Chapter 613 - Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

Lancart Spendry. A genius who mastered unique magic at the mere age of thirteen and reached strategic-level formal magic by fifteen. After evaluating him, the military state celebrated the birth of a talent destined to lead the future—especially crucial due to the nation's weakness in mysticism and magical power. However, the military state's vessel was too small to contain Lancart, and so he overflowed. "Hahaha! Yes. Hearing about the mysterious explosion at the Tree of Origin, I wondered who it could be, and of course, it was you, Hui!" But the military state wouldn’t know one thing. That Lancart and I were still in contact. "No. That wasn't me." "When they said the Abyss had disappeared, I instinctively knew it was your doing. I went looking for you, but you were already gone! Why didn't you leave a hint? I would have come to get you!" "That wasn’t me, either. Ji-seon was the one who pulled it off." Despite my explanation, Lancart acted as if he hadn't heard and said, "It doesn't matter! The essence of the Archdemon is knowledge. Even if the Abyss disappears and the Tree of Origin burns, that knowledge will not vanish. Although it might affect the power of those who keep the Archdemon as their unique magic!" "Uh-huh. Even though it wasn't me, I need to run before an enraged Nevada finds me." "Just wait a bit. Moving three people wasn’t in the calculations. It’ll take some time to amend the scrolls churned out by these fools." Lancart still didn't seem ready to listen. He didn’t believe what I said. As he spoke ceaselessly, he continued to adjust the magic circle, tracing lines of magical power and placing gems and ores at the intersections. White Magic. It’s a form of magic that recreates the mysteries of the world using high-value alchemical mediums. It is, in fact, the mainstream in the world of magic. Formal magic is widespread in the military state but is essentially a form of black magic that uses one's own body as a sacrifice. Magicians from the Magic Federation don't even regard formal magic as true magic—not because it’s black magic, but because its potential is quite low. If your body is the only possible sacrifice, the magic you can cast is limited as well. "If you want to finish faster, lend a hand. I really don't care to understand why these idiots drew it this way." "Fixing a scrollrequires magic power, doesn’t it? I don't have that kind of magic at my disposal." As Lancart recalled my meager amount of magic, he clicked his tongue. "Tsk. What a shame. Why did the world give you such knowledge but not magic as well?" Because that knowledge was gleaned from reading the minds of others. Neither was truly mine to begin with. "Having neither isn't great. And don’t try to fix the scrolls too complicatedly. The scrolls have no room for expansion by design. It’s been locked shut so it can't be amended." "The fools can't even realize how idiotic their own scrolls are? You should have been in charge of scroll design!" "To move three people, you'll need three scrolls. Even for you, completely fixing them might be difficult." "What are you saying? I'm different. I can fix even the scrolls closed off by these idiots." Lancart grumbled as he completed his adjustments to the magic circle. In a brief moment of rest, Shei carefully approached me and asked, "Hughes, that person...?” Ah, for this timeline, it’s the first time for Shei and Lancart to meet, right? Let me make a more formal introduction. I said, "Ah, yes. That’s Lancart. He’s a friend I studied with back during our time in the military state." "That’s not all, is it? You seemed to know each other well even recently." "We didn’t meet often, but we kept in touch." "Kept in touch? With Lancart Spendry?" "I never mentioned his full name, but yes, that’s right. Is there a problem?" ‘The Demon Society. A secretive organization dealing exclusively with the demon, even within the Magic Federation. To think you were not just classmates but kept in contact until recently with Lancart Spendry?’ Lancart must've been quite famous even before the regression. To become so renowned in the eyes of a regressor, there’s some personal pride in being Lancart's best friend. ‘The mad one called the Crazy Wizard, who swept entire cities of the Empire into a vortex?’ …But then again, Histora was always closer to me. Lancart simply holds a one-sided admiration for me. It’s not a severance—just stating the facts plainly. Lancart, having finished fixing the magic circle, looked at me and Shei standing together and asked, "By the way, Hui, who is she? A new girl you’re seeing?" "Huh?" Shei frowned slightly, her expression sour. I quickly responded to avoid any potential misunderstandings raised by Lancart. "A new girl? You’d think I change girls as often as my clothes hearing that." "You sure did! In Hamelin, there was that boar. In Amitengrad, it was the heir of a conglomerate. You always had a different girl by your side." "Haaa?" Shei's disdainful gaze turned toward me. Why was she looking at me like that? This was all from Lancart’s mouth, so she should be directing her annoyance at