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“……”

Ethan and Roanna’s work was well-coordinated. Roanna’s deconstruction speed far exceeded what Ethan had anticipated.

‘She’s growing rapidly.’

As she dismantled each spell, she showed growth that amazed Ethan. Her sense in understanding and utilizing the interpretation Ethan provided was remarkable.

‘No wonder no one could touch her at the academy.’

Prestigious academies like Ivecar are tiger’s dens.

Just as Ethan was targeted by noble students as soon as he entered his first class, there’s a clear hierarchy among students.

‘There must be no student who doesn’t know about Prochet.’

They gather information to create a hierarchy among students somehow.

And with that collected information, they determine the pecking order.

The Prochet domain, famous for being the only spirit mage tower in the south. But the only daughter of the domain that was ruined because of that very spirit mage tower.

‘Perfect prey.’

But who is Roanna?

Roanna was a mage with talent said to be no less than Yerica’s.

‘Their fields are slightly different. Some might rate Roanna’s talent much higher than Yerica’s.’

One thing was certain: both seemed to have no limit to their growth potential.

With such skills, who could look down on Roanna at the academy? Even if her domain had fallen, her personal abilities were like this.

‘Of course, those who would look down on her would still try. But they couldn’t touch someone evaluated as a pillar of the Magic Department’s golden age.’

It could be said that Professor Duty deserves great credit for recognizing and nurturing Roanna’s talent.

Despite Roanna’s rapidly increasing skills, she couldn’t help but be astonished by the magic before her eyes.

“My goodness.”

Roanna unconsciously opened her mouth.

While speed was crucial in dismantling magic circles, she couldn’t help but pause before the magic in front of her.

“How on earth is this magic installed? I can’t even tell where it begins.”

‘Here it comes.’

Exactly halfway.

This could be considered the second gateway.

‘The first gateway was the entrance. The second gateway is the middle of this path, right here.’

After passing this point, only the third and final gateway connecting directly to where the Spirit King is located remains.

“Phew.”

Ethan took a calm deep breath.

It’s a magic he already knows. However, this magic was one where the magic circle itself changes as if it were alive.

Shaaak-

Click!

The magic circle transformed with a mechanical sound.

And 10 seconds later, it transformed again.

Of course, upon close inspection, there was a kind of pattern, but at first glance, it showed seemingly random changes.

That’s why the Spirit King had set it up as the second gateway.

“It keeps changing… How on earth are we supposed to solve this…?”

Roanna gritted her teeth at this form of magic she had never seen before.

Since joining Ethan, she often felt like a beginner again.

At that moment, a ticking sound reached both their ears.

It was the sound of the repetition array starting to operate.

If they dawdled here, all the magic they had dismantled so far would be restored.

“Teacher?”

Quick decisions were needed at times like this. There would always be another chance next time.

But Ethan was preparing to break through this ever-changing magic circle.

“Roanna, prepare to break the technique.”

At those words, Roanna clenched her teeth. If the teacher judged that he could solve it, she had to make sure to fulfill her role in the dismantling.

“Yes!”

The magic of the second gateway continually changes its structure. However, in the very brief moment when that structure changes, for less than 0.5 seconds, the core composing the magic is revealed.

They needed to break through that core.

“Focus on the flow of mana. In a constantly changing magic, there exists a core. We need to catch that core. For a very brief moment, the center that oversees the magic’s changes is exposed. Don’t look with your eyes, feel the flow.”

At Ethan’s words, Roanna closed her eyes.

And she directed all her senses towards the magic in front of her.

“Let it flow.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Roanna channeled mana into the magic circle.

“Control the flow, shatter the magic circle.”

Kwaaak-!

A momentary disturbance occurred in the changing magic. Roanna had completely grasped the feeling. There was no need for Ethan to speak anymore.

Roanna’s mana had already permeated the magic circle.

The flow and subtle control were entirely Roanna’s responsibility now.

Click-!

For an instant.

The core of the magic circle was revealed, and Roanna didn’t miss that timing.

The flow of mana struck the core of the magic circle directly.

Dismantle.

As the core was dismantled, the magic circle’s changes stopped.

And then.

Crumble-

Pueeong-!

With a thunderous sound, the magic circle collapsed. Simultaneously, the path that had been blocked by magic opened up.

“Huff… huff…”

Roanna, who had shown incredible concentration in such a short time, was drenched in sweat.

Ethan praised her.

“Well done.”

At Ethan’s praise, Roanna blankly stared at her own hands.

Something tingled from her toes to the crown of her head, as if electricity had passed through her.

“It worked, Teacher.”

Roanna looked at Ethan with a bright smile.

“I’ll never doubt your words again, Teacher.”

-Your survival probability has slightly increased!

***

“……”

Tror continued to watch the two humans with his arms crossed.

