Magnus Duchy
June—the beginning of summer after spring has passed—is the perfect season for young students to enjoy their youth.
But for students of Solne Academy, June—or more precisely, the beginning of June—was a month of death. It was when end-of-term exams marked the close of a semester.
Still, a third of the month had already gone by. Most students had escaped the hellish exams and left the academy, basking in the freedom.
Nigel, however, was buried in a book with grim determination, completely detached from the joy around him. Unable to watch any longer, his roommate Bale approached.
“Sunbae, aren’t you heading out? Didn’t you have plans today?”
“Oh? Right, yeah. I need to go.”
Only after checking the time did Nigel spring to his feet in a flurry.
His desk was a total mess—covered in stone tablets excavated from ruins, borrowed library books, crumpled assignment papers, spilled ink, broken pen nibs, and empty cups. Nigel sighed as he looked over the disaster he’d have to clean.
“…I really need to clean this up.”
“Want me to do it?”
“No, I’ll take care of it when I get back.”
“Semester’s over. Just call someone, or hell, live in the dorms until the next term starts.”
“No thanks.”
“Why not? Weren’t you planning to spend your whole life here because you love the academy so much?”
Nigel hurled a book at Bale immediately. A sore spot—he’d stayed two extra years due to lacking credits. He wanted to smack him, but Bale dodged the book with practiced ease, laughing as he did.
“If you told Professor Rangini you were joining the research lab, she’d probably cry tears of joy.”
Nigel didn’t respond to the joke. Instead, he glanced at the clock and the calendar sitting beside it.
It was already the summer of Kingdom Year 280.
Nigel was twenty years old now. He’d entered the academy at thirteen, and while every peer from that year had already graduated, Nigel remained.
He had long since completed the standard noble curriculum. Still, he stayed at the academy, majoring in spatial magic.
Spatial magic was, by modern standards, mostly theoretical and practically useless. Too many parts were impossible to implement. Funding was scarce. That is, until Nigel chose it as his major.
To save the spatial magic department—on the brink of collapse—Nigel had donated a massive sum to the school.
Professor Rangini, who had researched spatial magic for decades, welcomed her wealthy new student like she might kiss his feet. To this day, the professor continued to dote on him. And Nigel liked her too. She was incredibly competent.
But contrary to Professor Rangini’s hopes, Nigel had no plans to bury himself in the academy forever. He’d come to understand—painfully—that the level of magic he truly desired, the kind that crossed dimensions, was still a thousand years out of reach for humanity.
As he was about to head out, he noticed ink smudged on his sleeve. He ended up changing all his clothes, swapping into a clean white shirt, a dark blue vest, and a thin cape with a hood.
It looked stifling in this heat, but a temperature-regulating necklace hung around Nigel’s neck. Feeling the light weight swaying below his throat, he sighed faintly, reminded of the one who gave it to him.
“I’m heading out.”
“Right. Don’t forget we’re meeting at the tavern the day after tomorrow, okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You better show up this time. The girls won’t shut up about it.”
“If that’s the reason, I’m definitely not going.”
“Aw, come on. Just come for fun.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Nigel shrugged. Bale looked like he wanted to say more, but Nigel could already guess what it would be, so he left the room without listening.
Stepping outside the dormitory, Nigel looked around.
The academy buildings had grown vast and grand once they started accepting noble students. They were impressive, with a unique charm—but for students who had to walk them daily, the place was annoyingly expansive.
Nigel wasn’t particularly moved by the scenery. His eyes swept over empty air and dim shadows, oddly focused.
“No big changes.”
He muttered to himself and headed toward his meeting spot. It felt unusually light, not carrying any books for once.
His pace quickened as he approached the back gate of the academy. A tall man stood waiting. The moment he saw Nigel, the man waved a single arm high.
Nigel approached and greeted him.
“Schumacher. Have you been waiting long?”
“Yeah. I should be charging extra for this.”
“Send the invoice to Georg.”
“Sounds good.”
Of course, he never actually charged him. Schumacher was already being paid handsomely by the Magnus Duchy.
When Nigel left the duchy for the academy, Ruder had assigned Schumacher to accompany him. Nigel had tried to keep him from meddling with the Relics, while Schumacher had received plenty of family concern when moving his allegiance to House Magnus. It was a win-win.
Nigel willingly accepted Schumacher as his bodyguard and returned to the capital with him.
For the past seven years, Mikhail Schumacher had been Nigel’s personal guard.
Back when they first arrived in the capital, Schumacher had spoken with formal deference. But Nigel had wanted more than a rigid master-servant relationship. So he’d suggested they speak casually—like before.
Schumacher had accepted the offer without hesitation, as if he’d been hoping for it all along.
Since then, that dynamic had held. Whenever no one else was around, they spoke comfortably, not just in tone, but in the ease of sharing their thoughts.
