Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Insight in the Dark Room
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“Too fixated on a purely magical perspective, that’s Aldeon.”
“Yes. Light isn’t something you view so simplistically. To truly wield it, you must understand ‘light’ itself—not magical light.”
There was no trace of the earlier playfulness.
He spoke in a deeply serious tone.
“That’s why the light magic taught at Aldeon is utter garbage.”
“I understand what you mean.”
“Good. You’ve got the basic comprehension, my disciple. Heh heh heh.”
Ani Person swiftly returned to his lighthearted demeanor.
I pondered as I listened to his chuckle.
‘He really does seem incredibly knowledgeable.’
We’d only exchanged a few words, but it was clear his knowledge was extraordinary.
After all, he’d pinpointed the flaws in Dershion’s magic.
It was proof he stood above Dershion himself.
His claim of reaching the 9th Circle wasn’t mere bravado.
In that case.
‘Time to show him this, then.’
I drew up my mana to reveal something I hadn’t yet shown Ani Person.
As always, the mana was sucked out in an instant.
And at the same time.
Whoooong!
A brilliant orb of light formed, incomparable to the previous one.
The orb containing the [Essence of Light].
“Wha… what is this?”
Ani Person stared back and forth between me and the orb, his face filled with disbelief.
His pupils trembled violently.
Having researched light for twenty years, Ani Person couldn’t help but be astonished by the orb I’d conjured.
The atmosphere demanded some explanation, so I gave a simple one.
“They said this was the light Aldeon pursued.”
But had I been too curt?
“…That’s it? Nothing else to say?”
Ani Person spoke as if it were absurd.
However.
“Yes, nothing else really. That’s all there is.”
I wanted to explain more, but I truly had nothing to add.
I myself knew nothing about this light yet.
I’d sought out a light magic researcher precisely to uncover that.
There was no way I could answer if he asked how it worked.
“To conjure light like this and have nothing more to say… Heh, heh heh heh!”
Suddenly, Ani Person burst into an eerie laugh.
I listened silently, and after a while, he shifted his gaze from the orb back to me.
“Heh heh heh, looks like I’ve taken on quite the entertaining disciple.”
“Should I take that as a compliment?”
“Oh, absolutely. I’ve studied light my whole life, yet I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“I see. So, what does this light look like to you?”
Now it was time for Ani Person’s objective assessment.
I was curious how he’d perceive it.
He soon spoke.
“It’s still garbage light, same as before. The mana flow, formulas, understanding of attributes—all of it. It’s different from earlier, yet somehow that makes it even more off-putting.”
“…Is that so?”
Even the light conjured with [Essence of Light] received this evaluation, which was disappointing.
It held the power of a mythic trait, so it made sense.
But Ani Person wasn’t finished.
“That’s what makes it all the more astonishing. For something so haphazard to shine this brilliantly? I can say with certainty—this light is yours alone.”
In the end, it was high praise from Ani Person.
Of course, it was praise for the light, not me… but that was enough.
After all, it meant I could resolve everything with my own efforts.
And around this point, I brought up the lingering question.
“If I come to truly understand light, how will this light change?”
This was pure curiosity.
What would happen when this light reached a point where it could evolve no further?
Ani Person’s answer to that was this.
“I’ll explain from your perspective, disciple. You said your reason for learning light is to erase all demons from existence, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You’ll achieve that goal. Heh heh heh.”
I could achieve my goal.
Honestly, I couldn’t imagine higher praise.
It meant my light magic could grow strong enough to wipe out demons entirely.
For the first time, a weight lifted from my chest.
If only for his follow-up words.
“And… my goal will be achieved as well.”
Ani Person’s offhand remark hit my ears squarely.
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. Uhihihit!”
“No, that’s not nothing…”
“Uhihihit! Uhihihit!”
No matter how many times I pressed, Ani Person just laughed like he’d lost a few screws.
In the end, I had to figure it out myself.
The conclusion I reached was this.
‘My light’s growth ties into Ani Person’s goal.’
That our purposes overlapped in some unknown way.
Beyond that, I knew nothing.
What picture was he painting, exactly?
Was it something that required me to vanish like Loadbein?
I wanted to resolve this unease as quickly as possible.
***
Ani Person’s teachings began immediately.
