“It’s an unspoken rule.”
They said having multiple masters is forbidden among magicians.
“It’s fine to have several disciples, but there must be only one master.”
Apparently, there are many complicated reasons behind it.
There’s the risk that a master’s unique magic or research might leak, and learning different theories from various masters could lead to conflicts.
And above all, “Doesn’t it feel unpleasant? How would you feel if your spouse whispered words of love to another man?”
“…Isn’t that a bit different?”
“Nonsense! Imagine your one and only disciple turning to another master with eyes full of respect… Ugh, it’s horrifying.”
At Furnel’s words, I closed my eyes briefly and imagined it.
‘If Old Man Berga were still alive and I brought another master before him, dragging this ghostly wretch along…’
‘Hmm.’
“I think he’d like it.”
‘Wouldn’t he?’ I could easily picture Berga excitedly jumping in to learn as well, saying, “Great, count me in!”
Not having more than one master?
That’s just a privileged complaint.
Such words only hold water in an era overflowing with magic and knowledge.
Knowing how deep Berga’s thirst for magic was, it was hard for me to agree so easily.
“Still, it’s not allowed. It’s disrespectful to your master. He’s a magician too, and he wouldn’t like it either.”
Of course, I understood Furnel’s point.
For him, it’s a deeply ingrained belief formed over many years.
But I can’t give up.
Without obtaining the Artifact and learning Necromancer Magic, all my effort to come this far would mean nothing.
Rather than changing Furnel’s mindset, I chose to add a new perception over it.
“Hio, I’ve had dozens of masters.”
“…You mean in your original world?”
“Yes. Once a year, I changed masters, and for subjects like history, geography, language, literature, economics, math—each had its own master.”
“Is that… even possible?”
“No one ever found it strange.”
Furnel’s eyes went wide.
It was something he’d never even considered.
Changing masters every year and having countless masters for various subjects?
‘…Could it be?’
“You must have been royalty, then.”
That was the obvious guess, since only someone of that status could manage such a thing.
“…Huh? Ah, yes! Something like that.”
I nodded absentmindedly.
I’d just given an example from my school days, but it seemed to resonate more than I expected.
“I see… then that makes sense.”
“So you see, Furnel, there’s no problem with you teaching me magic.”
“Hmm… They did make an exception for royalty when it came to teaching magic.”
“Now you’re making sense.”
Though a pang of guilt stabbed at me, it was true after all.
At least with my parents, I was like a prince…
‘Ah, but I was an orphan.’
Well, that hardly matters now.
The important thing is being able to learn Necromancer Magic.
“And I understand your point, but that’s an old-fashioned way of thinking. Theories clashing, whatever—the world without magicians makes all that meaningless.”
Yes.
“That’s true too. Without you, Necromancer Magic will be completely forgotten.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. So you’ll teach me magic, right?”
Hmm.
Furnel seemed convinced but still hesitant.
‘Is it really okay? For your master?’
That seemed to be what kept bothering him.
“It’s fine.”
I said firmly.
“My master would’ve said it’s absolutely fine and that I must learn.”
He would’ve said it with his usual hearty laugh.
“You’re a foolish disciple. Since you’re going to learn anyway, learn properly. Make sure to get every drop out of it.”
“If that’s the case… I understand.”
Furnel floated up from the floor—not quite standing, since he’s a ghost.
“Follow me.”
The ghost’s house was a three-story mansion.
Pretty large, but completely empty and abandoned.
That was the game’s concept, after all.
An empty, eerie ghost house.
Yet Furnel moved to one wall as if there was something there.
He manipulated something using physical force.
“This is the branch office of the Necromancer’s and a base for the Magic Tower.”
With a heavy rumble, the wall split open to both sides.
It was a familiar sight I’d seen many times before.
The scene I always saw when heading to Berga’s underground laboratory.
“They call it the wizard’s house.”
This was the wizard’s house.
***
Those who can’t wield magic can never find the door to the underground in their lifetime.
A feature of the wizard’s house.
I followed Furnel down into the basement.
It felt very different from the wizard’s house where I lived with Berga.
Bigger, darker, and with an unexplainably gloomy aura.
“Necromancer magic is a bit different from the magic you learned. Actually, quite different.”
It’s fundamentally based on mana, but that alone isn’t enough.
You need death energy.
Whenever any living creature dies, it emits a thick energy—that’s death energy.
The aura of death.
Necromancer magic requires this energy alongside mana.
“Gathering that death energy takes a lot of time.”
Depending on the rank of the soul in life, the amount of energy you can obtain varies wildly.
“Then… does that mean you have to kill living beings to use magic?”
“No.”
Death energy is needed for making undead, but other magic can be used normally with just mana.
“But isn’t undead the core of a necromancer?”
“Exactly.”
That’s why this is necessary.
We entered an underground chamber.
Various unknown reagents and papers were scattered about, and among them sparkled a small object.
“Try putting this on.”
It was a ring.
A strange ring with a small skull pattern engraved.
[Tetradia School Ring – Necromancer (Unique)]
[A ring issued only to full-fledged magicians of the school. It enhances the ability to sense and manipulate mana and death energy more clearly.]
[Death Energy Collection Rate +10%]
[Stat ‘Mana’ +5]
“This is a magical tool that helps you sense and gather death energy more clearly and easily.”
Most in our school wear it.
I put on the ring but didn’t feel much difference yet.
“You probably won’t notice immediately.”
It’d be great to have a proper place to train, but this is just a base, not a real school.
It’s lacking in many ways.
Come to think of it, this too was a wizard’s house.
“Is there a 4th basement level here too?”
