The Genius Magician Hides His Swordsmanship - Chapter 12

Chapter 12. The Delemar Library

[Is it a rainbow or something?]

No, it’s not like that. It contained many colors, like a rainbow at first glance, but the smoke that wafted from my hand changed colors as time passed.
It changed to blue, then red, and then yellow. It was a variation of different colors.

[What a variety of energy…]

Oberon didn’t recognize them easily. But there was one thing that did make sense to me.

‘Oberon.’
[What’s wrong?]
‘All the elements seem to have come out.’
[What?]

I had felt that way. The different colors of smoke had different sensations in my hand.

‘When it’s yellow, I feel numb, and when it’s blue, it’s cool.’

Isn’t it the same as the characteristics of each element? The smoke in my hands was clearly the start of each attribute.

[Interesting, is this how all wizards start?]
‘I don’t know.’

This is what happens when you deploy your mana in a relaxed way, without imagining things.

‘Then…’

I stared at the smoke and concentrated. When the red color was at its most concentrated, I felt its warmth. I groped for the sensation of fire. I imagined the hottest moment I’d ever known.
The smoke stayed red.

[Oh? Is something changing?]

Fire!
And then it transformed into a blazing flame.

‘…!’

It worked. I had finally manifested my element. Besides, the smoke transformation did not end there.
Crash!
The flames quickly turned to water. I felt a cool, wet sensation. It was the change that appeared when I focused on it.

‘This feels really good.’
[Isn’t it usually hard to manifest?]

I didn’t know what it was.

‘This body, it seems to have a crazy talent for magic.’

The first time was hard. The next one was easy, and before I knew it, multiple elements were blossoming in my hands.

Another week passed.

“Give me another month. I need to do something.”

Rio said he needed another month to get me to the Delemar library.

‘Do you have something to do?’

I didn’t know what he was trying to do, but I had no choice but to accept it.

“Alright.”

I still took Aloy’s classes during the day and did strength training with Drew at night. The reason why the repeated daily life was not boring is probably thanks to the various attributes that began to bloom at my fingertips. Magic seemed to be fun.
It was like I shot through a month of achievements.

‘Can I finally go to the library today?’

I was listening to Aloy’s class with a happy heart.

“Today, we’re going to implement attributes that are familiar to each of us.”

It was an area that Ariel and McDuff had already been showing off a month ago.

‘That’s about all.’

Of course, now I can do it freely.
Fire! A flame appeared in my left hand, and a stream of water rose from my right hand. Once I’d gotten used to the element implementation, I could emit two elements at the same time.

“Wow, Ian, you must be a real genius.”

Drew said, gaping his mouth.

‘I still can’t properly use magic though.’

It was a very easy area to imagine the essence of not being able to use magic. It is only natural that all the eyes of the children around me were focused on me.

[The stubborn guy is still quiet.]

McDuff, who should’ve had a fight with me at this point, just glanced at me in silence.

‘It must be because of the effect it would have on his education. He doesn’t want to be expelled.’

After the day he was threatened with penalty points, he gradually lost his hot temper in class.

[You should’ve reported him.]
‘What kind of person do you think I am?’

When McDuff raised his voice to the others, he would clear his throat with an ‘ahem’, but other than that, he didn’t do anything.
Momentarily, a voice came from the side.

“What happened to you all of a sudden?”

It was Ariel who had approached me before I even knew it.

“What?”
“I’m positive you didn’t know how to use even one until a month ago. But how can you now use multiple elements at once?”

I can’t say it was thanks to her.

“Well, after I was able to use one, the others came naturally.”
“Hmm… Are you familiar with all elements?”

Ariel was still in a situation where she could only produce water, so it was a natural question.

“You can use water balls, though.”

In terms of achievement in one element, Ariel had the upper hand. Even though she was of low class, she was already using magic. There was no doubt that she was also a great genius.

[I wonder if you don’t know, but it’s not normal for mages to use multiple attributes at the same time.]
‘Really? All the mages I fought with used 2 or 3 of them.’
[All of them were 7 stars or higher and had a reputation on the continent, and you are less than 2 stars, so it’s a miracle you’re doing this at this stage.]

