The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

In a dark place.

A cave where almost no trace of light existed.

Scrape, scrape…

The sound of stone being scraped resounded.

Someone was sitting in front of a boulder.

But the darkness made it almost impossible to tell their appearance.

All that could be seen was a faint outline of their face.

It was a familiar face.

“…what are you doing?”

“Can’t you see? I’m making a statue.”

As he gave this answer, Kasajin continued to sculpt the statue. All he had in his hand was a rough carving knife that seemed to be made from animal bones.

“That’s unexpected. Have you always been able to sculpt?”

“No. I learned it for the first time in this place.”

“Why did you learn it?”

“Because this can’t be taken away.”

“…”

He didn’t really understand what that meant. But this was not the time to ask. Kasajin was wielding his carving knife with the serious expression he usually had when he trained his body.

Since it was a bit tiring to keep standing, he decided to sit in front of him as he watched.

Phew.

After a while, Kasajin brushed some dust off the statue and let out a slow breath before turning to look at Lukas.

“You look like shit.”

“A lot happened.”

“I know. That’s why you came to this place.”

“…”

“Tell me. I’ll listen.”

His manner of speech hadn’t changed at all.

…He missed it.

Although it wasn’t the time, Lukas couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

“…do you remember? A long time ago, when we were fighting the Demigods… I told you that it wouldn’t matter even if no one remembers what we did.”

“I remember.”

“That even if our footsteps were never recorded in history, it would be fine as long as we didn’t forget.”

“Right.”

“…but, it’s not.”

He fell silent for a while.

At some point, Lukas’ smile had become bitter.

“…I don’t want to be forgotten. I don’t need to be praised for what we did. We didn’t save humanity, the continent, and the world because we wanted fame or rewards for it. We didn’t fight against the Demigods just for that.”

A desire for success, fame, or wealth.

If they had just been fighting just to satisfy those desires, then they would have given up a lot sooner.

The reason they did it was because they thought it was wrong. Because they knew the things the Demigods did weren’t right. So they kept fighting.

…No. It wasn’t just that.

Lukas’ gaze turned to Kasajin.

“I was only able to hold on because of you guys. Because even when we were struggling desperately, we knew we were doing it together. It was that sense of camaraderie that comforted me. But I didn’t realise.”

That it would hurt so much if no one remembered him.

Lukas didn’t add the last part.

He didn’t want to show how much those words affected him to Kasajin.

It was better to call it his last sliver of pride.

“You’re wrong.”

“What?”

Kasajin got up from his seat.

It was only then that Lukas was able to see his full appearance.

“…you.”

He didn’t know what to say.

It was a body so weak that he couldn’t imagine that this was Kasajin.

His wrists were so thin it looked like they would snap with a touch, and the legs that supported his body looked frailer than twigs in the middle of winter.

But the look in his eyes.

If it wasn’t for that fierce gaze that was almost synonymous with Kasajin, he might not have recognised him.

“Not everyone has forgotten you. Your life wasn’t that short, and your achievements weren’t that small.”

“…!”

“At the very least, I will always remember you in this place. Always.”

He could feel the emotion hidden in Kasajin’s voice.

His heart ached,

“…Kasajin, where is this place?”

He’d thought that it was a dream, or that he was reflecting on the past.

But that wasn’t the case.

This place…

Kasajin smiled faintly.

“It’s a place you don’t need to know about just yet.”

Paht-

Lukas’ body was flung out of the cave. Lukas tried to grab Kasajin to stop himself, but Kasajin shook his head and stepped out of reach.

“You shouldn’t come to this place. Not yet.”

“Kasajin! You…!”

“Lukas, you just said it yourself. You saved our world. Do you understand what that means? The universe couldn’t survive without you. It’s impossible even for God to make those achievements disappear.”

“What are you talking…”

“One more thing. You weren’t just ‘Lukas Trowman’.”

Kasajin chuckled.

“You should have had another name as well.”

* * *

“…”

Lukas woke with a slightly hazy mind.

…A dream.

Had it been a dream?

His head spun. He was incredibly thirsty. He also had chills as if the condition of his body was not good.

Was he still dreaming?

…Another name.

