The board game for mages.
Everyone understood that it referred to the three towers that had just risen and the stone tablets that had descended from the sky.
It was a completely new board game, unlike the previous oversized board game that had simply been enlarged. Its grandeur stirred the crowd.
“Is that really made with magic…?”
“I heard Arkhe’s magic can create illusions. Maybe everything except the parts you can step on is just an illusion.”
“That’s supposed to be an illusion? No way. I could feel the sound and vibrations when the stone tablets fell!”
“So… this is a board game, huh?”
Many had assumed that it would simply be an illusion created by Arkhe Magic Tower, something to briefly show off its unique enchantments. But even those who thought so couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the meticulously crafted illusion, perfected over a month by all the mages of the tower.
It felt so real, with no trace of artificiality. Some were even compelled to reach forward absentmindedly, trying to touch it.
Standing amidst the awe-inspiring illusion, Kyle Byron shouted boldly.
“The name of the board game is Abracadabra! I could explain all the rules now, but seeing is believing, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Abracadabra?”
“I’ve heard of that. They say it was an ancient spell name.”
“Still, seeing it for ourselves would be…”
“With three towers, there will be three participants in the main game. I’ll start accepting volunteers now!”
Volunteers. Those who wished to participate in the board game of illusions.
However, despite Kyle Byron’s call, no one stepped forward.
It wasn’t because they thought the game was dull or childish.
It was because of social considerations. Because of hesitation borne of pride and appearances.
“He said it’s a board game for mages. Doesn’t that mean only mages can play?”
“Personally, I’m curious, but I can’t risk embarrassing myself in front of the Viscount…”
“If you step forward here, you’d just look like a clown, wouldn’t you?”
Watching and doing were two entirely different matters. All the more so when the setting involved dozens of individuals of higher status than oneself.
That was why, despite the interest many had in Abracadabra, no one made a move. They figured there was no rush; they could play it later. There was no need to step forward in this situation.
An awkward silence lingered in the air.
Just as Kyle who was unfazed and still wearing his confident smile was about to break the silence—
“I’ll do it.”
“Y-Your Highness!”
“It’s the Third Prince!”
“We are in the presence of the Empire’s bloodline!!”
Thud.
The Third Prince descended slowly from a prepared space, accompanied by Tower Master Olphin.
Everyone in the hall had been aware that the prince was attending the event, but no one had imagined he would personally participate in the board game.
As all those gathered knelt or bowed their heads, the prince stepped beside Kyle and asked,
“Kyle Byron, I trust there’s no issue with my participation?”
“As the game creator, it would be my greatest honor.”
“…Hmm.”
The prince gave a small nod, but his gaze lingered not on the board game but on Kyle Byron. More precisely, his eyes were fixed on the hand Kyle had used to cast magic earlier.
As I thought, his body holds no magical power at all.
The essence of a mage’s talent lay in whether or not they could store magical power in their body. Even the slightest ability to accumulate magical power meant one could become a mage. But if one’s body couldn’t hold magical power at all, there wasn’t the faintest possibility of becoming a mage.
That was why the prince had been skeptical. But just as he had suspected, Kyle Byron’s body contained no magical power. Nor the capacity to hold it.
By all rights, he shouldn’t have been able to use magic at all.
Then how did he do it earlier…?
That question was the main reason the prince decided to participate in the board game. He was curious about the game itself, but by observing Kyle Byron up close, he might uncover a more definite answer.
After all, the prince was one of the few present who didn’t need to concern himself with appearances or social expectations. Because of that, he could freely decide to participate without hesitation.
Two figures followed behind the prince.
“I’ll join as well, Kyle.”
“…I’ll… join… too…”
“Duke Nicholas and Marquis Lutenhark! It is likewise a great honor to have you both.”
The Third Prince, Duke Everts, and Marquis Lutenhark.
