Chapter 33: Star 3 (3)
KNQoQZWhat is life?0qaC
kMFgmDrest took a long time to answer that question.aagT97v
KuOE7PIHe was born the son of a tenant farmer in the central part of the empire, in the Zebulon Region.8oosH
Ky33As a child, he played in the mountains and fields, learned to plow as he grew, cultivated the land, harvested, and during times of scarcity, hunted in the wild to fill his stomach.pmtRfpD
fakN9His family was poor but harmonious, without ambition, dreaming only of finding a good partner, a decent piece of land, and taking pride in owning a vast farm and a complete home.mKIPl
1koUHe was nothing more than a young tenant farmer without greed, whose sole aim was to live an honest and steady life.3Rshym
S7nXp2SHowever, heaven had granted him a gift. In the depths of night, holding his plow in the field and looking at the starry sky, it seemed as though the principles of the heavens were captured in his eyes.JOOZ7
6ep5The flowing magical energy appeared like a turbulent river, a natural landscape, and the spark of magic at his fingertips felt like an extension of his body.nluPA8
tIN7YmtHe learned magic—not out of ambition or devotion to the magical path, but simply because he could.zgJ
UtvCUSeeing city mages cast spells and feeling the magical flow in nature, he developed a unique style of magic. He could predict when the wind would blow and seemed to sense when rain would come.6cR
7fNOoWhile walking through the forest, the whisper of each leaf spoke to his ear, and every movement seemed entirely understandable. He would aim his bow where wild animals would land and avoid places where stones might fall.QDhf
Om9GSHe was a mage born of the ordinary.eA5
PTOLnyMBy the time he reached adulthood, he had achieved 2-star status, and when his beard grew and he started a family, he reached 3 stars. In a small village at the edge of his territory, he became a heroic figure, and his entire family respected him as their head.s5Btt
uVD9His wife, the daughter of a miller, was kind and beautiful, always caring for him, and his two lovely daughters were always proud of their father’s magical feats.BYqeHl
FUEzjHe had an epiphany.NfQL
sK4lHIf the first act of his life was that of a tenant farmer, the second act was that of a Mage. With that realization, he deepened his magical achievements, studying spellbooks brought from the city day and night, perfecting and developing many exploration spells, making them his own.G4Vs
bEY3SBefore he realized it, no ordinary mage could keep up with him. Could he reach the realm of 4-star magic before the age of forty? Could the second act of his life shine even brighter? With that thought, he devoted himself even more to both magic and farming in that humble village.w2MJA5
hAnGAnd then, his life entered a third act: the life of a vengeful spirit. The entire world paid homage to him for reaching 3-star status. Famous nobles expressed amazement that a commoner mage could achieve such a state, and among ordinary mages, he became nearly a spiritual pillar.tGE
O9zB1tORumors of Drest, the seeker mage of Count Zebulon, reached Ebelstain. Even as a commoner, he became living proof that someone could reach the realm of a high-level mage.DJRjM3
NchOUAll sorts of mages began arriving at his village, seeking his teaching. Most were absorbed in the study of magic, and chatting with them was a joy. However, some spoke of more than magic. They held resentment toward the blooded nobles who wielded magic as a privilege and ruled the world.yxiJ
uUkuq9kThere were those from humble origins, mages with venomous tempers, shouting that the world needed to change.G7Mbv
0zC7U6The following year, they were beheaded in the city square. Apparently, they had been caught trying to assassinate Count Zebulon. It was an unpleasant end. Still, that human temperament would occasionally reappear.YkJrTLo
z4SPYTo them, the existence of Drest—a commoner who dared to reach the 4-star magical realm—was not a messiah. They praised him, saw him as living proof, and held deep desires to change the world.nikENM
