C74
"You should've kept pushing! Don't you know that the error decreases as the number of trials increases?"
"But you need chips for that! If we followed your strategy, we'd have had to bet even our house deed!"
"See! That's right! There is nothing in the world that can be consumed infinitely! Same goes for energy!”
"Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden!"
“Ahahaha!”
Shirone burst out laughing. Everyone chasing their dreams is the same. That's why success and failure are secondary issues.
Even if the world points fingers at their useless endeavors or laughs at them as dreamers who can't even support a family, it's because someone was doing it that humanity has been able to develop this far.
'It's okay even if it's not me. I don't mind... even if I become someone else's fertilizer.'
Shirone didn't worry any longer. He would continue to be grateful for all the luck that made him who he is, and keep moving forward towards his dream.
Iruki asked curiously.
"Shirone, why have you been giggling since a while ago? Did you eat something weird?"
Shirone shook his head without answering. Then he took another step, making a resolution.
"I'm back, guys."
---------------------
There are two days left before the suspension is lifted.
Nade and Iruki had arrived at the 4th training ground since early morning, waiting for Shirone.
Although it was early, the summer sun was already bright, and the two kept yawning and staring at the entrance.
Nade rubbed his sleepy face and said.
"Ah, what's this? Calling us out so early in the morning."
"Didn't he say he has something to show us?"
"What's he going to show us all of a sudden? What we've seen so far is already mind-blowing."
"Well, maybe he got a tattoo on his pepper."
“Puhahahaha!”
Imagining what Iruki said, Nade burst into laughter. In the meantime, Shirone entered the training ground.
"Oh, you're already here. But why is Nade like that?”
"I don't know. Maybe he's just a pervert."
"Puhahaha! A tattoo! A tattoo there...! Puhahaha!"
Shirone, who became anxious, didn't ask any further. It's probably because the two of them were exchanging silly jokes and doing that.
“Anyway, let’s begin. Because I want to show you quickly.”
"What are you showing? A tattoo? Puhahaha!"
Iruki said as if he was pathetic.
"Enough. It's not funny anymore. So why did you call us here? What do you want to show us?"
"Wait and see. I'll do it right away."
Shirone walked to the center of the training ground and reached out towards the pile of rocks.
"What's this? Photon Output? Did you increase the output?"
Shirone cast the Photon Cannon. The white flash quickly swept past Nade and Iruki's eyes.
Bang!
With a dull roar, the rocks exploded.
Nade and Iruki's eyes, which had been dull until a moment ago, widened. Their chin seemed to come down.
A large area where the light struck had collapsed. The two of them ran over to examine the traces without waiting for each other.
"What, what is this? Magic? Or real magic?"
"It's strange. Embedding shock in light. I thought fusion was impossible in the photon magic. Shirone, what happened?"
Shirone said with a triumphant look.
"This is the new weapon I've grasped this time. Not Photon Output, but Photon Cannon."
"Photon Cannon, huh. The name makes sense. What's the principle?"
"That's... well, it's a long story."
As Shiroone hesitated to speak, Nade rushed over and shook Shiroone's shoulder with a sleepless face.
"Tell me quickly! How did you do it? Putting physical power into light, that's something that's absolutely impossible!"
Since light and electricity are closely related, Nade knew exactly what Shirone had accomplished.
"I'll tell you. So... would you like to go somewhere with me?"
---------------------
Shirone and the group entered the restaurant in the noble district. While filling their hunger with seafood pasta, Shirone told the story of how he had come to understand the Photon Cannon.
The whirlwind of dust that occurred on the bed, the situation where he threw Ulk off the cliff, and the principles of the Photon Cannon that he realized at that moment.
Even without mentioning Armin specifically, the Photon Cannon was Shirone's unique idea, so it was easy to explain.
Nade and Iruki listened intently, not even knowing whether the pasta was entering their mouths or noses.
After the hour-long explanation, Iruki, who had been lost in thought, put down his fork and said.
"I've heard about gauge symmetry from my father. The point is this. There are separate particles that transmit mass, right? And you've become able to manipulate those particles."
Shirone realized anew what a great person Iruki's father was. Teaching his son about gauge symmetry, of all things. He seemed to have a grasp of all the cutting-edge theories established in the magic society, befitting the leader of the Lightning Braves.
Nade said,
"In a word, the result of the Immortal Function is mass. The Photon Cannon is the reason your precognition disappeared."
"Yes. And now I don't even have nightmares."
Iruki and Nade were lost in thought. Particles that transfer mass to matter. Shirone's revelation was a tremendous discovery.
In particular, the Photon Cannon was a unique magic that only Shirone could do. No one else could perform it because they couldn't comprehend it fully. If you are not a person who directly felt the realm of infinity, you could not cast it simply by mastering its omniscience.
“Awesome, Shirone. This may be even greater than we imagine. If you patent it, it's a discovery that made you able to sit on the money cushion right away!”
In Nade's mind, countless inventions that could be made using Shirone's theory were already floating around.
"So I have a favor to ask, could you go to the library with me?"
"Huh? Library?"
