Chapter 326: Dog (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 326: Dog (3)
Phildegrin, the kingdom of the elves.
Though it had once been completely lost to the Sins, it was now regaining its former glory with the help of mages.
Looking out at the scenery—which would have been restored much faster had the entire western side of the royal castle not been blown to bits a few months ago—Line thought to herself.
“….”
She turned her gaze toward the sky, pondering a question that had recently taken root in her mind.
The first thing she thought of was the God of Machines.
In the past, she hadn't even been able to grasp its concept. But now, after poring over the Ancient Library, she had reached a point where she could manifest it in this world, even if she couldn't fully operate it yet—the ‘Created God.’
In Line Grof’s estimation, the God of Machines could exert overwhelming power just by manifesting. It was strong enough to easily crush the Sins she had encountered back in Phildegrin.
Along with this, she had been feeling a sense of bewilderment lately. It stemmed from a fact she had discovered in a corner of the Ancient Library that she hadn't yet fully explored.
‘…The Black Things were created around the same time as the God of Machines.’
That simple, yet undeniably true fact was the source of her confusion.
Until now, Line had thought the God of Machines was an Oopart—a relic of a past so distant that no records of it remained.
But she was wrong.
The mention that the God of Machines was created at a similar time as the Black Things meant that the God of Machines existed during the period when the Black Things were rampaging to destroy the world.
The God of Machines, which could deal with a Sin immediately just by manifesting.
Something felt off.
From the moment the Black Things were created, the world suffered damage bordering on total annihilation. Even if that world eventually met its end at the hands of another entity, the Black Things were the starting point.
And yet, the God of Machines, which could have overwhelmingly suppressed them, had been there.
“….”
Of course, Line still didn't truly understand the Sins. Her hundreds of years had been spent solely on manifesting the God of Machines.
At this stage, having not yet read all the knowledge available, there were many theories Line could form. Among them, two were the most plausible.
‘Either there’s something about the Sins I haven’t uncovered yet, or else—’
Thump.
‘—It was to stop something other than the Sins.’
Line suddenly recalled the other day.
The night the Red Moon—no, Yutia Bloodia—had come to visit.
“….”
At that time, Line had given it her all. She had summoned the God of Machines to show that she stood on equal footing with Yutia.
However, in an instant.
“….”
Everything had been rendered futile. The God of Machines, which had emerged from the Milky Way, vanished as if it had never existed in the first place. The manifested god disappeared without a trace, leaving only the shining sky behind.
And then, the Red Moon, who looked like she was suppressing her anger behind a smile, had flicked her forehead.
‘The Great Moon isn’t yours to play with, dear.’
Line unconsciously rubbed her head as she recalled Yutia’s words. Yutia had spoken as if she were admonishing a child.
…Of course, for a child, that flick had been excessively painful—enough to make her feel like her skull was splitting open.
“….”
Recalling that moment, Line’s expression soured, and her cheeks puffed out. She had always known there was a gap between them, but realizing it so clearly again made her feel incredibly frustrated.
After absentmindedly rubbing the spot where she’d been hit, Line sighed.
“…Might isn’t everything, anyway.”
She settled on that easy rationalization and returned to the new question she’d been harboring.
Regarding the Red Moon, Yutia Bloodia.
“….”
The God of Machines was clearly stronger than the Sins. And Yutia had naturally neutralized its full power.
In a fraction of a second that Line couldn't even perceive.
Just by raising an index finger.
‘…What on earth was that?’
Since then, she had spent quite some time scouring the library for information regarding Yutia’s power. She had even searched for the existence of ‘Yutia’ herself.
But she found nothing.
Despite searching that much, she felt like at least a single lead should have turned up. Yet, not a single word about Yutia appeared.
It was as if someone had erased her from history.
“….”
Of course, given the sheer volume of knowledge piled in the Ancient Library, there were still countless ‘books’ she had yet to read.
“….”
Her thoughts continued to drift for a long while.
* * *
The Light created before Alon’s eyes was so weak it looked as if it would lose its glow at any moment. To any observer, it appeared to be a failed manifestation of magic.
