Chapter 50 : Magi Specialist

“Why are you just standing there like a statue? Come on in. The Magi is complete, so its rightful owner should be the first to try it.”

Black Agent Canaria scanned my body like a black panther eyeing its prey, then vanished like a mirage at Grimrock’s call.

That wasn’t a metaphor—she literally dissolved into a shimmering mirage and disappeared, sending chills down my spine.

“W-Who is she exactly? I could feel an incredibly terrifying aura coming from her.”

“Oh, she’s a regular. Comes by every month like clockwork. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to keep this business running. Aside from her being a bit blunt, she’s tidy with payments and a decent person.”

Calling Canaria—a Black Agent who kills as casually as eating a meal for the sake of the academy—“decent” might be a stretch, but she had her own sense of justice.

If Iris believed that protecting everyone in front of her without question was justice, then Canaria believed justice was eliminating those who might become the seeds of chaos.

That’s why, if you take the Dragon Knight route and start a quest with Canaria, you’re assigned assassination missions targeting fellow academy students—who, of course, are secretly in league with demons.

I didn’t feel the slightest guilt playing through it in the game, but I wasn’t so sure if I could kill a classmate without hesitation in real life.

I never intended to go down the Dragon Knight route in the first place.

Anyway, following Grimrock into the forge, I found a soot-black brush—known as Judge’s Brush—emitting dark fumes as if it had been waiting for me.

“Well then, have you thought of a name for it? If you’re having trouble, I can name it for you.”

“I’ve decided to go with Inkshadow Brush for now.”

“Ooh, Inkshadow Brush—it’s got a nice ring to it. So, want to test it out right here?”

“But the duplication ability of the Inkshadow Brush only works on living beings, so it might be a bit difficult to use it right now.”

“Why’s that a problem? Just use it on me.”

“Wait—are you really okay with that? Even if the duplicate doesn’t have consciousness, copying yourself still feels… a little weird, doesn’t it?”

“Not at all. I’m not uncomfortable in the slightest. In fact, I’m thrilled. Most Magi either have high destructive power or are cursed objects, so even if I wanted to test them on myself, I couldn’t. But this one, I totally can.”

With Grimrock practically snorting with anticipation, I decided to use the Inkshadow Brush on him.

The tool required the target’s blood to activate, but Grimrock’s skin was so thick that it took some effort.

Dwarves were naturally gifted with superior physical traits, and after decades of Magi forging, his body had basically reached a level where even blades couldn’t pierce it.

Only after he deliberately cut the soft flesh beneath his pinky nail did I finally manage to get blood on the Inkshadow Brush, and immediately activated the Magi.

A summon that looked exactly like Grimrock appeared, but with a body completely shrouded in jet-black ink.

“Ooh, this is perfect. If you smeared ink on my face like this, even my brothers wouldn’t recognize me. Hand this guy a hammer—let’s see if he can actually forge Magi.”

“Hmm… That might be a bit difficult, but I’ll give it a try.”

When I gave the copy of Grimrock—created by the Inkshadow Brush—the command, it successfully picked up the hammer.

But after that, it just stood there blankly.

As expected, tasks like Magi forging—which require not just strength but a high degree of technical skill—were impossible for it.

“Aww, what a shame. If this had worked, I would’ve made it run the forge in my place while I went off drinking and traveling. Alright then, this time, have it put the hammer down and come at me barehanded.”

“Wait, y-you want it to fight you? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“What’s dangerous about it? The real me is stronger anyway. And don’t be fooled by how I look—back in the day, I never lost a fistfight over a bet. Even that bastard Anderson was no match for me.”

As Grimrock took a boxer’s stance and egged me on, I reluctantly gave the attack order to the duplicate.

Unlike when it tried to forge Magi, the copy now moved with startling aggression and charged at Grimrock—turning the forge into an impromptu brawl.

Judging from the scene, Grimrock’s boast about his past wasn’t just talk.

It wasn’t some street scuffle—it looked like a legit professional boxing match.

