Chapter 264. α (13)
The Green Mage eventually showcased the true power of Golem Magic without any reservations.
And about two hours later.
The Ruler of a Foreign Country, after much resistance, ended up submissively agreeing to all of his opponent’s demands while raising a white flag.
It was unavoidable, considering his castle was half destroyed, and his proud army of 2,600 soldiers had been swept away by the magic of a mere young man.
[Well, it would have been nice if you had listened when I told you so.]
Golem Magic.
Originally meant for his own lands, primarily used to drive away small animals from a peasant’s field, these earth dolls had turned into…
Those foolish things.
Who would have thought they would move as if they were alive, systematically taking down all the professional knights?
[Of course, it would have been better if they hadn’t even thought about expanding the borders. This is all your fault. Because of you. Got it?]
The dawn of the mechanical age.
He, in green, had killed all the mages of the enemy nations who rebelled against his wishes using new technology.
[You all did wrong by making my artistic research, a celebration, ring with the blood of kin!]
No more guilt surged within him.
When the orange kindred died, he hesitated for a long time, but once he started, it wasn’t particularly hard nor anything special.
Yeah.
Really.
[Those who used to boast that they were the smartest beings on this planet turn out to be this insignificant when you look closely.]
Now, only the burning reaction of emptiness lingered occasionally.
Having finished his thoughts, the Green Sorcerer gathered his golems and crossed the border once more.
By the time he returned to his homeland, the state of international affairs was a complete mess due to the simultaneous collapse of the Ruler’s castle and the Magic Tower in the neighboring country.
But this was not something to worry about right now.
*
Familiar sights appeared.
Dark and devoid of light, with surrounding pressure seeking to consume him, the unique environment of the deep sea.
After some time passed, someone swam by in that darkness.
-‘Sigh…….’
There was no shortcut quite like moving through the deep sea to cross borders on the planet Alphauri.
-‘Come to think of it, I heard that the orange kindred died somewhere around these waters. Since I’m here, should I take a look at the area managed by their family?’
Long legs.
Odd eyes.
And the title of War Hero.
The Green man’s appearance, returning from a major incident where he confronted the Ruler of an enemy country alone, was quite unadorned.
He hadn’t come armed with fighter planes manufactured beforehand like in modern Earth.
No, he simply stuffed some magic stones—the key component of core power—into his pockets and used them to summon soldiers right from the enemy territory.
-‘After offering some respects, I should go back to the Academic Hall to refine the Golem craft a bit more.’
He was just discarding the cheap, junk golems that were as convenient as instant food and was already on his way home.
Traveling light both ways was a rational strategy.
-‘So quiet.’
As he strolled through the sea in this easy state, his advanced brain naturally commenced random thoughts.
The truth is.
This green genius had finally met all conditions on his own.
『Great Mage』.
The societal conditions related to that title.
In the early mid-century, when battles with the Beta Species erupted, the castles of the upper class had virtually collapsed, rendering it impossible.
Moreover, even if the castles had remained intact, it was not a time for kin to fight each other. Even the most powerful mages of that era had failed to fulfill tradition.
Today.
In the future, this alien being, who would overshadow the name Kim Gi-ryeo, had finally gained the qualification.
From now on, he was a legally recognized, undisputed Great Mage.
The last obstacle, closely tied to the conditions of an offensive or defensive war, had been met just with that single battle.
Moreover, it was the first time a Great Mage was born in the depths of the sea in history.
-Hmph.
Perhaps, fellow countrymen who heard the news might pool their money together out of pride to erect a gilded statue of him.
-….
However, this brain, strangely harboring the cunning mindset of a sly fox, typically didn’t prefer tangible rewards.
As expected.
The genius quickly lost interest in the title of Great Mage he just earned.
He had already seen himself becoming a Great Mage since his childhood, so it didn’t resonate much with him.
He was merely halted for a moment due to tradition. Recently, he had been nearly universally acknowledged as the top sorcerer anyway.
-‘…….’
Even after reaching the level so many sorcerers envied, he remained indifferent.
Soon, the topic of his thoughts shifted swiftly and quietly.
-‘Unexpected…….’
For now, he’d boldly gone after punishing the neighboring country for breaking the hard-earned peace.
-‘Speaking of which, this event went quite differently from what I had anticipated.’
It was easy.
Though he had faced the leader of a nation, the battle had been incredibly simple.
The magician controlling the golems didn’t even know where to hide and jigged around, not leaving even a scratch on him while his opponent’s castle crumbled.
-‘What a pathetic end.’
The new Great Mage continued swimming and reflecting.
In fact, since the moment he first encountered magic studies at the nurturing facility, he had a vague intuition.
Once again, every single Alphauri aside from himself was weak.
Strength. Magic Power.
And now revealed, mental fortitude as well.
The Great War had ended, and not even ten revolutions had been completed, yet. Why did the intelligentsia of this planet have such a short memory?
-‘Back then, everyone was just waiting for the war to end.’
There was no culture in Alphauri for making wishes on shooting stars.
To put it another way, “heaven” here didn’t carry very positive connotations.
