Episode 10
Be careful when using black magic. All black magic uses magical power and leaves traces.
I heard there are experts within the sect who hunt down black magicians. Until they gain the power to protect themselves, they must avoid the abuse of black magic.
Even before blocking magic, considerable care must be taken when simply releasing magic power within the body.
Of course, I had no intention of using soul magic in a situation like this. The moment I took the soul file out of my pocket and was about to touch it to the soul fragment,
-It's best not to use that. Absorb it here.
"but…."
At best, it's just absorbing the dregs. Since you don't need to use all of the original output, there won't be much of a trace left.
The Demon King's words to intentionally reduce the power of magic.
“Is that possible?”
-If you control the amount of magic power well, it's not impossible.
The power required to absorb the soul of a single, healthy human being cannot be the same as the power required to absorb a portion of that soul.
It's only natural that even the same magic would exhibit different powers depending on the amount of magical energy invested. At first glance, it seemed reasonable.
"but…."
There is a minimum amount of magical power required to manifest magic.
Otherwise, you could have summoned hellfire to light a lamp, and dropped meteors to play ball.
- It is not impossible to influence the present world with magical power below a certain level, but it is not impossible to do so with the examples given.
A shocking statement came out calmly.
-Isn't that unnecessary in the first place? If you need a light, either luminous magic or regular fire will do, and meteors aren't suitable for play.
“….”
-If you can replace it, it's reasonable to use the easier option. But there's no way to replace soul magic.
Some of the magical power that had been blocked from recovery was brought into the body.
About a tenth of your total magical power. It took about thirty seconds for that amount to be restored. A simple calculation would mean you could recover all your magical power in five minutes.
After realizing it, I felt that my recovery speed was noticeably faster than before.
He halted the rapidly recovering magic power and, with only a handful of his meager magic power, drew a faint magic circle. However, the magic did not activate.
I thought it would be a simple task of simply reducing size and horsepower, but it was not easy.
-The proportions are wrong. And the upper right corner is distorted. It looks much better when drawn by hand.
Even the slightest misstep would cause a significant distortion of the shape. An error that wouldn't have been a problem if the overall size had been larger, completely ruined the magic circle. It required a subtle adjustment, a marked difference from previous manipulations of magical power.
"I was wrong. Of course, it was wrong to expect immediate success. It wasn't easy even for Yongjong…
“Quiet.”
The completed magic circle is already in my head. All I have to do is bring it into reality.
I closed my eyes and concentrated.
At first, I drew a magic circle while listening to the Demon King's explanation in the Demon World. Now that I realized it, I realized how messed up it was.
The edges were uneven, etched by trembling hands. The letters engraved within were also crooked. It was almost surprising that magic could be activated in this state.
I fixed it.
The borders that were a mess were restored to a perfect circle, and the patterns that were twisted were straightened out.
Up until here, it was just something that happened in my head.
Closing your eyes won't change anything. Sometimes you just have to accept reality as it is. … Wait a minute.
Ignoring the Demon King's voice, he drew up his magic circle again, drawing up his magical power.
-What is it, you bastard?
The magical power was noticeably less than before. Therefore, its size was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. However.
A faint light emitted from the completed magic circle, and a chain emerged.
-You succeeded in reducing your magical power consumption to this extent in just two attempts? And the level of perfection is…
It was thin and short. It was a size that could be considered more like a thread than a chain. It was easy to scrape away the marks left on the wall.
A shard of soul, pierced by chains, approached my lips. Without hesitation, I took it in my mouth, and it vanished completely, leaving behind a slightly bitter taste.
“The afterglow is….”
"It's okay. This concentration isn't much different from the one in the air. Unless you use it continuously, it'll be difficult to tell the difference even if it's a saint, not a heretic judge. More importantly, it's not like that."
The Demon King burst into laughter and said:
-You bastard, aren't your parents human?
But I didn't have the presence of mind to react to the sudden insult from the Demon King.
The belated return of soul magic.
It was because of the memories of the absorbed soul.
* * *
A few days passed.
The barracks, which had been cluttered with soul fragments scattered everywhere, were restored to cleanliness, and the guards were greatly surprised by the change.
“It’s strange. No matter how well I cleaned before, it would always be the same the next day.”
“Every time I wake up, I feel refreshed, very much.”
“Isn’t this all because the youngest is good at cleaning?”
Thanks to this, my reputation among them seems to have improved considerably. Even those who initially ignored me are now the first to greet me with a smile.
Recently, not only the current South Gate security team, but also other security teams have been requesting cleaning services. I initially declined, but the compensation offered was appealing, so I accepted. Thanks to that…
“Run!”
“You can do it!”
I was able to confidently train my physical strength at the parade ground,
“Spread your legs wide and stab me!”
“Don’t let go of it. … The ends will shake!”
I was also able to learn basic spearmanship. Although I wasn't officially a member, most of them seemed to have already accepted me as one of their members.
