WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 74 - Selection (5)

Dercia had touched me many times.

Both directly and indirectly. It’s truly sad that she’s simply too strong for the Empire to put her behind bars.

However—She never figured out what I really am.

Even though she was a 9-star mage.

"..."

I held my tongue.

How much did he know? How much had he been able to deduce?

Azrael snorted as he saw me acting like this.

"Why are you making that face?”

"...To be honest, I kind of expected this.”

I didn’t even realize that I had two worlds.

I did suspect something like that, though, since I was able to use both normal magic despite being of the Abyss Realm.

"I’m just surprised that you, a shaman, caught what even my master didn’t.”

"It’s not like she didn’t notice it. She simply couldn’t assume it. A mage cannot have two worlds. This is an immutable law of the world of magic, so someone as stiff-headed as her would only ever look for solutions that fit within the rules.”

"So is it possible in the world of shamanism?”

"Absolutely not. Shamans don’t even have worlds or something.”

"?"

"I believe what I can see with my own eyes. You fell into the Abyss, yet you still managed to raise a star up in the sky, right?”

“I never used normal magic in front of you, so how’d you know?”

"Brat, if you want to hide it, you should try wearing a blindfold first. Stars leave traces.”

Was that how this worked?

"Anyway, since that’s the case, you must have a second world. Simple as that.”

I stared at Azrael, dumbfounded.

He simply concluded that I had two worlds because it looked like I did.

Just as I was thinking that his view on life was incredibly simple, he extended a hand.

"Try using magic. At least in this realm, I can guarantee that I know more than Dercia ever will, so no need to worry.”

"...Okay."

Still feeling half-skeptical, I let some wind swirl over his hand.

Feeling the wind on his palm in silence for a while, studying it intently as if he were contemplating something.

Not long after, his depression turned dark.

"This…Hmmm. Hold on.”

"What is it?”

"Hah. No way… Can it be? Do it again.”

"??"

After that exclamation, Azrael studied me for a good while longer.

It seemed as if he was repeatedly coming to the same conclusion over and over, yet couldn’t believe it.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

Just when I was about to conclude that he actually was a charlatan, he opened his mouth, his expression bordering on extreme shock.

"How truly grotesque yet mysterious. It really is like that.”

"What is that supposed to mean?”

"...Human child. Why do you think you’re still alive even with the burdens of your world pressing down on you?”

"Because I worked insanely hard to the point of almost dying?”

That was the most obvious answer, but Azrael shook his head.

"Well, sure. I suppose that’s partly true. Then tell me. How do you think you earned the time needed to do that?”

"I assumed the burden was weaker because I was still adapting to my inner world.”

"Why would your world wait politely for you to grow into it?”

"...?"

I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.

Seeing how confused I was, Azrael explained calmly.

"Your Abyss Realm is deep, wide, and vast. Something one would call a Great Realm.”

"Hm, yes.”

"However, your other world is small and miserable. So crushed beneath that immense world that it couldn’t even properly establish a realm one could call a world. A poor fragment of a world.”

"...Yeah. So you’re saying that this world of mine is worthless. I’ve heard that a lot.”

"--Wrong. You've completely misunderstood me. It’s the exact opposite.”

I frowned, but Azrael shook his head with a serious expression.

"I’ve seen the highest mountains, the deepest seas, and the longest rivers. Yet nothing has taught me how mysterious a world can be more than yours.”

"Why are you being so vague right now?”

"Your magical talent may be low, but your talent as a wizard is truly terrifying.”

"...What?”

It was similar to what Dercia had once told me.

Azrael continued with an even more serious expression when he saw how flustered I was.

"Listen carefully. Burdens are proportional to the size of the world. Even if one creates a Great Realm, it shouldn’t be made ‘too big,’ or its weight might crush its owner. However, your Realm is unimaginable, overwhelmingly large. No matter whether the burdens were delayed or came early, they aren’t something a child’s body could possibly bear.”

"But I’m alive and well."

"Because of your second world.”

Azrael placed a hand on my shoulder, his expression showing a mix of awe and pity.

