The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 27, Section 26: Gret, the Underachiever

At the entrance of Rock School in the evening when school lets out.

Orc skeletons covered in children's simple crayon drawings walked out of the school amidst the children's laughter.

Now, this enormous skeleton, two meters tall and with a broad chest, is adorned with orange-red sun patterns, simple smiley faces drawn with red crayon (who knows who), blue skies, white clouds, and green grass, as well as squirrels and nuts. On the skeleton's large right hand, there are also sword patterns—

The little boy who drew the swords believed:
"Draw swords on the skeleton arms, and their attacks will be even more powerful, able to kill evil goblins and orc invaders and protect our village!"

The children, using all their imaginations, drew all sorts of interesting patterns on this righteous protector of the village.

However, not every child is so happy.

"Teacher Joseph, magic is so difficult! Why can't I learn it?"

"I still can't understand those arcane formulas; they're just too complicated. I simply can't figure them out!"

In the classroom where all the other children had left, little Grete held his books, looking sullen.

Although he had been learning arcane magic from Teacher Joseph for several months, young Grete still hadn't grasped the essentials of any magic.

To this day, he hasn't made any progress even on the simplest introductory module of the most basic spell, "Light Spell."

Among his classmates, some of the more intelligent ones have already grasped the concept and are making good progress.

Maybe in another two months, some students will be able to perform the most basic magic tricks!

Among these bright children was Grete's sister, Shiluka.

“Don’t worry, little Greta,” Mr. Joseph comforted her.

"Arcane magic is not easy to learn; it is impossible to master without years of study and accumulation."

"Back then, I studied diligently on my own for three whole years before I was able to perform my first magic trick."

"Now, you have dedicated instructors and textbooks personally compiled by His Majesty El-Erian that are suitable for students with no prior knowledge, which is already much more convenient."

"For most people, it is the norm to never become a formal monk in their lifetime."

Is that so?
Little Gret lowered his head.

Although he was very reluctant to admit it, he felt that he was indeed very likely the mediocre person his teacher had described, someone who would never become a true mage in his lifetime.

"Teacher, is it because my geometry and arithmetic are not very good?"

"Although I'm very good at grammar and spells, I really don't understand math!" Little Gretel said, feeling quite frustrated. "Why do we have to prove that two triangles that look exactly the same are congruent?"

"That must be part of the reason," Joseph said, adjusting his glasses.

“I deliberately observed the characteristics of each student and found that you are different from your sister Shiluka.”

"She is quite intelligent and has strong logical abilities. She can remember and understand arcane formulas, knows how to draw the most appropriate auxiliary lines, and can choose the most suitable problem-solving method. She has truly mastered this knowledge."

"But your learning of magical knowledge is more based on intuition than understanding."

"However, arcane magic is an extremely precise and rigorous discipline. Without sufficient mathematical foundation and logical ability, it is simply impossible to master it."

“I see…” Little Grete hung his head, looking bewildered by a shattered fantasy.

"It's alright. Even if you don't become a mage in the future, it's not a big deal," Teacher Joseph comforted her. "At least you've learned to read and do arithmetic, haven't you?"

Little Grete didn't say anything, but said goodbye to his teacher dejectedly, his heart filled with gloom, as if a huge rock was lodged in his chest.

...Dusk was falling.

Moon on the branches.

It's quiet at night.

A dark cloud drifted in, obscuring the moonlight and plunging the quiet Rolling Stone Village into darkness.

Haug and the other beastmen, under the cover of night, quietly descended the hillside and approached the village.

As one of the dominant fantasy races on Earth, orcs not only possess terrifying strength and physique far surpassing that of humans, but also have a rarely noticed characteristic—

"Dark vision".

In the darkness of a moonless night, their eyesight far surpasses that of humans!
Looking at the familiar houses in Rolling Stone Village, memories buried deep in Haug's mind surged up once again.

He remembered this village.

This is the village that he and more than 100 other companions once attacked together.

It was before this human village that they were attacked by the battle mages of the floating city.

He was the sole survivor, having lost over 100 comrades and his left arm in that battle.

Anger burned in Haug's chest; the orc clenched his sharp, menacing fangs, his blood practically boiling.

"Kill them! Slaughter all the humans here!"

Haug roared.

"Kill!"

The orc warriors also answered Haug's call.

They roared as they stormed into the village!
Chaos erupted in the night.

"what happened?"

In front of the bonfire at the village entrance square.

Joseph, who was still awake and drinking with his friends, had a slightly flushed face.

At this moment, the middle-aged monk from heaven heard the chaotic noise and was slightly puzzled.

"Orcs! Orcs are attacking! So many orcs!"

what?
Orcs?

Joseph and his drinking buddies sobered up almost instantly.

Weren't the orcs already driven out by His Majesty Elion's army?
Are there any remaining remnants of the army left in the land of Eldoron?

If humanity at this time knew the stories of later eras, they would understand that, compared to the armies that had not yet been defeated, the remnants of those defeated soldiers were perhaps the most insane nightmare that ordinary people had to face.

"Aaaaah, the orcs are attacking!"

"Oops!"

Joseph's drinking buddies were horrified, and upon closer inspection:
In the distance, on the main road at the village entrance, a group of ferocious beastmen were charging towards them.

(End of this chapter)