Turn On Namuwiki (1)
Though a random encounter popped up midway with Riana's marriage proposal, in the end, Queen of Maryland Maker was a massive hit.
After Dead Wizard's City had already drawn tremendous interest from mages toward cubes and games, it made sense that this new release would smash it. Not to mention, unlike Dead Wizard's City, which deliberately amplified negative emotions, this one focused even more on the organic relationship between the player and their daughter, Cannola.
Positive emotions like joy, fun, regret, and pride piled up just as much as the negative ones.
"The soul power composition has become incredibly diverse. As expected of you, Yujin."
"This much is a given."
Master Arkisiya beamed brightly.
Lately, she'd been smiling a lot more, which was a real treat to see.
"Then, Yujin, it feels like the time has finally come. Selaha will be back soon, so now's the perfect moment."
"Yes...? Are you heading out again, by any chance?"
Master had something like a wandering itch.
Of course, it wasn't pointless travel—it was essential for her ascension. Still, she usually stuck around for about a year after returning.
Was this another sudden trip announcement? My worry was short-lived.
"No, I'll be staying here for a while. You kept insisting on it, after all—the organic linking of circuits between cubes, building that 'server' of yours. It's not done yet."
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Right? I knew you wouldn't abandon me, Master! So, what exactly do you mean?"
"The soul power in the cubes has ripened plenty, and your skills grow every day. Your affinity with Wiki might even surpass mine now. It's time for that."
My eyes went wide.
This had to be it—the thing I was hoping for, right?
The dense, fluffy, chewy, bouncy bliss of doing it with Master...
'Awakening.'
There are two ways for a mage to break through their existing circles and awaken.
The first is sheer grit—pushing through on your own. They call it enlightenment.
It's when a mage suffers a shock strong enough to shatter or reshape their mental world, or achieves academic breakthroughs through effort, naturally elevating their realm.
Most mages grow this way.
I did too, up until hitting 2-circle at Philemon Academy.
That's the academy's core identity: guiding you toward enlightenment and showing the path beyond limits.
Of course, personal variance plays a role—someone talentless like me stalls at 2-circle.
Typical Philemon magic department grads hit 3-circle by graduation, and the freakishly talented might even reach 5-circle or higher.
My academy classmate and alum, Selaha Rosalyn, is a prime example. She's only twenty-two and already at 6-circle.
The second method is having someone of a higher realm forcibly open your mana circuits for you.
Mages call this 'inheritance.'
The conditions are brutally strict.
For starters, the inheritor and the one granting it—the transmitter—must have matching circuit natures.
A Red Tower mage inheriting from a Blue Tower one is next to impossible.
Theoretically doable, but one slip-up tangles the whole circuit, mana backlashes, and you're dead.
Plus, you need a ton of aids.
The go-to is top-grade magic stones worth several gold coins each in tiny chunks.
Stack enough to fill a room, lay out the transmitter's precisely arranged circuits. That's the inheritance altar.
Once set, the inheritor drains all their mana until they're on the verge of blackout, enters the room, and absorbs the transmitter's mana and circuit structure entirely, grafting it onto their body.
Success hinges on the trust between master-disciple, transmitter-inheritor.
That's why inheritance is so rare among mages.
Unlike the first method, doable solo with decent talent and effort, this demands massive capital and a true master willing to hand over their hard-earned achievements.
In a mage society devoid of true gods, that's a tall order.
'Even tower lord's prized disciples might not get it after years of service.'
And here I was, Eugene Paltrow, born with the same spatial affinity as Master.
Our bond had long surpassed limits.
Plus, recent earnings meant I could afford a mountain of top-grade magic stones.
Perfect setup for inheritance.
'3-circle, here I come!'
I couldn't help getting excited about awakening.
How much ridicule had I endured as a 2-circle mage?
Graduated from academy and still not 3-circle? That's rare as hell.
I gazed at Master with eyes brimming with anticipation.
She nodded.
"Yes, let's hold the inheritance rite. You should reach 3-circle without issue."
"Finally!!!"
Eugene Paltrow. Escaping the lowly magic errand boy life at last.
***
Me, the academy troublemaker, following Master Arkisiya wasn't just because her ocean-wide heart moved me.
Sure, it played a part, but if I had to pick, this weighed more.
Growth in realm.
- In your state, no magic tower would take you. Stick by my side and keep learning. Who knows? If I take a liking to you, I might even inherit to you.
- Thank you, Professor! I'll devote my life to serving at your side!!!
Spatial magic gets worse treatment than 'darkness,' which is at least one of the six major attributes, albeit niche.
No spatial magic tower exists, and the spatial mages I know? I can count them on one hand.
That rare.
But if I could inherit from the youngest grand mage ever, even my trash-tier innate circuits could normalize.
5-circle would mean financial security for life.
Honestly, 6-circle is greedy...
Five years since that pinky swear with Master.
But as time passed, hopes for awakening faded, and I grew content with days alongside my beautiful Master.
Then I met Riana, opening the golden path—the first step toward awakening.
Harvest day had arrived!
Time to claim rewards for five years of toil all at once.
I followed Master to the second floor, deepest inner sanctum.
Truth be told, I'd never entered Master's private quarters.
'She said never to come here, no matter what.'
Even after three years at the library, I'd never seen beyond that veil.
What secrets lay within? Heart pounding, I stepped in after her.
"Whoa..."
The dazzling sight left me stunned.
A grand mage's quarters should be mystical and beautiful, and the library's second floor was no exception.
The bedroom ceiling alone was a full dome, worlds apart from a normal library.
Yet from outside, no dome roof exists.
Everything in her space was hand-crafted by Master's distortion magic.
That's why the forbidden vault and second floor are restricted zones.
Aside from me and a few authorized personnel, outsiders trigger infinite expansion on entry.
Security, sure, but stray in wrong and you're dead.
Once, a Yellow Tower apprentice nearly starved after wandering in out of curiosity.
But this scene before me was too majestic, too surreal for mere spatial distortion.
A colossal golden tree stretched from floor to unfathomable ceiling heights.
I'd seen this before—in FromSoftware's ancient ring game.
But that was physical; this was a mirage of light streams.
Master turned her back to the tree, facing me.
"Sephirot."
Arkisiya reached toward the air.
Golden particles scattered throughout rippled gently like waves, coiling around her hand.
In that instant, I glimpsed her at 9-circle, ascending.
Beyond mere beauty—divine. I dropped to my knees on the spot.
"The stem of the spirit corridor that composes the world, cradle of all knowledge."
"So... that's why even I was barred from entering."
If this is the spirit corridor's core, no average mage could even step foot here.
Spirits are sensitive—natural phenomena incarnate.
Wiki's the odd one; most spirits aren't friendly toward humans.
Mages, wielding magic freely without being spirits? Mortal enemies to them.
No wonder mages and spiritists are separate professions.
Mages see spiritists as helpless without spirits; spiritists view mages as lunatics twisting natural laws for power.
"Yujin, you've met the qualifications now. Look around you."
I turned—light streams enveloping Master swirled around me too.
I instinctively knew their nature.
Shaking playfully, like greeting a dear friend.
"Wiki?"
"Yujin, your inheritance won't be transplanting my mana circuits. That... wouldn't suit you."
Bolt from the blue.
But her next words were the real bombshell.
"Form a spirit contract with Wiki and become a spiritist."
Suddenly, job change from mage.