The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

“Uncle, you could just kill them all.”

Pale fanned the flames.

Personally, Lukas also wanted to kill Pale, who brought it up in the first place, but he could only endure it for now. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to do what she was suggesting. But he needed to pace himself.

If he were to just act as he pleased at random, his mind would not be able to hold out and would collapse in no time. It wasn’t yet the time for that. At the very least, he needed to maintain his sanity till he killed one of the Twelve Void Lords and went to the place known as the King’s Castle.

Shuk.

He stretched out his arm, causing the unconscious body of Sama Ryeong to float up. After that, he gestured with his finger and she came towards him as if she was being pulled. In truth, Lukas didn’t have to do this in order to move something, but he did it anyway. This was to deceive the people around him, as well as the Corpse Ghost who might be watching this scene.

Lukas roughly picked up the body of Sama Ryeong before tearing space open once again.

The Corpse Ghost had only given Lukas permission to leave, so he probably wouldn’t want him to take Sama Ryeong out of this place.

But he didn’t care. He didn’t think the Corpse Ghost would become hostile with him just because of this matter. And even if he did, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

“Wait…!”

Haspin called out to him, but Lukas coldly ignored him as he stepped through the space. Pale followed him. But the most surprising thing happened at the end.

Just before the crack in space could disappear completely, Jacob threw himself into it.

Haspin and Daihad had no time – and no reason – to stop them.

Four people.

In an instant, most of the group had disappeared.

Now, only Haspin and Daihad were left in the forest.

“…I feel like I got caught up in something huge. First of all, I’m thankful that I even managed to survive.”

Daihad stroked his chin before turning to glance at Haspin.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“The test hasn’t ended.”

Haspin spoke in his uniquely deep voice.

“We still have to finish.”

“And after?”

“I will return to my territory, [Demonsio].” (TL: I really preferred ‘the pit’)

Haspin knew there might be some repercussions because of what he saw and heard.

Nevertheless, he had to make the report. Because that was the role he had been given.

* * *

Fwoosh!

“Kuk.”

Jacob let out a groan.

He had just come out of the crack in space. He couldn’t breathe or move his body. His actions had been completely blocked.

Even the movement of his cells seemed to have been restrained.

“Is your goal to die? If so then I’d be happy to help.”

Lukas spoke in a frightening tone. His black eyes seemed to pierce directly into his heart. His heart pounded. This wasn’t just because he was afraid.

Forcing the motionless corners of his mouth to move, Jacob spoke.

“To die by your hands… would be my honour…!”

“You seem to believe your death would have great meaning. I wouldn’t even remember you.” (TL: such a cold line.)

“Kuku…”

Jacob chuckled instead of responding. His eyes seemed to glow faintly.

Lukas looked at this figure who was staring at him with wide eyes.

What was this man’s goal? Was it just to take him to Magic Planet? What exactly did that mean?

He recalled the Corpse Ghost’s words.

He’d advised him to avoid the Beginning Wizard, Lord of the Magic Planet and one of the Twelve Void Lords, saying that there was a high chance that he might have a different but higher level power to Lukas’.

Of course, Lukas didn’t believe that he understood and could control Void better than he could. However, he didn’t intend to simply ignore the Corpse Ghost’s warning.

…Perhaps, the Beginning Wizard’s goal was to gather those with similar powers in the Magic Planet and then devour them. He could have spread strong beings like Jacob all over the World of Void to look for them.

Although that would be a good way to explain most things… the one thing it couldn’t explain Jacob’s respectful attitude towards him.

“Don’t be a nuisance. I have no intention of going to the Magic Planet.”

After saying those brief words, Lukas released the restraints. Gasping, Jacob collapsed.

His entire body had been restrained up until then and the pain he must have felt was by no means small, but there were no signs of resentment on his face.

“Just kill him! That man is worth eating!”

Pale stomped on the ground and urged.

Worth eating… Now that he thought about it, there was a reason for him to avoid cannibalism for the time being. The power swirling around inside Lukas hadn’t melted yet. It wouldn’t be a good idea to add more things to his body. If anything went wrong, the cracks in the glass might spread faster.

Surprisingly, Jacob and Lukas had a lot in common.

If he ate him, he might be able to obtain many things. It just wasn’t a good time right now.

‘…I could use him.’

Lukas glanced at Jacob. He wasn’t exactly sure what this man’s intentions were, but he was a Wizard from the Magic Planet which was shrouded in mystery, so he was worth using.

“Do you intend to keep following me?”

“…if I do, will you kill me?”

