Chapter 39 Translator: XZY Chapter 39: Magic (1) ***
[ List of Acquired Magic ]
✦ Combat Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Mana Arrow
★☆☆☆☆☆ Shockwave
★☆☆☆☆☆ Ice Spear
★☆☆☆☆☆ Fire Arrow
★☆☆☆☆☆ Power Manifestation
★★☆☆☆☆ Fireball
★★☆☆☆☆ Shadow Restraint
★★☆☆☆☆ Mass Protection Ward
✦ Transmutation Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Light Generation
★☆☆☆☆☆ Attribute Imbuement
★★☆☆☆☆ Earth Wall
★★☆☆☆☆ Crystallization
✦ Illusion Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Sound Dampening
★☆☆☆☆☆ Illusion - Small Animal
★★☆☆☆☆ Auditory Hallucation
★★☆☆☆☆ Confusion
✦ Summoning Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Summon - Guiding Fairy
✦ Detection Magic
★☆☆☆☆☆ Direction Sense
★★☆☆☆☆ Clairvoyance
★★☆☆☆☆ Magic Detection
★★☆☆☆☆ Life Detection
<><><>
Derek learned the basics of combat magic from an old man.
And he learned about proper illusion magic from a fallen noble named Katia.
Certainly, the influence of a master could not be ignored. Even after that, Derek continued to master magic on his own, but most of his achievements had progressed centered on combat and illusion magic.
He had never been lazy in his training of transmutation, detection, and summoning magic. However, no matter how much he tried, it was inevitable that there would be parts that were sluggish as if blocked by a wall.
"It seems you have completely grasped the sense of detection magic."
How much time had passed since he had been buried only in magic in this dark cave?
Drest Wolftail said so one day. It was rare for the old man to offer his opinion on Derek's magical mastery first.
"...It still feels a bit sluggish."
"The rest is a part for the boy to master on his own."
When those words came out, Derek felt a sense of disappointment.
The opportunity to receive direct teachings from a 6-Star Detection Mage did not come by often. Since it had come to this, he wanted to be taught everything he could be taught.
However, he was not unaware of the fact that having one's own reflection and mastery was just as important as having a good master in learning magic.
"If one could realize all the truths of magic by sitting in a corner of a cave, all the great masters of magic in the world would be people who are cooped up in their rooms and never come out."
"I have heard that there are many such people in reality."
"...In any case, from my perspective, it seems I have done all that is necessary."
Derek raised his palm and clenched and unclenched it several times in front of him.
He closed his eyes gently and felt the flow of mana once again.
He had been following Drest Wolftail's use of mana, constantly trying to gauge that vast energy.
He gathered the mana that was before his eyes to his chest once again and unleashed it into the world as if vomiting.
A sensation as if a part of his body was burning, and another part as if it were freezing cold. The cold and heat mingled at once, colliding throughout his body and turning into mana.
He had felt a similar sensation in the labyrinth a while ago.
That strange sense of incongruity, as if the output of his magic was not moving as he willed. The characteristic movement of a mage who had entered the beginning of the next stage, unable to easily control that vast mana.
He had felt that sensation many times in the past time of struggling to follow Drest's use of mana and to master the various detection magic he wielded.
It was a repetition of days of reaching for something of a higher level, which was not yet his own stage.
He had suppressed the sensation of fighting against the rampaging mana, repeating it over and over again.
As if taming a beast that was hard to handle, he controlled the sensation of the mana that was in all things in the world gathering in one place and running rampant, with his teeth gritted.
And finally, he gathered the mana at his fingertips to a single point.
"..."
Derek, as if led by something, placed his hand on the cold stone floor and unleashed that mana as his heart led him.
Fwoooooosh!
Although he had made up his mind and manifested the mana with all his heart, there was no change in the surroundings.
"..."
It was the moment when a sense of futility was washing over him.
Rummble, rumble.
Craaaaaaaaaack!
A huge vibration began to spread throughout the cave.
The aftermath was not enough to cover this entire huge cave, but it was enough to at least overturn this large clearing.
The trembling gradually became more intense, and a few stalactites broke and fell, and cracks began to form on the walls.
