Chapter 25
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 025
Chapter Title: Multiple Manifestations of Magic
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The boy unleashed his utmost concentration as he began to form the circle.
He arranged the mana particles.
Delicately positioning each and every one, he bonded them together. Gradually, a band of mana began to wrap around his soul.
A mana circle was taking shape, bit by bit.
However, forming a mana circle was no easy task.
His soul—a brilliantly shining sphere—pulsed, emitting a majestic wave. The wave soon shook the entire inner world.
The carefully arranged cluster of mana particles was swept up in the pulsation, scattering and breaking apart.
The boy knew the nature of this phenomenon.
'A soul pulsation.'
The inner world was far from a static space.
Just as a human heart beats tirelessly to circulate blood throughout the body, so too did the human soul.
The soul pulsed ceaselessly, circulating spiritual power.
The waves created by the soul's pulsation shook the boy's inner world, sweeping away the mana he had so painstakingly fixed in place.
That was why forming a mana circle was so difficult.
Arranging and stabilizing mana particles in a fluctuating inner space was like building a house atop raging waves.
It required tremendous trial and error, endless patience, and immense concentration.
That was why ordinary mages only managed to form their first circle upon reaching adulthood. It typically took anywhere from a few months to several years of trial and error to complete one.
But Andy was different.
'...I think I know how to do it.'
Andy wasn't someone with ordinary talent.
He possessed overwhelming mana sensing ability and an inscrutable intuition. When it came to magic, he was blessed with divine gifts.
Andy examined his fluctuating inner world. He read the rhythmic waves. He felt the space's tremors and predicted the ones to come.
And so, he placed mana at specific positions.
'If I position the particles here... it can withstand the soul's waves.'
Not too far from the pulsing soul, nor too close. A delicate spot. As he placed the mana particles there—
The mana particles Andy had placed emitted a clear light, as if affirming this was the right spot.
'Interesting.'
Andy was delighted.
Though this was his inner world and his physical body wasn't present, if it were, he surely would have broken into a wide grin.
He was finding immense enjoyment in the process of forming the circle.
Exploring his own soul, analyzing and reading his inner world—it sparked a fascination distinct from magic itself.
It was like delving into the essence of the human lifeform.
The soul was humanity's deepest core, after all. Investigating it was profoundly intriguing.
'Got the knack. Let's keep placing mana like this.'
Having grasped the trick, Andy continued positioning mana particles.
The ones he placed remained steadfastly fixed, unaffected by the soul's waves. Gradually, more and more stabilized particles accumulated.
At first, it was a chain of points. The points connected into lines. The lines expanded in volume, forming a circular ring.
And on the ring's surface, various geometric patterns emerged.
The arranged mana particles resonated with the soul's waves, naturally clumping and bonding into specific designs.
The patterns etched onto the ring.
They were quite familiar.
'Rune letters.'
The designs inscribed on the circular ring were unmistakably rune letters, embedded perfectly.
Thus, Andy came to understand the origin of rune letters.
They were created by replicating the patterns on a mage's mana circle surface.
That was why he had been able to intuit their meanings upon first seeing them.
His spiritual senses were far from ordinary. He could infer the intent of rune letters, the language of souls.
At last, the completed mana ring—the mana circle—began to slowly rotate, amplifying the soul's waves.
The circle spun. Its rotation accelerated. The faster it spun, the more the soul's waves radiating outward amplified.
When the circle's speed reached its peak—
The radiant sphere of light poured forth brilliant illumination.
Warm light flowed from the soul, brightly dyeing the once-dim inner world.
Andy felt that he had succeeded in forming the circle.
"...Ah."
The boy opened his eyes.
Hazel.
She was the owner of the inn where Andy was staying.
"Hey! Little guest! Come out for a sec!"
Right now, Hazel was knocking on the inn room door. Third floor, room two. None other than Andy's room.
She called out to the guest inside.
"The payment you made covers up to today! I'd like to know if you're extending or not!"
That was why she was pounding on a guest's door so early in the morning.
A week had passed since Andy arrived at the inn. It was time to decide whether to extend his stay or leave. Thus, innkeeper Hazel had come looking for him.
Of course, she didn't expect him to extend.
'He'll leave. Definitely. No one sticks around long in an inn that's not even properly cleaned.'
Her inn was dirtier and more rundown than others. It wasn't near the main street, nor was the food particularly good.
Yet she charged rates similar to other inns.
That was why her inn always had few guests. Even clueless travelers would leave sharply for better places once their stay ended.
So she assumed Andy would do the same and move on. Since he'd leave anyway, better sooner than later—that was her mindset as she knocked early in the morning.
Her brusque personality surely contributed to the inn's sparse clientele.
As she knocked a few more times—
Dalak—.
The door opened. She spoke immediately, as if she'd been waiting.
"Finally up, huh. Kid, your payment's up today...?"
But the moment she saw Andy, she couldn't help but stop mid-sentence.
Even she, oblivious as she was, sensed something from the boy before her.
'What is it...? The atmosphere...'
The atmosphere was different.
