Having someone to teach him really did make a difference; even the speed of learning was on another level compared to when he had studied magic alone.
- You handle mana like a ghost, so why can’t you understand this! Aigo, I’m so frustrated I could die! Poor Purnell Penchev! I took in the wrong disciple and now I’m dying of pent-up rage!
“······You’re overreacting over one mistake.”
- No, I thought you were a once-in-a-millennium prodigy! A genius born for magic itself! But compared to your mana, your brain is rather······ disappointing, isn’t it?
Hio was not so stupid as to deserve being spoken to like that.
It was just that after seeing his skill at handling mana, Purnell’s expectations had risen absurdly high.
“Anyway, you said I’m faster than other guys.”
- That is true. You’re far better than most so-called gifted children and geniuses. Though, to begin with, there’s hardly anyone who tries to become a mage without growing up being called gifted.
There were two spells Hio focused on learning.
One was Shield, a 2nd Circle non-attribute spell that would make up for his lacking defense.
And the other was Vampiric Touch, a 2nd Circle Necromancer spell.
- Now, let’s try again. Non-attribute glyph number 28 is the key. Number 28 has to hold the center properly so that numbers 27 and 29 beside it can receive power and continue the chain reaction.
“Non-attribute numbers 27 and 29······ Mm······.”
- You! You forgot again! Hurry up and open the book and read it!
“Okay······.”
Purnell wanted the perfect manifestation of magic.
Not magic cast by memorizing the activation method, but a complete understanding of what power each glyph possessed and by what principle the spell was manifested.
- If you keep going like this, even the 3rd and 4th Circles will be touch-and-go. If you truly wish to climb higher, you need perfect understanding and the enlightenment that comes with it. Only if you grow rapidly like that will you one day be able to take me to the Archmage’s Room, won’t you?
“Got it. What a nag······.”
- Now, now, hurry and memorize them. At the very least, you should understand all the glyphs used in the 2nd Circle.
And so it was time to study again.
The one fortunate thing was that he saw many glyphs he already knew.
Of course, their uses and definitions differed little by little from what he knew, but the broad framework was ultimately similar.
His study of glyphs with Berga had not been in vain.
In between learning magic like that, he told Purnell stories of the outside world.
The original world where Hio had lived as Hyeonseung, and this world.
About skills, and even about the Abyss that had begun to appear.
- Then you’re saying that out there now, people use something called skills instead of magic?
“That’s right.”
- And there are ten thousand people who crossed over from another world like you?
“That’s right.”
- Huh······ It is an age of chaos. An age of chaos indeed. The Abyss appears, powerful people arrive from another world, and on top of that, there’s something as bizarre as skills.
“That’s right.”
Hio answered Purnell’s lamentations half-heartedly.
It was so as not to lose concentration.
He rotated his second Circle and focused mana on non-attribute glyph number 28.
The power of glyph number 28, which condensed and hardened, was exerted, and with it at the center, mana spread outward.
Light entered the glyphs numbered 27 and 29 on either side, and the mana spread once more to those beside them.
The important thing was the distribution of mana. Too much and it would break; too little and it would become flimsy.
He distributed the set amount of mana precisely.
At last, light entered every glyph, and once that power was bound together, it was the staff’s turn.
A magic staff that allowed the bound power to be easily manifested as magic. Through it, the power of the glyphs spread.
All of it gathered and extended outward through the staff.
A spell finally completed in full.
A translucent barrier enveloped Hio.
He had succeeded in manifesting Shield, a 2nd Circle non-attribute protective spell.
「You have successfully cast the non-attribute spell - ‘Shield’.」
Seeing that translucent barrier, Purnell widened his eyes and rejoiced.
- Ohh! You succeeded! Your achievement is certainly fast. I will acknowledge what must be acknowledged. Even if you had been born in my era, you would have become a renowned mage.
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard lately.”
- Hehehe. Is it not praise from none other than this Purnell? In any case, now it is time to learn Vampiric Touch.
A newly learned spell.
A translucent protective barrier spread around him.
After savoring that mysterious phenomenon for a moment, Hio soon withdrew his mana, and the barrier surrounding him disappeared.
- How is it? Learning new magic is always marvelous, is it not?
“It definitely······ is.”
And then a message appeared before Hio’s eyes.
「Would you like to register the non-attribute spell - ‘Shield’ as a skill?」
It was an expected reward, so Hio immediately registered Shield as a skill.
- Ah, and there’s something I’m curious about. You said all the powerful people from other worlds have skills, did you not?
Purnell asked Hio after he finished registering the skill.
- Then what are your skills?
“Skills? I have plenty.”
Thunder Emperor and Blue Flame.
And since he had also registered various 1st Circle spells as skills, he had many skills.
- Oh, then would you show me this thing called a skill? I’m curious what it is.
“Well, should I?”
Even if Purnell had not said it, he had intended to test the skill.
Had he not just registered Shield as a skill?
He had to check the skill’s effect beforehand. In order not to be startled by the skill he himself used, he had to get used to its splendor in advance.
Purnell’s eyes were bright and filled with interest.
Hio grinned at him.