“──────”
However, none of the mages in the demonstration hall thought Alon’s magic was a failure.
Not the 2nd Tier mages who had only recently earned the right to be called mages.
Not the professors who had researched magic for decades—
And certainly not Sharan, who was currently watching Alon’s magic with her own eyes.
It was only natural. Because the magic that had emitted only a faint light until a moment ago…
─────!!!
…had become a massive sun, melting the demonstration hall.
And at the sight of this casually created magic:
“See? I told you I was right. That’s Light—”
“This is impossible—”
“You saw it with your own eyes and you’re still saying that?”
The mages who had shown awe from the beginning spoke to those who had doubted Alon’s magic. It was a phenomenon so difficult to believe without seeing it that it had caused a rift between factions.
Just as the mages who had witnessed it first were swelling with pride and a sense of being right.
“Eye of the Sun—”
Soon, doubt flickered in their eyes once more. This was because the Marquis’s magic, which they had thought was ‘complete,’ began to transform yet again.
* * *
Sharan remained dazed, staring at Alon long after the magic had ended. More accurately, she was staring at the spot where Alon and his magic had been.
What the Marquis had unleashed was definitely Light. It wasn't a trick or anything else she had suspected. Her intuition, which could grasp the principles of magic just by looking at its structure, told her it was Light, and her eyes confirmed it.
And yet, what had unfolded before her was entirely different from the Light she knew.
She had clearly seen the structure of Alon’s magic as it changed.
‘How? How on earth is that possible?’
Even though she had witnessed it firsthand, she couldn't comprehend the principle behind how the magic transformed like that.
Despite her pride in her exceptional eyes, the Marquis’s magic was impossible to decipher.
His magic was bizarre. It maintained the structure of Light, yet the magic changed within it.
‘What kind of structure did he use to weave mana so densely? How did he use Expansion from there? Inverse Measurement? Lehmann’s Paradox?’
Countless hypotheses rose and fell in her mind. But no matter how fast her brain whirled, she couldn't understand the magic of Marquis Palatio.
As a result, a new emotion began to swell.
The animosity she had felt toward Marquis Palatio had already vanished from her mind. The same went for her pride in the achievements the mages of old had built up over hundreds of years.
What Sharan felt now was the stimulation of her overwhelming talent—the very talent that had made her the youngest Tower Master—releasing a flood of information and curiosity.
And one single thought.
‘That isn’t ordinary magic.’
Furthermore, his magic wasn't an Origin. An ‘Origin’ was about creating one’s own unique magic system, not twisting an existing one.
‘Surely—’
Her brilliant mind began to piece together the rumors about Marquis Palatio she had heard from long ago.
The mastermind of the Asteria Kingdom.
A mage who currently wields magic close to its primitive form.
The Lightning Receiver Kalanon.
The Apostle of the Lightning Receiver Kalanon.
Countless other rumors took the form of knowledge and filled her head. And the point she focused on was:
‘Primitive form of magic.’
That was it.
Primitive magic, which had been almost entirely rejected by the current generation of mages. Sharan reached a realization that felt like an instinctive certainty.
‘There. That is the way to reach the 9th Tier.’
In the primitive magic Alon had displayed, she saw the method to ascend to the 9th Tier—something she hadn't found even a single clue for, something that had always felt like chasing clouds.
And so.
‘I want to learn it—’
Unlike when she had been futilely chasing the invisible 9th Tier after learning her Origin, she felt a vivid goal. Her eyes sparkled for a moment, but then—
“…Ah.”
A low exclamation escaped her lips. She had belatedly remembered what had happened yesterday.
“….”
Her pupils trembled slightly. Even if she was obsessed with magic, she wasn't ignorant of basic human relationships and social etiquette.
In other words, Sharan could fully guess how great an insult she had committed against Marquis Palatio.
…To the point where she would have no right to complain even if the Marquis openly showed her hostility.
Of course, the Sharan of yesterday could have brushed off the Marquis’s hostility without a second thought, but the Sharan of today could not.
‘I should have listened to the Blue Tower Master—’
Regret flickered across her face as she squeezed her eyes shut. But regret alone wouldn't improve this hopeless situation.
