Chapter 351
‘Well, he’s not a bad person.’
If it weren't for the fact that he enjoyed his love life without a care for his family, there would be nothing to fault about Duma.
Just now, too, he had only been trying to test Chris’s skills.
‘If Duke Duma had truly been serious, I wouldn't have been able to win either.’
Duma was at the state of peak 8-Star.
He was an already completed being, so unlike the other House Heads of the Round Table, there was nothing Chris could help him with.
Instead, Chris was the one who needed Duma’s assistance.
Naturally, a different tone flowed from him than when he had been dealing with the other House Heads.
“So, what did you think of today?”
“Hmm?”
“You were testing me, weren't you? Were you satisfied?”
Duma, still fiddling with his burnt beard as if it bothered him, opened his mouth.
“No, I was less impressed than I thought.”
Unexpected words.
But as if it weren't a lie, Duma frowned and continued.
“What on earth is that rootless magic? Even the cheap magicians on the street wouldn't use such a rootless magic.”
An incomprehensible critique.
But Chris, surprisingly, nodded his head in agreement.
“That is correct. You saw it precisely.”
Rootless.
The words Duma had casually thrown out were a critique that accurately pierced the problem with the white magic Chris wielded.
‘I’ve never properly learned white magic.’
He had only built it up by patching things together from what he had seen.
The problem was that, more than any other field, foundation and system were important in white magic.
It was different from swordsmanship and black magic.
Like an exquisitely designed machine, white magic required a thorough system to be built from the foundation up in order to later reach a great state.
Right now, he was wielding a white magic as powerful as any white mage’s thanks to his insane talent, but it was clear that he would soon face his limit.
“I’ll make you a proposal. How about you become my disciple and receive my teachings?”
Chris wore a slightly surprised expression.
To receive the teachings of the Grand Magus.
It was an enormous proposal.
“I’m not pleased that you burned my beard, but it’s a pity to let your talent go to waste. If someone of your level just gets the foundation right, you could certainly reach the state of a Grand Magus.”
He was referring to the 9-Star state of white magic.
It meant that, despite his grumbling, he held Chris in high regard.
However, Chris gave an unexpected answer.
“Thank you for your proposal, but I must refuse.”
Duke Duma wore a puzzled expression.
“Why? If you wish to learn white magic, there would be no better way than to receive my teachings.”
He was right.
But Chris continued to say incomprehensible things.
“I have no need for teachings.”
“You speak strangely. Someone of your level must know his own state. It is impossible with such a rootless system.”
“Pardon my rudeness, but what does the Grand Magus consider to be the root of white magic?”
Duke Duma answered as if it were a matter of course.
“That would obviously be the Ibanech System, would it not?”
He was a great archmage from the distant past who had laid the foundation of white magic.
He was also the founder of the magic noble house.
It was the system that the white mages of the Alliance currently followed as their standard.
“Can only the Ibanech System be called the root of white magic?”
“That is, of course….”
“Do you really think that no other system can become the foundation of white magic?”
For a moment, Duke Duma was at a loss for words.
That wasn't the case.
However, even though a long time had passed, no system had appeared that could surpass the Ibanech System.
That was how perfect the Ibanech System was.
“The essence of white magic is the manifestation of phenomena through the phase rearrangement of the elemental system of Stellar Radiance. The Ibanech System is merely a tool that aids that phenomenon. That means that it is plenty possible with other systems as well.”
“That is true in theory, but it is an impossible task.”
Duke Duma shook his head, cutting him off.
In truth, it wasn't that there hadn't been attempts to create a new system in the past.
But they had all failed.
However.
“I'm not going to follow the Ibanech System; I'm going to create a new system.”
Duke Duma asked as if he were dumbfounded.
“What do you mean? Are you joking? Do you not know that it is a feat that no 9-Star Grand Magus in history has been able to accomplish?”
A natural reaction.
Among the great archmages who had challenged the creation of a new system, there had even been some at the state of peak 9-Star.
But Chris answered nonchalantly.
“Even if the Grand Magi couldn't do it, I can.”
“!!”
“Because I'm better than any Grand Magus in history.”
An absurd statement.
But for a moment, Duke Duma could not refute it.
‘…Perhaps he is.’
The Hero before him had learned white magic to a level that could stand against Duke Duma, even without following a proper system.
And wasn't the Hero’s main strength not even magic?
He couldn't think of any great archmage from the past who would be superior to this arrogant Hero.
“You, don't tell me the reason you didn't learn the Ibanech System was to create a new one?”
Chris nodded as if to say, that’s right.
‘In truth, following the existing system is the most comfortable and easiest way. It’s efficient and safe.’
Since the Ibanech System was the system followed by all white mages in the Alliance, he could have learned it at any time if he had wanted to.
But Chris had deliberately not followed the Ibanech System and had raised his white magic state without any system.
‘The Ibanech System has its limits.’
A difficult thought to accept.
All 9-Star white mages who had appeared in history learned the Ibanech System. Among them, there were even some at the state of peak 9-Star.
Ranya, the Grand Magus of the Hero’s party, was the same.
‘Because the realm I must reach is not 9-Star.’
Beyond 9-Star.
In other words, 10-Star was the goal Chris had to reach.
And not just any 10-Star. He had to surpass the Magus Chancellor, no, even the Demon Emperor.
To do that, not only his power of darkness, but his power of Stellar Radiance must also reach 10-Star.