jgr5SrDrest had no interest in such a revolution. Though he belonged to the ranks of high-level mages, his essential nature hadn’t changed much from his days as a tenant farmer. What he sought was personal achievement, not a transformation of the world.u07O
BSnQWLHe lived in the hope of reaching a higher realm and, beyond that, to provide for his wife and daughters. That was the extent of his aspirations. And the following year, Count Zebulon ordered the execution of Drest’s entire family. All the revolutionaries believed in Drest as their savior. As he gradually surpassed the 4-star level, their numbers surely grew.6UHMH
YhPWcCThe Count wanted to eradicate all seeds of rebellion. Drest might not lead the revolution, but he was its catalyst.JMmPmdy
ajRG4WLHe was accused of many crimes. Heinous sins he had never committed tarnished his honor. Ironically, the only ones who understood it was all defamation were the very revolutionaries who had placed him in that position.x8KMX
UXhFOne day, upon returning home, he found his house soaked in blood. His wife’s corpse hung on the wall. His two daughters had been massacred, their bodies lying on the floor, drenched in blood.Eh1V
Yq8SsThe house was set ablaze, and a massive bonfire cast a red glow into the night sky. The blood of villagers who once shared bonds with him flowed like a river. Charred bundles rolled across the ground, occasionally flaring with embers. It was the scene of everything he knew in his village turning to ashes and vanishing. The faces of the soldiers who set the fire gleamed with joy.C9U8s6W
3N7The revolutionaries whispered in Drest’s ear: “This is the work of the nobles.”VZy
k7kFupTheir urging turned Drest into a vengeful spirit born from hell. Years passed, and after many small battles and chases, he infiltrated the mansion and nearly killed Count Zebulon.UGJvu
ydwmBut he could not bring himself to kill the Count. In the burning house, the Count trembled in fear, clutching his daughters, pleading for his life with tears. Drest’s eyes, locked onto the Count’s tearful pleas for his daughters’ lives, still burned with vengeance. Revenge was futile. What remained after it was only hatred and a new emptiness.Vte
oKSitNIt wasn’t that he didn’t understand this. But it had to be done. Even if it was hollow and meaningless, it was something to reflect on after the act. He could not live the rest of his life consumed by a burning thirst for vengeance.2XFojj
fGwnukQThe cycle of hatred had to be broken at some point, but it didn’t have to start with him. In the moment when his killing magic surged, he recalled his innocent children upon seeing the terrified daughters of the Count. They were the image of innocence. Just as his daughters had died in vain, these children were innocent too.fqi
Ou3AJuQDrest closed his eyes and reflected, then severed one of Count Zebulon’s eyes, his tongue, and the tendons of both legs. The Count writhed in pain, bleeding. Leaving him to live a crippled life, Drest departed from the mansion.GzfEsu
658Thus, he became a public enemy of the aristocracy. For more than a decade, he lived as a fugitive.If726d
cxtkSMany mages who believed in and followed him tried to protect him—and died. Even his closest companions perished. Years passed, and though all others were captured, Drest himself remained elusive.87HxwFI
Idd4nNeither the high nobles nor the 5-star mages of the imperial palace could catch him. By the time he turned fifty, he had surpassed the 5-star threshold, his revenge having forged him into the greatest seeker mage in the world. Though age was catching up with him, and he could no longer run fast, he had no special transportation or hidden paths known only to him.F50Y2n
CBSgYet with his calm gait, walking slowly along the same roads as everyone else, no one could catch him. As if he knew exactly when and where his pursuers would appear, the movements of the old man drifting through the world seemed ghostlike.3dYcMc
CPkBTH6Fifteen years passed, and by the time he was over sixty, the high nobles completely gave up on capturing him. It had been nearly thirty years since he had mutilated Count Zebulon. Time eroded everything in this world—including sin.uAu9Ze
