Chapter 138
If asked who the most beautiful magician on the continent was, anyone would have chosen Equinn Anaxis without any hesitation, but all talk of her had died down after she got married to a duke. However, Duchess Equinn, who usually spent her time sipping on red tea while sitting in a manner that exuded refinement and composure, was screaming like a little fangirl.
“Kyaaaah! It’s Oblion!” Equinn screamed.
Her maidservant could not hide her shock at the duchess’ demeanor. How long had it been since she last saw the duchess so overwhelmed with joy, to the point that she expressed it outwardly?
Equinn paced up and down the room while holding the letter in her hand, muttering to herself, “What should I do? Should I do my hair, at least, or should I put makeup on my eyes as well? Wait, I have to prepare my staff first! Hey, bring my staff! Hurry!”
“Y-Your staff, madame…?” the maidservant asked in confusion.
“What, do you expect me to bring a normal stick when an Archmage invites me? Hurry!” Equinn cried.
The maidservant rushed to bring her an old, worn-out staff made out of the branch of an oak tree. It was a staff the duchess had not used for a long time, but it was one she knew how to use better than anyone else. She then took off the fancy dress and corset she had been wearing before opening her wardrobe and taking out a loose white robe from the corner. She then put on the robe, to the surprise of her maidservant.
“Are you going to go out now, madame?” the maidservant asked nervously.
“Can’t you tell by how I’m dressed right now?” Equinn replied sharply.
“Madame, you have an appointment to meet the ladies for tea today,” the maidservant replied.
Duchess Equinn grimaced before saying, “Cancel all my appointments.”
“Y-Yes…?” the maidservant replied, flabbergasted.
“My child, there is something called a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in this world. The person I have respected and idolized ever since I was a child has called for me. That is why I really have to seize this opportunity, do you understand?” Equinn explained sternly.
The maidservant was completely dumbfounded. She asked, “Then what should I tell His Excellency?”
“Tell him that I went to relive my younger days, and went out for a picnic. Oh, and I will be back after a month,” Equinn replied.
“A-A month…?” the maidservant stuttered.
Duchess Equinn nodded, then hopped happily into the fireplace as her maidservant watched her disappear into it.
***
Then, who was the most ill-tempered magician on the continent? The most suitable candidate would be the dwarf magician, Hawelmon, who had been the first to break the preconception that magic could only be cast with a staff or a wand.
Hawelmon was hammering magic steel as he usually did when one of his disciples suddenly ran into the workshop. The disciple shouted, “Master! Master!”
Hawelmon hated being disturbed while he was working. He stopped hammering the magic steel, then raised a brow and asked, “What’s wrong?”
His disciple huffed and puffed for a while before managing to calm his breathing, then replied, “Oblion has finally gone insane! He has sent a request for a duel with you, master!”
“What did you just say?” Hawelmon asked as his face crumpled. His disciple handed him the letter.
As Hawelmon read the letter’s contents, both of his hands started to tremble. The letter was filled with taunts and curses directed at him.
“What? A muscle-brain who only knows how to use strength? I’m using a hammer instead of a staff because I’m dumb? How dare that crazy old senile elf say these things to me! It seems that no one has taught him a lesson yet!” Hawelmon yelled, seething with anger. He quickly ripped the letter to shreds.
His disciple gulped dryly before saying, “It seems that Oblion was talking about the duel you had at the Rahihen Bridge.”
“Ha! Talking about what? That duel ended in a draw, but he’s going around blabbering that he won!” Hawelmon scoffed while preparing his tools and weapons. The dwarf flung a sack, which looked so heavy that it would take a few adult human males to carry it, onto his shoulder with ease.
“Are you going right away, master?” his disciple asked in surprise.
“I’ll come back in a month’s time after I crush that bastard Oblion’s head,” Hawelmon said with absolute confidence before wobbling into the furnace.
The disciple was left all alone in the workshop scratching his nose after Hawelmon disappeared, and he muttered, “I hope you don’t get your head pulled off by Oblion…”
***
Now, who were the greatest geniuses among magicians? The Markle siblings once drew a doodle because they were bored, and it ended up becoming one of the most valuable magic scrolls in the Magic Society.
