Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

There is a fable about a boiling frog.

If you put a frog into boiling water, it will immediately leap out and run away, but if you place it in cold water and slowly heat it, it will not think of escaping and will die, a story everyone has likely heard at least once.

Of course, a fable is just a fable. One scientist, who clearly had nothing better to do, conducted the same experiment under controlled conditions, and the frogs all jumped out the moment they felt heat on their feet.

Still, the intended message was clear.

The danger of becoming accustomed.

Like the saying, “Water dripping wears through stone.”

It seems I have become quite twisted by the falling water droplets without even realizing it.

“I hope you like it.”

The smiling man walked toward me slowly.

His steps suggested he didn’t expect to be attacked, but in truth, I couldn’t attack him. I couldn’t do it.

“…”

As I raised my hand, I realized just how accustomed I had become to the Deep Sea.

I thought there was barely any water pressure left.

What a foolish misconception. My body felt so light it seemed like I might fly into the sky if I jumped.

Was that all? The anxiety I had felt had completely vanished thanks to the reduced number of Deep Sea Creatures. My vision was clear, and perhaps because of the flames that had once filled this space, it now felt quite hot.

Hot. Warm… Right, I had forgotten this sensation.

Naturally, if I thrust my hand into fire, it would be hot. But until that point, in other words, until I committed the insane act of thrusting my hand into the flames, I couldn’t feel any heat.

Truly, I had become too accustomed to the Deep Sea.

“…Tsk, not bad.”

I had no choice but to admit it.

The man looked at me and grinned, raising his hand.

“Then, let’s start with identifying what that unknown magic is-”

“Thank you.”

It was something to be thankful for.

I had no idea what kind of ability this was, but I looked the man straight in the eyes and expressed my gratitude.

At that, the man’s raised hand suddenly froze.

Soon, the corners of his mouth, which had reached up to his ears, slowly fell. He seemed slightly flustered.

“…What? Wait, you right now- can you see me?”

“Yes.”

Even if he was an enemy, I was satisfied that he had let me feel, if only a little, the world I might never see again.

“-Ignite.”

I used the moment of the man’s confusion to ignite a flame in my open palm.

I didn’t attack. I merely watched the flickering flame as it consumed the air.

There was no issue at all. In this world, there was nothing to stop a flame from burning.

However.

“Kh.”

The world submerged.

No. The world remained the same. I simply woke up.

The slowly tightening pressure made my body stiff. The warmth vanished in an instant, my vision narrowed, and the Deep Sea Creatures began to move again, as if they had always been there.

Fsssh… the flame went out, releasing a thin pillar of smoke.

“ㅡ!”

The man moved quickly. Like a werewolf, he extended his claws in a flash and swung them down to shred my head to pieces.

“Rejected.”

“…Ugh, ack?!”

I crushed his hand as if to pulverize it.

The claws, which could cut through flesh like tofu just by touching, only managed to slice off a few strands of my hair before halting. I pushed the flailing man away with a strong shove once more.

–Boom!

The man slammed into the wall, creating a hole with a cloud of dust. As I reactivated the current sense that had faded, the seemingly unharmed man scratched his head and stood up.

“What the hell… What are you, you bastard? I swear it worked.”

“I don’t know much about your Inner World. But perhaps it shows the opponent what they most desire?”

“Close enough. Ever heard of a daydream? But the fact that you know that… you’re really a proper crazy son of a bitch.”

Ptuh. He spat out blood-tinged saliva, clearly not fully intact, and glared at me like I was a madman.

“You got to live out your most desired dream and gave it up yourself? Are you out of your mind?”

“I didn’t want to give it up either.”

I want to live. I really want to live.

But at the same time, I know just how delusional that dream is.

Even while dreaming the dream I wanted most, I couldn’t forget that it made no sense.

Such is my fate.

“It’s just that it’s not something so easily obtained.”

“…Heh heh.”

We exchanged glances for a moment. The man grinned again and bent his body forward.

“You son of a bitch, I must have you.”

“…Please stop with the creepy remarks.”

Bang-!

I struck the charging man several times with currents and analyzed him.

He’s simply strong and fast. But in other words, that’s all there is to it.

With mere physical strength, he’s nowhere near capable of matching even a fragment of the Deep Sea.

On the fourth charge, I slammed the man into the wall midair and lowered my posture.

Fwhoosh-! Sharp metal fragments grazed past my head. They were attacks launched to conceal vision with dust, but avoiding them with current sense was impossible.

Perhaps to avoid a frontal breakthrough, the man’s voice echoed through the spire along with the sound of ascending footsteps.

“What the hell kind of magic is that? Doesn’t seem like something a brat who’s barely gone through Awakening Fever should be able to use.”

