I Will Sweep Them All Away
“Hmm. Master, isn’t that a bit of an overinterpretation? It’s not like my face got plastered across the front page just because I made it into the ‘Top 10 Most Promising Rookie Mages of the Year.’”
I said it as if it were no big deal—because it truly wasn’t.
“What are the odds that people who have nothing to do with me will even learn my name? They’re all busy enough with their own lives. They probably don’t care about strangers as much as you think.”
Natasha pounded her chest in frustration at my carefree rambling.
“Ugh, ugh! What if it really does get printed that big?”
“Pardon?”
She made a motion as if pulling something out of thin air, and a newspaper materialized in her hand.
“Look.”
I took the paper she offered and unfolded it. The Kingdom Times. Today’s edition from one of the kingdom’s top three major newspapers. The moment I saw the bold headline dominating the front page, I was startled.
[Top 10 Most Promising Rookie Mages of the Year]
“Chills. Why is this actually real? How did the title match exactly? What am I supposed to do about this insane foresight? I must have had a hidden talent for prophecy I didn’t even know about. With this level of precognition, I could probably make a living just by setting up a fortune-telling stall.”
Natasha, clearly not getting the reaction she expected, pressed her fingers to her temples as if she had a headache.
“I didn’t give it to you so you could marvel at it! That’s not the important part!”
Her brow furrowed so deeply that even a crumpled tin can might have looked less wrinkled. Worried that permanent creases would form on her otherwise flawless, milky skin, I felt a sudden sense of duty to protect her wrinkle-free complexion and began reading the article.
“……Juno, an apprentice mage of the Heavenly Moon Tower, has been selected for third place. The fifteen-year-old boy has recently drawn attention from the magical community after becoming the disciple of the Tower Master. He is known as the illegitimate son of a great noble house……a genius possessing unprecedented talent unseen in magical history……”
And so on. The “illegitimate son of a great noble” title had only been a rumor until now, but this made it official. Had they even done proper research? It was absurd, but I let it slide for the moment.
‘What about the photo?’
Next to the article, photographs of the ten selected young mages were lined up in order, printed in vivid full color. Among them was a strikingly handsome boy with an exceptionally beautiful face. The caption read “3rd Place,” so it was supposed to be me—though even I, with what little conscience I possessed, couldn’t bring myself to claim it was accurate. The real thing wasn’t that good-looking.
“Master, this looks like me.”
“It doesn’t just look like you. It is you.”
“Wow. It came out way better than the real thing. I thought it was an idol photoshoot.”
They say that sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. Conversely, sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from science. This world had magical tools capable of taking photographs, and apparently this one came equipped with an automatic beautification function that enhanced facial features like some kind of AI filter. Otherwise, there was no way an image this “manhua-level handsome” could have been produced.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh! This is not the time to be nitpicking about how handsome you look! The problem is that your face has become known to the public!”
“Master, who exactly are you? You are the lord of the kingdom’s greatest magic tower and one of the most powerful archmages alive. Once I became your disciple, becoming a public figure was inevitable. I might as well accept my fate.”
I had already prepared myself for this. I was used to the attention from the people of the Heavenly Moon Tower, so it didn’t feel particularly new. Even in my previous life, the movements of chaebol heirs or children of top-tier celebrities had always been matters of public interest. Natasha was a figure even the king couldn’t treat lightly—a hero-class existence. It was only natural that her disciple would appear in a major newspaper.
“Those who covet the First Light are vicious creatures who do not hesitate to kill or spill blood. They are demons who slaughter without mercy.”
“……”
“If it concerns the First Light, they will stop at nothing—resort to any means necessary—to dig up even the smallest clue. Countless people have died at the hands of their organization. Their corpses are found mutilated in horrific states, or they are kidnapped and subjected to every form of torture imaginable. They have massacred entire villages without hesitation, over and over again.”
“……”
“If the gold mine inside you is exposed, word of you will eventually reach their ears. Once that happens, it’s only a matter of time before you’re marked as a target.”
Natasha’s brow furrowed even deeper. I had wanted to protect her flawless skin from wrinkles, yet instead of smoothing out, they were evolving into deep canyons. She was genuinely worried about my safety.
“This body knows no fear. I have never been defeated, have triumphed in every battle great and small, and throughout history no one has been able to stand against me at the pinnacle of magic. However, there is one thing that terrifies me.”
“……”
“Losing you.”
A faint tremor passed through Natasha’s pale green eyes. The once straight and cheerful gaze wavered with waves of anxiety. If even Natasha, who had reached the realm of the archmage, could have her emotions shaken so openly, then absorbing the gold mine must have been far more dangerous than I had realized.
Still, even if I had known the danger, my choice would not have changed. But the decision Natasha had reached—one that made her speak the word “fear”—was different from mine.
“Then……does Master wish for me to give up the gold mine?”
“Yes. The amount you have absorbed is still small, so removal is possible. It is your power, so if you so desire, you can erase it yourself.”
