episode_0031

The smoke spell itself could be used quite a long time ago. I observed Irina’s spells occasionally over the past 8 years and tried a few, and they all worked well. However, it was impossible to manipulate smoke as delicately as she did.

This was due to a lack of understanding of smoke magic. It’s like anyone can swing a sword, but you have to learn swordsmanship to handle it properly. I was capable of manifesting the magic, but its application was hindered. Unlike handling lightning, shape-shifting was only possible by individually adjusting the magic power at the particle level.

An ordinary mage’s brain wouldn’t be able to handle it, but it wasn’t that difficult for Acel.

He held the smoke, which had transformed into a sharp point, in one hand, twirling it, and looked at Irina.

“Lightning magic feels more like handling energy rather than a medium, but smoke feels like delicately adjusting each particle that makes up the gas, so it feels a bit unfamiliar. That’s why I’d like some advice.”

“……I don’t quite understand the concept of adjusting particles itself. How does that work?”

Irina muttered that, then carefully examined the smoke spear Acel had created. That’s how she understood.

Smoke magic is among the spells whose crafting process is quite complex. Just making it into the shape of a spear requires using a lot of characters in the spell. However, the spear Acel created had no such spell itself. He simply used the spell for manipulating smoke, and the shaping was entirely the result of moving each and every particle that makes up cigarette smoke.

It was an absurd act. Irina rubbed her temples, feeling as though the magic she had spent her life with was being denied.

“There’s a limit to things, but the more time passes, the more amazing things you choose to do.”

Where on earth did they pick up a guy like this? Irina glanced at Ena with a look of exasperation, then scattered the smoke Acel had created with her hand. Since it wasn’t a shape crafted with magic, there was no recoil returning to Acel. He held the disappearing smoke in the air, forming a sphere, and opened his mouth.

“How can I improve?”

“There’s nothing I can tell you. The moment I give you advice on your magic, it ceases to be your magic and becomes mine. To a mage with talent like yours, advice is practically meaningless.”

“……”

“So… I’ll give you the books I personally have on smoke magic. Read them, and craft your own spells anew. That would be better.”

Giving advice to a mage who has reached a certain level can sometimes lead to negative consequences. Even more so if they are a mage who has not yet realized their uniqueness.

Even among mages who have learned the same type, if their uniqueness is different, spells that are the same often manifest magic with completely different effects. The same applies when creating magic.

Irina didn’t want to take away such infinite potential from Acel.

So, Acel also understood her answer. He nodded, and let the sphere made of smoke dissipate into the air.

“I’ll give you the books before you move into the academy dormitory. Is in about two days okay?”

“Yes. I’ll be waiting.”

“Alright, alright.”

Irina chuckled softly and tapped Acel’s head with her smoking pipe.

At that moment, all the lights in the banquet hall went out. Simultaneously, a powerful wave of magic power swept through the hall. There was no need to wonder whose it was. Acel turned his head towards the source of the magic power’s spread, waiting for the lights to return.

“Disciple of the Great Opening, Acel.”

Along with the voice, the banquet hall brightened. Without a moment to recognize what happened, Acel found himself standing before three elderly mages. A transportation spell manifested with speed that gave the subject no time to realize it. This would be impossible unless the spellcaster’s level had reached Grand Mage.

‘Master of Transportation Magic. Galben Pirgoan.’

The mage on the far left among the three. One of the elders of the Witch Council. Acel glanced at her, who looked quite peculiar, then quickly bowed his head low and knelt on one knee.

“Yes.”

After that, formal congratulations followed. About being young, about talent, about congratulating him on becoming an adult, and so on. Of course, he didn’t just let the words pass. Acel engraved their words in his mind as the coming-of-age ceremony continued.

Once the congratulations were over, Galben, who had been silent until now, looked down at Acel and opened her mouth.

“Raise your head.”

“Yes.”

“I have chosen magic items to celebrate your coming-of-age ceremony, so choose one among them and take it.”

