Growth (5)
Chapter 84
After returning to the Baron’s Territory, Ray continued to have a busy schedule.
He spent quite some time restoring order to the disrupted atmosphere of the orphanage and checking on the children’s growth. As usual, after another busy day, Ray returned home a little late.
“…?”
Ray furrowed his brow slightly.
Today was Bella’s day off, yet he could hear voices conversing inside the house.
“Mom, we have a guest?”
The moment Ray entered without much thought, his eyes met Karen’s.
A necklace with a golden gemstone hung around Karen’s neck, glinting softly.
Upon recognizing Ray, Karen immediately ran over and hugged him.
“Ray’s here!”
“…Why are you in my house?”
Bella emerged from the kitchen to answer Ray’s question.
“I told her she could stay for a bit.”
“…Mom?”
“Yeah. Did you eat dinner already?”
“Uh… I ate before coming back.”
“In that case, I’ll peel an apple for you to eat.”
Hearing this, Karen quickly raised her hand.
“I’ll do it!”
Karen had practiced diligently to learn how to handle knives in the kitchen.
Impressed by Karen’s confident demeanor, Bella nodded.
“Alright, let her try.”
Karen left Ray’s side and hurried toward the kitchen.
Ray looked at Bella curiously.
Though they occasionally invited guests into their home, Bella always made sure to send them off before sunset.
“What’s going on, Mom?”
“Hmm…”
Bella frowned as if fighting off sleepiness but soon began chuckling.
“That necklace is pretty, isn’t it?”
“…?”
“The one you gave her, right?”
“That… right?”
Bella’s laughter grew louder.
“I met Karen this morning on my way home.”
Although Karen acted as if meeting Bella was purely coincidental, Bella had known for quite some time that Karen had been loitering around ‘Lavender Evening.’
As they walked together, Karen initially watched for cues before eventually pulling out the necklace and excitedly telling Bella that Ray had gifted it to her.
“Since it’s such an expensive item, she can’t just show it off to anyone, and bragging to kids her age would only cause trouble. So, after searching high and low for someone to boast to, she finally found me. I brought her home so she could flaunt it all she wanted.”
When Bella returned home, she stayed up all night talking with Karen about Ray for hours.
Karen described Ray as smarter, stronger, and kinder than anyone else.
She added, blushing, that she liked him very much.
Bella was delighted to know that someone liked her son so much.
“Isn’t it funny? They say raising a son is useless, but all you ever give me are a few ugly herbs while giving such a beautiful necklace to a cute girl?”
“Mom, why are you jealous of a thirteen-year-old?”
Bella giggled and countered.
“So, is she your future daughter-in-law?”
“Haha, well…”
Leaning back in his chair, Ray shrugged.
“Wait until her hair grows thicker—she might fall for some other guy and run away.”
“Dear, is there even a man around here better than our son?”
“Come to think of it, wouldn’t you have to search the entire Imperial Capital to find one?”
Ray’s sarcastic response made Bella laugh again.
Ray sighed softly as he looked at Bella.
“Daughter-in-law… huh.”
Ray had no intention of forming any deep connections with anyone.
He hadn’t fully adapted to this screwed-up world, and besides, starting a family didn’t seem like it would end well for him.
Who would want a husband who would likely die young?
“…Would anyone even like me?”
In his previous life, he often came across posts online where wives prayed for their husbands to pass away sooner rather than later.
While Ray chuckled at the thought, Karen appeared from the kitchen carrying a plate of neatly peeled apples.
Carefully placing the plate down, Karen nervously pulled a chair next to Ray and sat down.
Ray glanced at the nape of Karen’s neck.
Her necklace, which rarely saw the light of day, sparkled under the lamp.
‘Beautiful.’
It truly was a beautiful necklace.
Its design was more modest compared to most jewelry in this world, making it even more appealing.
After taking a bite of the apple, Ray spoke abruptly.
“Karen.”
“Y-yes…?”
To the highly tense Karen, Ray calmly said,
“Work hard. When opportunities come, study hard, practice swordsmanship diligently, and make lots of friends.”
“Um… Okay! Got it!”
Karen nodded vigorously.
Ray silently picked up another piece of apple.
Gradually, Karen was catching up to his level.
She needed to eat a variety of foods and keep growing.
*
Ropheiren sat across from Luna, with a desk between them, biting his lips pensively.
Ever since beginning formal magic education with Luna, Ropheiren had found himself sweating cold sweat more frequently.
Whenever he faced Luna, he felt uneasy and his heart raced.
At first, Ropheiren thought he was envious of Luna’s talent.
No, that wasn’t it.
Ropheiren was afraid of Luna’s talent.
‘What in the…’
Every mage starts with one Circle.
They split and expand this single rotating circle within their hearts to increase the number of Circles.
The more Circles a mage has, the more complex mana calculations they can perform, allowing them to cast more powerful spells.
Circles are classified based on their numbers.
For example, a “6-Circle Magic” refers to spells that require at least six Circles to manifest.
