Let's say there are two sorcerers: A and B.
Sorcerer A is at early rank three, while Sorcerer B is at peak rank three.
They fought. Who do you think won? Sorcerer B, right? After all, they were at the peak of the rank.
But no. Sorcerer A emerged victorious.
Why?
Simple: sorcerer A had better mana control, which made their attacks more precise. In addition, they didn't waste any extra mana on the latent power of their spells. This superior control over mana was enough for them to defeat someone at a higher rank.
Now, it's a different story for enhancers.
Let's say there are two enhancers: A and B. Both are at rank three, one at early rank three and the other at peak rank three.
Both use swords.
They fought, and once again, A won!
Why?
Even though B was two stages higher, with a tougher, stronger body and better elemental affinity, they lost because A had far superior swordsmanship.
Such nuances can play a significant role in battles.
Take Mizuki, the prodigy with frightening talent. According to Haist, she could defeat a rank three enhancer swordsman in the early stage! That's without accounting for the mana and elemental powers of the enhancer—just pure skill.
Alright, let's move on from this.
I decided to try something new today. I would use
What would tracing its origin show me? A vision of my ancestor?
As the name suggests, "Trace Origin" allows me to trace the history of an object it's used on. For example, if I used it on a phone, I'd learn about the manufacturer and perhaps even see the factory in a video-like memory.
Previously, I tried it on a book in the mansion and saw how the words were written, letter by letter, by an old man.
'I hope this works…' I internally wished it would help me unlock the grimoire. I was getting tired of waiting.
I raised my hand, summoning the golden book.
It was the same as ever: golden, with the emblem of a radiant sun in the center, emanating faint heat. Nothing had changed about it.
Taking a deep breath, I placed my palm on the book and whispered:
"!!!"
Dizziness overcame me as the scene around me shifted. The vast blue skies and the grand manor vanished. In their place, I found myself staring at the back of a man clad in a priestly white robe with a pale yellow stole trailing behind him.
At that moment, the man was bowing toward something—or someone—I couldn't discern clearly.
We were inside a massive hall with towering white pillars and intricate decorations adorning the walls.
If I had to describe the place, I'd say it resembled the interior of a cathedral.
Hmm, this wasn't what I had expected.
Verdi had mentioned that authorities were created by ancient sorcerers or something similar. Was this scene related to that? It didn't seem like it.
The scene before me felt more like a ritual.
"#### ### ### !!"
Hmm? This language… I didn't recognize it.
I'd heard of another language called 'Arcana' used in the western continent, but I hadn't started learning it yet. The book I'd ordered to study it hadn't even arrived!
Oh, there was also that ancient magical language called 'Old Merlin.'
I couldn't understand a single word of what was being said. However, after the man spoke, he clasped his hands tightly against his chest and exclaimed, "### #### !"
A glowing emblem of a blazing sun descended from above and merged into what seemed to be the man's forehead.
'This…' Strange. I felt an inexplicable connection to that emblem. It was a type of bond I couldn't put into words.
Something about this was deeply unsettling, wasn't it?
As the emblem fused with the bowing man, the space around us grew brighter and hotter, reminiscent of the peak of summer. The radiance spread, swallowing everything in its path.
'This is bad!' A sinking feeling lodged itself in my chest.
I knew I had to act, but I didn't know how to escape.
"###### #### #### !!!"
"###### #### #### !!!"
The bowing man and that 'thing' or 'person' spoke in perfect unison. The blinding light intensified, growing brighter by the second.
'Get out!' My mind screamed. I clung to this thought, refusing to let any distractions seep in.
The light inched closer and closer, resembling the warm and beautiful rays of sunrise. Yet, my body felt no warmth from it—only coldness and death.
"Woosh!!"
I nearly toppled off the branch but managed to regain my balance just in time.
"Pant… Pant…" Somehow, I escaped before the light consumed me.
Sweat drenched my body as if I'd just run a marathon. My clothes clung uncomfortably to my skin.
"Drip…"
"Drip…"
Blood trickled from my nose onto the grass below.
'Oh? My nose is bleeding?' I wiped at it with my sleeve, but the bleeding persisted.
