Chapter 23
Ego Items.
Living equipment created during the Ancient Magic Empire.
They contained the essence of the magic of that era.
They could advise their owners.
Help them use mana.
Pass the experiences of previous wielders to new users.
Depending on the item, they could serve as anything from an adviser to a teacher.
Ego Items existed in many forms.
Swords.
Shields.
Rings.
And more.
Whenever one was excavated...
It attracted enormous attention.
However...
Ego Items made specifically for mages were almost never discovered.
Because of that, mages often studied Ego Items meant for knights and other professions instead.
Ego Items also had different ranks.
Some were intelligent enough to act as full teachers.
Others could do little more than help their owners control mana.
The future Ego Sword that Conrad possessed had been among the highest-ranking items.
It had transformed an ordinary swordsman into one of the greatest Sword Masters in the empire.
And the wand Jake now held...
Was an item of the same level.
It had once transformed an ordinary mercenary into a Magus.
The problem is that I can't understand a word it's saying.
Other Ego Item users had suffered enormously from the same problem.
Once communication was established, there was no issue.
But the first people to excavate these items often spent months...
Or even years...
Struggling to communicate with them.
Jake had heard that the Mage Tower in the Imperial Capital possessed specialized translation texts.
But for him...
That might as well have been something on the moon.
Fortunately...
After Magus Aaron obtained the Ego Wand...
Future Ego Item owners no longer had to suffer through that problem.
Jake focused on the hand holding the wand.
My hand can sense mana.
Mana gathers into my hand.
The words he repeated inside his mind once again drew mana toward his hand.
A faint blue glow appeared around his fingers.
"What is that?"
Jessica asked in surprise.
Jake could not answer.
Maintaining the mana he had gathered required all of his concentration.
Since he had no proper knowledge of magic...
Even simply holding the surrounding mana in place was difficult.
Sweat poured down his face.
Gradually...
The blue light around his hand began flowing into the wand.
Then...
At some point...
-Ah. Can you hear me?
The voice continued immediately.
-Your ability to gather mana is truly terrible.
-After all that effort, you've only now collected enough mana to activate telepathic communication.
-Haah...
-I'm really worried about this new user.
At last...
The Ego Wand was speaking in words Jake could understand.
It was not exactly speaking the imperial language.
The meaning seemed to enter his mind directly as thoughts or images.
But that did not matter.
The important thing was that he could understand it.
Unfortunately...
Its very first understandable words were harsh criticism.
Jake's concentration immediately broke.
"*$%$&@%$^@^%@$."
The moment the mana connection disappeared...
The Ego Wand's voice returned to incomprehensible noise.
Jake's head throbbed.
He shoved the noisy wand into his pocket.
"You were a mage?"
Jessica asked again.
This time...
Her voice was extremely careful.
She had happily spoken casually to Jake even while suspecting he might be a noble.
But this was different.
To mercenaries...
Mages occupied a very special position.
Jake shook his head.
"I'm not a mage."
"I simply know a technique that allows me to sense mana."
He intended to become a mage eventually.
But right now...
He was still only an ordinary(?) former scribe.
"A technique for sensing mana?"
Jessica stared.
"What is that?"
Jake realized his excuse had another problem.
Such a technique did not exist in the current age.
Of course Jessica would not know it.
"I'll explain everything later."
Jake changed the subject.
"Anyway, I found what I was looking for."
Jessica pointed uncertainly toward his pocket.
"The thing you were looking for..."
"Don't tell me that's an Ego Item."
Jake looked at her.
After a short hesitation...
He nodded.
There was no point hiding it.
Even without the Ego Item...
The treasure Jessica had found was valuable enough to awaken greed in almost anyone.
"Whaaat?!"
Her eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Can I see it too?"
Just as Jake expected...
Her eyes contained no greed.
Only curiosity.
Jake smiled faintly.
Then he took out the Ego Wand and handed it to her.
Jessica carefully held it.
Her face immediately twisted.
She thrust it back toward Jake.
"What is this?"
"It's shouting at me in some bizarre language."
Jake quickly put the wand back into his pocket.
Apparently...
The wand had plenty of complaints.
"Oh."
Jessica shuddered.
"So that's the ancient language?"
