The Eighth Research - Basilisk (2)

During the process of enthroning Belkan as the Shaman King, I absorbed a vast amount of knowledge. Just as Belkan had advanced from a simple shaman to an Elder Shaman, my own level had risen.

'From level 17 to level 20. Time to invest in my stats, class abilities, and personal traits.'

…It seemed unwise to develop my affinity with heterospecies any further. Anyway, if I were to display my current abilities in status-window format, it would look like this.

Judging by stats and number of lores alone, I could probably join the Sage Council right now. Among the Archmages who were already members, I would rank in the upper tier.

'But the actual power I can wield is still far inferior to the Archmages of the Sage Council. I may know many lores, but my depth in each is lacking.'

Until now I had secured breadth by learning many different lores. From this point on, I would secure depth through intensive research. I had already acquired all the major lores.

'In truth, the Four Elements and Arcane are S-rank lores. The Lore of Mind and Lore of Beasts are B-rank. They’re only useful in very specific situations.'

Before dividing the tiers of lores, it might be good to review the basics of magecraft theory. The word Lore refers to the origin of mana itself—an enigmatic mass of mana located at the center of the multiverse.

'Theories about the birth of lores are still divided. The accepted view is that lores came into existence alongside the birth of the universe, but even that has no definitive proof. In the game era, the setting was that not even the ancient Mage Kings had uncovered the truth.'

Even so, the fairy kings of the Divine Age or the great Arcadian would likely have known the secret. At this point, however, I had neither the means nor the need to investigate it.

At any rate, the key points for understanding Sinear’s magic system are as follows. At the center of the universe exists a sphere formed of infinite mana.

'This is a Lore.'

Intelligent beings with high mana sensitivity can connect their souls to a Lore and exercise the authority to change the world according to their will.

'This is Magic.'

However, humans cannot fully utilize magic’s potential due to the innate limits of their intellect and mana sensitivity. Therefore, they chose to divide lores by field in order to understand them.

'It is the same principle as how physics specialists and chemistry specialists exist, yet no specialist exists who has mastered every field of science. It is a realm beyond the reach of human intellect and lifespan.'

Even so, some humans do manage to acquire multiple lores.

'Similar to how, in Earth’s history of intellect, monsters occasionally appear who achieve greatness across multiple disciplines.'

Based on that background, my current situation could be compared to a renowned professor who had earned doctoral degrees in seven different fields. The only difference was that I had not yet produced any academic achievement worthy of a Nobel Prize in any single field.

'Now…'

It was time to break free from that.

From a vague all-rounder character.

To a true all-rounder!

“Flame and cold!”

Whoosh!

Crack!

A flame rose in my right hand while ice formed in my left. It was a combination of a sphere hotter than lava and an ice spear colder than frost.

“Air and earth!”

The ground trembled.

The air gathered as well.

“Though you are many, your essence is one!”

I closed my eyes and focused. Mana light flashed within my pupils. Without the slightest tremor, I completed the spell and fused the elemental forces ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of each attribute into one.

“Now I command you once more to recombine!”

Flame. Cold. Air. Earth.

The four elements that compose all matter gathered in the empty air and formed a glowing sphere. An extremely unstable form. It would not have been strange if it had exploded at any moment.

“Submit to my will!”

Magic is an act of invading the universe.

It is forcing a mage’s will upon the world.

Kiiiiiiiing—!

The cosmic order that sought to separate the fused four elements clashed with Tellorian’s will that sought to complete their union. Originally it would have been an unwinnable contest. However, through Belkan’s shamanic ritual, Tellorian had witnessed it.

'The essence of the four elements is ultimately one!'

Grinding my teeth, I pushed my will to the limit. The mana that responded to Tellorian’s extraordinary resolve forcibly held together the four elements that were trying to split apart.

The sphere lost its radiance and slowly settled onto the ground. The disappearance of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the instability that had threatened to tear it apart was proof that the fusion had succeeded.

“Elemental Orb.”

Tellorian extended his right hand and cast a new spell. The sphere split into several small orbs that began orbiting him. Each contained the power of flame and cold, wind and earth.

Fuse.

Split.

Fuse.

