Chapter 25: Magic Reinvented

The place that has become the coziest for me is the Training Chamber.

“The Dimensional Pouch is definitely convenient.”

There were a lot more items now, but everything slipped easily into the Dimensional Pouch.

I engraved them simply using magic power. Unless a mage on my master’s level or higher checked, no one would be able to open it. It was a spell that couldn’t be broken. I could be at ease, knowing security wasn’t an issue.

“First, I need to get moving with what I’ve already packed.”

Rumor has it that the monsters in the North are almost dealt with. I’ve also heard that Father and Master, who went to provide support, will be returning soon.

Before that, I needed to make up for the magic training I’d neglected.

Up to now, I’d been focusing solely on increasing my inner strength, so my magic training had been lacking. Since my intent had been on building internal energy rather than magic, that says it all.

Thanks to that, my Mugong had advanced to the point where I could even manifest Sword Qi. I had already reached the fourth star of Hyeonwon Dan Shingong.

Though I still have a long way to go, my Mugong was well established now.

So, next is—

“This time, I’ll use internal energy to enhance my magic power.”

It’s time to advance my magic. I’m confident. Up to the third class, it’s about learning techniques rather than gaining enlightenment. All I need is to fill in the lacking magic power.

Preparations are complete. The method is simple.

You want to know how?

Ssssss—

“These two should be enough. It’s a shame, but there’s no time.”

I’ve prepared a mid-low grade Magic Stone this time. I intend to use it as an offering.

The magic power contained in a Magic Stone is as pure as natural mana. If I draw it in with my internal energy technique and store it in my danjeon, it becomes inner strength. What is refined by the mind technique becomes internal energy.

But what if I only draw it in, without refining it through my mind technique?

Normally, it would just disperse back into nature…

If I could settle the magic power, which is close to nature’s own energy, into my magic circle…

“Then it’s not inner strength, but magic power itself that advances.”

That would save me a lot of time.

There’s a chance the mid-low grade Magic Stone might shatter. If I draw in too much natural energy with the mind technique, it might only turn into inner strength.

To increase my magic power, I’d have to meditate while running the mind technique at the same time—a difficult task.

‘Still, it’s more fun because it’s hard.’

I was about to attempt that difficult task now.

“The formation is complete. The Magic Stone is ready. The only thing left is my part.”

I sat cross-legged and gradually fell into meditation.

10000-

With my will, I stimulated the Magic Stone. As the Magic Stone resonated with my inner strength, a surge of energy began to build.

‘Now!’

Huuuup.

Time to absorb the magic power.

There were days of trial and error.

Meditating while running the mind technique at the same time was difficult.

Even just running one mind technique is hard. Ordinary people often struggle with it at all. Holding energy in the body is, by its nature, a difficult task.

Yet, while doing that, I also had to meditate to draw in magic power.

Doing two difficult things at once—far harder than using your left and right hands for different tasks; it was several times, no, dozens of times harder.

‘It was a tough process.’

In Murim, the Wudang Sect’s Yangyi Mind Technique is said to allow you to think and act on two things at once. I wanted to learn that mysterious art.

But after a few tries, I managed to pull it off.

“The answer was surprisingly simple.”

I just had to utilize the nature of meditation to gather magic power. With even a little concentration, meditation easily drew in magic power. It was just that adjusting the mind technique was much harder.

It was only difficult because I had no knack for it. Once I got the hang of it, doing both at once became possible at once.

“Anyway… From the Huajing level, the middle danjeon opens up, and you have to control both anyway, don’t you?”

Eventually, it would become natural. I’d just succeeded at it faster.

And as a result—

Whooooo—

My magic circle had transformed into two thick circles. Each one was much thicker than those of other magicians. The arrangement of magic power was also dense and sticky.

“In sheer size, it’s twice as big. Actual power… Magic Missile!”

Kwaaang! Bang!

Two Magic Missiles formed instantly and slammed into the iron scarecrows in the training yard.

Even though they were made of iron, the scarecrow’s body crumpled with a dull thud.

Even without spin, it was more powerful than a spun Magic Missile. Its power was at least three times as great.

Depending on my intention, I could make even more Magic Missiles.

“Just one more circle, and I can do so much more.”

With one circle of magic power, you could use only one at a time. Even if you poured in more magic power, only the power would increase.

