The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 67

“Successor. Where did you learn about corrupted mana?”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t told you about the Black Mana Tower.”

“Black Mana Tower?”

Now that I think about it, I’ve never mentioned the Black Mana Tower to Mimir.

I obtained Mimir’s Grimoire after the incident with the Black Mana Tower. After the Leng Smith incident.

After obtaining Mimir’s Grimoire, I had no contact with the Black Mana Tower. Since there was no contact, there was no opportunity or reason to talk about the Black Mana Tower with Mimir.

“I’ll explain step by step. There’s a group called the Black Mana Tower in this era…”

I slowly began to talk about the Black Mana Tower. Leng Smith, Baek Sa-hyuk, and even the bad blood between Shin Ji-han, and me.

I told her everything.

Mimir’s expression grew colder as she listened.

“That’s how it happened.”

And with the explanation that the Black Mana Tower was the culprit behind the recent Baekryeong Island incident, the story came to an end.

“…Why are you telling me this now?”

“Sorry. Since I haven’t had any contact with the Black Mana Tower after meeting you, I didn’t feel the need to mention it.”

Come to think of it, I’ve hardly ever talked about myself to Mimir.

I only ended up talking about my past from a year ago thanks to Elena.

“No, even if there wasn’t any contact, this kind of important information…”

Mimir trailed off, frowning.

Then, with her brow furrowed, she briefly fell into thought.

“…No, that’s not it. The Successor probably doesn’t know what corrupted mana is yet, so you wouldn’t know if this is important information.”

She seemed to be trying to figure things out on her own, then got lost in thought, came to a conclusion on her own, and then accepted it on her own.

I have no idea what’s going on.

“Can you explain it so I can understand too?”

“Sorry. I’ll explain.”

Mimir took a deep breath and began to explain.

“First of all, Successor. You know that Ray is the origin of all magic, right?”

“Of course.”

The origin of magic.

The mythical archmage.

Ray Bell Bytenner.

All magic was born from his hands.

“You also know that the source of modern magic is the Bytenner style, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

The first magic was the Bytenner style, and all existing magic is a derivative of it.

It’s a general-purpose magic that Ray Bell Bytenner created for his vassals.

In other words, the root of all existing magic is the Bytenner style.

“Then here’s a question. Is the source of the black magic that the Black Mana Tower uses also the Bytenner style?”

“Hmm. Wouldn’t it be?”

Since the origin of all magic is the Bytenner style. Wouldn’t the root of black magic also be the Bytenner style?

It’s hard to believe that my teacher created such a wicked magic.

It must have been corrupted over time, becoming the black magic of today.

“Wrong.”

Mimir crossed her arms, making an X.

“The source of black magic is not the Bytenner style.”

“…It’s not?”

“Yeah. It’s not.”

Mimir’s eyes narrowed.

Her expression was one of utter disgust.

“The source of black magic is just black magic.”

“…Huh?”

“It means that black magic is a separate magic system with different roots from the Bytenner style.”

“A separate magic…”

A magic that is different from the Bytenner style.

If such a magic exists, then that means.

“Does that mean… that there’s a separate creator of black magic?”

That’s what it means.

“Exactly. The creator of black magic is not Ray. There’s someone else.”

I was genuinely surprised.

Ray Bell Bytenner.

Besides the great mythical archmage, there’s another creator of magic. I’ve never heard of such a thing before.

“Who is it?”

Mimir’s face crumpled even more. Goosebumps were rising on her exposed arms. Just thinking about it must be giving her chills.

“A scourge of the world that corrupts mana just by existing and pollutes the world.”

Mimir’s eyes were trembling with fear. She was afraid of the one whose name she was about to speak.

“The origin of black magic, the destroyer of the path, Veil Stoll.”

“Veil… Stoll?”

Veil Stoll.

It was a name I had never heard before.

* * *

Bang!

The sound of Shin Ji-han slamming the table filled the room.

Shin Ji-han, with his hand on the table, glared at Tkish, who was sitting across from him, smiling calmly as usual.

The fist that had struck the table was trembling.

His eyes were burning with anger.

“Tkish. What did you say?”

Compared to his violent actions, his tone was rather subdued.

He seemed like he was about to lose his mind with anger, but he wouldn’t let go of his reason.

That kind of determination was strongly evident.

“You said that this mission would not fail… that Shin Ha-yul would definitely die on Baekryeong Island, I’m sure you said that. How did this happen?”

A man whose entire body, including his face, was covered in a black robe, with only his mouth visible.

Tkish, an executive of the Black Mana Tower.

Shin Ji-han glared at him, grinding his teeth.

“Try to make some kind of excuse!”

“Could you please speak a little quieter? My ears hurt.”

Tkish brought a finger to his mouth and gestured for silence.

“You…!”

Shin Ji-han’s anger grew even more at his calm demeanor.

If this man wasn’t an executive, if he wasn’t a 7th Circle user, he would have erased him from this world right now. Shin Ji-han’s eyes shone with an even darker murderous intent.

“Now, now. Let’s calm down.”

“Calm down?”

Shin Ji-han scoffed.

“Calm down? How can I calm down after seeing this mess?”

Shin Ji-han slammed the table again!

The impact made the table shake, and the newspapers scattered on it shook as well.

Tkish’s eyes went to the main titles of the scattered newspapers.

[Shin Ha-yul, Fully Revived!]

[The Mado Shin Family, Taking Another Leap Forward. The Next Generation Led by Shin Ha-yul is Anticipated.]

