Descent of the Legendary Archmage

Inside the limousine that was driving along the Olympic main road, Kim Seokhyun was giving Shin Inhyuk a briefing.

“Neither young master Minhyuk nor young lady Minji seems to be that interested in young master Hayul."

Kim Seokhyun was ordered by Shin Inhyuk to protect Shin Hayul until the Olympiad.

Today's briefing was related to that protection.

“And surprisingly, young lady Seha doesn't seem to be very interested either.”

"Hm."

It was very surprising.

Shin Minhyuk and Shin Minji made sense, but to think that even Shin Seha had no interest in him.

“It seems that your order has had a large impact.”

"It looks like she was able to suppress that fiery temper of hers."

Considering Shin Seha's audacious personality, he had thought that there was a considerable possibility that she would cause harm to Shin Hayul, even if she had been ordered not to.

His prediction was wrong.

She seems to have at least grown mentally during this past year.

"Though it is true that young lady Seha's temper may have gotten slightly better, I believe rather than that, the reason she's not made any moves is that she knows that the shadows and myself are protecting young master Hayul."

"That may be true."

Even Shin Seha knows about Baek Sahyuk's attack.

The shadows were dispatched to cover up the incident.

Shin Seha understood what the dispatching of the shadows meant.

And from this, she would have confirmed that Kim Seokhyun and the shadows were protecting Shin Hayul.

"And finally, young master Jihan is maintaining the appearance that he's not concerned about Hayul at all."

"...He's not interested?"

“Yes. It felt like he was somewhat on guard, but that was it. On the contrary, he seemed less concerned than young lady Seha was.”

“He didn't monitor Hayul or anything like that either?”

''Yes. He did nothing of the sort."

"...Is that so.”

Since Kim Seokhyun was asserting this, it meant that Shin Jihan truly had no intention of doing anything to Shin Hayul.

"I'll continue to pay attention, but seeing how there was no action taken, at least till the end of the protection period, I suspect that none of them will make their move."

"...Yes, that's how it seems.”

Shin Inhyuk was in agreement with Kim Seokhyun.

'Not bad.'

Shin Jihan and Shin Seha.

Both seemed to be able to mask their private feelings with their public behaviour.

They both seemed to have grown this past year.

"Is that the end of the report?"

Shin Inhyuk asked with sharp eyes.

Shin Inhyuk had asked Kim Seokhyun to investigate more than just that.

The most important thing was yet to come.

"..."

Kim Seokhyun rechecked the soundproofing panels between the driver and the back seats of the limousine.

"Finally, I'll report on whether there is anyone in the family who had communicated with the Black Magic Tower."

Shin Inhyuk had become suspicious after the Len Smith and Baek Sahyuk incident.

Why would Len Smith move at that time?

'Of all occasions, why would he try to do something on the test that Shin Hayul started to stand out?'

'Perhaps Len Smith's target was Shin Hayul.'

'Was it just a coincidence that Baek Sahyuk attacked Shin Hayul?'

'Could the fact that Baek Sahyuk was armed with an IL chip and berserker, which were essentially evidence of the Black Magic Tower's involvement, also be a coincidence?'

'If it's not a coincidence, If these two events were not separate, but one.'

'It could be the case that the Black Magic Tower received a commission from someone to harm Hayul.'

'And if someone did commission the Black Magic Tower to harm Hayul, then there was a 10 to 1 probability that person was from the Magic Shin Clan.'

It's not all that likely, but it did involve the Black Magic Tower.

And if the fact that someone from the Magic Shin Clan had been involved in such misconduct were to be revealed, then the reputation of the Magic Shin Clan would be utterly destroyed.

And that's why Shin Inhyuk had Kim Seokhyun investigate the members of the Magic Shin Clan.

Assuming that the 1 in 10,000 probability was the case, it was an extreme measure taken to avoid the worst-case scenario.

"For starters, we've completed the investigation of the 32 people, including the elders and the high-ranking executives from each of the affiliates, who were unhappy with young master Hayul."

"And?"

''They're at least clean from the Black Magic Tower."

Among the 32 people investigated this time, there were none who had been involved in such communications.

"It sounds like they're not clean from things other than communicating with the Black Magic Tower."

''Yes. You hit the nail on the head."

Kim Seokhyun took out a pile of documents from his briefcase.