I didn’t even know how it was done. If I just imagine the energy and let the mana flow, it just comes out naturally…

‘Isn’t it because I can control my inner energy well?’
[Maybe, whether it’s mana or aura, you’ve gotten to 9 stars before anyway.]

It’s been a long time since I had different elements in each hand.

“Now, everyone’s doing well. Ian, Ariel, and McDuff are progressing very quickly. But the rest aren’t slow, so don’t be discouraged. If you keep doing this, you guys should be able to do it in no time.”

Aloy’s voice echoed through the auditorium again.

“Then, everyone has worked hard today, everyone go to your dormitories and get some rest!”
“Yes!”
“You’ve worked hard!”

The unclear voices of children followed.

“Drew, go to my room and train first.”
“Oh, yes! Today is also the day you meet your uncle, right?”

He whispered quietly. I was with Drew every night, so he had no choice but to know my schedule.

“Yes, keep it a secret from the others.”
“Of course!”

Drew’s mood had changed quite a bit as he ran back.

[That Gibson boy seems to have gotten a little lighter now.]

It was an unavoidable change because of daily training.

‘It seems that he can now feel aura very well.’

I looked at him with a proud smile for a moment.

“Keep your eyes on the road.”

I turned my head toward McDuff’s voice.

‘He’s been a little quiet these days.’
[That’s just the way he is.]

He was arguing with Bella.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Bella did nothing wrong, but she kept her head down at him, wary of McDuff’s actions.

“Ahem!”

Responding to my loud cough, McDuff’s body instantly stiffened. I took a step closer. Then, he hurriedly spit out words at Bella.

“It’s not your fault, it’s mine, just watch where you’re going from now on. I’m afraid you’ll get hurt by bumping into a wall.”

McDuff’s pupils were shaking.

“What’s the matter?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just told Bella to be careful not to get hurt. Isn’t that right?”
“Huh? Uh, yes.”

Bella must have thought something was wrong with McDuff. Without knowing what, she nodded her head.

“Then let’s go, McDuff. We’re going somewhere together today.”
“Oh! That’s right. We have to go. Let’s go.”

Shoulder to shoulder with him, we headed to the place where Rio was waiting.

[Hey, iljin.]
‘What’s that?’
[You’re McDuff’s manager.]
‘Iljin? What do you mean, is that what you use when you say that someone is ferocious?’
[Well, something like that. It was popular for a while during the time you were gone.]

Oberon chuckled to himself because he thought it was funny.

* * * 

“You had a hard time today.”

Rio’s satisfied smile turned to us.

“McDuff has done well on this one too.”

As he said he would a month ago, he kept visiting us every week and giving us more homework.
The content of the homework wasn’t much different from the first one. It was at a level that guided us to attain enlightenment.
It was clear that the purpose was to help us.

“Okay, you both did a good job, so we’ll skip this week’s homework. I’ll give you a new one next week. You can go back for today.”
“Really?”

McDuff was just happy that he didn’t have homework.

“Yes, you’d better go back quickly before I change my mind.”
“Uh, yes!”

He ran back to the dormitory.

“Ian.”

Rio’s eyes turned to me.

“Let’s go to the library.”

The long-awaited moment had finally arrived.

“You sent McDuff away on purpose.”
“Yes, can’t we go together?”

He skillfully removed him.

“But how are we going to get there?”
“Follow me.”

I followed Rio, who led the way, and moved on.

‘Is he using search-type magic?’

He moved only to places where there were no people, and headed to a corner of the academy.

“I’m sure you already know this since you’re smart, but is this a secret?”
“Of course.”

Rio’s lips went up in satisfaction.

“Yeah, there’s no need to explain to a smart kid like you why you have to keep a secret. Then let’s go.”

It wasn’t long before Rio’s footsteps stopped. We were in front of a plain wooden building. It was a familiar building.

[What, isn’t this just a warehouse?]

Oberon knew this place as an old warehouse at a remote part of the academy.

‘Why are we here?’

Looking left and right for a moment, Rio carefully approached the door, grabbed the handle, and released mana towards the door.
Whoosh!
After the strong mana enveloped the entire door once.

