Chapter 233
As he spoke, the mage became increasingly agitated, visibly lost in his own fervor. Meanwhile, Jaha, the listener, struggled to follow his ramblings.
“Uh, first, calm down and explain it in a way I can understand. What exactly changed about the world? And how does that robe prove it?”
“I’m telling you—this isn’t the world I originally came from! Not just me—everyone was moved here starting from that day. This place is identical to the world we lived in, but it’s a different one. If not for that robe, I would’ve been fooled too. I’d have lived like an idiot, never realizing the world under my feet had been swapped.”
The middle-aged mage shuddered at the mere thought. But Jaha noticed the smug pride in his expression—the thrill of having uncovered a secret no one else knew. His eyes burned with strange excitement.
“That robe is from the original world. Everything else—even my own body—might look the same, but they’re different. Only that robe is the real thing.”
Finishing his grandiose explanation, the man looked immensely satisfied.
After listening quietly, Jaha reached a tentative conclusion: This guy is definitely not sane.
He was no different from a schizophrenic patient who claims the government planted listening devices in their ears or that the upstairs neighbor is pumping poison gas to kill them.
His delusion was like a mix of multiverse theory, The Truman Show, and Capgras syndrome—a surprisingly advanced level of paranoia for someone from a world where parallel universes weren’t even a concept.
‘Well, I suppose this is what you’d expect from a mage—second to none in intellect, but clearly unhinged.’
Even his madness operates on a higher plane.
But what was she supposed to do in this situation? Play along?
She’d read about dealing with delusional people online, but facing one in real life was a first. The only thing she knew for sure was that she shouldn’t provoke him.
People with unstable minds were unpredictable—unlike ordinary folks who operated within common sense, you never knew how they’d react.
“I… see.”
Jaha nodded cautiously, tense. The awkward pause between “I” and “see” bothered her. Worried she’d sound reluctantly agreeable, she quickly tried to recover.
“You said this world is identical to the original one, right? Then how can you tell it changed? And how do you know only that robe is from the original world?”
Fake interest, ask questions—a desperate attempt to avoid setting him off.
It must’ve worked, because the mage adopted the condescending expression of a sage graciously enlightening the ignorant.
“That’s the only thing with a different mana array.”
Seeing Jaha’s blank stare, he elaborated.
“I’m a mage. Naturally, I enchanted my belongings with various spells. When I did, I arranged the mana in the most efficient way I knew. But one day, I noticed the robe’s mana array had changed. It was still my mana, but arranged in a way beyond my comprehension—far surpassing my own skill.”
“What if you were blackout drunk, achieved enlightenment, altered the array, and then alcohol-induced dementia made you forget by morning—”
Jaha clammed up, horrified at her own slip.
“I despise anything that clouds the mind. I don’t even touch alcohol.”
“Then maybe… sleepwalking? Or something like that?”
“Worthless nonsense. If I had that kind of talent, I’d have surpassed Lex long ago.”
Sensing the mage’s rising irritation, Jaha backed off. Still, she couldn’t shake the thought that sleepwalking was a far more plausible explanation than the entire world secretly being replaced overnight.
Wasn’t it common for people to overlook things when blinded by obsession, only to see them clearly later? Or for ideas to strike suddenly during rest after fruitless struggle? He must’ve tampered with the array in a trance-like state and then forgot.
‘Speaking of which, he brought up Lex again…’
Given how often the name came up, this Lex seemed to be someone the mage fixated on.
Summarizing the information gathered so far, the man named “Lex” is a more exceptional mage than the middle-aged man before her, has a connection to Abrixa’s ring, and is wealthy.
‘Must be living the good life.’
As she quietly admired this inwardly, an irritated voice dragged Jaha back to reality.
“Now it’s my turn to ask. How did Lex’s ring end up in your possession?”
“Huh? Well, my boyfriend gave it to me.”
“What kind of man is he? A mage?”
“No, I heard he wields a sword.”
She vaguely recalled mentioning that during their first meeting. It seemed he hadn’t received his knighthood, though.
“A sword? Then he can’t be Lex. A mage has his pride—there’s no way Lex would imitate such barbarians.”
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