Chapter 22: Hio and the Book of Circles

The fourth basement floor was a spacious cavern.

Unlike the third floor, which still maintained the appearance of an indoor space, the fourth floor was left as it was, in its original cave form.

Magic stones were embedded here and there in the walls, and a massive sculpture sat in the center.

The three-dimensional rhombus-shaped sculpture itself seemed to be the very reason for the floor’s existence; aside from that, nothing else stood out.

‘…So this was here all along.’

No wonder it was so hard to find.

The door could only be opened by someone who possessed the Pavlenko Family’s necklace and had an exceptionally keen sense for mana, and who had to discover the third basement level of this place first.

What on earth could be so important that it had to be hidden this thoroughly?

As I drew closer, the sense of unease grew stronger.

The surface of the three-dimensional rhombus, as tall as Hio, was flawlessly smooth, and mysterious patterns were engraved upon it.

And just below it, there lay a single book, which, despite the passage of countless years, was as clean as if it were brand new.

I decided to leave the book for now and first tried to interpret the ancient language inscribed on the sculpture.

“…Activate? …Open? Ugh. This isn’t working.”

As expected, it was still too much to interpret alone, so I opened my subspace pouch and pulled out a book.

[Ancient Language Summary for the Unskilled Apprentice]

Upon opening the book, handwritten letters, each written like an essay, caught my eye.

It was clear the author had agonized over how to make it easier for the reader to understand.

Steeling my wavering resolve, I flipped through the pages and began to decipher the ancient script on the sculpture.

It took about ten minutes to finish translating.

“Master the circle. The portal will open……?”

What is a circle, and what is a portal?

Hio looked down at his feet.

“The answer… must be here.”

The lone book that had been placed there.

Surely, the secret was hidden within that book, which was also written entirely in the ancient language.

Once more, I flipped through the Ancient Language Summary for the Unskilled Apprentice and tried to interpret the ancient script on the book’s cover.

“Introduction to Magic and Understanding of Circles?”

A title so intriguing, it made me want to read it immediately.

But the problem was—

“This’ll take a while to translate.”

Even a cursory glance showed there were a lot of words.

It would take some time to translate it all, even with Berga’s Ancient Language Summary for the Unskilled Apprentice for comparison.

“Still, I have to do it.”

‘Hadn’t I sworn in front of my master to reach the end of magic?’

It really seemed like I’d found a proper magic tome—this was definitely a huge opportunity.

“Hmm… Let’s see…….”

Hio settled down and began the translation in earnest.

That passion was just like Berga’s in his younger days.

As he began reading the book.

***

To the descendant who reads this in the distant future.

Remember this well.

In the end, we were defeated, and for the sake of survival, we had to lose so much.

Remember, and remember again.

They will surely return.

……

(omitted)

“If you are reading this book by whatever means, it means you have at least outstanding talent for mana.”

“So, do you possess mana? It’s fine even if you don’t. Through breathing, I will teach you in detail how to take in mana, compress it, control it, store it, and reach the circle. This is the so-called Mana Breathing Technique.”

(omitted)

Once you have gathered a certain amount of mana, you must wrap it around your heart.

The method is….

(omitted)

And the most important thing is to engrave the pattern.

For a circle to exhibit its best effect, and for the effect to last as long as the descendant lives, this is an essential step, though depending on your proficiency, it can be dangerous and painful.

I strongly recommend you do it with a master present, but… are there any proper magicians in your era? Perhaps you have no master either.

But don’t worry.

This book will provide greater guidance than any master.

(omitted)

To the descendant who has completed all the steps—congratulations.

You are now a 1-circle magician.

You can proudly call yourself a novice magician.

To the one who will rekindle the spark of magic in future generations! Open the portal! The Great Mage’s Tower awaits you!

“Agh… This is killing me.”

There was so much text and so many explanations that just translating it took several hours.

“Well, I guess it’s worth it.”

***

After lying flat on the floor for a moment, Hio sat up again and carefully reread the translated sentences.

“Especially the part about storing and compressing mana through mana breathing… Is this really possible?”

If this was truly possible, it meant I could increase my mana without buying stats.

‘If that’s possible, why has no one tried it until now?’

“Well… let’s give it a try.”

I sat comfortably on the floor as the book described and closed my eyes.

‘If you already have mana, first compress it and wrap it around your heart.’

Mana normally flowed freely throughout my body.

Then, when I used a skill, a certain amount would be drawn out—this was how I’d always used mana.

It wasn’t just me; all skill users did the same.

But to compress and control it, then wrap it around my heart… No one had ever imagined such a method.

‘Hmm…….!’

I gathered up the mana that had been freely dispersed throughout my body and compressed it.

Guiding it along the described path, I brought it close to my heart.

‘Oh……?’

Even without consciously controlling it, the compressed mana began to circulate steadily around my heart.

It settled into place, as if it had found its rightful home.

I started to trust the contents of the book more and more.

‘I gathered all the mana I had, but… once compressed, it’s really meager.’

I’d succeeded in compressing and controlling it, and settling it near my heart, but the problem was that the total amount of mana was too little.

