Chapter 43
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Aftermath (2)
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I was immersed in training for the first time in ages.
What is training?
How deeply do you understand the spells of that hierarchy? How profoundly and broadly have you built up that understanding?
And how smoothly can you compute those understood spells?
That simple yet endless task was training itself.
But the more I practiced, the more my thoughts kept drifting elsewhere.
'Computation... I feel like I could craft an artifact even now.'
How convenient would it be to recreate that treasure-grade artifact I'd disassembled before?
The temptation kept flickering before my eyes.
'Why pass up something this easy...'
But right now was the time to peer into the essence, even if my vision was blurry.
To raise my hierarchy in the Phenomenal Realm, I had no choice but to endure the grueling training.
That was why consistent practice from childhood, like a habit, was so crucial.
My Phenomenal Realm magic had been forcibly elevated, so my ice-affinity spells were at the 4th hierarchy, while the rest hovered at the 3rd.
It laid bare just how much I'd neglected my training.
Then, a thought flashed through my mind.
'How did Vinsen climb to the 7th hierarchy so quickly?'
I'd paid little attention to hierarchies before, so I'd brushed it off, but Vinsen had been a mediocre mage until he got that artifact, which let him skyrocket.
The reason?
An artifact that handled computation for him.
A function that optimized spells.
Thanks to that, he could cast magic endlessly, in endless variety.
Understanding piled up inevitably.
Of course, since it replaced the computation itself, separate training would still be essential...
Even so, repeating those optimized computations would make anyone proficient in time.
This wasn't slacking off by any means.
Before resuming serious training, I decided to craft a treasure-grade artifact.
'Alright, time to head back to the capital.'
I couldn't craft an artifact in this barebones inn room.
Especially not my first attempt at a treasure-grade one.
It was essentially my debut try, so I needed all sorts of preparations.
I'd left the northern city behind, but I was still wearing Cedric's guise.
Just in case.
But I'd been in hiding far too long.
It was time to show Ivan's face again.
I'd already sent a letter home ahead of time. I'm fine, no need to worry.
If I'd just holed up there like before, I wouldn't have to deal with this hassle.
But I'd built connections with Parovian, Raistel, Oz, and others, so one of them might wonder where I was.
...Surely I wasn't overreacting and no one had even looked for me?
'Joart will be searching too.'
I also needed to explain the mess I'd left in Professor Palrez's lab.
On the way to the capital, I shed the disguise and reverted to my true self.
After that, I meticulously erased every trace of Cedric and headed into the city.
Erasing traces like that had become second nature now.
How had I gotten so used to it?
My first stop was Professor Palrez's lab.
I'd tidied up a bit before leaving, but I couldn't erase every sign of the explosion.
Nothing seemed changed since then, so Professor Palrez must not have come by.
Or maybe he had and fled in horror.
'Should I hire someone to clean it up?'
But his precious research materials were still here, so I couldn't just let outsiders touch it carelessly.
'Can't make it look like nothing ever happened.'
I sat down, as if the past few months had been uneventful and I'd always been right here.
First, I pulled the remains of the disassembled treasure-grade artifact from my subspace artifact.
I inspected it again for anything I might have missed.
That's when.
Knock knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
Professor Palrez wouldn't bother knocking. He'd just input his mana pattern and enter.
Ad wouldn't drop by unannounced like that either.
"Who is it?"
"You're inside today, I see."
A familiar voice. Joart.
Had he been looking for me all this time?
Maybe I should feel relieved that someone was.
Though it being Joart was profoundly unfortunate.
Truth be told, there were times I wanted to see him too.
Like when I spotted the ancient hero's item and essence of evil at the auction house—I'd planned to ask him to track down who consigned them.
But somehow, I'd ended up swallowing the hero's item myself.
So I had no intention of mentioning it.
'Speaking of which, I need to examine that sword stuck in front of the tomb.'
As that thought crossed my mind, I remembered why I needed to meet Joart.
The oracle.
I had to confirm if the oracle he'd seen matched the one on the tombstone.
And if there were others like it.
For now, I stowed the treasure-grade remains and opened the door.
"Come in..."
Familiar golden blond hair filled my view right away.
The problem was behind him. A stranger.
A tall woman with blue hair cascading like waves.
She had a mature air, yet an ageless, enigmatic presence.
A heterogeneous aura, as if detached from the fabric of reality, like a flowing river.
...A Transcendent?
She tilted her head beside Joart, scrutinizing the area near the doorknob.
Checking the pattern recognition device.
"This is the one I mentioned last time, who shares our goals."
Joart introduced the blue-haired woman indifferently.
So she was one of the Transcendents gathered to stop those breaking the Hero's Pact.
Those who broke the pact to uphold it—a paradoxical bunch.
"Merin."
"Hm... Interesting. Applying the part no one pays attention to, huh?"
Even as Joart called her, she didn't so much as pretend to listen.
No interest in greeting me, apparently.
She just tossed out her comment and treated people like ants, giving off the same vibe as Joart—my expectations plummeted.
Joart didn't bat an eye at Merin's dismissal.
"Let's talk inside."
I stepped aside, and Joart entered.
Merin lingered outside, so I left her be.
"I heard you told the Emperor to summon you himself."
