Chapter 8
The artifact was a golden goat-headed statue.
The large, round horns glead brighter in the sunlight.
Ivan must have installed it himself.
In his youth, Ivan loved taxidermy decorations.
And his favorite was the goat with its majestic horns.
As if it were Shainborough’s symbol, the goat head brazenly adorned the rooftop.
To dare lock my secret techniques in such a vile object.
My face twisted in disgust.
After one last glare at the goat, I moved toward the deputy butler, who was shouting, “Why aren’t you following?”
***
I’d confird the artifact’s location, but one thing was still missing to retrieve the secret techniques.
A tool to amplify and stabilize mana output, imagination, flow, and manifestation.
A wand.
With my past life’s capabilities, infiltrating another magician’s pocket dinsion without a wand would’ve been easy.
But not now.
The Pocket Dinsion Creation spell in the rooftop goat statue wasn’t ordinary.
It was a 7-star Chaos attribute spell.
A high-level magic.
Confronting high-level magic required imnse mana.
And what I planned wasn’t a re power struggle but a traceless infiltration.
So, with my current mana, I absolutely needed a wand to infiltrate the pocket dinsion.
Fortunately, it would take a few days for the workshop-made wand to arrive.
During that ti, I had to study Introduction to Magic and basic liberal arts for the academy entrance exam.
Under Marcel’s tutor, Shane Fondes.
Pretending to learn familiar material for a week.
Finally, my wand arrived at Shainborough.
As usual, Shane called to the study, holding an elegant, elongated box.
The wand.
My gaze locked onto the wand case.
“Listen carefully. A wand is a magician’s basic tool that enhances the power and accuracy of magic…”
“…”
Shane’s explanation of what a wand was didn’t register.
All I wanted was to grab the wand, climb to the rooftop, and rip the pocket dinsion from that hideous goat.
“…So you mustn’t swing it recklessly. Understood?”
“Yes.”
Finishing his explanation, Shane handed the case.
Click-
The case opened with a clean sound.
And…
“What’s this?”
In my shock, I blurted out words I ant to keep inside.
An overly thick, shiny leather handle.
A tassel dangling from it.
And jewels attached to the tassel.
The wand in the case was downright comical.
This… is a wand…?
Frowning, I picked it up.
The decorations jangled with every movent.
“It feels heavier in your hand, right? This is what a magician’s wand is.”
“…”
I was speechless with disbelief.
No way.
This couldn’t be a wand.
But Shane, seeing my stunned expression, smiled gently, as if it were understandable.
Of course, it’s amazing. When would an orphanage kid ever hold sothing like this?
Calming , Shane even taught how to grip the wand.
“The key is to gently wrap your hand along the grooves in the leather. That way, you won’t get calluses.”
“…”
The feel was worse than it looked.
A magician’s hand, callused from gripping a wand.
A perfect balance that doesn’t strain the wrist after thousands of swings.
The subtle vibration when casting perfect magic.
This comical object ignored all those qualities.
It’s like… the current Kirhausen, dressed up lavishly inside and out.
Swallowing a deep sigh, I reminded myself there was much to restore.
Hoping night would co soon, I placed the wand back in its case.
***
Past midnight.
Mana lighting devices illuminated Shainborough.
Wooong- Wooong-
Blur, a grade-1 magical mineral, emitted a soft golden glow reacting to embedded or ambient mana.
Over a thousand Blurs in Shainborough’s grounds weren’t just for indirect lighting.
Wooong- Woooong-
Sensitive to even small mana flows, they glowed brighter and longer with purer mana.
aning they could detect mana users moving within the grounds.
A security asure befitting a powerful, wealthy magical family.
Naturally, there are Blurs on the rooftop too. But…
Standing on the balcony, I looked at the Blurs illuminating the garden.
I can’t delay any longer.
Once academy entrance exam preparations began, I’d be watched closely, restricting my movents.
With the wand and morize for stable magic and minimal mana use.
Hinder, Hide Mana, and Invisibility stacked with multicasting.
Short-range teleportation Blink and spells to break the pocket dinsion’s lock.
All preparations were complete, optimized for minimal mana and stealth.
