Descent of the Legendary Archmage

In that instant, my brain stopped working.

What did I just hear?

Ray Vell Bytenor.

I'm certain that's what I heard.

You’re telling me that Ray Vell Bytenor left this book to his successor who has the same constitution as him.

“...”

I heard somewhere that when you get flustered, you actually become rather cool-headed.

My current state is just that.

Very cool-headed.

“...Yet another joke. "

Recently, I've seen in the news that many have fallen victim to voice-phishing using magic.

This book could be in the same sort of category.

No, if you look at it with a cool head, there's a good chance that it is.

If you actually think about it then it just doesn't make sense.

Why would the great hero Ray Vell Bytenor leave such a book?

Just the fact that his handwriting still remains in itself is amazing, but just by coincidence or whatever, it's now here in my room?

What? And you've left this book to your successor who has the same constitution as me?

That's crossing the line.

It's too over the top.

"Come on now."

This type of incident also happened half a year ago.

There was a time when someone left a fake magic letter in front of my door to try and trick me.

The theories in the book were too shabby, so I realised it was a joke after reading just 1 page, but that feeling of hope plummeting into despair in an instant was just too much.

It was a pain that couldn't be explained with words.

'At least this time they put far more time into making it look convincing.'

I checked the cover of the book "Ray Vell Bytenor" once again.

Even when looking at it for the second time, the book has a certain feel to it.

How could they have written this ancient text so brilliantly?

I can't believe they're working this hard to try and trick me. I actually want to give them a round of applause.

'Let's at least see what's written inside.'

I carefully opened the book.

Maybe what happened last time was just a one-time thing, but there was no voice this time around.

"Oh?"

The inside of the book contained the same ornamental, glamorous style of writing.

What the hell? They really did try.

If they put this kind of effort into the joke then I'll respect it.

But just how much do you have to hate me to put this much work in?

Poor handwriting, cursive and ancient scripts. I slowly deciphered the book that contained these three things.

[This book is made so that it can only be opened by those who have the same constitution as I.]

The book was something to behold even from the very first line.

This was probably the best prank for fooling idiots.

[Therefore, reading this book means that you have an extremely exceptional brain, just like me.]

The brain.

Seeing how they've even brought up the story of the brain, I'm now certain.

"They've done a lot of research."

My brain can't accept artificial intelligence. The reason is unclear.

They did say that my brain's structure was peculiarly different from others.

In other words, the reason why I'm incompatible with artificial intelligence is because of my brain.

This book mentions the brain.

They're really evil.

Sigh.

[As I've said before, my magic can only be mastered by those with the same brain structure as mine.]

I continued to interpret the text. Let's see how far this joke goes.

That was how I felt.

[Unfortunately, I couldn't find such a being in my time. At this rate, my magic will be lost on the other side of history forever.]

[It may be that only the general purpose magic, that I made for my retainers and spread to the public, has remained for my successors.]

"General purpose magic?"

Did you just describe the old magic system that's divided into eight levels as the general purpose magic?

[That's why I decided to leave this book.]

[In order to find a disciple from the future, who will master my magic.]

I flipped onto the next page.

"Hmm?"

Before interpreting the 3rd page's ancient script, The 4th page caught my eye first.

"A blank page?"

The middle of page 3 till the end of page 4 were all blank.

"You couldn't be bothered to write anymore, huh?”

To be honest,

No one would have filled this book, which contains more than 200 pages, to the brim with this kind of quality just to make fun of me.

Let's see what he wrote at the end.

[To my successor. If what I'm thinking is right, then you can make a circle ofmana in your heart and use magic.]

And the sky's blue, huh.

Obviously a mage would make a mana circle in their heart, where else would they put it?

[This may be natural in the context of general-purpose magic, but that's not the correct way for you and me.]

[To my successor. If you have the will to continue my magic and become my disciple, you should first destroy all themana circles around your heart, circulate the mana around in your brain, and after you've revitalised your brain, you should reopen this book.]

[If you do this then...]

"What a load of bullshit."

I stopped reading and closed the book because I had no further use for it. I'm feeling quite annoyed.

Just how much do you have to hate me to spout this kind of bullshit at me.

"What? Destroy the mana circles? Circulate the mana around my brain?"

Mana is a poison to the brain.

The structure of mana has not been fully explained so far, so I don't know why., but the brain develops a fatal defect when it comes into contact with mana.

