Chapter 281

Although a pillar of black mana did arise when engraving a Black Mark.

To call such a massive energy a mere Black Mark.

Of course, it was not that a Black Mark was unimpressive.

For a black mage, the intermediate level did not signify just a single stage.

It was safe to say that it was the starting point where one’s ability to lead a proper group was finally recognized.

Even Oslo, throughout his long life as a black mage, had only barely managed to engrave a clumsy Black Mark halfway on his left arm.

So to speak, somewhere between beginner and intermediate.

Even with just that, he literally had to cross the threshold of death.

And the incomplete Black Mark became the limit of the human named Oslo, acting as an immovable shackle.

Yet, for it to be that massive?

The black mage inside should have already turned to dust and vanished.

Furthermore, and decisively.

“That’s holy power……”

Oslo wondered if his time to die inside the Bell of Eternity had truly come.

To think his eyes had rotted to the point where he could not even distinguish between dark-attribute holy power and black mana.

However, in his old life, Oslo had never heard of holy power with such a sinister and explosive momentum.

The dark and gloomy face of Roan Darc, the student of Akerandir, flashed through Oslo’s mind.

Oslo struggled to curl up the corners of his mouth as he thought.

‘I thought I had been fooled by some trivial trick, but if it’s to that extent.’

Even if they had gathered their entire gang to attack, it would have been a certain defeat.

It was a moment when Oslo’s mind became a bit more at ease.

* * *

And in a different location, the Headmaster’s office of Akerandir.

“Hmm?”

Harden tilted his head at the suspicious energy suddenly felt from the secret warehouse behind the Headmaster’s office.

……No, since it was originally a place assimilated with the Grey Shackle of Life, it was always suspicious, but it meant it had suddenly become significantly more suspicious.

“Has that Darc kid done something again?”

Harden stood up from his seat and opened the door to the secret warehouse.

Looking inside, Harden was startled.

No, in fact, there was no need to even look inside.

Kuhwaaaaaak────!!!!!!!

“W-What on earth is this!!!!!”

Because the moment he opened the door, a sinister energy of black mana poured out and swept over the body of the Holy Spirit.

Even in his shock, Harden instantly erected a barrier, proving his five thousand years of existence were not in vain.

Of course, although it was a fairly formidable energy, it was not to the extent of posing a threat to Harden.

No, threat, my foot.

Flash─

“Will you not be quiet!!!!!”

Harden who had easily raised holy power and let out a roar, managed to suppress the black mana that was running wild in a split second.

The barrier was simply erected out of concern for Professor Kaina, who would be waiting with red eyes—though not literally—at Ciotric Hall, eager to catch any trace of black magic or heresy.

‘……A mere suppression?’

But even that was a foreign experience for Harden.

Although it was normal for black mana to be instantly obliterated upon contact with his holy power.

The black mana, though greatly diminished, showed no signs of disappearing.

Harden stepped inside the secret warehouse to get a proper grasp of the situation.

The interior was a sight to behold.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk……”

No matter how much he looked around, nothing but clicking sounds of his tongue escaped his mouth.

What had swept over Harden when he opened the door was none other than several snakes composed of black mana.

Grab─! Tremble─!

As Harden reached out, one of the snakes cowering on the wall was sucked into his grasp without even being able to put up a fight.

“……Hmm.”

Harden quietly looked down at the snake, which had finally calmed down in his hand.

And from that, he could deduce the full story of the incident.

“I already knew he was a crazy fellow, but this has completely exceeded the category of madness.”

He recalled seeing it a few times in the past when he was constantly bickering with black mages—though the opinions of those black mages would likely be quite different.

Pandemonium of a Myriad Snakes.

It was a Black Mark engraved by those among the black mages who had particularly annoyed Harden—again, the opinions of the black mages would be quite different.

A Black Mark was originally something that could only be engraved safely with a proper teacher and preparation.

It seemed Roan had impulsively undertaken such a dangerous feat all by himself.

‘There’s more than just one or two things to be surprised about.’

Yet Roan had not only succeeded in it, but had clearly achieved such tremendous completion that he could materialize the snakes as soon as he engraved it.

Furthermore, those materialized snakes had emerged of all places from Harden’s secret warehouse?

“He engraved the Black Mark on his heart! He could have easily ended up trapped in this crude shackle!”

It was impossible unless he engraved it directly on his heart, which was connected to the warehouse and the Grey Shackle of Life.

……It went without saying, but Harden, who had deduced all these facts while sitting in the Headmaster’s office, was also incredibly powerful.

Harden repeatedly resolved to give Roan a harsh scolding the moment he set eyes on him.

‘……Wait.’

But strictly speaking, was it right to scold a student who had achieved such an unbelievable feat?

Given Roan’s personality as Harden knew it, he wouldn’t do anything bound to fail, so he must have had confidence in his success.

Once his thoughts reached that point, Harden’s mind became a bit complicated.

At that moment.

Slide─

The snake held in Harden’s hand suddenly began to shed its skin.

Fizz─ Fizz─

What was revealed from underneath were, surprisingly, golden scales instead of black!

“……Is it because of me?”

Harden tilted his head and set the snake back down on the floor.

However, even after getting sufficiently far from Harden, the snake wriggled and continued shedding.

And that was not all.

At some point, the other snakes that had not been caught by Harden were doing the same.

