Chapter 18

Chapter 18

‘This bastard?’

At Zeke’s words, Peter’s eyebrow twitched.

Even under his threat, Zeke showed not fear, but confidence.

‘Has he lost his mind? What nerve does he have when he does not even have a Circle?’

It was absurd, but perhaps because of that, Peter calmed his excitement.

He thought Zeke must have some scheme.

‘Otherwise, there is no way he would have appeared so confidently before me without a guard.’

Perhaps their father was waiting behind the door.

Just like with Alex.

That had to be the reason Zeke was acting so confident.

‘If that is the case, I must not attack recklessly. I must not fall for his provocation.’

For now, he would put Zeke to sleep with Sleep magic, then take only the recorder.

Just as Peter gathered magical energy with that thought...

‘Hm?’

Peter’s expression changed subtly.

‘Mana... is not gathering?’

He tried to cast magic, but the mana that should have gathered at his fingertips scattered at some point.

It felt as though some unfathomable power was interfering, preventing him from casting magic.

At the incomprehensible phenomenon, Peter’s pupils trembled faintly.

“What is wrong, Brother? Is mana perhaps not gathering?”

“...Could this be your doing?”

“Yes. I have no desire to be killed by you, Brother.”

Peter once more drew mana from the surroundings.

Then he passed it through the five Circles around his heart and removed the impurities.

He infused the predetermined amount of magical energy into the spell formula he had prepared in advance.

Normally, manifestation should have occurred at this stage, but absurdly, the gathered magical energy vanished without a trace.

‘No matter what I do, it does not work. It will not manifest at all.’

He was shocked by the incomprehensible phenomenon, but only for a moment.

“I wondered what made you so confident, and it seems you were secretly learning some wicked art.”

Peter thought Zeke must have sold his soul to a demon.

Otherwise, how could he scatter the magical energy Peter had gathered?

“But you made a mistake.”

Peter took a scroll from inside his robes.

It was a magic scroll he had kept as a backup.

“This, you could not have known about.”

Riiip.

When he tore the scroll, the spell formula contained inside activated.

Since magical energy was already imbued within it, the situation was such that it would activate as soon as it was torn.

There would be no timing for Mana Absorption to stop it.

Peter used the expensive scroll under that prediction.

SWISH!

Seeing the Wind Cutter stored in the scroll, Peter raised the corner of his mouth.

Soon, the blade of wind would tear Zeke’s body apart.

However, Peter soon had to doubt his own eyes.

[Absorbing the cast spell ‘Wind Cutter’.]

[The skill’s proficiency has increased by 30.]

[Proficiency until 2-Star Achievement : 30/100]

[The spell ‘Wind Cutter’ has been stored in the Dimensional Gap.]

[Stored Spells 1/2]

[You can release the spell within the time limit.]

[Remaining Time : 00:09:59]

The Wind Cutter, which had flown with enough force to cut off Zeke’s limbs at any moment, was absorbed into Zeke’s body.

No, to be precise, just before it touched his body, it vanished somewhere through an intangible barrier.

“H-How?”

“Brother. I am disappointed. To think you truly tried to kill me.”

Zeke looked at him pitifully, as though looking down on a weakling, then returned the magic as it was.

“Release.”

SWISH!

“What is this?”

The Wind Cutter manifested from Zeke’s grasp and grazed past Peter’s body.

Slice!

“Kgh!”

The blade of wind left wounds all over Peter’s body.

Fortunately, he did not suffer any serious wounds, but if the aim had been better, his limbs could have been severed.

“Rest assured. I missed on purpose. If I intended to kill you, you would have died by my hand long ago.”

‘In-Insane... What is happening?’

Even at his opponent’s provocation, Peter looked dazed, as though he had been struck in the head with a hammer.

It was only natural.

A half-wit without a Circle had suddenly used magic.

And the exact same magic he had cast, no less.

‘How can he do that without a Circle...?’

In the current situation, pain was a secondary matter.

The problem was that even using a magic scroll was useless.

‘Krrgh, if only I could use magic...’

He still gathered mana, but it did not reach the manifestation stage.

A talented 5th-Circle mage had been reduced to an ordinary person.

“Brother Peter. I was trying to end this nicely through conversation. But what is this? You attacked for no reason and only ended up injured, did you not?”

“You, what exactly did you do? How did someone without a Circle use magic...?”

“Is that important right now?”

“...Yes, you are right. That is not what matters right now. The urgent matter is informing others of your corrupt deeds.”

“Corrupt deeds?”

“I will report this to Father. No matter how badly you wanted power, to join hands with a demon and learn wicked arts, staining the family’s name. Father will punish you for your sins.”

