The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 97

It was 10 PM local time.

After completing the four-hour verification of my Divine Eye, I was heading back to the accommodation in a car driven by Kim Kang-in.

“You really didn’t have to drive me yourself, Master Tower Lord…”

Kim Kang-in was focused on driving in the driver’s seat, while I was fidgeting in the passenger seat.

It was quite a burden to be escorted by such a prominent figure like Kim Kang-in, who was even driving himself.

“Haha. You don’t have to feel so burdened. I wanted to drive you, so I’m doing this.”

Kim Kang-in gave his trademark refreshing smile.

He seemed to be in an even better mood today.

“More importantly, how is your body? You must be very tired after the match and the examination without proper rest.”

“I’m fine.”

Immediately after the Territory Scramble ended.

I went straight to the three Tower Lords and told them about my Divine Eye. After hearing my story, the three Tower Lords said that they believed me, but this was not something that could be resolved with words, and they demanded verification.

I readily accepted the verification.

“Hmm. No matter how I look at it, you don’t look fine.”

“Well, to be honest, I am tired. But I have to endure it. It’s a hundred or a thousand times better than becoming a criminal.”

If I couldn’t prove that my eyes had the same power as Sophia Anachev’s Jewel Eyes, I would be in violation of the International Magic Code and become an international criminal.

To prevent this, I had to prove that my eyes were real as soon as possible.

“The Blue Tower Lord must have been more tired than me. I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

To determine the authenticity of my Divine Eye, it was necessary to confirm whether my eyes could read real magic formulas.

For this, Kim Kang-in had to continuously deploy complex magic formulas.

He had repeated this tedious and tiring task for four hours, so Kim Kang-in’s fatigue must have been considerable.

In that state, he was even driving me back, so how could I not feel self-conscious?

“Haha. You really don’t have to worry about that. Far from being tired, I was having fun.”

Kim Kang-in turned the steering wheel to the left. My body tilted to the right due to inertia.

“Thanks to you, I had a good show.”

As we drove down the empty highway, Kim Kang-in glanced at me.

His eyes were clearly piercing through my eyes, the Divine Eye.

The faint smile on his lips showed his enjoyment. His expression indicated that my Divine Eye was still fascinating.

“Ah, and I would like to thank you once again. Thanks to the Blue Tower Lord’s mediation, things were resolved well.”

From the perspective of the Red and Green Tower Lords, I was nothing more than a scoundrel who had recklessly used their precious secret magic.

Naturally, they didn’t look at me kindly, and the atmosphere actually became hostile.

If Kim Kang-in hadn’t mediated there, things would have been much more troublesome.

In the worst case, I could have become enemies with the two towers.

“All I did was say that if they were going to push so hard, they should do it after figuring out whether Hayul’s magic eye was real or not.”

“That one word was crucial.”

That one word made a big difference.

I proved that my Divine Eye was real through the three Tower Lords, the possibility of becoming a criminal disappeared, and I didn’t become enemies with the two towers.

And I was able to use my Divine Eye freely from now on.

It was no exaggeration to say that Kim Kang-in’s one word created this best-case scenario.

“I don’t think I did anything, but if you really feel grateful…”

Kim Kang-in’s lips curved playfully.

“As a reward, you can explain how you succeeded in fusing Wind God and Hellfire.”

What I revealed this time was only that my magic eye could read 100% of the target’s magic formula.

I didn’t properly explain why I fused Hellfire and Wind God, or how I could focus the halo on one point.

‘Well, I did explain it. I just vaguely glossed over it.’

The above actions were using Modification Magic.

I have no intention of explaining this in detail.

That’s what I said.

No one questioned or challenged this answer.

Being able to read magic formulas with the Divine Eye was something I had to reveal to avoid becoming a criminal, even if I didn’t want to, but Modification Magic was different.

There was no reason to reveal the secret of Modification Magic.

To my firm answer, the Red and Green Tower Lords, though curious, gave up on asking about my magic as if they had no choice.

Free magic had always been my specialty, and they just thought that my Modification Magic could also affect secret magic, and that was it.

But there was one exception.

Kim Kang-in was not convinced.

“Ah. Please don’t say it’s because of Modification Magic. I’ve known that’s a fake for a long time.”