The elder standing on the right stretched out her hand into the air. Following her movement, a black hole appeared in the air, and the elder pulled out three magic items from within it.

They were taken from a subspace artifact. As an artifact rumored to be rare, even Acel was seeing one directly for the first time.

‘Can’t I just ask for that?’

It was clearly out of the question, but if he had the subspace artifact, he could dissect the spell and learn spatial magic, so it was true that he desired it.

However, it would be strange to throw a tantrum for something unobtainable. Acel neatly brushed aside his greed and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the three magic items floating in the air. Galben confirmed his gaze and began to explain.

“Rson’s Mirror. It is a magic item that shows the true name and face of anyone nearby connected to demons. It’s an object created personally by Rson, famous as a demon hunter.”

“……”

“Bracelet of Flow. Once a day, it is a magic item that reflects an attack the wearer didn’t perceive in a completely different direction.”

“……”

“Lastly, Feather of Omen. It is a shape-shifting magic item, capable of transforming into the shape of a dagger, arrowhead, spearhead, etc. Any area struck by this feather rapidly decays.” Choose one among these three.”

“I will take the Bracelet of Flow.”

There was no room for hesitation. Acel immediately replied, looking at Galben.

The mirror and the feather. They were undoubtedly excellent magic items. However, for Acel’s current research, the remote interception spell, the Bracelet of Flow was necessary.

If he disassembled and analyzed the spell within the bracelet, it would help in creating magic. Although Rson’s Mirror was tempting, it had to be a lower priority.

“Then take it. This is now yours.”

A choice made cleanly without a moment’s hesitation. Perhaps she liked that very much, as Galben wore a faint smile and personally placed the bracelet on Acel’s right wrist. A simple black fabric bracelet with no pattern. As Acel put on the bracelet, he could feel the magic power and spells contained within it entirely.

This much should be sufficient for his research. Acel smiled with satisfaction and bowed his head.

“Thank you.”

With that, the awarding ceremony ended. Acel rose from his bowed posture, and the elders offered him words of encouragement.

“Keep striving. The rumors circulating all say you will be the next Grand Mage.”

“You flatter me.”

“Whether it’s flattery or not is for us to decide. Do not be content with the present and climb even higher.”

“……”

“Be diligent. Even after entering the academy, experience the world and look upwards. Don’t forget to return to Wiheim during vacation.”

Words delivered one by one. Acel nodded, wondering if they weren’t being peculiar but were in fact doting senior figures who cared for their juniors.

“I will keep that in mind.”

Fortunately, the elders did not do anything beyond that. Instead, after telling him to enjoy the coming-of-age ceremony, they quickly left the banquet hall riding Galben’s magic. Acel briefly looked at the spot where they had stood, then fiddled with the bracelet as he returned to Ena.

The coming-of-age ceremony was over.

Now only entering the academy remained.

***

Human sacrifice is unexpectedly complex in its procedures. It’s not just about capturing and grinding up people; meaningful results only come from thoroughly considering the items needed for the ritual, the magic circle, and the amount of the sacrifice to be offered.

“Aargh!! Stop! Stooop!! Grrrgle…!”

“Ah, just hold still. We need to cut off your leg for the weight to be correct, you know?”

In that regard, many demon worshippers are experts in human sacrifice. Having performed rituals with so many humans as sacrifices, they usually know very well how many humans are needed for which ritual and how to match the weight.

The woman was also like this. She clicked her tongue, seeing the elderly man who had fainted while struggling in pain, and threw him onto the magic circle without even stopping the bleeding. Similarly, the elderly man’s family, who were already on the magic circle, rushed towards him. They hurriedly brought their hands to the severed part to staunch the wound, but the bleeding did not stop.

This was because there was a blood mage among the people performing the ritual. The blood mage looked excited as he crammed life force into the interior of the magic circle with the old man’s flowing blood. The woman glared at him and crossed her arms.

