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“Just like King U[1], who was heavily biased, a king who only listens to one side of the story will be blind to everyone else’s sufferings. It’s true that your own people are important, but the others are as important as your own kingdom’s citizens.”

“What do you think is the most important trait that a kingdom’s citizens should have?”

“Shouldn’t it be one’s own loyalty and will to develop and grow? If you lose your goals because your life has become too comfortable, then you would also lose your will to move forward and live a better life.”

“Hoho. You’re quite a unique thinker.”

The game in front of them continued even though they were talking about other things. According to Davey’s observations, the old man’s skills were not just average or up to standard. It was beyond that. It was actually to the point where Davey had to wonder if a human was truly capable of reading and creating tactics like that. If Davey were a normal person, he would already have been caught by the old man’s tactics and dragged around until the very end.

“Ho… That’s quite amazing. So, laying the pieces for the Seven Tactic Battle was a stepping stone for this.”

“Speaking of that, aren’t you quite amazing too, gramps?” Davey smiled, his hands reaching out for the elephant-shaped piece. Then, he advanced forward and ate the old man’s rampart-shaped piece. “Siege.”

“Hoho. Young man, you’re quite hasty. If you do this, then you will not be able to prepare for your next move.”

“Being calculative and sly is very essential. However, you should not be dragged around so easily.”

After hearing Davey’s words, the old man suddenly asked, “Boy, what do you think about magic?”

“Magic? Something that causes strange phenomena?”

“Hoho. Right. If you say so then that must be it. Why do you think of it that way?”

“Who knows…”

“In Red Tower’s Sage Hellison Valestia’s case, he has reached the 7th Circle and became a Master. Everyone declared that he would reach the legendary realm, the 8th Circle. But he himself said…”

The old man’s words made Davey pause and turn silent.

“…that anyone who reached the 7th Circle and became a Master will understand everything in the world.”

Davey remained silent as the old man continued to speak, “He also said that he was able to lift the veils of the 8th Circle to peek at the next realm. However, what he saw waiting for him at that stage was nothing but the vast and empty void…”

A small laugh escaped Davey’s mouth as the game of [Olde] finally reached its end. His side, which boldly advanced and never gave up, had been pushed back. There was not even a possibility of things turning around.

“Theoretically, the 8th and 9th Circles are perfection itself. Since I’ve already checked what I already know, I wondered about the meaning and significance of reaching the 8th and 9th Circles. Tsk, tsk.

Since it’s already a ‘siege’, then next should be occupying the lands,” the old man mumbled bitterly to himself.

Still silent, Davey stood up from his seat and looked at the old man. Then, he moved his piece, turned around, and prepared to leave while saying, “I’m not some sage who saw the end of magic, so I have nothing to say to you.”

“Right.”

“But from what I can see, it seems like the sage, who was supposed to be a mage, is not a mage anymore.”

The old man was made doubtful by Davey’s answer. He repeated, “Not a mage?”

“What is magic?”

“The study and research of the things that defy the laws of nature.”

“There is no end to learning. And the same is true for magic, the study of the laws that govern everything supernatural. Look at the sky.”

The old man raised his head in doubt at Davey’s words.

“Is the sun a mass of light created by god? Or perhaps it’s a massive lump of gas, a mass that’s hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of times larger than the world that we live in, illuminating our land from far away?”

The old man’s expression slowly hardened. “You…”

Davey continued, “According to the alchemists, the land that we live on is flat and that the sun just turns and revolves around us.”

“Isn’t that what’s widely known?”

“I was interested in this before, so I read quite a few books. I read another theory that says that the planet that we live on is round. Also, it’s not the sun that revolves around us but us revolving around the sun.”

“…”

“However, nothing has been proven. I have no choice but to live in the dark about this. After all, I haven’t seen it for myself.”

“That…”

“Another example is common sense. Common sense is a perfectly explained and researched prediction. The answers are clear and obvious that it made it hard for anyone to refute them. But what if you personally checked it and found the truth to be different? What if it was another rule that you did not know of?”

The old man widened his eyes.

“It is what it is. The things that we think we know perfectly are actually filled with things that we still don’t know of. Isn’t it the same with magic? Nothing in this world is perfect. Even if you go higher, there will always be a higher level, a place beyond where you are right now. There are cases where your theories and hypotheses, which you already think are perfect, will turn out differently once you, yourself, check it.”

“…”

“Why? It’s because it will remain as a theory and a hypothesis as long as you don’t check it for yourself.”

“Is that so?”

“To speak so highly, eloquently, and proudly of a clear hypothesis and theory, and claiming it as something perfect even though you have not checked it yourself… That’s being too full of yourself. Well, isn’t the same true for magic? You can’t speak about something so proudly when you have not seen or reached it yet.”

“…”

“In the first place, what are mages pursuing? Are they after the Circles or are they learning magic to quench their thirst for knowledge?”

The word ‘perfect’ existed, but no one could reach perfection. Even those at the 9th Circle, the final stage of transcendence, knew that another realm existed above them. So how was someone at the 7th Circle speaking so proudly about knowing everything?

Davey then left without any hesitation. He could tell that the old man already knew who he was. So, he said, “The game was fun. Let’s have a go at the board again some other time.”

Davey felt the old man’s blank stare boring into his back when he completely left his private resting spot.

