The journey was anything but quiet. Vivian had been crying loudly the entire time the Origin was explaining things in detail. At first, I tried to ignore her, but every time I looked away, she’d run over and sob even harder. Eventually, to apologize, I promised to gently rub the spots where I’d hit her later. Surprisingly, that was enough to finally stop her crying. (Honestly, I’d said it just to tease her, so I was pretty shocked she took it so well.)
Anyway, the Origin’s explanation was simple: the way to increase his magical output was to acquire more knowledge about magic. Especially, the more advanced the knowledge—beyond the basic magic anyone can use—the greater the boost. In other words, he planned to use Vivian’s “Order of Order” to reveal the magical array sleeping within Magia, decode it to gain knowledge, and then pass that knowledge on to Vivian to improve her skills. That was the core of the Origin’s plan.
“Sounds good.”
I placed my hand on the top of my head, impressed by the clear explanation. The Origin glanced at me briefly, his face and eyes still as indifferent as ever.
“Why are you staring like that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Uh…”
“That gesture—stroking the top of my head.”
“Stroking your… head? Oh, it’s because I’m proud of you.”
“Proud?”
“Yeah. You know how to find your own food.”
“That’s a strange way to put it. What I’m about to do has nothing to do with survival or nutrition.”
The Origin said this as if he couldn’t understand at all. I smiled wryly.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then?”
“Not all words mean exactly what they say. Think of it this way: ‘food’ is what you have to do, and ‘finding food’ means doing it yourself.”
“So, I know how to do what I have to do, on my own.”
“Exactly. That’s what I meant. Anyway, don’t take everything so literally.”
“…Accept.”
The Origin nodded obediently. After a moment of deep thought, he muttered to himself.
“Human language is difficult…”
I laughed quietly to myself again. The Origin, reborn as a human, is quite peculiar. When it comes to magic, he acts like an old sage, but at times like this, he seems like a child. So, is he a precocious kid? Ha.
“What’s so funny? Don’t laugh alone—laugh with me.”
Just as I was patting myself on the back for a decent joke, the Origin poked Vivian’s side. I responded by flicking him in the perineum with my middle finger, and while we bickered like that, we arrived at Magia.
“Been a while since I’ve been here.”
Stepping out of the warp gate, the gloomy, desolate scenery of the ancient magical city greeted us. At least, thanks to some cleaning during the academy’s construction, it didn’t feel completely ruined.
“So, what now?”
“Magia can be considered a kind of magical power plant.”
I looked around and asked, and the Origin’s quiet voice answered.
“Therefore, we need to move to the core—the place that controls the flow of magical power and can activate the plant.”
“I thought before it was just used randomly… like floating in the air.”
“That’s not impossible. But to do that, you must undergo a process of perfect unification with the city.”
“You mean, like Mabolo, be bound here forever?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s not an option. Then let’s go to that place.”
The Origin stared at me silently, then quietly began chanting a spell.
“Battlefield Analysis, Initiation.”
Thoom!
An invisible force charged with magical energy whipped up a fierce dust storm, spreading out in a perfect circle. It felt like a barely-missed air rifle shot. The Origin closed his eyes and muttered under his breath, while Vivian summoned the Order of Order. Until just before, she’d been crying and laughing, showing a range of expressions, but now she looked tense.
After a short while, the Origin opened his eyes.
“Found it. We’ll move immediately.”
I nodded and followed closely behind him. About ten minutes later, our endless footsteps stopped—coincidentally near a new building. This was where the old castle had been renovated into the Mercenary Academy. But the Origin showed no interest in the building, pacing around it instead. Suddenly, he stopped and stared quietly at the ground about twenty meters from the entrance.
“Vivien La Klacidus.”
Startled by the sudden call, Vivian clutched the Order of Order tightly and looked up. The Origin tapped the ground lightly with his tiny foot.
“Place the Order of Order here.”
“Uh, okay.”
Vivian carefully set the Order down where he indicated. The Origin stepped aside and spoke softly.
