Chapter 5 : A Dangerous Bargain

Bjorn grabbed Ethan’s collar and dragged him into his room.

Pushing Ethan against the wall, Bjorn said.

“Not a very funny joke.”

“You think I’m lying?”

“It’d be better if you were. If it’s true, I might have to kill you to keep you quiet.”

“Not a great idea.”

Ethan smirked.

“Would someone who knows your secret come without a plan? If anything happens to me, a letter I wrote will automatically reach someone.”

“I don’t get it. Got any proof I work for the Inquisition Bureau?”

“You’ve got a very special book, don’t you?”

Bjorn drew a dagger.

“How do you…?”

“As you said, I’m a notorious troublemaker. I was short on cash, so I looked around for something valuable in other people’s rooms.”

Bjorn made a cold judgment, as Ethan expected.

“If you know I work for the Inquisition, why not just report me?”

“Honestly, how would that help me?”

“You want money?”

“If you were from a rich family, maybe. But what I want from you is something else.”

“Something else?”

“You’re the top first-year student.”

“…Do I have to admit it myself?”

“You’re not?”

“It’s… embarrassing.”

Bjorn avoided Ethan’s gaze through his glasses, his face slightly flushed.
Ethan found this side of him unexpected.

“Anyway, you saw I barely passed Basic Magic Practice, right? But at this rate, next semester’s will be tough.”

“…No way.”

Ethan said.

“Teach me magic.”

Bjorn’s expression grew complicated.

Ethan’s plan was simple.

[If I don’t have to kill Vain, getting him expelled from the academy is best. To do that, I need evidence he’s tied to the Inquisition. And to find that, I need to get close to someone involved—Bjorn Palmaiz.]

[Good plan.]

Demi praised but questioned.

[But did you have to ask him to teach you magic? Feels like you’re indulging a personal desire.]

[Personal desire? What’s wrong with learning magic?]

[It’s not wrong, but… hasn’t it been established you can’t learn magic? Arka said so too.]

It wasn’t just Arka.
Count Charasen, the family head, other family mages, and even their ‘guests’ had confirmed Ethan’s lack of magical talent for various reasons.
But the unexpected always happened.

[I succeeded in contracting with you, didn’t I?]

[As you know, what this world calls black magic…]

[Enough. I don’t want to hear it.]

Ethan was too young to give up.

[And this approach won’t make Bjorn more suspicious. He’ll think he can control someone using a public issue for personal gain.]

As Ethan predicted, Bjorn agreed.

“Fine.”

“Really?”

But there was a catch Ethan hadn’t foreseen.

“With a condition.”

“Condition?”

A new quest appeared in Ethan’s vision.

[Quest generated!]
[Quest: Build a Relationship with Bjorn Palmaiz (D)]

As Demi had said, a quest meant a worthwhile challenge.

Ethan replied.

“Alright. What’s the condition?”

Three days later, Ethan regretted accepting Bjorn’s condition as he fought a sword-wielding automaton.

Automatons were weapons controlled by puppeteers.
Typically made of wood, some used metal, stone, or ceramics.
Their forms varied by puppeteer, often humanoid with a head, arms, and legs.
The automaton Ethan faced, aside from its legs and sword, resembled a scarecrow meant to chase birds.

‘Normal scarecrows don’t try to kill me, though.’

Ethan dodged the automaton’s sword.
It wasn’t skilled swordplay, just wild swings, but that alone could kill.
It was plenty threatening.

“The blade’s blunt, so it probably won’t kill you if it hits.”

“Probably?”

The speaker was Linav Promorus, a senior magic student and president of the Combat Magic Society.
With darker skin than most Yurmuth locals and glossy golden hair, she epitomized the Fataline race.
Some Fatalines had diamond-shaped white patches on their faces due to ancient magic; Linav had one on her nose bridge.

Linav continued.

“But, boy, not dying isn’t enough to join the society.”

“Who’re you calling boy?”

As Ethan scrambled to evade the automaton’s attack, Linav laughed.

