Chapter 4. Ruins of the Dead God (1)
Chapter 4. Ruins of the Dead God (1)
Thud. Thud.
I climbed the mountain behind the grand mansion. Despite being the North, where a brutal cold raged, the Karsen estate maintained a warm spring-like climate. That was entirely thanks to my mother. After all, she had been an Archmage.
Anyway. Thanks to that, climbing the mountain wasn't too difficult.
"Here it is."
A mist-type barrier was spread across the back mountain, one that only those of Karsen blood could enter. There were rumors that anyone not of the bloodline who entered this mist would come out as a skeleton—that was how powerful the barrier was.
Of course, I was the third son of the Karsen family. The mist willingly opened a path for me.
Swoooosh—
I followed the mist's guidance up the mountain. After walking for a long time, I reached a certain mountainside untouched by human footsteps.
"Here."
I stopped before a stone door engraved with mysterious patterns. This was today's destination. I grabbed the edges of the stone door with both hands and pushed with all my strength.
Rumble—
The stone door opened.
A staircase leading underground appeared.
Whoosh—
I lit a torch to illuminate the dark stairs and descended for a long time. It was so deep that I wondered if such a vast space could truly exist beneath the mansion.
'In my past life, I didn't even know this place existed.'
The ruins of the ancient god Lumen. I had known of this place's existence, but I hadn't known what it was used for. Perhaps my father didn't know either? I only learned of this place thanks to a certain 'eccentric.'
Before my regression, after joining the Resistance, I met countless eccentrics. It was as if the Resistance had an unusually high concentration of them. I sometimes wondered—was the Resistance formed by the surviving eccentrics who gathered after the world ended?
Perhaps. All the heroes who went to the frontlines had died, and the twisted, bizarre things that had been hiding in the shadows were drawn to each other.
Anyway. Among them, there was a ruin scholar notorious for being a particularly extreme eccentric: Lorenzo, the Ruin Maniac. If not for him, neither the existence of this place nor the regression through the pillar would have been possible.
'I wonder where he is and what he's doing now.'
I continued descending, cutting through the darkness and silence. This time, a labyrinthine path appeared.
I walked through the maze for a long time again. The underground ruins were so vast that I couldn't even begin to gauge their size.
As I walked, I couldn't help but think, 'Is this a ruin or an ant colony?'
Anyway, after winding through the paths, I eventually arrived at a massive cavern. With only the torchlight illuminating my immediate surroundings, I couldn't see the full extent, but the echo of my footsteps told me the cavern was enormous.
I walked for a long time, shining the torch on the walls, until I found a small crevice in the stone surface. Finally.
"The place where the dragon vein sleeps."
'The Fire-Ice Dragon Dungeon must be here too.'
I calmed my pounding heart. Getting excited would only ruin things. I shook off distracting thoughts, steadied my mind and body, and took out the sulfur and oil.
"Huff."
I stuffed sulfur into the crevice, then poured oil in with a gurgle. After moving a little distance away, I threw the torch.
WHOOOOSH!
The sulfur, oil, and fire met, and a massive flame exploded with a thunderous roar, blazing up.
Whoosh—
The light and heat were incomparably more intense than a mere torch. I felt it all with my entire body and slumped to the ground. The myth of the pillar had been correct, so this would be correct too. No doubting. If I was going to believe, I had to believe in everything.
The flame, fueled by the oil, continued to burn. Blazing. But then, at some point—
Whoosh—Hisssss—Click.
The flame went out.
Complete darkness settled over the cavern.
I closed my eyes and spoke clearly.
"O being who defied time.
Descend deep into the earth.
Raise a toast to the Flame Dragon Vein.
Fill your belly with the endlessly expanding flame.
Follow the Archmage's footsteps.
Catch a glimpse of the world's memory.
Become the light of the world."
The incantation echoed through the cavern.
Sure enough.
A crimson magic circle rose from the floor.
Ziiing—
A crimson light burst forth, splitting the darkness.
The ground began to bubble and boil.
I didn't think, 'I knew it.' I had believed it would happen. But even so—
'...Urgh.'
It was hot. Unbearably so. Even though it was only Flame Realm mana, not actual fire, the heat felt like real flames. My skin was parched and drying out.