But…
“Phew…”
Raising the wand, a shallow sigh escaped .
Tension?
Sure, but it was a sigh of frustration at my current capabilities, so weak compared to my past life.
Fine. I’ll finish this as quickly as possible.
I steeled my resolve.
Jangle.
The wand’s decorations made an irritating noise.
Hide Mana. Hinder. Invisibility. Blink.
Fssst.
Blink.
Fssst.
Vanishing from the balcony, I stood before the golden goat-headed statue.
But…
“…Ugh!”
Despite all my preparations, my body was that of a 14-year-old.
Three interference spells and consecutive Blinks were too much.
“…”
Closing my eyes briefly, I shook off the rising nausea.
Opening them slowly, I saw the Blurs on the rooftop.
…More than I thought. Probably because of this statue.
This might be tougher than expected.
I’d perfectly hidden my aura, but the mana used to infiltrate the pocket dinsion was the issue.
Though I’d cast Hide Mana in advance, infiltrating required significant mana.
And once the pocket dinsion was breached, mana would leak from there too.
I had to control both my mana and the dinsion’s leaking mana alone.
“Phew…”
Quickly assessing the situation, I exhaled thinly.
My thoughts and will expanded.
High-speed calculations built the spell formula.
Mana accelerated through my body.
Imagination materialized the mystery.
The mont a great magician’s technique, rooted in the Soul, reerged.
Hwaak-!
My eyes glowed golden as the wand moved dazzlingly.
First…
Enhance.
My expanded thoughts and will accelerated further.
Silent Shell.
Shade Shell.
Anti Magic Shell.
Blocking sound, light, and mana from the outside.
Next…
Drain. Purity. Diversion. Renewal.
Absorbing and cycling the mana leaking from the broken lock.
And the final one.
A 7-star attributeless spell, evolved from Dispel Magic, which neutralizes any spell.
Revelio.
Revelio was notoriously impossible to master fully.
aning a perfectly mastered Revelio could neutralize any spell.
My past life’s mastery of Revelio was perfection itself.
But the problem was my current mana couldn’t fully manifest that mastery.
So, I chose a magic circle.
Swish-
With a light Swish, the Revelio magic circle flew toward the statue.
Monts later…
“…There we go.”
Like ripples on water, the statue’s form began to shimr.
The spell within the artifact reacted to Revelio.
I aid the wand forward again.
Creak-
My wrist slowly turned clockwise.
The wand’s tip followed, moving in sync.
Revelio rged perfectly with the statue, like a key in a lock.
Now, it was ti to turn the stiff key to unravel the formula.
But…
Creak… Creak, creak-
The clockwise motion slowed.
The resistance has begun.
Nothing physically restrained my wrist.
But it felt like moving through a sticky trap.
The pocket dinsion’s mana clashed directly with my Revelio mana.
The longer this struggle, the worse it is for .
Though I’d set up an Anti Magic Shell to prevent mana leakage, it was only a temporary asure…
If mana fragnts escape, the Blurs will react. I need more mana!
My eyes, facing the shimring form, glowed brighter gold.
“Sssss…”
A long inhale.
My eyes slowly closed.
Thump.
Shwaaaa-
My heart’s mana circle reacted, explosively releasing mana.
The wand, trembling heavily, began moving again slowly in the sa direction.
Finally…
Click.
The key turned fully, and the statue’s form shimred intensely.
Sssssst-
“…Done.”
A foot-long crack appeared in the air with a faint noise, light seeping through.
And…
“…Ugh… Cough!”
Unable to hold back the churning nausea, I coughed.
Stopping mana manipulation brought the overload’s aftereffects.
A racing heart.
A body burning red.
“…”
The side effect of explosively drawing mana in a young body.
My energy’s taken a hit.
But once I consud the Seed of Infinity, my mana would recover instantly.
Though my energy would take ti to heal.
Sssssst-
As I steadied myself, the crack grew larger.
Now wide enough for a person, the pocket dinsion’s scenery beca visible.
Wiping cold sweat, I smiled.
Without hesitation, I stepped forward.
Paaaaat-!
The light from the pocket dinsion’s entrance swallowed .
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