The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 437

“Of course, I know that.”
Mimir isn’t some accessory that can be freely attached and detached.

If you forcibly remove her, side effects are bound to occur.

If I forcibly remove Mimir now, I won’t be able to synchronize with her ever again.

“…Are you really aware of that?”

Mora asked, her expression still full of worry.

“Not being able to synchronize with Princess Mimir means you won’t be able to use mythic magic without incantation [casting spells without needing to speak the words].”

That’s right.

Mimir’s presence is essential to use mythic magic without incantation.

Without Mimir’s help, using mythic magic without incantation will become impossible.

“That’s not all. If you lose Princess Mimir’s help, your magic power will uniformly decrease by about 20%.”

That’s also true.

If Mimir’s support disappears, the overall processing speed will slow down, weakening the magic’s power.

“It’s not just the power. Activation speed, concentration, diversity, creativity, and the ability to respond to unforeseen situations. The loss of Princess Mimir is immeasurable.”

Every word she said was correct.

Mimir’s existence is the second most important thing in me, after the Infinity Circle [a core magical concept].

If Mimir disappears, I’ll lose a lot.

“It’s impossible to defeat Veil without Mimir.”

Mimir’s loss is a 20% loss in magical terms alone.

Including non-magical support, it’s a loss of more than 30%.

I can’t defeat Veil in that state.

Giving up 30% is practically the same as giving up the future.

“Think about it again. Forcibly removing Princess Mimir is a worse move than you going outside yourself.”

Mora strongly expressed her opinion.

She’d rather I go outside.

That would have a higher chance of success.

Mora’s eyes were saying that.

“I’ve thought about it more than enough.”

I looked straight into Mora’s eyes and said.

“Sending Mimir outside. I think that’s the right answer.”

“…”

Mora’s eyes narrowed slightly. She looked like she couldn’t understand my words at all.

“Do you think your friends can make up for the 30% of power you’ll lose?”

Mora shook her head.

“Let me be clear. That’s impossible. Adela Stert, Jisun Chan, Stella Vinosh. I’m not disregarding their power, but they are nowhere near the level to make up for 30% of your power. At best, maybe 20%.”

It was a very cold analysis.

Looking at the future, the 30% I’ll lose is immeasurable.

No matter how much my friends grow, they can’t make up for my loss.

“No, in the first place, there’s no guarantee that the situation outside will be resolved just by sending Princess Mimir out. I acknowledge Princess Mimir’s brainpower, but she can’t be of any help in terms of combat power. I don’t think the odds will change just because Princess Mimir goes outside.”

It was a reasonable opinion.

In a situation where it’s uncertain whether we’ll win or lose even with direct help, how much help can indirect help be?

“Sending Princess Mimir outside has far more disadvantages than advantages. No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think it’s the right decision.”

Mora stared straight into my eyes. Change your mind. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it.

Mora’s eyes were saying that.

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Ah…”

Mora sighed.

“Why on earth…”

Why are you being so stubborn?

You’re not someone who can’t understand such simple things, so why?

Mora’s expression was saying that.

“What are you thinking?”

Mora asked, looking utterly frustrated.

Why did you come to such an absurd conclusion? She looked genuinely curious.

“I’ve deeply considered what you said earlier. The probability of winning when going outside is 0%. The probability of winning when not going outside is 4.6%. Why is the probability of winning so low? I wondered.”

I slowly began to explain what I had been thinking.

“The probability of winning when going outside to help my friends was easy to understand, as you explained it. As you said, if Veil finds out about my existence now, there’s a very high chance that things will go as you said.”

If Veil finds out about my existence now, I’ll never be able to catch up to Veil.

Veil won’t let that happen.

“But the opposite didn’t make sense. Why is the probability of winning only 4.6% when I don’t go outside to help my friends? Veil hasn’t detected my existence. I should have enough time to grow. Why?”

That was the question.

According to Mora, if I just grow enough, I should be able to win.

In the future where I should have grown enough, why do I have a 95.4% chance of losing?

