A Certain Magical Index Magician in the Type-Moon World

In other words, between humanity and the Root, gods served as something like connectors. And because the attributes of those connectors differed, the magic that could be performed after connecting to them also differed.

Gods possessed their own consciousness and would not casually agree to mortals' requests. Naturally, magicians who wished to use a god's authority had to remain loyal to that god—or rather, have faith in them.

Take Medea, for example. While learning magic from Hecate, she was also Hecate's priestess. Of the many spells she had learned, most were magecraft, but she could also wield Hecate's authority to cast powerful magic.

Yet for someone like Mephistopheles, none of that seemed necessary at all.

He could rely on his own power to manifest all sorts of powers that had originally belonged to gods!

However, the gods did not demand that mortals absolutely had to believe in them. So what surprised—or rather, shocked—them most about Mephistopheles's theory was merely the fact that he could directly use divine power without a god's consent.

At that, Mephistopheles silently complained in his heart.

"What's so strange about that? In the future, there'll even be someone fierce enough to snatch Gabriel's divine power right in front of Gabriel, then start countering him. Come to think of it, if I can return to the A Certain Magical Index world, I wonder what year it'll be. The plot shouldn't suddenly leap all the way to World War III, right..."

Mephistopheles also knew what the gods were worried about, so he reassured them.

"Don't worry. The magical theory I use is completely different from the magical theories you know. They are two separate systems, and I do not need to come into contact with the Root. In fact, the magic I use is more like an imitation created by the Root according to legends and such."

"An imitation?"

"It means there is an original individual, and based on that original individual, I create a false one. It imitates the original in every aspect—or rather, it imitates the version of that individual passed down among the people.

"To use a simple example, take Heroic Spirits. Say there is a real hero who later becomes a Heroic Spirit. Let's use Heracles!"

Heracles had been listening to Mephistopheles. When he suddenly heard himself mentioned, he froze. "Why am I being brought up?"

"It's just an example!" Mephistopheles said before continuing.

"At that point, that Heroic Spirit is the sublimation of Heracles himself. But if there were also a famous novel with someone named Heracles in it, built with him as the prototype yet stuffed with all kinds of inexplicable settings, then the Root should be able to create a Heroic Spirit like that based on it.

"That is what I mean by an imitation."

At that point, the gods finally understood what Mephistopheles meant. In that case, it was indeed not a matter of bypassing a god's consent to use divine power. Rather, one used widely told legends to construct a godlike imitation, then wielded that being's power.

Even so, that magic was truly frightening. After all, it was not a fictional mortal hero being created, but a fictional god!

What they did not know, however, was that Mephistopheles had not told them everything. His explanation accounted for part of it, but not all of it.

The Star Sword he had constructed looked like an imitation, and in truth, it was one. But more precisely, the Star Sword spell he had created was drawing power from the original!

As long as the copy was similar enough, it could draw a tremendous amount of power—perhaps even several tenths of the original's strength!

Gifts from the Greek Chief Gods

"Mephistopheles, you displayed great strength in this battle between gods and giants, and you achieved tremendous results. In recognition of your contributions, in the name of Zeus, king of the gods, I grant you a body that surpasses mortals!"

Zeus had originally considered giving him abilities such as "authority derived from the king of the gods" or "the power to command lightning." But considering that Mephistopheles's own magic could already achieve such things, those gifts would seem not particularly useful—and would make Zeus look stingy.

So in the end, he used his own authority to bestow this gift upon Mephistopheles.

A body surpassing mortals—this originated from Zeus's omnipotent authority as king of the gods. Though it was called authority, it was actually only in a partially crippled state. Unless he absorbed every Greek god, he could not truly reach the level of an omnipotent god.

Even so, he could still enhance a mortal body and raise all of its abilities to a certain extent.

As Zeus made his declaration, those words transformed into the most basic magical energy through the power of the Root, altering—or rather, evolving—Mephistopheles's body.

His previously somewhat thin body immediately developed distinct lines of muscle. His mind was also strengthened at that moment, allowing him to withstand greater shocks.

Most importantly, his vitality was strengthened as well. It was as though his health bar, originally only at 100, had suddenly become 200.

Mephistopheles valued this increase in vitality greatly. He refined his own life force into magical energy, then used that magical energy to cast magic. The stronger his vitality was, the more magical energy he could convert in an instant!

Of course, Zeus was not the only one offering a gift. The other gods were not stingy either, and each bestowed their own present.

As queen of the gods, Hera, who held authority over childbirth and such, said, "In Hera's name, I grant you a mind far surpassing that of mortals!"

This was an ability equivalent to Zeus's gift—one strengthened the body, the other the mind. With this enhancement, Mephistopheles felt his mental state improve considerably. It was like how he would once grow tired without eight hours of rest, while now he might not become tired even after going more than ten hours without resting.

Poseidon said, "In the name of Poseidon, god of the sea, I grant you the ability to walk upon water and breathe freely beneath it!"

