Chapter 161 – Frozen Things (Five)

Ray, who had stepped out to the alley entrance, could see a boy crouched down, trembling violently.

“I, I was just watching…! P-please, spare me…! I-I’m not with them, I swear…!”

He was a Class C student.

Yesterday, while playing tag with Ain and running around the mansion, Ray had seen him cleaning the stairs.

From a snippet of conversation he’d overheard, his name was…

“Tommy.”

“Eeek!”

Tommy was deeply moved by the fact the other person knew his name.

“Is this yours?”

“Eeeeek! P-please, spare me!”

Then, seeing the hand Tenen had thrust forward, he shuddered violently in extreme agitation.

“N-no, it’s not mine…! My hands are s-smaller, th-thinner…! N-not that rough…!”

“Hand?”

Lowering his gaze, Ray realized he was holding out the wrong thing.

“Ah, not this one, this.”

Ray showed the ring he was holding in his other hand.

And once again, he could observe it.

The pitch-black fear that had encroached upon Tommy’s pupils, and the faint glimmer of possessiveness shining from the very bottom of that deep well.

“It’s yours, right?”

“Y-yes! Yes!”

“It should have been Binjin’s. How did you get it?”

“……”

Ray pulled out a knife and threw it beside the silent Tommy’s face.

Swish! Thud!

The knife, which had grazed his cheek by a paper’s width, splattered blood as it embedded itself in the fence behind.

“Answer.”

“Eeek…! Eeeeek…! I, I went into the tower to attend to the Head of section…! Th-then, I secretly took it from the safe…!”

Summarizing Tommy’s subsequent story, it went like this.

A year ago, Binjin, having received a letter from someone, showed unprecedented joy.

Declaring a break for the entire mansion, Binjin entered the tower to enjoy drinks and food.

“I, I went into the tower then with more alcohol because it was running low. It was the first time I saw the Head of section so drunk. He usually never drinks at all. Looking very pleased, he said this to me.”

Tommy fell silent for a moment, then imitated Binjin’s expression and tone.

“Tommy, you foolish thing, do you know? I have finally been accepted into the Indigo Dawn Society.”

“Oh.”

At Ray’s interjection, Tommy’s shoulders twitched slightly.

“Heh heh, it was no easy task. It’s not a society just anyone can join. And it’s secretive too.”

“Oh.”

“But in the end, this Binjin did it. I had to hand over one of the best artifacts I possess, one of only three such items, but it was worth it.”

“Oh.”

As the quality of the imitation seemed to improve with each interjection, Ray kept it up.

Tommy, forgetting his fear, became increasingly absorbed in the imitation.

“It is this very ring. I gave away one of the three, and now two remain with me. Do you know what this ring is?”

Tommy stopped speaking and stared blankly at Ray.

“……”

“……?”

“……”

“……?”

With a question mark floating above his head, Ray realized what Tommy wanted.

“I’m not sure.”

“Right, a dullard like you wouldn’t know. This is an artifact that can paralyze a Wizard’s ring—which is essentially their everything—for a set period.”

“Oh.”

“It’s a consumable with limited uses, but given its unprecedented powerful function, that’s only natural. Understand?”

Tommy looked at Ray again.

“I understand.”

“What could you possibly understand, you wretch! Foolish thing! Lowly thing! Idiotic thing! Let me explain! With this ring, even if a 7th Circle Wizard comes, I can make them crawl at my feet like a dog. Come here, I shall bestow upon you the honor of experiencing it too. Keh heh heh─! Keh heh heh heh─! Kwa ha ha ha ha ha─! You inferior─!”

Slap!

Tommy, who had been pointing his finger wildly at Ray, got his cheek slapped and made an extremely wronged face before─

“……?”

“I didn’t tell you to copy it that exactly.”

“Eeeeek! I’m sorry! Spare me!”

─he came to his senses.

The anesthesia of fear wearing off, Tommy trembled as he told the rest.

Binjin had continued boasting about his treasured artifacts for a long time, he said.

Then, he brought out a safe of a very peculiar shape and put everything inside along with the letter.

