The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 206

One of the artifacts left behind by my teacher.

A nameless staff, whose name I don’t even know yet.

I took that staff and headed to Mimir’s study.

“Oh. What’s this? I thought it would take a bit longer. You’re already here?”

Mimir, surprised to see the staff, approached me hastily.

“I got lucky. They said the team collecting the Thunder Bird carcass brought it along on their way.”

“Ah, if you used the same broker, that could happen. You really got lucky then.”

“Yeah.”

I placed the staff on the table as it was.

Then, I sat next to Mimir. And waited for Miho to climb onto my lap.

My lap had become Miho’s designated spot.

She sleeps on my lap, plays on my lap, and even cuddles on my lap.

But today, Miho’s behavior was a little different.

Miho jumped onto the table instead of my lap.

And then she stared blankly at the staff.

Could she be feeling a strange sense of nostalgia looking at my teacher’s staff?

‘It’s the real thing.’

Miho’s reaction confirmed the authenticity of this staff.

This staff is real.

Miho’s eyes, filled with lingering emotion, were proof of that.

“That staff. Miho and Abamama made it together.”

“Together?”

“Yeah.”

“I see…”

An artifact made with my teacher.

As an artifact filled with memories, it was only natural to be emotional.

“Let’s leave her alone for a bit.”

“Yeah. That would be best.”

I agreed with Mimir’s suggestion.

Comfort or anything else, at times like this, having some alone time is more important.

We quietly got up and headed behind a nearby bookshelf.

It was a move to be considerate of Miho.

“Then, please explain it to me.”

I glanced at Miho and the staff over the bookshelf, then turned my gaze to Mimir.

“Well, first of all, the name of that staff is ‘Kailum.’ It’s the last artifact Ray made, and it’s the only artifact that affects magical output and power.”

In other words, it was the only amplification-type artifact.

“The effect itself is simpler than you think. All magic activated through this staff is amplified by about 30% in power and output.”

“…30%?”

Even the best existing artifacts only have an amplification effect of around 13%.

But 30%?

“Are there any elemental restrictions?”

“None.”

“All types of elements have a 30% amplification effect?”

Even the eye-contact artifact ‘Four Seasons,’ which I wear almost all the time, only has an amplification rate of about 9%.

I’ve heard countless times that this alone is a groundbreaking artifact.

But a whopping 30%, 21% higher.

It was an unbelievable figure.

“What about penalties?”

“Just that it consumes a lot of mental power?”

“How much is ‘a lot’?”

“About 40% or so.”

“That’s not even a penalty, is it?”

The additional mental power consumption for performing a 30% amplification is 40%.

That can’t be called a penalty.

The stronger the magic, the greater the mental power consumption is a natural principle. This isn’t a penalty, but a reasonable price to pay.

“Is there anything else?”

“Nope. Nothing else. The only penalty is that. Oh, and that you have to use magic through the staff?”

“Well, that’s common to all artifacts…”

Then there really were no penalties.

“It’s a really simple yet powerful force.”

I chuckled, looking at the staff my teacher used, ‘Kailum.’

“Why are you so surprised already? I haven’t even told you everything yet.”

“There’s more to its abilities?”

30% amplification isn’t the end?

“Of course, there’s more. It’s the final masterpiece that Abamama and Miho made together. There’s no way it would only have amplification abilities.”

Mimir wiggled her index finger and puffed out her chest.

“The true value of Kailum lies in ‘Awakening.'”

“Awakening… You mean the Ring of Awakening?”

“That’s right. The realm you reach by weaving the Ring of Awakening.”

Awakening.

“Kailum will react to the successor’s awakening and reveal its true form.”

* * *

It was decided that Kailum would be stored inside Mimir’s study for now.

There was no immediate need to use it, and even if I used it now without weaving the Ring of Awakening, its effect would only be diminished.

Checking Kailum’s power can be done after weaving the Ring of Awakening. That way, the effect can be verified more accurately.

‘And right now, I don’t have time to check Kailum’s power.’

What’s important now isn’t checking Kailum’s effect.

What’s important is weaving the Ring of Awakening.