“Go ahead and report it. You will not be safe either, Brother, since you conspired with the Tower Master and tried to sell me off.”

“…….”

Peter’s eyes glared fixedly at Zeke.

It was a gaze that seemed ready to tear him to pieces at any moment, but there was nothing he could do.

‘Damn it. I am no different from a cripple if I cannot use magic.’

Peter regretted not learning hand-to-hand combat, but he did not know.

Even if he had, he still would not have been a match for Zeke, who had surpassed the level of an Aura Master.

“What shall we do? Shall we go to Father and take turns confessing who did the worse thing?”

“...What do you want? You could not have come to me without a reason.”

Of course not.

There was a reason Zeke was not killing Peter.

“What I want is simple. Become my ally. That is all.”

“What?”

At the unexpected demand, Peter could not hide his bewilderment.

“Is that truly all?”

“That is right. Did you think I would tell you to withdraw as a candidate for family head?”

“...To be honest, I did.”

“Do not worry. As I said earlier, I have not the slightest interest in the position of family head. I simply need someone on my side.”

“…….”

Zeke knew he had tried to sell him off as a test subject, yet he wanted him to become his ally?

Peter could not tell whether Zeke was soft-hearted or an idiot.

“Of course, I am not asking you to become my ally without any safeguard. Swear it with a Mana Oath.”

“You little...”

As expected, he did not simply mean to become his ally in words alone.

He intended to bind him securely with a Mana Oath.

However, Peter let out a mocking laugh.

“Too bad. What will you do now? I have already made a Mana Oath with the Tower Master.”

“What are the terms of the oath?”

“It is set so that the moment I betray the Tower Master, my Circle will collapse. In other words, I have no choice but to be his loyal confidant.”

“Is that so? Well, it does not matter. You can make a new oath with me.”

“What?”

Peter stared at him with a stunned face for a moment before coming to his senses.

“Haha! It seems you do not know, but once a Mana Oath has already been made, another oath cannot be made.”

“No. It is possible. If you use this item.”

Zeke took an object from his pocket.

It was a gold-colored ballpoint pen, an item he had brought from Karbol’s treasure vault.

“Use this to write on this parchment exactly as I tell you. Then it will have the same effect as a Mana Oath. The oath you previously made with the Tower Master will disappear as well.”

“Where did you get something like this...?”

“Just do as I tell you. While I am still speaking nicely.”

“…….”

Peter glared at him for a moment, but Zeke remained relaxed.

“Why are you not answering? Do you dislike it? If you dislike it, there is nothing I can do. I will have to go straight to Father with the recorder. Then would you not lose your Circle, let alone the position of family head? It is not my Circle, so I do not particularly care what happens to it.”

“…….”

If he accepted the proposal, he could buy time, but if Father found out, just as Zeke said, the worst outcome would come.

In some ways, choosing the lesser evil was the wise choice.

“Hoo... You are a demon.”

“I do not think that is something a person who tried to sell his younger brother should say.”

“You never lose a single word. Hoo, fine. What should I write?”

“I, Peter McLaughlin, swear that I will never betray Zeke McLaughlin. If I violate this, my Circle will collapse according to the law of Almighty El. For reference, the ink will only come out if you infuse magical energy into it.”

“But is it true that if I make a contract with you, my oath with the Tower Master will disappear?”

“Yes. Your master changes from the Tower Master to me. Simple, right?”

“Th-Then would that not be a serious problem? If the Tower Master learns of this...”

“Unless you tell him yourself, the Tower Master will have no way of knowing. He probably will not even know the oath has been released.”

“If that is the case, then that is fortunate, but...”

Peter held the pen and hesitated to write.

It seemed he did not like the idea of his master changing.

“What is it? You do not want to make a contract with me? If you do not want to, I will go to Father...”

“F-Fine. Who said I did not want to? You are truly impatient.”

Peter had no choice but to write on the parchment, like someone weeping while eating mustard.

When he wrote it precisely without a single syllable wrong, golden light flowed from the letters.

‘Done. With this, the Ancient Oath has been cast.’

What Zeke had just made Peter do was an oath said to have been used by ancient people.

He had heard from Karbol that because it had priority over a Mana Oath, the previous oath he had made would be annulled.

“Well done.”

“I do not want praise from you. So what do you want me to do? If you made me swear an oath not to betray you, then there must be something you truly want.”

At Peter’s words, Zeke nodded.

“You are not entirely lacking in perception. Then I will tell you. What I truly want is...”

***

On the Southern Continent, there were five kingdoms and one empire.

