21st Century Archmage

Translator: Lei

Proofreader: Enigami

“Please tell me the password.”

“Why should I? Why do I have to cough up my hard-earned fortune to you? I have no business with you.”

The coronation ended. Still riding the high of the coronation, Derval enthusiastically recommended going straight away into my wedding, but I thought it was a little much for a guy who wasn’t even 20 yet to get married. I’d already shown the women I loved before a huge audience, so no one had any complaints.

‘Tch, this geezer’s playing hard to get.’

Plus, there was something I had to take care of before I could get married. I had to make a brief trip back to Earth. I could go even without Master’s help, but the problem was money. Here, I had more money and treasures than I knew what to do with, but on Earth, I had nothing to my name.

‘Huhu. Let’s just see how long you can hold out.’

I didn’t just need the unlimited card, but Master’s organization, the Magician Group.

“Open Pocket Dimension,” I calmly chanted in front of Master. “Where was it again…?”

Master’s eyes grew wide. To an upper circle mage, your pocket dimension was the most tightly kept secret you were supposed to hide from even your kids and wife. Master Bumdalf watched me rifle through such a thing right in front of him with shock on his face.

“Ah, here it is.” I pulled out a magic tome from a corner of my pocket dimension. “I thought Master might get bored, so I brought a 9th Circle magic tome penned by a dragon…”

As I trailed off, I clucked my tongue regretfully. Within mere moments, this master of mine who had claimed he had no business with me just moments ago was so agitated at the mention of a 9th Circle magic tome that only the whites of his eyes could be seen.

“H-Hyuk, my boy… I mean, Your Majesty. Come now, don’t be like that. For the Group’s secure password, you just have to type 00000001 on the computer in my magic tower on Earth. Use as much as you like. As if there’s anything I would withhold from my own disciple! Haha, hahaha.”

Even as he forced a laugh, Master’s eyes were fixed on the magic tome in my hands like a starving dog eyeing a bone. He and I both knew that this 9th Circle tome was more valuable than the money he couldn’t even use on Earth.

‘There’s no helping Master, seriously. Huhuhu.’

Master had already fallen for my bait, hook, line, and sinker. Though… He didn’t know that as long as he stayed at the 8th Circle, he was doomed to be my eternal prey.

‘But my god, that’s one weak password. Tch…’

For the key to a bank vault that held untold fortunes on Earth, that password was way too half-baked. But it didn’t matter. I was planning on changing it as soon as I got my hands on the account anyway.

‘I’ll go and come back in a jiffy.’

It had been a long, long three years. My coronation ended without a hitch, and Nerman’s autumn harvest was also over. I appointed Sir Derval, Shailt, and Cedrian as dukes and granted peerages to the territory knights who had contributed. The Nerman Empire’s new lands were incredibly big anyway, so I didn’t hold back and did everything as I wanted.

‘That reminds me, a woman’s heart really can’t be trusted. To think she just went and left with one word from Ryker.’

In the middle of all that, Lady Janice followed Ryker to the Opern Empire. Since it was possible she might become a queen of an empire, I sent her off with a few decent things among the treasures that had been hidden in the Laviter Imperial Palace.

“Okay, here it is. You’re advanced in years, so do make sure to enjoy the magic tome slowly without overdoing it, Master. If you manage the empire’s magic tower well while I’m on Earth, I can show you a few more volumes.”

“Y-You mean it? R-Really? Kuhahaha! Don’t you worry. While you’re away, I’ll make sure Nerman is safe.”

Now, I could leave Nerman without much worries. As long as a dragon or a demon didn’t show up, no one could do a thing to my powerful empire. As I gave the tome to Master, my final preparation to return to Earth was done.

* * *

“You’re returning home?”

“Yeah. It might take some time. I need to see my parents, and I’ll have a lot to discuss with my various relatives, too.”

“I see… If that’s the case, you need to go.”

After finishing the coronation, other than Aramis, most of the ladies returned to their original places. I promised them that we would have a grand wedding in some years, so they left without complaints. They were probably secretly squirreling away a chunk of their household funds to come and get married to me.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be one month at most.”

“Yes. Please don’t worry about me.”

Once she knew I was going home, Aramis grinned at me without further protest, looking at me with warm eyes while telling me not to worry about her.

‘Goodness! You cutie, just you wait. Oppa will be back before you know it.’

I was sad, too. I would have liked nothing more than to laze around and enjoy a blissful life in my paradise with all my beautiful girls around me. But it was now time to go visit my parents. No matter how much of a safari wilderness program they raised me with, I knew they were worrying about me as my parents.

With a rustle of fabric, I brought Aramis into my embrace. There was nothing more to hide. I devoted my entire attention to this woman, who was happy just hugging like this. The happiness I felt in this moment became my everything.

Translator: Lei

Proofreader: Imagine

* * *

Flaaaaaaaash!

“Bleargh!”

As I knelt, the flash of mana so bright I could still see it with my eyes closed slowly faded, and I expelled the churning contents of my stomach. Closing my mouth with my hand, I slowly opened my eyes.

