Chapter 779
Episode 191: Pioneers of the Era (3)
The magical power displayed by Mary and Heitona was just beyond the basic level.
But the crucial point was that the riders had only been training for about a month. Jin blinked in disbelief, unable to comprehend the brothers’ rapid growth.
Such progress was impossible without talents on par with Jin and Valeria.
[Lord Sogaju, you must be well aware of how magicians develop, so the riders’ achievements are especially remarkable.]
“Could it be that my sister and brother have a natural genius for magic?”
[Surprisingly, all the riders have a keen sense for magic. But none are geniuses like you, Lord Sogaju.]
“Then…?”
[I’ve been passing on to the riders the memories I experienced while learning magic in the past. You could call it a kind of inheritance.]
Hister—the record magicians—left behind not only memories but also the power and knowledge of magic to their descendants.
“I thought that was only possible among record magicians themselves.”
Jin had assumed that this benefit was exclusive to Hister, especially to ‘perfect mana vessels’ like Valeria.
[When I heard from Valeria about the Hister family’s inheritance, I wondered if I, as the root, might be able to do something similar. So I ran some tests and discovered that I could transfer my memories to pureblood Runkandel.]
The reason it was only possible with pureblood Runkandel was no coincidence.
The ‘memory inheritance’ Leet discovered was possible thanks to her divine power and the bond she forged with Temar a thousand years ago. If the recipient had no connection to Temar, no method could transfer the memories.
Pureblood Runkandel, though they may never have met Temar, share his blood.
Only those with Runkandel’s blessed bodies could receive memories from Leet—just as Jin inherited Ban’s senses through the ‘Fusion of Warriors.’
As Leet explained this, Jin’s eyes sparkled.
“This is an incredible discovery, Chief Steward. But I’m guessing there must be some limitations or costs.”
[You’re exactly right. First, transferring memories mentally exhausts me greatly. Also, the riders learn to handle mana through my memories of learning magic, but they can’t fully realize it. Their minds understand, but their bodies can’t keep up. Many memories are incomplete.]
The same applied to the Fusion of Warriors. When synchronization peaked, one could use the senses of creation directly, but not otherwise. As Jin experienced in the Hall of the Fierce Gods, too high synchronization could cause loss of self.
[Going forward, whenever I have time, I plan to enhance the magic skills of all riders except Lord Sogaju this way. The mana suppressed by historical manipulation is now surfacing all at once. If knowledge and senses keep pace, they’ll soon be able to wield quite destructive magic… ugh.]
Leet staggered forward, as if about to collapse.
“Chief Steward!”
“Are you alright, Chief Steward?”
Though she appeared fine, Leet was the most overworked among the Runkandel. Her duties as chief steward were already severe, and adding memory transfer left her body no rest.
[I’m fine. As you said, Lord Sogaju, I do need rest and recharge. Please excuse me for a moment.]
Leet threw open the window and took several deep breaths of fresh air.
Haa! The air is crisp—thank goodness. My whole body feels refreshed now. That’s better.
“Are you seriously calling that rest?”
[Fairies can regain vitality anytime with just wind and dew. That’s why they can perform their record-keeping duties day and night. Anyway, the riders are becoming magic swordsmen. We don’t know when the decisive battle with the enemy will come, but we have to get stronger before then.]
No one knew when the war would start. The one-year non-aggression pact was just a facade.
The great powers refrained from attacking because none had overwhelming strength. Except for Siron, Jin was now the strongest in the world, but his faction was far from dominant.
The world was in a fragile balance. The moment one side made a move, war would inevitably break out.
Couldn’t they just avoid war and maintain peace?
Many thought so. Jin himself would have seriously considered it if the other powers only wanted to stabilize and govern their lands.
But they sought to be the sole rulers of the world.
Jin wanted only to reach the pinnacle of his clan, but they aimed to subjugate all humanity and reshape the world as they wished.
In Jin’s eyes, both Ziphl and Kinzello would turn the world into hell no matter who claimed the throne.
That’s why Jin stood against them—to end the millennium-long war, to rid the world of strange things like the Demon God Stone, the Sun God, and chaos.
To reclaim an ordinary world and enjoy a peaceful life with his loved ones—that was Jin’s deepest wish.
