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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 15
Alkas was momentarily taken aback.
No, how could he not know this?
It was common knowledge.
Even if he came from a rural area, there was no way he could not know.
To Alkas, Kaylen finally spoke the words he had prepared in advance.
“Why do you think I became a Sword Master? Doesn’t it seem strange? At such a young age, and as a student of the Magic Academy, no less.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
A boy who had never trained, completely distant from a sword, with a body that looked far from a warrior’s.
And yet, this student from the Magic Academy was a Sword Master.
If this story were told outside, no one would believe it.
“I inherited the power and memories of an ancestor who was a former Sword Master. In exchange, I lost some of my current memories.”
“Ah…”
To inherit the power of an ancestor.
If anyone else had said this, they would have been treated as insane.
But since it was Kaylen, a student of the Magic Academy who had shown the divine status of a Sword Master, it didn’t sound like a lie.
As Alkas nodded, Kaylen spoke again.
“Then you need to fill in the gaps of my common sense.”
“Understood. I will tell you everything I know. Mana suits, Meister… Ah, do you not even know why Mana suits were developed?”
“Uh, yes, please explain that as well.”
“Then I will start with that.”
500 years ago.
Suddenly, dungeons appeared in the world. A passageway used by demons from the Demon Realm, a dungeon.
It was known to appear as a precursor to the Demon King’s descent.
‘I thought I had already driven the Demon King away 1,000 years ago.’
Once driven out, the Demon King would not appear for a thousand years.
But dungeons had started appearing 500 years ago?
Kaylen was puzzled, but continued to listen to Alkas’s words.
“According to old records, dungeons were said to disappear if the monsters inside were eliminated and the magic circle erased… But the dungeon that appeared back then was different.”
“How was it different?”
“The dungeon that appeared 500 years ago had a massive core inside it.”
If a dungeon was left unchecked, the surrounding area would be devastated by the monsters that continued to emerge from it.
So, when a dungeon appeared, one of the main tasks of the military was to send a hunting squad to eliminate it.
Kaylen, having commanded the Empire’s army, was an expert in dungeon eradication, but he had never heard of a dungeon core.
“The dungeon’s core resembled a Mana Stone. This could not be destroyed by normal force.”
“Then what happened?”
“It required a very powerful destructive force, the power of Mana. For example, a Sword Master’s Aura Sword… or a method where several high-level mages simultaneously cast powerful magic attacks.”
“Was it that powerful?”
“Yes. For any dungeon of any level, that much power was needed.”
Only with a very strong blow of Mana could the core of the dungeon be destroyed.
No matter how many soldiers, knights, or mages there were, it was all useless.
Unless one reached the highest level, a dungeon could not be destroyed.
However, those who reached that level were extremely few, even if you searched the whole world.
No matter how hard they tried to destroy the dungeon, they could not keep up with the rate at which they appeared.
Moreover, some dungeons housed monstrously strong creatures that made it impossible for even a master to subdue them without taking damage.
As dungeons gradually multiplied, monsters began to emerge from them, and humanity started losing ground.
“The borders no longer held any meaning.” The borders that once defined a nation’s territory. Now, due to the monster uprisings, it no longer mattered whose land this was.
The available forces for dungeon eradication were limited.
Except for the capital and other major cities, almost everything was left abandoned.
It had been 500 years since the appearance of the dungeons.
Humanity’s territory had shrunk, and except for magical teleportation circles, there was no longer any way for nations to interact with each other.
Knights who had reached the Master level, high-level mages of the 6th Circle…
The core forces capable of destroying dungeon cores had gradually dwindled due to constant battles within the dungeons, and humanity’s future seemed hopeless.
“That was when the Mana Suit was introduced.”
The emergence of dungeons didn’t only put humanity in a desperate situation.
Elves, dwarves, and many other races were also facing the threat of losing their homes.
Those who had lived in deep forests and high mountains could not defeat the monsters pouring out of the dungeons and ultimately joined humanity to survive.
The various races that had gathered together studied and created the Mana Suit.
“The Mana Suit is the ultimate weapon among mages, capable of destroying dungeon cores.”
“Oh?”
“With the advent of the Mana Suit, humanity secured the power to attack the dungeons and managed to reclaim much of the land that was lost.”
“I see.”
As Kaylen nodded, Alkas continued.
“The appearance of the Mana Suit may vary, but the basic type resembles a knight’s full plate armor.”
On the surface, it looked like just an ordinary suit of armor.
However, the magic circles etched throughout the suit and the Mana Stones embedded in the head and limbs set the Mana Suit apart.
“The Mana Suit uses the power of Mana Stones to channel the extreme force of a single elemental attribute.”
“A single attribute? One of the four great elements?”
“Yes. Fire, water, wind, earth. By manifesting one of these four elements to its extreme, it raises the strength needed to destroy a dungeon core.”
Focusing on a single attribute was more efficient in terms of destructive power than having mixed elements.
The magic circles and Mana Stones of the Mana Suit were entirely focused on maximizing the power of one elemental attribute.
“And those who specialize in using a single attribute to its extreme are called Meisters.”
“Meisters… So, are they the only ones who can wear a Mana Suit?”
“It’s not that others can’t wear them, but the efficiency drops drastically… so only Meisters typically qualify to use them.”
