Arrogant Truth
Arrogant Truth
"Kyle. What on earth are you believing in so blindly?"
As Professor Walder's metallic voice dropped, the air in the office twisted grotesquely.
Udeudeuk.
There was no physical violence. But the pressure crushing my shoulders was heavier than carrying any ordinary steel weapon.
An 8th-class Archmage, called the strongest in the Empire.
Just from the waves of mana he emitted unconsciously, the space itself was screaming, forcing my lungs to constrict.
"Keugh...."
My breath was cut off.
Due to the lack of oxygen, the edges of my vision flickered black.
But my eyes, at least, were meeting Walder's murky gaze without wavering.
My deepest abyss.
My lover, who saved the world only to become an imbecile, discarded in a cesspool.
This old fox had sharply dug into my blindness and pure love for her.
I cannot give him the answer.
The moment Ines's existence piqued his interest, she would be forced onto his horrific experiment table.
Seueuk.
I coldly controlled my crushed breathing and slowly moved my right hand, which was hanging behind my back.
My calloused fingertips touched the leather handle of the dagger at my waist.
My mind turned cold.
Distance: 4 steps.
Before his mana completely seized the space, I would explode the holy power in my dantian to tear through this pressure in just 0.5 seconds.
Then, I would kick off the floor, leap, and dive under his chin.
Before the magic incantation could escape his lips, I would slit his carotid artery and vocal cords simultaneously with the dagger.
The success rate is slim.
But if I cannot guarantee my woman's safety, it is right to cut off that old man's windpipe, even if it means dying together in this closed room.
It was at that very hair-trigger moment, just as my fingers were about to grip the hilt of the sword tightly.
"Keuheuh, keuheheuhe...."
Walder's mana, which had been pressing down on me as if to crush me to death, receded in an instant like an ebb tide.
"Haa."
Rough oxygen rushed into my lungs.
Outwardly, I didn't even move, only minutely relaxing the force in the hand gripping the dagger at my waist.
Walder's eyes, which had been sharply raised, were curved round like a snake's.
"Well, don't make such a scary face."
Walder unclasped his hands and leaned against the desk.
"Because I have no intention of hearing the answer from your mouth right now."
"...What do you mean?"
At my dry counter-question, the corners of Walder's mouth twisted grotesquely.
"Exactly what I said. Right now, I am feeling a thrilling ecstasy that might never come again in my life."
Walder stood up from his seat.
He leaned on his cane and began to walk slowly between the bookshelves of the office.
"Isn't it enjoyable? The truth and providence of this world are truly arrogant, endlessly stimulating and igniting this terrible curiosity of mine, which has dug into only one path."
His murky pupils flashed with madness amidst the flickering candlelight.
"If I had wanted to force an answer out of you, I would have broken your limbs with the mana I just pressed down with and tied you up in the basement. And I would have poked around your brain with the most cruel torture I know to force you to open your mouth."
A voice calmly discussing torture.
In reality, he was a madman who had a track record of dissecting a traitorous priest alive just a few days ago.
"But, I will not do that."
"What is the reason?"
"An answer obtained through such shallow violence might satisfy my shallow curiosity for about 5 minutes."
Walder struck the floor hard with his cane.
Tak-!
"But it cannot sustain this overwhelming 'ecstasy' that is making my heart race like crazy right now."
A terrible heat was embedded in his metallic voice.
"A miracle of the unknown. It is more perfect and fun when I tear it apart layer by layer with my own hands, observe it, and dissect it thoroughly through endless doubt to understand it. An answer that someone feeds you is nothing more than scraps that third-rate mages pick up and eat."
"......."
I completely took my hand off the dagger handle and scanned the old man with coldly sunken eyes.
Now I could clearly understand.
A terrible desire for exploration.
That crazy obsession and academic zeal, throwing himself at things without caring about means or methods, solely to dig up the truth of the world.
That was the true driving force that made the old man in front of me the Empire's strongest 8th-class Archmage, whom even the Church could not treat carelessly.
He is curious about the source of my holy power, but he won't ask by force.
The arrogant perversion of wanting to confirm and dig into it with his own eyes.
"Then, what do you want from me?"
I asked dryly without letting my guard down.
"I want to explore your holy power."
Walder walked up to me and stood tall.
"I will keep you by my side, observe you constantly. And in the end, I will perfectly dig into the source of your miracle with my own hands."
The expected sequence.
I waited for the next words with an expressionless face.
