「Authority - ‘Drisella’s Origin Breath’ has been acquired.」
A strange sensation seeped into every part of his body.
The feeling of an almighty power taking root within him.
He felt it every time he gained an Authority, but this time, its depth was on an entirely different level.
“So this is how it works…….”
When an Authority was engraved into the body and soul, he could come to understand, at least roughly, what kind of ability it was and how it should be used.
He could not be completely certain, but it was the feeling of getting a general grasp.
And from that, he could tell.
Among the three choices, he had chosen properly.
- Well? Do you have a sense of what kind of ability it is?
“Roughly…… Though I’ll have to try using it first.”
- Of course. Naturally, you should test it. But why are you looking at me?
Startled by Hio’s gaze, Purnell backed away.
- Is it me again? Must you experiment on me?
Seeing Purnell wrap both arms around his own shoulders, Hio let out a faint chuckle.
“No. I don’t think it’s that kind of Authority.”
It was not an Authority meant to be tested on someone.
Origin Breath.
He had to interpret the meaning of origin.
Origin meant the beginning of something, or its source.
The beginning spoken of here was none other than magic.
After all, it was the Authority of the God of Magic.
Then what was the power contained in the word “origin”?
He would know soon enough once he cast it.
「Authority - ‘Origin Breath’ is activating.」
An almighty power spread through his entire body.
What began at the tips of his toes was a small storm of mana.
「The origin of magic dwells within your body.」
The violet storm of mana soon filled his body and surged all the way to his head.
When Hio opened his eyes anew, they were covered in violet light.
「‘Source of Mana’ has been acquired.」
「For the duration of the Authority, you possess authority over mana.」
A violet storm of mana raged within him.
His two eyes, covered in violet radiance, looked as though that very storm was pouring out through them.
He stretched one hand into the air and clenched it.
Crack—
A mass of mana responded to his will, gathering together and compressing into one.
It was not Hio’s mana, but the mana in the atmosphere.
At Hio’s command, such a vast quantity of it gathered together that the air itself seemed to warp visibly.
While maintaining it, he spun the staff in his other hand once in place.
Then the mana on the opposite side began to rotate accordingly.
The meaningfully gathered mana created wind, and the wind gathered to form a vortex.
The origin of magic began with freely handling mana.
To have obtained the source of mana meant that he could now create certain phenomena by moving only the natural mana in the atmosphere.
And if he had acquired the source, the next stage would now open.
「‘Understanding of Mana’ has been acquired.」
「For the duration of the Authority, you possess comprehension of all phenomena caused by mana.」
His vision underwent a drastic change.
The movements of mana, and the information they brought, poured into his mind.
It was no longer merely that he could see the flow of mana; he was beginning to understand it.
The immense power hidden within what seemed like a simple flow of mana.
Countless colors and endless possibilities.
He understood all of it.
And once understanding had been achieved, what followed along with it?
「You have understood ‘Drisella’s Breathing.’」
「For the duration of the Authority, you may use ‘Drisella’s Breathing.’」
This was the true ability of the Authority - ‘Drisella’s Origin Breath.’
He gained the source of mana.
And once he came to understand mana, he naturally came to know Drisella’s Breathing.
Only when even that was in place would the true Authority of Origin Breath reveal itself.
“Hoo.”
Every breath he exhaled became conscious.
What was released in his out-breath?
What entered with his in-breath?
He understood what part of mana was discarded in each everyday breath, in each small sigh he had lightly overlooked.
It was so vast that he did not even want to breathe out, and so he became able to hold on to mana and release only what was unnecessary.
And just how remarkable was the mana that came in with the breath he inhaled again?
It would be fine to savor it slowly, but there seemed to be no reason why he could not embrace, all at once, this mana overflowing with various colors.
And so, with a joyful heart, he took in a deep breath, and brilliantly colored, beautiful mana was endlessly drawn in through his nose and mouth.
The abundant mana filled his entire body to the point that he felt he might burst.
Overflowing omnipotence.
Limitlessness.
A feeling as though he could accomplish anything infinitely…… and for some reason, it felt somewhat familiar.
- W-what in the world is happening!
Of course, he also knew the phenomenon that would result from it.
Because he had already understood it.
- M-mana……!
Mana must have been raging to the point that it could not be controlled.
All mana moved with Hio at its center.
Since he was drawing in all the mana nearby, the wind blew, and anyone capable of sensing mana would surely be unable to hide their astonishment at the overwhelming flow of mana.
Just like Hio, when he first met Kreutzwald one day.
* * *
The Authority, Drisella’s Origin Breath, was truly the Authority of the God of Magic.
It was an Authority that allowed him to handle the mana in the atmosphere as if it were his own body, to understand everything that occurred through mana, and thereby to “breathe” with it.
The amount of time he could sustain it was roughly five minutes.
If the level of his body and soul rose further, the duration would increase along with it, but at present, five minutes was his limit.
That much time was enough to verify its effects.
And yet the reason it felt insufficient must have been the sense of exhaustion that came after the duration ended.
The source of almighty mana vanished from his body, and the violet radiance faded.
His mind and vision, which had seemed as if they could understand everything, returned to the perspective of a 7th Circle mage who had gained only an ordinary insight.
