I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 765 - Side Story 38: What Remains Unchanged Even When Going Beyond (1)

Clinton Rothschild was a mage belonging to the Exilion Empire, the supreme mage who had achieved the 7th tier [Imperia], called the strongest mage among current humanity.

He was also a symbol of Imperial magic, and even held the title of the greatest mage of the present era in society.

His magical achievements and depth of scholarship were immeasurable, and some even said that human magic had advanced one step further because of him.

The phrase "advanced one step" might seem like a mere formality. However, magic is a treasury of knowledge that humanity has accumulated over a very long time throughout history.

For an individual to have advanced that achievement was nothing less than a glorious compliment to a mage.

His life. The path he had walked. The achievements he had made.

All these elements spoke to how remarkable a person Clinton was.

The weight that Clinton Rothschild carried was that significant.

Even Lexer-grade mages had to be careful for the sake of public perception and social standing. But Clinton, an Imperia, didn't even have that constraint.

He was a citizen of the Empire, but he was not subordinate to it. If he wished, he could wander anywhere he pleased, with no restrictions whatsoever.

So there was nothing particularly strange about encountering him in the Yuta Kingdom. However, while there was nothing strange about it, it was quite a coincidence to run into him at this time.

How vast was the Yuta Kingdom, yet he could encounter him in a forest near a city that wasn't even the capital?

"Ah. Don't look at me like that. If you ask like that, it makes it seem like I've been following you around."

Reading the intention in Rudger's question, Clinton waved his hand. Rudger stared at Clinton intently before letting out a slight smile.

"Well, I don't think you deliberately chased after me." 

"Heh heh. You believe me?" 

"Of course. If I made up my mind to move around, you wouldn't be able to find me, Clinton."

At those words, Clinton's eyes widened before he let out a hearty laugh.

"Heh heh heh. Well now. Living this long, I hear all sorts of things."

When Clinton flicked his finger, one of the coniferous trees instantly disassembled on the spot. The disassembled pieces of wood were cut into uniform sizes and stacked neatly like bricks beside Clinton.

Clinton picked up a piece of firewood and tossed it into the campfire.

"What's even more absurd is that I can't deny those words."

The magic he had just shown was basic telekinesis. However, the story changes when a 7th tier mage uses that telekinesis.

He had disassembled a massive tree measuring over ten meters on the spot, like filleting fish bones. It was a technique close to divine skill that would astonish anyone who saw it.

However, neither Clinton who performed it nor Rudger who watched showed any particular reaction to it.

As if this sort of thing was natural.

"Well, encountering you like this was purely by chance. I only came to the Yuta Kingdom for personal matters. Of course, I'm wandering around alone without making it public."

A mage of Clinton's caliber didn't need to go through things like inspections. Where he went was the road itself, and no one could stop him.

However, since drawing attention was something he didn't want either, he simply moved about quietly.

"I heard the news. You've finally become a free man? Congratulations." 

"Thank you." 

"Come to think of it, this is actually the first time we're having such a proper conversation."

Clinton chuckled. He and Rudger hadn't really had what you could call an exchange.

The only time they had faced each other alone in private was on the Day of the Demon King's Return, so that says enough.

"Thinking back now, when I faced you at that time, I really thought I was going to die." 

"That... I apologize for that."

At the time, Rudger had been heated to the top of his head over Grandel-related matters. If Clinton hadn't voluntarily withdrawn from the situation, saying it wasn't right, he too might have had his name added to the death list on the Day of the Demon King's Return. A 7th tier mage called humanity's strongest mage, no less.

"No. I understand. I learned later, but your relationship with that person was... not ordinary."

Rudger nodded silently. The 8th tier that was thought to be forever beyond humanity's reach. Grandel, who had reached that realm and made her name widely known, was nothing less than an idol to all mages.

Rudger was Grandel's first and last disciple. Of course, the two had a more complicated relationship than simply master and disciple, but there was no need to explain that far.

"The reason I sought you out here like this is because I happened to sense your power while stopping by the Yuta Kingdom."

More precisely, Rudger had used magic to converse with Yekaterina, and Clinton had sensed the ripple of that magical power.

At the time, Clinton had been in the capital, over 20km away from this location. It wasn't even grand magic, yet he had detected Rudger's magical ripple from that distance and came to find him.

Part of it was that Rudger's ripple was so uncommon that it could be recognized immediately. But Clinton, who had sensed it from that great distance, was also no ordinary person. It wouldn't be strange to call him a human shark with an ampullae of Lorenzini.

"Your achievements have grown even higher than before."

Rudger noticed that Clinton had changed. Naturally, that change didn't refer to his personality as a person, but his transformation as a mage.

Clinton chuckled. He didn't particularly deny Rudger's words.

He had originally been 7th tier, but it was true that the current him had further refined his 7th tier achievements and risen higher than before.

However, there was no trace of pride to be found in Clinton's expression, even if you looked carefully. He was the mage who had achieved the highest tier in human history. Yet despite achieving even more, his heart was far from comfortable.

"Well now. It's not like I'm showing off in front of a butterfly. That's not something you, who reached the 8th tier, should say."

Clinton was humble because he had realized there was an existence higher than himself. The greatest mage in human history?

