Hmph.
I had to doubt my eyes—no, my senses—over the magic that activated so nonchalantly.
Before, when magic was cast, I would just think, “Oh, the mana is moving.”
Maybe because my senses were heightened by managing demonic energy, now I could see those movements in greater detail.
Magic poured out from the nameless one’s body, staining the ground.
At first glance, there seemed to be no rules or order—just mana seeping down like rain on the earth.
But the moment Mi Jeong’s foot entered that range, the mana moved in unison and began to take on an artificial shape.
It shot up from the ground like a sprouting seed.
What that mana was creating was a gigantic structure.
It almost looked like a clockwork machine.
Maybe it’s reminiscent of a magical machine.
No. Are they all fundamentally the same?
When you think about it, it’s only natural they resemble each other.
Whether it’s activated by a magic circle or a machine, they’re all rooted in the same foundation.
But what was appearing right in front of me wasn’t a magic that could be materialized through gears or machines.
The mana that had surged upwards was taller and wider than a standard building.
To create something like this with a machine…?
You’d practically have to build a skyscraper just to activate one spell.
How marvelous.
The first feeling I got from confronting such magic wasn’t fear, but awe.
It was clearly beyond the level of magic I was using, so it transcended mere fear.
Is that an eighth circle?
No. If we’re talking status… is it a ninth circle?
It’s a realm they call great magic.
Is it all just a matter of twisting mana complexly and elevating its status?
That’s not the case.
For it to be recognized as great magic and registered in the Magic Society, it must have academic and practical value.
And what unfolds before my eyes now?
It’s achieving an accomplishment I’ve never before seen or heard of.
It… it has created a soul?
I wasn’t mistaken.
Since I also have some awareness of souls, I can confirm it.
The mana overflowing from great magic skimmed over Mi Jeong’s body and based on that, it’s regenerating a soul.
The soul of someone who has already died.
A soul that vanished when their life ended is being reassembled.
For just a brief moment, I thought I saw blood energy parading across Mi Jeong’s face, making her look almost alive.
I couldn’t let this timing slip.
I quickly got up from my spot and gathered the sword aura in my hand.
I had gotten somewhat skilled at handling it even without the form of a sword.
Of course, compared to a real sword, the strength and sharpness were still lacking.
But it didn’t matter since I wasn’t trying to chop something right now.
Wielding the transparent sword that rippled like a mirage, I shot the sword aura straight at Mi Jeong.
In that moment.
For just a brief second.
I was able to glimpse inside the soul created by the mana.
Images flashed by like flipping through a paper notebook.
A village was on fire.
People transforming into blood ghouls, holy knights rushing in to kill and burn everything—a hellscape.
In the middle of it all stood a girl.
Still and staring blankly.
It looked like the scene I saw in the basement of the White Magic Tower before.
But there was one difference.
The girl was no longer crying.
Instead, she was staring into the eyes of a man kneeling in front of her.
She was just staring intently.
The man wiped away the dried tears still clinging to her cheeks with his hand.
The man then stood up and took the girl’s hand, walking away.
They moved from that hellscape into a bright light.
Meanwhile, the girl’s back gradually grew taller.
She grew to about a head shorter than the man, and together they walked into the light, disappearing.
Ugh…
AAAGH!!!
As I snapped back to reality, the magic had already finished casting.
With a deeply furrowed face, Mi Jeong had collapsed to the ground, bawling.
This is something else.
I had anticipated the nameless one would be the clue.
But I never expected this much.
To go beyond merely handling souls to creating a soul.
Of course, there are clear insufficiencies in calling it ‘creation.’
From what I observed in the casting process, it doesn’t create a soul from nothing.
Instead, it recreates the old form of the soul based on the physical structure and remaining memories in the brain.
The more damaged the body, the more imperfectly the soul is recreated.
But just because a soul is created doesn’t make it fake.
What I glimpsed inside Mi Jeong’s soul when the wills collided was definitely her inner world.
In other words, the nameless one has the ability to rebuild the broken inner world.
Not just a clue to recover my existence, but the key itself.
Sure, there are still many gaps.
It needs to be addressed that the magic disappears right after casting.
It’s also a problem that the recreated inner world has a lower status than the original.
That’s why I couldn’t step into Mi Jeong’s inner world and had to view the scenes one by one like flipping pages.
Just as a three-dimensional object can’t fit inside a two-dimensional space.
I couldn’t step inside that world because my status was different.
But this seems solvable.
The solution is “to forcefully stretch the status.”
If I could grow the inner world without hesitation, it shouldn’t be impossible.
The issue is that such a massive undertaking to stretch the status would definitely require sophisticated tools…
Longinus’ Spear?
