I Picked up the Demon King - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 34

 

[Magic circles, incantations, offerings, hand seals. All are types of rituals for manifesting magic, but their limitations are clear.]

 

This was the first sentence written on the second page of Master’s grimoire.

 

[Magic circles possess the greatest power and stability, but their forms are complex and difficult to prepare in a short time. Most are used to create artifacts by engraving them on objects or to strengthen workshops for this reason.]

 

Drawing magic circles was never an easy task. Even simple magic took dozens of minutes at minimum, and when I first learned soul magic, it took several hours.

 

After learning how to draw magic circles with mana, the activation time became much shorter, but according to the Demon Lord, other mages couldn’t do such things.

 

[Incantations are the method most favored by mages. They require no special preparations, and relatively fast activation is their advantage. Moreover, it’s possible to omit incantations for one or two spells depending on proficiency. However, the amount of mana consumed is enormous compared to other methods.]

 

For me, this was quite an unfamiliar method.

 

All the magic I knew was activated through magic circles. At best, mana bullets could be considered similar, if anything.

 

“Ah, come to think of it…”

 

The nameless mage I encountered in Belive Territory. The magic he used might have been close to using incantations.

 

I wasn’t certain. Since he didn’t draw magic circles, I could only speculate that might be the case, as I didn’t see him chanting spells.

 

But if that were true, that mage might have been a higher-level mage than I thought.

 

[Offerings that sacrifice to transcendent beings including demons are undoubtedly garbage. The preparation process is incomparably more complex than drawing magic circles, and it’s impossible to gauge exactly what results will appear.]

 

This was the first time I’d seen Master give such harsh criticism, but I couldn’t help but agree with that opinion.

 

[While those blocked by talent sometimes overcome walls through offerings, that too depends on the whims of the transcendent being receiving the offering. It can be considered to have no value as scholarship.]

 

Offerings are a type of transaction where you offer sacrifices and ask for wishes to be granted.

 

However, as soon as the ritual begins, the sacrifice is transferred to the targeted transcendent being, so proper transactions are impossible. Moreover, most of these transcendent beings are demons.

 

Aren’t they the same kind as the Demon Lord?

 

[There has been much research and development to improve the shortcomings of each method. However, none were quite satisfactory. In that case, I should create one myself.]

 

A smile naturally appeared on my lips.

 

The arrogant, confident tone reminded me of Master’s appearance in life.

 

[What I chose were hand seals. Hand seals replace complex magic circles with hands, making them much more concise, and can significantly compensate for incantations’ mana consumption. However, they are shunned by the Academic Circle.]

 

I felt a slight, inexplicable sense of unease.

 

However, no matter how much I pondered, I couldn’t realize its identity, so I had no choice but to turn the page.

 

[With only two hands, expressions as complex as magic circles are impossible, and if the form is even slightly wrong, it’s difficult to achieve desired results, and naturally, assistance through a staff cannot be received.]

 

The shortcomings Master described made all the aforementioned advantages seem meaningless.

 

Although I hadn’t obtained a decent staff yet, I had heard enough from the Demon Lord about those benefits.

 

They reduce mana consumption, speed up circulation, and in some cases even increase recovery speed. It was even said that using engraved magic without incantations was possible.

 

Not being able to use such a staff was a major disadvantage. Unless one was a mage too poor to obtain a staff, hand seals would only serve as emergency measures for urgent situations.

 

[But is that truly the limit of hand seals? Aren’t all the aforementioned shortcomings caused by having only two hands?]

 

At this point, I thought I understood why Master’s secret magic was [Six Arms].

 

The method to overcome hand seals’ shortcomings was simple. You just needed multiple hands.

 

Master in my memories seemed to have only two hands… but there must have been a way to not reveal them except when important.

 

After finishing that thought, I could finally realize the identity of that unease.

 

“…Why did Master…”

 

If Master had succeeded in overcoming hand seals’ shortcomings, why didn’t he teach me even a single simple hand seal method?

 

The answer didn’t come easily.

 

I had no choice but to set aside the question and continue turning pages. What followed were records of the trial and error during Master’s creation of his devised magic.

 

How arduous creating a single magic spell was could be sufficiently guessed from the increasingly irritable content and scrawled handwriting as it progressed.

 

[After much deliberation, I decided on human bone as the material for the new arms. Rare materials could increase durability, but they’re meant for forming hand seals anyway. Once completed, close combat won’t be a concern. Above all, human bone is easy to obtain.]

[The attempt to increase the number of arms as much as possible ended in failure. I added a total of thirteen arms, but there was a limit to how many could be controlled simultaneously.]

[I’m now sick of grave robbing. They clearly said it was an elder’s grave who died of illness, but the corpse showed no traces of disease. It must have been a live burial. …Fortunately, the bone was intact.]

 

I slowly turned the paper, taking in the process Master had pondered.

 

As short as one line, as long as several pages. These were records spanning several years at least.

 

The years Master had spent were condensed briefly and contained in my mind.

 

[I finally succeeded. I discarded all the arms I had made so far. The arms I preserved for this moment. My family…]

 

What was written after that were neatly organized formulas and production methods.

 

Perhaps after writing up to here, he wrote the first page.

 

“Haah…”

 

After examining the formulas while forgetting to breathe for a while, I let out a long sigh and closed the book.

 

Master’s skill is real.

