BXBX NOVEL Chapter 10
All he had to do was to get up early every morning and clean the classroom, laboratory, workshop, and study.
It was just like when he used to be an informal disciple, and the amount of work was frankly incomparably small.
After cleaning, it’s breakfast.
He couldn\'t eat to his heart\'s content because he ate it after the Senior and Intemediate formal disciples, but nevertheless, he was able to enjoy a plentiful meal that could not be compared to when he was an informal disciple because he received sausages, ham, thick soup, and freshly baked bread every day.
What was rather painful was that he was suddenly freed with improved life and a plethora of personal time.
Oliver asked the room leader when he would be able to attend class, just in case.
“That is what the Master decides. Since the last class was taken a while ago, I don’t think there will be any class soon.”
Oliver sighed and asked when the study would be available.
Oliver hasn\'t fully learned how to write yet, but if he read it properly, he thought it would be possible to self-study with a book.
However, this question also returned with a disappointing answer.
“It won’t be available. Only the master can use the study. Anyone can\'t open up valuable knowledge, right? At the very least, Sir Andrew could use something??”
Andrew is a disciple who carries out Joseph\'s orders.
Oliver was about to ask what he had to do to become a senior disciple, but he gave up.
Maybe it\'s because of one of the instincts that helped him survive at the orphanage and the mine?
This question seemed to endanger him.
As such, Oliver had a dull and boring day, and he went to see Marie in his spare time to learn letters and numbers.
Even though he didn\'t know if he\'ll ever need it.
“Oh, that’s fast…”
“What?”
Marie spoke, and Oliver questioned.
She spoke again in a tone of admiration.
“It’s about the speed of learning…. you started learning the alphabet a while ago, and now you know how to use not only words but also sentences correctly…. It’s amazing.”
She praised Oliver sincerely, but he was not particularly pleased.
Learning the letters was not his goal.
Letters are just a road that leads to learning black magic.
Can a person be happy if they reach the road and can’t reach the destination?
Oliver felt the same when he heard that he can\'t use the study freely.
Obviously, Joseph\'s goal was to train a good warlock, but something didn\'t make sense.
Marie, who noticed Oliver\'s condition, asked.
“Are you okay? You look weak?”
“That’s… I became a junior disciple, but I couldn’t attend classes or use the study room.”
Oliver said without thinking.
It was too much to say to Marie, who was in danger of not being able to become a lower-level disciple.
Even so, as if Marie had gotten used to it now, she just accepted it bluntly.
"Absolutely. The study is like a treasure trove of black magic wisdom. You can\'t let a lower-class disciple use it, right?"
“Why?”
At Oliver\'s question, Marie was speechless for a moment, thinking about how to explain it in an easy way.
“Ah! It’s to make a difference.”
“Difference…?”
“Yes, making a difference. You can\'t treat superior people and inferior people the same way, right? Because the values are different.”
Oliver didn\'t answer, but it wasn\'t an expression of understanding.
No, it was an expression that did not understand a single word of what Marie said.
Marie described it as if she was treating a three-year-old child.
“Uh, how do I explain this? Ummm… ah! How is life these days? Sleeping or eating?”
Oliver replied.
“A clean bed, a small desk, and sausages, hams, and bacon for every breakfast.”
After hearing his answer, Marie said with a bitter expression on her face.
“It’s just like that. If even the informal disciple gets sausages every morning, do you think I and the other kids will try and work hard? Furthermore, we would not have tried to become a warlock at all.”
Oliver tilted his head once more.
“Uh… So, is Supervisor Marie learning black magic to eat sausages?”
At the stupid question that flew in again, Marie was dumbfounded and touched her forehead.
It was an incredibly disrespectful gesture for an informal disciple to do to a formal disciple, but seeing Oliver\'s stupid attitude, she couldn\'t help it.
“No. Do you think people learn black magic for sausage and ham? Ah… I\'m really curious, why is Oliver learning black magic?”
“Because it’s fun”
An answer without a single hesitation.
Marie was so confused that she didn\'t even dare to argue.
Marie shook her head and spoke again.
“… I don’t learn for that. There is a more practical reason.”
“Practical reason?”
Oliver was interested.
Originally, Marie wouldn\'t have answered, but for some reason, she answered without knowing,
"Because this is my only hope," said Marie,
"Hope?"
“Yeah, it was the only hope for someone at the bottom of society like me. If I become a warlock, I can become strong enough to live without anyone looking down on me."
“……….”
"Ha… I think you wouldn’t be able to relate. And most of the people here practice black magic for the same reason as mine rather than the reasons like Oliver’s.”
Oliver didn\'t bother speaking.
He looked at her feelings and knew she was sincere.
Of course, he didn\'t sympathize with her words, but her emotions were interesting.
“So, does Supervisor Marie want to become a warlock to become stronger?”
“Of course. I wouldn\'t be belittled for being a woman, and I could wipe out all the as*holes who look down on me by myself. I can make a lot more money…The warlock, although people are wary of them, at least they aren’t ignored."
Oliver listened to Marie with interest.
While Marie was speaking, her emotions fluctuated, and the light in which many emotions were intertwined looked quite pretty.
“Have you seen it by yourself?”
"What?"
" You said Warlocks are strong… Have you ever seen them fight?"
Marie pondered for a moment, and then she opened her mouth very carefully. It was as if she was opening a gift wrapper.
