Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 85
>Chapter Title: This Makes Money
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For a moment, silence settled over the stone chamber.
I was contemplating my senior's core, and he was waiting patiently for me.
Naturally, it was I who broke the silence first.
"Senior."
"Speak."
"By any chance, are you a lich?"
"......?"
I narrowed my eyes and stared straight at him.
His gaunt frame. Sunken eyes. Even though he'd tidied up, his hair was dry and lusterless.
So, just looking at him, he could pass for a freshly dead lich......
"Not a lich, then."
He was breathing.
Undead weren't supposed to breathe, yet there it was—a faint, steady rhythm.
"Then what are you?"
It made no sense.
A core split in two.
Sure, a shattered core didn't necessarily mean death.
A mage's core was like their heart, but not literally. It just meant the end of their life as a mage.
Right.
'The end of their life as a mage.'
But how?
"I've applied barrier principles. I could explain the theory if you want......"
Perhaps my gaze was making him uncomfortable. My senior, Rihim, spoke tentatively.
I stared at him for a moment, then shook my head.
"No need."
"You seem awfully curious."
"It's not something I'd understand even if I heard it. You figured it out yourself, didn't you?"
"That's true, but......"
Maybe he actually wanted to explain the principle himself. He trailed off, looking somehow regretful.
But my mind was made up.
'Barrier magic...... gives me a headache.'
Barrier magic operated on a completely different track from regular spells. The principles were just fundamentally different.
Like how a tortoise and a rabbit are both 'animals,' but you wouldn't call them the same—their very foundations diverged.
Especially......
Mages who had reached Transcendence interpreted even the same things from entirely different perspectives.
"But it's not perfect, is it?"
"Right. Basic spells are fine, but advanced magic strains it. So......"
"You're using a magic circle for support."
"Exactly."
I glanced around the chamber once more and nodded.
'No wonder the mana was so densely packed—eerie, almost.'
It supplied the power to maintain the barrier while substituting for the halved core's functions.
'Hmm, I see.'
By nature, I'm a Troubleshooter. No greed. The kind who can embrace everything without owning a thing.
But something smelled off.
'A magic circle to support the core......'
That's valuable. No, more than valuable.
Forget practicality—it's the kind of research topic that would set any mage's eyes ablaze.
I was burning with greed—no, curiosity—when it happened.
"Intriguing, isn't it?"
"......No?"
A reflexive denial to Rihim senior's piercing question.
But he looked at me with a knowing, indulgent smile.
He just watched.
"......"
"......Ahem."
Awkward silence filled the chamber, along with a subtle voice drifting down.
"It's a magic circle I made myself."
Premium quality.
Archmages might number a few per era, but Muspellun was one of a kind in history.
"If I use it myself, it takes considerable effort...... but assuming the user's core is intact, it could be simplified."
Research topic? No—highly practical too.
"Of course, I haven't researched that far yet, but if you want, I could do it anytime."
"......"
"Who knows? It might even integrate with artifacts. Oh, and it's not just for storing mana like a core—it could imbue attributes too. Well, that part needs more study...... but I think it's possible."
Gulp.
I swallowed involuntarily.
'......Damn.'
At first, it was just a passing thought.
Wouldn't it be nice if the library had something like this someday?
Hazen's or Parun's curricula, or books I'd pry from Chenbi later—they'd all cost a fortune, but more good books in the library was always better.
But it smelled like money.
'This...... will make bank.'
Think about it.
Muspellun-made artifacts.
Sure, not actually made by the real Muspellun—just borrowing his knowledge.
But that's branding. A trademark.
'No, don't even need the Muspellun brand.'
Core-support artifacts.
Stores mana, even imbues attributes. Like a second core? In other words...... a charger.
But.
"......Urgh."
Rihim senior smiling at me.
It smelled as much as the money—like he was about to dump some annoying chore on me.
As my deliberation dragged on, he cut in.
"Not tempting?"
"Mind if I use it however I want?"
"For example?"
"Wealth and glory."
"You're out to make money. I get it. What mage doesn't love cash?"
Exactly. Mages love money.
I learn through loopholes and only use magic to beat people up, but others burn through it on research.
So I threw out another one.
"I'll live extravagantly."
"Extravagantly?"
"Yeah, booze and gambling. Every meal a feast of delicacies, eating one bite and tossing the rest."
"Modest ambitions."
"......"
......Modest?
That's my idea of peak luxury. Guess that's royalty for you—even this is modest.
'Then......'
I tried thinking of something beyond that. Tried, but......
'Damn.'
Nothing came to mind.
You've gotta have spent money to know how to spend it. That's why.
Suddenly, it felt kinda pathetic.
I'm not really that frugal by nature, but lack of chances forced me into it. Even if I became a sage with billions, habits die hard.
Anyway.
"Sigh, fine."
I let out a deep breath.
"What's the favor?"
"Favor? No idea what you mean. I just want to give my junior a gift as a senior."
"......"
Gulp.
I barely swallowed the 'bullshit' trying to burst out.
If it were the principal, I'd ask if he'd lost his marbles, but given who it was......
'A gift? What gift?'
No way a magic circle like this was casual 'gift' knowledge.
Think about it.
'Core support. Or rather, it's like gaining an external core.'
