Chapter 210
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: Conference (5)
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Heger.
A member of the Conventional Sorcerers, he was also a mage with considerable seniority.
To him, the Conventional Sorcerers were an indispensable organization in mage society.
He was well aware that young mages had recently begun voicing all sorts of complaints.
Of course, he recognized the flaws inherent in the Conventional Sorcerers.
No—in fact, he knew them better than anyone.
Not because he himself had survived by turning those very flaws into advantages.
Yet Heger didn't consider it wrong.
'You lot have no idea how the Conventional Sorcerers have protected mages all this time.'
Back in the days when mages were branded as objects of fear for wielding foreign powers.
How many had suffered and endured due to the follies born of ignorance?
His own master—no longer of this world—had been hounded by such ignorance, ultimately ending his life at the end of a noose.
Leaving behind just a single letter for his one and only disciple, Heger.
'At least you don't know what it was like back then!'
Obsessive convictions filled his mind. In that sense, Lanes' Mage Tower was an utterly grating presence.
The Irregular who had appeared right when the Conventional Sorcerers reigned supreme over mage society.
How many mages, barely kept under control, had been shaken because of her?
Heger acknowledged Lanes' skill.
But that was precisely why she was an Irregular.
Irregulars were irregular precisely because they weren't ordinary.
Normal humans couldn't achieve such excellence—and even if they did, protruding stones inevitably get hammered down.
Lanes had survived not just because of her talent, but thanks to her bloodline as well.
In the Empire, imperial blood was an inviolable sanctum.
No one could curb her reckless solo acts.
'That much, I can concede. There's a reason phrases like "heaven beyond heaven" exist.'
But the captain of the White Whale Mercenary Corps, who had recently made a name for himself—Jun—was different.
An outsider to the towers.
A man who had descended to Blackout without mastering even a single proper spell, scraping by as a lowly mercenary hack.
And yet he dared to take a stab at the mage society they had preserved.
"Is no one here?"
Unforgivable.
He wanted to teach a lesson to that mage standing on the podium, staring him down and spewing such drivel.
"I'll have to see just how great your confidence is for myself."
With that, Heger rose from his seat to represent the Conventional Sorcerers.
Unaware even of the faint upward twitch at the corner of that impudent mage's mouth.
A formal magic duel.
This was something that should never happen during a thesis presentation.
To the conservative mages, it was an unprecedented incident, and they could only view the situation with disapproval.
And Heger was no exception to those gazes.
They believed this had occurred because Heger, as their representative, had failed to logically defeat the arrogant mercenary mage.
Heger—who hadn't anticipated things escalating this far—glared at the young mage facing him.
"You know the rules, right?"
"Of course."
"Hmph. I'll go first, then."
He had no intention of yielding the first strike to some young mage.
Even if he dismissed Jun's magical prowess as laughable. He knew full well that the man was a battle-hardened specialist.
Soon, Heger began chanting his spell.
Jun watched the process leisurely, appreciating the magic.
'Orthodox magic truly has rock-solid fundamentals.'
It was like listening to classical music refined over countless ages.
A massive spell, flawlessly constructed without a single gap.
And since Heger had stepped forward with such confidence, he wasn't some average mage whose skills could be casually belittled.
Before long, a gigantic cogwheel of lightning materialized in front of him, unleashing a torrent of powerful bolts.
"Let's see if that arrogant tongue matches your skill!"
[Lightning Circle Rotate]
(Flame Circle Rotate)
"To deploy it so fluidly in a space with this mana density!"
"The situation may lack dignity, but as expected of Mage Heger."
Several mages burst into admiration at Heger's spell.
'Impressively precise.'
Jun's own precision wasn't inferior, but his opponent had achieved superior functionality through far more magical formulas.
Moreover, the lightning attribute infused in the mana was so intense that wresting control would be no easy feat.
'Well, that's the baseline for a Conventional Sorcerer.'
Jun promptly deployed his counterspell.
But the spell in question was...
[Shield]
Basic 3-circle defense spell
Nothing more than a single [Shield]—one even a 3-circle mage could cast.
Heger's expression crumpled horribly.
The spell he had just summoned was among the highest-difficulty 5-circle magics.
And Heger himself was a proficient 6-circle mage.
'What in the world is he thinking!'
Was he planning to make excuses like "couldn't block it because it's low-circle"?
No, that couldn't be.
His opponent was someone Lanes herself had brought along, after all.