When she'd seen him before, he was just an ordinary kid. Sure, his looks were unusually refined, giving off an air of noble mystery uncommon for a commoner boy. But that was it—just a handsome commoner kid.
Yet the Andy standing before her now felt entirely different.
His presence was on another level.
Despite his small frame, the aura he exuded was immense. A single glance, a tiny gesture—it drew the eyes inevitably.
It felt like facing a clearly superior being. That's what Hazel sensed as she looked at Andy.
The boy spoke.
"Ah, it's already been a week."
"Yeah..."
"Why the sudden formal speech?"
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing!"
Hazel shut her mouth. For a moment, the boy had seemed of higher standing, and honorifics had slipped out automatically.
She shook her head to clear her mind and got to the point.
"Anyway, your payment covers up to today. So, are you checking out or extending?"
"Ah, I'll extend for another month."
"If you're leaving, better do it quick... Huh? What? Extend?"
"Yes."
Hazel looked at Andy with a puzzled expression. She'd expected him to leave, but he was extending. And not just a day or two—a full month.
Meanwhile, Andy liked this inn.
'It's quiet with few people around, perfect for focusing on training.'
For Andy, whether the food was tasty or the facilities top-notch mattered less than the quiet seclusion ideal for magic practice.
He'd lived in a stairwell closet, surviving on one meal a day. This rundown inn was hardly worse.
"This should cover a month, right? Including two meals a day and bathwater."
"...Yeah, it does."
"That all? Then I'll head back in. Goodbye."
With the payment settled, Andy closed the door. Hazel stared at it, muttering to herself.
'What a peculiar kid...'
His suddenly intense presence, contracting long-term at such a shabby inn—it all felt out of the ordinary.
But soon, she grinned.
Securing a month-long guest at this backwater inn? That was great news.
"No fuss, stays holed up quietly. Long-term stay too...? Perfect. If only all guests were like him."
Murmuring to herself, she headed to the kitchen. It was nearly time to serve breakfast.
In her good mood, she used slightly more generous ingredients than usual. She could afford that much sincerity for a month-long guest.
Dalak.
Andy closed the door and muttered softly.
"Even ordinary people are affected by the circle, huh."
Before the innkeeper arrived, Andy had been exploring circle operation.
He'd checked inside his chest—more precisely, the soul in his heart and the mana circle encircling and rotating around it.
Andy’s circle was spinning furiously.
The faster it spun, the more intensely his spiritual will amplified, radiating outward.
That was why the innkeeper had sensed his presence so strongly.
Every human possesses at least a sliver of spiritual sense. They have souls, after all. Even if not attuned to mana, a strong spiritual stimulus registers.
Thus, accelerating the circle to amplify the soul's will makes even ordinary folk perceive an extraordinary aura.
That’s the intense presence mages exude.
"..."
Andy closed his eyes, savoring the euphoria for a while.
The faster the circle spun, the greater the sense of spiritual fulfillment.
The feeling of his will extending farther and fiercer. Sensing the world through sharpened spiritual acuity. His mind and soul transcending human limits, rising a step higher.
It was a kind of omnipotence.
As if he could become a god with a mere thought. As if he could comprehend all the world’s secrets and achieve anything from his seat.
But Andy knew better.
'I’m just a rookie 1st circle mage. This is only the beginning. The road ahead is long.'
He was still only 1st circle. Far from godhood—he’d barely reached the starting line.
He remained weak, and this world teemed with beings far beyond him.
Collecting himself, Andy quickly freed his mind from the circle’s allure.
"Slowing it down like this."
Andy gradually reduced the circle’s speed. The will radiating outward weakened, soon returning to its normal state.
His presence reverted as well. The spiritual fullness filling his mind settled back to normalcy.
Practicing acceleration and deceleration repeatedly, Andy honed his circle control.
He nodded and murmured.
"Mana circle. I think I get how to use it."
Andy extended his hand to cast a spell. Then—
A mass of electricity formed on his right hand.
It had happened in an instant.
The lightning magic that once took a moment now completed in the blink of an eye.
But the surprise didn’t end there.
Another bolt of lightning formed on his hand. Not just one—two, three, four... Multiple electric orbs gathered atop the boy’s hand one after another.
Andy grinned.
'Casting speed is way faster. And... I can prepare multiple spells at once.'
Multiple magic manifestations.
No ordinary 1st circle feat. The 1st circle stage was merely for basic single spells.
Typical 1st circle mages could only manage simple single spells.
But Andy wasn’t a typical 1st circle. He was one born with overwhelming talent.
He’d cast magic even without a circle. Now that he had one, settling for mere spellcasting would be absurd.
Numerous electric spheres formed above Andy’s hand. He practiced multiple casting for a while, mastering the knack.
Meanwhile, the boy was unaware.
In the continent’s long history, no one had ever succeeded in multiple magic at 1st circle.
He’d nonchalantly achieved a feat normally possible only at 3rd circle, mere moments after reaching 1st.
He knew none of this.
He simply reveled in exploring his newfound circle.
Andy thought.
'At this level... taking down that spider-type beast should be easy.'
He resolved to subjugate the spider-type mana beast soon.