With that thought, I spent the entire weekend focusing on weaving the Ring of Awakening.

Except for rest times, I invested all my time solely in weaving the Ring of Awakening.

And now it’s late Sunday night.

“Excuse me.”

With the news I had been waiting for, Mr. Seokhyun visited the dormitory.

“Here. These are the materials that the young master requested from the head of the family.”

The news I had been waiting for was that the materials for the elixir had arrived.

“Were there any you couldn’t get?”

“One. I couldn’t get Laplace. There was no information about anyone possessing it, let alone information on how to obtain it…”

Mr. Seokhyun smiled bitterly with a look of embarrassment.

“What about the others besides Laplace?”

“I got all the others.”

Mr. Seokhyun handed me a piece of paper.

It was a catalog listing the purchased materials.

“The prices are astronomical, as expected.”

“Yes. Because of what the materials are.”

Next to each material’s name was a price tag.

There were some cheap materials, but most of them easily exceeded hundreds of millions [Korean Won, roughly equivalent to hundreds of thousands of US dollars].

Even if the Mado Shin family has a lot of money, they shouldn’t be able to pay this much at once.

Did they overdo it?

I felt a little guilty.

“The materials have been verified three times by experts within the family… but just in case, if you find any problems while using them, please contact us immediately. We will respond right away.”

“Yes. I’ll ask for your help then.”

Mr. Seokhyun bowed his head slightly.

“Then, I’ll return to my mission. It’s good to prepare hard for the accelerated exam, but please take some rest. You’ll hurt yourself.”

“Yes. I’ll be careful. Thank you for your concern.”

Mr. Seokhyun smiled faintly and left the room.

‘There aren’t as many as I thought.’

Alone, I immediately checked the box of materials that Mr. Seokhyun had brought.

One, two, four, ten…

Thirty-two in total.

They were all there for sure.

‘They all seem to be genuine.’

I can’t say 100% since I only checked roughly, but they are 99% genuine.

The experts in the family have reviewed them three times.

They must be 99.9% genuine.

I closed the box as it was.

‘Still, just in case, I should get Mimir to check them again.’

And with the box in my arms, I opened Mimir’s study.

I probably should skip the Ring of Awakening training today.

I should spend all my time making the elixir.

* * *

The next morning.

I headed to school with a somewhat tired face.

“What’s with the zombie on the main street?”

As I was walking down the street, I heard a familiar voice from behind.

It was Soonchan.

“I thought you were going to rest well during the holidays. Well, of course not. That’s not the face of someone who rested well.”

Soonchan clicked his tongue and approached me.

“What, did you stay up all night during the holidays? What’s with the dark circles that go all the way down to your cheekbones?”

“What cheekbones? Don’t exaggerate.”

“Exaggerate? Exaggeraaaaate? Ask any of the kids passing by. See if I’m exaggerating. No, I’ll ask. Hey, junior?”

Soonchan spoke to a female student passing by.

“Yes, yes?”

“Tell me honestly. What do you think of him right now?”

“…Honestly?”

“Yes. Very honestly.”

Soonchan answered confidently.

To be so confident, was my appearance that bad?

“W-Well, he’s handsome.”

“This is…”

Soonchan almost blurted out a curse.

Not only did he get a completely different answer than he expected, but he also got an unwanted compliment, so it was natural for him to curse.

“Eek.”

The junior stepped back with a frightened expression.

Soonchan, with a look of realization, changed his words.

“This is a ten… point answer. Right, Hayul is handsome? Haha.”

Soonchan smiled insincerely.

“Yes? Yes…”

“Thank you for answering.”

Soonchan waved his hand with a bright smile. The female student walked away from us with a sullen expression.

“…I chose the wrong person.”

“Wrong person? Look. It’s just you overreacting, isn’t it? Dark circles down to my cheekbones, what…”

“No, it’s not overreacting. Didn’t you look in the mirror this morning?”

Soonchan scratched his cheek with a ‘Aish’ expression.

He looked frustrated.

“…Hello.”

Just then, Adela approached us.

Soonchan’s eyes lit up.

“You came at the right time. Adela. Hayul’s appearance is a mess…”

Soonchan, who had started talking to get sympathy from Adela, suddenly lost his words.

