BCST 21

When the elevator doors opened, the first thing I saw was a thin-built old man.

He wore a heavy, dignified fur coat and had his eyes covered with a strip of black cloth. He walked slowly toward us.

Tap.

Tap.

Even though his eyes seemed blind, his steps were precise.

Each step was light, but every time he moved, a heavy presence filled the room.

Is this the fifth-tier black mage?

My gaze, from where I sat on the sofa, automatically tried to gauge the old man’s level.

It might seem insane to think about fighting the moment I see someone, but with the kind of aura he gave off, I couldn’t help it.

And the result?

…This is a loss.

Facing a third-tier like Tulon Goksel didn’t feel that difficult, but the author — no, this man — was different.

I confirmed that now.

Even a black mage at the fifth tier was clearly someone I couldn’t easily approach.

Meanwhile, the old man moved to the area where I and the Aires family were seated.

Mr. Aires stared at the old man blankly, then hurriedly stood and greeted him.

“W-welcome, Teacher Bajir! Please sit here.”

Surprisingly, Mr. Aires gave up the seat of honor where he had been sitting.

If you knew how he usually acted, this would be startling.

But Bajir — as he was called — sat in that seat as if it were his own.

At that moment, something brushed past Aria and me.

It felt like someone had scanned me.

But that man had his eyes covered, didn’t he?

Then—

Creak.

As Bajir sat, he naturally pulled the chair toward him.

In other words, he pulled it the exact opposite way from me.

…What the hell is this?

What’s happening?

Did I do something just now?

I was baffled, but Bajir quietly turned his head toward Mr. Aires and spoke.

“It’s been a while, Lucas. You’re already in your fifties. Time certainly flies.”

“You’re in the prime of your productivity. Teacher Bajir, you still look fit, ha-ha.”

Lucas — that was his name?

Mr. Aires exchanged a few light greetings with the old man, then introduced Aria.

“This is my daughter. Aria, greet the person who will be your teacher.”

Aria bowed politely to the man called Bajir.

“Teacher Bajir Kairnel, it’s an honor to meet you. My name is Aria. I still have much to learn, but I’m confident that my passion and diligence won’t fall short of anyone’s. If Bajir-nim would guide me, I hope one day to be a student worthy of that reputation. If you permit me to learn, I will devote everything to my efforts. Please take care of me.”

“Heh.”

The old man let out a short laugh at the long speech.

Mr. Aires, looking a little embarrassed, added an explanation.

“Raising her alone without her mother made her pick up a slightly odd way of speaking. Growing a company in my generation had limits, so I tried to give Aria books and various educations for the future.”

So that’s why her way of speaking is like that?

In an age when mega-corps dominate cities, no matter how talented one is, it became impossible for a single generation to lift a company to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

Mega-corps are built from generations of those who rose before.

So Mr. Aires must have exposed Aria to higher-class influences from early on for her future.

But this kind of thing still existed in my time too, just on a different scale.

I was a little surprised that Mr. Aires himself was aware of his daughter’s peculiar manner of speaking.

Meanwhile Mr. Aires pointed at me and began introducing me.

“And this is the problem solver who helped us this time, Eddie — a third-tier black mage.”

“Hmm…”

The old man hummed lowly.

When I saw that, it became clear the old man had accurately gauged my rank.

Of course — he’d noticed immediately.

Even the third-tier Tulon had realized I was rank one the moment he saw me.

So there was no way this fifth-tier man wouldn’t notice.

I stared at the old man, waiting for his words, but his silence dragged on longer than I expected.

“…….”

“Sir, is something the matter…?” Mr. Aires asked.

Still the old man remained motionless.

At that point, the atmosphere started to feel strange.

I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?”

Finally, unable to hold back, I spoke first.

If he had something to say, just say it, damn it.

“No — you! What a way to speak to Teacher Bajir!” Mr. Aires exclaimed in alarm.

“…No, it’s nothing,” the old man answered me.

In honorifics.

“S-sir?!” Mr. Aires’ eyes widened and Aria covered her mouth with both hands.

In those shocked looks, I opened my mouth.

“Why the honorifics? Is this uncomfortable? Are you messing with me?”

I used informal speech because it was comfortable for me.

But him using formal speech made me a bit uneasy.

Bajir slowly shook his head at my words, then spoke.

“This is unavoidable… Once you acquire a certain level, black mages can no longer act caring only for themselves.”

“…I see.”

A lot was implied in that short reply, but I understood right away.

Black mages’ status depends on the entities they contract.

At higher ranks, they increasingly broaden the link with their contractors and focus on fully receiving their power.

