Chapter 1. The Great 1-Circle Mage (1)
The continent's greatest mage tower, the Penitudo mage tower.
Sprawled on its cold floor, the old mage Roden was dying.
‘So… this is how it ends.’
A half-genius mage.
Roden, who had heard that mocking nickname his entire life, felt his body grow cold as he watched the scenes of his life flash one by one before his eyes.
Looking back, it was truly a life full of regrets.
[I never had a shred of doubt that I was a person beloved by books. No matter how difficult the content held within a book, I understood it as soon as I read it, and it was never forgotten for my entire life. But now, a child more brilliant than me is before my very eyes.]
Roden was born with a genius brain, enough to receive such praise from the great mage Terion Marvelous at only eight years old.
But unfortunately, Roden never reached the stage of 2-Circle in his sixty years of life.
It was because of his mana affinity, which unbelievably refused to improve.
In the end, his stagnant growth drove Roden to excommunication.
That was why Roden came to work as a librarian at the age of twenty-four.
Fortunately, Roden was not a person who was easily discouraged.
Anyone else would not have been able to overcome despair and get back on their feet as easily as Roden had.
Going from a promising talent of the Penitudo mage tower to working as a librarian for a meager salary, barely enough to make ends meet, was just that difficult.
It might have been different if he had been hired as a librarian from the start.
This was a clear downfall.
‘What’s more, it was the most humiliating downfall, one where I had to endure and endure all sorts of ridicule and contempt.’
Still, it was books that held Roden's unfortunate life together.
Whenever he was ignored for being an excommunicated disciple, or teased for being a mana cripple, Roden delved deeper into the world of books.
He did not discriminate by genre.
He read whatever he could get his hands on, and the more difficult the content, the more deeply he pored over it.
It was when he had been working as a librarian for about ten years.
Before he knew it, dozens of high-level magic theories had been newly established by Roden's hand.
The most difficult books housed in the mage tower's library were, by far, high-level magic tomes, and Roden's brilliant brain, greatly stimulated by reading them, had established new theories.
However, these theories were nothing more than half-baked.
As a mere 1-Circle mage, Roden's magic level was too low to conduct the experiments to prove them.
‘…If Yusupa hadn't visited my room drunk that day, all the theories I established would probably never have seen the light of day.’
Yusupa was an initiate who had entered the Penitudo mage tower with Roden.
At the same time, he was the only one who could be called a friend, the one who offered words of comfort to Roden even when everyone else pointed fingers.
Was it because of the kinship they felt, both being orphans from the same slum and unable to succeed due to the limits of their innate abilities?
In any case, it was true that Yusupa's existence was a great comfort to Roden.
And after Yusupa became an official disciple of the Penitudo mage tower, barely making 3-Circle.
Whenever he got thoroughly drunk, he would look for Roden.
It was a kind of drunken habit, and that day was no different.
Drunk, Yusupa barged into Roden’s room, which was as cold as a crypt and located in the inner part of the library, and began to bemoan his lot.
“Damn it! I was passed over for promotion to Adept Mage again! Is being from the streets such a great crime? Is it a crime!”
Yusupa’s complaints were not much different than usual.
As always, it was about being passed over for promotion to Adept Mage because of the contempt he received for being from the streets.
In reality, it was happening because his magic level was lower and his research achievements were lacking compared to his peers, who were 4-Circle on average, but Roden did not bother to open his mouth and state the facts.
It was obvious that Yusupa would be hurt.
If Yusupa hadn't chanced upon Roden’s magic theories, that day would have likely passed just like any other.
With Yusupa ranting until his anger subsided and Roden listening quietly.
But,
“What’s so wrong about me having lived by stealing and eating dog food on the streets! For me to live like that… huh?”
By chance, the magic theories Roden had neatly organized on paper caught Yusupa's eye.
And that event completely changed not only Yusupa's life but Roden's as well.
Yusupa, who had sobered up completely before he knew it, read what Roden had written for a long while and then asked.
“The experiment to prove the theory you established…. Can I be the one to conduct it?”
A few months later.
Yusupa succeeded in proving Roden’s first established theory, <The Existence of Pure Mana and Its Effect on the Power of Magic>, through an experiment.
This experiment, which completely overturned the conventional wisdom that the power of magic was determined solely by the amount of mana and the precision of the formula, was a groundbreaking discovery and an achievement that would go down in the history of magic.
Moreover, this was not the only theory Roden had established.
Year after year, theories that would stir up a fresh breeze in the magic world and deliver a great shock were announced one after another through Yusupa's experiments.
And now.
Roden was a master of magic theory, considered one of the foremost on the continent.
He also often heard talk of him being the greatest magic theorist in history.
But to say he was simply happy about it would not be true.
The greater one's fame, the more people there are to envy and be jealous of that ability and reputation.
Behind the praise, not a few people belittled Roden, calling him a half-genius mage.
This ridicule grew even greater when Roden began his research to find a way to increase mana affinity acquired later in life.
The tale of a half-wit struggling to become a real mage somehow was added to the list of taunts.
