Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Essence of Light
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Tap, tap.
Ani Person led the way, speaking as he walked.
"It's been ages since someone came to learn magic from me. Heh heh heh. Weird rumors kept everyone away until now."
"Ah, rumors..."
I hadn't expected him to bring it up first.
Pretending ignorance, I asked in response to Ani Person's words.
"What kind of rumors, exactly?"
He turned his head toward me, squinting slyly.
His expression made it seem like he was trying to read my intentions behind the question.
Unfazed, I kept up a perfectly innocent face, as if I truly knew nothing. Ani Person quickly relaxed, chuckling with his eyes.
"It's nothing for you to worry about, disciple. Just nonsense spread by jealous, envious types. Ha ha ha!"
"...I see."
"Oh, may I call you my disciple?"
"Of course, Master."
"Heh heh heh. Master. Nice ring to it."
How far had we gone?
After passing through all the areas where he lived, Ani Person stopped in front of a heavy iron door.
It was secured with bizarre mechanisms I'd never seen before—clearly a space he valued highly.
Creak—click.
He turned a handwheel-like handle, and the sound of locks disengaging echoed.
That must have been the final one.
Suddenly, Ani Person spun around.
"Whoops. It's been so long since I taught anyone, I almost forgot the most important question."
"An important question?"
"Why do you want to learn light magic, disciple?"
A surprisingly normal question.
'Why do you want to learn it?'
Before answering, I recalled what the intel office had told me about Ani Person.
Better to give a response that earns some goodwill than spout nonsense.
'He seems a bit eccentric, but surprisingly honest at heart.'
Not twisted like a dark mage or Dershion, they'd said.
No guarantee it was accurate, but I had to go with it.
"Light magic is the most effective way to deal with demons."
No sane person likes demons.
If the intel was right, Ani Person would be no exception.
As expected.
"Hoo... So you want to learn light magic to hunt demons?"
Interest sparked in Ani Person's eyes.
He liked my answer.
I pushed harder, driving the point home.
"Not just hunt them—my goal is to erase their very existence."
At that, Ani Person let out another sleazy chuckle.
"Heh heh heh heh. With a reason like that..."
Creak.
"...you more than qualify to learn about light."
Ani Person opened the iron door and beckoned me inside with a flick of his hand.
'Maybe he's not so bad after all.'
With that thought, I stepped in.
'...What is this?'
The room was a pitch-black darkroom, walls draped entirely in black cloth.
"This is where I conduct my light research."
"Here? I can't see a thing."
"Heh heh heh. Exactly. Let there be light."
Click.
Ani Person pulled a cord from the ceiling, and the bulb flickered on.
Now I could finally make out the darkroom.
True to his word, it was a research lab—stacks of what looked like research materials lined the walls.
Some were yellowed and ancient-looking.
'All the notes from twenty years of research?'
The sheer volume suggested no half-hearted effort.
"Are these all related to light magic?"
"Heh heh heh, yes. My life's work, you could say."
"May I take a look?"
"If you're curious, disciple, by all means."
Ani Person nodded, and I began slowly examining the materials.
'The origin of light, light and darkness, properties of light, speed of light...'
Everything was indeed about light, just as he'd said.
Every page was densely packed—no sloppy work here.
It hit me just how serious he was about light magic.
And that raised a question.
"Why go to such lengths to research light magic?"
Why did Ani Person study light?
Frankly, few delved this deeply into a single element.
Most stopped researching and plateaued once they reached a certain level.
Especially since Ani Person was an unawakened mana user.
How could I not wonder?
His answer only deepened the mystery.
"I have a mission that leaves me no choice."
"A mission? From who...?"
"A mission from the gods, you might say? Though I'm no religious man. Heh heh heh!"
"I see."
No religion, yet he'd researched light magic for decades on some 'divine mission'...
Ani Person grew stranger the more I learned.
And when I pressed for details on the mission, he dodged.
"Too soon for that. Stick with me to the end, master light magic, and you'll learn one day. Heh heh heh."
Just vague promises of 'someday.'
We had to move on to other topics.
Plenty to discuss, after all.
"I heard you can't handle mana—is that true?"
"Ah, yes. Quite tragic. But I've made my peace with it. If I could wield mana, the world would already be different."
"Different how?"
"Simply put, I have that much knowledge. Perhaps the gods withheld mana from me to prevent that. Heh heh heh heh."
Ani Person laughed as if delighted.
He clearly had immense pride in his intellect.
"To what level do you think you've reached?"
"Hmm, the world says 8th circle. But—"
Confident as ever, he continued.
"I, Ani Person, have reached the 9th circle."
"9th circle?"
"Yes. The world underestimated me."
'Huh.'
Honestly, it was a bit absurd.
Sure, I could buy that he had vast knowledge.
But 9th circle?
That's not a claim anyone makes lightly.
8th and 9th are worlds apart.
Ani Person was saying that if he could wield mana, he'd crush Dershion or Asion Gail effortlessly.
And naturally,
'Full of himself.'
That's what I thought.
I hadn't seen any proof of his greatness yet.
The odds his claim was true were slim.
Anyway,
"If I learn light magic from you, Ani Person, what specifically can I improve? Could you tell me?"
Let's see what he had.
How great could he be to call himself 9th circle?
"Of course. First, let's see your light magic."
He added that since he couldn't wield mana, he couldn't sense it in others either.
In short, he needed to see it to advise improvements.
"Got it."
I didn't pry further and cast the spell right away.
A sphere of light rose from my dwarf-made gauntlet weapon.
Anyone trained at Aldeon could do it, but magic varied by the caster.
So, I'd get an accurate read from Ani Person's eyes.
"Hoo... Hmm... Huh..."
Ani Person circled it intently for a while.
His eyes burned with more enthusiasm than ever.
Finally, he clapped.
"Excellent. Your light magic rates like this: supreme yet unstable light."
"Supreme but unstable?"
"Yes. Your mana is exceptionally pure. Purity suits light perfectly. With proper handling, your potential is limitless—that's what I mean by supreme."
"Then unstable means...?"
"Everything else is abysmal!"
Ani Person, so mild until now, raised his voice.
"The formulas forming the light magic! The structure! Mana circulation! Attribute comprehension! Nothing's right! Ha, it's hard to botch light magic this badly. You're utterly ignorant of light."
"..."
I'd hoped for praise with [Prodigy of Magic] and [Essence of Light].
This harsh critique was beyond imagining.
'Is my light magic really that bad?'
As I pondered, Ani Person asked.
"Disciple, where did you learn light magic? Aldeon, by any chance?"
I flinched.
An unavoidable jolt.
"How did you know?"
"Sigh, unbelievable. Unbelievable..."
Ani Person shook his head regretfully, then said.
"Experience told me. Every mage who's come to me with such awful light magic was from Aldeon or trained there."
"What?"
Shocking.
All Aldeon-trained light mages were awful?
"Isn't Aldeon the tower for light magic?"
Bewildered, I asked. Ani Person replied firmly.
"Handling light mainly doesn't mean they know it. They view light only as magic."
"I don't quite get it."
"Like this."
Click.
Ani Person reached out and killed the darkroom's bulb.
His voice continued in the darkness.
"Tell me. Was the light illuminating us just now—magic?"
"...No."
"Then the light from the sun in the sky—is that magic?"
"No."
"Light existed before magic. From the primordial world—no, the dawn of all worlds, light has been there."
"Ah..."
Viewing light only as magic.
I think I got what Ani Person meant.