Chapter 228: Holy shit... Did those damned mages actually hide a secret as horrible as this?

—A secret about Official Mages?

—Don't tell me you know the location of a Level 1 spell model... or know where to find Black Rainbow Crystallized Aura.

—Or something else related to advancing to the Official Mage realm?

The spirit froze.

Then his eyes widened.

—You really know about this...

His expression showed genuine surprise.

But that lasted only a few seconds.

Soon, an affected smile appeared on his face.

—Yes!

—Your teacher certainly told you that, in order to become a Level 1 Official Mage, you need a defensive spell model, as well as Black Rainbow Crystallized Aura, right?

My expression changed.

—Could there be something beyond that?

As soon as I asked the question, an ominous sensation ran through my body.

The spirit began to laugh.

—Hahaha...

His laughter grew louder.

—Hahahahaha!

He tilted his head back and began laughing maniacally.

—You've been deceived by your teacher!

—Or perhaps...

—Even your teacher doesn't know about this.

I remained completely still.

My brain began analyzing every word.

The spirit then asked.

—Do you know the ranking system of Official Mages?

—As far as I know, there are nine levels.

I answered slowly.

—Level 1 is the lowest, and Level 9 is the highest.

—The classification is related to the ability to release a spell of that level without experiencing any difficulty.

At the time, I had treated that as little more than a legend.

After all, within Arcangrove Tower, practically all the teachers were Level 1 Mages.

The only exception was the president, who had reached the Level 2 Mage realm.

As for Level 3 Mages...

Only the leaders of major organizations, such as Sus Tower, possessed that level of strength.

I simply couldn't imagine the true power of a Level 9 Mage.

—It seems you're trying to obtain as much information as possible about Official Mages.

He lazily leaned against the inner wall of the sphere.

—Then I'll explain it to you.

—An Official Mage's strength depends, to a large extent, on their ability to successfully inscribe a Level 1 spell model into their Sea of Consciousness.

He raised one finger.

—After that, the model transforms into their own innate defensive spell.

—This spell can be released instantaneously and, depending on its nature, can remain continuously active.

—Furthermore, its consumption of magical power is extremely low.

I already knew that.

An Official Mage's innate spell could remain close to the surface of their body, forming a kind of permanent defensive barrier.

That was precisely why my Biochip's readings were always blocked whenever I tried to analyze Official Mages.

That barrier was simply too powerful.

Even my Biochip couldn't easily penetrate it.

—After a Mage advances, their Sea of Consciousness forms an innate spell.

—If that Mage advances again and reaches Level 2, they will need to construct a second innate spell.

—But there is a condition.

—The second spell must be constructed upon the foundation of the first.

My expression became serious.

—Are you saying that a Level 2 Mage possesses two innate spells?

He nodded.

—And a Level 3 Mage possesses three.

My heart began beating slightly faster.

—And a Level 9 Mage...

The spirit bared his teeth in a grin.

—Would possess nine innate spells.

He raised his hand.

—And the last one would be a Level 9 spell.

I remained silent for a while.

Then I understood the consequence.

—That means...

—That a Level 9 Mage could instantly cast spells from Level 1 all the way to Level 9?

—Exactly.

I felt an invisible weight fall upon my shoulders.

I didn't even have the confidence to directly withstand a Level 1 spell.

Let alone a Level 9 one.

A Grand Mage capable of instantly releasing spells of that magnitude could probably do far more than simply destroy a city, perhaps even travel through time and create some kind of temporal war involving variants of themselves.

—And what exactly is the scheme you mentioned?

—An innate spell is the true root of a Mage's strength.

—Once constructed, it will remain with you for all eternity. It is practically irreversible.

—So think about what would happen if you chose your first innate spell incorrectly.

—If two innate spells come into conflict within the Sea of Consciousness...

—In the best-case scenario, you'll end up with a defective spell.

—In the worst... Your brain explodes like an alchemical bomb!

What this old ghost was saying was true and made sense.

—And where is the solution to this problem?

The spirit answered.

—They hid the existence of advanced meditation techniques.

But even my mentor Totil had never shown me any truly advanced material regarding these techniques.

—Advanced meditation techniques perfectly complement a Mage's magical power and structure.

—They not only allow you to construct mental runes at a much greater speed, but they also possess a much more important characteristic.

—They can naturally form an innate spell within the Sea of Consciousness.

—Naturally?

My voice came out almost as a whisper.

—You mean that...

—Exactly.

The ghost nodded in confirmation.

—If an advanced meditation technique is cultivated to a higher level, it can directly guide a Mage to the next level.

—And there is another advantage.

—The innate spells produced by the advanced meditation technique naturally complement one another.

My heart sank.

Now I understood.

If I used Black Rainbow Crystallized Aura to advance, I would be able to reach the Official Mage realm.

But I would be choosing my first innate spell practically in the dark.

Then, when I wanted to advance again, I would need to find another compatible spell. And the problem would repeat itself. Each advancement would become more difficult. I could end up spending decades searching for a suitable spell. Meanwhile, those who cultivated advanced meditation techniques would simply continue advancing.

