“Farewell, Teacher. I shall return with a more dignified demeanor,”

Rosbane yelled as he stepped into the portal, created using Portal aid.

“Thank you for doing me a favor.”

Merlin stood next to the portal, conversing with a wizard, who appeared to be an official from the School of Elemental Magic where the children would be staying.

The wizard was elderly and radiated a strong aura of mana, indicating his high status.

However, he merely nodded respectfully while listening to Merlin, his emotions reflecting a mix of respect, fear, struggle, and longing.

“…It’s nothing. It’s an honor just to have you call me. I will happily accept what you have entrusted.”

Oliver observed the interaction between Merlin and the wizard as he bid farewell to the children.

He was intrigued, as he had never seen such submissiveness among wizards before.

They usually carried themselves with confidence and pride, but now, he was witnessing them defer to someone else.

‘Is the hierarchy among wizards this rigid?’ Oliver wondered to himself.

He initially thought that the Warlock organization was unique in its structure, but it appeared not to be the case.

“By the way, Archma…”

“…I’m just a retired old man now. Just call me Merlin.”

“What? …how dare I.”

“Well, then call me Elder. That word sounds good, too.”

“Sir. I heard there’s something wrong with the Life School these days.”

“… Can you briefly tell me the point? Portal aid maintenance costs are no joke. I’m a poor old man.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. So, when are you coming back….”

“I’ll talk about it later.”

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. Then….”

The wizard nodded, bowing his head, and shot a fleeting glance at Oliver, before stepping into the portal.

Oliver noticed that the wizard’s emotion was a mix of curiosity, suspicion, envy, and dissatisfaction.

Oliver briefly wondered if the situation would cause any distress to the children, but quickly dismissed the thought.

He realized that there was nothing he could do for them and that they would have to take care of themselves from now on, whether they liked it or not.

The purplish portal buzzed as the wizard stepped into it, gradually shrinking until it disappeared into thin air with a pop, like a light bulb turning off.

Merlin noticed Oliver staring at the spot where the portal vanished and asked,

“Are you concerned for the children?”

“No, I am not,”

“Really?”

“Yes, being worried about them would not change their situation. They have been given an opportunity and it is up to them to make the most of it,”

“You have a cold heart, mate,”

“Is that so?”

“But it’s a good attitude. You’re the only one who can save yourself… Then, what are you looking at?”

“Um.… I was looking at the portal. As expected, it looks convenient.”

“Indeed, it is,” Merlin said. “The School of Spatial Magic is the most promising of all schools at present, despite its small size and lack of history compared to others.”

“Really?” Oliver exclaimed, surprised.

He had worked as a Solver for some time, but he was still unfamiliar with the world of wizards.

So far, he had only seen them as valuable resources, treated as a group rather than as individuals.

“Yes, of course. Humanity has always been in a battle against time, space, and distance, and Spatial Magic has the potential to put an end to this fight. However, there is room for improvement,” Merlin explained.

“What kind of improvements?” Oliver asked.

“Well,” Merlin said, gesturing with his hands, “the magic is too complex and difficult to master. True magic should be activated using a wizard’s natural abilities without any aids, but in reality, that’s not the case.”

Merlin pointed to the portal aids in the basement of the mansion.

Oliver remembered the Spatial school wizard who he fought while protecting Murphy’s magic wine factory and the fact that he used an aid that looked like an arrow to open the portal.

“Not many wizards from Spatial schools can actually use portals without the aid of any tools. Perhaps only 3 out of 10 can, and even fewer if you take into account the distance and amount that can be transported,” Merlin said.

This revelation was quite shocking to Oliver.

“That’s why it’s that hard. It requires not only the ability to control mana, but also a tremendous amount of mana. It’s the opposite of a delicate image.”

“Tremendous amount of mana?”

“Just because the portal is open doesn’t mean you can just move around. As the weight, mass, energy, etc. passing between portals increase, it requires a lot of mana to maintain the portal. In Spatial School they call it a ‘ Usage Fee’.”

Usage Fee… Oliver didn’t know the details of the reason, but he understood what Merlin was trying to say.

Portal was not an all-around skill that could move anything comfortably if it was increased in size.

Apart from increasing the size of the passage, there were many factors to pay attention to, such as the amount of movement and distance, and there were many demands such as adjustment ability and mana to match.

“I didn’t know that. It’s more complicated and amazing than I thought.”

“You talk as if you’ve used it before.”

“…….”

“……have you used it?”

“Uh. . . Yes, didn’t I tell you?”

Oliver took out the extra paper he had made.

One was raised in the right hand and the other in the left hand and activated as it was.

Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!.whiiiiiiiiii

Two portals formed on paper.

Merlin observed the portal without a word.

Merlin’s emotions were blocked by the wall of mana and could not be read, but his expression seemed quite serious.

“……Hmm.”

After a moment of observation, he collected mana in his fingertips and launched it in the form of a ball.

The harmless ball of mana entered one of Oliver’s portals and emerged from the other.

Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-woof.

The portals then shrank and disappeared as the magic dissipated.

“How did you create it?”

Merlin asked, as Oliver put away the used paper into his pocket.

