CHAPTER 29…………………….
. The Second Mage of Icelock
Sadly, the mana stone hunt ended there.
“So that’s how it is…”
Even though Ronan and the others had claimed to find traces a few more times, they all came up empty-handed.
“There’s no way a monster like Ecophang would be common.”
“Didn’t the Captain say it’s been centuries since he saw anything in these snowy mountains besides snow worms? The fact that we even found that one was nothing short of a miracle.”
“I know. I know… but it’s still frustrating.”
I let out a faint sigh at Ronan’s calm words.
“Can’t we get mana stones from snow worms?”
“No.”
I said firmly.
“Why not? They look similar enough.”
“…You think they look similar?”
“They’re both hairy, aren’t they?”
“…Sure, whatever you say.”
I waved him off, ignoring his nonsense.
Ahead of us, Hogg, who was leading the way, shrugged his shoulders as he chuckled.
“…Not every monster carries a mana stone.”
Snow worms have no mana stones.
That means they carry no mana in their bodies.
No mana, no stones, no magic.
“So only monsters that can use magic have mana stones?”
“That’s not an absolute rule, but the odds are high.”
“The calamity of the snowy mountains… that dragon must have one too.”
“Once you’re talking about dragons, you don’t call it a mana stone.”
“There’s a different name for it?”
“When you form a circle or carve an engraving—it lodges itself near the heart. Do you know why?”
Ronan shook his head.
“Because mana is affected.”
“Affected?”
The heart produces blood, and that blood spreads through the veins to the whole body.
Mana, stored in circles or engravings, manifests into magic.
Blood and mana share similar properties, which is why forming circles and engravings near the heart is most efficient.
“Dragons don’t even need to form circles or engravings.”
“Why not? Don’t dragons use magic?”
“Even breathing is magic for them.”
“What?”
“A dragon’s heart itself is no different from a mana stone.”
“What are you talking about?”
Ronan tilted his head, completely lost.
“Dragon Heart.”
A dragon’s heart produces both blood and mana.
Its veins are circles, and its flowing blood is indistinguishable from mana itself.
That’s why a dragon’s breath is magic, and its words become curses.
“So we just need to get our hands on that.”
“…You do realize the whole reason we’re after mana stones is to kill that dragon, right?”
“Oh.”
Ronan gave a dumb little nod.
This time Hogg couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter.
Watching Ronan walk on with that same deadpan face, I became certain I had judged him correctly.
…He definitely wasn’t mage material.
“…I guess I’m not mage material either.”
Barent groaned, burying his face in the desk.
“Quit whining unless you want another beating.”
Hagen growled lowly, towering behind him.
In his hand was a heavy club.
Barent whimpered, forcing his face back up.
A book lay open before him—one from the library, titled Circle: Understanding Mana.
“I just don’t get it.”
“Read until you do.”
“I’d rather haul rocks than this.”
Barent pouted as he muttered.
It had already been five months since he came to Icelock.
Autumn was not only in full swing—it was fading away.
Day after day of relentless training had reshaped him.
Muscles, torn and healed again and again, carved lines into his once-round frame.
The baby fat had been forcibly shed from his face, leaving no trace of the boyish look he once had.
Still, a recruit is a recruit.
Whack!
Hagen mercilessly brought his club down on Barent’s shoulder.
“Gyaaah?!”
“You’re getting spoiled, aren’t you?”
Barent tried to lift his arms to block, but Hagen easily jabbed the club right into the open gap.
“Ugh?!”
“Everyone else is busting their asses outside!”
“Argh?!”
“And you’re lucky enough to sit at a desk!”
“Eek?!”
“And you dare complain?!”
Smack—!
The club came down hard on his crown, dropping Barent to the floor with a scream.
Pain throbbed across every spot it had struck, leaving him trembling all over.
“Get up, boy.”
Hagen’s voice was cold.
“Do you know how many times I’ve read this book just so I could teach you?!”
“Th-then y-you should just make one yourself, Lieutenant! A circle!”
“I can’t…!”
Hagen started to raise his club but clenched his teeth and lowered it again.
“…Sorry.”
“…? Wh-why are you acting so scary all of a sudden?”
Barent blinked at him, arms still reflexively shielding his head.
Those broad shoulders of Hagen’s drooped in a way that didn’t suit him at all.
“I can’t do it.”
Hagen had been tasked with Barent’s training under Esric’s orders.
Not just because he was the lieutenant, but because he could read and had a sharp mind.
Esric had handed him a book.
Day after day, Hagen read it.
Whenever he didn’t understand, he asked Esric.
And Esric always answered kindly, at a level Hagen could grasp.
Hagen had grown up not knowing his parents—an orphan of the world.
He spent his childhood among back-alley thugs, naturally becoming a criminal.
When the city guard came after him, he fled to the mountains, where he lived as a bandit ever since.
No one had ever taught him anything.
Everything he knew, he had taught himself—just to survive.
By the time he realized it, he was already an officer of a bandit gang.
Even after being caught and thrown into Icelock, his survival strategy hadn’t changed.
Learn on his own, to stay alive.
