Leap (7)

I raised my hand to stop Kamier the moment he tried to bow his head.

I don’t condemn servility. In a world where any means are justified to achieve a goal, that’s common sense. As long as you can handle the consequences.

I wonder how much pride he has left to whittle away. If his pride hits rock bottom, what will he chip away at then? I was curious, but decided to bury the thought.

He said resignedly.

“…Do you think I’m pathetic?”

“You’re desperate, that’s for sure.”

“All I have is money.”

And that’s all you can give me.

“When did you start suffering from a manpower shortage?”

“…It’s been four years.”

“Really. Not a single person has come?”

“Tragically.”

Pahellen, a shabby, remote area in the West.

It has no special products to boast of, and the only source of income it developed was mining. Pahellen was gloomy. Above all, there was no infrastructure for mages or knights, so no talented people would want to stay here.

As I saw it, it wasn’t a matter of money. As Kamier said, Pahellen was just a small barony. Instead of hiring me, building infrastructure should be the priority.

I chose my words carefully.

“I don’t need money.”

You have nothing to give me. I couldn’t say it directly, but he must have understood. He knows it better than I do.

“Is, is that so.”

“….”

He had congenital Mana insensitivity.

For me, who can see the boundaries of the world, figuring out someone else’s physical condition is a piece of cake.

If he can’t fix that constitution, he won’t be able to create even a drop of water, let alone magic, no matter how much he trains for the rest of his life.

How unfortunate.

But he did his best.

I.

I like good people. At the very least, I prefer responsible people. Because they blatantly break the rules that I firmly believe are the truth.

Does selfless good exist?

Can humans act without a reward?

They easily refute the proposition that I have judged as ‘no.’

‘If you think about the future, you need to build relationships with as many nobles as possible. Political standing is more important than conquering by force.’

So, for once.

Pretending to be a good person wouldn’t be so bad.

‘…Just this once.’

It won’t be easy for a noble to catch monsters. Even more so if you don’t have Mana. So, I’m going to help a little. Kamier will gladly take up a sword for me, whatever the price. He was a ‘good person.’

Even though I’m acting with a reward in mind.

“…I understand. I’m sorry for disturbing your rest. Please forget what happened today.”

Don’t become that kind of person.

“Huh…?”

-Cheolkeok.

He was about to leave the room with a bitter look on his face. But the door wouldn’t open. It was unnatural. No one had left, but the door was locked. Kamier seemed to sense something was wrong, and he just stared at me with his mouth shut tight. He didn’t look angry.

I closed my eyes and said nonchalantly.

“Do you want to use magic?”

“Yes…?”

This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him, or just a fleeting dream that blooms and fades overnight.

“Magic, Aura. Do you want to use it?”

“…Watch your mouth.”

Kamier hardened his face and clenched his fist. Did I touch a sensitive spot? He opened his mouth with a rare angry expression.

“You wouldn’t know. You were born with talent.”

“Answer the question.”

“Do you know how many years I’ve been trying to awaken Aura? It’s been over twelve years. Since I was still immature, I’ve eaten all sorts of things and tried tens of thousands of bizarre things.”

“The question.”

“But nothing,”

“Answer.”

Magic was truly bizarre. It was magical because it was grotesque and strange. People put the character for Demon 魔 on things they couldn’t understand, so it was a fitting name.

But there is always truth in it, so all mages had to accept it. You have to accept the strangeness to fully become your vessel.

“I want to use it.”

“….”

“Is that enough? Stop with the ridiculous jokes. If you commit any more rudeness, I won’t let it go in the name of Pahellen-“

“I’ll help you.”

“….”

Yes.

That’s why I’ll approach you with strangeness.

I’ll approach you as a Demon 魔.

“I can help you.”

I’ll become your serendipity 奇緣.

“…No. You can’t. You won’t be able to. I’m a dullard. A dullard should act like a dullard. Just do what you can.”

Poor human who doesn’t believe unless you see and experience it.

“Wait. Be quiet.”

I’ll show you the truth.

“Keuheok-?!”

A short blink. Light flashed and moved right in front of Kamier’s nose. I opened my palm and slammed it into his solar plexus. His eyes rolled back white from the shock that shook his soul.

I used telekinesis to fix his body just before he fell over. I read the Mana waves. All the information that makes up his body, and the history he has built up.

‘Mana is accumulated, but the passage is closed.’

Twelve years of effort were not in vain. An suspiciously large amount of Mana was accumulated in his body. This accumulated Mana usually flies into the air, but not for Kamier. His whole body was a Mana reservoir.

But he had no Mana circuit.

No matter how much Mana he had, he couldn’t use even a speck of Mana without a circuit.

“You are.”

However, from the perspective of an Archmage, Kamier was not normal. He had already awakened Mana. He just didn’t have a circuit. Something that would never happen normally happened to him.

Far from ordinary.

“You’re not a dullard.”

In other words, special.

You just didn’t have a chance.

I feel each of his cells opening wide. His thoughts are accelerating. I disassembled and reassembled his body on the spot. Destruction and creation occur simultaneously.

I didn’t give him much help. I just created a narrow passage. I just made a passage for dullards that everyone else has. That’s all.

But because you’re not a dullard. I will give you the reward for your efforts that the world didn’t give you.

Of course, he won’t realize it right away. But considering his talent, great success 大成 was inevitable.

“Heueok, heu, heok?”

Kamier, who opened his eyes, looked around, sweating profusely. But no one was to be seen. I had already left the room before he opened his eyes.

“…Yujin? Where, did she go. Haa… What happened?”

I left a small flame in the place where he was, and waited silently, leaning my back against the wall, for the reborn Kamier.

* * *

To summarize Kamier’s life, it was the life of a loser.