Rumble! Rumble! Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Before Derek could figure out what was happening, Drest quickly drew up his mana and created a protective ward.
He pushed Derek with telekinesis magic and quickly moved his body towards the cave exit.
Crash! Boooooom! Rummmble! Craaaack!
The entrance of the Raspa Cave.
Derek was sitting down, looking at the collapsed entrance of the cave.
His fingertips were trembling from the aftermath of unleashing the mana he had drawn up from the very bottom.
Drest, who was standing straight behind him with his arms crossed, let out a hollow laugh.
Derek was of an age where he would soon have his coming-of-age ceremony. However, the magic that Derek had manifested had already completely collapsed the entrance of that Raspa Cave.
"Pant... pant..."
Derek, who was sweating profusely, collected his trembling hands and somehow stood up from his seat.
It was the moment when he was quietly feeling the aftermath of the vibration and was about to ask what had just happened.
[ Newly Acquired Magic ]
3-Star Combat-type 'Tectonic Shift'
Derek had no choice but to swallow a dry gulp of saliva.
If one were to find a commoner mage who had learned 3-Star magic at this age, one would have to search through history books or biographies.
As always, the old mage with his wrinkled face placed his hand on Derek's shoulder from behind him.
"As I said, it seems there is nothing more to teach at this point."
<><><>
The stars were clearly visible.
It was said that Adelbert, who had first devised the concept of the star-ranks of magic, had also been inspired by the stars that filled the sky.
Derek had lit a bonfire at the collapsed cave entrance and was sitting around it with Drest, his body resting in the darkness of the night.
Derek was quietly staring at his own palm with a dumbfounded expression.
He had just overturned the entire ground around here.
3-Star magic. Among the nobles, from 3-Star mages onwards, they were referred to as 'high-level mages,' and an atmosphere had formed where they were recognized as people who had mastered magic to some extent.
If a 3-Star mage appeared from among the commoners, even the nobles would respect the effort of their blood and sweat. This was because most commoner-born 3-Star mages were people who had lived their entire lives buried only in magic.
However, there would be no 3-Star mage as young as Derek. It was doubtful whether they would really show such a favorable gaze even after seeing Derek.
The living witness to that was the old mage named Drest, who was sitting across the bonfire.
"As I said before, you cannot survive as a commoner-born mage with mediocre talent."
"..."
Although it was a statement made as if a notification without any emotion, the weight of the years that was in Drest's words was felt.
Drest was a person who had lived his entire life as a commoner-born mage and had sacrificed too much to maintain that life and to break even the nobles.
"You must be overwhelming. It is the nature of humans to have awe for those who have risen to a level that they cannot even reach. They try to pull down those who are standing in a position that seems within reach."
"If I must be overwhelming, to what extent do you mean?"
If a person had learned 3-Star magic at Derek's age, most mages would widen their eyes and be surprised.
Nevertheless, Drest was just closing his eyes gently.
If one wanted to fight against the world, there were only two options: a landslide victory or a crushing defeat.
Drest quietly looked at Derek with his clouded eyes. Nearly a century of time was thickly deposited in that gaze.
He seemed to be overlapping something from the past as he looked at the existence of Derek, who had just blossomed.
"That is for you to judge for yourself."
Saying so, Drest raised his haggard body.
"Where are you going?"
"I will go and get some air for a while."
"..."
Saying so, Drest dusted off his robe.
The darkness of the night was filling the forest around the cave. To some, that darkness would have looked like an endless void.
In the appearance of Drest, who was completely old and looking at the twilight of his life, the majesty that flowed from the mages who were among the few fingers in the world was not felt at all.
Despite being the greatest commoner mage, he had a more ordinary appearance than anyone else.
His shoulders were small, his arms and legs were dried up like dead tree branches, he wore a worn-out robe, and he pecked at the food that commoners ate.
He was a person who just lived like that and would just die like that.
Derek knew. Drest's end was not as dramatic as his name value.
He would wander like that, reflecting on his turbulent life, and then one day, he would sense his death and return to a village on the outskirts of the Jeblon County.
