Chapter 31 Translator: XZY
Chapter 31: 3-Star (1) ***
When distinguishing the star-ranks of magic, the great archmage Adelbert, who was considered the godfather of the noble houses' Scholastic school, comprehensively considered factors such as scale and scope, duration, the intricacy of the spell, and the potency of its effect.
The magic ranks known to the world in this way went up to six stages, but among the mages of the secular world, the existence of a stage above that, the 7-Star, was often a topic of conversation.
This was because in his personal records, Adelbert had revealed that he had received inspiration from the Big Dipper in the sky when he devised the star-ranks of magic. The Big Dipper had seven stars, so why, they asked, did the current magic system of the world end at 6-Star?
In other words, the mages of the world believed in the mythical rumor that a realm of 7-Star, which no one had yet reached, did indeed exist.
On the other hand, the non-mainstream schools of magic that had recently branched off said otherwise.
They claimed that 7-Star was merely a realm left behind by Adelbert, who was a devout believer of the continental Bolton religion, to express his reverence for God.
In short, 7-Star was the realm of God, so it was merely a message left behind that humans should not covet it, and there was no need to assign it too much meaning.
Their back-and-forth arguments about the existence of 7-Star were always fierce, but in truth, it was difficult for it to have any practical meaning.
This was because, in the first place, the number of mages who had reached 6-Star in all of human history could be counted on ten fingers.
Even when searching through all of history, there were only about ten, and the number of living 6-Star mages known across this entire continent was only four.
Great archmages who had reached 6-Star were often beings that even the powerful could not easily wield. This was because each and every one of them was a legendary existence.
If one could master just a single 6-Star magic, it could rewrite the providence of the world or even redraw the map entirely.
Kalimpod, a 6-Star combat mage who died in the 'Dawn War,' was said to have been able to summon a meteor shower.
And Kelin, a 6-Star confusion mage famous as the Great Witch of the Delim Mountains, was said to have been able to completely dominate a person's mind just by making eye contact. Of course, she too was a figure of the past.
Most 6-Star mages were thus historical beings, individuals whose names could only be found within the pages of historical texts.
The 6-Star mages living and breathing in this era numbered only four. There was Lord Melverot, the ruler of the North and the sword of the Imperial Family; Kohella, the chief magical advisor to the Imperial Family; and the other two were not well known compared to the people of the Imperial Family.
Of course, Derek knew the identities of the other two to some extent.
This was because a 6-Star mage was a person of great influence even on a global scale, so even he, who had little interest in the game's settings, had no choice but to have heard their names.
One was Pine, the youngest daughter of a minor baronial family in the granary region at the southeastern tip of the continent. She was a master of necromantic corpse magic, a taboo among taboos, and due to that cursed talent, her very existence was kept a secret from the outside world.
And the other one... was Lord Drest Wolftail of the continent's southwest.
He was the spiritual leader of the Drest Magic Society, located in the northern part of the County of Belmeade, and he was the only 6-Star detection mage in the entire world.
"Drest is visiting Ebelstein?"
"Yes. The fact that the schedule for this tariff agreement was moved up so quickly is likely a conscious move in response to Lord Drest's movements."
"I see, so that's why the Margrave of Belmeade was heading to Ebelstein. He was hiding a secret like this."
The Grand Duke of Duplein frowned as he quietly listened to Valerian's report.
It was not a new development for the Margrave of Belmeade to act like a fool when it came to matters involving Elente. However, that did not mean he was a man completely devoid of thought.
There was a reason for the movements of that young and magnanimous head of house, who had suddenly changed the meeting schedule to head for Ebelstein. He intended to meet Drest in advance if he could.
There had to be a reason why Drest, who rarely left the Society building, would go out of his way to visit Ebelstein. He was a man who had mastered the 6-Star detection magic 'Foresight.'
If he began to engage in external activities instead of being cooped up in the Society building, all the nobles in the area had no choice but to be tense and pay close attention to his movements. The only times he was so active externally were when a major historical event was about to occur. In short, he was a living omen.
'I'll have to find out what that dying old man is thinking again. I may have to move myself.'
Even as the Grand Duke of Duplein thought this, he pondered a little more on what specific method he should take.
Since Drest was a master of detection magic, attaching some clumsy tail would only earn his animosity.
"Father. Also, a letter has arrived from Aiseline."
"Oh, from Aiseline, you say?"
