Chapter 106: A New Chapter
Chapter 106: A New Chapter
Originally, magic in this world wasn’t used in the formalized way it is today.
It was simply a matter of a few special individuals, born with the innate ability to feel and manipulate mana, using it intuitively.
Diana had been one of those who used magic by instinct.
But her insatiable curiosity led her to wonder about the principles behind how magic worked—a question no one had ever bothered to ask.
So, Diana began holding regular meetings with a few like-minded individuals to study the principles of magic.
That gathering was the precursor to the Mage Association.
As Diana began to analyze and establish the principles of magical invocation, more and more people joined her cause.
Accordingly, what had started as a small group of mages gradually expanded in scale, eventually becoming an organization known as the Mage Association.
Even then, however, the Mage Association was more like a scholarly society where mages gathered to discuss and research magic.
As time passed, the mages who had studied alongside Diana began to succumb to their natural lifespans, one by one.
In the end, Diana, who had been born with the innate ability to use reincarnation magic, was the only founding member of the Mage Association left.
That was when the atmosphere of the Mage Association began to change.
It shifted from a society where members discussed things as equals to something more like a school, where Diana passed down magical theory to other mages.
Of course, the other mages continued to discuss and research among themselves as before, but Diana had been placed in the unilateral position of a teacher.
But that was fine.
Teaching her students and answering their questions gave Diana new insights, and she still had plenty of time for her own research.
Meanwhile, the system of magic that Diana had established spread further and further.
Eventually, the Mage Association grew into an unprecedentedly massive organization, to which every mage in the world belonged.
It goes without saying that the reputation of Diana, its founder and the architect of the entire modern system of magic, soared to unimaginable heights.
But as its scale grew too large, a problem arose.
The influence wielded by the Mage Association had become so immense that it could, quite literally, unify the continent.
Various nations began to view the Mage Association as a threat, and signs of a looming, worldwide suppression of mages began to appear.
But at that moment, Diana took a drastic measure.
She decided to split the Mage Association into several different schools of thought and step down from her position as its head.
Truth be told, Diana was a little exhausted by then.
The Association’s growth had already increased her workload, and her time for magical research was steadily dwindling.
When various nations began to see the Association as a threat, she saw it as a perfect opportunity to split it up and walk away.
While each of the splintered schools still held considerable influence, none were powerful enough to threaten a nation on their own.
Of course, as long as Diana, their focal point, existed, the Association could always reunite.
The various nations were still anxious, but they couldn't show it.
For one, Diana's actions had proven she had no lust for power. More importantly, if they rashly threatened her, the Mage Association might truly unite and overthrow their nations, and that would be irreversible.
In the end, by relinquishing the immense power she held, Diana became the mage who protected all other mages, and her fame grew even greater.
Among mages, in particular, Diana came to possess a status akin to that of a god.
It seemed as though Diana’s life would finally stabilize.
For the first few years, she was able to relax, freely immersing herself in magical research once more.
She lived a leisurely life, occasionally visiting one of the Association’s branches to teach magic whenever she felt like it.
But the problem was that Diana, who now held god-like status among mages, would only occasionally visit a single location.
Diana was simply going wherever she pleased, but the mages believed she visited a particular school because it was showing the most outstanding results.
Competition among the schools began to heat up, and they started resorting to any means necessary to bring Diana to their own school.
Realizing what was happening, Diana hastily visited every school and declared that any research into magic that abandoned morality would be treated as heresy. This calmed the situation somewhat.
However, the rifts that had formed between the schools did not heal, and the subtle war to host Diana at their school for even a little longer continued.
Moreover, this time, Diana’s personal time vanished completely as she had to constantly travel between the various schools.
She could have simply stopped going, but the Association, which had by now become a gathering of her fanatical followers, would have raised hell.
Diana, with her diligent nature, couldn't bring herself to ignore them, especially since she felt both an attachment to and a sense of responsibility for the organization she had created.
And so, her life of traveling between the different schools continued, with her personal time completely gone.
Then, not long before she met me, Diana finally couldn't take it anymore and vanished without a trace.
Naturally, the Mage Association—a club of Diana’s fanboys and fangirls—was thrown into chaos. For the first time in a long while, all the schools joined forces, pouring all their efforts into finding her.
But no one could find a trace of Diana, who had disappeared with clear intent, and time simply passed.
Then, yesterday, Diana created a clan and revealed herself at the Guild, and her location became known once more.
The Mage Association, of course, sent people immediately.
The individuals who came to the mansion were representatives from different schools.
That was the story of the relationship between Diana and the Mage Association, as told by Vanessa.
…That was seriously long.
I mean, she did say she had nothing but time, but still.
Just how long was she talking?
“But they were all from different schools? For a bunch of rivals, that hip-hopper guy was the only one talking.”
“The hip-hopper, you say?”
“Yeah, that loudmouth.”
“Their primary objective, for now, is to bring Lady Diana back to the Association. The matter of which school will host her first is a problem for later. Since their opinions aligned, they likely decided that having everyone clamor at once would only displease Lady Diana, so they consolidated the right to speak to one person. Among them, that man was the most powerful mage.”
Still, though. Weren’t they supposed to be fiercely competitive? Could they really unify their opinions that easily?
