Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: The Wind Sorceress
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"Yes. So?"
"I can use it too. But this wasn't supposed to be possible originally. From what I felt, it seemed like I'd need at least ten years of training to make it work."
Ten years until it works.
As expected of a genius. For me, it took four regressions—forty years, give or take—until I completed it.
"So I got impatient. I figured if I could use Double Magic first, then Pure Magic would be possible too, but to spend ten years just on Double Magic, which isn't even the final goal? That's too much, right? And that's when that bandage guy showed up right away."
"......Sponsor?"
"Yeah. He called himself my sponsor and said he'd grant my wish. He looked super suspicious at first glance. But I couldn't just turn it down in my situation."
"What situation was that?"
"I told you. I was impatient. Plus, I was a bit off my rocker from all the stress at the time."
"Off your rocker."
"Anyway, nothing to lose, so I asked for the power to use Double Magic. And he actually gave it to me. But looking back now....... Eek."
Tolari shuddered with a horrified look on her face.
"In the end, it wasn't power I earned myself. It made me feel depressed and tanked my self-esteem. That's why I've been down all day today too."
"Jumping straight to today?"
"Yeah. Today. I kept thinking about the second wish I mentioned yesterday."
The story leaped straight to the present in an instant. Anyway, this otherworldly spy—aka the sponsor—had never been reached in all nine previous loops. Maybe this time I could get some key info?
"You mean the sponsor came yesterday and granted your second wish?"
"No. He didn't grant it—he just handed it over and left."
"Handed it over? The wish?"
"Yeah. He said to pick whatever I wanted. So, let me see......"
Tolari stood up and walked over to the desk in the back.
Clunk.
She opened a desk drawer and pulled out a strangely shaped object before coming back.
"This is it. He gave me this."
This is....... a syringe?
Yeah. No matter how you look at it, it's a syringe. Even if the design looks kinda futuristic.
"It's called a syringe. You stick it in your arm and press here, and the contents go inside."
"So if I inject this, I can use Pure Magic?"
"Something like that, I guess? It enables calculations to further compress Tempest. It's like your brain gets modified. But you lose your mind in the process."
And then silence fell.
Lose your mind?
Sure enough, the Tolari from the past had seemed that way.
No one with a human heart could rip innocent people into hundreds of pieces without batting an eye.
I glared at the syringe in front of me and asked innocently,
"What do you mean, lose your mind? Go insane?"
"It turns you into a human stripped of humanity, numb to your surroundings. Of course, I don't know for sure. I haven't tried it yet."
Haven't tried it yet.
Gulp.
So the old psychopath Tolari was the version after injecting this. This time, she hasn't done it yet.
"According to the sponsor, injecting it makes you like a machine focused only on magic. You know what a machine is? Like a clock wound with a spring."
"I know."
"At first, it sounded super appealing. It means becoming a human who can focus solely on magic, right?"
"Maybe?"
"Right? How great would it be to concentrate without being affected by your surroundings? I get a bit snappy when I'm annoyed. And my magic training goes poorly."
Tolari sighed and started spinning the syringe on the table.
"And then you suddenly unleashed Pure Magic? I thought I was gonna lose it. Did I seem like a crazy woman earlier?"
"......This syringe."
"Huh?"
"Why didn't you inject its contents right away after getting it?"
That was the one thing I was dying to know. Tolari pouted, clearly displeased, and said,
"Wouldn't you hesitate? Sure, I'm desperate to use Pure Magic. But I don't want to use it at the cost of losing my humanity."
No, if time passes like this, you'll definitely end up using it after ditching your humanity?
History proved that outcome. But something felt off?
The past Tolari had certainly transcended humanity as a mage. But she hadn't used Pure Magic when fighting me?
"But to think the answer was holy magic. What a letdown. I can't learn holy magic now anyway. Rumor has it you received some kind of divine blessing?"
"......Yeah."
"So jealous. I wish I had even a talent for holy magic, if not a full blessing. Agh."
