Ch.54More Precious Thing Than Truth (2)

As soon as class ended, Olivia rushed straight to the black market.

“Here, the information you requested. Take a look.”

“……”

The black market owner handed Olivia a thick folder of documents.

There were a whopping 487 rumors related to the Eastern Union over the past two years. She wasn’t crazy enough to try memorizing all of them. Though she couldn’t remember the exact order, she could distinguish which ones she had spread herself.

‘Ah, right. This one. And this one too.’

After sorting through them, she identified twenty-three in total.

‘Good. I’ve memorized them.’

As soon as she finished checking, Olivia left the black market without hesitation. Then she burned the folder right there.

[Using skill ‘Blink’.]

[Time remaining: 3 minutes 11 seconds]

The timer began counting down as she arrived near the Golden Tower. Melina seemed to be in her office.

“You cannot enter right now. She ordered not to let anyone in.”

The secretary blocked Olivia’s way. She could tell the reason without needing an explanation.

-Woooong.

The energy emanating from inside the office felt unusual.

“Is she having some kind of enlightenment?”

“I’m not sure myself. I’ve served the Master for decades, but this is the first time I’ve seen something like this…”

Well, counting the one she had just handed over, this was already the fourth fragment.

For someone like Melina, a mage of her caliber, she would have started to grasp the truth by now.

Of course, she would still only be at the level of grasping it. Like moving from complete darkness where nothing could be seen, to walking through a very faint mist.

Both situations still meant not being able to see one’s surroundings, but at least in the mist, one could sense light.

In that sense, it was tremendous progress.

Olivia pointed beyond the door.

“She’ll probably be here until tomorrow morning.”

“Until tomorrow morning, you say?”

“It might even be longer. So instead of standing here alone like this, quickly go and bring others.”

The secretary hesitated.

“But, still…”

“I’ll keep watch in the meantime.”

“Then I’ll be back as quickly as possible!”

The secretary brightened and ran downstairs.

Tap, tap, tap…

The footsteps gradually faded away.

Olivia gently placed her hand on the office doorknob.

‘Just a tiny peek.’

She carefully turned the knob. Through the small gap in the partially opened door, golden energy leaked out. It was pure mana that brought peace to the mind just by touching it.

-Whoooosh.

Olivia peeked into the office through the gap. The room was filled with golden light. In the center of this golden radiance, Melina was sitting cross-legged in midair with a serene expression.

Melina’s body floated higher and higher. More golden light flowed from her body. Her magical power swept through the surroundings like waves.

Then, at some point, Melina’s magical power began to dissolve into the air.

‘……’

Seeing this, Olivia nodded.

‘She’s understood.’

She hadn’t yet touched the truth. However, she had realized how to reach it.

Mages draw mana from nature and store it in their bodies. This stored mana is called magical power.

To mages, raw mana is meaningless. It’s not that they can’t use magic with mana, but compared to magical power, its efficiency is overwhelmingly lower.

That’s why mages spend their entire lives accumulating magical power. They fill it to the limit, expand their vessel, and fill it again, repeating this process infinitely.

Melina had repeated this process for 200 years. That’s why she was the continent’s strongest mage.

But the truth is different.

To touch the truth, one must discard all the magical power they’ve accumulated. Discard and discard, until the very last bit is poured out.

That is the first step.

For players beyond the screen, it’s just a tedious part of the process, but for grand mages, it’s probably the most difficult decision of their lives.

Because they have no certainty.

No certainty that what is discarded will be refilled.

All that remains is fear.

The fear of losing everything and becoming a forgotten elder.

-Whoooosh.

But Melina had overcome her fear and moved forward.

What had given her such courage?

There was no time to think about it.

-Thud.

Olivia closed the door. Right on cue, the secretaries came running.

Olivia gave them a slight bow, then hurried to her own room.

[Time remaining: 00 minutes 03 seconds]

She was truly looking forward to seeing how much would change next time.

*****

Melina only opened her eyes at dawn. Her eyes shone with the clearest golden light.

“……”

Her body felt light. It was like putting down a burden she had carried for a long time.

