[272] 1. Hostile friendly relationship (1)
The morning of the capital of Kazra was bright.
Sirone waited in the waiting room set up by the Inspection Department to take a paternity test.
It was not impossible to visit, but no one came because it was a place that the nobles of Kazura paid attention to.
Once the paternity test is over, you can’t go back to your old life. What will your future be like?
“Huh, I’m nervous for nothing.”
“Nothing to worry about. It’s a simple test.”
Sirone raised his head.
A tall, slim man stood there. He didn’t have a cold impression, but he was a man with an eerie sting.
A faint shudder ran through his nerves. It was the same feeling as when I first met Armin.
“Could it be the unlocker?”
The man bowed politely in exchange for an answer.
“Your introduction is late. It’s called Arius. I’m in charge of His Highness Orkamp’s advisory.”
Sirone opened her eyes narrowly and set up a vigilant blade.
“What did that person come for?”
The waiting room is an enclosed space by human standards. It was never safe to be alone with a master who had infiltrated such a place without anyone knowing.
“I just want to meet you. Unlockers have something in common.”
Arius freely showed his temperament as if he understood Sirone’s feelings of trembling at the resonance.
“I have heard of Sirone-kun’s heroic story. I was particularly impressed with the Photon Cannon. Perhaps a cell controlling mass?”
Sirone’s tension rose. If the opponent was the enemy, it was not a good situation to see through the ability.
Arius raised both hands, showing no hostility.
“You don’t have to be too vigilant. It’s pure interest. You could call it a fan. For reference, let me introduce my ability…”
“It’s scale magic, right?”
“Oh, why do you think so?”
“This is a room that is blocked on all six sides. You can’t get in with only space movement magic. If you distort time and space at the same time, there is only scale magic.”
Arius readily admitted. It was also not a special secret among the wizards who worked on this floor.
“you’re right. More than half of unlockers are scale mages. Did you know this too?”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
It was the first time Sirone had heard of it. More than half of the unlockers were scale mages.
Well, after all, Armin’s magic could be called a kind of scale magic. Because time and space cannot be separated.
“It is not clear why there are so many scale mages among unlockers. I can only guess that it has something to do with Immortal Function’s tendency. In that respect, Sirone-kun’s batteries are quite unique. The ability to handle mass is extremely rare. I really envy you.”
“No, not so great…”
Armin interrupted, sticking his face in.
“I am stronger though.”
It was childish to say that it came from the mouth of a high-level wizard. But Arius didn’t care.
“I want to make sure of this.”
“Oh, of course.”
Sirone did not deny it. Since he was a skilled person hired by the king of a country, he was a great senior to a magic school student.
Then Arius tilted his head in surprise.
“what? Isn’t that too easy to admit? Too much humility is poison.”
“yes? no. I am just a student.”
“Of course, magic power is still lacking. But you never know what will happen if you cast Ataraxia, right?”
Sirone was taken aback. Ataraxia is the language of heaven. No one knew of it except for acquaintances, and even in academic journals, Killline used the term magic amplification.
‘This person has also been to heaven.’
Arius stared into Sirone’s eyes. As if trying to find a little fairy living inside the pupil. The corner of his mouth went up slightly after confirming that the keyword was properly imprinted.
“How do you know Ataraxia?”
“haha! Most wizards who have played on this floor for a while know. It is the organ of Archangel Ichael. Of course, it was shocking that humans could master it.”
“Then have you ever been to heaven?”
Arius nodded nonchalantly.
“Once a long time ago. But it wasn’t a particularly fun place for me. However, information is constantly being collected. Because humanity’s survival is at stake. We all owe a debt to Miro. Well, thanks to her, she became the greatest wizard, so wouldn’t it be unfair?”
Arius’ words came to Sirone, who had only the idea of sacrifice for Miro’s choice.
“Is Mr. Miro the best unlocker?”
Arius smiled self-deprecatingly.
“What wouldn’t it be? In fact, how do we know who is the best? But she did save mankind. And even now, we are staying in a different dimension that we cannot challenge. No mage born in this era will be able to overcome the maze’s stronghold. It’s unfortunate.”
Although it sounded cold, it wasn’t without reason.
Everyone should have a chance to make their dreams come true. Otherwise, this world that Miro protected with sacrifice would be as good as already dead.
“okay. But Mr. Miro also thinks so…”
“Haha! Of course I know! Don’t take it too seriously. If it had not been for Orberg, the creator of turn undead magic, mankind would have been conquered by the Necromancers. It must be the physiology of magic that the first factor changes depending on the situation. Besides, there already existed the best wizard in this world that no one could surpass.”
“Are you the best wizard? Who is that?”
Sirone remembered the names of several people.
Kergos who established the theory of photonization? Ibris, the creator of the ignition magic Ignite? Perhaps it was Gloria who compiled the four-way system of the Spirit Zone.
