Hermit Wizard

The Soul Flows High (6)

“Phew, it’s over.”

Deep in the night, I closed the connection and opened my eyes. In front of me, Garam was sitting with a devastating look, as if he were looking at something ridiculous.

“No way…I don’t think you’ll succeed already.”

The technique of Dream-Present, which I had succeeded in, was lower-level magic than the technique of Dream-Travel that it was used only by the top level. It was magic that made the user appear in the form of dreams, intervene, and deliver a message. When Garam used this magic, he could only appear in the dream of his fellow Maek. So, what would happen if I used it as a human?

The results were as expected. In my case, I had now confirmed that it was possible to deliver a message by appearing in other humans’ dreams. If the opponent’s mental barrier was low, I could manipulate my reflection as I desired.

“This is…nonsense! When I first learned it, I failed dozens of times and barely managed to succeed!”

I remembered what Garam said the day he started the class. “It’s not a technique that humans can learn anyway, so let’s not waste time with each other. I can’t go back right away because they will notice. So, I’m going to watch TV here.”

Didn’t he say that? I think he fits my aptitude so well beyond the race. Of course, there were circumstances that he didn’t know, and Parvache’s help had a decisive impact. Still, it was refreshing.

“Is this much easier than enchanting or embodying the dream?”

“There are a lot of Maeks who find it more difficult to do this…”

“No, this magic is simpler for me. It was similar to imagery magic that projects memories.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’re a monster anyway.” Garam shook his head. Then he looked at me with a strange expression.

“Anyway…seeing you intervene in human dreams, it’s clear that you’re human.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

It seemed that they could appear only in the dreams of their race because it was easier to assimilate into the spirit world of a soul with the same pattern. I couldn’t help but succeed in targeting humans.

“Even though Mrs. Pearl and Brother Yu had already guaranteed, I honestly have been suspicious again these days. How can you learn Maek’s tricks at this speed? I thought you might be the offspring of the beings who crossed the wall…”

“What would you do if I wasn’t human? It sounds useless.”

Anyway, because it was successful, today’s class ended with a feeling of relief and accomplishment. I felt tired, like I was about to faint, but my mind was relaxed.

“Well, would you like something to eat?”

I called him this dawn for my circumstances. It was my first attempt, so I needed a guide. Unlike me, Garam somehow didn’t seem to have a problem even if he missed sleep for a few days. As expected, he didn’t refuse. I took Garam to the kitchen and sat him down at the table. Then, I brought a moderate amount of mixed magic metals from the warehouse.

“Oh, what is this orange metal? I feel a pretty peculiar power.”

He picked up a piece, sniffed it, and asked.

“By any chance, when you make these, did you also use Maek’s Iron and Maek’s Copper as the ingredients?”

When I said no, he gladly started eating. Come to think of it, he always asked that before he ate metal, he had never seen before. However, since Maek’s Iron and Maek’s Copper were useful metals with many uses, they weren’t put out as snacks.

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“Hmm? It’s unique. It tastes strange.”

“Oh, really?” I responded heartlessly.

Actually, I recently removed one of the 23 eyes of the Fake God. That orange magic metal was made after experimenting with an elegant, magical crystal. There was a unique and new magical pattern, but I still hadn’t figured out how to use it. Well, I didn’t have to tell Garam about that. First of all, it was confirmed that contact and ingestion didn’t affect the mind, let alone have a harmful effect on the mind. It was a complete experimental failure.

So even if he ate it, it would be harmless to his body.

“Hmm…it’s strange, but it’s okay. It’s peculiarly spicy.”

Focusing on the fact that the eyes were used as an essential medium when brainwashing, I studied it thinking that it could compensate for my lack of mental manipulation magic. However, there wasn’t much progress in that domain. Parvache asked me while Garam put and rolled the magic metal in his mouth, tasting it happily.

[Does he really listen to you?]

“I’m not 100% sure yet. But even if he wakes up tomorrow morning, he won’t forget this dream. He will try what he learned in his dreams while training during the day. Even if it were me, I’d try it out of curiosity…I will do something so that he doesn’t think it’s just a dream.”

I planned to revisit Hun-neung tomorrow morning. Once I was successful, I didn’t need Garam to watch from my side anymore. From there, I had to access the wizard trainee’s dream once more and deliver an additional message. Next, I intended to leave evidence on the subject’s body so that the experience wouldn’t be considered an ordinary dream.

