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The easternmost part of the central continent, Mount Khaoto, was known for its harsh terrain. Beyond its base, the mountain became increasingly treacherous, with sharp cliffs, deep ravines, and a narrowing path.

As a result, outsiders rarely ventured there.

For ages, this imposing mountain had been the home of the Samael family. I was currently making my way up its steep slope.

“Huff, huff.”

The cliffside path was perilous, and I had already nearly lost my footing several times. My cursed body was struggling, and I was gasping for air.

“Already tired?”

“Just hurry up.”

Hector, walking ahead of me with ease, looked incredibly smug.

Soon, the cliffside path ended, revealing a flat basin and an old building. Hector turned around with an indifferent expression.

“You managed to survive the climb.”

‘What an annoying face.’

Instead of replying, I looked around.

There were damp clothes in the front yard and the faint sound of hammering in the distance. It seemed this was the training area for the apprentices.

Creak—

I passed through the worn-out back door into the training grounds and encountered a group of people.

“Huh?”

There was a mage-like instructor and ten grubby-looking boys. They all looked startled and gave me strange looks upon seeing me.

What a bunch of brats. They should be greeting the eldest son of Samael first…

“Greetings!”

Good.

My heart softened a little as I saw the boys hastily bowing at a 90-degree angle. They finally recognized me… Wait, what?

“We greet the Vice Tower Master of the Red Magic Tower.”

“It is an honor to meet the Vice Tower Master!”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

What was this Red Magic Tower? There was only one magic tower, the White Magic Tower, full of old fogeys.

I realized what was happening when I saw Hector nodding as if this were natural.

‘…There’s another magic tower.’

Now I understood why Hector was acting so disrespectfully towards me.

How lowly must he think of Samael to be working as a Vice Tower Master instead of a Guardian?

I felt irritated. It seemed he was quite famous outside.

Everyone was looking at Hector like he was some kind of hero.

“Instructor Dyke. This is the new recruit who will be joining us from today, Ruin Samael.”

Hector introduced me as if I were a piece of discarded luggage.

The instructor, Dyke, asked cautiously,

“Vice Tower Master, what do you mean by a new recruit?”

“Exactly what I said.”

The instructor slowly scanned me from head to toe.

“…Are you saying we should teach him magic?”

He asked as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“There’s no need to teach him anything. He claims he can surpass all the kids here in a week.”

“Excuse me…? Ha.”

The instructor let out a hollow laugh, and snickers erupted from the surrounding boys.

“I’ll give you a month, specifically. A week is too short to feel ashamed. Let’s see you struggle.”

Hector left without looking back, leaving those sarcastic words behind.

* * *

“Ruin Samael?”

“He’s as skinny as I heard.”

“Are you the loser they were talking about? What are you doing here?”

Seven or eight grubby boys surrounded me. I briefly looked at each of them, making eye contact. Three of them stood out.

“I asked what you’re doing here. Aren’t you going to answer?”

The last one I made eye contact with growled quietly.

“I asked what you’re doing here, you little shit.”

“Little shit?”

Cursing at me right off the bat? This kid has a great mentality. There’s always one troublemaker, no matter where you go.

Instead of answering, I picked up a small pebble from the ground and held it between my thumb and index finger. At the same time, I rotated the circle in my heart and chanted the incantation.

Wind compressed between my thumb and index finger.

Whoosh—Bam!

“Ouch!”

The boy who got hit in the forehead with the pebble, which shot out like an arrow, clutched his face. There were murmurs. When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with venom.

“…You little shit, are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

“Everyone quiet!”

Instructor Dyke’s shout from afar silenced the commotion.

Dyke, having seen Hector off, slowly approached and looked down at me with a high-handed air.

“Ruin Samael.”

I briefly met Dyke’s eyes. With his square jaw, he looked quite stubborn.

“I am Dyke Dallen of the Red Magic Tower.”

“Yes, I figured as much. You’re from the Red Magic Tower, not Samael.”

“If you understand, then discard your disrespectful attitude.”

“…”

It was just as I expected.

If he were a mage from Samael, he wouldn’t dare speak to me like this, even if I looked like a loser.

There were no mages left in Samael to even train apprentices. If Hector was the Vice Tower Master of the Red Magic Tower, then this guy must be one of his subordinates.

No wonder the apprentices didn’t react to the name Samael.

Damn it. The family is really going downhill.

“Ruin, was it? I have no interest in your trashy behavior. Whether you feel mana or not, whether you follow the training or not, it’s all up to you. Got it?”

His voice was full of annoyance.

“I understand. Then let’s finish what we were doing. Everyone, activate your mana”

“Activating Mana!”

With the chant, mana waves rippled around the apprentices.

“Release!”

The apprentices moved their hands busily, and soon 1st Circle magic spells started shooting out from their hands.

“…Wh-what.”

I was so shocked that I was speechless.

