"The guest has arrived?"
Guy, head of the Nerester family, looked up from scrutinizing the payment documents brought by Chamberlain.
Behind the glasses perched on the tip of his nose, one could see his narrowed eyes.
"Yes. That's correct."
"But? Couldn't you just bring him here?"
"There's a problem."
"A problem?"
Guy raised an eyebrow.
He was personally invited by the head of the family. Officially, he was one of the four dukes of the era, and privately, he was a friend of Sean.
But who could be causing trouble?
"The 'True Palace of Blue Fog' has been opened."
Only then did Guy's eyes widen slightly.
"Has the little old man stepped forward?"
"Yes."
"Huh!"
Guy let out a hollow laugh as if stunned.
Although it is not well known to the outside world, there were numerous beings who could be called 'monsters' in the Nerester family's senate.
However, the reason why these monsters, who had extremely eccentric temperaments, did not make much of a fuss was because there was a bigger monster holding them tightly.
Augustine Nerester.
To Guy, he had become a sort of grandfather figure.
Guy turned fifty-six this year, so he was already a 100-year-old monster.
Yet no one treated him as an old man lurking in the background.
No, it would be more accurate to say they couldn't.
Despite his age, he was still actively engaged in research, and the results he produced from time to time were considered groundbreaking in the field of household magic.
However, he has an eccentric personality and doesn't like dealing with people, so he rarely goes out in public.
Suddenly interested in Elric?
Guy burst out laughing as if he was dumbfounded.
"Looks like his illness must have worsened."
"What should we do? If something goes wrong...," the Chamberlain began but trailed off mid-sentence.
There was nothing shameful enough for a noble family if a formally invited guest were to be injured.
Moreover, he is the grandson of Usdun Melvinger, who is considered a hero in the magic world.
"That's not your concern."
While the Chamberlain's eyes widened slightly.
Click!
Guy narrowed his eyes slightly as he snapped shut the cap of his fountain pen after finishing the paperwork.
"A new Melvinger has arrived. Don't you think it's worth testing him out this time?"
***
Do you know what you are looking at? Or are you looking without knowing what it is?
For a brief moment, Elric pondered the question asked by the old man.
He couldn't quite grasp the meaning behind it.
‘Wait. This...?’
It seemed like he had sensed something with his mind’s eye, but did he really know what he was looking at?
Suddenly, that thought crossed his mind.
‘Well, there's no reason not to respond, right? Whatever I say would just give away information about me.’
Elric narrowed his eyes.
'If I were to be honest, I didn't do anything wrong. There's no reason to be interrogated. There's no need to be intimidated.’
Elric only felt pressured by the old man's voice because he was confused and trapped in a strange magic circle.
If one were to judge the fault, the problem primarily lay with the Nerester family for not guiding him properly.
Even if they accused him of peeking into their household magic, wouldn't the one who led him astray be more at fault initially?
Even if they made an issue out of it, they couldn't hold him responsible right away.
He is the head of the Melvinger family. In a sense, he stood on the same level as Guy Nerester.
‘Let's just ignore it.’
So Elric pretended not to hear and started walking.
[Hm! Could it be that you can't hear me? That couldn't be possible, right? The frequencies are definitely in tune, and... there's nothing wrong with the fog. Oh, oh. Can't you hear me? Hey?]
The voice of the unidentified old man continued to echo, but Elric was determined to put an iron plate on his face.
And then, he gathered mana heavily around his eyes.
Swish!
[No, that's not it. You certainly reacted to what I said... Could it be that you're ignoring this old man? If it's the bloodline of Melvinger, it might be possible... Hm?]
The world seen through the mind's eye began to take on more concrete form. The structures became denser, and finer details emerged one by one.
[Oh! Are you enhancing your vision? It seems like a lot of strength is going into your eyes...!]
“…【Obscure】.”
[Huh?]
In an instant, the fog surrounding Elric shifted abruptly, covering his body.
The owner of the voice seemed bewildered for the first time.
Surely, all the fog surrounding this place was controlled by his personal mana field, but it suddenly carried out a command that he had not given.