Every time you used magic, the circle would be put under strain, which you had to endure alone. The thicker the circle, the easier it was to endure—but that was all.

Now it was different. The two magic circles worked in tandem. Each circle shared the burden that one circle would have to bear alone.

“It’s like a dual core.”

The overload created by using magic was cut in half.

‘It’s like a CPU.’

This was an unexpected effect.

No wonder magicians are so eager to raise their circles.

With the strain on the circle split in half, the power of spells increases, and casting magic becomes easier.

With lower-level magic, you could even cast the same spell multiple times simultaneously.

‘I knew it in my head… but you really have to experience it.’

I already knew that gaining another circle would make magic stronger.

But feeling it for myself was different. Few seemed to know the reason so clearly. Even Master only said it’d make me stronger and casting easier, without having a perfectly established theory.

‘This is fun.’

It felt like I had another thing to do now.

The reason my mind technique is so powerful is simple. Unlike Auran Yeongongbeop in this world, it is much more theoretically advanced.

It’s been developed further and refined by countless geniuses, making it stronger.

Magic will be the same. If I don’t just stop at learning, but manage to establish a new theory—

‘I’ll get even stronger.’

Like with my mind technique, it might become possible to improve faster than Auran Yeongongbeop, and to master it more quickly.

Thump thump.

It feels like I’ve found a new toy. Just like Mugong did for Jegal Hyeon in my previous life.

“Then, shall I build a system?”

It’s time to establish my own system. The power of magic. The burden on the circle. The method of interlinking. There was so much to do.

While Rayrn was pioneering a new path in magic—

The Count was able to set foot in his castle again. His party included the eldest son, who had been away from home for a long time.

They had finished clearing up and returned together.

Contrary to his nickname, the Silent Knight, he was actually warmhearted. He couldn’t just leave all the clean-up to his son and return alone.

Thanks to that, it took a long time, but no one complained.

“Then, I’ll be taking my leave.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes, sir! Thank you for your hard work, Count!”

The Knight Order members who had been brought to support the North all returned to their respective posts.

Among the soldiers, those who were injured had already been returned to various parts of the domain.

“It’s been a while.”

The Count finished the turmoil in the North and returned.

Though he’d returned, there was no party.

Instead of a party, he only arranged a simple banquet to mark the end. There was much to do. The Count was not one to delay work.

Letmen, Goblin, Lizardman. There were the corpses of large monsters caught during the subjugation as well. All of it needed to be dealt with.

The scale of the trade was so great that he’d even requested dispatch of magicians from the Magic Tower in the kingdom.

The Magic Tower.

It was maintained in two forms.

There were five Magic Towers, each with branches in every country.

Elemental, dealing with elemental magic. Enchant, producing magical artifacts. Summon, focusing on summoning and charm magic. Illusion, involved in dreams and illusions. And the hidden Under, created by those who delved into forbidden magic.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say these Magic Towers have been with humanity throughout history.

Before the kingdoms were founded, towers were built by magicians seeking the secrets of the world.

With the power of magic taught and handed down by dragons, humanity built their domains, with much help from these towers.

The last, fifth one—Under—remained hidden.

Except for them, the rest of the Magic Towers showed their branches openly at each royal palace.

The combined power of the towers rivaled that of a kingdom.

Those belonging to the towers took pride in their tower, building them in the name of their branch of magic.

Besides these, each kingdom had its own national Magic Tower, raising magicians under its name.

Usually, the tower took the name of the kingdom—in this case, Malexia. This was the Magic Tower formed mainly of palace magicians.

“The Enchant Tower would be best. What do you think?”

“Enchant Tower… It’s a reasonable choice. I’ll send a request right away.”

Enchant was the best for selling monster corpses. Creating magical items required a large number of monster corpses.

Enchant Tower responded right away.

The magician who symbolized command wore five knots on his arm, representing the tower.

It meant a 5th class.

“Ahem… I am Henson. May I take a look now? Let’s see. Hmmm…”

He had a habit of wiping his nose. It seemed casual, but his gaze was sharp.

A 5th class magician was eligible to hold a count’s rank in the kingdom.

The Count of Ophern treated the magician examining the monsters with utmost importance.

“What do you think?”

“It’s a mixed batch, but not bad. No, it’s good.”

A magician’s magic power becomes turbid when lying. That’s why magicians never lie. They only hide the truth when necessary.