A sudden wave of fear gripped me.
I escaped with just a nosebleed and a mild headache—how fortunate.
What would have happened if that light swallowed me? I didn't even want to think about it.
"Unfortunately, I still couldn't unlock the grimoire."
A heavy sigh escaped me, laden with disappointment.
So much mystery surrounded me—my mother's origins, the grimoire, the royal family's schemes—and here I was, not even a rank one sorcerer yet, the weakest rank there was. It felt like peace would forever elude me until I unraveled these enigmas.
No, more accurately, I knew I wouldn't find peace until I solved them.
Alright, let's recap what I saw.
A sun emblem, a robed priest, a vast cathedral-like hall, and someone—or something.
Let's connect the dots. My first thought was the grimoire and the sun emblem.
Thanks to
"Hmm, they don't look very similar…" I muttered.
The sun emblem on the grimoire and the one from the vision didn't resemble each other at all.
But if there was no resemblance, why did I feel a connection to the emblem?
What I used was Trace Origin, a skill that reveals the history, purpose, or creation process of an object through its imprinted memories. From what I saw, the sun's light had some connection to either my grimoire or me. Otherwise, why would I feel that inexplicable familiarity?
Overthinking wouldn't solve anything, so I stopped trying to figure it out.
As the saying goes, "Excess effort leads to waste, not results."
"Arai, oh! Here you are."
"Interested in coming to the market with me?"
Mizuki appeared suddenly from behind the tree, inviting me to join her trip to the market.
Her sudden appearance still scared me, as always. Even after attempting to analyze her from afar using detection, I couldn't figure out why.
She was like a ghost, showing up and disappearing as she pleased. Even Father and Haist couldn't sense her presence.
I refused without hesitation. "No! I'm not interested."
I had mysteries to solve here!
"Don't be like that!" Mizuki laughed. Her eyes scanned me from head to toe, and she asked in a confused tone, "Why are you so sweaty? And what's with your nose?"
"Your daily training session is already over!"
"Wait! Don't tell me you've been training secretly? Uncle Haist will be thrilled to hear that!"
"No! Stop it!"
Secret training? Hell no! As if I'd ever do such a thing!
"Ahem. It's just… a little warm today…"
Feeling warm during the gentle spring weather? What a pathetic lie I just came up with.
Mizuki didn't seem interested in teasing me further. She returned to her initial topic. "Anyway, are you coming to the market with me? I'm going to buy some new dresses."
"As I said before, I'm not interested!"
This girl, why does she always want to drag me along whenever she wants to do something? It was the same back when she insisted on listening to bedtime stories from Mother years ago.
"Oh…" Mizuki's lips curled into a sly smile. "I heard from Father that…"
"That…?" Hmm, I suddenly had a bad feeling about her smile.
If I had to think of something Mizuki loved teasing me about, what would it be? No, don't tell me—
"That Princess Lilith is visiting for a short tea session soon, so we need to look our best. Especially you, considering you're, ahem, her fiancé…"
My face darkened as Mizuki finished her sentence.
At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to strangle that king.
Fiancée? The fact that I had one was something I'd forgotten—deliberately erased from my mind—until Mizuki reminded me just now.
"Why the gloomy face? Lilith is really sweet! I've decided: even if you don't want this, I'll personally make sure you marry her."
"Oh? Don't tell me you're too shy to meet your fiancée? Or should I say, your future wife~?"
My face grew darker with every word she said.
Lanovel, oh you… If you wanted to tie my family to the royal court or steal my authority, you had so many ways to do it. But why did you have to restrict my freedom like this? Don't you know stealing someone's freedom is a crime? The spirit of liberty might come after you for this!
I sighed in frustration. I couldn't change the situation unless I had something powerful enough to do so.
I could only hope for some random young master from a prestigious family to set his eyes on this "princess" and rescue me from this cage.
Come on, mysterious young master, I believe in you! Don't worry; I'll make sure to kill you later.
"Come on, hurry and change into something nice! We're leaving soon!"
"And fix that messy hair of yours!"
Mizuki took my silence as consent.
As always, my opinions held no weight against this older sister of mine.