Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: A Mirror of the Heart
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That night.
After an exhausting day, Dale returned to his room.
The Knight Commander, Lord Helmut, had officially formed an expedition to the Demon King's territory. By now, Dale's parents were likely hard at work granting their son's wish.
‘They must have a truly wonderful marriage.’
Dale thought, a wry smile on his face.
Sephia, the Wise Elf who had become his tutor, had not shown herself since.
Dale sat quietly in a cross-legged position on his wool-stuffed bed. He focused on the flow of mana through his heart and slowly extended a hand.
The current of magical energy shimmering on his palm soon began to glow, imbued with a chilling cold.
‘First, I need to control my own body.’
He wasn't trying to be humble and hide his talent. On the contrary, that was precisely why today's mistake stung so sharply. As he dwelled on it, he found himself growing concerned about the absent Sephia.
──What was it?
He had seen that look of horror in someone's eyes before—the same look Sephia had given him.
‘I don’t want to be seen as a monster.’
At the same time, the mocking smile of the Holy Sword Master who had thrust Durandal into his back came to mind.
‘In my next life, I will become a heartless, merciless Demon King.’
Conflicting desires.
*Whoosh!*
The moment his concentration wavered, a storm of magical energy erupted once more.
“...!”
The surrounding temperature began to drop rapidly. A layer of white frost spread across the entire room, originating from where Dale sat.
An endless, severe cold, dropping far below freezing.
He hastily focused his consciousness and regained his scattered composure. The swirling frost then dissolved back into particles of magical energy and vanished.
‘This is truly a heaven-sent talent.’
He realized this after calming himself. He wasn't referring to his past self, but to his current body, the pure inheritor of Lord Black's blood.
A vessel for a Demon King, bestowed by the era itself—one so perfect that the insights from his past life were almost unnecessary.
* * *
He couldn't fall asleep, even as the night deepened.
Dale eventually left his room and headed for the duchy's central courtyard, where he had been with Sephia that morning. He hoped to calm his mind by walking through the white marble colonnade.
And there, an unexpected person was waiting.
It was Sephia, Dale's tutor and a 6th-circle master elf mage.
“Miss Sephia?”
“What are you doing out so late?”
Sephia's ears twitched in surprise. Perhaps she, like Dale, had come out for a late-night stroll.
“Well, I couldn't sleep.”
“You must have much on your mind.”
It was a very unchildlike response. Nevertheless, Sephia's crystal-blue eyes softened into a gentle smile.
“Happy eighth birthday.”
“Thank you, Miss.”
The birthday wish was a little late. Dale scratched his head and gave an awkward smile.
“As it happens, I have a birthday gift for you.”
“A gift?”
“Did you not make a promise with me?”
As Dale tilted his head at her unexpected words, Sephia continued.
“That we would slowly figure out what kind of magic you want to learn together.”
A task she had expected to take weeks had concluded in a single morning. And what Dale had shown in the process was even more astonishing.
This child's talent was dangerous. It wasn't hard to imagine the consequences if his magic were ever to be wielded with malice.
That was why taking on the role of Dale's tutor carried a weight far greater than Sephia had ever imagined.
“Together, let us carefully consider the path you should walk.”
“Miss Sephia...”
Today, after her conversation with Lord Black, Sephia had made up her mind. Just as Dale's father, Lord Black, had made his decision.
‘I pray that you will use your wisdom, Wise Elf, to guide Dale down the right path.’
The worn-out book in Sephia's hand was a testament to the decision they had both made.
An eighth birthday present, prepared for Dale's future.
It was a magic book on *Basic Necromancy*.
* * *
A few days later.
The city of Sachsen, built around the ducal castle, was the undisputed capital of the Sachsen Duchy and one of the largest cities in the entire empire.
The cobblestone streets, paved with diamond-shaped stones, bustled with people. Dale was among them, making his way through the crowd.
There was no grand, city-shaking ceremony to announce his presence.
It was hard to imagine the precious young lord of the ducal house strolling through the city so unguarded.
Of course, two or three knights were still shadowing him, their identities concealed. But that was all.
Because Dale's trustworthy tutor, Sephia, was with him.
It was a testament to the immense trust the duke and duchess placed in Sephia.
“You seem to be in high spirits.”
“Yes!”
At Dale's childlike smile, Sephia couldn't hide a pleased smile of her own.
The two, their identities hidden by robes, rented horses from a stable and headed for the plains outside the city's north gate.
The area north of Sachsen led to the White Mountains, which bordered the Demon King's territory, making it a place most people had no reason to visit. The only exceptions were mercenaries who took on quests from the guild to hunt monsters.
In other words, it was a monster hunting ground.
“From now on, I will teach you magic here.”
Leaving the ducal knights who were guarding them from a distance, Sephia dismounted. Dale followed suit.
“Here?”
Sephia nodded and then quietly surveyed their surroundings. It was a flat plain, blanketed in thick snow. Soon, her pointed ears twitched.
“Can you use Ice Bolt to shoot that?”
In the distance, a rabbit was cautiously watching them.
“The rabbit...”
“You must have experience hunting with your father.”
Dale had indeed gone on quite a few hunts with his father at a young age.
This world was one where only the strong survived. From the moment they came of age, children learned to hunt beasts, wield swords, shoot bows, and kill people.
But hearing such words from an elf stirred rather complex feelings in him.
“I understand.”
Not that he had any reason to hesitate.
He rotated the mana along the circle in his heart, channeling the processed magical energy to his fingertips. A sharp, awl-shaped ice crystal shot out with the speed and destructive power of a bullet.
