Chapter 6

### The Rebirth of the Great Mage of the Hero Party - Chapter 6 (6/280)

#### Chapter 6

That winter was long.

It lasted for a full three years.

It was said that the abyss had erupted in the Arctic, and two FakeWarriors (fake heroes) were dispatched to suppress it.

It was an era of peace. Until the end of that winter, the boy received training under Scaldy Ludwig.

The focus of the training was on honing magical power and opening the Mage Eye. To open the Bell Quirious, one had to first:

"Be able to use the Bell Cidious freely. Now, read it quickly! Don't miss it!"

"Yes!"

"Are you just going to stand there and watch the opponent's magic activate? Move quickly!"

Each time he taught one thing, Scaldy felt a hundredfold joy in his grandson's understanding. The boy's genius was beyond description.

What took a dullard ten years, an average person one year, and a genius one month, the boy mastered in just one day.

All he needed was time. The method of using the eyes and the time it took for magical power to grow.

The boy was also enjoying himself.

If he had received the usual magic training, it would have been boring. But the Ludwig family's hereditary magic was a world of knowledge he had never known.

The reward was also clear.

The ability to control all abilities at will was a condition that far exceeded his previous life, which had no foundation.

"Training is more effective when one puts their life on the line."

"I know."

"From now on, I will launch a fireball. If you can't avoid it, you will die."

Scaldy said this, but if a truly dangerous situation arose, he intended to use his Bell Quirious to nullify the magic.

"Breath..."

The boy took a deep breath and nodded. Cold sweat trickled down his body, and his white breath rose into the winter wind.

"Now!"

Scaldy was an excellent mage.

The condition for a mage to become a battle mage was the speed of calculation. Scaldy's calculation speed was quite fast, even by Lin's standards.

'If I had been in my era, Scaldy might have joined the Rista Party instead of me.'

Fortunately, that didn't happen. When the fireball approached, the mist surged, distorting the vision.

"Bell Cidious!"

The fireball drew closer. The pain of being burned seared his skin.

"Hurry, Rain!"

The activation condition of the Bell Quirious was theoretically complex. The five hereditary magics of the Ludwig family had to be calculated simultaneously and infused into the eyes.

The three stages of Bell Cidious: quickly reading, interpreting, and penetrating the magic, and then interfering and manipulating its power.

Thinking about it now, to make this a hereditary magic... was Rukken Ludwig a man who regretted not becoming a mage?

"Rain!"

The fireball was right in front of him.

But the boy thought. Multiple magic calculations, it's nothing to me.

The five magics were cast in an instant.

Suddenly, blood trickled from his eyes, and the pain of his retinas burning and melting was excruciating.

But, what?

The surroundings were covered in a terrifying red, and everything began to appear as numbers.

010101010101

The snowflakes flying in front of him, the distant voice of Scaldy, and the fireball burning right in front of him...!

In that moment, Rain realized a change in his eyes. The Bell Quirious had activated.

Amazing.

This is really, amazing.

Everything in the universe, interpreted as mathematical equations, directly transmitting information to the brain, an unbelievable scene.

– Once you recognize information with the Bell Quirious, you're there. Then, like solving a math problem, change the formula you see in front of you.

It was similar to Bell Cidious, but something was fundamentally different.

The numbers...

They felt tangible, like touching the surface of water, and when he reached out or his gaze fell, they strangely scattered or distorted, as if he could interfere with everything.

┏ 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 ┓

• The original array of the spell is two triangles.

• The rune symbols used are formulaic Runeschen.

• Size 17 axels, range 23 gimites.

┗ 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 ┛

Interpretation complete.

Correction initiated.

Should I twist the rune for "launch" to "trail"? The rune becomes meaningless, and the equation's solution becomes an imaginary root.

This means one thing.

The magic will be nullified.

As he finished interfering, the fireball that had been fiercely roaring and scorching his face dispersed into countless sparks, and the world became quiet.

The boy could only hear his own breathing.

Then, a sharp pain pierced his temples. It was a sign of magical power depletion. Scaldy caught the boy as he staggered and fell.

"Grandfather, did it work just now?"

"Yes! Look at your eyes! Now, all you lack is magical power! Hahaha! Such an unbelievable thing... to open the Bell Quirious at fourteen!"

At that moment, Scaldy was laughing, but he couldn't just laugh.

'I only managed to enter the realm at thirty-nine...'

In the current magical world, even he, who was praised as a genius of the century, had to face this reality.

Then, what kind of genius is Rain?

Can he be described as just a genius? This is a talent that could rewrite the history of the empire's magic.

"Rain, no matter what path you take or what life you live, I won't interfere at all."

"…?"

"But when you turn sixteen, you must knock on the door of the magic university, <Delaiten>. You are a gem."

Magic university...

To be honest, he wasn't interested.

What he was interested in was the Central Magic Library attached to <Delaiten>. Wasting time was out of the question.

"Did you know that if you graduate top of your class from <Delaiten>, you will have the opportunity to meet the corpse of the Great Mage Lin?"