It was rare for the Grand Duke of Duplein to show a bright expression. He was a man who always sat at his office desk and attended to his duties with a solemn face.
However, at the news about Lady Aiseline, who was like a treasure to the Duplein family, even that solemn, statue-like man's atmosphere softened a notch.
"Yes. It contains some inquiries about the family's well-being... and she also sent a request, saying she wants to hire a magic master."
"Aiseline wants a magic master? Of course, we assigned a few to her in her childhood, but after she came of age, she always declined, saying it was most efficient to learn magic on her own..."
"That's what I was thinking. I wonder if she's starting to feel a wall..."
"Hmm..."
The Grand Duke of Duplein stroked his chin a few times and fell into thought for a moment. Of course, if it was a request sent by his beloved daughter who had gone so far as to write a letter herself, it was right to grant it unconditionally.
In particular, Aiseline rarely took the initiative to send such a request. Rather than asking for something to be done for her, she was a praiseworthy girl who first considered what she could do for the family and her relatives, so such a request itself was extremely precious.
As a father, there were many times he wished she would lean on him more, so if Aiseline had sent a request for help first like this, his desire to support her in every way possible was great.
"But... she... specifically mentioned Derek."
"Derek... you mean the mercenary who taught Diella?"
"Yes. It seems he is currently spending his time working as a mercenary in Ebelstein."
"Then it's simple. Isn't it just a matter of hiring the fellow?"
There were two reasons why Derek had left the Duplein family's estate. One was that there was nothing more to teach Diella, and the other was that Derek could not further his own magical achievements in that estate.
The fact that he was working as a mercenary in Ebelstein and going out to actual combat sites must also be for the sake of furthering his own magical achievements.
If so, there was no great difficulty.
It was just a matter of continuing the mercenary work he wanted in Ebelstein and putting in a request for him to look after Aiseline's magic from time to time. He could give him as much money as he wanted.
However, Valerian's expression looked quite troubled.
"It seems... it may not be that simple."
"Is there a problem? Then again, if it were such a simple matter, Aiseline would not have written and sent a letter like this."
"Well... he is currently teaching the young lady of the Belmeade family under a commission from her."
"Hmm..."
He thought he understood why Valerian was making a troubled expression.
In the first place, since Derek was a wanderer, it was not strange for him to be teaching someone, somewhere.
There had always been a shortage of talent.
In the current social circle, where finding a good magic master was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky, the only reason someone like Derek was not making a name for himself was purely due to his lowly birth.
However, if his abilities came to be recognized to the point where they could offset even that background, it would be a different story.
If the situation escalated into a recruitment competition, there would be parts that Aiseline could not handle on her own.
She seemed to have clearly made up her mind to bring Derek in. It was the first time she, who always had a gentle disposition, had wanted something so strongly.
"I was thinking of sending Head Butler Delon to instruct him to negotiate actively. Sending the head butler directly will create a bit of a vacuum in the estate's work, but it would be better for such external matters to be handled definitively, wouldn't it?"
"No, that won't be necessary."
"Pardon?"
The Grand Duke of Duplein checked the weather outside. As it was the time when winter was ending, it looked as if the warm sunlight would soon arrive.
"Since I have to visit Ebelstein anyway because of the Drest matter, it would be more convenient to handle everything at once."
"...You're saying you'll go yourself?"
How could the Grand Duke of a nation move personally just to recruit a single magic master? Valerian's eyes widened.
However, this was on top of the objective of having to meet Lord Drest Wolftail in person, as well as handling the originally planned tariff agreement all at once. Since he was going to Ebelstein anyway, he was thinking of calling Derek out on the side.
"..."
However, no matter how much it was 'on the side,' each and every step of the Grand Duke had the value of a thousand pieces of gold.
No matter how high-priced a magic master was, there would be no one who could shake their head no when the Grand Duke of a nation personally visited Ebelstein to call for them.
<><><>
Although Lady Elente's duel ended in defeat, she still paid Derek all the gold coins she had promised.
The principle was that one did not receive the full commission fee for a failed request, but because Elente was so insistent that he take it all, Derek had no choice but to accept all the money she painstakingly handed over.
His heart was a little uncomfortable, but since the amount was what it was, he couldn't help but feel a corner of his chest grow warm.
"Derek. I'm going to rest for a while."
Perhaps she had felt something through the duel with Aiseline, as Elente's face showed a great deal of weariness.
It seemed she intended to rest from all her studies for a while and just sit in the mansion to organize her thoughts.