The rabbit flinched on the spot, then ceased to move. It was an instant kill.
“Do you know why the same spell can take on countless forms depending on the caster?”
Sephia spoke as she watched, her voice a little somber. Dale shook his head.
“It is because the essence of magic is a ‘mirror of the heart.’”
“...”
“Therefore, a mage inevitably reveals the ‘landscape of their heart’ through their magic.”
Magic is the materialization of a mental image, projected into the world through mana particles. Simply put, it is the power to turn imagination into reality.
Thus, what people call ‘spells’ do not, strictly speaking, have a true form.
Names like Ice Bolt or Fire Wall are merely conventional agreements to share a ‘solidified mental image.’
That is why mages endlessly hone their minds—to control that mental image at will.
To draw closer to the spirit their magic seeks.
For instance, the Blue Magic Tower values ‘order through harmony,’ while the Red Magic Tower values ‘order through power.’ Such philosophies are projected as forms or phenomena like water or fire, becoming the foundation for each tower's magical system.
“This might be a difficult topic for one so young.”
Sephia finished with a wry smile. But Dale could not smile back. He understood the true meaning behind her words.
Right now, through that very mirror of the heart, Sephia was glimpsing Dale's ‘true self.’
The spirit his magic sought.
“──Your magic has a talent for taking life.”
Sephia continued.
“When I first saw your magic, I was, to be honest, afraid.”
As expected, Sephia had already discerned the nature of Dale's talent. It was no surprise. However, what she said next went beyond Dale's expectations.
“That is why I am so relieved that I am the one to teach you.”
“Miss Sephia...?”
Sephia's crystal-blue eyes held a benevolent smile.
“It feels like destiny that I have come to be with you.”
After speaking, Sephia took out the *Basic Necromancy* magic book she had tucked inside her cape.
“...!”
Unlike a ‘Grimoire,’ which required a soul-binding imprint, a ‘magic book’ could be read by anyone to learn its contents. Nevertheless, the act of giving Dale a magic book containing the secrets of necromancy carried a weight that was anything but light.
“Then let us begin our lesson.”
“Yes, Miss Sephia!”
At Sephia's words, Dale nodded vigorously.
* * *
A few weeks later.
The cold, dead rabbit suddenly shuddered and rose to its feet, like a puppet dancing on strings.
A rabbit, moving as a zombie.
‘He’s fast.’
Watching Dale's progress, Sephia felt nothing but pure astonishment.
To reach the stage of reanimating a corpse in just a few weeks.
Raising a corpse is the most fundamental skill for a necromancer. For a 6th-circle mage like Sephia, casting a spell of this level was trivial. But for the fledgling students of the Black Magic Tower, mastering this very basic skill required months, if not years, of training.
It was on a completely different level from condensing the cold in the air to form an Ice Bolt.
Moreover, this was not the extent of Dale's achievements.
“Now for the next step.”
“I understand, Miss Sephia.”
Dale extended a hand in understanding. Once again, blue magical energy began to swirl from his fingertips.
While controlling the dead rabbit like a puppet with threads of magical energy, he simultaneously whipped up a chilling wind around it.
The swirling frost enveloped the rabbit, forming a wall of ice. At first glance, it seemed as if he was encasing the rabbit in ice, but the reality was different.
Dale once again moved the threads of magical energy, manipulating the zombie rabbit like a skilled puppeteer.
There were no restrictions on the rabbit's movements. In fact, when Sephia fired an Ice Bolt as a test, the wall of ice acted as armor, blocking her attack.
An armor of ice, enveloping and protecting the dead rabbit. It was the 1st-circle water-attribute spell, Frozen Armor.
“I finally blocked your bolt!”
“Yes, that’s excellent.”
Dale shouted excitedly. Sephia smiled and nodded.
Although it was an Ice Bolt of reduced power, Dale had only learned ‘Frozen Armor’ a few days ago.
Nevertheless, the Frozen Armor protecting the dead rabbit just now had defensive capabilities comparable to steel plate.
‘His rate of growth is unbelievable.’
Dark magic and water magic. Since that day, Dale had been learning two different schools of magic from Sephia simultaneously.
‘Please teach me water-attribute magic.’
It was entirely Dale's own will to learn water-attribute magic, not content with just the dark attribute.
Sephia, too, had hesitated at first.
A dual mage who could wield two major attributes at the same time.
For someone like Sephia, an elder of a magic tower, to use necromancy or fire magic was no great feat. But for a novice who had just begun to learn magic to want to learn water and dark attributes simultaneously?
At first, she thought it was greed.
But when Sephia told him it wouldn't be too late to learn it over time, Dale began to insist, like a child his age.
‘You said we would find the path I should walk together.’
Or perhaps it was better to say she had been swayed by his unchildlike persuasion.
After all, there was no harm in learning the basics of various magics. With that in mind, she began teaching him basic water magic alongside dark magic.
And this was the result.
A rabbit, stiffened in death and wrapped in cumbersome ice armor. For a beginner, even making it move a few steps would be a struggle.
But the zombie, armed with its icy armor, hopped about as if it were wearing nothing at all.
Combining the dual attributes of water and dark with unbelievable fluidity.
A sponge that absorbed everything it was taught. Even if he learned only one type of magic at this speed, the title of a once-in-a-generation genius would not be an exaggeration.
Sephia inadvertently recalled the army of the dead commanded by Lord Black.
Imagining that very army advancing, clad in frozen armor, she shivered as a chill ran down her spine.