The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 133

133

“Wake up, Rain. Time to move.”

At that familiar voice, my eyelids opened. The bonfire flickered quietly in the dim, low light of the Arctic.

So, it wasn’t a dream…

Under the blanket, the warmth of the Absolute Lifeform, curled up and wriggling against my chest, was as comforting as a flame.

“What a life I lead…”

As I wrapped her in the blanket and held her, Akirea mumbled in her sleep.

“Awoo…”

Kasena, already up and scanning Trident Point, shouted excitedly as I stood beside her.

“Trident Point! The sanctuary of adventurers! I wonder if we’ll meet famous adventurers here?”

“Didn’t Eldvige say it’s better to avoid them?”

“How unromantic! Rain is so unromantic!”

“We’re leaving. Stop chattering and follow.”

And so, our journey began anew.

Here at Trident Point, 40% of the terrain is swamp and 30% is jungle.

We followed routes pioneered by adventurers, but it was still a remote and rugged path for a large group with children and injured people.

Therefore, our progress was inevitably slow. We had to find suitable places to rest at noon and in the evening.

Though there was no such thing as a truly suitable place in this cursed land, we managed somehow.

“How much further do we have to go?”

“At this rate, it’ll take us a good two months to reach the Far West Branch.”

“The Far West Branch!” Kasena reacted with unconcealed excitement at Eldvige’s explanation.

“Do adventurers really buy supplies for expeditions there, share information, and stuff like that?”

“Just like the Captain said, your head is full of dreams and hopes. You have a big misconception about adventurers.”

“Huh?”

“The purposes of adventurers coming to this land are diverse, such as hunting monsters, public research, and exploring ruins.”

“Does that mean their interests are complicatedly intertwined?”

“Yes. Adventurers act for their own benefit. If they think the Beastmen’s movement will harm their interests, they’ll immediately become hostile.”

Eldvige’s deep-rooted distrust of humans was hard for me to understand.

The legendary adventurers I met when I was Rain, and Rem and Bart, whom I met recently, were all good people.

I didn’t want to upset the guide leading us through this eternal swamp, so I kept silent.

– Hmph, a guide will be necessary. Trident Point is a land touched by the Abyss, though not as much as Harvadonia.

As if to prove Prisvia right, a foul-smelling fog began to cover the land as we entered the central part.

Kasena trembled, saying that souls wandered in the fog of Trident Point, spirits bound here, unable to find peace.

‘I don’t want to tremble at the thought of those things, but…’

Clatter, clatter, clatter… Whenever I glimpsed something pale and disgusting crawling through the fog, my breathing quickened involuntarily.

It was an unnatural fog… spewed out by an unimaginably dark abyss.

In this land, all creatures grew in disgusting forms, decaying in this fog and air, transforming into nauseating shapes.

“A long time ago, this land was ruled by Beshansidugda, the Public Eye Duke, leader of the Spider Lord’s Obunwi [a type of demonic entity]. He enjoyed trapping primitives in spiderweb prisons and drowning them in the swamp.”

“……”

“There’s a legend that when they pulled the prisons out of the swamp again, there were no humans with the warmth of life, but monstrous beings with hard hearts and cold breaths that created fog.”

I could feel Kasena’s hand pulling on my sleeve as Eldvige spoke.

I don’t know why she’s scared when she’s faced scarier beings beyond the barrier… Reason told me so, but I wasn’t comfortable either.

This land of fog, which seemed to transcend light and darkness, persistently felt unpleasant.

“The Public Eye Duke was suppressed and sealed by Karenden. Along with his authority and subordinates. This is just a natural phenomenon.”

Clang, clang, clang….

The clear sound of the rings on the Four Hwanjangs [ceremonial rings worn by Beastmen] colliding spread over the swamp covered in gray fog.

Mysteriously, the sound was as bright and clear as a flame illuminating the darkness, guiding the Beastmen’s procession straight even in this fog.

“How amusing. To say such a thing when you’ve seen impossible things happen with your own eyes.”

“……?”

“The Public Eye Duke’s subordinates are still alive. Under the name of the old….”

“That’s a lie.”

Kasena shook her head uneasily and swallowed hard.

“Don’t keep scaring me.”

“Sometimes they pop out of the maze, and sometimes they pop out of the swamp and attack humans. With that vitality, they’ve lived for over a thousand years— wait, what was that just now?”

A sound… I heard an ominous sound like a snake coiling around my legs and crawling up to my neck.

Then, Akirea, clinging to my back, pointed with all her might at the other side of the fog, shouting, “Da-boot!” and the Four Hwanjangs quietly vibrated.

Is it warning me now?

That there’s an enemy over there?

Aki should be able to see beyond the fog with the eyes of authority, like the True Dragon, Alakish… But is she really able to at such a young age?

‘No, Aki has never done this before.’

Unsure, I wove three layers of magic circles on my palm and erected pillars of fire in the world.

