Talent-Swallowing Magician - Chapter 20

Episode 20

First Arrangement

For a moment, Elric felt as if all of his magic was draining from his body.

What came after that was a very brief feeling of dizziness and exhaustion.

At the same time, my blood was pumping rapidly and my heart was pounding violently. In particular, the back of my hand, which had the ‘Seal of Relentlessness’ engraved on it, felt like it was burning.

‘Something.’

Exciting!

‘There’s something.’

It felt like there was someone else living in this body besides myself.

That doesn’t mean I felt bad or anything.

On the contrary, I felt reassured, like I had a friend.

Furthermore.

Elric had no time to worry about such things.

Because the sight that unfolded before my eyes was very shocking.

“…Are you saying this is really what I did?”

To the place where a harsh snowstorm swept through.

Apparently, the Yeti warriors who had been moving to capture him just a moment ago were frozen solid.

A vivid appearance, as if it were made of finely crafted ice.

Their movements and angry expressions remained on their faces, and the ground was nothing but ice.

I wonder how intense the cold swept over us.

Everything I could see was pure white. Elric’s face was clearly reflected like a mirror.

Then.

Pusss –

The blowing wind seemed to blow a little ice powder, and the Yeti warriors fell to the ground.

That moment.

Kieeeeek!

The Yeti warriors, very angry at the slaughter of their comrades, rushed towards them, screaming.

Those who narrowly escaped the range of the magic field and were relatively less exposed to the blizzard.

Elric confidently tried to deploy additional seal magic, thinking he could do it.

Beetle-

“…Huh?”

For a moment, I had to feel the world spinning.

and.

Puff puff!

Elric fell down with pain that made his breathing difficult and suffocating.

That is.

It was my first death.

* * *

“…omg!”

Elric suddenly stood up, gasping for air.

His face was completely wet with cold sweat.

ha.

Sigh….

The sweet smell was spreading out of my mouth on its own.

『Looking at you, it looks like you woke up and had a hard time.』

Then Elric was startled by a voice coming from behind him and turned his body back.

“Mephie?”

『I wondered if that strange necklace was shaking like crazy and activating a plan to help me fall asleep. Wasn’t it easy?』

Only then did Elric realize that he had been thrown out of the world of images and returned to reality.

I was worried that I might actually die there in real life due to the grumpiness of my ancestors.

Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“….”

Elric looked down at his hands.

It seemed like the things he had experienced just moments ago were still vivid.

It was a truly extreme environment that I would never want to experience again, including fierce cold and terrible snowstorms.

Still, the feeling of obtaining the seal and unlocking the true name remained as a lingering feeling on my fingertips.

The joy of learning a new magic and using it successfully was so great.

Even more so if it consists of a new area and system that no human has been able to properly explore.

‘But… why did he die?’

However, Elric slowly frowned as he recalled the events he had experienced in the image world.

After dealing with the yeti leader, I definitely felt the threat of death.

but.

After absorbing the seal, the story was completely different.

So, I tried to use seal magic again with confidence.

‘ah! That’s why.’

Then, Elric was able to figure out the reason belatedly.

‘The magic consumption was too great.’

Seal magic was much more powerful than any other magic Elric possessed.

‘Because that much magic was activated without any preparation, I couldn’t help but feel dizzy for a moment… Because of that, I was struck before I could come to my senses.’

At the time, I was so intoxicated with the joy of successfully activating the seal that I didn’t feel it much.

‘But I was just as tired when I got to the captain level. Still, the reason why such additional magic was able to appear… was it because the magic power was restored to some extent by absorbing the seal?’

What if the seals had been stolen from the Yetis who collapsed at the end?

Could we have continued to fight?

While thinking about that, I pulled up my right sleeve.

The seal of cruelty was seen engraved on the back of the seal of original sin.

Unlike the Seal of Original Sin, which had a very clear and vivid shape, the Seal of Remorselessness was clearly not in its proper form, as if it were scribbled.

‘The unfinished Seal of Cruelty is so powerful, but just how powerful is the Seal of Original Sin?’

Right then.

『Isn’t that… the seal of cruelty?』

Mephisto’s voice pierced my ear.

A voice shaking with surprise.

Elric jerked his head up.

『How do you have that… Oh, I see. Was it something like that? I guess the arrangement was related to acquiring the seal. Winter Sage. That guy did such a strange thing.』

Mephisto narrowed his eyes and twisted one corner of his lip.

Elric got straight to the point when it seemed like Mephisto had figured out everything.

“The seal of original sin. “What is a trigger?”

“…hmm! I guess that arrangement also informed you about Jinmyeong?』

“Yes.”

『Do you think this King will obediently tell you that?』

“No.”

『Even if you humiliate and interrogate King Bonn in various ways, he will never open his mouth.』

Mephisto answered confidently, crossing his arms.

Elric guessed that it was probably the same.

‘Because the seal is everything to the demons.’

It seemed like he finally had a vague idea of what the seal was.

‘The moment you grant me the seal of original sin, Mephisto will be deprived of his last remaining means.’

It is certain that Mephisto’s true name is ‘Original Sin’.

Because Otto also said so.

However, there must be a good reason why it doesn’t activate.

‘There may be other hidden true names or additional requirements. Otherwise, it could be because my capabilities are not up to that level yet.’

