The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 153

Returning to my room, the first thing I did was put ‘Mimir’s Grimoire’ and ‘Four Seasons’ into Aeth’s subspace.

“Wow.”

A gasp of admiration escaped my lips.

‘I’ve been worrying every day about how to safely store Mimir’s Grimoire and Idred’s Grimoire. This solves it just like that.’

After almost losing Mimir’s Grimoire and Idred’s Grimoire during the attack by The Fist last time,

I had been constantly searching for ways to keep the two books safe.

I asked Mimir, Kim Kang-in, and even subtly inquired with my father.

But I couldn’t find a suitable method.

There were quite a few ways to store them safely, but the condition of ‘keeping them in my possession’ made it impossible.

‘So, this is what Mimir meant when she said it would be resolved soon.’

Now I understand why Mimir reacted so nonchalantly when I asked about storage methods.

It was a matter that time would resolve, so she had no choice but to be calm.

‘It’s also great that I can carry Four Seasons with me at all times.’

During the monster rampage at the open raid arena, if I had ‘Four Seasons’ in my possession, the situation would have been very different.

With the support of Four Seasons, I might have been able to finish off the Tricolor Tiger for sure.

‘It’s also good that I can store food inside.’

Subspace magic isn’t just about connecting ‘spaces’.

It’s magic that connects ‘spaces’ by fixing ‘time’.

Because time is fixed, time doesn’t flow within the subspace.

In other words, food placed in the subspace will never rot.

‘Besides that, there are countless ways to utilize it.’

A jack-of-all-trades.

There was no better idiom to describe Aeth.

‘If Aeth is this powerful, how amazing is Mythic Magic?’

My heart pounded vigorously.

The anticipation for Mythic Magic made my heart race.

‘Let’s go to the fifth trial page quickly.’

I needed to go to the fifth trial page as soon as possible, complete Aslan’s training, pass it, and receive Mythic Magic.

Still wearing Aeth, I opened Idred’s Grimoire, which I had set aside.

I placed my hand on the magic circle leading to the last page, the fifth trial page, and moved my mana.

Whoosh!

The next moment, I was standing in the center of the familiar training ground.

“You’re quick to come.”

Aslan glared at me with his arms crossed.

It took me about two and a half hours to investigate the mana core and talk to Mimir.

From Aslan’s perspective, it must have been quite a long time.

It was understandable that he would say that.

“I’m sorry. I was talking to Mimir, and…”

“Even if you were talking to Mimir…”

Aslan was about to say something, but suddenly narrowed his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“…You. That robe. Is that Aeth?”

“Ah.”

So it was because of Aeth.

“Yes. It’s Aeth.”

“…How did you find it? You shouldn’t have the means to find the Lord’s artifact yet.”

“I was a bit lucky. It was kept in my family’s possession.”

“Oh.”

Aslan’s eyes lit up as if he was surprised.

“That’s truly a stroke of luck.”

“Yes.”

Aslan examined my robe, his eyes strangely wistful.

“…Even after countless ages, its brilliance remains the same.”

As it was his master’s robe, he must have been feeling nostalgic.

“So, why did you come wearing Aeth? You didn’t wear it just to show off that you obtained Aeth, did you?”

“…I didn’t think much about it.”

I really didn’t think much about it.

It was like the feeling of not wanting to take off new clothes you just bought.

I just wore it without thinking.

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

What didn’t I know?

“…It seems you don’t know. Mimir is also mischievous. She told you everything but didn’t tell you the most important thing.”

Aslan smiled.

It was a smile as if he was recalling a cute granddaughter’s mischievous prank.

“No. Or is it revenge for me passing on all the explanations before? Saying that you should explain this much…”

He chuckled softly and then looked me straight in the eye.

“Listen carefully. The subspace magic enchanted on the Lord’s robe, Aeth, also applies to Aeth itself.”

Subspace magic also applies to Aeth itself? That means…

“You’re saying that Aeth itself can also be stored in subspace… is that it?”

“Yes.”

“It had such a function.”

So that’s why he asked, ‘Why did you come wearing it?’

“How do you put it in?”

“It’s simple. Just take it off.”

“…Huh?”

“I said, just take it off.”

“…”

It was that simple?

I slowly took off the robe.

The robe disappeared in an instant as it moved away from my body.

It really disappears just by taking it off.

“When you want to take it out, just think about wearing the robe and put it on your body.”

Taking it out was also very simple.

‘I’ll take out Aeth and wear it.’

I immediately moved my hand as if I was putting on the robe, thinking about taking out Aeth as Aslan said.

If someone who didn’t know saw me, they would think I was crazy.

Is this really going to work?

“Oh.”

But such doubts were short-lived.

As Aslan said, Aeth was already on my body.

“Hmm. You’re doing well. I heard that visualizing the image of taking it out is quite difficult.”

Aslan smiled as if he was not displeased.

“…It’s amazing.”

The only drawback of Aeth was that you had to wear the robe at all times.

But that drawback has now disappeared.

It has become a perfect, overpowered artifact.

If Aeth were to be put up for auction after its existence became known, it would surely fetch an astronomical price.

You could probably earn enough money to buy a country.

‘Of course, I have no intention of selling it.’

In the first place, there’s no way to sell it.

Considering the situation when it regains its original form, this artifact was likely only usable by those who inherited the ‘Vaitern Style’.

To others, it would just be a uselessly flashy robe.

Well, even if I could sell it, I would never sell it.

‘Why would I sell something this good?’

I thought that as I repeatedly put on and took off Aeth.

“Just so you know, when Aeth is off, you can’t take out anything you’ve put inside. Keep that in mind.”

“Yes.”

“Also, the effect of amplifying external magic remains, so be careful when wearing it during combat.”

