Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Aurellen
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I wanted to check once more, but Durel's condition was so dire that I couldn't lay a hand on him recklessly.
It was a familiar yet alien sensation. Most likely, what lurked inside Durel's body was some specific spell.
"Durel. Do you know there's something inside your body?"
"Y-Yes...? In my body... what the hell..."
An otherworldly presence that even Durel himself was unaware of. My keenly attuned mana senses had only picked it up after probing inside him. Perhaps the reason Durel couldn't wield magic properly was that unidentified spell rooted in his heart.
'Can't do much about it right now... Even completing a Mana Circle, no guarantee it'd function properly...'
I couldn't assure the Mana Circle wouldn't clash with whatever spell had taken hold in his heart. So I waited until Durel pulled himself together.
"Haa..."
Only after gulping down some water did Durel catch his breath, his face ashen. No way I could push for another check when he looked half-dead. Instead, I told him what I'd sensed just moments ago.
The nameless spell embedded in his heart and the fierce mana rejection it had triggered. Durel listened in silence, then quietly shut his eyes.
"You okay? Looks like I can't teach you any magic after all."
"N-No... I'm fine..."
'Doesn't look fine at all...'
I frowned and drew the Warden Stick from my pocket. I'd boasted confidently about teaching him magic—I couldn't just sit on my hands. Time to try something, anything.
And that's how this Warden Stick got picked.
A mage's specialized tool, one that sealed magic itself into a dedicated implement.
Truth be told, I couldn't even fathom the creation process right now. But modifying this finished Warden Stick? That felt doable.
Pure instinct. The wordless realm of talent. The same sensation that hit every time I learned new magic or invented it from scratch.
"Hold on a sec."
"Y-Yes...? Isn't that a Warden Stick?"
I took slow, deep breaths, spinning the Mana Circle in my heart at full speed. The eerie whir of interlocking absorption and circulation rings echoed through my entire body.
Whoooosh-!
"Master...?"
My cloak billowed wildly from the surge of mana. My dull golden hair rippled like it was submerged underwater.
Omnipotence flooded me in a heartbeat. The mana saturating my body whispered reassurances. Nothing's impossible. Believe you can do anything. That faith was the key unlocking a mage's true power.
Flash-!
Mana flowed from my palm into the Warden Stick. It began trembling violently, like it was seizing.
The world etched inside soaked up the influx and tried to unleash its magic unchecked.
'Gorge yourself...'
I let the mana transform unchecked. No—instead, I converted every scrap of available mana into the "Rejection" spell. The colossal buildup thrashed like it might explode.
The magic screamed for release: a force to shove aside everything but itself, anywhere, everywhere.
Of course. That was its core purpose. But the target? Itself. The very world carved into this Warden Stick.
'Out.'
What mattered now was unshakeable conviction. Not a flicker of doubt that this spell would manifest exactly as I willed.
Now.
Crack-!
The instant the spell's vector locked in, something shattered deep inside the Warden Stick.
'A little more...'
Harder. Crank up the output, the mana feed. My heart's Mana Circle revved higher, pumping out more.
Operating beyond limits? Veins bulged starkly across my skin. Didn't matter. No stopping.
Rumble-!
Mana rampaged around me and the Warden Stick, hurling everything aside. The table launched and splintered; the window blew wide, door panels flying off.
That instant.
Pop-!
The world sealed inside the Warden Stick was utterly expelled.
'Got it...!'
Next: fill the void. I shoved my mana in.
Dizziness slammed me from the sudden drain, but I pressed on. Steadying my tottering frame, I fixed my glare on the Warden Stick clutched in my hand.
"M-Master...!"
Utmost focus required. Durel's voice from nearby faded into the distance.
'Not implanting it in his body. Turn this Warden Stick into a Mana Circle proxy...'
The absorbed mana inside stretched into a circular path, forming a perfect infinite loop.
The semi-permanent engine of endless absorption and circulation materialized. The Warden Stick lifted slightly from my grip, drawing in traces of ambient mana.
'Hm...'
Something felt subtly off. It worked fine, but output fell short of expectations. Aftereffect of brute-forcing out the old world, probably.
"Here."
No complaints—it hit the goal. I tossed the Warden Stick lightly; Durel caught it in a daze.
He stared at me, as if questioning what it signified in his grasp.
"Don't need it. You take it."
"B-But... Master, it's way too grand for the likes of me..."
"Just try it. Different from the original."
Overdid it—legs like jelly. But no showing weakness to Durel. Kid calls me Master; couldn't slump over now.
I righted a nearby toppled chair and perched lightly atop it.
"Th-This...?"
Durel, proper mage that he was, clocked the changes right away.
Talisman's gifted Warden Stick had generated new spells from a mage's mana input. Not anymore.
The inner world? Gone. In its place: a semi-permanent engine slurping endless natural mana.
Of that intake, it funneled everything minus maintenance straight to the user. Textbook Mana Circle function.
This one's wasn't far off.
"The mana..."
"Cuts out the bullshit middleman. Focus on casting pure magic."
Durel nodded, gripped the Warden Stick, and scowled. D hazy sword phantoms—dozens—shimmered into being around him.
Mere illusions, no substance. Still his current limit. He wiped them clean, then spoke in a quavering voice.
"What... what the hell did you do?"
"Nuked the world inside. Stuffed the gap with the magic I meant to teach. That's it."
"Doesn't sound casual... If it's real—which it is—Master's magic..."
"My magic?"
"Feels like... real 'magic'."
First time anyone sized up my spells. Odd sensation. Chest itching, lips twitching upward on their own.
"For someone as lacking as me... this gift... thank you so much. I'll never forget this debt..."
That thrilled? I watched wordlessly as Durel bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
Next morning at breakfast, Durel spoke up.
"Master, you should found a new school."
"A new school?"
"Yes. I was too inept to grasp it fully... but your magic diverges wildly from the norms. That liberated world alone..."
I shrugged off his words. Me founding a school, teaching my magic? Doubtful it'd produce mages who could actually wield it.
My magic sprang from past-life memories and values piled high. And how I cast? Damn near instinct.
'One or two spells, maybe...'
A handful? Craft matching Erkamon formulas and teach—that could work.
But spells born that way? Barely distinct from the old guard. Rigid. Unfree.
I craved the boundless freedom of infinite potential.
"The day you step up, the magic world changes forever. Starting with gutting that rotten academy..."
Mid-conversation over the meal, the first-floor inn door swung open. A familiar face poked in.
'Cardia?'
Yeah, Cardia. Spotting him tensed Durel too—he scowled, hand dipping into his robe as mana churned around him.
But Cardia wasn't here for a brawl. Casual clothes, no weapon belted on.
He saw us, flashed an awkward grin, and edged closer warily.
"Sorry about yesterday... Got the guild info you wanted. Mind if I sit?"
Not the errand-boy type. Guild must've dispatched him over yesterday's mess.
I nodded; Durel's mana flatlined instantly.