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My head throbbed as if I had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

It couldn’t be helped. No matter how I looked at it, the artifact was too familiar.

‘Isn’t this the one the Sword Saint carried around?’

Magnus Balthar.

I remembered it clearly.

The way he always wore a blue pendant on his chest.

Even back then, I often teased him for carrying around a magic tool, which didn’t seem to suit a knight.

I heard it was a gift he received for helping the elves defeat the ‘One-Horn Tribe’ or something like that.

Just in case, I used [Mind’s Eye] to look at it, and limited information about the artifact appeared.

It seemed that the effect of [Mind’s Eye] also extended to objects.

『Magnus’s Illusion』

— Type: Growth

— Effect: Creates an illusion field centered on the user

— Grade: A ~ SSS

『Magnus’s Illusion』 was different from typical artifacts in that its effect varied depending on the user’s ability.

If the owner was weak, it was just an ordinary artifact, but the stronger the owner’s ability, the artifact’s potential was limitless.

In the past, when the Sword Saint used it, there was a time when all the demons gathered within a few hundred meters were frozen in place, trapped in confusion. The Sword Saint then cut them all down with a single swing of his sword.

But is this the real one? Why is it here?

Why is an artifact that was buried with the Sword Saint in the Land of Death stuck in Samael’s treasury? As I pondered, I suddenly remembered what Lihan had told me.

— I read it in a picture book when I was young, so I don’t remember the details. I think I heard that the Balthar family brought peace.

A strange sense of dissonance.

It didn’t feel like it was just a distorted version from the outside.

An ominous feeling flowed through my body, making it hard to dismiss as mere coincidence.

‘Could Magnus have been alive?’

No. That couldn’t be.

The Sword Saint was dead. I still vividly remember his broken body, lying next to his broken sword.

The only one who survived until the end of the expedition was the Crazy Mage, me.

‘Then what in the world…?’

No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t figure out why it was here.

It felt like a disruption in causality, a conclusion without a cause.

Since I couldn’t find an answer, I had no choice. I had to use the last resort.

“What a coincidence. There are two of the same artifacts.”

The Crazy Mage is a man who knows when to give up.

Anyway, the important thing now was that a pretty useful artifact had fallen into my hands. It was worth following Head Elder Noman.

I turned my head and saw the Head Elder, drooling and unconscious.

“What’s that smell?”

I wondered where the musty smell was coming from, and it turned out to be the Head Elder’s drool. Elder Isaac was right.

“Wake up, Head Elder.”

Suddenly, Head Elder Noman woke up with a start, as if he had been having a nightmare.

“What in the world is going on?”

“I’m glad you’re alive. You suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor.”

I covered my nose and diligently massaged Head Elder Noman’s body.

After staring blankly for a while, lost in thought, Head Elder Noman suddenly whipped his head around and looked at me.

“Spell guidance! Ruin, you altered the Fireball’s trajectory. Didn’t you?”

I continued massaging Noman’s body and replied,

“What are you talking about?”

“What are you talking about? You clearly showed me. By the way, why does my body ache so much? It feels like I’ve been beaten… I think I even heard you call me a damn old fool…”

“You must have had a nightmare.”

Noman replied, bewildered.

“Hmm… Strange.”

“I think you should get some rest, Head Elder.”

“Show me again, Ruin! I need to be sure.”

“I think you really need to rest. These trash magic stones here are not nearly enough.”

“What?”

I feigned ignorance and looked at Noman.

“Anyway, since you’re awake, I’ll be going now. I wasted my time for nothing.”

As I started to walk away, Noman shouted urgently from behind.

“Wait, Ruin! What did you just say? The magic stones are trash?”

“….”

“I said say it again!”

“….”

I ignored the nagging voice ringing in my ears and left the treasury.

The weight of the artifact in my arms felt pleasantly heavy.

* * *

I immediately headed towards the Samael estate along the ridge.

Lihan, who was lingering near the Head’s residence, spotted me and hurriedly ran over, waving his hand.

“Young Master! Where have you been? You weren’t at the training hall, I’ve been looking for you… Huh!”

Lihan examined my body and clapped his hands in amazement.

“What happened to you in the past month? I can’t even recognize you!”

“Be quiet.”

What does he mean he can’t recognize me?

From the outside, my body hadn’t changed much. I was still the same ‘skinny shrimp’.

“Next time, try to be more discreet.”

“Hehe. You’ve become much more perceptive. Anyway, hurry to the Head’s residence, Young Master. The Head has been looking for you.”

Suddenly, I noticed a group of men gathered at the central training ground.

“Who are those guys? They’re too noisy.”

Men in red clothes, whom I had never seen before, were chatting and training.

“Ah, those people? They came with Sir Hector when he returned from the Magic Tower.”

“The Red Magic Tower is here again?”

Lihan lowered his voice and replied,

“Sir Dyke returned to the Magic Tower, and these people came instead. They said they’re Sir Hector’s disciples. Anyway, since our Mount Khaoto has good air and clean water, they said they’ll train here and teach the apprentice mages, so it’s all good.”

