The board game of the magicians.
No one was unaware that it referred to the three towers that had just risen and the stone tablets that had fallen from the sky.
A completely new board game, different from the previous oversized game boards that were merely scaled up.
The grandeur of it made the surroundings buzz with excitement.
“Is that… really made with magic?”
“I heard Arkhé magic can create illusions. Probably everything except the parts you can actually climb is an illusion.”
“That’s an illusion? No way. I could hear the sound of the stone tablets falling and feel the vibrations.”
“So this… is what they call a board game.”
Many had vaguely thought that the Arkhé Magic Tower would show something with its signature illusions—but even those people couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the meticulously crafted illusions that all the tower’s magicians had tirelessly fine-tuned for a month.
It felt like reality itself, with no sense of dissonance whatsoever.
Someone even absentmindedly reached their hand forward.
Kyle Byron, who had overwhelmed the crowd with his exquisitely detailed illusions, shouted:
“The name of the board game is Abracadabra! I could explain all the rules now, but seeing it for yourself is worth a hundred explanations.”
“Abracadabra?”
“I’ve heard of it. They say it’s the name of an old spell.”
“Rather than that, seeing it for myself…”
“With three towers, the game will have three participants. We’ll now accept volunteers!”
Volunteers. Those willing to participate in the board game accompanied by illusions.
Yet, despite Kyle Byron’s words, no one stepped forward.
It wasn’t because they thought the board game was boring or childish.
It was about pride and appearances.
“They said it’s a board game for magicians, right? Can only magicians play?”
“Personally, I’m interested, but I can’t embarrass myself in front of the Count…”
“If I step forward now, I’ll just look like a clown.”
Watching and doing are two entirely different things. Especially when there are dozens of people of higher status gathered in one place.
So, even those interested in Abracadabra stayed put. They could always play later—no need to step forward in this situation.
An awkward silence lingered.
As if he had expected this level of silence, Kyle, without losing his smile, was about to continue speaking when—
“I’ll do it.”
“T-The Prince!”
“It’s the Third Prince!”
“Behold the imperial bloodline!!”
Thud.
Accompanied by Master Olfin, the Third Prince slowly descended from a specially prepared area.
Everyone knew the Prince was in attendance, but no one expected him to actually participate in the board game.
As everyone in the hall knelt or bowed their heads, the Prince standing next to Kyle asked:
“Kyle Byron, there’s no problem with me participating, is there?”
“As the creator, it would be my greatest honor.”
“…Hmm.”
The Prince nodded, but his gaze was fixed not on the board game, but on Kyle Byron.
More precisely, on the hand that had just used magic.
‘As I thought, there’s not a trace of mana in his body.’
A magician’s talent lies in whether their body can hold mana or not. Even a small amount of stored mana means one can become a magician, but without it, there’s not a shred of possibility.
So, while he had been half-doubting it, it seemed…
Kyle Byron had no mana whatsoever, not even a container to hold it. Naturally, he shouldn’t have been able to use magic at all.
“Then how did he… just now…?”
That very question was the biggest reason the prince decided to participate in the board game. Sure, he was interested in the game itself, but if he could observe Kyle Byron up close, he might get a clearer answer.
After all, the prince was one of the few who didn’t have to care about others’ opinions in this setting. That’s why he could casually make up his mind to join.
And two figures followed behind the prince.
“I’ll join too. Kyle.”
“……Me too……”
“Duke Nicholas, Marquis Rutenhark! It’s an absolute honor to have you both here as well.”
The Third Prince, Duke Evertz, and Marquis Rutenhark.
Each of them wielded immense influence. In terms of power, Duke Evertz ruled over the entire western region, and Marquis Rutenhark was such a prominent figure that he had been personally appointed by the Emperor as the former tutor of the princes.
The three most noble individuals had stepped forward to participate in the board game, an act that could be seen as almost clownish, drawing the attention of hundreds.
This alone could be seen as a political statement. A subtle threat, like, “The prince, duke, and marquis are doing it, so why aren’t you?”
That’s why Master Olfin couldn’t hide his rising smile. It was, without exaggeration, the best possible start.
But for everything to go smoothly, there was one crucial condition: this board game, *Abracadabra*, had to show something convincing enough for everyone to accept.
And in that regard…
“Shall we begin, then?”
Kyle Byron and the Arkhé Magic Tower simply smiled.
*
“*Abracadabra*, huh.”
Following Kyle Byron’s guidance, the Third Prince moved to one of the three towers and looked around.
Three towers stood with a strange yet elegant design, and in front of them were five stone tablets lined up.
He had heard all the rules. They weren’t particularly complicated, and with the instructions floating right beside him, there was no risk of making a mistake.
However, the prince’s interest was more focused on the instructions than the board game itself.
“Even this text is an illusion.”
The illusions created by the Arkhé Magic Tower, which researched light and dark magic. The towers, the stone tablets, even these instructions—all of it was just an illusion.
So, was the magic Kyle Byron had shown earlier also just an illusion?
The prince, who had secretly held onto a glimmer of hope, let out a sigh.
“I thought there might be some secret technique that even the talentless could use to wield magic.”
The Third Prince had a talent for magic and, though low-ranked, was undoubtedly a magician. But that alone was far from enough.
For him, who had long abandoned the race for the throne and immersed himself in the fascination of magic, Kyle Byron’s magic had seemed like a hope to revive his stagnant talent.
Disappointed, the prince shook his head. Then, with a dissatisfied expression, he turned his gaze to the stone tablet in front of him.
