The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 133

After receiving about 50 warnings from Mimir, I finally prepared myself and left Mimir’s Book.

I put Mimir’s Book back into the magic vault and took out another magic book that had been stored there, Idred’s Book.

I immediately opened the book to the very last page, the last page of the special magic formula that was engraved across 20 pages.

‘This is really the end.’

A strange feeling washed over me at the thought of it being the last page.

Thanks to this book, I was able to stand again, and thanks to this book, I was able to come this far.

So, the fact that it’s the last page of such a book made my heart flutter.

It felt like I was sending off an old friend.

I flipped the page back a little.

[Now, this is truly the end.]

[This is also the last time I will convey my words to the successor through this book.]

[This is also the last role of Idred’s Book.]

The last.

Reading that word made a surge of emotion well up inside me this time.

[But this is just a small farewell. We will meet again.]

[In Mimir’s Book, in Danteora’s Book, in the ruins of Halamanium.]

Proper nouns that I still couldn’t understand. I didn’t know what they meant yet.

[Therefore, this is the end, but also another beginning.]

[Let’s meet again then. And…]

Was it because it was the last sentence?

I read my teacher’s slightly refined words slowly, very slowly, as if savoring them.

[Congratulations on your graduation, my disciple.]

That one sentence made my heart tremble.

I kept repeating my teacher’s last congratulatory message, and gently closed my eyes.

‘Thank you. And I will try harder.’

I sent infinite gratitude to my teacher for giving me this opportunity, and calmed my somewhat scattered mind.

The lake in my heart, which had been fluctuating with complex emotions, quickly became calm.

“Hoo.”

Soon, only determination remained in my heart.

I would pass the fifth trial page no matter what.

With that determination.

“…Let’s go.”

I verbalized my determination and then,

I opened the last page again.

A series of geometric magic circles.

I scanned the special structure of the magic circles, which I still couldn’t understand even 1%, with my eyes, and placed my hand in the center of the magic circles.

“I beseech you—”

The magic circle glowed with my incantation.

Woong, woong, woong!

The first activation word.

Was that enough?

The magic circle, no. The entire Book of Idred shook.

And then.

Fwaaaah-!

The light engulfed the entire room.

“Ugh!”

Even though my eyes were closed, the light was transmitted through my eyelids.

In that massive amount of light.

A voice was heard.

‘I wish you success in your achievements.’

My teacher’s voice, which I could now distinguish even in a chaotic marketplace.

And immediately after that.

The light disappeared.

I slowly opened my eyes.

“Welcome, Successor.”

In front of me, a woman with a familiar appearance was standing.

A woman with a full smile, yet exuding a strangely mechanical atmosphere.

It felt like the fourth time we were meeting, but it was probably the first time I was meeting this magical persona [a being created from mana].

“I am ‘Delta (Δ),’ the guide for the fifth trial page.”

Following Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, now Delta.

“From now on, I will explain the fifth trial page.”

In the center of a completely white space reminiscent of the first trial page, she recited the same words that Alpha had said in the past.

“Would you like to hear the explanation?”

“Huh? Oh.”

I was momentarily stunned by Delta’s unexpected appearance.

Since no magical persona had appeared in the third trial page, I had assumed that none would appear this time either.

My expectations were completely wrong.

‘The fifth trial page must be so dangerous that they placed her here as a safety measure.’

Since it was such a dangerous place that Mimir had made such a fuss about, it was natural to have this kind of safety device.

I figured that I would receive guidance from Delta here and then enter the fifth trial page in earnest.

“Successor? May I begin the explanation?”

“Oh. Please do.”

“Yes. I will begin the explanation.”

Delta smiled faintly and began the explanation.

“The fifth trial page uniformly examines the successor’s magical abilities. Use everything you have learned so far to gain recognition from the examiner, ‘Aslan Polohamruin.'”

It was a very unexpected explanation.

I thought they would check my mastery of incantation or something, but they were going to test all the magical abilities I had learned so far.

‘It’s like a final check-up since it’s graduation.’

I understood.

“There are many dangers lurking in the fifth trial page. Jellyfish with deadly poison. Man-eating rabbits that deceive people with their cute appearance. Ghosts that lure prey using illusions. Demonic trees that use people as nutrients, and so on.”

The things I had heard from Mimir before entering were repeated verbatim.

“Escape all the threats that will block your path and find the supervisor, Aslan Polohamruin. That is the first gate.”

As I expected, Delta seemed to be placed here as a safety measure.

“If the first gate is to find Aslan Polohamruin, what about the second or third gates?”

“You will find out when you find the supervisor.”

“So, that’s not something you can answer.”

“Yes. That is correct.”

In short, Delta’s role was to provide a simple warning and present the initial objective, and everything after that was under the jurisdiction of Aslan Polohamruin.

“Finally, I will convey the most important point.”

Delta said with the same expression.

“Do not trust anyone in this trial.”

“……”

This was also what Mimir had repeatedly emphasized.

“Do not trust the supervisor, nor ordinary animals, insects, or plants. Do not even trust your own senses. Doubt everything.”

The unique, alien smile of the magical life form stood out even more.

“That is the only way to escape safely from this place.”

“…Okay. Thanks for the advice.”

The level of vigilance that had already reached its peak rose even further.

From now on, I would never trust anything. I made that resolution.

“That concludes the explanation. Do you have any further questions?”

“No. I don’t.”

Everything I heard from Delta was what I had heard from Mimir.

There was no need to hear the same things again.

