[Trantor - Night]


    [Proofreader - Gun]


    Chapter 44


    ‘Is there really no way out?’


    Just as Melissa was slowly stepping back, her so-called savior arrived.


    Or rather, could that even be called a savior?


    “B-Bad news, Lord!”


    An elf man came running frantically and shouted at her.


    “What is it?”


    Elves are typically quiteposed.


    But the sheer urgency in this elf’s expression made Melissa tense up as well.


    “F-from the young master''s room, a strange light burst out…”


    Leon’s room?


    Almost simultaneously, both of them turned their heads toward the window of Leon’s room.


    BANG!!!


    A mass of light exploded from the window at that very moment.


    It was obvious at a nce that this was no natural phenomenon.


    “Leon, what the hell did you put in your room?”


    “What do you mean? Other than the necessary supplies, I don’t have a single magical object in there. Just an extra ck Night Sword and a blue box…”


    Leon trailed off.


    Right.


    There was one thing.


    A blue, square-shaped box presumed to be a living entity.


    He had oveid it with a sealing barrier as a precaution.


    “…You put up that barrier, and now it’s causing trouble? Can’t you do something about it?”


    “That… is beyond my control.”


    * * *


    The curtain of light engulfing my room was, quite literally, a massive barrier wall.


    ording to the attendant, at first, the light was only shining inside the door.


    But before anyone realized it, it had slowly spread beyond my room.


    Zzt…


    Sparks flickered from my hand.


    “Leon, how is it?”


    “It’s no use. I can’t interfere with it.”


    If only it were necromantic magic, I might have been able to hack into it.


    But this golden barrier waspletely untouchable.


    Not that a mage can be proficient in all forms of magic anyway.


    Even with the knowledge I had umted at the Hall of Necromancy, I could only make rough guesses about the basics of this magic.


    There was no way I could handle such a precise and solid barrier.


    At least, touching it didn’t seem to cause any immediate harm.


    “Hah. So there are things you don’t know.”


    Ignoring her mocking tone, I narrowed my eyes and studied the barrier.


    I had no idea how far it would keep expanding, but this wasn’t good.


    “If this keeps up, our entire estate could be swallowed whole.”


    “What?! No way! How is that even possible? What on earth did you bring back?!”


    Melissa grabbed my cor and shook me violently.


    “Calm down. I’ll find a way. Looks like our training will have to wait.”


    I barely managed to suppress my irritation.


    This damned blue box had robbed me of my perfect chance to torment my insufferable little sister.


    It would pay for this.@@novelbin@@


    “If there’s no opening, I’ll just break through with force.”


    I immediately stepped forward and spread my necromantic mana.


    No matter how I analyzed it, I had no way to interfere with it in my current state.


    But there was no way I was letting this cursed barrier run wild and cost me my golden opportunity to legally torment Melissa.


    “What are you doing?”


    “Shut up. I’m breaking through.”


    At my words, Melissa turned her gaze toward the barrier.


    No, not that wall.


    Wooooom! Chiiiiing!


    As a massive resonance vibrated through my heart, sending out an ear-splitting grinding noise, Melissa finally understood my intent.


    Her mouth fell open.


    “…Are you seriously trying to reach the 6th Circle?! Just like that, without any preparation?!”


    Before she could even finish her exmation, ck necromantic mana erupted from my body like mist, coiling around the surroundings.


    Swordmaster.


    Archmage.


    There were many other paths, but the reason these titles existed was simple.


    They marked the point where one surpassed the limits of humanity.


    And for the first time, I was stepping beyond those limits.


    Of course, reaching the level of an Archmage wouldn’t physically strengthen my body.


    Each path of transcendence grants something different.


    And necromancers were no exception.


    I wasn’t sure how the elemental mages developed, since I hadn’t seen it firsthand.


    But judging by the Archmages I had fought as enemies, they were definitely insane superhumans.


    I hadn’t dyed reaching the 6th Circle because I was cking off.


    Just as I had temporarily put off the Swordmaster’s wall, I had also refrained from pushing past the Archmage’s wall too recklessly.


    Doing so could have backfired horribly.


    But this was not the time to hesitate.


    Even if it cost me something, I had to deal with this damned barrier first.


    The resistance was immense, but I forced my way through using my overwhelming necromantic mana.


    No!


    Stop!


    Don’t do it!


    It was as if the barrier itself was rejecting me.


    The more it pushed back, the sharper the pain in my head became.


    It felt like a mere jolt at first, but if I made a single mistake, my brain could end up getting roasted like a well-done meal in an oven.


    [Trantor - Night]


    [Proofreader - Gun]


    Crrrack…! Crack!


    “Tch. What nonsense. ‘Archmage’ isn’t just some pet’s name…”


    With the sound of something shattering, a ck ring formed around my heart.


    Crash!!!


    But it didn’tst long.


    It began breaking apart almost immediately.


    What?


    Why isn’t this working?


    This waspletely different from anything I had experienced before.


    Dozens, no, hundreds of hypotheses raced through my mind, but I couldn’te to a clear conclusion.


    Sensing the sudden shift in my energy, Melissa caught on instantly.