The other name he used in this world…?

“Frey, Blake…” (TL: Pray Blake…)

Crash!

A loud noise came from beside him.

Lukas forcibly opened his eyes and looked over.

A man was standing beside the bed and staring at him with a shocked expression.

It was Peran Jun.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, it was dark.

Lukas couldn’t tell if it was the middle of the night, or approaching dawn. He decided to get up first.

To an extent, his body, which had been stiff and shivering before, had regained its original condition.

‘…this body…’

He couldn’t remember being this sick even after staying in his workshop for months on end studying magicology. But he’d stayed in the library for just two days and gotten soaked by a bit of rain, and now he’d gotten so sick he could barely move.

Although he knew how weak his body was, he couldn’t help but feel surprised.

“…”

His chest still felt like a heavy piece of lead had been placed on it, but his mind felt a bit clearer. Perhaps as his sickness cleared up, so too had the bad thoughts in his head.

‘…I feel like something important happened.’

As he’d laid on the bed, he’d woken up and fainted several times. Thanks to that, his memories were still unclear. He felt like something had happened, but he couldn’t remember.

He let out a sigh.

He had completely lost control of himself. He felt like even if he kept scouring his memories, he wouldn’t get what he wanted, so Lukas decided to let it go.

His gaze turned to his right.

There, on a small round table, were a suitably wet towel, a bowl of soup, and a cup of lukewarm water.

Traces that someone had been caring for him.

‘Was it Snow?’

Lukas thought of the cool touch that he’d felt on his forehead, but she’d told him that she would only wait one more day. Even though he was unconscious, he was aware of the fact that it hadn’t just been for one day.

Snow had probably already left.

Creak-

But at that moment, the door opened, and it was none other than Snow that walked into the room. Lukas was a bit surprised.

Not only because of her sudden appearance, but also because of her expression.

Usually, she had a smile on her face. Whether it was a mischievous smile or a confident smile, most of the time, the corners of her lips were raised.

But at that moment, the Snow that entered the room was visibly upset.

“…hmph.”

She glanced down at Lukas and crossed her arms.

For a while, she didn’t say anything and simply stared down at him with an annoyed gaze.

Seeing that she didn’t intend to speak up first, Lukas opened his mouth.

“How did you know I was awake?”

“Ha.”

Snow snorted.

The expression on her face, which was as white as the moonlight, changed.

It was to the point where he could almost hear her thinking, ‘what did this bastard just say?’

“Is that all?”

“What?”

“The first thing you say when you fully regain consciousness. I’m asking if that is all.”

“…”

Lukas looked down at the table.

“…thanks.”

“…”

“I’m really in your debt.”

“…”

“You saved my life.”

He spoke with sincerity, but Snow’s expression didn’t relax at all.

She still looked annoyed, but eventually let out a sigh as she looked at Lukas’ face.

“…right. Well, I guess it’s natural to say thank you, but I’m not the one you should be telling it to.”

0

“Then the person…”

“It was Peran. But he left the academy a few hours ago. You missed it perfectly. He seemed to want to talk to you about something…”

Snow narrowed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head.

“…in any case. Do you remember what this Queen told you?”

“You mean about waiting for a day?”

“So you remember. For reference, four days have passed since then. 96 hours to be exact.”

Blood flowed into Snow’s pale white face.

Lukas gently bowed his head.

“I’m sorry… By the way, not that I intend to make excuses or anything, but why didn’t you just leave when I didn’t wake up in time?”

“Because I wanted to hear what would come out of your mouth. But if I knew you’d say something like that, I would have just left.”

“…”

She really had a fickle personality. To the extent that he pitied Peran, who was her assistant. Of course, since Lukas was completely at fault in this matter, he wisely remained silent.

Snow smiled once again, and only then did she take her annoyed gaze off of Lukas.

“Your condition seems to have improved a bit. Last time I saw you, you looked like you were going to die.”

“…you saw that?”

“Right. Anyways, I’m glad you’re better. Time’s a bit tight, so we’ll leave right away.”

“We’re leaving? To where?”

“The best place to train you.”

“Where is that?”

Snow finally smiled.

“Amalgam Forest.”