They each possessed formidable influence. In terms of authority, Duke Everts was the ruler of the entire western region, and Marquis Lutenhark was such a prominent figure that he was personally appointed by the Emperor as the prince’s tutor.
Hundreds of eyes were focused on the board game, and stepping forward first could have been seen as clownish. Yet it was precisely these three most distinguished individuals who took the lead.
That alone could have served as a political move. As if to say: “The prince, the duke, and the Marquis are doing it, why aren’t you?” It was a subtle form of intimidation.
Because of that, Olphin could not hide the slight upward curve of his lips. After all, one could hardly ask for a better beginning.
However, there was a single condition needed for all of this to go smoothly.
This board game, Abracadabra, had to show everyone something convincing enough to win their approval.
And in that regard…
“Well then, shall we begin?”
Kyle Byron and the Arkhe Magic Tower members—
—they all smiled.
***
Abracadabra, huh.
Following Kyle Byron’s guidance, the Third Prince moved to one of the three towers and looked around.
Three towers, each designed in a strange yet graceful style, rose up before him, and five tablets were arranged in front of them.
He had heard all the rules. They were not particularly difficult, and with the manual floating beside him, there was no real risk of making a mistake.
However, the prince’s attention was drawn more to the manual than to the board game itself.
These letters are an illusion too.
They were illusions conjured by the Arkhe Magic Tower, which researched the magic of light and darkness. The lower part of the tower, the stone tablets, even this manual…they were all illusions.
Then had the magic Kyle Byron showed earlier also been just an illusion?
The prince, who had briefly felt a glimmer of hope, let out a sigh.
I had assumed there might be some secret art that allowed even those without talent to use magic…
The Third Prince did possess magical talent, and though his level was still low, he was undoubtedly a mage. Yet it simply was not enough.
He had long since given up the race for the throne and immersed himself in his fascination with magic. To him, Kyle Byron’s magic had appeared as a ray of hope, something that might spark progress in his stagnant abilities.
Disappointed, the prince shook his head and cast his gaze that was now tinged with discontent at the stone tablets before him.
They said it’s a board game where I have to guess the spell that only I can’t see.
Still, it might serve as a decent diversion. If this young man named Kyle Byron had created it, and the Tower Master had even ceded the spotlight to him, then he must have been confident in the game’s design.
The prince, having lost much of his enthusiasm, merely muttered a random spell.
“Fire Magic.”
It was the lowest-ranking Seventh Rank magi and also the most common. It was therefore the easiest one to invoke.
Although the manual had instructed him to call out the exact name of the magic spell he wanted, the prince had no real intention of following such details.
That was why he had planned to play it halfheartedly.
Fwoooosh!!!
“…Huh?”
Flames flared up and fire wrapped around his entire body.
They were so intricately rendered that one might have mistaken it for genuine combustion. Even though he understood it was all an illusion, the prince froze.
“H-His Highness is on fire!”
“What are you doing? Put it out, now!!”
“Damn it, hurry…!!”
“Everyone, stop! These aren’t real flames…there’s no need to worry.”
“Your Highness!”
He managed to calm the crowd, which had begun to stir, but the prince’s eyes were still shaking.
Was it because the flames looked too real? Or because he was startled by such a sudden illusion? Neither was the reason.
The flames….the “Fire Magic” he had just uttered—
—were following the prince’s will and moving in accordance with it.
Wh-What in the world…!?
This was on an entirely different level from any simple illusion. The flames looked capable of devouring the entire area around him at any moment, yet they rippled under his control whenever he moved his hands or body.
It felt as though he were truly wielding magic.
Confronted with this astonishing phenomenon, the prince genuinely used fire magic this time.
Fwoosh.
Yes…this must be the limit of my power.
A small flame, not even enough to fill the palm of his hand. A feeble flicker, fit only to serve as a substitute for a candle at night. That was the extent of the prince’s talent.
But what was being displayed now was different. Inside this board game, the prince wielded fire as if he were an Archmage and was controlling it with ease.
