Chapter 120. Shall I Come Around This Time Next Year?
Endurance’s greatest virtue is patience.
Library Director Teheman barely managed to suppress the rage that had surged up, using that trademark patience of his.
“You…… are you serious?”
“I’m serious.”
“If you spat that out as a joke, you won’t just lose the fragment—you won’t get away unscathed.”
“Why would I throw out a joke after eating a warm meal?”
“…….”
Tap, tap.
Maybe his thoughts had deepened. Teheman drummed the armrest with bony fingers.
It wasn’t long before his mouth opened again.
“Then you must know what that means. To annihilate grimoires is……”
“To make every magecraft noble house my enemy—something like that, right? Ah, I misspoke.”
“……Say it. I’ll give you a chance to take it back.”
Teheman’s eyes gleamed chillingly.
It was a sharp pressure, but Aster only stretched himself more comfortably across the sofa.
“There’s a con artist sitting at the gambling table I’m seated at. Well, I get it. If you hate con artists, you shouldn’t gamble.”
“…….”
“So, fine. All of it’s fine. Let them cheat, let them get caught and lose their hands. So what? They want to gamble with their own hands on the line. But the problem is this.”
Right then, Aster’s eyes glistened with madness.
“That gambling table just happened to be the one I was sitting at.”
“…….”
“If they cheat fair and square and settle it man to man, that’s one thing…… but those bastards with money to burn—grimoires? Magic Swords? Isn’t that a bit much?”
Yeah. That was the problem.
What? A grimoire grants the pinnacle of all law?
Bullshit. If that’s the case, why learn magic and why spill blood, sweat, and tears cultivating? You just grab a grimoire and you’re done.
Of course, Aster knew grimoires weren’t absolute.
‘So what if you have a grimoire? The caster has to be competent. But still… this is too much.’
No matter what kind of genius you were, surpassing some trash that held a grimoire was close to impossible.
In gambling terms, it was a game where the winner was already decided. No—was it just the winner?
‘They even rewrite the rules to suit their tastes.’
That was the very first thought that came to Aster’s mind when he heard Teheman explain “a grimoire’s authority.”
‘How is that gambling? That’s robbery.’
“So what you’re saying is……”
“We have to flip the board over. Grimoires, Magic Swords—no, every transcendent relic on that level, all of it. Wipe it all out. ……That’s what I’m thinking.”
“……Hah.”
Teheman let out a faint sigh without realizing it.
‘So it wasn’t just something he blurted out without thinking. ……He was serious?’
In truth, it was something he’d blurted out without thinking. It’s just that it had sincerity inside it.
Faced with that intense sincerity, Teheman swallowed a groan.
‘……What am I supposed to do?’
Endurance’s test.
They called it a “test,” but there was no clear standard for passing.
The outcome was decided only by what the Endurance of the era saw, heard, and felt.
They were only confirming. They couldn’t hand over a fragment they had safeguarded for thousands of years to some petty thug.
But.
‘Isn’t it too dangerous?’
— To annihilate every transcendent relic.
Even if it was Yeokcheon (逆天), even if he was its owner, it wasn’t something he could guarantee. No—it was close to impossible.
Because no one could oppose the entire continent.
And yet.
“…….”
Teheman fixed his eyes on Aster, sprawled out.
A world of nothing but darkness. The living letters (活字) around Aster wriggled and swayed.
He knew it was dangerous, and yet……
Why?
‘……I’m curious.’
He didn’t truly believe Aster could annihilate the transcendent relics.
But still……
The owner of Yeokcheon in this era.
What path would that impossibly young boy walk? What kind of world would this dangerously reckless person draw?
That was all he was curious about.
Just as Teheman’s thoughts reached that point, Aster’s voice bored into his ears.
“Are you sleeping?”
“…….”
A single line that chilled his swelling feelings into something cold.
“……Hoo.”
Teheman let out a deep, heavy sigh.
“Ah, so you weren’t asleep.”
