The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 43

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-44

A world where the five senses had vanished.

Without sight, there was nothing to see, and without hearing, there was nothing to hear.

With the sense of touch gone, I couldn’t even tell if I was standing or sitting.

Following that, the loss of smell and taste left my body unable to feel any external stimuli.

‘Is my body functioning normally right now?’

‘Am I even alive?’

It was terrifying.

An indescribable fear filled my mind.

A perfect, inescapable prison where I could neither see, hear, nor feel.

‘Am I standing right now? Or have I fallen?’

‘Is my head up?’

I didn’t know.

I didn’t even know what I was doing right now.

I even doubted if my heart was beating properly.

If it was beating properly, it would surely be pounding fiercely right now.

‘It’s scary.’

‘I’m afraid.’

Is this what it would feel like to be left alone in the deep sea?

Is this what it would feel like to be isolated in space?

No, I can say for sure.

It would be more than that, not less.

‘This is hell.’

Losing the five senses.

I had imagined it, but I never thought it would be this bad.

I didn’t know how I was supposed to train in this state.

I felt a surge of anger towards Elena for erasing my senses without a proper explanation.

‘……Hoo.’

But that anger soon disappeared.

‘This is training.’

Thinking about it, this wasn’t something to be angry about.

A groundbreaking training method that allows one to focus solely on the sixth sense by erasing the five senses.

This was a training that only Elena could do.

I should be grateful instead.

‘Let’s do it.’

Elena said that the Divine Eye’s ability to see mana was a sixth sense unrelated to the five senses.

‘That means I can see mana even in this darkness.’

The eye that sees mana.

The sixth sense.

I recalled the time when I saw the colors of mana in the past.

I recalled the time when I saw the fragmentary structure of magic in the past.

What sense was I using to see mana back then?

What was I relying on to read the magic formulas?

‘It’s scary.’

Fear was eating away at my concentration.

But I tried my best to recall the feeling from back then.

I suppressed my fear and strengthened my will.

‘This is the forest.’

‘Only my senses have disappeared, I’m still alive.’

‘If I’m alive, there’s nothing to fear.’

With that resolve, I took a deep breath.

I couldn’t even feel if I had taken a deep breath, but I felt a little better, so I must have taken one.

‘I see mana.’

With my mind a little calmer, I recalled the memories of the past.

The day I first saw the color of mana.

I can’t forget that vivid red color.

‘Beautiful red.’

‘Gentle yellow.’

‘Warm green.’

‘Cozy blue.’

What colors of mana had I seen?

I suppressed the creeping fear and recalled the sensation of mana.

* * *

“…….”

Elena was currently panicking in real-time.

‘I was just going to give him a taste and release it right away…….’

The five senses seal placed on Shin Ha-yul was originally meant to be released immediately.

Elena knew better than anyone how terrible a world without the five senses was, having experienced this magic herself.

In one minute, a person would go insane, in two minutes, they would think of death, and in three minutes, they would choose suicide.

That was the end for those who were affected by the five senses sealing magic.

’10 seconds. I was going to let him experience it for that long, then release the seal, and then proceed with the training while suppressing the trauma with the forest magic…….’

The forest magic that Elena used had the effect of purifying the user’s mind and body.

Especially for someone like Elena, it was possible to eliminate the target’s trauma.

That’s why Elena cast the five senses sealing magic on Shin Ha-yul without saying anything.

That way, he would develop trauma, and that way, he could overcome the trauma.

‘But…….’

Elena chuckled again.

‘In this state, I don’t think I’ll need the forest magic.’

His body was trembling as if he was seized by fear, and cold sweat was pouring down like rain, but.

Shin Ha-yul was still fine.

‘Three minutes have passed…….’

Even though enough time had passed for an ordinary person to choose suicide, Shin Ha-yul was still holding on.

‘He’s actually getting better.’

As time passed, the fear should have intensified, but Shin Ha-yul’s condition was gradually improving.

He couldn’t even feel if he was taking deep breaths, but his breathing was becoming more regular with each deep breath.

‘Amazing.’

As his breathing returned to normal, the rotation of his internal circle [a concept related to mana circulation within the body] was also slowly normalizing.

‘But I still don’t know. The fear of the five senses seal is something that can’t be expressed in words.’

Elena swallowed her admiration for now and focused on Shin Ha-yul’s condition.

The fear of the five senses seal was so powerful that it could turn a person into a madman if things went wrong.

She couldn’t take her eyes off Shin Ha-yul for even a moment for his safety.

But even Elena’s attention gradually faded as time passed.

‘At this rate, I really won’t need the forest magic.’

10 minutes.

20 minutes.

Even though a lot of time had passed, Shin Ha-yul’s mind showed no signs of wavering.

Now, even the trembling had disappeared.

Shin Ha-yul had entered a state of complete tranquility.

‘Even if he is Ray’s successor…….’

She never thought he would overcome this training so calmly.

‘Did Ray know about this?’

Elena used the five senses sealing magic in Shin Ha-yul’s training because Ray had asked her to do so.

If it wasn’t for Ray’s request, Elena would not have used such a dangerous magic in training.

‘He’s really amazing.’

It was when Elena was shaking her head in amazement.

“……Are you listening?”

Shin Ha-yul suddenly opened his mouth.

“If you’re listening, could you please release the five senses block?”

His voice was calm, as if he had forgotten all fear.

Elena quickly released the five senses seal.

The senses returned to normal in an instant.

“……Hoo. I feel alive now.”

Shin Ha-yul got up from his spot, moved his body around, and let out a sigh of relief.

He felt infinite gratitude that his body was okay.

“…….”

Elena slightly opened her mouth as she watched Shin Ha-yul calmly stretching.