Kim Kang-in was convinced that my Modification Magic was a lie.

He had been observing, investigating, and contemplating my magic, and he had become convinced that Modification Magic was a lie.

That’s why Kim Kang-in couldn’t accept my answer.

No, he couldn’t have accepted it.

Knowing that something like Modification Magic didn’t exist, his doubts would have only grown.

“…”

I was silent.

It was a silence that meant I wouldn’t answer.

“Of course, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. As I’ve said many times, a mage has the right to keep their secrets.”

Kim Kang-in took his eyes off me and faced forward.

He was focusing a little more on driving as we exited the highway and entered a slope.

“I’ll find out myself.”

Then, with a glint in his eyes, he said this last thing.

“Thanks to this, I think I’m getting a rough idea.”

On the quiet night road.

In the quiet car, where even the engine sound couldn’t be heard because it was a limousine equipped with the latest magic engine.

Inside, Kim Kang-in smiled and looked at me.

“Therefore, I’m looking forward to the rest of the matches.”

It was the smile of a mage burning with curiosity.

* * *

It was midnight when I arrived at the accommodation.

“Then, I’ll see you later. Get some rest.”

“Yes. Please go in safely, Master Tower Lord.”

Kim Kang-in’s limousine sped away.

I was alone under the quiet night sky.

“Haaam.”

As soon as I was alone, fatigue rushed in. I realized that I had definitely overdone it today.

I needed to go back to my room and wear my master’s robe to relieve my fatigue.

Thinking that, I started walking towards the accommodation.

The accommodation was dark.

It was late, so everyone must be asleep.

I wasn’t disappointed that no one was there to greet me. In the first place, I was the one who told my colleagues who were waiting for me to go to sleep because it was okay.

There was a match tomorrow, and it would be more troublesome if they had problems with their condition because they were waiting for me.

“Huu.”

On the way to the accommodation.

Perhaps because there were no other light sources, the moonlight seemed even more prominent today. I slowly raised my head to the sky.

It was a full moon.

That’s why it was so bright.

As I looked up at the sky and walked, I suddenly had this thought.

‘Shin Hayul, who was a defective product, has come this far.’

It was a thought that I had, but it was a very random thought.

Was it because I was a bit emotional due to fatigue?

I think so.

Seeing that I keep having thoughts like feeling new and having strange feelings.

‘Korea’s best prospect.’

On the way here, I saw an article about me on Korea’s largest portal site.

The article was full of praise for me.

It was full of praise to the point that I was embarrassed myself.

The comments were the same.

There were only favorable comments.

‘Defective product. Unfit. Failure.’

Just three months ago, I was clearly called that.

Now everyone is cheering for me.

That tickled my heart in a strange way.

It was a very strange feeling that I couldn’t describe.

How should I express my current feelings? I don’t know.

Thinking that, I kept looking up at the moon in the night sky.

Without even realizing how much time had passed.

How much time had passed?

“Young Master. Even though it’s spring, the night air is still chilly. Please go inside.”

Behind me, fog rippled and formed a human shape.

“Mr. Seokhyun.”

Kim Seokhyun.

The leader of the shadows who was in charge of escorting me at this Olympiad.

He had appeared.

“There’s a match tomorrow too. You should go in and rest.”

“Yes. I should go in.”

I answered that and then looked up at the sky again.

It was a strangely sentimental night.

I felt like I wanted to stay like this for about an hour.

“You seem unusually excited.”

“Does it look like that?”

“Yes. It does.”

Excited. Excited, huh.

“…Hmm. I guess it does.”

I was in a state of floating excitement right now. I was as excited as the day I obtained the Book of Idred.

“But… why am I so excited?”

But I couldn’t figure out the reason.

“The reason for your excitement… you mean?”

Kim Seokhyun asked back with a bewildered expression, as if it was a strange question.

“Yes. I feel like I’m floating, but I don’t know the reason myself.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Seokhyun looked at me with a strange expression. He seemed to be thinking as much as I was.

“Don’t you think you’re overthinking it? The public, and the family members, everyone is praising Young Master Hayul. I think it’s a situation where you can be excited enough.”

