“Screaming Echo is terrible. You won’t like it. Give it a sip.”
Seymour poured tea for his long-lost apprentice. Acella took a sip and grimaced.
“Lars.”
“Yes.”
Lars understood Acella’s intention and immediately pulled out a candy. Acella soothed her tongue, spoiled by the sweet honey, as she glanced around.
Seymour’s log cabin was cozy. There were no other distractions on the hill, so he could have expanded the space, but his reluctance to waste was evident.
While retrieving another cup from his neatly arranged shelf, Seymour said, “I didn’t expect to welcome guests, haha. But seeing you all changes my mind. What brings you to this remote place?”
“Well, if I tell you about the imperial affairs…”
“Enough, those worldly matters are of no concern to this old man, and I have no advice to offer. Your story is sufficient.”
Seymour beamed and sat across from Acella. He then turned his gaze toward Lars.
“Aren’t you going to sit?”
“I think I’ll have to leave soon anyway.”
“Oh, it’s about magic, then.” Seymour noticed the subject of their secret conversation.
“You’re still wise, Gothberg. The knowledge of wizards is indeed hidden. I’ll soon unravel this talk with you. Is it okay for a moment?”
“Yes. I’m relieved to see you looking healthier than I thought, Sage.”
“Haha, it’s all about know-how.”
Lars bowed his head slightly and shifted toward the door.
With just the two of them left inside, Seymour gazed intently at Acella.
“You’ve hit a wall. You’re going through hardship.”
“Yes. I’ve never faced a decline in my hierarchy before.”
Acella responded calmly, fearing that overreacting would make the situation feel more dire.
“Draw the circle.”
Calmly, Acella unfolded a small spell, the circle of Clairvoyance she was most familiar with. Again, she couldn’t complete the fifth circle and halted her work.
“Acella, do you know the titles attached to each level of magic?”
“Titles. The seventh level you reached, Master, is the realm of the great.”
“Correct. The sixth level is the hero’s realm, and the fifth level is referred to as the realm of the inhuman.”
“Inhuman…”
“The reason is simple, you’ve returned as a human.”
Acella felt a complex mix of emotions. She understood the implication of Seymour’s words.
Lars had repaired her.
From the pain, curse, and binding that had tormented her for a lifetime.
The abdominal pain was the price of the talent she possessed, Acella realized the cause and effect.
“Was I not originally human?”
“You’re still no ordinary person. At your age, is there any ordinary individual with the ruling power like yours who could compete with great leaders for ten years?”
“But, as a wizard…”
“You have the talent, but you are no longer a historical genius.”
A genius is about someone as handsome as me, Seymour laughed heartily, flicking his beard.
“Is there a way to recover?”
Receiving a death sentence would usually make someone despair, but Acella wasted no time and sought a solution urgently.
However, Seymour shook his head, not meeting her expectations.
“You’re not sick. It’s not a phenomenon you can recover from.”
“Then…”
“With just your current talent, it doesn’t seem impossible to reach the fifth level again. If you devote your whole life to it, well, you might achieve it just before you die an old age.”
“Master.”
The air around Acella grew cold.
“You know I didn’t want that answer.”
Seymour smirked slightly.
He was satisfied.
His one and only apprentice showed a greater spirit of a wizard than anyone else.
A wizard who has tasted the experience of reaching a high level can no longer stop.
They yearn to open the next door and dedicate their life to magic.
Those who merely exhibit magic with awe or use it a few times are frauds.
All wizards are addicts. Just as I was, and so was Camilla.
Acella was no different.
“Acella, now is the time to stop. I’m sure your attending physician wouldn’t want any powerful magic.”
“No, high-level magic is necessary even for him.”
“Oh?”
That was a remarkably unexpected response for Seymour.
He never imagined Acella would act for someone else.
Acella was sincere. To realize Lars’s ideal, she believed the empire had to dominate the continent, which would soon become tumultuous.
Especially now, when the emperor could pass at any moment. The longer the continent was divided, the longer the war with the Demon Realm would stretch.
To suppress the world as the next emperor, powerful magic was an indispensable element.
“You are sincere, Acella.”
“I have always been sincere.”
“Hmm.”
Seymour closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
Watching his demeanor, Acella gained insight, reading his thoughts astutely.
“You know how to not revert talent but how to bestow it anew.”
“A bit different.”
“If it’s different…”
Acella realized from the flow of their conversation why Seymour hesitated to answer.
“It’s a method of paying a price. You also used it to reach the seventh level.”
Seymour acknowledged defeat and chuckled bitterly. Acella saw through everything without him even saying a word.
“You know what form the cost takes, Acella.”
“…Yes.”
“What I paid was not just for sensation. I lost much more. In exchange, I gained powerful magic.”
“What kind of price…?”
Seymour paused for a moment before responding.
“Life span.”
It meant that one had to gamble their life to use magic in the future.
Acella swallowed nervously without realizing it.