One cannot infinitely increase the number of Circles.
Even the most talented mages need long periods to maintain and utilize newly split Circles, and the burden increases significantly as the number of Circles grows.
The 9th Circle is considered the limit humans can reach.
This is why there are only a handful of Archmages who achieve this pinnacle.
‘But this child…’
Luna’s Circle performance far exceeded that of an average mage.
With just one Circle, she could perfectly execute spells equivalent to those of the 2nd Circle.
This was simply an outrageous privilege.
‘And that’s not all.’
Resina’s legacy.
The bizarre mathematical knowledge that surpassed even the Royal Magic Tower’s paradigms.
And an incomprehensible level of comprehension and calculation ability.
Luna possessed all of these.
Ropheiren was certain.
If Luna reached 3 Circles, given enough time and support, she could even partially manifest Grand Magics.
‘This child will become a monster…’
If Luna fully blossomed her talents, even Harshia at his prime might struggle to match her.
Ropheiren’s fingers trembled faintly.
The fact that he was nurturing a seed of inevitable calamity terrified him.
Unable to resist the impulse, Ropheiren asked,
“Luna, what is your dream?”
Whatever Luna desired, the world would be powerless to stop her.
Ropheiren waited anxiously for her answer, trying to suppress his racing heart.
Luna slowly replied,
“To be a kind mage.”
“…?”
Ropheiren blinked and asked again.
“What did you say your dream is?”
“A kind mage.”
Ropheiren paused to consider.
Could the adjective ‘kind’ really precede the noun ‘mage’?
Tilting his head, Ropheiren skeptically questioned,
“Why?”
“…”
Luna closed her eyes quietly.
Her vision darkened, replaced by scenes from the past.
Luna could retain memories she wished to preserve without forgetting.
Thus, she often revisited those days in her dreams.
The day of the heavy rain.
Or the day when a hundred Dark Spirits covered the forest.
A boy, bleeding from joints that had popped out, stumbling despite his injuries.
Yet he gently stroked the crying girl’s head.
The girl asked the boy why he bothered to save her.
The boy chuckled and replied,
“You’re a good kid.”
“And you’ll become a good and great mage.”
“So later, I just wanted to get some snacks from you.”
The latter part was clearly a lie, something the girl also knew.
The boy merely wished for her to grow into a good and great mage.
Therefore, Luna decided to become a kind mage.
Perhaps with effort, someday she could also become a great mage.
That was all.
Luna murmured with her eyes still closed,
“I will become a kind and great mage.”
Ropheiren easily read the blind ambition in the girl’s voice.
“Indeed…”
Ropheiren chuckled.
Indeed, the child before him was a born mage.
Blindness was the foremost quality of a mage.
“May your dream come true.”
Standing up, Ropheiren tidied up the desk.
Whatever form Luna would take in the future, it was a problem for Ray, or rather Harshia, to resolve.
His duty was to fulfill his role.
“Luna, I’ll teach you how to use the A-Space coordinates Ray gave you.”
Ropheiren had already learned from Ray what Resina Records were.
Today, he intended to teach Luna how to access the Resina Records.
Initially, he thought it might be too early, but he was confident that with Luna’s talent, experiencing the ‘extreme’ wouldn’t overwhelm her.
“The principle is simple. Use a boundary to materialize the information inscribed in A-Space before your eyes.”
Luna nodded.
While inscribing information into A-Space was difficult, creating and maintaining a simple boundary was manageable even with one or two Circles.
Following Ropheiren’s guidance, Luna erected the boundary.
After inspecting Luna’s boundary, Ropheiren stepped back.
“Alright, try connecting using the coordinates Ray gave you.”
Whoosh!
Luna’s vision transformed.
“…?”
Looking down at herself, Luna realized she could feel her body completely, contrary to what she had expected.
Curious, she looked around.
Her view was filled with a shimmering black space.
She seemed to be standing amidst a universe of flowing stars.
“Hi~ nice to meet you.”
Turning toward the voice, Luna saw a girl with long blonde hair floating in the air.
“Ah! Don’t bother answering. I’m not a clump of thoughts or programmed data; I’m more like a recorded video. Communication is impossible, so just keep quiet and listen.”
The girl circled around Luna and continued.
“Hopefully, the successor of Harshia chose the right person. What I can offer may be worthless to a fool. But… if you truly are suitable to be my successor…”
Bang!
A planet flashed red amidst the black space.
A planet with land and seas, where everyone Luna knew lived, became the center.
Instantly, countless numbers began covering the universe.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Asteroids, moons, planets, and burning giants.
All their positions and orbits turned into numbers covering the universe.
“This is a star map created after hundreds of years of observation and analysis at the Obelisk. Hopefully, your talent is sufficient. Depending on how you use it…”
The girl’s face distorted ecstatically as she locked eyes with Luna.
“You can destroy cities, countries, continents, and the lives of everyone living on the surface…”
Because it is the power of the stars.