“I came up with two reasons.”

I said, raising one finger at a time.

“One. Adela, Sunchan, and Stella. The loss of these three has brought the all-out war with Veil even closer.”

The power of the three people with me now is not something to be ignored.

The three of them are the strongest forces, except for me and Sein.

What would happen if those three disappeared from this place?

“Due to the loss of overall power, it becomes difficult to keep Veil in check. As a result, Veil regains power faster than expected, and the final battle is brought forward by several weeks.”

This will definitely happen.

“The result is my defeat. Lack of growth due to the loss of several weeks. As you said, due to lack of time.”

Ultimately, I’ll lack the time to grow.

This is the first reason for my defeat.

“…”

Mora didn’t answer. It was a silent affirmation.

“And the second reason…”

I raised my second finger and continued.

“Earlier, you said that my friends can’t make up for the 30% I’ll lose. At best, they can make up for 20%.”

“Yes.”

“That’s the reason.”

Mora’s eyes narrowed.

I don’t know what you mean.

It wasn’t the look of someone who didn’t understand.

Rather, it was the opposite.

It was the reaction of someone who understood what I meant.

“A 30% loss is a definite defeat.”

I can’t win with 70%.

“Even with a full 100%, with no gains or losses, there’s a 95% chance of defeat.”

With 100%, there’s barely a chance of winning.

“But what if there’s a 20% gain?”

What if it’s 120%?

“If I grow fully, and my friends, who can make up for 20% of my power, are added to that?”

What if I succeed in adding my friends’ power to my own?

“The probability of winning might even soar up to 50%.”

Even in the worst-case scenario, the probability of winning would be at least 30%.

“That’s why.”

That’s why I decided to send Mimir outside.

“So, you’re saying that sending Princess Mimir outside is an investment for a better future?”

“Yes.”

To ensure a definite victory, my friends’ help is essential.

That’s my conclusion.

“That’s an absurd, forced logic.”

Mora said with a serious expression.

“If things go as you say, it would be ideal. If you finish growing, and your companions are added to that, there’s nothing better. But…”

Mora shook her head.

“That’s impossible. I told you. If you send Princess Mimir outside now, your power will be reduced by 30%. Then, when you fight Veil in the future, you won’t be fighting with 120%, but with 90%. The probability of winning will be less than 0.1%, not 4.6%.”

Mora pointed to the choker on my neck.

“Or is there a method I don’t know about? Another way to fill the void left by Princess Mimir.”

“No. There isn’t. There’s no way for me to fill the void left by Mimir right now.”

There is no such method.

“Then…”

“But, there is a way to get Mimir back. No, there will be.”

“…What?”

Mora’s eyes widened slightly.

“Are you saying there’s a way to synchronize again?”

“Not now.”

There’s no method that comes to mind yet.

How can I restore the connection between Mimir and me?

How can I restore the twisted soul line?

Nothing comes to mind right now.

“But I’ll be able to find it.”

“Find it… Are you thinking that Princess Mimir will somehow find a way?”

“Yes.”

“That’s too optimistic.”

“No. If it’s Mimir, she can do it.”

Mimir is already thinking about the next version of the choker.

She thought of a new version immediately after seeing the finished product and upgraded it.

And she found a way to upgrade it again.

That’s how amazing Mimir’s brain is.

“I believe it.”

If it’s Mimir, she’ll definitely figure something out.

“While I’m here, receiving help from you, Mora, she’ll find a way outside.”

I trust my judgment.

I trust my partner.

I trust Mimir’s genius.

“If it’s Mimir, she’ll definitely figure something out. I believe that.”

In my opinion, this is the answer.

This is the choice with the highest probability of winning.

“…Let me say again. Just because you send Princess Mimir outside, there’s no guarantee that the situation outside will be resolved.”

“That will be easily resolved. Mimir is capable.”

It might be different if it were a new opponent.

But it’s an opponent that has already been analyzed in the past.