“Evaluation…”

The public’s evaluation.

The family’s evaluation.

Was I feeling joy because the bad evaluations of me had been reversed?

I asked myself.

The answer came quickly.

“No. That’s definitely not it. I don’t have high expectations for the public’s evaluation.”

“…Ah.”

The reason why I was excited was not for the trivial reason that the evaluation had been reversed.

In the first place, the public’s evaluation was like a reed [easily swayed].

I, who had been beaten by the public, knew that fact better than anyone else.

That’s why I wasn’t very impressed with the public’s evaluation.

The evaluation within the family… I was a little happy, but.

It wasn’t enough to explain this excited feeling.

“Then, is it because the Olympic gold medal is right in front of you?”

By winning the Territory Scramble this time, Korea had gained a very advantageous position.

The remaining matches were not just about force, so we couldn’t be sure of winning yet, but it was clear to everyone that Korea was the closest to the gold medal.

Was this fact making me excited?

“It’s definitely a happy thing, but…”

I asked myself that question too, but I soon came to the conclusion that it wasn’t.

It was happy, but not enough to make my heart float like this.

“Hmm. I guess that’s not the reason either.”

Kim Seokhyun was lost in thought for a moment.

I didn’t know what he was thinking, but he looked like he was enjoying something.

“Then…”

About 10 seconds passed.

“Ah.”

As if something had come to mind, Kim Seokhyun let out a short exclamation.

“Your dream. Isn’t it because you’ve taken a step closer to your dream?”

“Dream?”

“Yes.”

Kim Seokhyun stared straight into my eyes with shining eyes.

“In your childhood. The dream that Young Master Hayul used to say like a habit. The dream of becoming the world’s greatest archmage.”

It was an expression as if he was enjoying, longing for, or feeling proud of my childhood self.

I turned my eyes to the sky again.

“…Dream.”

The sky was bright.

That bright moon was gently illuminating this dark world.

“I think that’s it.”

Perhaps even my heart.

* * *

That dawn.

I was focused on weaving a small Infinity Circle in the Book of Mimir.

A small Infinity Circle, similar to but different from the Ring of Interference, a sibling.

The last third component that makes up the Ring of Truth.

Only after completing this can I enter the training to weave the Ring of Truth.

So I was immersed in this work every night…

“Ah, I failed again.”

This is not easy.

The previous two small Infinity Circles were quite easy.

The third one is the problem.

“As if it’s not a friend of the Ring of Interference. Seriously.”

It’s just as difficult.

It felt like a flashback to the time when I struggled to weave the 3rd Circle in the past.

“That’s a shame. It looked like you were almost done this time.”

Mimir sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and looked down at me, who was sitting on the floor with her chin resting on her hand.

“I know. I thought I was almost done.”

I lay back and sprawled out on the floor.

My head was spinning.

I had to squeeze out all my strength to weave the small Infinity Circle, so the feeling of exhaustion was no joke.

“What are you going to do? Are you going to rest a bit and try again?”

“Hmm. I’d love to, but I don’t have time to try again.”

“Time? Ah. It’s already 5:30.”

The current time was 5:30 AM.

I had to head to the stadium in an hour and a half.

If I recovered my mental strength and everything, I wouldn’t have time to train anymore.

It was a shame, but I had to wait until tomorrow.

I smacked my lips in disappointment and got up from my seat.

Then, I walked straight to the exit door.

“Huu. Then, Mimir. I’ll go first.”

“You’re leaving earlier than usual?”

“Yeah. My father asked to talk to me early this morning. I need to get ready.”

“This early in the morning? What for?”

“I don’t know. He just said he had something important to talk about.”

I didn’t know why he was coming either. I was roughly guessing that he was going to talk about my Divine Eye.

“Anyway, I’m going. See you later.”

“Yeah. See you later.”

I said goodbye to Mimir and headed out of the Book of Mimir.

After finishing all the preparations in 30 minutes, I headed to the room where my father was waiting.

“I’m here.”

“Sit down.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I entered the room and sat down, my father said this out of the blue.

“From now, in 30 minutes. We will send out a notice that you will be appointed as the next head of the family.”

“…Yes?”

I was momentarily stunned by the unexpected words.