Ascension Of The Failed Mage

"… [Magic Territory]."

>VWUUUUSSSHHH<

A vast amount of power suddenly emerged, Noir being the origin, and it spread at an alarming rate.

Everywhere within a 50-meter range instantly got covered in darkness.

Like a veil enveloping even the tiniest fragment of light, the layer of blackness covered all.

Then, once the darkness subsided, light shone and everything finally became visible.

"Alright…" Noir looked at the vanishing house and smiled.

The Orange Glow around it was currently stagnant, and no activity could be seen at all. That meant Spell was paused.

The young man took his time to walk toward the building, treading on the dark shadowy platform which formed the ground.

Dark smoke puffed with every step he took, and it seemed the entire floor around him had become a garden of shadows and darkness.

Noir looked above him, seeing an empty white layer replacing the sky—spreading for miles. It seemed everything had worked out.

It didn't take too long before Noir finally reached the building.

The moment he touched it slightly, suddenly the Spell broke. Noir was not done, though.

>BZZTTTZZZ<

The building suddenly glitched and then vanished from its location, leaving five strange figures standing in place of where it once occupied.

"Good. Now we're all set!" Noir looked at the five Mages in front of him, frozen in time.

These were the ones responsible for the Teleportation Spell, no doubt.

They had satisfied grins on their faces. It seemed they were quite confident of their victory.

Noir smiled at the ignorance.

He snapped his fingers, causing the five to be released from their suspended state. It took them but a moment to realize that something had gone horribly wrong.

"W-wha—?!"

"H-how…?!"

"What's this?!"

"….!?!"

"A-ahh?!"

Their smiling faces were replaced with confusion, and then perplexity.

They looked around them, surprised about their sudden change in environment and the sudden place they found themselves in.

"Did the Spell fail?" One asked in confusion.

"That's impossible, and you know it! Maybe they had an item that interfered with the destination of the spell and sent us here instead. Speaking of which… where are we?" The one who seemed like the leader said.

A smokey, shadowy ground, and blank white ceiling to serve as the endless sky. This place really didn't seem like reality any longer.

"Interesting… Nice theory."

The five Mages immediately jumped in surprise when they heard a stranger's voice. They had not even noticed he was in front of them—at least until he spoke.

"W-who are…. Where are we?" The leader questioned.

"It seems my suspicions were correct." Noir sighed. "I hate it when that happens."

"What are you talking about?" The Leader growled, already getting annoyed.

Impatience was a vice unbefitting a Mage, but with all the confusion running amok their heads, the five were on edge—their leader most of all.

"I mean, you guys are too weak." Noir stated bluntly.

"W-why you…!" A more impatient mage among the others shouted in utter annoyance, beating the boss to it.

"You dare!"

The Mage suddenly brought out a scroll and threw it up. It shone red, showing it was a Tier 5 Rune.

"Die!"

However…

… Nothing happened.

The rune scroll simply fell on the dark floor. As soon as it did, the item turned to dust and faded.

This was when it dawned on the Mages… just how serious their predicament was.

"T-this isn't the normal world, is it? Where are we?" The Leader said to himself.

"You've never seen a [Magic Territory] before?" Noir casually asked.

"M-Magic…. Terri…. ?!! Don't tell me…" The Mage's eyes now bulged in horror.

"Oh, right! Those who experience such don't usually live to tell the tale. It's even quite rare to see one in itself, so you should all consider yourselves very lucky. You'll all die here, but still…"

"B-but [Magic Territory] is a Tier 9 Spell! How can you do it?!" The Leader's eyes bulged, struggling to believe what he was seeing.

The entire sky was blank white, and the ground was pitch black, letting out black smoke.

There was no sound, except for the voices of those who spoke.

There was no sun, moon, or star. The Landscape was just plain white and black—stretching for miles on the flat land.

"N-no… impossible." The leader said.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you but…" Noir shrugged.

At this point, the Mages were all panicking. The Leader glanced at his followers, and from his eyes, they could understand what he meant.

"Hm?" Noir simply looked at them exchanging signals. He was unsure of what they were planning, but curious nonetheless.

The Mages suddenly brought out two scrolls each. Their actions were simultaneous, a testament to their established coordination

They held the Scrolls in one hand each and directed them at Noir, who still blankly stared at them.

They all released an intense amount of Mana and poured it into the Scrolls.

The scrolls shone bright orange, and a massive Magic Circle appeared before them. They smiled, seeing their joint Rune work.

"Once we kill you, the Magic Territory will be gone!" The Leader stated.

"Naturally." Noir said plainly, making the Mages smile with satisfaction.

The Orange Magic circle buzzed and then shattered.

The Mages gave surprised gasps. Slowly, despair crept in—alongside deep confusion.

"Even if this is a [Magic Territory], given how poor it looks, it must have been badly made. The effects should not be as potent as others—that was what you thought, right?" Noir found his smile widening.

"H-How…?" They all cried.

The situation was becoming too absurd, and the man responsible for their predicament seemed to have all the answers.

"What do you lot know about Magic Territories?"

Silence ensued as the five Mages looked at each other in fear and puzzlement. Truthfully, by normal standards, they would be considered very formidable.

However, in the presence of Noir, they seemed to be but mere children.