Since they’d done business several times before, Henson was straightforward in his assessment.

“With such a large purchase, a bit of a discount would be possible, right? We aren’t rich either.”

“It’s the first I’ve heard that the Magic Tower lacks funds. If the price is fair, I can agree.”

“Ahem… Experiments are costly, always short on money. Not a lie. How about three hundred thousand gold?”

“Hmm…”

“I’ll throw in one hundred swords with Sharpness, and one hundred shields with Shield as well.”

“Hm… That’s less than usual.”

“I’ll say it on my honor. This is a good deal. Demand for magical items has increased thanks to the thieves.”

“And aren’t there fewer people catching monsters? That means fewer corpses, what with all the feuds breaking out.”

“Ahem. That’s why I’m including magical items.”
Though not much money, the promise of magical items they produced. In a large transaction, bartering was common.

‘Not bad.’

Honestly, it was a good deal.

Recruiting and training soldiers was expensive. But if he supplied knights with magical items imbued with Shield or Sharpness, their fighting power would rise considerably.

“If you’ll also handle recharging the magic after depletion, I’ll accept.”

“Ahem… Three times for recharge! More is difficult.”

“Agreed. Let’s make the deal.”

“Let’s settle things quickly. I’ll give you two hundred thousand gold as a down payment. The rest will be brought later.”

“Very well.”

“May the blessing of mana be with you.”

Deals with magicians, whose lifeblood was trust, were always quick.

Henson handed over two hundred thousand gold and a Dimensional Pouch. The pouch was heavy.

No need to check.

A magician wouldn’t lie about something like this. Even after saying he had no money, he handed over the gold easily.

Considering the Count’s estate’s income, this was a hefty sum.

‘That’s a relief.’

With this money, many overdue matters could be handled.

It would cover recruiting, training, even operating the estate. There was even room to reward accomplishments.

Some of the remaining funds would need to be saved for the future.

“Whew… How much needs to be paid right away?”

“About a hundred thousand gold will go for war expenses.”

“A hundred thousand… Good. Take care of it immediately.”

Finishing the transaction and dealing with war expenses took quite some time.

If there was any consolation, it was that with one major subjugation, monster activity would likely be light this year.

“Tiring…”

With a sigh, the Count moved to deal with internal affairs.

Cleaning up the underworld. Maintaining public order in the inner and outer citadel.

‘How much has it grown…’

No matter how many times you cut it, the underworld organization is like weeds—roots always remain. Eradicating them completely is impossible.

Still, before it got too large, he needed to cut it down. Even to the Count, the underworld organization seemed too big now.

Thinking how they’d expanded while he was gone made him dizzy. But then—

“…Is this true?”

The report that Administrator Myuron brought was far outside his expectations.

To clear his mind, the Count sent Myuron away.

Sitting alone in the Lord’s study, he thought long and hard. But no matter how many times he looked, the report was the opposite of his expectations.

He thought the underworld would have grown deep roots in his absence, but it had been cleansed.

‘Why…’

It had gotten smaller—so small, it barely existed anymore.

This month, reports said commercial income from the inner and outer citadel had increased. The number of incidents had dramatically dropped.

‘What in the world happened…’

After sending Myuron away, the Count of Ophern pondered for a long time.

It didn’t sit right.

Had his daughter managed well while he was away?

No. Though she had promise as a knight, that was all. Sweeping away the underworld was too much. According to reports, she’d done well, but only to that extent.

Supporting her growth as a knight had more promise.

Even his eldest son Eldin, who had better leadership than his daughter, hadn’t managed it.

‘Strange… very strange.’

There are no results without cause in this world. But the underworld had been cleaned up, and he didn’t know why.

“There are too many strange things happening.”

The appearance of a Goblin Shaman. The monster rampage. Bands of thieves. Even his youngest son’s awakening that he’d worried about.

To the Count of Ophern, too many things were happening without apparent cause.

He could only be thankful they weren’t going in a bad direction.

But still, if too much happened in the domain without his knowledge, it meant he wasn’t fully in control.

“This is difficult… Hmm?”

At that moment, there was a knock on the study door.

“Young Lord Eldin has come to see you.”

“Let him in.”

A visit from Eldin.

The Count of Ophern thought perhaps his eldest son had come for the same reasons as himself.

“Father.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“That is…”

But the story that followed was nothing of the sort.