I Will Make You a King as a Possessor

The Spurling family was among the nobility overflowing with wealth. Perhaps because of this, the family’s head, Terrian van Spurling, had no interest in how his eldest son spent money. Or perhaps he was feigning ignorance. In the duke’s indifference, luckily, Raymond was able to easily hire a royal wizard.

After having accumulated basic knowledge about magic until now, it was time to understand the issues with his own body. The butlers of the Spurling family breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the eldest son who had given up on practicing magic had not completely become a layabout.

And so, today, the royal wizard who had been summoned by the eldest son stroked his pure white beard and spoke.

“You have no talent for magic, young master.”

“…Are you out of your mind?”

“…I wish I were wrong, so I could earn more by tutoring, ahem!”

A man looking for some extra cash, it seemed. ‘Come to think of it, it was illegal for a royal wizard to offer private tutoring.’

After a bout of coughing, the wizard spoke again.

“Do you know what magical power is, young master?”

“Are you asking me to ignore you?”

“Ah, ahem!”

A month into acquiring knowledge of this world, Raymond had become quite sharp.

“What about magical power?”

“To circulate magic within your body, you need a circle to begin with. And magicians are born with one such circle. Having a circle means having the basic qualifications to become a magician. Also, the bigger it is, the easier it is to move to the next stage. A larger circle can easily divide into another, and the divided circle creates another circle that revolves around it.”

‘Circle’.

The world that Raymond had possessed used magic based on the concept of ‘circle’, a common theme in old fantasy novels. Depending on the limit of magic one could use, one was ranked from a 1st circle to an 11th circle magician. Those above the 8th circle were given the title of ‘Archmage’.

“I know that.”

“Luckily, as a member of the Spurling family, you do possess a circle.”

I have a circle?

‘Did my soul create a circle when it came in?’

Raymond slowly nodded his head.

“However, young master, the circle you have is too small. In other words, you could become a magician, but you lack talent.”

The issue was that a significant portion of that important circle was determined at birth. He had a new life, but what he got was ‘a circle too small to be a proper magician’.

Despite the cold words of the wizard, Raymond did not despair. “I didn’t know that.”

I thought I didn’t have any at all.

At Raymon’s nonchalant response, the wizard heaved a sigh. “You should have known.”

“If I had known that fact alone, I would have already surpassed you Master and become an 8th circle wizard.”

“Master, you say. You use such generous words. Please refrain.”

This was an elegant way of saying, don’t call me master, as I don’t recognize someone like you as my disciple.

He glanced at Raymond once more, then shook his head. “Even after looking again, your’s too small. By the way, your younger brother whom I briefly met in the hallway has quite a large circle. When we say someone is full of talent—”

“–Just in case, is there any way to increase the size of my circle?”

He shook his head. At the same time, his rich white beard fluttered. Raymond had a wicked thought about what might happen if the beard started to thin and how valuable the hair would be if sold.

Responding to Raymon’s unspeakable thought, the wizard replied in a polite but sarcastic tone. “If there were such a thing, we wouldn’t say that being a magician is all about talent. If someone were to create a study or method to increase the size of the circle and prove it, it would be a tremendous event. That person would become a figure that would long be remembered in magical history.”

He shook off his robe of pale satin. The long cloth quickly became a coat, wrapping around him. 

“According to the amount you have paid me, there are about two lessons left. However, as my ability falls short, it’s difficult for me to educate you, so I will refund the entire amount.”

“Is that so?”

It’s good for me. The books have already been submitted, so I’ll have to swallow the money.

As he reached for the bag of gold coins offered by the wizard, he found that despite his words, the wizard did not seem to have any intention of letting go of the bag.

“Um… please let go.”

“……I apologize.”

The door closed, and the wizard left.

Now, let’s think about what to do next.

The Spurling family’s wealth, even just inheriting the estate, would be enough to never worry about money for the rest of my life. In other words, even if I just caught the falling bean pod, I could feast!

Raymond was not particularly interested in titles or territories.

The reason other children strove to become the most capable magicians in the family was all for the sake of becoming the head of the family someday. Paradoxically, this also meant that if you didn’t intend to become the head of the family, there was no need to strive to become an outstanding magician.

So, there was no need to become a great magician.

Instead, he had to become a magician. To become a high-level magician, or, in other words, a Grand Magician, one had to enter the kingdom’s Magic Academy, receive systematic education, and graduate from the institution. However, to simply gain the qualifications of an ordinary magician, all one needed was to pass a test. In the case of the certification, as long as one was a noble of confirmed status and could perform very basic magic needed for farming or commerce, the qualification was given.

Of course, even that test was difficult to pass with his current, pitifully inadequate circle.

‘Just like how there’s a minimum requirement for a driver’s license.’

So, he had to at least put forth the minimum effort that he could.

From this day forward, Raymond began to lay out his perfect life plan.

Firstly, it started with him waking up at 11 A.M.

“Hmm, perfect.”

Around 11 A.M., when the sun was almost at its peak, Raymond, who had lazily woken up, put a cube of steamed pumpkin into his mouth and read a book.

There were now less than five books that he hadn’t read in the mansion’s library. Currently, he was reading a dissertation from the final year students at the Academy ‘Foreston’, which was stored deep within the mansion’s library.

‘Magic Academy Foreston.’

The kingdom’s only magic academy, founded with the aim of gathering talented young mages and nurturing them into outstanding magicians, thus benefiting the entire kingdom.

‘Soon, my younger sibling will probably enroll.’

The age for entering Foreston was 16. So soon… an invitation to enroll would come to him.

However, Raymond’s magic skills were still pathetically poor. Whether he could enter the notorious Magic Academy ‘Foreston’ was still a question.

