The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 205

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-206

Mana is a mixture of numerous components.

I realized this obvious fact way too late.

‘Come to think of it, it was really obvious.’

Mana has a will.

And having a will means that mana, like humans, also has a special circuit for thinking.

In short, mana is not a unique particle existing on its own, but a mixture born from the combined action of various components.

‘Something that gives mana its will. The core of mana. I need to find it and sense it.’

Books that recorded information about the Ring of Awakening all had similar statements.

[You must not see mana as just mana.]

I thought those sentences were simply metaphorical and figurative expressions.

Just like how swordsmen don’t see swords as just swords.

I thought that mages, to reach a certain level, shouldn’t see mana as just mana either.

That’s all I thought.

But it was a grand misconception.

To weave the Ring of Awakening, I really shouldn’t have seen mana as just mana.

It was a very one-dimensional meaning. I thought too deeply.

No, it’s more accurate to say I couldn’t think of it rather than thinking too deeply.

Thinking about it now, with everything I’ve realized, it was really foolish.

All the theories went wrong because I couldn’t grasp that one basic concept.

It was like assembling a delicate, organically connected machine, but the first part was inserted incorrectly, so it couldn’t work properly.

‘How scary fixed ideas can be.’

Mana is just mana.

That fixed idea solidified my thinking and turned an obvious concept into something unknown.

Free thinking is the power of the Vaitern style, but I, the only successor of the Vaitern style, wasn’t doing it.

It’s truly shameful.

‘Don’t think of common sense as just common sense. Don’t take the obvious for granted. It’s easy, yet so difficult.’

I repeated what I had realized in my head and continued to take deep breaths.

‘But why didn’t my teacher write such a simple thing in the books?’

When I think about it, the books containing information about the Ring of Awakening didn’t mention anything about the source that makes up mana.

They all vaguely stated things like, ‘You must not see mana as just mana.’

Thinking about it now, it was strange.

If they had just written about the structure of mana directly, I wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble.

Why did they do that?

‘Is it to make me gain enlightenment on my own?’

The answer to the question came quickly.

My teacher wanted to give me enlightenment.

He wanted me to realize the importance of breaking fixed ideas and destroying common sense through trial and error.

‘No. Maybe it was more of a test.’

If I couldn’t even notice this much, I shouldn’t even think about reaching the 6th Circle [a high level of magical mastery].

That’s probably the meaning behind it.

That’s why Mimir didn’t bother giving me any hints.

A test has no meaning unless I pass it on my own.

‘I need to thank Squad Leader Charles again.’

If it weren’t for Squad Leader Charles, it would have taken me quite a long time to gain today’s realization.

I should thank him again later.

It would be good to prepare a small gift as well.

“Hoo…”

I took another deep breath.

Starting with internal breathing using my inner mana.

I release the somewhat weakened mana to the outside and continue with external breathing.

I perform both breathing methods in parallel, passing through the Infinity Circle, centered on the mana core.

I repeat this process.

“…”

As I repeated the breathing, at some point, my mind went blank.

Not only were all the distracting thoughts gone, but even the thoughts about the Ring of Awakening and the structure of mana completely disappeared from my mind.

A perfect state of selflessness.

In that state, I only felt the mana circulating through my body and the mana surrounding my body.

‘Hello?’

‘How are we going to play today?’

‘What form are you going to change me into?’

Listening to the will of countless mana, I continued to feel the mana.

Continuously. Continuously.

Until my mental strength reached its limit.

I continued to feel the mana.

* * *

I opened my eyes about 13 hours later.

It wasn’t because my concentration was broken or anything.

I opened my eyes for a physical reason.

“Successor. Are you okay?”

“…No. My head hurts.”

Mental exhaustion.

After playing with mana for a full 13 hours, there was no way my mental strength would be intact.

I am currently suffering from severe mental exhaustion in real-time.

My head is throbbing, and a strange sense of lethargy fills my entire body.

“That’s why you should have done it moderately.”

“If I had thought that far, I would have stopped… But what can I do? I couldn’t even think about stopping.”

“Well, you were completely in a state of selflessness.”

Mimir refilled an empty cup with water and handed it to me.