I stared blankly at the scene, wondering if I was seeing things.

It wasn’t just that the apprentices’ level was lower than I expected, nor that they were all snickering at me with arrogant expressions, nor even that the kid with the red forehead was flipping me off.

Hand Sign Magic.

‘Hand signs? These crazy bastards.’

That was the source of the shock that felt like a blow to the head.

It was because the apprentices were casting magic with hand signs instead of incantations. And in the heart of Samael, the origin of incantation magic, no less.

“Activate your mana, then release again!”

“Release!”

I wasn’t seeing things.

The apprentices were once again waving their hands awkwardly, manifesting magic.

“…”

Hand sign magic was an obsolete system.

At best, it was a shortcut, nothing more.

No normal mage would ever cast magic with hand signs.

Although the activation method was simpler than incantations, the drawbacks were clear enough to outweigh any benefits.

I immediately glared at Dyke and said,

“Instructor Dyke.”

“…”

“What the hell is this? Why are you teaching apprentices hand sign magic?”

Only then did Dyke slowly turn his head towards me.

“Teaching the basics, you say? Hand signs?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why are you teaching them hand signs? You know they’ll have trouble walking the right path if they get used to shortcuts.”

Dyke’s eyes hardened with displeasure.

“A brat who can’t even walk is spouting nonsense on his first day. The basics of magic are hand signs.”

“…”

I stared intently at the stubborn instructor’s eyes and realized that there was sincerity in them.

‘Could it be that the drawbacks of hand signs have been mitigated?’

No. The limitations of hand signs are clear. They’re not the kind of drawbacks that can be mitigated. The apprentices were proof of that.

The power of hand sign magic was ridiculously weak compared to incantations.

Even for the same level of magic, the power difference between hand signs and incantations was like night and day.

You could even block hand sign magic with a lower-level incantation spell.

The 1st Circle magic the apprentices were casting was a clear example. It was far weaker than its normal power.

“I don’t understand. The drawbacks of hand sign magic are obvious.”

“What?”

“Explain it to me then. Why aren’t you using incantations?”

“You idiot. If you disrupt the class one more time, I’ll kick you out.”

Dyke turned his head away with those words.

His expression showed clear disdain.

An attitude that suggested he didn’t even want to talk to me.

“Everyone, prepare your hand signs again.”

“Yes!”

Anger boiled inside me as I watched the apprentices waving their hands around. What the hell was going on here?

I closed my eyes and slowly began to raise my senses.

Whirr—

I rotated the mana circle in my heart, resonating with the mana of nature and drawing it in. The mana, rotating along the circle, was converted into an element. Then, I envisioned the image and chanted,

“Blazing flames, Fireball.”

Fwoosh—

A fireball, twice the size of the ones the apprentices had conjured and in the most orthodox form, appeared.

The fireball left my fingertips and landed precisely in the center of the training ground.

Boom!

All eyes turned towards the source of the explosion.

I fixed my gaze solely on the instructor.

Let’s see if he can still ignore me after seeing this.

Finally, the instructor’s gaze returned to me.

“…Ruin Samael.”

Something felt strange.

The instructor’s expression was completely different from what I had expected.

He wasn’t surprised by my magic, nor did he even frown.

“Did you really just use an incantation?”

He looked down at me with an incredulous expression, as if I had done something bizarre.

“Tsk, like father, like son.”

“What?”

“Did you want to tell me that you have to chant magic with your mouth instead of your hands? You must have read some outdated grimoire.”

Laughter erupted around us along with the instructor’s sigh.

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment. I wondered if they were all messing with me, but it didn’t seem like it.

“Looks like you even drew in the surrounding mana. You were saying you’d surpass the apprentices with that method.”

“Incantations are the standard of magic. How can you say that after seeing it with your own eyes? Hand signs can’t surpass incantations.”

“You idiot. Nobody does such inefficient things. I can’t help but call you pathetic.”

With his eyes full of conviction, I couldn’t continue speaking.

That level of belief was insane. It takes one to know one. There’s no one harder to reason with than a madman with unwavering conviction.

To solidify my inner belief in myself, I used my ultimate move.

“So what circle are you, then?”

“You’re talking about circles? You really must have learned from an outdated grimoire.”

“So what circle are you? Above 8th Circle?”

“You brat!”

Dyke, who had been staring at me for a while, said,

“This is your last warning. I won’t tolerate such arrogance again. Listen carefully.”

Dyke looked down at me, his angular jaw raised high.

“I am a 4-star mage of the Red Magic Tower, Dyke Dallen.”

“I win. A 4th Circle mage like you… Wait a minute.”

…Did I hear wrong?

4-star, not 4th Circle?

Was this stupid mage talking about star ranks like some ignorant knight?

No, I must have misheard. I must have.

“You seem to be deaf. Let me say it again. I am a 4-star mage.”

My ultimate move had failed.

————