The Book Eating Magician

If a human’s vitality came from the heart, then the power of a magician originated from the circles.

The circle—they were a power that upgraded the status of humanity, a sub-species in the Age of Mythology. It was the heritage of the ancestors who tried to copy the powers of the god and a demon. The result was the ability to interfere directly with the laws of matter by constructing the cogs of the world in the body.

The power to make fire in a space that was empty, and the power to create wind to disturb the sky...! The value of the circles was infinite and eternal.

‘No, that is wrong.’ However, Theodore realized something after reaching the end. ‘Eight circles are all that the human body can afford. From there, I have to give up my existing circles system and step into an unknown territory.’

The 8th circle was the end of mortality, the limit that humans could reach. No matter how much knowledge and power were obtained, it was impossible to exert more power in the soul and body of a mortal. This was why so many magicians had stopped at this level.

The path filled with the wisdom and experience of ancestors changed into the abyss of the unknown. If one wrong step was taken, it would be a waste of decades, maybe even a hundred years, worth of effort. Giving up the circles engraved on their true heart was a scary threat for a magician.

Wuuong...

However, Theodore broke his eight circles without hesitation.

Wuuuong...!

As the eight circles overloaded, collapsed, and released their magic power, his whole body was enveloped in weightlessness and began to float. The amount of magic power was dozens of times more powerful than that of other magicians.

Old memories appeared in Theodore’s mind. It was the day he had tearfully read books in the academy’s library, desperately looking at the difference between his practical and written grades. The difference between his old self and his current self was like the difference between the sky and the earth.

‘Ahh...’

Those days had created the present Theodore. Vince Haidel who took care of the class dunce, meeting Sylvia and the change in their relationship after the challenge, gaining Veronica’s help with their first meeting, Ellenoa’s affection as she whispered that she loved him... There were many other experiences that made him who he was today; he couldn’t count them all.

Thus, he smiled. His magic power scattered, and all his effort flowed away like grains of sand. At that moment...

The phenomenon known as ‘Shedding’ in the East Continent took place. Theodore’s body and soul became empty after losing all eight circles. Then his five senses that saw the surface of the material world sublimated to a higher level. That’s right. For magicians, transcendence meant nine circles.

“Unifying the body and soul itself is like a circle. No, it is more than that.” Theodore laughed as he reached enlightenment.

Simon Magus’ words were correct. Simon was a person who had reached a higher level of transcendence. Looking at it from his point of view, Theodore’s situation really was like a chicken and an egg. Theodore had ignored the shortcut in front of his eyes and dug at the ground. After a moment of floundering, he had then soon realized his mistake and was now reborn as a transcendent.

‘I feel like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, a snake shedding its skin. All the theories that were previously confusing and hard to understand are now organized.’

The small world, that had existed only in his body until now, had expanded outside his body. This feeling was difficult to express in words.

It felt like his head had poked out of his skin, and he could feel the spiritual world. Magic was composed without chanting or formula calculations. If he thought about it, the mana moved according to his will and finished the desired phenomenon with maximum efficiency.

In less than a second, he repeatedly constructed and cancelled a few magic spells.

“□□□□□···!” The transcendent instinctively sensed the change.

‘Not a big deal... It is a bit hard to say, but the words certainly aren’t wrong.’

It was as Simon Magus said. Interference in time and space was fatal for a mortal, but it was different for transcendents. The Cage of Chronos that trapped Sloth was an unknown, but time magic that couldn’t escape the frame of the material world was available to transcendents.

Furthermore, Theodore’s vision became more intense after being born again as a transcendent. He could now completely see through the enemy. The transcendent facing him was inferior, even if his soul wasn’t gone. All the qualities that could interfere with the material world were far below Theodore’s levels.

The transcendent noticed the gap and suddenly moved.

“□□□□! □□□!” The transcendent shouted like he was having a seizure, and time stopped again.

Kiiiiing! A ringing noise occurred in his ears as Theodore confirmed that his surroundings had turned black and white. Then his body moved normally and he laughed. 「 Get lost. 」

The short words forcibly cancelled Time Stop!

Kaaang!

Color returned to the black and white world as the backlash of cancelling the magic hit the transcendent. The person who felt pain from the aftermath of Time Stop rolled on the ground. The expression on the transcendent’s face was one of misery.

“...I will end your pain.” Theodore made a bitter expression and pointed his left hand at the transcendent. Despite being his opponent, the transcendent was just one of Sloth’s victims. Shortly after that, a green ray was fired from Theodore’s left hand.

Wiiing!

It was Soul Calibre, a soul sword that could even kill high ranking demons. However, this wasn’t Reynolds Spencer’s sword. It was Theodore Miller’s sword that pierced the unnamed transcendent, and it could free the grimoire-binding magic. Once the nucleus was broken, even stopping time couldn’t save the transcendent. Sure enough, the transcendent’s body stiffened.