"Your other world abandoned everything else solely to save you, its owner. It sacrificed everything—space, objects, all matter—and flattened itself onto your body to act as a protective shell.”

"...?"

"That was some chillingly quick and accurate judgement. The moment you suffered from the Soul Fever, when that Abyss Realm began to crush everything, the other world reshaped itself instantly in just a single night. To do something in such a short amount of time…”

His expression stern, he delivered his conclusion like a hammer.

"You possess both the largest world I have ever seen and the smallest.”

In other words.

This body’s original inner world is the Abyssal Sea. The largest and widest world.

The second world, the one most likely to belong to me, an Earthling, shrank into the tiniest possible form just to keep me alive inside the Abyssal Sea.

So that was why I was able to survive as a 10-year-old?

...That meant that I used to be a wizard back in Korea as well?

I raised my hand, examining it closely.

"So my second world is attached to my body.”

"Yes. It’s protecting you even at this very moment.”

That was kind of fascinating. Like an invisible guardian spirit wrapping around me.

"Do you know how long it will keep protecting me?”

"Until it’s crushed into nothing by the Abyss Realm.”

So I didn’t have much longer. My burdens kept increasing in intensity. Once they became strong enough to kill me, this shield wouldn’t matter anymore.

I understood my other world was working hard for me, but in the end, nothing had really changed.

Seeing my bitter expression, Azrael shook his head.

"You shouldn’t dismiss it so quickly. It’s one of your greatest weapons. It will greatly help you to buy time.”

"How do I grow it?”

"There’s only one way for a mage to grow. Enlightenments.”

"That’s not happening.”

I clenched my fist.

"I had an enlightenment before.”

The fire, and how I nearly died. Memories of that time came flooding back.

"But the burdens only surged after that, so I deliberately made myself forget. It wasn’t even related to my small world, but the Abyss Realm.”

"Remember this. Your small world is currently desperately struggling to protect you from the Abyss. If your enlightenment was about the Abyss, intel on the enemy, it directly becomes enlightenment for the small world. The Abyss is already a complete world, so any enlightenment you have about it won’t be able to advance it further.”

So, my tiny world’s ultimate goal is to protect me—

So by gaining enlightenment on the Abyssal Sea, it would upgrade itself to better withstand it?

Like gathering cloth to create armor after hearing that arrows will be shot at you?

...Then why did the burdens increase when I first gained that enlightenment?

"During the reconstruction process, it simply can’t shield you for a moment.”

"I see… Wait, that means I’ll die.”

So there was no safe method to strengthen it, huh?.

If my small world were to collapse for even a second, the burdens would crush me to death.

"That is where I can offer you the bonus reward I mentioned earlier.”

"..."

I glared at Azrael, who was speaking lightly.

He was essentially telling me to place my life in his hands.

"Simple. I’ll keep you alive for the brief moment your world reconstructs itself using the enlightenment you gained.”

"No thank you.”

Just because the reward seemed tempting didn’t mean I would just accept it without thinking.

Putting aside whether he had the ability to protect me from my burdens, even temporarily… Well, I guess he probably could.

Anyway, it was a question of whether he would actually do it or not.

Considering that this man has stunted his entire race's growth and intelligence for the sake of some greater cause—trusting him would be foolish.

"The information you gave me today is enough. Let’s move to the next point. I need to find my master and stop her.”

"...Fine."

Azrael looked slightly disappointed but went along with my change of topic.

"According to those fools, the World Tree itself raised its branches and wrote on the ground.”

"My master could absolutely do that from hundreds of mountains away.”

"That’s unlikely.”

He scoffed and shook his head.

"Do you think I just picked some random tree behind the village and called it the World Tree? It’s the oldest one. Its trunk alone spans tens of meters, and I made it grow even larger. I also placed countless wards and spells on it so no human mage could use it to gain control of the elves.”

"Ah, yes. You did a wonderful job turning all the elves into idiots.”

"Watch your mouth, brat… Anyway, even Dercia cannot move the World Tree without physically touching it. And you said no one saw her anywhere near it.”

