The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 335

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-336

After that.

I left the lab, leaving the chokers containing the spiritual data of Mimir and Elena, respectively.

It wasn’t that I removed the chokers for the purpose of maintenance.

It was just that Mimir seemed to have something she wanted to talk about alone with Elena, so I made space for them.

‘I wonder if she’s crying her eyes out in Elena’s arms right now.’

I can roughly picture it.

Mimir desperately trying to hold back tears, trying to smile.

And Elena, sincerely pouring out her heart to Mimir.

At the end of that process, Mimir would have burst into tears.

Mimir’s face, crying and laughing, is vivid in my mind.

‘She must have a lot to talk about, so I’ll leave them alone until tomorrow morning.’

Besides, Adela also needs to stabilize her mana due to the mana surge, so she needs to take off her choker.

And I don’t particularly need Mimir’s help right now.

There’s no problem with leaving them alone like that.

‘Ah, right. I should tell Terun in advance.’

I slowly sent a text to Terun.

[Please make sure no one enters the lab tonight.]

That should be enough.

Terun, the main developer of this research, knows Mimir and Elena almost as well as I do.

Just saying this much will make him realize the situation.

‘Well, even if I didn’t mention it, Terun would be too busy dealing with Adela’s barrage of questions to even think about going to the lab today.’

Adela is in Terun’s room today.

Terun promised to give a detailed explanation to Adela, who is very interested in this new generation AI technology, and he is currently keeping that promise.

Considering Adela’s ocean-like curiosity, he’ll surely be bombarded all night long.

The probability of Terun going to the lab tonight or early morning is close to 0%.

‘Well, still, just in case.’

Even if the probability of going to the lab is close to 0%, it’s not a perfect 0%.

There might be a one-in-a-million chance, so it’s right to contact him in advance.

‘Ah, right. While I’m at it…’

I took out my phone from my pocket again and contacted the other three researchers.

I asked them not to go to the lab for today.

I sent the message as politely as possible.

‘Okay.’

If I say this, they won’t go to the lab.

I put my phone back in my pocket.

‘I’ve eliminated all possibilities of interference. Please have a good day.’

I moved my feet, imagining Elena and Mimir enjoying themselves.

“Oh. You’re here early?”

While walking, I ran into Stella on the stairs leading to the third floor.

“I was just heading to my room. Are you feeling okay?”

I thought she would be resting in her room.

She must have overexerted herself dealing with the rampaging Adela earlier.

Has she already recovered?

“Well, to be honest, I’m not okay…”

Stella smiled wryly and lifted the basket she was holding in her right hand.

It contained sandwiches and drinks.

“I was just too hungry.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I wasn’t considerate enough.”

The sparring match was held before dinner. That means Stella hasn’t had anything to eat since lunch.

I didn’t think of that.

I was inconsiderate in many ways.

“Hey. I’m not a child. I can take care of my own meals. You don’t have to apologize.”

Stella smiled brightly.

“Of course, that’s separate from the fact that I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t come right after I collapsed.”

“That’s…”

After Adela’s rampage stopped, and Adela collapsed.

Stella also lost consciousness and collapsed, following Adela.

As a price for wielding the Mind Sword, a power that was still beyond her, she lost consciousness.

I left Stella to another staff member to move her to a separate infirmary, and I took Adela to another infirmary.

It’s understandable that Stella would feel disappointed.

“I understand. I heard she’s your childhood friend, so it’s understandable that you’d think of her as more important than me.”

“It’s not that… I thought about the seriousness of the situation and prioritized Adela first…”

“You don’t have to make excuses. I understand everything.”

Stella smiled, clearly showing her disappointment.

A cold sweat ran down my back.

I’m sure I didn’t do anything wrong, but I feel like I did something terribly wrong.

What should I do in this situation?

I was racking my brain when it happened.

“…Just kidding.”

Stella completely erased her disappointed look and smiled broadly.

“I know. It’s not that you prioritized Adela, but that you prioritized the seriousness of the mana surge. If I were the one who caused the surge, you would have prioritized me, for sure.”

Stella looked me straight in the eye. An expression that she understood everything.

“I’m satisfied with that for now. I’m satisfied enough that Adela and I are on the same starting line.”

She smiled brightly with that expression.

“But just you wait. I’ll make you prioritize me within a few years.”

A very small hint of disappointment was visible in her smile.

I made an awkward expression, meeting Stella’s eyes.

Stella’s favor is always so direct, it’s hard to know how to react.

“Well, let’s go then.”

Stella took my hand.

“Judging by the looks of it, you haven’t eaten anything since lunch, right? Let’s eat together.”

And then, she lifted the basket full of sandwiches in her other hand.

She pulled my arm and started heading to her room on the third floor.

“Oh, right.”

While dragging me, she suddenly stopped and turned to face me.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t heard your thoughts yet.”

“Thoughts about what?”

Stella took her hand off mine, put her arm on her hip, and struck a pose like a proud young lady.

“My Mind Sword. What do you think? Were you surprised?”

“Ah. I forgot to talk about that.”

She smiles brightly with a smug expression, like a haughty young lady.

“Yes. I was definitely surprised.”

Her chin, which was already raised high, went up even higher.

Come on, praise this body.

That was the expression and gesture she was making.

“I never imagined you would do such a foolish thing as using a skill that you haven’t even properly mastered in a practical sparring match. I really couldn’t have imagined it.”

“…Huh?”

Stella’s expression hardened.

“I’ve told you countless times. Whether it’s swordsmanship or magic, you shouldn’t use a skill in a real battle unless you’ve practiced it to 100% or more. This isn’t just my teaching, it’s also Sein’s teaching.”

“That’s… uh, well…”

Something is going wrong.

