The Book Eating Magician

[‘Ancient Kingdom’s Sword’ has been consumed. The amount of magic power it contains is large.]

[‘Glory’s Armored Ring’ has been consumed. The amount of magic power it contains is large.]

[‘Draconic’s Buckler’ has been consumed. The amount of magic power it contains is huge. It interacts with Aquilo’s Blood and the efficiency of the absorption is doubled.]

[‘Sage’s Orb’ has been consumed. The amount of magic power it contains is huge.]

[······]

Dozens, hundreds of artifacts entered Theodore’s left hand through the open hole. The four dragons, three to be precise when excluding Clipeus, made pained expressions because of the sacrifice. These were relics and treasures which would be preserved in museums of the present age. The dragons watched their treasures, of which the values couldn’t be calculated, be consumed with a devastated expression.

“B-Boy. The necklace that I’ve saved...”

Despite the beauty’s begging eyes, Gluttony’s tongue swallowed the necklace without hesitation. Aquilo sat on the floor like a broken puppet and stared into space with empty eyes. Brasmati and Erucus couldn’t escape the suffering either.

“Aaaah! You are absorbing all of them, human!” Brasmati screamed at losing the fortune he had gathered for thousands of years, while Erucus made a grim smile.

They would’ve kept some of their precious treasures hidden, but the promise Clipeus made was an absolute force that applied to all dragons. Their bodies would release all of the treasures, even if they didn’t want to.

‘Surely I won’t become enemies with the dragons because of this...?’

They were the strongest species... Theodore didn’t think those who defended the material world would have such a narrow mindset, but the expressions on the dragons’ faces were really terrible. There was no guarantee that Erucus, the green dragon who wasn’t known for being greedy, wouldn’t hold a grudge. However, Theodore had no other choice.

‘Gluttony, how many points do I have?’

-335,000 points. It is possible to do it maybe once.

‘Only one attempt is possible with 335,000 points. It is the worst.’

Once his achievement points reached the appropriate value, Theodore stopped eating, then he looked at the summoning conditions of ‘that person.’ Gluttony wanted to clear out the remaining property of the dragons, but it wasn’t the one who would bear the grudge of the dragons. Since there was only less than 20% left, it wouldn’t be a big help anyway.

So, Theodore said, “Okay, I can do it somehow.”

As soon as Theodore spoke, the dragons moved the remaining treasures into their spaces at lightning fast speed. He wondered what would happen if he asked them to bring the treasures back. Clipeus looked at them and sighed. [It looks like everything is ready. Is there nothing more we can do to help you?]

“No, this is enough.”

The 330,000 points were even more than what he gained from swallowing Jerem’s Tartarus a few days ago. Nevertheless, the points could only be used once. Gluttony’s 6th stage function had a high potential, but a corresponding cost needed to be paid. In retrospect, Theodore had wondered about it since the time that the Hall of Fame was opened.

Was it possible to call the souls directly using the achievement points at the sixth stage? This hypothesis was verified with the sixth stage.

“Request for Evocation.”

There was a message in response to Theodore’s words.

[The A-Rank Evocation is invoked.]

[Please speak the name of the target.]

It was the strongest figure that required 330,000 points to be called. Theodore hesitated before calling his name, “Simon Magus.”

Simon Magus had been the magician who established the system of Gnosticism. He had challenged the trails of the 10th circle and lived a glorious life as a transcendent at the apex of the Age of Mythology, when all types of monsters had roamed around.

In the past five years, Theodore had spoken to a number of transcendents and made great strides through their advice. However, he hadn’t been able to even talk Simon Magus. The reason for that was very simple.

[Are you sure you want to open ‘Simon Magus’? 163,210 points will be consumed to awaken this soul.]

A huge amount of achievement points disappeared at once, and Theodore was able to see a light appearing around the portrait hanging in the Hall of Fame. It was an opportunity that had come unintentionally, but he could finally wake up one of the greatest magicians of the Age of Mythology.

Simultaneously, the 6th stage function, Evocation, was triggered.

[Simon Magus has been summoned to this material world.]

Shortly afterward, the light of an unknown character poured out from the hole in Theodore’s left hand. No, it probably wasn’t light. It was a higher level of power flow that living things couldn’t recognize. Only the dragon lord, Clipeus, could detect the shadow of a human in the light.

“―Urgh.” There was no need to wonder who made the noise.

With the exception of Clipeus, everyone stepped back in fear of the unknown shadow. Even the dragons who could erase a mountain with a single breath felt crushed by the pressure on them as if gravity had increased by several times. A few seconds later, the light cleared away.

“The air is stuffy. I’m glad I wasn’t born in this age.” It was a cold voice. Simon Magus, the person who reappeared in the material world after thousands of years, turned to Theodore who called him. His gaze was filled with annoyance. “Hey, talk.”

“...Simon Magus?”

“Did you call me to ask me that? If so, I will return.” Simon Magus turned around.

Theodore cried out anxiously, “I-I need a spell of banishment from this dimension!”

“Hoh?” Simon Magus’ eyes narrowed, and he turned back. “This is a spell that no one uses, and there isn’t much need for it, so it was buried. Why?”

