174 Apprentice Application
While idling with Number Two, a spatial detection alert activated.
Could it be the Demon Lord?
I tensed for a moment, but upon reflection, the Demon Lord lacks teleportation capability.
Moreover, tracking via marking indicated the Demon Lord circling the lowest level.
Then who is it?
The spatial distortion is too pronounced for a Gyri-Gyri.
A Gyri-Gyri should teleport with cleaner spatial alignment.
Among those I know, only one individual can perform spatial transit.
A silhouette crossing space.
An older man, just short of being elderly.
The mage who accompanied the knight previously.
Huh?
Why is this guy showing up here now?
Regardless.
His stats have recovered considerably. I can eliminate him alone with minimal effort.
He’s clearly trained extensively. Experience-wise, he should yield a decent reward.
“O-oh!?!”
The man noticed me.
He doesn’t seem to have known I was here specifically, but his reaction is excessive.
Well, I did knock him flat earlier.
Ah, but I’m not the same shape as before—can he even recognize me, this man?
“N-no mistake. Form may change, but the aura remains.”
Yes.
It’s me.
Hmph.
He understands.
Irrelevant, though.
Then, let’s add to my experience gain.
“P-please, wait! I mean no hostility! Please, listen to me!”
Huh?
What?
“Please, take me as your disciple!”
Yes?
He’s stuck to me ever since that moment.
I have devoted my life to magic, but I have fallen utterly in love with the pinnacle of your art. Please, take me as your disciple. Since the day I witnessed your spell—so vivid, so radiant—my heart has been seized by that brilliance. The flawless smoothness of your spell construction is like a national treasure, a masterpiece of art. And yet, it carries the overwhelming presence of a mountain. A technique so divine, beyond human mastery. The flow of magic evokes a great river, and the overflow of spells resembles the sea. Indeed, indeed! The essence of magic lies in nature—existing in harmony with the world. You have reminded me of that truth. I am endlessly grateful. Furthermore, the ability to construct spells without relying on skills—your method that discards convention. This is revelation. I now reconsider: perhaps skills have merely constrained the potential of magic. I once prided myself on being a genius. But magic is not merely about sensing the world—it is about transforming it. And yet, I have spent my past life obediently following the world’s laws. I now wish to rebuke myself for that. How easy, and yet how difficult, it is to truly know the world—and change it with one’s own hands. I wish to create magic without skills…
An old man speaking at an overwhelming pace.
I stared blankly, letting his words pass without focus.
Yes.
Honestly, I was repelled.
By the time I regained composure, I no longer felt like killing him.
Or rather, the hostility had dissipated.
Even so, taking him as a disciple? Impossible.
Besides, I can't speak normally.
I could establish mental communication if I took the telepathy skill.
I spent most of the skill points I gained from the Mother Integration, but about a hundred remain—plenty enough to acquire it, if needed.
Still, I have no intention of using those points just to communicate with this old man.
It's too much trouble.
I'm already uncomfortable enough around him.
Communicating with this man?
No way.
The barrier is too high for me.
Therefore, I decided to ignore him.
This man keeps speaking to me as if I understand language—why would he expect that from a monster?
I do understand it, yes.
But normally, no one expects monsters to comprehend speech.
Why does this man skip right past that?
Is his mind broken?
Ah, he looks broken already.
I decided to ignore him, but he wouldn’t leave.
He kept talking. When he realized I wasn’t responding, he began staring at me intently.
What is this guy?
In the end, he suddenly seemed to reach some conclusion in a direction that made no sense, set his own body on fire, and burned.
He nearly died.
The sight of him laughing while on the brink of death was unsettling.
Definitely, this man is insane.
Why does he attack himself?
Is he not aware of what he’s doing?
The peculiar cohabitation continued. Sophia endured the older man’s erratic behavior while gradually restoring her status.
It began with igniting himself—then freezing half his body, or levitating into the air only to fall back down.
At times, he meditated inside a self-made water sphere, nearly drowning.
Not meditation, really. More like wandering off course.
What exactly is he trying to achieve?
Still, there were benefits.
The old man casually knew various spells. Observing their activation allowed Sophia to learn several new ones.
Especially fire, water, and ice—she had not known these before. A gain.
Yet these three elements clashed poorly with her own affinity. She learned the skills, but leveling up proved difficult.
The old man seemed moderately skilled in spatial magic. He had brought preserved food into the space, but after several days, that supply appeared to have run out.
Reluctantly, he transferred to some other location.
He had prepared to give up and return, but somehow came back after slaying a monster.
Then, he consumed the monster.
It was a toad with toxic properties.
Naturally, he was poisoned and suffered severe abdominal distress.
Really, what was the point of this?