I sat quietly with my eyes closed, observing my inner self as if in meditation.
The first thing I saw were the five massive rings emitting an overwhelming presence at the center.
Next, I noticed the residual magic power that had failed to become a Circle, scattering and wasting away in all directions.
I gathered that magic power with practiced ease and moved it toward the inscriptions within the rings.
One by one, the inscriptions lit up, and their power infused the magic as it began to move.
Compared to the grandly flowing rings, it started as quite a meager amount of magic power.
However, after passing through 170 inscriptions, it had transformed into a massive current.
Following my guidance, it wrapped around the outside of the fifth ring.
Only then did the power of the inscriptions within begin to manifest.
It bound the sixth flow to the fifth ring, holding them tight so they wouldn’t separate and allowing them to share their strength.
In the past, things would have already started shaking precariously at this stage.
But now, it remained perfectly stable without even a hint of a tremor.
This continued until every part of the sixth flow, from start to finish, was bound to the fifth ring.
Suppressing the rising sense of elation, I focused once more.
From here on was the truly critical moment.
Now that the binding was successful, I had to change the direction of the flow.
All Circles were structured this way.
For example, if the first ring flowed to the left, the second ring flowed to the right, and the third flowed to the left again.
Only by doing this would the boundaries between the rings be distinct, allowing each to play its part and exist as a separate entity.
I slowly stopped the movement that was heading in the same direction as the fifth ring and guided it into a steady flow in the opposite direction.
The sequence could not be disturbed even slightly during this process.
It had to turn around without any disorder and without colliding with the fifth ring—yet the gap couldn’t be so wide that the bond would break.
My miraculous magic control managed to accomplish all of that perfectly.
And so, the final stage arrived.
It was time to slowly release my control over the flow and simply observe.
Though I gradually let go of the grip I had held with all my might, my body remained tense.
If it wavered even slightly here, it would be an unconditional failure.
Even after I completely withdrew my power, it had to flow as stably as it did now.
I slowly pulled back my control.
The flow of the tightly wound ring loosened slightly, but it was still within an acceptable range.
Little by little, I released more power until I finally let go of the flow entirely.
Despite that, the flow remained stable.
It was too early to celebrate, however.
I had already experienced several times how it could suddenly falter and collapse rapidly even after reaching this point.
Keeping my tension high, I continued to watch.
Ten minutes, 15 minutes… and when it reached 20 minutes…
Click—
It was an internal sound that only I could hear.
Click, click, click—
It was the thrilling sound of parts fitting perfectly together.
This was proof that the sixth ring had taken its place as a part of my body.
That massive flow, more than double the thickness and size of the fifth ring, had completely become a part of me.
A sense of fulfillment instantly filled my body.
With the drastically increased amount of magic power, a feeling of omnipotence surged within me, as if I could do anything.
Along with it, the level of my soul rose, and the quality of my physical body improved.
While I was swept up in the immense joy and satisfaction radiating from it, I snapped my eyes open at the sound of a voice.
“Heh… Finally.”
Six stars sparkled in my eyes.
“I can finally teach you properly.”
It was the afternoon of exactly the fifth month since I had been trapped at the World’s End.
The 6th Circle.
The realm of a High Mage.
Everyone knows how incredible this is without needing a long-winded explanation.
At this level, one can lead an entire academic school and receive the respect of all magicians as a mage who has transcended the wall.
If one crosses over to the Continent, they leave their name in official history as a superhuman.
Furthermore, if they find their own path as a magician, they reach a level where they can establish their own school.
That was the entry-level realm of a superhuman known as a 6th Circle High Mage.
…I certainly thought so, but…
“Are you happy having barely made six rings in five months? I thought I’d die of old age first.”
My self-esteem began to crumble.
This was especially true because I couldn’t even fathom what Circle this monster of a master was at.
Since Abellar Pavlenko, the greatest magician and the youngest Lord of the Magic Tower in history, was at the 8th Circle at the time, wouldn’t this monster have made nine rings?
Nine rings meant the 9th Circle.
It was a legendary realm that was theoretically possible but realistically impossible.
I had once asked him about it a few months ago out of curiosity, but Kreutzvalt had only given a calm answer.
‘I wonder.’
‘Does that mean yes? Or no?’
‘They say that those who possess nine rings gain power rivaling that of a god.’
‘So, not yet?’
‘Could be, or could not be.’
‘…What is he saying? Is he senile?’
I had muttered that last part quietly, but Kreutzvalt heard it like a ghost and picked up his staff.
‘Ah, of course, I wasn’t talking about my master, who is like the heavens themselves, but someone I know… Argh!’
The memory of hanging upside down for several hours came flooding back, and I quickly ended the recollection with a shudder.
“Still, since you’ve made six rings, I can give you some proper teaching now.”
It had already been five months since I came to the World’s End.
In this gods-forsaken world, resting, eating, and washing all had to be handled with magic.
Naturally, the level of my detailed magic skills and application had jumped significantly, but surprisingly, there was almost nothing I had learned directly from Kreutzvalt.
Using overlapping inscriptions to manifest specific spells simultaneously; emphasizing the main effects of magic to increase its power; discarding fixed ways of thinking and freely transforming magic to integrate it into daily life… those were the things I had learned so far.