To reach the appropriate level described in the instructions, I would need more mana.

I figured I’d have to try this so-called mana breathing technique and closed my eyes again.

‘Focus as you inhale, feeling the mana……..’

Inhale, exhale.

In that ordinary, repeated process, I had to find the flow.

I had to sense the foreign energy of mana in the air I breathed in.

And for Hio, that was quite an easy task.

‘Is this it?’

It felt almost identical to the mana already in my body.

‘Gather this up, compress it, and send it to my heart.’

I grabbed hold of the mana I took in with each inhale and made sure it didn’t escape with my exhale.

Once I’d gathered enough mana, I compressed it and guided it along the described path to my heart.

‘…Oh!’

It naturally merged with my original mana and settled near my heart.

‘This is fun.’

Since I found it somewhat amusing, I kept repeating the process without noticing how much time had passed.

[Stat ‘Mana’ has increased by +1]

A message popped up, saying my mana had increased.

Of course, even without the message, I knew my mana was increasing, but it hadn’t really sunk in until I saw it confirmed.

‘This really works……?’

Stat points you can buy are capped at 500 for each category.

That’s why, over time, all rankers end up with similar stats.

But if I kept using this mana breathing technique, I could easily surpass 500.

‘This means I don’t have to obsess over Fame Points anymore.’

Of course, the more Fame Points, the better.

But the problem was this damned nonviolence.

The fastest way to gain fame inevitably involves violence, so sooner or later, I’d have to choose between fame and endurance.

But if things stay like this, Endurance becomes a lot more valuable.

‘Anyway, how long do I have to keep doing this?’

I got so absorbed in the mana breathing technique that I lost track of time.

I couldn’t tell whether I’d reached the appropriate level described in the book or not.

With no one to ask, that uncertainty only grew.

‘Let’s just try it.’

When you have no one to ask, the best thing to do is just give it a shot.

Once you’ve gathered enough mana around your heart, the next step is to engrave the pattern.

Pattern engraving.

The pattern mentioned here wasn’t much different from what Berga had taught me.

The patterns required to make the first circle were mostly familiar ones.

So, perhaps that’s why I approached it with a bit of a light heart.

‘Well, I’ll manage again this time.’

‘Wasn’t I a genius at sensing mana?’

There was nothing difficult about this, so I figured it would be the same this time, too.

The compressed mana slowly circling around my heart.

I drew out a thin strand of it and formed a small pattern.

My talent for handling mana was real, but even so, this was a truly advanced task.

To hold onto the compressed, slowly rotating mana, draw out a thin strand, and form a pattern—anyone with mediocre talent would take months to achieve this.

‘Whew… Is that about right?’

But Hio managed to create a pattern with just a few drops of sweat.

It was the simplest of the sixteen patterns that needed to be made.

Now, all that was left was to engrave it onto his heart.

‘Still, it’s my heart… Is this really okay?’

That thought crossed my mind, but there was no one to give me a clear answer.

I simply did as the book instructed, and so far there hadn’t been any problems.

In fact, it had all been beneficial.

Slowly… slowly, I brought the pattern to my heart.

And the moment it touched—

“……!”

A tremendous pain shot through me, and my eyes flew open.

Just touching my heart with a single small pattern sent searing agony through my entire body.

I tried desperately to stay conscious, but the pain gnawed at me, and my mind grew hazy.

‘Sh*t… They should have warned me it hurt this much……!’

Hio’s body collapsed to the side, unconscious.

In a way, it was better that I passed out early.

Even while I was unconscious, the pattern was still being engraved.

If I’d been awake, I would have suffered through excruciating pain.

***

After some time had passed—

“Ugh, damn it!”

With a loud shout, Hio came to his senses.

“W-what the hell is this!”

His body was drenched in cold sweat.

“Was I tricked?”

‘Why did it hurt so much?’

The burning, gnawing pain was definitely the worst I’d ever experienced.

But that didn’t mean it had no effect; on the contrary, I could faintly feel the power of the pattern now engraved on my heart.

I couldn’t tell exactly what it did, but it felt different.

It was as if the bond between the mana circling my heart had become a bit stronger.

‘Is this the effect of the pattern……..’

The patterns I learned from Berga didn’t have specific effects written down.

Rather than detailing each effect, they recorded how patterns interacted with one another.

Maybe… this was the original purpose of patterns.

“But still, to make a circle, I have to do this fifteen more times……?”

There were sixteen patterns in total to engrave.

I’d just done one, so fifteen were left.

Which meant I’d have to pass out fifteen more times.

“…What a life.”

Well, what could I do? I had to press on.

After all, I’d inherited so much from Berga.

Even if it wasn’t his goal, I myself had become genuinely invested in magic.

I truly wanted to know.

‘Why did magic have to fall into decline, and what lies at the end of true mastery of magic?’

I wanted to see for myself, to reach it.

So once more, I closed my eyes and focused.

I drew out a thin strand of mana and formed another pattern.

With a deep breath, I brought the completed pattern to my heart.

“…Gah!”

Writhing in agony, I lost consciousness again.

And when I woke, I hoped I would be just a little bit stronger.