It wasn’t that Aster had asked because his eyes were open—he was basically saying, if you’re not sleeping, answer already.
At that obnoxious look, Teheman suddenly recalled his earlier conversation with Schwartz.
- Be careful. That guy’s a madman.
- Hahaha, do you think he’s any worse than you were when you were young?
- ……Apologize. If you consider me a friend, it’d be better to apologize.
‘……My apologies. I thought it was the pot calling the kettle black.’
When in reality, Schwartz was the one with far less filth on him.
“Shall I come around this time next year?”
“……No.”
Teheman answered in a voice he forced down.
“Follow me. I will hand over Yeokcheon’s fragment.”
The place the library director guided me to was Lapiter’s upper levels.
“Infuse the entry permit with magic power.”
Bzzzz—
When I handed over the permit infused with magic power, the library director opened the door with it.
“Try not to let the permit leave your body. Lapiter’s defense system will activate.”
“Defense system, you mean…….”
“Endurance’s magic. You can test it if you like. If you have no regrets about living, that is.”
“…….”
It was a chilling remark.
‘……Good thing I didn’t try to rob this place.’
The pressure I’d felt from the library director in the office was anything but ordinary.
Not robbing Lapiter, and instead coaxing the Headmaster and obtaining a permit—correct choice.
But then, a question suddenly rose.
“Director, didn’t you say earlier?”
“What did I say?”
“That… Lapiter was built for me. That’s what I heard, yes?”
“……Not for ‘you,’ but for ‘Yeokcheon’s owner.’ And more precisely, it’s not ‘for’ someone, but merely a ‘place of waiting.’”
“……Ah, yes.”
A tight-fisted old man.
He draws a hard line.
Honestly, the build-up I’d had in mind was this:
- Lapiter was built for me.
- What was built for me is mine.
- Therefore, Lapiter is mine.
Of course, there’s a logical error between 1 and 2.
But since ancient times, they say logical errors should be patched with sophistry, paradox, forceful nonsense, and stubborn insistence.
But the library director’s guard was sturdier than expected.
‘He won’t even give me a chance to unfold the logic.’
Somehow, it felt like his defenses had tightened after our Q&A in the office.
Anyway, enough jokes.
“We’re here.”
The library director stopped in front of a massive bookshelf on Lapiter’s upper levels.
Was there a secret passage? I looked around in puzzlement, but nothing stood out.
Using a bookshelf as a secret passage was a pretty traditional method, so if you just sweep your eyes over it, you can usually get a rough sense of it.
Did he hide the fragment between the books?
As I was thinking that, the library director’s voice came.
“A passage Endurance concealed over generations. It looks simple, but a security spell combining thirty-eight kinds of magic is placed on it. The way to enter is……”
Drk, drk, drk.
The library director pulled out thirty-eight books in order.
I watched closely for a moment, then turned my gaze away. It was complicated, and even if I memorized it, it wouldn’t be useful.
‘You have to adjust the magic pattern each time, too.’
Even if you knew the sequence, it meant you couldn’t enter if you didn’t know the magic pattern for when you grabbed each book.
When the entire process was finished—
Grrrrn— rn…….
The massive bookshelf split left and right, revealing a passage.
The library director stepped aside and turned his eyes to me.
“Go on. Yeokcheon’s fragment is down there.”
“…….”
Even without him saying it, I could tell.
Because the Fire Seal that had been quiet for so long began to resonate.
Woom— woong.
It was a desperately aching vibration, like it had met the partner it had lost long ago.
‘Down there…….’
……Yeokcheon’s fragment is there.
I felt that resonance for a moment, then started walking toward the pitch-dark passage.
The spiral staircase that twisted and curled continued endlessly downward.
“…….”
A space of nothing but darkness. Aster traced the wall with his hand and carefully moved step by step below.
He tried to cast a simple spell for light, but the darkness in the passage didn’t recede.
It wasn’t ordinary darkness.
Hss, hss.
Faint breathing.
Step, step.
With only dry footsteps echoing through the darkness, Aster quietly sank into thought.
