Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Fan's Request (2)
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A fallen mage of the 7th hierarchy...
By the time you reach the 7th hierarchy, it's considered the pinnacle achievable through innate talent as a mage.
Anything beyond that... is a realm so utterly different that the very concept of hierarchies loses all meaning.
Some even call it the boundary between true talent and false.
Of course, a 7th hierarchy mage would have established a solid position even within the Empire, so no one would dare say that to their face.
That's how revered the 8th hierarchy is—even among the Empire's top mages hailed for their talent, it's a realm they dream of.
As for me, I'm currently at the 5th hierarchy. And even that, I only reached recently through a sheer stroke of luck that brought me enlightenment.
'Come to think of it, I need to stop by the Central Magic Tower to report my hierarchy advancement.'
The 5th hierarchy is called the final tier a mage of ordinary talent can reach.
Reaching it at a relatively young age might earn praise from some.
But as I said before, my talent was always ambiguous.
I simply arrived a bit faster at the point where an average mage spends their whole life grinding to reach.
Ultimately, breaking through the wall beyond that was beyond me.
There are two walls in the magical hierarchies.
The first one you hit at the 5th hierarchy. And the second at the 7th.
Honestly, lately I hadn't been paying much attention to hierarchies. Even reaching the 5th didn't require me slaving away at it.
After all, no matter how high your hierarchy, you still couldn't make a cell phone.
More than anything, it was discouraging that the hierarchy system was ultimately built around combat magic.
'Unless some revolutionary method I don't know about comes along.'
So at some point, I stopped caring much.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"The fallen mage has gone into hiding. We need to track him down, so I've come to ask for your help."
"Would you really need my help to chase down a 7th hierarchy mage?"
"In my view... your skill in reading Unique Mana Patterns could be a huge asset in this pursuit. Surely, you've considered something similar?"
"...I have, yeah."
A Unique Mana Pattern was like this world's fingerprint.
And I was the one who built a device to detect it.
Still, a 7th hierarchy mage was a powerhouse guaranteed a seat anywhere in the Empire. Undeniably far more proficient in magic than me.
And yet...
'It might actually work.'
Truth be told, I was confident.
At the same time, I figured there had to be someone more qualified than me. There were probably other ways to track traces besides reading Unique Mana Patterns.
Maybe I looked too openly skeptical, because Raistel picked up on it and added,
"Given the gravity of the situation, even a Transcendent has taken personal interest. Actually, I went to the master of the Yellow Magic Tower first."
"... ."
The Yellow Magic Tower's master... and then me?
Shouldn't there be several steps in between?
And a Transcendent, no less. That was even more shocking.
In terms of magic, they were beings who had shattered the wall past the 7th hierarchy and leaped to the next stage. Usually called 8th hierarchy mages, but once dubbed Transcendent, the concept of hierarchies became meaningless.
In other words, the 8th hierarchy was just the starting point for Transcendents.
An issue drawing the attention of someone at that level?
And they came to me for it...?
The thought lingered in my mind.
"The master refused. He said he's tied up with other matters lately and can't assist. And... he recommended I come to you."
"...Pardon?"
The Yellow Magic Tower.
A vague memory surfaced.
Right around when my Communication Orbs were starting to spread, I'd received a letter directly from the Graduate Academy inviting me to join their tower if I hadn't decided on a post-graduation path.
The sender? None other than the master of the Yellow Magic Tower.
The Yellow Magic Tower focused less on combat magic and more on support spells—especially artifacts and applied magic.
I knew they were interested in me... but after dropping out of the Graduate Academy and heading home, I figured they'd lost interest.
But a recommendation? And even with that, for an issue a Transcendent cared about, they come straight to me in this backwater town?
Raistel was a bit odd himself. I'd heard he had ties to Professor Palrez, but... was that why he was acting strange?
"I've been given full authority over this operation, and I'm convinced you'll be of help, so I came in person. Of course... I'm not asking empty-handed."
With that, he lowered his voice slightly.
"Do you happen to know... how the fallen 7th hierarchy mage Vinsen became famous?"
"...No clue."
Of course not. This was the first I'd even heard he was fallen, and Vinsen was a name I'd never encountered before.
Raistel nodded slowly and continued.
"In his youth, he worked as a battle mage in a mercenary band. Nothing special back then, of course. He joined mainly to fund his research."
Raistel paused, his expression turning meaningful.
"Then one day, he struck it rich. Know what people usually mean by striking it rich?"