I can't believe you've told me to do such a dangerous act.

For what reason? You should have just performed some pagan ritual and prayed for my death.

I threw the book I was holding onto the floor.

"Now my mood is ruined"

I guess I'll just train.

* * *

The next morning.

The first class of the second semester was a practical lesson.

"Next. Ji Soonchan enter."

"Yes."

This lesson started for the purpose of allowing instructor Ko Changsoo, who’s in charge of the second year's class 1, to personally evaluate the skills of the class.

The other class seemed to just introduce themselves in their first lesson.

Only our class was different.

Of course, that’s fine with me.

Because I don't have any money, I don't have many opportunities for these kinds of practical training sessions.

"Ohhh!"

"Ji Soonchan Great job!"

Exclamations burst from the vicinity.

Everyone is looking at the screen illuminating the inside of the training ground.

I, too, also quit my image training and focused on the screen.

"Kya. Ji Soonchan really is the best~ That's what I'm saying."

"He's the hope of us regular admission students!"

Ji Soonchan.

He’s an excellent second year student whose combined grade always remained within the top 10.

He's someone who's already achieved 3 magic circles at the age of 18 and is a rising star among rising stars.

"You did well."

His movements were so perfect that I myself unknowingly began to mumble under my breath.

Raising his mobility by reinforcing his lower body with magic.

Constantly repositioning in order to avoid being sieged by rushing enemies from all sides.

Whilst still maintaining the reinforcing magic, continuously unleashing fire magic at the "Giant rat's" weakness.

Those that had managed to pass through the gap and were running towards him were blocked using a barrier.

"His mana output is insane."

Even if an ordinary three-circle mage were to combine double casting with moving casting, in truth, no one would be surprised.

"The hell you mean his output is good."

"I heard from somewhere that he was illegally modifying the AI."

"Oh? Really?"

"Otherwise, would a typical student be able to do that?"

Someone from 100 years ago probably would have been very surprised.

They probably would have said, "No! Double casting combined with moving casting!" and fainted from the shock.

However, in this present age, this is not the case.

For the modern mage, who has the assistance of the extraordinary magic support tool called AI, double casting or moving casting has no particular merit.

Rather, it was only natural that we could do it.

Artificial intelligence takes care of all the intermediate operations required when casting magic so how could double casting or moving casting ever be difficult?

On the screen, Ji Soonchan shoots magic all over the place.

The Giant rats, who had numbered a hundred in total, were quickly set alight, and only the remains of burning mana were left.

"The movement is nice. And it seems like your stamina has improved by a lot as well."

"But with that kind of stamina, you'll prematurely ejaculate. Look. You're already out of breath."

If the mage from 100 years ago was to be compared to a non-moving sack, then the modern mage could be compared to a mobile fighter jet.

An ever-changing, spectacular fighter jet.

A well rounded combatant who doesn't need any protection.

That's the modern mage.

"Well done."

Once training had ended, Ji Soonchan, who had stepped outside, was welcomed by the instructor.

"Comprehensive evaluation A. The movement was good. The variations of magic and mana output were also fine, but again, the lack of stamina is noticeable. Just make sure to pay attention to that."

Movement.

Variations of magic.

Mana output.

The number of magic uses depends on one's mental strength.

This is the main standard for assessing modern images.

All aspects of control are handled by AI, so there are no other factors to evaluate.

"Yes. I'll try."

Soonchan lowered his head and went back to his seat.

I let out a little sigh.

Soonchan really is great.

While I was proud of my friend's growth, I felt needlessly bitter.

"Next. Shin Hayul."

As soon as my name was called, the murmuring grew louder.

"It's Shin Hayul."

"Isn't monster rush training too harsh for Shin Hayul?"

"As soon as he's sieged, it's over."

Sympathetic gazes are cast upon me.

The instructor also looked at me in the same way.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? If you think that it's going to be too much...

I'm used to these gazes.

This is not the time to react to their responses.

"I'll try."

All I have to do is think about the benefits.

I don't have many opportunities to practice magic in such a full-fledged dome.

As long as I have money, I can do it at any time. But for me, who's completely lost the support of my family, it's impossible.

"Alright then, very well. Go inside."

"Yes.”

I lightly focused my mind, and went inside the training dome.

And as expected, I was placed at the bottom of the class.

Because it was what I had expected, I didn't feel all that bad.