What he didn’t know was that this was the culmination of nearly every artifact in the tower being sacrificed and every mage working tirelessly for an entire month to achieve it.
It wasn’t just an intricate, dazzling illusion, but one that reacted precisely to the player’s will.
The mages monitored the prince’s every move in real time. They controlled the illusion and seamlessly applied prearranged effects to create a masterpiece.
And now, that masterpiece was here.
“This is…”
When he raised his hand, the flames gathered above it. When he took a step back, the fire trailed behind him, drawing arcs as if forming an armor that cloaked him.
Lost in testing the fire illusion, the prince finally raised his trembling hand toward Marquis Luthenark.
[Fire Magic] targets the opponent on the left, right?
If the [Fire Magic] stone tablet stood in front of the prince, one of Luthenark’s lives would diminish. If not, it would be the prince who lost a life instead.
Responding to his movements, the flames gathered at his hand to form a huge ball.
And then it launched.
“H-Huh!?”
“Is that really just an illusion!?”
The spell soared forward with a dazzling flash as if it were a real fireball.
It struck Marquis Luthenark, who remained unfazed even in the face of a scene that would have made anyone else instinctively retreat.
BOOOOOOM!!!
“Ugh!?”
“Heat…? And this sound…?”
“L-Luthenark?”
The fireball exploded the moment it touched Marquis Luthenark, engulfing him in a massive blast.
The heat and vibrations that followed were so intense that even the prince, who knew it was all an illusion, couldn’t help but doubt for a moment whether the marquis had truly survived.
Wait, if this is truly just an illusion, there’s no way I should feel heat or vibrations…!
The effects were far too realistic to be dismissed as mere illusions, and the prince’s eyes widened in astonishment. However, as the flames subsided, Luthenark who was entirely unscathed without so much as a trace of soot nodded calmly in response, signaling that he was fine.
But that wasn’t the only thing left behind.
The platform on which Marquis Luthenark stood had been charred black as if it was scorched by real fire, and faint heat waves still shimmered in the air.
It was all an intentional illusion.
No, at this point, could it even be called a mere illusion?
I see. So, this is what he meant by a board game for mages.
This wasn’t a board game exclusive to mages, nor one that required magic to play.
Abracadabra was a board game that could turn anyone, even for a brief moment, into a mage.
An intricately designed “illusion” paired with an incredibly immersive “experience”.
During the moment he played this board game, the prince was no longer some inept mage discouraged by his lack of talent.
He became an Archmage, capable of wielding magic on an overwhelming scale.
This is… reallyy….
The third prince, who had only intended to play Abracadabra casually, suddenly realized he was smiling.
That smile was pure joy. A genuine sense of delight.
“Tower Olphin Master … you’ve truly created something extraordinary.”
He couldn’t hold back his praise. Though he had enjoyed countless pastimes, this kind of experience was entirely new to him.
For the first time in his life, he was confident that taking this opportunity had been the best possible choice.
But the Tower Master Olphin quietly shook his head.
“It wasn’t me. The Tower mages and I merely created the illusion and provided help. All of this and every concept belongs to the game creator.”
“…The game creator… You mean Kyle Byron?”
“That’s right.”
Only then did the prince turn his gaze back toward Kyle Byron, who had moved to the corner and was smiling with genuine delight.
Such a remarkable talent, and yet he remained unknown until now.
“What an entirely unexpected discovery.”
The board game creator. While there were those who called themselves professional board game players, no one had ever taken on such a title.
Greed sparked in the prince’s eyes. He had an instinctive feeling that if this man became one of his close aides, he would never know boredom again.
The prince kept his gaze on Kyle for a moment before eventually turning his head away.
Recruitment was recruitment.
For now, though—
“Fire Ball!!”
—it was time to simply enjoy himself.
With a fierce grin, the prince dove wholeheartedly into the world of Abracadabra.
Into this addictive experience of becoming an Archmage, even if only for a moment.
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