"Yes. You needed the spell I used to identify Followers of Evil, right?"
"Hm... Yeah."
Joart nodded slowly, as if mulling over an old memory.
"No rush right now, but it'd still be useful."
Joart suddenly asked,
"How's the artifact working?"
"Yeah... well..."
It'd been disassembled and nonfunctional for ages.
"If you're using it well, maybe you've changed your mind a bit."
...Changed about what?
It wasn't even purely his artifact to begin with.
Strictly speaking, he'd contributed nothing to killing Philip Deran or capturing Vinsen.
Just like with the elf incident.
What exactly did these people do?
And wasn't pressuring the Emperor so brazenly too much?
Watching them, I got the feeling they might pull shady artifact tricks behind the scenes too.
Obsessed with principles on the surface, accomplishing nothing, while hypocritically bending rules internally.
No different from corrupt officials.
They weren't on any payroll, but calling them full of hypocrisy wasn't an exaggeration.
"Truth is, I broke it."
"...Huh?"
"You know how interested I am in artifacts? I was examining it and accidentally smashed it."
"Didn't you just say it was working fine?"
"That was a lie. Admit it was broken, and it'd be embarrassing."
Joart narrowed his eyes briefly, then spoke calmly.
"...You're saying that because you're scared I'll demand it back."
I silently placed the stowed treasure-grade remains before him.
"For real."
"..."
At some point, Merin had sidled up beside me unnoticed. She glanced at the remains and smirked.
"Wow... You're weird too. No wonder Joart likes you."
Joart liked me?
First I'd heard of it.
A displeased chill ran down my spine.
Her tone and attitude overlapped with mine and Joart's in a way that grated even more.
This lady... well, spot on, I guess.
Still, she clearly had no eye for people.
"Your way won't get you what you want, you know?"
She spoke as if teasing Joart, then turned to me.
"Where'd you learn that elf magic?"
So that was why they'd come.
They valued it more than I'd thought—maybe I'd have to spill it, even forcibly.
But I couldn't just hand it over carelessly.
Anonymous (2) didn't even know I'd used that magic.
I might have to pivot to lending direct aid, but with everything on my plate, that was tricky too.
'Should I stall for time?'
"Hm, where did I learn it...?"
She smirked.
"Fine, tell me... and I'll teach you. Not as your master, of course."
"...Pardon?"
"Surprised? Opportunities like this don't come often, so before you change your mind..."
"But who are you?"
"..."
I hadn't meant to be rude.
I genuinely didn't know.
She'd shown zero interest in me and no intent to introduce herself.
So her sudden talk of teaching caught me off guard.
Her confident little smile widened, eyes crinkling into a full grin.
...Definitely not laughing out of genuine amusement.
Then she silently extended her hand forward.
"Come to think of it, I didn't introduce myself."
In an instant, a water orb formed in her palm.
A small, clear sphere, smaller than her hand.
Oh, chantless... not impressive enough to gawk at.
That was just condensing mana’s inherent properties.
Anyone could do it without incantation. No different from me shaping mana into form.
Incantations were for transforming it.
But it confirmed she was a mage.
She wouldn't manifest mana just to float a water orb.
And as a likely Transcendent, chantless was par for the course.
A foreboding premonition flickered.
...Please no.
Sure enough, she lightly flicked the small water orb upward.
It burst open in midair, swelling unbelievably, unleashing a torrent from that tiny sphere.
The room flooded with rain in seconds.
...Talk about a nuisance.
The lab was a watery mess, but luckily, no critical research materials would be damaged.
At least she hadn't smashed the place out of spite—small mercies.
"That explain things? I'm your senior. I attended the Academy you went to."
"The Academy does have a long history."
"..."
I just stared blankly at the relentless downpour and nodded, but she seemed offended for some reason.
A grinding of teeth leaked from her lips.
"That's why I'm offering to teach you personally."
"I'm good."
A Transcendent mage's tutelage would be invaluable, naturally.
But I hadn't even raised my Phenomenal Realm magic to the 6th hierarchy yet.
Main affinity at 4th, others lingering at 3rd.
It'd take considerable time just to hit 6th.
Like using a cattle knife to kill a chicken.
Still, manifesting this much with so little mana...
Amplification, or expansion-like property?
Definitely water-flow affinity.
She'd left behind mana traces, so I could analyze later.
Suddenly, another idea sparked.
What if I made an artifact to intuitively visualize mana flow on sight?
No need for an analyzer—just glasses to see it instantly.
Ah, no can do. I need to make the computation artifact first, then train...
Ideas kept sprouting in every direction but the one I needed.
All because of primal mana.
Since learning its power, ideas flooded my mind endlessly, like blocked meridians suddenly cleared.
"...Are you listening?"
"Enough."
Joart cut in.
Merin swept back her hair, unable to hide her irritation.
"Ugh, I don't like him. Can't do your request, Joart. Feels like he'd nitpick everything I teach."
"Didn't you say you don't need obedient disciples? They're no fun and not helpful."
"...Read the room?"
Their exchange felt oddly intimate.
From what I gathered, they thought I was playing mind games with them or something.
No way I could understand an older woman's thinking.
I'd never really conversed with one.