-This dark room was made to focus entirely on light. Try focusing on your own light. Until you feel something. Uhihit!
With those words, he left me in the dark room and locked the door.
It felt vaguely like being imprisoned, stirring a bit of PTSD, but I quickly suppressed it.
From our prior conversation, I’d sensed no malice from Ani Person.
At least not yet.
‘You never know when he might turn.’
Having sought him out despite the risks, I couldn’t lower my guard.
Otherwise, I’d end up like Loadbein.
Still, I had to diligently follow his teachings.
That was the only way to get results from coming here.
In that sense.
“Focusing on light, huh…”
I closed my eyes gently and thought.
What did he mean by focusing on my own light?
His earlier words about my magic’s flaws came to mind.
Mana formulas, flow, attribute comprehension, and so on.
Endless points needing improvement.
First, I needed to confirm them with my own eyes.
Whoooong!
With tremendous mana consumption, the orb of light rose.
I gazed at it calmly.
Not with the admiration I’d felt before, but searching for the flaws Ani Person mentioned, focusing all my senses.
About two hours later, by my estimate.
“…This is harder than I thought.”
I realized this seemingly simple task was quite difficult.
Beyond the fatigue of holding the pose, my concentration drained massively.
In fact, I was soaked in cold sweat right now.
The silver lining was that there were results.
I turned my gaze back to the orb and thought.
‘I found everything Ani Person mentioned.’
At first, I couldn’t grasp it at all, but after over an hour, the issues he’d described started appearing one by one.
Just by staring piercingly at my own orb, my eye for magic had sharpened.
Of course, knowing the issues beforehand and the trait’s ‘magic learning ability’ played a big role.
Anyway.
‘Is this it?’
One problem remained.
Was ‘until you feel something,’ as Ani Person said, just about grasping these flaws?
After some self-deliberation, I reached my own conclusion.
“No, that can’t be it.”
No matter how I thought about it, he wouldn’t lock me in here just for that.
There had to be another reason.
But I couldn’t yet grasp what.
In the end, there was only one thing to do.
“Let’s try again… again.”
Whoooong!
I conjured the brilliant light once more and entered a focused state.
How much time passed?
Finally, I felt what he’d meant.
“This is it!”
A type of training I’d never done before.
And with the realization, an indescribable sense of accomplishment welled up.
What Ani Person wanted was one thing.
The additional problem created by those flaws clashing.
‘The tangled mana pathways and irregular formulas are blocking the orb from growing larger. The structure and comprehension are suppressing its desire to radiate outward.’
He’d wanted me to notice exactly that.
As that thought crossed my mind.
Kreeeeak.
The heavy iron door opened with a metallic screech.
Perfect timing—Ani Person entered.
As I adjusted to the sudden brightness, he spoke.
“Disciple, have you gained enlightenment from your own light?”
I nodded confidently and replied.
“Yes, I believe so.”
I eagerly explained my realizations…
But for some reason.
“Uhih? What are you talking about?”
His expression didn’t look pleased at all.
***
“At first, I tried to find the flaws you mentioned earlier. It took some time, but I did. But it didn’t seem like that was what you meant. So…”
Ani Person pondered as he watched the man chattering in front of him.
No—more accurately, the man had forced him into thought.
Ani Person couldn’t comprehend the situation at all.
‘What the hell is he saying?’
He’d simply told the man to observe his own light magic in the dark room.
All learning begins with realizing the state of one’s own magic.
He’d merely hoped the man would notice the unstable elements in his light magic.
No other intent.
Yet.
“Indeed, those two mixing caused a cascade of issues. The magic can’t maintain integrity, and it blocks the potential to grow stronger…”
He’d gone beyond noticing the unstable elements to grasping the complex problems they spawned.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible.
Mages often uncover many issues by observing their own magic.
But.
‘That’s something only possible at the 7th Circle…’
It was feasible only for high-rank mages.
Absolutely impossible for this man, who was merely 4th Circle.
No—simply noticing the unstable elements was already impressive.
Few mages had that level of talent.
So.
What was this man before him?
“This… things are getting very interesting.”
Ani Person thought.
He could retry the endeavor that had ended in failure last time.
No.
Perhaps this time, he could finally succeed.
The moment Ani Person, who’d intended to teach lightly, grew serious.