Chapter 45
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 045
Chapter Title: The Circle Might Be Special
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A brilliant golden glow filled the room.
Like sunlight pouring down during a mild spring afternoon, it was an endlessly gentle and comforting light.
Andy closed his eyes and savored it.
The radiant light emanating from the book seemed to celebrate the boy.
And shortly after.
-Click...
A strange noise, like a lock clicking open, echoed through.
Immediately after, the strings of text in the book began to shift slowly.
The complex, labyrinthine characters slid smoothly, recombining into new forms.
Andy watched the scene intently.
The cryptic patterns gradually faded away. In their place appeared familiar rune letters.
The boy read the first page of the book.
"Formation of the 2nd Circle...!"
The mysterious magic book he'd newly acquired. Just as he'd hoped, it contained information on the 2nd Circle.
Anticipation lit up the boy's face.
'I found the knowledge for the 2nd Circle. If I can just solve the mana issue... I can reach it!'
Now that he'd finally obtained the knowledge for the 2nd Circle, all that remained was mana.
Once he secured a sufficient amount, he could attempt to construct it.
Andy eagerly awaited the day he'd ascend to the 2nd Circle realm.
Good things come in bunches.
Andy welcomed a man who had visited his inn room.
"It's been a while, Andy. Has it... been about a week?"
"Good to see you, Administrator."
"Haha, I'm not the administrator anymore. Call me the Chief Official now."
Dietrich, the former mayor of the small city.
No, he was now to be called the Chief Official, and he'd come to Andy's inn room.
Dietrich hadn't come alone. He was accompanied by several soldiers.
Dietrich instructed one of the soldiers.
"That box. Set it down on the table here."
"Yes, Chief Official!"
Thud.
The soldier set down the box he'd brought. It was a wooden box, polished with wax to a glossy shine—quite luxurious.
Dietrich slowly spoke.
"These are the items His Excellency the Count mentioned. I've brought them for you. Please, take a look, Andy."
With eager eyes, Andy reached for the box.
A gift prepared by a high noble like the Count. It was sure to be of better quality than he'd imagined.
With that, Andy opened the box.
And saw.
'Magic tools.'
Inside lay the mage's robe and mana potions he'd so desperately wanted.
Andy looked up at Dietrich. The man nodded encouragingly.
"Feel free to examine them."
"..."
Andy reached in and pulled out the contents.
The first thing he picked up was a glass vial.
It was adorably small, fitting easily in his little hand. Inside swirled a deep blue liquid.
'Mana potion.'
None other than a mana potion.
There were three of them in total. They hadn't skimped with just one—it seemed they'd prepared three.
Andy was inwardly surprised as he held one.
'The mana in this potion... it's incredible.'
The mana potion contained a substantial amount of mana.
If Yohan Grass had 1 unit of mana, this potion had about 10, maybe?
Ten times—or more—the mana of Yohan Grass, all packed into this tiny vial.
And that wasn't the only surprise.
'It's refined for easy absorption. That means... I can drink it mid-battle without issue.'
Yohan Grass, the mana-infused herb, wasn't ideal for mid-combat use.
You had to carefully gather the large amount of mana from the spirit herb and store it in your soul, which meant you couldn't move for a while.
But a mana potion was different.
Its mana was refined for easy uptake. The moment you drank it, it went straight into your soul, ready for spellcasting.
In the heat of battle, you could chug a mana potion, recover a massive amount instantly, and keep fighting.
Andy now understood why battle mages drank mana potions instead of eating Yohan Grass.
Dietrich explained about the mana potions.
"These are military-grade mana potions supplied to frontline battle mages. I hear one bottle can fully restore a mid-tier mage's mana pool—maybe more."
"Half a bottle would overflow my soul, and I'm just a low-tier."
"Haha. Just sip them as needed. Mana potions don't spoil if left open."
Mana potions were meticulously crafted by alchemists, condensing and stabilizing the mana. They wouldn't evaporate even if left uncorked for a long time.