“…There were zombies in a couple.”

Adela’s appearance was more serious than mine, so he unintentionally lost his words.

“Adela, did you stay up all night during the holidays too? Why does your face look like that?”

“Yes. I had something to investigate…”

Soonchan sighed deeply.

“You two are just the same…”

Soonchan shook his head and clicked his tongue.

“Ugh. I don’t know. You guys can take care of your own conditions. Who am I to worry about? I should worry about myself.”

Soonchan said that last and walked ahead.

No, he ran ahead.

“Then I’ll go to the classroom first. I’m on duty and I’m late.”

Soonchan disappeared like a flash.

Only Adela and I were left on the way to school.

“What did you do during the holidays?”

“Just, this and that.”

I went to Mount Baekdu.

I also trained to weave the Ring of Awakening.

I also made an elixir.

I did literally this and that.

“I think I saw you going somewhere with Commander Charles…”

Then, unexpected words came out of Adela’s mouth.

“…You saw me?”

“Yes. I happened to see you getting into a car driven by Commander Charles.”

You saw that?

Even if you saw me getting in, there’s no way you could have seen Commander Charles in the car.

The car’s tinting is good.

“I didn’t see your face directly.”

“If you didn’t see my face directly… did you sense the mana?”

“Yes. It was the same mana I sensed last time… so it was easy to identify.”

“…”

She says it so easily, but it’s not that easy.

If neither Commander Charles nor I noticed, it means that the distance was quite far.

To accurately capture Commander Charles’ mana from that distance.

It’s something that even most high-circle mages can’t do.

‘As the grace of God becomes more ingrained in her body, is her talent gradually blossoming?’

It seems like she’s growing day by day.

“It’s nothing. I just gave him a tour of Seoul.”

“Is that so?”

Adela looked at me with a meaningful expression.

“Then… two days ago, Commander Charles announced… the successful handling of the Black Magic Tower executive, Parade… that has nothing to do with you, does it?”

Commander Charles informed the International Terror Response Headquarters of Parade’s death two days ago, on Saturday.

That fact was naturally conveyed to the Mado Shin family, as well as to Adela’s family, the Shinbiwi family.

That’s why she’s saying that.

Last Wednesday, she confirmed that I went somewhere with Charles.

And four days later, the fact that Parade died was announced.

‘And Adela even knows that I have some kind of transactional relationship with Commander Charles.’

From Adela’s point of view, it was reasonable enough to link me to the Parade case.

“…”

I was momentarily speechless.

How should I answer here? It’s easy to lie.

But would that be meaningful?

Looking at Adela’s expression, it seems that Adela has some conviction.

There’s no point in lying to Adela now.

That’s what I thought.

‘But I can’t tell the truth either.’

It’s no exaggeration to say that all my secrets are intertwined in this matter.

I can’t reveal them all.

I plan to reveal them when the time comes when I need to ask Adela for help. But it’s not that time yet.

‘What should I do?’

While I was frowning, unable to organize my thoughts.

“If you can’t answer, you don’t have to.”

Adela spoke first.

“You can’t answer. You hesitate. That action itself is an answer.”

“…”

Just as I know Adela well, Adela also knows me well.

She knows better than anyone that my silence means affirmation.

“I won’t ask for details. Judging by the fact that you didn’t even tell Shin Inhyuk, it seems like it’s something you really can’t tell anyone.”

“…How did you know I didn’t tell my father?”

Adela smiled faintly at my answer.

“Well, I was testing you. I guess it’s true.”

“…”

…I was had.

Adela’s smile deepened a little more.

“Anyway, I won’t ask for details. I don’t want to keep pestering you and make things difficult for you.”

Adela looked at me with a slightly relieved expression.

“Let’s go. We’re going to be late.”

“…Okay.”

I slowly matched my pace with Adela.

My head felt a little fuzzy. For some reason, I felt like I had been had.

“Lastly… thank you.”

“…For what?”

“For not lying.”

Adela said that, put her hands behind her back, and walked lightly like a cheerful young lady.

Her steps seemed very light for some reason.