“By the way…do you even sleep?” Garam, who was chewing, asked while looking at the dark circles under my eyes.

In fact, I was a mess right now. He nodded with a bitter smile, “You seem to be quite busy.”

Two months after defeating the Fake God, I was really busy. When I looked back when I spent half a year idle after confronting the Truth-Seeker of Silver Forest and the helplessness that weighed on me, I was so busy that I started to feel self-hatred beyond regret. I wasn’t supposed to be playing around like that.

“I’m afraid I’ll be busier in the future.”

I said while being aware of the artifacts in my inner pocket. It was one of the items recovered from the bodies. Garam’s eyes shone strangely as if he heard the story from Yusu.

“After all, I heard it was all a trap.”

“Right. Come to think of it. I haven’t heard back from Yusu yet.”

Not long ago, I questioned the memories of 29 people using the Fake God. Sending Yusu back to the village, I told him to share everything we heard with the village elders and let them know the results. The fact that a group called White Deer had hostility toward Dragons was inevitable. If the Dragon returned, they were the ones who would face as much frustration as me.

Two months ago, Yusu also heard the Fake God saying that a group sought to resurrect the Dragon. Nevertheless, the relocation of the village was carried out because of the determination they had made. To get help in holding back the common enemy, maybe we could use that power together.

“I also heard the plan of The Guardians of the Great Convention to withdraw all wizards who have soared recently. There’s even a similar work going on in this country, and I’ve already found evidence.”

I took the ring off my arm. The self-destruction magic was removed, but the unique magical wavelength remained.

“But it isn’t clear whether the abduction of human wizards has anything to do with the Dragon’s resurrection…”

“That’s right. But I’m trying to approach it in a slightly different direction. I don’t know if you heard it. After explaining the Washington incident to the memories, they said it was definitely an executive.”

The situation in the United States happened after the deaths of the 29 apprentices I interrogated. After explaining the situation and asking a question, the memories of the 29 people spoke together. They said that the place was a private institution where the U.S. government fostered wizards, a training center commonly referred to as a school. Was it on the organization’s target list, and they set off the explosion?

When I explained the terrible destruction, they said that it was undoubtedly the work of an executive. I even heard speculations about the executive’s identity.

“Unlike what those 29 people experienced in their lifetime, at least in the case of the United States, it is evidence that the executives have stepped forward to withdraw the wizards. Those who know more about the Dragon’s resurrection. Even here…and by that time, an executive might enter Korea.”

Garam nodded quietly, “Once you get that executive in your hand…”

Now that I had some experience, I had some tools for effective interrogation. I even got help from Parvache.

“Once I get him in my hand, I’m confident in extracting information.”

Garam’s complexion was clouded by what I said.

“…I heard from Brother Yu what was going on in the lower-floor that cannot exist under this space where I am sitting.”

“Well, anyway. Are you sure discussions are going on inside the Village?

Garam replied, stirring his hand, “Don’t even ask about it. These days, the elders gather day and night, and that’s all. Brother Yu also seems to be in that place.”

“Is there any reason to delay the decision? The resurrection of the Dragon must be prevented even for White Deer.”

“A decision has been made in the direction of stopping the Dragon’s followers somehow. The reason for the lengthening of the discussion…it seems that opinions are divided as to whether or not to follow your plan or not.”

“Why?”

“Because…”

Garam frowned, “…The place is less than a mile away from the village. There must be a lot of elderly people who think it’s dangerous to lure them to such a close area.”

Ah, what the hell. I was so annoyed at that moment that I tried to say something sharp. Maybe they weren’t as desperate as I was. Why? Didn’t it matter if they get kicked again after they finished moving to the land? Or had they not yet doubted that the Dragon’s resurrection was possible?

I looked straight into his eyes, “Well…if you say you don’t want to go ahead, I’ll have to do it alone.”

According to the current contract, they weren’t obligated to join my plan. But they couldn’t disturb it either.

“But, as I told Yusu, I hope there are good answers. And I think…if you want to lure them anyway, wouldn’t it be advantageous to play in a more familiar place? It’s a stage where you can prepare things in advance.”

And, as Mrs. Pearl once said herself, now my existence had become quite crucial to White Deer. It meant that if I ever go wrong and disappeared, White Deer would be in trouble.

“I agree with that. Anyway, I’ll convey your words to Brother Yu once again.”

“Yeah. Besides the relocation and village maintenance, I think the scope of cooperation can be expanded as much as possible.”