"The school library is off-limits since we’re suspended. So I want to go to the noble library to do some more research on the Photon Cannon. But I can't go in, so I wanted you guys to take me."
"That's fine. It'll be helpful to us too. But why can't you go in alone?"
Commoners cannot enter the noble library. It would be fine to use the school library once the suspend is lifted, but after visiting the Hwajeonmin village, he realized something. Denying one's identity won't change anything. At least, he wanted to be honest with his friends.
"Actually, I'm not a noble."
Nade, who was chewing on the pasta, opened his mouth in shock. Iruki was also staring at Shirone as if shocked.
"I'm a commoner. My current parents raised me after I was abandoned in a stable when I was young. My father is just an ordinary mountain man."
Although he jumped into the world of magic late, they never expected him to be a commoner. Especially the fact that he was abandoned by his birth parents didn't match Shirone's flawless appearance at all.
"I'm sorry for not telling you until now. I'll accept any criticism. But I didn't want to lie anymore."
Nade and Iruki looked at each other. The emotions they felt through their gaze were the same.
Iruki turned to Shirone and spoke first.
"It's a shocking fact. But honestly, it doesn't make much difference, right? You're still Shirone anyway."
"I feel the same way. If we had known from the beginning, it might have been different, but now that we've heard it, nothing changes. The times we've spent together won't disappear."
He thought that if they were friends, they would understand, but it was merely a personal expectation. When they actually accepted him, Shirone felt touched.
Iruki lowered his head and chuckled.
"So that's why you were a special admission. You learned magic late because you weren't a noble. Well, talent isn't something that comes with one's background. You're really amazing."
"Thank you. Thank you for saying that."
Nade waved his hand at Shirone's emotional expression.
"Hey, it's not that serious. I actually think it's fortunate. I became friends with you without prejudice. If I knew beforehand, I wouldn't have even dreamed of something like the research presentation a few days ago."
Iruki folded his thoughts and got up from the table. There was no point in dragging out the conversation, as it would only dampen the mood.
"Alright, let's go to the library. I was getting bored to death anyway. It's a good opportunity to rekindle our academic passion!"
Shirone and Nade stood up and shouted.
“Great!”
The Return of the Arch Mage (1)
Bashka, the capital of the Kingdom of Tormia.
There was a dungeon 70 meters deep underground that was completed 100 years ago in the underground mountain range that flowed around the capital. This place, called the Labyrinth of Darkness, was once the hideout of the Arch Mage Viltor Arcane, who had once dominated the world.
Arcane, an authority in dark magic, fought with several countries and suddenly disappeared 40 years ago due to some kind of incident.
At the time, Arcane's mage rank was unofficial 3rd class.
Once reaching 3rd class or higher, regardless of official or unofficial, the title of Arch Mage is given.
The rank of a mage is determined by achievements and fame, and the Magic Association manages this through a special scoring system.
To advance from 10th to 9th class, one needs a total of 1,000 points in achievements and fame. To advance from 4th to 3rd class, one needs a staggering 280 million points.
In other words, 3rd class mages were those who had accumulated enormous achievements and fame that ordinary people couldn't even imagine.
Considering that clearing a level A-ranked magical threat earns 500 achievement points, and that receiving an invitation from the king to serve in the castle earns 100 fame points, one could guess how much Arcane had stirred the world.
Arcane reached the unofficial 3rd class mage position at the age of 89, 40 years ago. At that time, his score was 100 million points for achievements and 180 million points for fame.
The reason his fame was higher than his achievements was because he was a troublemaker who had turned the continent upside down.
Forbidden experiments were a given, and he even created a dark organization that produced anarchists, causing national instability with his actions during that era.
Even now, people over the age of 70 shuddered at the mere mention of Arcane's name, so one could tell how notorious he was without even mentioning the 280 million points.
“Puu. Puu.”
Arcane opened his eyes in a crystal tube filled with green liquid. He was not wearing a single thread, and his skin was stretched like a 149-year-old body.
'Finally... finally, the essence of darkness is complete.'
It was the power of darkness he had collected for 40 years. Arcane planned to absorb it and reproduce his past glory.
The reason people die as they age is because cells reach their limit of self-replication. However, Arcane was suppressing cell division through a life-sustaining device.
Arcane glanced around and saw the crystal on the desk. It had once shone like a diamond, but now it had turned pitch black. This was thanks to accumulating the power of darkness in the crystal with injection magic once a day.
'Alpheas, just wait! I will surely repay this humiliation.'
After suffering a fatal wound from Alpheas in his early 20s, Arcane's magical power had declined rapidly.
However, he survived with a single thought of revenge, and finally today, he will regain his former power and become a great wizard once again.
As the green liquid in the life-sustaining device drained into the sewer, Arcane's waist bent along with the falling water leve. His frail body looked as if it could be placed into a coffin at any moment.
As the front of the crystal sphere opened like it was being cut away, Arcane crawled out, gasping for breath.
"Canis! Arin! Are you there?"
A boy and a girl with a gloomy appearance entered through the door. Perhaps because they had learned dark magic, the atmosphere was somewhat ominous.
"Did you call for us, master?"
"Clothes. Bring me my clothes."
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
