The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR) Vol 1 Chapter 225

“It's an honor to meet you.”

Grey wanted to pretend to be calm, but he couldn't. His heart pounded like he was a young boy again.

With trembling eyes, he looked up at Frey, the Great Mage who had made unprecedented achievements in the study of Magical Science.

'Anyone who understood mana would be excited.'

His heart trembled violently just by making eye contact.

Frey looked at the man who currently possessed his own body before saying.

“I need your help. Can you lend me your strength?”

“I will do whatever you say.”

He said these words without even needing to think.

Grey's firm belief in Frey could be clearly seen in his eyes.

“I've long dreamed of something like this happening. That the Great Mage, who suddenly disappeared, was still alive and had returned to defeat the Demigods…. Haha. It was like a fairy tale that even little children would not believe possible…”

“The truly unbelievable things only happen in real life. You have wisdom that befits your age, so I'm sure you already know this.”

“Of course I do.”

Frey looked at Grey for a moment before speaking.

“By the way, why did you give yourself the surname Trowman?”

“Ah… pardon my discourtesy.”

“I'm not against it. I'm just curious.”

This was the truth.

Frey was not a noble. So naturally, he didn't have any pride in his bloodline. He had no objections to someone using his last name unless it was a despicable person.

“If I think about it simply, I believe you took my last name out of respect…”

“That is naturally one of the reasons.”

“So there are other reasons.”

“Huhu. That's right. It is also because I, Grey Trowman, am the successor to the Great Mage's path in the truest sense.”

This was a statement that he couldn't understand.

Naturally, there were many Wizards whom Frey had 'taught', but he didn't have a 'direct disciple' among them who had received everything.

As if he knew that, Grey nodded.

“Of course, I know that the Great Mage didn't have any direct disciples. But a book containing the essence of your path was passed down.”

“…a book?”

Frey's eyes narrowed.

A book containing his essence. He had never written anything of the sort.

Grey laughed bitterly.

“Of course, you might not know about it. It is a book written by those who were taught by you at least once and were greatly impressed by your teachings…. You thought that you were just guiding the lost, but for them, you were their lifelong teacher.”

“My master's master…. No, even long before my master's master, we were able to decipher the teachings in the book. And many were able to reach 9 stars because of that book.”

When he heard that, Frey recalled something.

“There is an organisation called Paragon in the modern era. They mentioned 10 stars to me. And they seemed convinced that it was real. They said… that they read it in the Great Mage's… my book.”

When Grey heard that, he pondered for a moment.

He had never thought deeply about the 10 stars level, nor did he recall leaving it in a book.

But if the authors of the book were truly Grey's ancestors and descendants, then the missing pieces could be interlocked.

“May I ask the name of the person who owns the book?”

“Cairo Wilsemann.”

“Wilsemann! Then he must be a descendant of the Great Sage. In that case, I'm certain. They have always had a close relationship with us in the past.”

“…by that you mean…”

“Exactly.”

Grey nodded, saying.

“After your 'death', we never once neglected our research. The path of the Great Mage was continuously inherited, and for a long time, we were able to progress steadily by taking one step at a time. And that was why we were certain. That the 10 stars level is real.”

Crack, crack!

Lord admired the spells as they bombarded his entire body.

'The number of spells has surpassed 50.'

Frey had implied that all of these processes were within the formula of the Infinite Field spell, but it was not so simple. To put it simply, a vast and complex process that even ten 9 star Wizards working together would have had trouble breaking down was being carried out every moment.

At the same time, not even the smallest miscalculation was tolerated.

Dozens of spells of different attributes and types had created what could be described as a magical storm in a certain portion of space. It was an amazing feat to be able to control them so that they did not conflict with each other.

'It's as though dozens of Wizards who have been working together for a very long time are attacking me in unison.'

Crack, crack!

At that moment, a Howling Tempest spell was gnawing at his skin. It was only a 6 star spell, but because it was created by divine magic power, it was able to reach his core.

Frey's attacks were definitely causing damage to Lord.

'-a scratch on a tree branch can still be called a wound.'

As he had this thought, Lord lifted his hand.

Crack!

Frey, who was watching from the sidelines, narrowed his eyes.

A spell had just disappeared. Of course, this didn't mean he'd completely gotten rid of it.

Crack! Crack!

But it wasn't an illusion. Even at that moment, his spells were being nullified one after the other.

There was no need to ponder who was behind this.

'Is he erasing them with his power?'

But that couldn't be it.

Frey's spells, which were cast using divine magic power, could not be so easily erased by Lord's power.

Frey looked inside the field. And when he realised what Lord was doing, he became speechless.

How many times could he witness such a sight?

'He's disrupting the spells.'

Frey had no choice but to watch on in disbelief.

What he was seeing was certainly theoretically possible. It could also be called the most efficient method.

It involved basically conserving your own power and making your opponent's attacks collide with each other, thereby negating themselves.