“However, Master—”
“That power is still too vast for you to handle. Now is not the time. It would be proper to claim it only after you have grown further, mastered high-level magic, and established your own unique magical system.”
She was right. When it came to magic, she was the greatest expert alive, with over four hundred years of accumulated experience. Her wisdom, looking down upon the whole, far surpassed mine. Every matter had its proper timing, and I agreed with her in principle.
‘But.’
I summoned the golden power. A beautiful golden radiance danced above my palm. At once, the Seven-Colored Stone flashed. The rainbow-hued flow that had been moving like thick blood suddenly churned violently, like a raging storm. It seemed to recognize that what rested on my palm was the gold mine. It looked like a mother who had lost her child long ago and could not contain her overwhelming emotions upon finally meeting again.
‘Can I really give up this light?’
I asked myself. In truth, it was a question I had already answered before asking. Honestly, I didn’t want to give it up. My mind agreed with Natasha’s opinion, but my heart rejected it. What if I removed the gold mine and could never obtain it again? What if I could never reclaim this light for the rest of my life? Those questions clung to my ankles. A bad premonition kept rising—that if I erased the gold mine from my body, I would never be able to absorb it a second time.
“You would be the first in the entire history of magic to absorb the gold mine from the Layer. Even I could not do it.”
“Pardon?”
It was shocking. That I was the only one. Did that mean Natasha had tried and failed? How had something impossible for her become possible for me?
“After learning that the light of the Layer was the gold mine, I attempted to absorb it. I conducted experiments under various conditions, adjusting variables, yet I never succeeded. So I reached a conclusion: the gold mine of the Layer cannot be absorbed.”
“Then how was I able to absorb it? I simply thought that since the Jin race uses something called Spiritual Qi, perhaps I could use the light of the Layer in a similar way……and tried it……”
“It happened on its own?”
“Yes.”
“It is because your soul is special. If you analyze the hieroglyphs describing the legend of the gold mine, there is a phrase: ‘It awaits a noble soul.’”
“……”
“Judging from that expression, there exists a special soul that is compatible with the gold mine, and only those who possess such a soul have the qualification and authority to extract the light from the Layer.”
A special soul? ‘Could it be because I’m a reincarnator?’ The most distinguishing trait I could think of was that I had been reborn from another world. I hadn’t told Natasha, but that seemed to be the answer. If my soul had crossed over from Earth intact, then its nature and origin would indeed be different from everyone else’s.
“Haa. To come up with such an idea just from seeing the Jin race’s energy……having a disciple with too much talent is also a problem.”
Natasha swept her bangs back with a deep sigh.
“That is precisely why I am even more worried. If they learn that your soul is special, they will surely try to harm you even more in order to steal it.”
“……”
“Moreover, you also possess the White Light. To them, you would be the ultimate prey.”
Natasha’s gaze indicated my chest.
“I mean the white orb you carry. The light contained within that orb is the White Light.”
The white orb I kept carefully tucked inside my robes. The item I had obtained by killing the king. It seemed Natasha possessed the ability to see through things. Even though I had never mentioned the orb to her, she could perceive its existence just by looking. I withdrew the gold mine from my palm and took out the orb from my robes to examine it. The pure white light emanating from it. The White Light.
‘Come to think of it, the king said something like that.’
—Only those who possess a “power of light” of the same origin as the White Light are qualified to enter the royal palace.
It meant that the White Light and the source of light within me were the same. I hadn’t understood it at the time. Now I did.
‘The White Light and the gold mine. Both originated from the First Light!’
Natasha had every reason to be concerned. A mere lower-class mage like me now possessed two of the seven scattered fragments of the First Light. Even possessing one would be enough to turn the academic world upside down. Having two meant the weight of the danger had doubled. And Natasha’s current stance was clear: I had to completely distance myself from both the White Light and the gold mine.
“I understand why you’re worried, Master, but I don’t want to let go of these powers.”
I had made my decision. For the first time, I would go against my master’s wishes. Just this once, I would be a disobedient disciple.
“You really……to the very end……!”
“I just need to become strong enough to protect my power and myself. I promise, Master.”
“Why would you abandon the easy path and throw yourself onto a thorny one? Great power always comes with blood trailing behind it like a shadow!”
“Every matter has its price. If the price of possessing the First Light is blood, then I will gladly pay it with joy.”
“Is stubbornness proportional to talent? My own master must have felt this way whenever I was being obstinate!”
Natasha poured her heart into persuading me, even to the point of clutching her head, but in the end she could not break the will of her contrarian disciple. To her, it might have seemed like the reckless confidence or childish stubbornness of a young boy, but I had not made the decision lightly. It was a choice made after deeply considering the weight and importance of these lights. And I was someone who kept my promises. No matter what happened, I would fulfill the words I had spoken.
‘I will definitely become stronger.’
The thing Natasha feared would never come to pass. I would make sure of it. Whether they were after my power or my soul—if anyone tried to harm me from now on, I would sweep them all away.