A Training Ground Sent by the Gods
...This wasn’t going to be easy.
Each and every one of them was maddeningly complex.
They were forms I had never seen before.
Layers upon layers, each one stacked on top of the next.
And yet even these unfamiliar sealing arrays ultimately began with the same basic magical formulas.
All magic in the world was built from combinations and variations of fundamental formulas.
That was true not only for 1st and 2nd Tier magic, but for high-tier spells beyond the 3rd Tier as well.
Magic cast in real time is hard to read at a glance.
But magic circles were a different matter.
I could study the formulas one by one, piece by piece.
...This is a variation on a dual-attribute elemental combination formula. And this one’s an application of a secondary sealing pattern...
Whoever had made these had twisted the basic formulas to an almost absurd degree.
Amazing.
I meant it sincerely.
But impressive was impressive, and something impressive could still be broken.
When you can see the root, you can see the knot.
I gathered mana at my fingertips and began tracing the outermost knot with careful precision.
When the first formula unraveled, the second emerged. When the second fell away, the third followed.
It was exhausting work, to be sure.
But I lost all sense of time doing it.
Why?
Because it was fun.
I was so absorbed in dismantling the formulas that I even forgot I was locked in a prison.
How much time passed?
At last, the final line came undone.
Got it.
What exactly had the sealing array been hiding?
Ideally, I’d hoped it would open an escape route.
The wall’s still there.
Unlike what I’d expected, the rock wall didn’t budge at all.
And then—
Kwaaa—!
I jolted in surprise.
...The amount of mana just skyrocketed.
Until a moment ago, mana had only been trickling out in tiny droplets.
The instant I finished undoing all the seals, it began pouring forth as if a hole had been punched straight through space.
Kwaaaah—!
Cool, clean, and refreshing all the way down to the depths of my lungs.
...Hup!
My mana core reacted.
The mana that had been drained dry began rising again at shocking speed, like a spring bubbling up from the earth.
This was insane.
It was far faster than the circulation array I’d used to turn medium Magic Stones into a core.
No—there was no comparison at all.
It felt like I’d fallen headfirst into a vast river of mana.
...What is this? There has to be a reason.
The wall was made of cold stone.
I pressed a hand to it and closed my eyes.
Wooooong!
A great pulse of mana beat beyond it.
Something incredible is on the other side of this wall...
A Magic Stone vein?
Or perhaps the ruins of an ancient mage?
I couldn’t tell.
It was a strange phenomenon I couldn’t explain with the knowledge I had now.
But just because I didn’t know the cause didn’t mean I couldn’t make use of the result.
A smile spread across my lips.
There’s a place where mana is supplied without limit.
Only, the mana freed from the sealing array seemed to have nowhere to go.
It surged several meters from the stone surface, then split apart in midair and scattered.
And yet even the tiny amount of mana that lingered in the space was enough to rival an entire medium Magic Stone.
...I can’t leave it like this.
If this outrageous amount of mana kept erupting, then before long the cave would be flooded with its glow.
And once that happened, it was only a matter of time before Count Valderk noticed.
I need to trap the mana.
The instant I finished the thought, my body moved before I did.
I went straight to the point where the mana burst forth, choosing the patch of floor closest to the stone wall and driving my finger into it.
If I make a circulation array here, the mana will flow in this direction.
Swish. Swish.
The circulation array’s strange ability to replenish mana.
It did so by rapidly absorbing the surrounding mana and storing it.
I was going to use exactly that.
Tssit! Tsssssit—!
The strands of mana scattering into the air bent like iron filings drawn to a magnet, all of them converging on the center of the array.
But the volume was still too great, and mana continued to leak in every direction.
I’ll catch the stuff that’s escaping too.
Using the formulas from the sealing array I’d just dismantled, I quickly drew a wall of seal-formulas around the circulation array’s perimeter.
Swish. Ssssswish—
With mana overflowing like this, drawing the formula feels almost too easy.
The effect was immediate.
The mana that had been trying to burst outward was trapped inside the sealing barrier.
Then, in the end, it was sucked into the array on the floor.
Not a drop wasted.
Done. Success.
The prison’s entrance bent inward, creating a recessed space.
From the iron bars at the front, this spot was a perfect blind corner.
And with the sealing formulas trapping even the light and aura of mana, all anyone outside would see was nothing but utter blackness.
A perfect sealed room.
The days of pacing in frustration over my depleted mana were over.
Just sitting here in the center of this array and breathing would refill my exhausted core.
This is a training ground sent by the gods.
At the center of the circulation array, the mana concentration here had to be ten times what it was outside—no, twenty times, at least.
What in the world is on the other side of that wall?
What could possibly exist that mana poured out like this?
Count Valderk doesn’t seem to know a thing about it.
If he did, he would never have built a prison here and left it unattended.
Either way, it doesn’t matter.
What mattered was that, right now, this outrageous resource existed solely for me.
I don’t feel tired at all.
Mana flowed through my veins and into every last corner of my body.
Thanks to that, the body that had been completely spent recovered its strength in full.
“Heh...”
A laugh slipped out on its own.
Who would have thought luck like this would ever find me?
“Good. Let’s start right away.”
I closed my eyes and dove into mental training.
In my mind, I created countless imaginary enemies.
I fired space-stitching needles and swung transparent threads to subdue them.
Papat! Papapapat!
Even though it was all imaginary, my mana core would have been reduced to a husk by such vicious use.
And yet here, mana rose like water from an inexhaustible spring.
The more mana I used, the faster the walls of my core were shaved away—then refilled, growing wider and wider in the process.
All through the night, I flailed at empty air like a madman.