Otto Hahn added: The Seal of Original Sin is said to be one of the most outstanding among the demons.

Perhaps, if I carelessly applied the seal of original sin with my current body, I might just be ruined.

“What exactly was the arrangement? Talk to this king. I’m bored, so I’ll answer everything you ask.』

On the surface, it seemed like he was just being considerate out of a whim.

Elric did not miss the subtle heat glimmering around Mephisto’s eyes.

‘also. There’s something about this safe house.’

But Elric pretended not to know anything and asked.

“You know the Snow Mountain King, right?”

『…Why all of a sudden?』

“This is his grave.”

『What?』

Elric confessed what he saw and experienced during the arrangement.

Of course, I completely excluded the parts that I thought were important.

“under! Otto Han Mervinger This crazy guy did such a stupid thing!』

Mephisto’s expression was astonished.

『You are going to break it? Nonsense! They’re talking nonsense like they controlled the North by editing the memories of the Yetis, but how can you catch a loser who ruled a region? The Snow Mountain King is one of the beings recognized by this king!』

“That’s why you ask. “Is there any better way?”

『Nothing.』

“You said I could ask you anything at any time?”

『I said I would answer if possible, but I never said I would answer everything. Moreover, telling them to tell their leader, the King Bon, about the secret about the seal, which may be the secret and weakness of the race, tramples on the King’s pride…!』

“Exemption from 3 days of cuteness hell.”

Mephisto’s face was cruelly distorted.

『I don’t think something like that could break the king’s pride…!』

“5-day exemption.”

『You can’t help but mock the king…!』

“Don’t hate it.”

『…I’m showing an attitude, but the king’s magnanimity is the same as that of Hahae, so I’ll let it go for this time.』

Hum hum.

Mephisto said while lightly clearing his throat.

『The seal I have now is not enough. Let alone breaking the arrangement, you won’t even be able to get close to the Snow Mountain King.』

“You mean…?”

『Raise your achievement.』

“What do you mean by achievement?”

『Do you just think that all seals are the same?』

“…!”

『This race is a strictly hierarchical society. Strong self-respect. Only the strong can take everything and remain alone. Of course, the same applies to the fundamental seal.』

“….”

『Seals are divided into grades according to rarity, and even within those grades, there are achievements, so their power varies widely.』

Elric opened his eyes round.

『The seal you have taken now is definitely of the ‘rare’ level. But at best, it’s only 1 star. On the other hand, the seal that the Snow Mountain King built during his lifetime was 10 stars, or about to ‘evolve’… Even though the king did not see it in person, even if it failed, it would definitely be 4 stars.』

Elric had nothing to say.

but.

With the words Mephisto said just now, he felt his mind becoming brighter.

『Did you say you would catch something like that? In that case, there are two ways.』

Mephisto held up two fingers.

『Should we raise the level of achievement that much? Or, find another way to ‘evolve’ or ‘synthesize’ and upgrade your level.』

Achievement.

Rarity.

Elric is like a human magic system that has been established for a long time.

The demon’s seal magic was also concreted to that extent.

so that.

Elric was able to come up with a plan on what stance to take and what method to use to attack Anbae.

Then I got curious.

If the seal of cruelty is at that level.

What about Mephisto…?

“Then what about the seal of original sin?”

“joy! Do you think you can guess the king’s seal based on the class system?』

“…!”

* * *

Hwaaaah!

Elric grabbed the magic sword again and accessed the image world.

“Are you here?”

Otto Hahn was standing in front of him as if he had been waiting.

“yes.”

“It’s a face with a lot of thoughts.”

“Because the level of difficulty is too rough.”

“But there will be a lot to gain.”

Elric clicked his tongue inwardly.

It was definitely a very gentlemanly atmosphere when we first met. Did you always have this sly personality?

For some reason, he seemed to be having fun rolling around.

‘Anyway, this guy’s house… I really don’t like this.’

Elric grunted and began preparing his magic armament again.

As much as Mephisto gave a hint.

Because I had to use it somehow.

* * *

‘First, absorb it.’

The first thing Elric tried as he immersed himself in the battle again was to absorb the seals of the previously fallen Yetis.

Fortunately, I don’t know if it’s because not much time has passed in this world, or because it’s so cold that the corpses remain.

Absorption occurred immediately and without much difficulty.

Tsutsutsu –

The black light emanating from the collapsed guys completely seeped into Elric.

The seal of cruelty took on a clearer shape. At the same time, I could feel my body changing slightly.

‘If these things pile up one by one… what happens after that?’

Something like gathering dust into a mountain.

How much of a difference this will make to your body in the future. It was so bad that even I couldn’t guess.

Kiaaa!

Kaaaa!

At that time, the Yeti warriors, enraged by Elric’s reappearance, rushed at him with even more anger.

Elric clenched his fists. In the landscape drawn along his mind’s eye, there were more textures than before.

thud!

thud!

My heart was beating wildly.

The magic gemstone, which had been unlocked by nearly 6%, was emitting more powerful output than any other time.

While fully feeling the sensation of the cruel seal.

Reminds me of cold.

I envisioned a blizzard.

I imagined falling hail.

“【Blow】!”

Shoot!

The second round has begun.

Wizard who swallowed talent