It was now only four years before the start of the original story.
At the same time, it had been exactly one year and one month since he had sent all Five Great Sins from the orphanage out into the world to be independent.
I wonder what Seolrang is up to?
Alon, who was looking over a letter from Yutia as he did every day, suddenly felt a spark of curiosity about Seolrang.
Yutia's letters always included news about the other members of the Five Great Sins along with her own stories, but since about two months after their independence, Seolrang's name hadn't been mentioned even once.
...Surely, she didn't die in some ditch somewhere, did she?
After a moment of worry, Alon shook his head firmly.
According to what he'd confirmed through Yutia's previous letters, Seolrang had already arrived in the desert nation. If she had followed the instructions in his letter properly, there was no way she could have met a miserable end.
The gift Alon gave her was meant to turn her into a magnificent 'Babayaga.'
Specifically, a gladiator in the Colony—a place where the strong could obtain everything.
The item description said so, after all. It should be right, shouldn't it?
Thanks to the developers who loved stuffing various bits of world-building lore into item descriptions, Alon, who had examined every single item in the game, recalled the text attached to the item Seolrang was meant to obtain.
'If the Sin of Greed had obtained this, she would not have fallen into sin, but would have become a Great Wolfman...' was it?
Of course, the only effect Alon got when he used that item in the game was a 20% increase in critical hit rate. However, because there was clearly such a grand backstory attached to it, he had told Seolrang its location.
Furthermore, considering the possibility that the item description might just be flavor text with no real substance, he had also written down the location of a hidden treasure for her.
Yet, he hadn't heard a word for nine months.
...Maybe I should have just quietly handed her the treasure and been done with it?
Alon shook his head briefly at the thought.
In the first place, the reason he sent Seolrang to the Colony was because of the narration that had rambled on about her talent as a fighter.
Besides, unless Alon could sponsor her for the rest of her life, her becoming independent was a strictly necessary process.
No, I can only rest easy if she can make a living on her own.
That was why.
...Considering Deus's nonsensical talent, there's no way Seolrang died in a ditch... So what on earth is happening?
While Alon was wearing a strange expression, pondering Seolrang's whereabouts.
Deep inside a desert cave in the southern part of the Colony, a desert nation at the eastern edge of the continent.
"Phew—"
A girl walked out.
The girl looked like a mess.
Her body was covered in dirt and dust, and her hair had grown long enough to hide her tail.
However, in contrast to her appearance, a thick smile was etched onto the face of the girl, Seolrang.
"It's finally over—!"
Stretching as she soaked in the feeling of liberation, she soon looked down at the glove on her hand.
A gift bestowed upon her by the Great Moon, adorned with golden talons.
The 'Essence of the Golden Mane Tribe.'
How did the Great Moon know where this was?
As she emerged from the 'Trial,' curiosity bubbled up. She looked down at the glove, tilting her head as if truly puzzled.
And for good reason—this 'Essence of the Golden Mane Tribe' was an object of legend that had been passed down in her tribe, the Golden Mane, since ancient times.
It was truly an item worthy of the name 'legend.'
Hundreds of years ago, it was the artifact that allowed the Golden Mane tribe to become the kings of the beastkin and granted them the authority to bestow power upon their kin.
Of course, most of those stories were things she had heard from her mother when she was very young and still alive. As Seolrang grew older, she had assumed those old tales were somewhat exaggerated.
But at this very moment, having been pulled into her inner world the instant she put on the Essence, and having emerged after completing all the trials, she realized.
Not a single part of those absurd, fairy-tale-like stories was a lie.
Ssssh—
As she lightly drew out her power, her golden eyes began to glow faintly in the dark cave.
That wasn't all.
Her hair and her tail began to shine as if they were absorbing light themselves.
Just like the Golden Mane tribe from the ancient stories her mother used to tell her.
As she smiled at her own power, her thoughts once again turned to the Great Moon.
There were so many things she was curious about.
However, she soon dismissed her doubts.
She knew she wasn't particularly smart, so she realized it was impossible for her to even begin to deduce why the Great Moon knew these facts.
Above all, she realized one simple and clear truth.
The Great Moon was the savior who had rescued her when she was dying from biological experiments, and at the same time, the entity she owed a debt of gratitude to—the one who had given her the strength to take revenge on the 'Black Dragon' that had killed her parents.
As she maintained her power, she saw blue electricity crackle around her for a moment. She recalled the Great Moon's command but soon shook her head.
No matter how unintelligent she was, she knew his will wasn't simply for her to become a gladiator.
Thinking this, Seolrang's gaze naturally drifted to the glove.
The glove that held the authority to bestow power upon the Golden Mane tribe.
"!"
Seeing it, Seolrang finally realized the Great Moon's intent.
To become a famous gladiator, gather the Golden Mane tribe scattered across the country, and lead them to a revival. And—
She grinned.
—To use that power to strike down the Black Dragon.
Seolrang smiled at what seemed to be the perfect answer.
Crackle—!
Blue sparks flew in all directions according to her emotions, but she didn't care.
Instead, wearing a deep smile, she moved to exit the dark cave. Outside, the moon was hanging in the sky.
A Blue Moon that covered the entire desert in blue light.
And then.
"Everything is for His sake."
Uttering the phrase that had become a habit from saying it so often.