The prison remained silent, but inside my head, it was the fiercest battlefield I had ever known.
“...Hans?”
It seemed morning had come at last.
Nen’s voice reached me.
I ended my training and walked to the entrance.
“Ah, you’re here?”
Nen set a torch into the wall and stared at me blankly.
In her hands was a basket holding bread and water.
“So you’re... still alive.”
“Of course. Being locked up doesn’t mean I have to die.”
I gave her a deliberately casual smile.
Nen seemed taken aback by how calm I was.
“Lady Ellen spent all night crying in her room and protesting to His Lordship. And yet you, the one locked in here, look healthier than someone who came out for a picnic.”
“I’m fine, so please tell the young lady not to worry too much.”
“You really are... impossible to understand. Aren’t you scared? You don’t even know when you’ll be executed.”
“Being scared won’t change anything. More importantly, I have a favor to ask.”
I stepped closer to the bars.
“Did you clear away the things that were on my workbench?”
“Not yet. But we’re planning to take everything out soon. There’s no way the head of the house would tolerate outside goods being left inside a Valderk family secret chamber. They’ll probably be burned.”
“Don’t do that!”
I shouted before I could stop myself.
Nen jumped in surprise and took a step back.
“Can’t you bring them to me instead?”
“Here? You want me to bring more things into a prison?”
“If they’re going to be thrown away anyway, let me keep them. Some of them have to be delivered to the magic tower, and the tools are practically my entire fortune.”
Nen made a troubled face.
“...All right. In any case, His Lordship only said to clear them out; he didn’t specifically order them destroyed. I’ll move them for you.”
“Thank you, Nen! Ah, and—”
I called after her as she turned to leave.
“Please don’t touch the floor or ceiling of the workbench.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s a device there that only I can dismantle. If you touch it without knowing what it is... it could end very badly.”
My earnest warning made Nen’s expression stiffen.
“Understood. I’ll go myself and only collect the things I can see safely.”
“And there should be a Magic Stone embedded in the floor directly under the workbench. Please take that out carefully too.”
“All right.”
Nen nodded and disappeared.
A few hours later, she kept her promise.
She pushed everything I’d mentioned through the bars.
Tools, bundles of fabric, and more than eight hundred finished handkerchiefs.
And, most importantly, the medium Magic Stones.
“Thank you, Nen. I won’t forget this kindness.”
“Kindness, my foot... just make sure you survive long enough to leave.”
After Nen disappeared, I immediately set up a new workbench.
Since I didn’t need to hide it, I placed it near the entrance.
That would make the circulation array inside even less noticeable.
With mana being supplied without end, the work will go faster too.
My senses, sharpened by a night of mental training, naturally called up more efficient and more powerful formulas.
[1st Tier Composite Formula: Dual Acceleration + Mana Guidance]
Pwababat!
Each time the needle passed through the fabric, traces of mana followed in its wake.
As if stamped out by an exquisitely precise mana machine, the handkerchiefs were finished and stacked without pause.
Unlimited recovery.
The more I worked, the clearer my mind became and the more my core expanded.
It was a miracle where labor itself became training.
The following morning.
One thousand Cleanliness Handkerchiefs sat piled together in perfect packaging.
That was when Nen appeared with food.
She stared at the tower of handkerchiefs stacked behind me and lost the ability to speak.
“Why on earth are you making those even in there?”
“Because this is my job.”
I wiped the sweat from my face and smiled.
Nen looked utterly stunned.
It had to be hard to understand a condemned prisoner who might die tomorrow spending his time making handkerchiefs.
“You... really are insane.”
“I’ll take that as praise.”
I chewed on my bread and walked over to her.
“Nen, could I ask you for one more favor?”
“Again? What now?”
“Could you take these handkerchiefs to the Rowen branch of the magic tower? Today’s the delivery deadline.”
“Ha...”
Nen glared at me in disbelief.
“Hans! Do you not understand your situation at all? You’re locked in a prison. And you’re saying things like that right now?”
“I’m asking because I’m locked in a prison. Trust is a merchant’s lifeblood. Even if I die, I have to keep my promise.”
Nen sighed, but she must have realized by then that she wouldn’t be able to talk me out of it.
“So I just deliver them?”
“And if they pay, please use the money to buy these materials.”
I handed her a note I’d already prepared.
Top-grade silver thread, pearl powder, special dyes—the materials I needed to alter Ellen’s dress.
“Can you tell me why you need all this?”
“They’re for modifying Lady Ellen’s dress. The ball is next week, so we need to hurry.”
“Are you crazy? Your own life is on the line, and you’re talking about altering a dress?”
“That’s exactly why I’m doing it.”
“What?”
“Count Valderk thinks I’m just a useless swindler. But if I make Lady Ellen the star of the ball, what then? I can crush the Bergen family, His Lordship’s political enemies, right under their feet.”
At my words, Nen’s eyes widened.
“Would he still see me as nothing but a con man after that?”
“...!”
“I’m going to survive by proving my worth. So help me, Nen. This is for Lady Ellen too.”
Nen stared at me, unmoving.
For a brief moment, awe flickered in her eyes.
“...All right. But this isn’t something I can decide on my own. Taking things out of the prison and bringing things in requires His Lordship’s permission.”
“Then please get his permission. If it’s with Lady Ellen, it should be possible.”
Nen gathered up the note and the bundle of goods.
“Wait here. But don’t get your hopes up. His Lordship might only get angrier.”
With that, she disappeared.
I stood alone in the empty prison and slowly clenched my fist.
The die is cast.
Now all that was left was to wait.
I had done everything I could.