“That’s strange.”
“Mr. Johnny.”
As I sat with my back against the wall, trying to catch my breath, Johnny came over and said.
Johnny, the senior soldier of the South Gate Guard, was the self-proclaimed right-hand man of Guard Captain Mike and the one who helped me the most with my training.
“It seems like my stamina is increasing quickly, but I don’t seem to have any talent for spearmanship.”
That kind of evaluation was also natural.
Whenever I held a spear, it felt incredibly uncomfortable, like wearing ill-fitting clothes. It was a completely different feeling from holding a dagger or a scythe.
"It's because your talent for using your body is so meager. Besides, the souls you've absorbed so far are all farmers, the poor of this city, and the scraps that just ended up in ruins. It can't be helped."
But can absorbing another soul really give you the same feeling as holding a scythe?
The handle wraps around my hand, as if the scythe and my body have become one… .
-Don't talk nonsense. If you can achieve that effect with just a few souls, then it must be the soul of a legendary farmer.
The Demon King couldn't hide his laughter, as if he found the joke he had made himself funny.
It was a completely unfunny joke from the listener's perspective, but since you can't shut the soul's mouth, you have no choice but to ignore it.
The spear technique didn't have much effect, but it had an unexpected effect.
The duration of the magic blocking effect had been extended. Even if it lasted for half a day, my condition only slightly deteriorated, so I didn't have to worry about it breaking. I suspected it was due to my increased stamina.
"Well, does it matter? Our youngest just has to clean up well."
“Aha, ha….”
I reacted awkwardly to Johnny's joke.
I knew from past experience that he was a good person. However, it was difficult to open my heart to him.
It wasn't just his problem. It was also Mr. Mick, dozing off to the side, Dory and Hern, playing cards, and even Mr. Brad, the cook who always smiled and asked how I was doing.
Most of the people in the guard felt so awkward.
The reason was simple: every time I cleaned a new barracks, I saw fragments of souls.
‘The Demon King said it wasn’t something to worry about…’
Is it really normal for objects imbued with souls to be strewn about like this? Are soldiers elsewhere in this state as well?
Above all, the soul memories that appear every time a soul is absorbed.
I only saw a very short scene, perhaps because I hadn't properly absorbed the soul, but that was...
“You were here.”
“Mr. Mike?”
Security Chief Mike.
A grateful person who gave me a place to stay and a job even though I had never met him before.
I still haven't seen his face in the souls I've absorbed. He's the only person I can trust at this point.
“Weren’t you supposed to be resting today?”
A day off from work for the night shift. Apparently, he was going to help out at his wife, Amy's, general store.
“That’s right.”
Mike looked awkward for a moment and then said.
“Excuse me, could you help me clean?”
“Cleaning?”
"Yeah. My wife's shop is a bit messy. As we were cleaning it up, I thought of you…."
His face looked quite troubled. The charismatic leader, usually respected by his subordinates, was nowhere to be seen.
It was understandable naturally.
Even though he was a competent superior to his subordinates, he was always at a loss in front of his wife. Perhaps he couldn't stand Amy's nagging.
“Of course I should go.”
Mike's expression brightened for a moment, but then he hardened his face and said.
"Are you okay? You look tired. If it's hard, tomorrow is fine. Oh, and the pay is sufficient…."
“Okay. I’ve received so much help.”
It wasn't just Mike. It was Amy, who, despite her dislike of me, always made sure to pack me a portion of food every day. If I could score a few points on this occasion, my future would be much more pleasant.
“Thank you very much. Then I’ll go right away.”
I followed the microphone into the street.
It was awkward at first, but now I'm quite used to the city. People passing by greeted Mike.
That must mean he's popular.
Perhaps because we often saw each other hanging out together, some people came up to me to say hello.
I thought I could live in a city like this for the rest of my life. While there were some uneasy feelings, it didn't cause me any major harm.
-Kuh… .
Amy's general store wasn't far away. The building, slightly worn but well-maintained, exuded a sense of tidiness, a glimpse into Amy's usually meticulous personality.
Amy, who had been waiting with her arms crossed in front of the door, greeted me with a smile.
“Oh my, you came. It must have been hard. Thank you.”
“Of course you should come.”
But the warm atmosphere was short-lived.
“It wasn't that far, so why did it take so long? Did you do something else on the way?”
“Oh, no….”
The abuse poured straight into Mike. At first, it seemed excessive, but seeing Mike's expression made me laugh.
“Oh my, come to your senses. Do you want to go in first?”
"yes."
A love scene that would soon be so heartbreaking that it would be shocking. To protect my eyesight, I opened the door first and went inside.
The store was filled with various items. And the black stains blooming on them.
In contrast to the clean exterior, the interior was quite messy.
“How long has it been since I cleaned this… Huh?”
But soon I realized that it wasn't a stain.
The Demon King's uncontrollable laughter was heard
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