Episode 872

Episode 872

The Yaksha King, having persuaded the magician, resumed his astronomy lecture.

It’s not unreasonable for one to find making a contract with a star harder than making one with a spirit or a demon. Spirits and demons are favorable to contracts…

‘Were they?’

Lee Han made a displeased face inwardly.

But generally speaking, this was true.

Spirits and demons were, by and large, favorable toward contracts. They were born to resonate with beings from other dimensions, or to deceive in order to gain power.

Stars, on the other hand, were neutral.

To be more precise, stars were not beings with intent like spirits or demons.

They were, rather, existences akin to laws, like sacred magic. That was exactly what stars were.

…Because a magician must find those rules themselves and prove their qualifications. But Osu’s disciple, I assure you, proving your qualifications here in this dimension is far more difficult than proving yourself to a star.

“I see.”

Lee Han stopped himself from trying to explain once again how he came here, thinking the other would not listen anyway.

At any rate, the Yaksha King’s explanation fit with things Lee Han had heard a few times before, so it was easy to understand.

Rather than through conversation, persuasion, negotiation, or threats, one explored and recognized a star, then proved their qualifications according to its rules, and thus received power.

Even certain patriarchs or headmasters who disliked sacred magic were surprisingly favorable toward celestial magic.

Since the process advanced by laws and rules, not faith and emotions, it was only natural, in a sense.

‘Maybe they dislike sacred magic just because they can’t use it.’

Just as Lee Han wanted to disparage spirit magic, perhaps these two archmages were the same.

Osu’s disciple. Are there any star contracts you know of?

“I once read an account of a magician who made a contract with the Crimson Waning Moon.”

Lee Han explained a contract case that he knew of.

A wolf beastkin magician had found the contract; when the moon turned into a red waning moon, you had to go to the area with the strongest moonlight, float the moon on a cup of pure silver, and drink it.

It sounded easy at first, but when magic was involved, even the simplest procedure became the hardest.

When you floated the moon on pure silver under the crimson waning moon, the resulting fluid became a deadly poison unbearable for even most magicians.

Hmm. Not a very difficult contract. Borrowing that sort of star’s power wouldn’t earn you high marks.

“Is that so?”

Osu’s disciple. I have lived so long that I can’t even remember…

“……”

The Yaksha King, once again brimming with authority, tried to persuade Lee Han.

Lee Han grumbled to himself.

‘I get that he’s great, but does he have to do this every time he says anything?’

Have confidence. You could make a contract with a far stronger star.

“Thank you. Actually, I was a bit worried since I had such a hard time making contracts with spirits.”

Spirits? How odd. Even after accumulating this much merit, for spirits to refuse… Did you just meet weird spirits?

‘He might actually be a good person.’

• * *

For a spontaneous lecture, the content was extensive and challenging, but the Yaksha King was an excellent teacher, and Lee Han an excellent student.

Contracts with stars consisted of numerous laws and rules, conditions and proofs. You can’t remember every case, but you’d do well to remember some general laws. First, the Law of Priority Claim.

Lee Han had heard of this.

Some star contracts, surprisingly, were first-come, first-served—if someone else discovered and contracted before you, you couldn’t contract even if you fulfilled the same conditions.

There’s also the Law of Luminosity.

“The brighter the emitted light, the stronger the contract power generally becomes. Is that right?”

Correct. The conditions become harder too… Though there are exceptions. I should talk about dark elements—though I doubt you’d use them?

“I can use dark elements.”

Oh! Now you sound like Osu’s disciple. Good. Then about dark elements…

‘Oops.’

As the explanation started veering off and getting long, Lee Han quickly regretted it.

After about an hour of celestial stories involving dark elements, the Yaksha King finally returned to the main point.

…The method I’d most recommend is to use this -Star Guide- to find a new star, or find a star relatively ignored by others. Magicians talented in celestial magic can intuitively sense a fitting star.

“…Those stars up there—can I contract with those?”

Knowing how hard it was to find a new star, Lee Han pointed at the stars circling above the dimension.

The Yaksha King spoke as if he expected it.

At last, you show your desire? I knew it. But those stars are like tyrants. Even one mistake can annihilate you entirely. That’s why I didn’t recommend it, but since you’re Osu’s disciple, you’ll probably try to secretly contract with them even tricking my eyes, right?

“I don’t want to do that. Should I bring out the -Star Guide-?”

Hmm. Is that a denial to try to escape my suspicion?

“I’ve brought out the -Star Guide-. Please have a look.”

Lee Han took out the huge brass telescope from his backpack and quickly set it up. The Yaksha King gave instructions on how to use the artifact, step by step.

Soon, the night sky of Lee Han’s original dimension—not this one—came into the lens, and Lee Han’s consciousness transferred elsewhere.

When he came to his senses, Lee Han was floating above a dark space where stars blinked from afar.

“!”

Coming to this dimension was already akin to his soul moving, but now to have his vision displaced again?

-How is this possible?

