The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 211

After that, we briefly discussed how to dispose of the Thunder Bird carcass.

Then, we left the hotel together.

Our destination was a training facility I had personally rented.

It was a top-tier private room, rented for 24 hours, where I planned to focus on weaving the Ring of Awakening until tomorrow morning.

“Just looking at it, it seems incredibly expensive.”

I got out of the car first, and Commander Charles followed, exiting the driver’s seat.

“It’s a training facility affiliated with the Magic God Sect, so it didn’t cost anything extra.”

“Oh, really? That’s good.”

I had said I could go alone, but he insisted on giving me a ride.

He said he couldn’t let me go alone, especially since it wasn’t just Seoul, but Gyeonggi Province.

It’s true that Gyeonggi Province has looser security compared to Seoul, but it’s still among the top ten in the world.

He seems overly worried.

‘Well, he does know that the Black Magic Tower has designated me as a Class S threat.’

It’s understandable that he’s worried.

He’s been entrusted with my protection by Sophia, so he must feel a sense of responsibility.

“Thank you. I got here comfortably thanks to you.”

“Hey, no need to thank me for something like this. It’s nothing.”

Commander Charles waved his hand dismissively.

“Ah, and speaking of which, I want to say this while I have the chance. It’s good to express gratitude, but you tend to do it too often. It diminishes the value of the word ‘thank you.’ Be careful. Especially if you’re going to take the position of head of the family later.”

“I don’t go around thanking just anyone. I only say it when I truly feel grateful.”

I understand what Commander Charles is trying to say, but it doesn’t apply to this situation.

“It’s not just about giving me a ride. You’re worried about my safety, aren’t you? I think it’s something to be grateful for.”

Commander Charles’ expression stiffened for a moment.

“…You really say embarrassing things so casually, don’t you?”

“It’s not that I say embarrassing things casually. I think you’re just too sensitive to these kinds of words.”

“Me?”

He’s been living among fierce mercenaries, so it’s understandable that he’s not used to these kinds of words.

Mercenaries are often treated like outsiders, so they probably haven’t received much kindness.

“…Is that so? Now that I think about it, it might be true.”

Commander Charles twisted his hair and tilted his head slightly.

“Anyway, try to reduce the ‘thank you’s. I don’t know how to react.”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I can’t help it. I’ll be mindful of it.”

“Okay. Please do.”

Commander Charles patted my back and got back into the driver’s seat.

“Then, have a good training session. I’ll come back tomorrow morning.”

“There’s no need for you to go that far…”

“It’s fine. I don’t have much to do while I’m in Korea anyway. I’m coming because I’m free, so don’t refuse.”

Commander Charles reached out the window and ruffled my hair roughly.

“Then, take care. I look forward to a good report.”

Commander Charles smiled brightly one last time and then grabbed the steering wheel.

Then, he stepped on the accelerator and quickly drove away.

* * *

Having entered the training facility I had booked in advance, I immediately spread out the equipment I had prepared on the floor.

“If it weren’t for Aes, just bringing all this would have been a chore.”

The equipment I had prepared was none other than ‘Mana Freezing Preservation Flasks.’

The effect is as the name suggests: to freeze and preserve mana in the state it was collected.

It’s usually used to examine mana from places like monster territories or lands of death.

I used these Mana Freezing Preservation Flasks to collect mana from all sorts of places.

I collected a total of 47.

There are 47 types of mana stored in 47 flasks.

For reference, one flask is about the size of a 1.5L water bottle.

If it weren’t for Aes, just moving these would have been a big deal.

There are restrictions on what can be brought into the training facility, so I might not have been able to use it at all.

‘Long live Aes.’

It seems like Aes’s uses are truly endless.

The more I use it, the more satisfied I become.

I stroked Aes’s luxurious exterior once more with my hand and then stored it in the subspace.

And then, I immediately adjusted the settings of the training facility.

As it was a training facility affiliated with the Magic God Sect, the training equipment was familiar.

I started setting it up with practiced movements.

[Additional Settings.]

[Mana Vacuum State.]

And finally, the most important setting: the mana vacuum state.

I pressed the complete button.

Whoooosh-!

The 13 mana fans that filled the training facility began to rotate, and the surrounding mana concentration began to thin.

At first, quickly.

Then, slowly.

The mana disappeared.

After about 10 minutes had passed.

The inside of the training facility became a mana vacuum state, where no mana could be found.

“…This feeling never gets old.”

Mana is like air.

It’s everywhere, but there are places where it doesn’t exist.

This mana vacuum setting is training for such emergencies.

By getting even a little used to the absence of mana, you won’t panic if an emergency occurs.

Well, that’s roughly the purpose of this setting.

…But.

That’s not why I set the mana vacuum state.

‘Let’s start slowly with the first flask.’

The reason I made the inside of the training facility a mana vacuum state was to prevent any changes from occurring to the mana stored in the flasks.

I slowly opened the first flask.

The mana contained in the first flask was scattered in the vacuum state where there wasn’t even a speck of mana.

‘The mana I collected at the cafe during lunchtime. Everyone’s energy is embedded in the mana.’

