19 - Make Dark Fantasy Great Again

Dark Fantasy Normalization Chapter 19 > BookRabbit - Web Novel Archives "My disciple? It might be tough, but could you maintain the current state for a moment?" "Leave it to me." Fwoosh! Simultaneously with Risir’s confident reply, the mana and wind gathered in his hands dispersed in all directions. The magic was crafted relying on an instantaneous gut feeling and instinct rather than refined experience and knowledge, so the moment any will intervened, it crumbled. "... I meant to just leave it alone. There's no guarantee of returning it—" “Oh, rebellious.” Roera tousled her wind-ruffled hair and playfully grinned. “Rebellious? Roera, Risir wouldn't do that. It’s probably my fault for misspeaking. I meant to tell him to withdraw the magic immediately, but I got tongue-tied. Risir just noticed.” “Damn it, Pamon. It’s heartbreaking. Even a forsaken husband wouldn’t be as pitiful. How did he end up like this?” “Master, I’m sorry. I tried to focus, but suddenly felt scattered—it must be because the magic was cast relying on the feeling of the moment.” Even while Pamon joked, she was analyzing the energy of the mana scattered in the area. Her silver eyes stared into the void, her long fingers brushing the air like touching water droplets. “Is this the result of relying on a momentary feeling?” Pamon muttered meaningfully and began to look around. “What—an intrusion?” “No, no, it’s not that—” Pamon calmed Roera, who was about to rise with her sword, and continued speaking. “I was just checking the state of this place. Maybe there’s something peculiar I missed. Like, the energy of the wind is unusually strong?” “Ah. So the reason he could make that wind arrow-like thing earlier?” “I thought it was something like that—” “... Thought?” She looked at Risir as she spoke. “My disciple?” “Yes, Master.” “Are you feeling alright? Is there anywhere uncomfortable?” At Pamon's words, Risir calmly assessed his condition. “A bit tired, but nothing to worry about.” “That's a relief. Then, my disciple? Can you recreate that one more time?” Risir nodded and immediately began to concentrate. “...” A mass of mana forms— But disperses before taking the shape of an arrow. Risir tilts his head. He repeats. Repeats. Repeats. “Phew... Phew...” The series of processes repeated several times. His breathing noticeably roughened, and sweat trickled down Risir's face. “...” Roera didn’t understand magic. Thus, she didn’t comprehend Risir’s condition, and that made her even more worried. Roera glanced at Pamon. Is that okay for him to continue? She intended to ask but ultimately tucked the question away again. To offer an uneducated opinion felt presumptuous, especially since Pamon's expression was incredibly serious. Behind her smiling eyes, her silver irises glimmered as she intently focused on Risir. "Is this really alright?" An absent-minded murmur. Roera couldn’t fully grasp its meaning. *** “Huff... huff...” His clothes were already drenched with sweat. Legs trembling violently. Plop. Ultimately, Risir lost strength in his legs and collapsed onto the spot. He quickly checked above his palm in alarm. “Whew...” A relieved smile spread across his lips. The wind arrow he completed right before was still there. The size had significantly shrunk compared to before. But it wasn’t merely to make control easier. ‘Then?’ Self-question. And silence. Risir couldn’t answer his own question. His current knowledge lagged far behind his abilities. In other words, his abilities were growing at a pace his knowledge couldn’t keep up with. Risir clearly felt the magic arrow he had created. Moreover, he controlled it. “Oh...” An exclamation escaped Roera’s mouth. The wind arrow, similar in size to a bead, moved freely according to Risir's hand gestures. “Master?” Risir immediately lifted his head to observe Pamon’s reaction. “...” Deep in contemplation. That was Pamon's answer. She couldn’t take her eyes off the wind arrow Risir had created. ‘Indeed—’ Pamon recalled the first wind arrow Risir made. It was in the general shape of an arrow. The structure was straightforward too. Z2dKbDJFSCtSbEo3WFlpUEN0eDQxWSt3TEMzV2UrSWpiWU00TVVyTFhsRFEyNWRXQ1E1WmtEQ3BYb0N4eEorcA Forming mana into the shape of an arrow and then embodying the properties of the wind. The problem was, Risir hadn’t yet mastered mana structuring. Let alone property control. Mana structuring is the step after mana control, but property control belongs to an entirely different realm. It isn’t even included in the basics of magic. ‘How many steps did he just skip?’ Numerous steps must be traversed from mana structuring to property control. Is it truly possible to skip all those steps and reach the destination? Pamon couldn’t grasp it with her current understanding. No sorcerer would grasp it, surely. Hence, Pamon devised a hypothesis for understanding. Perhaps— He didn’t skip the intermediate stages. He might have already passed through all those stages. He just hasn’t recognized it himself. “Ha!” As her thoughts reached that point, a chuckle slipped from Pamon's mouth. “Master...?” “Hehe. What's this? Hey Risir, whatever it is, it seems you’ve made a huge blunder. Anyway, always acting so cocky—” Roera interpreted Pamon's laughter in her own way and mocked Risir. The outsider sitting on the floor and the wind arrow floating above his hand somehow looked pathetic. “What is this? A scene of collective ostracism? The outcast couldn’t escape the fate of predetermined disdain?” "Bwahaha...!" However, the burst of laughter that followed corrected their misunderstanding. Pamon sat down and her shoulders shook with repeated giggles. Intermittent chuckles that she couldn’t stifle echoed in the air. A moment later, Pamon finally lifted her head. "I'm sorry, Risir. But watching you play with that little magical arrow was just too