Haselit, the elder sister, smirked after reading a letter. She remarked, “Strange things do happen in life after all.”
“What is the matter, dear sister?” Haselian, the younger brother, asked.
“Oblion-nim has sent an invitation to us,” Haselit explained.
“Omo?” Haselian exclaimed in surprise.
Haselit covered her mouth with one hand and mused, “Does Oblion-nim fancy me, by any chance?”
“I do not think so, dear sister. I am certain that he has standards, even for an old elf,” Haselian jokingly remarked.
“Haselit, it is not a good habit to tease your noona like that. I’m sure you learned your lesson when you were three, right?” Haselit replied.
“I do not think anyone would be able to forget being strangled by their biological sister when they were three,” Haselian replied, and Haselit merely smiled in response. Haselian added, “Additionally, both of us were invited. So I am certain that he does not fancy you, dear sister.”
“I was just joking. Oblion is coveted by all female magicians, is he not?” Haselit remarked.
“I will tell my brother-in-law, your husband,” Haselian threatened.
“Haselian, my man will always be on my side,” Haselit grumbled.
Haselian laughed in response, then said, “The letter says that Archmage-nim will give us a month we will never forget in our life.”
“A memory we will never forget…” Haselit muttered, seemingly daydreaming about something.
Before his sister started dreaming up all sorts of nonsense, Haselian quickly added, “Shall we go now?”
“It is an invitation that no magician could ever refuse,” Haselit replied.
The siblings finished their preparations, then tore apart a magic teleportation scroll.
***
Kang Yoon-Soo sipped on alcohol while staring at the fireplace in the laboratory. The sight of so many magicians who were infamous for their arrogance and pride appearing one by one, covered in ashes, was quite an interesting sight.
One magician who was stuck among several other people grumbled out loud, “Why do you magicians always have to travel through fireplaces?! Are you a bunch of thieves coming down a chimney or something?!”
“Are you not a magician yourself?!”
“Aigoo! Get moving, will you?! My hip hurts so badly that I can’t even use escape magic right now!”
“Escape magic? In this situation? Are you trying to kill us all or what?!”
“You insects that would tremble just by the mention of my name are being too noisy!”
Kang Yoon-Soo waved his hand as he continued sipping on his alcohol, and the bricks of the fireplace slowly started to disassemble and rearrange themselves. The magicians started to emerge from the fireplace one by one as the opening widened.
Only then did they see each other, leaving them shocked.
“What? Aren’t you Professor Rehond? What about your lecture?”
“Then what are you doing here, Professor Railsen?”
They were all magicians whose names were well-known throughout the continent. Each of them had believed they would be the biggest of big shots among those invited by the Archmage, but they all got the shock of a lifetime. After a while, however, the magicians slowly approached Kang Yoon-Soo.
Professor Railsen extended his hand toward Kang Yoon-Soo and said, “It has been quite a while, Oblion-nim. How long has it been since we met each other at the Magic Forum? I wish to inform you now that I hope that Oblion-nim will become the dean of the university this year. It is far too great of a position for someone like me to handle.”
Professor Rehond also came forward and enthusiastically shook Kang Yoon-Soo’s hand, exclaiming, “You have no idea how happy I am that you called me as well! I tried to expand on the magic theory you advised me about before; would you be able to take a look for me later on?”
Kang Yoon-Soo nodded and gave a short reply to both of them. The magicians who knew of the Archmage’s usual warm character tilted their heads in confusion.
Kang Yoon-Soo looked at the magicians and said, “I’ll tell you the specifics once all of the magicians arrive.”
The magicians fidgeted nervously. There was a long table in the old laboratory that could have seated all of them with room to spare, but they could not sit, as the Archmage had not given them his permission yet. However, Kang Yoon-Soo just silently sat there while sipping on his alcohol. They were taken aback by what was going on.
“What’s wrong with Oblion-nim? He usually even offers his own seat, doesn’t he?”
“And he couldn’t even drink a sip of alcohol before, could he?”