Among them, the Deccan Kingdom was a weak nation, but in the field of magic, it was a kingdom that received a fair amount of recognition.

One might think the Tower Master of such a nation would be a mage of considerable level, but that was not the reality.

The Tower Master, Gregor Pantein, was only 8th Circle.

‘Gerard, that bastard, must still be far from reaching the 9th Circle, right?’

Gregor had been compared to Gerard ever since childhood.

They were the same age, had the same status, similar environments, and even the same master, so it would have been stranger if they had not been compared.

As a child, he had truly hated that.

‘In the past, I cared about whether we were rivals or whatnot, but now it does not matter. Of the two of us, I am the one who succeeded, no matter what anyone says.’

Their Circles were the same, but Gerard was merely the head of a prestigious magical family.

He was not qualified to compare himself to Gregor, the Tower Master of the Deccan Branch.

‘And yet that old codger Dalfred only favors Gerard.’

Gregor had heard that his master, Dalfred Vigsland, had reached the 9th Circle this time, but he paid no attention to that either.

He had not even offered the common words of congratulations.

Dalfred had once been his master, but that was a past he had already settled.

It would be awkward to contact him now.

And he did not want to see the sight of Dalfred favoring only Gerard.

‘What is there to boast about reaching the 9th Circle only after turning eighty? Talentless old man.’

One way or another, there was no one who could stop him.

Even Dalfred, a 9th-Circle mage, could not act recklessly before him.

That was the position of Tower Master, and that was power and politics.

This was also why Gerard could not refuse the training in the magical arts.

Everyone hoped to enter the Magic Tower, yet only his family refused?

That would be no different from declaring a fight against the mages of the Magic Tower.

‘Looking back now, calling Peter under the pretext of training in the magical arts was a good move. Who knew that boy had ambitions similar to mine?’

His nature of using any means necessary to achieve his goal was also similar to Gregor’s.

That was why Gregor had made him swear loyalty through a Mana Oath.

So he could use Peter like a puppet.

‘Still, it is a shame. It would have been better if I had brought in the youngest as well, after the eldest.’

He needed a test subject for his research, but more than that, he had heard the child was one Gerard doted upon with great devotion.

How could he not covet him?

‘I was truly curious about what kind of expression Gerard would make when he learned his youngest son had died meaninglessly as a test subject... But now I will have no chance to see that.’

When he heard that Zeke had died, Gregor had no choice but to soothe his disappointment.

If Zeke was going to die anyway, would it not have been better for him to die as a test subject?

Then he could also see Gerard’s expression of despair.

‘It is unfortunate, but there is nothing to be done. I can obtain as many test subjects as I want.’

However, his disappointment lasted only for a moment.

Gregor was able to hear welcome news through the communication orb he had given Peter.

“Peter? What is it?”

-Zeke is alive. He survived the Forest of Magical Beasts.

“What?”

The emotion that began with surprise soon ended in excitement.

Because he thought he might be able to see Gerard’s despairing face after all.

“I do not know how he survived, but that is quite fortunate. I had been disappointed because there was no suitable test subject. I can call him to the Magic Tower once more and use him as a test subject.”

-That may be somewhat difficult.

“Why?”

-The timing is poor. Because of the assassins, the family atmosphere is unsettled, and the successor trial has also been postponed until next year. If Zeke is sent for training in the magical arts in the midst of that, Father’s anxiety will only grow. That means attention will be focused on him as well.

“In short, you mean their nerves are on edge right now, so it is a poor time to act?”

-That is right. I think it would be best to postpone it at least until the successor trial next year. If we are going to make a move, it is better to do so when they are as off guard as possible.

“Hm.”

There was logic to that.

The timing was indeed poor right now.

Gerard could not refuse the Magic Tower’s invitation, but if they caused trouble while his eyes were wide open and alert, some other variable might interfere.

‘That is a decent opinion.’

The problem was that it was quite detailed for something that came from Peter’s head.

“Was that opinion something you thought of yourself?”

-Of course. Who else would there be but me?

“Hm.”

Peter had no reason to betray him.

Had Gregor not already bound him with a Mana Oath?

“Very well. I will speak to Gerard myself. I will tell him there is no need to send Zeke for training in the magical arts immediately.”

-Thank you for listening to my opinion. Then please remain in good health.

After the communication ended, Gregor’s lips twitched upward.

‘He escaped from the Forest of Magical Beasts? I do not know whether he is lucky or unlucky.’

He did not know about anything else, but one thing was certain.

His curiosity toward Zeke had grown even stronger than before.

‘I must bring him here, no matter what.’