Limit Breaking Genius Mage Chapter 38

Episode 38 Fate (1)

'A prophet with a child. I thought it was unusual, but it really is an unusual combination.'

Verden quietly observed the old man's actions.

After receiving a certain amount of lottery, the cards are shuffled and placed one at a time from the top, predicting the fate of the person in front of them and giving advice. Then, the person decides whether to accept the advice or not.

So in the end, it moves according to one's own destiny.

'It's a superstition.'

Verden did not believe in fatalism.

To say that everything is governed by fixed and inevitable laws was a denial of his life.

The process of desperately surviving the rooftop and finally overcoming the odds. That effort, that desperation. It was not something that could be replaced by the word fate.

Verden, who had lost interest, tried to leave.

Just then, the girl grabbed the hem of his clothes.

“Hello, wizard! Have you come to have your fortune told by Grandma?”

“I was just passing through.”

“Hey, come on, let’s see! My grandma is really good at guessing! Grandma!”

“Ah, you’re that magician from back then. Thanks to you, Aisha enjoyed her ice cream. I’d like to tell you her fortune as a way to thank you, but what do you think?”

People's eyes were focused on Verden.

The look in her eyes was telling her to hurry up and wait for her turn. Aisha also didn't seem to have any intention of letting her go.

Verden sighed softly and nodded.

The old man shuffled the cards.

Then, he placed three cards on the floor, one each from the top.

The first is the messenger (reverse).

The second is God (reverse).

The third is human (reverse).

After a moment of silence, the old man spoke to Verden.

“It says that I just need to live like I am now. It is a very good fortune.”

"……okay."

I have no intention of believing it anyway.

Verden said a brief thank you and went his way.

The old man's fortune telling continued and ended only in the evening.

As Aisha was tidying up the place, she suddenly asked the old man if something had occurred to her.

“Oh, Grandma. That handsome wizard’s fortune-telling. Is it really true? I’ve never seen it before.”

“Of course. Aisha knows how good her grandmother is.”

“Yes, I know!”

Aisha answered with a hehe.

The old man stroked his granddaughter's head. It was a warm touch filled with love and apology.

'I'm sorry, Aisha. I lied.'

The old man recalled the wizard's horoscope.

The god of death represents death, God represents birth, and man represents life.

Death upside down.

Birth upside down.

Life turned upside down.

In other words, it is chaos.

There is no such thing as a glimpse of the future there. Having escaped from one's own destiny, what lies ahead is a world of possibilities where nothing is certain.

You could disappear without accomplishing anything.

You can have everything and rule over it.

'Oh my God, what does this mean?'

The old man had no idea what effect the Ashen Wizard would have on the world.

That's why I prayed to God.

I hope that the potential he possesses doesn't darken the world.

* * *

Verden returned to the inn with the materials and spent his time repairing the ring.

I have done a lot of appraisals of magical items, but I have never made one, and all I have is a certain level of knowledge. It was only natural that I would fail at restoration, which even experts find difficult.

Still, I held on and clung to it, just to find out what effect it had.

Three days passed like that.

There has been no progress at all in the repairs.

'I think it would be better to try it for a few more days and if that doesn't work, then seek out a professional.'

I went to the window to cool my head and get some fresh air.

Looking up at the sky, small stars were twinkling in the dark sky, and a crescent moon was shining between the clouds.

'It's quite a nice view.'

The moment I was about to enjoy the night air and get back to work.

'light……?'

I could see a faint light coming from the ring. I carefully lifted it to check, and it seemed to be coming from the pattern in the center.

What on earth could have caused this phenomenon? As I thought about this, I took a step closer to the window and the light became even brighter.

“Is it moonlight?”

He immediately shined the ring on the crescent moon.

Then it changed from pure white to a soft gray like moonlight. It was a strange phenomenon, but there was no change after that.

'Shall we try it?'

A ring is basically a piece of jewelry worn on the finger.

As I carefully placed it on my index finger, the jewel began to react. The moonlight, which was slowly growing, soon burst out brightly, surveying the room.

"……map?"

What appeared before Verden was a map made of light.

It was a familiar terrain that I felt like I had seen not long ago.

'It looks like a map of the duchy.'

There were no territories or cities, but the characteristics of each terrain, such as mountain ranges and waterways, were clearly marked. If you could only know your surroundings, you could roughly know where you were.

How did they get something like this engraved on the ring?

If you search through the treasure vault of the Magic Tower, you will find a handful of ornaments with this level of craftsmanship. However, that was not what Verden was concerned about.

Bottom right of the map.

A small light blinked between the mountains, as if telling them to look at him. I looked around the entire map, but there was only one such light.

“…….”

Verden looked at the map in silence.

I tried shaking or rubbing the ring to see if there was something else, but nothing happened.

And soon dawn began to break.

The crescent moon disappeared behind the clouds. As the moonlight disappeared, the light from the ring gradually faded away, and the map disappeared without a sound.