A very well-made artifact. The artifact transfers the magician’s consciousness into the view it observes, heightening its performance. The magician who conceived this was creative, and the one who realized it was meticulous.

-It is definitely creative.

Hmm. You don’t finish your thought; I sense some hatred toward the magician who realized it.

-……

The Yaksha King was indeed wise and sagacious.

Apart from noticing Lee Han’s dislike of Professor Verdus, it was rare even among magicians for someone to be able to explain in such detail someone else’s artifact as if it were their own.

It was not just innate wisdom but also the strength of knowledge accumulated over countless years of hearing the stories of foreigners in this dimension.

The Yaksha King had that strength.

-Give me the next instruction.

Of course, to Lee Han, the Yaksha King was nothing more than a strange yaksha who always went off on his own tangents.

His magical ability was exceptional, but so was Professor Verdus’s. Respect was always separate from magical ability.

Go forward. Do you see the asteroid belt? Best not to make contact there. A magician tried to contract with the asteroid belt twelve hundred years ago. He was a decent magician—what a shame.

-……

Chilled, Lee Han quickly turned his gaze away from the cluster of asteroids.

-How about that red tyrant star? It’s a fairly famous star.

Seeing a star that was reputedly famous among magicians, Lee Han asked a question.

After what the Yaksha King just said, he’d lost all inclination to venture farther.

If you’re going to contract with such an easy star, why use this artifact instead of just contracting with the moon?

-…I thought it was fairly challenging…

Keep going.

Lee Han grumbled to himself as he pressed onward.

The deeper he pushed his consciousness into the sky, the stranger and more dangerous the celestial space became.

When he was nearer the continent, they were merely presences that lit and decorated the sky. But as he moved farther from the continent, they emitted eerie magical power and revealed their true nature.

Do you see that dark shadow in the distance?

-Yes.

A dark nebula. Just looking at it can swallow a magician’s soul, so be careful.

-…Wait… Shouldn’t you have told me that first?

With your ability, you won’t get your soul absorbed by that level of dark nebula.

‘Should I just go back?’

Lee Han was tempted to turn off the artifact and find the easiest moon contract he could.

Even if it was just a contract for a little improved concentration under moonlight, would that be so bad? Even that felt more than enough.

Unaware of Lee Han’s thoughts, the Yaksha King guided him through the star map.

The Yaksha King was indeed a skilled guide of the stars. He warned of almost every danger before Lee Han could even notice them.

Hold on. Stare at that star.

-Is that a soul-absorbing star?

Osu’s disciple. You lack any talent for joking. Just look.

-Yes…

Lee Han did as told and stared at the star.

From blue to green, green to blue. It was a star that somehow gave a refreshing and peaceful feeling.

-!

A feeling of rejection hit Lee Han by surprise.

-I just felt a kind of rejection.

Hmm. Did you? What you just saw was one of the spirit stars. Magicians talented with spirits tend to resonate with those stars, so I gave it a try…

-……

After turning off the artifact, Lee Han felt the urge to swing it directly at the Yaksha King.

He would have to avoid those spirit stars in the future.

-But some spirits are actually friendly with me.

Are those spirits perhaps fearless or violent?

-!

So they are. That happens. Not all spirits are the same, after all.

The Yaksha King was damnably wise. Lee Han swallowed his defeat and moved again.

If you don’t feel anything, still record it. If all the stars reject you, you’ll have to try various things based on your records.

-You said stars are neutral…

This kind of rejection isn’t like that of spirits. Osu’s disciple. Are you angry because the spirit star rejected you? That wasn’t rejection but just a mismatch of conditions. In the future, I can say “the conditions didn’t fit” if you prefer.

-…Let’s just call it rejection.

Lee Han missed Einrogard all of a sudden.

This dimension, where countless magicians had fallen, was overly harsh.

Searching for stars and recording.

Searching for stars and recording.

Rejected by a spirit star, searching again, and recording…

When he was so tired he could barely distinguish whether one star was which, a huge wave of light filled Lee Han’s vision. For a moment, Lee Han thought the artifact had malfunctioned.

-…What is that!?

Arna! So it is after all!

Came the Yaksha King’s voice, sounding impressed.

Lee Han, not yet understanding the situation, asked in confusion.

-What is?

The name of the guest star that Osu once contracted with. Since the master chose it, I always thought the disciple would too.

The guest star Arna burned with the brightest radiance Lee Han had yet seen, then faded away.

As his vision returned, Lee Han felt, in stark contrast to the rejection of the spirit stars, a powerful attraction from the star as if he were being drawn to it.

It is a strong star. It does come with many tricky parts, but those are bearable. You can come back now. I’ll explain the contract process.

-…Wait. If you had this star in mind from the beginning, why did you have me check all the others?

If I’d introduced that star from the start, wouldn’t that have robbed you of the chance to learn from the others? Come on out.

“……”

Lee Han began to seriously wonder if the Skull Headmaster hadn’t hired the Yaksha King as a visiting professor.

How can an other-dimensional king feel so much like an Einrogard professor??