This made it impossible to observe Elric.
So, he tried to figure out what had happened.
[Hacking?]
He was greatly surprised to detect signs of external intrusion into his mana field.
"Could it be...?"
The owner of the voice spoke in a tone of complete disbelief.
Even if one had opened their mind's eye, it was not something just anyone could see through the composition so accurately and meticulously, then quickly analyze them to find weaknesses and even attempt counter-intrusion.
Of course, the modifications were very subtle, so calling it "hacking" was a stretch. It hadn't even disabled one of the eight layers of defense systems.
But the problem was that this was a magic circle created by himself, the foremost magician of the Nerester family.
The True Palace of Blue Fog was clearly the result of the voice’s long research.
So for a moment, the owner of the voice wondered if it wasn't Elric, but another guest who had breached the True Palace of Blue Fog.
And according to common sense, that seemed more plausible.
However...
[Fascinating... Looks like the child has done it.]
The owner of the voice somehow felt like Elric had pulled it off.
Though more evidence needed to be found, there was a strong sense that it was indeed him.
[Usdun. You passed away so quickly, but you seem to have left behind quite an interesting child. Haha. Well then.]
As the owner of the voice chuckled contentedly, completely unaware of where he was.
Step by step, Elric hurried through the fog, quickly maneuvering through it.
‘I can see.’
Not that he could see what lay ahead, but he could see the path.
The enigmatic magic circle was filled with tangled threads of energy, flowing like a turbulent river. Elric simply needed to step through the empty spaces between those threads.
The chuckling voice of the old man, which had been echoing until now, fell silent.
‘Mana here isn't simply confined to one attribute.’
And there, Elric glimpsed a new aspect of the magic held within the magic circle.
‘Wind may be bound to one attribute, but its changes are too unrestricted.’
‘It's not just about controlling concentration, but also about the change in entropy with altitude, and the flow of other elements that follows. Some aspects even mimic the butterfly effect.’
'The hot wind dries up the moisture on the ground and gathers water vapor.'
‘A gentle breeze condenses the vapor into fog.’
'Cold winds make the fog thicker, and strong winds blow through it, making the roads dizzy.'
'Depending on the intention of the caster, this fog can become a typhoon and sweep away everything.'
"Wind becomes an infinite natural force depending on how it's used, continuing through the recirculation of mana. Many spells naturally align with this flow like gears in a machine.’
‘So then.’
‘Could I not integrate this into my ice magic?’
‘If this magic circle manipulates water vapor using the wind attribute to create a maze, then conversely, could I not manipulate other attributes like wind or fire with ice magic?’
‘No, even without going as far as attributes... If I could rearrange the mana circulation from chanting to seal, I could reduce wasted entropy.’
‘First, by rearranging the coding in this sequence…’
Elric didn't know it, but the True Palace of Blue Fog was one of the most highly regarded magic circles in the Nerester family.
There were endless ideas that could be derived from there.
Comparing the mana flow within the True Palace of Blue Fog to a mana road, Elric substituted changes in wind with ice magic and replaced the spell chants with seals.
What Elric had done was to replicate the structure circuit and improve it to suit himself. The greatly reduced-scale True Palace of Blue Fog was seamlessly transplanted.
Of course, if you copy the same thing, problems may arise in the future, so he added dragon's knowledge and made corrections in a way that was not noticeable.
He altered the formula and removed unnecessary parts. Thus, it could be called the "True Palace of Cruelty."
Thanks to this, Elric was unaware, but the Seal of Cruelty was undergoing a transformation.
The mana rod, which had been inefficient until now, became efficient as it was rearranged, allowing more mana to smoothly permeate into the seal than before.
As mana seeped into every nook and cranny where mana had not yet reached, dormant functions awakened one by one.
The Seal of Cruelty shimmered with a dazzling white light, then slowly began to change. Its form became sharper, and a shape resembling eternal snow atop three mountains gradually emerged.
Five stars.