Split.

I repeated the process.

“Excellent. I can now handle the elements with proficiency!”

“It is thanks to your guidance, Shaman King Belkan.”

“How about calling me by my true name, Roshran?”

Hmm.

If I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠used only the most precise terminology, the convenience of my research journal would suffer.

“I will do so only when necessary.”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Haha! What a shame!”

The newly acquired Lore of Element was a higher-tier lore completed by unifying the four elemental lores. A higher-tier lore not only allowed the use of all lower-tier spells, but also granted the privilege of mixing multiple lores into a single spell.

'For example…'

Fireball!

Ice Bolt!

'Spells with distinctly different strengths.'

Fireball was a wide-area destruction spell that dealt high damage, while Ice Bolt was a crowd-control skill that applied the Frozen debuff to a single target.

'If I combine the two using the Lore of Element…'

A wide-area spell was born that inflicted high fire damage while also applying the Frozen debuff. Of course its damage was lower than Fireball and its freeze duration shorter than Ice Bolt, but it became a spell capable of damaging multiple targets while simultaneously applying crowd control.

'Other four-element spells of the same circle can be mixed and cast in the same way. Therefore the Lore of Element qualifies as a higher-tier lore.'

Consequently, my current self was invincible.

Against enemies around level 20, at least.

“This is the place.”

The problem was that the opponent I would face transcended common sense. Beasts born carrying mystery were called mystical beasts. Monsters such as medusas and sirens fell into the mystical-beast category.

'Extremely frightening and threatening.'

This was Medieval Land. Even a random bear on the roadside would be level 10. A mystical beast steeped in mana would average well over level 20.

'Level 20 is the level of a powerhouse representing a count’s territory. And the Iron Mace Count who made his name on the frontier is level 25…'

In other words, even a mystical beast was a difficult opponent for humans.

'However…'

A mystical beast was still, at the end of the day, nothing more than a beast.

'The creature I will face next is not that kind of animal.'

Sinear contained powers from various origins. Physical force known as martial power, mana force drawn from magic power, and holy power derived from divinity.

'The further back one goes, the rarer the power becomes.'

Knights were common, mages were rare, and saints were precious. That was the scarcity found in Sinear, where humans held dominion.

'Simply put…'

Warriors were commoners.

Mages were nobility.

Healers were royalty.

'Thanks to that, even a level 10 user of holy power is revered as a saint, whereas martial classes that rely on physical force only receive proper recognition at level 30.'

A level-10 cleric was far weaker in combat than a level-20 knight, yet received far better social treatment. Such was the value of rarity.

'The world of beasts is the same.'

Beasts.

Mystical beasts.

And then—

“Is it over there?”

“Yes.”

Belkan, standing atop the rise, pointed toward the center of the blazing desert. Between the thick sand dunes stood a colossal stone gate. A silver serpent was engraved upon it.

“That is the temple of the Basilisk, a mighty divine beast worshipped by the inhabitants of the Great Wasteland.”

Tellorian pulled his pointed hat down to shield his face from the sunlight and pierced the stone gate with his all-seeing eyes of insight, examining what lay beyond.

“It is an ancient temple constructed during the Karamsan era.”

Beyond the stone gate protected by a sacred barrier stood a brilliant white temple built in antiquity. Mysterious fruit trees filled the gardens throughout the temple, and sand waterfalls flowed gently in time with magical melodies. Those waterfalls converged at the sacred oasis at the temple’s center, forming a lake the color of sand. However, because demons swarmed inside the temple, the energy of the Abyss seethed violently.

Yet the beauty of the white temple could not hold a mage’s gaze for long. The majestic marble reliefs and the paradise-like gardens were nothing compared to the splendor of the divine beast sleeping at the bottom of the lake.

“Hmm…”

“A divine beast is certainly worth the effort to tame as a familiar.”

Having acquired the Lore of Beasts, I had gained the ability to communicate with monsters on equal terms. Thanks to that, it had become possible. The ability to tame any beast as my familiar.

“Then let us go rescue the ancient Basilisk.”

BOOM!

Purple flames erupted.

Toward the powerful barrier.

“From the vile demons.”