Offer a Tribute and Become an Archmage - Chapter 157



Only Noblemtl

Episode 157.

“Are you a child of tribute?”

The ridges of the Ronobe’s neck draw high and low.

I’ve only heard about it from the gods. About the children of other offerings. But I’ve never actually seen them. Ronobe didn’t really ask about them. Most gods didn’t like talking about the children of other offerings. They seemed reluctant to talk about it.

So I always wondered but never looked into it.

I couldn’t find out separately.

I felt like my true identity would be revealed if I started looking into things like that.

Why hide your identity?

Of course.

‘I’m the one who cheats for the tribute that doesn’t require a grimoire…!’

Wizards basically use grimoires, but Ronobe does not.

This alone can create an advantageous situation without the limitations of magic. This is because you can fight while letting your opponent down their guard by letting them know that you don’t have a grimoire. Of course, Ronobe doesn’t know much about it, so he’s never done that, but in any case, the fact that you don’t have a grimoire has a positive effect for several reasons.

‘If Gergoyle is a child of tribute…’

Ronobe had a lot to ask.

Why is it he, where are the other children of the tributes and what are they doing? Is this the right path he is walking? He thought that he might be able to gain confidence in whether the path he is taking while adding uncertainties is indeed the right path.

“A child of tribute? Ha! This is the greatest insult in the world.”

Suddenly, Gergoyle’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. Startled, Liam pulled out his sword, but Gergoyle did not dodge, but instead grabbed the sword and bent it.

“Huh!”

Gergoyle’s hands were already covered in stone, and he was displaying incredible strength.

‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’

If it’s magic that deals with things like stones or earth, it should end there. The reason why Grimoire and Tula are different is because they perform miracles that are divided into internal and external parts.

The Grimoire cannot exert its power within the body, and the Tula cannot be manifested externally.

But now Gergoyle was bending Liam’s sword like a twig, as if denying it.

It was natural to be surprised.

‘I can cover my body with ice too.’

But that’s clearly covering something that was outside the body. And covering it doesn’t make it any stronger.

However, Gergoyle was covered in stones from between his skin and his strength also increased. It was no different from violating the basic rules of human magic.

“Do not compare the fruits of my labor to the fate of the gnomes. That would be the ultimate insult to a wizard.”

“…”

“…”

Liam and Ronob nodded.

At first, I was overwhelmed by his magic, and if I wasn’t a child of tribute, I thought his words were probably true. It would be annoying if someone said that my efforts were just luck or that I was born with talent.

He’s a wizard who’s lived for hundreds of years.

Aren’t you the product of hundreds of years of hard work?

It could have been an insult, as he said.

If he is not a child of tribute.

“I apologize. Your Majesty, your magic is so amazing that I feel I have been rude.”

Ronobe apologized neatly.

In the first place, I am not close with Gergoyle.

I could have asked after we became close, but I was hasty because the magic was so amazing.

“Well, that’s true…! My magic is quite amazing! Hmm. You should probably get a new sword. What is this? What kind of sword is this bent like a taffy? If you’re a vassal, you should use proper iron. Hey…”

I thought it was Gergoyle, but it seems Liam’s sword was just trash. Well, for a sword to bend like that, it would have to be quite trash.

“Why are you carrying something like this?”

“You said you’d make the sword right away… That’s why I didn’t buy it separately.”

“Oh my.”

Leaving Liam sighing as he looked at the curved sword, Ronobé examined Gergoyle’s magic in detail.

“I have a question. Can I ask you something?”

“So be it. Would I not do that much for the person who saved my life?”

“hmm…”

When he said he was a benefactor, Ronobe was about to become a question mark killer like Rirun, asking him all sorts of questions. It was a bit awkward to say that he repaid the favor by answering his questions. Gergoyle looked dumbfounded as if he had read his thoughts.

“Haha, this guy. Do I really look that bad? You saved me after I was imprisoned for over a hundred years, so I can’t say I repaid your favor with this little bit. I said it was a bit awkward, but this part is like a knife.”

