NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3 - Episode 1: Magic (2)
Chapter 3 – Episode 1: Magic (2)
‘What an impudent brat.’
Im Jun-gyu clutched a handful of dirt as he approached Zhuge Hyeonmong.
He planned to secretly sprinkle it into the water bucket that Zhuge Hyeonmong had just carried back.
Naturally, this would force Zhuge Hyeonmong to go back for more water, and his tardiness would likely cause his father, Im Chung, to view him with a hint of disappointment.
Even if he returned sooner than expected, Im Jungyu could at least ensure he’d have to skip breakfast.
‘That’s exactly the kind of expression someone would make with those thoughts.’
Zhuge Hyeonmong could see right through Im Jun-gyu’s mind.
‘What should I do?’
Countless options appeared and disappeared in rapid succession.
He could simply sidestep him.
Or perhaps pretend to trip and splash water on Im Jun-gyu.
‘Or maybe… hm?’
At that moment, a peculiar sensation pierced through Zhuge Hyeonmong’s consciousness. As his mana became denser, his senses grew remarkably clear. His senses merged with the wavelength of mana emanating from the Ring.
That mana wavelength soon became his domain.
Within that domain, Zhuge Hyeonmong experienced a strange feeling, an overwhelming sense of omnipotence, as if he had become a god who could do anything.
In that moment of realization, he decided on his course of action.
‘You’re about to have a very unfortunate experience.’
Since Im Jungyu had approached with the intent to make a fool of him, he deserved at least this much embarrassment.
Just as Im Jun-gyu took another step, Zhuge Hyeonmong lightly flicked the twig and a mound of dirt rose up. It wasn’t just any dirt mound. It was hardened and compressed by mana.
“Ugh!?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected obstacle, Im Jungyu instantly lost his balance.
His clenched fist involuntarily opened, scattering dirt into the air.
Zhuge Hyeonmong flicked the twig again.
Whoosh!
He split the mana in half, and then in half again.
He divided it into the smallest possible units, and each strand of the manifested magic guided the handful of dirt scattered by Im Jun-gyu to a single point.
“Aaargh! My eyes! Cough, cough!”
Blinded and choked by the dirt clogging his eyes, nose, and mouth, Im Jun-gyu momentarily lost his senses.
‘Damn it, what rotten luck…!’
What a disgrace!
Unaware of Zhuge Hyeonmong’s actions, Jun-gyu attributed his misfortune to sheer bad luck.
Meanwhile, Zhuge Hyeonmong passed by Im Jun-gyu and poured the water he had just fetched into the water barrel.
Of course, not a single grain of dirt Im Jun-gyu had tried to scatter made it into the water.
“Damn it, get out of the way!” Covered in dust, Im Jun-gyu stumbled toward the water barrel. Since he hadn’t had the chance to snatch Zhuge Hyeonmong’s water bucket, he intended to rinse his face with water from the cart.
And that’s when it happened.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
A frigid voice stopped Im Jun-gyu in his tracks.
The owner of the cold voice was the chief of the escort agency, Im Chung.
“What happened to your face? And why are you approaching the water container looking like that?”
“Th-that’s…”
“That’s what? Speak.”
Im Jun-gyu was speechless.
He couldn’t very well say that he had ended up like this while trying to make a fool of Zhuge Hyeonmong.
Besides, he had caused the commotion all by himself.
In the end, Im Jun-gyu had to head to the stream under Im Chung’s stern command. Of course, being late to the meeting time earned him even more disapproving looks.
Watching this scene, Zhuge Hyeonmong came to one realization.
‘Perhaps this is even more incredible than I thought.’
It is said that in martial arts, when one reaches the highest level, they attain the realm of the Immortals.
Perhaps what he had gained in his dream was a study comparable to that.
He had read similar stories in miscellaneous books, about how one could feel such omnipotence when mastering martial arts.
Suddenly, he felt a thirst for knowledge.
‘I want to know more. I want to feel more.’
Just creating a little wind and hardening dirt to make stumbling blocks wasn’t enough.
Laurent possessed seven Rings.
If a single Ring granted such mystical abilities, how much more could be achieved with seven?
The moment he thought of this, Zhuge Hyeonmong unconsciously set his goal.
‘Magic (魔法).’
This would be the translation of the name of this study he learned in his dream.
Though the character for ‘ma’ (魔) was slightly concerning, he could accept it if he thought of it as controlling demons rather than being controlled by them.
Since he wasn’t going to openly reveal it anyway, it didn’t matter if it was called magic or divine arts.
After thinking about the name for a while, Zhuge Hyeonmong suddenly recalled something.
‘I need to write this down.’
Laurent had taught Allen not only how to make Rings but also knowledge about magic, so he could use them immediately after making the Rings.