I don’t even remember how much flattery I had to do to recruit talent. The amount of money that went out like that was over thousands of gold. The reason for spending this money was, of course, because no matter how much I swung my sword with this useless body, it was no different from a regular soldier.

But this time it will be different. This time, I will definitely recruit talent. If I give them more money, the result will change.

But it didn’t change.

The mage in front of me was the same.

Pahellen had no charm. He knew it too. If I used this money to develop the territory, talent would come on its own.

But he was impatient.

His pride was chipped away. Even the mine development was his father’s achievement, not his own. The expectations for him had already left long ago. Nevertheless, he wanted to prove his worth.

But.

…But.

“Do you want to use magic?”

Not only was I rejected, but I was even hearing these words.

Kamier felt so pathetic.

But.

“I can help you.”

After the incomprehensible Q&A session.

The red-haired mage brought up a sensitive topic.

Kamier was choked up. She can help me. What an irresponsible thing to say. She must be thinking of squeezing money out of me. There were already dozens of scammers who had seduced him with those words. Kamier didn’t trust Yujin.

“…No. You can’t. You won’t be able to. I’m a dullard. A dullard should act like a dullard. Just do what you can.”

I shouldn’t be able to. I had to. Because I’m a dullard. Even if you help me, nothing will change. I’ve already held too much darkness to have hope.

“Wait. Be quiet.”

That’s what should have happened.

The moment the girl in front of me disappeared from my sight.

“Keuheok-?!”

I lost consciousness for a moment. Kamier felt a slight sense of déjà vu. I felt like my body wasn’t my own. At the same time, my thoughts slowed down. A fleeting moment felt like an eternity. Like sinking to the bottom of a lake.

When I opened my eyes.

The girl had disappeared without a trace, and only the empty bed greeted Kamier.

And, along with a flame that wouldn’t go out.

“Fi, fire?!”

Pahellen’s mansion was built entirely of wood. Even a small spark could spread to the entire mansion. He tried to put out the fire by stomping on it.

But this time, his efforts didn’t bring any rewards. The fire remained. Only the shoes he was wearing were heating up.

‘…I have to get water!’

-Cheolkeok, cheolkeok!

The door wouldn’t open. Kamier clenched his fist. That red-haired mage. Yujin. She must have started the fire and locked the door.

-Kwaang!

Kamier swung his fist with bloodshot eyes. The door shook from the impact. He couldn’t break it. He needed a sword or an axe to break through the thick door of the guest room. If he had Aura. If he knew how to use magic. He wouldn’t need those things.

“Why, me.”

Why was I born like this?

Kamier knelt down, watching the flames spread. It was a loser’s end. A truly pathetic end. His teeth were breaking with anger.

I felt like it would be better to just burn to death like this.

The flame was slow, but it faithfully fulfilled its role. The flames that had been burning from the floor had already reached the wall.

Kamier looked down at his palm. It was the palm of a loser who couldn’t do anything but swing a sword.

‘If I had. Talent.’

A spark falling from the ceiling hit his collar.

He was on fire.

“Haa….”

A hollow laugh. I didn’t resent the girl. I was glad, rather. I could die in an accident, not suicide. I had always been a dullard and a loser. There was no home to return to for someone like me.

In the pain of his skin burning, Kamier reached out his hand.

If I could use magic or Aura even just once before I die…

This flame,

My burning body,

This world,

This world where there’s no place for me,

Magic to freeze it all-

“………Ah.”

-Jeojeojeok.

At that moment. Mana spread out from Kamier’s hand. It was such a pure white Mana.

Pure white, and blue.

Kamier trembled.

The flames froze. The flames that were burning the guest room froze along with the Mana, preserving their rhythmic appearance.

The guest room had turned into a snow country 雪國 where the Snow Witch might live. The wooden floor became a smooth ice rink, and the furniture that decorated the surroundings seemed to have frozen even time.

He was so surprised that when he exhaled, steam rose from his mouth. The surroundings were covered in white frost.

He got up from his seat and carefully took a step. It was cold. Kamier felt a pure white and blue magic coexisting inside his body.

Abundant Mana. The flow of magic flowing according to his will.

That which he had tried so hard to obtain for 12 years but had not been able to, was now in place.

“Ah, aah.”

Anxious that this might be an illusion, Kamier went on to cast one of the spells he knew. The spell Freeze, which he had only learned but never used. It was a basic freezing spell belonging to the Water 水 system, especially the Ice 氷 system.

Mana fluctuated. The Mana gathered and emanated according to his will. The furniture in front of him froze and cracked, turning into snowflakes and disappearing. What all this meant was clear.

I.

Used magic.

Kamier lost strength and knelt down with a thud. The tears that flowed down immediately froze and fell like jewels. No words came out. No laughter came out either.

He kept casting magic. He wanted to feel the flow of Mana even more. It was ecstatic. Every time he cast magic, it was as if someone was whispering. You’re not a loser. You’re not a dullard. You, you worked hard.

The power wasn’t the same as the first time, but he was happy just to be able to use magic. When he finally reached a state of exhaustion due to the depletion of his magic, he clutched his chest and took a breath.

-Kkiiik…

At that moment.

The tightly closed door opened.

“Young Master.”

“….”

“Get up.”

You shouldn’t bow your head carelessly. The girl’s words lingered in his ears. Kamier couldn’t bring himself to lower his head, and only hideous tears fell in drops.

That day.

A strange phenomenon occurred in the streets of Pahellen, where it snowed.

It was only for thirty minutes, but the residents of Pahellen unanimously said that they would never forget the chill and cold they felt at that time. The thirty minutes of snow they described were as follows.

As if.

The world had frozen over.