The fiercely licking flames greatly cut through the pale fog, opening up a wide view….

I felt a chilling wave from the other side of the swamp, and the next moment, something soared above our heads, casting a huge shadow.

“───!”

It was terrifyingly fast, a body nearly 4 meters tall soaring out before the water droplets even hit the surface.

“It’s a Great Hair Swamp Spider!” Eldvige shouted.

A horrifying monster you couldn’t bear to look at, writhing its dozens of spider legs grotesquely.

Creating fierce waves in the swamp with its long body, it was about to attack someone below with its savagely gaping jaws.

Rune Modification.

The runes to change are Fall and Explode.

I transform two of the runes that made up the pillar of fire into ‘Fall’ and ‘Explode’.

The pillar of fire that illuminated the surroundings soared into the sky, then fell as a firebolt, burning the monster spider’s head into charcoal.

The Great Hair Swamp Spider, its head, antennae, and jaws engulfed in the flames of transcendence, struggled madly to hide in the swamp.

But as soon as I dropped the second firebolt, its countless legs were instantly shattered into ashes, and it fell onto the swamp with a deafening explosion and a great splash.

“Awoo, Awooboot!” Aki punched her fists forward wildly, as if she liked the brilliant baptism of fire. It’s my job to suffer at times like this.

“Wait, wait a minute. But Aki, did you see that? In this fog?”

“Daat!” Then Aki thumped her forehead against Rain’s head, as if to say, trust me. No, whack, whack.

“Stop it, I got it. I got it, it hurts.”

Eldvige’s eyes narrowed as she watched the fight that had taken place in an instant.

‘This guy, it didn’t even take him 5 seconds to use an attack magic that instantly kills a Great Hair Swamp Spider…’

Was it not just luck that he defeated Baekdoryeong [a powerful monster]?

Perhaps there is a reason why the Captain, or rather Princess Prisvia, ordered him to be her escort….

‘The more I see it, the more unbelievable his power is.’

Of course, Rain was once again surprised by his own power, and stared blankly at his left palm.

‘I used 3-star magic and then Rune Modification, but there’s no burden on the main circuit at all.’

Has there ever been a magician in history with this monstrous level of magic power?

When I think about the magic power built on Alakish’s death, I feel a surge of grief, but it’s also true that I’m excited as a magician.

Should I check the stats after a long time?

‘It’s kind of fun to see the indicators of growth as numbers again.’

When the day’s march was over and we set up camp, I took out Rain’s notebook from my pocket.

It can only be described as a miracle that the notebook was only slightly damaged in the fierce battle with Shar’kars.

No sooner had I opened the notebook than Karenden’s Ludien [a type of familiar spirit] jumped out. It landed on the tip of my nose and scattered particles of light as it flapped its wings.

Socrafres.

– You can inherit the progress of ‘Unique Magic’ research from the surrounding environment.

– Progress 69.8%.

For a moment, my eyes narrowed and then widened.

69. 8%?

It was definitely around 50%… I remember it clearly because I was so happy that I rolled around in bed and was scolded by Pipi.

Did the fight with Baekdoryeong explosively accelerate the growth? If not, is it because I inherited Alakish’s power?

Brante.

– A change in the magic circuit has been identified: ‘Yuryang Sejon – Gyeong’ => ‘Fire Alarm : Yuryang Sejon (火警 : 流量世尊) [roughly translates to “Fire Alert: Flowing Worldly One”]’.

I could also see this change with the § rune engraved on my left palm, and the lines were rough and jagged, like flames.

>>>

Camitishia.

Analyzing the circuit….

ㆍ When the circuit is opened, a ‘Mental Barrier – Fire Alarm : Yuryang Sejon’ is constructed within a 20-meter radius of the caster.

ㆍ Within the ‘Mental Barrier – Fire Alarm : Yuryang Sejon’, the success rate of magic combinations using ‘Unique Runes’ and ‘Unique Mathematical Formulas’ is amplified by ‘43 -> 58%’, and the power is amplified by ‘76 -> 104%’.

Really unbelievable power amplification rate… With the acquisition of ‘Fire Alarm : Yuryang Sejon’, the power amplification rate of the mental barrier exceeded 100%.

What this means is that if you strengthen magic with the power of Jon, you can unleash a single magic with twice the power.

But in the world of magic, there’s always something that comes and something that goes.

>>>

Camitishia.

Analyzing the circuit….

ㆍ A change in the nature of magic power has been identified: ‘Clear (淸)’ -> ‘Red (赤)’.

ㆍ A disharmony between the origin and the magic circuit has been discovered: ‘Water (水), Wind (風), Earth (地), Ice (氷), Poison (毒), Iron (鐵), Lightning (雷) [These are the elemental attributes of magic]’.

I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about this….

To put it simply, I can no longer use the other seven attributes of magic.

