Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 1 Prologue

It was a beautiful sight.

The Magic Tower, the very essence of magic itself.

Renowned magicians had gathered here just to listen to a single word from me.

The crowd surrounding me moved naturally as I did.

Eyes wide open, breaths roughened, notebooks opened as if ready to jot down even the smallest word I might say.

All of it felt like a melody to me. When one feels content, even the scenery tends to be beautified.

One person hesitated, gauging my reaction. That was a discordant note.

“Uh… I…”

“What are you hesitating for?”

When I glanced at her, she flinched and continued speaking.

“I’m… I’m just surprised that you’re so much younger than I expected! Despite being a Grand Magician…”

“What’s your business?”

“Ah! Sir Kaplan! It’s about the ancient magic thesis you published this time! I’ve managed to interpret and summarize up to page two on my own. If you could find the time, please, just once…”

“Very well.”

When I accepted it, the original author of the thesis looked astonished, almost speechless. Then she bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.

As I accepted one person’s thesis, the other magicians watching seemed to gather their courage. The wall of people surrounding me moved even closer.

Amidst this, the wall parted like the Red Sea.

“Rumble…”

“It’s Sir Rumble!”

With such murmurs, the second-ranking magician, Beltra’s Rumble, walked up to me.

But soon enough, he smiled.

“Ah… Kaplan! Congratulations on your promotion to the highest rank. Have you considered becoming a professor at the academy? Of course, the terms would be adjusted to match your status.”

“I haven’t.”

“Please reconsider! There are many students who need your teachings. If you become a professor, imagine how delighted the students would be! This is for the future…”

“I said no.”

When I frowned, he swallowed his words and backed off.

This time, another magician stepped up.

She seemed quite new to the Magic Tower, with a freshness evident on her face.

“Excuse me! Then, Grand Magician Kaplan, will you be conducting your research in the Magic Tower?”

“I don’t particularly plan to.”

The crowd of magicians following me stirred like a great wave.

“Most magicians aim for promotion because they want better treatment within the Magic Tower! What on earth made you decide…”

Without realizing it, I chuckled at her continued questioning.

It seemed she was expecting some grand reason, but my answer was far too simple.

“Because it’s boring.”

Everyone was shocked into silence.

The authority of the Magic Tower, which solidified its position as a magic research institution, was absolute.

Who would dare describe the Magic Tower as boring?

Only I could say such a thing. I enjoyed things only I could do.

I had strived and would continue to strive to do such things. That’s why I drew a line, refusing to stay in the Magic Tower.

If it’s something others can easily do, it’s not interesting.

“Boring, boring you say? The Magic Tower, where you can explore magic with top magicians, is considered the most enjoyable place for a magician… What exactly do you find boring?”

“Forming groups is the trait of the weak.”

I was honest.

I prefer luxury and indulgence over frugality and thrift, and I often act on impulse rather than diligence.

To someone like me, the Magic Tower is suffocating. It’s full of pretense.

There are too many constraints, and the structure of magicians who have no intention of progressing any further, setting their peak and praising each other, is distasteful.

“Then what are your plans…”

“I’ll think about it while resting.”

The magicians reacted intensely to every word I spoke. There were still many questions rushing at me.

Among them were criticisms disguised as questions.

“I believe that with a promotion to the highest rank comes responsibility! For the advancement of the magical world, you should remain in the Magic Tower…”

“Merhen is a rank you can reach without any guidance. As a Merhen, I guarantee it.”

The magician who was about to lash out at me clamped his mouth shut.

“Please! Even if you don’t stay in the Magic Tower, at least publish the interpretation of your latest research! All the magicians are eagerly awaiting that interpretation!”

Around that time, I stepped onto the podium.

“Sure. Isn’t that why I came to the Magic Tower today?”

As I pulled out a document from my pocket, silence fell over the room.

This lightweight document was the reason I visited the Magic Tower today. It was the material that interpreted the thesis on ancient magic.

“Well… To start with, I trust there isn’t a single magician who failed to understand the contents of the first page.”

Everyone nodded, waiting for my next words.

It’s always more agonizing when things are left incomplete. They were likely thirsting for knowledge more than ever since their interpretation got stuck at the most interesting part.

However.

Fwoosh—!

The one and only document crumbled to ashes in my hand. That was my answer.

“……!”

Everyone silently gasped in shock. As I looked at their stunned faces, I continued.

“If you can’t interpret it on your own, you’re not ready to approach ancient magic… That’s my conclusion and interpretation.”

One magician hurriedly ran over, grasping at the ashes that remained.

