Getting from the imperial capital to Duberra Village in the south was by no means an easy task.
Even traveling by carriage would barely suffice; moving while avoiding people’s eyes demanded a great deal of stamina.
Still, there was no worry that the eye-catching silver hair of the imperial princess, Sylvia, would give her away.
It was thanks to the artifact mask covering her eyes, which distorted her appearance.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
Only a single knight remained at Sylvia’s side.
The knight, Teordo.
Sylvia’s guardian knight, and a hidden powerhouse who had refused the Royal Knights and remained to the very end as the imperial princess’s escort.
“I told you to call me miss for now, Teordo.”
“…Yes. Miss.”
“We’re almost there, so I’m fine. We’ll arrive if we go just a little farther, right? At Duberra Village.”
“Yes. We should arrive soon.”
Imperial Princess Sylvia Verden.
In the world of Ventair, she was the ill-fated princess who was murdered the moment the war of imperial succession began.
Because the struggle for the throne began under the pretext that the crown prince had murdered the princess, her death was called the signal flare of war.
And yet she was alive and well now.
Sirbert had decided to save the princess, and so it had come to pass.
“I… to be honest, I cannot trust that professor.”
Not only Teordo—who could possibly trust him?
The imperial palace they had escaped from far too easily, as though he had planned it long ago.
The plans for what came next, flowing so smoothly from his lips.
“It is suspicious because it sounds too plausible. Does it not align with much of what you had in mind, miss?”
Caught between the two princes, Sylvia had never intended to simply suffer like a fool.
However, by the time she could read the political situation and respond, the forces of the two princes had already grown far too vast.
So she had held her breath and prepared in secret from behind the scenes.
As if she had no interest whatsoever in the throne.
As if she knew nothing about expanding her power.
But the emperor’s death had been far too sudden, and the crown prince and the second prince had moved to seize the imperial palace with swiftness that made it seem as though they had been waiting for that very moment.
Two enormous forces rose up before Sylvia, who had been moving cautiously behind the scenes, could do anything.
The future before Sylvia, trapped between them, had been utterly dark… until Sirbert appeared and opened a single path of survival for her.
By speaking of a plan strikingly similar to the one Sylvia had been carefully preparing.
“I feel the same. But it is true that we received his help, and it is also true that his plan is worth attempting. Whatever schemes he may be hiding inside, for now, joining hands with him is the right choice.”
“Yes. Miss.”
Teordo’s expression as he answered remained as blunt as ever, but Sylvia, who had watched him for a long time, could tell.
The worry and faint unease contained within.
Teordo simply could not understand it.
When even moving quickly according to that plan would not be enough, why did they have to come all the way to a small southern village like this to find a single person?
Especially when the two imperial princes were searching for Sylvia with bloodshot eyes.
Reading Teordo’s concern, Sylvia showed a faint smile.
Even with the mask covering her eyes, a fresh smile shone through.
“Do not worry, Teordo. I need only see with my own eyes and judge what sort of person the one we are about to meet truly is.”
At Sylvia’s words, Teordo looked at her for a moment.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“Of course.”
“What was that professor like? In your eyes, miss.”
“The professor… the professor, you say.”
Sylvia recalled the day she first met Sirbert.
Sirbert, as seen through her special eyes, had been—
“Empty.”
He had been empty.
Like a doll whose soul had slipped away.
“I see… Just what are those empty bastards…?”
“We will have to uncover that someday.”
“If that professor is like that, then would the person we are on our way to meet not be someone similar?”
“Who knows…”
Sylvia lightly shook her head from side to side.
Her silver hair softly swayed with the motion.
And her eyes, the same silver as that hair.
“I need only meet him and look into him myself.”
Those eyes were eyes that pierced through the essence of life.
The eyes of one who looked into souls.
“There is Duberra Village, miss.”
A flash of ashen gray seemed to pass through Sylvia’s silver eyes as she looked at the village.
* * *
—Is your heart made of steel or something? Just how long did you think your heart would hold out!
After coming to my senses and getting thoroughly scolded by Purnell, I felt my stamina returning somewhat.
—Of course, inscribing it on the heart is the fastest and most effective way, but… good grief, man. If it hurt, you should have thought something was wrong. And what? You made the 1st Circle in a single day? My word…
Purnell grimaced as hard as he could, as if his head were throbbing.
As if he even had a head to throb…
No, and besides, how was I supposed to know without something to compare it to?
I only did it because it worked, so why am I being scolded…?
I grumbled timidly to myself, but it had no particular effect.
—Now, before you raise your circle, you must first understand the patterns. I’m saying you need to know exactly what role each pattern serves. Not just ram them into your heart like an ignoramus.
Purnell’s lecture on patterns sank right into my head.
—When you use mana, your circle empties, yes? These patterns serve to refill the circle by the amount of mana that has been depleted. They draw in mana, compress it, and guide it into the circle. Of course, it’s not as good as doing it yourself, but the reason your circle fills with mana even when you stay still is because of these patterns.
This was also why the 2nd Circle required so many patterns.
With each rise in circle, the mana capacity increased drastically.
In order to keep filling the mana that had grown significantly compared to the previous circle, the power of that many patterns was necessary.
—And that is not all. As your circle rises, the magic you use also becomes more varied and more powerful, so higher-grade spells are sometimes created by dozens of patterns exerting their power at once.
That was why, starting from the 3rd Circle, the number of patterns one had to inscribe apparently exceeded one hundred.
If I had challenged the 3rd Circle without meeting Purnell… wouldn’t my heart have burst and killed me?
