Chapter 666

“…Does anyone know what this is?”

A triangular box covered in strange, indecipherable writing. Three marbles resting in a corner. And a sheet of white paper.

The wizards gathered in a circle, heads bent together, but no clear answer emerged. Beric sniffed at the marbles repeatedly but just shrugged, clearly clueless.

“It kind of smells like something, but also doesn’t. I have no idea. Ian, can I try eating this?”

“Are you out of your mind? Put that down right now!”

Smack!

“Ah!”

Beric rolled on the floor after getting flicked on the forehead by a wizard, but Ian barely acknowledged him and stepped over lightly.

After slowly changing his shirt, Ian settled back down and examined the inside of the box. The wizards glanced at him expectantly, then muttered their own guesses.

“Seriously, what was Beric thinking bringing this? I have no clue what it’s for.”

“Yeah. Beric, why did you even bring this? Did you grab the wrong thing?”

“No, I swear it was in the drawer. And there was a paper that came with it, where I saw some sentence about leveling up or something…”

“That ‘leveling up’ part is the important bit!”

“Wait, could this be a translation? Like, if the writing inside is translated into Gaia’s common language?”

“Could be. Beric! Did you bring that?”

“Nope. Nothing like that.”

“Ugh, you scatterbrain! Go back and get it!”

“What do you know? I thought I was gonna die! And it burned up, so it’s gone now!”

At the mention of the Mage’s Forest burning down, a wizard from Luswena froze. Though he had left long ago, that place held his life’s memories. Hearing it was gone in flames stirred a deep sense of loss and regret.

Ian beckoned him over and asked quietly, “Are you sure you’ve never seen anything like this in the Mage’s Forest?”

“Yes, it was a long time ago… but I’m certain. Judging by the exotic look, it seems to have come from a foreign land. If I had to guess…”

“Beyond the Great Desert, to the east where it meets the Blaster Sea.”

“Uh, yes, that’s what I suspect too. We’ve never seen anything like it in Gaia…”

“Blaster?” Beric’s ears perked up at the familiar name.

“Hey, Ian, remember when you were taking classes in Bratz? That teacher who suddenly left in the middle of the night? He said he was going there for research.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Same place, huh? The guy who drew the Great Desert map?”

“Not bad memory, Beric.”

Since one of the mercenary wizards from Luswena was from the East, it made sense that new knowledge had come through him.

With this new lead, the wizards tried to recall if any of the opponents they’d faced had an exotic appearance.

“They all looked pretty unique, so nothing stands out clearly.”

“Don’t people from the East usually have reddish skin?”

“Really? I wouldn’t know. I’ve never met anyone from there.”

Tolrun was already a mysterious land, but the continent beyond the desert, bordering the sea, was even more distant.

Ian looked around and gave orders.

“There might be old books left somewhere in the mansion. Derga helped the tutor with research. Spread out and search. If you find any translated parts, compare them to the writing inside the box. That should help us understand it.”

“Those events were over ten years ago. Would any books still be around?”

“This isn’t some old clothes or trinkets. If it’s from the Sea Kingdom, they might have kept and organized it instead of throwing it away.”

When Ian said that, the wizards nodded and began dividing the search areas. They placed faint magical orbs in the windows throughout the mansion.

“Let’s split into three groups: the main building, the annex, and the storage. Focus on the library, and search from left to right. Agreed?”

“Got it. Let’s move.”

“Beric, get up. How long are you going to lie there just because you got flicked on the forehead?”

It was a ruckus in the middle of the night. They rummaged through bookshelves that reached the ceiling, opened countless unknown boxes, and even went deep into the storage, gathering every scrap of paper they could find.

While the wizards bustled about, Beric kept sniffing the marbles.

Then—

“Huh?”

At the break of dawn, when the exhausted wizards were dozing off in a corner, someone let out a puzzled sound, then took a deep breath from their core and shouted:

“I found it!”

“Wha—what? What did you find?”

“Found it? Where? Ugh, my throat hurts.”

A tired-looking wizard with dark circles under his eyes ran to Ian, holding an old book. Ian, who had been scanning the library shelves, heard him and climbed down the ladder.

“Ian! I found it! It’s written in Eastern characters! On the left, there’s a translation in Bariel, and on the right, the writing is similar to what’s inside the box!”

“Oh, it really is! That’s the one inside the box!”

The wizards cheered and hugged each other.

Without a word, Ian pushed aside a display cabinet to clear space. A pristine white wall was revealed, and without hesitation, he began copying the characters from the box in large script.

“Divide the book among yourselves. If you find matching characters, we can figure out their meaning.”

“Yes, understood.”

Scratch scratch!

Ian filled the wall with neat writing, while the wizards quickly compared their pages, searching for similar characters.

“Found it! The second word in the first line means ‘to make.’ With the particle before it, it probably means ‘to make (something).’”

“The fifth word in the first line and the seventh and fifteenth in the third line are the same. Take note.”