External cores.
How many attempts throughout magical history?
All failures.
'Golem cores' were just failed byproducts of that research.
But golems' impact on continental history was massive.
More precisely......
War.
They changed the landscape.
And he's handing that knowledge over? To a punk dreaming of riches and debauchery?
"Hah, forget it."
"Sure? I can hand it over if you want."
"No thanks on the magic circle. Spit out the favor already. Let's hear it."
"You're something else...... Straight as an arrow."
His warm gaze made me awkwardly look up at the ceiling.
'......Damn.'
He called it a 'gift to his junior,' but it was a trade. The magic circle in exchange for something from me.
Strictly speaking, though, what he offered wasn't just a 'magic circle.'
It was...... yeah.
What Rihim senior put on the table was conviction itself.
A man who'd risk his life for strangers...... had something he desired enough to abandon even his convictions.
I'm no saint, but I pick my marks.
In our short time, Rihim senior—past aside—was a mage worthy of respect.
How could I......
'......I'll buy his conviction. Tch.'
"You really sure you don't want the magic circle?"
Of course not.
But.
"Think of it as a gift from your lowly junior to his senior."
Isn't that senior-junior bond? Not blood or school ties, but the title fits.
"Then I'll give you a gift too."
"Not the magic circle."
"It's not. Might be...... something you need even more than that."
"......?"
What I need most is books, first off.
Filling the tower isn't easy. Then land and money, maybe.
But Rihim senior wouldn't know that.
"It's nothing much. Just some advice from one who's walked the path ahead."
He looked at me with those deep eyes.
Unlike before, a sharp glint flickered in them.
Obern's master. A good mage against type. A whole new side, beyond any justice.
This was...... yeah.
'One who's walked the path ahead.'
A true senior.
The distant road of magic. The eyes of one who'd traversed the vast world first. In other words......
Archmage.
Advice from one at the pinnacle to the junior mage following behind.
"The wall of Transcendence."
The moment our eyes met, I knew he saw right through me.
"I'll tell you how to surpass it. Care to hear?"
Heh, really.
He'd so easily let me peer inside, but apparently I wasn't the only one looking?
Of course, my answer was......
"I'll listen intently."
Decided long ago.
* * *
"First, a question. As I see it, you're stuck at the wall of Transcendence right now. Correct?"
"Yes."
I admitted readily.
No idea how he knew, but his diagnosis was spot-on.
'The wall of Transcendence...... no, the Wall of Wailing.'
An impregnable fortress that wouldn't budge. One step away from transcendence, yet it blocked that step.
"You've probably agonized over it plenty. What do you think the reason is?"
"The reason......"
"Why you can't break through the wall of Transcendence."
"......"
I crossed my arms and pondered.
'Why can't I break through?'
The answer wasn't hard to find. And it was simple.
In a way, similar to why I'd learned Heavenly Origin Art this life, or craved Decullan secrets like Red Flame.
At its core, Pahren von Decullan. To catch him, but believing Decullan's secrets held what I lacked.
That was......
"Fundamentals."
"Fundamentals?"
"Can't explain in detail, but...... my path to magic was pretty unorthodox."
Call it a hack?
Not honing basics like noble bloodlines, just picking up whatever as needed.
Not even focused solely on magic.
Drew from knight secrets or others when necessary.
Yet why?
"That's not the answer."
"......?"
He fixed me with those deep eyes.
"Before reaching the wall, fundamentals might've been the issue. But not now. What do you think Transcendence is?"
"Transcendence is......"
"Literally, surpassing limits. So how do you surpass them?"
"Well......"
I thought hard.
What to do to surpass limits.
"Be honest. Your answer will shape my advice."
"......Hmm."
Honestly...... let's think.
Not the wall specifically, but to surpass any limit, what would I do?
Simple, really.
"Crash into it."
"Crash?"
"Yeah, throw everything I've got at it. Until I drop dead."
"And if that doesn't work?"
Still won't? No choice then.
"Still crash. Empty everything out and keep crashing until I can't even dream of it anymore."
"Hmm, is that so?"
He watched me, then slightly raised a brow.
"Ever tried that?"
"Of course......"
I was about to say 'hell yeah.'
But the words stuck.
Had I ever truly emptied everything?
Sure, Black-White Slums orphan days, Troubleshooter trainee, from non-number to numbered. Up to single number.
Always emptied it all.
'......To survive.'
But after?
After that......
"It's not that you haven't. Just......"
"......Rarely."
"I get it. At your level, few opponents force you to empty everything."
Now I got his point.
Keep emptying, emptying, pushing to the limit. Go all out, drive yourself to death.
Of course......
'Won't work in one go.'
But that was the method.
"Your expression says you get it."
"......Yeah, sorta."
Not sure if I nailed it, but there was no single right answer. Only what I felt mattered.
"My advice isn't gospel. Just...... sharing from my experience, hoping it helps."
His thoughtful tone.
Worried his good intentions might become another burden.
Rarely, I smiled back.
"That's plenty."
"Good, then......"
He smiled in return and continued.
"Now, time to receive your junior's gift? Or should I say, make my request?"
"Does it matter which?"
Only that our feelings were sincere. The wrapping was irrelevant.