Chapter 149 – Inferior Beings (Two)

“Th-then, have a pleasant time!”

The disciple, panting with fear of Ray, bowed so deeply his head touched the ground.

Then, as if fleeing, he quickly exited and closed the door.

Creak—! Thud!

‘Pathetic. To be so flustered in front of a guest.’

“Tsk.”

Binjin, who had clicked his tongue without realizing it, turned to Ray and smiled brightly as if asking when his face had ever been so contorted.

“You must be hungry. Let’s talk over a meal first. I’ll give you a tour of the mansion afterwards.”

Ray and Binjin sat facing each other at the table and began their meal.

Thud.

“This is boiled pork topped with fermented onions. Please try it.”

Thud.

“This is tenderloin steak with demi-glace sauce. Please try this as well.”

Thud.

“This is salted chicken fried in oil and seasoned.”

All sorts of dishes were piled formidably before Ray.

Even if he turned his head, he saw nothing but meat dishes everywhere on the table.

This is a bit…

‘Not bad.’

Ray began to eat.

“I looked into the literature on Elves and the Ancient Era a bit more. Just in case I had missed something.”

Binjin’s Vessel was filled with emotions of expectation, inquiry, and curiosity.

Even without any particular response from Ray, he continued the conversation enthusiastically on his own.

“Ruins are perhaps the most powerful tangible evidence of the Ancient Era. You mentioned you would visit them personally to regain your memories, but the thing to be cautious about is…”

The stories about the Ancient Era and Elves.

They were quite detailed and informative.

Ray neatly organized the newly learned information on the bookshelves in his mind.

At the same time, he couldn’t take his eyes off the tower visible through the window behind Binjin.

‘…There’s something there, in that place.’

It was a feeling that could only be described as truly strange.

A high level of danger was detected.

And simultaneously, a familiar sensation was felt.

“So these days, young explorers give up on expeditions entirely at the slightest hardship.”

“I see.”

“The presence of traps and Keepers is proof that there are equally rare artifacts on the other side. It wasn’t like that when I was active.”

“That seems right.”

The plates on the table had already been cleaned out neatly.

Binjin wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and spoke in a slightly elevated voice.

“This was truly an informative meeting. It’s the first time I’ve met someone whose conversation flows so well. I dare say I’d like to call us soulmates.”

Snap!

When Binjin snapped his fingers, a group of disciples waiting outside entered.

“W-we’ll clear the plates for you.”

“D-did you enjoy the meal?”

Their nervousness was evident as they cleared the table while watching Binjin’s mood.

Ray thought.

‘They’re all from Class C.’

Binjin had said he divided his disciples largely into three classes based on skill.

Class A, where all are Ring holders, and both theory and practical skills are excellent, allowing them to aim for Mage Tower admission.

Class B, composed of a mix of Ring holders and non-holders, where either theory or practical skills is outstanding.

And Class C, composed entirely of non-Ring holders who are unskilled in both theory and practice.

「Each class has a capacity of ten. Through periodic evaluations, one’s class can rise or fall at any time.」

Binjin had added.

It was to foster a competitive spirit among the disciples and boost their motivation to learn.

“W-we’ll clear it.”

Without exception, none of them had Rings.

Also, none of the Class B members whose facial features he remembered were visible.

The conclusion that they were all Class C members was naturally drawn…

Crash!

Then, a sharp sound rang out.

“S-sorry! I-I made a m-mistake…”

Perhaps due to excessive nervousness, one disciple had dropped and broken a plate while clearing the table.

Objectively speaking, it wasn’t that big a deal.

It was an empty plate after the food had been eaten, and the plate itself was a mass-produced item commonly found on the streets.

No one was hurt.

But Binjin’s anger was like fire.

“Tsk, pathetic thing. Must you make such a disgraceful scene in front of a guest.”

Reprimands poured out naturally, as if he had been waiting for prey.

“Jacob, mistakes like this stem from your lax mental state. I pointed out areas for correction before, but compared to then, there’s not a speck of change. Do you truly think and live with the thing on your shoulders?”

His tone was calm, but the content within was utterly scathing.

As the harsh words continued, Jacob, who had broken the plate, hung his head low.

His face turned bright red, tears began to well up, and the Indigo Mana in his Vessel also churned and swelled roughly.

Self-loathing, inferiority, depression.

Emotions of hating oneself.

The reactions of the other disciples weren’t much different either.

As if they were the ones being berated, they hung their heads low, not knowing what to do.

Their Indigo Mana also expanded.

‘This is… like on the first floor earlier…’

It was the contagion of emotion.

An exact mechanism or method was unknown, but a phenomenon where one person’s emotions spread in all directions.

If the contagion had ended with the disciples, he would have passed it off as an occasional occurrence.

But—

“That’s why you haven’t been able to construct a Ring even after years.”

—With those words, the Indigo Mana contained in Binjin’s own Vessel also swelled.

To be precise, it was Dark Blue Mana.

An Indigo infinitely close to black.

The color of Mana that had also been contained in the Vessel and Ring of the monocle-wearing Wizard.

Back then, due to lack of knowledge and experience, he had simply remembered the color and moved on.

But not now.

‘Self-hatred, with malice intent on harming others added to it.’

Binjin seemed, at a glance, to have very high self-esteem.

He always maintained a ‘superior’ stance when dealing with others, including Amon and the disciples.

And objectively speaking, he possessed wealth and learning that others would envy.

…But.

According to the type and distribution of emotions manifested in his Vessel, he harbored a strong sense of inferiority towards himself.

‘Why?’

What exactly was he dissatisfied with?

