30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 174

"It seemed completely ordinary at first glance.

A young boy with brown hair, who appeared to have barely reached the cusp of puberty, was smiling brightly. If he had been born in the world of Ihan’s previous life, that face alone would have made him an idol or an actor with widespread popularity.

But the two men had no time to carefully scrutinize the boy’s face.

Though his presence didn’t exude anything extraordinary like that of a Grand Mage, the two knights knew. They knew that the boy wasn’t leaking any energy because he had ‘completely mastered’ control over his aura.

And Ihan, though not by choice, had encountered only two individuals in his life who had achieved such mastery over their own energy.

One was the elderly man who played the role of a butler, and the other was a laid-back, roguish man who spent his days idly in the knights’ order.

Both of them appeared utterly ordinary at a glance, but Ihan knew better.

He knew just how monstrous those two old men were.

In martial arts terms, they had reached the level known as Banbak Guijin (Returning to Simplicity) or Nohwa Suncheong (Flame Refined to Purity).

Humans who had completely concealed their aura and lived like mystical creatures.

No, not “like” mystical creatures—they were humans who had truly become such beings.

And now, that boy was no different.

The absence of any detectable energy made him all the more terrifying, leaving no room for even the thought of resistance.

A transcendent.

A being that surpassed humanity—a rarity among rarities, perhaps one in millions or even billions.

Someone who had broken past all limits and merely retained the form of a human.

Fight against him?

That was a notion that didn’t even bear consideration.

Thus, Ihan and Raq...

Fwoosh!

...turned without hesitation and ran at full speed.

The knights, whose top speed exceeded 200 kilometers per hour, disappeared from their spot in an instant.

As they ran, their speed only increased, and before long, the Magic Tower became a mere dot in the distance.

The fact that the tower had grown so small, so quickly, was proof of just how fast and how desperately they had been running.

“—Oh, come on, that won’t do.”

[Smack!]

“...”

“...”

...The two knights, who had fled over several dozen kilometers, suddenly found themselves standing back in the very spot where the Magic Tower was located.

As if their desperate escape had never happened in the first place.

“...Spatial movement?”

“Spatial severance, maybe.”

Instead of panicking, the knights quickly analyzed what had happened to them and steadied their breathing.

Then—

“How far did we manage to go?”

“Roughly nine miles.”

“Damn your miles!”

“...Why are you getting mad at me?”

Despite the minor spat, they roughly calculated the distance they had fled before being dragged back. Then, they turned their eyes to the boy—no, the ‘ancient monster’ of 400 years, who had summoned them back to the same spot.

“How far would we need to run to escape the range of that spatial magic?”

“Hm, are you really asking me?”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t answer.”

“...Haha!”

Turr de Seigan suddenly let out a cheerful laugh.

“No! I’ll tell you! As long as you’re within a radius of 100 kilometers, my spatial magic can reach you anywhere. So, there’s no way you can escape—unless, of course, you’re moving at the speed of light.”

“...I see.”

Ihan nodded, as though acknowledging there wasn’t a shred of falsehood in the boy’s words.

Though Ihan usually harbored an intense disdain for mages and refused to trust anything they said, this time, he believed it.

Because this was no ordinary mage—it was a transcendent.

Having dealt with several transcendents in his time, Ihan understood their psychology and state of mind well enough to know that they rarely lied.

Why could he be so certain?

It was simple.

‘Because they have no need to lie. Why would beings who can do whatever they wish bother with deceit?’

These were beings who possessed not just authority or wealth, but overwhelming power.

That power alone was their authority, their currency, and their proof of being transcendents.

Why would someone capable of bending the world to their will stoop to uttering falsehoods?

This time was no exception.

A man capable of anything spoke again.

“Hey, let’s have a little chat, shall we? I’m really curious about you two!”

“......”

“Come on, you’re fine with that, right?”

It wasn’t a question. It was a one-sided declaration, leaving no room for choice.

The overwhelming audacity of it was nothing short of infuriating..."

*****

[“Wait, Tower Master! We must punish them immediately! Talking to them? What nonsense is this!”]

[“Have you finally lost your mind, Tower Master?!”]

[“This cannot be allowed!”]

[“Grrrgh!”]

The Grand Mages voiced their complaints, their outrage spilling over.

Of the five Grand Mages of the Magic Tower, one was already dead, another clutched their chest in pain from a grievous wound, and yet another, who had lost an arm, seethed with rage.

But was that all?

[“Look at our fallen comrades! Look at the state of the Magic Tower!”]

Countless mages had perished. All of this was because those intruders had destroyed the Tower and attacked them. Of course, many mages were still alive, and rebuilding the Tower was entirely possible.

As long as the Tower Master lived.

However, damage was damage.

Those responsible needed to be judged and punished. That was the proper course of action for the leader of the Tower to set an example.

...Surely, that would have been the reasonable thing to do.

“—Are you giving me orders right now?”

[.........]

“You’ve grown bold, haven’t you? Daring to show dissatisfaction to me, haha.”

[“...F-forgive me.”]

“No, no, it’s fine. It’s possible to feel that way.”

[...]

“Haha.”

Despite the boy’s youthful and mischievous laughter, the mages felt no amusement.

Instead, their faces turned pale, and they lowered their heads deeply.

They had forgotten, after not seeing him for a while, who he truly was...

The Tower Master.

“...If you’re just going to apologize, why did you show dissatisfaction in the first place? Annoying—”

Rumble!

The Tower Master was the Magic Tower’s greatest lunatic, entirely self-serving in his actions. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

[“Grrrgh!”]

[“T-Tower Master! We spoke out of line! P-please spare us!”]

[“W-we apologize, we’re so sorry....”]

[“Aaaaah!”]

What crushed them wasn’t magic.

It was sheer will.

The very thought of being annoyed by their behavior manifested into an overwhelming pressure that bore down on them. If he wanted to kill, they would die. If he wanted to destroy, destruction would come.

Thus, he was someone you could never defy.

No matter that they were Grand Mages.

Like prey before a predator, the mages averted their eyes, unable to meet his gaze out of sheer terror.

“Pathetic, truly.”

Ha!

The boy laughed again, as cheerfully as if he hadn’t just been furious.

Freshly and brightly.

Then, turning his sparkling eyes toward the knights, he exclaimed, “You two are truly fascinating!”

He spoke to the two knights who, despite having been exposed to his oppressive will, stood unscathed.

The two knights, however, simply exchanged glances.

“What the hell is he talking about?”

“No idea. Must’ve lived too long and fried his brain.”

“Ah, makes sense.”

Their openly irreverent gaze, as if saying, What a lunatic, was evident.

“Puhahahaha!”

The boy laughed thunderously, clutching his stomach as though it might burst from his amusement.

Even as he floated through the air as if swimming, his laughter carried no malice toward their insults.

...He seemed unhinged, as if something vital within him had come loose—no, just as the knights had said, his mind seemed broken.

But if you asked Turr de Seigan, he’d tell you this:

He wasn’t mad—he just had an overwhelming curiosity.

That curiosity was the reason he had risen to such unparalleled heights, driven by an insatiable desire to experience something new.

“Hey, you know something?”

At some point, his laughter stopped, and he began speaking unilaterally.

“Your strength? It’s no different from those old folks over there. No, if we’re talking about raw energy, those old geezers probably have more.”