Chapter 613: Reunion with an Old Classmate
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 613: Reunion with an Old Classmate
Lankart Spendry. A genius who had awakened his Unique Magic at the tender age of thirteen and mastered Strategic-Grade Standard Magic by fifteen.
After his evaluation, the Military State celebrated the birth of a talent who would lead them into the future. They were especially desperate, given their weakness in Arcane and magical power.
But the Military State was too small a vessel to contain Lankart, and he inevitably spilled over.
“Hahahahat! Yes! I heard there was a mysterious explosion at the Tree of Genesis and wondered who it could be. Huey, I knew it was you!”
But the Military State would never know. That Lankart and I had still been in contact.
“No. That wasn't me.”
“When I heard the Abyss had vanished, I had a hunch it was your doing. I went to look, but you were already gone! Why'd you do that? If you'd just given me a heads-up, I would have come to get you!”
“That wasn't me either. That was the Earth Sage's work.”
Lankart paid my explanation no mind and continued.
“Doesn't matter! The essence of the Divine is knowledge. Even if the Abyss disappears and the Tree of Genesis burns, that knowledge won't vanish. Though it might affect the power of a caster whose Unique Magic is the Divine!”
“Uh-huh. I didn't do it, but I still need to run before an angry Nevida comes looking for me.”
“Just wait a bit. Moving three people wasn't part of the plan. This scroll was mass-produced by idiots, so it'll take some time to modify the formula.”
Looks like he still has no intention of listening to me. I told him I didn't do it, but he clearly doesn't believe me.
Even as he chattered away, Lankart's hands never stopped modifying the magic circle. He drew lines for the mana to flow through, placing gems and ores alternately at their intersections.
White Magic. A type of magic that recreates the world's Arcane through high-value alchemical mediums. It's actually the mainstream school of magic.
Standard Magic is only widespread in the Military State; in reality, it's a form of black magic that uses one's own body as a sacrifice. Mages from the Mage Federation don't even consider Standard Magic to be true magic. Not because it's black magic, but because its potential is extremely low.
When the sacrifice is limited to one's own body, the spells one can cast are limited as well.
“If you want this done quickly, give me a hand. I don't even want to try and understand why these morons drew it this way.”
“I'd need to use mana to fix the scroll, right? I don't have that much.”
Remembering my pathetic mana capacity, Lankart clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. What a shame. Why would the world grant you such knowledge but not the mana to use it?”
The knowledge came from reading other people's minds. I guess neither of them were mine to begin with.
“It's better than having neither. And don't try to overcomplicate fixing the scroll. I can tell just by looking at it that it wasn't designed with scalability in mind. It's a closed system, made to be unmodifiable.”
“Are these fools incapable of realizing how foolish their own scrolls are? You should have been in the scroll design department!”
“You'll probably need three scrolls to move three people. Even for you, modifying it would be difficult.”
“What are you talking about? I'm different. I can fix a scroll even if a bunch of idiots sealed it shut.”
Lankart grumbled as he finished fixing the magic circle. During the brief pause, Shei approached me and asked cautiously.
“Hughes. That guy is…”
Ah, in this timeline, Lankart and Shei are meeting for the first time, right? It'd be best if I introduce them. I said.
“Ah, yes. That's Lankart. He's a friend I studied with back in the Military State.”
“That's not all, is it? For a simple friend, you two seem to have known each other until very recently.”
“We didn't meet often, but we kept in touch.”
“Kept in touch? With Lankart Spendry?”
“I never told you his full name. But yes, that's him. Is there a problem?”
The Shrine of the Divine. A secret organization within the Mage Federation that deals exclusively with and investigates the Divine. He was more than just a classmate to a member of that group, Lankart Spendry... they were in contact until recently?
It seems Lankart was quite famous even before my regression. For a classmate to become so well-known that even a Regressor recognizes him... As Lankart's best friend, I feel a certain sense of pride.
With the madman called the Sorcerer of Madness, the one who swept away two of the Empire's cities with a vortex?
…But Historia was definitely a closer friend. Lankart just one-sidedly admired me. I'm not cutting ties with him, that's just how it is. I'm just stating the simple facts.
Lankart, who was still fixing the magic circle, saw Shei and me standing together and asked.
“More importantly, Huey. What's that? A new woman you're dragging around?”
“Hah?”
Shei's eyes narrowed in displeasure. I spoke up, worried Lankart might cause a misunderstanding.
“A new woman? Anyone hearing that would think I change women all the time.”
“But you do, don't you? In Hamelin, it was that boar. In Amitengrad, the successor to that holding company. Every time I saw you, you had a different woman latched onto your side.”
“Haaah?”
Shei's displeased gaze now turned to me. Hey, why are you looking at me? Lankart's the one who said it, so take it up with him.
Lankart, oblivious to my predicament, continued.
