Interlude (1): The Grimoire

In the modern magical system, a mage’s realm is divided into five distinct stages. Breaking through each one demands specialized training or groundbreaking research.

Apprentice. Adept. Level 10 or below.

Expert. Mage. Level 20 or below.

Specialist. Scholar. Level 25 or below.

Master. Magister. Level 50 or below.

Transcendent. Archmage. Level 51 or above.

At level one you learn first-circle spells. Every five levels thereafter grants access to the next circle, so by level twenty-five you master the art of casting sixth-circle magic.

Seventh-circle spells and beyond unlock at levels thirty, forty, and fifty. At level fifty, mortals reach their absolute limit—ninth-circle spells. Legendary workings such as Meteor Strike and Wish both belong to this pinnacle tier.

Up to sixth-circle, the power remains within comprehensible bounds. Changing the weather for a day or raising a pillar of flame is about the extent of it.

From the seventh circle onward, however, one steps unmistakably into the domain of superhumans. That is the new height I intend to conquer: the rank of Magister.

The word Magister comes from the Imperial tongue and means “outstanding teacher.” Within magical society it denotes an authority qualified to instruct other mages.

Other common titles for Magisters are Tower Master or Professor, since only true masters hold the right to guide their fellows.

By the standards of the Far Eastern martial world, it would equate to the realm of a sect founder capable of establishing their own school.

In any case, reaching Magister requires complete mastery of a specific lore, the pioneering of a new domain, and the creation of an original spell. Only then can one compile the research into a Grimoire.

What exactly is a Grimoire?

A Grimoire is a magical tome that synthesizes all knowledge pertaining to a chosen lore. In the act of writing one, a mage integrates fragmented insights, attains fresh enlightenment, and leaves behind wisdom for those who will follow.

To put it simply:

A Magister is a Doctor of Magic.

To become a Doctor of Magic, one must write a doctoral thesis.

That thesis is called a Grimoire.

Writing a Grimoire is a six-step process.

First, select the research lore.

Second, select the research topic.

Third, create an original spell.

Fourth, conduct the spell experiment.

Fifth, record the experimental results.

Sixth, organize the research findings.

Research Lore: Lore of the Mind.

Research Topic: Can a beast become a person?

Original Spell: Socialization.

Spell Experiment: Rare specimen Olgoldugolro. Observed across nine months.

Experimental Result: Birth of a new troll race. Named the Enlightened Trolls.

Research Conclusion: Beasts can indeed become people—if they possess sufficient intelligence.

This was my first Grimoire.

I decided to write a second one as well. After all, I possessed another original spell.

Research Lore: Lore of Flames.

Research Topic: Does a flame hotter than the planet’s core exist?

Original Spell: Starlight Fire.

Spell Experiment: Proven in mortal combat against Shaman King Belkan.

Research Result: A flame that burns hotter than the core does exist. It is generated by using the essence of cold as an oxidizer.

Other original spells such as Emotion Manipulation Stage One or Eternal Mana Bread could not be used to produce Grimoires. The research had not progressed far enough, or the spells had not been developed through my own direct study.

Once I finish condensing these into abridged editions and send them to the Magic University, I will be officially promoted to Magister. In exchange, I will be required to join the Magic Association.

Membership in the Association brings various restrictions, yet the advantages are considerable—most notably, the chance to shed the Malefica label.

A Malefica is a mage without any verified affiliation. The Sun God Church automatically excommunicates unaffiliated mages, so Maleficas receive no legal protection from any human institution.

I had tasted the hardship of that life in my childhood. My master had been a leader among the Maleficas.

Inquisitors who judged heretics and Templars who hunted Maleficas pursued us without rest. Fortunately our entire cohort survived, but some of the senior disciples were captured by the Templars and suffered horrific fates.

Therefore, officially I have neither master nor school. There is no reason to admit I am a Malefica.

Still, everyone who matters already knows. The Sun God Church certainly does.

The reason the Church has not moved against me is the solid favor of the Iron Mace Duke and the fact that my activities have remained confined to the frontier. Should I expand my sphere to the entire continent, the situation will change.

A border-count’s court mage being a Malefica is something the Church might overlook.

But if the royal mage of Essil is a Malefica—and moreover the teacher and presumed lover of the newly crowned queen?

That is an entirely different matter.

They would seek a fight to the death.

In short.

If I wish to place Belladia on the throne, I have only two choices.

First: open war with the Sun God Church.

Second: join the Magic Association and obtain legitimate status.

At present, joining the Association is the correct decision.

Once I am a member, the Church may glare at me with displeasure but will be unable to initiate conflict without justification. Such an act would violate the Pact of Silence.

The Sun God Church, together with the Imperial Senate, represents one of the two great pillars of the Age of Humanity. The time is not yet ripe for a decisive battle against them.

That confrontation will come eventually.

But not today.

Therefore I will join the Magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Association.

To summarize: the Magic Association is the orthodox faction. Maleficas are the unorthodox. The orthodox enjoy ecclesiastical non-aggression. The unorthodox receive the excommunication beam.

Thus, by joining the orthodox I secure the right of non-aggression with the Church—at least until I can create a force capable of overturning the continent’s power structure.

