Chapter 28
Are you an orphan too? A mage's attribute reflects their very mind. The man who first established the concept of attributes for mages. Humanity's first 7-Circle mage. Ben Torans described attributes in this way.
As a mage's realm and number of Circles increase, they lose more and more of their humanity. Fitting the epithets of "cold heart" and "cold head." Perhaps the attributes a mage possesses emerge from the spirit they once held. Ben Torans conducted such research and wrote papers on attributes. And after his death, centuries later, many have proven his words correct.
A mage's attribute is the mage's spirit itself. Possessing many attributes means their mental strength is that much greater. Having multiple attributes doesn't just mean exceptional talent as a mage—
Reciting mana formulas and expressing them through incantations requires advanced calculations and structures impossible for an ordinary brain. A mage's talent can be expressed not only by the day mana sickness strikes and the speed of Circle manifestation, but also by the number of attributes they awaken.
This is the joint announcement from the Five Great Towers. In other words, the number of attributes correlates with a mage's talent. Even Elise Sethris, who stands out among ill-tempered mages for her prickly nature, acknowledges this fact. The research results proved it first and foremost.
Mages with multiple attributes have higher average Circles than those with a single attribute. The time to form Circles differs too—nearly double. On average, multi-attribute mages awaken Circles twice as fast as single-attribute mages.
If being a mage requires genius to begin with, then multi-attribute mages are the geniuses among geniuses. Their talent is already proven. That's the position multi-attribute mages hold in this era.
But possessing three attributes—not two—means overwhelming genius. A power incomparable to others. There are only five such beings on the continent. Officially, just five across the entire continent possess three attributes. Two are 8-Circle archmages. Two others are 7-Circle mages. And the last is none other than the imperial princess, Delvin Lehart.
The woman said to possess the greatest talent in imperial history. She reached 4-Circle before three years had passed since entering the path of magic, and she's evaluated as someone who will become an 8-Circle mage in the distant future. Though Archmage Elise rejected her, another archmage wanted her as a disciple. Delvin simply refused. She had eyes only for Elise.
She chased the woman who rejected her, believing one day she'd catch her eye and become her disciple. That no one on this continent surpassed her. She believed it, and kept believing. Even when she heard Elise had taken a disciple, it didn't change. How impressive must they be to catch Elise's interest? Could they really surpass me? Their specs showed an orphanage background, no notable lineage—just a kid. How amazing must they be for even Elise to take them as a disciple? Curiosity burned so fiercely she came all this way.
But...
"...Five...?"
Delvin couldn't utter a word at the sight before her.
Wuuuuung.
The black-haired boy. The forms of attributes swirling around him. Though unified in black hue, attributes clearly existed.
"Impossible..."
She couldn't believe it. How... how on earth?
"All attributes can exist...?"
All Attributes. The five known to mages: fire, water, wind, lightning, earth. That's all there were. Among them, Delvin possessed fire, water, and earth—a triple-attribute holder. That alone earned her a place in history as a genius.
...All five...?
The boy had drawn out all five known attributes.
"...This... can't... be possible."
No record in history. Not even four-attribute mages existed. Five?
"Impossible."
Delvin refused to believe.
"...What trick did you use? You. What the hell did you do?"
"Pardon?"
Ruin blinked blankly at Delvin's words. What did I do?
"I didn't do anything. You just asked me to show you, so I did."
"...You call that..."
Delvin trailed off, biting her lip.
"All attributes?"
"Is that even possible?"
Not just the surrounding knights—the passengers on the train gasped in shock. Anyone with even basic knowledge of magic couldn't ignore it. The divine feat this boy Ruin had shown placed him at what level.
Grind.
A teeth-grinding sound echoed. From Delvin. She glared at Ruin with murderous eyes. He flinched under that gaze.
Damn, her eyes are terrifying.
"...Interesting..."
Bullshit. Not interesting at all.
Her expression didn't match her words—utterly ridiculous.
"Very interesting."
"Um..."
"Five attributes. Yes, that must be why Elise wanted you."
Delvin nodded to herself in false acceptance, expression unchanged.
"Attributes aren't everything. I won't acknowledge you based on that alone."
"...Uh-huh..."
What if you don't? Big deal. Ruin swallowed the words rising to his throat.
"Show me something else."
"...What should I show? I think I've pretty much shown everything I can..."
"Let's have a formula duel."
"For... formula what?"
Formula duel? What's that? First time hearing it.
"...You don't know what a formula duel is?"
Delvin stared at Ruin like he was insane. Those eyes again.
She's pissed. What is this, one-eyed village? Everyone knows but me.
"It's a battle where you show magic and dismantle each other's formulas. That's called a formula duel."
Dismantle? He vaguely got it, but not quite. How exactly?
"...Mages aren't just about attributes. It's ultimately a fight over how perfectly complete your magic is."
"...Hmm."