“Ahem. Then, I will hide my rudeness and ask. How did you use magic without a grimoire?”

Then Gergoyle’s face lightened a little.

“If we talk about that story, it’ll be long. Let’s have a cup of tea or something. I’m getting old and it’s hard for me to even stand.”

“I’ll treat you to tea.”

“I’d like someone prettier than you.”

“… yes.”

Ronobe was surprised in another way that he could still reveal himself to women at that age.

Gergoyle entered the mansion, glanced at the maid’s buttocks as she poured him tea, then sipped his tea in a pleasant manner.

“My magic was originally only good for moving stones. The manifestation of my magic wasn’t anything special. When I was working in the labor camp, I was so tired that I wondered if I could move stones without exerting myself, and that’s how it manifested. That’s why my grimoire was just a piece of stone.”

While listening to the answer to his question, Ronobe suddenly thought of the remote control. Like most modern people, when he was young, Ronobe was someone who desperately wished for superpowers because he would rather look for the remote control than the TV and not move his body. That may be why he was able to empathize so much with Gergoyle’s story.

“Then, when I gained wisdom about magic and my achievements increased, I knew.”

“What?”

“There are stones in the human body too.”

“yes?”

Something wasn’t right with the story.

It also sounded like a fat pig.

I was walking along fine when suddenly I heard a noise.

A stone in a human body.

“As I said before, I deal with stones. But there were stones in the human body to begin with. I was a guest of the Baron’s estate at the time, and I had the opportunity to dissect a human body due to a murder case.”

Gergoyle probably refers to a type of gallstone, stone, or other substance that hardens inside the human body.

“Of course it’s not like an actual stone. But if you think of it as a stone, isn’t it still a stone?”

That’s right.

In fact, it has a different structure and composition from stone. It is a stone made up of things from the human body.

But a stone is a stone.

The stones in your body and the stones on the road can all be seen as stones. It is said that Gergoyle attained a great enlightenment at that time and suffered from a high fever for three days and nights.

‘It’s a vague feeling…

And then I had an idea.

“My grimoire is also made of stone. And I deal with stones. So what if I were to embed this grimoire inside my body!”

“!!”

So, what Gergoyle is saying is this.

‘You stuck a grimoire into your body?’

That’s what it said.

Ronobe was surprised.

It was natural to be surprised.

Because this method that Gergoyle proudly talks about is something that Yonterion has also mentioned before.

‘I think I said that’s something only idiots do…’

I heard from Jonterion that most people who do something like that die, and here was someone who succeeded in doing it right before my eyes.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

“What. Heh heh heh!”

Perhaps it was a product of the combination of Gergoyle’s special magic and his enlightenment. That’s why he could use magic both externally and internally. To put it simply, he was a knight and a magician.

‘You’re not a detective, are you a magician? Wait. Magician?’

They said Wizard’s Wien is Magi, but is Gergoyle perhaps Magi?

“By any chance, Gergoyle-sama is a magician…”

“Ugh, ugh. What kind of magic…”

He looks quite embarrassed.

It doesn’t seem to be magic.

But Gergoyle seemed more amazing than the unknown magic. Even though he wasn’t magic, he was someone who had made up for the weaknesses of a wizard.

‘I was trapped in a rock and lived for a hundred years…’

Perhaps it was because of the special magic he possessed.

“But are you okay? This is a greater magical achievement than I thought.”

“Okay. Anyway, other than me, no one else can follow along even if they want to. And putting it in your body isn’t everything. There needs to be a clear harmony. A harmony where my body and the grimoire can exist at the same time. It’s something that requires balance, so if you follow along rashly, it’ll be the perfect time to say goodbye to the world.”

Gergoyle frowned.

It was like recalling an old memory.

It seemed like someone had died like that before.

“Anyway, since you saved me, I’ll treat you accordingly. Is this your territory?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Yes, a village has emerged from nowhere… How nice. This is my gift.”