“I need to banish a grimoire from this world.”

“Hmm?” Simon Magus’ eyes shone as he saw the Cage of Chronos that was slowly starting to disappear. This was a magician who had been at the height of the Age of Mythology. “It is Sloth. It has gathered an enormous amount of mana. Did it suck up the continent’s mana for thousands of years? If it explodes, a hole will be blown in this dimension. You want to expel it from this dimension?”

To think that Simon Magus pierced through this matter with one glance...? Theodore thought it was ridiculous, and his mouth dropped open. While the rest of the people were drowned out by Simon Magus’ presence, Clipeus alone walked forward and spoke, [Do you know what kind of changes will occur to this world if you banish Sloth?]

“The constantly circulating mana will leak in large quantities, and you will become extinct. It is already an inevitable fate. Accept it, Dragon King.”

[...I know. I just wanted to hear you say it.]

Just like what Gluttony said about inheriting old memories, Simon Magus and Clipeus knew each other. However, their relationship didn’t seem intimate.

Simon watched Sloth for a moment before speaking to Theodore, “Dimensional Banish will take about 10 minutes to expel the target. With your remaining achievement points, Dimensional Banish can only be used once. If I participate in combat or suffer a direct blow, my summoning ma may be cancelled. Be careful.”

Theodore was embarrassed by the one-sided words and asked carefully, “No, it will take 10 minutes?”

“From the beginning, it wasn’t a magic made for combat. It was magic designed for dealing with engineering wastes. The cost was a lot cheaper to blow them up through the atmosphere. The problem was that I drilled a hole in the dimensional plane.”

“Ugh.” It was a horrible side effect. Theodore didn’t need to ask why Dimensional Banish had gotten buried.

Simon Magus fell silent while looking at the Cage of Chronos, as he no longer had anything to say. Theodore gathered the dragons, and the two people together to prepare for battle. Yet there was one question that couldn’t be resolved. After the Cage of Chronos ended, what method would Sloth use to interfere with them?

However, that question was quickly answered.

* * *

Someone spoke, “It is starting.”

Five minutes after Myrdal warned them, the Cage of Chronos wrapped around Sloth started to collapse. The darkness collapsed like melted chocolate. This darkness that didn’t allow a single light to exist slowly diminished in size, eventually shrinking to the size of a small carriage. Perhaps this mass of darkness was Sloth’s body.

‘What will it use to try and stop us?’

He didn’t dare underestimate the power of the Seven Sins. Pride and Envy were both monsters that he didn’t want to face again. After all, Theodore himself was the owner of Gluttony. If he were an ordinary magician, he would avoid fighting with Gluttony’s contractor. As part of the Seven Sins, it was clear that Sloth would have a trump card to overturn this situation.

Crack. Unsurprisingly, his super sensitivity started ringing in alarm.

“...What?” Titania’s fingers twitched as she stared into the darkness without blinking.

It was because four unknown lumps had fallen from the unmoving darkness that was Sloth. At first, their shapes were ambiguous, similar to mud or shadows. However, as the outline became clearer, the presence of the shadows was revealed.

-This is an impressive last hurrah. Don’t die, User, Gluttony advised, having noticed their identity before anyone else. -They are the transcendents that Sloth has collected. They are just empty shells without souls, but their combat power is still a threat.

“What? Then we have to deal with four transcendents?”

As they heard Theodore’s words, the faces of Theodore’s companions stiffened. Grandmasters—they were monsters born in the body of a mortal but had surpassed their limits. One of them could demonstrate fighting abilities equal to those of a dragon, and now Theodore and his companions had to face four of them!

“One piece of advice should be fine,” Simon Magus spoke as he was creating a magic circle. “Dragon King, take the one in the rear. All of you can handle the rest. If possible, don’t come near me.”

[I understand.]

There was no more time to explain. Clipeus nodded as the four shadows finished looking human. There were swords in some of their hands, and the armor around them looked real. Their terrifying presence that one’s shook skin was evidence of their transcendence.

“―They’re coming!”

It took literally a moment.

Kwarururung!

Two of the transcendents flew faster than the speed of sound, only for Brasmati and Erucus to confront them and push them in the opposite direction. It was in order to fight as far as possible for Simon Magus, who was casting Dimensional Banish.

[I’ll leave the remaining one to you.] Clipeus also decided their opponent.

As Simon Magus advised, Clipeus targeted the transcendent at the rear. Clipeus’ dragon body was much smaller than the other two dragons. However, that didn’t diminish the power of their breath.

――――――――――――――!!!

Light poured from the mouth of the small golden dragon. No one could escape the speed of their breath, and the transcendent was blown a few kilometers away. Despite this, Clipeus hurriedly pursued the transcendent as there was a chance that it might escape.

“...Damn.”

Finally, a magician with glassy eyes remained. Theodore, Randolph, Titania, and Aquilo faced him. They had enough power to wipe out some kingdoms, but the scale of power tilted toward their opponent. The opponent was a magician who reached the level of transcendence—a 9th circle magician.

The moment a black staff appeared in the hands of the mysterious magician, Theodore instinctively shouted, “Scatter―!”

Shortly after that, the space where the four of them were standing shattered.