But, at the same time, the Duke of Spurling seemed to have no expectations for his eldest son Raymond to enter ‘Foreston’. Speaking more harshly, it seemed that he did not want to expose the Spurling family’s eldest son, who had no talent in magic, to noble society. He wanted to keep Raymond caged like a bird.

‘Well, I’m not planning to enroll anyway.’

As Raymond was contemplating how he should learn magic, one of the servants knocked on his door.

“Master-!”

It was Nicol’s voice.

“Uh-.”

Nicol burst the door open immediately after knocking.

It was a rude act not even to confirm the guest’s identity, but it was alright because it was Nicol. Nicol, a young butler with soft black hair, freckles dotted on his face, and sturdy shoulders, rushed in with a letter. His muscular body seemed to shake the room every time he moved.

“Master, a letter has come from Foreston! It’s a pre-admission notice.”

Raymond accepted the flamboyant letter envelope offered by Nicole with a sullen expression.

Right now, this wasn’t a pre-admission notice but an invitation to hell that seemed to say ‘welcome to the journey of losing your inheritance rights.’

“Please hurry and open it.”

Nicol’s lips quivered. It was understandable since Foreston’s invitation shimmered as if it was studded with dozens of expensive jewels. The sealing wax that sealed the letter clearly displayed the symbols of laurel and parchment. It was the emblem of Foreston.

Raymond tore open the letter envelope without even using a letter knife. Nicol’s hand trembled in surprise.

“Master! How can you rip the envelope like that?”

“Well, I’m sorry.”

“…If you are going to say so, please put some soul into it.”

If I put my soul into words, wouldn’t my body become empty and die?

Anyway, the contents of the letter from Foreston were as follows:

+

“To the (prospective) students of Foreston,

If you have received this letter, you are the (prospective) students who have earned the right to enroll at our Foreston.

The qualifications for enrollment at Foreston that you may be curious about are as follows:

If you are a child of a noble family who can use magicAnyone who has outstanding magical talent and can match the test scheduleIf you can use magic, have outstanding academic knowledge about magical theory, and can potentially contribute to the field (* In this case, separate document submission is required.)”

The entrance exam for Foreston is at 11 a.m. on the day when magic is at its peak, and the venue is the Foreston examination hall located in the capital. The directions will be etched on this letter on the day.

See you then.

(Prospective) Student Raymond Van Spurling.

+

“They even wrote your name!” Nicol admired.

Raymond, who had checked the contents of the letter, casually folded it and brushed his hair back. ‘If it’s the day when magic is at its peak, it would be about a month from now.’

“They must have written it with magic. It’s simple.”

“But even that simple thing is something you can’t do, young master.”

“You know that’s a hurtful thing to say, right?”

“Ah… I didn’t think that far. I just slipped out. Should I dispose of this hurtful letter now?” Nicol asked, pointing at the innocent Foreston’s letter.

“…Huh? Why?”

“You’re not going to take the test, are you?”

“So? Do I look like that?”

“… Hehe, sorry.”

I suppose I must seem like I have no reason to go, with my small circle of magic.

“It does sound fun.”

“Does it?”

“Plus, Nicol, look at Foreston’s qualification criterion number 3. They like those with outstanding academic abilities. Who knows, they might even pick someone with a small magic circle like me.”

“Oh. Well, you’re incredibly smart despite your lack of magical abilities, so that could happen.”

“You……”

“Ah, I made another mistake. So……”

(So, are you planning on going?)

Raymond shook his head at Nicol’s curious gaze.

“No, I’m not taking the test. If I enter Foreston, I have to become a ‘great’ wizard, right? That’s far from the kind of wizard I aspire to be.”

“I see. So can I rip this up?”

Raymond responded with a grimace. “…Are you stressed out lately? …Let’s keep it. My father might ask about it later.”

“Understood. But it’s a shame. Regardless of magic, you are very unique, young master. Foreston is losing a talent.”

Raymond crossed his arms and nodded at Nicole’s perfect answer. Compliments always felt good. Of course, that had nothing to do with him enrolling at Foreston.

“Expansion of magic.”

Raymond muttered as he tossed the finished book into the book cart.

The concept of magic and magic circles as explained by that wizard was simple yet complex. In summary, if you have a space or method like a magic circle inside your body that can manipulate magic, you can use magic as much as you want…

Even if the space is something innate, if you can consciously expand it, isn’t it feasible? Just like accumulating internal energy in martial arts novels, if you accumulate magic…

‘Humans are the only race that need a magic circle to use magic. There could be another way besides expanding the magic circle.’

Ding—

At that moment, the unsolicited system returned.

[ Adaptation period ended ]

Ah, it’s been a month already. Usually in these cases, the system makes a shocking announcement.

And, of course, the system did not disappoint.

[ Survival mission: Survive by becoming a kingmaker ]

[ If Raymond Van Spurling fails to make his candidate a king, he dies ]

Become a king to survive? Who should I make a king?

[ That has not been decided. ]

[ As a privilege of the possessor, your abilities as a Hunter will be passed on as a trait. ]

[ Normal survival bonus: The abilities you possessed as a Hunter will be ‘awakened’ as a ‘general trait’. ]

Before even discussing why he should die if he cannot make someone a king, or who he should make a king, the system threw him a carrot.

Raymond couldn’t pull himself together amidst the whirlwind of developments. One thing for sure was, he couldn’t ignore what the system said.

That was the only thing his predecessor, Yoo Tae-ha, had learned.

Raymond clung to the last hope and looked out the window. It’s more than enough to be in pain after checking what this ‘general trait’ is. Anyway, he now has a new power other than magic that he can use.

‘No matter how many lifelines you have for survival, it’s never enough.’

[ Your general trait will be awakened. ]

His heart pounded. What kind of trait will it be?

[ General Trait: Conscience is Trash ]

…What?