“I thought your tastes had changed from a violent boar to someone a bit more submissive, but you've gone right back, I see. Huey, I doubt you'd fail, but if I were to give you some advice, it's best to keep women at a distance. The only joy and pride those wenches get is from putting a leash on a man and swinging him around.”
“Hey, hey, hey, you bastard! Watch your mouth! Do you have any idea who this is?!”
“Why? Is she your patron or something? A sponsor?”
“Uh…”
It's similar. She gives me money and help. She even gives me information from the future. Honestly, she's a patron I don't want to lose.
“What do you mean, patron?! Deny it!”
“But that would be a lie.”
“Is that so? …In other words, you think of me as your patron?”
“In a way?”
“What do you mean, 'in a way'?!”
Furious about something, Shei went to smack me. It was a sudden gesture, more like a playful tantrum. Normally, even if I read her thoughts, it would have been an attack I couldn't react to.
“Not a comrade, but a patron… what the…?”
Without thinking, I snatched Shei's arm. Her eyes widened as I held her by the wrist.
Huh. What's this? Normally, she would have already hit me before I could even react.
“Shei-ssi. Are you tired? You don't seem like your usual self.”
Is it because her arm was detached and reattached? Is it not what it used to be? When I asked, Shei answered with a puzzled expression.
“…No. The one who isn't their usual self… isn't me.”
My arm was blocked. Right now, because of the injury it sustained, I'm controlling it purely with Qi. This isn't because I've gotten weaker. It's that Hughes's power…
“It's done. Get ready.”
Startled by Lankart's voice, Shei quickly pulled her arm from my grasp. Having modified the scroll for three people in that short time, Lankart pointed to a spot on the magic circle and said.
“Tsk. Turning one into three isn't easy. Huey. Grab that wench and stand in that spot. I processed the two of you as a single bundle, so you have to hold on to each other like you're one body. If you want to leave the annoying girl behind, you can just let go midway.”
His way of speaking still showed no consideration for the listener's feelings. Shei, not one to back down from a fight, responded with a sharp tone.
“You want to die by this 'wench's' hand? Just activate the magic circle. Making such a fuss over a single Reverse Gravity spell.”
“Oh? You can read the magic circle? I suppose you're not a complete plebeian after all.”
More impressed that she had identified the type of magic circle than by her killing intent or threats, Lankart slightly revised his assessment of her and said.
“Wench. Make sure you understand one thing.”
“What?”
“The only reason Huey keeps a girl by his side is because he purely covets a woman's body. Otherwise, there'd be no reason to drag around an idiot who does nothing but screech like you.”
“…Hughes.”
“Hey, why are you looking at me? I never said that, I never coveted anything, and besides, Shei-ssi, you were dressed as a man in the first place!”
This is so unfair! I haven't done anything to deserve this!
And besides, what's wrong with coveting? Men are supposed to like women! It's the law of nature!
More importantly, why is this Lankart bastard suddenly slandering me? I wouldn't even feel this wronged if I'd actually done a lot with women. All I did was earn a little favor and offer some flattery!
“It's obvious if you think about it for a second. Why would Huey take around Historia, whose intellectual level is far beneath his own? It couldn't have been for her brain, so it must have been for her body, right?”
Lankart, who had nonchalantly thrown me under the bus, tapped his temple and declared.
“However, I am the only one who can truly share an intellectual and spiritual exchange with Huey! Unless you are an 'elite' on my level, you cannot even perceive the world from the same perspective as him!”
“…Ah. Is that so.”
It seems Shei was finally starting to get it. What kind of person Lankart was.
He's insolent, arrogant, has a superiority complex, and despises fools. But if he feels someone can communicate with him on some level, he acknowledges them. And then he tests them relentlessly.
And if, by some chance, he feels he's been intellectually defeated... he suddenly starts praising them to the high heavens. As if to justify his own defeat by muddying the waters!
Thanks to that, I had a hard time living up to Lankart's expectations.
“Ah, don't worry. It's only natural for you to cling to Huey with all your heart and soul. Females are naturally drawn to capable males, after all.”
“Shut up! That's not true! I haven't given him anything yet?!”
“You're the one who's loud, wench. We've wasted too much time because of you, so shut your mouth and stand still. Tsk, this is why you shouldn't listen to every word a nagging woman says.”
“No matter how I look at it, you're the reason we're wasting time!”
Lankart ignored Shei completely and began to chant.
“O eternal trajectory that holds the world. From the center of the great right-handed spiral, I shall defy the heavens. Twist open, O path to the cosmos.”
Mana flowed along the magic circle. Light originating from Lankart spread like water. When the mana touched the gems, it merged and transformed, beginning to swirl with even greater power.
I hurriedly pulled Shei onto the magic circle. She flinched for a moment, then stood close, maintaining a subtle distance between us.
Meanwhile, Lankart finished his incantation and completed the spell by pouring in the last of his mana.
“Reverse Gravity.”
The moment he uttered the final words, the magic circle was engulfed in a haze of light, and I began to 'fall' toward the sky.