Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Secret Society: Celestia (1)
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Three days had passed since Lua Polaris, an official mage of the Blue Tower, brought a new grimoire to the library.
Over those past three days, I had spent my time deciphering the grimoire that Lua had brought.
The ancient grimoire that Alandorf had given to Lua as an apology.
It hadn't taken all that long to fully decode the magic inscribed within it.
"So... what kind of grimoire was it...?"
Lua, who had memorized it herself, had been eagerly awaiting the decryption just as much.
After all, the reward she would receive for the new magic depended on the value of the grimoire.
Hmm, ahem-.
For a moment, I met Lua's gaze as she watched me intently with eyes full of tension.
Soon enough, I began explaining my analysis of the grimoire to her.
"It was a summoning spell from quite a long time ago."
"A summoning spell...!"
Lua perked up upon hearing the nature of the magic, leaning forward eagerly.
The true nature of the grimoire that Alandorf had given me.
It was none other than an ancient 'demon summoning' spell.
"To be precise, it's a spell that summons demons."
"Is it any good?"
"The level itself doesn't seem all that high. It's a one-way summoning, and the process looks pretty unstable too."
Of course, the spell itself didn't appear to be of particularly high caliber.
It seemed like a rather primitive method of summoning beings from another dimension.
On top of that, there wasn't a single safety measure worth mentioning.
There was no guarantee that the summoned demon could even be controlled.
"Even magic at this level is valuable in today's era, though."
"......"
"It looks like it has plenty of research value. Well, there were some ups and downs, but in the end, you managed to snag the kind of magic you wanted."
As I said that, I looked at Lua.
Perhaps reminded of the incident at the estate by my mention of ups and downs.
She gave an awkward smile and tried to avert her gaze.
I had gotten caught up in the incident because of Lua, but I had no intention of scolding her for it.
After all, it was thanks to her blunder that I had obtained the grimoire.
As I had promised the two of them before, I planned to reward her generously for bringing it.
"I'll grant you permission to check out one grimoire from the Second Repository."
"R-Really?!"
"Yes. The one you learned last time was definitely a freezing spell, right? In that case, it would be best to get another freezing spell this time too."
As a reward for bringing the grimoire, I permitted Lua to check out a book from the Second Repository.
Of course, I didn't stop at just giving permission—I even advised her on learning freezing spell formulas.
Perhaps bothered by the content of that advice.
Lua, having heard it, turned to me with a question.
"Is there a specific reason you're recommending freezing spells?"
The reason I advised Lua Polaris to prioritize learning freezing spells.
There was, of course, only one.
Efficient mana usage.
Because the spell she had previously checked out from the Second Repository, 'Permafrost,' was optimized for supporting freezing spell formulas.
A spell's casting speed is greatly influenced by the order of activation.
So, this was advice to acquire spells where the effects of previously cast magic acted as a 'merit.'
"It's a matter of efficiency. Under the domain of the spell you took, 'Permafrost,' the surrounding temperature drops rapidly."
"......"
"Using spells from other schools on top of that would interfere with maintaining the domain itself. On the other hand, freezing spells that benefit from low temperatures would cast even faster."
"So that's why you made that face when she first brought it. It's more of a support formula than something used on its own..."
"Freezing spells have a limit to how much you can shorten their cast time on their own, no matter how hard you try. That's why separate support formulas were created for them."
In a sense, this also meant that freezing spells were more finicky than others.
They tended to be highly dependent on the environment, after all.
They were far more reliant on casting order than other spells.
Once you started using one, it was like sinking into a quagmire you couldn't escape.
In the end, there was only one thing I wanted to tell Lua.
"Since you've already started with freezing spells, it would be good to study the same school of formulas in the First Repository too."
Once you've gotten on the freezing spell tree, you have to ride it to the end.
In other words, focus on learning freezing spells and their supporting magics.
Ice mage Lua.
In this moment, I had decided her path for her.
"Then... I'll look for mainly freezing spells, as per your advice, Master Johan."
Lua pondered my advice for a moment, then nodded and accepted the suggestion.
She must have considered it to some extent already, but giving up a variety of spells was still no easy decision.
A mage's desire for magic is not a light thing.
Even so, not taking her master's advice lightly was something worthy of praise.
"Bring it once you've decided."
"Yes!"
Rustle-.
After sending Lua off to the Second Repository as she rose from her seat.
I sat alone at the desk, flipping through the grimoire in my hand as I fell into thought.
"A way of moving by shattering the soul... He used some pretty fascinating magic."
In my mind, memories of a certain mage flickered by.
Memories from the time when Vice Chairman Alandorf had set foot in the library.
Alandorf, who had shoved fragmented souls into opponents to reach their subconscious.
All his movements after entering Celestia had been recorded via the library's observation spells.
"I think I could imitate it to some extent... The issue is how to make use of that soul."
By analyzing Alandorf's mana flow, I had gained some grasp of the principle behind soul fragmentation.
However, how to use the fragmented soul—.
That had become a task left for me.
Unlike Alandorf, I had no way to make contact with a living body.
"......"
As I pondered, my gaze quietly settled on the grimoire in my hand.
The grimoire containing the demon summoning ritual.
That spell was for summoning formless entities like demons.