…It seems he hasn’t realized I’ve already fallen into the Abyss.

That was unexpected. I thought for sure I’d be found out.

Or maybe he knows and is just testing me. Without responding, I ascended the stairs, keeping him in sight.

“An opening-!”

At that moment.

The man suddenly appeared from the cloud of dust, a sinister smile on his face, claws raised high.

I didn’t dodge. Instead, I struck from ‘behind’ while looking him straight in the eye.

“Ugh-!”

Rumble… The man, who had attempted a sneak attack, rolled down the stairs, and the illusion in the dust dispersed like smoke.

This time, he wasn’t unharmed. Because the floor he fell on was covered with glass shards, the now blood-soaked man gritted his teeth and stood up.

“…What, how did you…”

From the moment the battle started, I hadn’t lost track of the man’s position for even a second.

Since I knew he could manipulate perception, I had already stopped relying on sight or hearing to track him, so tricks like that didn’t work.

Of course, I had no obligation to explain all that to him.

“I can see everything.”

“Tsk, bluffing.”

It wasn’t a bluff, but he could take it however he wanted.

However.

“I’m starting to get curious. Go ahead and try whatever you can.”

I frowned when I saw that the blood from the man loosening his muscles had stopped instantly.

With my current state, I can’t render that man incapable of fighting.

He’s just too durable. Even after being slammed several times by currents, or smashed into the first floor, he’s barely scratched.

I don’t know what would happen if I crushed him with water pressure, but applying enough pressure to destroy a being with that kind of durability would crush me first, even with my robe and enhancement.

Most importantly, I didn’t have the time to waste in a place like this.

I glanced upward briefly, then attempted negotiation with a polite voice.

“I don’t believe we need to fight each other.”

“…What?”

“I understand that you want me. But is it really necessary to throw your life away for that?”

“My life? This brat’s gone mad. I go easy on you and-”

“I am Jern Aspandil, adopted child of Dersia Aspandil.”

“…”

The man’s eyes widened. I used the moment to continue speaking.

“You’ve probably heard of my adoptive mother. No, you’ve likely investigated her. She’s probably one of the biggest threats to your organization’s plans.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“At the moment, Dersia nim is turning a blind eye to whatever Crimson Circle is doing. But if I were injured or kidnapped, she would no longer stand by. So, do you want to kidnap one promising ten-year-old and end up creating a 9-Star Wizard who will completely obstruct your grand plan, or let me go and focus on that plan… I’ll leave the choice to you.”

It was a hastily made excuse, but sounded plausible enough.

The man scratched his chin as if pondering.

“Hmm, Dersia’s adopted child.”

“Would you like proof?”

“Proof, my ass. Your magic is all the proof I need, you little shit. There’s no other way to explain how a ten-year-old brat is toying with me like this.”

“In that case.”

“Yeah.”

The man smiled, but it was by no means a smile of agreement.

“If we use you, we might even be able to bring Dersia over to our side.”

My brows furrowed automatically at such a ridiculously stupid conclusion.

“…Is that really all you can come up with? If you’d investigated Dersia nim even slightly, you’d know that if I were kidnapped, rather than quietly going along with it, she’d say something like, ‘Do whatever you want, kill him or not. But if you don’t let him go, you’ll all die.’ You do know she’s that kind of person, right?”

“Ah, yeah. That might be true. But you, you made a mistake. You showed me too much.”

The man pointed his finger and smiled wide, blood seeping from his teeth.

“We only fought for five minutes, but I know already. If I were Dersia, I’d never let you go. Not even in death. Any wizard in the world would give up 90% of their remaining lifespan just to have you.”

“I do not think even my biological mother would evaluate me that highly.”

“Kuhaha, looks like your brain doesn’t work in these kinds of matters. Fine then.”

The man knelt down and took a stance. As if he’d just been playing around before, his muscles swelled grotesquely.

“Wihwa of the Crimson Circle. From now on, I’ll face you as an enemy, Jern!” (TL: Wihwa = False Flower)

“I’ll have to decline. And this is just a personal opinion, but from now on, I suggest you develop enough intelligence to not respond when your opponent tries to talk to you on the battlefield.”

“…?”

Crack- The floor gave way, and the bewildered-faced Wihwa fell straight down.

That was thanks to the current I had been gradually using to erode the floor he was standing on during the conversation.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of it.

“Hrrgh-”

I used the current to gather every piece of junk around and rammed it into the hole Wihwa had fallen into.

Crash- Rumble rumble rumble boom!

“Phew.”

That should keep him from jumping back out immediately.

As I wiped the sweat from my forehead, a wave of dizziness hit me.