“Put them in? And then?”

“After putting them in… he suddenly slumped face down on the table. I was so shocked I froze on the spot. When I came to my senses and approached the Head of section. My pounding heart, I tried my utmost to calm it and quietly listened closely…”

“Listened closely and?”

“He was snoring.”

“……”

Tommy, looking at the open safe, was seized by a powerful desire.

Perhaps the sweet scent of alcohol filling the space had intoxicated the boy as well.

Without realizing it, he reached out his hand as if entranced.

And.

The moment his hand, slowly passing through the air, entered the safe.

[Rustle.]

Binjin sat up.

Tommy hastily withdrew his hand and stood at attention beside the table, feeling as if his heart would leap out of his body.

Binjin, who had stared piercingly at Tommy’s face for a long while.

[Keh heh heh, foolish thing. Today, that foolish face of yours looks even more foolish. You must learn Magic to live comfortably in this world.]

Saying so, he closed the safe.

[Go. Seeing your ugly face greatly spoils the taste of my drink.]

Binjin waved his hand dismissively, giving the order to leave.

And.

In Tommy’s hand, as he bowed deeply and hurried out of the tower, was the ring.

“But you remember the situation and dialogue from back then in incredible detail.”

“The parts I don’t remember, I just made up appropriately… Ah! Ah! There’s absolutely no false part! No exaggeration either!”

Reading disbelief in the other’s eyes, Tommy hastily added.

Ray asked.

“Binjin doesn’t know the ring is gone?”

“A-ah, probably, I think so. Judging by how he mentioned offhand that precious items should only be taken out on important days, he might have some kind of superstition…”

Upon obtaining the ring, Tommy was initially seized by tremendous ecstasy and joy.

But it didn’t take long for those feelings to be replaced by fear, worry, and all sorts of negative emotions.

“M-my heart pounded every day. I was so anxious I couldn’t sleep well. I-in my dreams, the Head of section would turn into a monster and eat me. I, I wanted to return it, but there was no chance, and I couldn’t just leave the mansion on my own…”

Tommy began to sob.

His Vessel was filled with anxiety and guilt.

“And then, in the midst of that, Tenen’s Gang found out about the ring and took it.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. They threatened to report me to the Head of section…”

Having roughly understood the situation, Ray organized his thoughts.

‘Yesterday, among the artifacts Binjin showed me, claiming to have figured out their functions, none felt like the real deal.’

As expected, the truly important artifacts were stored separately.

And judging by the situation, he was unaware that one of the remaining rings from the safe had been leaked.

‘There might be more arrangements there besides the rings.’

Then, Tommy grabbed onto Ray’s pant leg.

“P-please don’t tell the Head of section! Then I’m a dead man! I might be punished by being locked in solitary and forced to listen to insult recordings forever! Spare me! Heiler-nim! Teacher! Great Wizard!”

He wasn’t exactly a teacher.

Nor exactly a Great Wizard.

He wouldn’t be punished with the insult sentence; he’d be ground to dust by Exploitation Magic.

Ray asked first.

“Have you ever used the ring?”

“Huh? Yes. I used it once, and Tenen’s Gang used it once… out of 4 uses, 2 remain.”

“How do you know how many uses are left?”

“If you just put the ring on once…”

Ray followed that advice.

He could feel two very fine Threads of Mana condensed within the ring.

“How long does the ring remain incapacitated?”

“I didn’t measure exactly… but maybe about 3 minutes…?”

Ray fell into thought for a moment.

The absolute duration wasn’t particularly long.

But if it could truly incapacitate even a 7th Circle Wizard’s ring… this was an item that could become a tremendous weapon depending on its use.

‘Remaining uses: 2.’

If he conserved the uses, he could gain a great advantage in future battles.

Whether it was an Executive of Mercread.

Or the Wizard with the Monocle.

If their rings were incapacitated, they would be much easier to deal with.

However.

It was also true that he had to consider the possibility of falling victim to a ring Binjin possessed.

‘I’m curious about the exact state it induces. But the usage method…’

Then, Tommy’s voice was heard.