Yes. That would be true based on publicly revealed information. But Clinton knew how insufficient his power was when looking at the entire world.

He might not know about being the best in fields other than magic, but even that position had long been taken by Rudger because Rudger had used 8th tier magic three years ago. 

Having clearly seen it with his own two eyes inside the cathedral, how could he be confident in calling himself great?

"And even though I've achieved higher than before, I'm still 7th tier. No, rather, that's precisely why I have no choice but to be more humble."

Thunk.

The fire blazed more fiercely due to the new firewood thrown into the campfire.

"I didn't know before. I thought that as my tier rose, my understanding of magic would increase, and eventually I would conquer it." 

"I understand. I too once thought that way."

The tiers of magic feel like game levels. So when your tier rises, it feels like the process toward reaching the finish line is shortened.

However, what you actually face as your tier rises is the increasingly infinite possibilities of magic.

Tiers weren't points moving toward some single destination. Rather, they were merely a kind of gateway that must be passed through to extend into a wider world.

The more doors you pass through, the more you see that the path ahead branches out into tens of thousands of directions.

The moment you face that, you realize that you haven't even properly started yet.

The more you know, the more you come to realize that you still don't know many things.

Could there be such irony? Perhaps you might have been happier not knowing such a world existed. But once you know, there's no returning to the past.

The dilemma Clinton was experiencing was a kind of side effect that comes when human consciousness advances to an even higher level.

An inevitable process that occurs from facing too many things, especially something of a higher dimension.

Just as after seeing the brilliant sun, no other light satisfies your eyes. Everything in the reality you've lived in seems worthless.

The heart that once reacted even to trivial things, the humanity that made emotions rich, gradually diminishes.

That also meant the death of existence.

"You've come to seek my advice."

Rudger realized why Clinton had sought him out. Clinton himself knew better than anyone what situation he was in. But since there was no proper solution for it, he had come seeking advice.

Actually, he could ask Grandel, but Grandel had crossed through a dimensional gate and departed for Earth.

Even if she still remained on this continent, considering her willful personality, it was uncertain whether she would even give Clinton advice.

But Rudger was different. Perhaps this man, who was human like him and had reached an even higher tier, might know something.

That was precisely why Clinton had personally sought him out.

"Were you wandering the world also for that reason?" 

"Yes. Even something trivial would be fine. I wanted to prove that the world I live in isn't worthless."

The world Clinton sees now must be like monochrome. Probably in his mind, only the yearning for the next stage of magic and the newly encountered realm and knowledge are surging.

Clinton was desperately suppressing that, continuously holding onto his gradually disappearing humanity. But he didn't know how long that would last. It was more precarious than gripping a thin rope supporting his body in a massive torrent.

"You too must have gone through the same process. It would be even worse for you. You must have seen the realm of the next stage, the 8th tier, and encountered an even greater sense of omnipotence."

Clinton remembered when Rudger reigned as the Demon King. That appearance of opening the divine gate and borrowing divine knowledge and power.

The ripple of power felt even from afar was intense enough to make even Clinton's hair stand on end.

He had tasted such heavenly nectar. If you're human, you wouldn't be able to return to the way you were before.

Yet Rudger's current appearance didn't seem that way at all. Even he, who hadn't reached Rudger's realm, found it difficult to maintain his humanity, so just how had he done it?

"Clinton, you're afraid you might change." 

"...That's right."

Clinton answered honestly. He was that desperate. Desperate enough to seek out Rudger, who was far younger than him, to ask for teachings.

At that level, he had plenty of reason to be prideful. He had the qualifications for it.

But Clinton didn't do that. He didn't disregard or insist on stubbornness toward Rudger just because he was much younger.

If he could, he would seek teachings even from a three-year-old child. That was the path Clinton had walked. Perhaps it was because he had lived that way until now that he could reach his current realm as a human.

"The method is actually simple."

"Simple? What exactly is it?"

"You should accept the change."

"Accept the change?"

Clinton had been desperately refusing because he feared his changing self. To such a Clinton, Rudger instead advised the opposite.

Clinton thought perhaps Rudger had misunderstood something, but soon shook his head.

From his expression to his voice. Not a single thing was insincere.

"Of course, you'll be afraid. The moment you let go of the rope supporting you, you don't know where the massive torrent will lead your self. Swept along like that, you'll fear that everything will mix together and you'll cease to be yourself."

Because excessive knowledge of magic would make you regard everything else as trivial.

A torrent is an irresistible flow.

"That's why you should just let go."

The more you try to resist that flow, the more you only suffer. If you continue like that, you become excessively obsessed with only that one small rope that solely supports you.

"At first, you'll be confused."

When you let go and get swept up in the torrent, everything mixes together. You can't distinguish up from down. You can't even know where you're going.

Fear toward the unknown was a primal emotion that humans couldn't help but have.

"But at some point, your body will adapt to the flow, and as you ride along, you'll finally see new scenery." 

"What if that's not something I desire at all?" 

"It still won't matter. Clinton, you'll continue to encounter new scenery. One of them might become something you like. There's only one important thing."

Rudger raised a finger.

"Even if you let go of the rope, even if you're swept away by the massive flow, even if you end up somewhere you don't want. Still, the fact that you are Clinton Rothschild will not change."