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I almost fell for it.

His face and attire were exactly like the elders of Samael from the past.

Just looking at him made me recall my first days in Samael in my past life.

The elders who would constantly send me on errands under the pretext of basic training.

If I tried to resist, they would spout nonsense like “Huh huh, the leaves are falling today” right in front of me, then create some kind of typhoon and blow me away.

‘Damn old geezers.’

Without realizing it, I ended up slapping the old man on the head, thinking to myself.

Thwack—

“Oof!”

I didn’t panic and quickly pretended to stumble and slip.

Fortunately, the old man didn’t notice anything strange.

“Hahaha. It’s okay, it’s okay. It happens. It’s been a while, Ruin.”

“Ah, yes. Well, I’ll be going then…”

“Wait a moment.”

The old man grabbed my sleeve and started talking about this and that.

Does this guy not have a wife or something? He’s quite talkative.

“Perhaps your wife passed away…”

“Eh? Why would I kill my beautiful wife who’s alive and well?”

“Then…”

“Ahem. What kind of talk is that?”

I didn’t miss the old man’s eyebrows twitching when he said ‘beautiful wife’.

That’s what I thought.

He’s definitely the type who can’t say a word at home. Even the talkative guys from my thug days were all whipped by their girlfriends. I was still envious, though.

Anyway, the gist of it was that he was proud of me.

He was glad I had stopped acting like a wreck and come to my senses.

And most importantly, he was grateful that I had created Mana Circles. He must have been watching when I was training in the central training ground.

“Follow me, Ruin.”

After chatting for a while, the old man took me somewhere, saying he had someone to introduce me to.

* * *

A deep cave with a cool breeze blowing through it.

In the center, several elders were sitting cross-legged, seemingly taking their time.

“Greet them.”

I hid my true feelings and politely bowed.

“Greetings. It’s an honor to meet the esteemed elders.”

I’m not foolish enough to miss a good opportunity because of old emotions.

As the saying goes, to extort money from parents, butter up their children, and to ruin a family, butter up the parents’ parents.

What does that mean?

It means there’s nothing wrong with getting on the good side of the elders here.

“Such polite manners. It seems you’ve truly come to your senses.”

The elders’ expressions softened.

However, the elder sitting on the highest rock continued to scrutinize me from head to toe with a stern look.

He was the head elder, Noman Samael.

I bowed even deeper to the head elder and then quietly sat down in a corner.

“….”

With a slight nod, Head Elder Noman looked around and spoke.

“Let’s continue our discussion. My theory is flawless, Isaac. The higher the circle, the more simplified the incantation becomes. Moreover, once you reach the 5th Circle, you should be able to cast lower-level magic with abbreviated chants.”

“That’s only possible in theory. Haven’t we all experienced it already? Circle magic is too impractical in actual combat. It’s time for us to admit it.”

“I agree with Isaac, Head Elder.”

Surprisingly, the elders were engaged in a debate.

Listening in, the level of their discussion was quite decent.

In particular, the Head Elder was advocating for Mana Circles, and I was glad to see someone with a sane mind for the first time in this life.

‘Hmm…’

It seemed that all the elders had created circles in their hearts. Except for the Head Elder, most of them seemed to be regretting it.

“Enough. Don’t anger me any further, Isaac.”

“Are you conceding, Head Elder?”

“Conceding? Are you defying me now, Isaac?”

“Let’s be clear. You always say ‘enough’ when you have nothing else to say.”

“I say that because you don’t understand my theory anymore. If I say ‘enough’, then enough.”

“I refuse. If you’re so confident, show us yourself. You can do it, can’t you?”

“You young whippersnapper!”

“I’m sixty-five.”

“I’ll shut that brat’s mouth right now!”

“Oh my, where’s that stench coming from?”

Oh…

This was interesting. The elders’ quarrel was as entertaining as a children’s fight.

As time passed, the elder named Isaac began to push Head Elder Noman.

Cornered, Head Elder Noman started to huff and puff openly, but no one sided with him.

Then, as if to drive the final nail in the coffin, Elder Isaac suddenly turned his head towards me.

“Ruin, young man, answer this. I heard you created circles. You must have already felt their limitations firsthand. So, whose side do you think is right?”

“Of course, Elder Isaac…”

“Right?”

Elder Isaac smiled, as if to say “See?”, and the Head Elder’s eyes flared up.

“…Rather, Head Elder Noman is absolutely right. A mage must master Mana Circles. Your words are as true as the sky.”

“Wh-what?”

As if I had been waiting for this moment, I sided with the Head Elder.

Having tasted a fragment of my vast knowledge, the Head Elder, with a revitalized expression as if he had consumed an elixir of immortality, began to suppress Elder Isaac.

“That’s absurd.”

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

Of course, Elder Isaac and the other elders still thought it was crazy talk, but Head Elder Noman himself seemed extremely satisfied.

And there was a reason why I sided with the Head Elder.

Of course, it wasn’t for the noble reason of enlightening him about the greatness of Mana Circles.

I didn’t have the time for that. I was already busy enough teaching the apprentices.

The reason I sided with the Head Elder.

It was to…

Squeeze him dry.

Who in the past Samael had as much influence as the Lord? It was the Head Elder.

Why? Because the Head Elder was strong?

No. At the time, there were at least five mages in the family stronger than the Head Elder.

The real reason was that the Head Elder was in charge of Samael’s treasury.

S-grade artifacts, sacred relics that could turn the world upside down just by their names.

The Head Elder had the authority to manage and be responsible for all of them, so naturally, he had a lot of influence.

