Chapter 4 : Ophelia

Even the faint moonlight that illuminated the night was obscured by the leaves, making it impossible to see an inch ahead in the dense forest.

With nothing to rely on but my own eyes, I had no choice but to press forward.

Every breath I exhaled, every step I took—I moved cautiously, advancing little by little.

Disturbing the beasts that lurked in the forest could mean instant death.

Once inside the forest, there was no choice but to tread carefully.

Grrroooaaarrr!!

The occasional cries of the beasts echoed through the darkness, making me want to hide somewhere.

But I feared the knights pursuing me more than the beasts.

Fear.

That was the only emotion that ruled me.

Now, truly… I had been left alone in this world.

No parents to protect me, no loyal butler, no knights to guard me.

Realizing that fact, I couldn’t help but tremble.

But I couldn’t stop. If I did not keep walking, I would surely die.

‘Cold…’

I pulled my clothes tighter around me, trying to ward off the chill, but the cold did not fade.

No—perhaps it was not my body that was cold, but my heart.

Shaking off my growing weakness, I quickened my pace.

I couldn’t afford to rest.

At least until I escaped this forest, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down or stop moving.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I scanned my surroundings and took another cautious step forward.

If someone were to ask what the most powerful force in this world was, most people would answer magic.

Of course, swordsmanship was also strong.

Anyone could pick up a sword and train, even if they never reached the level of a Sword Master.

With effort, anyone could wield a blade like others.

But magic was different.

Without even the slightest talent, without any mana sensitivity, one could never even begin to learn magic.

No matter how intelligent a person was, no matter how much they understood the principles of magic, without talent, they couldn’t even take the first step.

That was why magic was unfathomable—and that was why it was powerful.

If one had talent, they could begin learning magic.

And the more extraordinary their talent, the more revered they became.

That was the nature of this world.

Thus, as a magician—and a Great Mage—Ophelia lacked for nothing in life.

And because of that, she was bored.

Some said magic was difficult.

But with her innate genius and exceptional intellect, Ophelia understood magic the moment she first laid eyes on it.

Not only did she comprehend it, but she mastered it with ease, bending its laws to her will.

Everyone who witnessed her abilities called her a prodigy.

The Great Mage Ophelia.

For her, there were no hardships.

For her, there were no impossibilities.

And so, she had no choice but to turn her attention elsewhere—

To the long-forgotten art of Spirit Magic.

Spirit Magic was both an intriguing and elusive field for her.

The foundation of spirit magic lay in attuning with spirits.

Yet, magicians who wielded mana feared it.

Unlike magic, which was rational and logical, spirit magic was vague and mysterious in nature.

Because it could not be explained through reason, they feared it.

Because it could not be understood through logic, they felt uneasy about it.

Thus, magicians began to reject and suppress spirit magic.

They outright denied the legitimacy of a field that had once existed.

As a result, under the overwhelming opposition of magicians, spirit magic faded into obscurity, gradually disappearing.

By the time of the present era, many believed that spirit magic was merely an ancient practice of the past.

People were taught that spirits did not exist, and as fewer people believed in them, spirits slowly vanished from the world.

This was precisely why Ophelia felt compelled to study spirit magic.

There was no one left in the field of magic who could surpass her, nothing left for her to learn.

Paving her own path was never difficult for her.

So, she began her research into the unknown discipline of spirit magic.

However, despite being a prodigy in magic, even she lacked talent in spirit magic.

Attuning with spirits? Such an abstract and imprecise process was difficult for her to grasp.

And so, Ophelia waited.

Waited for someone to appear—someone gifted in spirit magic.

“I’m sleepy.”

She muttered drowsily, blinking slowly.

Her red hair swayed gently as she yawned.

Just like her personality, her crimson hair and eyes wavered with a languid intensity.

Relying on the dim, flickering light, she read her book—until she finally closed it, gazing out the window with a bored expression.