“Hm? How do you know about that?”
There is, but only branch chiefs or above can open it.
I don’t think the branch chief here has the necklace, so you probably can’t get to the 4th floor…
“Did I tell you that?”
I revealed the necklace hidden beneath my robe.
“My master is from the Pavlenko family.”
Furnel’s mouth dropped open.
It opened so wide it covered his eyes.
“Damn!”
His face returned to normal, but it was still full of excitement and palpitations.
“So you can go! To the Magic Tower!”
I smiled lightly and took the lead, descending to the 3rd basement level and following where the necklace pointed.
When I brought the Pavlenko Family Necklace to the spot, with a rumble, the walls split open.
The 4th basement level, unopened for hundreds of years, opened before us, and in front of Hio and Furnel, the familiar portal appeared.
“Hurry, try activating it!”
I spun the Circle and breathed mana into the portal with practiced ease.
[The region connected by the portal is the Ancient City Tetradia – Magic Tower]
[Do you wish to enter the portal?]
The familiar message appeared, and soon we were enveloped in light.
[Portal activated]
[Moving to Ancient City Tetradia – ‘Magic Tower’]
“We’re really… really here… at the Magic Tower!”
***
Furnel spun around excitedly on the spot.
‘Is entering the Magic Tower really that exciting?’
“Do you like it that much?”
“Of course!”
Do you know what the Tetradia Magic Tower is?
“Isn’t it just like a workplace where magicians work?”
“Huh… Unbelievable.”
As a magician, you should understand how incredible this place is.
It’s where all magical knowledge is gathered.
No one could enter in the first place, and now there aren’t even any left…
Furnel, brimming with excitement, dashed toward the tower’s walls.
“You’re telling me we can read every research paper and magic book here? That’s insane!”
He passed through the wall and disappeared.
“…What was that?”
“Is that allowed?”
“Wasn’t it only possible to travel via portals depending on your Circle?”
“I don’t think security is that lax.”
Well, he can do as he pleases.
How much he must have longed for this place.
A magician who lived as a suppressed specter for hundreds of years.
It’s hard to imagine what he feels wandering the Magic Tower now.
“Since it’s come to this, I need to hurry with the engraving work.”
I have enough mana to reach the 2nd Circle.
What remains is entering the 2nd Circle through the engravings.
Once the 2nd Circle’s training grounds and magic books open, I can study them.
At the same time, learning Necromancer Magic from Furnel will make for a fruitful time.
“Phew… I need to prepare myself.”
The pain of engraving is beyond imagination.
Moreover, the number of engravings required for the 2nd Circle is nearly double that of the 1st Circle.
Even I, confident in my tolerance for pain, felt nervous.
I rummaged through my pocket dimension and pulled out a book.
The book placed in the novice magician training grounds.
It contained the patterns needed for 2nd Circle engravings.
“How did magicians of old endure this?”
If 2nd Circle is this bad, how excruciating must the process be for 4th Circle, 5th Circle, or even the 7th Circle and above who receive the title of Sage?
Respect for the senior magicians surged inside me.
I opened the book beside me and sat on the floor in the most comfortable position possible.
Closing my eyes, I concentrated and sank inward.
I stretched the compressed mana into thin threads and painstakingly completed each pattern stitch by stitch.
When the completed pattern is engraved on the heart, ..Ugh!”
A surge of unbearable pain hit me.
I collapsed on the floor, convulsing under the overwhelming agony.
Sweat poured down like rain, but I felt none of it, focusing solely on holding onto consciousness as I drifted away.
No matter how much I struggled, my mind blurred, and after a brief fainting, I came to again to find the engraving finished.
“…Ha.”
I exhaled shortly and memorized the next pattern.
Regaining my breath, I closed my eyes again immediately.
The longer I rest, the more painful and discouraging it becomes—this fragile human nature.
Pain returned in full force.
My whole body was gnawed at, and my heart throbbed as if it might burst.
The pattern engraved on my heart exerted power, and my heart and body, unaccustomed to it, cried out in pain.
Naturally, I collapsed again, trembling all over.
My consciousness dimmed once more.
I came to again.
Breathing steadily, I memorized the pattern.
Extracted mana, moved it, shaped the pattern, and engraved it.
The agony tormenting me gradually subsided, and I caught my breath again.
***
…After nearly twenty repetitions, no matter how strong-willed, the body and mind can’t endure.
My vision spun, and opening my eyes became difficult.
But most of all, my heart… ached terribly.
‘…How many are left?’
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced them open, barely regaining focus.
But more than ten patterns still remained.
Still, without hesitation, I memorized the pattern, moved mana, and engraved again.
The terrible pain came.
My mind blurred, and when I finally opened my eyes again, my clothes were soaked with sweat.
Blood trickled from my nose.
I felt dizzy and faint.
I tried to get up again, but my limits had come.
My body refused to move, and my barely open eyes slowly closed.
Just as I was about to lose consciousness, a voice came.
“You! What are you doing?! Are you alright?!”
I wanted to say I was fine, just engraving, but Furnel’s mouth wouldn’t move.
I felt my consciousness slipping away.
“No way… you’re engraving patterns into your heart?”
Amidst the chaos, Furnel’s voice full of shock echoed clearly in my mind.
“What a reckless idiot! What madman engraves Circles like that!”
“You could die!”
Even as my head spun and my mind blurred, the absurdity hit me.
“Tsk tsk… You’ve got a mountain of things to learn.”
A clicking tongue sounded.
Just before fainting, I squeezed out my strength and barely spoke.
“Tell me quickly… damn it.”