But it remained vivid in Verden's memory.

My heart is pounding.

I didn't know what the light meant or what was hidden there, but Verden wasn't the type to just ignore it.

Wizards are a curious species, and the unknown is full of curiosity. Even if they don't find anything, they have no choice but to go as long as they are wizards.

The Duchy of Libyan, the Bard Mountains.

Verden's next destination has been decided.

* * *

Inside a cave with an open ceiling.

The old man, Harkan, was looking at the sky.

'What on earth is that star?'

Harkan has been foreseeing the fate of life by looking at the constellations.

None of the futures he read were wrong, but that was why he had surrendered to fate. No matter what he did, there was no way to avoid it.

But recently, an unidentified star caught my eye.

It was shining brightly, but nothing could be seen. Not only that, but the star influenced other stars, twisting countless destinies.

The star that should have fallen long ago still remains, and the fate that should not have disappeared has disappeared.

Harkan was afraid of the phenomenon he was seeing for the first time.

A star that defies the heavens.

“Like this…….”

Knock knock! Crimson blood poured out of his mouth.

Harkan's life is running out. The end of his fate is near.

But there is still work to be done.

Finding someone to whom he could hand over everything he had worked for. Time was running out, but he did not despair.

Because it was decided that one great change would come to his remaining destiny.

Of course, it could mean being killed by someone, but Harkan believed that the change would bring about his wish. He had to believe.

'Please don't let that star twist my fate.'

The old man waited, hoping earnestly.

Because we didn't want to see the things we created being trampled on so mercilessly in the world.

* * *

Verden quietly left Cohen.

I didn't leak any information to Pale because I didn't know what was going to be where the ring was pointing. As an information dealer, there was a possibility that he could sell information about Verden.

From Cohen to the Bard Mountains.

The distance was quite far. Verden gave up flying and hired a long-distance carriage. It cost a lot of money, but the budget was more than enough.

And he withdrew some of the money in cash and kept it in his pocket.

'They say there are no cities under mountains, so of course there are no banks.'

After about three weeks of taking breaks in between, we arrived at the border city. From there, we flew for another three days and arrived at a village at the foot of the Bard Mountains.

It was a long journey. I entered the town feeling tired.

'It's not as bad as I thought.'

A wagon loaded with animal furs rode out of the village, accompanied by hired mercenaries.

Are there many hunters here, right below the mountain range? There are more than a few nobles who like fur, so if you do business well, it won't be a problem to make a village prosper.

'It would be nice if there was a restaurant that suited my taste.'

Verden walked around the village, looking around.

First, I plan to eat, then hire a hunter who knows the geography of the mountain range well. The place the ring points to is this mountain range, but it doesn't specify where.

If you search the entire mountain range alone, it might take several months.

Then, people wearing black robes walked over from the opposite direction.

They passed each other by and made eye contact, but went their separate ways without any friction.

‘… … Something’s suspicious?’

In every way, they were people who did not fit in with this village.

The brief glances that met had a faint chill, and at times, a sticky gaze that was so uncomfortable remained on Verden.

But Verden soon lost interest and went into the restaurant.

Right now, his attention was solely focused on the place the ring was pointing to. It was not the time to waste time on useless things.

Verden sat down and ordered a steak.

* * *

Ferris, a woman wearing a black robe pulled down low, squealed and made a fuss.

With her face flushed red, her front teeth biting her lips and her cheeks covered in embarrassment, Ferris looked like a woman in love.

“Hey, hey. Did you see that guy earlier? He was really handsome.”

“He’s not handsome. He’s just a bit dapper.”

“If that’s a bit too much, Chen, you’re just trash. Oh, by the way, what should I do? I definitely want to add it to my collection. Cardin, can I go for a bit? I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”

Ferris was acting cute with his hands clasped together.

She was cute enough to make passersby turn their heads, but Cardin didn't budge.

“Shut up, Ferris. No private activity allowed until the work is done.”

“Then, once I’m done with the job? Can I just kill that traitor named Harkan and go?”

“It wouldn’t matter then. In a place like this, even if one person disappeared, no one would care.”

At that moment, I ran into a drunk man in the alley next door.

Did you hear the story? Well, it didn't matter anyway. I was told to listen anyway.

Because I needed an excuse to kill someone.

“Chen.”

Choaack!

The man's neck was cut off by a dagger swung with psychic power. Then, when Ferris flicked his hand, the corpse was engulfed in flames and burned.

In the meantime, all traces of people had disappeared, and only black ash remained in the alley.

Cardin blew the ash high into the sky with a gust of wind. The three raised the corners of their lips at the pleasure of killing without even a shred of hesitation.

The robe fluttered, revealing her previously hidden wrists.

The inverted triangle and the eerie gaze contained within it.

The shadow of the 'Black Hour', a group of death wizards, has fallen over the Bard Mountains.