Chapter 14: CHAPTER 14 TRAVELLING JOURNAL

I recall one of my brightest memory as a teen. I was laughing with my Ex. We were talking about sweet nothings to each other. After I release my magic bullet, the sky suddenly clears up which is baffling. Can my magic bullet really do that?

My self-denial is understandable. With my pinky-sized grimoire laughing, I rise my guard higher. Maybe in my futile attempt to instill a sense of security in my heart, my joker grimoire’s laughter turns to a nastier tune.

If mana is a ‘who’, then magic is an ‘event’. It occurs within a set logic of reasons. It is the interpretation of mana and the magic attribute that comes with it.

The sky is clear, the storm was no more. I hear the grimoire laughing from my pajama’s pocket. Wearing still my pajamas this whole time didn’t bother me, but this laughter does.

What remains of my pajama is but little cloth thanks to the tear and wear that my harsh training is becoming. My upper half is completely naked now. With little abs to show for is a welcome sight, my muscles were developing crazy these past few days.

I can even read a bit of Ki now. This Ki sensing is too weak to use on people but reading the flow of nature has become easier for me now.

Grabbing the Joker Grimoire from my pocket, I look at it through Ki. There was murky darkness to it. Sinister, cruel, and hungry for desire.

Suddenly, teacher Drouout appears in front of me together with a door magically summoning itself. “We need to talk.”

Seating by the familiar table for two, I start fidgeting as I don’t know where this conversation is going. “Teacher, what the hell did you teach me?”

Drouot sips a cup of his tea which I have no idea that it was there, to begin with. “Young man. I will be frank with you… I wasn’t planning for you to learn something. I don’t want you to attend the entrance exam.”

Before I even ask why is that? Drouot summons a very familiar grimoire to me— it was the five-leaf black clover!

Drouot offers the grimoire for me to hold. “What do you think? Doesn’t this thing resemble yours?”

I inspect the Black Clover in my hand. As I was expecting, I cannot open it as I am not its owner. “Why do you want me to see this?”

Drouot holds his hand out asking for the Black Clover back. “Because you will be in danger. The fights against devils are getting hotter lately. Someone is stirring trouble behind the scenes, if you are seen with such an evil-looking grimoire, you’d definitely be hunted.”

I gasp. I suppress my fear, but like a shadow, it eludes my control. “Tell me, teacher. The things that you taught me. What was that? There is no way my magic is that strong. You felt it, from this tower, right? It is impossible for that paltry amount of mana to exhibit such destructive powers.”

Moreover, why does Tower master Drouot have the Black Clover? Shouldn’t it be at Lichita’s hands, Asta’s mom's hands? Wait, so the internet rumors were true? Does Drouot really share a connection with Lichita?

You are reading story Cloverless at novel35.com

Drouot offers an apologetic smile. “As I said, I don’t intend for you to learn something. I was planning on stalling you by throwing and mixing random theories. The things I was teaching you were all… groundless made-up theories.”

I grit my teeth. This is the cruelest betrayal ever. What a fool I was! This is a damn joke! “What do you mean? How the hell was I even able to detect mana? To learn magic?”

“It was because of your persistence.” Drouot offers a passionate explanation. “You fought hard. I tried to discourage you by hitting on you hard, but you were persistent. You responded to my harassment feverishly, dug deep on the limits of meditation, and most astonishingly, you had enlightenment. After the Trauma Inhibitor, I was honestly thinking that your ‘Enlightenment’ was false. Alas, you surprised me time and time again.”

Drouot exhales turbid air from his lungs, and with a sign of adoration in his eyes, he starts reaching deep into his pockets. “Here, take this.” A book the size of two palms and as thick as two pencils presents itself to me. “This journal here is the most real teaching I can offer you. It contains the essence of everything I have experienced since I was a traveling mage.”

Drouot stands up. “Young man, I am sorry I lied to you. I regret nothing about the lying part. What I regret though is I was played like a fool about it. Hahahahaha!! Sabrina Crook that woman asked me to stop you from reaching the Magic Knights Exam. I don’t see the full picture, but I can tell. You are a chess piece, young man, be aware of that.”

What? Sabrina Crook? What’s up with these two contradicting orders? First, she asks me to pass the magic knights exam. And now, I am hearing this?

A conspiracy slowly forms in my head. She wants something that only Tower Master Drouot has, and she’s using me to get to him. Drouot must be also aware of this, but the question is, why is he playing along with Sabrina?

Within a blink of an eye, Drouot vanishes.

I stand up, and bows in the direction where Drouot vanishes. He is an honorable old man with principles. Though he admits to his folly, I cannot still forgive him. However, no matter what, I don’t wish to abandon the relationship we share— a teacher-student relationship.

Yes, I am obsessive, that is why I keep on clinging to things that I should let go of.

I start skimming Drouot’s journal. Inside it shocks me to my core— mana method, mana zone, soul reincarnation, world races, dungeons, other countries, and more. It looks like the journal has an enchantment that compresses paper pages.

Why does teacher Druout gives this journal up so easily? This is a treasure trove of information! “T-teacher!” I call to him with all my might. I search for him in this huge tower ignoring all of the time I was wasting searching instead of training.

Then I realize.

Teacher Drouot is not here in the tower anymore!

…