“Out of the 32, 5 of them are fishy. If this gets any worse, the hyenas may take notice.”

Shin Inhyuk swiftly read through the document.

Indeed, Kim Seokhyun was right to call them fishy.

“It seems that it'll be best to dispose of them."

"Let's do that."

That's what Shin Inhyuk was thinking of doing regardless.

These executives have crossed the line quite a bit.

If they were free to do as they pleased any longer, then they were sure to stain the name of the Magic Shin Clan.

“I'll take care of these 5 myself. You continue with your investigation.''

"Yes. Understood."

"And also..."

Shin Inhyuk's eyes shone sharply.

“Continue keeping an eye on Jihan and Seha.”

''Yes. I'll do just that."

* * *

After that, I was led by Elena to a nearby vacant lot.

I was here so that Elena could fulfil her duty and teach me about the 'God's eye'.

"Oh my. You've met Mimir already?”

While I was gently stretching, I realized all of a sudden that I had forgotten to relay Mimir's message.

Ever since the drake appeared, I was so out of it that I had completely forgotten.

"Yes. Mimir asked me to tell you that she's doing well."

"...Is that so? It's a relief that she's doing well."

Elena smiled bitterly.

She reacted similarly to when Mimir asked me to send Elena her regards.

It was clear that the two of them had a bit of a story.

“Thank you. I got to hear some good news thanks to you.”

“It's nothing. All I did was relay her message to you.”

I didn't do anything worthy of her gratitude.

"Speaking of which, if you met Mimir already, then you should have known about the Greenwood forest and about myself in advance..."

Elena put a palm on one of her cheeks and tilted her head as if it were strange.

Her expression said that she was wondering why I had been so surprised.

"...I wasn’t told."

"Huh? Did Mimir not tell you?"

"Yes."

Had I known, I wouldn't have been so surprised.

"She said that you two had a promise together and wouldn't tell me anything about it."

Promise.

The moment that two-syllable word came out, Elena's complexion darkened.

“Seems that she remembered that promise. However, I can't keep that promise anymore..."

She looked as if she were regretting something.

"Miss Elena?"

“Oh, I’m sorry. I've ruined the mood haven't I.”

"No, it’s alright."

"Then that's a relief."

Elena smiled broadly again as if she had never been gloomy.

Like a flower that had fully bloomed.

“By the way, seeing how Mimir told you about the promise, it seems like she's quite fond of you.”

"Sorry?"

She said this out of the blue.

Mimir's fond of me?

"Is that not true?"

''Well. It's not like we're on bad terms..."

In fact, we're actually on pretty good terms.

"Right?"

Elena smiled as if saying 'I told you so'.

Now that she's being like this, it's concerning me even more.

“Just what did you promise each other?"

Since it was a private matter and they both reacted negatively, I tried my best not to ask, but I can't hold it in anymore. I'm too curious.

Though I think that there's probably a high chance that she won't answer me, I just had to ask.

"It's just a little matter."

"...As expected, it's a secret."

As expected, I didn't get an answer.

"That's right. It's a promise just between the two of us. We can't even tell Ray, let alone you.”

As if reminiscing about the past, Elena smiled faintly.

“Then, what's your relationship with Mimir?”

“She's my friend.”

"Your friend..."

Mimir and Elena are friends.

Elena introduced herself as Ray's appreciative friend and a real person of the past.

“So that means that Mimir is someone who actually existed in the past like yourself?”

Elena seemed a little surprised at my words.

"...She hasn't even told you that. Wow... That's very like her."

Then she laughed bitterly again.

Her laugh felt slightly different to before.

Perhaps it could be described as the bitter laugh of a mother who saw her child behave immaturely.

"I'm sorry, successor, but I don't think I can answer that question. I can't expose a secret that my friend is keeping from you."

“So you're telling me to hear from Mimir directly."

"Yes."

"Okay."

I had no intention of forcing an answer out of her.

"Anyways, thank you. Thanks to you discovering Mimir's tome so early, I was able to hear a word of that child for the last time."

Elena thanked me again.

“As I said before, I didn't do anything worthy of your gratitude. I luckily happened to find Mimir's tome.”

"Oh my. Then I should thank the successor for his fortune."

Elena covered her mouth and laughed playfully.

