Incident (1)
├─ Beginner Firepower Control
├─ Beginner Fluid Manipulation
└─ Metal Reinforcement(Progress: 67%)
Late into the night.
I inspected the magical threads of Telekinesis manifesting through my naked eye in the annex. The quality of my mana had upgraded, but applying and controlling the suddenly amplified power was no simple task.
"……"
I closed my eyes gently and unleashed Telekinesis.
A single wooden steel blade floated up with a low hum.
Today's goal: manipulating electromagnetic waves through the 'resonance of metals' via Telekinesis.
Until now, the low quality of my mana had made even attempting it impossible, but at 4th Grade, it was worth a shot.
Ziiiiiing—
The most basic application of this advanced technique was 'invisibility.' By dispersing and refracting visible light through metal resonance, it blurred the wooden steel's form.
—Boom!
The principle sounded plausible, but the vibrating wooden steel shot upward on the spot. It smashed through the ceiling, plummeted back down, and struck my shoulder.
The 38th failure.
"Difficult."
I rubbed my sore shoulder and sank into the chair. Controlling this mechanism had left wounds all over my body, and most of my mana was depleted.
The quality of my mana had risen, but this body's mediocre talent remained unchanged. It would take some time.
"Talent……"
Suddenly, I recalled what I had said to Sylvia yesterday.
—Is a genius's struggle even superior to that of the mediocre? No. You, who need no teaching, do not know those who cannot grow without it……
Looking back, it had been envy and jealousy. This 'inferiority complex' was likely the common thread between Deculein and Kim Woojin.
Deculein became a villain, consumed by his inferiority. Kim Woojin resigned to it and remained a failure.
Neither had overcome it.
I gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Amusing."
Yet what I had told Sylvia yesterday was no lie.
Sylvia's growth would happen on the Floating Island. There, amid countless events and quests, she would surpass Deculein.
The right choice to one day face 'Archmage Sylvia' in the main quest's flow.
That place was the Floating Island.
"……"
I straightened my clothes and stepped outside. Butler Roy was waiting. It was exactly 7 a.m.
"Have Ren and Enen left?"
"Yes."
"Very well."
I nodded. The siblings had departed on a business trip to establish the 'intelligence office.' They'd return with a few suitable recruits in tow.
Roy spoke.
"And Lady Yeriel has arrived."
……
Yeriel sat in the Yukline estate's tearoom. The two cups of black tea she had brought wafted a sharp, tangy aroma.
"You coming to the groundbreaking?"
She sipped her tea and asked me.
"The underground passage opening."
The underground passage wouldn't normally open until long after Marik—and even then, quite late.
That 'quite late' meant at least a year after Marik's opening, until Yeriel got her business idea from the steady casualties.
In other words, it was built a full year early.
"Got blueprints?"
"Got footage."
Yeriel pulled out a crystal orb. Infusing it with mana made an image float up.
"The passage runs about 80km from our territory's northern village 'Seojakbi' to Marik's entrance. What do you think?"
The underground passage in the footage was no mere tunnel. It was spacious enough for comfort in width and height, with modern-clean tiles and outer walls.
"And it's not just a passage. Look. Coming straight back after work in Marik is exhausting, right? So I added shops."
The crystal orb then showed the underground marketplace.
A literal underground mall. Think a modern subway station.
"It's empty now, waiting for tenants. Restaurants, shops, hotels, you name it. That way, we get extra revenue beyond tolls. Adventurers will blow their cash down here."
Yeriel crossed her arms, smug. Her triumphant look was indeed clever.
"One order begets ten."
"……Yeah. That's me."
Her stiff neck and shoulders practically soaring to the heavens.
Yeriel held back a laugh, puffing up with pride.
"Good. I've invested in plenty of shops lately—have them open branches inside."
Magic shop Ropopo, hardware store Rockkan's Wharf, Pig's Blossom restaurant, and more. I'd invested and taken shares in many.
"Oh, that! Was gonna mention it. Why force investments like that?!"
Yeriel suddenly furrowed her brow. It was an odd reaction to me.
"Force?"
"Yeah! Heard you went to shops that didn't need investment and ripped shares out of them!"
"……"
I recalled those memories.
True, some shops hadn't been thrilled about handing over shares. I'd targeted only those looking like wealthy tycoons.
"If they clearly refused……"
I trailed off.
True, any company or shop that dared voice refusal got a 'personal' visit from me for persuasion.
"……"
I thought from their perspective.
A noble thug shows up out of nowhere to 'persuade'—no, threaten—share sales. And the mastermind was none other than Yukline, a pillar of imperial power……
"……I paid fair value."