 

While my level as a mage couldn’t be called particularly high, I could feel how beautiful this magic formula was.

 

Savoring the satisfaction, I began preparing to learn Master’s magic [Six Arms].

 

The first thing needed for that was material to create new arms.

 

In other words, bone.

 

“Ah….”

 

I let out another long sigh.

 

The materials that had been scattered throughout the dungeon. The corpses of the mercenaries, which I had just thrown out while cleaning up.

 

* * *

 

“Move quickly!”

“Damn it….”

 

At the shouting from behind, the man muttered in a small voice.

 

Something about finding a Dark Mage’s dungeon. As a Prisoner Soldier, he couldn’t understand this situation at all.

 

Surely when the Hero defeated the Demon Lord, all the powerful Dark Mages died together with him. Hadn’t they said that only half-baked weaklings remained now?

 

Whether it belonged to a dead High-rank Dark Mage or a surviving weakling, the accepted theory was that dungeons weren’t particularly dangerous places.

 

But look at this military force.

 

Not only Knights and Soldiers, but even Prisoners had been mobilized. And they were just the advance party. He’d heard that Volunteer Soldiers would arrive soon as reinforcements.

 

It was believable enough to think they were heading to war with the territory’s survival at stake, rather than exploring a dungeon. Even while moving his feet diligently to avoid being whipped, the answer that came from his inadequate thinking was clear.

 

“We’re going to die….”

 

Unless the Lord had gone mad, the dungeon they were heading to was certainly an extremely dangerous place.

 

They were going to their deaths.

 

“Hey.”

“Stop with the unlucky talk. Unless you want to get beaten.”

 

The Prisoner Soldier immediately froze and shut his mouth. It was because of the other man’s bulging muscles.

 

A former mercenary turned Slave Trader, wasn’t it? He was a man with nothing to lose. If he got on his bad side, he might die before even reaching the dungeon.

 

In the distance, he could see Volunteer Soldiers giggling at the sight.

 

‘Stupid fools who don’t know their own situation….’

 

But there was nothing he could do. The difference in position between Volunteer Soldiers and Prisoner Soldiers was significant.

 

“Ooh….”

 

After walking for a long time with his gaze cast downward, he raised his head at someone’s exclamation.

 

He too couldn’t help but feel admiration.

 

Autumn was approaching, and it was the season when flowers withered. But in the forest before his eyes, flowers were blooming so beautifully.

 

In all the springs he had experienced in his life, he had never seen so many flowers in bloom like this.

 

But the beauty of those flowers only lasted until here. The soldiers didn’t stop, and hundreds of military boots trampled the flowers. At the same time, tension gradually grew in the Prisoner Soldier’s heart.

 

‘This is a garden. Soon the Dark Mage will appear to punish the humans who trampled his garden…!’

 

He was so tense that even the former Slave Trader Prisoner Soldier who had scolded him earlier looked at him pitifully.

 

Several hours following the path made of flowers.

 

Though they discovered strange traces like tree roots with holes drilled through them along the way, the soldiers broke through the forest without major incident.

 

The Prisoner Soldier felt embarrassed, thinking his speculation had been wrong.

 

And not long after….

 

The Mage at the front who arrived before the cliff earnestly chanted spells. Then he shook his head and moved on.

 

A repetition of chanting spells and moving.

 

Time passed quickly, and the sky soon darkened. He, the other soldiers, and the spell-chanting Mage all grew tired.

 

Finally, just as the Knight leading the group was about to have the soldiers prepare camp.

 

“Found it!”

 

When the Mage who hadn’t given up and was still chanting spells let out a cheer, the Prisoner Soldier leaned forward from where he sat and looked toward where the sound came from.

 

There, in the bare wall where nothing had been just moments before, a large hole had appeared.

 

“A barrier, perhaps. It seems we’ve found the dungeon.”

 

The former Slave Trader Prisoner Soldier muttered. Right after that, the Prisoner Soldier felt his instincts warning him to flee immediately.

 

The Prisoner Soldier ignored his instinct’s warning.

 

He was already exhausted to the limit, and if he ran away now, it wouldn’t end with just feeling embarrassed like in the forest. The moment the soldiers caught him, he would obviously be executed.

 

“Dark Mage Sevian! I have come to deliver our Lord’s message.”

 

The Knight shouted.

 

Then he waited for quite some time for an answer, but no voice came back. That’s what he thought.

 

“Tch. He must be away.”

“Didn’t the Lord say so himself? That he couldn’t be certain whether he’d be in the dungeon or not.”

“Just in case, let’s explore the interior. Hey! Get up!”

 

The soldiers who had been resting while keeping watch grumbled as they got up from their positions. Just as they were about to enter the dungeon following behind the leading Knight and Mage.

 

A shadow flickered from inside the dungeon.

 

“…Earlier some Elf was causing a ruckus. Now it’s the Lord’s soldiers? Tch.”

“Are you Dark Mage Sevian? Our Lord’s…”

 

The Knight shouted.

 

“Not interested. Die.”

 

Magic Bombardment struck them. The Knights cried out in alarm and tried to dodge, but the soldiers behind them had no choice but to take the magic head-on.

 

In the blazing flames, the Prisoner Soldier thought as he died that he shouldn’t have ignored his instinctive warning.

 

In his falling vision, the image of a Mage walking out from the cave was reflected.

 

The image of a Mage with many arms attached, like a spider.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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