It seemed like her mood had gotten a lot better than before.

Her smile even cheered me up.

“I'll repay you for this by training you on how to use God's eye.”

“Ah, in that case, thank you. Please give me the toughest training possible.”

Training has to be tough for it to be good.

Yep.

“You're just like Ray. Even in that regard, you're the same.”

Elena giggled.

“Then, as requested, I'll make the training tough. Brace yourself.”

Elena laughed.

Her smile made me a bit anxious.

“Then could you come over here and sit with your back facing me?”

"Okay."

I sat down on the tree stump that Elena was pointing to.

Elena put her hand on my back and breathed her mana into me.

Elena's mana instantly became one with my Infinity Circle and circulated inside my body.

“First, I'll explain some things about God's eye. You know nothing about God's eye do you?"

''Yes. It was my first time hearing that my eyes were called God's eyes.”

The term God's eyes hadn't appeared anywhere in either Mimir's tome or Eadred's grimoire.

"You'll be able to find information on God's eye when you reach the 4th circle in Mimir's tome."

"When I reach the 4th circle?"

My God's eyes were awakened at the 3rd circle but information on it is only revealed when I've reached my 4th?

''Yes. Ray figured that since I was at the page of the 3rd test anyways, he might as well not include any information on God's eyes.”

"...Was it necessary to remove all the information?”

Elena seemed slightly angry.

''He said that if the successor somehow learns how to use God's eyes on his own, then I would have nothing to do. Funny isn't it?"

"..."

Her expression said that she didn't find it funny at all.

Her pride seemed a little hurt as well.

“Aside from that, there was also the problem that there was simply too much information to store.”

"Ah."

That's what Mimir had said.

Eadred's grimoire contained only a summary due to the sheer volume of information that it contained.

Elena's words matched what Mimir had said.

"Oh. We've gone off topic.”

Elena focused on the infinity circles in my body again.

“Anyway, God's eyes and the infinity circles are the foundations of the Bytenor style and allow for greatness. It has the trait of progressing as your infinity circle does.”

Elena's mana, which was circulating around my body, began to gather at my head, or more specifically my eyes.

“God's eyes have the power to see through the essence of mana. At the first circle, you can see the color of the mana. At the second circle, you can see snippets of the structure of the magic formula.”

Elena simultaneously moved her hand away from my shoulder and placed it on my eyes. My eyes were closed and darkness carpeted my vision in an instant.

“And at the 3rd circle, you can see right through the essence of magic.”

''The essence of magic..."

“And for that, you'll have to be able to see mana at will.”

Mana seeped into my retina.

Even the slightest of light that was visible through Elena's fingers disappeared completely.

“The mana that you'll be able to see with God's eyes is a 6th sense that has nothing to do with sight. And in order to awaken that 6th sense, it's necessary to completely seal your other senses.”

Elena removed her hand from my eyes.

But despite this, all I could see was complete darkness.

Even when I blinked, nothing happened.

"How is it? You can't see anything right?"

"...What kind of magic is this?"

Vision-blocking magic such as Darkness Blind work by literally casting darkness in front of the opponent's eyes.

So basically, instead of doing anything to the eye directly, it's kind of like placing an eyepatch over their eyes.

However, Elena's magic didn't feel like something was covering my eyes.

It felt like I had genuinely gone blind.

“I blocked the nerves in your eyes using my mana. Since vision blocking magic cannot truly block your sight.”

"The nerves in my eyes... You blocked them?"

I had never even heard of such magic.

“You shouldn’t be so surprised at that. We haven't even got started yet."

"Sorry?"

“I told you before, didn't I? God's eyes are a 6th sense different from the other 5. When training your 6th sense, your other senses are just a hindrance.”

At that moment, my entire body felt uncomfortable.

As if this body wasn't my own.

Even when I touched my skin with my fingers, I couldn't feel anything.

“I've removed your sense of touch.”

I then couldn't smell anything.

The fresh smell that filled the forest soon became odorless.

'"After removing your sense of smell, I'll remove your sense of taste."

Nothing much changed when she removed my sense of taste.

But I'm sure it has gone.

"Finally."

My sense of hearing.

I couldn't hear her say it.

Before I could, all sounds disappeared.

'Am I... Even alive right now?'

A world where all my senses were gone. It was truly like death.