In that case, perhaps modifying it slightly to summon a part of my soul from outside was possible.
Such thoughts surfaced in my mind.
"It's not an impossible idea. If I tweak the formula a bit, there might be some practical use."
Tap, tap-.
My hand, which had been quietly tapping the desk, turned toward the pen floating in the air.
The pen flying through the air swiftly came to rest in my hand.
Swish.
Grabbing the pen, I immediately began writing notes and corrections atop the grimoire.
"Once the research is done, maybe I should have Creighton run some experiments up north."
Research on summoning magic.
It seemed like it would take quite some time to complete this research.
* * * * * *
Ras Hayldum.
He was a mage hiding in the harsh mountains of the northern empire.
Of course, Ras wasn't hiding because he was some exceptional mage.
A mage who had laid hands on a 'forbidden' taboo not permitted to humans—.
The true identity of Ras Hayldum was a black mage who practiced necromancy.
Necromancy, which defiled human corpses and bent them to one's will, could hardly expect acclaim from the world.
Naturally, mages who practiced necromancy were reviled by society.
Moreover, for ones like Ras who deliberately created corpses, the empire's harsh wanted posters were inevitable.
It went beyond mere condemnation to being hunted by the church, where losing one's head wouldn't be surprising.
"Heh heh... Fools who still haven't grasped the greatness of necromancy."
For that reason, Ras was once again alone in a remote valley, piecing together bones.
The gloomy workshop was like paradise to Ras.
Clatter, clatter-.
From behind Ras came the sounds of the undead he had created moving about.
Hearing the cheerful rattle of bones, Ras grinned wickedly.
"The moment my great legion is complete... taking the Rogers Frontier Command into my hands will be no dream."
Ras diligently assembled the skull today as well, dreaming his grand dream.
His dream was to create his own army and seize that massive frontier command.
Even though the number of undead he controlled was still just eight.
Still, he had no doubt that one day they would pile up enough to fill these mountains.
Thanks to recently acquiring an excellent test subject, his confidence had grown even more.
"And at the vanguard of that great legion... I'll place you."
Ras's eyes turned to the bones laid out before him.
The remains of a knight, presumed to have fallen on the battlefield not long ago.
A trained knight was a far more powerful existence than any common soldier.
Even if he had apparently gotten drunk, fallen into a swamp while riding, and died without putting up a proper fight.
It was a regrettable death, but a knight was still a knight.
Ras had no doubt that the knight before him possessed tremendous martial prowess.
—Death Knight.
He had even prepared a special name to bestow upon his knight.
"......"
As Ras focused intently on assembling the knight.
Thud, thud-.
A knocking sound came from outside the door.
"What is it? Did some wandering traveler stumble in?"
Though it was Ras's house in a remote corner of the valley, visitors weren't entirely unheard of.
Ones with the bad luck to get lost and wander into a black mage's hideout.
Such fools turned up from time to time.
Ras eyed the workshop door warily.
"Hey, anyone in there?"
"......"
A deep male voice echoed from beyond the firmly shut door.
For a brief moment, as Ras quietly pondered the unexpected visitor.
Whoosh-.
He quickly moved his hand, positioning undead on either side of the door.
There were six undead waiting in the workshop.
In a pinch, they could overpower two or three grown men.
"Better to be cautious..."
On top of that, Ras grabbed a nearby grimoire in preparation for any contingency.
He was even bracing for combat.
As Ras kept his guard up, staring at the door.
Suddenly, the knocking stopped completely.
"Seems like no one's home, so I'll let myself in."
The intruder spouted an absurd claim.
The man's heavy voice resounded through the silence.
And right after—
Boom!
A sharp spike burst through the wall beyond, pulverizing the undead.
"Gasp, wh-what...!"
Ras's eyes, filled with shock, turned to the wall.
Rumble rumble boom-!
A massive roar echoed as the wall tore open, and the undead waiting by the door collapsed powerlessly from the impact.
A wave of sharp thorns.
The ferocious wave surged forward at high speed, sweeping over Ras's surroundings once.
Crash! Thud! Screeech-.
The sound of wood being battered.
Pillar snapping, roof collapsing—sounds rang out from all directions.
The merciless rocks protruding forth crushed everything in their path.
"Th-this can't be...!"
Ras's terrified eyes fixed on the rocks demolishing the workshop.
The advancing rocks, roaring as they went, were an unbelievable sight to Ras.
He had never seen such magic in his entire life, nor imagined he ever would.
Groooar-.
The surging rocks instantly demolished an entire wall.
And beyond the collapsed wall.
A strange man entered, smoking a cigarette.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Creighton Lukbart of the Mage Legion."
Step, step.
Creighton's footsteps echoed as he trod over the shattered wooden planks.
Hearing Creighton's name, Ras spoke to him in a trembling voice.
"M-Mage Legion...! Why is a mage who should be on the front lines here...!"
"I got lost, so I have a favor to ask of you."
Fwoosh-.
Smoke billowed from Creighton's mouth, obscuring Ras's view.
Through the thick spreading smoke, Creighton stared at Ras and spoke.
"Lend me a grimoire."
The black mage, Ras Hayldum.
He instinctively knew that the worst crisis of his life had arrived.