Andy nodded in satisfaction.
'No more headaches over mana for a while.'
He'd been practicing Mana Circulation sporadically to recover some mana, but he still occasionally felt a thirst for more.
Now, with three mana potions, he had enough to fill his mere 1st Circle soul at least six times—or more.
He wouldn't have to worry about mana shortages anytime soon. The boy couldn't help but feel delighted.
But the Count's gifts weren't over yet.
"Take a look at the robe too. That's the real gift, actually."
"The robe?"
Andy turned his gaze to the box.
A single robe lay inside.
It was a muted green with a hood, like any common mage's robe. It didn't look particularly impressive at first glance.
But seeing Dietrich's confident expression, it seemed like quite the item...
Dietrich boasted proudly.
"That robe came from a dungeon."
"A dungeon?"
"Yes. It's not some artifact-level treasure, of course, but it's still high quality. They say its defensive power surpasses even mid-tier robes from the Magic Towers."
"Oh..."
At Dietrich's words, Andy's face filled with anticipation.
Items from dungeons were always superior to mass-produced goods.
'Products of the ancient magic empire. They have to be far better than modern ones.'
Artifacts from the ancient magic empire, when magic tech had peaked. Even their everyday mass-produced items often rivaled today's luxuries.
Besides, a robe was practically the symbol of a mage.
It might look ordinary, but as a dungeon item, its quality was sure to be exceptional.
With eager hands, Andy reached in and lifted the robe.
And in that moment.
"...Huh?"
Andy felt his heart's mana circle resonate with the robe.
The boy stared at it in bewilderment.
After Dietrich left.
In the now-quiet inn room.
Andy, draped in the fluttering robe, muttered softly.
"It's definite. This robe is resonating with my mana circle."
The boy closed his eyes and checked his circle—and the pulse of his soul.
It was clear.
-Hummm...
His circle and soul were resonating with the mana flowing through the robe.
Like exchanging thoughts, bound by a spiritual wavelength, the mana circulation surged actively.
With eyes closed, the boy felt the waves enveloping his body.
'It feels incredibly comfortable.'
The resonance between the circle and robe wrapped his entire body in soothing comfort.
Mana operation became smoother, vitality surged through his body, and even his mind felt a bit clearer.
It felt good, but also fascinating.
"I heard normal robes don't have effects like this..."
Estelle had said robes were ultimately just protective gear for emergencies.
Imbued with defensive magic to shield mages from surprise attacks—that was a mage's robe.
Most mages wore them to display status and affiliation, or for protection in a pinch.
They offered minor mana circulation aid, but it was hard to notice.
Yet for some reason.
'Resonating with the circle to aid body and mind... I've never heard of a function like this.'
This robe resonated with Andy's circle, assisting his body and soul.
It was a highly significant effect.
He could feel the comfort in his body and mind immediately.
With curious eyes, Andy examined the robe closely.
"Is this robe something special? Well, it did come from a dungeon."
It wouldn't be odd for a dungeon item to have unique functions.
Aiding the wearer's body and mind—definitely novel and unique.
To procure a robe with such features... Even for a count, it must have been quite the task.
It felt overly generous. Did he really deserve this?
On the other hand, he considered another hypothesis.
'Or... maybe it's not the robe that's special. Maybe my mana circle is.'
Andy didn't have an ordinary mana circle.
Unlike typical mages, he'd first encountered mana through an ancient magic book from a dungeon and built his circle that way.
In other words, his mana circle followed the ancient magic empire's knowledge.
Designed in the ancient magic empire era, it wasn't strange for it to resonate with this robe from the same era.
Perhaps his circle reacted not just to the book, but to other ancient items too?
"...Well, I'd know if I touched other dungeon items."
The boy shrugged as he muttered to himself.
Since he didn't have other ancient items on hand, there was no way to test it right now.
More importantly, he had pressing business.
"2nd Circle."