A tool that only mindlessly tears apart space wouldn’t be able to achieve anything.
Magic Sword?
It’s quite sharp, but it only slices through space.
It couldn’t reach deep into the layers.
But with this sword aura, made by gathering my ‘will’, I feel like it just might work.
Though its strength and sharpness are inferior to even the crappy swords available in the market.
This sword, purely made from my will, should be able to penetrate into that inner world.
The problem is that it’s still incomplete.
But that’s still theoretical.
It’s about what will happen when this sword is completed.
I have absorbed a bit of Rex’s Merida-style martial arts secrets when it clashed with my own, but that’s not enough.
At the very least, I need to refine the absorbed Merida martial arts secrets further, and then fuse them with another martial arts secret.
Just mastering Dakia-style and Merida-style has been a real struggle.
Those two had been martial arts I had already learned the basics of, so it was relatively quick to absorb. If it were a different martial art, I’d be looking at decades of basic training.
Among the martial arts I’ve already mastered, are there any I could learn another secret from…?
Ah. Frost-style.
That’s when it hit me.
Frost-style.
I wonder if Yerina has already created the Frost-style martial arts secrets by now?
If she had already created them, I could just absorb it.
If not, I could simply prompt an awakening.
In any case, just having a path start to reveal itself is already an incredible achievement.
“Alright! So, did you notice what I just did? Hehehe! Well, the great mages who judged me for the first time were also a bit indifferent, wondering what kind of magic this was! But a regular person—”
There’s no way they wouldn’t notice. You’re getting closer to the forbidden area of soul creation. It’s an upgrade to the contract conditions. Once everything is over, I’ll grant you one wish, so think of what you want.
“Y-yes, one…?”
In gratitude, I snapped her hand.
Even now and before, it seems I’m just receiving help from the nameless one.
If it weren’t for this brat, I would have lived forgotten like a crooked old man, without a clue.
“Hehe, hmm! Well, I guess I’m pretty amazing, huh? Heheh, hmm… You also seem to have a keen eye for these things, huh? Heheh…”
Unable to suppress the laughter bubbling up, the nameless one’s face turned red.
This brat…
How starved for compliments could he have been?
He has changed a lot, but there are definitely parts where he’s just the same as before.
“……Ugh.”
AAAGH!!!
Suddenly, Mi Jeong rushed over and bit my hand.
Why did she suddenly do that?
…
Rumble rumble.
Thunder cracked from the dark clouds, sending a chilling sound reverberating.
As if it were about to rain at any moment, the gloomy sky unfolded, with an old carriage coming to a stop.
Like it was waiting, hundreds of soldiers stood ready before it.
In front of the tense soldiers, the Frost Duchess stepped forward solemnly.
Then the carriage door creaked open.
As a light shone from inside the dark carriage, all the soldiers knelt, and the Frost Duchess slightly bowed as well.
“Because of one washed-up has-been, all you guards are suffering, huh?”
“Please don’t say that, Taesu…”
“I’m Taesu. I’m not so shameless as to be treated like a Taesu after losing my seat ages ago.”
What walked out from inside was a woman wrapped in thick garments covering her whole body, including her head.
Fox ears slightly singed and charred peeked through the cloth wrapping her head.
The former Taesu, Gui Ho.
It seemed as if crude demonic energy flowed from her with every breath she took.
At this, Yerina tensed up slightly and lowered her head even more.
“My apologies for imposing on you. We’re in the position of requesting your assistance—”
“Enough. It’s fine. We’re both in a position to help each other. Who’s asking for favors? If anything, I should be asking for you to let me take my revenge on the one who harmed my apprentice.”
“……”
Gui Ho’s voice was tinged with a mixture of rage and sorrow.
It felt like there was a bit of grief hidden in her tone too.
The demonic energy spilling out from her makes all the guards tense up, holding their breaths.
“The enemy tore through space using demonic energy and fled, right? Leave it to me. Tracking the subtle traces of demonic energy is my specialty. I don’t mind this appearance or state for the apprentice I’ll protect. Whoever dared harm my apprentice will not be forgiven…!”
Crack crack.
As Gui Ho gritted her teeth fiercely, she pushed back the cloth covering her face.
What was revealed was a long scar that crossed her eyes.
It was a disfigured face left by burns.
“Use me as a weapon, Frost Duchess! Such rudeness I shall forgive plenty!”
“……”
Despite her injuries and illness, the rage emanating from her far surpassed what it was in her youth.
She had felt so much suffering.
And having lost so many things made her realize.
The pain and fear of the present were beyond anything she’d ever felt in her life.
