TRPM 102

chapter 102

Alex was able to gain much more information than he expected through his conversation with Yeon Mirae.

[(You said Lovei—meaning the power that makes up Fenrir—felt more like aura and some mysterious energy than pure mana, right? That’s correct. I can’t go into details, but when the contract with Fenrir was formed, it wasn’t just mana—it involved several different types of power.)]

Even if Alex wasn’t a villain, there were certain facts Yeon Mirae could never reveal.

Such as the truth about that mysterious energy.

Or that Lee Ha-eun wasn’t just a simple mage, but a multi-talented individual who could also use aura.

[(If we hadn’t made those modifications, Ha-eun wouldn’t have had enough mana to sustain it.)]

Still, Alex drew inspiration from what she told him.

‘(Yes… It would be impossible to summon and maintain a familiar on the level of a dragon or Fenrir with pure mana alone.)’

The stronger the familiar, the more mana it consumed just to be maintained.

Yet Lee Ha-eun showed no signs of fatigue even while keeping Lovei summoned.

Even when Lovei manifested not as a puppy but in Fenrir’s true form.

Even for a grand mage, maintaining Fenrir’s form should have consumed a significant amount of mana….

‘(To minimize mana consumption, she must have been using aura and that unidentified energy together…!)’

It was common knowledge that mixing different kinds of energy—like aura and mana—led to rejection, never blending smoothly.

But what Alex had witnessed in Lovei was different.

Aura and that unknown energy harmonized perfectly.

‘(If different energies could resonate instead of repelling each other, wouldn’t they amplify one another?)’

That was the conclusion Alex reached.

The truth was quite different, but at least Alex was convinced that this was how Fenrir could be sustained with such little mana.

So he immediately began considering how to research and draw a new magic circle….

“(Mr. Alex? The bell just rang.)”
“(Ah, thank you for letting me know.)”

First, he had to fulfill his duties as a teacher.

There was no need to rush.

Unlike before, when he had no leads, he now had a general idea of how to create the summoning contract circle he wanted.

Of course, completing such a circle would still take time.

‘If only I could see the magic circle directly….’

“Mr. Alex?”
“Yes.”

Yeon Mirae didn’t hide what had happened with Alex and told me everything.

Hearing her words, I couldn’t help but feel surprised inside.

‘…I knew he had realized Lovei’s true identity as Fenrir, but he even sensed aura and inner energy?’

The difference between aura and mana is immense.

But that’s only obvious to someone like me, who has an exceptional sense and has studied both in depth….

Ordinary people can’t clearly distinguish between mana and aura.

In fact, when Lee Ha-eun first awakened, it was the same.

[Government agencies tested Lee Ha-eun and declared her an awakened ability user with magic power.]
[The problem was, they never discovered that she had awakened aura abilities as well.]
[If she had been tested with the Association’s state-of-the-art equipment, they might have known. But with just the local district office’s machines, all they could see was “energy gathering in the heart.”]

Even with dedicated equipment, unless it was the very latest, it couldn’t reliably separate mana from aura.

After all, the nature of both varies from person to person.

They could only guess based on where the energy gathered—heart, brain, etc.

‘And even the latest equipment that can distinguish mana from aura has trouble recognizing inner energy.’

This wasn’t just because inner energy superficially resembled aura.

Despite all the spells I had cast using inner energy, no one had ever traced it back to me.

‘That’s because if I deliberately hide it, no one can sense my inner energy.’

Whenever I used inner energy for word-spells, I hid its presence to make it seem like an unknown force rather than my own power.

Of course, the inner energy I infused into Lovei was concealed as well.

At the very least, the fact that my energy was inner energy, not aura, must never be discovered.

Not for myself, but for the people around me—especially my mother.

‘And yet he sensed it?’

Yeon Mirae and I had met many aura users, grand mages, powerful psychics, and elementalists of high caliber.

Mirae mostly while working for the Ironblood Guild.
And me, mostly through my activities as the Artist.

Among all those powerful people, only one had ever realized the energy I used wasn’t aura.

And that wasn’t even a person—
It was Arthur, a doll with abnormal analytical ability.

‘Wait, didn’t Mirae also sense it the very first time we met?’

But that was only because I had deliberately revealed my inner energy back then.

Still, the important part was that Alex had managed to recognize my carefully hidden inner energy.

He even noticed it wasn’t aura, but some other kind of power.

Though he seemed not to know its exact nature.

‘…Troublesome.’

Alex wasn’t a bad man.

On the contrary, he was rather kind.

But when it came to matters involving dragons, he pursued his goals by any means available, as long as they weren’t outright illegal.

Given that, there was always the risk he might spread what he had learned—whether intentionally or carelessly.

‘Or he might let it slip over drinks with friends.’

Apparently Mirae had warned him not to tell anyone about Fenrir, but the very act of saying “keep it secret” often makes people want to talk more.

And with alcohol clouding his judgment, he could blurt it out without realizing.

“…Did I do something wrong?”

Noticing my serious expression, Mirae asked with a hardened look.

