Life would have a way of approaching events that would be hard to believe.
Two things were particularly responsible for the downfall of civilization: the sudden, mysterious appearance of gates all over the world that spewed monsters out from them to inflict slaughter upon humanity. The other was the appearance of those with special powers who fought those monsters. They would come to be known as hunters.
Even after all this time, it all felt as if it were unreal.
But it was an inescapable reality, and so people had learned to accept it.
In this world, information about hunters and monsters is found everywhere on the internet.
Magic, possibly the rarest and most sought after of all traits, was no exception.
, The strongest offensive trait is magic right?
Yeah. The S-rank hunters already settled that debate. So far, no force is as powerful as magic.
But combat isn't that simple, and mages aren't necessarily the best class overall. They are weak in melee combat.
, So what is the highest rank a mage could achieve?
Nine Stars.
That's obvious. Of course it's Nine Stars.
But how can anyone be so sure? There's not even a mage who's reached Eight Stars yet.
All real mages of the highest level wait with bated breath for Nine Stars.
This is most likely due to the Nine-Star magic, so those traits are probably S-rank.
S-rank is the peak of traits anyway. Get one and you're almost guaranteed to become an S-rank hunter assuming you put in the work.
He recalled with clarity the conversations he had recently encountered concerning the hunter communities.
The magic ended at Nine Stars.
Not a single mage had ever achieved Eight Stars.
And traits peaked at S-rank.
"Nine Stars is supposed to be the limit…"
Back then, he had simply taken it at face-value.
It was common sense. Everybody knew that.
Raw's hunters had said the same thing: Nine Stars made magic impossible, and S-rank was the best trait you could have.
"That's how it was… wasn't it?"
Then what actually was the message that floated before his eyes?
[You have obtained the legacy of Nasus, the 13-Star Black Mage.]
[You are awakening the trait Nasus's Black Magic (SSS).]
[Awakening in progress...4%...5%...]
"Thirteen Stars? And what's with the SSS next to the trait?"
The message was an outright rejection of everything he thought he knew.
The more he looked at it, the sillier it seemed. It seemed so silly that he could hardly believe in it. It was as if he'd suddenly lost all his beliefs all together.
"Don't tell me… this isn't some kind of SSS-rank trait, is it?"
He laughed hollowly.
It was ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.
S-rank was already the highest. SSS-rank sounded like it had wandered out of a fantasy.
"…But wait. Thirteen Stars shouldn't exist either. Besides, if a Thirteen-Star black mage really existed, then maybe SSS-rank isn't impossible after all. And no one ever said that everything people believe has to be true.
The longer he read the message, however, the more denial gave way to acceptance.
It was then that he noticed something.
Something felt… strange.
Why does my mana keep doing that?
The mana inside his heart was moving on its own. It had never done this on its own. It had only ever moved when he wanted it to.
Was this because he was in the process of awakening a trait?
Huuung… huuung…
He focused as he tried to tame the mana.
His biggest weakness was always his mana control.
Yet now, to his surprise, the mana answered.
It then flowed from his heart, straight through his torso, and easily into his arm.
It felt… easy.
Too easy.
When the mana finally reached his hand, it spread out to his fingers.
It was normally where it all broke down.
But this time,
It didn't resist.
Pop.
For an instant, something formed at his fingertips.
"…Oh."
There was no mistaking it.
Mana had already gathered at his fingertips.
He had failed thousands of times during those six months, but he had never succeeded.
Everything now became smooth sailing.
"It worked. It actually worked."
This mana was soon dispersed, but it didn't matter.
What mattered most was that it had worked.
And then another thought sprang up in his mind.
"If this is what I can do while awakening… then what happens after it's complete?"
The anticipation is impossible to avoid.
The picture was still there before him; the awakening was still going on but much slower than when he had first begun to see.
"Calm down."
He firmed, forcing himself to pull together.
Too early for celebrations, however.