All of those were things I had learned during the first month I spent with Kreutzvalt.
For the four months after that, I had only repeated the process of creating the sixth ring and hunting strange entities to gather food.
“Then will you teach me 6th Circle magic now?”
“Before that, let us organize things once.”
“Organize?”
“Yes. Recite every spell you can perform.”
Disclosing the spells one had mastered was a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn’t a problem in the society of magicians.
Magic was something that changed drastically depending on who used it and how.
Moreover, between a master and a disciple with such a vast difference in skill, it wasn’t a problem at all.
So, I told him everything, from the basic 1st Circle spells to the elemental magic of the 5th Circle, and even the necromancy that Furnel had emphasized so much.
***
After hearing everything up to the necromancy, Kreutzvalt began to click his tongue.
“You’ve learned a lot of useless things. Your necromancy is at a level where you need to start over from the beginning.”
“I only had five rings back then, and besides, there were no conditions to utilize necromancy… no, wait.”
“That is exactly the problem. No conditions to utilize it? You should make it so that it can be utilized.”
I was glad Furnel wasn’t here.
This was a situation where Kreutzvalt, whom Furnel claimed to respect so much, was essentially badmouthing him.
“That ghost who used to be a Specter is indeed strange…”
“Anyway, you’re saying I should reorganize my necromancy from the basics, right?”
Regardless, it was difficult to listen to him doubt Furnel, who had been with me so far.
So, I asked a question to cut him off.
Kreutzvalt looked down at me for a moment and then gave his answer with that unpleasant, gravelly laughter of his.
“Not completely from the beginning, but you must approach it with that mindset. Even in combat, you haven’t been using necromancy at all, only attacking with elemental magic.”
“I had no choice… Necromancy is a type of magic that stands out in large-scale wars.”
“That is where you are wrong. You completely misunderstand the formidable power of the undead.”
“…Is that so?”
Kreutzvalt shook his head slightly, as if my answer seemed foolish, and continued speaking.
“How many undead can you summon?”
“I can summon about one?”
That “one” referred to Theodore, Sylvia’s guardian knight.
I hadn’t made any undead myself; I had simply revived Airlights using Kreutzvalt-style necromancy…
“Then summon it.”
“Right now? It’s a bit difficult at the moment… he has duties to perform in the other world…”
“It does not matter. The connection would have been severed anyway when you crossed over to the World’s End.”
“…What?”
It was a thought I had never even considered.
The connection with Theodore was severed?
Since he wasn’t a being created through normal magic, only an extremely thin thread existed between Theodore and me.
It was a connection regarding the death of the caster, me, and the disappearance of Theodore, as well as a connection regarding summoning and unsummoning.
That was why I hadn’t noticed.
‘Wait, if that’s the case, then things become quite serious.’
I didn’t know that the connection would be cut upon crossing over to the World’s End.
‘Why had I crossed over so calmly without leaving much word to the others?’
It was because I thought everyone would know I was fine as long as Theodore remained.
But if Theodore was unsummoned the moment I crossed over…
‘They’ll think I’m dead.’
Given that my reputation wasn’t small, there must have been quite an uproar.
But well, hasn’t it been five months already?
By now, things would have calmed down, and people would gradually return to their daily lives as I was slowly forgotten.
I knew this well because I had experienced it many times.
No matter how cruel or heartbreaking a death was, it would eventually be forgotten over time.
There were deaths that became lifelong scars and crushed one’s heart every day, but my death wouldn’t be to that extent.
And most importantly, I wasn’t dead.
I didn’t know when it would be, but I was going back anyway, and the problem would be resolved then.
Since I had already formed an alliance between the transmigrators and the Empire, the Abyss Gate—the Abyss Tower—would be being raided successfully.
And since they encountered a strange entity on the 58th floor, they would have prepared for it.
There were no major issues.
That’s what I thought, and then Kreutzvalt struck my head with his staff.
“Why are you lost in thought again instead of summoning him quickly?”
“Yes, yes…”
Fine, let’s just focus on training.
For now, I just had to worry about getting stronger.
Kreutzvalt had said that was the only way to escape the World’s End…
…Of course, I didn’t believe everything he said blindly.
But it was true that Kreutzvalt was the best master when it came to improving my skills.
So, swallowing my complaints, I summoned the Death Knight, Theodore, without a word.
I grabbed the thin thread and pulled the being that would be wandering faintly on the other side of the underworld.
Whoosh—
A dark energy surged, followed by the familiar scent of death.
That energy gathered together to form a massive knight.
It was the Death Knight, Theodore.
Upon seeing the summoned Theodore, Kreutzvalt’s expression instantly soured.
“Is this truly a Death Knight? My skeleton would be stronger than this.”
Upon hearing that, Theodore pulled out his dark black greatsword the moment he was summoned.
“Hmph. If your intellect is this clear, you should be that much stronger… Tsk. A weakling with nothing but pride.”
“Hey, hey, Theodore, endure it. Even if he looks like that, he’s a 1,300-year-old monster… Argh!”
The proper magic training and serious teaching began just like that.