The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

The flower garden, which was filled with nothing but red roses, was the rose garden his mother had grown as a hobby.

When he was young, Peran liked to run between them.

“Be careful to not get pricked by the thorns.”

Young Peran paid great heed to those words.

This wasn’t because he was afraid of the rose thorns. He was simply happy to receive praise for faithfully listening to his mother’s words.

However, that day was different.

“Mm?”

Peran blinked.

He could see blue bugs hovering around a rose.

“Don’t do that.”

Even to a child’s eyes, the blue color was spoiling the beautiful colors of the rose garden.

They had to be brushed off.

No matter how mature Peran was, he was still a child. In that moment, his sense of duty to protect the rose garden became greater than his desire to heed his mother’s warning.

So he tried to swat the bugs on the rose with his small hand.

“Ow.”

A thorn pricked his finger. Drops of blood, redder than the roses around him, fell to the ground.

Peran didn’t cry.

In fact, the fear and surprise he felt at that moment were greater than the pain in his hand. He didn’t want his mother to scold him or be disappointed after seeing it.

So he hid the wound, but it was still revealed in the afternoon.

Peran’s mother didn’t scold him. Instead, she just asked him in a calm voice.

“Why did you do it?”

“…I was trying to get rid of the blue bugs that were on the rose.”

“Blue bugs?”

Peran’s eyes turned to his mother.

“They’re buzzing around you too, Mother.”

“…!”

Peran Jun.

That was the moment when he started seeing mana at the age of five.

* * *

“I’ve never seen such talent.”

“H-, he’s definitely a genius. It’s unprecedented…”

Peran couldn’t really understand their words and reactions.

“What’s a genius?”

When he looked up at his father and asked this question, he stroked his head with a proud expression on his face.

“He’s also a bit smarter than others his age.”

“Like you, Father?”

“Right. However… You’ll definitely be bigger than me when you grow up.”

“I like that too. Mother said the bigger I get, the better.”

“…mm.”

Shepard couldn’t be considered a very large man, so he simply let out a soft grunt.

Soon afterward, he looked down at his son and spoke in a solemn tone.

“There’s something that you should never forget. Geniuses might be smarter than everyone else, but that doesn’t mean they are superior.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“…to put it simply, don’t show off. Don’t you feel annoyed when you see other kids showing off?”

Peran recalled the Marquis’ son who’d come to play with him two days ago and was showing off a flashy pendant.

It was then that he vaguely understood what his father meant when he said ‘don’t you feel annoyed?’.

He raised his head to look at Shepard once again. Unlike his light tone, his eyes were serious.

Peran nodded his little head vigorously.

“I do.”

* * *

At the age of six, Peran began to pursue the field of magicology in earnest.

He was talented, had a suitable aptitude, and most importantly, found it interesting.

There was no obstacle that could stop him, so it was natural for him to conquer magicology at an unprecedented pace. The Wizards who had recognised his talent before were once again astonished.

They realised that what they’d seen at that time was simply the tip of the iceberg.

Peran reached 3-stars at the age of 13 and 4-stars at 17. 4-star Wizards were individuals that possessed great influence across the Kastkau Empire, and even those slightly talented individuals usually only reached this stage around the age of 30.

“Can you feel the wall now?”

At Shepard’s words, Peran nodded slightly.

It didn’t feel like something he would be unable to cross. However, he felt that receiving someone’s guidance would allow him to save more time than if he were to continue learning on his own.

‘Will you teach me, Father?”

“…I want to, but…”

Shepard let out a tired sigh.

“I have so much work to do.”

“…”

He understood.

Shepard was the head of a duke family, and at the same time, he was one of the only five 7-star Wizards in the Empire, as well as the master of the 4th Tower.

Lately, he hadn’t been able to spend much time at home.

17 year old Peran understood his father’s position and the responsibilities that came with it which is why he didn’t ask him anymore.

But his son’s resolute attitude only made Shepard feel more guilty, so he mobilised all of his personal connections to find an outstanding teacher, and he was finally able to find someone competent enough to teach Peran.

It was the deputy master of the 5th Tower and a 6-star Wizard.

