Descent of the Legendary Archmage

My father immediately took out Ray Vell Bytenor's robe from the warehouse and handed it over to me.

'I hope that you do not regret your choice. You may leave.'

After those words, my father told me to exit.

Through the gap between the door, I could see my father's gaze which harbored clear disappointment.

'Well, nothing I can do about that.'

Whether it be my father's disappointment or whatever. In order to obtain this, I have to endure it.

'I'd never thought I would have been able to get this before winning the Olympiad.'

In the back seat of the moving limousine, I opened the box that contained the robes.

Among the ancient heirlooms that all at least have majestic appearances, this is a mop-like robe that doesn't even have that.

A robe bearing the name of the origin of magic and the first archmage, Rey Vell Bytenor.

'This costs more than 30% of the stakes to the mana stone mining rights.'

This robe's historical value cannot be put into numbers.

Had this robe not been stored in the Magic Shin Clan's warehouse, I wouldn't have been able to obtain it no matter how much money I had.

'But this is my master's robe, right?'

I heard that my master's robes were being stored in our family's warehouse, so I came here to get them. But I'm starting to doubt whether this is genuinely the robes of Ray Vell Bytenor, the great archmage.

Maybe it's because its appearance is more modest than I had imagined, but I'm actually worried that this might be a fake.

'Should I take a look?'

After briefly glancing at the chauffeur, I took out the old robe. It practically looked the same as a mop.

'It's made entirely out of mana fibers?'

Mana fiber.

Creating mana fiber is a high-level mana stone crafting skill that requires one to pluck thin strands of mana from a mana stone and make it into the shape of thread.

There are less than 30 craftsmen in the world who can handle mana fiber.

It's that difficult of a skill.

This robe is made out of that mana fiber. It's not even partially made out of mana fiber—the entire robe is.

'Even the mana fiber of the highest quality isn't this good.'

This is by far the best mana fiber I've ever seen.

This is my first time seeing mana fibers that are so pure and dense. 'At the very least it doesn't look like a fake.' A robe made with mana fiber of this level cannot be a fake. Convinced that the robe was genuine, I took a look at its structure.

'...Hm?'

And was shocked.

‘What on earth is this structure?'

The robe's design was strange.

No, it was beyond strange—it was grotesque.

'...Why has the outside layer and the inside layer been flipped?'

The most difficult thing about making a robe out of mana fibers is that one must weave the structures of the outside layers and the inside layers separately.

One needs to design the robe so that the inside layer of mana fibers, which touch the wearer's skin, have increased mana efficiency and conductivity, whilst the outside layer, which has a high possibility of being hit by magic, must be designed so that it does not conduct mana. But this robe's been made in the complete opposite way. The outside of the robe amplifies mana whilst the inside blocks its conductivity. 'This design makes it so that the wearer's mana output is weakened while the magic that hits the robe is strengthened.

'What on earth? Am I dreaming? Could this robe have been made for aspiring suiciders?’

'Maybe I'm looking at it inside out?'

From the looks of it, that doesn't seem to be the case. But just in case, I decided to turn it inside out.

"Heuk!"

And was surprised again. This time I was so shocked I even exclaimed out loud.

''Young master? Is everything alright?"

How loud must I have reacted for even the chauffeur to react.

"Oh, no it's nothing. It's just that I forgot to do something. No need to worry."

''Okay understood.''

I started by averting the chauffeur's attention.

'Sigh. I was really surprised.'

After controlling my startled heart and taking a deep breath, I checked the robe again.

How must it have been designed for it to be the same even when I turned it inside out?

‘Does this make sense?'

This is why I was surprised. Despite the fact that I had turned it inside out, the magic assigned to both the inside and the outside remained the same. The outer layer still amplifies mana, and the inner layer still blocks mana. I turned the robe inside out one more time.

'It's still the same.'

Regardless of what I did, the structure of the robe remained the same.

The inside blocks mana. And the outside absorbs it.

'What's going on here?'

This is something that's not only both magically and physically impossible, but also something that's impossible when creating artifacts.

'So that's why this was stuck in the corner of the warehouse.'

I now understand why a robe made with the finest mana fibers was just left in the warehouse.

'And I also know why this came to be called an ancient heirloom.'

A remnant of the past that cannot be reproduced with modern technology. That is an ancient heirloom. These robes are an ancient heirloom in every sense of the definition.

'And now I also know why these were called Ray Vell Bytenor's robes.'

