Limit Breaking Genius Mage Chapter 483

Episode 483 The Landlord

In the Great Hall of Black Hour, an artificial artifact is installed with the engraving function removed from a broken ancient artifact and transplanted into it.

Entry is prohibited to all but authorized personnel.

To freely move around the Great Hall, you must have either First Control or Second Control.

Or, you need to get temporary permission from those in control… …anything else is recognized as an intruder without exception.

In other words, all the magical security of the Great Hall, which does not respond to members of the Black Hour, is secretly targeting Verden and his party.

'According to Cayman's blueprint, the corridors here are intricately intertwined.'

However, in the end, the only way to the second gate in the depths is through the central passage.

The shortest route was to continue in a straight line.

However, it was clear that there would be obstacles lurking that would hold them back.

Hwaaaaah!

Verden activated the magical circuits of his entire body, allowing his Arcane-enhanced <Magic Sensing> to be used more precisely.

Then, to control the horsepower.

The transcendent's magical power descends deep into the area, and he senses magical circles and magical items that are not visible to normal eyes.

Without provoking him, he covered him with a dense curtain of magical power that shimmered with pure blue light, making it visible to all.

The passageway flickers.

Isabella frowned when she saw him.

“The leader of Black Hour has changed to Dahit, and time has passed, but… it’s so different from what Cayman told me.”

Originally, there should have been advanced magic circles that were linked in various ways.

But the first thing that caught Verden's eye was the 'countless fragments of magical power' scattered here and there on the walls and floor.

'Seeing as the traces continue beyond the range of <Magic Detection>, it seems to continue all the way to the end of the central passage.'

The arrangement of the fragments was disorganized, as if someone had just thrown them there.

The shape is also the same.

'But this is… … .'

Verden moved to the side.

Unrivaled understanding of magic.

He stopped walking, having caught a meaningful clue just by looking at it.

“Is this a concealment using a focal point?”

As Verden stood at a certain point and stared straight ahead, the magical fragments scattered within a certain interval began to overlap one by one in a chain, forming a certain arrangement.

An unfamiliar magic circle.

It was something that was made so that it could never be found if the observer's viewing angle was even slightly off.

Verden raised his gaze and immediately interpreted the structure of the magic circle.

Let's uncover the overall framework… … It was revealed that the fragments of magical power were connected in units of a few to a few dozen, forming each group.

“……That’s extreme.”

Although it is only one magic circle, it has over a dozen functions, including elemental magic, magic diffusion, alarm, seal, and black magic.

The number was exactly the same as the number of magic fragments that made up the magic circle.

'It's different from the usual magic circles in appearance. Not all of the dozen or so magics are activated with just one action.'

From the perspective of the magic fragment as a reference point… … it is designed to respond depending on the angle from which the intruder steps into the magic circle.

A single magic circle that conceals and creates a magic circle with a focus point, and contains countless magical abilities without taking the form of a composite or linked magic circle.

Apart from being novel, it is actually quite efficient, bordering on madness.

In fact, it felt more like a test piece than something for security.

Isabella swept her bangs.

“Hmm… I’m in trouble as soon as I enter the depths. What are you going to do, Gaju? Are you going to destroy it yourself like usual?”

“In order to apply my destruction method, I first need to neutralize all the magic within this magic circle. It’s certain, but it will take time.”

Moreover, in the central passage of the depths, there are more than one or two of these single magic circles.

If we move while removing everything, the plan will be delayed considerably.

“So let’s go with the next best option.”

“Do you plan to take a detour by another route?”

“Even if we bypass it, there is a high possibility that such a magic circle will be lurking. Or a new variable will appear. Rather than that, it would be more appropriate to create a small gap that can pass through the central passage.”

Verden took a step back.

“You yourselves.”

* * *

As always, the method of penetrating with magic threads and destroying only the lower back of the magic circle was boldly ruled out due to time constraints.

Of course, it is possible to completely destroy it with the magic <Ruin>… … but I can’t make that much of a fuss since I haven’t even discovered the [Eternal Hourglass] yet.

If Dahit, who sensed him and figured out the situation in the Great Hall, returns by teleporting through some kind of means, it would be a disaster.

Of course, I've prepared for the worst, but that doesn't mean I should take matters into my own hands and make the situation worse.

anyway.