“Girzen, calm down a bit. It’s the work of filling him with That One’s blood and flesh. Do it reverently.”

“Heh heh… That’s why it’s even more exciting, Dellim. When I think about what a great thing I’m doing, the excitement just won’t stop.”

“Crazy psychopath bastard.”

The woman called Dellim muttered that, then began taking people out of the cages one by one. She threw the women onto the magic circle alive, and cut off the men’s heads, stacking them neatly on the characters inscribed on the magic circle. Blood flowed wildly and screams echoed everywhere, but Dellim paid no mind.

“P-please save me, please save me, please…!”

“Just shut up.”

Slice!

Dellim neatly cut off the head of the man who was grabbing her foot and pleading, then carefully placed it on the final character. She stuck out her tongue, grabbed the dead man’s tongue with her hand, and tapped it while laughing.

“Ding ding ding~ Isn’t it lovely when you’re still? Shall I give you a kiss?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. Dellim immediately kissed the tongue she had pulled out and began devouring it greedily. With a crunching sound, her pupils split vertically, and the spellcaster leading the ritual said with a bright smile.

“Dellim, come out now. The ritual will begin soon.”

“Don’t interrupt my love with him.”

“Don’t worry. Your 47th husband will soon become one with That One. You can share your love to your heart’s content then.”

“Will That One like me?”

“Of course. Who wouldn’t like a woman as lovely and cute as you?”

At the spellcaster’s words, Dellim reluctantly cut off the man’s tongue.

She approached the spellcaster’s back, crunching on the severed tongue. The spellcaster smiled at her once, then clasped his hands together and muttered.

“Let’s begin.”

Whoosh.

As soon as he spoke, the spellcaster wielded Juryeok (Curse Power). His Juryeok, corrupted by hundreds of human sacrifices, resonated with the blood mage’s characters, causing a dark red wave. The wave soon clung to the women’s bodies like insects, relentlessly gnawing at their blood and flesh.

Ear-splitting screams filled the space. But the spellcaster still wore a relaxed expression and moved his lips.

Sorcery, performed differently from magic. A miracle manifested by using specific substances as mediums to forcefully infuse wishes and images. This spell, using blood, flesh, and souls as mediums, forms a vessel to contain a transcendent being existing in another dimension.

Thump!

The wave of Juryeok spread over the magic circle.

The thrashing movements of the women stopped. The focus vanished from their eyes. They looked at each other, then their mouths gaped open and they began eating the person next to them. Organs spilled, and a countless number of corpses piled up on the floor.

Eventually, only one tattered woman remained on the magic circle. With vacant eyes, she looked at the spellcaster and moved her lips.

“wantsoulwantsoulwantsoulwantsoulwantsoulwantsoulwantsoulwantsoulwantsoulwantsoulwantsoul”

“Hoo. It’s a success. A vessel for That One has been created.”

The spellcaster, showing no fear at all as he watched the woman muttering chillingly, said with a bright smile.

“Now we just have to wait until Gorcel brings a mage.”

“Do you think that young punk can handle it properly? I don’t. It would have been better to have me or Dellim do it.”

“Because he’s young, there are things he can do. As you know, young souls are perfect for offering souls.”

“Is that why you enrolled him in the academy? To catch brats his age?”

“Yes.”

The spellcaster replied, pulling the corners of his mouth into a grin.

“Too young is immature, and too old makes the ritual unstable. A mage who has just become an adult is the most suitable. And the academy is a place teeming with such mages.”

“…Hoo. But it will take a long time to catch one. It’s true that I’m not pleased, as I want to see That One quickly.”

“What can we do? Girzen, isn’t it better for you to see That One capable of proper thought and conversation, rather than someone who can’t do anything idiotically?”

The blood mage, Girzen, instead of answering, clicked his tongue and looked at the woman on the magic circle. The spellcaster also did not continue the conversation, and muttered softly while looking at the ceiling with a smile.

“I’m looking forward to it.”