"Let's begin."
The Golden Mane tribe, who were called the great beastkin and the kings of all beastkin 500 years ago, began to prepare for their resurrection once again under the Blue Moon.
With golden eyes.
####
Starting from a year ago, after he had attended the ball, Alon had found joy in exploring Phrases and was spending a vast amount of time on them.
In the game, chanting Phrases merely consumed a turn, increasing magic attack power by 10% or 20% per turn. In reality, however, Phrases changed the properties of magic, just as he had expected.
Taking the Phrases Alon had used a few months ago at the place he visited to obtain the Constraint—Refraction, Repulsion, Clear Light, and Linear Diffraction—as examples:
Refraction strengthened the imperfection of a completed spell to expand its range.
Repulsion crushed the form of the magic to allow the transition of the fired projectile.
In the case of Clear Light, it strengthened magic performed in parallel, such as lightning magic.
Finally, Linear Diffraction granted penetration to the magic itself—in other words, it added a critical hit property.
Of course, his interpretation was based solely on information gathered through six months of experimentation, so he wasn't sure how accurate it was, but it was certain that each Phrase bestowed a different property.
He had also discovered a few inherent rules regarding Phrases.
One must not repeat the same Phrase, one must not use a Phrase that doesn't suit the magic, and it is impossible to use more than five Phrases for a single spell. If any of these three rules are broken, the magic will either fail to manifest or be weakened.
There seemed to be other rules as well, but he hadn't figured them out yet.
Alon had plenty of time to research magic, but the number of times he could actually use magic in a day was limited to just once.
...It would be nice if there were a book about Phrases.
The Phrases Alon used were, according to the lore, Phrases of the forgotten Babiloia, knowledge regarded as Ooparts in this world.
The locations Alon knew only had the Phrases written down; they didn't explain the rules or phenomena.
In other words, he had to gain knowledge through trial and error, but Alon didn't find that inconvenient.
Alon's talent was sufficient to make the exploration of Phrases enjoyable and to make him lose himself in the study of magic.
That was why, today as well, he went straight to the training ground after finishing his conversation with Evan and manifested his magic.
"Phew—"
His hands habitually formed the Wisdom Fist Mudra.
At the same time, the mana gathered to form the 2nd Tier spell he had been experimenting with for about two months: 'Chain Lightning.'
Following Alon's will, the mana arranged in parallel formed a circular sphere, and he intentionally removed a specific point to create an imbalance.
Crackle—
With that, the magic was completed.
The mana manifested by Alon's meager reserves emitted a faint light.
If there was anything better than two months ago, it was that the crackling caused by the mana imbalance was slightly better realized, perhaps because he had grown accustomed to lightning magic.
To put it nicely, it had become more sophisticated; to put it bluntly, it was a useless spell that was merely sophisticated.
However.
By chanting Phrases, the useless magic gained a purpose.
"Fixation."
The moment he chanted the Phrase, the lightning manifested before him stopped exactly as it was, crackling as if time had frozen.
"Compression."
With the next murmur, the sphere, which had been about the size of a large bead, shrank to the size of a small marble while remaining frozen.
"Collapse."
Crunch—!
Following the next Phrase, the magic that had been in the form of a small marble just a moment ago lost its spherical shape.
What remained was the form of pure lightning.
Fragments of mana, looking like thousands of irregular dotted lines gathered together, manifested before Alon.
And then.
"Momentary Full Bloom."
As Alon murmured the final Phrase and released the Wisdom Fist Mudra—
C-C-Crackle—!
—A massive Thunder Tree manifested before him.
The blue tree, emitting a light more dazzling than the midday sun, remained in that form, flaunting its majesty.
It looked as if a lightning strike had been frozen in place.
Alon nodded at the sight.
...The order of the Phrases changes the manifestation of the magic as well.
Alon nodded in satisfaction, recalling how the magic had vanished hollowly when he had used Collapse before Fixation during yesterday's practice.
Even if a Phrase doesn't suit the magic, it can be used if there's a preceding Phrase that enables it.
While nodding in satisfaction at the new information, Alon watched as the manifested Thunder Tree slowly faded away.
...Regardless, it doesn't seem like I'll have much use for it.
Contrary to his expectations, it didn't look like it could be utilized as an offensive spell. He murmured to himself and turned around, feeling a sense of regret as his mana hole was now empty.
The number of spells Alon's body allowed was only once per day.
And the moment he turned around.
"?"
Alon saw her.
Kalia, the young lady of the Zenonia family—one of the people he absolutely did not want to become close with—was standing right there in the Palatio family's training ground, looking at him with a shocked expression.
She usually maintained a noble aura, but she was so surprised by the current situation that her mouth was hanging open, a truly rare sight.
"T-This is impossible...?"
At the voice that followed, he missed the timing to ask why she was here and turned his gaze.
"Origin, you say?"
There stood an unnamed middle-aged man, looking at him with a gaping mouth, beyond mere shock. He held an elegant staff and wore an expression of pure astonishment, just like Kalia.
And.
"?"
Alon was also plunged into confusion as he looked at the two of them.
Why are they here...??
But hearing the man mention 'Origin'—a unique magic that could only be used once a mage reached the 7th Tier—Alon realized one thing.
He had become the subject of a truly preposterous misunderstanding.