…I had used too much of the Deep Sea’s power. My vision dimmed, and the current felt heavy.

I didn’t believe for a second that I had taken down Wihwa with this. I had merely bought myself a tiny bit of time.

But that little bit of time would be enough to achieve my objective.

“…Move…”

The torture Dersia had inflicted back in the library ended up helping me.

I clenched my teeth and began speed-climbing the stairs. Even maintaining current sense was a bit too much, so I reduced the range, but it was still enough.

I was close. After climbing a few more floors, I finally stood before a slightly damaged door. I was about to knock but then, feeling absurd, slapped my own cheek once and opened it.

“Elysia.”

I was prepared for whatever scene might unfold.

I would just comfort her, say that all of this was just a nightmare, and knock her out by hitting the back of her neck. If she was alive, I could figure out the rest later. So…

“Ah, Jern!”

So…?

I saw Elysia cheerfully kicking her legs on the bed and forced myself to hide my shock.

Elysia looked up with her usual bright smile and came running toward me.

“You came too! I thought I was going to die of boredom!”

I immediately activated current sense and swept through the room.

But I didn’t find any assassin threatening her. Her heartbeat was incredibly stable as well.

More than anything, there wasn’t even a speck of unease visible on her face. I asked cautiously.

“Why are you here? Where is Alletus nim?”

“I don’t really know either. Daddy told me to stay here… I want to go out! We came all the way to Azelin!”

“…Haa…”

I let out a deep sigh of relief.

Alletus must have sensed something was going to happen and hid her in the spire in advance.

No, this wasn’t the time to relax. I looked her in the eyes seriously to make sure she wouldn’t think I was joking, and opened my mouth solemnly.

“Elysia. Please listen carefully to what I say. Right now, outside is…”

“Ah, wait a second! I forgot to introduce you!”

“…Excuse me?”

She interrupted me and quickly ran over to the side of the bed, giggling as she looked to the side. Her expression was full of expectation.

Of course, the only two people in the room were me and Elysia.

…A sharp chill crawled up my spine.

No way.

“Mom, this is Jern! He’s the one who helped me while you were away on your trip!”

“…”

I quietly clenched my teeth as I watched Elysia happily chatting into empty air.

“Yeah, that’s right. He’s the one who helped us when we were trapped in the underground prison!”

“When I first met him, I was being bullied by some other kids, you know?”

“Ah, but I’m fine now! And, it’s not your fault, Mom. I should’ve been more careful-”

“…Why are you doing this?”

Elysia had already left me behind and was lost in her own world.

Naturally, this question wasn’t directed at her.

The answer came from the direction of the door.

“No matter how easily children fall into the abyss, just inflicting physical pain won’t create a world of good quality.”

Wihwa, who had somehow come back up and was now leaning against the doorway, casually brushed off the wood chips stuck to his head as he spoke.

“This kind of thing is the best. Lift them up to heaven and then drop them. Her dying father is in the next room, so with this level of drop, don’t you think something usable will come out?”

“What number is this?”

“Well, it’s not like I’ve done it so many times I’ve lost count… but I haven’t bothered to keep track either. No reason to, really.”

Blocking the door, Wihwa threw a satisfied smile at the happily chattering Elysia, then looked at me.

“Don’t worry. I can’t use this method on you. Instead, I want to offer you a different option.”

I turned my head and looked at him.

As if he had no guilt whatsoever about what he was doing, he extended his left hand.

“Join the Crimson Circle.”

“…”

“You already know, so I’ll speak frankly. You’re going to fall into abyss soon. You know that too, don’t you? At your age, to realize the dream you’ve achieved is a delusion and to wake yourself from it? Do you even understand how twisted that is? It’s going to happen soon. Even if we don’t do a thing, it’ll happen on its own.”

“Isn’t it a waste? For someone with your talent to fall and just die? But if you’re with us, we can save you. No, we have to save you. If your master allows it, we’ll mobilize all the knowledge we have to extend your lifespan.”

“Yeah, you must be curious about what we want from you. But the truth is, nothing. Hard to believe, right? But seriously. We won’t give you orders. We won’t ask for favors. You just use us and struggle to survive. Isn’t it unfair? To just die.”

Wihwa stepped closer and held out his hand.

“So, what do you say?”

“That’s a generous offer.”

I firmly grabbed his hand.

“In return, I want to add just one condition.”

“Heh, not satisfied even with this offer? You cocky little brat, but I guess you’re worth it.”

“It’s nothing special. Really, something completely worthless. Less than a pebble rolling on the ground.”

“…Yeah? What is it?”

Crack-!

I twisted Wihwa’s neck with all my strength and, watching his eyes shatter, quietly whispered,

“Your life.”