***

“Someone who did not experience it personally is proudly strutting around and discussing perfection…” The old man, who was left alone sitting on the bench, smiled bitterly. “Hoho! This is the first time since reaching my old age that I’ve felt embarrassed.”

The old man thought that he could already prove the theory surrounding the 8th and 9th Circles. He even believed that he could already see through the next level’s essence to the point that he even wondered if it was meaningless to try and reach for that realm. The conversation that the old man had with Davey felt like he had been hit with a hammer on the head, which eventually woke him up from his delusions. The old man stroked his beard, a smile finally gracing his face.

“Ma… Master!”

Then, the old man saw someone rushing towards him. The young man had short hair and was wearing simple horn-rimmed glasses and a red robe. He was the old man’s one and only disciple. The old man said, “Ho. If it isn’t Yulis?”

“Gasp… gasp… Master! I heard that you came so I immediately rushed here! If you’d at least informed me about your visit…”

“Tsk, tsk. Young men these days can’t even relax. You’re in such a hurry that you’re not using your head again.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t serve you properly because I haven’t prepared enough.”

“Bahahahaha! I have lived long enough, do you think an old man like me will still be obsessed with wealth and honor? I just came here to look around, you don’t have to make a fuss about it.”

“Hooo… Ah, did you really come all the way here just to meet with Sir Davey?” Yulis asked.

Sage Hellison Valestia stroked his beard and said, “The world is vast. Just like how they said that you can even learn something from a three-year-old child, it seems like someone like me can still learn a lot from an energetic young man, huh?

Hellison, who was about to organize the pieces of the game, suddenly hesitated. The boy’s camp, which looked like it was cornered and forced into the defensive from the old man’s siege, would create a perfect and complete checkmate situation if he had just made one other move. On the surface, it looked like the boy had no other chance for recovery. But after looking closely, Hellison realized that the last tactic was a bit strange.

“Ho… Ho… Hohohohoho!”

Yulis looked at Hellison suspiciously when the old man suddenly burst out laughing.

“Five moves. It’s been a long time since I last lost. It seems like he did this in consideration of me and my age.”

Hellison thought that he had won but he was actually the one having been dragged around by the nose. He stood up from his seat with a satisfied laugh and patted Yulis on his shoulder. “My business here is over. If you meet that little prince, the one named Davey, tell him this…”

“Yes? What do you mean…?”

“I will keep my promise. So, make sure to come to me and let’s play another game again. It’s only right for me to have my revenge battle someday in the future! Bahahahahaaha!”

Yulis, who was completely unaware of what had happened, looked at Hellison with both suspicion and doubt. After all, his master left with a very satisfied smile on his face and no other explanation.

***

“Sage Hellison Vestia… He’s a very amazing man. But this era held him back.”

If they were in the continent of magic, Atrellia, and not in Tionis Continent, Hellison could become one of the greatest mages of all time, an existence that reached a realm that was beyond the 8th Circle. The most important factor for human growth and development was one’s hard work. Of course, the surroundings and the environment that one lived in should also not be ignored. If one did not have a rival, then they would not feel motivated nor have any will to grow stronger and develop. And that was what happened to Hellison, he lost his motivation.

—You look like you’re in a good mood?

“Do I? Actually, it’s been a long time since I last found something to be fun and exciting.”

Davey had rarely won a board game like this before, especially since he was against those crazy heroes in the Hall. The ill-tempered ones would overturn the board if they found that things were disadvantageous to them while the calm ones would shout, ‘Oh!’, distract him and then proceed to eat the pieces in his own formation. Davey firmly believed that the balance patch[2] for the heroes were quite bad. Considering the circumstances that Davey had experienced when playing games like this, it was only right for him to feel satisfied and happy. After all, it had been a very long time since he had tasted the sweetness of victory.

Davey smiled as he patted Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon lightly on the back. The two, as if infected by his happiness, dug deeper into his arms with smiles on their faces and eventually fell asleep.

—Davey, didn’t you say that you have a staff in your Pocket Plane?

“Did I? Ah, you’re talking about Transcendence’s Demise. That excessive staff that has a dragon heart shoved at its end.”

—Can I see it? You know that I specialize in magic, right…

“It’s a bit hard for me to do right now. I was able to take out the elixir, my clothes and Longinus but when I tried to take out more, the Pocket Plane scattered like an illusion. So, I won’t be able to take out anything anytime soon.”

If Davey could take out his fan, then he would be able to acquire a huge labor force. If he could take out his staff, then he would also be able to set up an extra large-scale defensive magic circle and cover the entire territory with it.

‘But I’m stuck with a useless bamboo spear, damn it!’

Davey, with practiced ease, opened his status window to check what was wrong. “Hmm?”

When Davey checked the information window that displayed his status, he could see that there were changes in his ‘Number of Good Deeds’.

—You have completed the Number of Good Deeds. You can now summon a transcendental class item of your choice. Number of Times Remaining: 1

“Huh?”

At the same time, Davey saw that another set of information had been added to his status window. His eyes narrowed sharply when he saw the detailed information.

“Are you trying to make a deal with me through this method?”

Davey was starting to understand the reason why god had given him the stigmata on his back.

1. U of Goryeo, the 32nd king of Goryeo. He ruled at the same time as the demise of the Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty in China. ☜

2. I believe this is in reference to games where they update a patch to maintain the overall balance of the game ☜