Bjorn’s condition was joining the Combat Magic Society.
He explained that he’d be busy with society activities during the break, making it hard to find time otherwise.
The society’s meeting room was spacious with ample resources, ideal for teaching magic, and Ethan could learn from other seniors and peers.

Combat magic involved spells for self-defense, battle, or war, and their applications.
While the academy’s Combat Magic Society was a student group, graduated alumni kept a close eye on it.

Ethan had agreed readily.
He couldn’t be sure only Bjorn and Vain were tied to the Inquisition.
Meeting others connected to Bjorn was valuable.

In hindsight, it was a trap.
Joining the society required defeating an automaton.

Linav said.

“You barely passed Basic Magic Practice, yet you’re challenging an automaton. I’ll give you points for courage, boy. Or is it ignorance? Despite its appearance, that automaton mimics a soldier trained for war. If you master combat magic, that’s the minimum strength you’ll face on a battlefield. No one in this society can’t beat it.”

“I never said I’d lose.”

“Spirit alone makes you a fighter, but not enough to join. Haha. Bjorn brought an interesting guy.”

Bjorn replied.

“Not a friend.”

Ethan thought he could handle the automaton alone, but it wasn’t easy.
If it were sluggish, he’d planned to climb its back and twist its neck, but as Linav said, it was nimbler and smarter than expected.

Ethan said to Demi.

[Looks like I’ll have to use it.]

[Good.]

Ethan tucked his dagger into his chest.

“What, giving up?”

“No.”

“Bare-handed, then?”

“Yes.”

Ethan planned to use a ‘skill.’

Before facing the automaton, Ethan entered Limbo that morning.
He’d learned on the first day that falling asleep counted as losing consciousness, allowing him to enter Limbo.

“No need to come every day, but today’s different.”

He checked the quest completion window.

[‘Quest: Survive for Three Days (D)’ completed!]
[Reward: 12 Experience Points]
[Reward: D-Rank Lottery Coupon]

Rummaging in his pocket, he confirmed the D-Rank coupon.

Demi said.

[Would you like to draw?]

“No.”

Ethan approached the Merchant.

“Can you recommend something I need?”

[If I have it.]

“One more question. You said ‘goods,’ but I can buy more than ‘items,’ right? Archives and skills too?”

The Merchant looked up at Ethan.

[Of course.]

Ethan held out the D-Rank coupon.

“Then I’ll buy a skill.”

[What skill do you want?]

The automaton eyed Ethan warily, approaching with tension.

[It’s reacting like a person.]

Demi said.

[‘Like a person’ means it’s not a programmed robot but responds and acts human-like.]

[Robot? Like a golem?]

[You can think of it that way.]

[Golems have sluggish weaknesses, but human-like traits can be weaknesses too.]

Ethan shed his coat.
He prided himself on his agility, which had let him dodge the automaton’s blade so far.
But dodging alone wouldn’t defeat it.

[It mimics a soldier’s movements, right?]

[Correct.]

[Is a skill similar?]

[I don’t know magic, but I’d say so. D-Rank skills vary but are based on someone with about three years of experience. You’re mimicking the movements of someone with three years of practice.]

The automaton charged, swinging its sword.
A simple downward slash could flow into a horizontal cut.

Ethan flung his coat, which wrapped around the sword.
The automaton, unfazed, pulled back the blade and retreated.
Linav watched with interest, Bjorn indifferently.

–Pop!

A popper Ethan pulled from his pocket exploded in front of the automaton’s face.

Startled, it staggered, its sword tangled in the coat, nearly falling.

Ethan crouched low, grabbed the automaton’s thighs, and pushed with his shoulder, toppling it with a loud crash.

[Take down, then…]

The automaton tried to swing its sword, but Ethan grabbed its wrist.
With only its wrist, it couldn’t muster the strength or angle to strike.

[On the ground…]

Ethan held the automaton’s arm, placed both legs on its chest, and extended his hips.

[Armbar.]

A technique to bend the elbow joint.
In Terra, it’d force submission through pain, but this was Damarath Yumaha.

Ethan used his full strength to snap the automaton’s elbow.

–Crack!

The skill Ethan bought from the Merchant was [Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (D)].