Gergoyle pointed to the stone statue in the backyard.

“I created this guy. He will protect the village from evil spirits at night. That’s what I created him for in the first place.”

“Oh yeah…”

Disappointment appeared in Ronobe’s eyes.

Even if I received a gargoyle statue, it would be ugly and not particularly useful.

“Oh, what a rude look. Don’t you know? Do you know how many gold coins people used to offer to get just one thing from me in the old days?”

“Are you talking about this?”

“Of course! The kids cry so much that I only let them move at night, but it’s so reassuring to have one of these!”

“Huh? Is this what you mean?”

I know that gargoyle statues move.

Because Gergoyle just made it.

But just listening to what he said, it seemed like he would move on his own at night to deal with wild beasts and monsters.

“Really? You’ll know after just one night. There are no fences or anything here, so there won’t be many wild animals.”

“… Yes. That’s right.”

And then exactly one day passed.

In the backyard of Ronobe’s mansion, there were blood-covered gargoyles and dead monsters lying in front of them.

“It’s a goblin.”

“I really think this guy moved and caught it on his own.”

There was no lie in Gergoyle’s words.

‘It’s Akan.’

And Ronobe could guess.

This is the Archon of Gergoyle.

“Do you believe me now? If I had been prepared, I would never have lost to that brilliant Ashwald.”

“surely…”

If only I could make more gargoyles like this.

If you created an army of gargoyles, who could possibly defeat them? It was truly an amazing magic.

“How many can you make?”

“What do you think of me? Of course. All you have to do is give me blood once a month.”

“Does anything matter?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“But do I really have to bloom?”

“Of course. There is a saying that goes like this. Blood is the water of life. Anything living would die without blood. Blood has the power to move even stones.”

Excellent. This was more than worth the price I paid for it.

‘Automatic hunting is so cool…’

The first thing that comes to mind when you see a gargoyle is, of course, a dungeon. With the magic of the gargoyle, it’s not hard to create an army of gargoyles and explore a dungeon. All you have to do is order them to kill enemies and bring mushrooms.

‘The dungeon was deep so it took a long time to go in and out once, but it turned out well.’

Of course, this is about gargoyles.

There were many things I was curious about for Gergoyle.

There was a lot about magic, but more than that, it was knowledge about the child of the offering.

As he had initially been angry, he knew who the children of the tribute were. He must have known more about them than Ronobe.

“Hey, Gergoyle…”

Ronobé, who was eating with Gergoyle, finished his meal and asked.

“You called me ‘inspiration’? Okay, feel free to call me whatever you want.”

“Sir, do you happen to know anything about these children of tribute?”

Then, Gergoyle, who was tearing at the chicken leg, carefully narrowed his eyebrows.

“I don’t know the details either. But I can say that I know as much as other people do. Do you want to know about them?”

“Yes, I would like to know.”

“You foolish widow. I haven’t lived a decent life to the extent of saying such things, but I can say this much. A wizard shouldn’t fall into such things! After all, they are people who do things that we can’t do. Just… think of them as having different ends.”

“So what is the conclusion…”

Gergoyle sighed.

“How much do you know?”

“…I know that they even offer tribute to the gods to obtain magic.”

“Then you know everything. Why do you ask?”

“…”

Ronobe, who was about to say something more, soon shut his mouth because Gergoyle shook his head as if he understood.

“I know, too. It must be strange. While we work hard to achieve miracles and use them, they only borrow the power of the gods by offering tributes.”

Gergoyle’s eyes flickered with the fork in his hand as if recalling a very distant memory.

“I used to think that I wanted to use magic as easily as those guys. Don’t we have to pay a certain price every time we use magic? When you look at it that way, it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a difference.”

“Yes.”

The wizard pays a price for his magic.

“But do you know? To whom do wizards pay the price of their magic?”

“uh…”

Of course I don’t know. Because Ronobe has never paid the price.