-...I was wrong. I thought the soul was gone, and he was already dead. Was the flesh fixed to the time when it was still alive? It is in bad taste to keep the ego.

It was as Gluttony said. The body of the transcendent quickly turned grey and started to crumble, falling down like pieces of limestone. In a sense, it was like a marble statue being dissolved by acid. The scattered figure looked unrealistic.

“Hmm?” In the meantime, Theodore could see it without a doubt.

In an ancient language learnt from Vince’s book, the unidentified man muttered his gratitude, “Tha-nk… you.”

Then he was completely broken down before Theodore could reply.

Pusususu...

Theodore looked at the pile of ashes and muttered, “A person from Balcia? I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t heard the language. What a coincidence.”

It was the only ancient language he knew. Vince could speak a few more, but Theodore had lost interest in ancient magic since gaining the strongest Dragon Words. However, to think that was the Balcard language? It felt like meeting someone from his home country in a faraway country.

“Theodore!”

“Boy!”

“Theo!”

At that time, his colleagues hurriedly rushed over from the distance.

“You won? How? No, is your body okay?”

“I knew you would somehow do it! I’m just sorry that my turn was too short this time.”

Unlike the clamoring Titania and Randolph, Aquilo looked at him closely before opening her mouth with a surprised expression, “...”

Then she said, “...You crossed the border, Boy.”

The dragon noticed the change in him before anyone else.

“Did you see it? Yes, you are correct.”

“How did…? All the magicians and swordsmen in the continent might fall down frothing.”

“If you say so... I can’t believe it yet.” Theodore laughed lightly as he looked down at his hands. He was still the same as he had been a few minutes ago, despite having a power that separated him from humans. Well, he couldn’t feel it, but he knew it with his knowledge.

Transcendents were outside the framework of fate. They lived for a long time without getting older or sick; it was something like eternal youth. It wasn’t impossible for Theodore’s heart to be stopped, but he didn’t need to worry about it now. Right now, there was another problem to worry about.

‘I will be the last transcendent of this material world.’

Sloth, who had sucked in a large amount of mana, was going to be expelled from this material world. The average mana concentration in the world would fall, and it would be hard to build up magic and aura. Apart from transcendents like Theodore, it would be difficult to utilize atmospheric mana or exert the same brute force as before.

Of course, the situation would remain the same for a few hundred years before that happened.

“...Myrdal Herseim—no, Prometheus,” Theodore muttered the name of the god, and his expression hardened.

The god, who had provided strength to humanity, would kill off the dragons and get rid of aura and magic in a few hundred years. Theodore didn’t think it was done maliciously, but it was natural to feel displeased at the person who treated the world like it was at his own disposal.

“Hey,” a voice with no distress or disturbance was heard. “It is done. Is it okay to activate it?”

Simon Magus spoke and gave power to the magic circle without waiting for a reply. He had no intention of listening to the answer from the beginning. Rather than feeling uncomfortable by his attitude, Theodore was struck in awe by the magic circle that had expanded to several meters.

‘A-Amazing!’

His vision had grown since being a transcendent, and he could now figure out Paragranum’s wards. He could also release a few overlapping 8th circle magic circles in a few seconds. Yet he couldn’t grasp the magic circle currently floating in front of Simon. It required a high level of knowledge and technique that magicians of the present age didn’t have.

Indeed, this was the person who challenged the 10th circle and made Gluttony remember his name.

“――――――.” Simon Magus pointed a finger at the horizon.

It was the dark sphere that could be called Sloth. Sending out the four transcendents seemed to be the limit of its defense function, and it didn’t resist anymore. Thanks to this, Simon’s target assignment was a success, and the magic circle shone.

Kuoong―

Dimensional Banish—like its name, it was magic which blew the target across a distance in space that would take thousands of years to travel. Everyone paid close attention to the magic circle.

Jijijik! The space within a five-meter radius around Sloth was cut away. It was like the world was a thin piece of paper that was cut. As Simon Magus’s Dimensional Banish activated, the world twisted and the dimension shook.

“Shut up.”

However, the shaking couldn’t withstand those two words. Simon Magus stopped the dimensional shaking, and placed his thumb and finger together. It was a finger snap.

Ttaak! A cheerful sound resonated.

Syuok! The cut-off space with Sloth in it was sucked somewhere. Even with Theodore’s power, the boundary between dimensions couldn’t be seen. The abyss engulfed the space in an instant, making a noise similar to a drain on a rainy day. However, after a while, the drilled hole was quickly filled. As the people watching stared blankly, Simon Magus rubbed his palms with an impatient look. “Hrmm, it is over.”

This was a futile end to one of the Seven Sins.