VXrrUAfter three decades, the nobles had to admit: capturing Drest WolfTail was an impossible task. If they couldn’t fully suppress the seeds of revolution he embodied, they had to at least draw him into their sphere of influence. Only after so much time did they resign themselves and decide to approach him differently.R1Mm3t
c8G552Years later, the imperial palace granted Sir Drest the title of baronet. If they couldn’t control him, they would make him a noble to protect their authority. More than thirty-five years passed before he was finally freed from his pursuers, as many stepped forward to clear the misunderstandings surrounding him.FO00Ekj
i1mThe Emperor himself resolved the feud with the Zebulon prince’s family, offering numerous honors, reparations, and apologies, and in the end, he was free.oIuBEAa
8nDVAware, he found that life had entered its twilight, and he had become a true noble. Now, he was no longer a commoner, but a noble. He had no land or grand mansion, but he was accepted as a noble purely for his magical excellence, completely apart from the common folk.5gg1iM
EYdThe commoners no longer saw him as someone who would overthrow the nobility. He had become a noble solely through magical talent, making many commoners believe that if they lived diligently, they too might one day receive such wealth.wRu
8LLVaDrest didn’t care about such public perceptions. At this point, everything in life had become empty to him. And to a certain extent, he wasn’t wrong. He was, indeed, the only one who had destroyed the privilege of the nobility through pure magical talent alone.xvNx
YaQbSHe had reached the realm of a six-star mage, becoming one of the most famous mages in the world, though society only knew him as a four-star mage. He had no proper faction, but rumors described him living in luxury.uZY
iG12505He harbored no ambition, yet to others, he was seen as an ambitious common mage. Those who followed him founded an academy in his name, and he occasionally supported them, but whenever he could, he wandered the world.FqBN
W51wFFHe climbed high mountains to gaze down at the world below and entered the deepest caves to surrender to the darkness.YtF
74dmPp8Living a life without family or friends, adrift, he soon turned eighty, then ninety.SghC
LgytYqWhen he looked down upon the world, everything had changed. The old man looked up at the high sky. Though many years had passed, the sun, moon, and stars remained in their places. It had been a turbulent journey, but everything in the heavens always seemed unchanged.nzRovCk
yp9nWalking quietly, the old man suddenly looked up at the sky and murmured:kQ0i7P
5Ru“Yes. This is life.”cvZ4
nDCERwHe had been the beloved only son of a father, the firm head of a household, and a bloodthirsty avenger. A hermit consumed by emptiness, a spiritual pillar of the academy, an idol to some commoners, and an enemy to some nobles.mjsoN
2SiIAnd at times, he was someone’s companion, and at others, someone’s foe.FfhYp2
6ajHXmdAs his life entered its twilight, few feelings remained.psNltWN
LYn“After all, there’s not much to do.”S3AtW
4BMmoThis is life.D9C8w
5UZ5UOnly at life’s end did the old man realize it. He had run as if pursued, and at times had pressed forward without thinking…pMwnv2S
rqltXmIBut in the end, this too was life.2PIp237
sIt73“Hmm, your magical talent is too ambiguous.”8cDhD
ZL80In the southwest of the empire, wandering spirits roamed. Dereck might not know the rumors among the high nobles, but at least the opinion that the old man with the ring seemed like a ghost was unanimous.gQU1s3A
1W8The old man who left the tavern with Dereck walked through the streets, bathed in the air of dawn, as if floating.jNXjMzb
UNuFollowing him, Drest evaluated Dereck’s magical talent with a hoarse yet faint voice.oQt11
BmfLyjQ“Ambiguous?”Fr3P7UJ
ovVN“Yes.”37WE9V
7alfGbNo one in Dereck’s life had ever described his magical talent as ambiguous.YGmH
KRW4WELHe had reached two-star status at fourteen and was aiming for three-star at seventeen.Db659Wj
Y2xHe might even achieve magical feats faster than Drest himself. Dereck’s magical talent was extraordinary.sq2Ok