Magic completion. That sounded disadvantageous. He'd been a mage for less than a month.
Ruin frowned at the thought, and she said,
"Don't worry. I'll prepare magic to match your level. Even if you can't dismantle mine, it doesn't matter. What's important is seeing your worth."
"Hmm."
So how does it work? As Ruin pondered,
"You seem clueless, so I'll show you first. Use some magic."
"Magic?"
"Yes."
"...Um, even so, using magic on Your Highness feels a bit rude..."
"...Don't mind it. In a formula duel, some rudeness is allowed. Without hesitation—"
"Ah, then should I?"
"...Pardon?"
Her attitude suddenly seemed relaxed. Delvin sensed something off, but Ruin moved first.
Magic? At the word, Ruin raised his palm. Above it—
Wuuuuung—!!!
A black thorn arrow formed.
"...Huh."
Delvin's eyes widened.
"Chantless... You really didn't chant..."
She'd heard he was a chantless mage, but seeing it firsthand stole her breath. How? It defied mage common sense.
How can you weave magic without incantation?
Weaving invisible mana into formulas required incantation—nothing else. Yet he did it without. And moreover,
Why so much mana?
The amount felt off for a 1-Circle spell. Normally, that overflow would warp or break the magic. But no. The formula deployed smoothly.
...The more I look...
An incomprehensible existence. Five attributes. Chantless casting. Reasons enough to catch Elise's eye kept surfacing. Still, Delvin couldn't accept it. She had to be the best.
Formula duels are different.
Even with more attributes. Even chantless. Even handling that much mana. She was confident in formula duels. It wasn't just about Circle level. Low-Circle mages could beat high-Circle ones. That's what formula duels were—purely sensory battles.
"...Let's begin."
"What do I do?"
"Maintain your magic. Do your best not to let it dismantle."
"Got it."
Maintain, huh. A bit intriguing. Wondering what dismantling a spell formula meant,
"Upright thorns. Countless intents dwelling upon them."
Huh? Ruin glanced oddly at the princess's sudden chant. What now?
"Bearing the will of the spiral..."
Chanting now? What's this? As he watched curiously,
Shooo.
Hmm? Changes hit Ruin's thorn arrow. His mana began to waver.
The eyes-closed princess, focused. Every word she spoke shook it. Unstable. The condensed mana tried to move on its own. Like peeling layers of shell.
Hmm.
Her chant affecting the magic? Fascinating. He watched, then,
What if...? He retightened the peeling mana, binding differently than before.
"...The thorns... uh...?"
The princess opened her eyes, staring in shock.
"...What? Why did the formula recover?"
"Ah, shouldn't I have recovered it?"
"...What?"
"I don't know the rules well... Heh heh."
"No..."
The princess stared blankly.
"You recovered it...? The magic?"
"Yes."
"How...?"
"Pardon?"
How what? "It was breaking, so I just reset it to normal."
"That's... what does that even..."
What? Ruin grew confused by her reaction. Isn't recovery normal? Can't you just fix the disrupted mana flow? Zap! Done. Is that surprising? This damn world got weirder the more he saw.
Tsk.
What now? Can't leave it like this. Her odd reaction made him dispel the magic. The thorn arrow faded. Silence settled again. Everyone stared. Super awkward.
"Um... it's dispelled now."
"..."
"Now I dismantle yours?"
"Ha..."
Her brow furrowed. Did she catch I dispelled on purpose? Ruin felt a twinge,
"...Fine. Try it."
The princess raised her staff.
"I'll use the same magic. For fairness."
She mumbled after. Similar to her earlier chant, but shorter, more concise. A few words. The moment she spoke—
Giiiing—!!!
Oh ho. He saw mana gathering in the air at her words. That's incantation. First time watching closely.
A floating thorn arrow. Dismantle that? As he stared,
Delvin said smugly, "...Go on. If you dismantle this faster than me, I'll acknowledge you."
"Vanish."
Poof.
"Huh?"
Delvin glanced aside mid-sentence. The thorn arrow that should have been there—gone.
Where? Why dispelled? Momentarily stunned,
"Ah, sorry. You needed more lines...? I rushed it. Want a redo?"
Ruin said sheepishly.
"..."
Delvin's eyes widened slowly.
"...You... what... what did you do?"
"Pardon? You said dismantle, so I did."
"How...?"
"Just dispelled it. It vanished when I said so."
"...What the hell does that mean!"
Delvin finally exploded, yelling. Why's this bitch screaming now? Ruin covered one ringing ear. Getting annoyed. He did exactly as asked—why this?
"Ah... seriously. I don't get it."
Maybe that's why. Ruin let a hint of frustration slip.
"Why? Can't you do it?"
How can you not do something this easy? If anything, he didn't get it.
"Ha... haha..."
Delvin staggered back. The Golden Empress. Future archmage—or would have been. Delvin Lehart crumbled. And it took less than thirty minutes.