"No wonder people say you're better off selling these things to mages."
"If it's always this noisy, I'd go insane."
She shook her head.
Then continued thoughtfully.
"A wand means it's probably something for mages."
"If you brought this to the Mage Tower, it could literally change your life."
"But you aren't going to do that, are you?"
Jessica had finally given up making normal guesses about Jake.
More importantly...
At the moment, she barely had enough mental room left for complicated guesses.
"Hehehe."
She looked toward the treasure.
"Ancient gold coins."
"Magic items."
"And now an Ego Item!"
"This is way beyond a jackpot."
She proudly pointed toward herself.
"And this entire dungeon was cleared by me."
"Jessica the Thief."
"All by myself!"
She dropped to the floor and started rolling around with an expression like she owned the entire world.
Jake decided it was probably better not to disturb her.
"Hmm."
He looked toward the bed.
"I wonder if that can still be used."
Jessica had worked hard the entire day.
The moment her excitement faded...
She would probably collapse.
Jake roughly cleaned the dust from the bed.
Then he spread a blanket on the floor for himself.
During that time...
Jessica fell asleep while hugging the chest of gold coins with a huge smile on her face.
As usual...
She behaved exactly as Jake expected.
Jake picked up the sleeping Jessica and placed her on the bed.
She must have been exhausted.
She showed no sign of waking even while he moved her.
Yet...
She still tightly held one gold coin in each hand.
"Then..."
Jake finished arranging the bed.
"Shall we finally have a conversation?"
He sat on his blanket and took out the wand.
Immediately...
More incomprehensible noise entered his mind.
Jake had no choice but to place the wand on the floor.
An Ego Item had a personality.
So he decided to wait until it calmed down.
It was not human.
Perhaps it could continue complaining forever.
But Jake had considerable confidence in his own patience.
For the next hour...
Jake sat on the blanket.
The wand sat on the floor before him.
A silent battle of wills continued.
In the end...
Jake won.
Once the wand became quiet...
He picked it up and concentrated again.
As Jake repeated the incantation...
His hand and the wand began glowing.
-Beep.
-Telepathic. Communication. Activated.
This time...
A stiff mechanical voice echoed through Jake's mind.
A moment ago, it had sounded like the pleasant voice of a young woman.
Now...
It sounded like metal scraping against iron.
Apparently...
Their battle of wills was not completely over.
Jake sighed inwardly.
Then he tried speaking.
"Can you hear me?"
-Please. Form. A strong image. Inside. Your mind.
-I do not. Possess. Ears.
Jake ignored the wand's attitude.
Following its instructions...
He imagined himself directly speaking to it.
-Can you hear me now?
There was no answer for a while.
Then...
The Ego Wand sighed.
-It has been a very long time since I heard a human voice.
-I'm sorry.
-I may have gotten a little too excited.
The personality Jake had only vaguely imagined...
Felt no different from a real human.
It would be impossible to treat something like this as a mere tool.
-Let's talk again after a short rest.
-I can't concentrate much longer.
-What?
-You can only maintain it for this long?
-I'm not even a mage yet.
-This is exhausting.
-Let's continue after I rest.
Jake had to stop frequently because maintaining the connection required too much concentration.
Even so...
That night, Jake and the Ego Wand managed to talk about many things.
First...
They introduced themselves.
The Ego Wand asked to be called Fatima.
Jake introduced himself as Jay.
Fatima's memories ended before the destruction of the ancient world.
After her mage left her behind...
She had waited inside this room for a very long time, expecting her master to return.
-I'm an artificial spirit, so I don't really feel loneliness the way humans do.
-But it was such a long time.
-When you finally picked me up, I was honestly shocked.
-I thought I'd remain here alone until the wand itself completely wore away.
When Jake asked why she had made such a commotion earlier...
Fatima answered in an embarrassed tone.
-I don't know much about the outside world.
-I haven't passed through many mages.
-And what mage spends their time explaining world affairs to a wand?
When Jake asked about the Ancient Magic Empire...
Fatima admitted she knew very little.
Then...
Jake explained the current world and his own circumstances.
Fatima was horrified.
-What?
-Circle Magic?
-That's the magic used by magical technicians!
-Where did all the real mages go?