This World of Mages... was truly filled with traps designed to keep the mage population under the control of the most powerful people in the world.

Then I looked at the spirit.

—So you want to exchange part of this advanced meditation technique for your life?

He immediately replied:

—Certainly!

—If you swear before the Presence of Royal Justice that you will set me free, I will give you the location of one of these advanced techniques!

—If you don't let me out, you can forget about this information forever!

I stared at him.

Then a possibility occurred to me.

—Is this advanced meditation technique related to the Grand Mage Redof Reneu Darof?

The spirit froze.

His eyes widened.

—You know about that?

Then he seemed to understand.

—That's right!

He pointed at me.

—You were also in that laboratory!

—It seems you found some information.

Right afterward, he returned to his indifferent expression.

—But so what?

The spirit shrugged.

—A portion of an advanced meditation technique is more than enough to buy my life.

—All right.

The spirit smiled.

I then began reciting an incantation.

—Just Royal Presence...

That was not an ordinary language.

It was an extremely complex sequence of magical words.

The instant I finished...

Vuuuum!

A powerful wave of energy emerged from space.

The light surrounding the laboratory began to distort.

I raised my head.

Above the experiment table, a mysterious golden sword appeared.

It hovered vertically in the air.

It was extremely majestic.

But there was something about it that made me uncomfortable.

In the center of the sword was an eye.

A gigantic eye. Its aura was so oppressive that my entire body trembled.

I felt completely naked. As if my clothes, my skin, and even my thoughts were transparent before that existence.

—Biochip! Analyze this!

However, I received no response from the Biochip. Apparently, even after its evolution, the Biochip was still incapable of analyzing such a strange existence.

That probably wasn't even the true body of the Just Royal Presence.

Then I spoke using the Magical Language.

—With the Just Royal Presence as my witness, I, George Gill, shall immediately release the ghost acolyte from the Confining Spirit Sphere as soon as he provides me with the information regarding the advanced meditation technique.

My voice echoed throughout the laboratory.

As soon as I finished the oath...

The golden sword vibrated.

Vuuuum!

A black light emerged from within it.

Two strands of energy flew out simultaneously.

One entered my forehead, while the other entered the spirit's forehead.

The contract had been established.

I looked at him.

—Done.

—Now tell me the location of the advanced meditation technique.

He took a deep breath and began.

—As for the advanced meditation technique...

—Actually, I don't know much about it.

—Every advanced meditation technique has different requirements related to the cultivator's affinity and soul aptitude.

—As for me...

—I found information about it in a fragment of writing left behind by a Mage connected to the laboratory of Grand Mage Redof Reneu Darof.

—I also discovered that he left the legacy of an advanced meditation technique in a certain laboratory.

As soon as I heard those words, I had a question and asked.

—What are the requirements for cultivating it?

—I don't know.

—With my ability as a Level 3 acolyte, being able to discover the location of even a portion of a meditation technique was already an absurd stroke of luck.

He laughed bitterly.

—How could I possibly discover all of its requirements as well?

—Then what happened?

—I went to explore the laboratory in a hurry.

—And ended up dying inside.

—On that fragment of a page I found, there were several locations.

—But the first one was destroyed.

My gaze became focused.

—Then there's only one left.

—Where?

—In the Gardens of Redof Reneu Darof, within the Mundane Forest of the Distant Mountain.

I had already encountered references to that place during my previous explorations.

—The Gardens of Redof Reneu Darof are located inside the Mundane Forest of the Distant Mountain?

I asked again, just to confirm.

The spirit nodded.

—That's all I know.

He began shouting:

—Now let me out!

I remained silent for a few seconds.

Then I smiled.

—All right.

I raised one hand.

—I'll free you now.

The spirit seemed relieved.

—Under the restrictions of the Just Royal Presence, I wouldn't dare break my promise.

I snapped my fingers.

BAM!

The Spirit Restriction Sphere exploded.

Crystal fragments flew in every direction.

The translucent spirit was freed.

At the same time, I felt a slight disturbance in my mana.

Two rays of black light emerged from me and the spirit.

They disappeared into the air.

The contract had been completed.

The spirit raised his arms.

—Hahaha!

His expression became euphoric.

—I'm free!

—I'm finally free!

I looked at him.

—Yes.

My voice was calm.

—I kept my promise.

—Now we're even.

And it was precisely at that moment that I snapped my fingers again.

The magical formation I had prepared earlier lit up.

Vuuuum!

The runes on the table shone intensely.

A huge network of symbols appeared around the spirit.

The magical lines closed in.

The spiritual body was immediately surrounded.

—What?!

The smile disappeared from his face.

—What's happening?!

He looked at me in desperation.

—How can you escape the restrictions of that promise?!

—Who said I escaped the agreement?

His expression froze. And at that moment, he finally realized.

I had promised to free him from the Confining Spirit Sphere. And I had indeed done so.

But at no point had I promised to allow him to escape the laboratory...

Much less that I would let him live.

I looked at the magical formation that was beginning to completely envelop his soul.

....

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