“Camilla must have known. She must have paid countless times. It was obvious from her hair color.”
“Are you talking about her silver hair? She said she used to have golden hair like mine when she was young.”
Acella looked at Seymour’s snow-white hair. It glimmered strangely, reflecting softly. Could that be called silver hair as well?
Acella felt a sense of doubt.
“Using life span as the price for powerful magic, isn’t that indistinguishable from black magic?”
“It’s different. Black magic doesn’t measure the price accurately. It creates 1 destruction from 100 sacrifices. The exchange of price is an equivalence exchange. If you pay 100, you can raise your magic level by that amount.”
Seymour stated calmly.
“Considering it, it’s rational. Those who lack talent must give up what they have in proportion. Thick and short, or thin and long. The area is the same.”
“…Life span.”
“What can you do, Acella?”
Seymour asked her once more, his serious face devoid of humor.
“So, do you want to use magic even then?”
—
Acella stepped out of Seymour’s cabin after a long while.
She walked toward me, her golden hair fluttering, and as soon as she saw me, she let out a confident snicker.
“So you’ve heard an answer you liked.”
Instead of responding, Acella took the wand I held and quickly drew four circles.
—Fwoosh!
With a brilliant golden mana, a spell was cast.
Something burst forth, ripping through the hexagon-shaped hole created by the circle.
It was a parrot the size of Acella’s arm, adorned with a feathered crown on its head.
“Wow, you used Recall?”
“The master let the owner free. Were you surprised?”
“Quite. Isn’t that a huge deal if the imperial family finds out?”
“Who would find out?”
Acella was right. No one in the empire was as knowledgeable about magic as she was.
Before her last reincarnation, she had summoned a legion of dragons on a massive scale.
That was probably a high-level space magic developed from Recall.
But oh well.
[No. 001 Dragon Legion: 0%]
That would no longer happen.
I thought it wouldn’t be a problem even if Acella handled space magic now.
“Did the sage know the solution?”
“Hmm… I had something.”
“Is there a level of difficulty? If you explain it to me, I can assist as well.”
“No, just meeting the master was enough for me. Right, I’m tired of the regular menu nowadays. Please create a new one for me.”
Acella flicked the mana at her fingertip, extinguishing it like turning off a lighter, as if she was satisfied.
She turned to me and said, “That’s great, Lars. I’ll keep my promise.”
“Your words are overwhelming.”
“Of course. I have the grace of Acella von Württemberg.”
Acella, standing directly on the hill, sent a devilish smile my way as the wind blew from behind her, just for me.
――――――――――――
· Good Ending
· Years later, again [location] 43% → 54%
――――――――――――
Now I understand that smile carried more meanings than just malice.
“Aren’t you going to meet the master?”
“Yes. I also had personal matters to attend to.”
“Be safe.”
Rustle, rustle, stepping over the grass, I opened the status window.
‘Sage Seymour. Come to think of it, there was an artifact I needed to get from his grave.’
The Arc Staff.
The wand that was said to have been used by the archmage of the previous generation Hero Party that thrived 200 years ago.
If we were to categorize it, it would be considered a world-class treasure.
Thanks to obtaining that, our party’s mage had grown stronger, and we were able to defeat the Ritch.
‘At that time, I thought nothing of it, but reflecting back, the fact that Seymour buried himself with it means…’
If it were something he inherited, he would have passed it down to the next generation. The reason he didn’t is simple.
Because it was his own possession.
Wizarding traditions dictate that if you’re not a worthy descendant, you don’t inherit their magic at all.
‘Seymour lived an incredibly long life.’
But his race was certainly human.
If he had lived for over 200 years, he might just know something.
‘About the elixir.’
That was my reason for approaching Seymour.
Someday, when my skill rank rises higher and the debuff becomes uncontrollable, I will have to offset it using alchemy.
――――――――――――
◎ Recipe List
……
· Elixir = ??? + ??? + ???
[Rank Insufficient]
――――――――――――
The elixir mentioned at the bottom was a recipe I still didn’t know. I felt sure that Seymour could provide me with a clue.
“Alright.”
Just as I was almost at Seymour’s hut and about to put away the status window, another message popped up.
――――――――――――
· Good Ending progress has surpassed half.
· Additional information is unlocked.
――――――――――――
‘A new clue at this point?’
――――――――――――
○ Normal Ending
[Path of Hua Tuo]
· The little finger is ■■■ ■■ and 65%
[Path of the Adventurer King]
· The northern ice never melts 0%
[Path of the Hero]
· ■■ is ■■ 69%
○ Good Ending
[Path of Hua Tuo]
· Years later, again [location] 54%
[Path of the Adventurer King]
· Melt away, flow, and continue 0%
[Path of the Hero]
· Hero ■ ■ 62%
※ The normal ending occurs only if the good ending doesn’t.
――――――――――――
○ Hidden Ending
[Path of Desire]
· The main ■■ is ■■■ ■■ and ■■■■ 25%
――――――――――――
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