In that quiet countryside, which was now just ruins after being burned down, he would casually enter a house, casually sit down on a worn-out chair, and rest his chin on his hand.
And he would quietly close his eyes and not open them again.
That was the way he lived.
"The night air is still very cold, Master. Please stay by the bonfire a little longer."
Derek said so.
At that, Drest was lost in thought for a moment, and then, as always, he did not show any expression.
"It's alright."
"..."
"Be careful of Kohella."
And so, after throwing out a warning without any context, he quietly blended into the darkness of the night.
And Drest did not come back again.
Derek also knew that it would be so.
And so, in the place where the old man had left, Derek sat alone and pointlessly poked the bonfire with a poker. A crackling sound rose up.
After going around and around, in the end, as always, he was sitting alone.
The old beggar had been like that, Katia had been like that, and Drest had been like that... they were all the same. Those who embraced him like a cradle were bound to leave his side someday.
When one realizes that, one realizes at some point that parting is also a natural part of life.
It was one of the many principles of life.
<><><>
Derek returned to his residence, which was located near the commercial district of Ebelstein, for the first time in a long time.
He washed his body and washed and trimmed all his mercenary clothes and equipment.
He sharpened the rusted blade of his sword. He also oiled it.
He cleaned the room, which was full of dust, and threw out all the spoiled food.
He also washed the bedclothes. He placed scented candles here and there in the room.
He repaired the worn-out door and threw away the old furniture and bought new ones.
He also shaved while neatly trimming his shaggy hair.
He pushed the magic book that Katia had left behind deep into a drawer. He was no longer at a level where he needed this magic book.
And so, after dressing neatly, he checked all the accumulated letters.
Those from the mercenary corps, those from the three great families, those from the Ebelstein main office, and those from employers who wanted to hire Derek separately. Many others had looked for Derek, but Derek had not answered any of them.
After finishing the basic cleaning, he goes out to the front of the house where the sun shines. The smell of bread flowing from the bakery across the street was unchanged.
Ebelstein was still a city with a thousand faces.
It was Derek's hometown.
<><><>
"A message has come from that person named Derek. He has requested to see the Grand Duke of Beltus. What should we do?"
The head butler of the Beltus family, Klaven, was dumbfounded even as he was making the report. Where would a mere commoner be talking about wanting to meet the Grand Duke of a country?
However, Derek was a popular magic teacher. Recognized magic teachers sometimes had their own voice even against high-ranking nobles.
In fact, Derek had already sent several letters to ask the Beltus family about various conditions.
"He said he had entered magic training, so I guess he has roughly finished and come out?"
Derek had broken the pride of the Grand Duke of Duplein, who had boasted that he would definitely come to the Duplein family. With that alone, the Grand Duke of Beltus was already in high spirits.
He had no choice but to have a satisfied expression at Derek's decision to choose the Beltus family, not Duplein or Belmeade.
"He will be teaching Denise, and Denise's magic achievements have also been sluggish recently, so it's a good thing all around. If he is such a competent magic teacher, he will surely produce sufficient results, right?"
"The rumor is that he has already produced outstanding results when he worked for the Duplein and Belmeade families."
"Yes. Denise was the one who won him over, and he is also the person who will teach Denise in the future, so I should tell Denise to meet him separately. There are many urgent territorial affairs, so I will entrust that matter to Denise."
And so, the Grand Duke of Beltus began to move his quill pen to write a letter to be sent to Ebelstein.
Seeing his expression, which was dripping with satisfaction, the head butler was relieved that he probably didn't need to worry.
"They say that magic master is visiting the mansion today."
"Hic...!"
Denise, who was cooped up in her room as always, swallowed a dry gulp of saliva.
Denise, who had returned from the main house, had been lying quietly in her room, slowly organizing her complicated thoughts. This was because she could not read the way of thinking of that magic master, who was insisting on teaching her, leaving aside Aiseline and Elente.
After considering various hypotheses and possibilities, she even came to think that this decision might be a kind of punishment.
In any case, Denise had tried to use him, and she had falsely acted out a passion for magic even though she did not like it that much. Since he had said that some mages consider that an insult, she thought that he might try to do something to her in his own way.