"So, I will make you a proposal. If you help me, I, too, will guide you so that you can walk the path of truth."
"If you mean the path of truth."
"Yes. It means I will train you by my side so that you can handle magic, which twists the principles of this world."
Magic.
The destructive firepower of the heretic Erden and the overwhelming pressure that had crushed me just moments ago flashed through my mind.
It is definitely an attractive weapon.
But instead of readily taking the bait, I intentionally stepped back and calculated the initiative of the situation.
"Well."
I raised one corner of my mouth minutely.
"As far as I know, magic is a sinister, heretical power obtained through contracts with evil gods by arrogant people trying to reach God. I don't know if I, a commoner to the bone, would have such a cursed talent."
The ignorant perception of magic currently prevalent in the world.
At my mocking counter-question, Walder burst into a hollow laugh as if he were dumbfounded.
"Keuheuh, hahaha! Evil god? Cursed talent?"
Walder slammed the desk.
"As expected of the nonsense of the stupid masses. It's been over 5 years since the edict was issued, yet such uncivilized rumors are still circulating. It's dumbfounding."
Walder's gaze sank frighteningly.
"Listen well, you stupid swordsman. Magic is not some cheap miracle obtained by being born with a special bloodline or relying on the uncertain mercy of a god."
When he snapped his fingers in the air, a small flame rose up, drawing complex geometric patterns and hovering in the air.
"Magic is the purest 'science'. If you have proper knowledge to doubt the world's providence, calculate formulas, and control mana, along with bone-grinding training, it is a perfect and fair power that anyone who meets the conditions can use."
Walder poked my chest with his cane.
"It means that even a head like yours, which ignorantly swings a sword like a beast, can sufficiently reach the truth if I pour the knowledge of my Magic Tower into it."
A product of knowledge and training, not bloodline or talent.
Walder's assertion gave me the perfect justification.
If magic is a combination of knowledge and formulas, it would be the key necessary to understand and fix Ines's broken brain structure in the future.
However, one uncomfortable question remained.
I stared straight into Walder's murky pupils.
"That is an unconventional proposal. But I have a question."
"What is it?"
"While making such a dangerous deal, do you intend not to place a single safety device that mages love to use? For instance, a vow, or something like a soul-binding slave imprint."
Does he intend to keep a mad dog like me by his side without placing any restrictions?
At my question that intentionally poked at the loophole.
"A vow?"
Walder snorted.
His wrinkled chin was raised arrogantly.
"Such trivial shackles are trash used only by third-rate mages who have the petty fear that their opponent might bite them."
Walder touched my shoulder as if brushing it off.
"I am Walder, the 8th-class Archmage. I do not do cowardly things like putting a leash on someone like a coward, fearing that a mere commoner experimental rat might bite my ankle."
It was not carelessness.
It was not letting his guard down either.
It was the perfect 'arrogance' unique to an absolute being who has reached the truth, believing that he could never be defeated by anything in this world, close to a god.
I lowered my head and snorted bitterly to myself.
Yes.
I will eat that petty and stupid arrogance to the bone and use it to my heart's content.
Until the day I suck up all the knowledge and power you throw at me and reign as the most perfect predator.
My cold calculator spun fiercely.
It is an opportunity to become overwhelmingly strong.
Receiving the protection of this old man, the Empire's greatest power, I can solidify a shield to safely lay Ines down.
Of course, the price will be murderously harsh.
During the day, I must maintain the top rank and cram Walder's magic into my head until it bursts.
At night, I have to roll around in the blood-soaked monster forest to earn money.
In between, I must carve the orthodox aura training method passed down by the Knights' Vice-Captain Valian into my bones and muscles.
It is a body that hasn't even fully matured yet.
Sleep will become a luxury, muscles will tear, bones will crumble, and I will scream while vomiting blood every night.
But.
If I think of that pitiful and brilliant lover who is curled up in my empty room, biting her own flesh, waiting only for the sound of my heartbeat.
This kind of cycle and thorny path was sweet enough to willingly chew and swallow.
I raised my lowered gaze and stared at the old mage's arrogant face.
"Fine."
A dry and parched voice.
"I will gladly accept that proposal."
As soon as my acceptance fell, Walder raised his cane high and burst into a grotesque, maniacal laughter that shook the office.
"Keuheuheuh, kyahahahaha! Good! An excellent choice!"
Walder's laughter rumbled, carried by mana.
"Then, from today on, you are my one and only unofficial disciple, permitted to enter my Magic Tower!"