“The Order of Order is an object with a will that chooses its master. Since you’re using it without issue, it seems to have accepted you as its owner.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. Now, please follow my incantation.”
“Just follow along?”
“Yes. The spell I’m about to cast is a kind of activation release. And remember, the true master of the Order of Order is Vivien La Klacidus. Speak naturally, as if commanding it with your magic.”
“Got it.”
Vivian nodded, clasped her hands together, and took a deep breath. So cute. I sat down nearby to watch. The chance of failure was slim, but if it did happen, I planned to tease her mercilessly. That would surely motivate her to succeed.
“Ordo De Ordine Magister, Vivien La Klacidus Et Ut Cum Imperio.”
The Origin’s mechanical, precise voice rang out, followed by Vivian’s slightly awkward echo.
“Ordo De Ordine Magister~? Vivien La Klacidus Et Ut Cum Imperio~!”
“…Vade Puer. Tuus Uero Et Liberabo Te Ipsum.”
“Vade Puer! Tuus Uero Et Liberabo Te Ipsum!”
Whoooosh!
At that moment—
Flash!
A violent vibration shook the ground as the Order of Order emitted a dazzling burst of light. The glow spread at a terrifying speed, turning the entire field blinding white in the blink of an eye. The area covered was so vast it nearly blocked out the sky.
Goooooo—
A deep, resonant hum filled the air. Opening my eyes, I looked around to see magical arrays glowing on the ground, slowly rising. Red, gold, green, blue… the colorful arrays danced upward like a kaleidoscope. It was exactly the same scene I’d seen before.
“Wow…”
Vivian, amazed at what she’d just accomplished, gaped in wonder. Then she caught my eye, placed her hands on her hips, and tilted her head back—probably trying to look proud. Meanwhile, the Origin gazed quietly at the sky. I cleared my throat and nudged Vivian aside to approach him.
“Did you find it? Is it there?”
“What do you mean?”
I paused, realizing my question was too abrupt. Judging by the hundreds, maybe thousands of magical arrays, it would take time to find the right one. I needed to narrow it down.
“Wrong question. Do you have any knowledge about fire? Among the advanced summoning arrays?”
“Fire, advanced summoning arrays… Understood. Please wait a moment.”
The Origin closed his eyes gently. It felt like he was entering the knowledge acquisition process he’d mentioned earlier, so I didn’t want to disturb him.
Some time passed.
Suddenly, with a voice saying “Accept,” the magical arrays floating in the air vanished as if they’d never been there. More accurately, they dissolved all at once into the air. Then, I heard someone collapse. Glancing back, I saw Vivian panting heavily, clearly exhausted. The strain must have been considerable.
“This is incredible. For a mere human to possess magical knowledge that can increase my output by 9.47%…”
The Origin’s voice came, unusually filled with admiration.
“9.47%? That much, and it’s only ‘mere’?”
He looked at me with disbelief.
“This human knows nearly a tenth of all the magical knowledge in this dimension. You call that ‘only’?”
“Really?”
“And magic isn’t math. Adding 9.47% to existing output doesn’t just end at 24.75%. Through combination and research, the output can go even higher…”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Anyway, what did I ask you to do?”
I waved my hand dismissively. The Origin looked a bit annoyed but quickly composed himself and spoke softly.
“The knowledge acquisition is complete. According to the search, the highest-level knowledge found is the ‘Superheated’ summoning array.”
I clenched my fist.
“Ah, correction. Just now, I confirmed the ‘Perpetual Snow’ summoning array, which is a level above the Superheated array…”
I heard the Origin muttering something, but I shook my head. That wasn’t important.
“By the way, ‘Perpetual Snow’ doesn’t mean snow that never melts. It refers to the Lady of Snow—the eternally burning ice…”
“So, when can we start using it?”
The Origin stopped and stared at me.
“I don’t know.”
“……”
“Learning, internalizing, and then passing on—these are three very different acts. Right now, you’ve only stored and absorbed the information.”
“So you’re saying it’s going to take time…?”
I had expected as much, but it still left a bitter taste. Honestly, I’d been getting ahead of myself when nothing was certain yet. I forced down my disappointment.