“Haah…”

My vision returned to me hazily, still blinded by the mana light. But soon enough, I was able to make out an all-too-familiar place.

“I-I made it!”

I had dimensionally traveled back to Earth without any issues. Now, I was in Master’s underground bunker in Iceland, the country he basically owned. Even though Master wasn’t here, the entire facility was still being maintained, and the Clear magic circle on the grounds kept it spotless.

“Huhuhu… I’m back. I’m finally back on Earth!”

At first, I had wanted to come back so badly. But now, this place was more of a place where my parents lived rather than my home.

“Chang Li, I’ll crush you first.”

That was the Triad boss who had lost his right to be a disciple of Master. I still vividly remembered how he dared to put a hole in my stomach with third-rate magic. One of the Kang family’s creeds, our household’s version of Truth, was that it was fine to forget your savior, but you could never forget someone who had brought you pain. The memories I’d been suppressing revived inside me like an explosion.

“First, I should access the central computer and check Master’s account. Huhuhu.”

Ever since I became a 9th Circle archmage, a sense of calm had pervaded me. I hummed to myself as I sat in front of the computer I’d always seen Master use, a device I could never even think of approaching when I was last here. Just like before, broadcasts from nations all over Earth were being displayed on dozens of TVs.

“Here it is.”

Any 21st century Korean kid knew how to work a computer. I easily navigated the Windows operating system set to English and found a folder named “Money” on the massive monitor.

Cli-click.

With two clicks, a password window appeared. I lightly typed in 00000001.

Flash.

After inputting the password, I was momentarily taken aback by the words that flooded the screen.

“Woah! Wh-What’s all this?”

The folder was named “Money”, but inside it were over a hundred accounts in subfolders. Not just that, but there was a comprehensive list of companies so long it couldn’t be counted, and when I clicked a name, the words “Stock Holdings” and graphs appeared in clear sight before me.

“I-Intel stock 14%, Coca Cola 18%… Walmart 22%, ExxonMobil 30%…”

After seeing the names of the companies and the stock percentages, I was struck speechless. There wasn’t a single Top 100 company Master didn’t have stocks in. To my shock, he didn’t just have one investment company, but was investing under dozens of different names.

“This is fucking nuts. Just what did he hoard such a huge fortune for?”

I knew Master used his magic knowledge to greatly contribute to 21st century Earth and earn quite a sum of money, but I never even imagined he would be such a trillionaire.

“Then these must be loaded too…”

I moved away from the stock accounts and started opening up the bank accounts. I clicked on one of the many accounts in a Swiss bank.

“Eh?”

And then, I saw it. I saw how meaningless a number truly could be.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight zeros? A hundred million? In dollars?!”

A sum slightly over a whopping hundred million dollars was in the Swiss account. There was no need to check the other accounts. From just what I had seen, it was clear Master pretty much had the world financially in his pocket. With such an insane fortune, he could easily financially carpet bomb an advanced nation or two in a single day if he so wanted.

“He’s well and truly mad. Usually, people go broke in their old age, so what’s with this geezer?”

If it was a decent sum, I’d feel some greed, but this was on such an outrageous scale that it was downright incomprehensible. But to be honest, my heart wasn’t that ruffled. On the Kallian Continent, my wealth and fame were greater than the fortune Master had accumulated here on Earth. Moreover, I was an emperor, not even a king. I wasn’t going to be cowed by something like this.

“Huhu, then let’s put it to good use, thank you very much.”

As Master’s good disciple, I was planning on helping him use the fortune he’d hoarded.

“If I remember correctly, picking up this phone connects automatically to a line.”

There was a phone next to the computer. Before Master passed down his magic knowledge to me, I remembered him talking adeptly through the phone in a foreign language I couldn’t understand.

I picked up the receiver.

Ring, ring, ring.

Click.

After exactly three rings, someone on the other side picked up.

“Master, how may I help you?” A calm woman’s voice came over the receiver.

‘Eh? This voice is—!’

“Lady Marisol?”

“…Master Hyuk?”

Marisol responded to my English in French.

‘Oh, YES!’

As soon as I heard Marisol’s voice, I remembered a certain scene. Marisol’s goddess figure, as dazzling as the Mediterranean resort we were in. My face flushed with heat.

“Haha. It’s been a while, Marisol.”

“Wow! It truly has, Hyuk.”

The warmth in Marisol’s voice was proportionate to my own.

“Master has passed the full power of the Magician Group to me. As such, I need your help, Marisol.”

“Hoho, worry not, Hyuk. No, my new Master. If there is any way I can help, I will do my utmost.”

Marisol decisively said she would help me without doubting my words for a moment. Like I thought, my luck with women was top notch, at least.

“Could you find someone for me, then?”

“Yes, the Magician Group’s intelligence gathering is even more precise and quick than the Mossad, the special intelligence agency of Israel that is called the best in the world.”

