The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 33

33. The Reincarnated Archmage of the Hero Party

300 Years Ago.

Far away, beyond the murky, bluish-green fog of poison, the city walls, corroded and rotten from being tainted by the Abyss, came into view.

“Is that really what they called the Star of the South?”

In response to Archmage Rin’s question, Friede, the Fire Dragon Shrine Maiden, took a long puff from her pipe and nodded grimly.

“The Star of the South, Orwardan. It was a beautiful city where light poured in from all directions at noon. I don’t even want to go near it now.”

“What should we do, Rista?”

They were on a cliff overlooking the city. Rista Perkwier stood at the edge, silently gazing down at the city.

“Hmm, I have a feeling that going in there would put everyone in danger.”

“Anyone can see that.”

“So, Rin, just blow it away.”

For a moment, I doubted my ears.

But Kyes, the Palace Mage, and Friede seemed to think differently from Rin; they were all just smiling.

After blinking my wide eyes for a while, Rin hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Are you kidding me? Isn’t that like a cultural heritage site? We should preserve it as much as possible so we can restore it later.”

Rista glanced back over his shoulder and said at that moment:

“There are times in life when you can just do things and regret them later.”

“There you go again with your sophistry.”

“It’s not sophistry. You three are worth several times more to me than some cultural heritage.”

Rista always smiled sincerely when he said things like that, as if there wasn’t a hint of pretense in his words. Rin avoided his gaze and muttered.

“…There’s going to be a lot of backlash later.”

“I’ll take on the role of regretting and getting scolded later. Isn’t that what a leader is for?”

“Is it really that simple–”

“–Rin, sometimes if you solve things lightly like this, the world might look different, you know?”

So, Rin.

Just go wild for once.

“I hate complicated problems. How about you, Rin?”

* * *

“Now do you understand? What it means to aim for the top spot in Delaite?”

Crista approached with her arms crossed, looking confident.

“You can never reach the top spot in Delaite with such ordinary methods.”

It certainly seemed that way.

So, I kept pondering the methods… but no matter how much I thought, I could only come up with things that wouldn’t be enough to break Crista’s record.

‘Is there really no way to use my power in a way that sets me apart from others?’

In a maze-like, confined space, it’s impossible to indiscriminately unleash attack magic, whether it’s powerful or not; there’s a high chance of collapsing the terrain or getting caught in the aftermath.

‘That’s why summoning magic is overwhelmingly better in such narrow spaces, but I can’t use it….’

How can I easily surpass Crista’s record? To graduate at the top, I need to set a record that no one, not even Crista, can touch.

– Rin, just blow it away.

At that moment, a warm echo of the past brushed through my mind, and Rain’s eyes widened for a moment before he chuckled.

“…Yeah, sometimes you can just do things and regret them later.”

As I muttered to myself, an unusual magical power flickered around me, and Crista raised her eyebrows slightly. Logan asked.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s something. Anyway, lend me your ear for a moment.”

As Rain whispered something to Logan, Logan’s eyes widened as he listened to the plan, tilting his head.

“Did I hear you wrong?”

“You heard me right.”

“Are you serious? We might even get disqualified if we do that!”

“I don’t think that’ll happen, but don’t worry. I’ll take all the responsibility if anything goes wrong.”

Is this even a problem that he can take responsibility for alone?

Logan was dumbfounded and turned to Rain, but his eyes were endlessly serious.

Eventually, a hollow laugh escaped Logan’s lips as he met those eyes.

“Well, I’d probably get an A anyway… but that wouldn’t be any fun.”

“Right?”

“I’ll give it a try.”

Crista had to stare at Rain with a very wary look.

‘Disqualification? What is he even trying to do?’

The words ‘disqualification’ and ‘fun’ suggest that he’s trying some kind of strange gamble, but he’s going to treat a formal exam like a gamble?

“Disqualification? Fun? Are you kidding me! Are you thinking of playing some strange tricks in a fight against me?”

“?”

“I won’t allow it! This is an exam. You can’t approach it with such a light heart! You have to be more serious than ever!”

Crista burst into anger.

But, but why, why does that guy Rain have such an incomprehensible and unbearably joyful expression?