Derek studied Elente's expression and eventually had no choice but to nod his head.
For an adolescent girl, an appropriate amount of wandering was rather indispensable. It was necessary to wander here and there at least once in one's life.
Therefore, Derek sent Elente a quiet word of encouragement.
"You're still working with the Veldern Mercenary Corps, right?"
"Yes."
"Can you come teach me magic next time too?"
Although her face looked weary, Elente spoke as if she had to confirm what needed to be confirmed.
Derek looked at Elente quietly for a moment, then finally answered in a low, deep voice.
"I'm not sure what more I can teach you, Lady Elente. Haven't you already reached a sufficient level in the mastery of 1-Star magic?"
"...That's true."
Elente looked at Derek quietly for a moment, then finally continued speaking slowly.
"But still, Derek. When I look at you, I get the feeling that you're not a mage at the same 1-Star level as me."
"I am just a mercenary who knows how to handle a little 1-Star magic."
"If you keep striving, you could become a mage of a higher level. You seem to have more than enough of that quality."
"Thank you for the compliment. However, there is a limit to the level of magic a commoner can reach."
Although Elente's intuition was correct, Derek denied it as if making a declaration.
Thus, Elente quietly stared into Derek's eyes. Derek also met her gaze for a long time, looking into those eyes that were gentle yet firm. It was a gaze that seemed to have no roughness.
Eventually, Elente let out a hollow laugh and then said in a lighthearted voice that it was fine then.
Thump!
The sound of a creaking wooden door closing was heard. It was the sound of Derek returning home.
Derek was still using the residence that his master, Katia, had used.
It wasn't that it had any special meaning, but simply because it was a hassle to go anywhere else. He didn't want to spend money unnecessarily, and the location of this place was decent for going back and forth to the tavern street.
Late that night, Derek, having returned to his residence, took out a safe from under the small wooden bed and opened it.
Inside the sturdy safe, along with gold coins, quite a few valuables and jewels were piled up. The income he had earned through various requests had gathered into a considerable amount.
'This is quite a collection. Should I start thinking about buying some magic supplies?'
Derek had a dream of acquiring a personal wand or staff, but magic supplies of that caliber were items that even nobles had to make a big decision to purchase due to their price.
He had a burning desire to personally acquire a staff that he could use when casting high-level magic, but even those were things that one could only handle fully after passing the entry-level of 3-Star.
In truth, it was correct to see them as items that commoners could not even approach, so even if he bought one, it would not be easy to use it freely. So perhaps a wand, which was easier to carry and hide, would be better.
More than anything, mastering 3-Star magic came first.
3-Star magic was on a different level from 2-Star magic.
If 2-Star magic was the kind of firepower an individual could wield, from 3-Star onwards, magic of a scale that could be used tactically even in battles between groups began to appear.
In combat magic, there were tectonic shifts or walls of fire that could pour large-scale attacks over a wide area, and in confusion magic, there were spells that could confuse all five of a person's senses. Especially when it came to detection, if one mastered 3-Star magic, one could instantly see through all the magical tricks in the vicinity.
'Accepting requests from nobles is certainly profitable, but it takes up too much time and has little connection to actual combat, so it doesn't help much with my magical achievements. This is definitely a problem.'
Going around to hunt magical beasts and conquer labyrinths provided a meaningful boost to his own magical achievements, which Derek could feel himself.
However, looking after the magic of noble young ladies might be profitable, but it was rare for it to help with his magic skills. Sometimes, he would realize things himself in the process of teaching, but even so, the limits were clear.
He had earned as much money as he needed, so for the time being, wouldn't it be right to focus on his own magical achievements?
Derek pondered such thoughts as he slowly savored the amount of money piled in the safe. It was an amount that meant he wouldn't have to worry about his livelihood for a while, at least.
'Right.... For a while, I'll just focus on my own achievements, and I should refrain from requests to teach someone.'
He thought that there was its own meaning in teaching people, but what was more important was for him to become a more outstanding mage himself.
Right now, the desire to quickly break through the blocked realm of 3-Star was more desperate than anything else.
'I've rested long enough, so let's take on a pretty big request. I wonder if Felinne's schedule is free.'
Thus, Derek decided that he should enter a period of rest as a magic master for the time being.
This was a week before the Margrave of Belmeade and the Grand Duke of Duplein visited Ebelstein.
It was unfortunate for Derek, but it was the way of monarchs not to leave talented individuals alone.
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