“Kaplan! What on earth are you doing! If we could utilize ancient magic, the world would become twice as great…!”

“The world may become great. But magicians are not yet great enough.”

The professors turned pale, their lips quivering. The look on their faces, those who had only pursued easy gains, was satisfying.

As I turned to leave the Magic Tower behind those faces.

“I support whatever choice you make, Mr. Kaplan.”

That voice was unusually clear.

In an instant, it drowned out all other sounds, leaving only its message in my ears.

So, I couldn’t help but stop in my tracks.

“However, there’s one thing I’d like to ask. Could you tell me how you truly feel right now, Mr. Kaplan?”

My true feelings. My true feelings, huh.

Unconsciously, I opened my mouth again.

“How empty.”

I almost said, “It’s nothing special,” but considering I was still in front of the magicians, I moderated my words.

I still loved magic. The path of the magician, pursuing truth and wisdom, remained a noble royal road to me.

However.

Upon reaching the summit, there was nothing but emptiness.

With the singular determination to reach this point, I had set countless subordinate goals and achieved them all tenaciously.

I had thought I wouldn’t achieve it even after I died.

Or that I would only achieve it right before I died. But it was already over.

The clear voice continued.

“Then Mr. Kaplan, how would you feel if you found yourself in a position where you had to prove yourself again?”

Proving myself.

Having grown up without parents, I had to prove that, despite my upbringing, I was not lacking compared to others.

Then I had to prove my magical skills, my courage in tackling difficult challenges, my creativity in theories…

Throughout my life, I had been given numerous tasks, all of which I completed, ultimately becoming a Grand Magician.

Looking back, it wasn’t so bad. If there’s another task that I must prove, I’d like to take it on.

“It sounds fun.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

It was only then that I realized the reporter I had been conversing with had no face.

Beyond discomfort, it was bizarre.

Where there should have been a face, there was only a pitch-black circle; he lacked all the features one would expect—eyes, nose, mouth, ears.

I didn’t have much time to dwell on the sense of unease.

“……!”

Suddenly, everything went white.

A disturbing ringing filled my ears, and I found it difficult to breathe.

What kind of magic is this? I tried to approach it as I would a spell, but I felt no magic.

So it wasn’t magic? That only made it more incomprehensible. I should be the only one who has reached the rank of Merhen.

All my senses faded away. In the void, only my thoughts remained, floating.

Could this be the task I must now prove myself against?

If that’s the case…

‘This could be interesting.’

◈

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m really sorry for changing my mind… but I don’t think I can date you after all.”

The first thing I heard after the disturbing ringing subsided was the voice of a woman I didn’t know.

Someone was delivering a breakup to me.

I wanted to check my surroundings, but it wasn’t easy. It took time for my eyes to adjust to the light.

I inhaled and exhaled. I could breathe. Fortunately, it seemed I was still alive.

“To be honest, Flan, you probably expected this, right? Oh no, was the shock too much?”

I felt a tapping on my shoulder. It was then that my eyes snapped open.

The person who touched me was someone I didn’t know. A woman I had never seen before was looking at me with a regretful expression.

I didn’t know who she was.

And I didn’t know where I was.

“……”

Though I didn’t know where this was, I did know what kind of place it was.

A blackboard at the front, desks, and chairs arranged at a certain distance from it.

Even without someone explaining it to me, this was clearly a classroom.

‘A classroom?’

The woman across from me was still watching my expression.

Her golden hair shone brightly in the light streaming through the window,

and her blue eyes were like a lake.

She was beautiful, but I didn’t have the luxury to admire her looks. The problem was that I didn’t know this woman at all.

“To be honest… I want to date a man I can respect. Someone like Louis.”

I didn’t have any recent memories of confessing to or receiving a confession from anyone.

But what was this strange atmosphere? It was deeply unsettling.

“No matter how hard I try, when I see you struggling with magic, I feel like I’m losing affection for you without even realizing it.”

She continued speaking calmly.

“So, the promise to date is off. Let’s just be on greeting terms at the academy.”

The academy?

The cradle of education where magicians are nurtured. It’s been a long time since I graduated from the academy.

Now that I looked closely, the woman in front of me was wearing the academy uniform. The name tag on her chest read ‘Hayley.’

I needed more time to understand the situation, but I first wanted to correct the absurd misunderstanding that I didn’t know even basic magic.

“I know everything.”

“Huh? You don’t know.”

“I really know everything.”

After saying that, I was startled. The voice that came out was that of a boy who had just entered puberty.

“Ah. Ah.”

Yes, this wasn’t my voice.

It seemed that something had gone seriously wrong.