The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 190

Just as we rank criminals, including black mages, based on their threat level, the Black Magic Tower also has its own standards for ranking us mages.

That’s the dangerous person ranking Shadow just mentioned.

‘As far as I know, a special S-class dangerous person designation is usually reserved for the heads of each magic tower. Am I mistaken?’

‘No. You’re right. Usually, special S-class is for archmages above the 8th circle, as well as influential figures… mainly tower heads or the heads of prestigious families.’

In other words, it wasn’t just magical skill, but also a certain level of high social standing that was required to be designated as a special S-class dangerous person.

‘So, I’m on that special S-class dangerous person list?’

‘Yes.’

‘What’s the reason?’

‘Hmm.’

Shadow hesitated for a moment.

He seemed reluctant to speak.

‘Well, half of it is because of me.’

‘……Did you report me as a dangerous person?’

‘Yes.’

He actually reported me?

‘……That’s unexpected. I didn’t think you’d report anything about me.’

Shadow had been planning to make this offer to me since he escaped from the Hwaelian Prison.

That’s why he said, ‘We’ll meet again soon.’

Because of that, I didn’t think he would report me.

From his position of needing to make a deal with me, the Black Magic Tower’s intervention would only be a hindrance.

I thought he would keep the information about me to himself and pretend not to know.

‘Let’s correct a misunderstanding first. It’s not like I wanted to report you to the tower.’

Shadow clicked his tongue softly.

‘It was Hermes who provided your information to the Black Magic King. He’s the other executive who shut down the Hwaelian Prison system that day.’

Hermes.

The hacker who seized the Hwaelian Prison system that day, completely disabled the security of the prison holding Tkisch, and even perfectly cut off external communication.

‘So, Hermes was an executive too.’

I had expected it, but he was indeed an executive.

‘He said he saw you avoiding Tkisch’s spiritual world and blocking my attack through the CCTV.’

The CCTV was still working?

‘……The system was supposed to be down.’

‘He’s such a skilled hacker. He said keeping one CCTV alive wasn’t that difficult.’

‘……’

My expression turned serious.

If Hermes had been monitoring the lowest level of the Hwaelian Prison through the CCTV that day…

‘That means he saw everything: me taking out Aeth, taking the Mimir’s Grimoire [a powerful magical book] from Aeth, and even entering the Mimir’s Grimoire.’

There’s a high probability that my secret was exposed.

This is a rather difficult situation.

My mind became complicated in an instant.

What should I do about this situation?

‘Don’t worry, he didn’t hear our conversation. At the time, Hermes was only watching one CCTV. Plus, it was located quite far away. The voices weren’t transmitted.’

Only one CCTV?

‘What was the CCTV’s angle?’

At the time of the incident, the battle was centered around Shadow.

That means there’s a high probability that Hermes chose a CCTV that could focus on Shadow and watched the situation through it.

‘And my position was far away from where Shadow was standing.’

Since I was being protected by the Blue Magic Tower Lord, I was quite far from Shadow.

In other words, there’s a high probability that my position wasn’t captured by the CCTV Hermes was watching.

‘You’re right. Your figure wasn’t captured by the CCTV Hermes was watching.’

Bingo.

My guess was correct.

‘Then that means he didn’t see me taking out Aeth or entering the Mimir’s Grimoire.’

I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

‘But if he didn’t see me, how does he know that I avoided Tkisch’s spiritual world and erased your attack?’

Along with relief, a new question arose.

‘Even if he didn’t see you, he saw me. It wouldn’t have been that difficult to grasp the overall situation.’

‘Ah.’

Hermes was watching Shadow through the CCTV.

Even if he couldn’t see me from the angle, he confirmed Shadow’s confrontation with someone.

Through that, he must have realized that someone had avoided the spiritual world.

‘Considering the camera angle, Shadow’s reaction, and expression, he could have also confirmed that Shadow’s attack was blocked.’

In other words, even if my figure wasn’t visible, there was no problem in grasping the situation.

‘But how did he know it was me?’

But all he could know was the situation.

Hermes couldn’t have known who had avoided the spiritual world.

‘At the time, the only people not captured by the CCTV were me and the Blue Magic Tower Lord. In that situation, wouldn’t it be normal to assume that the Blue Magic Tower Lord was the one who remained?’

At the time, the only ones outside the CCTV’s view were me and the Blue Magic Tower Lord.

In that situation, how could he be sure that I was the one who remained?

‘I was the one who said that the opponent at the time wasn’t the Blue Magic Tower Lord, but you.’

‘……You said that?’

‘Yes. I said it earlier. Half of the reason you were designated as a special S-class dangerous person is my responsibility.’

I accelerated my thoughts as I looked at Shadow’s calm expression.

I thought about why Shadow would have revealed my name.

The answer came quickly.

‘Considering your reaction at the time, it would have been difficult to say that the Blue Magic Tower Lord remained.’

‘Yes. The problem was that I was too flustered by the blocked attack.’

If the opponent had been the Blue Magic Tower Lord, he wouldn’t have been so flustered by the blocked attack.

‘It was also a problem that I managed to escape without any counterattack.’

‘……If it had been the Blue Magic Tower Lord, he wouldn’t have let you go quietly.’

‘So, I brought up your name. If I had brought up the Blue Magic Tower Lord’s name, I would have been suspected.’

I understood.

All the circumstances proved that it was me who remained, not the Blue Magic Tower Lord.

Shadow’s judgment was rational.

‘……So, is that why I was designated as a special S-class dangerous person?’

‘Yes. Because you’re an irregular who avoided Tkisch’s spiritual world and also an irregular who blocked my attack.’

