Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Transcendent's Preparation (4)
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A man with a resolute expression, as if he'd made up his mind, pulled out a gift box and a single letter.
'As expected, it's a confession.'
Such things were probably commonplace at the Academy.
When I was a student, I'd only heard about them secondhand. I'd never experienced one myself.
…If he'd confessed in front of Professor Palrez, everyone would have gone dead silent in an instant.
But the atmosphere didn't look all that great. I couldn't see Roselin's face from behind, but her straight-backed posture was still visible.
On the other hand, the man's intensely nervous expression was crystal clear.
Peeking at the outcome felt like too much, so I turned away. Besides, staring so openly from this close seemed rude. Roselin would sense my gaze with her intuition anyway.
However, at that moment.
Something subtly caught my senses. The kind of faint sensation I absolutely wouldn't have noticed if I were truly just a 7th Circle mage.
I could sense it because I'd become a Transcendent—and because they happened to be within close range.
The direction pointed to by the sensation from my heightened ambient mana.
My gaze slowly turned.
It was fixed on the box in the man's hand.
Just then, Roselin was shaking her head.
"Thank you for your feelings, but I'll have to decline."
"Please think it over just once more. Or at least take this…"
"No. Not only can't I accept your feelings, but I generally don't take gifts from others."
"I'm not just anyone. I'm your senior… This is just a small gift. No need to feel burdened."
"I said I won't take it."
"Just take it. Even if you don't return my feelings… you can at least accept this much."
Sweat was pouring down the man's face like rain. It wasn't the kind from a simple rejected confession.
I stepped in during the exchange and grabbed his arm. I'd actually been watching for the right timing.
I didn't particularly want to interfere, but to keep him from fleeing, I had to grab his arm first.
"W-what is this?"
He tried to violently shake off my grip. I'd expected an overreaction just from his face.
He strained with all his might, but he couldn't free his arm.
Because the chill flowing from my palm had already frozen his arm solid.
"What are you doing?! Is this an attack?"
"You—what did you put in this box?"
"W-what… What are you talking about?! Can you just use magic arbitrarily on an Academy student like this?"
"You put something weird in there."
"What's with suddenly showing up and causing this scene?"
I had zero intention of playing the villain interrupting a schoolyard romance. Looking like some cringy thirty-year-old trying to act sweet was the last thing I wanted.
Before he could even voice his indignation, the man's reaction grew even fiercer. It was only natural—he'd strained and still been held fast.
He channeled mana to wrench his arm free.
Kwachik.
Using mana shattered the ice binding us.
But only for a moment.
The scattered frost particles regrouped and refroze in an instant.
He'd barely pulled his arm free before it reconnected to my palm. This time, though, it stretched in a longer, more bizarre curve.
"What is this?!"
He shattered the ice once more with force and yanked his hand back. But not even a few seconds passed before ice sprouted anew along the broken path.
The man panicked and retreated, but he couldn't take more than a couple steps.
Frost was rising from beneath his feet, freezing the ground.
The chill was slowly coiling around his entire body.
Finally, the man halted and spoke.
"…A 7th Circle mage?"
This was the 6th Circle frost magic known as Eternal Binding. From the single moment of contact with the caster, the chill relentlessly pursues, forging inescapable restraints.
Stay still, and you'd freeze solid right there.
Naturally, casting it without incantation logically implied a 7th Circle mage capable of chantless spells.
He forced a calm voice as he asked.
"Archmage, why suddenly against me…?"
The man's demeanor had calmed. He had no choice but to force it.
Of course, even I paused inwardly upon embracing the grandiose title of Archmage.
I'd already snatched the box he'd tossed away as he retreated, catching it with my other hand.
Mana now rose from the palm holding the box.
I had no intention of opening it myself.
Mana rapidly shaped itself, forming a structure with a simple circuit engraved. Resembling four pincer legs, it autonomously unwrapped the packaging and pried open the box.
And the instant the box opened, dozens of thumb-sized bugs burst out from within.
I'd sensed something sinister, but I hadn't expected dozens of bugs. How hadn't I picked up on their presence?
They lay utterly still while the box was sealed, then swarmed the moment it opened.
Fortunately, I'd detected the ominous vibe ahead of time and was prepared.
The bugs froze solid the instant they emerged—none escaped.
The frost extended to the box, and with the weight, it thudded to the ground.
Not just me—even Roselin, hand on her sword hilt as she sensed the abnormality, was stunned.
It was absurd. Passing off dozens of bugs as a gift?
But they weren't ordinary bugs. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sensed anything or bothered getting involved over something trivial.
I immediately scanned the box. Tracing mana signatures, and upon finding unusual ones, I visualized them in black, expanding the scan outward.
Especially toward the man who'd been carrying it.
But the man bore no such traces from the box.
He hadn't placed them there himself, at least.