On top of that, the recoil from the breathing brought about a physical backlash as well.
In terms of aftereffects, it was several times worse than the Authority ‘Patience of Splendor.’
- Are you all right? Has something gone wrong with your body?
Purnell flew over, looking worriedly at Hio, who had collapsed onto the spot.
Hio stared blankly at him, then suddenly came to a realization.
“Ah, I should have done a magic experiment.”
While using Drisella’s Origin Breath, he could instantly understand every mana-related phenomenon.
What did that mean?
It meant that as long as he had the patterns prepared, he could learn every 6th Circle and 7th Circle spell he had yet to master.
There was no need to cling to a grimoire and struggle.
If he cast something even roughly similar just once, he would immediately know where the problem was and how he needed to correct it.
That was the kind of ability Understanding of Mana was.
“Even now…….”
Hio tried to rise to activate the Authority again, but he staggered and collapsed back down.
His head was spinning.
After awakening intent, he had thought there would be nothing that would overwork his mind this much, but an Authority based on understanding was clearly too much to bear.
- Do not overdo it. What is the rush? You can do it again tomorrow.
“……Yeah. There’s really no helping it this time.”
He would have tried if at all possible, but a second attempt was clearly impossible, so Hio had no choice but to give up quickly.
“Starting tomorrow…… I’m going to be insanely busy.”
Learning magic through the use of Origin Breath began in earnest the next day.
* * *
The ability to understand everything about mana phenomena was a frightening power.
「Earth attribute magic - ‘Earthbound Shackle’ has been successfully manifested.」
「Earth attribute magic - ‘Earthbound Shackle’ has been registered as a skill.」
He learned ‘Earthbound Shackle,’ a spell that dragged enemies into the earth and sealed them by crushing them beneath the immense weight of the ground.
「Fire attribute magic - ‘Immortal Flame’ has been successfully manifested.」
「Fire attribute magic - ‘Immortal Flame’ has been registered as a skill.」
He also learned ‘Immortal Flame,’ which wreathed the body in flames, burned away all impure energies, and increased vitality.
「Celestial magic - ‘Celestial Shield’ has been successfully manifested.」
「Celestial magic - ‘Celestial Shield’ has been registered as a skill.」
There was ‘Celestial Shield,’ which granted immense resistance against attacks caused by mana through a barrier of the heavens.
「Chronomancy - ‘Temporal Rift’ has been successfully manifested.」
「Chronomancy - ‘Temporal Rift’ has been registered as a skill.」
And he was even able to learn ‘Temporal Rift,’ one of the chronomancy spells, which completely froze the time around an opponent.
Considering that it had taken him two weeks to learn his first chronomancy spell, ‘Manipulation,’ this was a miraculous speed.
As expected, it was the power of the Authority, Drisella’s Origin Breath.
The most encouraging thing was that he had learned two chronomancy spells.
Manipulation, which controlled time to make it slower or faster.
Temporal Rift, which completely froze the time around a single target and removed them from battle.
The problem was that the mana required to sustain Temporal Rift was even greater than that required for Manipulation.
Temporal Rift had even more horrendous fuel efficiency than Manipulation, which had boasted an appalling cost that consumed thirty percent of his total mana during only a brief casting.
However, he had found a way to temporarily resolve that absurd drawback.
It was, as expected, a method using an Authority.
When he activated Drisella’s Origin Breath, was he not able to use Drisella’s Breathing?
For that moment, it would be fair to call his mana infinite.
After all, he could freely handle not only Hio’s own mana, but also the mana in the atmosphere.
Just like…… that time when he fought together with Kkingkkingi.
It felt similar to that time when he had fallen into a trance and unleashed infinite magic.
‘Come to think of it…….’
No wonder Drisella’s Breathing felt somehow familiar.
It was thanks to Kkingkkingi.
The Death God who, regardless of whether it was mana or anything else, had converted anything in the form of qi into mana and stamina and delivered it to Hio.
Perhaps Kkingkkingi’s perspective was similar to the way Hio looked at mana when he unleashed the Authority.
Was that why he had been able to handle such a vast amount of energy, even convert it, and deliver it to Hio?
Kkingkkingi might have been an even greater being than Hio had thought.
“Should I summon him for the first time in a while and ask…….”
He had completely forgotten about Kkingkkingi.
In truth, he had thought of him from time to time, but he had been so busy.
Because of the risk that all his skills would be sealed, he had not been able to pay attention to him.
Since it had been so long since he last summoned him, Kkingkkingi was sure to be full of spite.
“It can’t be helped. Until the next raid, I’ll leave my skills sealed for a while and just do magic research with Kkingkkingi.”
He had planned to shut himself in the Magic Tower and focus solely on magic research anyway, so it should be fine.
Muttering that to himself, he activated the skill.
「Skill - ‘Death God Summoning’ is activating.」
It was obvious how he would appear.
He would press a scythe to Hio’s throat with a terrifying face.
A scythe that would not even hurt if it touched him.
Still, if Hio coaxed him a little and said he was sorry, he would quickly turn into baby Kkingkkingi and become teary-eyed.
Then from now on, he would treat him a little better.
That was what he had thought.
However.
「Skill use has been canceled.」
Apparently, he was already too late.
「There is no available target to summon.」