Infinite Mage

Canis brought over a pale green robe. Despite Arin's gaze, Arcane changed into his clothes without hesitation.

Leaning on the table for support, Arcane managed to take a few steps and finally caught his breath after sitting down.

“Phew, I finally feel alive again.”

“Are you alright, Master?” Canis asked, concerned. The contrast between his pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes showed his identity as a dark mage without saying a word.

‘Such fascinating eyes. That’s why I chose him as my apprentice.’

On the other hand, Arcane wasn’t particularly fond of Arin. Despite her apparent talent, evident from her black hair and eyes, she seemed too timid and lacked discernment.

Her pretty face showed no trace of malice, and her large, expressive eyes revealed her emotions too easily. 

Seeing her shaking pupils ever since she saw the old man's naked body, Arcane clicked his tongue in annoyance.

‘Tsk, tsk, what use is such a frail girl? If not for being Canis's close friend, I wouldn't have bothered with her.’

It was seven years ago.

Despite using the life support device, Arcane, impaired in mobility, mustered his last strength to enter the capital city of Bashuka.

As expected of the largest city in the Thormia Kingdom, the streets were affluent and splendid. However, the underside of this luminosity was a continuation of the miserable lives of those abandoned by the city.

The slum of Radum.

True to the extreme polarization of the capital, the residents of Radum led even more wretched lives compared to beggars in other cities.

Their only means of obtaining food in this forsaken place was rummaging through trash bins. Even this was fiercely competitive, leading to murders over a fishbone.

Arcane found Canis and Arin in this hellhole.

In Radum, where everyday life was a battlefield, ten-year-old Canis had managed to survive along with Arin by becoming ruthless.

Canis's eyes burned with resentment towards the world.

Arcane liked that look. He took them to his dungeon and taught them dark magic.

‘My judgment was right. That one is a true gem.’

Arcane, refusing the support of Canis, stood up. He did not want to show weakness on the day he was escaping the clutches of aging.

“Watch closely, the grandeur of dark magic.”

Holding the black crystal, Arcane closed his eyes. Despite his trembling hands due to weakness, his face radiated undeniable excitement.

“Kaah!”

With a forceful yell, the crystal softened and wrapped around Arcane like a stream of water. Then, dispersing like dark clouds, it enveloped his entire body.

“Kaaaaah!”

Arcane let out a monstrous scream. Absorbing the power he had accumulated over 40 years in one go, an ordinary person would have lost their mind by now.

The concept of dark magic involves absorption and assimilation.

Arcane regained his past strength by assimilating the dark power he had absorbed into the crystal with his own darkness.

“Uooooh!”

The shadow beneath Arcane flared up like flames, then detached from his body, scattering like fragments.

After some time had passed, Canis and Arin slowly opened their eyes. Not a trace of Arcane's previous frailty could be seen.

His appearance hadn't become younger or his back straighter, but his complexion was now rosy, and his eyes brimmed with vitality.

Feeling the overwhelming aura of their rejuvenated master, Canis trembled with emotion.

‘Is this Master Arcane's true form? I had heard rumors, but this is truly remarkable.’

Pleased with himself, Arcane grinned. He had regained the strength he had before Alpheas dealt him a crippling blow.

“Let's go. From today, Arcane's history will be rewritten.”

Waiting 40 years for this day, Arcane left the dungeon without taking a moment to relish his newfound power.

The guards couldn't move their bodies. When Arcane waved his hand, the guards, despite their will, turned against each other, thrusting their spears at their comrades.

"Ah! Are you crazy? It’s dangerous!"

"I don't know! I'm not doing this!"

Arin's face turned pale. Born with different eyes from others, she unfilteredly absorbed the terror of the guards.

"Canis, Master never said he would come to such a place."

Canis was equally perplexed. However, his trust in Arcane remained unshaken.

"There must be some reason. Let's just follow for now."

Arcane effortlessly breached the battlefield and headed towards the building. The shadow that had connected him to the guards snapped, and the fighting men foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

Dark magic's signature trait is mind control.

Darkness merges with other darkness. This characteristic is exploited to infiltrate others' shadows to control their bodies and thoughts.