And sure enough, just as Heger suspected, Jun's [Shield] held firm.
Crack!
"Wha—no?"
"What was that just now...?"
Heger's lightning couldn't even leave a proper mark on the [Shield] blocking Jun's front before fizzling out pathetically.
However, Heger's magic didn't end there.
The advantage of [Lightning Circle Rotate] lay in its chain attacks, not single strikes.
Crack! Cra-cra-crack!
In that brief moment, three or four bolts fired off, hammering the [Shield] each time.
"Im-impossible. A defense spell that sturdy?"
"And it's a [Shield] of all things—a [Shield]! The most basic 3-circle spell!"
"How in the world...?"
"You bastard! You used sorcery! Sorcery!"
Reactions poured in from all directions, varied and chaotic.
Some were even hopping mad, insisting it was sorcery—Jun simply couldn't comprehend their attitude.
'They can't even recognize the magic I'm using right now?'
This wasn't some fleeting instant spell; it was a sustained one, pattern on full display—yet they couldn't identify it?
But that was simply because Jun's standards were too high.
The mages he'd encountered so far had all been exceptional.
Even Belles, whom he'd met relatively recently, had instantly discerned the form of his magic.
Yet in this conference hall, scarcely anyone recognized Jun's spell.
'Even if I've refined my casting since reaching 6-circle, this is ridiculous.'
Of course, it wasn't because they were fools.
These weren't amateurs; they were scholars dedicated to magical research.
Given time, they could grasp it.
They simply lacked the knack to pull it out on the spot when needed.
But to reiterate, this stemmed from Jun's exceedingly high perspective.
Defense magic was a prime example.
Though designed to block all attacks, crafting an omnipotent shield was inherently difficult.
Far simpler and easier to weaken enemy assaults with opposing elemental counters, no?
There was a reason the variety of defense spells dwindled with higher circles.
As circles advanced, destructive power scaled exponentially—defending against such solely with raw force would guzzle mana.
"Wh-what spell did you use...!"
But Heger was different.
A 6-circle mage, occupying a high position in the Conventional Sorcerers.
Above all, he filled the role of their attack dog—logically dismantling outsider mages—which honed his interpretive skills considerably.
Thus, it was all the harder to believe.
'How can a mere [Shield] hold such dense mana...'
3-circle spells were the domain beginners delved into when first handling magic properly.
Their patterns were laughably simple by higher-circle standards.
They couldn't possibly contain such immense power.
'Sorcery...? No, that's not it.'
Regardless, he was an accomplished mage.
Even if buried in the past, he hadn't studied magic in vain.
He promptly dissected Jun's [Shield] from top to bottom.
When had he last racked his brains this intensely?
Perhaps not since the day he'd lost his master and sworn it wouldn't happen to him.
'The pattern... it's not simple at all...!'
Far beyond simple.
Astonishingly intricate, yet astonishingly straightforward.
So much so that Heger could replicate it on the spot if asked.
How peculiar.
Intricate and straightforward—two notions that shouldn't mesh, fused to birth this spell.
Could he cast it himself?
'No... impossible...'
He could mimic the pattern.
But unleashing that density of mana instantaneously, in such a split second? No chance.
He'd need auxiliary spells from other schools at minimum.
'This bastard... he didn't craft it for practicality! He tailored it to himself!'
Only then did he grasp the true nature of Jun's magic.
It hit him like a thunderbolt.
In this world.
To forgo molding oneself to magic, instead remodeling magic to fit oneself?
Of course, it was possible.
But no mage would pour that effort into a mere 3-circle spell.
Not that they couldn't—they deemed it unnecessary and turned away entirely.
'He's an Irregular too!'
It reminded him of when Lanes first threw down the gauntlet to mage society.
Back then, she'd arrived armed with a barrage of self-taught magical theories.
Initially, everyone pointed fingers calling it heresy—but once her imperial bloodline surfaced, mouths snapped shut.
Unable to confront her head-on, they opted for cold-shouldering.
It was the best they could do. And how much mental anguish had the young mages endured witnessing her perilous theories?
The Conventional Sorcerers had poured immense effort into reassuring and enlightening those youths.
At least back then, they could gloss over it as "special imperial heritage."
'That one's going to become an uncontrollable monster!'
A chill raced down his spine.
Sure enough, the eyes of a few talented young mages in the hall gleamed with considerable admiration—and envy.