Chapter 409

Words : 2217 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

Rudger currently works at Theon Magic Academy. “Come to think of it, there was Theon!” While Theon is primarily known as an academy that educates magicians, that’s not all there is to it. It regularly produces special talents, and its magical papers and theories are on par with other magic towers. As the first place future important magicians of the country pass through, Theon’s prestige was not to be taken lightly. That’s why numerous companies provide funding to Theon every year, sponsoring and collaborating to receive various rights. “For a kingdom like Yuta, they might even welcome it.” When directly contracting with places that have natural resources, the capital needed to obtain materials and reagents for magical research greatly decreases. Of course, for that to happen, they would also need to spare no support in helping the Yuta Kingdom with resource extraction. While it might be difficult to see significant profits immediately, from a long-term perspective, it wasn’t a bad deal at all. “Of course, the final evaluation will be made by the President, so I can’t be certain yet. Keep that in mind.” “I know that too! Still, thank you so much!” Yekaterina was so happy she tried to hug Rudger but Rudger pushed her head away in alarm. “Didn’t I tell you to maintain dignity and fix this habit?” Pushed away, Yekaterina replied with a sulky expression. “I don’t do this with just anyone, you know?” “I remember saying you shouldn’t act like this with anyone.” “That’s up to me. I’m the queen now.” “Someone might think you became queen just to do whatever you want.” “Anyway, thanks for the advice. I should visit Theon soon.” “...Please watch what you say there and don’t cause any trouble.” At Rudger’s worried words, Yekaterina frowned. “I know how to exercise restraint in public positions now, you know?” “...Right.” Thinking of what he saw at the Landriver Hotel’s front desk, maybe it was needless worry. Rudger nodded in acknowledgment. “You must be busy with cleanup right now, so we can’t chat for long.” “...That’s right. Your position and mine are different from back then.” Yekaterina felt regretful that they no longer had time to talk comfortably. She even found herself missing the days when they were fleeing during the civil war. While every moment then was certainly filled with crisis, it wasn’t like now. Why was that? Why did being queen now feel much more suffocating than back then? Wearing ill-fitting clothes and putting on a mask was too difficult. Maybe that’s why. It felt comfortable being with someone who shared her past and treated her as she was, regardless of status. Of course it would feel regretful. “...If I visit Theon, will you treat me as a guest?” Like a child expecting parents to buy a toy, Yekaterina looked at Rudger with anxious eyes. Rudger chuckled at her expression and nodded. “Sure. I’ll at least show you around.” Yekaterina’s expression brightened at that answer. “Ohoho! I definitely heard that answer? You promised?!” “Yes.” Rudger decided to go along with it, worried she might really cry if he said he hadn’t actually promised anything. Yekaterina left, saying she would look after the injured. Rudger watched her bouncing figure disappear, then headed toward where the barracks were. He didn’t forget to remove the sound barrier he had spread around. As he turned around a corner of the half-burned tent, Rudger encountered someone. “Ms. Roina?” “Ah, um, that...” Roina showed an uncertain response upon seeing Rudger. Rudger’s gaze narrowed. Judging by that reaction, it seems she had secretly watched his private meeting with Yekaterina. “What kind of relationship do you have with Queen Yekaterina?” Indeed, Roina asked directly, not hiding the fact that she had seen them. It was quite characteristic of her, if anything. “She just came to thank me for helping resolve this situation.” Since he couldn’t reveal his true identity, Rudger made up an excuse. Because of the sound barrier, Roina couldn’t hear what the two had discussed, so denying was the only option. “While hugging each other like that?” “...That’s.” Rudger recalled Yekaterina’s undignified behavior from earlier and realized his mistake. While the conversation couldn’t be heard, just looking at Yekaterina’s actions left plenty of room for misunderstanding. Rudger pondered how to explain this away. Yekaterina is a monarch of a nation, despite how she appears. He tried to think of the best excuse that wouldn’t tarnish her reputation, but nothing suitable came to mind. That’s when Roina reached out and patted Rudger’s shoulder. “...?” Rudger stared at Roina with a look that questioned what this behavior was about. Roina nodded at Rudger as if she understood everything. “Fighting! I’ll support you as a friend.” Roina gave Rudger a thumbs up with her other hand. At first, Rudger didn’t understand what she meant, but then he realized what kind of misunderstanding she had made. When Rudger’s expression suddenly turned grim, Roina sensed it and fled from the spot like a ghost. “Really now.” While Rudger ground his teeth slightly, he couldn’t say anything since he remembered selling out Roina’s name. Rather, when Roina learns the truth later, she might come running to find him. Then Rudger might have to avoid her like she just did. * * * Returning to his quarters in the barracks, Rudger slumped onto the sofa. Although Rudger rarely felt fatigue, he had never felt such a desperate desire to close his eyes as now. ‘But I can’t do that.’ This was a rare moment of personal time. Though both body and mind were thoroughly exhausted, Rudger hadn’t forgotten what he needed to do. Rudger pulled out a book from the shadows. This book, written entirely in ancient language without any title, was one of the items Rudger had been searching for a long time, a book containing knowledge about non-attribute magic. ‘With this.’ Rudger opened the book and began studying its contents. In the quiet tent without Arpa, only the soft sound of turning pages could be heard. How much time had passed like that? With a thud, Rudger closed the book after turning its final page. After placing the book on a nearby shelf, Rudger got up from the sofa and lay down on the bed. In his fatigue, Rudger’s mind mulled over the contents of the book he had just read. ‘Compared to the book’s volume, there was very little useful information.’ Most of it was similar to what was in Rene’s mother’s book about non-attribute magic but that didn’t mean there were no gains. ‘Non-attribute magic, beyond having no proper attribute, it’s an unbreakable curse that gradually eats away at the user’s life.’ That was the characteristic of non-attribute magic. Non-attribute magic gradually becomes stronger over time without proper training. However, those who possess non-attribute magic don’t know how to use the magic building up in their bodies. Whether they suppress the magic or scrape it out completely and expel it all, the unknown residue left in the body eats away at the flesh. A terminal life that begins the moment magic is realized. It would be nice if they could go easily, but the end of non-attribute magic users was usually not good. The body that breaks down from within brings tremendous pain to the person, to the point where even people with the strongest willpower cannot endure and commit suicide. Why is that? Why does such magic exist, and why must people die? The reason for that question was written in this book, albeit abstractly. [All of this is because of a curse laid by the gods.] A curse laid by the gods. Others might dismiss it as ancient people’s way of shifting blame, but Rudger was different. ‘A curse, huh.’ In fact, there couldn’t be a more accurate expression. Then he needed to know why it became a curse. [In ancient times, they say the magic of the chosen ones was far more diverse and abundant than now. Though that lineage is now broken and hard to even remember, we believed the origin of this curse of nothingness lies there.] Even the ancients referred to it as ancient times. Then just how long ago was it? But Rudger got a kind of clue from those words. ‘Before the current magical system of 10 elements, in the distant past, there were more undiscovered mysterious attributes of magic.’ Modern magicians would find that hard to believe, after all, their thinking is basically limited to modern knowledge and set in its ways but even in this world, there exist magicians who use mysterious magic. In fact, Rudger knew one such magician. ‘Then was the lineage of knowledge about non-attribute magic completely severed by the gods’ curse?’ Rudger could only make such a guess since the book didn’t contain anything about that. ‘Gods, huh.’ Most people would feel stuck here. They would wonder who this “god” the ancients mentioned is supposed to be. Perhaps it’s something fatalistic called a god, or they might have assessed some unknown thing that humans dare not resist as a god but at least Rudger, with his deep knowledge of ancient language, knew it wasn’t such a complex meaning. The god the ancients speak of is literally a god and there is only one god they would mention in this world, the chief god Lumensis. The Lumensis Order who worships him clearly knew something. ‘Those guys again, huh.’ While tiresome, it wasn’t particularly surprising, rather it felt fortunate because all the directions he needed to head pointed to just one place. However, more important than discovering the truth was finding a solution to the side effects of non-attribute magic. ‘Non-attribute magic is still magic in the end. If one properly realizes what attribute they have and knows how to handle it, it would no longer be a curse. But that’s dangerous without any knowledge.’ However, nowhere in this book was there anyone who had managed to handle it. Of course, that’s natural. If a solution had existed, there wouldn’t have been people dying from non-attribute magic afterward. ‘But there is at least mention of a method to suppress it.’ That was information more precious than millions in gold but the person who wrote about that method didn’t particularly like it. Rather, they considered it taboo and avoided it. Of course that’s natural. The way to somehow delay God’s curse isn’t through a priest’s blessing or a magician’s knowledge of magic. “It’s black magic’s curse.” Lying on the bed, Rudger’s eyes looking at the ceiling sank deeply. * * * Dawn broke. Although it wasn’t noticeable in the Kasar Basin, which had regained its mysterious phenomenon and maintained the same brightness, time was honest. Rudger stretched his stiff body. Today was the day the entrance to the Kasar Basin would open. In other words, it was the day to leave this place. Belkart was dead, and the collapse of the Kasar Basin was prevented. Moreover, in the process, he had obtained items close to elixirs and gathered all the necessary information. Though it was tough, the rewards were overflowing. “Leader. I’m done packing.” “Okay. Got it.” Arpa picked up the luggage bag. As the two came out of the tent people could be seen moving about throughout the barracks, preparing to leave. When they saw Rudger, they gave light greetings. No one was unaware of Rudger’s achievements in this incident. Of course, Rudger had pushed most of the credit onto Roina, but even accounting for that, Rudger’s role was significant. Naturally, people treated Rudger with goodwill and sought to befriend him, except for the Old Magic Tower. Rudger exchanged light greetings with such people. The departing path became a long procession. Although they had survived, people who had gone through such a major ordeal didn’t want to remain here any longer. They moved with quick steps toward the foggy veil where a large passage had opened. Just leaving doesn’t resolve everything. What happened inside and how to handle the treatment of the dead were matters that would need to continue being dealt with outside. ‘Other people will handle it well anyway.’ Of course, that wasn’t Rudger’s role. He would report to Duke Heiback and the President, but there was no need to handle the aftermath. With such thoughts, Rudger walking with Arpa had to stop in his tracks. Arpa was about to ask why when she saw what Rudger was looking at. “It’s a child?” A child. Being quite far from the exit, others couldn’t see, but Rudger and Arpa with their extraordinary vision clearly saw a young boy with gray hair endlessly staring beyond the foggy veil. That appearance looked just like he was waiting for someone. “I wonder who he’s waiting for?” “Probably a friend.” “A friend? But the souls here have to stay trapped inside, right? Then they can’t wait outside, can they?” “They’ll still wait.” “Why?” “Because that’s what friends do.” Rudger moved his feet, leaving the child’s figure behind.

Chapter 409

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