BXBX NOVEL Chapter 62 - Trowman Rings (7)
Chapter 62 - Trowman Rings (7)
The next day.
Early in the morning, all the circle members who were in the town gathered in front of Beniang’s house.
This was something that Gisellan had ordered the night before.
“What’s going on? It’s so early.”
“There is an important announcement.”
“I hope it’s not a declaration of dissolution…”
“That wouldn’t happen.”
Although they said so, the gathered members were all feeling uneasy.
When Master Osel Argento died and the Circle Rounder left, it triggered the downfall of the Trowman Rings.
Following that, even the members who had a strong sense of belonging to the circle also left.
Now, the only ones who still remained in the circle were those who valued the continuation of the circle more than their very lives.
That was why they were anxious.
No matter how much they wanted to keep the circle from falling apart, it was useless if Beniang declared that it was being dissolved.
At this point, she was the only one who was talented enough to handle the duties of the Circle Master.
“The burden might have been too heavy for Master Beniang.”
“Damn those Basilisk Tails, we should’ve destroyed those bastards.”
“Who could have known that they would be able to form an alliance so quickly?”
“Master Pelik is a crafty woman. By the time we noticed what was happening, everything was almost finalised.”
While the members chatted amongst themselves, the front door of the house opened and Beniang walked out.
She stood in front of the door and slowly observed the crowd.
“Good morning, dear members of the Trowman Ring Circle.”
Her voice reverberated in the morning air.
The members liked her voice.
Especially in this place that was surrounded by dense forest, it was not enough to say that Beniang’s voice was as beautiful as the morning sun.
“I have an important announcement to make today, which is why I’ve called all of you here so early in the morning.”
When they heard the word announcement, the circle members once again began discussing loudly among themselves.
They also looked at Beniang’s face to see if they would find any hints about the nature of said announcement.
Beniang smiled in a bid to ease their anxiety.
“I would like to happily introduce a new Circle Rounder to our circle.”
“Huh?”
“A Circle Rounder?”
“Th…this is too sudden.”
It was totally unexpected.
The Circle Rounder was the second in command in a circle, but at the same time, they shared a closer relationship with the circle executives and members than the Circle Master.
In addition, they were more likely to take part in external events than the Circle Master so in a sense they could be considered the face of the circle.
That was why the Circle Rounder was usually the most talented member of the circle.
It was to show a strong face to the other circles.
“Is she promoting Honor Azeg?”
“He hasn’t returned yet. He is still completing his long term mission in Geotanbul.”
“Then it must be Honor Gisellan.”
“Indeed…he deserves it.”
Gisellan was the member who had stayed the longest in the circle and was like a father to the other circle members.
So the members would understand if it was him.
But they were skeptical about whether he was talented enough for the role.
His character and experience were flawless, but it was his lack of talent that held him back.
‘Master Beniang knows that, that’s why she’d been keeping the Circle Rounder position vacant…’
‘What exactly is she thinking?’
They all paid attention to Beniang’s words while they were filled with their own doubts and expectations.
Once more, the door to the house opened, and another person stepped out.
This caused the faces of the members who had thought it would be Gisellan to be filled with surprise.
“This man…”
“Isn’t he our guest, Frein Blake?”
“Isn’t it Frey Blake?”
“Anyway. Why is he coming out of Master Beniang’s house?”
Frey stood near to Beniang without paying much attention to the gazes of the dozens of people before him.
Gisellan and Fianne, who followed him out of the house, settled on both sides of him.
“…”
“…”
The expressions of the circle members became stranger.
The scene reminded them of executives escorting their superior.
Then Beniang’s voice rang out again.
“Let me formally introduce you. This is Frey Blake. Starting from today, he will be the new Circle Rounder of the Trowman Rings.”
“Wh-, what was that…”
“From outsider to Circle Rounder…?”
This was something that most of the circle members gathered immediately began to protest against.
Frey looked at Beniang who nodded slightly.
“My name is Frey Blake, and from today onward, I’ll be your Circle Rounder. I’m sure that many of you have complaints about me becoming the Circle Rounder. After all, this is not something that you can easily accept.”
Most of the circle members were staring at Frey with dissatisfaction.
Even if they pretended, there was no way they could accept this informally speaking youngster as their superior.
Beniang saw this and silently clenched her fist.
She recalled the words that Frey had told her the night before.
‘The circle members won’t be easily convinced. I have an idea, so leave it to me.’
Beniang, Gisellan and Fianne all looked at him nervously.
‘You have to speak well, Frey.’
“But you don’t have the qualifications to question me.”
“…huh?”
Beniang subconsciously made a sound of surprise while Gisellan also stared at Frey in shock.
“It is only because there is no talent in this circle that a rookie like me, who only joined yesterday, was allowed to become the Circle Rounder.”
“What did he just say?”
“He just said…”
The faces of the circle members became grim.
However, while receiving their fierce glares, Frey only smiled.
“If you have any complaints, I will accept them. I just need to prove my ability. If there are any of you who can manage to even touch my collar, then I will resign from the position of Circle Rounder and even give you a gift.”
He pointed at his earrings.
“These are Typhoon Earrings. A relic created directly by Lukas Trowman whom you respect dearly.”
Frey looked at the glaring eyes of the circle members.
