether we passed the trial is hard to say.”
Saying this, he nodded slightly in another direction, signaling the dwarf to turn his head. Nick saw that in an open space not far away, a group of neatly arranged, unconscious academy students and knights lay. Among them, several white-robed clergy were occasionally using holy light to observe the complexion of the unconscious.
“Those are the ones who failed. According to the Lord, they didn’t pass the trial, and part of their mental energy was offered as a sacrifice to that deity’s imprint.”
Swallowing the last of her dry rations in one gulp, Amira picked up her brother’s words. Not needing to maintain her beautiful girl persona in front of friends, the Northern girl patted her belly in a rather unladylike manner and sighed, “Ah, that feels good… Oh, right, Nick, you haven’t said whether you passed the trial—everyone’s task seemed different, but the later you woke up, the higher your completion. You were almost the last to wake up.”
The dwarf fell into thought, recalling the task he had experienced in that environment.
It was a grueling trial. First came various puzzles and spell tests to assess quick thinking, aptitude, and basic magical skill. Nick, as an oddball among dwarves, had top-notch quick thinking and aptitude even for a mage—otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten into the Mage Academy. And since the test only required basic magical skill without needing other spells, he used his body enhancement spells to score high.
Next came a series of small trials, mostly about human nature, testing character and decisiveness. Fortunately, the dwarf had upright values and acted swiftly in daily life, punching out the teeth of any wrongdoers or villains with sob stories. Nick couldn’t even remember if he had thought much; he passed this stage quickly.
Finally came the trial concerning his greatest weakness… Thinking of that, the dwarf’s expression changed slightly, and his heart tightened.
In the illusion, boiling lava spread beneath his feet, and scenes he could never forget replayed before his eyes, making his breathing quicken.
“Uh, if you don’t want to think about it, don’t. The last step of the trial is indeed a bit hard to take.”
Seeing this, Karin immediately stood up to comfort him. She walked over to the pale-faced dwarf and, under his grateful gaze, handed him dry rations and water. Sitting beside the dwarf, the red-haired girl muttered to herself with some emotion, “Everyone has a past they don’t want to talk about. But for me, being able to see my own weakness clearly is a good thing.”
“Yeah.”
The young dwarf, who usually liked to shout loudly, this time responded quietly to his friend. He saw the Makarov siblings’ fists clenched tightly, veins bulging. Knowing that they were the last survivors of a mountain village destroyed by mad dragons, Nick had already guessed what their trial had been about. In the next moment, he recalled the result of his own trial. A complex mix of emotions churned within him, finally turning into a silent sigh.
“I passed the trial.” In front of his several friends, the dwarf Nick Ironforge said calmly, “I overcame my fear.”
And in his heart, the originally faint voice of will began to churn and roar, until finally, it transformed into an unbreakable pillar of faith, supporting the dwarf’s spiritual world.
Live.
He thought so. Overcome this world, grow stronger, and then live on, forever.
Just as the four-person squad was surprised by the young dwarf’s answer, not far away in the high sky, a man walking through the air with his weapons stood atop the clouds, looking down at the earth.
The black-haired man’s flight was not achieved by using some force’s recoil to gain upward momentum. Compared to that primitive method, he used a more refined, more fundamental force—for example, using magnetic levitation, or isolating his own gravity.
Joshua walked in the clouds, surrounded by countless tiny silver specks almost invisible to the naked eye. Every instant, these silver specks absorbed large amounts of free energy and matter from the surrounding atmosphere, transforming them into part of themselves. At the same time, they combined in a seemingly natural pattern, weaving new runes, and then used the power of these new runes to transform the man’s body.
All the details of the earth came into his view. Joshua watched the small squads resting around campfires, flipping through the ‘information’ about these trials in his mind.
The River God Shinur had nearly overloaded and self-destructed trying to calculate his weaknesses, but the God of Might’s avatar descended and repaired His imprint. So for all the trial participants, nothing was affected. The only difference was that the warrior had directly connected to Shinur’s most core divine illusion, allowing him to see the trial process of all participants.
Now, rolling through the warrior’s mind was the information of several people who had passed the trial, or rather, met Shinur’s requirements.
Contrary to what most people thought—that Joshua was joking or spreading rumors—the warrior was now genuinely planning to take on one or several disciples. Not just out of boredom, but because there was indeed a need.
At this moment, the Count of the Northern Lands of the Radcliffe Family was already a Legendary-rank expert. This world had very grand ideals. A person with such a broad vision and personal pursuits was naturally considered by the River Lord as a candidate for inheritance. But… how did he end up as a mage?
And besides self-enhancement spells, that dwarf couldn’t cast any other spells. What difference was there between him and a warrior? No, this was essentially a different kind of warrior! (3)
Thinking this, Joshua became somewhat contemplative. He raised his hand, and silver-gray specks gathered from all over his body, forming a misty fog like starlight in his palm.
Although this fog appeared light and ethereal, as if it barely existed, it was the power of Steel that the warrior had comprehended through multiple worlds. The fog was merely its manifestation in the mortal world. And just this tiny bit of his unique, condensed Steel Force weighed more than a small mountain. If it touched the ground, it would sink straight to the planet’s core.
And Steel Force itself was the origin from which mana and life energy derived. In his inheritance, the two could coexist, but all energy had points where it could interconnect and be utilized.
“In that case…”
Murmuring to himself, Joshua watched the four-person group chatting in surprise by the campfire, and a prototype of a training method began to take shape in his mind. “There is something I can give them to verify.”
“Ying, Ling.”
He suddenly commanded. The warrior spoke in a relaxed tone he hadn’t used in a long time, addressing the Divine Mechanism siblings. “In a few days, after they’ve rested enough.”
Saying this, he pointed at the few people below him. “Call those people to the Lord’s Manor to see me.”
Thank you, Shinur. The inheritors you selected are all very good.
But now, they’re all mine!