“Here. Drink this.”

“Thanks.”

I chugged the water in one go.

The refreshing feeling of the moderately cool mineral water passing down my throat seemed to clear my mind.

“So, did you figure anything out?”

“…A little. I haven’t even grasped half of it yet. Should I say the structure of mana is too complex, or too difficult? I can’t see anything.”

“I heard it’s like a stubborn person who doesn’t easily show their true self.”

“Ah. Right. That’s the perfect description.”

I spent a full 13 hours feeling the will of mana and trying to observe the inner workings of mana.

However, I couldn’t achieve any significant results.

Just like Mimir said, the mana was so stubborn. When I tried to delve deeper, they would shout, ‘No!’ and resist with all their might.

Thanks to that, I failed to delve into the depths of mana.

“But I did succeed in getting a little sense of it. Next time, I should definitely delve into that direction.”

It’s a trick I grasped at the end.

The method of coaxing and appeasing mana worked surprisingly well.

Perhaps the way to see the inner workings of mana is to treat it delicately and kindly, like dealing with a child, and to have a conversation that makes it open up to me.

Maybe not, but I should try that method for now.

“It’s good that you got the hang of it, but don’t be too impatient and take it slow. If mental exhaustion is repeated, there will be aftereffects.”

“I’ll be careful.”

I have plenty of time thanks to this trip to Mount Baekdu.

There’s no reason to be impatient.

I tried to relax as much as possible and focused on recovering my depleted mental strength.

* * *

That night.

I received a call from Squad Leader Charles and headed to a pier near Incheon.

“I’m here.”

Squad Leader Charles was standing there in the middle of a pier that looked deserted.

“You came quickly?”

Squad Leader Charles turned to me. He greeted me with a bright smile.

“Yes. It’s the time of day.”

“True. It’s not the time when traffic is heavy.”

Squad Leader Charles chuckled.

I stood next to Squad Leader Charles.

“What about the Thunder Bird’s corpse?”

“I always have it on hand.”

Squad Leader Charles laughed heartily at my answer.

“Even knowing it, that’s a ridiculous answer. To always have the Thunder Bird’s corpse on hand.”

To always have the Thunder Bird’s corpse on hand.

It was something only I could say, as I can use subspace through Aeth [a magical artifact].

“Then, there’s a ship in front of us, right? There’s a super-large mana freezer inside. Just put the corpse inside. There are no people or CCTVs inside, so don’t worry.”

“Yes. I understand.”

That’s why Squad Leader Charles called me all the way to the Incheon pier.

There was no way to take the Thunder Bird’s corpse out of Seoul.

To sell it, I had no choice but to come to the smuggling ship myself.

“Then, go quickly. I’ll keep watch.”

“Yes.”

I jumped onto the ship.

And I headed towards the large place that Squad Leader Charles pointed to, which looked like it would have a mana freezer.

The destination was easy to find.

A huge door that looked like a mana freezer.

I opened the door and went inside.

‘It’s state-of-the-art.’

The mana freezer, which just looks like a huge cargo hold because it’s not operating yet.

It’s not just big, but the facilities are extraordinary.

‘Well, if it’s a company that can smuggle a corpse of a Thunder Bird, it’s natural for them to have this kind of facility.’

I thought that as I looked around.

I activated my Divine Eye [a magical ability] and looked around every corner.

I was checking to see if there were any people hiding around.

But it seems like it was my worry.

There’s no way Squad Leader Charles would handle things so carelessly.

I deactivated my Divine Eye and took out Aeth and put it on.

And then, I took out the Thunder Bird’s corpse inside the freezer.

Kuuuung-!

The heavy Thunder Bird’s corpse fell onto the ship, and the ship shook greatly.

Even though it’s a pretty big ship, it shook this much.

The Thunder Bird must be heavy.

‘Hmm.’

I was staring intently at the Thunder Bird I had taken out.

Suddenly, a half-protruding eyeball caught my eye.

The Thunder Bird’s eyeball is one of the highest-grade materials that contains powerful brain energy.

‘Should I take one eyeball?’

It’s the most valuable byproduct of the Thunder Bird’s corpse.