“I saw the usefulness of Spatial Magic and tried to replicate it several times. Since it’s difficult to create a portal over a long distance without any aid, I decided to use paper as a medium,” Oliver explained.

Merlin nodded, “You copied me?”

“Yes, I was impressed by the way you used paper. Does that bother you?” Oliver asked, feeling unsure.

“No, it doesn’t bother me. I’m just surprised. Imitation is one thing, but to actually replicate it is a whole different story,” Merlin said, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture.

“You mentioned you’ve used it before,” Merlin continued the conversation.

“Yes, I used it during the suppression of the Kell Liberation Army. I moved a corpse doll and then used it four more times to move two people, three zombies, and myself,” Oliver said. “I was lucky and didn’t run into any fee shortage issues.”

“Well, you were lucky,” Merlin said.

“What happens if the fee is insufficient?” Oliver asked, curious.

“The portal could explode or disappear into an unknown space,” Merlin replied.

“Unknown space? What do you mean?” Oliver asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“As I mentioned earlier, the Spatial School of Magic has a short history, and there is still much research that needs to be done,” Merlin explained.

“Oh, I see,” Oliver said, nodding.

“It’s better if you refrain from using it in the future,” Merlin advised.

“Why? I find it very convenient,” Oliver said, feeling disappointed.

Oliver meant the words he said.

It was far more advantageous to get away or move.

In addition, it showed considerable surprise in combat.

He was able to summon Duncan to overpower the enemy who was not good at close combat, and stop a war wizard using zombies.

“It must be unfortunate. But still, I recommend you refrain from doing so. Mattel… No, I ended quietly with the School of Life magic, but the old man who runs that place is a bit of an obsessive pervert. He’ll bother you if he gets to know you have a lot of talent. So, be cautious and hold back from using it for now.”

“Oh, I see. But what if someone has already seen or knows that I’m using it?”

“Did someone witness it?”

Oliver talked about Arthur, and the war wizard, but did not mention the mission.

“A war wizard?”

“Yes, with black hair and red skin. I heard he was from the School of Elemental Magic. Do you know him? His name is Kevin Dunbara.”

“Did he tell you his name?”

“Are you familiar with him?”

“Yes, he entered the School of Elemental Magic despite his exceptional talent and red skin… He generally has strong self-esteem and does not usually reveal his name first, but I guess he must have liked you a lot.”

“I don’t think so, but it’s good to hear that.”

“What made you fight him?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t disclose that information due to the nature of the mission.”

“Then you shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.”

“I don’t want to lie to you. After all, you’re my temporary teacher, right?”

“A temporary teacher, that’s a touching term, mate.”

“I’m glad, then. In that sense, I hope you don’t delve too deeply into this subject.”

“I never agreed to that, mate… If you tell me about the fight, I’ll consider it.”

Merlin wrote something in his notebook as he spoke.

With a serious expression, Oliver described the battle with Kevin, the war wizard, in detail.

Merlin listened attentively and wrote everything down.

“You absorbed Kevin’s mana?”

“Didn’t your heart race, did you feel choking, dizziness, or a rise in body temperature?”

“I didn’t check everything, but there was nothing like that.”

Merlin was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

“Take off your coat and sit here for a bit. I want to check something.”

Oliver removed his coat as instructed and sat with his back facing Merlin.

Merlin gathered his mana at his fingertips and put it on Oliver’s body.

Mana came into Oliver’s body, and it wasn’t just coming in, it entered Oliver’s body with a special spell that spreads mana like a thread and examined the surroundings, and then gradually disappeared.

“……..”

“…….”

“…..Elder?”

“Oh, my God.”

“Is anything wrong?”

“I guess I’m very tired. I’ll check it out later.”

“But, you already…?”

“What? Is there a law that says I shouldn’t fail, mate? It’s cruel to an old man.”

“No, that’s what you meant…”

“… The adult is talking, so don’t answer back. That’s rude.”

“…….”

“Oh, that’s not how you look at an adult….. Anyway, I’m very tired today. That’s it for today.”

Merlin, who suddenly ended the conversation. Oliver, however, was puzzled and could not read Merlin’s emotions, so he just nodded.

Apart from repeating the word “tired,” Merlin created a portal in an instant, a portal without the power of aids, purely by Merlin’s own magic.

Oliver pondered the difficulty of this feat, even within the Spatial School.

Merlin’s magic was large in scale, and above all, there were no boundaries between schools.

Ice, lightning, space, the magic of all schools were handled freely as if it were his own magic.

“What’s wrong?”

“If you don’t mind, may I ask you a question?”

“I’ll mind, that’s rude. Don’t make the old man have a hard time, just go. This is why young people these days……. Don’t look at me like that.”

Merlin pushed Oliver’s back and pushed him into the portal as if he were kicking him out.

Oliver had no choice but to follow suit.

When the portal disappeared after Oliver left, Merlin, unlike saying he was tired, warmed up and finished writing the notes he had written while talking to Oliver.

When he finished writing, Merlin looked at the note with a subtle expression, left it on the desk, took a bottle of alcohol, and poured it into a teacup.

Two sentences were written prominently in the notebook.

[Using magic beyond the rules]

[Can’t see the end of the mana heart]

GULP

Merlin murmured after a sip of the drink.

“It’s scary…”

(To be Continued)