"Yeah, so what are you trying to say?”

Azrael pointed at the ground, seemingly fed up.

"The roots.”

"...Pardon?”

"She’s underground right now.”

"..."

It seemed like Dercia had turned into a cicada larva.

* * *

An inn in the elven village.

"So my lady has become a cicada larva.”

After hearing my explanation, Ciel perfectly voiced what I had thought.

If she was stuck to the roots to control the World Tree, it was hard to not get that image.

As I nodded in agreement, Brimdal clicked his tongue.

"So if we know where she is, then let’s get this over with quickly. I’m tired of tolerating that runaway lunatic’s antics any further.”

"So do we have to dig?”

Azrael shook his head at Linmel’s pure question.

"No. We should talk with her first. We still have no idea what Dercia’s actual goal is. I want to avoid a fight as much as we can. And…”

He turned to glare at Ciel.

"You there. You were right next to her, and yet you failed to stop her?”

"I’m sorry. I should have been more firm…”

Ciel sighed and lowered her head.

She was much more well-connected than I thought. She knew everyone from Brimdal to Azreal. She probably was something equivalent to a messenger or something.

"Before we go, let me make one thing clear.”

Azrael swept his gaze across us, giving us a firm warning.

"If she’s beyond reason, we must flee immediately. If that Dercia prepared countermeasures, we cannot win in any capacity.”

"Understood.”

I honestly doubted that a fight would actually break out.

I had faith that Dercia would still have enough sanity left that she wouldn’t try to harm me or my companions, even if she was out of her mind right now.

"And you."

"Yes."

"Are you really refusing my help?”

On the way to the World Tree, Azrael kept on persisting even though our talk about that was already over.

"We haven’t built that kind of trust yet. If you can help me with my master right there, then I’ll consider accepting.”

"You’re willing to throw away a golden opportunity just because of some distrust?”

"My orphanage director, who raised me like a parent, once told me that if someone you don’t trust tries to give you a gift, you should never ever take it."

"...Fair enough.”

Azrael shrugged.

"Fine then. I’ll save your life with Dercia right in front of us.”

He seemed unusually determined to help me.

That only made me more suspicious, of course.

"Why are you trying so hard to look after me?”

"Because I want to see what happens, you brat.”

What the hell did he mean by that?

While trying to calm Linmel, who was happily jumping ahead as if we were on the way to a picnic, we climbed a mountain or two, and then—

There was another mountain.

No, something I thought was a mountain.

...It was a tree.

"What the f—what is that?"

I nearly cursed instinctively, but Linmel was here, so I held back.

Azrael chuckled and lifted his head proudly.

"Well? Doesn’t it make you want to worship it?”

"Kind of.”

Even when he told me that he expanded the World Tree, I thought it would be just a bunch of normal trees glued together.

But this thing was actually the size of an apartment building.

Just looking up at it, surprised by its sheer size, hurt my neck. At this scale, I started to see the merit in shamanism.

The closer we got, the more it felt like we were approaching a gigantic brown wall. It would take months just to examine all its roots.

"What now?”

"Leave it to me.”

Ciel confidently approached the World Tree and opened the bag she was holding.

"I’m quite adept at smoking her out.”

She had packed—a ton of oil inside of it.

I stared at Azrael with a frown, but he only shrugged.

He seemed to approve whatever she was planning.

However, when I saw Ciel flicking open a lighter, I felt worry well up inside of me.

"Are you actually going to do this?”

"Yes. I sometimes do things like that back in the mansion as well.”

...No wonder there were some burn marks in various rooms.

Still, burning the World Tree—burning anything of this size would be utterly catastrophic…

I stared at Ciel with a worried look, seeing that she was actually going through with this.

However, just before the lighter could touch the bark—

[...I clearly wrote it at the end of the letter, didn’t I?]

The highest branches twisted bizarrely and descended towards us.

And then they took on a humanoid shape. Leaves and branches wove together to create what seemed to be Dercia’s silhouette.

The branch version of Dercia glared down at us with her arms crossed.

[I told you not to trust anything Ciel says.]

