The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 31

My father immediately retrieved Ray Bell Bytenner’s robe from the vault and handed it to me.

‘I hope you won’t regret this choice. Now, go.’

With those words, my father dismissed me.

The look in his eyes, visible as the door closed, clearly showed his disappointment.

‘Well, nothing I can do about it.’

My father’s disappointment, or whatever it was, didn’t matter.

This was something I had to endure to get this.

‘I didn’t think I’d get it before winning the Olympiad.’

In the back seat of the speeding limousine, I opened the box containing the robe.

Among the ancient relics that looked magnificent, this robe was uniquely tattered and shabby.

Yet, this robe, bearing the name of Ray Bell Bytenner, the originator of magic and the first great mage, was incredibly significant.

‘This is more valuable than a 30% stake in the magic stone mining rights.’

This robe had an inexpressible historical value.

If this robe hadn’t been stored in the Magic God family’s vault, I wouldn’t have been able to acquire it even with billions of gold.

‘But is this really my teacher’s robe?’

Since it was said that my teacher’s robe was stored in our family’s vault, I came to get it, but…

I wasn’t sure if this was truly the robe of Ray Bell Bytenner, the great mage.

Maybe it was because it looked more worn than I imagined. I was genuinely worried it might be a fake.

‘Should I check it out a bit?’

I glanced at the driver and then took out the old, tattered robe.

‘……It’s made of pure mana fiber?’

Mana fiber.

It’s a high-level technique that involves drawing mana stones into thin threads using mana stone processing technology.

There are fewer than 30 artisans in the world who can handle mana fiber.

It’s an incredibly difficult technique.

This robe is made of that mana fiber.

Not just partially, but the entire robe is made of mana fiber.

‘Even the highest grade mana fiber isn’t this good.’

It’s by far the best mana fiber I’ve ever seen.

I’ve never seen mana fiber with this purity and density before.

‘At least it doesn’t seem to be a fake.’

There’s no way a robe made with this level of mana fiber could be a fake.

I was convinced it was genuine and examined the structure of the robe.

‘……Huh?’

And I was surprised.

‘What is this structure?’

The design of the robe is strange.

No, it’s beyond strange; it’s bizarre.

‘……Why is the structure of the inner and outer layers reversed?’

When making a robe with mana fiber, the most difficult part is designing the inner and outer structures separately.

The inner mana fiber, which touches the wearer’s skin, must be designed to increase mana conductivity and efficiency,

while the outer layer, which is at high risk of being hit by magic, must be designed to block mana conductivity.

But this robe has this design reversed.

Mana amplification is applied to the outer layer of the robe, and mana blocking is applied to the inner layer.

‘With this structure, the wearer’s mana output will weaken, and the magic hitting the outer layer of the robe will become stronger.’

What is this? Is this a dream?

Is this robe for suicidal people?

‘Could it be inside out?’

Looking at it, it doesn’t seem to be inside out.

Just in case, I decided to turn it inside out.

“Gasp!”

And I was surprised again.

This time, I was so surprised that I even made a loud noise.

“Young master? Is something the matter?”

I must have made a loud exclamation, as even the driver reacted.

“Ah, no. I just remembered something, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I diverted the driver’s attention.

‘Phew. That really surprised me.’

I calmed my startled heart, took a deep breath, and checked the robe again.

‘How can the structure not change even when the inside and outside are reversed? Does that even make sense?’

This is why I was surprised.

Even though I turned the robe inside out, the magic applied to the outer and inner layers remained the same.

The outer layer still amplifies mana, and the inner layer still blocks mana.

I turned the robe inside out again.

‘It’s still the same.’

No matter what, the structure of the robe remained the same.

The inner layer blocks mana.

The outer layer absorbs mana.

‘What did they do?’

It was something that shouldn’t be possible from a magical, physical, or artifact crafting perspective.

‘That’s why it was stuck in the corner of the vault.’

I understood why a robe plastered with such high-grade mana fiber was just lying in the vault.

‘And I also know why this is called an ancient relic.’

The remnants of the ancient times that cannot be reproduced with modern technology.

That is what an ancient relic is.

This robe is the ancient relic itself.

‘And I also know why this robe is called Ray Bell Bytenner’s robe.’

I turned the robe inside out again.

On one side of the inner layer, ancient characters were crudely engraved.