Although it couldn't be considered a complete five-star seal yet, it was the first moment the Seal of Cruelty had evolved, despite not being directly collected after the inheritance.
Of course, it was not yet a perfect five-star seal, but even this progress was significant given the path that had been cleared.
As the Seal of Cruelty shone brilliantly, a chilling cold emanated from it, and wisps of frosty vapor rose around Elric like a haze.
“......”
How far have I walked?
『vinger... Glacier... Terrain!』
Mephisto's voice started to become faintly audible.
And then, abruptly, the seemingly endless fog vanished in an instant.
"Where the hell have you been appearing from?!" Mephisto suddenly noticed Elric and started hopping in place.
Elric, too, stopped transplanting the True Palace of Cruelty at that moment and snapped back to reality.
"Hah!"
He couldn't help but smile at the changes in his own body.
"It feels good."
Then, Mephisto, with horns protruding from his head, appeared.
Laughter bubbled up involuntarily.
"Were you worried?"
"What, worried?! If you completely disappear, wouldn't that mean the King's revival becomes impossible?! That's why I was looking for you!"
Mephisto shouted angrily, his face turning reddish, then belatedly noticed Elric's transformation, his eyes widening in surprise.
"But you...?"
"Yes. It's become five-star. Looks like you were completely out of the loop here?"
"Unbelievable!"
Mephisto, despite being accustomed to the high-level magic formations surrounding the Nereista Family, was quite astonished. He never thought that someone would suddenly steal one of them and make such rapid progress.
Even for a member of the Merving Family, this was beyond expectation.
He wondered how bewildered the original owner of the stolen formation would be once they found out.
"Where did you go in the meantime...!"
Suddenly, Sean also noticed Elric, approaching with a stern expression, only to stop abruptly in his tracks.
Thud!
Ice crystals suddenly poured around Elric, causing Sean to halt in his approach.
The water vapor frozen in the cold emitted by the seal within the mist.
And...
Whish!
Sean hardened his expression as he saw the surging white aura above Elric's body.
"You... Have you actually achieved a 6th circle?"
"The guest has arrived?"
Guy, head of the Nerester family, looked up from scrutinizing the payment documents brought by Chamberlain.
Behind the glasses perched on the tip of his nose, one could see his narrowed eyes.
"Yes. That's correct."
"But? Couldn't you just bring him here?"
"There's a problem."
"A problem?"
Guy raised an eyebrow.
He was personally invited by the head of the family. Officially, he was one of the four dukes of the era, and privately, he was a friend of Sean.
But who could be causing trouble?
"The 'True Palace of Blue Fog' has been opened."
Only then did Guy's eyes widen slightly.
"Has the little old man stepped forward?"
"Yes."
"Huh!"
Guy let out a hollow laugh as if stunned.
Although it is not well known to the outside world, there were numerous beings who could be called 'monsters' in the Nerester family's senate.
However, the reason why these monsters, who had extremely eccentric temperaments, did not make much of a fuss was because there was a bigger monster holding them tightly.
Augustine Nerester.
To Guy, he had become a sort of grandfather figure.
Guy turned fifty-six this year, so he was already a 100-year-old monster.
Yet no one treated him as an old man lurking in the background.
No, it would be more accurate to say they couldn't.
Despite his age, he was still actively engaged in research, and the results he produced from time to time were considered groundbreaking in the field of household magic.
However, he has an eccentric personality and doesn't like dealing with people, so he rarely goes out in public.
Suddenly interested in Elric?
Guy burst out laughing as if he was dumbfounded.
"Looks like his illness must have worsened."
"What should we do? If something goes wrong...," the Chamberlain began but trailed off mid-sentence.
There was nothing shameful enough for a noble family if a formally invited guest were to be injured.
Moreover, he is the grandson of Usdun Melvinger, who is considered a hero in the magic world.
"That's not your concern."
While the Chamberlain's eyes widened slightly.
Click!
Guy narrowed his eyes slightly as he snapped shut the cap of his fountain pen after finishing the paperwork.
"A new Melvinger has arrived. Don't you think it's worth testing him out this time?"