Ophelia was not the type to sit around idly and wait like others.

However, she wasn’t the sociable type to go searching for someone with a talent for spirit magic either.

So instead, she chose to wander through the forests of the continent—seeking out spirits herself.

The forest.

If there was any place spirits would favor, it would be the forest.

Ophelia named it the most energy-abundant place in nature—a sacred home for spirits.

Today, as always, she had returned from strolling through the woods, using the spirit detector she had crafted herself.

And now, with a sour expression, she arrived at her makeshift dwelling.

“Damn spirits. Acting all high and mighty.”

There was nothing she could do but grumble at them.

Spirits rarely revealed themselves to anyone except those they personally chose—and the ones they chose were always those overflowing with natural talent for spirit magic.

Thus, although Ophelia had been chosen by mana, she had not been chosen by spirits.

No matter how much she wanted to meet them, she could not.

She had meticulously analyzed the nature of spirits and crafted a spirit detector—as well as a spirit shaman detector, which was supposed to react when it encountered someone with talent in spirit magic.

But to this day, it had never once activated.

Whether it was because she had failed to find a spirit or a shaman—or because the device itself was flawed—she couldn’t say for certain.

But Ophelia believed.

Why?

Because she never failed.

The only thing she had ever failed at in her life was being unable to use spirit magic.

She understood spirit magic better than anyone, yet she could not use it herself due to her lack of talent.

Lamenting that reality, Ophelia slowly closed her eyes.

Leaning back against the soft, rocking sofa, she thought to herself—if she found nothing of value tomorrow, she would move on to another place.

With that final thought, she surrendered to the drowsiness overtaking her.

Gwaaarrrr!!

Just as she was about to fall asleep, her rest was rudely interrupted by the roar of a beast in the forest.

Ophelia, who often lost sleep due to her obsessive research, hated being disturbed on the rare occasions she did manage to sleep.

Some might think it strange that someone living in the forest would react so strongly to the cries of wild beasts.

But to Ophelia, it was nothing.

After all, she had the power to wipe out every last one of them in an instant.

The reason she didn’t bother dealing with the beasts was simple—she had no intention of committing ecological destruction just to get a good night’s sleep.

Absolutely not.

It was definitely not because she found it bothersome.

No, absolutely not.

That didn’t mean she had shown them mercy either.

“I warned them, didn’t I?”

The reason the beasts of the forest had been so quiet lately?

Nothing special.

They had simply learned their place after a warning from Ophelia, whose sheer mana was so vast and powerful that she might as well have been a dragon.

Her warning had been clear:

“If you dare to screech pointlessly at night, your heads will roll.”

Faced with overwhelming power, the beasts had obediently complied, and the forest had remained peaceful.

Yet tonight, something had changed.

They were howling, despite the warning.

“Haaah.”

Ophelia let out a long sigh.

Like any other magician, she had a curious mind when it came to research.

She approached her studies with patience and persistence, methodically delving deeper into her subject of choice.

But that did not mean her fiery temper was any less intense.

By nature, she had little patience and exploded over the smallest things.

With another deep breath, Ophelia calmly stood up.

However, her expression was anything but calm—her face was twisted with irritation, like a wrathful demon.

Scowling, she brushed her hand over her face before slowly stepping out of her hut.

“Now, which idiot decided to wander into the forest at night?”

The beasts of the forest were not foolish enough to ignore her warning.

In fact, they were smarter than humans when it came to heeding such warnings.

They instinctively understood—if they angered this overwhelmingly powerful being, they would die.

Which meant…

The reason they were howling tonight had to be because someone was trespassing in the forest.

Some foolish human had ventured into the beasts’ domain, disturbing them.

If a person ended up dying in the forest, it would be annoying to deal with.

With that in mind, Ophelia wordlessly stepped forward.

She would spare their life.

However…

“A little discipline should be fine, right?”

Just a tiny bit of punishment.

Really.

Just a little.