Chapter 177: Mage (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 177: Mage (7)
The Helmet of the Demon King.
According to Boradori, despite its appearance, it surprisingly offered no defensive stats.
Instead, since it was an item equipped in the head slot, it functioned as a second head. Not in the sense of an extra life, but an extra brain.
Indeed.
True to its nature as an ego helmet, the thing used the wearer’s mana to assist in double-casting spells suited to the user’s level.
Double casting.
In the magic world, it was the equivalent of being a dual-wielder—which, simply put, usually meant it was all for show.
Casting two spells simultaneously.
On paper, it sounded like a broken ability. In practice, being able to use two types of magic at once was indeed a formidable power.
The problem was that the human mind simply wasn't capable of processing two different spells at the same time.
Because of this, most things labeled as "double casting" were limited to basic spells. Even then, it usually involved using two spells the mage had practiced for a very long time until they were second nature.
Since it was generally more efficient to just cast a single higher-tier spell than to bother with double casting, most mages who pursued it were like dual-wielding swordsmen—either chasing a romanticized ideal or just full of themselves.
However, there were times when double casting proved useful for those very reasons.
Even if the spells were low-level, double casting was considered so impractical among mages that it had become something of a legend—a secret trump card used on battlefields where you rarely met the same opponent twice, and where one of you was guaranteed to die.
Of course, this was never proven.
Those who used it had no reason to reveal their secret ace to others, and those who faced it were usually dead.
Thus, the only beings known to double-cast high-tier magic were dragons, the progenitors of magic, or a few mages from legends.
One of those legends was the man called the First Mage by the dark mages.
According to Boradori, that legend was true.
However, it wasn't that the First Mage himself was capable of it; it was only possible because he used a divine artifact—the Helmet of the Demon King currently sitting before my eyes.
“I guess even that thing can’t comprehend my magic…”
No matter how much of a divine artifact from ancient times it was, it seemed it couldn't understand modern magic.
-Kuaaaah! Altear, you wicked bastard! Even if I rejected your demands, to think you would bring someone like this! You may have fallen into lichdom, but you were once a hero of humanity and a respected mage! Have you cast aside all your pride as a sorcerer?!
The Helmet of the Demon King wailed at my words.
Deciding that it couldn't communicate with me, it began protesting to Altear instead.
“Hmm. It contains all the essential components of magic. If that isn't magic, then what is?”
-Do not call that magic based on the standards of you humans who only pretend to understand it!
“Fire and ice come out of it, so it’s magic, isn't it…?”
-Kuaaaaah!
Even if it was the Helmet of the Demon King, I was a modern mage recognized by the Leon Tower Master, a high elf, a dragonkin, and a legendary mage.
“I see… You just couldn't comprehend my high-dimensional magic, so you wanted to deny it was magic at all!”
-I have never lamented my lack of a physical body more than this moment! I should tear that damn human’s mouth apart so he can never speak again!
It screamed with pure resentment, but in the end, it was just a hunk of metal that couldn't do anything unless someone equipped it.
There was no way a mere helmet could—
“You’re lucky. That guy gathers strength every hundred years to manifest a physical body.”
“……?”
Apparently, it could.
Despite being a piece of equipment, if it gathered enough strength, it could sprout limbs made of mana and attack.
“Why do you just leave something like that alone?”
“I get bored. I need someone to play with about once every hundred years.”
“……”
It was an absurd statement, but one only an overwhelmingly powerful being could make.
In life, he was a Great Mage who drove away dragons and a comrade-in-arms to the Great Emperor who left his name in imperial history. Having lived for centuries as a lich researching magic, he was bound to be an absolute monster.
Even I, despite landing the first strike, had been suppressed without being able to do a thing.
But I wasn't like him.
Thanks to Daisy’s magic sword, I already knew how powerful the weapons used by the original Demon King were.
And now I was hearing that this thing could grow limbs and move on its own?
A cautious person like me couldn't live in peace knowing that.
“What are you doing?”
“You said it grows a body if it gathers strength.”
“Right.”
“I’m going to drain some of its power as a preventative measure.”
“……?”
Pop.
I pulled a bottle out of my subspace pouch, uncorked it, and poured the contents directly onto the Helmet of the Demon King.
-What is this now… Kuaaaaah!
“What’s that?”
“Saintess-brand holy water.”
“Ack!”
Even if he was once a hero of the Empire, perhaps it was because he was now a lich—a being who had rejected death. Altear, who had approached out of curiosity, recoiled in horror at the mention of holy water and fled.
-Kuaah! You tricked me, Altear! Why does this brat who just appeared out of nowhere have holy water! And such high purity, too!
“I had no idea. Hey, descendant of Luke. Do you know anything about this?”
“Well, the current Saintess is his lover.”
“So he says.”
-That’s impossible… Kuaaaaah!
Not satisfied with just a holy water bath, I pulled out a cloth and polished it until it sparkled.
And then…
“Now, experience modern magic for yourself.”
-P-Please… I’d rather you just pour more holy water on meeeee!
I promptly placed it on my head.
-I have been defiled. The magical knowledge within me has been contaminated…
I removed the Helmet of the Demon King, which had now "accepted" modern magic, from my head.
“This is useless…”
I had realized something.
The greatest advantage of the Helmet of the Demon King was double casting.
However, surprisingly, I was already capable of double casting.
“Wait. Does this mean I can do triple casting now?”
-Why, why do you use it without thinking… how can you even consider that magic…!
“Triple casting. Even I can’t do that…”
-I will curse you. I will definitely curse you, Altear! Even if that brat is genuinely ignorant, there’s no way a mage who reached lichdom wouldn't know!
Altear tilted his head at the helmet’s outcry.