Andy glanced down at one corner of the inn room.
On the table sat three glass vials and a book—the mana potions and ancient magic book on the 2nd Circle, gifts from the Count.
With the potions, he could acquire mana. With the book, he had the knowledge for the 2nd Circle.
All elements needed to construct the 2nd Circle were in place.
Andy nodded firmly.
'I need to make the 2nd Circle first. I'll have to tell Estelle I can't come to the workshop for a while.'
He planned to take a break from workshop duties and focus solely on building the 2nd Circle.
For a mage, advancing realms was more important than anything. She'd understand.
Though Estelle was busy producing and delivering military magic tools anyway.
What could he do? A mage on the cusp of circle advancement couldn't be stopped by anything.
Andy took a deep breath.
He picked up the book and murmured softly.
"Let's do this."
2nd Circle. At most a week, and it'd be done.
He opened the book.
Flash!
A bright light burst forth, bathing the boy's inn room in warm golden hues.
Andy's sparkling eyes eagerly scanned the rune letters.
The boy charged forward toward the 2nd Circle.
In the Empire legion's command tent.
One officer reported to the legion commander.
"Legion Commander, the volunteers for the detachment have been selected. Shall I bring them in?"
"Do so."
Gilbert nodded at the officer's question.
The members for the detachment to capture Carius City, as he'd planned, were finally set.
There had been volunteers among the knights and mages he'd requested assistance from.
The officer stepped out, and soon a group entered the command tent.
Clank. Click.
About a dozen people entered amid metallic clinks, all clad in full plate armor.
Gilbert thought to himself.
'All volunteers are knights. I hoped for a mage or two... but I suppose not.'
Among those responding to his request, there were no mages. Only knights had volunteered for the detachment.
It was somewhat expected.
Unlike mages, who focused solely on personal advancement, knights lived for honor and merit.
No matter how grueling the task, if it offered glory, they'd volunteer without hesitation.
This mission was no different.
Capturing a city of 100,000 with a small detachment—it was prime for honor and merit. Knights chasing those would naturally step up.
No mages was a shame, but...
It was fine.
'Knights alone should be enough to take the city.'
Knights were superhumans with power equal to mages.
If mages handled battlefield firepower, knights provided breakthrough force.
Even a mere ten possessed immense might.
Mages couldn't overpower peer knights in close quarters. Even if the city had a few mages, they could be eliminated easily.
Legion Commander Gilbert spoke.
"Thank you for volunteering for this arduous mission. If it succeeds, your honors will rise even higher."
"We'll trust you to write a glowing report."
"No worries. The Empire's military will remember your feats. If we succeed, I'll request medals from above."
Gilbert slowly scanned the knights' faces.
The volunteers for the detachment all bore fierce, cruel temperaments.
They'd signed up to traverse vast distances swiftly and ravage a city.
Sure, honor and merit played a part, but they also craved battle and slaughter.
Legion Commander Gilbert mused.
'City capture. Failure's unlikely.'
Ten mid-tier knights and a thousand light cavalry would assault Carius City as the detachment.
No matter how high its walls, they were no obstacle to superhuman knights.
Capturing Carius City would be straightforward.
"We'll arrive and seize the city within two weeks. Best start drafting that medal recommendation now."
"I'll be waiting."
"Then we're off. Need to prep for departure."
Clank, click.
The ten mid-tier knights exited the command tent.
Legion Commander Gilbert turned his gaze to the military map in one corner.
"Carius City..."
A major city far south, linking the Federation's north and borderlands.
Set to fall in two weeks.
He muttered softly.
"Lots more will die this time too. Big city battle... roughly ten thousand casualties, I reckon."
No pity or guilt in his eyes.
After years of war, he'd come to see lives as mere numbers.
He'd long forgotten the value of human life.
"Gonna be a pain to clear bodies and repair it for a future supply base."
His only concern was the inconvenient aftermath.
The Empire's detachment marched toward Carius City.