CHAPTER 07………………………………………….
Let’s go back.
I put on the hooded cloak from among the clothes I’d brought with me.
Once I retrieved the money pouch, I planned to head straight to the back door of the kitchen and secretly hitch a ride on the cart that carried trash outside.
That cart went to the lower town. I would somehow endure two weeks there, then return to this cabin. That was the best plan I had.
Pulling the hood low over my face, I steeled myself and grasped the doorknob.
“Whew.”
Only a few hours had passed, so the Uberis estate should still be deep in the night.
“[I’m going back.]”
At those words, light began to seep out from the crack in the door once more. The space connected.
But so tense about not getting caught, I failed to notice that, unlike usual, the light shining through the crack was tinged red.
Grab the money pouch, then run straight to the kitchen. If I use the secret passage Mom taught me, I can move without being seen.
Rehearsing the plan in my mind, I pushed the handle with force.
Creeeak.
The door opened without much resistance.
Alright, let’s go!
The moment it opened, I had to move immediately. I absolutely couldn’t get caught. Bracing myself, I stepped outside—
“Aaaagh!”
A man’s scream tore through the air.
Startled by the unexpected cry, I reflexively let go of the handle.
Oh no!
As if it were semi-automatic, the door slammed shut on its own. The light vanished, and the connection was cut instantly.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
“Huh?”
Cold night air brushed against my cheek. I stared blankly around me.
“…Where am I?”
This wasn’t my room.
The darkened corridor didn’t even match the architectural style of the Cyrus Empire.
It closely resembled the interior style of the small southern nation I’d read about in books—the Kingdom of Ruinac.
Unlike the Empire’s mansions, which favored vivid primary colors, southern countries preferred warm tones like ivory or green. I’d heard that before.
If that was the case, this place was either the Kingdom of Ruinac or the southern border regions adjacent to the Cyrus Empire. Ripei had said that those areas, with borders often shifting due to war, had mixed architectural styles.
Why did it connect here?
My heart pounded.
The door’s connection had gone wrong. Based on five years of experiments and experience, I always returned to the place I’d departed from.
But no matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t my room—nor was it even the Uberis estate.
What on earth happened?
Then a shockwave ripped through the air.
Kuu-gugung!
“Ugh!”
The deafening roar, like a bomb going off, made me cover my ears. The entire building seemed to shake, as if something massive had collided.
That’s… a mana shockwave?
This heavy, reverberating sensation rattling my mind was the residual mana wave left behind by magic.
Someone was using high-tier magic outside the estate.
I ran straight to the corridor window to check outside, toward where the mana wave had originated.
What is that?
It wasn’t the direct cause of the shockwave, but a thin, pale-blue membrane enveloped the air above the estate. It was clearly a massive hemispherical barrier, completely covering the grounds.
Did the owner of the estate cast it?
There weren’t many mages capable of such large-scale magic.
Though all members of the ruling class were mages, one had to use at least 4th-tier magic to be considered a proper mage, and from the 6th tier onward, one was acknowledged as a high-ranking mage.
And this wave—so intense and vivid—I hadn’t felt anything like it since the time I’d foolishly opened a “door” to the imperial palace and nearly got caught by its defensive magic.
At the very least, the mage who cast that barrier is 6th tier or higher.
Just then, murmuring voices drifted up from below.
Looking down, I saw people running across the courtyard. It didn’t feel like a ball or a banquet—the atmosphere was tense and hostile.
They looked like they were being chased.
The pursuer is… huh? Just one person?
No matter how many times I blinked, it was the same: many fleeing, one in pursuit.
Is he an insanely powerful mage?
To face that many alone, wouldn’t you have to be something like the master of the Sky Ark? The one Ripei told me about—the man said to have gathered only magic-crazed lunatics from across the continent.
But I’d heard that man was in his eighties. No matter how generously I estimated, the man below looked barely in his early thirties.
He’s shining even from this far away.
The gold-trimmed cloak slung over his shoulders fluttered in the wind, then flew off entirely.
With blond hair, pale skin, a pure white shirt, and black trousers, the man was dazzling enough that even by moonlight alone, his position was unmistakable—unlike the fleeing group, who were hard to see.