How could he be so calm?

“W-was it okay?”

“No. It wasn’t okay.”

Shin Ha-yul replied casually while continuing to stretch.

“The world where the five senses are sealed…… Just thinking about it makes my body tremble.”

“But you overcame it, right? How did you overcome it?”

“There’s nothing special. I just kept telling myself that this was safe training and desperately brainwashed myself.”

Self-brainwashing.

That played a big role in overcoming the initial fear.

“That’s not a fear that can be overcome just like that…….”

“Yeah. So I almost gave up in the middle. But then, I suddenly had this thought.”

Shin Ha-yul, having finished all his stretching, stood up straight and looked directly at Elena.

“But it’s better than it was a year ago.”

“……Huh?”

Shin Ha-yul smiled bitterly and looked up at the sky.

“A year ago. The day I lost everything. This is much better than the darkness filled with despair that I experienced that day.”

“The five senses seal is……better?”

“Yes.”

The day Shin Ha-yul was deemed unfit and lost everything.

Compared to the despairing situation of that day, this was still better.

Shin Ha-yul suddenly had that thought.

“The five senses seal is a trial for me to take a step forward. Compared to a year ago when I was rotting away day by day in despair, wandering in front of the abyss, this is much better.”

“…….”

Elena was speechless.

What had happened a year ago that made him react like this?

How desperate was his past that he could say that the five senses seal was better?

“You don’t have to look at me like that. It’s all in the past anyway.”

Shin Ha-yul laughed it off, saying it was all in the past.

“More importantly, Elena, I succeeded.”

“That’s…… Huh?”

Elena, who had been distracted by Shin Ha-yul’s past and had been answering vaguely, was startled.

“Succeeded?”

“Yes.”

“You saw mana……is that what you mean?”

“Yes.”

Shin Ha-yul smiled as if he was the happiest person in the world.

“The mana around here is very gentle. Is it because it’s been influenced by Elena?”

“Gentle…….”

Those words were very moving for Elena.

“I never thought I’d hear those words again.”

‘Elena. The mana around you is always gentle. Is it because it’s like you?’

Remembering her meeting with Ray Bell Bytenner, Elena smiled happily.

* * *

“I’m back!”

“What? You’re back really early.”

As I entered the Mimir’s Well [a magical space or location], Mimir, who was sprawled on the sofa as usual, greeted me.

“Yeah. I have school tomorrow, so I came out a little early.”

Mimir got up from the sofa and sat down.

I sat down next to Mimir.

Mimir looked at my face from side to side and said with a suspicious expression.

“Are you sure you went to training?”

“I did.”

“That can’t be. There’s no way you’d be so fine after that training…….”

Mimir’s suspicion grew even stronger.

It was as if she was asking if I hadn’t gone into the third test page and was just saying I had.

“I told you I went. Why would I lie about that? I went to the Greenwood Forest, met Elena, and even properly received the five senses sealing training. Okay?”

“……Okay.”

Mimir immediately accepted it.

“So, you’re saying you’re so fine even after receiving the five senses sealing training?”

“Yeah.”

“……Did Elena go easy on you because she’s soft-hearted? Or was the forest magic that effective?”

Mimir put her finger on her chin and muttered.

“I didn’t even receive the forest magic?”

“……What?”

Mimir’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t get trauma purification treatment?”

“Nope.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t develop any trauma?”

“……You didn’t develop trauma even after being hit by that crazy magic?”

“Nope.”

“Why?”

Mimir asked back as if she genuinely couldn’t understand.

“Um. So…….”

I repeated what I had said to Elena.

I thought Mimir would just say, ‘Oh, I see,’ but.

“……Did something like that happen a year ago?”

A very unexpected reaction came back.

“Ah, now that I think about it. I didn’t tell you about a year ago. Yeah. Something like that happened.”

I thought I had told her, but I hadn’t. Well, it’s okay since I told her now.

“You must have had a hard time.”

“A little?”

“Yeah.”

Something about Mimir’s reaction was strange.

Considering Mimir’s usual personality, I thought she would just brush it off as something that happened in the past, but.

Her expression was somewhat serious.

And yet, she was trying to act cool, which made it even stranger.

“Anyway, let’s say you somehow overcame it. How did the training go? The Divine Eye. Do you think you’ll be able to do it somehow within the remaining time?”

Mimir, who had quickly returned to her usual cheerful self as if she had never been serious, asked about the training results.

“I think I can.”

I think I can somehow master the Divine Eye and master the countermeasure by the day I promised Kim Kang-in.

“Oh. Really? Did you get a feel for it?”

“I got a very good feel for it.”

For 20 minutes that felt like 20 hours.

It was worth the effort I put in to see mana while enduring the time of suffering.

“To what extent?”

“To the extent that I can see mana?”

“……What?”

Mimir asked back with an expression as if she had misheard something.

“I said I can see mana now.”

“That’s not something you can see in such a short time. Are you joking?”

Mimir trailed off as if she couldn’t believe it.

“I’m serious.”

“If you’re serious, you can see the mana around me too?”

“Of course. I can see it very well.”

“Then tell me. What does the mana around me feel like?”

The mana that was playing among the many books came into view.

“The mana around you is very lazy. It seems to have been properly influenced by you.”

“……What did you say?”

Mimir’s expression turned fierce in an instant.

“I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Surprisingly, the mana around you is cold and indifferent.”

“……Really?”

“Yeah. It’s strange.”

Indifference and Mimir.

It was quite an unlikely combination.

“Is it because it’s influenced by the medium of books rather than you?”

“Maybe.”

Mimir chuckled.

“Maybe it’s because I’m a very cold person?”

It was a meaningful statement.