And Esric’s guidance… it was like light.
A single ray of light piercing into a world that had been nothing but darkness.
Hagen truly began to enjoy studying magic.
And with that joy came despair.
“Because I engraved myself.”
The mark carved into his heart.
He had carved it back in his bandit days to survive.
It was a sloppy engraving, barely containing mana, unable to unleash any real spell.
But it meant when the time came to engrave again, he didn’t need to worry about compatibility.
In Icelock, under Barnard—the former captain of the magic unit—he engraved his second spell: Fireball.
At the time, he thought it was all necessary for survival.
Now, he regretted it bitterly.
“Anyone who engraves can never form a circle.”
“…Wh-what?”
“It’s right there in the damn book, you idiot!”
Hagen roared, shaking off the gloom.
“I want to make one too! But I can’t!”
Esric had told him.
Those who engraved would never form circles.
Hagen had checked again and again, even reading the library’s tomes with his own eyes.
Esric hadn’t forced him—Hagen had wanted to know.
Esric hadn’t stopped him either.
In fact, he even carved out time so Hagen could read.
And after reading several grimoires, Hagen confirmed it himself—Esric was right.
His head accepted it.
But his heart still clung to hope.
“But you can! You can do it! So stop whining! Others… even if I… no matter how much I want to…!”
“…?!”
Barent blinked in surprise at Hagen’s outburst.
He had heard Hagen yell plenty of times.
But never so emotional.
He could feel the raw truth in his voice.
Hagen exhaled deeply, calming himself, before speaking again.
“…It’s an opportunity and a possibility that others would kill to have.”
He held out his hand to Barent, who was still sprawled on the ground.
“Just hang in there a little longer…”
“…Yes!”
Barent grabbed it, sprang up, and sat back at the desk.
Fixing his gaze on the book, he began reading again.
From the dormitory window, Esric watched the two of them and smiled warmly.
“They’re doing well.”
Snowflakes drifted gently across his smiling face.
Winter was coming.
The time had come.
Barent’s circle had to be completed before the next flood.
“What’s the order for creating a circle?”
I looked at Barent with some doubt.
But he straightened his neck and answered firmly:
“Sense the mana, weave the ring, fill it, and set it to circulate.”
“Good. Sounds like you read the book properly.”
Behind him, Hagen smiled with satisfaction.
For all his looks, Hagen really was sharp.
If not for that engraving, he might have become a mage himself.
A shame, really.
“But theory and practice are worlds apart.”
“I know. I… know.”
Barent nodded nervously.
“But don’t worry too much. I’ll help you.”
“H-how?”
“Well.”
“…”
There was no better way to put it.
The help one could give in creating a circle was very limited.
“Then let’s begin.”
“…Yes.”
Barent exhaled deeply and shut his eyes.
The hardest part before forming a circle was sensing mana.
Just like you don’t consciously separate oxygen and carbon dioxide when you breathe, people couldn’t normally sense mana before forming a circle.
Not even the mana inside their own bodies.
But sensing mana was the very first step.
Fortunately, I could help with that.
『 The Contractor casts magic. 』
Just by unfolding 『 Magic 』 inside me, the mana density around us rose.
Like handing a cane to the blind—it was at least something.
“…!”
Soon, Barent seemed to notice it.
Woom.
He drew in mana from the surroundings, faster and more abundantly.
Breathing out, he began to feel the mana within his own body.
“I’ll… weave the ring now…”
Sweat beaded on his brow.
Behind him, Hagen bit his lip anxiously.
“Slowly.”
I whispered softly.
“Roll the mana, make it grow larger first.”
Just as I had guided contractors before.
“Once it’s big enough and stable, that’s when you weave the ring.”
“…Yes.”
“Don’t answer. Focus.”
“…”
Barent shut his mouth and did focus.
Of course.
This was his first time sensing mana.
It was like opening a completely new sense.
Imagine suddenly gaining a new pair of eyes—or an extra arm.
It wouldn’t be hard to devote every nerve to it.
Woom.
I could feel mana resonating within him.
The ring was beginning to take shape.
“Keep it as close to your heart as possible.”
No reply, but the flow of mana told me he heard me.
“Wrap the ring around your heart.”
Sweat trickled down his face, dripping from his nose.
His whole face was drenched now.
“Ugh…!”
He groaned faintly.
Behind him, Hagen was practically praying with clasped hands.
“It’s fine.”
That unease was just the foreign feeling of the ring touching his heart.
“You’re doing well.”
Which meant he had indeed placed it close enough.
“Now finish it.”
The mana, which had been resonating briefly, now thrummed long and loud.
The thick mist of mana in the air—
Shhhhk!
Cleared in an instant.
The ring had closed, sucking in all the mana it needed in one go.
“Haah…!”
Barent gasped, his eyes flashing open.
“Well done. And you too, Hagen.”
I grinned at the two of them.
Relief washed over Hagen’s tense face.
“Ah…!”
“I-it worked! It really worked!”
The two of them rushed at each other, hugging and jumping around.
“Congratulations.”
Watching them, Esric chuckled warmly.
“You are Icelock’s second mage, Barent.”