I turned the robe inside out once more.

Crudely written ancient characters were inscribed on one side of the inside layer.

[Ray Vell Bytenor]

Bad handwriting that was now as familiar as my own.

'It's my master's handwriting. I'm certain of it.'

True to its name, these are my master's robes.

* * *

I, who had returned to the dormitory at 1 AM, headed straight to Mímisbrunnr.

“Mimir!”

"Successor. Welcome ba... huh?”

Mimir, who was about to welcome me back, saw the robe that was in my hands and widened her eyes.

She approached me with a shocked expression.

"Hold on. This is Ray's robe isn't it?"

She stared fixedly at the robe in admiration.

“Wow, you found this already? Successor. You really are lucky, huh?"

As expected, Mimir clearly knew what this robe was. Though that should have been obvious.

A treasure trove of knowledge, Mímisbrunnr. There was no way the manager of this place wouldn't have known of it.

“Mimir. How do I use this robe?"

“What do you mean how do I use it. You just put it on.”

Mimir answered with an expression that asked me why I was really asking something so obvious.

“No, I wasn’t asking how to wear it, I was asking what the robe was used for.”

"Hm? What the robe’s used for? There's no point in... Ah."

Mimir suddenly had an expression of realization.

"I forgot. You only have 2 circles don't you?"

Then she nodded her head as if she alone had understood something.

“Then it makes sense that you don't know.”

She's leaving me completely out of the loop. It would be nice if she could explain it in a way so that I can understand.

"Successor. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you about this robe."

Mimir said this with a serious expression.

"Why?"

Judging from her facial expression and the atmosphere, there seemed to be a reason as to why she couldn't answer.

"Hmm. How should I explain? Well, in the Bytenor style of magic there exists a very special..."

Mimir abruptly stopped talking with a smirk on her face.

"...Oh my. Come to think of it. I'm not even allowed to say the name of the magic."

Mimir clicked her tongue and mumbled 'how should I call it?' to herself.

"Hmph. I don't know. The name's not important right now."

Then she started talking again with a serious gaze.

“I’ll start again. In the Bytenor style of magic, there exists a very special type of magic called 'real magic'."

"...Real magic?"

It was definitely a name that Mimir came up with on the spot.

"Uh. Real magic that's completely different to whatever copy magic you're using now.” '

'Copy magic... Even if it's true, you saying it like that hurts my self-esteem a little."

It feels like all of my magic's been denied, so it does hurt a little.

“Oh really? Sorry. Okay I'll call your magic fake magic from now on.”

“That literally makes no difference..."

Where's the difference? It strangely feels slightly worse.

“Don't pay attention to those little things. Anyway, in the Bytenor style, there's a stage of magic called real magic. You're following so far, right?"

Mimir asked this while making the OK sign with her thumb and index finger.

I nodded.

“I can't divulge anything about this real magic until you reach a certain level. You can probably tell by how I'm explaining it, but that information is thoroughly locked up, to the point that I can't even mention its name.”

''Why's it locked up?"

“It’s a restriction placed on Mimir’s tome. Don't think about it too much."

"...I see."

I didn't know there was such a restriction.

“Anyway, I can't divulge any information about this real magic. And..."

Mimir pointed at the robe. At Ray Vell Bytenor's robe.

“So you're saying that the robe is an artifact that exists to help with this so-called real magic?”

“So you can’t tell me anything about the robe either.”

“That's it!”

Mimir laughed, giving me a thumbs up.

"For me to tell you about this robe, you must become a 5th Circle Master and enter the 5th test's page."

“Then you’re saying that the information on the real magic will be unlocked when I become a 5th circle master?”

“That's it, that's it.”

Mimir nodded twice.

"Then does that mean I can use that real magic starting from when I become a 5th circle master?"

"Yup, that's right too.”

This time she nodded four times.

“You reach the starting point of the Bytenor style of magic when you become a 5th circle master. It's good to look forward to it. Because no matter what you're expecting it'll be above and beyond. In fact, you'll probably see why I called your magic a copy?"

“It's really to that extent?”

“It really is!”

Mimir said this with a confident grin.

“How about it? Aren’t you excited just by listening?"

"...Yeah."

Real magic.

Just how great could it be?

“So, hurry up and become a 5th Circle Master. Because I also want to tell you everything as soon as possible.”

Mimir scratched her mouth as if it was itching.

''I'll try."

"Yeah!"