cute." "...I might be a little hurt by that." "And—" Pamon pondered for a moment. "Pfft...!" And then laughed again. "Risir?" "Yes, Master." "What on earth are you?" "...Yes?" Pamon kneaded Risir's face with both hands. "Where did such a mysterious and precious being come from?" "Heehng, Master...?" "My disciple?" "Yes, Master." To feel mana. To manipulate mana. And to ultimately shape mana into desired forms, one becomes a certified magician. Formal magic. The metric by which a magician proves their qualifications. Risir had proven his qualifications as a magician. And— and— and— She didn’t know. What exactly had Risir proven? What had he accomplished? "Congratulations?" "...Pardon?" Therefore, Pamon chose not to define it presumptuously. She simply offered her blessing, recognizing his talent and potential. *** After pouring all his mental energy and physical strength into a brief period of concentration, Risir fell asleep as soon as he rested. Pamon, Roera, and Duran. The remaining trio resumed their meeting. The meeting's theme was centered entirely around Risir. Among Bendel’s possessions, things that could now benefit Risir. The conversation turned to Bendel's secret vault at that point. In truth, it wasn’t really a 'secret.' For a renowned noble house like Bendel, there is always one secret vault hiding the family's prized possessions. It was a well-known open secret to those who needed to know. The problem was the location of the vault and its contents— "Only the head of the house knows that." "Oh ~ that's perfect ~" "...Perfect, you say?" Leaving with a cryptic remark, Pamon exited the residence. A few hours later, Pamon returned as if nothing had happened. Accompanied by a hideous plant zombie carrying a large chest by its side. "..." For a moment, just a moment, Roera pondered. Ah. Simply going back to Bendel? With Risir and Pamon. In this moment, Roera's world was steadily collapsing as she accompanied the two. "Now then, we’re all set. Shall we start preparing to leave, Hayern?" *** *** *** ────────────────── [Title: What's a Rank Anyway?] Content: They're constantly talking about ranks in the story, does this basically mean levels? ㄴ : Yeah, roughly Level 1-4 is Rank 1 ㄴ : Levels 5-9 are Rank 2 ㄴ : Levels 10-19 are Rank 3 ㄴ [Author] : Damn, people were treating me like a big deal for being a Rank 3 but turns out I'm just a nobody ㄴ : For players, maybe, but in the worldview, you're still pretty strong lol ────────────────── ────────────────── [Title: How Important is the Level < This Thing?] Content: Usually, combat power differs significantly based on rank, right? Is it almost impossible to win if there's a rank difference? - : It's important, but not absolute - : Yep, players can overcome it with skill (control) - : Even in NPC combat events, sometimes the lower rank wins - [Author] : What’s different that makes that possible? - : Skills, yep - : In simple terms, [A level 30, face (low)] person losing to [A level 10, face (high)] person is the comparison - : Great analogy - [Author] : Great analogy, my ass - : So that's why we're always losing... ────────────────── ────────────────── [Title: How Do You Completely Clear Hayern?] Content: [Photo] Here's my cleared fate list, do I need to clear anything more? - : Did you catch the witch? - [Author] : How can I catch what you haven't made capturable? - : Why the foul language... - : The frustration is understandable - : Actually, it's not meant to be cleared all at once in one area - : You're supposed to roam around, solve incidents, level up, farm, and then clear fate with that spec, it’s standard. Without clearing incidents, you won’t have the spec to clear fate - [Author] : I'm level 27, can't I take on the witch with this? - : Clear it and prove it, and I'll give you an apartment in Banpojae, 20 Bitcoins, Tesla with full options - [Author] : What's the witch's level anyway? - : <Link> - [Author] : Hahaha -[Author] : Why would they put this in the starting area? - : Fates are mostly like that, yep - : She's the boss there, so particularly so - : But considering other regional bosses, the witch is quite benign - : For real lol ────────────────── ... ... ... ────────────────── ■ A party has been formed ■ ■ Risir Level: 10 Race: Human Class: ??? ■ Roera Level: 21 Race: Human Class: Swordswoman ■ Fienne Level: 31 Race: True Ancestor Class: Mage [Mental Magic / Blood Magic] ■ Pamon Level: 58 Race: Dark Elf Class: Mage [Nature Magic / Shadow Magic / Black Magic] ────────────────── In the dead of night when everyone was asleep. Pamon left her quarters and headed to Hayern’s library. "Ah. Of course, it’s here too." <Isn't that... ugh. The autobiography of the lunatic who wanted to marry their mirror?> The Star of Radiance. A notorious eccentric infamous for their extremely narcissistic personality and all the bizarre antics that came from it. Yet, despite that notoriety, solely based on magical prowess, they were named one of the greatest wizards of the current era. <A grand wizard bearing the name of a star went around printing his autobiography with his own money and spreading it across the world… it sounds like a cheap promotional novel. Why would you even want to read something like that?> "Precisely because it's the autobiography of someone like that." <What?> The autobiography was filled with extravagant tales, a result of his natural talent combined with his pathological narcissism. That's why Pamon chuckled softly. <What's so ridiculous that it makes you laugh?> "Well, it claims he reached the realm of Rank 3 in less than a week of learning magic. On top of that, he somehow managed to master property control while learning structure." <...Huh? Isn’t that Risir's story?> "Exactly." <What?> Thud. Pamon closed the book and shook her head in disbelief. "My disciple’s story outshines even this guy’s."