[Ray Bell Bytenner]

Now as familiar as my own handwriting, the bad handwriting.

‘My teacher’s handwriting. It’s definitely him.’

This is undoubtedly my teacher’s robe.

* * *

Around 1 AM, I returned to the dormitory and immediately headed to Mimir’s Well.

“Mimir!”

“Successor. Welcome… Huh?”

Mimir, who was about to greet me with ‘Welcome,’ widened his eyes when he saw the robe in my hand.

He approached me with a surprised expression.

“What is that? It’s Ray’s robe?”

He stared intently at the robe, marveling at it.

“Wow, you found this already? Successor. You’re really lucky?”

As expected, Mimir seemed to know exactly what this robe was.

It was only natural.

The repository of knowledge, Mimir’s Well.

There was no way the manager of that place wouldn’t know about this.

“Mimir. This robe. Do you know how to use it?”

“How to use it? You just put it on.”

Mimir replied with a look that asked why I was asking such an obvious question.

“No, I’m not asking how to wear the robe, but about the purpose of this robe.”

“Huh? The function of the robe? That’s something I don’t even need to tell you… Ah.”

Mimir suddenly looked like he realized something.

“That’s right. You’re still a 2nd circle mage, right?”

Then he nodded repeatedly as if he had understood something.

“Then it’s natural that you don’t know.”

He was doing everything by himself.

I wish he would explain it so I could understand too.

“Successor. I’m sorry, but I can’t explain anything about this robe.”

Mimir said with a serious expression.

“Why?”

Looking at his expression and atmosphere, there seemed to be a reason why he couldn’t answer.

“Hmm. How should I explain it? First of all, the Bytenner style has a very special magic…”

Mimir suddenly stopped talking with a look of realization.

“…Oh, come on. Now that I think about it, I can’t even say the name of the magic.”

Mimir clicked his tongue and muttered, ‘What should I call it?’

“Eh. Never mind. What’s important is the name right now.”

Then he started talking again with a serious look.

“Let me say it again. The Bytenner style has a very special magic, a ‘real magic.'”

“……Real magic?”

It was a name that Mimir had clearly made up on the spot.

“Yeah. A true magic that’s different from the magic-like things you’re using now.”

“Magic-like things… Even so, that expression is a bit insulting to my pride.”

I felt like all my magic was being denied, so it was a bit much.

“Oh, is that so? Sorry. Then I’ll correct it to fake magic.”

“Fake magic or magic-like things…”

What’s the difference?

It feels subtly more unpleasant.

“Don’t worry about such trivial things. Anyway, the Bytenner style has a realm called real magic. So far, okay?”

Mimir made a circle with his index finger and thumb and asked.

I nodded.

“I can’t reveal anything about this real magic until the successor reaches a certain level. As you can see from my condition, it’s so thoroughly locked that I can’t even say the name.”

“Locked? Why?”

“It’s a restriction imposed on Mimir’s Book. Don’t delve too deeply into it.”

“……I see.”

I didn’t know there was such a restriction.

“Anyway, I can’t reveal any information about this real magic. And…”

Mimir pointed to the robe in my arms.

Ray Bell Bytenner’s robe.

“That robe is an artifact that exists to assist real magic, right?”

“So that’s why you can’t talk about the robe either.”

“Exactly!”

Mimir smiled, raising his thumb.

“To explain about this robe, the successor needs to become a 5th circle master and enter the fifth test page.”

“So the lock on the information about that real magic will also be released when I become a 5th circle master?”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Mimir nodded twice.

“Then can I use that real magic from 5th circle master onwards?”

“Yes. That’s also correct.”

This time, he nodded four times.

“5th circle master is the starting point of the Bytenner style. You can look forward to it. You’ll see more than you expect. You’ll understand why I called your magic magic-like things now?”

“Is it that much?”

“It’s that much!”

Mimir asked with a confident smile.

“How is it? Doesn’t it make you excited just hearing about it?”

“……I guess so.”

Real magic.

I wonder how amazing it is.

“So hurry up and become a 5th circle master. I want to tell you everything as soon as possible.”

Mimir pretended to scratch his lips as if his mouth was itching.

“I’ll try my best.”

“Okay!”

Mimir smiled brightly at my answer.

“Anyway, to summarize what you said, I have no choice but to leave this robe untouched until I become a 5th circle master, right?”