Rather, I felt pretty good.

Three months ago, I could only defeat six of them.

But today, I was able to defeat 17 of them.

I’m definitely improving.

And that's enough for me.

And that's definitely enough for now.

* * *

That night.

After eating dinner, I returned straight to my room.

Originally, I'd planned to go to the training ground after changing into some light clothes, but unwelcome guests, whom I had not anticipated came, so I decided to put off going to the training ground.

"I can't even tell if this place is a room or a library anymore."

Ji Soonchan.

A fellow classmate, and the only person I can call my friend in this entire school.

He came to my room after a while.

“It’s quite a dilemma. I don’t have anywhere to store my books.”

“Can’t you just throw away all this stuff on the shelves? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen these books in the exact same position half a year ago.”

He said this as he wiped the dust off the books displayed on one of the shelves.

“I feel like it’s been a while since I last saw this one. What about throwing it away...”

“No way. I’ll have to review it later.”

These are all books I left for a reason. It was a waste to get rid of them.

“Whew. It's almost like you're afraid that people won't call you an old book addict."

Ji Soonchan laughed and sat on my bed.

"What can I do? This is the only way I can learn magic. "

I replied playfully.

It was just some dark humour without much significance.

However,

"...Sorry."

It seemed that Soonchan was unable to take it as a simple joke.

"Don't take it so seriously. It's just a joke, some dark humour.You know that's my specialty."

He's always like this.

The people around us were saying that he was of low birth and what not and that he was using some illegal modifications to increase his ability.

But he's just a faultless, good boy.

"You came to see me today as well to see if I was alright, didn’t you?"

"That’s just not true though?"

"Not true my ass."

The classmates were a bit severe with the ridiculing during the practical training earlier.

If I was in the shoes of Soonchan, I too would have been worried.

"I've already told you. I'm not hurt by those kinds of words anymore."

It was better to learn another line of a magic formula than to spend that time caring about such things.

"Soonchan, don't worry too much about my rumours. We're the only ones who don't benefit from paying attention to them. I'm just going to ignore it without making a fuss, and then..."

I started to smile.

"Let's show them our success. Isn't that the most pleasing revenge?"

Standing on top of those guys who used to ignore me. That's the best revenge that I can think of.

"Alright then... You're right. "

Soonchan also laughed with me

"I came here to console you, but I'm the one who got consoled."

"What's this? Didn't you say you hadn't come to comfort me?"

"Shut up man!"

Soonchan slapped my back and stood up from the bed.

"Then I'm going to get going... Hmm? What's this book? "

He probably tripped up on it whilst standing up.

"It's very elegant. Is this ancient text? What does it say? "

"Oh. That's..."

The book that I had flung away after reading it.

Ray Vell Bytenor.

A book that I had guessed was made by someone to make fun of me.

"Nah, it's nothing. Just forget about it."

"Alright then."

He's the guy that came because he was worried about the mocking whisperings that were targeted at me.

There's no reason to talk about this book as well.

“If you sell something that looks like this, won’t it make a lot of money? It looks good to just keep inside the house.”

“Just forget about it already.”

“Give me a second. I just want to take a look on the inside.”

Without even giving me the time to stop him, Soonchan had opened the book.

No, he was about to open the book.

“Hmph! What the hell is this? Why won’t it open?”

He was putting so much strength into it that his face had turned red, but the book refused to open.

“What? Did someone super glue every page together? How can you stick something so well that there’s not even a sign that it’ll come apart?”

Just as he had said, the book was impossible to open. There was no movement, as if the time around the book had stopped.

“...No way.”

At that moment, something came to mind.

“Ha-yul?”

I hurriedly took the book back from Soonchan.

Then I gently opened the book.

The book had definitely seemed like each page had been superglued together.

But in my hands, the book opens smoothly; as smooth as silk.

“What, it’s opening? Did you add some sort of security device to it? Though I couldn’t sense any magic devices from it.”

Soonchan’s incessant murmurings passed through one of my ears and went straight out the other.

My retina was accurately registering just one sentence.

[This book is made so that it can only be opened by those who have the same constitution as I.]

“No way...”

Is this for real?

I flipped the pages as if I was possessed by something.

[If you do this then...]

And I read the words I had stopped reading yesterday, slowly, step by step.

[Then you will be able to become the best archmage in the world.]

Only that sentence filled my retina.