“Say, do you have any holy water left?”
“I have plenty. Want a bottle?”
“Don't you dare pull it out. The Academy is right above us! The Imperial Capital is right next door! If I die here, the sealed demons will be unleashed!”
“Hmm…”
To be honest, I wasn't that worried.
Thinking back to the original story Boradori told me, the Demon King wore this helmet in his head slot. Furthermore, a massive number of Great Demons had blocked the path of the RoFan male leads.
And in the original work, unlike now, Silence had survived and returned periodically.
It wouldn't have been strange if the Academy had been breached at some point, undoing the seals here.
“Lord Altear. You said earlier that one cannot enter here without the blood of the Imperial Family. Is there really no other way?”
“Someone stronger than me could probably force their way in. After all, I am the core of everything that exists here.”
It was a statement full of Altear’s characteristic confidence, but it provided the necessary context.
Altear’s seal, which even modern Great Mages couldn't breach, and Silence, who managed to break through and approach it.
…Well, this being a RoFan world, there might have been an Imperial royal who lost the succession struggle and turned to dark mages for help.
According to Boradori, there was someone in the Imperial Family associated with dark mages, but they weren't that deeply involved. She said they were more like a sacrificial lamb used to drive the RoFan plot.
Of course, since it came from Boradori, things could change at any time.
Still, looking on the bright side, I had dealt with Silence—the most likely candidate to invade this place—and I had acquired one of the items belonging to the gear-dependent Demon King. It was a clear win.
“Then, I can use this, right?”
“Hmm. I didn't think you’d actually be able to use it, but a man’s word is his bond!”
It was the kind of bravado expected of a hero who was still guarding the Academy’s basement even after his life ended over a game of rock-paper-scissors.
-Wait, Altear! Who gave you the right to give my ownership to this brat! You use me instead!
“I’m sorry. A man’s word…”
-You’re nothing but bones! I can’t even tell if you’re a man or a woman anymore! Just take me! If we research together, we can kill the demon bastards in the basement!
“Ah, Lord Altear. I have about a liter of holy water left. If we spray that, even if we can’t kill them, wouldn't it weaken them?”
“…You have that much holy water? Even the Imperial Family in my time only held about that much.”
“I get a fresh supply every month.”
Thanks to Daisy, who regularly sent payments with the Goddess’s permission, I had more than enough holy water even after sending several bottles back to the Kingdom.
“Hmm, if it’s that much…”
-Don't even think about it, Altear! If you have any pride as a mage left at all—!
To shut the noisy helmet up, I immediately put it back on.
Since it said it reads my magical knowledge, let’s visualize the next spell.
-That kind of thing isn't magic!
If you imbue an arrow with fire mana and shoot it, isn't that a Fire Arrow?
It felt more authentic than what other mages used.
I suppose since it was an antique, it needed an update.
Nea Elleras
Nea Elleras, Princess of the Empire, felt like her head was spinning.
Part of it was due to the shocking revelation from Altear, the Great Mage and companion of the Great Emperor who lived on in imperial history.
-Kuaaaah! You brat! Then is a lightning bolt falling from the sky also magic just because it falls suddenly?!
“In my neighborhood, they call it the Goddess’s sneeze, so wouldn't it be holy magic?”
-Kuaaaah!
Part of it was also due to the bizarre helmet that kept screaming beside her.
“……”
And part of it was because the floor was covered in the Great Emperor’s relics, which were recorded in the Empire’s history as being hidden beneath the Imperial Academy.
“…Can I even handle this?”
Nea crouched on the floor, sighing as she gathered the items the Great Emperor had supposedly left for Altear into her subspace pouch.
“Will it even hold…”
Even a subspace pouch wasn't invincible.
By warping space, it could hold a capacity unbelievable for a small pouch, but maintaining that space was no easy feat.
If one wasn't careful, the magic could break, causing the contents to explode outward. That was why they required periodic maintenance.
Furthermore, as the space increased, the skill required to craft it grew exponentially. Adding weight reduction on top of that made it something that couldn't be made even with all the money in the world.
The subspace pouch she possessed was a masterpiece among masterpieces, befitting a member of the Imperial Family—it felt light even when filled with enough items to stock a small warehouse.
Yet, she wondered if even this masterpiece could withstand the sheer volume of the Great Emperor’s relics scattered on the floor.
“…Are these really the relics left by the Great Emperor?”
If the being before her wasn't Altear, she wouldn't have believed it…
“……”
Come to think of it, it was strange.
Altear, a hero of the Empire, had turned himself into a lich. And the reason was that he lost a game of rock-paper-scissors with his comrades.
Actually, couldn't this be a plot by a wicked dark mage?
It was much more convincing to think that a wicked dark mage had become a lich and was impersonating Lord Altear!
As Nea’s eyes began to sharpen with suspicion, Altear approached her.
“I rummaged through the warehouse to see if I could use that holy water, and I found more stuff those bastards left behind, so I brought it. For now, here’s Luke’s sword and Derman’s greatsword. Why the hell did those guys give swords to a mage?”
“……”
“Man, my bones ache.”
Complaining about the weight, Altear dropped a longsword and a greatsword onto the pile of other items like they were junk. He then disappeared with Adam Smith, only to return and dump a few more items.
“……”
Princess Nea looked back and forth between Altear’s retreating back and the items he had tossed aside.
‘That is… exactly like the illustrations of the Great Emperor’s sword that was said to be lost.’
Furthermore, there were items identical to the treasures of ancient heroes that remained only as drawings in various noble houses.
“……”
She almost wished it was a dark mage’s plot.
Princess Nea didn't even think to wipe the tears welling in her eyes as she quietly stuffed the relics of the Great Emperor and his companions into her subspace pouch.