Chapter 37
A laboratory left all alone.
The Great Sage Louis quietly looked at the door Yulian had left through.
‘The more I look at this boy’s talent, the more it goes beyond astonishing and becomes frightening.’
His attitude toward learning.
A temperament wary of arrogance.
An eye for truth.
He had every quality Louis considered necessary for genius.
And over the past three years, that boy had once again proven his genius by absorbing like a sponge every last bit of black-magic knowledge the Great Sage had accumulated over a lifetime.
‘To think there was a child this well suited to black magic….’
In the first place, every mage possessed what was known as a natural ‘aptitude attribute.’
A mage who specialized in fire magic was not necessarily weak to water magic.
They simply ran into knowledge-based limits because the laws and theories underlying the two fields were so different that it became difficult to handle another branch of magic.
To put it in Yulian’s terms, it was like a thermodynamics major in mechanical engineering trying to master fluid dynamics and having his head explode.
For this reason, most mages choose only one path of magic to devote their lives to.
The magic that feels most intuitive and easiest to understand in one’s own mind.
That is what it means to choose one’s own ‘aptitude.’
And in Louis’s view, Yulian’s aptitude for black magic was beyond compare with anyone else’s.
He could say that without a doubt.
Even that eldritch being known as the King of Black Magic would not show black-magic aptitude on Yulian’s level.
‘He has already surpassed me in black magic.’
Of course, in terms of raw mana or tier, Louis was overwhelmingly superior.
But when it came to black-magic theory alone, Yulian had already reached the level of standing shoulder to shoulder with the Great Sage Louis.
But if that were combined with Yulian’s bottomless knowledge of life....
‘I never thought I’d be so relieved that that boy is kind.’
Black magic, in its essence, is magic that directly interferes with life and the soul.
Because it strikes directly at the source of life, it is far harder to counter than other magic, and its results are overwhelmingly deadly.
Most dangerous of all was the fact that even the slightest stumble into misguided curiosity could cause the caster’s mind to fall into corruption in an instant.
The depravity involved in manipulating a person’s life was that dangerous.
That was precisely why Louis, even after founding black magic a thousand years ago, had been extremely cautious and considered it taboo to teach it to other mages or study it too deeply.
But with Yulian, Louis could pour out all that forbidden knowledge without the slightest hesitation.
In the boy’s eyes, which he had observed over the years, there was no malice that sought to trample others or any arrogant lust for power.
Only a pure obsession with saving the people at the bottom had taken firm root there, leaving no room to fall to black magic’s temptation.
Ironically, Yulian was also terribly lacking in the traditional ‘mage talent.’
Even if he awakened fully to the essence of black magic.
He had neither the mana nor the talent to go to the battlefield himself and unleash wide-area curses over tens of thousands, so there was no risk of him turning into a mass murderer.
From a teacher’s perspective, could there be another heir this perfect and safe?
‘Of course, there is one more fortunate thing.’
Louis pictured Yulian’s good-looking face and secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Among black magic’s three branches, there was hypnotism, which humiliated and controlled another person’s mind.
If Yulian, with that face, were also suited to hypnotism....
‘No woman in the world would have been able to resist him.’
No, maybe even men, in some cases....
Fortunately, Yulian showed neither the slightest talent for nor interest in that hypnotic magic.
If he had shown even a little talent in that direction, Louis would have seriously considered erasing his disciple’s memories.
‘...No, that’s going too far, isn’t it?’
Louis gave a dry laugh.
He shook his head.
And so Louis Edelhart continued cleaning up the laboratory by himself while thinking about his disciple.
Then his gaze happened to fall on the egg from the successful experiment.
He lifted the egg and examined it once more.
Blood vessels stretching across the transparent chorioallantoic membrane.
White spots blooming on it.
Traces of a curse that was alive, yet not sick.
“....”
A smile spread across Louis’s lips.
‘I wonder how much that boy truly understands the weight of this egg.’
To Louis, Yulian seemed to be simply rejoicing, pure and simple.
At having found a medicine that could prevent the blister plague.
Of course, that alone was an incredible achievement.
Even the southern fever—recently given the name malaria—couldn’t even hold a candle to this blister plague.
For the blister plague had been the most terrible disease to claim human lives in the Great Sage’s lifetime.
‘I, too, had to cut off my arm because of this.’