Next, I had to choose which Grimoire to submit for the Magister examination. Submitting both would guarantee passage and draw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overwhelming attention, yet…

Attention would create problems because of my age.

Since the founding of the Magic University, the youngest to attain the rank of Archmage—the Sage of Destruction—had become a Magister at forty-five. On average, reaching Magister before one hundred years of age is considered rapid progress.

My master attained the rank at seventy-five and was praised as a brilliant rising talent.

In that context, what would happen if a twenty-year-old revealed he had become a Magister?

And with two Grimoires, no less?

Envy and jealousy would be the least of my worries.

Every Tower Master on the continent would respond with a mixture of terror and reverence. Before I could grow into a monster beyond their control they would attempt to eliminate me—or else hail me as the reincarnation of the great Arcadian and try to crown me Mage King.

At that point the Sage Council itself would intervene. I would lose all initiative.

In other words, what I must do is simple.

The Lore Master conceals his power.

Therefore I would falsify my age and submit only one Grimoire. I would even dilute the copy so that it barely scraped through the examination.

Which one to submit, then…

The Grimoire of Starlight Fire.

Ideally I would submit that one. It had opened an entirely new horizon in elemental magic.

Yet…

I wanted to keep it hidden.

This would cause Master to feel inferior.

For now, I preferred to conceal the fact that my magic had already surpassed his.

“Flame of magic, heed me!”

Following the procedure outlined in the Magic Association membership guide, I ignited a signal beacon of arcane energy. The moment the ethereal flame surged from the chimney, a spatial rift tore open barely ten minutes later and a mana wyvern warped into view.

“Kyaaaaak!”

The mana wyvern was a small, sapphire-scaled dragon formed entirely of magical energy. It possessed the ability to traverse the ethereal dimension at will—an artificial life-form created by the Magic University’s professors to run miscellaneous errands.

“Deliver this to the Magic University.”

I handed over the abridged copy of the Grimoire of Enlightenment together with the membership application form.

Name: Tellorian.

Age: 54.

Race: Human male.

Master: None.

School: None.

Lore: Lore of the Mind.

“Kiiik?”

The mana wyvern seemed unable to believe the age field. As an artificial construct designed to serve mages, it was nearly as sharp as a modern human.

“I am maintaining my youth through magic.”

“Kiik!”

Therefore it did not trust appearances.

Which made deception all the easier.

“Kiiiiik!”

The mana wyvern tucked the scroll into its satchel and slipped back into the ethereal dimension. The Grimoire review would now take approximately one month. Afterward I would officially receive the title and privileges of a Magister.

It will coincide nicely with the return of Duke Glorinmar bearing the Eternal Queen’s reply.

Then I could wait at leisure while offering counsel on the kingdom’s civil war.

One moment.

I still needed to allocate my level-up points.

The final settlement had been level 20. I now stood at 26.

Hmm. What to raise.

I cannot increase Intelligence or Mana yet.

The human stat limit is 25. Only after surpassing level 50 does the cap disappear. Therefore I must invest in other stats for now.

All in Agility. A battle is approaching.

However, each point past 20 costs two.

Agility rose from 20 to 23.

Next I needed to select six class abilities.

There were things I had wanted to try ever since my days as a gamer.

Back then they were too inefficient to justify.

That’s right. From today onward, I am also an Enchanter!

That’s right! From today onward, I am also an Alchemist!

Magic Enchantment and Alchemy are traits with tremendous utility. They allow ordinary people to enjoy the benefits of magic.

Every magic tool the wealthy use in daily life is a product of these two disciplines. In other words, the demand is infinite. Securing research funds would become far easier.

The only problems are that initial clients are hard to attract and the material costs are astronomical. One wrong move and an heirloom shatters during enchantment, or a healing potion drains the drinker’s stamina instead of restoring it.

Moreover, the number of people who can afford such services is limited.

But the solution to these difficulties…

Is to entrust them to our very reliable sponsor.

“Your Excellency, Duke Rodrick.”

“That scroll contains quite a few numbers.”

“These are the funds required for next year’s research.”

The parchment unfurled.

“……”

Duke Rodrick pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh.

“Brother. You are aware a civil war is currently underway?”

“Yes.”

“You are also aware that war is a monster that devours money?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you presenting me with such an outrageous invoice?”

Rodrick asked the question with a perfectly calm expression.

“Your Excellency.”

“I am listening.”

“Do you not desire them?”

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

Impenetrable magic armor that no ordinary blade could scratch, and a destructive magic mace possessing the power of a siege ram.

“Uh…”

Hmm.

Hmmmm…

Hmmmmmmmm…

“If I approve this, I will be unable to hire mercenaries.”

“Are mercenaries more precious, or are family heirlooms more precious?”

Of course mercenaries were far more important to a war!

That was what his mind insisted, yet—

“Ahem! When I consider Belladia and our future descendants, it seems far wiser for the family head to bequeath them superb artifacts rather than merely hiring mercenaries!”

Absolutely not because I want to swing a magic mace that can shatter castle gates in a single blow! The magic armor that can withstand a hail of bolts is not important at all!

This is purely—an investment for the descendants! For the descendants!