“I won’t kill you. As long as you agree to my conditions.”

Jacob hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“…I can’t tell you anything about the Magic Planet.”

“It has nothing to do with that.”

“Huh?”

“Firstly, don’t be a nuisance. If you intend to follow me, keep quiet.”

“…”

Don’t be a nuisance.

This was a very vague condition. This was because it was possible for the party who raised the condition to push Jacob around by interpreting it as they pleased.

“Understood.”

Nevertheless, Jacob still accepted.

This was because he judged that this level of risk was worth it.

“What’s the second condition?”

Jacob’s voice was filled with tension.

Usually, the conditions that came after were more difficult to complete.

Lukas answered without looking at Jacob.

“The polite speech.”

“Huh?”

“Stop using polite speech, it’s unnecessary.”

“…?”

Jacob looked at him strangely for a moment.

A Wizard showing him respect and speaking to him politely. Because of that, he recalled unpleasant memories from the past.

“I can’t do that.”

But Jacob refused in a firm tone.

“You are a great Wizard who reached the level of being able to look down on Truth Seekers. I cannot treat such a person like that.”

“Even if it means you die here?”

“…it is my nature.”

His attitude was inflexible.

With this he was able to get a rough idea of Jacob’s personality. Because of how high his pride was, he would not take back his words after he said them. Even if he were to try to kill him now, there was a high chance that he would just accept it calmly.

He looked at Pale. Pushing out her lips slightly, she mouthed the words ‘just kill him’.

Lukas clicked his tongue.

* * *

The World of Void was incomparably vast and there were no clear landmarks.

After walking ten steps, it would be impossible to return to where you once were even if you were to turn around and retrace your steps. In order to not get lost in this land, it was necessary to be accompanied by a ‘guide’.

Fortunately, Lukas had experienced what it meant to be a guide even before coming to the dump site.

Of course, he didn’t need to use that skill now.

Crack-

Just by tearing the space apart, he was able to return to the grey desert.

“That power is astounding… Such a feat is not possible with just talent and knowledge of space.”

“…”

Ignoring Jacob’s muttering, Lukas looked up at the sky.

As always, the appearance of the sky seemed to show a flow of colours.

Lukas sat down roughly in the sand. He knew exactly where the Flower Mountain was, but he didn’t intend to go there until Sama Ryeong woke up.

“I’ll take a look around.”

Jacob took it upon himself to do the chores. He was so polite that Lukas couldn’t help but wonder if he was the same arrogant man from their first meeting. Lukas didn’t respond, but he didn’t seem to mind as if he’d already decided to take the role.

Soon, he disappeared from view. Lukas wasn’t worried that he wouldn’t come back. Jacob probably had the skills of a guide as well, or at least some other method.

Lukas stretched his hand into the air.

‘As expected, it’s much more abundant outside.’

It was possible for him to clearly feel the presence and movement of void in the atmosphere.

In the World of Void, the power of void could do almost anything. Not just killing someone, if the conditions were met, perhaps even the reverse would be possible…

“…”

Lukas suddenly turned his head and looked at Pale. She was looking up at the sky with a serious expression that seemed to be a mixture of caution and solemnity.

What was wrong? Lukas followed her gaze and looked up at the sky.

The flowing skies that were unique to the grey desert. At least as far as Lukas could see, there was nothing strange about it. Just as Lukas narrowed his eyes a bit more.

“It’s really quiet around here.”

Jacob returned.

He had a slightly suspicious expression on his face.

“I could barely feel any signs of life… The desert in the Western Region, it was never this peaceful when I came here.”

Those last words were closer to a mumble.

Lukas agreed with him. In the past, when he was wandering this desert with Pale, monsters would appear almost hourly.

“Should we wait for her to wake up first?”

Jacob glanced at Sama Ryeong as he said this.

Lukas nodded.

In any case, he needed to talk to Sama Ryeong, someone who came from Flower Mountain, for his rough plan.

* * *

When Sama Ryeong opened her eyes, she was greeted by a multicoloured sky.

‘…’

This wasn’t the forest that served as the test site. It wasn’t even the dump site.

She was currently outside.

The first thing she noticed was that fact. Then, she wiggled her fingers slightly. They moved. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with her sensory organs and she wasn’t bound. Next, she checked her muscles.

…Their condition wasn’t perfect, but at least it was enough to move. It was enough since even her fatigue had been completely relieved.

‘…this feeling.’

The feeling of the ground felt like sand.

Sama Ryeong was shocked by this fact. If this was the desert, that meant that she was in the Western Region.

‘Why am I here…?’