“Kim Suhyun. By the way…”
Just then, Vivian slipped in beside me.
“Could you and I use this place for a while?”
“This place?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to focus on research as much as possible, and it’s better to do it here, right? The building’s nice, and it’s quiet.”
“Hmm.”
I couldn’t help but hesitate. She made a good point, but the problem was that this building belonged to the academy. Normally, it wouldn’t matter, but once you enroll, you have to use it until graduation.
“That’s because this is originally an academy facility. How about sharing it? I can set up a lab for you on the top floor. They said to keep it preserved, so it’s probably barely been touched.”
“Uh, well… you know I’m pretty sensitive. Sharing might be a bit…”
That was the first time I’d heard her say that, and Vivian looked reluctant. So what should I do?
“…No?”
“Ah.”
Suddenly, an idea struck me. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at the two of them. Yeah, that might just work.
“Alright. I can’t promise anything yet, but I think there’s a way to make it work.”
“Huh? Make it work? What do you mean?”
“Nothing. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Kim Suhyun…?”
After telling Gwonwon and Vivian to head back first, I hurried over to Barbara and entered the temple. Come to think of it, I still had rewards left from a previous mission. Back then, Seraph hinted that I should make the most of this opportunity, and I had stepped back without protest. Now that I’d taken care of Pluton, one of the 14 demon lords, there couldn’t be a better chance.
“User Kim Suhyun?”
As I entered the summoning chamber, Seraph greeted me, looking slightly surprised.
“Hey, Seraph. Long time no see… or maybe not that long? How have you been?”
“Welcome… um, yes?”
“Huh? What’s with the reaction?”
“Oh, no, no. Welcome back. I mean, please come in.”
She stammered as I stepped inside, but for some reason, Seraph seemed very flustered. Aside from the stuttering, her eyes kept flickering nervously. I hadn’t seen this kind of reaction even on my first or second run. Was my arrival really that shocking?
Just as I was about to sit down, a sudden emptiness hit me. That’s when I realized I hadn’t brought Mar along.
“Ahem, ahem. So, User Kim Suhyun, what brings you here today…?”
“Ah. I didn’t bring Mar this time.”
“Oh…”
“It’s not that I didn’t want to, I just didn’t get a chance to tell her I was coming to the temple. I came straight from Magia. Sorry if you were expecting her.”
That’s when it happened.
“No, it’s…”
Contrary to her words, Seraph shook her head with a clearly disappointed expression.
“Eh?”
Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock. She parted her lips slightly, staring at me as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Oh, no… how could I… no, that’s not it…”
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“When you speak so kindly and gently all of a sudden… I, I…”
“…?”
No joke—Seraph really looked like she was in pain. She avoided my gaze, looking everywhere but at me. Her white wings fluttered more vigorously than ever, and her hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly. Eventually, she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip hard.
“W-what do I do… I don’t know…”
Her voice was barely above a whisper, her face flushed bright red.
Well, that’s strange.
Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
To help you understand Seraph’s confusion, here’s a brief excerpt from earlier events.
“User Kim Suhyun. It’s been a while. How have you been…?”
“Cut the small talk.”
I snapped coldly at her greeting. I’ve never liked angels much, but I couldn’t see the Seraph from my first run and the one now as the same.
“…Have you been well?”
She paused briefly at my harsh tone but pressed on. That only made me glare at her harder.
“That’s none of my business. And anyway, you probably know the gist even if you don’t know the details.”
“User Kim Suhyun.”
“I’m busy. Just say what you need to and let me go.”
“…”
Seraph fell silent, like a mute. Her face remained calm and composed, but I could sense her inner discomfort.
“Nothing?”
“…”
Still no answer. I shook my head and turned away. Staying here any longer might mess with my improving attitude… or rather, it might just snap me back to my old self.
“If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving. And next time, don’t waste my time like this.”
“User Kim Suhyun…”
I heard her call after me, but I ignored it on purpose.
So, what do you think? Can you feel the difference? :)