Mana is a kind of chameleon.

It’s greatly influenced by its surroundings.

And mana that has been influenced like this changes its structure.

To understand this structure 100%, it’s necessary to observe and analyze mana with different properties one by one.

‘Full! Excited!’

‘Let’s play more!’

I shared emotions with the energetic mana and conducted the analysis.

‘Energetic mana has this kind of structure.’

Using the pen and notebook I had prepared, I wrote down everything I saw and felt.

And when I finished organizing, I adjusted the settings again to release the mana from the first flask to the outside.

Then, I created a mana vacuum state again.

‘Then, next is the second flask. The mana collected during physical training.’

And I released the mana from the next flask into the vacuumed training facility.

And observed that mana.

Then, I wrote down the newly obtained information in the notebook.

‘Next, the third. The mana collected from the intensive care unit.’

‘Fourth. The mana collected from the wedding hall.’

The rest was a repetition of this.

Releasing the mana from the flask.

Creating a vacuum state.

Releasing the mana again.

I repeated this process endlessly.

One hour, two hours, six hours.

I forgot even the passage of time and continued this action.

‘Next. The 47th flask.’

And then, I released the mana from the last flask.

I felt the nature of that mana and wrote down the last pieces of information.

This was the 12th notebook.

The previous 11 notebooks were already filled to the brim, with no space to write anything more.

‘The analysis of the structure of shy mana is also finished with this.’

Having finished writing down the information of 47 types of mana in a total of 12 notebooks.

I was finally able to straighten my back.

But that was only for a moment.

‘Then, let’s check again.’

I bent my back again and read through the organized notebooks in order.

From the first notebook to the twelfth notebook.

A record of everything I saw and realized today.

It was already recorded in my mind, but reading it again like this always gives new insights.

I read the sentences slowly, but quickly.

Again and again.

I repeated speed reading and careful reading as if I were possessed.

By the time I finished organizing all my thoughts.

12 hours had already passed.

An incredible 12 hours of concentration.

Even in a mana vacuum state that ordinary mages would struggle to endure for 10 minutes.

It was something to be proud of, but I felt no emotion.

“…I understand.”

Because a greater joy filled my head than such trivial things.

“The structure of mana.”

With my hands blackened by the graphite powder from the pencil, I gripped the notebook in my hand somewhat tightly.

“It was a structure quite similar to human brainwaves.”

Mana also changed according to the brainwaves that changed with emotions.

That’s why I felt that the structure of mana was constantly changing.

“This is the real mana…”

Mana was only mana.

But mana was not only mana.

If there is a source of mana, it could be said to be the essence of mana that only those who have 100% understood this structure can see.

“Then…”

I got up from my seat and adjusted the settings of the training facility again.

I canceled the mana vacuum state setting, canceled all settings.

And restored the inside of the training facility to its natural state.

Then, I sat down in my seat.

The position I felt most comfortable in.

Sitting in that position, I poured new mana into the empty Infinity Circle and Mana Core for a while.

And then, I repeated my inner and outer breathing.

My body returned to its best condition in an instant.

I took out the ‘Tears of Heaven’ from Aes and drank it in one go.

Gulp, gulp.

The Tears of Heaven flowed down my throat. The modifier ‘heavenly’ wasn’t just for show; the taste itself was heavenly sweetness.

Thump!

My heart was pounding.

Thump, thump!

Twice, three times.

My heart, influenced by the Tears of Heaven, was pounding like an overheated engine.

As if trying to send the absorbed Tears of Heaven to every part of my body.

It pumped the Tears of Heaven through my blood in all directions.

I felt the surging energy throughout my body and moved the mana.

‘A space where you can be only you.’

A place where you can be free from any influence, not only from the surroundings but also from me.

A place where mana can exist only as its original mana.

‘That place was the Ring of Awakening.’

I slowly moved the mana.

I created a path that only those who 100% understood the structure of mana could create.

So that mana would not have any will.

So that mana could be in its original form when it was born.

I created an iron fortress in the form of a ring that nothing external could invade.

‘That’s what it meant.’

Memories are accumulated, and learning is stored.

Just as learning that seemed meaningless at one point can be helpful later, countless pieces of information that I thought were meaningless were giving me countless insights.

It felt like fireworks were exploding in my head one after another.

‘Turn. A little faster.’

The Ring of Expansion that binds three small Infinity Circles into one.

And next to it, the Ring of Truth, standing side by side in parallel.

A new ring began to form, as if entwining those two large Infinity Circles.

It felt like a snake was tangled and hanging on two rings.

‘……’

‘……’

It’s quiet.

Mana is silent.

Not only the mana circulating in the Ring of Awakening,

But all the mana circulating in the previous five rings is also silent.

The primordial mana is circulating in my body.

‘This is the real mana.’

The exhilaration that envelops my whole body.

The joy that soars with new insights.

The primordial mana, which shows no change even in my intense emotions.

Feeling all of that throughout my body, I moved the mana, and moved it again.

‘I want to stay like this forever.’

For a long time.

For a very long time.

Forgetting even to think.

I just kept moving the mana.

A new path of mana in my body slowly began to become clear.