    And she did not let the opportunity slip away.


    “Pfft. What was that? Breaking through a wall?”


    …This brat.


    Wiiiiiiiing!!!!


    I can endure the fact that I haven’t be an Archmage yet.


    But.


    I can never endure Melissa mocking me about it.


    [Warning, excessive agitation will be detrimental in this situation...]


    I forcibly began to stabilize the circle.


    Interference?


    Failure?


    Those factors had long since ceased to matter to me.


    The difficulty of sess was nothingpared to the anger I felt at Melissa’s ridicule.


    Fwoooosh!!!!


    The broken and copsing rings forcefully reformed, wrapping around the five fiercely rotating circles to create a new one.


    Atst, the sixth circle was finallyplete.


    At the same time, my body shed ayer, as if peeling away like fragments of light.


    It was a transformation different from mere rebirth.


    “What… what the?! You were failing just moments ago?!”


    Melissa looked utterly unaware that her own mockery had been a major contributing factor.


    Of course, she would have to pay for her ridicule.


    Name: Leon Cascadia


    Age: 17


    Gender: Male


    Abilities:


    (Condensed)


    (Condensed)


    (Hall of Necromancy)


    Archmage Necromancer (6th Circle) – Learned spells can be viewed in detail.


    The Deathlord’s necromantic mana and the authority infused within it remain preserved.


    [Rank has changed from Senior 5th Circle Necromancer to 6th Circle Archmage Necromancer.]


    What is the 6th Circle?


    It is the realm of Archmages.


    Even those who know little about magic have at least heard of it.


    Then, does reaching the 6th Circle make a huge difference?


    Are the spells usable at this level extraordinary?


    Both statements are true, but there’s more to it than that.


    A mage who reaches the 6th Circle undergoes fundamental changes—the structure of their magic circles alters, and the way they manipte mana shifts entirely.


    Atst, the stale air around me felt a little fresher.


    No matter how good my control was, if my engine’s output was low, there was only so much I could do.


    Besides, for me, reaching the 6th Circle was the only real obstacle.


    Everything beyond it?


    No problem at all.


    Mastery of 6th Circle magic?


    Adapting to the changes thate with it?


    None of that applied to me.


    As soon as I reached the 6th Circle, a surge of denser necromantic mana overflowed through my body.


    Melissa, quick to catch on, immediately gestured to her attendants and took several steps back.


    Sguguguguguk!!!


    Simultaneously, intricate magic circles appeared at my fingertips, radiating power that pressed down upon the barrier.


    [6th Circle Necromantic Magic]


    [Weight of Resentment]


    This was a gravitational pressure spell I had cobbled together, inspired by the gravity magic favored by an elemental dragon I fought in the Hall.


    Most 6th Circle spells are like this.


    No matter how skilled you are, without the raw output of the 6th Circle, you simplyck the power to cast them.


    But now that I had surpassed that threshold, such concerns were meaningless.


    I typicallymanded undead, but in this situation, summoning a Death Knight or a Wraith Wolf like Shadowfang would be of little help.


    The barrier before me was not necromantic magic—


    I couldn’t hack into it, and none of my necromantic spells could interfere to dispel it.


    That left me with only one option.


    A brute force approach.


    I had to break the barrier.


    Sensing my intent, the barrier began to fiercely resist.


    But the ck magic circle I had conjured only intensified the gravitational force, pressing down harder and harder on it.


    And then—


    Crackle…! Crackle-crack!!!


    Sparks suddenly erupted from the barrier, streaking toward me like lightning.


    Crash!!!


    Yet, they dissipated harmlessly upon colliding with the necromantic mana surrounding me.


    However, it did seed in making me frown in irritation.


    “Eek!!”


    The bacsh from the damn barrier wasn’t just targeting me—it was also striking out at Melissa and her attendants.


    If Melissa hadn’t instinctively drawn her sword and deflected the attack, one of the maids would have been injured.


    “You’ve got to be kidding me.”


    There’s no way this barrier has a will of its own, so it must be acting ording to a pre-set retaliation mechanism.


    Normally, defensive systems like this prioritize neutralizing the most immediate threat first.


    Given the current situation, the barrier should be directing all of its energy toward eliminating me.


    But instead, it had spread its attack across multiple targets.


    Which meant…


    This barrier didn’t consider my assault to be that much of a threat.


    [There is a high possibility of misinterpretation.]


    Shut up.


    I widened my eyes and cracked my neck.


    “I don’t care if I just broke past a wall and need some time to adjust—you’re underestimating me? You picked the wrong person to mess with.”


    I raised my other hand, which had been idle until now.


    And with a surge of necromantic mana, as if overloading the flow, I explosively poured my power into the magic circle, twisting its structure.


    * * *


    Something about Leon’s demeanor was different.


    I wasn’t sure what had set him off, but the irritation on his face was palpable.


    He’s always had a streak of pride since childhood.


    Of course, when he abandoned the sword, he did so without hesitation—but I still remember how he brooded over it for days afterward.


    Maybe that’s why.


    The mana overflowing around him was so intense that even non-mages could sense how dangerous it was.


    [Trantor - Night]


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