At first glance, the nature of dark magic seems overpowering. 

But the reason it's considered a minor branch lies in one major flaw - its vulnerability to light.

During the day when the sun is up, darkness can only exist as a mere shadow. Moreover, more mental power is needed to cast dark magic under bright light.

Of course, the prowess of a dark mage maximizes at night, but even that advantage has been diminishing with the popularization of the theory of photonization developed by the genius Kergos.

In magic schools across the continent, students specializing in dark magic are almost nonexistent, reflecting the disdain for the dark arts in the magical community.

However, Canis knew that Arcane had perfectly overcome the shortcomings of dark magic. The supreme essence he had realized was wholly imparted to Canis.

'I must trust Master. He has given me everything.'

Breaking into the prison, Arcane handled additional guards in the hallway before entering the cell block A-3, where the prisoners were detained. Sensing the incident, the prisoners banged on their bars with their food containers.

"Hey! Whoever you are, let us out!"

"Look here! Open this damned door! I'll make it worth your while! Or I can kill someone for you, if you prefer!"

Arcane slowly extended his hands. The bleak environment of the prison was an ideal stage for him to showcase the extent of his dark magic.

"The Might of Darkness."

Shadows cast along the corridor morphed into hand shapes and popped out in 3D. Hundreds of these hands gripped the bars and tugged, twisting the metal. As the prisoners backed against the wall in fear, the bars along the corridor were successively ripped off.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Might of Darkness was a spell that manipulated shadows absorbed from surrounding energy as if they were limbs. A single shadow could barely lift a pebble, but hundreds working in unison displayed enough strength to easily uproot prison bars.

As the doors opened and time passed, the prisoners gingerly emerged, heavy iron balls attached to their ankles.

"What’s this? Are you a mage? Quite extraordinary."

"Anyway, thanks. Let's introduce ourselves. I'm the Night Cat Crown, known in these parts."

Arcane, sensing the pitiful aura of the prisoners, frowned in disgust. Inferno used to be different 40 years ago, filled with the most heinous criminals. How had it degenerated to this?

'Times really have changed. Does it mean living standards have improved?'

According to Arcane, as civilization advances, the quality of criminals declines. More con artists with clever schemes emerge, and the truly evil infiltrate society.

"Pathetic fools. Do criminals do self-introductions now? Just because the bars are gone, do you think you can leave this place?"

"What’s with this old man? Gone senile? You know who I am?"

The prisoners boasted in numbers. Just because they shared a prison didn't mean they were allies.

"Listen up, fools. If you don't have the confidence to take me down, stay in your cell. Disobey me, and you'll suffer the pain of broken bones."

The prisoners burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! What’s this old guy on about? Came all this way and now you think we'll just go back?"

"Let's trample him! Time to leave this wretched prison!"

In their excitement of regaining freedom, the prisoners charged without heed. But soon, they realized they were still shackled at the ankles.

"Ah? What! Damn it!"

The prisoners began to panic. Arcane, watching their pathetic state, snorted.

A true criminal either has the skills or the brains. But these were just parasites, feasting off the prison's food.

"The Might of Darkness."

"Ah, what is this?"

The hands that had torn off the bars now wrapped around the prisoners and pulled them into the darkness. Like being buried in a giant gel, their eyes, noses, and mouths disappeared under the black veil.

After a while, the sound of breaking bones was heard.

"Ugh, ugh!"

"Arrrgh!"

The prisoners, unable to scream with their mouths sealed, could only groan.

Hearing the eerie sounds, Arin shivered and said to Canis, "Do we really need to go to such lengths for revenge?"

"Arin, questioning the Master is like doubting ourselves."

"But still..."

"Forgot what happened in Radum? Worse things happened there. And these prisoners are no different from those who tormented us in Radum."

"But we promised to forget everything that happened in Radum. To be happy from now on."

"It’s not over yet. We can't find happiness until Master's grudge is settled."

As the darkness dissipated, the prisoners lay twisted in agony.

Arcane, looking down on them with contempt, muttered, "Weaklings. Was this a waste of time? Or will the other blocks be any better?"

There were 320 criminals in Inferno. Perhaps this block was particularly full of lowlifes.

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