‘Yeokcheon’s fragment…….’
Originally, what Aster had expected from Lapiter was no more than a small clue.
Just a hope that he might find even a fragmentary lead.
In that sense, meeting Library Director Teheman was unexpected luck.
‘I gained valuable information.’
Yeokcheon (逆天), a power that defies the natural order. Not only did he learn its identity, he also learned about the fragments and the existence of Endurance who protected them.
If he hadn’t met Library Director Teheman, would he have been able to obtain this information?
‘He could’ve obtained it.’
But how long it would have taken was unknowable.
A few years at best. No—if luck didn’t favor him, it could have taken decades of grueling effort.
Still, there were questions that remained unresolved.
The second Fire Seal (火印).
What was the reason for its existence?
Even at this moment, the only one that was asserting its presence was the first Fire Seal.
‘After all that trouble to get it, it’s useless.’
Thinking back on the hell he went through to capture Destrow made it truly regrettable.
And that wasn’t all.
‘I don’t even know how to use it. I can’t tell what ability it has.’
Sometimes, it appeared at exactly the right time and lent its strength. But it was always one-sided.
And that ability……
‘It’s not even clearly defined as anything in particular.’
First, Regression (回歸)—he turned time back and returned. After that, it altered his constitution, massively raising his physical talent.
When he built his magic power foundation, it intervened directly, and when he fought Destrow, it bound that power, drove out corruption, and projected his past-life power.
What kind of sloppy mess of a kit was this…….
‘Other than “defying the natural order,” it has never acted in a consistent way even once.’
If there was anything similar at all, then… yeah.
“Time?”
No, really, rather than “similar,” it would be more accurate to call it the most striking ability.
Regression (回歸) and past-life projection.
It had only acted in relation to time twice.
But those doubts were minor.
Woom— woong—
Feeling the vibration in his chest, Aster murmured softly.
“What’s your purpose, anyway? You.”
At first, he’d thought of it as a convenient relic. No—not just convenient. It was a fortuitous encounter itself, something that displayed truly transcendent authority.
But thinking carefully about Yeokcheon’s reactions, he realized he couldn’t view it that simply.
‘It feels like it has some kind of purpose.’
Turning him back to the past and altering his constitution—those weren’t that questionable. But……
Destrow.
He needed to consider that it was Yeokcheon—this thing—that led him to that monstrosity (凶物).
“Do you want to restore your incomplete body? You want to reclaim your fragments, is that it?”
As always, Yeokcheon didn’t answer.
It only……
Woom— woong—
At the end of the passage he’d reached, it merely cried out in resonance at the fragment’s presence now so close.
“Yeah, I didn’t expect an answer. Anyway…….”
I felt the resonance for a moment, then looked around.
A space dyed entirely in pitch-black. Yeokcheon’s fragment floated in the center, faintly glowing as it hovered.
Bzz— zzz—
Had the fragment also sensed the main body’s presence? A single page released its own vibration.
I strode straight up to the fragment, inscribed with Yeokcheon’s uniquely grotesque script.
“But it’s not going to be like last time—where I just get it and that’s it, right? Like the second Fire Seal.”
Woom— woong—
Tch, I’d rather die than suffer like this.
Leaving the unresponsive Yeokcheon behind, Aster reached out his hand toward the fragment.
“I don’t know what your purpose is, but fine.”
Deculan and Paharen, the tower and the library, and if possible, even the annihilation of transcendent relics.
If I want to achieve what I intend to do, Yeokcheon’s power isn’t a choice—it’s a necessity.
So……
“Let’s get along for now.”
I don’t know whether this coexistence with Yeokcheon (逆天) will be cooperation with an ally. It might even be sleeping with an enemy.
But that’s not something I can know right now.
“This time, give me something I can actually use. Yeah? Don’t just wipe your mouth clean like you did with the second Fire Seal.”
With that, Aster gripped the fragment.
……And right after that.
“Hah…….”
Aster could obtain what he desired.