But it’s a bit of a waste to just sell such a material for money.

I’m not in a situation where I’m short on money right now.

I think it would be better to keep one eyeball separately.

I approached the Thunder Bird’s corpse, put wind magic on my finger, and extracted the half-protruding eyeball.

It wasn’t particularly difficult.

I had gained considerable skill in handling monster byproducts while making the Blessing of Mana before.

I can do this with my eyes closed.

‘The quality is good.’

I was worried that the quality might not be good because it was half-protruding.

But it was an unnecessary worry.

I put the extracted eyeball inside Aeth.

And after burning and crushing the area around the extracted eyeball with fire, I slowly headed out of the ship.

“It took a while?”

“Yes. It took a while to extract an eyeball.”

“An eyeball? Are you going to use it separately?”

“Yes.”

“Really? Hmm… The brokers might be a bit annoyed that it’s different from the agreement… But we can just say that one eyeball was crushed during the fight.”

Squad Leader Charles was about to get on the ship.

He’s probably going to make it look like one of the Thunder Bird’s eyeballs was destroyed in battle.

“You don’t have to go. I’ve already manipulated it appropriately.”

I extracted it using magic, and just in case, I also crushed the cut area with fire magic.

They won’t suspect anything.

“As expected of my brother. I like how fast you handle things.”

Squad Leader Charles chuckled and patted my back.

“Anyway, you’ve worked hard to come all this way. I’ll make sure to handle the corpse properly and get the best price for you.”

“Yes.”

Squad Leader Charles took out a remote-like device from his pocket.

Then, he pressed the buttons here and there.

Woo-woo-woong-!

At that moment, mana began to fluctuate from the center of the ship.

The freezer inside the ship started to operate, and the mana began to change.

That remote must be a remote control that can remotely control the freezer.

“Ah, you know it’s hard to get the full price, right? After taking the commission from the brokers, the smuggling commission from the black market, and the security processing fee for safety reasons, you’ll barely get 70% of the full price.”

“Yes. I know. I’ll leave the handling entirely to you, Squad Leader. Just make sure to take care of the ratio.”

“7:3 of the net profit. Right?”

“Yes.”

I get 7. Squad Leader Charles gets 3.

I wonder if I should be getting 7 for the monster that Squad Leader Charles handled.

Well, if they give it to me, I should take it.

Good things are good.

“Should I contact you when it’s all done? Or should I report in between?”

“Just contact me when it’s all done. I’m sure you’ll handle it well.”

“Aren’t you trusting me too much? What if I embezzle in the middle?”

“You said you have a lot of money?”

I heard it at Mount Baekdu.

That he has too much money and doesn’t know how to use it.

He also added that he doesn’t have any particular desire for money.

Would such a person embezzle money in the middle? It’s impossible.

“Did I say that? Hya. Showing off my money. I was completely out of line.”

He scratched the back of his head while muttering, ‘Showing off my money…’

He didn’t exactly show off, but he said it in a way that he had no joy in life.

He seems to have completely forgotten.

“Anyway, okay. I’ll handle everything and contact you. We can decide how to transfer the money then.”

“Yes.”

“Okay! Good!”

Squad Leader Charles patted my back hard again.

“Then, go now. It’s time for the kids to come back. It’s not good to show your face to them.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Brokers who specialize in smuggling.

Being known to them could be a flaw for me.

I turned around.

“Ah, and here. Take this.”

Squad Leader Charles handed me a large carrier.

I thought it was a carrier containing things needed for smuggling since it was next to him from the beginning.

But it seems like it wasn’t.

“What is this?”

“Something that the ship secretly brought while coming here.”

“…Secretly brought?”

“Yeah. You said you wanted to hide the fact that you received it.”

An item that I wanted to hide the fact that I received it…

That means.

“This is…”

“Yeah. That’s right. I was lucky that the timing was perfect because of the Thunder Bird, so I brought it along.”

Squad Leader Charles grinned.

“The staff you said you wanted. I delivered it?”

The ancient artifact that I asked Squad Leader Charles to get from Sophia.

The legacy of my teacher, whose name I still don’t know.

The second mythical artifact has come into my hands.