Strictly speaking, I can use them, but they are activated as fire attribute magic. There are no exceptions, including Vel Querious.

‘It seems that this happened because the magic power within my body itself was replaced by the Red Dragon’s soul.’

Thanks to this, the plan to make the journey to the Far West Branch easier by endlessly creating solid ground failed.

I was definitely going to make a road… but a terrifying flame was created instead.

A hollow bitter smile spread across my face.

“Is the title of Elemental Master really a thing of the past now?”

It was a title given to Rain for being able to skillfully handle all eight attributes of magic: the four major elements and the four minor elements.

It’s a shame, it’s a shame.

If this had happened without meeting Baekdoryeong this time, I would have thought so, but now the story is different.

‘Instead of the convenience of being able to handle all attributes, the combat power to destroy the Abyss has been extremely strengthened.’

Yoshhar said that the age of dragons was coming to an end, and Karenden said that the encroachment of the Abyss had already begun….

As if to prove it, emergency situations such as the Black Spot incident, the reincarnation of Baekdoryeong, and the possessed spirit that had been manipulating the barrier for over five hundred years occurred one after another.

This power is absolutely necessary in the increasingly serious era ahead. Even if I had to choose between the two, I would have chosen this direction.

Gustaba: Objectifies the caster’s physical condition into mathematical values.

ㆍPillar (柱); Current magic power: ???,???,???.

Above all, the infinite magic power that overwhelms all these shortcomings… If there’s anyone who complains after seeing this, then that person is not a magician.

“Awoo, Awoooo! Abooh!”

At that time, I felt a rather strong touch on my back.

No sooner had something red popped out from the edge of my vision than I felt a flame-like warmth on my face and neck.

Baby dragon, Akirea.

I don’t know when she woke up, but she stretched out her small, cute arms towards ‘Rain’s notebook’ in my hand.

“Daat, daaat!”

“Wait, wait a minute! It’s dangerous.”

As I hurriedly turned the hand holding the notebook (this flimsy notebook can never survive in the powerful grip of that Absolute Lifeform), I had to hold her so that she wouldn’t fall off my shoulder.

Even while doing so, Akirea, who kept stretching out her hand, almost fell headfirst to the ground the next moment.

I barely grabbed her ankle, but my heart was pounding so hard… I tried to scold her sternly as I calmed my surprised heart, but.

“Awoo?”

When I saw her looking up at me and tilting her head innocently, my heart melted. Like sugar in my mouth….

“Ah-baat.”

Then, the moment she clung to my leg and rubbed her cheek against it, I understood. I understood it right away.

Why all the parents become daughter fools… It was something fundamentally different from younger sisters or disciples like younger sisters. This angelic creature.

‘But it can’t be…’

I’m not this girl’s father. I don’t deserve this happiness.

The reason why this girl recognizes me as a parent is because Alakish’s fragment resides in my body, nothing more and nothing less.

So, I should do what a nanny should do, not a parent. I barely suppressed the rising corners of my mouth with a dry cough and pulled her away.

“Stop it, stop it. Stay away. I won’t let you off the hook just because you act cute like that. Got it?”

“Da-at?”

“I said no.”

“Fact, Da.”

“Was that dragon language just now?”

Akirea often spoke a few childish dragon words such as ‘Ma kiome’ without being taught, but she still only babbled in human language.

Whenever I thought about that, I couldn’t help but shudder with sadness.

If Alakish, not me, had been by Akirea’s side right now, how much could this girl have learned? How happy would she have been?

“Aki, you’re a True Dragon. An incredibly strong being that has no one to face in this world, academically called an Absolute Lifeform.”

“Awoo?”

“You have to become such a being too. I’ll help you. I don’t know how much a mere human like me can teach you, but I’ll do my best while we’re going to .”

As I squatted down in front of her to meet her gaze, I held out my pinky finger.

“I promise. I’m still young, immature, and lacking, but I’ll become a noble and great being like Alakish. Starting today, step by step.”

I had a feeling that those words might be a promise to myself.

Since I received Alakish’s soul, I must live a life that is not ashamed of that noble soul… The same goes for Akirea, who is a clone of that soul.

Did she read the sincerity in my eyes, or did she understand my words?

“It’s a promise between us.”

Maybe it was neither, but the moment Aki, who had been staring blankly into my eyes, suddenly smiled brightly and grabbed my pinky finger with both hands.

“Ya-at, Soo!”

I felt a quiet resonance from deep within my chest, probably from the depths of my soul, rippling through my body in a poignant wave.

Is it joy?

Perhaps it is sadness.

A deep sadness that comes from not being able to hold that hand directly….

“Good girl. Come here, Aki.”

Whether it was really an emotion created by Alakish’s soul, or whether it was my delusion, I unknowingly hugged Aki tightly and buried my tears.

It was still summer in the world.

The summer breeze was blowing in the hundred-year journey of my life.