“As it happens, I just acquired a new skill.”
- Oh? Skills can be acquired as well?
“That’s right. The skill’s name is Shield.”
The room was wide, and the ceiling was sufficiently high as well.
As befitted a floor meant for training, it seemed to be three times the usual height.
Even so, considering the skill effects he had seen so far, it would likely not be enough.
- Hm? If it is Shield, is that not the 2nd Circle spell you just learned?
“Something like that.”
Lifting his staff slightly, he activated the spell Shield once more.
However, this time, instead of rotating his Circle, he strengthened his will.
The strong will to activate the skill.
「Skill - ‘Shield’ is being activated.」
At the same time, golden radiance poured down, piercing through the high ceiling.
The golden light that enveloped Hio began to take shape as though it were alive.
That shape resembled a giant hand.
The hand of a giant made of golden light.
An absolute defensive barrier protecting Hio.
The hand that came through the ceiling and walls was so enormous that it seemed the interior was filled with gold.
- W-what in the······?
Purnell, stammering from sheer shock, walked toward the window as though entranced.
This giant hand was extending from outside the window, from above the ceiling, so he had moved to check its starting point.
And when Purnell looked up outside the window, following its root, he had no choice but to freeze with his mouth hanging open.
Curious about his intense reaction, Hio followed him to the window.
The giant golden hand followed, wrapping around him as if to protect him.
And when he traced that hand’s root through the window—
“······.”
There was a gigantic woman floating high in the sky.
A golden woman looking down from between the clouds, with a faint smile on her lips and her eyes gently closed.
The way she radiated an enchanting golden light was mysterious and awe-inspiring, and at the same time, oppressive.
The golden giant’s hand was cut off midway, but anyone could see that the hand’s owner was the woman in the sky.
This was a holy miracle.
Anyone who witnessed this golden miracle would think of the same thing and utter the same words.
- A-a goddess! A goddess has descended upon this land!
Even Purnell, a mage who should always be rational, was so excited that he was shouting like that.
Hio clutched his head.
Why go this far for a mere 2nd Circle lower-tier spell?
From the standpoint of someone who knew the whole story, a holy goddess, my ass.
“This is seriously the height of ridiculous theatrics······.”
It was just ridiculous theatrics.
* * *
“A mage is supposed to always think and judge coolly and rationally! Huh? A-a goddess! And you’re going on like that!”
- ······Ahem!
At Purnell’s awkward cough, Hio, now even more fired up, mercilessly chewed out the ghost before him.
“If you look at the flow of mana, it’s obvious, isn’t it? Its substance is exactly the same as the 2nd Circle spell Shield. Do I have to explain even that?”
- I understand······ I understand, so stop. In all my life, this is the first time I have experienced anything like this.
It felt like his stress was draining away.
This was absolutely not because Purnell had chewed him out earlier.
A mage, of all people, should not be deceived by such illusions, should he?
He was only saying this sternly for Purnell’s own good.
“Good. Since you seem to be reflecting, I’ll let it pass.”
- ······Thank you···.
After that whole commotion, the time had come to properly learn Vampiric Touch.
In other words, it was now Purnell’s turn to chew Hio out.
- No! You ignorant fool! Is your head made of stone?
“······I didn’t even do anything······.”
- That is precisely the problem! Why are you still doing nothing!
“······Damn it.”
Even as they bickered like that, what had to be taught was taught, and what had to be learned was learned quickly.
「You have successfully cast Necromancy - ‘Vampiric Touch’.」
He succeeded in learning even Vampiric Touch, a 2nd Circle Necromancer spell.
At the same time as the spell manifested, an unprecedented energy wrapped around his body.
If he touched an opponent while his body was enveloped in this, he could plunder their life force and make it his own.
However, its efficiency was not that impressive.
If he stole 5 points of life force from an opponent, it would restore about 1 point of his own stamina or mana.
On top of that, he absolutely had to make contact with the opponent, and even if he did, it would end if the opponent moved their body and broke away, so it was truly a rather poor spell.
- As I said earlier, its effect is not particularly outstanding. Still, among 2nd Circle Necromancy spells, this should be the most useful.
Of course, Hio had not expected much, so he was not disappointed either.
「Would you like to register Necromancy - ‘Vampiric Touch’ as a skill?」
What mattered was that he had learned the spell and registered it as a skill.
That meant that as long as he filled up his endurance, it could evolve into a top-tier skill.
- Did you register Vampiric Touch in that skill thing of yours as well?
“That’s right.”
- And you intend to test it?
“Obviously.”
He had to check the skill effect no matter what.
Just looking at the previous Shield, had it not been far too dazzling and excessive?
Still, that bluff would surely be needed someday.
- Certainly, that illusion was so realistic that even I was momentarily deceived. If it is like that for a mage familiar with mana, then it is safe to assume that everyone else outside will be fooled.
Everyone else would be fooled······.
But Hio knew one person who had seen through the bluff of this trait.
The Sword Saint Vitalianus had pierced straight to the essence with no more than a glance.
“What about knights who handle aura? Since they know how to control energy too, couldn’t they notice?”