As long as there were shackles that kept us from stabbing each other in the back. I smiled quietly, pushing the plate closer to him. With his gaze fixed on my face, Garam made a complicated expression.

Then he muttered in an audible voice, “…Something has changed.”

The chubby little child’s hand picked up a piece of metal the size of a fingernail and munched on it like it was a carrot.

***

The invisible hand, created by Mana’s cohesion, lifted a lump of metal as big as a calf.

“Ah…no way…!”

One of the onlookers shouted. A Mana measurement metal weighed a few hundred kilograms. The metal cube created by the aliens escaped gravity constraints and rose into the air like it wasn’t real.

“Uuugh, kuuuuugh…!”

A young man was standing in front of the metal, sweating, with both hands outstretched forward. It seemed that the veins of his eyes were about to burst at any moment.

“…Ah, shit!”

The body cramped little by little. Then he spat out swear words as if they were unbearable. However, his stance didn’t collapse, and the metal floating in front of him also continued to rise. Words and actions in the training grounds were strictly controlled, and the curse that the young man expressed would have been subject to reprimand if it were normal. The other trainees witnessing this scene and both the human and non-human instructors all just watched this scene without a word. No one even thought of stopping him.

“Isn’t something weird? That guy…it’s been less than a month since he entered the school! How can he gather so much Mana?”

“I heard that even people who stay longer in this training camp barely lift 20 to 30 kilograms…”

“Isn’t Kyung-hwan stronger than that frog instructor?”

“Shh! He will hear that. He hates being called a frog. He utterly hates it!”

But fortunately, the conversation of the trainees didn’t reach the instructor’s ears. Because he, too, was in awe when he saw this ridiculous sight.

“Ugh…now…it’s the limit!”

His knees were bent, and the young man sat on the floor. Simultaneously, the lump of metal that had risen in front of him lost its strength and fell to the floor.

-Baang!

Along with the fall, a roar swept through the training camp. There was no damage because there was a unique material for shock absorption on the floor. But the crashing sound produced by the massive metal was like a loud hammer falling on the ground.

“…It’s crazy.” Everyone murmured as if they were mesmerized.

“Huuuh…huuh…!”

The young man sitting down on the floor was sweating profusely. He immediately raised his head and exclaimed with an exalted look at the alien instructor looking at him.

“Did you see? Didn’t I say it was possible? You must keep your promises.”

The instructor, who could hear and understand the Korean, but couldn’t pronounce it because of the vocal organs’ limitations, responded telepathically. A cluster of meanings without borrowing the form of language was delivered to everyone’s head in the training ground.

=…I see. Really…that’s excellent, Mana. With this level of Mana, you are well qualified to learn second-class magic. Trainee Kim Kyung-hwan will be transferred to Tentra Class. Starting from tomorrow.=

Having said so, he made eye contact with a human instructor who performed the overall administrative work and supervision. He, too, nodded his head as if he agreed with the opinion of the alien instructor. However, Kim Kyung-hwan wasn’t satisfied there.

“The weight of that cube was 0.5 tons. Since I moved that, the instantaneous maximum output of my Mana is 5,000 mergs! Didn’t it say that I can learn 5th-grade magic if I have more than 5,000 mergs?”

That was possible in theory. However, the alien instructor firmly refused.

=There is no level 5 course yet established in this training center, but that could be solved with private lessons. But, trainee Kim Kyung-hwan, you haven’t adequately learned the first-class magic theory. The basic theory isn’t very different until the second-level magic class, so I will somehow put you into the course. Still, it sounds ridiculous to say that you are in the fifth class! =

Kim Kyung-hwan listened to the words and stumbled inside.

‘The basic theory isn’t that different? That person said that the theory you guys teach is like a crappy kid’s joke. Even if I skip a few steps and learn that 5th class right now, I can understand it, right? Because I can ask that thing in my dreams!’

Anyway, he would skip the grade starting tomorrow. And it was the first time that such an action was taken only a month after being admitted. Kim Kyung-hwan barely repressed the desire to shout out of joy at any moment. The future unfolding before his eyes was bright, and a sense of superiority overflowed in his heart.

The trainees were looking at him with their dumb eyes. Their expressions were mixed with feelings of surprise, disbelief, and jealousy. It was fun to watch that sight, and he wanted to burst into laughter.

“Guys, you shouldn’t be surprised this much already. I have more to show in the future.”

He was different from other people because he was…the chosen human!