“Look carefully.”

Rio grabbed the doorknob and turned it. There was a panoramic view through the slowly opened door.

‘Huh?’

Both my eyebrows trembled violently.

‘Uncle, how did this happen?’

Because after Rio proudly opened the door, there was a wide library spread out. I couldn’t see anything in the warehouse that should have been there.

“Wasn’t this originally a warehouse? Was the Delemar’s library hidden in a place like this?”

Rio shook his head.

“This is a warehouse. I can’t take you directly to the library, so I just connected the spaces. Let’s go in before anyone sees.”

He grabbed my hand and we went inside.

“You connected the space?”
“Yes, the Delemar’s library is originally inside the temple. I can’t take you there.”

The temple.
It was a place that only those who were recognized as official members of the Delemar family by the patriarch could enter. It’s a kind of prestige, something like a party.

“Then did you make a portal or something connected to the library here?”
“It’s similar. Do you know how hard it was for me to make this? I don’t think there are many people who can do it other than me, not even in the Delemar family.”

Only then did I understand.

‘So that’s why it took a month.’

How much effort must have been made to realize such a large-scale spatial connection magic?
It made me wonder when I thought of how he would have installed it while paying attention to others in the temple.

“Why did you do this?”
“I said I would grant your wishes to the best of my ability. I will keep my word.”

Rio shrugged his nose and opened his mouth again.

“Now take a quick look around. I hope your magic will improve.”

I hurriedly walked inside.

‘Wow, this is great.’

The bookshelves were spread out in all directions and the densely packed books greeted us. Just being kept in the Delemar’s library proves its value. There was no doubt that each and every one of them had secrets worthy of stirring up the world.

‘Do you see this Oberon?’
[Yeah. Inside, there are books all in ancient languages. That’s awesome.]

Oberon had already flown to the depths and was doing reconnaissance.

‘There has to be something related to dark magic.’

Juan Delemar. He dared to leave the dark magic element on a card to be used in the judgment ceremony. Which means he most likely left dark magic books as well.

“Uncle Rio, can I borrow things from here?”

I asked, just in case

“Absolutely not.”

Rio shook his head.

“All I can do is connect the spaces. Items here are enchanted with tracking magic. No one can avoid that.”
“Okay.”

It’s unfortunate but unavoidable. At that moment, I was thinking of a strategy to use this time most efficiently.

“Instead, once a week. After our class, I’ll pick you up and take you here for an hour.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, I don’t think you made this wish just to stand there and see the atmosphere. It must have been a request to study what is here.”

Rio correctly grasped my intentions.

“If I can’t pick you up, you can come and study here alone. I’ll keep the connection magic going, so you can enter by yourself and take a look at the books.”

I couldn’t help but be proud of my uncle.

“Oh, and over there are all books written in ancient words, so you don’t have to go there.”

Rio pointed to the spot where Oberon was snooping around.

[Ah, that surprised me.]

When his hand pointed at him, Oberon’s body stiffened.

“But why didn’t you throw away the ancient language books?”

It was a natural question. It was strange to keep a book that they couldn’t even read inside the temple.

“For mages, spellbooks are all their wealth. That’s just the way they are. You’ll understand when you grow up a bit.”

Rio was stroking my hair while talking

“And maybe the ancient language isn’t quite dead.”
“Really? Can you learn the ancient language?”
“There is a story that if you become the patriarch, the ancient language will be passed on to you. Besides, there are quite a few people outside the world who try to interpret the ancient language. Of course, it is illegal.”

Rio’s expression turned serious again.

‘It’s an ancient language tradition…’

Why does that word make me feel better?

[So, these are only luxuries you can receive if you’re the patriarch.]

It was said that the ability to read ancient languages ​​was so great. At that exact moment, I started growing love for this place.

“But what if someone comes in while we’re doing this?”

Rio laughed.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Who’s going to come here? All these are in ancient languages, and all books that aren’t in ancient languages ​​have already been read.”

I smiled out of nowhere.

‘Alright.’
[What are you up to again?]

I responded vigorously to Rio.

“Thank you uncle!”