Mimir faintly smiled at my response.

"Anyway, to summarize what you've said, I have no choice but to put this robe to one side until I become a 5th circle master, right?"

It seems like I'll have to part with this robe until I encounter real magic.

'It's a bit of a shame.'

And at that moment as I let out a sigh of regret.

"Hm? What are you saying?"

Mimir looks at me with an expression of confusion.

“Why are you going to leave such a good item alone? You have to bite it, chew it, taste it and use it until you like it.”

“But didn't you say that I had to be a 5th circle master first?”

“I just said that you need to be a 5th circle master to use its main functions.”

Mimir shook her index finger at me and put on airs.

“That robe has an additional effect that even you can use.”

''An additional effect?"

“Yup. A feature that'll be massively helpful to you right now.”

"What is it?"

Mimir started to count with her fingers one by one and said,

"For starters, one of them's fatigue recovery."

"Fatigue recovery?" “

Yup."

Mimir took the robe from me.

“The structure of the inside and outside of this robe are the complete opposite, right?"

"Yeah."

“It's like that to prevent the mana inside the robe from escaping outside, and to saturate it inside.”

"Saturate it..."

''As your mana becomes more abundant, your infinity circle will also rotate faster than before, and of course, the mana passing through your brain will increase drastically as well."

Mimir patted her head.

“And so, when the brain is affected by such a large amount of mana, it recovers from fatigue faster than usual. The same goes for the fatigue that builds up inside your body.”

Mana is a poison to the brain.

This is basic, common sense in modern magic. However, if you use it well, even poison can become medicine.

'Mana acts as a medicine for my brain.'

The only thing poisonous about mana is its will.

Mana itself has the property of being able to heal the brain and reduce fatigue.

This is why, after learning the Bytenor style of magic, I'm less fatigued even though I sleep much less.

"I understand. So, you're saying that by using this robe I can reduce my sleep time even more?"

"You don't need to sleep."

"...At all?"

"Mhm. If you wear the robe for about 5 hours a day, you won't have to sleep at all. Forget being tired, you'll probably be able to maintain your best condition?"

"...This is overpowered?"

"Right?"

Humans spend about 30% of their lifetime sleeping. Not having to sleep means I can be active for 30% more time than others.

This is a great effect beyond my imagination.

'And being able to be in my best condition at all times as well.'

The same goes for managing my condition.

Anyone who's struggled with not performing at their best will immediately know how overpowered of an ability this is.

These effects are quite literally the things I needed.

''It also has a function of increasing the efficiency of your mana circulation.”

Since the amount of mana flowing through my body increases, naturally, the efficiency of my mana circulation also increases.

“I would recommend wearing this robe when circulating mana and stuff in the future.”

"I'll do that."

At least in the dormitory, it seems like I'll be wearing this robe at all times.

“Oh, and just in case you didn’t know, Ray's robe works only for you. Since it's just a defective product that only makes its wearer take more damage from magic. So don't even think about putting it on someone else."

"I know."

The composition, function and effect of this robe all only work because I have the Bytenor style of magic and infinity circles.

For modern mages who only collect mana at their heart, mana saturation is not a benefit, but a poison.

It's good that since I have excessive mana I won't ever run out.

"I don't need to explain any of the other benefits right? Since they all come from the mana saturation's fatigue recovery effect that I just talked about.”

"Yeah. I've got it all roughly figured out.”

This robe is the greatest treasure for magic training.

"It's amazing. So you're telling me this is just a minor, additional feature...”

That's what's even more shocking. Mimir waved her hand.

”Ahem."

Mimir put her hands on her waist and held her head high with a haughty expression. As if to brag about how great real magic was.

“Just how great is real magic then..."

"Curious?"

Mimir brought her face closer to mine and raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah. At this point, I'm so curious I'm going to go crazy.”

Mimir grinned.

“Then all you have to do is quickly become a 5th circle master."

"...Thanks for your practical advice."

I was hoping she would give me some sort of hint but that was to be expected.

"Mm? Are you going now?"

"Yeah."

I headed to the door, at the centre of Mímisbrunnr, that lead to the outside of the book.

“Where are you going?”

“Where else could I go? I thought you told me to become a 5th circle master as soon as possible?"

After opening the door to go outside, I turned around halfway, looked at Mimir and grinned.

''I'll quickly become a 3 circle master and be back in a flash."

"Ah ha."

I promise you, today will be the last time I go to the second test's page.