Tolari started pressing her temples with her fingers, as if her head hurt.
Of course, ordinary humans can't use elemental magic and holy magic together. The essences of the powers are completely different.
But Tolari was such a magic genius—maybe she had potential there too?
Race: Human
Current Magic: A+
Potential Magic: S
Nope. None.
Her abilities, checked via Emotion Eye, were all-in on elemental magic.
Of course, having S-grade potential magic affinity in the midst of all this was shocking.
She's already the top mage besides me, and this means she could get even stronger?
"Sigh, anyway, I was getting excited for the first time in ages, and now I'm down again."
Tolari shook her head with hollow eyes.
"Everything's gone dark again. Even a genius like you couldn't do Pure Magic with just elemental magic."
"A genius like me?"
"Yeah. Who else in the world is a genius like you when it comes to magic?"
Tolari's eyes widened as she pointed at me with her finger.
"You became an Arch Wizard without joining the Magic Guild or getting taught by anyone, and at that young age, you mastered Double Magic too. How old did you say you were? Fifteen?"
"Sixteen. And I'm not a genius."
The real genius is you. I'm just a regressor who piled up time.
But I couldn't say that, so....... I shook my head and rattled off my prepared excuse.
"I received mana from a spirit. It wasn't innate—it was something I got easily after the fact. So you can't compare me to a true genius like you."
"Mana from a spirit."
Tolari furrowed her brow and shook her head this way and that.
"In the end, isn't it just awakening what you already had from the start?"
"Huh?"
"Magic is all about connections, right?"
Tolari tapped her head with her finger.
"Everything depends on how quickly you connect paths in here—or how complex the paths are. So what people call mana is really just concentration."
Well, look at that?
Someone else besides me had theoretically grasped the essence of mana?
Of course, in the past, she was a psychopath machine who killed people, so we never had chats like this. But now, ironically, her concentration seemed shot—she kept rubbing her eyes like she was tired.
"So have some confidence. I have no clue how you got a spirit to give you mana. But whatever—it became your power. An ordinary person would just have their head explode trying to handle that kind of power. They couldn't bear it."
"You think?"
"Of course. Anyway, Pure Magic is the problem. It's such a shame I can't learn it."
Tolari glared at the syringe on the table and mimed jabbing it into her shoulder.
"Just an hour ago, it felt within reach....... Sigh. At this rate, I might stick it in without thinking. Humanity or whatever."
"......!"
At that moment, I snatched the syringe and hurled it out the window with all my strength.
"No!"
The startled Tolari was about to whip up wind around her when I lobbed a compressed fireball at the flying syringe.
"Tempest!"
At the same time, a brilliant fireworks display erupted outside the window.
KABOOM!
Even at minimum power, the entire magic tower shook. Tolari stared blankly at the flames, then suddenly started chuckling weirdly instead of getting mad, her body shaking.
"Heh heh....... Khk. Khk. Hic."
"......Tolari?"
"Kekeke....... Wow, seriously. You're so badass."
Of course, the best way to handle something like this is to end it spectacularly. Tolari looked refreshed as she nodded at me.
"Thanks, Your Highness."
"Thanks? I just yeeted that thing on my own?"
"You ended up doing what I should've done, right? I never could've thrown it away alone."
"......You would've done it eventually even if I hadn't."
"You think? I hope so."
Tolari nodded quietly. And through our conversation so far, I was certain of one thing.
The current Tolari was just an ordinary human.
The past killing machine I knew—the betrayer of humanity—no longer existed in this world.
Maybe if I'd arrived just a day later, it could've happened....... But that fireworks show just erased that future completely.
Which meant the one sitting in front of me now was, conversely, one of the strongest allies for protecting the world.
Though there were a few things to confirm first.
"I have some questions."
"Like what?"
"You know I'm a prince, right? The emperor's son. So why are you talking to me like this?"
"What about it? Oh, am I being too casual? I haven't learned the language here perfectly."