Although Mephistopheles could achieve similar effects through water-element spells, he was quite satisfied, since what Poseidon had given him was a passive ability.

Athena said, "In the name of the goddess of wisdom, I grant you composure and calmness!"

Composure and calmness were vital qualities, and strengths one needed to keep moving forward. That such purely conceptual traits could be attached to someone as buffs sometimes made Mephistopheles feel that divine authorities were truly remarkable.

At least in the field of magic, he had yet to find any relatively harmless way to grant someone traits like "composure" and "calmness," unless he directly tampered with the target's mind and achieved it through hypnosis or similar methods.

Next, Hades, god of the underworld, granted Mephistopheles resistance to death. It was merely resistance, not immunity to death, but it would keep him from being targeted by instant-death attacks.

Demeter, goddess of earth and harvest, granted Mephistopheles the ability to regenerate as long as he stood upon the earth.

Hestia gave Mephistopheles a small clay jar filled with milk. No matter how much he drank, the milk inside would remain full and forever fresh.

It had to be said that the gift from the goddess of the hearth was Mephistopheles's favorite.

Apollo, god of the sun, gave Mephistopheles a bow. The bow was entirely golden and emitted a faint glow.

Ares, god of war, gave Mephistopheles a sword. It was a one-handed sword, not particularly long, but he could feel the power contained within it.

Hephaestus, god of fire, granted Mephistopheles enhanced endurance, making his stamina even greater.

Aphrodite, goddess of love, granted Mephistopheles increased charm. However, Mephistopheles felt that he was already very handsome, so this enhancement did not seem particularly useful.

Besides, this enhancement was probably a kind of increase in allure, something that made people feel he was handsome on a mental level. It therefore did not even need to alter his appearance.

Finally, there was Artemis, goddess of the moon.

Artemis smiled warmly at Mephistopheles and asked, "What do you want?"

Mephistopheles smiled as well. "Anything I say?"

"Of course not." Artemis shook her head. "I'm not omnipotent. At most, I can give myself to you. That's the limit."

The moment she heard that, Medea immediately raised her head and watched Artemis warily.

"I'm not a human trafficker, so let's skip that." Mephistopheles shook his head and smiled. "Just give me whatever you think is appropriate. Of course, it's fine if you give me nothing. We're already so familiar with each other, after all."

Artemis shook her head. "That won't do. I'm a god too, so I still have to give you something."

Then she raised both hands and gently placed them over Mephistopheles's eyes. In a soft voice, she said, "In the name of Artemis, goddess of the moon, I grant you eyes that see through all things, and the ability to never miss your mark!"

This was authority derived from Artemis's skill with the bow and her nature as the goddess of hunting. It also came from her abilities as a sniper-type interstellar battleship back when she still possessed a physical body. At that moment, immense visual range and incredibly precise shooting ability were both bestowed upon Mephistopheles.

At that moment, the blessings of the twelve gods appeared upon Mephistopheles at once. He felt his connection with something grow increasingly close—a thing that was the cause of all things and the result of all things, the Root of this small world.

That was right. This was the Root, the existence that countless magicians in the future would seek to explore!

Even though it lasted only an instant, Mephistopheles sensed its existence. Unfortunately, that brief contact was not enough for him to analyze what exactly it was.

He could only analyze it through the changes in himself.

"For that instant, it was as though my data had been entered somewhere. That should not have been an illusion. So the so-called Root itself also serves a purpose similar to a record tape? I feel like I've seen that idea somewhere before... the Akashic Records?

"If I remember correctly, in my previous life, I saw people say that magicians who truly came into contact with the Root would lose themselves and eventually become desireless, unmotivated 'living corpses.' Then why haven't I changed like that? Is it because this was a divine gift, so it avoided that side effect?

"Wait, I should ask whether anyone else who received gifts from the gods had experienced anything unusual..."

But who should he ask? Those who joined the Argo's adventure? He would have to wait a while for that!

As Mephistopheles pondered this, he politely thanked the gods for the gifts they had given him.

Just then, he suddenly saw Apollo walking toward him with a smile. The man with golden curls had an exceptionally charming smile.

"Would you like to chat with me for a while?"

That was what Apollo said to Mephistopheles.

An Existence Unrecorded by the World

Apollo, god of the sun. In Mephistopheles's understanding, the true Apollo had originally been a god of light, as well as a god of music and so on, but had not held the position of sun god.

Only later, as the legends of the original sun god grew fewer and Apollo's status continued to rise, did he finally encompass the position of sun god as well.

After all, for people, if one was familiar with a god of light, and the sun brought light, then placing him in the role of sun god seemed perfectly natural.

But that did not work under the Type-Moon worldview.

Apollo was the sun god because of a transformation of his function as a starship. It was also something humanity had directly recognized after he descended to Earth.

At least, the humans of Greece had directly recognized it.

According to the Greek mythology Mephistopheles knew, Uranus, the first king of the gods, and Gaia had originally given birth to Cronus, the second king of the gods, along with Cronus's brothers and sisters, including Hyperion and the others.