To use only one attribute to its extreme.
In Kaylen’s era, that would have been unimaginable.
After all, to reach a high level as a knight or a mage, one needed a broad understanding of multiple attributes…
If one becomes fixated on a single attribute, the opportunity for development would disappear.
‘But it seems like the current era is actually encouraging this. Seeing how even talents like Alkas are wasting away like this.’
Kaylen recalled the conversation he had when he accepted Alkas as a subordinate.
- "Are you really… sure about this?"
"I don’t have the talent to become a Meister. I can't even wear a Mana Suit."
"No matter how skilled I am with a sword, if I don’t have the talent for becoming a Meister, in the end, I’m useless."
Without the power of a single dominant attribute, one could not wear a Mana Suit.
“Are Meisters not limited to knights or mages?”
“That’s correct, but… mages generally have the upper hand when it comes to drawing out the power of the attributes, and because of that, they tend to be better treated. Knight-born Meisters usually wear lower-grade Mana Suits that only allow them to fight in close combat, while mage-born Meisters use higher-grade Mana Suits that also allow for long-range attacks.”
“How is the power of the attribute judged?”
“There is a magic circle that measures the strength of the four major attributes. Through that, one’s affinity for each element is determined.”
“Hm, and you…”
“Yes. My affinity for all attributes was the same…”
Alkas spoke as if he regretted it.
Kaylen was left dumbfounded upon hearing that.
Having equal affinity meant that Mana was evenly distributed across all four attributes, allowing them to harmonize.
For a knight, this was a great blessing in training.
Yet Alkas seemed to view it as a regret…
‘The world really has changed.’
The changes in the world brought on by the dungeon cores.
There wouldn’t just be Mana Suits and Meisters.
After organizing the information Alkas had shared in his mind, Kaylen asked again.
“Alkas.”
“Yes?”
“If the dungeons have existed since 500 years ago, does that mean the Demon King hasn’t descended?”
“That’s correct. The Demon King hasn’t descended, and only lower-level demons have appeared sporadically.”
“I see…”
Normally, the appearance of a dungeon would be a signal for the Demon King’s arrival.
But seeing how humanity had managed to survive for 500 years, it seemed the Demon King had not come.
A world vastly different from the one he knew.
Kaylen wanted to see the changes of the era with his own eyes.
Especially the dungeon cores and Mana Suits.
Among them, the Mana Suit was something he could get a glimpse of.
“Alkas, what do I need to do to become a Meister?”
“Do you intend to become a Meister?”
“I just want to see a Mana Suit.”
He had been told that if he became a Meister, he could rent a Mana Suit.
When Kaylen mentioned his contract with the head of the Florence family, Alkas fell into deep thought.
“For knights, the process is complicated. After passing the Meister exam at the Knight Academy, you’ll need to go to a Meister Academy that matches your attribute and train there for many years.”
“Many years?”
“Yes, at least five years…”
Go back to an academy again?
"Five years?"
Furthermore, what they would teach there would likely just be handling the powers of the four major elements.
For Kaylen, who could wield not only the four elements but also the sword of light and darkness, it was hardly an appealing option.
“What about mages?”
“Once you reach the 3rd circle, you can apply for the Meister exam. Mages usually take the exam in their third year at the Magic Academy.”
“The 3rd circle…”
Before forming a Mana Body, it was possible to use 3rd circle magic.
However, now, only one Mana Circle had formed, following the shape of his body.
"Fireball."
Kaylen tried casting a 3rd circle spell as he had done before, but the Fireball didn’t appear. The mana circle could only channel mana through a single circle, and no matter how much he tried, it wouldn’t generate the spell.
“Firebolt.”
Determined, Kaylen tried using a 2nd circle spell. Unlike the Fireball from the 3rd circle, the mana began swirling around in the circle, and a fireball took form.
“It worked.”
“Is… is this Firebolt?” Alkas, who was watching Kaylen summon the Firebolt, was left in astonishment. A typical Firebolt of the 2nd circle would usually be an upgrade of the 1st circle Fire Arrow, taking the form of an arrow.
But this was more like a long spear than an arrow.
The intense heat from it made the surroundings feel as though they could catch fire at any moment.
“Dismiss.”
Kaylen, who was satisfied with the spear-like Firebolt, dismissed it. As he did, the temperature in the room gradually began to cool down.
‘With one circle, it seems I can use up to the 2nd circle magic.’
The mana in the new circle was certainly sufficient, but perhaps due to his incomplete understanding of circle magic, he could only use magic up to the 2nd circle with the one circle marked on his body.
‘To take the Meister exam, I need the 3rd circle.’
He would need to engrave another circle on his body by investing mana.
To do so, an enormous amount of mana would be required…
But fortunately for Kaylen, he had just that amount of mana available.
‘The Mana Stones from the Florence family.’
One high-grade Mana Stone.
Five medium-grade Mana Stones.
With that amount of mana, it would be more than enough to form a new circle.
‘That family is really helping me a lot.’
Originally, Lina de Florence, the true owner of Kaylen’s body, who had used him without hesitation, now appeared almost... appealing in his eyes.
‘I’ll make good use of it.’
Three days later, Kaylen was able to inscribe another circle onto his body.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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