“The greatest wizard in history is… Mackline Guffin.”
Sirone hit her knees in pity.
“ah! I knew!”
The wizard who installed the gate to heaven in Kergo Autonomous Region. I could tell from Ikael’s words how great a wizard he was.
“Who is Guffin?”
Arius scratched his head as if he was vague about answering.
“Hmm, I really don’t know. There are no records of guffins. Opinions are divided even as to whether he really existed in the world.”
“what? But Guffin…”
“Yes. His achievements are all over the world. But all that remains are ruins. There are no historical records of real guffins. Even now, archaeologists roam the world looking for traces of guffins, but no record of any form has been found. Even folk tales.”
“How can that be?”
Sirone was puzzled.
Every human being always leaves traces of his life. It was normal for everyone in the world to know that even so-and-so without fame was enough to go down in the yard where the record came down through acquaintances.
“Whether Guffin is a real person is still a controversial issue in the academic world. Some scholars claim that he never had contact with intelligent life in his lifetime. However, there is another hypothesis that is currently in the limelight.”
The man called the greatest wizard in history evaporated without leaving any records. Sirone thought that maybe this was a great magic.
Arius raised a finger and said.
“Guffins existed in the world. But the hypothesis is that for some reason the world has forgotten him.”
When I heard those words, I had a memory that came to my mind. It was an anecdote heard from the heavenly fairy Peope.
Archangel Ichael is said to have committed an unforgivable sin. But the subjects of heaven do not know what sin it is.
It’s because Ankera erased his memory.
“Guppins definitely existed in the world, but now they are in a state of non-existence. This is called gurffin erasure or reset in the academic world.”
“If Reset…”
“Guppin could have simply erased his name from the Akashic Records. But then the world must be a modified whole. But why do Guffin ruins still exist? The theory of reset suggests an answer to that. In other words, the world we experience has been initialized once at some point.”
To Sirone, who had not yet reached the depths of his intellect, Arius’ words sounded like the nonsense of a lunatic. Even so, the reason why I couldn’t change my mind was the tendency of the unlocker to fall into this kind of problem.
“There is a ‘crack field verification experiment’ as a representative evidence of guffin erasure. The total amount of time and energy in our world is subtly misaligned.”
Arius stretched out his ten fingers and pretended to hold the sphere.
“The Akashic Records as a whole are perfect. Therefore, this world cannot lose its perfection. But cracks can happen. A crack is a personality, not a deficiency. Scholars speculate that traces of Reset remain in the cracks.”
Sirone couldn’t believe it. However, if many scholars are serious about it, it was not an absurd story.
“If the reset is true, does that mean everyone in the world is living the same life a second time?”
“It will be like that. Don’t think hard. Time does not flow, it is perceived. Let’s say, for example, that humans began 10,000 years ago. Did today’s people wait 10,000 years to live today? no. They didn’t even wait a second. This is because time is recognized from the moment you are born. So, scholars cite déjà vu as evidence of reset. It feels like reliving what you’ve been through before. This is also a cognitive error caused by the brain mistaking the time before and after initialization.”
Arius raised his index finger and asked.
“Then, here is the problem. How could Macklein Guffin reset the world?”
The words automatically popped into Sirone’s head.
“Immortal Function.”
Arius nodded in satisfaction.
“That’s right. If you expand your mind endlessly, the ego dissolves. However, in any phenomenon, there is a critical point. If you can perfectly control the immortal function, it will be in such a contradictory state that it is both infinite and finite. In other words, it becomes a whole with a self.”
Arius’s explanation awakened a similar concept known to Syrone. To be whole with a self is, in other words, to have a self in everything. And the people of the world called such a being a god.
“okay. A person called Guffin is…”
Sirone finally realized. Why is McLean Guffin the best wizard in the world that no one can surpass?
“yes. Macklein Guffin…”
Arius said with a smile.
“He is an infinite wizard unprecedented in human history.”
It was the second time after Armin to hear that he was an infinite wizard, but the feeling of accepting it was much stronger.
At the time, I was ignorant of Immortal Function and the Akashic Records. But now, the process of how humans can claim the divine personhood has been vaguely drawn.
“I don’t know what era the Guffins are from. 100 years ago? 1,000 years ago? Maybe even before humans began. However, regarding the timing of the reset, the prevailing theory is that it was 18 years ago. As of that point, Guffin’s achievements are not appearing. Coincidentally, 18 years ago was also the year the time-space of the labyrinth was born.”
Arius talked about the possibility, but Sirone heard directly from Ikael that Miro was the successor to Guffin.
Also, if it was 18 years ago… it was also the year he was born.
But I didn’t think deeply about it. Who is the only person who was born 18 years ago?
Arius checked his watch. There was not much time left for the inspection, so it was time to be faithful to the original mission.
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