"An artifact...?"
Raistel nodded in satisfaction.
"Exactly. His mercenary band discovered an ancient ruin, and Vinsen got his hands on some ancient artifact inside. Word is, it was a magic computation artifact—one that designs the optimal formula and activation structure for any spell on the spot."
"...Oh. I see."
Raistel, who had been eagerly spinning the tale, met my eyes and suddenly looked crestfallen.
"You... really can't hide your expressions, can you."
"I get that a lot."
"That's what makes it so baffling. Isn't this the kind of story any mage would be interested in?"
"It's not mine anyway. Are you offering me that artifact if I help out this time?"
"Obviously not."
Raistel chuckled in disbelief, but honestly, I was the one who found it ridiculous.
Did he think dangling a tantalizing story like that would pique my curiosity?
Sorry, but it didn't. Even if they offered it.
"Hear me out. We can't give you the ancient relic, but it's definitely a reward that should catch your interest."
Raistel waved his hand, trying to keep the momentum going.
"Thanks to that artifact, he skyrocketed through the hierarchies in no time. But there was a clear limit. No matter how much the artifact helped... surpassing the 7th hierarchy is impossible for an ordinary person."
"So that's why he fell?"
"Yes. We suspect that after falling, he finally reached the 8th hierarchy. Looks like the ancient ruin held more than just that one magic computation artifact."
"He's been hiding it all this time... huh."
"Since a Transcendent is interested, we expect it's something extraordinary. Do you know what a Transcendent's tiers are?"
"I know that mages who reach the 8th hierarchy are called Probe Rank."
"This matter has drawn the attention of a Transcendent one step above Probe Rank—a Dragon Rank."
The hierarchy of Transcendents—also called the Key Hierarchy—was the ranking system for beings who transcended mage hierarchies.
According to Raistel, the lowest was Probe Rank, followed by Dragon Rank.
And there were even higher stages beyond that.
I nodded politely as he explained, but it wasn't exactly thrilling.
Noticing, Raistel cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Ahem, got a bit off track there."
Wasn't a Senior Knight like him being a tad too attentive to my reactions?
He was even reading my mood perfectly.
...Does he know me well? Nah, impossible.
"Anyway, we'll share with you the method that fallen mage used to raise his hierarchy... as compensation for your help in tracking him. Not enough?"
A method to ascend hierarchies. That would tempt most mages. Overly generous for just analyzing a Unique Mana Pattern to aid the pursuit.
Especially crossing from 7th to 8th—the biggest wall of all.
And it didn't even seem like I'd have to face the 7th hierarchy—no, now 8th hierarchy—fallen mage directly. Low risk.
The problem? I'd just boldly declared I had zero interest in hierarchy advancement.
"Hmm..."
"W-Wait... even this isn't enough?"
"It's not insufficient. I'm just not interested."
"...Huh."
Silence hung between us.
Raistel shook his head repeatedly, muttering "Huh," "Hah," and sucking in his breath in disbelief.
...Talk about awkward.
But he seemed genuinely disheartened, not having expected my refusal.
Better to reject quickly and be done with it.
As I opened my mouth, Raistel gave a wry smile and continued smoothly.
"He was undoubtedly a mage of pitiful talent. In his youth, his research focused on mana stabilization—the phenomenon where circles heat up like they're burning during spellcasting. He was studying ways to suppress it, to enable simultaneous operation of multiple spells."
Raistel shrugged and added,
"Just hearing the topic, you'd doubt it could even get published, let alone attract funding. You know how it is these days—thanks to advances in incantation techniques, dual and triple chanting mages are commonplace... Right. I heard it never even made it to a paper and was shelved."
In other words, he was saying the guy had devoted his life to utterly useless research.
At that point, my mind started spinning.
"For that research to be useful, you'd need a 7th hierarchy mage spamming multiple spells—but it wasn't even at a level to stabilize that kind of magic. And yet, that mage reached the 8th hierarchy..."
"Hold on."
I couldn't contain my excitement and cut him off without thinking.
My eyes lit up.
"Why didn't you mention that research from the start?!"
Raistel frowned in confusion.
"Research? Mana stabilization? ...You're serious? What significance could that possibly have...?"
I half-rose from my seat.
My breathing quickened.
"It has meaning! Tremendous meaning!"
This was huge.
The core essential for miniaturizing mana circuits and packing multiple functions into a single device.
Mana stabilization.
It was mandatory for making a manaphone.