Retire 319

319 The Duty of a Younger Sibling (4)

The Archmage is competent.

To be honest, more than just competent—convenient.

Look at Kim Chaemin. Offense? Defense? There’s nothing he can’t do.

In truth, Kim Chaemin is an exception. Most archmages, with their clearly defined specialty magic, are highly specialized. It may depend on the type of magic, but if every archmage could do what Kim Chaemin does, the world would have long since been conquered by magicians.

It probably has something to do with Kim Chaemin’s attribute. Magic that grows and strengthens plants. I don’t know why it’s called “druid” instead of simply “plant attribute.” Maybe it’s because the attribute was first registered in Europe.

The roses that envelop the school building bloomed beneath our feet as well—just enough not to hinder our movement.

Kim Chaemin’s fresh and at the same time dazzling magical energy spread through the air. To me, who could see magic, the flow was clear. Kim Chaemin wasn’t creating especially powerful offensive rose vines, nor was he making particularly sturdy roses bloom.

He simply summoned roses infused with overwhelming magical power and used them however he wished.

Just like now.

“May the blooming rose vines bless you.”

The roses clinging to the building trembled. Petals cascaded down, stirring up a storm.

The petals flew with a clear purpose—toward the form of magic that had just arrived at the training center and stopped in front of the lawn.

When Uirok first mentioned it, the form was barely the size of an adult. But as we traveled by car, the blue form grew steadily larger. Uirok relayed this to me with a string of curses. Only then did the more experienced hunters sense the approaching magic and pick up speed.

The blue form now before my eyes could hardly be called human. It wasn’t walking on two legs, but running on all fours. Its crouched body was as large as a bus. If it stood up, well, it might be about the size of the minotaur we saw in the Myeongdong dungeon.

Still, perhaps a bit smaller than that?

Well, the size isn’t what matters.

“…It’s not coming in right away, huh?”

Kim Chaemin muttered, frowning.

“You feel it too, right, teacher? It’s loitering near the school gate, isn’t it?”

“That would suggest it has intelligence.”

“Or… hmm. Maybe there’s someone else controlling it.”

Kim Chaemin’s domain was divided by the school gate.

He moved his hand slowly, like a conductor. The petals followed, gliding low through the air.

“The quality of the magic is terrible. Is there even such a spell?”

“It’s probably remote… a modified puppet spell, I’d guess.”

“A puppet, huh.”

“You can’t control something that precisely just by watching. There must be a core somewhere inside it.”

“Like a golem?”

“Yes! Maybe they’ve layered on a few more spells, too. Probably so it can draw on ambient magic to grow larger if needed. We’d have to break down the spell to know for sure.”

But Kim Chaemin’s face was far from bright.

The reason was obvious.

“But breaking that thing down… hmm, it’s too much trouble. Let’s just get rid of it right away.”

The form still lingered near the school gate, hesitant.

“You can handle it, right?”

I gauged the distance. In truth, I’d been here so often there was nothing to gauge, but I did it for my conscience’s sake.

“It doesn’t matter how many spells are stacked on it.”

Perhaps finished with its deliberation, the blue form extended an arm—or perhaps a foreleg. Its limbs were long. Crawling on all fours, its lurching movement was both comical and unsettling.

The moment its foot touched the fresh grass, Kim Chaemin’s rose petals wrapped around it. It flailed its legs, trying to brush the petals away, but failed. In an instant, the rose petals engulfed it.

What I saw with my own eyes was now shaped by petals. Kim Chaemin grinned mischievously.

“Now you can see it clearly, right?”

“…Yes, I can.”

I could have managed without, but it wouldn’t do to ignore someone else’s effort. Besides, it was easier to see this way.

As the body was wrapped in crimson petals, a single thread of blue magical energy extending from the creature became starkly visible. It hadn’t been visible before, when the magic was in turmoil.

I don’t know much about puppet spells, but thinking of it as a golem makes it easier to understand. That must be some kind of antenna.

“Can you tell who’s casting that spell? They must still be controlling it.”

“Ah, actually, it’s easier to figure out what spell was used.”

Kim Chaemin shook his head as soon as he heard my question.

“Is it impossible?”

“…I didn’t say it was impossible!”

The archmage’s pride bristled and flared up.

“I’d have to extract the caster’s magic from the core…”

“Breaking the core isn’t enough?”

“…It depends on the spell, but for movement as precise as that, the caster must have injected a significant amount of their own magic into the core. If you break the core, that magic will probably disperse.”

“And you’d try to track it?”

“It’ll dissolve into the air immediately, so no.”

Even an archmage’s pride can’t make the impossible possible.

Kim Chaemin shook his head again.

“If I could extract the core intact, I could record that magic pattern separately. But extracting the core from something that size? Not impossible… but difficult. Safety comes first, after all.”

“Of course…”

The form, having given up on shaking off the petals, immediately fixed on its target.

Though Kim Chaemin’s petal-laden magic was crushing its energy, it must have gathered so much power on the way here that it didn’t budge.

“I think it’s about time to move, Teacher Woo.”

I checked one last thing.

“About that magic pattern.”

“Yes?”

“Does it come out even if you just break the core without any special measures?”