“What am I supposed to do if magic is fun? It’s fun even if I don’t want it to be.”

“What…?”

“If you approach it with such a rigid mindset, won’t you get tired of it and drop out soon? Have you never enjoyed magic?”

Why, for a moment, what faintly brushed through Crista’s mind like a spring breeze was a remnant of the past….

– Dad, look at this!

Herself, smiling brightly as she showed off to her parents after using beginner magic for the first time. But she immediately shook her head and erased that echo from her mind.

She is not in a position to enjoy magic. She is not in a position to have a lighthearted attitude of ‘enjoying’ it.

Crista bit her lower lip and said as if spitting out the years of resentment that had built up in her heart.

“…Enjoying it is an irresponsible statement. You can’t achieve anything by enjoying it.”

Then, as if not wanting to hear any more rebuttals, she turned her back and left the spot. Rain stared at her retreating figure with a puzzled expression.

“Why does she seem angry? Did I say something weird?”

“How would I know? There’s a saying that you can know a hundred feet of water but not an inch of a woman’s heart.”

“Oh~ Master, you can say some pretty cool things too?”

“Hmph, who do you think I am? I’m Logan, the last disciple of the Chaihark School.”

As the 10-minute consultation time was coming to an end, the students let out heavy sighs and moved one by one toward their assigned caves. There was no point in sitting here and figuring out the structure of the maze.

“Professor.”

At that moment, Rain Ludwig from Team 12 approached Professor Kyle.

“What is it?”

“Any method is fine as long as we annihilate all the targets inside the maze, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And there’s no chance of the cave collapsing due to another team’s mistake, right? Because the danger is controlled by the professor’s magic?”

“Of course.”

Rain smiled and turned around.

What is it?

Professor Kyle and the assistant professor could only tilt their heads, not knowing the meaning of that smile. Rain returned to his spot and opened his mouth.

“Ready, Master?”

“I’ll finish my part in 7 seconds.”

“It’ll take me about 50 seconds, so let’s finish it in under a minute overall.”

Crack, Logan lightly moved his body to loosen his joints.

“9 minutes. There’s only 1 minute left.”

As the assistant professor shouted, Logan threw off his school uniform jacket. The magic circle of the Chaihark School’s secret technique, Body Tempering, was revealed on his body, intricately and complexly drawn.

“Team 12, start the exam!”

The moment Rain shouted that, the magic circle of Body Tempering emitted light and spread throughout his body.

“Hmm?”

Professor Kyle and the assistant professor, who were watching the situation through Clairvoyance [a magical ability to see distant events], raised their eyebrows. The students standing next to them were the same.

“They’re not even going inside the entrance?”

“What are they doing?”

“Why did they say they were starting the exam already if they were going to do that? Does that mean they’re that confident?”

Crista also crossed her arms and stared at the screen with a dissatisfied expression.

‘What kind of trick is he trying to pull?’

At that moment, a red light flickered eerily in Rain’s eyes.

“Uh…?!”

“Th, that…?!”

The Death Star, drawn in silver-white within the bewitching red light… the students each swallowed their breaths, and even Professor Kyle’s eyes lit up as if he was surprised.

“Bel Sedios… at the age of sixteen?”

The bloodline limit of the Ludwig margrave [a noble title, similar to marquis].

Bel Sedios.

The eye known to possess the power to see through all abilities… a bizarre power that makes the mages who face it feel a chill.

‘Scaltz and Kevon, famous as the geniuses of the Ludwig family, awakened that eye at the ages of seventeen and eighteen, respectively?’

Elin Ludwig awakened it around the age of twenty-four, didn’t she?

He’s faster than them?

The point is that, unlike the bloodline limits of the other three families, which are relatively simple to enter, even mastering the basics is known to require tremendous talent and effort.

‘But what is he doing in front of the entrance?’

Crista rolled her eyes in disbelief. Even if you know the location of the enemy in advance, it’s meaningless unless you go and annihilate them yourself.

┏ 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 ┓

The magic circle of the formula is one rectangle.

The rune symbols used are the formulaic Rutischen [a type of ancient magical language].

