Chapter 318 : Something Feels Off (5)

Heinkel, the Archmage known as the "Goblet of the Beginning" and the one who interpreted the Light magic for Alon, actually wasn't all that interested in the current demonstration, though she was mildly curious.

There were two main reasons for this.

First, Heinkel couldn't use the magic Alon was using.

She had no idea why no one but Alon could use it, including herself.

Though she vaguely sensed it.

She suspected that the reason Alon could use such magic had something to do with the eye behind him—or perhaps the woman attached to him.

And the only new piece of information Heinkel had learned this time was that the magic Alon was using came from a forgotten era, used by those once called “True Mages.”

The second reason was because the magic being interpreted this time was Light, a first-tier magic.

Very simple.

For those walking the path of magic, it was a spell so basic that no one had ever failed it—and no one should.

So Heinkel hadn’t thought much of it.

Sure, there were interesting elements to uncover when you started digging into hidden truths.

But even with that in mind, it wasn’t a type of magic anyone would set new expectations on.

At least, not until Alon demonstrated that Light.

Heinkel blankly stared at the mages frozen in silence.

Every single one of them was staring at Alon with wide eyes.

Normally, Heinkel would be secretly smirking at such mages.

After all, there were plenty of them who would get excited over pulling off an easy spell you could cast with a snap of the fingers.

But this time, she couldn’t laugh.

She hadn’t seen her own face in a mirror, but it probably looked no different than the ones on those mages below.

No, maybe she was even more overwhelmed than they were.

From the moment she witnessed Alon's spell with her own eyes.

Heinkel had instinctively started preparing to deconstruct other tiered spells to extract information.

Her curiosity, dulled after centuries of boredom and casually teaching whichever interesting mage came along, had kicked into high gear.

And the spell Alon showed had reignited a greed she'd been suppressing while waiting for the next “moment” to arrive.

As all those desires swirled within her and she stared at Alon with trembling eyes—

‘I feel like I’m gonna puke!’

Alon winced slightly, feeling a wave of nausea rise.

At first, he hadn’t noticed it because he was too shocked by the true power of Light, but once the awe faded, he realized he was experiencing mana depletion.

“Hmph—”

Alon barely managed to suppress the rising gag reflex with sheer willpower.

Honestly, if no one else were around, he would’ve just thrown up on the spot—but he was still human.

Naturally, he could feel the weight of the stares on him.

Everyone around him was holding their breath, their eyes fixed squarely on him.

And so, he didn’t want to show such disgrace in front of so many people.

He instinctively turned and started walking toward Penia, who stood frozen with shock.

And just as he began to move—

“May I ask a question?”

The mage in the green robe, who had been silently seated until now, slowly rose to his feet.

Alon, swallowing down the nausea, turned back with a look that said he couldn’t really say no.

The mage, clearly nervous, moved his throat and asked,

“The magic you just demonstrated—what on earth was it?”

It was the question every mage present desperately wanted to ask.

Yet none had dared speak aloud until now.

Now all their gazes shot back toward Alon.

He struggled under the pressure, thinking hard about how to respond.

“Light.”

He spoke the truth.

“Are you really saying... that was Light?”

The mage asked again with a trembling voice.

Alon debated whether to explain in more detail, but the nausea was creeping up too fast.

So he just nodded—

And turned around to leave the stage.

Right after Alon left—

“That was really Light?”

“No way—”

“But it clearly was. Didn’t everyone see that faint light?”

“Of course. No one here’s dense enough to miss something like that.”

“Then—what was it that the Marquis just showed us?”

The long-held silence shattered as if it had been an illusion.

The moment Alon was gone, mages began speaking one by one, and the demonstration hall quickly turned into a buzzing swarm.

“Then what he showed us... could it possibly be the next level of Light...?”

Because of that one comment from a mage—

“There’s such a thing?”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“But if not, then how else do you explain what the Marquis just showed us? That wasn’t just Origin magic.”

“Exactly. What the Marquis showed us was definitely Light.”

The hall, once held in reverent silence, now erupted louder than a marketplace.

Exactly one hour later—

The mages who showed up late for the demonstration, arriving at the now half-wrecked hall—

“Well... sure, the Marquis’ magic was impressive and all...”

“But what about our research...?”

Found the hall nearly empty, not a soul left.

And could only feel hollow inside.

***

Shortly after, Alon recovered his body using the divinity of the Primordial Elf.

He mumbled as he still felt a faint trace of mana depletion lingering within him.

“Finally feel alive again.”

He sighed deeply—but only briefly.

Evan, who’d been zoning out until now, called to him.

“Marquis.”

“Yes?”

“That really was Light, right?”

“How many times are you going to ask me that?”

“I mean... it just felt so different no matter how I think about it.”

Evan scratched his head.

To be honest, Alon quietly agreed with him on that point.

He had never imagined a spell of that magnitude would come from something so basic.

“Honestly, I figured there’d be some kind of difference. I thought there’d be a difference, but I didn’t expect this much. Isn’t that natural?”