'Did he just receive it from someone as a delivery?'
"Dark Devourers."
Roselin said, having drawn near.
Her face had hardened when the bugs first burst out, but she'd already composed herself into calm poise.
"Bugs that completely erase their presence without light. They hide in darkness, and even one invades through bodily orifices to devour the brain. They're infamous as assassination bugs."
Dozens of them stuffed in a box?
"Got any enemies?"
She averted her eyes without answering my question.
…Wait, wasn't your enemy Partan? He's already dead.
What a tangled backstory. Is this what makes her the Hero? Complete with epic narrative?
"Spare me! Stop this first!"
I halted the magic that had frozen his lower body solid.
This guy seemed like a mere errand boy handed the box for delivery.
But I already knew what it contained. His reaction had made it obvious.
So I had to question him. Couldn't just kill him outright.
Moreover, an outsider harming an Academy student would paint a bad picture.
Besides, the commotion had already ballooned, drawing a crowd.
Probably best to hand him over to the Academy… They'd handle it, right?
Still, Roselin was a prodigiously talented student who'd already reached Sword Master. The Academy would surely prioritize her.
Just then, a familiar face caught my eye amid the crowd: Professor Palrez.
He stared at me in utter bewilderment, eyes screaming, 'What are you doing here?'
And standing beside him, another figure.
The chairman himself.
Alex Bepin—second son of the Count Bepin family, who'd branched off and served as Academy chairman for decades.
Naturally, the chairman role wasn't granted by merit.
In noble society, honor reigned supreme, so families that invested lavishly to uphold it inherited the seat.
Highborn nobles typically filled such posts. Alex Bepin was merely one of them.
"Roselin! This that issue again?"
Alex emerged, parting the throng. His tone carried the familiarity of something far from novel.
"This has happened before?"
"I've endured assassination attempts."
Roselin replied flatly.
Dozens of these assassination bugs would fetch a staggering sum, even just in coin.
Someone harbored that level of malice toward her…
Imagine taking that box to her dorm and opening it. Even one slipping into the shadows would render the room uninhabitable—no, the entire building.
What grudge did she carry to warrant this?
"This time, fortunately, this mage stepped in, so it didn't escalate."
Roselin reassured Alex, then bowed toward me.
"Thank you for your help."
"Ah… Yeah."
"They're resorting to students now? This crosses the line, Roselin."
Alex eyed her sternly, but she shook her head.
Watching, Alex let out a sigh.
Hmm… Yeah, something's definitely up.
After a moment of silence, Alex softened his voice and asked Roselin, glancing my way.
"By the way, didn't you recently ask to be connected with a powerful mage?"
He gestured at me, and Roselin hesitated for a split second before shaking her head.
"Uh… I'm good now."
Shed wanted a strong mage? And now she's fine… Don't tell me it's because of Cedric?
As that thought crossed my mind, Roselin suddenly widened her eyes and stepped up to me. She'd remembered something belatedly.
"Still, could I get a way to contact you?"
…Setting up insurance, huh.
I pondered briefly before giving a curt reply.
"…Just casually ask Professor Palrez."
I spotted Professor Palrez pointing at himself in confusion amid the crowd.
I handed the male student straight over to the chairman. Since similar incidents had occurred multiple times before, they knew the drill, making the handover smooth…
But the fact that it kept happening despite all those prior brushes raised questions about their reliability.
'Not like I should step up and say I'll handle it personally—that'd just be meddling.'
With my current identity, I had no plans to get tangled with Roselin anyway.
Who could've predicted the gift box from the guy confessing to her right in front of me would contain assassination bugs?
"How mana interacts with mana. For this section, I've brought the very person you've been so curious about. Likely the name mentioned most in my lectures… Proudly, he's just ascended to 7th Circle and become an Archmage."
Murmurs rippled through the packed large lecture hall.
But that Archmage title… how could anyone miss it?
I understood normals invoking it with awe, but from my vantage—knowing Transcendents—it raised goosebumps.
"You all know how rare it is to receive instruction from a mage of that caliber, right?"
With applause erupting, it was time for me to make my entrance.
Of course, plenty clapped in dazed confusion. Likely stunned by the 7th Circle mention.
The audience included offspring of Magic Tower high echelons and heirs from noble houses known by name alone. A 7th Circle mage materializing without any prior whispers would naturally baffle them.
'No need to spell it out.'
I quickly realized Palrez had started that way to boast about his disciple.
As I stepped forward, all eyes glued to me.
I'd never once imagined standing at a podium.
Truth be told, my knowledge didn't vastly surpass Palrez's—at Academy level, anyway.
I wasn't here to expound on primal mana or elemental hierarchies.
The one thing I could tout was my fresh 7th Circle attainment.
'Since Palrez already let it slip…'
Best to demonstrate what a 7th Circle mage could offer.