him. Lancart paid no mind to my predicament and instead, continued, "From a wild boar to something more docile in taste, but back again, it seems. Hui, I doubt you'll mess up, but here's my advice: It’s best to keep a distance from women. Their only joy and pride lie in leashing men and wielding control over them." "Hey, hey, hey! Watch your mouth! Do you even know who she is?" "Why? Is she like a sponsor or something?" "Uh…." Well, that’s not far off. She provides money, help, even information from the future. Honestly, she is indeed a backer I wouldn’t want to lose. "Why call her a sponsor? Deny it!” "Then that’d be a lie, you know." "Is that so? …So, you do think of me as a sponsor?" "In a way?" "In what way?!" Shei seemed upset and swung her hand at me in a sudden, almost playful gesture. Normally, such an attack would have caught me off guard, especially if I couldn’t read her thoughts in time. "Not even a teammate... and now a sponsor... what...?" Caught off guard, I instinctively grabbed her arm. Shei's eyes widened as I held her wrist. Huh. How unusual. Normally, she would have already hit me before I could even react. "Shei, are you tired? You don’t seem like yourself today." Could it be because of her arm, injured before but now reattached? It felt different, didn't it? When I asked, Shei answered with a puzzled expression. "…No. The one who’s not like usual... isn't me." ‘My arm got blocked. Right now, my arm is purely controlled by stamina because of the previous injury. This is less about me being weaker and more about Hughes having... more strength.’ “Enough talking. Get ready.” Hearing Lancart’s words, Shei swiftly pulled her arm free from my grip. In the short time it took to modify the scroll for three-use, Lancart pointed to a spot on the magic circle. "Tsk. It’s not easy turning one into three. Hui, grab the girl and stand over there. I processed the two of you as a pair, so you need to stick together like one body. If you want to leave the troublesome woman behind, you could let go midway." He still speaks with no regard for others' feelings. Not one to back down from confrontation, Shei responded sharply to his words. "Do you want to die, talking like that? Activate the magic circle already without making a fuss about a reverse gravity task." "Oh? Can you read magic circles? Seems you’re not entirely foolish." Lancart, more impressed by Shei’s ability to recognize the type of magic circle than her threatening tone, adjusted his assessment slightly upward. “Listen here, girl. There’s one thing you should know.” “What’s that?” “Hui always has a girl around purely because he craves a woman’s body. If that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t hang around you fools who can only squawk.” “…Hughes.” “Why are you looking at me like that? I never said anything of the sort, nor do I desire it! Besides, Shei, weren’t you crossdressing back then?” This is unfair, absolutely unjust! I've done nothing to be accused of! And even if I did desire it, so what? Isn’t a man supposed to like women? It’s just nature! But why is Lancart suddenly slandering me like this? I haven’t even done much with women, just a few flattering words to win some favor! "If you think about it, it’s obvious. Why else would Hui hang out with someone as low in intellect as Historia? It’s not for the brain, so it must be for the body, right?” Lancart was practically sending me into a pit without a care, tapping his temple as he declared. “But remember, Hui only truly shares intellectual and mental exchanges with me! Only someone as ‘chosen’ as I can stand with him at the same eye level!” “…Ah. I see.” It seems Shei finally realized what kind of person Lancart is. He’s arrogant, conceited, looks down on the ignorant, but acknowledges and tests those who have just a bit of rapport with him. And if he ever feels intellectually outmatched, he’ll abruptly elevate his praise as if to justify his own perceived loss! I have certainly endured a lot to meet Lancart’s high expectations. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s only natural for you to cling to Hui, giving him all your body and soul. After all, females tend to gravitate toward capable males.” “Shut up! I haven’t even done that yet!” “You be quiet, girl. We’ve delayed enough because of your chattering. Tsk, that’s why you shouldn’t indulge these nags.” "You've been the one stalling all this time!" Lancart ignored Shei’s retort and began his incantation. "The eternal path that holds the world. In the midst of the great right spiral, I'll walk the reverse path. Twist open, the path to the universe." Magic flowed through the circle. The light, originating from Lancart, spread like water. Touching the gems, the magic power merged and transformed, growing fiercer and stronger. I quickly moved onto the magic circle with Shei. She hesitated briefly but stood close, maintaining a thin barrier of space between us. As Lancart finished his incantation, he released the final surge of magical energy to complete the spell. “Reverse Gravity.” With the last words spoken, the magic circle enveloped us in a halo, and I began to "fall" toward the sky.