Until I meet the real magic, I’ll have to part with this robe for a while.

‘That’s a bit disappointing.’

I was sighing in disappointment when…

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Mimir looked at me with a look that asked if I was talking nonsense.

“Why would you leave such a good thing untouched? You should use it until you’ve torn it apart, chewed it, tasted it, and enjoyed it.”

“You said I need to be a 5th circle master to use this robe?”

“That’s if you want to use the main function of the robe.”

Mimir snapped his index finger and puffed out his chest.

“That robe has additional effects that even the current successor can use.”

“Additional effects?”

“Yeah. A function that will be very helpful to the current successor.”

“What is it?”

Mimir said, unfolding his fingers one by one.

“First, fatigue recovery.”

“Fatigue recovery?”

“Yeah.”

Mimir took the robe from me.

“This robe. The structure of the outer and inner layers is completely reversed, right?”

“Yeah.”

“This is to prevent the mana inside the robe from escaping to the outside and to saturate the mana inside.”

“Saturated…”

“As the mana becomes abundant, the Infinity Circle [a core concept in the Bytenner style of magic] will rotate faster than usual, and naturally, the mana passing through your brain will also increase significantly.”

Mimir tapped his head.

“That way, the brain is affected by a large amount of mana and recovers from fatigue faster than usual. The same goes for the fatigue accumulated in the body.”

Mana is poison to the brain.

That’s the basic common sense of modern magic.

But even poison can be medicine if used well.

‘Mana acts as a medicine for my brain.’

The poison of mana is only the will that each individual mana possesses.

The nature of mana itself activates the brain and reduces fatigue.

This is why I feel less tired even though I have drastically reduced my sleep time since learning the Bytenner style.

“I understand. So, if I use this robe, I can reduce my sleep time even more?”

“You don’t have to sleep.”

“……At all?”

“Yeah. If you wear the robe for about 5 hours a day, you won’t have to sleep at all. You’ll always be in the best condition without any fatigue.”

“……That’s a cheat?”

“Right?”

Humans spend 30% of their lives sleeping.

Not having to sleep means you can live 30% more time than others.

This is an incredible effect.

‘And always being in the best condition.’

The ability to control one’s condition is the same.

Anyone who has experienced a slump in their condition will immediately know how much of a cheat this constant condition control ability is.

These are literally the effects I need.

“There’s also a mana circulation efficiency increase function.”

As the mana flowing through the body increases, the efficiency of mana circulation naturally increases.

“I recommend that you always wear this robe when you do things like mana circulation in the future.”

“I will.”

At least within the dormitory, I will always be wearing this robe.

“Oh, and just in case, Ray’s robe only works for you. If someone else wears it, it’s just a defective product that will only cause additional magic damage. Don’t even think about putting it on someone else.”

“I know.”

The composition, function, and effects of this robe are all established because of the Bytenner style and the Infinity Circle.

For modern mages who only gather mana in their hearts, a saturated mana state is not a benefit but a poison.

It’s a good thing if they don’t cause a mana rampage due to excess mana.

“There’s no need to explain anything else, right? They’re all derived from the fatigue recovery effect caused by the mana saturation I just explained.”

“Yeah. I’ve roughly grasped everything.”

This robe is the ultimate treasure in terms of magic training.

“Amazing. And this is just a minor additional function…”

That’s even more amazing.

Mimir waved his hand.

“Ahem.”

Mimir put his hand on his waist and raised his head with a haughty expression.

He seemed to be boasting about how great real magic is.

“How great is this ‘real magic’ that…”

“Curious?”

Mimir brought his face close to mine and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Yeah. At this point, I’m so curious I could die.”

Mimir grinned.

“Then you just need to become a 5th circle master quickly.”

“……Thanks for the realistic advice.”

I was hoping he would give me a hint, but as expected, it was not to be.

“Hmm? Are you leaving?”

“Yeah.”

I headed towards the door that led out of the book in the center of Mimir’s Well.

“Where are you going?”

“Where else? You told me to become a 5th circle master quickly, right?”

After opening the door to the outside, I turned my body halfway and looked at Mimir with a grin.

“I’m going to go and become a 3rd circle mage quickly.”

“Ah.”

I can say with certainty,

Today will be the last time I go to the second test page.