Chapter 22: Break Free from the Shackles

Chapter 22: Break Free from the Shackles

Let me offer you some assistance for making it this far. It's a bracelet that stabilizes magic. Although it's a cursed object that devours magic, it will be a lifesaver for you in this situation. It can calm your turbulent magic blood. Don’t you occasionally feel a pain in your chest?

Karyl's eyes widened upon reading the sentence, it was as if it could read his mind. Glancing at the bracelet on his wrist, he was fascinated by Kaye Aesir's foresight.

You're lucky. Without this, you wouldn't have lasted a month before your body exploded from the strain of Dragon Magic. Even Grand Sorcerers aren’t an exception.

"Ha..." Karyl couldn’t help but sigh at Kaye’s chilling words.

Congratulations. If you're reading this, it means you've survived.

Karyl felt a shiver down his spine, his forehead breaking out in a sweat before he even realized it.

If I hadn't found this... I might as well have... Died. He had become overconfident because he knew the future.

The world is really full of uncertainties...

He let out a sigh, attempting to calm his trembling heart, just as the written words shifted once more.

Opening five channels and achieving 4th class magic power makes one a magician. Opening eight channels and achieving 7th class magic power makes one a Grand Sorcerer.

The letters seemed to flow, as if Karyl could hear Kaye Aesir's voice echoing through them.

I reached the 8th class.

The pinnacle of sorcery, surpassing even a Grand Sorcerer. Just as Karyl had reached the peak of swordsmanship, Kaye Aesir had been the only person to reach the pinnacle of magic.

Surpass me.

Karyl clenched his fist tightly without realizing, pouring his strength into it.

If you've survived consuming the Dragon's Heart, don't be satisfied with just this. Fill yourself with greed, claw your way up there, reach the summit that no one else can.

Perhaps Kaye Aesir had been waiting for an existence that could surpass even the summit, the very pinnacle of magic, the 8th class.

Let me tell you an interesting story.

The letters changed.

There are two more damned beings like me, but they won't be found in the history books. Those guys were even stranger beings than I am. You'll understand what that means. If you're lucky, you might come to possess it, just as you have now gained my power. Perhaps then, surpassing me might just be possible.

"Two more?" Karyl couldn't help but be surprised by the statement.

Not even Narh Di Maug had mentioned anything about such beings to him. This might be a secret known only to him. What could it possibly be? His heart fluttered with anticipation.

Kaye Aesir, I will follow your advice. As you said, I'll greedily seek power, he thought, reflecting on a revelation not even the great sorcerer from 250 years ago could have foreseen.

"Ha... Hahaha..." Karyl couldn't help but burst into laughter. It was a sudden, uncontrollable release.

Once more, he pondered over Kaye Aesir's words. Do not serve under anyone.

Becoming a knight of the empire? Following prophecies? Changing the future?

I've been wrong from the very start.

Why hadn't he been able to break free from the shackles of the empire? Even after killing a friend and emperor to change the future?

Did I forget the blood flowing through my veins? He, of barbaric descent, had killed a prisoner to prevent his brothers from receiving the empire's glory. How pitiful he was, doing something that was absolutely unnecessary.

Why did I seek recognition from the empire? Even with this much power, why had he still been entangled with them? Why...? An inexplicable frustration washed over him.

I finally understood.

It wasn't about power, life, or wealth. It's about what I want to do.

Karyl pressed his palm to his forehead, then slowly lowered his hand. Concentrating his magic, the bracelet on his wrist emitted a radiant light and disappeared.

Gone was the pain he used to feel when using magic. A satisfied smile played on his lips.

I'll make the empire recognize me.

As he touched his palm to his face, his black irises took on a light brown hue, and his jet-black hair turned into ordinary blond. No one would recognize him as a barbarian now.

Why should the future I aim to change only consist of imperials? I've taken it for granted.

Barbarians and imperials.

Why had he thought of them as separate? Couldn't the future he sought to save include both?

It's clear now.

Olivurn, when I meet you, I will not kneel, he vowed. I'll face you.

Not as a subordinate, but as an equal.

He stomped on the mask he had been carrying; it was no longer needed.

It starts now.

Like the mask shattering into pieces, the shackles that had bound him were gone.

When I return, everything will have changed.

Dawn broke, casting a new light on the figure of Karyl, as he left Einheri. Karyl MacGovern, embarked on a new adventure, the start of his new life.