-Why are you calling magical technicians "mages"?
Her reaction did not stop there.
-You're saying nobody knows how to use proper magic anymore?
-So all that remains is something as basic as Mana Detection?
In reality...
Even the Mana Detection technique Jake had just used was unknown to anyone else in this age.
-My goodness.
-This can't be allowed.
-A world that doesn't know magic...
-We have to teach everyone proper magic!
Fatima continued saying things that would make modern mages furious.
Thanks to those words...
Jake suddenly understood why the future Magus who obtained the Ego Wand had worked so hard to spread ancient magic.
Jake had once believed it was an act of selfless dedication to help others.
Apparently...
Fatima had simply bullied him into doing it.
I'll have to be careful not to get dragged around by Fatima.
While spreading ancient magic...
That Magus had clashed with other mages many times.
The empire had already fallen and the world was in chaos, so the conflicts had been somewhat limited.
Even so...
The resistance from existing mages had been fierce.
Jake could not casually reveal this knowledge to everyone.
-Let's begin training immediately!
-I'll turn you into an excellent mage.
-Based on your Mana Detection ability...
-You should be able to properly enter the path of a mage in about three months.
-And in about five years...
-You'll be able to laugh at those magical technicians!
Apparently...
Jake possessed more talent than the Magus who had obtained Fatima in the future.
That Magus had appeared before the world only seven years after obtaining the Ego Wand.
Still...
Proper magical training would have to wait until Jake returned to Lutetia City.
He also needed to rethink his relationship with Jessica.
And considering the emperor...
Whether Jake should continue living inside the empire at all was another problem.
When Jake mentioned those concerns...
Fatima gave an unexpected answer.
-You don't need to worry about that.
-I can teach you the basics of becoming a mage very quickly.
-When you wake up tomorrow, go to the place I tell you.
Her words seemed to contradict what she had said earlier.
But Jake was exhausted after constantly gathering mana simply to maintain the conversation.
He did not think deeply about it.
The next day...
Jake and Jessica headed toward the location Fatima had indicated.
They returned to one of the two doors Jessica had described as "feeling wrong."
This time...
The door stood wide open.
"Ah."
Jessica immediately understood.
"The lock on the mage's room must have been connected to other doors."
"Looks like opening that one unlocked this one too."
She became excited.
"Maybe all the other doors opened too."
Jessica had hidden the treasure chest beneath the bed again.
Now...
Her eyes were shining at the thought of another exploration.
"Aren't you worried about leaving it there?"
Jake asked.
"Only you and I know it exists."
Jessica shrugged.
"What is there to worry about?"
Then she glanced toward his pocket.
"I'm more interested in the fact that you actually managed to talk to that Ego Item."
Apparently...
Keeping more secrets from Jessica would become difficult.
If the two did not separate...
Jake would probably need to tell her the truth sooner or later.
Behind the door Fatima had indicated...
A long corridor stretched ahead.
At the end stood a small circular underground chamber.
Strange patterns covered the surrounding walls.
And in the middle...
A single magic circle lay on the floor.
Jessica examined their direction and distance.
"This seems closer to the dungeon the mage and knights entered than to ours."
Jake silently asked Fatima.
-That's correct.
-The corridor you just walked through connects the mage's laboratory to the central research facility.
Fatima confirmed Jessica's guess.
-Now place your hand on the magic circle in the center.
Jake hesitated.
-Is anything bad going to happen?
-I'm going to help you learn magic.
-You only need to place your hand there for a moment.
-I swear upon my personality that no harm will come to you.
A mage's oath was sacred.
Jake had little choice but to trust Fatima.
He placed his hand on the magic circle.
The next moment...
Every pattern in the underground chamber began glowing.
All of them...
Were magic circles.
Jake stared around him.
The scene felt strangely familiar.
Then...
An illusion of the underground chamber appeared above him.
Inside the image...
Jake could see himself.
Jessica too.
The illusion expanded.
It revealed the surrounding maze-like dungeon.
The mage's laboratory.
And even the expedition members moving through the other dungeon.
Jake immediately understood what kind of magic circle this was.
Its scale was smaller...
But it was the same kind of magic circle he had once seen beneath the Imperial Palace.