'One wrong move and I'll burn to death.'
Thump— Thump—
My heart pounded wildly.
But.
"Come."
I didn't resist.
Instead, I welcomed it with my entire body.
Swooop—
Hooooo—
I drew the flame mana deep into my lungs, then slowly released it. Like a blacksmith forging pure iron through quenching, I combined the inhales and exhales to build pure mana.
The Flame Dragon Vein was composed of extremely pure mana, so with each breath, an immense amount accumulated.
Ssssshh—
The flame mana that built up with each breath moved from my lungs to my heart. Thump, thump. Following my heartbeat, it flowed through my blood vessels and spread throughout my entire body.
From the major arteries to the capillaries, to my fingertips and toes, every single cell began to fill with flame mana.
It was no longer hot. I wasn't burned. The Flame Realm mana approached me gently, like a mother caressing her child. It was warm like spring sunlight, and vitality surged through my body.
A being beloved by Flame Realm mana.
Before my regression, I hadn't known this. So I had tried to forcibly cram in the North's cold mana, but not anymore.
I clearly understood what I possessed.
A great family of the North.
The blessing of Flame Realm mana.
The talent of a mage.
I would use all of these.
And I would become an unprecedented Flame Realm Archmage.
No, I had to.
'Now is the time.'
I began to control the rampant mana, like a raging bull, to become a mage. The controlled mana was refined into 'magical power.' I would now accumulate this magical power near my heart so I could use it at any time.
'Revolve!'
I projected my will onto the magical power, which felt like an extension of my limbs.
Spin— Spin—
The crimson mana began to revolve, enveloping my heart. If I made a mistake, my heart could burn to a crisp, so I focused every nerve. Turn. Connect. Without any loss of power. Become complete.
I don't have time. I can't afford to spend a long time like others do. I take in a massive amount all at once and make it perfect. It's a crazy method that could kill me if I slip up, but I can do it.
How much time passed?
Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. Cold sweat trickled down my back. But soon, the revolving mana linked tail to tail, forming a perfect circle, and a single star rose above it.
—Ping!
A star had risen above the ring.
At last, a complete Holy Wheel.
"Haah... haah... haah."
Finally.
I had become a 1-Star Mage.
"I... I did it."
I clenched my fist. A Holy Wheel formed incomparably faster than in my previous life. A thrill of ecstasy curled the corners of my mouth.
Of course, I had no time to bask in the achievement.
Before my regression, I had confirmed that I was more suited to being a mage than a warrior. The third son of the North's premier swordsmanship family having the aptitude of a mage—how ironic. But it wouldn't show on the outside.
After all, I had no intention of abandoning swordsmanship entirely just because I could use magic.
Next, I focused on the area below my navel.
My core.
It was no longer the old core that had been forcibly stuffed with the North's cold mana.
The cold wind drained out, replaced by searing heat.
I would become a Flame Magic Swordsman in this land of freezing cold.
Like a single blossom of flame in the frozen North.
Explode! My talent!
Several hours passed as I absorbed the Flame Dragon Vein in the massive underground cavern. I had formed a Holy Wheel in my heart and filled my core with a fair amount of Flame Realm mana.
I wished I could keep doing this forever, but—
"Ughack!"
A stench that stabbed my nostrils made me retch. I felt like I was genuinely about to vomit. It smelled almost like I had fallen into a cesspool. That was because the magical power circulating through my blood vessels was cleaning out waste and expelling it from my body.
'Damn it. This happened before my regression too.'
Still, this was too much. Back then, I had been wandering hungry and hadn't eaten properly, so it wasn't this bad. But at this point in time, I had been eating nothing but junk, so the smell was indescribably foul.
"...Urp!"
The stench was dizzying even with a single breath.
If I smelled it any longer, I might pass out.
"Guess I'll head back."
I needed to go back and wash. It came from my own body, but enduring this nauseating smell was impossible. I patted off my seat and stood up.
And with that, the seething Flame Dragon Vein quietly fell asleep, and the underground cavern was once again submerged in darkness.
A pitch-black darkness untouched by a single ray of light. I couldn't see even an inch ahead, but that wasn't a problem. I was now a Flame Mage. The me from a few hours ago and the me now were completely different living beings.