That definitely was Dercia.

Of course, she would show up like this.

"The content was too weird to believe that.”

Was it even possible to talk her out of this? I stepped forward, locking eyes with Branch-Dercia.

"I can't comprehend your actions. Why in the world are you causing chaos here? If you’re doing this for my sake or something, I can only ask you to stop.”

[...Jern.]

Dercia—

Didn’t seem flustered, nor did she seem angry.

She didn’t show any signs that she was trying to hide anything either.

She simply answered with her usual cold, serene, and collected demeanor.

[I’m perfectly sane, without doubt.]

"You look very sane."

Considering all the panic about her potentially falling and losing her mind, she did look perfectly fine.

[I apologize for not explaining properly. However, I never intended to slaughter my kin. I have no reason to do so, and even if I did, it wouldn’t be right. Turning them into mages is only temporary. I can undo it at any time.]

"Really?"

[I’ll swear on my name. Not a single elf will be harmed by this incident.]

"..."

She wasn’t one to lie.

Dercia pressed her hand on her forehead, shaking her head.

[I apologize for making you worry unnecessarily. It seems the letter was far too sloppy. I had some urgent matters to attend here, so I couldn’t help it.]

...What the hell?

[And before I could check your condition after waking up, I decided to act first before reporting back, considering the worst possibilities.]

Wasn’t she just like how she usually was?

I couldn’t see any difference between the current and previous Dercia in this conversation, at least.

Thank goodness. I felt relief wash over me.

Dercia hadn’t fallen. It didn’t even seem like she got close to it.

"Ah, I see. It seems we jumped to conclusions."

Feeling my tension evaporate, I glanced back, only to see Ciel staring at Dercia, her lips tightly sealed.

"...!"

Her expression seemed off.

Before I could ask what was wrong—

I heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming closer.

"Dercia Aspandil."

A weighty voice.

It was Brimdal, who had silently followed after me.

He now stood firmly within arm’s reach of Dercia, looking down at her.

"Do you know who I am?"

[I have heard of a crazy dwarf Knight who treats humans like swords.]

Her remarks were horrifying and yet held not a shred of hostility. Brimdal didn’t seem concerned about them either.

Dercia tilted her head, seeming a bit bewildered.

[I can understand why Ciel, Jern, Azreal, and even that Knight apprenice girl are here, but…why are you here? Quite puzzling indeed.]

"I came to tell you something."

?

Didn’t he come along so that I wouldn’t have to stop my Arcane Strengthening training?

This was the first time I had heard that this was his actual goal here.

[I believe we have never met before.]

Dercia’s tone showed that she had no intention of humoring him.

Brimdal simply took one more step and glanced back.

-At me.

"I came to ask a favor, to be precise."

[Hm, I will hear it.]

"Give me your disciple."

?

Sharp silence spread through the area. I couldn’t believe my own ears for a moment.

Was this supposed to be some kind of joke?

Brimdal wasn’t the kind of man—no, dwarf—who made jokes like that though, right?

[Huh? Wait…What?]

I wasn’t the only one flustered by this.

Brimdal confidently declared to Dercia, who I had only rarely seen stammering like that, his chest puffed out.

"While you were gone, I took on the role of Jern’s master.”

[...What?]

"At first he was a nuisance. I planned to teach him just enough to secure the gold, this girl called Linmel, behind him.”

He was speaking to Dercia.

But it felt like every single one of his words was meant for me.

"Good swords are made from good material. That’s a self-evident truth. Yet no matter how hard I hammered and tempered that useless stone, fully intending to ruin it, it just wouldn’t break.”

[...]

"Then, at some point, I realized the obvious. How is a stone that never breaks inferior to the finest steel in existence?”

[What are you trying to say?]

Brimdal lowered his voice.

"I will forge my ultimate sword from that boy."

[...]

"Hand him over. He’s far too valuable for you to keep. I’ll raise him well.”

[...Hmm.]

After Dercia let out that quiet hum, silence fell.

It was heavy enough for even Linmel to swallow dryly.

... It held on for a long, suffocating moment.

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