But there were many 'theoretically possible' things in the world. And the reason they were given such a grand modifier was simple.

That was because the vast majority of beings were unable to even try to attempt these things. It was like catching an incoming arrow before throwing it again and hitting another incoming arrow.

No. It was much more difficult than that. What Lord was doing was many times harder than that.

Another spell disappeared.

Lord was gradually increasing the speed with which he destroyed the spells.

'I can't afford to waste even a single minute.'

Frey's judgement was quick.

If it no longer had an effect, then he had no reason to continue using Infinite Field, which required a large amount of willpower. (TL: Author keeps jumping between 'infinite' and 'infinity', I'll just stick to infinite.)

Huk.

In an instant, silence fell upon the area. Then, the dust settled, and Lord's figure was revealed. There were a few scratches on his body, but after a moment, those were healed.

Frey looked at him silently for a moment before opening his mouth.

“…I didn't expect the Infinite Field to have much of an effect.”

[The heavy expression on your face says otherwise.]

“That's because I didn't expect that you'd use such an unbelievable method. You used a technique that requires a great understanding of Magical Science. Is this also knowledge you gained by consuming your own kind?”

[Right. To be precise, I gained an understanding of the concept of mana. Magical Science is a study of mana created by you humans, but mana itself is derived from the power of origin.]

Lord's affirmation made Frey's heart feel heavy.

It was hard not to. After all, one of Lord's weaknesses had been erased.

Just as Frey used his understanding of divine power to his advantage in fights against Demigods, Lord had also learned the concept of mana and could now use it to deal with magic.

“You really are powerful.”

He meant it.

Frey was incomparably stronger than he had been 4,000 years ago. But Lord was still stronger than him.

He'd thought he'd narrowed the distance between them, but inexplicably, it had only grown larger.

It would have been a lie to say he didn't feel any hopelessness. But Frey struggled to suppress those negative thoughts.

If his conviction was broken, a monster called defeat would surely raise its ugly head.

Even if one was forced or bluffing, one should never admit that one's opponent was superior. In a sense, sometimes, it was better to keep a good frame of mind than to conserve willpower.

“However, even if you understand mana, you won't be able to decipher a 10 star spell.”

[You seem to be mistaken. The 10 star level doesn't exist.]

“I, too, thought so.”

Lord paused. He could feel in Frey's tone that he wasn't lying.

[…are you saying that you have achieved that level?]

“It seems that I have at least stepped one foot in.”

[I see. So that's why you haven't become desperate yet.]

He nodded.

[I'll give you time. Enough time to prepare. So do your best, and show me the 10 stars level.]

At first glance, this statement might have seemed to carry the composure of a powerful being. But the meaning being it was completely different.

Lord's goal was to defeat, capture, and ultimately consume Frey. And the most efficient way to do that was to make him realise the difference between them.

Lord knew.

Just as Kaltud was Lucifer's last card, the power of 10 stars was Frey's. If he could withstand this attack, then Frey's will would certainly be broken. Because he would realise that he couldn't win.

“Sss…”

Breathe.

Close your eyes.

Empty your thoughts.

Then remember the power of 10 stars that Grey Trowman had found.

'-language.'

Whether it was spoken or written. Words contained power.

Frey knew that too.

The power that Grey's ancestors, that is to say, Frey's disciples, paid attention to was the Dragons' Dragontongue.

This was a power unique to Dragons that was neither magic nor divine power.

Then how was this transcendent power expressed? How could a combination of words released through speech have such an effect on the fabric of reality?

They explored.

They explored for thousands of years.

Even someone with an extremely long lifespan would not have been able to achieve such a feat.

Frey dared to affirm this.

He believed that this achievement was only possible because it was done by humans.

'Our lives are short.'

Even if they reached the highest level, they would rarely be able to surpass 200 years. But they were able to fiercely live each moment to the fullest because they knew that death could arrive at any moment.

They could burn their souls as though the present was their last. They could run constantly, and even if they couldn't achieve their goal in the end, they could die laughing. Because their will, desire, and achievements would all be inherited.

And they believed that their future generations would be able to complete the mission that they couldn't.

If not the next one, then the next after that.

It kept stacking and stacking. And eventually, the pile of leaves would become trees.

“The power of beginning. Ether.”

Lord showed a rare look of surprise.

This was because he didn't expect Frey to suddenly mention this power.

“The Dragons used Dragontongue to communicate with the 'ether'. The power that forms the foundation of the world. This law, which only operated of its own will, responded to the Dragons' voices… Probably because they were given the role as the balance of the Continent from the beginning.”

However, it was pointless to imitate them. Dragontongue was certainly powerful, but in the end, it was defeated by the Demigods' divine power.

“We couldn't handle that power. So I found a new law. I decided to communicate with the law I was most familiar with instead of ether.”

Mana.

Chapter end