Chapter 40
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 040
Chapter Title: Soul
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The first time Bryce laid eyes on Andy, he was impressed.
'Ho...? He really has a circle. And he looks so young, yet he's already formed one. That's an incredible achievement.'
The fact that Andy, with his youthful face, possessed a circle. And that despite his tender age, he had become a full-fledged 'mage.'
Bryce was in awe.
Forming a circle while still a minor was something no mage he'd ever seen had accomplished. That boy's magical talent had to be extraordinary.
Yet even so, he was impressed but not shocked.
'At best, he's a prodigy.'
He still didn't believe in the existence of true geniuses.
Forming a circle before adulthood was astonishing, but that was it. Bryce figured it was just the achievement of prodigious talent backed by sheer luck.
He sharpened his senses.
'Let's take a closer look.'
The old man slowly rotated his circle.
He unleashed his spiritual senses, drew forth his soul's will, and connected his perception to the world of mana.
He intended to examine the boy named Andy in detail.
Not his superficial appearance, which was little more than a worthless shell, but something far deeper—the essence.
The core of a single lifeform called human.
The quintessence of fate and thought within one personality.
'I'll peer into his soul.'
Soul.
Bryce was trying to inspect Andy's soul.
Peering into another's soul was impossible for the vast majority of mages.
It required an immense mana sensitivity and overwhelming spiritual perception to barely manage observing the mana world rather than the material one.
But he was an advanced mage at the 5th circle.
If he focused his mind and poured all his strength into it, he could faintly perceive it.
Another person's soul.
'...'
Bryce heightened his mental power to its limit.
Soon, his aged body's senses faded away like mist, and his soul's senses awakened.
His spiritual perception, now linked to the mana world, opened its eyes. The old man's sharp gaze pierced through the material world to behold the mana realm.
And there it was.
Within the hazy mana world, a single mana circle rotating nobly.
And at its center...
Brilliant and majestic...
"...Bryce? Bryce!"
The count's voice snapped the old man out of his trance.
His mind, which had left the material world to gaze into the mana realm, returned to reality.
He blinked.
"Bryce, what in the world is wrong? You just stood there without a word."
"..."
Bryce took stock of the situation.
The boy standing awkwardly before him. And the count eyeing him curiously.
Bryce let out a hollow chuckle.
"I nearly got lost in it myself. Truly... remarkable."
He had witnessed something utterly unexpected in the mana world.
Bryce had stared at it in a daze, losing track of time entirely.
He murmured softly.
"A genius. So they really do exist."
"Genius? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Count Demian shot Bryce a puzzled look at his words.
As longtime friends, they knew each other's values well. That's why Demian was aware of Bryce's views on 'geniuses.'
Fiction. Lies. Fakes.
Nonexistent.
Bryce didn't believe in geniuses. No, beyond disbelief, he despised the very word.
He hated it as a fabricated concept that mocked hardworking prodigies who didn't exist in this world.
For such a man to now say geniuses truly existed?
No way?
"Bryce. Geniuses exist? You mean this boy is...?"
"Your name is Andy, right?"
Ignoring his friend's voice, Bryce turned his deep gaze to the boy.
Andy tensed as the mage suddenly spoke his name. The old mage's eyes weren't ordinary.
A chaotic mix of fascination and curiosity—the kind he'd never felt before. The boy instinctively shrank back.
The old mage stared intently at him.
Then he blurted out,
"How about becoming my disciple?"
"...Pardon?"
"I'm the head of a noble house and hold a high position in the Magic Tower, you know. I promise you won't regret it."
The words from the old mage gazing at Andy were none other than an offer of apprenticeship.
Andy stared at him with his jaw on the floor.
"Andy!"
After leaving the count's parlor,
Andy followed the servant's guidance through the count's castle.
And soon, he met someone.
"Dietrich. Long time no see. Exactly two weeks, right?"
"How did you...!"
It was Dietrich.
The count had readily agreed to let them meet when Andy said he wanted to see Dietrich.
Andy examined Dietrich's appearance.
'...I worried for nothing.'
Dietrich looked perfectly fine.
His skin glowed as if he'd been eating and washing well, with no signs of injury or exhaustion.
He just seemed a bit cooped up from being stuck indoors.
Andy had fretted that something terrible might have happened since he'd been gone for two full weeks without returning...
But he was living so comfortably.
Suddenly, mischief bubbled up in the boy.
'In the end, isn't it just that they prevented the runaway son from leaving again?'
He'd waited anxiously without knowing.
The boy furrowed his brow and said,
"I had no idea the 'main family' the mayor mentioned was the count's house."
"Ah, so you heard everything."
"Why hide your identity? You have no idea how shocked I was when Count Demian told me about you."
"...I'm sorry. Even if my status came out, I should have told you myself. I caused you worry."
Dietrich apologized to Andy sincerely.
Not only had he hidden his status, but he'd also made Andy worry by not returning for so long. He couldn't help feeling guilty.
And he had another apology to make.
"Also... the mana potion and mage robe you wanted. I couldn't get them in the end. I'm sorry."
He'd promised confidently to bring the items Andy wanted, but failed.
'I never imagined I couldn't just sever ties with my family on my own...'
Born illegitimate, no one in the family cared for him. He thought the count would welcome him renouncing his inheritance with open arms.
But no.
No matter how illegitimate, a direct descendant wasn't something to discard lightly.