“Wait. Then isn’t there a chance they won’t let Diana come back?”
“They will likely cling to her desperately.”
“Ugh! If you knew that, why did you just let Diana go? It was obvious she didn’t want to, wasn’t it?”
I’d think this super-butler could fend off a few mages like them on her own.
“No matter how much they plead, if Lady Diana gives them a firm refusal, they will be left with no choice. Ultimately, it is a matter for Lady Diana to decide.”
Damn it. So in the end, a butler is a passive being.
After hearing the full explanation, Guwon had an uneasy feeling that Diana might not come back today.
No, it was already late enough to be called night.
Isn’t it strange that she’s still not back?
“This won’t do. Vanessa, do you know exactly where Diana went?”
“The Mage Tower. Due to the unique nature of this dungeon city, the branches of all the schools are gathered in a single Mage Tower.”
I see. So that’s why they were able to agree so easily.
“Alright. We’re storming the place right now. Prepare a carriage.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. When I say I’ll do something, I do it.”
Vanessa gazed steadily into Guwon’s eyes.
Wh-what’s with the sudden stare? Are you refusing?
“I will prepare it at once.”
After a brief moment of staring at each other, Vanessa replied and went outside.
As she turned, the corners of her mouth seemed to be curved into a faint, indiscernible smile.
*
Taking the carriage, Guwon arrived at the Mage Tower in no time.
He was here, but now that he’d arrived, he was at a loss as to what he should say to storm the place.
Ah, screw it. First, a frontal assault.
He expected to see guards or something at the entrance, but surprisingly, there was no one in sight.
“Attend me!”
Left with no other choice, Guwon shouted at the top of his lungs.
“…The hell are you?”
A moment later, a mage appeared, his face a mask of profound irritation.
“I am the leader of the Saviors!”
“What? What the hell is that?”
…Well, it was a clan made yesterday, so that was a natural reaction.
But still, shouldn’t a mage, of all people, know better?
“And you call yourself a mage? To not even know the name of the clan to which the Supreme Mage belongs.”
“Ah, from there… What? The leader? So you’re that outsider bastard who seduced Teluna-nim? Just as I heard, you’re nothing but a pretty face.”
The moment the man identified Guwon, he bared his teeth.
It seemed that information about Guwon had already spread to some extent within the Mage Tower.
“Hmph. I am rather handsome, aren’t I?”
Every time he was called handsome, a thrilling sensation coursed through his body.
It was a good thing I put so much effort into character customization. No matter how many times I feel it, it’s always a new sensation.
As expected, being handsome is the best.
“That wasn’t a compliment! What business does the leader of that clan have here?”
“What business? I’m here to get back our clan member you people kidnapped, of course.”
“…Get lost!”
The mage, after a moment of pondering the meaning of his words, immediately understood and tried to slam the door shut.
But Guwon was a little faster.
“Hold on. You can’t just take our clan member and then act like this.”
“Y-you bastard…!”
The mage desperately tried to close the door, but he was just one of those guys who sat around researching and shooting off spells. He was no match for Guwon’s strength.
“If it’s come to this…! Take this!”
The mage let go of the door and immediately began to chant a spell.
But once again, Guwon’s reaction was faster.
“No, you take this.”
Guwon lightly struck the mage’s abdomen with a fist wreathed in the Saint’s Touch.
The reason Guwon had so confidently stormed in alone wasn’t because he was thoughtless.
It was because he believed that in a place filled exclusively with mages, he could handle it on his own.
The basis for this was something Diana had said in the dungeon not long ago.
She’d said he’d easily beaten the Orc Shaman because he had a type advantage.
The Saint’s Touch prevented the shaman from properly casting its spells.
That logic applied not just to Orc Shamans, but to all mages.
What mage in the world could properly chant a spell while feeling the pleasure Guwon could inflict?
It might be a different story if their level difference was so vast that his skills didn’t work at all, like with the pre-reincarnation Diana.
In other words, as long as Guwon could get close, he could easily neutralize any mage.
“Ughiiit!”
Just as Guwon expected, the mage’s chanting was cut off, and he crumpled to the ground.
Ugh. The moan of a grimy bastard.
What is this sudden assault on my eardrums?
Annoyed, Guwon resisted the urge to hit him for real.
Still, Diana probably wasn’t entirely without affection for the Mage Association. There was no need to cause any more trouble than necessary.
Although, storming the place was already plenty of trouble, but this much was unavoidable.
He couldn’t just let them take Diana without a fight.
“Just take a little nap.”
Guwon threw a few more light punches, knocking the mage unconscious.
“Ahhit! Hiit! Uhek!”
The unconscious man’s expression looked peaceful, as if he’d just returned from heaven.
Even though the crotch of his pants was darkly soaked, which must have been quite uncomfortable.
“…Why did you resort to such a method instead of knocking him out in one blow?”
Vanessa, who had been following quietly behind him, asked in a slightly disgusted voice.
“I don’t know where, how, or with what force to hit someone to knock them out.”
My strength stat was already ridiculously high. If I misjudged my power against this flimsy-looking mage and accidentally killed him, it would be a huge problem.
It’s not like I enjoy hearing some dude’s moans.
This was just a necessary procedure to minimize casualties.
Guwon put on a determined expression and stepped into the Mage Tower.