“To think they’d break through that in such a short time.”

That magic isn’t something that can be solved so easily.

After all, would he have set up magic that could be solved from where he was sitting?

“My life depends on this. It’s not something that can be broken through so easily. How on earth in such a short time……”

Tror was currently injured. If he were to be attacked in this state, he would have no choice but to die.

“Just who are these two humans? Why are they looking for me?”

By this point, he was curious. Why these two humans, who defied common sense, were trying to find him.

He was curious about the purpose of these two humans who were dismantling the best magic he had set up and advancing without hesitation.

“Are they thinking… of killing me for sure.”

If that was the reason, he wouldn’t sit still and let himself be killed.

“Is it revenge?”

Perhaps they could be here to take revenge for the only contractor he had abandoned and left behind.

If not that, they could be humans endowed with demon power.

“But I don’t sense any demonic energy.”

Various speculations crossed Tror’s mind, but he couldn’t quite figure it out.

Zzzzzzzz-!

The spirit artifacts rang once again.

It was already the last gateway. Before Tror could even respond, the last gateway was dismantled by the hands of the two humans.

Now there was nothing visible on the spirit artifacts.

At the same time, the spirit artifacts turned off completely.

Kugugugung-!

A thunderous sound arose. Tror turned his head towards the direction of the sound.

In the empty space where there had been nothing, a black line in the shape of a rectangle was drawn, gradually transforming into something like a door.

Eventually, the formed door slowly began to open.

They were two incredibly young humans.

A slender young human man slowly came forward. The human woman stood slightly behind the human man.

“Greetings, Spirit King.”

Ethan slightly bowed his head to the Spirit King in greeting.

“…Let me ask you one thing, humans. Did you come to kill me?”

“If we had come to kill you, we would have already charged in swinging a sword imbued with the Elemental Slayer attribute.”

The Elemental Slayer was an attribute that could deal great damage to spirits.

As Ethan said these frightening words with a smiling face, the Spirit King, still unable to fully grasp the situation, narrowed his eyes slightly.

Roanna, standing behind Ethan, was looking at Tror with wide eyes, unable to hide her curiosity and wonder.

While one side couldn’t hide their curiosity and wonder, the thoughts of the other side were impossible to discern.

“Then what is it? Why did you seek me out? No, how did you find me… and how did you get here?”

Tror spoke without pause.

“Who are you two?”

Ethan didn’t answer and approached the Spirit King one step at a time. Although the Spirit King was wary of Ethan, Ethan paid no mind.

His attitude suggested that he already knew the Spirit King wouldn’t attack him.

“Let’s talk slowly. After closing the door again, that is.”

***

“So you’re that…”

Tror looked at Roanna with a surprised expression.

“Yes, Sloan Prochet, who was Spirit King’s former contractor, is my great-grandfather.”

“Huh, he was a man of extraordinary talent. It’s a shame that talent wasn’t passed down to his son, which saddened him. It feels like just yesterday. Roanna, was it? Sloan’s talent has been passed down to you intact.”

In the long history of the Prochet family, Roanna’s great-grandfather, Sloan Prochet, was a mage of great talent.

Of course, his end wasn’t particularly good, but his talent was real.

“Thank you for the compliment. But… I’d like to apologize first.”

“No, child. You don’t need to apologize. That was Sloan’s fault, not something for Sloan’s bloodline to apologize for.”

Tror, who spoke firmly, now looked at Ethan.

“And… you said your name was Ethan Whiskers?”

“Yes.”

Tror nodded at Ethan’s answer.

“Now I understand why you’ve come. You want me to restore the life force to Prochet, which has lost all its vitality, don’t you?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Since that incident, Prochet has been on the path of decline. It’s very difficult to survive in the South without any distinguishing features, especially with so many competitors.”

Ethan continued calmly.

“At this rate, the Prochet family line might be cut off. The very Prochet family that once produced a contractor of the Spirit King.”

“……”

Tror frowned slightly.

Although quite some time had passed since then, it was only a long time by human standards.

For himself, a Spirit King, it felt as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.

“You must know why I reclaimed all of Prochet’s life force and disappeared, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

From Tror’s perspective, it was nothing short of a major betrayal.

And now they come asking for the return of what he had taken back?

“Then you must also understand how shameless your proposal seems to me.”

“Yes, I understand. After such an incident, asking for the life force to be returned to Prochet, there’s nothing more shameless than that.”

At Ethan’s words, Roanna looked at Ethan with a puzzled expression. And so did Tror.

“I didn’t come here to make a request.”

“…What?”

“I came to make a deal.”

To persuade the Spirit King, one must not appeal to emotions.

So, the persuasion is cloaked under the name of a deal.

“I will give you what you need most right now, Spirit King.”

Author's Thoughts

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