She began to rack her brains as hard as she could. She wanted to learn that magic from the Marquis no matter what it took.
However, that magic seemed like something one could only learn by becoming a disciple, even if they were close friends. In their current state, it seemed impossible for the Marquis to teach her.
‘I have to… get his forgiveness…!’
With trembling eyes, she looked down at Marquis Palatio, who stood there with an air of arrogant composure.
* * *
‘I guess I was nervous without realizing it.’
Alon let out a sigh. When he first demonstrated the Light magic, he had accidentally forgotten to use the Hand Seals, so he had to cancel the magic and manifest it again.
‘…Did it go well?’
Alon saw Heinkel quietly giving him a thumbs-up from above the demonstration hall and looked forward with an embarrassed expression. It was because the demonstration hall had been wrecked again, just like last time.
‘…Will it be okay?’
Of course, he didn't need to pay for the damages. Well, strictly speaking, he should have, but—
‘Penia said it would be fine….’
Since Penia had handled it herself before, she would likely do the same this time. …Regardless, it was still embarrassing.
Feeling his body’s condition—where another surge of mana would surely lead to mana depletion—he reflected on the complete form of ‘Light’ he had just unleashed.
‘This must be the completed form.’
Unlike when he used only Phrases and Sentences, he had found and used the Hand Seals. With that, the Light—no, the ‘Eye of the Sun’—which operated more perfectly than before, was clearly finished.
Among the Hand Seals he knew, this was the only one that operated correctly when woven with the interpretation and seal of Light.
In conclusion, Alon had perfectly manifested the Eye of the Sun. However, he felt a strange doubt.
‘Something is weird.’
And for good reason.
‘…For some reason, it feels like the usage is different.’
As the caster, he couldn't shake that feeling. The Light magic he had first made using Hand Seals was clearly offensive in nature. But the magic Alon had just created, even finding the Hand Seals for it, didn't feel offensive—
‘It feels more like a component for another spell.’
While he was lost in thought, Alon noticed the mages’ voices gradually getting louder. He turned around and headed toward Penia.
“Marquis!”
“Penia.”
“It manifested well.”
“Indeed. Though I still have some lingering questions.”
“Ah, you mean that? How it feels different from the previous magic—”
As expected, she had been thinking the same thing since they had researched the magic together.
“Yes, that.”
“Hmm. Still, it seems correct. By compressing it to the limit and then bursting it in one direction for a temporary release, the destructive power is—”
Penia glanced at the cliff.
“More than enough. It’s overflowing.”
As Alon nodded in agreement:
“Marquis Palatio—!”
Selaim came rushing over from the spectator seats.
“Tower Master.”
“Wow—that was incredible! Truly amazing! Was that really Light?!”
One could call it a different spell, but since the essence of the magic was Light, Alon nodded.
“What you saw is correct.”
“Hahaha—I see. You are truly remarkable!”
Selaim was praising Alon with a bit of exaggeration. While Alon was wondering why he was acting like that and awkwardly accepting the reaction:
“…Ah.”
He suddenly realized Sharan was standing behind Selaim. She had her head bowed, so he couldn't even guess what kind of expression she was making.
Alon naturally recalled what had happened yesterday.
‘…Did she say she’d become a dog and enter as my disciple?’
Of course, he had no intention of taking her as a disciple, nor did he have any desire to listen to her barking. So, Alon spoke calmly—
“Tower Master. If it’s about yesterday, don’t mind—”
“Woof.”
“…?”
—He couldn't finish his sentence.
“Woof—woof woof woof!!! Grrrrrrr—!”
“….”
The demonstration hall, which had been about to become noisy, was once again filled with silence. …In that vast, quiet space, only the sound of barking echoed loudly.
“No, I mean—you don’t have to—”
“Grrrrrrr—woof, woo-oo-oof!!”
“….”
As if the dignity of a Tower Master had never existed in the first place, Sharan barked like a madwoman. Watching her:
‘W-What is this…. Has she lost her mind…?’
Alon felt a genuine sense of dread.