Size 3 Axel, range 5 Kimite [units of magical measurement].

┗ 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 ┛

01010100010101, at that time, in Rain’s vision, dyed bright red, all the targets located inside the maze were perfectly identified beyond the terrain.

“Okay, connect.”

Strands of brilliant light were released from Rain’s palm, soon weaving elegantly above it to form the shape of a magic circle.

The magic circle is an intersection of trapezoids and pentagons.

The runes to be engraved are Connection and Transmission.

To the telekinetic magic circle,

‘Connection: Adjoining’,

To the lightning magic circle,

‘Transmission: Conveying’ qualities are imparted.

At that moment, Professor Kyle’s eyes widened.

“That’s….”

Shururuk, strands of light flowed down Rain’s feet, leaving a long trail into the maze and entering swiftly.

And one, one, one, the light that went deep into the maze split into several strands and reached the identified targets.

Okay, at the moment Rain nodded, Logan, who was waiting with the light of Body Tempering emitting from his entire body, raised his fist above his head with all his might.

“Euryaaaaaaaaa!”

With a fierce shout, he slammed the starting point of the light rays with all his might.

The barrier of magic power, spread out like wrapping the skin with Body Tempering, explodes with overwhelming heat, doubling the power.

And that powerful destructive force, where the ground crumbles and pebbles fly like rain, is spread throughout the maze by the rune of Transmission engraved on the lines of light.

Kugugugugugu───!

The wave of destruction spreading along the light rays mercilessly overturned the terrain of the maze. A fierce roar erupted, and dust swirled, obscuring the window of Clairvoyance.

“What?”

“What’s going on?”

“What did they do just now? Why are they destroying the maze? Are they crazy? How are they going to get in if they do that?”

The students could only murmur like that, but Professor Kyle and the assistant professor were different. The assistant professor stared blankly at the window that had appeared on the magic tool on his wrist.

“The number of remaining targets is 19, no, 11, no, 4?! Pr, Professor?!”

Professor Kyle, who had been staring blankly at Clairvoyance, trembled, his eyes wide open behind his angular glasses.

ㆍTeam 12 – Passage 12.

ㆍTime – 00:59.

ㆍRemaining Targets – 0.

59 seconds.

It didn’t even take a minute?

How could such an absurd thing… As he let out a blank laugh, the assistant professor regained his senses and shook his head wildly.

“Professor, this seems to be an action that deviates from the purpose of the exam.”

“……?”

“The exam is supposed to be about going into the maze and confirming their abilities, but they ended it by destroying it. It seems like a fluke… shouldn’t we invalidate this?”

“Why?”

“An S grade means it’s perfect, but this can only be seen as far from perfect….”

Still staring blankly at the window, Professor Kyle opened his mouth.

“Zimar, do you know that a genius is the creature furthest from the word perfect?”

“Yes? What do you mean by that…?”

“The word perfect refers to a state that clearly meets the standards accepted in the world. But the geniuses who changed the world have always surpassed those standards.”

Sudden words, ideas, and actions… the actions of geniuses, which were considered incomprehensible in their time, change over time into ‘standards accepted in the world’.

“Don’t you understand what I mean? It’s because a genius is not someone who fits themselves into the mold of perfection, but someone who creates ‘new perfection’.”

“A new standard of perfection…?”

“That’s right! From that historical evaluation standard, Rain Ludwig, that student, can certainly be felt to be far from perfect.”

The assistant professor blinked.

Professor Kyle has a tendency to be generous with praise, but this was the first time today that he had praised someone so enthusiastically.

“Zimar, have you ever thought about destroying the cave?”

“I haven’t, but… I think I could do it if I wanted to.”

“Of course. Because that student has created a new path! The important thing is that they were the first to come up with and achieve that thought that no one else had.”

And the magical knowledge and understanding to perfectly execute such a reckless idea… is that really sixteen years old?

Have we found it?

Has it finally appeared?

A true genius who will breathe new life into the stagnant world of imperial magic… Kyle finished speaking, shuddering with intense emotion.

“Watch carefully now, Zimar. On the day that student becomes an adult and the core of the magical world, the horizon of magic may change.”