Right now, all he needed to do was claim everything this legacy had to offer.
"I knew that crown looked suspicious from the start."
The skeleton believed to be Nasus retained its seat on his throne, a crown resting upon his skull.
If this were the legacy of a Thirteen-Star black mage, then the crown must have been unlike any other.
Tentatively, he reached out and touched it.
The moment his fingers touched the
Pssh.
The crown crumbled to dust and vanished.
"…So it's not something I can take."
He was dissatisfied with this and searched the area around the skeleton, but could not find anything else that could be called an item.
Then, there has to be something somewhere.
If this was Nasus's legacy, there had to be more.
Believing this, he began to search the castle.
"I found it."
It was a room deep inside the castle.
He expected that, because the interior was so opulent, the tomb would be filled.
Instead, only three items lay inside.
"A robe, a staff, and a book… That's it?"
The robe is just a plain black.
A simple black staff, with no visible features.
And an old, worn book.
Only three items.
However, they did not all vanish upon his touch.
That alone proved they were genuine artifacts.
"I guess I'll see their details after awakening is complete."
Upon waking, he would see the item information and the status window only visible to hunters.
He put it on without hesitation.
Once he had gotten an arm inside, the cloth would conform to him, as though it had been sewn to him.
Then,
The robe began to shrink.
"…What?"
He froze, watching it close about him and stopping only when it fitted perfectly.
"So even things like this exist…"
The robe definitely belonged to a Thirteen-Star black mage, and thus may have only altered itself to fit its new owner.
He stepped back, the tall staff now nearly as tall as he himself was after all.
"A bit too long to use comfortably."
The moment he said that.
The staff shortened.
It stopped at the length appropriate for his body.
"…Right. Stay calm."
He finally opened up the old book.
There were characters on the pages I had never seen and weird diagrams.
"I'll read this after awakening."
With all three objects, he continued searching the castle, but could find nothing more.
He later managed to regain his throne.
The skeleton was gone.
He was left with a thin shell of white bone.
"So it vanished after passing on its legacy…"
He did not know why, but felt compelled to sit on the throne.
Without hesitation, he did.
The moment he did,
Ruuuumble.
Eventually the entire castle started collapsing.
The castle's falling apart!
He leapt up and ran to the exit.
But stones were coming down, and the gate was still some distance out from where it was.
If even one of those tremendous stones should hit him, then he would be dead.
"What kind of legacy tries to kill its successor?!"
The awakening message was still propagated.
[Awakening in progress... 9%... 10%...]
Stones fell faster. Harder. More deadly than monster attacks.
Dodging had its limits.
He could only run from there.
"I'm almost there!"
He stopped ten meters from the gate.
A giant stone was falling above him.
Too large to dodge.
"…I'm done."
Instinctively, he curled up.
He saw darkness, his body enveloped by the robe.
Then,
Thud.
Something touched him lightly and bounced away.
"…Huh?"
There was no pain.
That was what puzzled him most.
Why doesn't it hurt?
The stone was large enough to crush him on impact.
And yet, he wasn't pinned down.
He wasn't dead.
Yet his body did not feel dead, but rather the mana in his heart stirred.
No time to think. Run.
He runs ahead and escapes from the castle.
Only then did he stop to inspect himself.
"…Not a scratch."
His body was otherwise unharmed.
Not even a headache.
Was it the robe?
The black robe he wore was likely Nasus's.
The thought made him more eager for the awakening to finish.
With this thought, he began to move again.
First, he had to get out of there.
He sprinted down the long cave, and it became apparent.
My body is growing stronger.
His conditioning had improved. He was lighter, faster, and his punches carried more power.
Because it was still in the process of awakening.
[Awakening in progress... 10%... 11%...]
When he came to the place where he had fallen, he stood still.
With a body like this, I might just make it.
He had done something he would have never done.
He was able to scale the rock face.
He began to climb.