***
Do you know what you are looking at? Or are you looking without knowing what it is?
For a brief moment, Elric pondered the question asked by the old man.
He couldn't quite grasp the meaning behind it.
‘Wait. This...?’
It seemed like he had sensed something with his mind’s eye, but did he really know what he was looking at?
Suddenly, that thought crossed his mind.
‘Well, there's no reason not to respond, right? Whatever I say would just give away information about me.’
Elric narrowed his eyes.
'If I were to be honest, I didn't do anything wrong. There's no reason to be interrogated. There's no need to be intimidated.’
Elric only felt pressured by the old man's voice because he was confused and trapped in a strange magic circle.
If one were to judge the fault, the problem primarily lay with the Nerester family for not guiding him properly.
Even if they accused him of peeking into their household magic, wouldn't the one who led him astray be more at fault initially?
Even if they made an issue out of it, they couldn't hold him responsible right away.
He is the head of the Melvinger family. In a sense, he stood on the same level as Guy Nerester.
‘Let's just ignore it.’
So Elric pretended not to hear and started walking.
[Hm! Could it be that you can't hear me? That couldn't be possible, right? The frequencies are definitely in tune, and... there's nothing wrong with the fog. Oh, oh. Can't you hear me? Hey?]
The voice of the unidentified old man continued to echo, but Elric was determined to put an iron plate on his face.
And then, he gathered mana heavily around his eyes.
Swish!
[No, that's not it. You certainly reacted to what I said... Could it be that you're ignoring this old man? If it's the bloodline of Melvinger, it might be possible... Hm?]
The world seen through the mind's eye began to take on more concrete form. The structures became denser, and finer details emerged one by one.
[Oh! Are you enhancing your vision? It seems like a lot of strength is going into your eyes...!]
“…【Obscure】.”
[Huh?]
In an instant, the fog surrounding Elric shifted abruptly, covering his body.
The owner of the voice seemed bewildered for the first time.
Surely, all the fog surrounding this place was controlled by his personal mana field, but it suddenly carried out a command that he had not given.
This made it impossible to observe Elric.
So, he tried to figure out what had happened.
[Hacking?]
He was greatly surprised to detect signs of external intrusion into his mana field.
"Could it be...?"
The owner of the voice spoke in a tone of complete disbelief.
Even if one had opened their mind's eye, it was not something just anyone could see through the composition so accurately and meticulously, then quickly analyze them to find weaknesses and even attempt counter-intrusion.
Of course, the modifications were very subtle, so calling it "hacking" was a stretch. It hadn't even disabled one of the eight layers of defense systems.
But the problem was that this was a magic circle created by himself, the foremost magician of the Nerester family.
The True Palace of Blue Fog was clearly the result of the voice’s long research.
So for a moment, the owner of the voice wondered if it wasn't Elric, but another guest who had breached the True Palace of Blue Fog.
And according to common sense, that seemed more plausible.
However...
[Fascinating... Looks like the child has done it.]
The owner of the voice somehow felt like Elric had pulled it off.
Though more evidence needed to be found, there was a strong sense that it was indeed him.
[Usdun. You passed away so quickly, but you seem to have left behind quite an interesting child. Haha. Well then.]
As the owner of the voice chuckled contentedly, completely unaware of where he was.
Step by step, Elric hurried through the fog, quickly maneuvering through it.
‘I can see.’
Not that he could see what lay ahead, but he could see the path.
The enigmatic magic circle was filled with tangled threads of energy, flowing like a turbulent river. Elric simply needed to step through the empty spaces between those threads.
The chuckling voice of the old man, which had been echoing until now, fell silent.
‘Mana here isn't simply confined to one attribute.’
And there, Elric glimpsed a new aspect of the magic held within the magic circle.
‘Wind may be bound to one attribute, but its changes are too unrestricted.’
‘It's not just about controlling concentration, but also about the change in entropy with altitude, and the flow of other elements that follows. Some aspects even mimic the butterfly effect.’
'The hot wind dries up the moisture on the ground and gathers water vapor.'