However, unlike that, they had a quirky habit of whispering dreams to rare fish that emitted white glow in the depth of the waters, regardless of temperature.
-‘If I recall correctly, there were many who begged and pleaded, rubbing their tentacles, saying they would do anything if they could just return home…….’
Once, the citizens who boldly claimed they would cherish peace for life as long as the Beta Species vanished from the world.
Those who said they would have no more wishes.
Now, they whispered to the luminous beasts asking them to grant them just one more patch of land from the neighboring country.
Having witnessed the entire trend, the reverse hero promptly reached a conclusion.
-‘This can’t go on.’
It was a perfected arrogance.
-‘I can’t stand it anymore.’
His trust toward his kin was entirely extinguished after a series of mishaps.
Yet, feeling the beauty of life and the universe even while observing such fools.
Before the kindred surely bled to destruction in a pointless conflict, wasn’t someone supposed to start [management] soon?
The total area of Alphauri.
The food self-sufficiency rates by country.
All the agricultural efficiency theories once presented at the Academic Hall, etc.
A great many Alphauri had perished due to the Great War.
And this planet he lived on was vast, so vast that the word “huge” couldn’t capture it adequately, magnificent, and heavy.
-‘In such conditions, with just a little effort, everyone could live satisfactorily.’
We merely needed to curb our excessive desires.
-‘Right.’
Moreover, he happened to have an overflowing power to punish the greedy few.
-‘It seems it would be better this way!’
The green youth resolved within himself.
For the greater good, some sacrifices were unavoidable.
After all, he had grown tired of their incompetence, not even able to fend off a band of thieves from a neighboring country.
-‘Not being able to stop the Magic Tower from my side left a bad taste in my mouth. This time, I should take down my country’s leader too.’
An incredibly pure reverse intention.
For such a lively thought, the creature drifting in the deep sea soon developed a shocking resolution.
He planned to brutally twist and kill all the leaders of various nations who would surely resist to maintain their power, then use his acquired status to dominate this world.
He just wished to manage the poor, foolish kindred so that useless wars wouldn’t erupt. He had no personal greed.
Even that was sufficiently bizarre.
However, this green man had now even reached the prime of his physical condition this year.
So who could stop him?
-‘With this incident, I realized it would be tough to accommodate all Alphaurians on this planet.’
A terrifying situation.
-‘If there’s no choice, wouldn’t it be right to proceed in a direction that brings joy to at least the vast majority for a long time?’
It was the moment when a genius transformed into a disaster.
The green man set out with such a dangerous goal confirmed as he swam across the waters.
But then, at that moment.
A certain light flashed in front of the Deep Sea Person, flowing smoothly like a torpedo.
-Hm?
Faint, cloudy, yet the hue itself was vibrant blue.
It was a familiar bioluminescent phenomenon of fish.
-▒▒ Sir~!
-The hero of the Academic Hall!
-We waited so long, and you finally came!
-There, over there!
The livestock commonly used for transportation on Alphauri suddenly appeared in droves.
Above these animals, the kindred were holding onto the sturdy whiskers of the livestock.
To be precise, they weren’t particularly close, just Alphaurians whom he casually glimpsed passing by the Academic Hall.
-What’s going on? What brought you all the way here?
As he wondered, a low-frequency reply came back from across.
-We came to share in the joy!
-We heard the news that the enemy country’s castle has fallen even here.
-Tradition….
-So you really met the requirements after all.
-Now you can officially be called Great Mage, can’t you?
-Who would have thought you’d achieve it this quickly?
Their appearance instantly made the previously quiet deep sea noisy.
Moreover, upon closer inspection, one among them was holding a lovely flower wreath in their arms.
Once one receives the title of Great Mage, various powers are guaranteed by the country.
And the Academic Hall can also raise its voice more, so it certainly was a collective occasion of celebration.
-Huh?
The thought of a welcome was something he had never imagined, making him momentarily dumbfounded.
But the feeling wasn’t unpleasant. Who wouldn’t appreciate praise in this world?
Yeah. How many would, how many would…….
-…….
For some reason, he suddenly felt tired.
-I believed you would make it happen.
After a few seconds, the whale they rode on arrived nearby.
The Green Great Mage puffed out his chest and tried to say something.
-Congratulations!
However, the completers of the opposing language were quicker.
Today felt like the air currents in the void.
A peculiar figure adorned in brightly colored feathers covered his upper body skin—the face role—said soon enough.
-From now on, with pride, I shall be known as the Law Mage and will make you know that I shall…….
Unfortunately, what the quirky being conveyed as praise remained forgotten even until the distant future of reincarnation.
.
.
.
“Now, that wraps up the mid-century era story.”
“….”
“From now on, the explanations are going to become overall vague.”
“What?”
“I’ll start rambling with sentences full of incoherence like a brain-scrambled patient.”
“….”
“Don’t ponder too much; just listen for now. It’s merely a suggestion.”
“….”
“It’s intentional foreshadowing, after all.”
“….”
“Would you like some more green tea?”
“….”
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon, are you perhaps yawning with your eyes open because my story is too boring?”
“No, I just spaced out because it was so fresh and hard to keep up with, so don’t take it that way……”