He couldn't cut ties just because he wanted to.
Dietrich felt regretful.
"The mana potion and robe... no, even just the mana potion would have helped you."
Andy currently had very little mana.
It had been nearly two months since his mana exhaustion.
His body had recovered somewhat over the time, but the mana in his heart was still critically low.
He lacked spare mana. Dietrich knew well how agonizing that was for a mage.
That's why he'd at least tried to get a mana potion...
But he couldn't.
Dietrich hung his head. He seemed ashamed for failing to deliver on any of his promised rewards.
Andy grinned.
"It's fine. The count said he'd get them for me."
"...Pardon?"
"Mana potion and robe. And... a few other things too. There was a little incident earlier."
The count had spat harsh words at Andy in the parlor.
Weak gaze, no spirit—he'd treated Andy like a timid coward.
But the count's attitude flipped in an instant.
Andy recalled the moment.
-Bryce, talented enough for you to take as a disciple...? Ahem. Well. I apologize for my rudeness just now. My eyes must be getting dim with age; I misjudged.
-You wanted a mage's robe and mana potion? I'll get you the best ones. If you want, I can find other things too. Magic books or scrolls, perhaps.
-It's both repayment for helping my son and my way of apologizing for earlier.
-I hope we can put this behind us and get along well.
Right after the old mage proposed apprenticeship to Andy,
the count had apologized for his rudeness and offered various rewards as compensation for helping Dietrich.
Not just the mage robe and mana potion Andy wanted, but magic books and consumables too.
Realizing the boy was a gem, he'd dropped his arrogance for a friendly approach.
Andy gave a wry smile.
'I didn't expect him to apologize immediately after one word from that mage.'
Charitably, he was quick to read the room and didn't cling to pointless pride.
More bluntly, he was a bit spineless. Building up a stern atmosphere only to switch attitudes in a heartbeat.
Well, better than being totally rigid, anyway.
Still...
Andy pondered.
'Becoming that mage's disciple. Should I accept or decline?'
The old mage's offer to take him as a disciple. The boy hadn't decided yet whether to accept.
He rested his chin on his hand and mulled it over.
The parlor after Andy left.
"...Talented enough that you want to take him as a disciple, huh."
Count Demian and Mage Bryce conversed.
The count brought his teacup to his lips and said,
"You've never taken even a single disciple all this time."
As Demian said, Bryce had never accepted a disciple.
Despite reaching the exalted 5th circle and nearing seventy years old, he'd never taught even one mage himself.
Not even his Magic Tower juniors or direct descendants.
The reason he'd never taken a disciple.
"No one worth my time until now."
"..."
"...Alright, no point hiding it from you. Saying no one was worthy was an excuse. Truth is, they reminded me of my old self, and it frustrated me. Prodigies strutting around with their middling talent—it was pathetic."
Pathetic.
Many talented mages had sought his tutelage. Some even shone brighter than him in his prime.
Bryce had rejected them all.
Gazing at those confident mages with fine talent,
they reminded him of his arrogant days when he'd fancied himself a genius.
If they knew how vast the world was, how immense its mysteries,
they'd realize their crude talents were worthless.
Strutting about calling themselves geniuses with such ordinary gifts—it was laughable. And their high noses made them hard to teach. That was why Bryce had never taken a disciple.
But the boy was different.
"That boy's soul... it was overwhelming."
"Overwhelming? In what way?"
"Every way."
When Bryce beheld the boy's soul, he was instantly captivated.
By the bright, warm light it emanated. By the majestic aura flowing from it. By its brilliant, noble presence.
Of course, the boy's soul was unmistakably 1st circle. Before a 5th circle like himself, it was no more than a firefly's glow.
Which made it all the more astonishing.
How could a mere 1st circle possess such presence? How could it house something so pure...
'Genius.'
That was Bryce's first impression upon seeing the boy's soul.
Facing that radiant, vivid light, he instinctively sensed overwhelming talent. He couldn't even guess how far the boy might grow.
'And... a hero.'
The boy's soul was exceedingly noble.
From its light faintly emanated a will to protect the weak and eradicate evil—a unfamiliar virtue he'd never sensed in any mage.
Thus, Bryce felt curiosity and interest toward the boy.
How far would one with such lofty talent grow? How would one with such noble nature proceed?
He was deeply intrigued.
That's why he'd proposed apprenticeship.
Keeping him close would let him observe his path easily. And he'd gladly teach him.
Besides, the boy was sure to be hailed as a once-in-a-century genius mage. Bryce couldn't resist the fame of being his master.
The count nodded at Bryce's words.
"That impressive, huh... Now that you're finally teaching such a boy, you must be looking forward to it."
"Hmph. What are you saying? He wouldn't take a wretch like me as his master."
"...?"
Demian looked at Bryce with bewilderment.
Bryce was a high mage of the 5th circle. In a hundred mages, only one might reach such heights.
For him to offer to teach personally, and be rejected?
No way.
Demian couldn't believe it.
"Even a lion doesn't learn from a housecat."
Bryce twisted his lips in a self-deprecating smirk.
"He won't want lessons from a lowly thing like me. Unless the tower lord himself, at 6th circle, teaches him."
"..."
"Demian, as your friend, here's some advice. Stay on good terms with Andy. He might one day reach not just 6th circle, but even the legendary 7th. For your house and territory, it's wise to befriend him."