"Anyway! Planning to keep it up?"
Yeriel asked. I pondered, then nodded.
"Yes, I will."
No reason not to. They might resent it now, but eventually, it'd be win-win.
If the results are good, the process doesn't matter. No time to haggle and stall with so little left.
"Ugh, seriously……"
"Yeriel. Those who refused my investment share the blame."
Yeriel let out a deep, scornful sigh.
"Whatever. You coming to the groundbreaking or not?"
"If schedules align."
"Schedule? Probably next week. What's today?"
"Tutoring Her Majesty, then a brief auction house visit."
"Auction again?! Crazy! Total bullshit!"
Yeriel gaped again. I shook my head.
"I'm the seller."
"……Oh~ Almost pissed me off. And this."
Yeriel pushed a box on the tea table toward me. Elegantly wrapped.
"Gift from the Yukline underground passage construction firm. Open it."
I lifted the lid with Telekinesis.
Inside was something unexpectedly familiar.
"Know what it is? Kinda novel, maybe."
A premium lump of metal: black base with embossed golden Yukline crest.
A revolver.
"Trendy among kingdom nobles lately. They say close-range lethality beats a sword. Good self-defense against thugs."
Guns existed in this world. Standard gunpowder pistols. Not widespread, of course.
Reasons? Setting team's domain.
Can't pierce mana auras, knights' dynamic vision outpaces bullets—simple stuff.
"Nice?"
"Yes."
Even by aesthetic sense, it was fine work—more art than weapon. Satisfying.
Is this why people give gifts? One item improves the firm's image in my head.
"Well made. Tell them I accept."
"Uh…… You're keeping it? Not tossing?"
Yeriel asked slyly.
"Yes."
"……What for? Mages hate these, usually. Thought you'd trash it, showed it casually……"
Yeriel eyed the revolver in my hand. Her gaze flickered with longing, greed, disappointment.
I waggled the revolver side to side. Her big eyes followed.
"Yeriel. Heading back right away?"
I pocketed it and asked. Yeriel sighed in response.
"Gonna rest a bit~ Sooo busy lately~ Was scouting gifts for you~"
"Rest easy."
"Ugh, damn. Pisses me off. Mood's like a cockroach now."
"Roy?"
I ignored Yeriel and called Roy.
"We're off."
"Yes. Carriage is ready."
Time to head to the Imperial Palace.
"Just wipe your mouth and eat it yourself. Why show him? Why? Aaaah, you idiot. Why show that idiot brain your gift—"
Meanwhile, back in her room, Yeriel thrashed on the bed. Regret made her whole body shudder.
"Was gonna use it for hunting."
Revolver-less, Yeriel blankly imagined a dramatic scene like from a play……
Crack—
Herself aiming at a wild boar with the revolver. In the silent snowy mountains, only her and the beast— a monster that devoured ten woodcutters.
The tense moment as cold wind claws her skin.
—Your future lies in my hands.
She winks one eye, calculates wind and distance precisely, then pulls the trigger coolly.
Bang—!
The fired bullet races, piercing the boar. Rips shell, shreds muscle, destroys heart.
The monster boar dies.
She blows smoke from the barrel.
—Fuu……. Looks like I got it.
Vassals watching breathlessly rush out, applauding. Amid cheers, Yeriel smirks—pathetic.
……That sweet future, stolen by Deculein.
"Sigh. Why'd he have to like the same stuff? Blood ties, I guess?"
Yeriel shot up, fixed her messy hair, and left the room. She had a mission today: 'routine inspection.'
"……"
She crept up the stairs unseen by servants, first infiltrating the study.
"Lemme see……"
Deculein was obsessive about organization, so predicting document spots was easy.
"Here."
Found 'Investment Status.' Skimming worriedly, Yeriel's eyes suddenly bulged.
"What the hell? These numbers don't make sense!"
Rumors true: Deculein was dropping elne in the hundreds of millions, all turning black-ink profit daily. Even the 200 million from last auction recovered ages ago.
"What the fuck is this bastard up to……"
Chills prickled Yeriel's arms. Whatever it was, Deculein's doing felt ominous.
"Gonna make me clean up again……"
Yeriel carefully replaced the file and exited. Acting casual on the first floor, she spotted crates entering the living room.
Yeriel asked innocently.
"Hey. What's all this?"
"Bandages and medicine."
"Bandages? Meds?"
"Yes. Ordered by the lord."
Bandages. Medicine. Why would Deculein order those? And so much?
Yeriel tilted her head.
"Why so many?"
"We don't know. Something in the annex."
"……Annex."