Where would a commoner harbor a grudge against the young lady of the Beltus family? However, he was not an ordinary commoner. He was a magic teacher whom all three great families were covetously trying to bring in.
When her thoughts reached that far, she realized that her position had become a bit strange.
'He is a legendary magic teacher who has reformed Lady Diella, received the recognition of Lady Elente, and even kicked away Lady Aiseline, and I have taken him as a master.... but if I have no achievements at all...?'
No matter how much he was a commoner mercenary from the slums, he was a person who had accumulated that much of a track record.
If there were no achievements here, who would people point fingers at? There was a high possibility that the gazes would be directed at her, who was sluggish even with such a master.
She had not thought that she would fall into such a self-contradiction, but there was no escape route.
"Bella... I just want to lie down and do nothing... can't I just cut him off at my discretion...?"
"You know better than anyone that you can't do that... The Grand Duke won't stay still..."
Denise washed her dry face several times and then finally stood up from her seat. Just staying like this would not solve anything.
"Good day. It has been a while."
The noble district of Ebelstein, Lady Denise's mansion.
The figure of Derek, who was striding down the corridor, guided by the servants, was seen.
He came over, his cloak trailing, and greeted Lady Denise. He was as blunt as always.
However, Lady Denise could not help but have her eyes wide open.
It was the first time she had met Derek, who was properly dressed in formal attire. Of course, the first time she had seen him was in the observer's seats of the combat training ground, but during the time she had spent trying to win him over, that first impression had already become blurry.
The image of Derek in Denise's mind was that of an eccentric who was buried only in magic, with a dirt-stained face and shaggy hair, in a corner of a cave where no one visited.
When he greeted her, dressed up properly and in a formal manner, she almost failed to recognize him for a moment.
"D-Derek...? was it...?"
"Yes. Thank you for everything at the Raspa Cave. The supplies you gave were a great help."
"Ah, no... you were a person who knew how to show such courtesy...?"
"Pardon?"
"..."
No matter how blurry Derek's sense of status was, he would not act the same in a corner of the Raspa Cave, where there were almost no eyes, and in her mansion, which was her home base.
In fact, that was a natural thing, but Denise, who had not properly adapted to Derek's change, had her thoughts stopped for a moment.
'T-This is not the time to be flustered by something like this. There are too many things I have to ask, and I have to find out what his ulterior motive is.'
He was a person who was buried only in magic training in a corner of a cave. His magic skills must have grown by a stage.
Lady Denise stealthily gathered her mana and manifested her specialty, detection magic, in her eyes. She intended to at least gauge the amount of his mana.
"..."
However, in Denise's eyes, the amount of Derek's mana could not even be gauged.
Either his mana was too faint to be seen, or he had learned how to hide his mana from detection magic.
If he was a person with such a trick, one could not gauge his mana amount unless one's level was higher than his.
At a glance, he was a person who was seeing a wider view than Denise.
Denise swallowed a dry gulp of saliva and said.
"Y-You must have had a hard time coming a long way. I heard you will be teaching me magic?"
"Yes. That is correct."
Derek brushed his hands a few times and then showed a faint smile.
"I heard you hold a great disillusionment with magic."
"..."
"Honestly, wouldn't your pride be hurt? To rashly judge whether magic is good or bad at a point where you have not properly glimpsed its level could be an insult to magic. Above all, I am a person who has lived his entire life clinging to magic."
"Yes. I may have been a bit short-sighted in that. I apologize. Is it done now?"
"No. I am grateful that you have apologized without reservation. However, isn't it a very unfortunate thing? To live with only disillusionment and antipathy towards such a good thing as magic. That will not do."
Denise met Derek's eyes. A strange, unknowable energy was flowing in his deep eyes that seemed to pull her in.
It seemed like endless seriousness, and at the same time, it seemed like a madness that was beyond that.
'Hic...'
Denise realized. She had touched a person she should not have touched.
If one wanted to touch someone, one had to first find out if that person was someone one could handle. It was common sense, but the gap in status between a commoner and a noble sometimes makes one forget even that common sense.
Unfortunately, it was the way of the world that one could not take back what had already passed.
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