He was also a person with a high reputation even in Kastkau, which was known as the Magic Empire.

Peran greatly respected his teacher and followed him obediently. In a way, his position in his heart was even higher than his father.

But soon after, the Master-Student relationship ended in disaster.

It was the day Peran reached 5-stars. In other words, the day he became 19.

“Y-, you are a monster.”

The master that he relied so heavily upon could not handle Peran’s talent.

At first, he kept his distance because he was wary, but soon enough he became afraid.

That hurt Peran. Those with extreme talent were bound to be feared more than admired.

At that time, this wasn’t something that Peran could understand.

So he hid it.

He really thought that he would become a monster if he continued to learn and that the people around him, his friends and family, would also look at him in the same way that his master had.

Shepard didn’t know the details of the incident. This was because Peran never told him about it. Nevertheless, some things could still be understood even if they were never said openly. Noticing his son’s anguish, he recommended a different method.

“Why don’t you go to the Westroad Academy?”

“…”

The Westroad Academy was a Wizard training centre.

A talent training centre where young people who were interested in magicology were gathered and raised to become pillars that would lead the empire in the future.

However, there wasn’t much for Peran, who had already reached 5-stars, to learn in that place.

“I’ll go.”

Nevertheless, Peran decided to enter the academy.

This was because he had nothing better to do at that moment and there was a hint of expectation within him.

‘Maybe I’ll find someone bigger than me.’

A genius more talented than him.

If he met such a person, he felt that the thought that he was a monster would disappear. He felt like he could use a competitive spirit and inferiority complex as a driving force to continue pushing himself forward.

But there wasn’t.

The academy didn’t live up to his expectations in the slightest.

Instead, it was just filled with people who admired and glorified Peran’s status, talent, and appearance.

‘Empty.’

It was empty.

None of those people were treating him sincerely.

Their expressions, words, and actions were all empty.

If that was the case, then he didn’t need to treat them sincerely either.

As he thought that, Peran smiled.

Then he began to ponder. The length of a course in Westroad Academy was four years. But he felt that spending that long in such a place was simply a waste of time.

Then, as he began to seriously contemplate whether he should graduate early, or get expelled.

—He heard an interesting rumor.

* * *

“Did you just say… he’s sick?”

Peran looked at Snow with a strange expression on his face. Perhaps it was because of the unexpected situation, but her expression was also unpleasant.

“That’s what I said.”

“How could…”

“Look at that guy’s body. He stayed up for two days and two nights with a weak body like that. He didn’t eat or drink properly during that time, and then when he went outside, he just walked into the heavy rain as if he’d been possessed by a ghost or something, fainted, and was left soaking in the mud for thirty minutes.”

She was so upset that the tips of her ears had become red. If he hadn’t been found in time, he really would have died.

Snow muttered to herself before snorting as if she’d been offended.

“The doctor said he’d be sick for three to four days which means he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise with this Queen. What an arrogant guy.”

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“His promise?”

“I told him yesterday that I would give him one more day.”

“I see.”

Peran looked down.

There, lying with a pale face that matched his white hair was the topic of their conversation. He’d always given an impression of weakness before, but now, he felt fragile, as if he would crumble with a touch.

It was strange.

When he first saw this man, while he did appear insignificant, he never thought of him as ‘weak’.

In fact, he felt a bit overwhelmed. This was because he gave him a feeling similar to the ‘untouchable beings’ like Snow and Iris…

His condition had become strange ever since the meeting two, no, three days ago.

It felt like something within him broke.

Peran had a lot of work to do so he hadn’t been able to pay much attention to it, but he never thought it would become like this.

“You take care of him.”

“What about Your Majesty? Are you leaving today?”

“No. I want to see what excuses this man will make when he wakes up. The crime of mocking this Queen is heavy. I won’t let it go.”

“…”

Snow had a talent for being dishonest and only said things like that when she was worried.

As if sensing his thoughts, she snorted before turning around and leaving the room, allowing silence to descend once again.

Peran looked at the thin soup and hot water in his hands before placing them beside the bed.

So that Lukas could eat it whenever he woke up.