—And to cross the walls beyond the 5th Circle into the 6th Circle, where one is called a mage, and the 7th Circle, where one is called an archmage, merely stuffing in patterns will not suffice. Enlightenment is necessary. That is why you must know the meaning of each and every pattern.
“What circle were you when you were alive?”
—That is a secret.
“…Weren’t you about the same as me?”
At Hio’s plausible guess, Purnell swelled up his body in indignation.
—What utter nonsense! And in the first place, circles are not overwhelmingly important for a necromancer. What matters most is how many powerful undead you possess.
“…Really?”
—Of course! Though circles are important too! Ahem. Enough idle chatter; let’s hurry and make your second circle. You need to grow stronger quickly so I can take a look around the Magic Tower as well.
“I guess being a ghost doesn’t mean you can go into every room?”
—Most of the rooms were locked. The other floors are still sufficiently worthy of research, so that is fine, but it seems I have no choice but to move to the important rooms through portals together with you.
As expected, it seemed that even if he could pass through walls, he could not freely go to every floor.
Well, thanks to that, our goals had become one and the same, so that was good.
—In any case, listen carefully. Patterns are inscribed not on the heart, but on the circle. As for the patterns already inscribed on your heart, there is nothing to be done about those.
“Inscribed on the circle?”
—Correct. That is why, in order to rise to the realm of the 1st Circle when one has no circle at all, the help of a teacher is essential… but you solved that difficulty by ignorantly ramming them into your heart, didn’t you?
“How do you inscribe them on the circle?”
—You must bind patterns to other patterns. First, it is standard practice to bind together the basic patterns that form a circle.
First, gather together the patterns that keep mana from scattering and allow it to maintain its form.
Then inscribe that directly above the first circle.
In that way, one maintains the basic frame of the second circle and inscribes the remaining patterns there.
—The difficulty will be far greater than inscribing them on the heart, but the safety is incomparable. Set aside your impatience. This is not something you can simply finish overnight as you did when inscribing them on your heart—
“…”
—Why are you staring blankly like that? Do you have no sense of it at all?
At Purnell’s words, Hio merely stared into empty space with an extremely uncomfortable expression.
Seeing that, Purnell nodded as if he understood.
—It must feel daunting. Even making a single pattern… no, even controlling mana so delicately cannot be easy, yet you are being told to make several patterns at once and inscribe them. I fully understand how you feel. Now, I will help you, so let us proceed step by step.
“No, that’s not it…”
Hio opened his mouth with a bewildered expression.
“It worked.”
—…Hm? What worked?
“The 2nd Circle.”
What Hio had been staring at so intently was—
「You have succeeded in creating a circle.」
「The stat ‘Mana’ increases by +25.」
A message stating that he had succeeded in creating a circle.
Creating patterns with mana,
then binding and inscribing them—for a genius of mana sensitivity, that much was far too easy.
That was why it felt even more uncomfortable.
Compared to inscribing them on his heart, enduring agony, crying and sniffling until everything came out, and even getting a nosebleed, this had been far too simple.
That was why his expression looked so uncomfortable.
“It’s fucking easy.”
And Purnell—
—…What did you say?
Could not believe this reality.
* * *
「The confirmed mana level is 2nd Circle.」
「There are a total of four areas you may go to.」
「Magic Tower 101st Floor - Training Ground for Beginner Mages (Temporary)」
「Magic Tower 102nd Floor - Training Ground for Apprentice Mages (Temporary)」
「Independent Base in the Southern Verden Region (3) - Mage’s House」
「Necromancer Branch in the Southern Verden Region (2) - Mage’s House」
After reaching the 2nd Circle, I became able to enter the training ground for apprentice mages.
A wide space where there was no need to worry about food, clothing, or shelter.
A 2nd Circle spellbook, and a separately prepared room where one could train with it.
Purnell, who had entered that place, looked around and muttered.
—Was there such a space in the Magic Tower? It is as though… it was prepared because they knew a successor like you would appear.
“Well, maybe they made it just in case?”
—That may be so. In any case, you can learn 2nd Circle magic here, but it is regrettable that we cannot go to the floor of the Necromancer School.
In order to be recognized as a necromancer, one needed death energy.
—It is not as if we are black mages or anything… We do not handle that much death energy. I will teach you how to deal with it slowly, so for now, let us inscribe the other patterns first.
Only after inscribing a dozen or so patterns for using necromancy was the preparation finally complete.
He was ready to learn the basic magic of the 2nd Circle and the magic of a necromancer.
—From the 2nd Circle, the realm of apprentice mages, there are at least spells capable of offense and defense.
Just by reading the titles of the spellbooks laid out there, I could tell that his words were true.
—Shield, Mana Web, Fire Arrow, Grease, Heal… My, this brings back memories. What do you want to learn first?
“What first…”
The answer had been decided long ago.
Without hesitation, I walked over and picked up one book.
—Oh-ho. Shield. A good choice. Of course, since it is only 2nd Circle, its defense is not that impressive, but it is naturally better than nothing.
He had more than enough attack power.
What Hio lacked were evasion skills and defensive skills.
First, he planned to learn Shield, then take the rest with him and learn them slowly.
—Good. Then along with Shield, I will teach you one 2nd Circle spell from our school as well.
The corners of Purnell’s mouth crept upward.
A mouth split wide, stretching all the way to beside his eyes.
It truly looked…
—Vampiric Touch. A spell that steals the opponent’s life force. A magic most befitting a necromancer.
Like that of an evil ghost.