“Jenarin. Hoderiam. The two black mages were analyzed during the Empire era. They are no match for Mimir.”

Those guys are just food for Mimir.

“It’s too dangerous. You could lose everything if things go wrong.”

“That could happen if an unforeseen situation occurs. But even considering that, I’ve decided that this method has the highest chance of success.”

“…”

Mora closed her mouth and lowered her head.

“…You have an unexpectedly reckless side.”

“It’s not reckless to bet on a gamble with a good chance of winning.”

“…”

Mora sighed softly.

“Among the futures I’ve seen, there was no future where you sent only Princess Mimir outside.”

“Yes. I thought so.”

“…You expected that.”

If there was a future where I chose to send only Mimir outside, she wouldn’t have tried to persuade me so thoroughly.

She would have just said that that future is death.

That I shouldn’t do that.

That’s all she would have said.

“Then do you know when I can’t see the future?”

“No. I don’t know that.”

I don’t know that much.

“There are only two cases when I can’t see the future.”

Mora said, raising one finger at a time, just like I did earlier.

“One. When the future is so messed up that it’s not worth seeing. When an absurd choice is made that is beyond common sense, and the predetermined result is simply brought forward. In short, I can’t see futures that aren’t worth seeing.”

When the predetermined result of Veil’s victory and the world’s destruction is simply brought forward, and it proceeds no differently from other futures.

“If I had to see all of those, I’d have to see not 3.5 million, but over 3 trillion futures. I don’t see those useless futures separately.”

There’s no point in seeing futures that aren’t worth seeing.

Futures with no possibility of change are not visible.

That’s what she meant.

“And the second.”

Mora opened her second finger with a serious look.

“When the future undergoes changes that far exceed my expectations. In this case, the future is also not visible.”

“Changes that exceed your expectations? Is that even possible?”

“Yes. It’s possible. The futures I see are just a series of predictions. Since they are predictions, it’s natural for them to be broken.”

Even if it’s a 99.99999% accurate prediction device, it can still be wrong 0.00001% of the time.

That’s what Mora meant.

“How many times has your future sight been broken so far?”

That kind of thing shouldn’t happen easily.

How many times have Mora’s predictions been broken so far?

“Once.”

Mora said, holding up her index finger.

“In the 120,000 years I’ve observed, my prediction has been broken only once.”

Once in 120,000 years…

It was a number that far exceeded my expectations.

“When was that one time?”

I can roughly guess when it was.

The biggest event in the 120,000 years that Mora mentioned.

The birth of the End God and the destruction of the Divine Realm.

It must be that event.

“In the past, on the day the End God was born and the Divine Realm was destroyed. I couldn’t observe that day.”

“I knew it was that event.”

“Yes. It’s that event.”

If she had predicted it, she should have responded.

The fact that Mora couldn’t respond first is proof that she couldn’t read the future.

“That’s when I realized. A huge variable… A variable close to a natural disaster that is impossible to predict cannot be read with my ability.”

“A huge variable…”

Mora was silent for a moment, staring straight into my eyes.

She seemed to be thinking a lot.

“Thus, the choice you’ve made now… The choice to send only Princess Mimir outside is one of two things.”

A choice between two options.

“A future that will only lead to destruction. Or the creation of a new variable comparable to the birth of the End God.”

Destruction, or the birth of new hope.

“It’s probably the former with a near 100% probability. It’s hard to believe that something that happened once in 120,000 years will happen at this moment.”

Mora looked straight into my eyes and said.

“Are you still going to do it?”

Her eyes were very serious.

“Yes.”

I looked straight into her eyes and nodded confidently.

“Rather than giving up everything to get a mere 4.6% chance of winning, I’ll forge a new path, even if it’s somewhat dangerous.”

Hanging on to a sliver of hope doesn’t suit my nature.

“Rather than fighting from a constantly disadvantageous position, I’ll choose to take a step forward now to gain everything.”

Now is the right time.

If I miss this opportunity, there will be no way to turn the tide later.

I’m sure of that.