AI Grand Mage – Chapter 01
Altair slowly opened his eyes.
What greeted him was an unfamiliar ceiling.
And a familiar voice echoed in his ears.
[Have you awakened, human?]
“Yeah.”
[As a high-performance artificial intelligence, I confirm that the human’s objective—‘alteration of fate’—has been successfully achieved.]
“So it worked.”
Altair nodded, then spoke with genuine admiration.
“So this actually works.”
[…What did you just say?]
Akasha responded in a voice full of disbelief, but Altair didn’t pay it any mind.
“It’s fine. As long as it succeeded, that’s all that matters.”
He sat up and smoothly changed the subject.
“So, Akasha. What’s your status?”
[Analyzing.]
After a short pause, Akasha continued.
[There has never been a recorded case of installing software onto a ‘soul.’ I cannot yet be certain what kind of changes may occur.]
“Well, that figures.”
From the start, it wasn’t something that made sense by common logic.
‘Soul’ and ‘installation’—there were few words that clashed more than those.
But still, it worked.
“So, where are we?”
[Based on preliminary analysis, this appears to be a mage tower. Judging by location data, it is most likely the Blue Tower.]
“…The Blue Tower?”
At the familiar name, Altair looked around.
It was certainly a room that could be called a mage tower.
But something felt off.
“…This feels pretty shoddy for the Blue Tower.”
Altair knew the Blue Tower well.
It was one of the Four Great Mage Towers—and more importantly, it belonged to an old friend.
Bellusian Cabala, one of only five Nine-Circle Grand Mages on the continent, and the master of the Blue Tower.
A bizarre mage who had once explored ancient ruins containing the Akashic Records.
“That’s true. Its condition is terrible.”
Frowning, Altair inspected his surroundings more closely.
At a glance, the room looked luxurious and rich with magical construction.
But on closer inspection, the maintenance was dreadful.
Cracks in the walls had been left unrepaired, and the magic tools installed throughout the room were in poor condition.
The Blue Tower he remembered had never been like this.
As one of the Four Great Towers, it had been pristine and meticulously maintained.
“How much time has passed? If that old man were managing the tower properly, there’s no way the Blue Tower would be left in this state.”
[Approximately twenty years. That conclusion was reached by calculating the residual power contained within the ancient artifact.]
“…Twenty years?”
Altair tilted his head.
“That’s not as long as I expected. In twenty years, he should still be alive and well. Did he go senile in the meantime?”
Altair trusted Akasha completely.
When it came to calculations based on data, he believed it was absolutely incapable of being wrong.
Therefore—
“That old man was at an age where going senile wouldn’t be surprising.”
He concluded that his old friend had simply lost his marbles.
Next, Altair examined his own body.
He was wearing refined clothing tinged with blue.
This, at least, matched his memories.
“Blue Tower student robes. Looks like I ended up with a young body.”
[Shall I begin synchronizing with the body’s memories?]
“Do it.”
There was no reason to hesitate.
The original owner of this body was dead.
After all, the Akashic Records didn’t steal living souls—it entered bodies without owners.
[Understood. Initiating immediately.]
The moment Akasha finished speaking, the memories of the body’s former owner poured into Altair’s mind.
Even if you’re direct blood, it means nothing unless you prove your talent.
I’ll give you a purpose. Go to the Blue Tower.
How could someone as defective as you come from our family…
Countless voices intertwined chaotically in Altair’s mind.
Assimilating another person’s memories was no easy task.
If done carelessly, one could be swallowed by them instead.
For that reason, Altair quickly absorbed only what he could immediately handle.
The rest could be digested gradually.
‘The name is Sion Rosteri.’
His background was impressive.
The Rosteri Marquessate—one of the most prestigious noble families in the Empire.
And he wasn’t a bastard, but a legitimate direct descendant.
A winning background.
However, despite his lineage, Sion’s treatment within the family was poor.
The reason was simple.
He lacked talent.
Sion Rosteri was what one would call a “dullard.”
He could use mana, but his affinity was below average.
Naturally, he fell far short of the standards demanded by a prestigious family.
[It appears the body’s owner, Sion Rosteri, was effectively ‘exiled’ to the Blue Tower.]
“So it seems.”
[Based on memory analysis, he was used as a bargaining chip. The Rosteri family sought influence over the Blue Tower, and sent Sion for that purpose.]
“…A common story.”
In Altair’s mind, the situation of the Blue Tower quickly took shape.
For now, the tower’s condition was far from good.
The exact reason was unclear, but its decline began around the time Sion arrived.
That said, the Blue Tower hadn’t completely fallen.
It was more like a once-great house slowly heading toward ruin.
And to the calculating Rosteri family, this likely looked like the perfect time to invest.
For example—
‘Offering support when it’s most needed, in exchange for a stake in the Blue Tower.’
Sion Rosteri was the “payment” meant to prove that deal.
In other words, the body itself symbolized the Rosteri family’s influence within the Blue Tower.
“So I’ve ended up tangled in something more complicated than expected. Not a serious problem, though.”
As Altair organized the memories with a click of his tongue, Akasha provided additional information.
[The original owner’s cause of death has been identified as reckless human experimentation.]