Ray, who had been closely observing Binjin as he continued his scolding, soon witnessed a certain phenomenon.

The two Rings positioned on Binjin’s chest.

Above them, the dots of Mana orbiting to form a third Ring.

‘The orbital speed is infinitely slow.’

It was a speed almost indistinguishable from being stationary.

As if trudging forward through a viscous swamp.

At that speed, no matter how much time passed, he would never reach the next Circle.

Being a boy fundamentally uninterested in others, it was a fact he hadn’t properly realized until now.

“Inferior thing, lacking thing, incompetent thing. Tsk tsk, what’s so difficult about raising one Circle?”

A Ring whose growth had stalled.

Because of that, Binjin’s harsh words also sounded as if he were firing them at himself.

“Get lost. I don’t even want to see that foolish face.”

“W-we’ll clean up the broken pieces.”

“Tsk, fine. I’ll clean it up.”

Whoosh!

At Binjin’s gesture, the door opened by itself.

The Class C disciples hurriedly finished clearing the table and rushed out of the room in a crowd.

“My apologies. I’ve shown you a disgrace that’s not even a proper disgrace.”

From Ray’s perspective, it didn’t really matter.

However, according to Veronica’s compiled 「10,000 Etiquette Guidelines for Ray Regarding Everyday Situations」, he wondered if continuing such reprimands in front of a guest wasn’t the greater disgrace.

Whoom.

The Dark Blue Mana emitted from Binjin’s hand wriggled like a snake and advanced through the air.

Crackle! Sizzle!

The broken plate fragments froze solid the moment the Mana touched them.

Levitated by Telekinesis, they were enveloped in an instant, super-high-temperature flame and vanished on the spot.

“…….”

Ray couldn’t take his eyes off the series of processes.

Because both the ice and the flame bore a blackish hue, and Black Smoke rose from that spot.

Sensing Ray’s gaze, Binjin asked.

“Is something the matter?”

“The color of your Magic is unusual.”

“Ah, the color. I use a somewhat special method.”

Binjin said he stores all elements within his Ring in a mixed state, like muddy water.

“By adopting this method, no matter from where in the Ring I extract Mana, all elements within it are dissolved. It means the time required for element selection is dramatically shortened.”

Indeed, the ice and flame earlier were generated at a very fast speed.

Ray stared at Binjin’s Rings.

The first and second Rings.

Both were filled only with Dark Blue Mana.

‘…It’s an abnormal form indeed.’

In typical cases, each Ring should show a different distribution of element forms.

The types and ratios of elements contained in a Ring are determined by the Wizard’s personality and disposition at the moment of Ring construction.

Therefore, such a form cannot be established.

Unless the miracle of the 1st and 2nd Rings being created perfectly simultaneously occurs.

Moreover, it is originally impossible to maintain the elements within a Ring, which have a strong tendency to cluster with those of the same series, in such a perpetually mixed state.

“You said you use a special method?”

“Yes. That’s correct. A procedure I developed independently. When applied, Magic undergoes this kind of color transformation.”

Binjin added with shining eyes.

“Are you perhaps interested? It’s a very secret and precious procedure… but for a Wizard with whom conversation flows so well, I might be able to offer my services once.”

Emotions of expectation and greed in Binjin’s Vessel wobbled and swelled in size.

It was clear he had demonstrated his Magic with the intention of bringing this up from the start.

‘A procedure.’

He had no particular desire to make his Rings look like that.

While Magic casting would undoubtedly become explosively faster, equally clear and fatal drawbacks were visible.

‘When using Magic, an unnecessary amount of elements is wasted.’

Although not as much as pure black Mana, Binjin’s Dark Blue Mana also had all sorts of elements dissolved within it.

Fire series, Ice series, Reinforcement, Connection.

Swiftness, Binding, Manipulation, Blocking, Control…

As when he created the ice and flame earlier, it was possible to use Magic from multiple series with just one Dark Blue Mana.

But that, in other words, meant that depending on the Magic used, there would be elements that are wasted.

‘It could exhibit high destructive power in a short time, but its sustainability is questionable.’

It was similar to black Mana.

For now, Ray focused on another part of what Binjin had said.

“I am getting interested… but you said it’s a method you developed independently?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Alone, without anyone else’s help?”

“Of course.”

The emotions contained in Binjin’s Vessel trembled overall.

‘A lie.’

It’s not a method developed independently.

It meant Binjin might belong to some organization or have someone behind him.

The person that immediately came to mind was.

‘…The monocle-wearing Wizard.’

A small excitement arose in the boy’s chest.

It felt like taking one step closer to a target point for revenge.

But caution was needed for now.

Also, vigilance was necessary.

If he was in league with the monocle-wearing Wizard, then Binjin was also an enemy.

Calmly, without getting excited, he would circle around and gather information.

“So, are you interested in the procedure?”

“I’d at least like to hear about it.”

The corners of Binjin’s mouth twitched uncontrollably and rose.

“Excellent. Let’s change locations to talk. First, to my research room next door…”

Ray didn’t miss the opportunity to gain information.

“Next door? I thought that tower outside the window was your research room.”

“Ah, that tower.”

Binjin followed Ray’s gaze towards the window.

“That is not a research room. It’s a kind of Laboratory. And also the place where the procedure will take place, if you agree after hearing about it.”

“…….”

From the tower, a sense of incongruity of unknown origin was still felt.

In a short moment, after much thought and judgment, Ray spoke.

“I’d prefer to have the talk not in the next room, but in that tower. If I’m going to receive the procedure anyway, I’d like to look over the location in advance.”