The Great Sage himself had not escaped this disease over the years.
Blisters that started on the arm and climbed up to the face.
To stop them, the Great Sage cut off his arm and then restored it with holy magic.
He had been one of the lucky ones.
Usually, it started on the face rather than the arm.
‘Come to think of it, I never caught this disease again after that.... Why didn’t I notice that?’
The thought that he had wasted all those years made his face burn.
But Yulian did not simply let that obvious experience pass him by; in the end, he made a great discovery that would save humanity.
‘This is not something that should end with the blister plague alone.’
Louis looked down at the magical formula written on the parchment.
[Qando vestigien complet = verus, tuncanic immunitas(objec, pest) = permanens.]
The Great Sage’s eyebrows twitched as he looked it over.
This formula did not apply only to the blister plague.
Scarlet plague. Black plague. Curse of decay. Bone rot.
All the plagues that periodically swept through the Empire and killed hundreds of thousands.
This formula could be applied to all of them.
Of course, the specific conditions would have to be changed for each plague, but it was obvious that this formula would serve as the basic framework.
‘...The age of plagues is ending.’
He had seen countless discoveries over the course of a thousand years.
Mana crystal refinement. Space-jump magic. Life-extending rites.
But this was a great discovery that could stand alongside all of them.
This was a discovery that would change not just the history of magic, but the history of humanity.
‘I should tell that boy just how great this discovery is.’
Over the past three years,
after observing the boy named Yulian, the Great Sage felt he understood what kind of child he was.
A child who didn’t even know the word arrogance would surely fail to fully appreciate even this discovery.
Even if someone beside him exaggerated and praised him, he would not recognize his own greatness in the slightest.
So as a teacher, the Great Sage intended to personally tell Yulian how great he was whenever he had the chance, so the boy could develop pride.
Just then, while he was thinking that, Yulian returned to the laboratory after finishing his conversation with Wangcho.
Louis immediately explained to Yulian how great this discovery was.
“I see.”
As expected, Yulian’s reaction was calm, just as he had predicted.
He was clearly understanding it intellectually.
He seemed to know well how much of a ripple this discovery would cause.
He was simply wary of arrogance, and so he was not fully accepting it as purely his own.
‘Haa... as expected....’
But the faint lift at the corners of Yulian’s lips told him that he did understand his accomplishment a little.
That much at least was a comfort to Louis.
At the very least, it was not proof that his disciple’s self-esteem had been crushed.
And so Yulian’s praise time ended.
Louis suddenly remembered one thing.
“Yulian.”
“Yes, Master.”
“This magical formula... no, was it called a ‘vaccine’? Do you have any intention of officially registering it with the Mage Tower Alliance and the Imperial Patent Office?”
“You mean a patent?”
Yulian tilted his head.
Louis added an explanation in a serious voice.
“By rights, a magical formula is a personal achievement, so there is no obligation to share it. However, a great formula that serves the public good is one the Empire itself will guarantee through a patent, granting exclusive rights to the original creator.”
“....”
“If I use my name, even the imperial court will have a hard time refusing. If you want, I’ll help you secure the exclusive rights to this formula.”
Yulian fell silent for a moment.
Louis took that silence for hesitation.
‘Is he wavering?’
In truth, Yulian was already rich enough.
That was something Louis knew well.
Over the past three years,
Yulian had also been introducing other medicines to the world from time to time.
But the patent for this ‘vaccine manufacturing formula’ was on a different level.
The moment this formula was made public,
the lords across the Empire and the royalty of neighboring countries would gladly pay to protect their families from plague.
Even a magical tool that prevents poisoning is worth enough to buy one or two mansions.
If it were a medicine that protected them from plague for life, they would gladly pay even the cost of a castle.
Then it would be only a matter of time before Yulian amassed wealth that surpassed even the ducal houses.
‘No. Maybe he could even stand shoulder to shoulder with the Golden Lords....’
The richest person in the world.
Who would refuse that position?
That was why Louis expected his young disciple to either rejoice at this enormous offer or hesitate over it.
But after seeming to think for a moment, Yulian gave an answer Louis had not expected.
“No. I won’t be filing a patent.”
“...Pardon?”
Louis’s one eye widened in bewilderment.
“I intend to release this formula to the world unconditionally so that all alchemy workshops and healers can use it freely, at no cost.”
