[The spacetime that might have been] Wirbel

Wirbel was born in a small village on the northern border of the country.

This place is very close to the Demons -controlled area.

This era was not good. Because the monsters were endless, and when he was about four years old, the hero Himmel, who had brought decades of peace to the continent, also passed away.

The village is frequently attacked by Demons. Although adventurers often pass by and lend a helping hand, the perilous life continues like a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. People often wonder why they don't move to a safer town.

First, it's hard to leave one's homeland.

Secondly, not everyone has that financial means.

Moreover, Wirbel's parents had already died at the hands of the Demons, making moving an option both luxurious and distant for him.

If the king were wise, there might be higher walls and more soldiers. But in the kingdom where Wirbel lived, the king could only be considered a mediocre ruler.

However, there are always exceptions.

There was a girl in the village—many years later, Wirbel could no longer remember her features or voice, only a blurry, warm outline remained. At that time, the girl's family was moving to a city with a protective barrier. The girl's parents were reputable merchants who had saved enough money and were finally leaving this precarious village.

On the day they left, many villagers came to see them off. Wirbel also got along very well with the girl.

They had a good relationship, but after all, it was too unsafe to live in a village that could be attacked and destroyed by Demons at any time.

Five-year-old Wirbel wrapped a thick, old scarf tightly around his neck to ward off the eternal chill of the Northern Frontier. He sported a head of light-colored, messy, and stubborn short hair, trying his best to strike the most handsome pose in front of the girl.

Yes, Wirbel loved to show off when she was little, but what could she do when this girl was the only one in the village she was closest to?

"I'll wipe out those damned Demons!" Five-year-old Wirbel grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth, and confidently declared, "So, come back to this village then!"

He remembered the girl giving him a faint smile and then hugging him and crying. Although, looking back years later, he only felt that he had been a complete fool.

Training... fighting...

Wirbel had learned a few moves from passing adventurers; he seemed to have good talent, but his greatest strength lay in his hard work.

But those who pass by are ultimately just passing by; their abilities and professions are uncertain.

So he learned a few tricks, more or less: the movement techniques of a thief, the fighting skills of a warrior, and the Ordinary Attack Magic of a mage.

He used the silver coins he earned from commissions to buy a short staff with a three-pronged hook at the tip, so that he could both cast spells and fight in close combat, making full use of his unorthodox skills.

It's better to know a little about everything than to know nothing at all.

He knew the Demons' cunning and cruelty well, and therefore never showed mercy to Demons who begged for mercy. By the age of twelve, he had already been able to remain ruthless amidst blood and fire.

However, the limits of unorthodox methods will eventually be reached.

He was defeated by the Demons once and nearly lost his life.

But luckily, a passing knight saved him. Well, he was more like a general than a knight, since he didn't look like an ordinary soldier.

Saving him comes at a price, that's for sure, and Wirbel is happy to accept it; after all, without him, Wirbel would already be dead.

He went to a magic academy. His king was not a good king, so for someone like him who had no money, going to study was equivalent to signing a contract to sell himself into servitude for several years. Of course, if he made outstanding contributions, that would be another matter.

Is this considered a price to pay?

At least not for Wirbel, as that was his original intention.

I heard this place is very close to the town where that girl lives.

But it seems very far away.

After all, he was already a tool of the kingdom.

However, this is my wish, and I fight for my own desires.

After systematic learning, his combat effectiveness indeed increased dramatically.

His Northern Magic Corps was a mercenary unit dedicated to fighting Demons. Through years of military exploits, he had become a squad leader commanding a hundred men. A hundred men might not seem like many, but they were an elite force. One Demons after another was defeated by him, and he saved countless villages. That year, he was 20 years old.

The battle lines are holding up fairly well, and he wants to study magic again at the academy.

However, war broke out again, not Demons, but Human race.

The enemy king, said to be named Marcus, was described as a bloated, extremely greedy, and despicable ruler who led his army into battle.

Whenever Wirbel thought about this, he felt fortunate that his king was an ordinary king, not a scoundrel.

With Wirbel's kingdom suffering repeated defeats, his elite mercenary force, originally dedicated to fighting Demons, was dispatched to fight against Human race —after all, it was an extraordinary situation.

Wirbel had assumed that the battle against the Demons would be no different.

But he was wrong.

Humans are the ones who understand human weaknesses best.

Marcus did what only a demon would do: send women and children to the battlefield.

At that moment, Wirbel truly understood just how ugly the greatest evil in the world could be.

This became Wirbel's daily routine for the next few years.

The children and women were dressed in tattered clothes, carrying short swords, and some even wore scarves similar to those worn in his childhood.

Oh, and there's a little girl in the distance, holding a staff. Although her face is expressionless, her body seems to be trembling slightly. Her hair color seems to resemble that of a girl, but I've forgotten who it is. After all, my life has been accompanied by too much fighting.

Can she unleash Ordinary Attack Magic that doesn't dissipate in mid-air?

I doubt it. Even a genius needs to be at least a teenager to achieve that level of talent; I wasn't even that good back then.

Wirbel possesses a self-created "Gaze Binding" magic. As long as the other person's entire body is within his gaze, the other person cannot move or even use magic.