‘It's impossible with the Ibanech System. I must not be bound by the framework of a system.’
A systemless way.
It is an inefficient method, but one that holds infinite possibilities, without being defined by any limits.
The problem was the difficulty.
‘It's not an easy task, even for me.’
To use an analogy, the Ibanech System was like a road that allows one to cross a vast, rough terrain.
On the other hand, the systemless way that Chris pursued was a method of breaking through that endless, rough terrain without any landmarks.
Nine times out of ten, one was bound to get lost and fall behind.
‘I need an enlightenment that will allow me to reach 9-Star and 10-Star even without a system.’
Naturally, such an enlightenment was not something that came on its own.
There was something he had to obtain.
It was Chris’s most important objective for coming to the Round Table this time.
First, he laid the groundwork.
He opened his mouth as if to provoke Duke Duma, who still had a reluctant reaction.
“In any case, weren't you trying to take me as your disciple to retrieve the 'Tome of the Sage' from the Magic Tower?”
“!!”
Duke Duma’s eyebrows twitched as if he had been struck a telling blow.
“…Yes, that’s right. Shamefully, our magic noble house has had the Tome of the Sage in the hands of the Magic Tower for a long time.”
The magic noble house and the Magic Tower.
They had an extremely subtle relationship.
One might say that since most of the high-ranking positions in the Magic Tower were held by members of the magic noble house, the two were practically the same, but that wasn't the case.
They were in a relationship where they checked and competed with each other.
Surprisingly, they were not on very good terms.
‘It feels like factions formed within a single family, fighting each other. The main family faction, the Magic Tower faction, something like that.’
In the current generation in particular, this competition had become extremely intense, and it was because of their two leaders.
Heperlman, the Grand Magus of the Magic Tower.
Duma, the Grand Magus and Head of the main family.
Although the two were of the same blood, they were bitter rivals.
“In the last five years, the magic noble house has not won against the Magic Tower in the ‘Contest for the Tome of the Sage’ even once. Isn't that right?”
The Tome of the Sage was the highest grimoire of the white magic lineage.
The magic noble house and the Magic Tower each claimed that they should be the ones to keep the Tome of the Sage, and they held regular magic competitions to change its ownership.
Naturally, the Contest for the Tome of the Sage was not just about the location of the tome, but a dueling ground where the pride of both sides was at stake.
“Even if I don't become your disciple, I will see to it that you obtain the Tome of the Sage.”
“…What?”
“Please allow me to participate in the contest.”
Duke Duma wore an incredulous expression.
“With your skills? Don’t speak nonsense.”
Grand Magus Heperlman always participates in the Contest for the Tome of the Sage himself.
In other words, it was a competition between the two leaders.
With Chris’s current white magic skills, it was impossible. The reason Duke Duma had tried to give Chris teachings was a plan for the distant future.
“You haven’t understood my words correctly. I am not saying that I will participate in the contest.”
“Hmm?”
“You just need to invite me as a spectator.”
“…That isn’t difficult, but how do you plan to get me the Tome of the Sage?”
As Duke Duma tilted his head, Chris twisted the corner of his mouth.
“Because unfortunately, a great uproar is scheduled to happen at this contest.”
“…An uproar? What do you mean by that?”
“You know that I am the Hero, do you not?”
Chris beckoned his finger toward the sky.
“There was a revelation. That a great disaster will descend upon the contest.”
“!!”
Duke Duma’s face hardened.
“Is that so? I cannot believe it. Do you know what kind of place the Magic Tower is?”
“You’ll know when you see it. According to the revelation, you will be contacted soon, so please wait and see.”
As expected.
Surprising news was delivered.
It was a message that had flown in from the Magus Empire.
-I, the Demonic Radiance. I shall punish the Celestial Magic Tower, which is stained with evil. Prepare to pay the price for the sins you have committed thus far.
It was a message sent by the Demonic Radiance, Christian.
* * *
The Magic Tower and the Round Table were turned completely upside down.
“Why the Demonic Radiance, all of a sudden?”
Everyone at the Keinper Training Center spoke with hardened faces.
It wasn't just the ordinary students who were concerned; the House Heads were the same.
“The Demonic Radiance is a Great Magus-class magus, is he not?”
“Why would such a magus appear out of the blue?”
Great Magus.
It referred to the highest-ranking magi who were practically in control of the Magus Empire, excluding the Demon Kings.
Christian’s name was now proudly listed as one of the Great Magi.
“Although the Demonic Radiance’s achievement is still said to be lacking compared to the other Great Magi, he is not an opponent to be taken lightly.”
“I know. Isn't the Demonic Radiance the magus to be most wary of in the Magus Empire right now? In fact, he is far more dangerous than the other Great Magi.”
An unexpected assessment.
The figures counted as Great Magi were people who represented the Magus Empire, such as Nordian, the Lord of the Four Kings' Castle, the Obsidian King, the Vengeful Spirit of the Necromancy House, and the former Ghost Sword King.
And yet, they were considering Chris to be even more dangerous than them.
“The war with the Four Kings' Castle, the Demon King of Blue Stream, and even the Tri-Alliance all knelt at the hands of the Demonic Radiance.”
“When I hear the news of the Demonic Radiance, I begin to doubt whether he is even human.”
“Until now, the Demonic Radiance had only been active within the Magus Empire, so we were at ease.”
A living, breathing disaster.
That was how the Alliance’s side assessed Christian.