Then Cronus and his wife Rhea gave birth to Zeus, while Hyperion and his wife gave birth to Helios.

Zeus became king of the gods, while Helios became the sun god.

But Uranus clearly did not exist here, nor did Helios. Beginning with the starship corresponding to Chaos, the primordial creator god, the fleet that had been born was Cronus.

Later, Cronus and the Zeus-class ships that succeeded him fought, ending with Zeus's fleet defeating Cronus's fleet.

For that reason, Apollo had been the sun god here from the very beginning.

However, just like in mythology, even Type-Moon's Apollo possessed authority over prophecy. Apollo was now smiling at Mephistopheles, with a trace of apology in his eyes.

Seeing that apology, Mephistopheles felt that something might have gone wrong during this battle against the giants, and that the problem was very likely related to him.

"Thank you for everything you have done for this world." First, Apollo thanked Mephistopheles again.

Mephistopheles shook his head. "You already thanked me, Mr. Apollo. Besides, I have my own purpose as well."

Apollo sighed. "I know your purpose, but your purpose cannot be achieved..."

Mephistopheles froze upon hearing that. "What do you mean?"

"Have you noticed anything strange? With the king of the gods' authority, his gift should have made your body extremely powerful. Even if it could not compare to Heracles, it should still have far surpassed your original self.

"If I had to put it into numbers, the physical enhancement you received now—or the direct blessings you received—should all have been at least two or three times stronger. They might even have reached five or six times their current effect!"

Mephistopheles frowned slightly. "What is the reason for that? I haven't encountered anything similar when using magecraft myself... I mean, not when using my own magic, but when I enhance myself according to a magician's magecraft, there has been no weakening of the effect."

Mephistopheles's talent was extraordinary, and his compatibility with magecraft was exceptionally high. He could use Celtic spells with ease. Otherwise, his adoptive father would not have nagged at him every day, insisting that he learn magecraft.

"Your body is too special. The blessings of the gods are, in essence, connected to the Root. If we compare it to data and machinery, then it means writing this data into your foundational settings, recording every enhancement your body and so on receives within the Root to make it permanent and stable.

"But you are like a very special existence, one that cannot be fully entered into the Root. The you recorded within the Root is like a false existence, an unidentifiable existence. Or rather, the you within the Root is only half of you—perhaps not even half. It is only one-quarter of you that has been recorded."

Though the explanation was somewhat convoluted, Mephistopheles understood it instantly. "The Root rejected me?!"

"You may understand it that way. The Root has indeed rejected you. You are like a foreign object, completely incompatible with this world. That is why the part of history you participate in will be difficult to display or learn about in the future!"

Mephistopheles curled his lips, expressing his dissatisfaction.

Seeing that Mephistopheles merely voiced his protest so simply and did not react further, Apollo smiled.

"But you can rest assured. You cannot be fully recorded, but the girl you brought with you can be. She has truly earned merit, and that merit will naturally become her own power in the future."

"That's good. I don't really care whether I can be recorded or not. It's enough if she can benefit."

Apollo gently raised a hand. "I will grant her the ability to record everything and never forget. I believe this ability will help her in the future."

Mephistopheles had not expected Apollo to be such a good person. Not only had he clearly explained the conflict between the Root and himself, but he had immediately turned around and given Medea a blessing. Wasn't that perfect memory? This ability was simply absurdly powerful!

"Did you learn all this through the authority of prophecy?"

"The authority of prophecy, combined with my own close connection to the Root. Only with both could I learn all of this."

As Apollo spoke, he moved slightly closer to Mephistopheles and quietly said, "However, even though I possess the authority of prophecy, it does not mean I can foresee everything. In fact, it was only because of your arrival that I saw some things."

"Because of my arrival?"

"Yes, regarding my sister. Without your arrival, I would not have been able to see that future. My sister would be lured away by a mortal!" As Apollo said this, he sounded rather furious, and his originally handsome face twisted slightly.

Clearly, just like the one in the legends, this god did not like Orion at all, the man who had taken away his sister.

In the original myths, in order to keep his sister from being taken away, Apollo had directly devised a way to make Artemis shoot Orion dead.

If Apollo had already foreseen that such a thing would happen to his sister, he would certainly have been able to stop it from the beginning. So clearly, Apollo had not foreseen this matter before.

Yet now he had seen it. Clearly, it was indeed related to Mephistopheles's arrival.

When one's own fate was diverted, some things could instead become visible.

Because those futures no longer mattered.

"Wait, Artemis and I seem to have a good relationship now. He doesn't want to kill me, does he?!" Mephistopheles's heart tightened, only for Apollo to gently pat his shoulder. "My sister is a good person, though she can be a little playful. Don't bully her."

"Huh?" Mephistopheles looked at Apollo with an innocent expression. "What are you talking about?"

Apollo chuckled and said nothing more. Instead, he turned and walked toward his sister.

Mephistopheles panicked. "I haven't done anything yet! I only occasionally couldn't resist flirting with her a little!"