I lightly shook my head.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Once Mr. Alex sensed inner energy in Lovei, this was inevitable.”

Still, I needed to prepare a countermeasure.

Mirae had done her best to muzzle him, and just knowing about some “unknown energy” wasn’t enough to connect it to the existence of the world’s only martial artists.

So it wasn’t urgent—for now.

But there was no guarantee the secret would remain safe in the future.

‘The fastest way would be silencing him with threats….’

Of course, killing him was out of the question.

Even threats were only a short-term solution, never good in the long run.

Fear always fades with time.

And since Alex hadn’t actually done anything wrong, it felt unjust to resort to intimidation.

The next option that came to mind was…

‘A prohibition curse.’

I thought of binding him with a prohibition so he physically couldn’t speak about the energy he sensed in Lovei.

But that wouldn’t be easy.

A prohibition only works if the target gains some benefit from keeping the forbidden rule.

It could be something small, like avoiding misfortune—or something large, like gaining great power.

‘And above all, both caster and recipient must agree to it.’

Meaning: to place a prohibition on Alex, I’d need to give him something in return.

‘…I’ll have to make him an offer he can’t refuse.’

A few days later.

Through Lee Ha-eun, Alex received Mirae’s message.

She wanted him to come to the Ironblood Guild after school.

‘(But after work I’m busy reworking the magic circle….)’

Still, a mere mage couldn’t ignore the summons of an aura master.

At least he didn’t think it would be anything bad.

The last time he’d met Mirae, she had been friendly.

It was unlikely her attitude had suddenly changed after just a few days.

‘(But what could she want?)’

At first, he thought maybe she wanted to ask about Ha-eun and Han Geon-woo’s school life, like before….

‘(But if that were the case, she would have called their homeroom teacher, not me.)’

After all, he only taught them two hours a week.

If she really wanted to know about their school lives, she’d have asked the teacher who saw them every day.

So Alex entered the Ironblood Guild with nervous tension.

“What brings you here?”
“(Ah… um… Ms. Mirae asked me to come to the Guild today.)”

Speaking awkward Korean, Alex explained to the receptionist.

The staff, seemingly informed beforehand, handed him a visitor’s pass and told him Mirae’s office number.

“Take the elevator to the top floor.”
“Thank you.”

Alex followed the directions and entered the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor.

“(Phew….)”

Even though it wasn’t a job interview, he couldn’t help sighing nervously.

Given who he was about to meet, his tension was natural.

‘(Thinking back now… I actually thought I could spy on Mirae, didn’t I?)’

He shook his head at himself as the elevator doors opened.

Finding the office, he swallowed hard and opened the door.

“(You’re here? Please, come in.)”

Mirae stood waiting inside.

“(Ah, yes.)”

Entering, Alex noticed another guest seated on a small sofa, watching him and Mirae.

“(Please, sit.)”

Mirae guided Alex to a seat, then stood behind the other person on the sofa.

“(…?)”

Alex found the arrangement strange.

It was almost as if Mirae were acting like this person’s aide or attendant….

“(!)”
“(He realized my identity?)”

The man’s face was obscured.

But considering the rumors about Mirae’s connection to a certain figure, Alex quickly guessed.

“(Could it be… Artist?)”
“(Correct.)”

Alex felt goosebumps all over his body.

Artist.

The one responsible for saving Korea alone during a global disaster years ago.

The one who hunted down numerous criminals across the nation.

Most of all—

“(The world’s… strongest….)”

The most likely candidate for the title of World’s Strongest.

“(Enough about me. Today, I want to talk about you.)”
“(…Sir?)”

Artist spoke, watching Alex’s reaction.

“(Alex, you’ve stumbled onto some very dangerous information.)”
“(…!)”

Dangerous information?

Was this going to be like in the movies, where they say “You know too much” and then kill you…?

“(I will place a prohibition on you.)”
“(Ahh….)”
“(?)”

Alex let out a sigh of relief, confusing Artist.

“(Of course, there will be a price. I’ll give you what you most desire in return.)”
“(What I most desire?)”
“(Yes.)”

A familiar contract circle capable of summoning a dragon.

“(Please, place the prohibition on me!)”
“(……)”

The moment Alex heard what he would receive, he accepted the deal without hesitation.

Though Artist had expected such a reaction, he still fell silent, momentarily dumbfounded.

While pondering how to silence Alex, Han Geon-woo had thought:

Fear always fades with time.

And here was someone in whom fear had already faded—replaced with other schemes.

“Yeah. Once this job is done, I’m leaving Korea. Plenty of countries would be willing to take in someone of my level.”

He was preparing for something big.

“With that much chaos, even Artist won’t have the luxury to chase me.”

His plan was to shake not just Seoul, but perhaps all of Korea.

Then Artist would be too busy defending the nation to pursue him overseas.

“Yes. Make the preparations.”

He ended the call, grinning as he growled in amusement.

This man had once bowed to Artist and fallen under the Ironblood Guild’s control.

The Guildmaster of White Wolf—Kim Baek-rang.