So how can we get through the magic circle in the central passage?

The answer was simple.

'Isabella's eyes, and Adrian's sword.'

Inside the single magic circle in depth, more than 10 magical fragments are combined and filled.

It is not harmonious.

In short, it's like a rag made by forcibly piecing together various materials.

The key was to target the joints between those materials.

Immediately after Isabella identified the joint between the magic shards with her brother's essence, she used her erosion magic to create a natural crack between the magic circle and the magic shards.

Adrian cuts through the array of magical powers with precision using the magical sword, Cedence.

That was Verden's trick.

Phew.

A deformed magic circle appears in Isabella's left eye.

Flickering eyes.

As soon as he saw the weak point in the magic circle captured in his sight, he opened his magic gate and drew a boundary line around the group of magic fragments that he wanted to separate.

Shhh!

At the same time, Adrian swung his sword.

Quick and error-free inspection.

The moment the blade cut through the air, part of the single magic circle was severed.

The group of magical fragments that had fallen away no longer reacted because they had lost the trigger called the magic circle.

“…….”

Also, as Verden had expected, the single magic circle did not activate.

Isabella's erosion also blocked the impact midway.

Because the magic circle had an unbalanced structure, there was no way it would collapse completely even if one of its components suddenly fell off.

The whole group dug right into the artificially created gap.

Then I repeated the same task.

Isabella and Adrian's movements begin to get faster and faster.

After getting the signals right twice and getting the rhythm right, from then on they just flowed like water without even looking at each other.

[Neat.]

Verden and Alpha followed behind, watching the two.

'I think we're about halfway there.'

Verden thought about the map of the Great Hall and estimated the distance to travel.

The overall structure will remain the same.

That wasn't something that could be changed arbitrarily. That was what Cayman had guaranteed.

So far, everything is going smoothly.

There was just one thing that bothered me.

'It's too quiet.'

Even in the senses of the transcendent and in <Magic Sensing>, only a quiet current flows.

It's clear.

There is no one in the depths.

It would be a good change since the obstacles with variables would disappear on their own… … but I couldn’t figure out why the depths were so empty, so I felt uneasy inside.

At that moment, Isabella, who was in the lead, stopped.

“Phew… I finally got here.”

Isabella pressed the corner of her left eye.

Even though I had seen the essence of things through the form several times in a row, there were no major problems.

Just as Verden adapted to Maan, Isabella also adapted to Hyung-an.

With this, we safely passed through the central passage.

Now, once you get past the 'Central Laboratory', the second gate into the depths appears.

[I will open the door.]

Alpha tampered with the code at the entrance to the central laboratory.

There is nothing as complicated as a gateway.

By comparison, opening a normal door in the arena was at best no different than pressing an open or close button.

Seconds later, the door to the central laboratory opened.

This is one of the most secret spaces within Black Hour, aside from the basement.

What could be hidden?

Verden entered inside with instinctive curiosity in his heart.

but…….

Contrary to expectations, it was empty.

It was equipped with only the bare minimum of facilities, and there were no precious artifacts or magical items to be seen.

The same goes for everything else.

I don't know if it was done intentionally, but it was extremely shabby for a research lab belonging to a transcendental force.

But it wasn't like there was nothing.

The center of the lab.

There was a man trapped in the ice.

* * *

Swish… … .

A cold chill flows through the air.

There was not even a trace of moisture on the surface of the ice, thanks to its state being preserved by a special device.

Verden, Adrian, Isabella, and Alpha paused for a moment, staring at the motionless figure in the ice.

[Record name: Frozen human.]

Alpha, unable to bear it any longer, immediately took out the memory golem with Verden's permission and captured this scene in its entirety.

Adrian groaned.

“A frozen human… My lord, what is this?”

“I don’t know either.”

Verden was equally surprised.

Who would have thought that something like this would be stored in the central laboratory of Black Hour?

This was something that Cayman and Melard never mentioned.

'It looks like it's a branch of human experimentation, as there are traces of body tampering… '

This is what was expected.

How could the infamous Black Hour refuse to conduct human experiments? Dahit is a transcendent being who even killed his own teachers without hesitation.

I just wondered what kind of experiment they were doing with the frozen person.

Let's take a quick look.

“Alpha, Isabella.”

"okay."

[check.]

The two of them had sparkling eyes.