Freed from the rigid hierarchy, Schumacher had become a very different man from earlier loops. Living under Nigel with relative freedom had lightened his expression and made his thinking more open, more positive.
It was a satisfying outcome.
Nigel glanced at Schumacher’s status window.
Character Info Window
Name: Mikhail Schumacher
Class: Radiant Knight
Role: Personal Guard to Nigel Grau Montstein
Level: 96
HP: 3,447 / 3,447
MP: 1,562 / 1,562
<View Stats>
<View Skills>
His stats were higher than they’d been three years later in the last loop. His MP was much higher, and he had far more skills now.
These days, Schumacher was undeniably one of the most famous knights in the capital—earning the lofty, if slightly embarrassing, title of Radiant Knight.
“You’re looking healthy.”
“You, on the other hand, still look like hell, Young Master.”
“This is normal for me. I’m fine.”
“Hmph… All right. Just speak up if anything’s wrong. Don’t go collapsing again like last time.”
“Today, I really am fine.”
“Good. Then let’s go.”
Schumacher adjusted his grip on his sword. Nigel pulled his hood up and took the lead.
If anyone had been watching closely, they might have found the two of them suspicious. Their movements were strange.
Nigel would suddenly stop mid-stride to think, then veer into one alley only to double back into another.
It looked like they were lost, but Schumacher followed silently, like he’d done this countless times.
As they walked through increasingly narrow alleys, they got farther from the city center. The atmosphere grew darker, more isolated.
The capital had good security, so it wasn’t exactly dangerous. Still, as a bodyguard, Schumacher clearly didn’t like it.
“If we’re going this deep, we should’ve brought backup. I can’t guard you properly on my own in a place like this.”
“You’re strong enough.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’ve never touched a sword in your life.”
“I have. I’m a Montstein, you know. I tried a few times, but I was terrible, so I quit.”
“Yeah, real impressive.”
Schumacher snorted, and Nigel chuckled.
Schumacher knew Nigel better than anyone— which made him the easiest person to talk to now. For the moment, anyway.
Nigel suddenly scowled.
The person he used to tell everything to wasn’t here. He was probably far in the north right now, battling a massive monster horde.
Pushing away those thoughts, Nigel turned his head.
<Hint> pointed him forward. They were close.
He paused and scanned the area.
“That’s him.”
At his whisper, Schumacher tensed. Nigel gestured with a flick of his eyes.
“There. That guy with the hood.”
The man, wearing a thick black hood despite the weather, practically screamed suspicious. Sure, Nigel was dressed similarly, but still.
And it wasn’t just the outfit.
Before the man could notice them, Schumacher grabbed Nigel and pulled him into a nearby alley.
They were used to this kind of work—but they could never afford to be careless.
Nigel held his breath, on edge.
The man he’d spotted was an illegal slave trader.
While attending the academy, Nigel spent every spare moment chasing down and resolving incidents in the capital—often to the detriment of his grades.
He did it to raise the name of the Divine Messenger of Glarus— and just as he’d discussed with Inas seven years ago, to accumulate Achievements.
Of course, things had turned out quite differently from what they’d imagined.
Now it was Schumacher, not Inas, by his side. And their positions, Nigel’s and Inas’s, had completely changed.
Rather than dwell on that, Nigel signaled to Schumacher. They were close enough now—no need to stick together.
As long as he didn’t get in the way, Schumacher wouldn’t lose. This was where Nigel’s role ended.
Schumacher nodded firmly and slipped into the shadows, tailing the hooded man.
Nigel pulled out his watch and checked the time.
Ten seconds passed.
He opened the party window.
Schumacher’s HP had barely dropped. His MP, however, had taken a decent dip—and was still falling.
Another minute passed by—then the MP began dropping much more slowly. That meant the fight, which had required rapid skill use, had ended.
Only then did Nigel start moving again.
He hadn’t seen where Schumacher went, but he wasn’t confused.
<Hint> had been flashing before they even arrived—it would guide him. All Nigel had to do was follow it.
Sure enough, just ahead, a piercing scream rang out, followed by the sharp clash of weapons.
The battle ended before Nigel even arrived.
A message popped up: his level and one skill level had increased. On reflex, Nigel opened his character window.
Character Info Window
Name: Nigel Grau Montstein
Class: Divine Messenger of Glarus
Role: Student of Solne Academy
Level: 43
HP: 127 / 127
MP: 1078 / 1208
<View Stats>
<View Skills>
Combat Skills
Heal – Lv. 42
Resurrection – Lv. 3
Special Skills
Foresight – Lv. 58
Revelation of Lies – Lv. 27
Divine Mastery – Lv. 11
Observer’s Eye – Lv. 65
General Skills
Spatial Magic Theory – Lv. 43