Naturally, Zhuge Hyeonmong had learned this too. But, unlike Allen, he understood and grasped the content immediately upon hearing it.
But there was a problem.
‘I cannot embody this enlightenment in language.’
Just like how one knows how to move their limbs naturally but can’t explain it precisely. He understood, wielded, and even applied magic, yet he couldn’t properly verbalize it.
If he didn’t organize it now, he might encounter unexpected problems when he reached a higher level later on.
He needed to systematically organize it from the basics.
As Zhuge Hyeonmong thought this, his eyes fell upon a middle-aged man.
The man was using the rest time to unwrap his bundle and take out some books.
He wasn’t exactly resting.
He handled the books with an air of urgency, dusting and examining them as if every moment were precious.
He wasn’t a member of the escort agency.
Escort parties weren’t solely comprised of guards and porters.
Given the nature of escort agencies, which made a living by traveling between counties, there were often a significant number of merchants and civilians accompanying the party.
This was beneficial for the agency too, as they could earn additional income with just a bit more effort, and having more people made them more secure against wild animal or bandit attacks, creating a kind of symbiotic relationship.
“Excuse me, sir.”
“Hmm?”
The middle-aged man who was busy dusting off books turned his head at Zhuge Hyeonmong’s approach.
“What is it? You look like one of the guild members resting by the cart.”
“I’m not a guard. I’m Zhuge Hyeonmong, a scribe working for the Great Dragon Escort Agency.”
“Zhuge? Could you be…”
“Ah, I’m from a branch family, so I don’t have much connection to the main Zhuge Family.”
“I-I see.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong tilted his head.
The man’s attitude seemed strange for some reason.
“Is something the matter?”
“Well, I’ve heard the Zhuge Family has many rare books.”
“Rare books, you say?”
“Mmm.”
The middle-aged man nodded.
“You probably know better, but the Zhuge Family is more famous as a scholarly family. Among the books passed down since Zhuge Liang, there are many that aren’t available to the public. Among us literati, there are many whose dream is to enter the Zhuge family’s library before they die.”
“Ah, I see.”
The Zhuge Family’s library.
“I’ve talked too much. I’m Seo Chung. What brings you here?”
“Ah, nothing special. You just seemed to be working hard at something, so I was curious.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong’s words weren’t just empty talk.
Seo Chung kept taking out books, opening them, dusting them off, and looking through them whenever they rested during the transport.
“Ah, you mean this? It’s nothing special, just dealing with bookworms.”
“Bookworms?”
“Yes. I brought lots of books to exchange during this transport, but there must have been poor management as they’re infested with bookworms. When I noticed, they had already spread. The weather in Sichuan is hot and humid, and the sun doesn’t come out well, making it perfect for bookworms.”
“Ah.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong nodded.
His father was a scholar.
Though he never achieved any significant official position and had to give up his ambitions, Zhuge Hyeonmong remembered how his father used to enjoy reading books and occasionally unbinding them to dry in the sun on nice days.
“Of all times, I discovered this during transport. I’ve been checking whenever I have time.”
“Couldn’t you do this after the transport is finished? I know bookworms like books, but they won’t eat through them that quickly.”
“That’s true. But some of these books are hard to come by, and… Just as a grain of sand can pile up into something unmanageable, small damage can become irreparable over time.”
As he spoke, Seo Chung’s face showed the distinctive loving expression of someone who truly cherished books.
“…Would it be alright if I helped?”
“You?”
“Yes. My father was a scholar. If you lend me some books, I can look through them and deal with the bookworms.”
“Hmm. I’m sorry, but…”
“You don’t need to be.”
“No, it’s just that I feel bad entrusting my children to a stranger.”
“…”
Zhuge Hyeonmong looked at Seo Chung with an odd expression.
“Haha, I’m just joking. Seeing how you speak, I trust you won’t treat them carelessly. You wouldn’t have approached me in the first place if you weren’t interested. I’ll take you up on your offer.”
Zhuge Hyeonmong received several books from Seo Chung and returned to his cart.
Looking at the titles, they were books he had never seen before.
‘Popular poetry from the capital, new scholarly texts about Confucianism… and this looks like a miscellaneous book.’
Judging by how he only entrusted relatively new books, it seemed he had no intention of lending any ancient texts.
‘Not that it matters to me.’
Zhuge Hyeonmong thought this as he was about to open the books, but suddenly stopped.
‘Before that.’
Creak creak. Squeak squeak.
“The noise is really annoying.”
“Can’t help it. It’s old.”
“Should we grease the wheels?”
“Don’t bother. The oil for things like that is too expensive for small transportation agency like ours to use.”
The wheel of the cart Zhuge Hyeonmong was riding in.
The noise from there made it impossible to concentrate.
‘I should take care of this first.’