Officially, there are only five mages of the 8th tier, and one of them is Selime Micarlo, the master of the Blue Tower. He had been on a business trip to the northern lands, home to the barbarians, for several months. Upon his return, he immediately sensed something was amiss at the Blue Tower.

The first reason was the disappearance of the presence of Shimon, which he always felt upon returning to the tower. The second reason was his disciple, Penia, who was also an 8th-tier mage, blessed with a talent that could only be described as “dazzlingly gifted.” 

Penia, with her overwhelming talent, had developed an arrogant personality that reached the skies. Although she had shown at least minimal respect to her master Selime in the past, she had become increasingly impudent since she reached the 6th tier at a young age and was appointed as the deputy master of the tower. Her attitude toward him had become more brazen over time.

… In truth, Selime knew that Penia’s behavior wasn’t entirely due to disrespect for him. A significant reason was the overwhelming amount of paperwork she had to deal with while he was away on his frequent business trips. Nonetheless, even taking that into account, Penia had achieved too much for her age, and her arrogance had become excessive. However, Selime never intended to correct this behavior. 

While arrogance is a trait that a mage must be cautious of, especially in the pursuit of knowledge, Penia’s arrogance did not extend to her research and studies. Besides, Selime believed that once she reached the 7th tier, her personality would naturally correct itself to some extent. No matter how talented and self-centered a mage might be, they would inevitably become humble upon reaching the 7th tier. At that level, one begins to realize how insignificant their past achievements truly are. 

And so, Selime had left her be… until now.

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“You’re telling me that Count Palatio came and sealed Shimon?” Selime asked.

“Yes,” Penia answered weakly.

Selime stared at his disciple. Her usual fierce eyes, which never softened even in front of her master, were now filled with uncertainty. She spoke cautiously, as if wary of something, a very unusual sight.

“The count used the Oath of Magic to seal Shimon, so I can’t talk about how it was done.”

“…That’s right.” Penia mumbled, her spirits dampened.

Selime, noticing her unfamiliar demeanor, let out a sigh and thought about Count Palatio. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much information about the count in his mind. The Blue Tower was far from the Kingdom of Asteria, so what little he knew came from rumors a few years ago. He had heard that the current Count Palatio had murdered all his brothers to claim the title. That was the extent of it.

Yet, Selime couldn’t help but feel increasingly curious about the count. He knew that Penia wasn’t one to easily bend her arrogance, and her talent only reinforced it. If someone managed to humble her, there was only one possible explanation.

‘Magic that even Penia couldn’t fully comprehend… or rather, an Origin-level spell.’

Selime smiled as he came to this conclusion. For the first time, he felt intrigued by this count from a small, obscure kingdom.

***

The next day, Alon checked a letter from Yutia, which had become a familiar occurrence every month or two. As he read it, he thought, “Nothing special this time.”

As usual, Yutia’s letter contained mundane details of everyday life. It spoke of her life at the monastery and the recent activities of the Five Deadly Sins. Alon, however, preferred these trivial stories over peculiar incidents.

The fact that there wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy meant that the Five Deadly Sins were living quite well. Of course, it was a bit lonely that none of the others bothered to send even a single letter, but Alon understood.

‘It’s probably because I’ve never met them face to face.’

He had never visited the orphanage, so naturally, he had never met the Five Deadly Sins in person. Although he had provided substantial financial support, from their perspective, Alon was likely just seen as a kind benefactor. In fact, he figured they might not even think of him as a benefactor, but rather as just some nice guy from the past. Still, it didn’t bother him much.

His goal was never to win the affection of the Five Deadly Sins. His primary aim was to guide them down the right path, ensuring that they wouldn’t destroy the kingdoms. Since that goal had already been achieved, there was no need for regret.

“Hmm…”

Even so, Alon couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental. Despite his indifferent exterior, a faint smile of satisfaction crept across his face as he read Yutia’s letter. The others had never sent a letter from the very beginning, but Yutia, despite living a nun’s life, had consistently written to him once a month. 

It wasn’t much, but the thought of it warmed Alon’s heart. It felt like raising five children, only for all of them to forget his efforts and never send a single letter—except for the eldest daughter, who still remembered and appreciated his hard work.

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‘Yutia’s the only one who truly gets it,’ he thought to himself.

As Alon basked in this oddly sentimental, father-like feeling, there was a soft knock at the door.

Knock knock—

Evan entered the room.

“What is it?” Alon asked.

“Oh, I meant to tell you yesterday when I saw you at the training grounds, but it slipped my mind. Remember when you asked me to look into it last time?” 

“Yes, I remember.”

As Evan said, Alon had previously asked him to check with the information guild to see if the Five Deadly Sins were doing well. Although Yutia’s letters used to give him a glimpse of what the others were up to, lately, her letters contained fewer details about the rest.

“So, did you find anything out?”

“Yes, but there wasn’t much need to consult the guild. A few of them are pretty infamous now. Especially Deus and Seolrang.”

Alon motioned for him to continue, and Evan stepped fully into the room, organizing his thoughts before speaking.

“First, about Seolrang. I’ve heard rumors that she’s already become a warrior close to the rank of ‘Baba Yaga.’ She’s won 32 consecutive battles.”

“…32 consecutive wins?”