Kim Chaemin didn’t seem to understand why I was asking, but answered dutifully.

“I… I suppose it would, yes?”

“Good. That’s all I needed.”

“Yes?”

I dashed toward the blue form. I’d wager Kim Chaemin didn’t even see me move. A dumbfounded sound came from behind.

I leapt straight onto the creature’s back. If it had been nothing but a mass of magic without a physical form, my foot might have sunk right through and I’d have been swallowed up by some unknown magician. But now, the petals served as a solid foothold.

I moved atop the petals. I drove my spear into its arched back, swollen like a cat’s. Instead of swinging it, I just flicked the tip, as if stirring water.

A rose petal caught on the spear’s tip. Red petals clung to my spear as well. The petals stuck to the blade, still sharp enough to shred anything they touched.

And yet.

The petal-shrouded view conjured a scene straight out of a romance film.

Isn’t this fun? Monster hunting with an archmage?

Next time, it might be worth trying a dungeon raid with Kim Chaemin. It would certainly make for a more entertaining sight than doing it with Han Taekyung.

---

‘Hello.’

‘…Good day.’

‘Did I say that correctly just now?’

Golden hair, dazzling as the sun, swayed.

Awakened ones who age slowly often look much younger than they really are. The archmage before me was no exception.

Even knowing her age, the way her long blond hair fell made her look, at most, in her early to mid-twenties. Perhaps it was the innocent smile on her face.

‘Yes. Did you study Korean separately?’

‘Just enough for daily conversation. There are so many promising hunters in Korea. I thought it might help to learn a little.’

‘It’s an honor. For the same reason, there are many people on our side learning French these days.’

‘Ahaha, well, um.’

‘Pardon me. My name is Woo Heejae.’

The archmage known as “the Jewel” smiled, her eyes crinkling.

‘I actually know. You’re Hunter Hong’s son, aren’t you?’

‘Yes. But…’

‘Monsieur Woo, did you also learn French?’

‘…I can manage daily conversation as well.’

‘Because of me?’

Objectively, she wasn’t a classic beauty. But her rippling golden hair and gentle blue eyes truly fit the title “Daughter of the Sun,” wrapping those who met her in warmth. Her lightly freckled face was always smiling. If you forgot she was the youngest archmage, you might mistake her for a country girl wandering a field of sunflowers.

Maybe it was that smile, unchanged by age. A radiant, sun-bright smile that made it hard to look away.

‘Monsieur?’

‘…You could say that. It’s not every day one gets to converse with the Jewel of France.’

And the chance to see magic with my own eyes was even rarer.

‘That’s too generous a compliment.’

Despite her unadorned smile, the hand she extended wore a ring set with a large gem. Was it a jewel? Or a dungeon byproduct?

‘Then let me introduce myself again.’

The 5th International Standard Magic Designation Forum of the World Magic Council, held in Korea.

Twelve archmages had been invited. One of them was the golden-haired woman before me.

‘I’m Noa Michel from France. Pleased to meet you.’

“……!!”

A form made of magic cannot make a sound.

It cannot feel pain.

Even if you cut off its arms, its legs. Even if you split its torso in two, it simply knits itself back together with magic, unfazed.

But remember this.

That is not a monster. It is magic made by humans. And if it’s a clash of magic, there’s an archmage here as well.

Kim Chaemin moved the vines just enough not to hinder me. Since the petals had forced the form to take shape, tripping it up with a vine around the ankle was nothing. It had crossed the school gate ages ago, but it still hadn’t made it halfway across the field.

The petals continued to crush its magic. Threads of energy tangled between its severed legs and torso.

But the magic core was still nowhere to be seen.

“Teacher Woo!”

Kim Chaemin nearly screamed the words.

“Left shin! Below the knee!!”

I didn’t know exactly what he meant, but instinctively, I followed Kim Chaemin’s directions and severed the creature’s left knee. The petals wrapped around my spear helped to crush its magic.

“Ah! No, it moved! Up, thigh—no, no, in the body, uh, the shoulder!!”

“Does the core usually move around like this?!”

“It depends on the spell!!!”

I almost never rely on someone else’s sight. If it weren’t for the petals, would I have been able to see the core?

I don’t know. There are spells that can completely hide magic, after all.

But speed, at least, is my specialty. Listening to Kim Chaemin’s shouts, I moved my hands swiftly. I crushed the thigh, slashed through the torso. After severing the shoulder, I took out the knee as it started to regenerate, then split the belly.

“Right side, the flank!!!”

And through the swirling petals, I saw an empty space. Amid a cloud of blue magical motes, like diving into a swarm of gnats, there was a fist-sized gap, as if someone had erased it with a rubber.

See? I told you. There are spells that can completely hide magic.

‘I’m looking forward to your magic demonstration today.’

‘Mine?’

‘Yes. I’ve been very curious.’

‘There’s really nothing to get excited about…’

I thought of the golden-haired archmage. The light blooming at her fingertips, bright as the sun.

I can see magic. No matter how great an archmage is, they can’t hide the magic pattern that spreads when they cast a spell. I watched as blue magic slowly turned to gold.

I remembered Noa Michel’s magic pattern.

If I ever saw it again, I would never mistake it.