They thus come closer to the higher-dimensional entities they contract with.

That leads to various consequences.

“You mean they have to consider the relationships between high-level entities as well.”

“Exactly. In that vast world, a black mage who thinks and acts only by their own standards won’t survive.”

Bajir answered me.

When you’re at a lower rank, you can act recklessly like you own the place because you’re far from your contractor.

You receive less power and therefore bear less responsibility.

But those like Bajir, above the fifth tier, can no longer carry out their actions as individuals alone.

Their every move begins to entangle the relationships of higher beings above them.

That’s why Bajir, though higher and stronger in rank than I, couldn’t treat me casually.

He could vaguely sense the “one” behind me.

I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

Tulon, a mere third-tier, had looked down on me because he felt nothing, but Bajir, who was of a much higher stage, understood more and so treated me more carefully.

So status matters here too.

I felt bitter about that, and yet being of high rank felt a little good — until I thought about why I was high rank and it sucked again.

As I climb in rank, the chance of being linked to that thing increases.

The mixture of feelings washed over me.

While I was lost in that, Bajir had explained to Aria and Mr. Aires what this meant, as if preparing to be a teacher.

“…So it’s like that.”

“Ho.”

Having heard the whole explanation, Mr. Aires’ eyes glinted with greed.

“You’ve apparently contracted an extraordinary deity. If you broker a bond between my daughter and that god even now…”

Just as his greed made him overstep.

Swoosh.

Aria gently covered her father’s hand.

“No, Father. I can’t handle that…”

Mr. Aires stared at his daughter blankly for a moment.

Then his expression calmed and he bowed to me in apology.

“I see. I’m sorry to you. And… I apologize to the teacher as well. I behaved shamefully after asking you to be my daughter’s mentor.”

Mr. Aires’s ears reddened with embarrassment at his greed.

Bajir chuckled, then said,

“It’s fine. I know your nature well.”

He meant he knew both the greed and the ability to apologize.

After that, Bajir turned toward me and spoke.

“By the way… It seems Lucas wanted to give our connection to your side, but that’s difficult.”

I answered him.

“Why?”

A connection with a fifth-tier black mage would be a great boon for me.

His breadth of knowledge and wisdom would surely be helpful.

But I had to agree with Bajir’s next words.

“At my age, I don’t want to get stuck between younger people and be watching their every mood…”

True. If I were in his position, I wouldn’t want that either.

He hadn’t received any outrageous favor from me.

He probably thought of it as fulfilling an old obligation: mentoring promising young talent as a courtesy.

But the reality was likely far different from his expectations.

Even if he might value a future relationship with me, Bajir didn’t seem to desire it much.

“However, for Lucas’ sake, I’ll give you this instead…”

Bajir then handed over an old book.

Come to think of it, he had said he would bring something from outside the barrier, hadn’t he?

Could this be a U.M…?

At that moment, the system window suddenly flashed before my eyes.

Flash!

[Zhan’s Basic Book of Dark Magic]

An introductory grimoire to basic dark magic.

*Completing it grants 2 ability points.

Not what I thought.

I almost got surprised.

I calmed myself and took the grimoire in my hands. Bajir began to speak slowly.

“It’s a grimoire describing the basics of dark magic… At a certain level, many black mages don’t just use the magic their contractors give them as-is; they begin to understand and modify it. Whereas regular mages awaken mana and study theory to cast magic, black mages receive complete spells from their contractors. Because of that, many black magics are cast out of a kind of misunderstanding. Like Tulon, who kept being astonished by my spells. But when you rise in rank, that’s no longer the case.”

“…Of course, I presume you’re already competent.”

Fifth-tier is terrifying.

How far can they see?

At that moment, a voice quietly rang in my ear, audible only to me.

[And… from now on, try to conceal what you have to some extent. It also contains notes about him.]

I looked toward Bajir, but his eyes were hidden by the black cloth, blocking my view.

[Consider it a stroke of luck that your family hasn’t yet noticed. Honestly, if not for my connection with Mr. Aires…]

The rest of the sentence blurred, but I could infer what Bajir meant.

Yeah, he meant they might have wanted to kill me.

Because I looked too dangerous.

I see.

This was definitely useful advice.

If a fifth-tier like Bajir noticed to this extent, the family would naturally be aware too.

Until now I’d been ignoring it because I had no way to deal with it, but it was clearly a major danger.

I stared at Zhan’s grimoire in my hands, thinking.

Then, Bajir’s voice sounded in my head one last time, a warning that resonated.

[Be sure — be careful of the family.]