"The language here?"
"You know....... Greetings, Your Highness? Have you been well? Like that?"
"No, that's too much."
"Really?"
Tolari brushed back her messy bangs and tilted her head.
"I'm not sure. Maybe because I'm not from this country?"
"You're not from the empire?"
"You know Lagran?"
"Lagran? The East Continent?"
This was completely new info? Tolari was from the Lagran Continent?
"I heard the Payud Empire on the West Continent is better for properly learning magic, so I came over with relatives when I was little."
"Oh......"
"Then I holed up in the Magic Guild right away, and after that, I built this magic tower and holed up here. So I still haven't adapted to the local customs. Sorry. You're a prince and all—I should learn proper honorifics from now on."
"Nah. Be comfortable."
That stuff didn't matter. I shook my head and moved to the next question.
"More importantly, can you tell me why you're so obsessed with Pure Magic?"
"Well......"
"Pure Magic is just a spell breaker that dismantles magic-related things. In terms of raw power, it doesn't even touch Tempest. Got some Arch Wizard you wanna kill? Trying to become a specialist for great mages?"
"Uh, what?"
Tolari's eyes widened as she shook her head.
"Absolutely not. I didn't even know what effects it had."
Fair enough—I only learned Pure Magic's capabilities after completing it. I remember being super disappointed because it wasn't as versatile as I'd hoped.
"But?"
"But I had a gut feeling it was the next stage after magic. Everyone thinks Tempest is the final stage....... But this is something beyond that, right?"
"It is."
"So I just wanted to complete it myself. I don't care about the effects or power. Though more flashy would've been nice."
"So just pure obsession?"
"Right? But I'm pretty obsessed with magic. Enough to build a tower in this wasteland and hole up alone."
That made things easy. I recalled a special method I'd completed long ago but given up on since there was no reason to use it.
"Alright. Then let me make you a proposal."
"A proposal?"
"If you accept, I'll pardon you for participating in that assassination plot where you tried to kill me."
"You were still hung up on that? I apologized so much? Even gave you tea?"
Tolari waved her teacup with a sulky expression. No, you think one cup of tea fixes this?
I let out a hollow laugh and got to the real point.
"And I'll tell you a way to use Pure Magic without learning holy magic."
"Really? For real?"
Her reaction changed completely this time. Tolari leaned halfway across the table and shouted.
"What is it? What's the proposal? Tell me quick!"
"Pledge loyalty to me."
"Huh?"
"Pledge your loyalty to me and promise to work under me, and I'll make it so you can use Pure Magic. So......"
"Loyalty!"
Thud!
Tolari slammed herself face-down on the table like she was kowtowing and swore her loyalty.
"I pledge my loyalty! Right here, I swear eternal loyalty to Prince Claude!"
"......"
"......How's that? Did I do good? Is this okay?"
The Tolari who lifted her head beamed and tilted her head. No, even so, is it okay to pledge loyalty this casually?
"You....... Do you even know what loyalty means?"
"Of course. It means following your orders, right?"
"W-Well, yeah."
"Maybe once wasn't enough? To show sincerity, I should really bash my head on the floor......"
"No, stop."
I waved her off and stopped Tolari from getting up.
"That was enough. A loyalty oath is basically a contract anyway. More importantly, you'll have to follow my orders from now on. That okay?"
"Probably? You planning something weird?"
"No. Not planning anything weird, but......"
I nodded as I eyed Tolari's gaunt frame.
"Hmm, yeah. Instead, I do plan to make you eat something weird."
"Weird? What?"
Tolari's hollow eyes widened as she asked. I gave a wry smile, recalling a special elixir recipe that gave me PTSD just thinking about it.
"Huh? Why are you smiling like that's scary? What are you gonna make me eat?"
I just shook my head without a word.
Poor girl.
She'd better brace herself from now on. This elixir is no joke. To the point where I've wanted to erase it from my memories.......