“Yes.”

“That doesn’t sound possible.”

“Honestly, I didn’t believe it at first either, but the rumors seem to be true. Among those 32 victories, only one fight went beyond ten exchanges. The other Baba Yagas are getting quite nervous.”

“That makes sense,” Alon nodded in agreement, still stunned by what he was hearing.

The title ‘Baba Yaga’ was an honorable rank in the Colonie, and there were only four individuals who held that title at any given time. The title never increased in number. Therefore, if Seolrang managed to reach the record of 100 wins required to challenge for the title, one of the current four would have to face her.

‘If I recall correctly, wasn’t the Lion King the fighter with the most consecutive wins in Colonie so far?’

“Yes, that’s right. He had 41 wins, if I remember correctly,” Evan confirmed.

“She’s only nine wins away from surpassing the Lion King.”

“Exactly.”

Evan nodded as Alon pondered, momentarily imagining the Lion King, who joined as a companion in one of the games. It was then that Alon realized just how absurdly talented the Five Deadly Sins were. The Colonie was home to not only common warriors but also formidable ones. Despite being a military powerhouse that heavily relied on its fighters, even the surrounding kingdoms hesitated to pick a fight with them.

Maintaining such a winning streak in a place like that was proof of her talent, and as Alon pondered this with a surprised expression, Evan continued speaking.

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“And there’s a rumor about Deus as well.”

“What’s the rumor?”

“They say that Deus and his order, the Eclipse, recently took down Kurga of the Snow Plains, one of the eight barbarian chiefs.”

“…One of the eight chiefs?”

“Yes, one of them. You know who they are, right? The monstrous beings who have transcended into superhumans through their rituals, despite being mere barbarians.”

Even without Evan’s explanation, Alon was already familiar with the eight chiefs. More precisely, he knew just how absurdly powerful they were from the game. To acquire the special magical equipment needed to become a glass cannon in Psychedelia, you had to fight the barbarians and defeat the god they worshipped.

‘Just thinking about it makes me dizzy…’

For a moment, Alon felt lightheaded, recalling how it had been over five years since he encountered Ultultus in the game. Even now, just the thought of Ultultus made his stomach churn due to how powerful it was. According to the lore, if Ultultus were to awaken and ascend to a true god, it would gain power comparable to that of the Five Deadly Sins.

In other words, if Ultultus were to awaken in the north, the kingdoms would be completely overwhelmed, even without the involvement of the Five Deadly Sins. However, Alon wasn’t too concerned.

‘Luckily, there’s no chance of encountering it.’

As far as Alon knew, Ultultus didn’t appear unless the Five Deadly Sins descended. In the lore, Ultultus only appeared when the gods descended and shattered the laws of the world, merging with the Five Deadly Sins. Unless a god descended and broke the laws of the world in a way that even Alon couldn’t foresee, there was no reason for Ultultus to appear.

“…Deus is doing quite well for himself, then.”

“It’s not just that. Successfully defeating a chief that even a master knight would struggle with has put him on par with the likes of Reinhardt, the Swordmaster.”

Upon hearing this, Alon felt a slight pang of regret.

‘…Maybe I should have visited him at least three times a year?’

Thinking about how sweet it would have been to benefit from the connections with a master knight, Alon pushed aside his bittersweet thoughts and listened as Evan updated him on Rine, who was now working as an appraiser in the labyrinth city.

“The Black Imprint?”

“Yes. Rine’s shop specializes in imprinting black marks that enhance relics’ abilities.”

“That’s interesting.”

Intrigued by this ability, which he hadn’t encountered in the game, Alon marveled for a moment before asking about the last remaining member.

“What about Ladan?”

In truth, Alon had asked Evan to investigate the Five Deadly Sins mainly because of his curiosity about Ladan. Although Ladan had lagged behind Seolrang, Alon had lost track of him about half a year ago when Yutia’s letters stopped mentioning him.

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Of course, he wasn’t too worried since he’d heard that Ladan had safely arrived in Raxas and was learning the ropes. But the fact that there had been no updates since then made him curious.

However…

“I haven’t found any concrete information on him yet. The information guild has some leads, but they asked for a bit more time—about a week—to verify whether the information is reliable.”

“I see…”

Alon nodded, feeling a slight sense of curiosity, but he accepted Evan’s explanation.

***

Two weeks later, while Alon was, as usual, researching relics in his office, he found himself debating whether or not to attend the Asteria social gathering, held every three years and attended by all the nobles. He was contemplating this while staring at the invitation when—

“Count…!” 

“…?”

The door suddenly burst open without so much as a knock, and Evan rushed in. Alon was about to say something when—

“Ladan… It seems he’s become a pirate…”

“…What?”

Alon’s face froze at Evan’s next words.

“Have you heard of the Seven Islands?”

“…Are you talking about the place where the seven great pirates dwell near Raxas?”

“Yes. Apparently, Ladan has become the captain of the largest of those islands, ruling over it entirely.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

Hearing Evan’s confirmation, a particular internet post flashed through Alon’s mind—a post he had seen long ago about a child who, after receiving eight years of consistent UNICEF donations, had gone on to become a Somali pirate.

Alon, now frozen with the realization that Ladan had turned into a great pirate, felt like he could truly empathize with the writer of that post.