“It’s a board game where you have to hit a magic that only you can’t see, right?”
Well, at least it’ll be a decent distraction. This young man, Kyle Byron, created it, and if the Master of the Magic Tower was willing to step aside as the protagonist, he must have confidence in the game.
Though his enthusiasm had plummeted, the prince casually muttered any random spell.
“Fire Magic.”
The most basic.
A 7th-grade magic, and at the same time, the most common type of magic. It was a magic that could be summoned with ease.
The manual said to shout the name of the desired magic, but the prince had no intention of doing so.
Thus, he planned to play it casually.
Whoosh!!!
“………Huh?”
It burned. The flames, the fire, wrapped around his entire body.
It was so intricate that one might mistakenly think they were actually on fire. The flames burning now were an illusion. Even knowing this, the prince froze.
“F-Fire! The prince is on fire!”
“What are you doing! Put it out!!”
“Darn it, hurry……!!”
“Everyone, stop! This isn’t real fire…… Don’t worry.”
“Your Highness!”
He calmed the restless crowd, but the prince’s eyes were still trembling.
Was it because the flames looked too real? Or was he startled by the sudden illusion? No.
The flames, the [Fire Magic] the prince had called out.
………They moved and followed as the prince desired.
‘W-What is this……!?’
This was on a whole different level from ordinary illusions. The flames, which seemed ready to engulf the prince and the area around him, rippled and obeyed his every movement.
It was as if he was truly using magic.
In the face of this unbelievable phenomenon, the prince felt as though he had actually used magic.
Flicker.
‘Right, this must be my full power.’
A tiny flame that couldn’t even fill the palm of his hand. A weak flame barely good enough to replace a candle at night. That was the extent of the prince’s talent.
But what he saw now was different. Inside this board game, the prince could control fire as if he were an Archmage.
Unbeknownst to him, this was the result of grinding down nearly all the artifacts in the tower and the tireless efforts of every magician working day and night for a month.
Not just a sophisticated and flashy illusion, but an illusion that responded to the player’s desires.
Magicians controlled the illusion in real-time, observing the prince’s movements and using pre-determined effects and visuals to create this masterpiece.
And the result was here.
“This is……….”
When he raised his hand, the flames gathered above it. When he took a step back, the flames surrounding him followed, tracing a path as if they were armor.
After frantically testing the illusion of flames, the prince, with trembling hands, raised them toward Marquis Rutenhark.
‘[Fire Magic] is supposed to attack the target on the left.’
If there was a [Fire Magic] stone tablet in front of the prince, Marquis Rutenhark’s life would decrease by one. If not, the prince’s life would decrease instead.
The flames, responding to his hand movements, gathered in front of his hand, forming a massive sphere.
And it shot forward.
“Huh, huh!?”
“Is that really an illusion!!”
The magic flew forward, flashing brightly like a real fireball.
Even though everyone instinctively stepped back, Marquis Rutenhark remained unfazed as the magic struck him.
Boom!!!
“Ugh!?”
“H-Hot……? And that sound………!!”
“R-Rutenhark?”
The fireball engulfed Marquis Rutenhark the moment it touched him, accompanied by a deafening explosion.
The heat and vibration felt in that moment made even the prince, who knew it was an illusion, instinctively worry for him.
It was to the point where I doubted life and death.
‘Wait, if it’s really an illusion, how can I feel the heat and vibration…!?’
The prince’s eyes widened at the effect that felt too real to be an intangible illusion, but as the flames subsided, Marquis Rutenhark, unharmed and without a single scorch mark, bowed his head as if to reassure him.
But that wasn’t the only trace left behind.
The tower where Marquis Rutenhark stood was blackened as if burned by fire, with heat waves still rising.
All of it was an intended illusion.
No, at this point, can we even call it just a simple illusion?
‘I see. So this is what the board game of magicians is like.’
This isn’t a board game that only magicians can play or one that requires magic.
Abracadabra was a board game that could turn anyone into a magician, even if just for a moment.
A meticulously crafted ‘illusion’ and an unbelievably realistic ‘experience.’
The moment you play this board game, even a prince who has been frustrated by his mediocre talent is no longer just a lowly magician.
He can become an archmage capable of wielding overwhelming magic.
‘This is, really.’
…The Third Prince, who had intended to play Abracadabra casually, soon found a smile forming on his lips.
It was pure joy and fun.
“Master Olfin, you’ve really… created something incredible.”
He couldn’t help but praise. Although he had enjoyed countless games before, this kind of experience was a first for him.
No matter the reason, he was convinced that stepping forward for the first time was the best choice.
However, Master Olfin quietly shook his head.
“It wasn’t me. The tower and I merely created the illusion and provided assistance. The entire concept belongs solely to the creator.”
“…The creator, you mean Kyle Byron?”
“Correct.”
Only then did the prince turn his gaze back to Kyle Byron, who had moved to a corner and was smiling as if genuinely enjoying himself.
To think such talent was still unknown.
“An unexpected gain.”
A board game creator. While there are those who call themselves professional board game players, no one had ever claimed such a title before.
A glint of greed appeared in the prince’s eyes. If that man became his aide, he was certain he’d never be bored again.
After briefly staring at Kyle, the prince soon turned his head.
Recruitment is recruitment.
For now───
“Fireball!!”
──it was time to simply enjoy.
With a fierce smile, the prince wholeheartedly dove into the world of Abracadabra.
Even if just for a moment, becoming an archmage was an irresistibly addictive experience.