The snakes looked insolent, appearing as if they had been created from holy power rather than black mana from the very beginning.

Watching this, Harden muttered with a lukewarm expression.

“Look at this?”

* * *

Back inside the Bell of Eternity, Roan.

“Is it done now?”

Wooong─

Try drawing some blood.

Before he knew it, a full day had passed inside the Bell of Eternity.

Just as the Authority had predicted, right around the time the sand was about to run out completely, the work of purifying (?) the black blood was finished.

Roan picked up Mosquito again to slice his palm.

Booong─

At that moment, the handle of Mosquito vibrated faintly.

“What is it?”

It says it has drunk too much of your blood today and can’t take any more?

“…….”

Roan was dumbfounded by the False Divinity’s interpretation.

Of all things, an item cursed by Ziprog was complaining that it couldn’t drink blood?

“How can a dagger complain about that? If the master wants to slice, it must slice.”

Roan paid no heed and drew Mosquito across his palm.

Of course, although it whined, its cutting edge had no issues.

Naturally, blood welled from the wound on Roan’s palm.

“…….”

……?

Seeing the color, Roan and the False Divinity simultaneously lost their words.

As much as they had purified it, it was no longer black.

However.

Gleam, gleam─

Why was it golden?

Roan looked utterly baffled, staring at his blood, which was flowing in a distinct golden color.

“……Is this the best you can do?”

Yes.

But really, even the False Divinity had no other choice.

S-Still, once it settles down, it will only happen when you cast intermediate black magic, so wouldn’t it be fine?

“Hmm……”

Roan pondered deeply.

‘Certainly, considering other Black Marks, it shouldn’t matter as long as I don’t bleed.’

Exactly! And why would someone of your caliber bleed in the first place! Unless you are fighting a professor or someone on that level!

‘…….’

…….

Roan and the False Divinity fell silent at the same time.

Come to think of it, they had fought professors quite a few times.

Whether it was Vulcan or Pluvang.

And in the future, such occurrences would only increase, not decrease.

Roan let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“Right, I should look on the bright side.”

Good thinking.

Roan thought that, in any case, he wouldn’t need to cast intermediate black magic enough to catch others’ eyes for the time being.

No matter how brutally difficult a character was, there was a limit to everything.

‘If I can just endure tonight’s Lucia event well, it might actually be fine.’

To achieve that, he could not stop at just engraving the Black Mark.

No, rather, the Black Mark was merely a warm-up for this task.

─ Intermediate Advanced Attribute: Void ─

Roan pulled out the second book he had borrowed from Ludiac.

The Void Introductory Guide, stained with the blood and sweat of other black mages—considering the inner cover, it truly was!

Since even reasonably talented black mages who had mastered the Abyss at the beginner level ended up in such a state, the difficulty of learning the Void went without saying.

‘I can say this since it’s in the past, but it was a good choice to engrave the Pandemonium of a Myriad Snakes.’

……Have you already forgotten that you almost died?

Regardless of the False Divinity’s sarcasm, a fact was a fact.

Special advanced attributes like the Abyss or the Void did not receive any bonuses from ordinary Black Marks.

However, the Pandemonium of a Myriad Snakes, which evenly affected all attributes and types, was different.

Not only would using the Abyss have become much easier, but the Void would also be learned incomparably easier compared to having other Black Marks engraved.

Since he had mastered the Abyss much faster than ordinary characters, the Void should also be fully possible if he worked hard during the remaining six days.

Roan opened the book in earnest with those thoughts.

The first page of the Void Attribute Introductory Guide was blank.

Flip─ Flip─

It was the same from the next page all the way to the last page.

But Roan was not flustered.

‘It seems to be in a similar context as when I learned the Abyss.’

Sure enough, just like back then, elegant handwriting began to write itself on the blank paper where nothing had been recorded.

─ Welcome, fellow traveler who has passed through the deepest darkness to challenge the endless bounds of black magic. ─

Roan nodded in great satisfaction from the very first sentence.

‘Indeed, there are few occupations with character as upright as black mages!’

After thinking about the answer to ‘Why are black mages particularly nice?’ in his own way.

He had come to a conclusion like, ‘Since they were pushed around by the Empire so much, the black mages with abrasive personalities have all died already.’

Isn’t it said that children who learn manners from older kids at playgrounds or PC rooms grow up to have good social skills?

Anyway.

─ Before proceeding to the main content, I warn you one last time. Void, the intermediate advanced attribute, is so complex and profound that even renowned black mages hesitate to learn it. Please prove yourself before learning. ─

‘A proof?’

Roan tilted his head.

He understood the reason for demanding proof, but he had no idea what he should use to prove himself.

“Well, I suppose this much will do.”

Roan summoned the Abyss with both hands, compressed it as much as possible, and then began to twist it into the most complex shape possible.

Since there was the diagram he had drawn earlier, it was in the shape of the Black Mark that would normally be engraved on Roan’s heart right now.

Wooong─

……I don’t think it demands that much.

The False Divinity, watching the scene, showed a lukewarm reaction, but.

‘Better safe than sorry.’

Naturally, the higher the qualification, the better.

Roan stubbornly drew the design exactly as it was and imprinted it into the book.

Then, in case it wasn’t enough, he even politely wrote some words.

─ I am ashamed of my lack of skill, but would this much be acceptable? ─

─ ……. ─