Alpha attempted to scan it, and Isabella used her visual acuity to determine its true nature.

Alpha spoke first.

[A person trapped in ice. Correction. A corpse trapped in ice. Completely dead. There was no chance of recovery.]

“When did you die?”

[Unable to confirm. However, it is certain that it was a very───long time ago.]

If Alpha, who was created approximately 500 years ago, can say something like this… …then it must mean that it is at least the corpse of a human who lived in ancient times.

Curiosity was heightened.

At least with the knowledge that Verden had accumulated, he had no idea what he was doing with this.

'And on top of that, the body of an ordinary person, not a wizard… … .'

It's unlikely that they were brought there simply for the purpose of studying archaeology.

That moment.

Isabella tilted her head, calming her magic.

“I haven’t found out much either. Well, an ancient wizard frozen solid. It’s kind of creepy, but also fascinating.”

… … ?

Verden turned his gaze to Isabella.

“A wizard?”

“That’s what it looks like to me. Of course, as the head of the household saw, it’s strange for a wizard…….”

Yes, that's right.

The frozen corpse's body had no trace of magical circuits, indicating that it had realized magical power.

Anywhere in the body.

This was the reason why Verden judged this corpse not to be a wizard.

'But Isabella's brother determined that it was the corpse of a wizard.'

A unique trait or an ancient lineage?

But even if that's the case, he's a true magician… … How can he possibly not have the magic circuits that should be there?

My thoughts become deeper.

Verden, who was looking at the wizard who lived in a distant era without magic circuits, soon suppressed his emotions.

“……I’m leaving now.”

It took about 3 minutes.

This is enough time to devote to unplanned actions.

I abandoned my curiosity and erased my foolishness.

The group of Verdens, who had lost interest immediately, left the central laboratory.

* * *

Moving a little beyond the central laboratory, an open space appeared.

A large, straight bridge was visible, along with a still emerald lake.

I had heard that it was built on the basis of a natural cave… … but unlike what I saw on the map, when I came face to face with it like this, not only was its scale impressive, but the scenery was also quite spectacular.

'It's clean.'

There are no traps.

I walked across the bridge without any hesitation.

The waves of the natural lake below ripple with the green light it emits.

The end of the second destination.

There are three devices in total in the gate that guards the deepest part of the Great Hall.

The structure was such that an emergency would occur if a specific code was not entered within a limited time.

Of course, there was no reason to be pressed for time.

Verden, Isabella, Alpha.

Because three is enough.

They each split into left, right, and center and lined up in front of the gate. Alpha borrowed Adrian's shoulder to level off.

He then started up the device at the same time and entered the code to force open the gate.

As expected, it was a success.

Kukukukukuku… … !

A wind different from the existing one blew strongly across my skin.

'All the gates have been passed.'

Now go to the end, manipulate the ring of change to find the [Eternal Hourglass], and escape through the <Gate> to finish.

It's not that difficult.

The natural magic flowing through the Great Hall is deeply embedded in the [Eternal Hourglass], so you can determine its location by following its traces.

It was at that time.

Towering.

Verden paused.

He slowly closed his wide eyes and whispered softly.

“You go first.”

It was a sudden order, but no one asked questions.

Adrian and Isabella nodded as they read Verden's gaze and expression as he looked behind them over their shoulders.

“I will make sure to secure it quickly.”

[check.]

With those words, he immediately left his seat and dashed forward.

Verden watched as Alpha on Adrian's shoulder moved away, and personally closed the second gate that he had managed to open.

Then he turned around.

“…….”

There was something on the bridge I had just passed that had not existed before.

A whitish shape.

It's not clear.

One thing is gradually becoming clear.

The moment I looked at it directly, its existence began to become clearer at a faster rate.

This is not your typical magic.

Based on my experience and intuition, I think it is likely an artifact.

Verden said.

“This isn’t a typical spatial movement. Is it that the location of existence is redefined based on the indirect senses and direct viewpoints of others?”

“You have quite an eye for detail.”

Soon the shape took shape.

Dark gray hair, eyes of the same color, and a short beard.

The impression of the man wearing a uniform black robe and holding a metal staff was extremely cold.

“You’re a huge rat that invades someone else’s territory without permission.”

Dark Moon, Dahit Westroel.

The current Black Hour landlord has appeared.