That was the expression she was making.

“It’s good that we’re talking about it. Seeing that you’re feeling hungry, it seems like your condition has recovered to some extent. Kneel down there. As someone who was asked by Sein to take care of you, I have a lot to say.”

Stella’s pupils trembled.

This isn’t it.

That was the look in her eyes.

“Be happy. I’ve learned a lot from watching my second teacher’s lecture process today.”

I smiled sweetly.

Enough with the excuses, kneel down now.

“Have I been too kind so far?”

I smiled very brightly, putting that thought into it.

“No, that, um…”

“Did you not hear me?”

“…Yes.”

Stella trembled her lips and knelt down on the spot.

The basket of sandwiches neatly placed on her knees looks quite pitiful.

“Do you understand? The Mind Sword is not something you can handle with such a superficial approach. What you did is no different from a child trying to take out a kitchen knife on a shelf just because they can reach the shelf. From the beginning…”

I scolded Stella, thinking of Elena.

“Yes. I’m sorry…”

Stella lowered her head with a very gloomy expression.

* * *

The next morning.

I headed to the training ground with Mimir.

“Did you cry well yesterday?”

“…Who said I cried?”

Mimir feigned ignorance.

“If you’re going to lie, look at your condition. You know? Your eyes are swollen right now.”

“What?”

Mimir touched her eyes with a startled expression.

“D-don’t lie. I don’t even have a real body. How can a hologram image have swollen eyes…”

“I’m not lying.”

I took a picture of Mimir’s appearance using the choker’s function.

And I showed it to Mimir.

“Look. They’re swollen, right?”

“…”

Mimir was speechless.

A surprised expression.

It’s an expression that wonders how such a change could happen to her, who doesn’t have a physical body.

I was just smiling, looking at Mimir.

“…How did you do that?”

In the end, Mimir couldn’t suppress her curiosity and asked.

It seems she judged that there was no answer by thinking alone.

“It’s simple.”

I answered with a triumphant smile.

“The power of Persona was used in the development of this new generation AI.”

“P-Persona?”

Mimir’s eyes widened even more.

“You mean the mythic magic, Persona, right?”

“That’s right.”

In two and a half years, I succeeded in obtaining two more mythic magics.

One of them is Persona.

“On the day I met the teacher before. After you left first, when I was left alone with the teacher. I asked for information about the structure of the Book of Idred and the Book of Mimir. I learned that the magic called Persona played a major role in creating those two books.”

Persona.

Literally translated, it means mask.

This magic is uniquely special among mythic magics.

As unique as it is, there are many variations in its use.

“So, you’re saying that our souls were fixed in the books through a Persona contract?”

“That’s right.”

One of its uses is what Mimir just said.

To settle someone’s soul somewhere.

The teacher used that power to settle Mimir in the Book of Mimir.

“Wait a minute. That means…”

Mimir’s eyes widened.

“I’m… not just a copy?”

“No, you’re not.”

Elena Greenwood.

Aslan Polohamruin.

Mimir Bell Weitner.

All three of them knew that they were copies of their original selves.

That their original selves were separate, that they were already dead, and that they were fake, derived from the original.

“You, Aslan, and Elena. You’re all the real deal.”

But it’s not true.

The three of them are not fake.

It’s just that their original souls acted with Persona and gained will. They are the real deal.

“The soul contract made through Persona is not a contract that takes away the soul immediately, but a contract that applies after the subject’s death. That’s why you must have misunderstood.”

I explained the uniqueness of Persona, the structure and characteristics of the Book of Idred, and the Book of Mimir in as much detail as possible.

It was a series of complex theories that a normal person wouldn’t be able to understand even 1%, but.

The person listening to the explanation this time is none other than Mimir.

A genius among geniuses, about 100 million light-years away from ordinary.

“…So that was the structure. Then, it makes sense that my memories are frozen at the time of the contract.”

Mimir understood everything at once.

“Then, the reason why changes like having a body are happening to me now is because it has penetrated the gaps in my spiritual body formed by Persona?”

No, she went beyond understanding it at once and started moving towards a concept beyond that.

They say that a genius knows ten things when taught one.

That was exactly the right saying for Mimir right now.

“Then, it’s also understandable why Adela Steart was able to use Elena’s magic.”

“…Huh?”

…No, is it a little wrong?

“Considering the structure of Persona, what’s connected through the choker right now is not just a connection of the outer appearance or the mind, but a connection of spiritual bodies. It should be seen as a connection of something beyond the mind.”

Mimir’s eyes shone.

It was the eyes of a scholar who had found a clue for a new study.

“This is a big discovery. If this theory is proven to be true, this research will evolve even further.”

Mimir stopped talking and turned her gaze to me.

“Successor. Don’t you have anything to write down? No, is there no way to write it down?”

“There is…”

There is a holographic writing function among the choker’s functions.

If I use this function, Mimir will also be able to take notes.

“Then, that function…”

“Wait a minute.”

I interrupted Mimir.

“I’m sorry. Can you organize your thoughts a little later?”

“Why?”

“Because there’s something I need help with before that.”

We were slowly reaching our destination.

I opened the door to the training ground.

Stella was waiting for me in the training ground, fully prepared.

“I need your support.”

“…Are you going to fight her?”

“No. It’s not that.”

If it were a sparring match, I wouldn’t even need Mimir’s help.

“There’s been a strange movement observed in France right now. So, it’s become difficult to secretly send Stella back.”

What I need now is not support for sparring, but assistance with mythic magic.

“So, I’m going to try using Umbra to send Stella back.”

“Ah, I see.”

The mythic magic that has newly evolved through Mimir’s support.

“Support with mythic magic. Please.”

Today is the day a new myth is born.