‘A gentle breeze condenses the vapor into fog.’
'Cold winds make the fog thicker, and strong winds blow through it, making the roads dizzy.'
'Depending on the intention of the caster, this fog can become a typhoon and sweep away everything.'
"Wind becomes an infinite natural force depending on how it's used, continuing through the recirculation of mana. Many spells naturally align with this flow like gears in a machine.’
‘So then.’
‘Could I not integrate this into my ice magic?’
‘If this magic circle manipulates water vapor using the wind attribute to create a maze, then conversely, could I not manipulate other attributes like wind or fire with ice magic?’
‘No, even without going as far as attributes... If I could rearrange the mana circulation from chanting to seal, I could reduce wasted entropy.’
‘First, by rearranging the coding in this sequence…’
Elric didn't know it, but the True Palace of Blue Fog was one of the most highly regarded magic circles in the Nerester family.
There were endless ideas that could be derived from there.
Comparing the mana flow within the True Palace of Blue Fog to a mana road, Elric substituted changes in wind with ice magic and replaced the spell chants with seals.
What Elric had done was to replicate the structure circuit and improve it to suit himself. The greatly reduced-scale True Palace of Blue Fog was seamlessly transplanted.
Of course, if you copy the same thing, problems may arise in the future, so he added dragon's knowledge and made corrections in a way that was not noticeable.
He altered the formula and removed unnecessary parts. Thus, it could be called the "True Palace of Cruelty."
Thanks to this, Elric was unaware, but the Seal of Cruelty was undergoing a transformation.
The mana rod, which had been inefficient until now, became efficient as it was rearranged, allowing more mana to smoothly permeate into the seal than before.
As mana seeped into every nook and cranny where mana had not yet reached, dormant functions awakened one by one.
The Seal of Cruelty shimmered with a dazzling white light, then slowly began to change. Its form became sharper, and a shape resembling eternal snow atop three mountains gradually emerged.
Five stars.
Although it couldn't be considered a complete five-star seal yet, it was the first moment the Seal of Cruelty had evolved, despite not being directly collected after the inheritance.
Of course, it was not yet a perfect five-star seal, but even this progress was significant given the path that had been cleared.
As the Seal of Cruelty shone brilliantly, a chilling cold emanated from it, and wisps of frosty vapor rose around Elric like a haze.
“......”
How far have I walked?
『vinger... Glacier... Terrain!』
Mephisto's voice started to become faintly audible.
And then, abruptly, the seemingly endless fog vanished in an instant.
"Where the hell have you been appearing from?!" Mephisto suddenly noticed Elric and started hopping in place.
Elric, too, stopped transplanting the True Palace of Cruelty at that moment and snapped back to reality.
"Hah!"
He couldn't help but smile at the changes in his own body.
"It feels good."
Then, Mephisto, with horns protruding from his head, appeared.
Laughter bubbled up involuntarily.
"Were you worried?"
"What, worried?! If you completely disappear, wouldn't that mean the King's revival becomes impossible?! That's why I was looking for you!"
Mephisto shouted angrily, his face turning reddish, then belatedly noticed Elric's transformation, his eyes widening in surprise.
"But you...?"
"Yes. It's become five-star. Looks like you were completely out of the loop here?"
"Unbelievable!"
Mephisto, despite being accustomed to the high-level magic formations surrounding the Nereista Family, was quite astonished. He never thought that someone would suddenly steal one of them and make such rapid progress.
Even for a member of the Merving Family, this was beyond expectation.
He wondered how bewildered the original owner of the stolen formation would be once they found out.
"Where did you go in the meantime...!"
Suddenly, Sean also noticed Elric, approaching with a stern expression, only to stop abruptly in his tracks.
Thud!
Ice crystals suddenly poured around Elric, causing Sean to halt in his approach.
The water vapor frozen in the cold emitted by the seal within the mist.
And...
Whish!
Sean hardened his expression as he saw the surging white aura above Elric's body.
"You... Have you actually achieved a 6th circle?"