Since they were about the same size, Grimrock did take a few hits, but he never backed down and fought valiantly until the end.

Finally, when the duplicate’s durability gave out and it dispersed into a cloud of ink, the fight came to an end.

Grimrock, breathing heavily, spoke up.

“Whew, that felt great—haven’t worked up a sweat like that in ages.

Fighting someone who’s basically just like me… damn, that was fun.

But from what I could tell, that guy only had about 90% of my physical strength.

It’s hard to judge the level of its combat technique, but it did seem a little sluggish.”

“I see. Either way, being able to summon a familiar of this level without consuming mana is truly incredible. Thank you so much for crafting such an amazing Magi.”

“If you’re that grateful, stop by once in a while and copy me again. The other dwarves my age have all become cowards. Whenever I suggest a bare-knuckle match over drinks, they all treat me like I’ve lost my mind.”

In front of Grimrock, I acted like I had come up with the name Inkshadow Brush on the spot, but in truth, there was an original version of the Magi.

That original Magi didn’t just replicate someone’s physical abilities at 100%—it could also summon multiple copies, making it an utterly broken ability.

But even with just a rushed blueprint, Grimrock had managed to create something this impressive.

It was proof enough that he was truly a master of Magi forging.

So, after offering my sincere thanks, I left the forge.

As I turned a corner and headed back toward the academy, a sudden chill touched my throat—the edge of a blade.

“Don’t move. Just answer what I ask. How much do you know about Magi?”

“Uh… Well, I guess I know enough to get by?”

“Magi are artifacts that can be activated without consuming mana.

But that doesn’t mean they can be used infinitely.

I have dragon blood in me, so I can recharge them myself, but that’s not something ordinary humans can do.

That’s why, sometimes, people use human hearts as sacrificial offerings to recharge Magi.”

“What? That kind of immoral and inefficient act? No way. You can just recharge it with magic stones from Devil Dolls, can’t you?”

“So, you’ve got what it takes to take down a Devil Doll with a magic stone? I’ll give you the first strike—go ahead and try hitting me. If your attack is disappointing, I’ll take back the Magi just in case things go south.”

Black Agent Canaria stepped back about a meter and taunted me with a flick of her finger.

What kind of BS was this?

After all the hell I went through for a month (well, most of the real suffering was done by Grimrock while I helped with odd jobs), she’s saying she’ll just take the Magi back?

Black Agent Canaria might be a specialist when it comes to handling Magi, but in terms of knowledge, I wasn’t behind her—in fact, I had the upper hand in many areas.

However, since she was part of Principal Lyn Dragos’s personal guard, reporting her for attempted robbery after returning to the academy wouldn’t get me anywhere.

I took a deep breath to suppress my anger and calmly analyzed the situation.

I didn’t need to defeat Black Agent Canaria completely—just landing a hit would be enough, and that didn’t seem too difficult.

“Duren, I’m going to use Baekbu Spear now. I’m not aiming for a fatal blow—just need to get a drop of her blood on the Inkshadow Brush somehow.”

“Oh, thank goodness for that. Even if it’s a request from my contractor, I wouldn’t want to seriously injure such a lovely young lady.”

Canaria?

Lovely?

Well, objectively speaking, she was undeniably a beauty, with a sleek and dangerous figure like a black panther.

But her true identity and the occasional draconic features caused by her dragon blood—scales, vertical pupils, and the like—made me view her with a certain bias.

Either way, she was an obstacle in my path right now, so I didn’t hesitate to use the Baekbu Spear technique.

The Inkshadow Brush, like the Judgement Brush, was specialized for piercing attacks, but compared to a real spear—especially something like a moon glaive—its reach was significantly shorter.

Still, Duren moved naturally, swinging the Inkshadow Brush and grazing Canaria’s earlobe with a precise cut.

While she was momentarily stunned by the unexpected strike, I confirmed the brush was stained with blood and immediately summoned the duplicate.

Of course, the replica couldn’t copy her Magi, but even so, the copied Canaria rushed at the original with sharp claws and fierce aggression.