"Yes, but..."

Stop desecrating the corpse.

What's so good about seeing the dead body in ice? Why is this considered a privilege?

"I'm not really interested."

"I wasn't either. But aren't you curious about the content of the note Rista left for Lin?"

What...?

What did Rista leave for me?

"No one has ever opened the Bell Quirious at your age. With that power, you should be able to decipher the content of the note."

At that moment, he was just stunned by the shocking story, but looking back, that was the beginning.

This is a story of travel.

Following Rista's letter, tracing the footsteps of old comrades, and traveling to every corner of the world to record it.

And on that journey.

The story of meeting that child.

* * *

He turned fifteen.

At the beginning of the summer, a heavy rain poured, providing a good excuse to stay at the <Ribarden> magic school instead of returning to the mansion.

After submitting his application to <Delaiten> magic university, he became interested in school classes, so he occasionally observed them.

Located in the central capital of the empire, <Rainbow Garden>, <Ribarden> is divided into elementary, middle, and high school levels, like other magic schools.

Ordinary mages graduate from elementary, middle, and high school, pass the half-dan (1-star) rank exam, and become a mage.

Geniuses, on the other hand, obtain the half-dan (1-star) rank after graduating from middle school and then advance to the magic university.

"Today's lesson is factorization. You've already learned the basics in middle school, so now we'll move on to the advanced level..."

Rain paid more attention to the students listening to the lesson than the content of the lesson.

"Hey, how do you solve this?"

"Let me see your notes for a moment."

"Why is this so difficult? Should I just give up on math?"

"Are you crazy? Can a mage give up on math?"

They asked each other about things they didn't know, solved difficult problems together, and laughed and chatted.

'This is similar to following the Rista Party, where we complement each other's weaknesses.'

It was completely different from Lin's life, where he learned basic theories from the headmistress in the magic tower and memorized formulas alone in his room.

'Somehow, it seems interesting...'

But, oh... a slightly awkward problem arose. How should he act with his peers?

'Even when I was Lin, I didn't know, and now I'm the eldest son of a noble family?'

Before regaining his memories, Rain's life was that of an outsider, cut off from the world, so it didn't help at all.

What a useless son!

"Maybe... I'm in a bit of trouble?"

The only thing he could rely on was Lin's memories. Let's review the past.

When was it?

At some point, he had a conversation with the party members about attitudes towards others.

– Now, may the gods' rest be with these children's souls, Dursiel.

The shaman of the dragon, Fride, placed her hand on the forehead of each fallen warrior and prayed, and the sound of weeping could be heard from the crowd.

Fride, a shaman in a position of religious leadership in the republic, was beseeched with tears to pray for the dead wherever she went.

Lin might have been moved by Fride's kind and gentle appearance, praying for the living and sending their prayers to heaven.

– But knowing Fride's true nature, it just seems hypocritical.

– What, really?

Fride burst out in anger at Lin's words. Kies nodded in agreement, while Rista waved her hand.

– Fride? I don't think so.

– Of course, only Rista! These smelly, lonely men, I just want to punch them.

– Not hypocritical, but a bit nauseating? Just a little? Just this much?

Fride's face turned bright red from the simultaneous attack of the three.

– I'm a shaman! One of the top two in the republic! Do you think I should just spew smoke and act like that? People have expectations!

– Yes, Fride-sama is right.

Lin replied teasingly, and Fride, about to flare up, put a pipe in her mouth.

– Hmph, you'll have to act differently someday, you sneaky brat. We'll see. I'll make you pay.

– No. Why should I?

– If the Great Mage of the Hero Party is timid, doesn't laugh, and just spews insults, how disappointed will people be? They'll ask if you're a fake.

Lin often laughed after joining the Hero Party, though not frequently. That could be considered his true self.

He was usually shy with strangers, as a boy who had only lived in the slums and the magic tower, harboring a basic distrust of others.

Lin's expression suddenly became serious, and he closed the book he was always reading.

– Acting... how do you do it? Do you put a steel plate on your face like Fride? But that's only possible if you have a flat face like Fride.

– Come here, you're really dead!

Kies held back Fride, who was roaring like a beast and throwing punches and kicks, while Rista approached and sat next to Lin.

– What book is it?

– Gren Benivelt's "The History of Dragons - II".

– ...Lin, you don't need to act. Fride's case is special.

– Special?

– Lin is Lin. Of course, it would be nice if you were a bit brighter and more confident, but you don't need to force yourself to change. You're fine as you are.

Rista smiled and looked at him. Lin felt a sudden bashfulness and lowered his head to avoid her gaze.

– Tch, I don't need to act. I don't want to. But...

– But?

Huh? Huh huh?

As Rista urged him and leaned closer with a smiling face, Lin pushed her away and whispered barely audible.

– ...I want to change.

Rista, Kies, Fride.

Like you.

Bright, confident, and kind... to be an adult who can make others laugh. I can't change my innate personality, but someday, I will.