“…. once, when I was picked up by the master. The fearless neighborhood b*stards had an argument, the master didn\'t even flick an eyebrow and finished it all. On the spot… It was amazing. Up until that point, no one could ever say anything to them even though those bastards did all sorts of things, at that time I was completely shocked. So I\'m trying to become a warlock. To become strong like our master.”
Oliver nodded his head curiously.
Marie smiled humbly as if embarrassed by the delay.
“I’m not going to talk about this anymore. It’s a bit embarrassing.”
“Yeah, okay.”
He had already heard everything he wanted, so Oliver graciously accepted.
Marie narrowed her eyes as if displeased with the reply.
"… Is there any problem?"
"Haha… No. It\'s alright. Then, can you help me with my studies now that you\'ve finished learning to write?"
“Oh, yes.”
Oliver answered right away, pushed the notebook and pencil to the side, and sat down on the floor cross-legged.
His posture was quite stable, and Marie also sat cross-legged just like Oliver did.
"Well, excuse me for a moment.”
"Yes."
As soon as Oliver got an answer, he reached out to Marie and extracted her emotions.
A small group of light gathered at Oliver\'s fingertips, and the light regained its stability in an instant.
His control over the light was as skillful as breathing, and he seemed to have already surpassed even an intermediate disciple in controlling the emotions.
Admiring the ghostly skill, Marie put her hands together, and Oliver placed her emotions on them.
“Try to stabilize it.”
As soon as Oliver said it, the emotions that had stabilized fluctuated and tried to unravel. Marie frowned and focused her mind on her fingertips.
The emotions were more difficult than dealing with the emotions extracted from the flask, but the emotions slowly regained their stability showing that her efforts so far were not in vain.
Marie took a shallow breath, and sweat appeared on her forehead. But it was just the beginning.
"Now make a shape. Uh… conical?"
Without saying anything, Marie immediately manipulated the emotions.
The emotions which floated in the air fluctuated for a moment, and then slowly began to change into a cone.
"Well, this time make it a diamond."
He threw another demand, Marie reinvigorated herself and tried to change the emotions, it was harder than the first, but Oliver didn\'t mind and the order continued.
"Now square."
“Circle again.”
“This time in the shape of a star.”
“In the shape of a donut.”
“Well, this time…”
“Wait a minute!”
Drenched in a cold sweat, Marie said urgently. She breathed heavily, feeling exhausted. It seemed difficult for her to stabilize the emotions any longer.
"Now, can we just take a break for a second? It’s hard."
“This time, let’s make it into the shape of a cobweb.”
Oliver ignored Marie\'s words, and she tried to say it again, but Oliver spoke adamantly.
"The cobweb."
The pressure was hard to explain. Marie, who was exhausted, concentrated her mind and crudely created the shape of a cobweb.
But before long, the shape began to collapse, and at that moment, Oliver placed his hands around Marie\'s hands as if they were overlapping.
“What now”
“Nothing, just Concentrate.”
At Oliver\'s words, Marie focused again.
The unstable emotions regained their composure and turned into a cobweb, with which she felt a surprising sensation.
Through Oliver and his folded hands, she could indirectly feel how Oliver helped, it was a mysterious experience that she had never felt before.
If she had to compare it, it was like someone holding you from behind when you were learning to ride a bicycle.
“The cobweb is complete,” said Marie.
Although the lines were thick and the spacing between the lines was wide, it was just a clumsy cobweb, but still, it was completed somehow.
Marie looked at Oliver cautiously, which was unlike her.
As she was in the position of being taught, she started looking at him without her knowing, and fortunately, Oliver seemed to be somewhat satisfied.
“Um… well done.”
The compliment surprisingly pleased Marie.
“Oh, thank you.”
“Would you like to relax your hands for a moment?”
"Yes?"
As soon as she answered, her hand trembled.
Upon inspection, it turned out that Oliver was manipulating emotions through Marie\'s hands, while he was making a web.
Not a clumsy cobweb, like the one Marie made, but a very sophisticated cobweb with hundreds of fine threads intertwined.
“This is…”
“Concentrate.”
Marie shut her mouth and focused her attention according to Oliver\'s instructions. And as if indulging, she felt the cobwebs being made one by one.
It was a delicate and beautiful feeling that cannot be described in words.
As the layers of the cobwebs formed, Oliver opened his mouth.
“Do you know roughly how to do it?”
“Ah… yes. Even though I did not understand everything, I think I understand a little bit.”
“Then, when you are alone, keep reminding yourself of that feeling, and imagine it in your head.”
“Imagine?”
“Yeah, that would be of some help. Remember, we will only practice this next time.”
Oliver finished talking and looked at his watch. He still didn\'t know how to see time, but he could tell the difference between small and long hands.
“The small needle…is on 1. The long needle… is on 4. I\'ll get going. The leader told me to come to the back side of the factory when the small needle reached 1 and the long needle reached 6.”
"What? What\'s going on?”
"I don\'t know. They said they were going to gather ingredients.”
“Ah… the ingredients?”
“You know something?”
“Probably, they are going to gather ingredients for a product.”
“You mean for sausage?”
“No, it’s a real product. Probably, you will be moving with the intermediate disciples…. Listen carefully and be careful.”
“Oh, okay. Then, I will go.”
Oliver walked away without looking back. Seeing this, Marie felt strange.
‘Is that it?’
Without realizing it, she called him.
“Oliver!”
"…. Yes?"
“That….. Be careful, and… Thank you for teaching me.”
Oliver looked at the face of Marie and replied.
“….Yes, Supervisor Marie too worked hard.”
And then he walked again.