Even if the Lord didn’t know about some artifacts, the Head Elder knew about them all.

“Huh huh. You’ve been very well educated, Ruin.”

Seeing the Head Elder laughing heartily, I felt good.

Those sharp eyes. That stubborn gaze.

Truly befitting of the Head Elder.

He had a face that seemed to be hiding something.

This was an opportunity.

A very good opportunity, at that.

The Head Elder would definitely have stashed away a few artifacts in case of emergency.

Now, all I had to do was coax him and find out their location.

I didn’t get proper compensation from Pelleier, so I had to get it in this life.

* * *

About four days had passed since I started following the Head Elder around.

With my help, the Head Elder, having perfected his crazy logic, finally silenced Elder Isaac.

“This is a blessing, a blessing. Ruin, you are a blessing to our Samael, a blessing!”

Judging that the time was right, I cautiously brought up the topic.

“I have a question, Head Elder.”

“Huh huh, ask me anything. I’ll answer anything you ask, Ruin.”

I started by asking about Samael’s supplies. With a solemn expression, emphasizing the responsibility that the eldest son of Samael should bear.

“Hmm. Supplies. You’re bringing up a sad story.”

Head Elder Noman’s detailed explanation of the pitiful situation was so irritating that I immediately got to the point.

“Then, are there any sacred relics or artifacts left in the family…?”

“We sold them all. It’s a pity. It’s truly a pity.”

“Damn it.”

In the end, it was a wasted effort.

As I was about to turn away before I got even more irritated, I noticed Head Elder Noman’s tightly closed lips.

‘This old man?’

Looking closely, Noman’s stubborn eyes were trembling slightly.

This sly old man was definitely hiding something.

I looked directly into Noman’s eyes and asked,

“…Are you sure there’s nothing left?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I can only say such disappointing things.”

“That’s a shame, really. If there were even amplification artifacts or usable magic stones left, I could demonstrate shape transformation or spell guidance for you. As you know, Head Elder, those are only possible with Circle magic. Oh well, it can’t be helped. I

With a dumbfounded look on Head Elder Noman’s face, I took a few steps away when I heard a booming voice from behind.

“Wait, Ruin!”

Wow, someone’s got a loud voice.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“Come here.”

“I’ll be going now. I have urgent matters to attend to.”

“I said come here!”

Pretending to give in, I approached him, and Noman, after looking around, whispered in a low voice,

“Actually, there are some magic stones left. The ones remaining shouldn’t be taken out unless the family’s survival is at stake… Only I know about this, not even the Lord.”

I hid my true feelings and raised my eyebrows with an indifferent expression.

“So?”

“Did you hear me correctly?”

“Yes.”

Head Elder Noman, his stubbornness completely broken, shouted urgently,

“Follow me. I’ll show you myself!”

He should have done that from the start.

After leaving the cave, Head Elder Noman followed the ridge for a while, then suddenly threw himself towards a dead-end cliff.

His body flickered and disappeared before my eyes.

A magic circle.

Following Head Elder Noman, I threw myself into it, and a small cavity appeared. Inside, there were piles of magic stones.

“Here it is. I’ve only kept the high-grade magic stones, so it should be enough. Now, show me what you were talking about.”

I looked to the side and saw Head Elder Noman staring at me with an expectant expression.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Why? Because it was all a lie.

Magic stones have nothing to do with spell guidance.

I ignored Noman and looked around at the magic stones.

If there were a few A-grade or higher magic stones, I could sell them for a good price.

Most of them were faded and scratched F-grade magic stones, but there had to be some decent ones in here… What the hell?

‘None?’

I frantically rummaged through the magic stones. And then I was sure.

…There were none.

All the magic stones here were trash.

Meanwhile, I heard Noman’s angry shout.

“What are you doing? Show me now!”

“I’ll show you. Of course, I’ll show you… Fireball.”

From the 3rd Circle onwards, two levels of lower magic can be cast with just a trigger word. With three circles already faintly engraved in my heart, simply manifesting 1st Circle magic wasn’t difficult for me.

Fwoosh—

As expected, a fireball appeared instantly. The Fireball, flying straight towards the sky, slowly changed its course in mid-air, following my hand gesture.

Noman’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Incredible. It’s really guiding the spell with the magic stones! Hahaha!”

Noman threw back his head and burst into laughter, not even realizing that the Fireball’s trajectory was changing towards him.

Boom—

“Cough!”

“Water Bomb. Wind Blow”

While Noman was out of it, I immediately drenched him with a water bomb and then struck him relentlessly with Wind Blow.

This was my preferred method when I didn’t want to leave external injuries.

Thwack— Thwack, thwack—!

…Is he unconscious?

Good.

“You damn old man. These aren’t high-grade magic stones! You senile old fool.”

Clank—

After bombarding Noman with magic for a while, I turned my head at the strange sound.

It sounded like the friction of metal against metal.

A sound that could never come from magic stones.

‘Hmm?’

Among the faded magic stones, there was an even more faded black ore.

As I approached and dusted it off, a dark pendant with the ore embedded in it was revealed.

The pendant was so old that even the dust wouldn’t come off easily.

But the blue hexagonal pattern faintly visible on the ore at the center was resisting the ravages of time.

It felt familiar. My heart instinctively pounded.

As I slowly rubbed the pendant, a deep blue haze shimmered and gradually enveloped my body.

Huh?

Could this be…?

As far as I know, there’s only one artifact like this.

『Magnus’ Illusion』

I couldn’t help but gasp.