Then one of the men in the group screamed and thrust his hand forward. In it, he held something like a thin baton.
A casting focus!
Since magic was operated with the heart as its core, most people used their hands as the point of manifestation—but some used foci instead.
People like my mother, who was well-versed in theory but poor in practice. Or those with unstable mana control.
Mom used a bracelet with a purple mana stone set in it.
The low-grade mana stone at its core had shattered long ago, leaving it a useless keepsake.
I was just starting to feel a little down when a shiver ran through me as I sensed the flow of mana, snapping me back to attention. Judging by how the mana was forming, it was a 6th-tier spell: Barak Krekte On.
Huh?
But the mana felt strange.
The colors are all mixed together?
Normally, mana took on a single color according to the individual’s nature. Each person had just one color. But this mage was different—his mana looked like poorly kneaded dough, several colors chaotically mixed together.
The spell finally seemed to complete.
“[Barak Krekte On!]”
A massive bolt of lightning tore through the sky and crashed down.
KRAAASH!
“Ah!”
The impact was far stronger than I’d expected. I covered my ears and shrank back.
My heart hammered wildly.
T-that scared me.
I knew it was a lightning spell, but I never thought he’d use something that powerful on a person.
Clutching my trembling body, I cautiously peeked out the window, worried the flamboyant blond man might have been roasted alive.
That’s what you get for being reckless in front of a mage!
There was a reason mages ruled the world. Since ancient times, they’d been born with overwhelmingly superior power.
I was briefly wondering whether I should pray for the repose of the blond man’s soul—surely reduced to ashes—
Huh? He’s alive.
The blond beauty was fine, aside from some singed clothing.
Just as I was about to sigh in relief, his form suddenly blurred, and he appeared right beside the spellcaster.
W-what? He’s insanely fast!
I hadn’t seen him move at all. And from his body, a faint golden light was seeping out.
Mana?
I narrowed my eyes, staring hard—then shook my head.
No, that’s—!
It wasn’t mana. Mana was what humans obtained by absorbing the natural force of mana and transforming it to suit themselves. But that was different in nature.
Could it be…?!
The other method of using mana I’d read about in books. Not magic, but a form that maximized physical power by using the entire human body as a conduit.
Aura.
I’ve never seen it before.
Of course I hadn’t—outside of books, at least.
After all, in this world, there was only one person who could perfectly wield aura.
Naturally, I realized who the blond man was.
Could it be… that person…?
Then it happened.
The blond man charged the mage, raised what I’d thought was just a long silver rod, and cut him down in a single stroke. The mage collapsed without even managing a scream.
“…!”
I clamped a hand over my mouth instinctively. Thankfully, it was dark and the distance was great—if I’d been closer, I would have fainted on the spot.
The moment their companion fell, the remaining mages surrounded the blond man in a circle, shouting something angrily. It sounded like a foreign language—I couldn’t understand a word.
Then, as a violent surge of mana swept across the courtyard, my mind snapped into sharp focus.
No way—they’re going to unleash coordinated magic?
No matter how much of an aura user he was, there was no way he could withstand a coordinated spell cast by four people.
He can’t block that.
Even if he was the legendary aura master of rumor, it was impossible.
When different natures of mana combined, coordinated magic didn’t just add in power—it multiplied. The effect increased exponentially.
And this was four people casting simultaneously.
At this level, everything around the estate will be blown away.
I needed to run. Immediately.
That was when—
A red aura began to leak out from the blond man’s body.
“Huh?”
My eyes widened.
The mages surrounding him also seemed shocked, hesitating in place.
“What… is that…?”
It shouldn’t have been possible.
That ominous-colored energy was unmistakably mana.
It was shocking enough that a duke, known to be a notch—a non-mage—could use magic, but something even more horrifying was unfolding before my eyes.
This is impossible.
Even in this world ruled by mages, there were taboos.
Magic that manipulated time.
Magic that manipulated life.
And human magic circles that absorbed another person’s mana.
These three were deemed inhumane and catastrophically dangerous to the world, designated by the Sky Ark as the Three Great Taboos.
And now—
The most dangerous of them all was unfolding right before my eyes.