There was no magical power left in her body. But Melina’s face showed no trace of regret.

Rather, she looked relieved.

“So this is what it was. This is how it feels.”

Melina gazed out the window with an enraptured expression.

“Aah……”

A world filled with mana of all colors.

-Thump.

Melina felt her heartbeat change subtly. Mana circulated along her blood vessels. As if she had become part of nature.

In exchange for giving up all her magical power, she had gained mana.

“Aha.”

Melina laughed like a teenage girl.

“It wasn’t about discarding!”

Even if you pour hundreds of bags of golden pigment into the ocean, the color doesn’t change.

The ocean remains blue.

“It was about mixing and becoming one!”

Having broken the vessel to become part of the ocean, the world was now her core.

This was how Olivia had been seeing the world.

No, her world must be far more beautiful than this.

Because she herself had only just taken one step toward the truth.

Melina jumped to her feet.

“I must show her.”

It was still dawn, but dawn with the sun rising at the edge of the horizon. A diligent disciple would already be awake.

Melina gently opened the office door.

“M-Master?”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

The secretaries drew in sharp breaths at the gentle smile on Melina’s face.

“Is Olivia still sleeping?”

“…Yes.”

Melina nodded and went downstairs. She could have teleported there instantly, but right now, she wanted to walk.

Thud.

As Melina descended the stairs, she thought.

‘It’s all thanks to you.’

When she had discarded about half of her magical power, a terrible fear had overcome Melina.

The fear of losing everything she had built up in an instant.

But there was one thing she feared even more.

The fear of not being able to give anything back to someone who had given so generously.

From that moment, she could let go of her attachment to magical power.

She poured it all out, regardless of whether she would lose it or not.

If Olivia hadn’t been there, she would have died without ever coming close to the truth.

Because to reach the truth, one needed to love someone else more than the magical power accumulated over a lifetime.

Something that would have been absolutely impossible for the old Melina.

Before she knew it, Melina had arrived at the bedroom.

“…Master?”

“There, there, stay lying down.”

Melina stroked Olivia’s head with her finger.

‘How can you be so lovable?’

Olivia, who had been silently watching Melina’s touch, asked.

“Master.”

“What is it?”

“Did something good happen?”

“Well…”

Melina, who had been about to happily explain what had happened tonight, closed her mouth.

“……”

Blue eyes demanding an explanation.

-Pause.

At the same time, a bitter smile appeared on Melina’s face.

‘A day has passed.’

The disciple who deserved her gratitude had not yet awakened.

“…I’ll tell you later.”

“When is later?”

“Hmm…”

Of course, this child was also her disciple. She was just hiding her sage-like aspects in her subconscious.

But…

“When you grow enough to teach me, I’ll tell you then.”

“…What?”

“Don’t worry too much. You will definitely reach that point.”

Melina stroked Olivia’s head again.

This wasn’t a story for this child.

‘Wouldn’t it be too unfair if you heard it already?’

Melina decided to save today’s events for later.

For her beloved disciple who might have even traversed time to meet her teacher.

“Now, let’s get up.”

Melina began the lesson as usual.

The sun rose and set, rose and set again.

As it approached nearly a month later.

“Today’s the day.”

The day when the disciple becomes the master, and the master becomes the disciple.

The day when a cherished disciple becomes a beloved disciple.

And.

[Time remaining: 160 minutes 00 seconds]

Olivia opened her eyes in bed.

[Time remaining: 159 minutes 59 seconds]

The timer began counting down as soon as it appeared. This could only mean one thing.

“Are you awake?”

Melina’s touch was warm. Not only that, but her face bloomed with a loving smile. It was such a natural smile that it was hard to believe she had lived her entire life without emotion.

[Melina Diviae]

– Level: 97

– Affection: 50(+80)

– Occupation: Grandmaster of Time and Space

– Title: Seeker, Master of Golden Tower, Guardian of Empire

“Come on, wake up quickly. I have something I want to tell you.”

A face like a child waiting for praise.

From this, Olivia was certain.

“Congratulations, Master.”

Things had worked out very well.