“Sounds like his inferiority complex drove him to try enhancing his talent through experiments.”
[Your assumption is correct, human.]
Altair let out a bitter smile.
In some ways, Sion reminded him of himself.
After all, Altair had buried himself in engineering because he couldn’t become a mage.
“Come to think of it, I’m no longer Altair now. Akasha, from now on, call me Sion Rosteri.”
[Confirmed.]
Altair—no, Sion—continued assessing the situation while reviewing the memories he could currently process.
“The Blue Tower began declining rapidly about ten years ago… and the other Great Mage Towers were involved.”
[Even during the period when you were alive, the Blue Tower stood opposed to the established magical community. They cooperated with your plans.]
“…Tch.”
That made sense.
No matter how powerful, even one of the Four Great Towers couldn’t oppose the entire magical establishment alone.
It seemed the Blue Tower’s stance hadn’t changed even after Altair’s death.
“And if the Blue Tower is in this state, that probably means something happened to Bellusian as well.”
[Regrettably, yes. The probability is high.]
“….”
Sion’s face tightened briefly.
But only briefly.
Nothing was certain yet—and that could be confirmed later.
What mattered right now was—
‘I need to improve this body first.’
It was far too inadequate to put his knowledge to use.
“Akasha, just in case—can this body’s talent be improved right now?”
[Normally, that would be impossible.]
Akasha replied in an uneasy tone.
[However… surprisingly, it is possible, human.]
“It is?”
Sion was genuinely startled.
He hadn’t expected a positive answer.
He’d asked on a whim.
“That shouldn’t be possible.”
[But it is.]
A brief silence passed between them.
Akasha was currently “installed” in Sion’s soul.
There should have been functional limitations.
Yet there weren’t.
After a moment of thought, only one conclusion emerged.
“The Akashic Records.”
The mysterious ancient artifact capable of altering fate itself.
Perhaps its latent power had seeped into both Akasha and himself.
“Looks like I’ll need to investigate once things stabilize.”
[Shall we proceed immediately? I must warn you—this is unprecedented, and I cannot guarantee there is no risk. Completing a detailed analysis first would be safer—]
Akasha was cut off.
“What are you waiting for? Do it.”
[Ah—yes.]
After all, its creator had never been one to worry about “minor risks.”
[All right… here we go.]
Akasha immediately began inspecting Sion’s body and continued the procedure at speed.
Enhancing bodily talent wasn’t difficult.
Normally it required multiple steps, but in Sion’s case, the surgical tools were essentially embedded in his soul.
[From this point forward, do nothing, human. I need full concentration.]
“Do nothing?”
Sion calmly reached a conclusion.
‘That means do something.’
Then he would.
Sion quickly recalled the most dangerous yet highest-probability attempt he could make.
And soon, it came to him.
‘The Möbius Circle.’
A mana-circle formation method Altair had theorized in his previous life.
Typically, mana circles were simple rings—circular and closed.
They were considered the most efficient and “natural” structure.
But was that truly the case?
That question had led Altair’s research to create an entirely new method.
The Möbius Circle.
The problem was—while the theory was complete, it had never been tested even once.
[Um… human?]
“What?”
[As you know, I am currently devoting enormous resources to this procedure.]
“I know.”
[You must be in considerable pain, to the point where focusing is difficult.]
“Probably.”
[So you wouldn’t do anything insane, right? …You won’t, will you?]
“Haha. What do you take me for?”
He was a great engineer.
A scholar whose magical knowledge and theory could shock even Grand Mages.
Of course he wouldn’t do anything insane—
“I will.”
[HUUUMAAAAN!!]
Ignoring Akasha’s scream, Sion boldly decided to attempt forming the Möbius Circle—without a single safety check.
[Kgh! Kyaaaah!]
Akasha seemed to be screaming from the overload, but it was fine.
‘Endure it through the power of our bond.’
The years they’d shared would surely overcome even miracles.
Ignoring the pain wracking his body, Sion focused entirely on forming the circle.
‘I can feel it.’
His body was changing under Akasha’s intervention.
And this was the perfect moment.
As the body changed and mana surged in response, Sion’s internal state became more malleable than ever.
‘So this is mana.’
It was Sion’s first direct encounter with the force.
He’d studied it theoretically, but this was the first time he’d sensed and manipulated it himself.
Strangely, it felt incredibly familiar.
As if mana had always been part of him—moving exactly as he willed.
And from here, Sion’s theory would shine.
He condensed the forming mana, shaping it into an endlessly circulating loop.
The key was circulation.
A special circle unconstrained by conventional ranks.
And at its core—
‘The soul.’
He continued focusing.
And finally, through trust, effort, and camaraderie—
…and the small seasoning of Akasha’s tears of blood—
the Möbius Circle was completed.
WHOOOOSH!
The moment it formed, a storm of mana erupted around Sion.
The storm ravaged the room, throwing everything into chaos—until finally…
“Whew.”
In the wrecked room, Sion opened eyes gleaming with blue light.
“Mage class unlocked.”
[Your class unlock can go to hell…]
Akasha muttered weakly in his mind, half-dead.
Sion ignored it.
And so, in a shabby mage tower, a mage was born.
A mage unlike any before—
one who had transcended the very limits of the ‘circle.’
