It was a village not far from the great city of Elrn.
It was a tiny place where only a few farmers lived, and because it hadn’t developed much, it wasn’t even called a city.
It was surprising.
This was a secret unknown even to the Red Magic Tower.
If they had known, Greden Village would have surely turned into a tourist attraction labeled, “The Birthplace of Flame Master Avicenne!”
The mages dispatched from the Red Magic Tower would have preserved his birthplace and taken all the legacies inside as a bonus.
“Then that means something might still be left?”
“…”
That was a shame.
Usually, wouldn’t a great mage leave one or two keepsakes he used during his lifetime in a place like that?
“But what am I supposed to do there? Isn’t it about time you told me?”
Lee Tae-sung asked on the main road leading to Greden Village.
Even after coming all this way, Avicenne hadn’t told him exactly what he needed to do.
He had simply set out because he was told to go.
<… I want to see the letters there.>
“Letters?”
A Hybrider who wielded flames—the Flame Emperor.
The Flame Master, Avicenne.
The Flame Emperor had gained immense fame for defeating Avicenne, a traditional mage, despite being a Hybrider.
He had already been counted as one of the strongest on the Western Continent, but that incident led people to call him the greatest under heaven.
“I see. Who are the letters from?”
<…>
“You don’t have to tell me, but since I have to check the letters with you anyway, I’ll probably find out then.”
Since a spirit lacked physical form, Lee Tae-sung had to do everything from opening the letters to showing them.
In that process, he would naturally see the contents.
Knowing this, Avicenne let out a sigh.
<… He’s my son.>
“You had a son?”
“… A secret son?”
“!!!”
It was shocking.
Avicenne slightly averted his gaze, as if he couldn’t bear to make eye contact.
“No… It’s not that…”
That was how Avicenne had been, but now that he was a spirit, those emotions had faded significantly.
That was why he could have decent conversations with Lee Tae-sung.
In particular, seeing Lee Tae-sung searching for traces of the Flame Emperor made him suddenly think of his son.
However, after seeing Lee Tae-sung searching for the Flame Emperor, he wondered if his son had also looked for him after their contact was cut off.
Or if he resented him, or if he had forgotten him entirely and moved on…
“I understand. Let’s go check together. It’s only natural for a person to want to hear news about their son. Why are you so embarrassed?”
“Come on—”
Lee Tae-sung chuckled.
And so, the one person and one spirit walked down the main road in a pleasant(?) atmosphere.
***
As he had heard before coming, Greden Village was a small place.
It was a place where most people were farmers.
A windmill turned on a hill in the distance, and the expressions of the people sweating as they worked looked peaceful.
There was at least one small sect, but it was so small it could be considered a local gang rather than a sect.
The sect leader was at a second-rate level, and the rest were third-rate.
Because Lee Tae-sung appeared in such a place, the people who saw him while he was walking around were often startled.
Even from his equipment, clothes, and gait, it was obvious that he was a master.
‘Am I… the strongest in the village?’
No matter how strong he had become, he was still far from that level in the great city of Elrn.
Feeling a strange sensation, Lee Tae-sung passed through the village.
“Why did you live in a place like that?”
It was a mountain so low and close it could be called a back hill.
It was a mountain without even a name.
As he climbed the mountain, Lee Tae-sung asked, “If there was a house in a place like this, wouldn’t it have collapsed by now? Or maybe the villagers found it by chance and dismantled it for firewood.”
Avicenne was a man from several hundred years ago.
There was no way a house would be intact without a single maintenance job.
Besides, wouldn’t someone have stumbled upon a house on the back hill during all that time?
It was exactly as Avicenne had boasted.
Following his instructions, Lee Tae-sung sprayed mana into the air in a specific pattern, and the hidden house revealed itself.
It was a tiny wooden house made of timber.
It was Avicenne’s birthplace and the place he would visit occasionally to clear his head even after becoming a great mage.
There was a mailbox in front of the house.
There was a significant amount of letters inside.
“How did letters even get here?”
“Wow. You can do things like that once you reach the level of a great mage.”
Lee Tae-sung touched the letters inside the mailbox.
There were quite a few of them.
“I’m opening them?”
<… Yes.>
He picked up the letter at the very bottom and unfolded it.
[To Father. These days, the weather is quite nice. Are you doing well? …(omitted)… You didn’t reply to the letter I sent last time. You must have been busy lately. Today, as usual, I spent my time milking sheep and gathering wood with Mother…(omitted)…]
The content of the letter was nothing special.
For the child of Avicenne, the daily life described was the very essence of a country boy’s life.
So Lee Tae-sung stole a glance at Avicenne.
“Why?”
Even for the child of a great mage, it was rare to fully inherit that talent.
Avicenne had seen many such cases—mages who became ruins, crushed by the radiance of their father or grandfather.
Lee Tae-sung checked a few more letters.
The contents were mostly the same.
A rural daily life of milking sheep, helping with the village farming, and chopping firewood.
[Father. You seem very busy. Mother said that you are a very busy person and often can’t read letters, and it seems she was right.]
[I’m worried that something might have happened. If you have time, please reply. Father?]
However, the content expressing concern for Avicenne’s well-being gradually increased.
Avicenne’s expression darkened as he read those words from the side.
Then, around the middle.
[Father! I’m told I have a talent for magic! A mage who visited the village told me! Actually, for a while now, I’ve been seeing strange lights and playing with them, and it turns out that was a form of spirit magic. So, starting today, I’ll be practicing using the method the mage taught me…(omitted)…]
Avicenne was startled.
“You didn’t know?”
They checked the subsequent letters as well.
He continued to ask about his father’s well-being since there was no reply, and the daily life in the letters was gradually updated.
It wasn’t just about making a living; he continued to train in spirit magic.
He was contracting with spirits of various attributes, and the spirits were evolving…
Avicenne clicked his tongue in amazement.
And then.
“This is the last one.”
Lee Tae-sung picked up the final letter.
[Father. I have turned 20 years old. I now intend to leave the village and experience the wider world. And this thing placed on this letter… it was magic. I suppose you must be a mage, Father? Mother never told me, but I will improve my skills and come find you. Until then, please live a long and healthy life.]
<…….>
“……”
After finishing the letter, the two were lost in silence for a while.
Lee Tae-sung asked just in case.
“… Did your son ever come to visit you while you were alive?”
“… Maybe he couldn’t track you down, or maybe he found interest in something else and forgot about his father who wouldn’t reply. Isn’t that how it is when you’re young?”
He couldn’t bring himself to suggest the possibility that something might have gone wrong after the son left the village.
Avicenne let out a sigh.
Tae-sung felt like he knew what the favor was.
“I’ll do that.”
Lee Tae-sung nodded without much hesitation.
The more he fulfilled favors, the more he could receive rewards from Avicenne, and he was just as interested in something called spirit magic.
‘Magic that only those chosen by spirits can learn. That’s why the entry barrier is said to be incredibly high.’
In large cities like Elrn, there were mages who practiced spirit magic, but they were a tiny minority.
Unless one had such immense talent that a spirit sought them out first, the way to learn spirit magic was to purchase an extremely expensive spirit stone, travel to the spirit realm, and then form a contract.
However, the failure rate in that process was over 95%, and if it failed, the expensive spirit stone would simply disintegrate into the air.
Therefore, only noble families with a lot of money could even attempt to enter the field, and it was a magic that was almost dead these days.
‘If I follow the son’s traces, won’t at least one spirit stone turn up?’
Even if it wasn’t that, who knew what a spirit mage of incredible talent might have left behind?
After all, he had already picked up quite a few things while following the traces of the Flame Emperor and Avicenne!