[Now, shall we discuss the recent situation? Based on the information revealed so far, we are clearly the fastest to achieve significant progress. Lord Sogaju has effectively taken the title of the world’s greatest swordsman, talent floods in nonstop, and we’ve acquired several new technologies.]
“But the enemies are unusually quiet.”
[I agree, Lord Sogaju. No matter how much they fear you, they should have tried to check us at least once. Especially since you’ve been provocative and bold since the Hall of the Fierce Gods.]
The existence of the previous clan heads through the bloodline, the public disclosure of the Hall’s records without consent, revealing Valeria and Ziphl’s relationship—all things Ziphl and Kinzello, especially Ziphl, would find deeply offensive. Yet their response remained passive.
[I think there’s something else besides Lord Sogaju. Take a look at this.]
Leet spread out reports on the desk—recent intelligence on Kinzello and Ziphl’s movements.
“Kinzello and Ziphl are both focusing mainly on internal stability.”
Both powers had strangely little contact with the outside world. Like when the Holy Empire declared isolation, they avoided even neutral factions. This contrasted with Runkandel’s ongoing recruitment of neutral forces.
Neutral powers now held little sway in the great powers’ wars. The strongest neutral groups—Bikung, Mumyung, the Black King’s Order, and the Ghost Corps—had long been absorbed by Jin.
[There’s no reason to leave neutral forces alone like this. They should be moving to prevent absorption by us. Their inaction suggests they’re preparing something.]
“Preparation… Kinzello is probably focused on recruiting demons and searching for Lokia.”
At the mention of Lokia, Leet’s expression darkened.
[The possibility that Lady Lokia is a traitor still shocks me deeply. I need to fully recover those memories to understand the truth. The circumstances strongly suggest her betrayal.]
“If we get any clues, Orgal will share them. Let’s wait.”
[Yes, Lord Sogaju. Since your last visit to the Holy Headquarters, Kinzello has continued recruiting demons as you feared. They’ve definitely created a passage to the demon realm, but its location remains unknown. Should we deploy more forces?]
It wasn’t the Mitra Desert, which Ranke called the ‘playground.’ But Runkandel continued gathering information on the desert.
“No, there’s no need to rush to find and attack it. Keep investigating carefully. When Orgal suddenly challenged me that day at the Holy Headquarters, he was in a bad mood for some reason. He probably wanted to warn me not to come uninvited. It’s not the time to provoke them.”
[It makes sense they didn’t want to show you the demon recruitment. Concealing their strength is natural.]
“But risking a fight with me to hide their power also means they’re not confident yet. Let’s analyze their strength and the demons’ combat abilities carefully and build our own power slowly.”
[Understood. Shagal Bahma, whom you subdued at the Holy Headquarters, is from the Phantom Demon clan. I’ll look for related information.]
“As for Ziphl, we still haven’t heard from them since we ignored their request to use the purifier. That’s probably because Kelliak’s condition is beyond what the purifier can fix.”
[Yes, and Ziphl keeps releasing articles accusing us of provoking a new war since the Hall of the Fierce Gods. But all they do is monitor our main transport routes. They haven’t noticed the Blacksmith’s Island at all.]
“Any signs the steel trade with Kinzello succeeded?”
[Yes, Ziphl is currently buying steel from Kinzello at prices even higher than what you offered Orgal.]
“Order our informants in the Lutero Federation’s black market to keep pretending we need steel. They’ll put some expensive stock up for sale, and we should buy some to keep up appearances.”
[Understood. Also, in the latest report here, there’s a curious note.]
Jin’s eyes landed on the report.
“Kadun has been showing signs of discomfort frequently?”
[Yes, for some reason, there have been frequent incidents of unrest within the Federation lately. Even our spies, who haven’t fully infiltrated, have noticed.]
“He’s always been a rough and reckless dragon by nature, but if reports like this are coming in, it seems some serious dissatisfaction is building up. Could it be because Zipl isn’t pushing us hard enough to use the purifier against Keliak?”
Just as Jin finished speaking, an informant suddenly rushed into the office.
“Lord Sogaju, Chief Steward! We’ve received a report from our Federation spies.”
[Go on.]
“Three days ago, there was a massive explosion and tremor near Zipl’s first tower! The cause is believed to be combat-related!”