Ssssh—
I drew magical power from the Holy Wheel wrapped around my heart. The magical power that flowed out of my body gathered in the air before me. When the suppressed magical power reached a critical point, I murmured softly.
"Ignite."
Whoosh—
A flame bloomed in the air.
The formal magic [Fire Ball].
Formal magic is the product of contracts that mages made with the world in the distant past. A 'standardized power' that anyone can use with the same force by injecting magical power according to a fixed formula.
And formal magic is graded according to the number of stars. [Fire Ball] is a 1-Star spell.
A typical [Fire Ball] condenses flame in the hand and shoots it in one direction, but I could modify it and use it in my own way.
Like floating it in the air like this, or connecting it to the Holy Wheel and floating it like a will-o'-the-wisp... My old comrades couldn't hide their shock when they saw this.
I wasn't holding a torch, yet my surroundings were bright. Both my hands were free. I slung my empty bag over my shoulder, having used up all the sulfur and oil.
"Before I go."
Whoosh—
I burned all the waste pooled on the floor. I left the ruins and returned to my room. I stripped off my clothes, washed them, hung them to dry, and bathed myself.
Once I washed off the disgusting smell, I felt somewhat alive. I dried off, changed into comfortable clothes, and sat on the bed.
I focused all my senses on the Holy Wheel revolving in my heart.
'Hmm.'
The magical power contained in the Holy Wheel was purer than ever. Even when I trained in the South before my regression, I refined it for quite a while, but it wasn't this good.
'Amazing.'
The star floating on the ring too.
It seemed to shine even brighter than before my regression.
But.
The knowledge of the future.
The tens of billions of monsters.
The overwhelming Demon King's army.
The might of the Dragon of Annihilation.
They kept planting anxiety in me.
My mouth went dry just thinking about them.
Even though I had built up extremely pure magical power at a point much earlier than before my regression, my heart was uneasy.
This anxiety wouldn't stop until I killed the Demon King with my own hands.
Thump.
I lay down on the bed.
I forced myself to sleep.
The next morning. Before the sun had even risen. I woke up earlier than anyone, changed my clothes, and climbed the back mountain of the estate. I found the ruins, opened them, and descended the stairs.
No torch this time.
I could just create fire.
Whoosh—
I floated a flame in the air and walked. When I reached the underground cavern, I found the crevice and poured fire into it. After consuming a certain amount of magical power, I sat cross-legged.
Sizzle. The magic circle rose again, and the Flame Dragon Vein began to boil.
Swooop—
Hooooo—
I steadied my breathing and focused on the Holy Wheel and my core.
The Flame Realm mana absorbed from the Flame Dragon Vein was pure and vibrant. Thanks to that, my core came alive, and the magical power refined from the core strengthened my body.
When I had absorbed the North's cold mana, it had shriveled and whimpered, but now it was dancing with joy.
I stood up and kicked off the ground.
Thump. My body soared into the air with the sound.
"...Oh."
I must have jumped about three meters off the ground. I reinforced my legs with magical power and landed lightly, then sprinted forward.
Pitter-patter-patter!
I was so fast that it felt like I was riding a horse. Plus, the [Fire Ball] followed beside me, lighting the way. I felt like a solar chariot racing through the darkness.
"Whoa."
Sweat poured like rain.
But I was more than satisfied.
A warrior's core strengthens the body. More precisely, the magical power packed into the core enhances physical abilities. Once the refinement of magical power surpasses a certain level, it can strengthen not only the body but also weapons.
And if you go one step further, you can wrap your weapon in 'aura.'
"It's not for nothing that the minimum requirement for a knight is to be an aura user."
Once you can handle aura, your physical abilities are already on a completely different level from ordinary soldiers.
Two months remained until the Golden Star Tournament.
The ones I had to defeat were knights.
At this point in time, they were all monsters.
But then.
"Was it this Golden Star Tournament where those bastards pulled their tricks?"
The traitors who betrayed humanity and sided with the demon race. They were spread like germs throughout human society.
And.
Because of them, the one who should have won was eliminated, and their puppet entered the Platinum Knight Order.
"It won't end like that this time."