"T-the user within it has all their abilities amplified to an unreasonable amount, and the adversary's abilities reduce drastically…" The Leader hesitantly spoke.

He eyed Noir, waiting for any slip-up. Even in this seemingly dead end, there was no way he would give up so easily.

"That is correct. I'm guessing that's why you used Runes instead since they have nothing to do with an individual's abilities." Noir replied.

Judging from the expressions he received from them, the young man knew he was correct.

"This is probably pointless since you'll all die here, but… you don't know enough about it."

"W-wha—?!" The Leader stuttered, returning to his senses about the inevitable reality that awaited them.

'No! I can't give up!'

If he got Noir to talk, there was a chance he would find a weakness in the Magic Territory, or at least wear him out.

"What do you mean?" The Leader asked.

"All Magic Territories exist in a separate space outside the normal world, in essence, they are pocket dimensions." Noir started.

"Y-you mean…?!" One of the mages let out, catching on to their leader's plan.

"Yes. You're correct about the advantage the Magic Territory provides to the user… But that is not all!" Noir continued, nonchalantly teaching the ignorant ones about what they lacked.

Perhaps he felt bad for them or thought it was necessary knowledge. Still, Noir divulged the information freely.

"In addition to the increase in the abilities of the Caster and decrease in the opponent, there's also the 'innate' factor." Noir said.

"Innate?" They questioned.

"Every [Magic Territory], in addition to the general ability they have, possess 'Innate Attributes' unique to them.

For example, a Mage's Magic Territory may specialize in Fire Magic, based on the special space the user creates."

The Mages hadn't known this before. They looked around and wondered what attribute their current prison possessed.

"Though, since Magic Territories are Tier 9 Magic—plus it takes a long time for a Tier 9 Mage to master and refine it—the Innate Attributes in Magic Territories are not usually straightforward." Noir continued, not bothering with filtering his information.

"T-that's…" The leader was learning a lot.

He had questions, especially because he was arriving at the answer he desired

"Is it due to your Territory's 'Innate Attribute' that our Rune Scrolls don't work?"

"That's true… though I won't tell you what my Territory's Innate Attribute is." Noir smiled playfully.

"B-But why? You've already told us this much! Besides if you're going to kill us anyway, what's the point? You might as well just tell us!" The Leader yelled desperately.

His bloodshot eyes rang of desperation. Clearly, this enthusiasm was enough to move Noir—if it was genuine, at least.

The sudden Magic Tutor looked at all the eager faces before him, inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

Once he opened them, his eyes beamed with a sign that made it certain that he was ready to share his deep secret.

"Nope." His answer remained the same.

Instantly, all five of the Mages lunged at Noir. Their annoyed and desperate expressions made it certain that the thought it was their best chance to strike.

However, they were still too slow.

With a snap of his fingers, they all froze.

"While you guys might be immobile, I know information is still going to be relayed to your brains, though it'll be at a slow rate." Noir whispered.

"Your final lesson is this…"

His smile grew wider, and it seemed he was beginning to enjoy what was playing out.

"… What happens when the user of a [Magic Territory] decides to leave the space he creates?"

The suspended audience could not answer, so he had to reply to his own question.

"The Territory collapses, obviously. Now, tell me what happens to the unfortunate ones who remain within the Territory while the user leaves?" A dark gleam sparked from Noir as he gazed at the victims of his power.

There was silence. Choking, heavy silence pervaded the artificial space.

"I guess I don't need to say any more."

Noir turned away from the five Mages, eyes dead cold.

His smiling expression returned to its dull state, and he assumed his usual state.

"You guys are no fun at all." His empty voice echoed as a rip appeared in the vast space and he went into it—leaving the Territory behind.

Then… everything turned black again.

*

*

*

"Haaa…" Noir's breath was a bit heavy—his eyes too.

He really needed rest.

"Magic Territory takes too much out of me." The young man talked to himself, looking completely exhausted.

'Why did I have to ramble on and on? Did I really enjoy that?'

Noir sighed and looked ahead of him, seeing the building in its original position. It seemed everything went well.

'There's nothing to worry about on that end.' He pictured Ciara and the rest having a lovely night's rest.

Speaking of rest, he too was terribly lacking some shut-eye.

"I have to clean up fir—"

"Well, well, well! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" A voice suddenly echoed through the dark field.

Noir's eyes widened, readying a defensive stance while looking wary. He was tired, but not too much so to assume the proper position when confronted with an unknown personality.

"Who's there?" He instantly scanned his environment

"That's cold. Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already… About 'us'?" The voice spoke, getting clearer and closer.

"This voice… It can't be!." Noir, for the first time, gave an utterly shocked gasp.

"It's been a while…" A person emerged from the darkness.

He had white hair, blue eyes, and a smile plastered on his face.

He wore a white suit with a blue tie, giving him a distinguished—more refined—look. Compared to Noir, who appeared to be a rogue mercenary, he looked like a proper gentleman.

"Y-you're… #04…?" Noir managed to say, still recoiling from the exhaustion he felt, as well as the surprise pounding through his head.

"And you've definitely seen better days…" The not-so-strange person said with a smile, facing Noir directly.

"… Haven't you, #00?"