“Ah, I don’t see it. The part I have doesn’t match.”

“If you don’t have it, go ahead and add your interpretation.”

“The fifth word in the fourth line means ‘spell.’ More precisely, it seems to mean ‘to request.’”

“No, it’s better translated as ‘to ask for.’”

Beric sat perched on the window frame, quietly watching them. The rustling of pages flew by quickly, and voices called out meanings of words here and there.

Usually, these guys seemed no smarter than him, but seeing this, maybe they really were wizards.

And at the center was Ian, sleeves rolled up, piecing together the translation one by one.

Swish. Swish.

“Ah, done.”

Finally, coherent sentences emerged. Though many gaps remained, it was definitely different from reading it without any understanding.

They stared blankly at the wall, murmuring.

“Is this… right?”

—Created by an Eastern wizard __. This is to divide the sixth sense __, and ultimately aims to achieve a higher level of __. The three subjects must eat _ and combine their powers to create _. If this is transcribed into ___, the one who reads it can __ power close to __. A warning: the greater the difference in power __, the more dangerous it is. Also, the one who ate _ requires __ to recover. Lastly, the time limit is within 100 years.

“There’s a lot missing, but we can roughly understand it.”

“So, uh—yeah. I get the gist.”

“But the important parts are missing. Since there are warnings, it doesn’t seem like something to take lightly.”

Ian fell silent for a moment, as if organizing the information in his mind. Then he muttered softly.

“…It’s a method for creating a new magic circle.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Creating a new magic circle? Is that even possible…?

“Oh, right! That’s it, Ian! It’s almost the same as the origin of the magic circles passed down since ancient times.”

Magic circles are formed by the energy shared among the ‘Sage Wizards,’ combined with the laws of nature, moments of fate, and the harmony and cohesion of power.

Depending on the Sage Wizard who created the magic circle, they are classified as advanced, intermediate, or basic magic. These have been passed down through eternity, inspiring the development of future wizards.

“However, what happened after the Sage Wizards created the magic circles is unknown.”

“Hmm. So is this like the materials for making magic circles?”

“More like… a device that allows temporary sharing of power.”

“It says the time limit is 100 years. That long?”

“No way. I don’t think that’s the actual time limit. But one thing’s clear: it lets you use power beyond your own, temporarily. Right?”

“That’s what the translation says, but I doubt there aren’t side effects.”

“What? Don’t keep it to yourselves—tell me too!”

Beric, who had been quietly listening, scratched his head in confusion. The tired wizards all turned to him with bright eyes.

“Oh, you silly mutt! Dumb but useful! Come here!” They swarmed Beric, hugging him and patting his head.

“Listen up, Beric. Magic is ultimately the manifestation of a wizard’s innate power. And a magic circle is literally a ‘spell’ that draws that power out more precisely and reliably. You follow?”

“Okay, so that’s why Ian sometimes just wrecks stuff without a magic circle? Got it.”

“Each magic circle passed down contains the wisdom of more than one wizard. The reason we can channel magic through these circles is thanks to their efforts in the past.”

“So, the magic circle is like a shortcut of sorts? By having past wizards create these circles, we can use them to quickly and easily unleash the latent magical power within us?”

“Exactly! That’s the principle!”

The wizards’ nostrils twitched slightly, clearly excited.

“If we create a new magic circle infused with Ian’s power, and then use it—”

“That means we’ll be able to stand against the forbidden magic! Winning or losing comes later, but at least our magic will affect those forbidden mages!”

“Ahhh! That’s incredible! How is that even possible?”

Ian’s ability to face off against the forbidden mages wasn’t just because he was strong. It was because his very existence held the same kind of power as theirs.

No matter how hard Hale and the other wizards tried, risking their lives, they couldn’t even scratch them. That was the reason.

“Isn’t it dangerous? Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“We’re not basing it on forbidden magic itself, but on Ian’s magic. More precisely, we’ll be able to harness the ‘power of Ian that resists forbidden magic.’”

One of the wizards held out two fingers and brought them together. At first, they didn’t align, but after a slight adjustment, they fit perfectly.

At the very least, when Ian fights the forbidden mages, we’ll be able to bind their feet or launch attacks alongside him.

“But can we really trust it? We don’t even know who made it or how it works.”

“No need to worry.”

Ian answered, holding three orbs in his hand.

“Anyone capable of making a device like this is among the best in the East. Once we reach the palace, we can find the records.”

And above all, compared to the magic department members using forbidden magic to win, this is a much safer and more peaceful method.

Drawn by Ian’s clear decision, the wizards gathered around him. Ian picked up one of the orbs and brought it to his mouth.

“Ian, wait. Let me try it first.”

Hale stopped him.

By magical power ranking, Hale was next after Ian. Without hesitation, Hale swallowed one of the orbs. Almost immediately, its effects became apparent.

A low hum.

Even without using magic, his golden eyes shone brightly. The wizards stared in awe, and Ian followed suit, placing an orb in his own mouth.