“Then, may I send you to the fifth trial page, the Labyrinth of Desire, right away?”

“So, it’s called the Labyrinth of Desire.”

I had heard a lot from Mimir, but I hadn’t heard the name of the past world recorded on the fifth trial page, the Copy World.

The Labyrinth of Desire.

Just the name alone sounded very dangerous.

“Okay. Then send me right away.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Delta reached out her hand to me.

“From now on, I will transfer you to the Labyrinth of Desire. Please take my hand.”

“Okay.”

I reached out my hand without much thought.

But then, a strange chill covered my entire body.

Smirk.

‘Wait a minute. Did she just… smile?’

It was just for a moment, so I didn’t see it clearly, but it seemed like Delta had just smiled.

Not the same mechanical and awkward smile as before, but a smile that felt somewhat human.

And it was a smile that made me feel uneasy.

‘What is it?’

My head was filled with an inexplicable sense of unease.

Something felt out of place.

This whole situation.

It felt unsettling for no reason.

“Successor? What’s wrong?”

Delta called out to me again, seemingly puzzled by my sudden stop.

“……”

I didn’t answer Delta’s question and was lost in thought.

Then, I thought about whether there was anything else strange about this situation.

‘Alpha, Beta, Gamma. Each of them, during the first, second, and fourth trial pages. Each magical life form started the trial by offering their own body as a price.’

During the previous trial pages, the other magical personas never asked me to hold their hands or anything like that.

They just turned into mana polygons at the start of the trial.

‘Of course, the fifth trial page might be different because it has a dual structure…’

The structure of the trial pages with the previous three magical personas was different from this trial page.

It wasn’t that strange that Delta was using a slightly different method.

‘But…’

It was hard to see it as just a coincidence, that smile from earlier was bothering me.

Could a magical persona make such a smile?

‘That’s impossible.’

I didn’t know much about magical personas, but I thought it was impossible.

If they could make such a smile, then it wasn’t a magical persona, but just a living being.

“Successor. Please take my hand.”

I stared intently at Delta’s face, which had returned to a blank, mechanical smile, and frowned.

The unsettling smile I had seen earlier seemed like a lie.

That made my suspicion grow even more.

‘…Let’s check it out.’

I slowly moved the Infinity Circle and activated ‘Divine Eye’ [a spell that allows the user to see mana].

Having reached the 5th Circle, the Divine Eye, which had grown even stronger, perfectly pierced through the mana swirling around Delta’s body.

‘What is this? Why is the surrounding mana so ominous?’

The mana that filled Delta’s surroundings was ominous and evil.

‘If it were a magical persona, there should be no change in the surrounding mana.’

Only living beings can affect mana.

Mana cannot affect other mana.

And a magical persona is a kind of mana mass made of mana.

Therefore, the mana surrounding a magical persona should be in its natural state.

In fact, the mana that swirled around Gamma in the fourth trial page was in its natural state.

But what about Delta?

‘The fact that the mana around Delta has changed its nature means that Delta has affected the surrounding mana.’

The fact that Delta could affect the surrounding mana meant that Delta was not a magical persona.

“You…”

A chill ran down my spine, and goosebumps rose on my arms.

“What are you?”

I took a couple of steps back and lowered my stance, entering a battle stance.

“Successor?”

Delta tilted her head slightly, looking like she didn’t understand.

I took another step back, wary of Delta.

“Did ‘trust no one’ include yourself?”

“……”

Delta’s expression stiffened for a moment.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Successor. Please take my hand quickly.”

But that was only for a moment.

Delta quickly returned to her previous mechanical expression.

“…I never thought they would set up a trap like this. Mimir was right to warn me so much.”

I had naturally assumed that I could trust her.

I had built up enough trust in Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.

I had also expected that if a magical persona appeared in the next trial page, it would be Delta.

And since I thought that the magical persona was my own special secret, I was certain that it couldn’t be a lie.

Above all, the fact that she said the same things as Mimir was a big factor.

‘From the moment that the same words that came out of Mimir’s mouth were repeated in succession, Delta was tentatively classified as someone I could trust.’

Who said it?

A lie must be hidden within the truth to be perfect.

This situation was exactly that.

Delta, or rather, ‘something’ disguised as Delta, hid its lies by telling me the truth.

“I’ll ask you again. What are you? And what about the things you said to me? Did you read my mind or something?”

My mana emanated a powerful aura and suppressed Delta.

“That’s a shame.”

At that moment, the corners of Delta’s mouth curled up into a smirk.

To a point where a normal person’s mouth could not reach.

The corners of her mouth rose past her cheekbones.

The sight was very grotesque and terrifying.

“It’s such a shame. I made a mistake at the end.”

Delta, or rather, what had been Delta, chuckled.

A voice like a ghost sobbing.

“It’s a shame. Yes. It’s a shame.”

With a crescent-shaped mouth and eerie red eyes.

She stared at me with a grotesque appearance that was unsettling to even look at.

And then.

“We could have had one more friend. Had. Had. Hadhadhadhadhad!”

Her neck, as well as various parts of her body, twisted grotesquely, and her body became translucent.

“If we meet again, I will definitely…”

With those words, what had been Delta disappeared like a mirage.

At the same time, the all-white space began to disappear rapidly.

As the pure white light disappeared, a dilapidated building appeared.

“…A cathedral?”

A dilapidated cathedral.

The faded, abandoned cathedral that Mimir had warned me so much about.

I was standing in the center of that cathedral.

“…So, this is the place.”

The fifth trial page was a more dangerous place than I had imagined.