He tried to reason with the children, even when they were holding swords and wanted to kill him.

But to no avail; their parents were under Marcus's control, and only victory could save their loved ones' lives—and Marcus, surprisingly, "kept his word" in this matter.

Demon.

Wirbel felt a chill in his heart.

So, what's the choice? Let these children live and watch their parents be killed? Or...?

"Whoosh."

The short cane swept across, and the child fell.

"I'll give you a quick death, haha." His voice was calm, as if he were performing a tedious task, and he even lightly licked the blood off his short staff. "I'm a blood-soaked killer."

That's how war is. Hesitation means death for yourself and your comrades. He had to suppress his emotions to survive this hell.

"Whoosh."

A boy who looked a lot like me collapsed.

"Whoosh."

A figure that looked very much like a girl fell down.

The Gaze Restraint Magic.

He was probably giving himself time to hesitate, but that time was limited. He needed to be emotionless to ensure his own and his teammates' survival.

That's all.

Wirbel possessed countless unscrupulous, despicable spells designed solely for victory.

He also became the captain of the Northern Magic Corps.

He is Second-Class Mage.

The kingdom doesn't have the authority to certify First-Class Mages; you have to go to Oysast. It happens once every three years, and during that time, there are always Demons invasions. If you are successfully certified, you are said to receive any magic bestowed by the Great Mage, Serie.

Whether it's a battle or...

Who was it again? I forgot. Anyway, I've always been fighting for myself. I love the feeling of fighting and killing. That's all.

Several years later, Wirbel was 32 years old.

The break time during the First-Class Mage exam.

Wirbel looked at the silver-haired elf sitting quietly on the bench next to him, reading a book, and at the old lady pushing a cart next to him who accidentally lost her balance and scattered potatoes all over the ground.

The old lady by the roadside dropped her potatoes on the ground, and she's still looking at them.

With a light tap of his cane, Wirbel sent the potatoes flying back into the car. "Hey, Grandma, can we put them here?" Grandma smiled and thanked him.

"Hey... Hero Himmel's companions, are you just going to stand by and watch?"

The elf glanced at him but said nothing.

"This situation can't be ignored, can it?" Wirbel sat down on the bench, making a slightly familiar joke, but maintaining a comfortable distance.

"I didn't see it." The silver-haired elf squinted her small eyes, her tone flat. "I did hesitate a little about whether or not to help."

"Just a slight hesitation," Wirbel chimed in. "I thought it was a companion of the hero Himmel..."

"What happened to Himmel's companions?" The elf finally raised his eyes and looked at him.

They stared at each other for a moment.

"You look like the kind of person who would kick a stray dog for no reason," the elf remarked.

"Haha, I'm often told that." Wirbel grinned, not denying it. "It's just a survival tactic... As long as I can protect my homeland, hypocrisy, despicable... whatever, it doesn't matter. I want to become First-Class Mage so I can obtain powerful magic and slaughter all those Demons."

(What do you mean, "dog-kicking guy"? Does Kiba Inuzuka even kick dogs? (╰_╯)#)

"However, even if it's not my problem, if someone is in trouble, I'll still try my best to lend a helping hand," he added.

"Why?" The elf's gaze returned to the book, no longer looking at Wirbel.

Wirbel paused for a moment, gazing into the distance as if looking at the distant past.

"My hometown, on the northern border, is steeped in legends of the hero Himmel. Conquering the Thousand-Mirror Tower, battling the Seven Sages of Destruction, defeating the Imperial Prison Dragon... these were my favorite stories to hear as a child."

However, the elderly people in the village rarely talk about these heroic deeds.

"On the contrary, I prefer to talk about trivial little things."

"Himmel helped the village chase away troublesome monsters, gave directions to lost merchants, and even helped farmers who were short-handed to move their harvested grain... I always thought these stories were incredibly boring."

"But the smiles on the faces of those old people when they talked about these things were genuine." He paused, "Later, after Himmel passed away, the Demons began to harass us again. Suddenly, I understood."

He recalled the scene of the villagers silently rebuilding their homes amidst the ruins after the Demons destroyed the village.

"The Thousand-Mirror Tower, the Seven Sages of Destruction, the Imperial Prison Dragon... even the Demon King are all too far removed from ordinary people."

"Everyone has already given their all just to protect their current lives."

"If Himmel hadn't passed through my village, even with world peace, my village probably wouldn't exist anymore."

The elf listened quietly, turning a page of the book. "So?"

"What brought me here today isn't those grand, epic legends," Wirbel said softly, as if to himself, and also to the elf, "It's precisely these little things that you might find 'boring'."

He's going back to maintain the northern front. Becoming First-Class Mage is great, but he's still missing a warrior... The Northern Magic Corps, what a terrible name. It should have been renamed the Northern Expeditionary Force long ago. The mediocre king is indeed mediocre; why does he have a squad entirely composed of mages?

Reality.

"His Majesty Anthony is truly a wise king."

"Yes, yes... Our village is so close to the Demons..."

"I heard that if you have good talent, you can go directly to the Continental United Academy to study, without even paying tuition. Those who graduate from there are all sorts of elite talents..."

"Yes! Those two kids went there a while ago..."

"That's great."

"Yes, that's great."