“W-wait. Yulian. Think about the sweat and blood you poured into completing this formula over the past three years. Those rotten jackals after this formula may try to steal your rights. Why would you give up such an enormous reward?”
“Didn’t you do the same, Master?”
“...What?”
Yulian smiled faintly.
“Back when humanity was losing its homeland to monsters, Master, you organized magic—an unknown field at the time—into an academic discipline and began teaching it to people.”
That was true.
When Louis had systematized magic as an academic field,
he taught people the magic classified into thirteen systems.
Not everyone became a mage, but as a result the number of mages—who had once been only one in several hundred thousand—exploded.
Furthermore, the magic that had once only dealt with low-grade monsters had now grown explosively to the point where it could take on high-grade monsters.
That was why the world called Louis the ‘Father of Magic.’
Over the span of a thousand years, countless magical discoveries had been made, yet the fame of the Father of Magic had never faded.
And Yulian sincerely respected Louis.
“I also want to follow in your footsteps, Master.”
“...You don’t need to follow the same path as me, Yulian. This is your legitimate right.”
Even with the Great Sage’s persuasion, Yulian only looked back at his one eye with a calm expression.
And as if he had not the slightest doubt or lingering attachment to the decision he had made.
He answered with the warmest smile in the world.
“Master. Would you patent the rising sun as well?”
The Great Sage’s breath caught for a moment.
His heart pounded fiercely.
This excitement. How many years had it been?
“The sun is great because it shines fairly on everyone and gives life. This medicine is the same. The more common it becomes, the greater it is.”
Ah, right.
His comrades, whom he had seen off.
The first hero. The founding king. The mother of the fairies.
Since sending them away, this was the first time he’d felt such excitement.
“...Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Won’t you regret it?”
“Rather, I think I’d regret it more if I discovered this medicine but still failed to save people.”
There was no wavering in Yulian’s voice.
Louis let out a sigh.
It was a long, deep sigh.
“...Very well.”
And then he gave a small laugh.
“I respect your mindscape.”
All mages are arrogant.
To wield magic, one needs not only knowledge and talent, but also a personal vision.
The scenery they imagine, the ideal they pursue.
Mages call that <Mindscape - Idea>.
And the mindscape the Great Sage glimpsed in his youngest disciple was more arrogant than he had thought.
“If that is your mindscape, then as your master I too shall release this formula freely to the world.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“Instead,”
Louis raised a finger.
“I shall name this formula.”
“The name?”
“Yes. The name that will be passed down to future generations.”
Louis spread out the parchment.
And wrote one line at the top of the formula.
「Formula Schnabel - Schnabel Formula」
“...Master.”
“I will not accept any objections.”
Louis said firmly.
“You don’t have to file the patent if that’s what you want. But I cannot allow the name of the person who made this formula to vanish from history.”
“....”
“This is my mindscape, so respect it.”
“...Understood, Master.”
Yulian nodded with a reluctant look.
A dissatisfied expression lingered on his face.
But as a master, it was an unavoidable measure.
This humble disciple didn’t know how to look after his own interests, so he had to be made to do it this forcefully.
Louis rolled up the parchment and tucked it into his robes.
“Now then, let us begin the next experiment. We still have a long way to go.”
“Yes, Master.”
The Great Sage’s left eye followed the back of the fifteen-year-old’s head.
This small pleasure he had found in his later years,
along with the small wish that it would continue forever.
*
Meanwhile, at that same time, Yulian...
‘Ah, I shouldn’t have let the formula be named the Schnabel Formula....’
He was bothered by the name his master had given the formula.
‘And I still have so many formulas and medicines left to make....’
He couldn’t go around calling them all Schnabel Formula every time.
If he did, it was obvious that centuries later medical students and apprentice healers would be cursing Yulian.
— “Schnabel Formula No. 3? What was that again?”
— “Formula No. 5? No, this isn’t even related to No. 4 at all! Why did they classify it like this!!!”
Yulian knew better than anyone the pain of diseases being named after the scholar who discovered them.
Behçet’s disease, Huntington’s chorea, Hodgkin’s lymphoma....
That was why he vowed never to attach his own name to the diseases or formulas he discovered.
But his master would not allow it.
‘...I’m sorry, future juniors.’
In any case, this should not be Yulian’s fault.
So Yulian vowed to make sure the origin of the name was recorded in the history books.