Alon nodded silently in agreement, and Penia beside him also nodded.

“Right... Light is supposed to be utility magic. But there's something even more disturbing.”

“What is it?”

“You didn’t form a bond, did you?”

At Penia’s remark, Alon slowly nodded.

She was right.

All he’d gained with Heinkel’s help this time were five incantation phrases.

He hadn’t formed a contract.

Which meant the magic he demonstrated this time wasn’t even complete yet.

“Wait, are you saying that wasn’t even the completed version of that spell?”

“It’s just like the Ice Crystal Catastrophe last time.

You were with the Marquis, so you must’ve seen it too, right?”

Penia responded crisply to Evan’s dazed question.

Evan fell silent for a moment.

“Marquis, next time you use that… please do it from far away.”

“...All of a sudden?”

“I’d rather not get roasted like a chicken, thank you.”

He said firmly, recalling the Ice Crystal Catastrophe.

Seeing that, Penia continued speaking.

“The ability probably isn’t fixed like that. It’s more likely it’ll take on different forms.”

“I think so too.”

“Seriously, the deeper you dig into ancient magic, the more fascinating it becomes. I kind of want to drop everything and start researching it right now.”

“Same here.”

Alon nodded in agreement.

In fact, most of Alon’s magical research had gone that way until now.

Grasping at tiny clues in an endless ocean, inching forward bit by bit.

But now?

He finally had a signpost he’d been desperately searching for.

And not just any signpost—one that he and Penia both knew well: tiered magic.

Thanks to that, Alon’s head was filled with anticipation.

He understood that extracting information from magic itself was ridiculously difficult work, but the excitement was more than enough to keep him moving.

So—

‘Should I take a little more time to focus on finding the pact spirit first? No, learning how to draw information from tiered magic more precisely from Heinkel might be more important.’

Just as that fiery motivation filled him—

[Feeling better now?]

Heinkel phased through the wall and appeared.

“I’m fine.”

As soon as Alon answered, Heinkel wasted no time getting to the point.

[Then I want to get to the real subject now.]

“...What subject?”

[I want to study tiered magic in earnest. Can you help me? I mean, let’s be honest—you’re having trouble decoding tiered magic, aren’t you?]

Alon nodded.

It was true that extracting information from tiered magic had been difficult for him.

[I’ll help with that part.]

“Then I’ll—”

[All you need to do is simple: just keep showing me your magic.

That’s it.]

Heinkel seemed momentarily startled by something but quickly composed her expression and looked away.

“I don’t see any reason to refuse.”

[Then we have a deal.]

They both smiled with satisfaction.

***

One day later.

After properly learning from Heinkel how to extract additional information from tiered magic, Alon left the academy.

He wanted to stay a bit longer, but he couldn’t leave Ryanga unattended for too long.

“Hm… I feel like a few more days of learning would’ve been nice. Bit of a shame.”

Penia muttered, slightly slumped.

Alon replied,

“Well, I did learn everything I needed.”

“That’s true. And we left Sparrow with her, didn’t we? That should help Lady Heinkel progress more quickly in her tiered magic research.”

Before leaving the academy, Alon handed over the jewel containing Sparrow to Heinkel, thinking it might help.

“Since Heinkel said she’s working on the first tier, I guess we’ll be working on Magic Bolt, right?”

“Before that, let’s find a pact spirit first.”

“Of course, that’s a given.”

As Penia and Alon discussed their upcoming plans—

“Oh, Marquis. I have something to report.”

“Information?”

Evan approached with a report.

“Yes. There’s an unusual event reported in Ashtalon. It looks like powerful individuals are being sent in to deal with it.”

“...Powerful individuals?”

“Yes, sounds like about three of them are going.”

“Is Historia one of them?”

“No? From what I heard, she’s not included… It’s someone from the North, the Dragon King, and the Hidden One? Those three, I think.”

“I see.”

“Oh, and there’s also news about our Divine Land.”

“What is it?”

Alon perked up at Evan’s words.

Evan scratched his head, making a hesitant noise.

“Well… apparently, the number of people entering our Divine Land has increased.”

“More people...?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t we say it would probably shrink?”

“I’m not sure why exactly. But it’s true that people are still entering the Divine Land.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know either? Maybe... it’s just that more people are coming in than leaving?”

“It feels like it’s been quite a while already.”

“That’s true… Ah, how about checking the divine power?”

At Evan’s suggestion, Alon instantly understood and closed his eyes.

Then—

“...?”

He opened his eyes.

“Did you see it?”

Evan asked right away.

But Alon said nothing and closed his eyes again.

“?”

Evan tilted his head.

But then, Alon opened his eyes again.

“???”

With a completely baffled look, he mentally filled the air above him with question marks—then closed his eyes one more time.

And what he saw—

‘What the hell is this?’

—was a planetary Divine Land that had grown to an absurdly gigantic scale.

In the midst of that confusion, he instinctively realized one thing.

‘What is this? What the hell is happening...??’

Something completely out of his control was unfolding inside his once-tiny Divine Land tycoon.