“Something seems off here.”
Kang Yoon-Soo looked at the murmuring magicians, and the magicians immediately shut their mouths as soon as they saw the cold gaze of the old elf looking at them. He said in a low voice, “Sit.”
“Y-Yes!”
The magicians who were infamous for their great pride immediately obeyed his command as if they were a litter of puppies.
As magicians continued to pour in through the expanded fireplace, a beauty wearing a white robe slammed her staff into the ground. She cursed mildly with a hint of disappointment in her voice, “Dang it! There are others aside from me. I thought I was the only one who was invited.”
An old magician wearing a monocle suddenly exclaimed, “If it isn’t Equinn!”
“Please address me as Lady Equinn from now on, Professor Railsen,” Equinn replied with a cute, charming smile.
The magicians invited were all on the older side, but even such old wise men could not help but be mesmerized by Equinn’s beauty.
Railsen laughed heartily before greeting Equinn with a hug, asking, “I thought you were going to retire as a magician?”
“Living as a duchess can be quite boring, and someone amazing wrote me a hand-written letter as well,” Equinn replied as she smiled at Kang Yoon-Soo.
However, Kang Yoon-Soo did not even glance at her as he continued to sip on his alcohol. Equinn was stunned by the lukewarm response from the Archmage, and sat down beside Professor Railsen.
Then, a roar suddenly resounded from the fireplace. “Haiiiiyaaaah! Die! Oblion!”
A short dwarf threw his steel hammer, and it spun in midair as it flew toward Kang Yoon-Soo’s face. Just as it was about to touch his nose, however, it froze in midair.
“Go back,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, flicking a finger. Then, the hammer flew in reverse, slamming into the dwarf’s chin.
Hawelmon flew backward, groaning. “Kuheok!”
“What is this insolence?! How dare you throw a hammer at Archmage-nim?!” Professor Railsen shouted, and the other magicians jumped up from their seats.
“Hawelmon! Was that crazy dwarf invited too?!”
Hawelmon got up immediately even after being hit by his own hammer. He growled, “Crazy? Ha! Aren’t all magicians crazy in the first place?”
“What nonsense are you spouting in the presence of Oblion-nim, Hawelmon?!”
Hawelmon gritted his teeth and retorted, “What’s the big fuss all about? I’m here to fight that bastard who sent me a duel request!”
However, nobody believed Hawelmon’s words. There was no way that an Archmage as docile as Oblion would send a duel request to someone like Hawelmon.
Someone suddenly interjected, “Isn’t it only natural to call a dwarf who uses magic while swinging a hammer instead of a staff crazy?”
“Say one more word and I’ll smash those lips of yours with my hammer!” Hawelmon roared. The atmosphere started to turn rough and hostile.
Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly spat out a short command. “Sit, Hawelmon.”
“Shut up! Oblion! Do you know how many weapons I’ve prepared just to defeat you today…”
Kang Yoon-Soo clapped, and Hawelmon’s hammer suddenly floated in midair.
Kwachik!
The magic hammer that was harder than anything else in the world crumpled easily like a piece of paper.
“I said, sit,” Kang Yoon-Soo repeated.
“…” Hawelmon quietly sat at the end of the table with a look of displeasure.
The last one to arrive were the magic scroll-producing genius siblings.
“It is an honor to be invited by you,” Haselit and Haselian greeted Kang Yoon-Soo politely with a bow. He nodded slightly in response.
The magicians could not hide their surprise when they were all gathered together. They were all magicians with the power to wipe out hundreds of monsters with a single spell, and it was not an easy task to gather all of them together in one place like this. It was quite common for a magician’s pride to be proportional to their power, but it was a different story if the one who had invited them was Oblion.
Oblion was quite well-known for his docile and gentle personality, on top of being a recluse. He had chosen to live quietly in a coastal town after refusing the invitation to become the royal mage. And yet, such an Archmage had suddenly assembled so many magicians in one place.
Kang Yoon-Soo finally spoke, explaining, “The reason why I have invited all of the powerful magicians on the continent is simple.
“Kill me.”
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