Was she brought all the way here while unconscious? How long had it been since she’d fallen unconscious?

Sama Ryeong calmed her confusion and focused her attention on her surroundings. There were three presences that she could feel. And it seemed that none of them were paying attention to her.

‘My sword…’

Naturally, it was not on her waist.

A small investigation showed that it was lying beside a woman who was the farthest away from them.

The other two were having a conversation.

“…then is your goal to kill Yang In-hyun?”

For a moment, she almost trembled. The contents of the conversation that she’d overheard were too shocking.

Kill? Who? Yang In-hyun? By who?

“Do you think it’s reckless?”

“Definitely not. You can certainly discuss killing one of the Twelve Void Lords.”

Sama Ryeong finally realised that the owner of the voice was Jacob. But his voice lacked any of his characteristic arrogance. If she had to say, it felt like he was being strangely obedient or polite.

“Nevertheless, it won’t be easy. The Everlasting Plum Sword is strong and ruthless. I heard that once he considers someone an enemy… he will eliminate them by any means.”

Eliminate.

In this world, where the meanings of defeat, exclusion and death were relatively light, this might be the surest method.

Sama Ryeong knew.

Yang In-hyun didn’t blindly kill those who didn’t follow him. Instead he used their desires and desperation in order to get what he wanted from them. In Sama Ryeong’s case, it was vengeance.

‘Jacob is talking to someone…’

Was it Lukas Trowman?

Then that meant two out of the three were identified.

It was the woman at the far end of the campfire that was still an unknown. She was the one who had her sword, and she was not someone that had been in the test area.

Sama Ryeong had been the only woman there.

“Since you’re awake, can we talk now?”

A clear voice.

Sama Ryeong was startled. Without her realising it, the blue haired woman had squatted beside her and was looking at her.

When did she come here? She hadn’t felt a single trace.

“Ah. I have no intentions of harming you, so you don’t have to worry.”

“…you expect me to believe that?”

“Hey. Do you know how long you were unconscious? If I wanted to eat you, I could have done it hundreds of times by now.”

Pale replied with a grumpy expression.

Even Sama Ryeong was unable to refute her statement.

“…what do you want from me?”

“That’s easy.”

The answer didn’t come from the woman, but from Lukas, who was behind her.

“Take me to Yang…”

Boowoowoong-

A strong vibration. It was like the sound of birds buzzing in your ears.

Lukas’ eyes turned to Pale, because the vibrations were coming from her.

“Eh? It’s not me.”

Pale shook her head with a bewildered expression.

“The vibration is coming from the sword, not her.”

Jacob spoke, looking at the sword hanging from Pale’s waist. He was right. The vibrations were coming from the sword.

“Huh. You’re right. So cool. Did you put an alarm function on your sword?”

“…that’s… not it.”

Sama Ryeong’s expression became frighteningly stiff.

“The sword. Give it to me. It’s urgent.”

“I’m not giving it to you until you explain what’s going on.”

“Kuk.”

Sama Ryeong hesitated for a while but she quickly determined that it wasn’t worth worrying about now.

“…The Seven Flowers, the most elite group in Flower Mountain, usually don’t stay in the territory. We are usually scattered all over the World of Void, training ourselves and focused on pursuing our own goals.”

“That’s true.”

Jacob nodded as if to help.

“Nevertheless, the fact that we are the main force representing Flower Mountain doesn’t change. So Flower Mountain needed a way to contact us in case of an emergency.”

Sama Ryeong pointed towards her sword.

“That sword has such a function attached to it. It’s a device that can immediately summon us when Flower Mountain faces a threat it cannot handle with its current power.”

“Hmm. In other words, Flower Mountain is currently experiencing some kind of crisis?”

“Right. And the degree of vibration on the sword tells us the level of danger. I can only tell by touching it, so please give it to me quickly.”

Pale glanced at Lukas.

He nodded as if to say he allowed it, and she handed the sword over.

“Here.”

Sama Ryeong quickly snatched the sword and inserted it into the sheath at her waist. Then, while holding the sword by the tip and hilt, she concentrated.

Her face gradually turned pale.

“This… unbelievable…”

“What is it? Is it serious?”

Sama Ryeong gulped slightly before speaking.

“…it’s the highest level, a level 7 danger alert.”

Pale tilted her head to the side.

“How serious is that?”

“…it means the power of Flower Mountain has decreased by more than 90%.”

With a crunch, Sama Ryeong grit her teeth.

“A situation in which the Sect Leader has died.”

(TL: If anyone can guess the culprit they’ll get… a cookie.)