3W4FBxYet Drest called it ambiguous. To him, it looked like a distant realm.1tEZDrX
OuMia3R“If you dream of reaching a high realm as a common mage, the ordinary is not a good sign in the end.”nj8eTO6
21z“…”uhHD
rq4lA“If you seek a path, you will be overwhelmed.”uapIv4
Dwi2yDereck debated internally how to respond. Honestly, he thought his current level was exceptional.y8opC
S0RDLac“There will be great chaos in the west of the empire. To survive, you must become more extraordinary.”WU1e
Sw9J“…”uT7
2ee3utrThey walked through dark, impoverished alleys at night, and finally, while straightening his cloak, Drest turned around.NkbLCg
xhTroIn a place shrouded in darkness, the cold gaze of the honorable mage gleamed faintly.uYZt07F
Zpy“Combat magic will protect you from various anomalies, and chaos magic will create countless variables in diverse situations. But to properly wield such magic, one must also know how to obtain correct information about the situation and environment.”zi1
P5W4OhMDrest’s thin hand sliced through the air, then clenched tightly with resolve.8tciTM
PZSJEThe burst of magical power seemed to cover the sky. The intricate details of various spells etched above were so fine that even Dereck, quite skilled in multiple magical fields, couldn’t help but open his eyes in awe.fds
MN6Staring at the glowing magical formulas decorating the dark night streets, Dereck’s eyes were fully captivated, shining with fascination.WHSMo0
ZPvtJThe series of exploration spells revealed were on a completely different trajectory from anything Dereck had ever experienced.2X0cvy
wRqEThe grand spectacle of magical power looked like a sea chart, showing the path to a distant golden realm.lnYtNq
UPaaw62***tDgV
A5nmq2The next day,kAD
0cdAt the ‘Tears of Beldern’ tavernygkzd
jcyKXzdFrom the morning, Jayden was busy with the stack of letters arriving.Tc0szm
vocli1Though receiving job requests was routine, today was special because many had come.QUs7z
0NjILhN‘I didn’t expect to get letters from the Beltus, Belmierd, and Duplain families all at once. It’s true—life is full of surprises.’YRIB8b
qizdThe reputation of the Beldern Mercenary Group had grown rapidly since its founding.uQ7x8Q0
CbM8KmtThanks to Dereck’s contributions, Jayden’s hard work, and the strength of the other members.C9j
g9zStill, they weren’t famous enough to receive simultaneous requests from the three most prominent families in the western empire. Of course, only one person was being sought in those letters.A5iodd
HQFZm0Jayden pondered how to handle the situation.ljZB2IZ
smV1Jt– Clink!gPB
ebLuoO“Oh, Dereck!”yhOC
QaJmtWhen Dereck boldly entered the tavern, Jayden greeted him cheerfully.oKo
1oCThere were many lucrative commissions. Just as he was about to bring them up, Dereck grabbed a bag of food from the corner of the bar table, left a silver coin, and said urgently:2RqshZU
eu1“Reject all commissions starting today. The other members are enough, right? It’s time I take a break.”gRyEbe
xlS“…What?”Vpk4
m0LJayden knew Dereck took breaks regularly, but this time the clients were too influential.ksQsx
QcsSuch requests couldn’t be easily declined. Just as Jayden was about to explain, Dereck, who seemed in a hurry, said:HEmR
L2PRxy“I’m leaving now. There’s an urgent matter I must attend to.”CBSmD
W8kfIt was rare to see Dereck, usually calm, acting as if fire was on his heels.4tU8
chqBXRThe strange anticipation in his eyes seemed to sparkle with joy—like fulfilling a long-cherished ideal. The difference from his usual demeanor was unsettling.M8j
RJMbPJayden was about to explain the difficulty of rejecting those commissions, but Dereck had already left the tavern with a light step.u0sLfm
J6w0To a stranger, it might not have seemed unusual, but Jayden, who knew Dereck well, noticed. Dereck was extremely excited.cHLE5K
rJ79bHe had no intention of teaching anyone at that moment.HSRAvTw
What did you think of this chapter?
Report comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment. False reports may result in account suspension.
0 Comments
There are no comments yet. Be the first!