“It’s become a tourist attraction. What’s so good about the mountain and the water?”

I felt the same way about Dyke, but these guys had a bad attitude from the start.

How dare they make such a racket in the middle of the estate as if it were their own living room.

They had no respect for Samael whatsoever.

I was irritated that no one was stopping them, and everyone was just watching them cautiously.

I immediately ran down to the training ground.

As I got closer, the guys from the Red Magic Tower looked at me with strange expressions.

“Hey, you there. Stop.”

I briefly examined the people around me. They all looked much younger than Dyke. The youngest one still looked like a boy who hadn’t fully matured.

“What? Who are you?”

The youngest-looking one asked me, as if trying to assert dominance. His eyes were full of bravado. Seeing him speak so rudely right from the start, I felt a strong need to teach him a lesson.

I immediately returned his question with the same one.

“Who are you?”

“I am Lokan, a trainee Red Mage of the Red Magic Tower.”

“I am the Crazy Mage.”

The guy named Lokan briefly exchanged glances with the others, then waved his hand dismissively.

“What a weirdo. Get out of the way. Watch from afar. We’re in the middle of training.”

“Get my permission before you train.”

Only then did Lokan turn around with a glare.

“Sister Rina, Brother Doke. There’s some crazy guy here. Why won’t he leave?”

I didn’t answer and ran across the training ground, passing through them.

The young guy, who I expected to cause a scene, was surprisingly quiet.

Looking again, I saw the tallest guy signaling him to stay quiet.

‘That must be the leader.’

While figuring out the leader’s intentions, I suddenly turned my gaze towards the main gate. I could hear a commotion.

“What’s that now?”

A few soldiers were arguing with someone at the main gate.

Lihan frowned and cautiously approached me.

“Sigh. They’re here again.”

“Who’s here again?”

“Beggars sometimes come here. Or thugs who leech off of Khaoto. There are so many of those guys that they sometimes come here without knowing their place.”

“It’s a popular spot, isn’t it?”

“I’ll take care of it. Young Master, please hurry to the Head’s residence.”

Lihan glared and went down towards the main gate.

Watching Lihan’s back as he stomped away, I thought there was no need for me to get involved.

Lihan probably needed a place to vent his anger too.

* * *

“You called for me.”

As soon as I entered the Head’s residence, I saw Kazen.

His strong physique and benevolent face… damn, he looked just like that bastard Pelleer.

“You’ve come.”

Kazen looked me up and down, and a puzzled look gradually appeared on his face.

“Ruin.”

“Yes, Head.”

I addressed Kazen as Head, not father.

This was to show that I was facing him as a proud member of Samael, not a spoiled child.

“…Amazing. I can’t believe Hector’s words were true. It seems you’ve really pulled yourself together.”

“Yes.”

“But I heard you created Mana Circles instead of a Mana Core.”

I inwardly sighed. I felt a tightness in my chest, as if I had indigestion, thinking that another pointless scolding was coming.

But Kazen’s next words were far from what I expected.

“Relax your face. I am not here to scold you. There’s no need to explain if it’s difficult to do. Anyway, it must be your first step taken on your own will.”

“Pardon?”

“You said you would prove it to Hector. That you would defeat a 4-star mage.”

Suddenly, Kazen Samael burst into hearty laughter. Then, for the first time, he looked at me with a proud expression.

“That’s right. That’s the first thing you’ve said that befits a Samael. My son should have that kind of boldness. Yes, absolutely.”

“….”

Kazen stopped laughing and looked at me.

“…For now, that’s enough. Thank you.”

His sincerity caught me off guard. I shook my head and looked directly into Kazen’s eyes.

“I have a question.”

“Ask me anything.”

“The price we agreed to pay the Red Magic Tower in exchange for learning magic. What is it?”

Kazen’s eyes, which had been looking at me kindly, suddenly sharpened.

“What did you just say, Ruin?”

“There’s no way those calculating mages from the Tower would offer their goodwill for free. What did you give them in return? And while we’re on the subject, the Kart family is clearly Samael’s guardian, so how is the Vice Tower Master of the Red Magic Tower involved?”

“What? How do you…”

Kazen couldn’t continue his words for a while. A heavy silence fell over the Head’s residence.

“…Where did you hear that, Ruin?”

“Please tell me. I am also of the Samael bloodline.”

“….”

Kazen only spoke again after a long time had passed.

“Repaying the debt to the Kart family.”

Kazen looked at me with heavy eyes.

“The Karts, they are originally outsiders. They simply owe a debt to Samael. That debt can be repaid with three orders that transcend family rules. One debt was cleared hundreds of years ago, and I cleared another by agreeing to learn magic from the Red Magic Tower.”

“….”

“And the remaining one… I haven’t used it yet.”

Just then, an old servant rudely rushed into the room. He looked so urgent that his hands and feet were trembling.

“Head, something terrible has happened. You need to come outside!”

————