By Zephyria 
That evening, I took out the Video Orb from the luggage I had left with Polargehen. As the academic year was coming to an end, the dormitory would be changing, so I had temporarily taken out my luggage and left it in Polargehen’s office since I wasn’t going home.
Returning to the quiet library where no one was around, I turned on the Video Orb. When I tried to contact the Valentasia family’s Video Orb, it connected almost immediately.
-Ray!
The first face to pop up on the Video Orb was Esili. Pushing her face aside, Leshnold showed a shocked expression.
-What’s wrong! Calling us first?
-Ah, move aside!
Esili appeared again.
-I heard the story. Why didn’t you answer our calls! Are you okay?
“…I’m fine.”
-Seriously. Not knowing how worried we are. Is there any progress? We’ve been looking through records to see if there’s anything we can do to help….
At that moment, Maximun suddenly poked his face out from behind Esili on the Video Orb, appearing between Leshnold and Esili. He picked up on what Esili seemed to be about to say.
-There was one piece of information worth noting. It’s a very old record, so it’s not accurate, but… do you remember the Genesis Era myth? I think you would have learned about it in class.
Genesis Era myth.
A story I heard in
‘If I remember correctly… an evil god born from an alien ore called Lafmag, Chaos, was sealed by a human hero… something like that.’
While I pondered the contents of that myth, Maximun continued to speak.
-There’s a story that human Mana Hearts were created from that time. If Mana started to be distributed from that time, the same would be true for Mana Hearts.
That’s a valid point. But how is that helpful information? As if noticing my question, Maximun began to speak.
-The main point is from here. Among the records related to that, there was a recording that caught my eye. It said that at that time, there was a King who enriched and ruled the world of humans.
“King?”
-Yes. It is said that the King was a sage who could use all kinds of Magic in the world, even in those days when there was no Magic system. And as a result of the interpretation, there was also a part that mentioned God. It seems that there are also remarks about having a ‘high-ranking’ body.
Hearing that story, I was reminded of the contents of the ancient language recording that seemed to have been mistakenly included during the
-If that King is the same person in the story recorded as a human hero… if he was a real King from an era forgotten in history. What do you think? It’s a story worth hypothesizing.
I immediately understood what Maximun wanted to say.
“It was said that the Mana of that mythical figure was also Black Mana.”
-That’s right, that’s it! It’s the same as you!
Leshnold’s voice was heard mixed in, still next to Maximun. I rested my chin for a moment. If this story is really true… I would have obtained important information that I hadn’t even thought of.
If that human was called a sage, he would have had an enormous amount of Mana in his Black Mana Heart, and he endured it.
‘Rank.’
There are definitely no clues yet. The existence of God is honestly unknown, so it was a problem that didn’t resonate with me.
‘What, am I supposed to transcend humanity or something?’
It’s close to a joke, but if you think about it, Balkan said something similar. He said strange things like abandoning the human body and finding the ancient races. He also said that records about Gilbert wouldn’t be helpful.
“…….”
Of course, it’s what the enemy said. The possibility of it being false information to mislead me cannot be ruled out. But even aside from that, I thought it was the right course to look for stories related to the Genesis Era myth instead of information about Gilbert.
“I understand. I’ll try to find more information on that side as well.”
I was about to cut off the Video Orb connection when.
-Ray.
Luciel’s voice was heard, and I turned back to the Video Orb. I didn’t see her in the Video Orb, so I thought she wasn’t there, but it seemed she had come closer and was listening to the story.
She glanced at the Video Orb and smiled softly.
-We always support you. Please keep that in mind.
-I miss you, Ray!
After that, the voices of Esili and Leshnold shouting at me were mixed in.
-Your family will definitely feel the same.
Herman’s words came to mind, and I felt strangely ticklish, unable to find the words to answer. In the end, I just nodded at Maximun’s words to contact them again next time and cut off the connection.
As it suddenly became quiet, the silence inside the library, which I had felt familiar with, felt a little different.
‘…Come to think of it.’
Suddenly, one person flashed through my mind. It was Ardian. It must be because of the surprising fact that the guy who always tried to stick to me like glue hadn’t shown his face even once until now.
“…….”
Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, I got up.
I had rested a bit, so it was time to search the library again.
After that, time passed.
During the vacation, I borrowed Cloud’s authority to search the inside of the library like a rat, and I found many records related to the Genesis Era myth, but there was nothing particularly helpful.
The Longcrew Library is a huge Magic system itself, where new information in the world is made into books, classified, and automatically stored on bookshelves.
In other words, I can’t find a way within the information that humans have discovered.
I had to find another way.
Having reached that conclusion, I now changed direction and looked for records about the ancient races.
‘Dragonkin, Elves, Dwarves, Giants, and Spirits.’
These five races are the ancient races. I was thinking of going to find them as Balkan had said, even if it meant being deceived.
The problem was that, except for the Dwarves, the habitats of these races were not properly known.
There are Elves among the professors, so it seems that there are ancient races living among humans, but judging from the fact that their habitats are not known, they also seem to keep their habitats secret. If it were Newt, who was said to be a Dragonkin half, she would know, so I wanted to ask, but she had already left the academy for the vacation.
So, at first, I was going to look for clues in the library….
Suddenly, something came to mind.
Professor Sigras, who is an Elf, had told me a meaningful story that I could call her anytime if I needed help. The moment that story came to mind, something pricked me.
Perhaps it was related.
I immediately left the library to go to Professor Sigras’s office. Students were not on campus because it was the second semester vacation, but I knew that the professors were still there, so she would definitely be there.
‘Sigras was a professor in the Swordsmanship Department.’
I went down to the floor where the Swordsmanship Department offices were located. Among them, I found a nameplate with Sigras written on it, and I knocked on the door without hesitation. I thought she would be there because the inside was bright, and sure enough.
“Come in.”
Her voice was heard from inside.
When I opened the door and went inside, she took off her glasses and turned around. Even though it was a student from another department who had suddenly come to visit after a long time, she was not surprised or embarrassed.
As if she knew I would come someday.
So, I got straight to the point.
“…You said to come if I needed ‘Elves’.”
A faint smile appeared on her expressionless face. Sigras gestured for me to continue if I had anything to say. Feeling a little more confident, I opened my mouth again.
“I need a way to endure the Black Mana Heart with this body. If you know anything, please tell me. The ancient races… don’t they know something?”
At that, Sigras nodded and replied.
It was as if she had been waiting for those words to come out.
“I know. And I was told to tell you when you wanted to know someday.”
“…Who said that?”
“God.”
I was momentarily speechless. Sigras seemed to have expected my reaction, and she smiled and continued.
“Of course, I don’t know if God really exists. It’s a prophecy that our clan has remembered and protected for generations, so I, a descendant, have no way of knowing its origin.”
“…….”
“But seeing you standing in front of me now… I think I should believe it from now on.”
Sigras, who seemed to find this situation amusing, chuckled and turned to me, who was silent, and changed the subject that had been slightly diverted, and got to the point.
“The content of the prophecy was that if someone who uses Black Mana wants to live on their own will, they should be directed to the place where the ‘Divine Object’ is. Finding the Divine Object will be the way to regain the lost rank.”