Yeriel glanced at the annex outside. Maybe he'd kidnapped Ruina there?
The servant said sternly then.
"Lady. You can't go in there. Not even you."
"Not going."
But the servants eyed her suspiciously. Paid well by Deculein, their loyalty was ironclad.
"Not going. I'll be in my room—bring food later."
"Yes. I'll go with you."
"No need."
"I'll stand at the door."
Servants were firm. They even stuck the youngest by her side.
"……Watch me."
Yeriel growled up the stairs.
"I've read all your books."
Back at the palace. Sophien shook my revised Understanding Pure Elements as she spoke.
I asked calmly.
"How was it?"
"I've mastered them all. Behold."
Sophien manifested every spell in the revised book simultaneously. In under a minute, pure elements floated everywhere.
"Crude."
I admired without showing it.
Heaven's favor, talent transcending humanity.
"Yes. Noted."
I jotted today's lesson in the tutoring log. Sophien peeked.
"What is that?"
"Tutoring log."
"Quite the busybody."
I didn't reply.
[Her Majesty Sophien mastered a semester's worth of spells for an ordinary mage in under two weeks……]
As I wrote, Sophien asked.
"But your fiancée lacks skill, does she not?"
"……"
My fountain pen halted abruptly.
Not anger.
Just incomprehension.
Julie had talent to reach knighthood's peak. 'Julie lacks skill' was like saying 1+1=3.
"Why? Angry I insult your fiancée?"
The emperor smirked.
I met her gaze.
Sophien never lied. She loathed the act itself.
But that trait only deepened my doubt.
"A bit more detail, please. Knight Julie is the finest I know—"
"Exactly as said. She lacks skill. An excellent knight, but not matching the hype."
"……"
Nonsense.
I recalled story and settings. Julie's feats in the game I played, her killing Deculein at her peak……
"You said in last lesson: '—If you master enough magic that I cannot offer Your Majesty more, then seek that "other meaning" then.' Something like that?"
Sophien mimicked my voice.
"Ready for my questions now?"
A thick smile curved her lips. Her crimson pupils, thinly arched, gleamed serpentine.
I shook my head, meeting her eyes.
"Lessons remain."
"……Lessons remain?"
"Second lesson."
"Silence. I just manifested all spells more perfectly than any other."
"Today: basic magic test."
"No, you damned fool! What more do you have to teach me?!"
Bam—!
Sophien slammed the desk. Her brow hardened terrifyingly. Furious mana rose as an aura.
The bored emperor had no patience.
"Quit bullshitting and look wide-eyed! Is my magic not superior to yours?!"
True.
Her current magical prowess outstripped mine. Nay, she could surpass any mage in the world if she wished—a divine being.
Yet.
I had one spell to overwhelm her.
"Fundamentals matter in all things. Like stamina in everything."
I floated my fountain pen with Telekinesis, speaking indifferently.
"Telekinesis. Ideal starter for manipulation magic. Though divided into basic, beginner, intermediate, advanced—"
"Pointless."
The emperor cut me off. She glared murderously and intoned.
"Deculein. Know how many mages have taught me?"
"No."
"33. Rohakan among them. Belladomen too."
Rohakan—too big to mention. Belladomen, an Ether rank mage.
Monsters both.
"Even they dared not lecture me on basics. My 'fundamentals' surpass all."
True again.
If an ordinary mage's Telekinesis output is 10, a manipulation specialist's 20, the emperor's is 100—tenfold alone.
Basics ten times over naturally widens the high-end gap.
Thus, she dominates any same-spell matchup.
Her base stamina was superhuman.
"Indeed. Irrelevant. I am not Rohakan."
"……What? Deculein, lost your mind?"
My Telekinesis magic circle enveloped my entire body.
This body wasTelekinesis—not wrong. Quantitatively, fifty times an ordinary mage's.
Five times Sophien's.
"Simple. Take this fountain pen in 30 minutes."
"What's with you? Hey. Insane?"
At minimum, she couldn't beat my Telekinesis.
Her boredom would crash against this wall……
"It may be hard at first. But set a goal, train diligently without sloth, and victory will come."
"……Insulting me now?"
Sophien's face stiffened. I continued calmly.
"Begin. Win, and I'll answer any question honestly."
The floating fountain pen hovered before Sophien's nose.
"……Questions are beneath me now."
Sophien glared and asked. Her surging aura had chilled to stillness—proof of rage.
"Wager your neck?"
She meant it. Proof my provocation worked.
"Yes. Of course."
I smiled, sincere and relaxed.
"Take it, if you can."
Gifting Sophien 'raw' emotion.
That was my tutoring's aim.