‘……It means they set a higher threat level because I’m an unknown entity. I understand.’

I think I would have made the same judgment.

In war, the most frightening thing isn’t a general with great power, but an unknown enemy who might use any means.

‘What happens when you’re designated as a special S-class?’

‘It depends on the situation, but in your case… an assassination squad will definitely be dispatched. And they’ll keep coming.’

‘Is that because my skills are inferior to other special S-class individuals?’

‘Yes. Other special S-class individuals have self-defense measures… they have sufficient ability to protect themselves, but you don’t.’

To deal with mages who have reached the 8th circle, at least an executive-level member must be mobilized.

But what about me?

I’m evaluated as a 6th circle mage, and I’m someone who can be easily eliminated by even a quasi-executive, let alone an executive.

As Shadow said, it wouldn’t be strange if assassins were dispatched frequently.

‘……I understand the situation. I’ll have to pay attention to my personal safety for a while. Thank you for the valuable information.’

It was invaluable information that I needed right now.

I sincerely thanked him.

‘This means I should postpone the trip to Mount Baekdu, regardless of the elixir.’

If the Black Magic Tower is seriously planning to eliminate me, it’s best not to leave Seoul.

No matter how urgent the elixir is, it’s not more precious than my life.

‘Then, I’d like to ask for other information.’

I’ve only obtained one piece of information so far. The real information gathering starts now.

‘Hmm. Other information. What would be good? Should I tell you about the Black Magic Tower’s bases? Or information about the organization’s members? Or maybe information about the spies hidden in various countries around the world?’

Shadow looked at me with a smug smile.

‘According to the terms of the deal, I’ll provide only one of these three pieces of information first. What do you want?’

That meant those three were the core information Shadow possessed.

The information about my safety that he just gave me, and one of those three pieces of information.

So, that’s half of the information he has?

‘……You’re very reasonable.’

It was a clear condition that left no room for argument.

‘I don’t mind telling you all three pieces of information. But you have to remove my shadow first.’

‘……I’ll pass on that.’

‘Hmm. So, you want to verify whether my information is true first. You’re very thorough.’

Actually, it’s just that Miho’s power is still insufficient to remove the ‘Umbra’s Shadow’ that’s lodged in Shadow’s body.

But there’s no need to say that.

It would only be to my disadvantage.

‘Okay. Then, what information do you want?’

‘……’

Which of the three pieces of information would be the most helpful?

‘The Black Magic Tower’s bases.’

‘Information about the Black Magic Tower’s internal members.’

‘Information about the Black Magic Tower’s spies in various countries.’

Which of the three pieces of information is the most valuable to me right now?

The answer came quickly.

‘……I’ll go with the information about the spies.’

In war, the most dangerous enemy isn’t the external enemy, but the internal one.

If I’m going to deal with them, I should deal with the internal enemies first.

‘So, you chose the information about the spies.’

Shadow smiled as if he knew I would choose this information.

‘Excellent choice.’

* * *

‘Since it’s sensitive information, it’s better to provide it in a proper document rather than explaining it verbally.’

‘Since it’s a deal, I’ll gather all the information about the spies who have infiltrated areas I haven’t been paying attention to.’

‘However, I need to avoid the tower’s eyes, so it’ll take some time.’

‘It should take about four days.’

‘Then, let’s meet here again at that time.’

Shadow left those words and disappeared.

Just like the sun rises in the morning and the darkness fades away, he completely vanished in the blink of an eye.

‘To go all the way to China in that short amount of time…’

After Shadow disappeared, I asked Miho, and she said he had moved to China in that instant.

Umbra’s Shadow.

It truly was an incredible power.

Well, since it’s an artifact of an evil god, the penalties are also immense.

‘After getting my hands on it… can I temper it with Mythical Magic?’

Umbra’s Shadow was an artifact that even my master had failed to create with Mythical Magic.

Could I temper such an artifact using myself as a medium?

Honestly, I’m not confident.

The chances of me succeeding where my master failed aren’t very high.

‘What did Mimir see in me that made him think I could do it?’

Mimir also tends to overestimate me.

I walked towards the dormitory with those thoughts.

‘No, more importantly, what should I do about the trip to Mount Baekdu the day after tomorrow?’

Honestly, even until I heard about being designated as a special S-class dangerous person, I was planning to cancel the trip to Mount Baekdu.

However, my thoughts have changed again now.

‘Ah. And about the assassins, you don’t have to worry about them for a while. For now, everyone is on a mission, so there aren’t any suitable personnel to assign to you.’

‘If there’s a sign that a member who has finished their mission early and returned is moving to eliminate you, I’ll give you a heads-up. It’s a service.’

Not only is the assassination squad not ready yet, but Shadow even said he would give me a heads-up in the unlikely event, so how could my thoughts not change?

‘If I go to Mount Baekdu, it feels like there won’t be another chance other than now.’

My worries deepened.

As I was walking along the path.

‘……Miho?’

Suddenly, Miho perked up her ears.

She stared blankly in one direction, then left my arms and stood on the ground.

Then, she toddled over to a woman sitting on a bench and jumped onto her lap.

‘Hello, little one. Where did you come from… five tails?’

A woman with long, golden hair that reached her waist.

‘……Adela?’

‘Ah.’

Adela, with her hand on Miho’s head, turned her gaze towards me.

‘……Hello?’

I stared blankly at Adela, who greeted me with a strange expression.

No, to be more precise, I was looking at Miho, who was on Adela’s lap.

‘Miho is being so friendly with someone other than me?’

Mimir and Aslan said.

A proud divine beast, a nine-tailed fox, who doesn’t follow anyone except me and my master.

Miho was sitting on Adela’s lap, yawning.