On top of this, the results of Roden's research were taking longer to emerge than initially expected.
The pressure on Roden naturally couldn't help but grow.
That was how things were until recently.
‘If I had known it would come to this, I shouldn't have been greedy about mana affinity…. No, I should have just been content with reading books and coming up with theories on my own from the very beginning…. If I had, I wouldn't have been betrayed by Yusupa like this….’
That was right.
The reason Roden was currently lying on the cool floor of the mage tower, dying, was because of Yusupa's betrayal.
Yusupa, who had purified his mana faster and more accurately than anyone according to the theories Roden had established, was now a 9-Circle mage and the head of the mage tower, respected by countless disciples.
However, there was one other person in the mage tower whose influence and respect were as great as Yusupa's, and that person was none other than Roden.
It was only natural, as all magic in the tower now began from the theories Roden had established.
And this was the reason Roden was now dying.
Yusupa gazed at Roden with eyes of admiration.
“To have nearly completed the research on increasing mana affinity through acquired means…. You are truly amazing! It’s as if you’ve truly received the blessing of books!”
“…Cough, cough.”
“But you should not have started that research. You should have stopped when I told you to. Because if you were to raise your level of magic as well, a being like me would no longer be able to stand by your side.”
“…Yusupa.”
“I’m sorry. But please understand. The chance to become the best all by myself is right before my eyes, how could I just pass it up?”
“……”
“You were a good friend and an outstanding magic theorist, the likes of which history will never see again. That is how you will be remembered. That is the last gift I can give you, so be content with it.”
“……”
“Farewell, my friend.”
With Yusupa's last words, Roden closed his eyes completely.
It was the end of a mage who, with the level of a mere 1-Circle, had been respected by countless mages.
***
Even to Roden, who prided himself on having glimpsed the truth of the world through books, the afterlife was a mystery.
No matter how many books he read dealing with the afterlife, its true nature remained elusive, like a dream that seemed within reach but could not be grasped.
That was why, even at the moment of his death, the following thought came to Roden's mind.
‘Now I’ll be able to witness the afterlife for myself.’
Some might call him complacent, asking if he felt no desire for revenge after losing his life to a friend, but this was Roden’s nature.
He would delve deeply into his inquiries, but he never became captivated by them, obsessing excessively or revealing his emotions.
This was the same in his human relationships.
Roden was saddened and felt it was a pity that Yusupa betrayed him, but he felt no anger over it.
It was not that he had forgiven him.
He was simply incapable of feeling resentment at all.
Since resentment didn't exist in the first place, he couldn't forgive, let alone take revenge.
It was thanks to this nature that Roden was able to find happiness in books even after suffering a great fall in his early twenties.
Thus, the moment Roden closed his eyes, he was seized by a curiosity to explore the afterlife.
But unfortunately, Roden’s curiosity was not resolved.
The moment he closed his eyes,
“Platoon Leader. Please wake up.”
because he heard such a voice.
Roden opened his eyes, feeling bewildered.
And he discovered it.
The sight of a young man standing before him.
What's more, behind him unfolded the scenery of a room he had never seen before.
No, it was not a room.
A barracks.
That was what it ought to be called.
‘Why am I here? Wasn’t I dead?’
At the sight before him, which he could by no means think was the afterlife, Roden had this thought.
In fact, Roden felt his eyelids were heavy and stiff, as if he had just woken from sleep.
It was simple yet certain proof that Roden was acting with a physical body.
That was why Roden had no choice but to ask the young man standing before him this question.
“…Who are you?”
At the same time, he was startled.
Because the voice that flowed from his own mouth was so clear and pure.
Just like a young man's.
However, unlike the startled Roden, the young man answered without batting an eyelid.
“That question again. Very well. I shall explain one more time. I am Deputy Platoon Leader Chevalier, who carried the heavily intoxicated Platoon Leader here and laid you down last night. I have already been assigned to the Platoon Leader's platoon for three months. And for three months, I have been asked who I am by the Platoon Leader every morning.”
Chevalier.
It was a name he had never heard before.
In the first place, using titles like Platoon Leader or Deputy Platoon Leader in a mage tower, where only mages resided, made no sense at all.
Such terms were only used in the military.
Which meant, this place was not the Penitudo mage tower.
A strange place, a strange being, a strange voice.
Various pieces of information to understand the current situation were synthesized in Roden's mind, and in an instant, he reached a single conclusion.
It was…
‘Possession.’
This was it.
For Roden, it was a bewildering affair.
‘Hah. To think I would finally be able to solve the secret of the afterlife, only to gain a new curiosity called possession. What am I to do with this?’
But Roden had no time to be bewildered by this fact.
The reason was simple.
“In any case, we have no time to dawdle like this, Platoon Leader. The Company Commander has summoned you. Let's get going.”
Because Chevalier was saying this to Roden.
First, let's handle the urgent matter and then slowly gather information.
It was the moment Roden thought this and tried to raise his body.
Stagger.
Suddenly, an enormous amount of memories that this body possessed poured into Roden's mind.