“You probably haven’t thought about it. Actually, I haven’t really thought about it either. Some punk said… that magic is borrowing some material that makes up the world. It’s something that exists and doesn’t, and exists and doesn’t exist, so by using it, we create miracles and pay a price.”

“What is that?”

“Some call it Mana, some call it Gi. There are many different names for it, but none of them are its correct name. And those who call them gods came into being. They are the ‘children of tribute.’”

Ronobe took a deep breath. The story was more exciting than he had expected, and he had forgotten to breathe.

“No one knows when or where they came from. Long ago, they were a tribe that was only told in legends, and you can’t become like them just by doing like them. No one knows whether it’s expressed through bloodline or just a blessing of fate.”

“…”

What Gergoyle is talking about is a story that starts a hundred years ago. If it was like that a hundred years ago, it’s probably even more so now…

‘I guess I should assume it doesn’t exist.’

Ronobe felt regretful but also fortunate. It was a natural human instinct to want something special.

“Of course, it’s nothing to worry about. They can’t change or modify magic like we can. They only use magic that is fixed in a form given by the gods. It’s as if… if you change it at will, the power of the gods will run away.”

Gergoyle spoke as if he had seen the child of the tribute, although he was more concerned about other things than that.

‘Isn’t it okay to transform it?’

It was quite a surprising statement.

“Perhaps you thought it was complete in itself. After all, we tend to think of God as something perfect.”

God is perfect.

Ronobe did not agree with those words.

Because I’ve seen quite a few different gods.

“So they say that when they turn twelve, they gather precious offerings and perform a ritual. They say that they have to be chosen by the gods.”

“… Have you ever met a child of tribute?”

“Yeah. I saw that guy a while back.”

That’s what happened.

“if…”

Ronobe wanted to ask if there were others who had received grace from multiple gods like him. Even Yonterion and other gods treated Ronobe, who was connected to many gods, as a strange person. One cannot help but be curious.

“Oh, I think I know what you’re trying to say. It’s okay. Don’t be embarrassed. I did that too.”

Gergoyle nodded as if it was okay.

And he said in a subtle tone.

“I asked him if there was a goddess as beautiful as you and got into quite a fight with him.”

“… yes?”

“He said he worshipped the wolf god. So I asked if he was a female, and he got angry. What else could I ask? He really was a strange man.”

“…”

Gergoyle was crazier than I thought.

For some reason, I felt like I knew why I was sealed by Ashwald.

“Except that. Didn’t you use the magic of various gods?”

“Oh, that’s it? If that’s the case, I asked that too. So, can you use all the magic of the various gods?”

But he answered.

“They said they couldn’t. Most of them only meet one god, or if they are favored by a god, two. That guy had a wolf and… what was it? The wind, I think. That must have been it.”

Kwak.

Ronobe’s fist rolled.

‘I am…’

He was a little worried because there were people like him. He was worried that the path he was walking was the wrong one. He was worried that it might be a path that leads to a cliff that no one walks on. Or he was afraid that the power he had was something common that everyone had, but it wasn’t.

‘I’m different.’

That somehow made me feel proud and at the same time, my heart felt at ease.

For that alone, Ronobe expressed his deepest gratitude to Gergoyle.

“Then the children of the tribute wouldn’t be very strong.”

“Huh? Is that how it works?”

“If I just listen to what you say, I’m no different from a wizard.”

Compared to what I’ve heard so far, they can’t transform magic or serve multiple gods at the same time, so they naturally seem weak. Unlike Ronobe, they can’t use various types of magic.

But Gergoyle shook his head.

“I misspoke.”

“yes?”

“They don’t need to transform. The magic of the gods is equally powerful.”

No.

“It’s not magic, it’s a miracle.”

He was clearly speaking of Akan.

“If you use Akan without any effort, can you really call it weak? Akan is something that so-called genius wizards spend decades, or even hundreds of years, making. But they use Akan just because they were chosen by God at the age of twelve.”

Gergoyle frowned.

“That’s why I despise the child of tribute.”

End