[Korea, Riding the Shin Ha-yul Wave Back to the World!]

Articles praising Shin Ha-yul.

These articles clearly showed why Shin Ji-han was currently furious.

“Thanks to your screw-up, Ha-yul became a hero who saved Baekryeong Island.”

Shin Ji-han felt like he was going crazy.

“The forces within the family that support Ha-yul have begun to take shape in earnest.”

The actions taken to eliminate Shin Ha-yul had, as a result, given Shin Ha-yul power.

Could there be anything more frustrating than this?

“How do you plan to take responsibility for this?”

Thud!

Shin Ji-han slammed the table again. The table cracked with a loud sound and broke in two.

“Answer me! How are you going to take responsibility!”

As if he had completely lost his reason, Shin Ji-han grabbed Tkish by the collar and lifted him up.

“Let go.”

Shin Ji-han’s actions caused the robe to rise, and the hood was pulled off. Tkish’s bare face was revealed.

“I said it once. There won’t be a second time. Let go.”

Tkish glared at Shin Ji-han. If he didn’t let go right now, he would erase him from this spot.

His murderous intent was so strong that Shin Ji-han involuntarily let go.

Tkish, now free, put his robe back on.

“Hah. Sorry. I don’t really like showing my bare face. I got a little excited without realizing it.”

“…”

Tkish’s voice returned to its usual gentle tone.

Shin Ji-han’s eyes trembled with bewilderment.

“First of all, this was purely my mistake. If I had handled things a little more thoroughly, this wouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry.”

Tkish apologized in a gentle voice. It was a formal apology that didn’t feel even 1% sincere.

“The mission failed. Of course, I won’t receive the commission.”

“You’re stating the obvious.”

Shin Ji-han scoffed and sat back down.

His head seemed to have cooled down somewhat from the murderous atmosphere Tkish had emitted earlier.

“Also, I will take full responsibility for this matter.”

“Take responsibility? How? In what way?”

The water had already been spilled.

Shin Ha-yul’s image had already skyrocketed. It would be impossible to reverse this situation with any ordinary method.

“It’s simple.”

Tkish smiled brightly.

“Whether Shin Ha-yul’s image improves, whether his reputation within the family improves, whether he gains power, or whether he is pushed to be the next family head over Shin Ji-han, the client…”

Tkish’s lips slowly curled upwards.

“If we just kill Shin Ha-yul before he becomes the next family head, wouldn’t that solve everything?”

Even though he was hidden by his robe, and only his mouth was visible. It was a normal smile, but it gave me chills just looking at it.

“So you’re saying you’ll take responsibility and kill Ha-yul?”

“Yes.”

“And of course, you’ll handle it in a way that doesn’t harm me, right?”

“Of course. No harm will come to the client.”

“Can I trust you this time?”

“Yes. Of course. I promise you, in the name of the Black Mana Tower and my own name, that I will handle it for sure.”

In the name of the Black Mana Tower.

At that vow, a smile finally appeared on Shin Ji-han’s face.

“Alright. If you’ve even put the name of the Black Mana Tower on the line, then I don’t need to worry.”

“Yes. You don’t need to worry.”

The murderous atmosphere had subsided somewhat. It must be because Shin Ji-han’s anger was fading.

“When will you take care of it?”

“Even so, it’s difficult right now. As long as the target is in Korea, it’s impossible to eliminate the target without harming the client.”

If they killed Shin Ha-yul in Korea right now, there would be problems in all likelihood. It’s best not to be reckless in Korea, where the influence of the Mado Shin family is significant.

“So I plan to target him when he leaves Korea.”

“When he leaves Korea…”

“Yes. When the target goes to the United States to participate in the Olympiad. I plan to target him then.”

* * *

After my conversation with Mimir.

To clear my head, I came out of Mimir’s Grimoire for now.

‘I can’t tell you any other information yet. It’s not information that I can reveal with my current authority.’

‘Information related to Veil Stoll will be unlocked after the Successor becomes a 5th Circle Master.’

‘All I can tell you now is that the Black Mana Tower is your enemy. I’m sorry.’

With those words, the conversation about black magic and Veil Stoll ended.

To make someone so curious and then say that they can’t say any more. Isn’t that too cruel?

‘It’s really bothering me.’

Ray Bell Bytenner.

Black magic that is different from the magic my teacher created.

Veil Stoll, another creator of magic who created such black magic.

Two creators of magic.

Just by looking at Mimir’s expression, I could tell that there was bad blood between the two.

“Ugh…”

It’s bothering me.

It’s bothering me like crazy.

I want to resolve this question quickly.

What kind of relationship did my teacher and Veil Stoll have?

What happened between them that made Mimir react like that?

And why did Mimir declare that the Black Mana Tower was my enemy?

There’s nothing that doesn’t bother me. The more I imagine, the more it bothers me.

‘And there’s also the 5th Circle Master thing.’

I picked up my teacher’s robe that was placed next to me.

The provisional name, ‘Ray Bell Bytenner’s Robe,’ which I still don’t know the real name of.

‘Becoming a 5th Circle Master will also allow me to know the real name and power of this robe.’

Similarly, Mimir said that the ‘real magic,’ which I still don’t know the real name of, can only be used from the 5th Circle Master level.

And the information about Veil Stoll and black magic is also unlocked at the 5th Circle Master level.

‘There’s definitely something about the 5th Circle Master level…’

What could it be?

I began to swim in the boundary between fantasy and delusion again.

‘Veil Stoll. Ray Bell Bytenner.’

The names of the two filled my head.