“Would it be better to confess to the Head of section even now? Since half the uses are left, maybe the time for the insult punishment would also be halved…”

“By the way, how do you use this─”

That moment.

Vwoom!

The Thread, Attuned to Ray’s will, moved along his finger and arm into his body, covering his entire ring like a spiderweb.

“Uh, uh! H-He-He-Heiler-nim. Y-your, your activated r-ring just now…! D-did you just use up a charge?”

“Oh, the Mana really isn’t moving.”

Thud!

Witnessing the catastrophe, Tommy lost his grip on Ray’s pant leg and collapsed.

Unconcerned, Ray, who had been examining his own ring, realized one fact.

‘Only the ring is incapacitated.’

The Gem’s Mana was completely unaffected and fully usable.

Having obtained extremely important information, Ray sank into thought, reviewing and revising his immediate actions and future plans.

At the end of it, he spoke.

“You won’t be ground to dust… no, you won’t be subjected to the insult sentence by Binjin.”

“Huh…?”

“From now on, follow my instructions well. Then not only will you avoid Binjin’s wrath, but you’ll also be able to move up to Class B as you’ve so desired. Though I’m not sure if it’ll be in the way you want.”

Listening to Ray’s subsequent instructions, Tommy nodded as if entranced.

As Ray turned back into the alley while generating the Element of Destruction, he turned his body and said.

“And your face.”

“Y-yes?”

“It’s not ugly. The coordinates of your eyes, nose, and mouth aren’t far outside the average range.”

Ray turned his steps again and disappeared into the alley.

─Let me see your ring for a second.

─Waaaaaah!

Tommy was dazed.

For some reason, his chest stung more than the slapped cheek.

What is this…? Wasn’t he a bad person…?

After stopping by Amon’s office and retrieving two Black Cards, Ray used Stealth Magic and headed for Binjin’s mansion.

The Locking Magic on the main gate was structurally complex and difficult to disable, and there was also the risk of an alarm going off, so he chose to climb over the wall.

Tap─ Tap─ Tap─

He quickened his pace.

Binjin should be conducting Class B lessons around now.

‘Now is pretty much the only time to investigate inside the tower.’

According to Ayla, Binjin usually resided almost exclusively in the tower.

He even slept there most of the time, and when helping the Amon Family, he rarely intervened personally.

Tap.

Stopping in front of the mansion, Ray checked that no one was around and stood before the wall.

The wall was over 5 meters tall.

As if revealing Binjin’s reclusive nature.

Even using Enhancement Magic at maximum output and leaping, it was a height not easily cleared.

If he had a solid object to use as a stepping stone, it might be different… but Ray decided to try applying a method he had learned not long ago.

The boy, having put sufficient distance between himself and the wall, steadied his breathing, drew up the sky blue Mana from his ring, and repeated to himself.

‘I love myself.’

To elevate self-love and thereby enhance the performance of the sky blue Mana associated with it.

‘I cherish myself.’

Then, a certain voice came to his mind.

─Ray, please take care of yourself!

‘I treat my body with care.’

─And treat your body with care too, ugh, do you think band-aids are just stickers you peel off and stick on?

‘I do physical training every day.’

─Physical training, who hangs from a pull-up bar until their shoulder dislocates?

‘……’

Ray, who had paused his immersion for a moment, repeated.

‘Veronica, go inside for a bit.’

If you don’t want to get scolded.

The boy, having chased the girl’s voice from his mind, focused his spirit again.

And soon.

Vwoom!

The ring, Attuned to his will and moving, and the sky blue Mana in the air began to flow over his skin like a membrane.

Whoosh─!

In an instant, it transformed into a refreshing wind, making his body as light as a feather.

‘As expected, elevating emotions is effective.’

Not really.

Currently, the sky blue Mana was only at the level of quantity and performance the boy could basically handle.

Because there wasn’t even a speck of dust’s worth of self-love in his Vessel.

But self-hypnosis clearly had some effect.

───────!

The boy, who had begun sprinting in an instant, kicked off the ground with explosive leg power.

Thwang──!

That moment.

Groooan──!

The tower’s that* also stirred.