“I see. Huhu.” My lips curled into a cold smile. “His name is Chang Li. I don’t know where he lives, but he’s an important boss of the Triad. He’s in his mid to late 40s and has a big scar on his forehead.”

I gave her the name I’d heard from Master.

“Understood. I will look into it immediately, Master.”

“Ah, and please send a helicopter I can use here at headquarters. Along with the exclusive airplane I was using before… and an unlimited card.”

“Yes, Master. I will prepare those immediately.”

Considering how the prickly-tempered Master Bumdalf trusted her to take care of matters, there was no doubt Marisol was incredibly good at what she did. She accepted my tasks with crisp and refreshing calls of ‘Master’.

‘Huhuhu… Chang Li, wait a little. This hyungnim is coming for you.’

I smiled as I thought of that sickening face violently relishing my pain as he buried a knife into my lower belly. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t forgive him. I couldn’t even bear to breathe the same air as him on the same planet.

“You stupid idiot! Big fat farty butthole!”

Just then, I heard a familiar phrase from one of the TVs fixed on the wall. I turned my head.

And then, I saw it. On the biggest TV right in the middle of the entire wall full of them, was a broadcast from South Korea. Without realizing it, I was drawn into the sitcom. And before long, I was able to figure out what “big fat farty butthole” meant, upon which my expression stiffened.

I really couldn’t help but love that master of mine, even though I really, truly tried not to. I decided I would make sure to express this “love” I felt today when I got back to Kallian.

* * *

Shatter.

A glass fell to the marble ground and shattered. It had slipped from the hand of Chang Li, one of the top bosses of the Triad, a criminal organization that had expanded past the continent of Asia altogether and was now enjoying its golden age.

“…”

Because he had trained in martial arts for a long time and even knew magic, he normally didn’t make such small mistakes. Moreover, he did so on the day when the Triad bosses would be meeting in Hong Kong. It was just a small thing that happened while he was drinking water, but Chang Li felt a stir of uneasiness. The Triad’s influence had creeped into the continent’s political structure and was at the height of its power, yet a strange feeling of ominousness swept through his heart.

“Huhu, I must be old now, too.”

He might be a big boss of the Triad, but there was nothing he could do about the old archmage holed up in Iceland. Quite some time had passed since Chang Li put a knife in the old man’s disciple, but he was unsatisfied. He managed to stab the kid in the belly, but then Kang Hyuk suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. According to the rumors, the kid was never seen again in South Korea afterwards.

“Once I wrap things up today, I should take a break.”

Today was an important meeting of the bosses of the Triad’s various organizations, held once a year. Once this was over, he was thinking of resting for a month or two somewhere nice and quiet.

Riiiiing.

The intercom in Chang Li’s office rang. He picked up the receiver.

“Master, it is time to depart.”

“Got it. Prepare the car.”

“Yes, Master.”

As he instructed his subordinate, Chang Li slipped into the leather jacket he was fond of wearing. Inside the jacket was the reassuring weight of the nano alloy knife he always had on him.

* * *

“Have a nice trip, Hyuk.”

“Thanks, Marisol.”

The Magician Group’s information network truly was more outstanding than Israel’s intelligence agency. In just three hours, they uncovered everything there was to know about Chang Li. I got on a helicopter and flew to Iceland’s Reykjavik International Airport, where I was able to board my A380 airplane for the first time in a while.

Of course, as soon as I got on the plane, I was reunited with the waiting Marisol. I did get the sense that the skin on her face had grown slightly less tight due to the years that had passed, but her figure was as incredible as ever. She greeted me warmly with kisses on both cheeks.

After a plane ride with Marisol, I arrived in Hong Kong. As soon as the plane landed, I procured clothes for myself at the duty free shop, and I was able to leave the international airport in no time at all without even showing my passport through the route usually reserved for diplomats.

‘The seasons are a few months apart from Kallian.’

I couldn’t calculate the exact time difference because of the dimensional time and spatial difference, but before I came to Earth, autumn was in full swing on the Kallian Continent. But here on Earth, it was January. Marisol told me that a sudden cold snap had brought heavy snow and extreme cold to South Korea.

‘It’s not cold though.’

I came out of the airport wearing jeans, a short sleeve cotton undershirt, with an Armani t-shirt and a blue jacket on top. It was about 15 degrees Celsius outside, comparable to Korea’s fall weather.

Screech.

A full-sized Volvo limousine with tinted windows stopped in front of me as I left the airport.

“Master, please get on.”

A man in his mid-30s wearing sunglasses bent at a crisp angle, gesturing to me.

‘Marisol really is one damn good assistant.’

She prepared everything with excruciating care. If I didn’t have women I loved back in Kallian, I’d probably be tempted to employ her as my lifelong assistant. She was just that amazing.

The man opened the back door.

I got in quietly without saying thanks. That was the kind of position a master had. The man got in the driver’s seat without complaint.

“To his location.”

“Yes, Master.”

He nodded, seemingly informed on my plans.

Vrooom.

The car pulled away with a pleasant hum of the engine. Towards my foe, the hapless Chang Li.