“Now then, shall we begin?”
* * *
“…do you have any idea what Frey is up to?”
Gisellan tentatively nodded his head at Fianne’s question.
“This decision had a very high chance of being resisted by the circle members. And yet, Frey…no, Rounder Frey, insisted on doing it. I think there are two reasons for this.”
“Two?”
“One is to concentrate the circle members’ dissatisfaction onto himself. This was probably out of consideration for Master Beniang. And the other…I think he wants to test the circle members himself.”
Gisellan shrugged.
“However, this is only my guess. So let’s just wait and see. Haven’t we already decided to bet on him anyway?”
Fianne nodded and turned his complex gaze back to Frey.
* * *
Frey stood in a wide open space.
The angry circle members surrounded him, their eyes filled with pride and indignation.
Even if they were members of a crumbling circle, they still had their pride.
“I’ll go first please.”
“Name.”
“Fio Guntar.”
“Class.”
“I’m a Wizard.”
“Go ahead.”
“…are you not going to prepare?”
Frey, who had his hands hanging at his sides, looked very defenseless at that moment.
It was natural for Fio to ask such a question, but Frey’s expression remained unchanged.
“If I think your attack is threatening, I will.”
“…Fireball!”
It was a basic 2 star spell. However, Fio’s specialty was Fire Magic.
Frey didn’t move.
To be precise, he did not even move his eyebrow.
But that didn’t mean that he did not do anything.
Crackle.
Just before the Fireball reached him, Frey also cast a fireball.
Same size, same power.
The two Fireballs collided midair, forming a large explosion that quickly dissipated.
Fio silently shuddered.
“Ch-, Chantless Magic!”
“H-, he’s at least 5 stars! No, he’s probably a 6 star Wizard!”
If that was the case then he was an excellent candidate to be the Rounder in a crumbling circle.
Rather, from the perspective of the Trowman Rings, he was a talent that they would want to acquire, even if they had to beg.
The circle members now understood Beniang’s unconventional move.
“Fio Guntar, is Fire Magic your specialty?”
“Th-, that’s right.”
Fio’s became subconsciously filled with nervousness. A sense of awe had replaced the indignation he had felt before.
This was a 6 star Wizard after all.
“Tell me the characteristics of Fire Magic.”
“Yes? Ah. I-, it’s destructive power.”
“Right. The most common characteristic is that it is much more destructive than other magic attributes. Of course, that also means it is more difficult to control, but it’s obviously attractive enough despite that risk.”
Fio nodded.
Frey’s words were something that every Wizard who walked the path of Fire Magic knew.
“That Fireball you just showed me had a pretty good degree of perfection. You must have practiced day and night.”
“Th-, thank you.”
Fio’s heart was instantly filled with pride.
After all, it was a 6 star Wizard-he thought- who was praising him directly.
Fio felt as though his hard work had been validated.
“Of course, there are still some things you need to work on. It felt like you were putting more effort into maintaining its shape than was necessary. You should pay more attention to increasing the power. After all, making a perfectly shaped Fireball doesn’t increase its power.”
It was extremely practical advice. At least it wasn’t the type of advice that you would be able to learn even from the best teachers at an academy.
Frey knew that what they needed was not a stereotypical education.
“I don’t know how to increase the power…”
“Image training comes first. The imagination is the most important thing for a wizard. In the past…”
Frey shook his head while looking at Fio with a somewhat distant expression.
“…one of my friends had suffered terrible burns all over his body. The burns were so severe, that they could not be completely healed, even with magic. After that incident, he became afraid of fire, but eventually, he overcame it, and after working hard, he became the most powerful authority in Fire Magic.”
Fio listened to Frey attentively.
Frey’s voice, which seemed to sound indifferent at first, rested gently on his ears like a soft breeze in the forest.
Come to think of it, when last had he been personally taught by someone?
“This was possible because he’d felt the fierceness of fire with his entire body. Of course, that was an extreme case, but it’s important to think about the image to that extent. From today, you should try to create a concrete image of fire while also keeping the risks in mind.”
“Th-, thank you for your teaching.”
“Go back now.”
Fio respectfully bowed his head at the gesture from the 20 odd year old man in front of him and stepped back.
Then one of the members at the side approached him and poked his side.
“What was that? Didn’t you shout out that you would put him in his place.”
“N-, no. That’s what I planned to do…”
“How strong is he?”
Fio sighed deeply before whispering.
“…I don’t know. No, he should be a 6 star Wizard. He’s the talent our circle needed badly.”
“Did you lose your pride and start bowing your head?”
The circle member was being sarcastic but Fio still shook his head.
“That’s not it. But I can’t explain it. You should also ask for his teaching. Rounder Frey will help you.”
“Oh boy.”
He was already calling him Rounder?
The circle member frowned slightly.
“Worthless guy. I’m different. No matter how amazing a Wizard that guy is, I will never bow my head to him. You stay here and watch the way I mess up that Circle Rounder’s face.”
Laughing, he turned and walked toward Frey.
Fio simply watched with his arms folded.
After a while.
“…Rounder Frey is the treasure of our circle.”
“…”
Fio stared at him with a dumbstruck expression, but the member didn’t notice since he was staring at Frey with a clenched fist and expression filled with admiration.