- Unlike mana, aura is handled by developing the qi sleeping within the body, is it not? Unless they are knights who have reached a considerable realm, it would be difficult to grasp.
“······Are you sure?”
- I am sure. There is a great difference between controlling mana and controlling the energy within. Unless a knight is quite well-versed in qi, it will not be easy to realize.
“Good. I’ll believe you.”
- ······Thank you.
Listening to Purnell’s thanks, he immediately activated the skill.
The skill he activated was Vampiric Touch, which he had just learned.
「Skill - ‘Vampiric Touch’ is being activated.」
At the same time as it activated, pitch-black energy spread out behind Hio.
The entire floor grew darker, as though the lights had been half extinguished, and through it, a grim reaper holding a massive scythe appeared like mist.
Its body was hazy like a ghost.
Even though only its upper body was revealed, it reached the ceiling.
Its red eyes were so realistic that simply meeting them naturally stirred fear.
- ······After a goddess, this time it is a grim reaper.
Purnell muttered as he looked up at the grim reaper.
- Now that I know the whole situation, it does seem like ridiculous theatrics, just as you said.
A worthless spell with an effect that was anything but.
“Right.”
Agreeing with Purnell’s words, Hio opened his trait window.
At the very bottom of the window that unfurled before him was a trait.
[Hidden Trait: Violence Is Not Allowed! (Patience 388 / 1000)]
His patience had already accumulated this much.
The day the blue flame became Azure Flame.
He had nearly crossed blades with the Sword Saint, but in the end, he had committed no violence at all, and thanks to that, his patience had been stored past its target value.
And a few days ago, when he engraved a mark onto his heart in order to ascend to the 2nd Circle, his patience had risen decisively.
After all, he had endured that horrifying agony more than twenty times.
‘It really is good for raising patience, but…’
Even so, he couldn’t trade his life for it, so engraving any more onto his heart would be impossible.
While Hio was checking his patience,
Purnell compared the flow of mana with the illusion that had risen around them.
The black reaper visible before his eyes, and the faint black aura scattered throughout the surroundings.
It was a sight frightening enough to appear in one’s dreams, but to Purnell, a former necromancer, the shabby flow of mana was plainly visible.
- This is absurd. Isn’t it putting on far too much of an act? It’s enough to make one laugh.
Purnell finally let out a hollow laugh.
At those words, Hio smiled and looked back.
“Still, don’t be too dumbfounded.”
The reaper’s red eyes floated behind his back.
A razor-sharp scythe.
“Because someday, these things will truly appear before me.”
And it probably would not take very long.
* * *
After learning the 2nd Circle spells Shield and Vampiric Touch, then practicing them repeatedly until he could cast them perfectly, Hio returned to the floor connected to the external portal.
- Are you truly going to leave? There is no place as excellent as Tetradia for learning magic.
It was time to go outside.
“I’ve brought the grimoires, so I’ll learn them slowly while traveling. I have a lot to do outside.”
He had a lot to do. No, he would have a lot to do.
The civil war should have already broken out, and the battle between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince to seize control of the imperial palace would be fierce.
The future would change depending on who won here.
He had to find Sirvert as soon as possible and hear his plan.
- Mmm… To be honest, I would like to remain here and conduct research.
“Research?”
As if embarrassed, Purnell widened his eyes and rolled them around.
It was Purnell’s unique way of expressing emotion, since he had no hands or feet.
- Originally, I intended to go to a floor I could enter in my ghostly body and examine the research materials that remained. But after seeing that skill of yours, I changed my mind.
“Skill?”
- Indeed. That strange ability called a skill, which appeared immediately after magic was lost. Could this be called a coincidence? This must surely be the power of a god.
Hio nodded as if he agreed.
“Well, it’s not like I can say gods don’t exist. I guess that must be it.”
Hadn’t he already experienced all sorts of bizarre things?
At this point, he couldn’t very well claim gods did not exist. He could not deny Purnell’s claim that skills were the power of a god.
- You said you had an ability. The ability where, if you do not commit violence, that illusion becomes reality, while conversely, if you do commit violence, all values are reset and you lose the skill.
“That’s right. If I endure, I gain an absurd amount of power all at once, but if I fail to endure, I lose everything in an instant… That kind of ability.”
At that answer, Purnell burst into laughter as if he found it truly fascinating.
- Hahahaha! Is this not truly interesting? Who, exactly, determines that standard? And who is it that judges it!
…It was not something he had particularly thought about before.
He had only been filled with thoughts of how to use the ability, and how to oppose the calamities that would occur in the future.
But Purnell’s approach was, in truth, an approach toward the very root of the problem.
An exceedingly mage-like method.
- Skills must have been created to replace the magic that was lost. By none other than the power of the gods, by their will.
Purnell’s eyes flashed, covered in excitement.
- And mages have, since ancient times, delighted in deceiving the eyes of gods. So, you see, now it is my turn.
In those eyes, filled with a powerful desire, even madness flickered.
- Just as you saved me from hundreds of years of darkness, this time, I shall save you.
The look in Hio’s eyes as he faced him also began to change in a similar way.
- From that wretched nonviolence of yours.