“I will be careful.”

I definitely need to be careful during combat. If I were to be hit directly by magic while wearing this robe, I might end up wandering the afterlife.

I immediately deactivated Aeth.

“Hmm.”

Seeing me do that, Aslan made a sound as if he was a little disappointed.

“It’s a shame. Aeth is a good artifact, but it would have been better if you had obtained a ‘staff’…”

“A staff?”

A staff. In other words, a wand.

A necessary artifact that was practically the exclusive property of old-era mages.

But now, it’s an obsolete piece of equipment that no one uses because it makes both hands inconvenient.

“Yes. What you lack right now is output, after all.”

“…So, the power of a staff is to increase power and output.”

“That’s right. It’s simple, but that’s why it’s even more powerful.”

A power and output amplification artifact comparable to space-time magic.

I can’t even imagine what the amplification rate would be.

It must be at least over 40%.

“This is just personal advice, but if you find an artifact next time, I recommend finding a staff first. It will definitely be a great help.”

“Find it…”

Earlier, when Aslan first discovered Aeth.

Aslan said, ‘You shouldn’t have the means to find it yet.’

Yes. He said ‘yet’.

And now, he specifically said, ‘Find a staff first.’

If I combine these words.

“It seems there’s a way to find artifacts intentionally.”

That’s what it means.

At my words, Aslan’s eyes lit up with an ‘oh ho’ expression.

“Yes. There is. The Mythic Magic you can obtain after passing my training. There’s a method in there.”

There’s a method in Mythic Magic?

“Is it a detection-type magic?”

“No. It can’t simply be called a detection-type. It helps in combat, and it’s a great aid… If I had to classify it, I’d say it’s an all-rounder.”

“An all-rounder…”

“You’ll find out the details after you obtain it and use it yourself.”

Aslan finished speaking firmly, as if he couldn’t say any more.

“The talk got longer than I thought. I’m not usually like this. It seems I got emotional after seeing Aeth.”

Aslan’s aura turned sharp.

“Then, let’s start the training right away.”

The somewhat warm atmosphere from before had completely disappeared, and he had become like a demon instructor who had just crawled out of hell.

At that intense aura, the memory of my previous exhaustion came to mind, and my body stiffened involuntarily.

“There’s no need to be too nervous. Unfortunately, making you work your body will have to wait a bit.”

Aslan extended his index finger and pointed to the bare floor right in front of him.

“Sit down. Let’s start with creating a mana core first.”

* * *

Inside the fifth trial page.

In the center of an ordinary training ground that didn’t live up to the grand name of the Labyrinth of Desire.

Shin Ha-yul was sitting cross-legged, concentrating his mind.

“You’re finally looking a bit decent. Increase the speed a bit more in that state.”

Aslan had his hand on Shin Ha-yul’s back.

He was directly injecting mana from behind, guiding Shin Ha-yul’s mana.

“You increased the circulation speed too much just now. Lower the speed.”

Dantian Circulation Breathing.

Unlike mana circulation, which circulates around mana, this is a body activation circulation that focuses on breathing around the dantian [an area below the navel, considered the center of vital energy in some traditions].

A tragic breathing method that has become the ‘exclusive property of knights’ in modern times.

‘…He’s quite good.’

Aslan was inwardly impressed as he watched Shin Ha-yul quickly become proficient in a short period of time.

‘I thought it would take at least two weeks. At this rate, it’s possible in four days… no, even three days.’

If weaving a mana circle is a matter of ‘talent’, weaving a mana core is a matter of ‘effort’.

Since the path is already set, repeated practice is important, and therefore, there isn’t much room for the unique sense of geniuses to intervene.

‘Everyone who falls into the category of genius struggles with this Dantian Circulation Breathing.’

In Aslan’s era, this ‘Dantian Circulation Breathing’ was also called ‘the first barrier for geniuses’.

This is because the ‘arrogance’ or ‘conceit’ of geniuses becomes a poison.

That’s why he thought Shin Ha-yul would also struggle.

Especially since he was a genius beyond the simple category of genius.

He thought he would suffer a setback in this Dantian Circulation Breathing.

But it wasn’t so.

‘I can’t find any arrogance or conceit in Shin Ha-yul.’

He doesn’t try to rush ahead, saying it’s simple, nor does he do it carelessly, saying it’s boring.

He’s just quietly and diligently climbing the stairs one by one.

‘…I’ve never seen this before.’

Aslan had been in charge of many trainees, but this was the first time he had seen this type.

A genius who is also a hard worker.

‘Has he been broken once before?’

An incident that would make a genius like Shin Ha-yul completely abandon his pride.

Unless such an incident had occurred, he couldn’t have such a mindset.

‘Whatever it is, it’s a good thing.’

He thought he would have a hard time because he didn’t have a mana core.

But rather, this was an unexpected windfall.

‘I don’t need to do training to break his pride.’

Aslan deleted the ‘Shin Ha-yul’s pride breaking training’ from the training plan he had prepared in advance.

‘Good. I can insert other training in the meantime.’

Aslan smiled slightly as he made a new training plan.

As he was organizing his thoughts, this thought suddenly occurred to him.

‘…Come to think of it, this guy didn’t have a mana core when he was attacking the labyrinth.’

Aslan chuckled inwardly. Does that mean he had naturally acknowledged a successor who didn’t even have a mana core?

‘His skills were so good that he made me mistakenly think he had a mana core…’

The corners of Aslan’s mouth slowly curled upwards.

Not bad. Really not bad.

‘Is he truly the Lord’s successor?’

The remaining time is about a month.

That month is going to be quite enjoyable.

‘I’ll watch with my own eyes whether your vessel is one that surpasses the Lord’s.’

Aslan’s eyes shone brightly with anticipation and joy.