Chapter 150
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: A Well-Prepared Journey
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I suggested to Professor Rosalia that we attend the Continental Academic Conference, but there was one mountain to climb first.
“Since that is what you wish, Hyeongnim, I will bring it up with them.”
The Dragon God Cult. To be precise, the mad mages who were captivated by Rosalia's research.
“And you think it'll work?”
“Honestly, on the surface, there's no problem. Even if she changes her mind after planning to submit it to the cult's academic conference, that's her prerogative. But since so many priests are interested in the amalgam….”
“How much is the storage fee?”
The problem was solved with a bit of money.
“Then we will ensure a clean handover to the Golden Turtle Merchant Guild.”
“Good.”
After finishing his conversation with Jace, Pernyan went to see Professor Rosalia again.
“You're going too?”
“Yes. I'm an involved party as well. In fact, if something goes wrong, I stand to lose more than you do, Professor. You have no tangible losses, but I face a massive financial one.”
So I won't be at ease unless I transport and control it myself until the very end.
The death of Kimaris and the extermination of the Vile Breeds in Prasia had slowed their movements, but they hadn't vanished completely.
And in Pernyan's experience, problems tended to arise precisely when things were calm and one felt secure.
He wanted to prevent such a possibility as well.
“I invested a vast amount of time. And time cannot be bought with money, Pernyan Fallenberg.”
“It can be bought.”
“It can?”
“Yes. Did I not buy your research with money, Professor?”
“……”
Rosalia fell silent. But her gaze was fixed intently on Pernyan.
“Are you cursing me with your eyes?”
“I'm simply unable to refute it because you're absolutely right.”
Still, she added a counterargument.
“But you're a student. You can't be away from the academy for an extended period.”
As the Continental Academic Conference was not originally on the schedule, there was no three-week vacation like before.
“Aren't you in the same boat, being a professor?”
“In cases like this, I can submit a request to the chancellor and go on a business trip.”
“Then can't you just include me in your report to the chancellor?”
It wasn't uncommon for a professor on a business trip to take a few students along.
Especially for an important event like the Continental Academic Conference.
“I am a professor, and you are a student.”
“Is there anyone who doesn't know that?”
“And yet, sometimes it feels like our roles are reversed. Shouldn't it normally be the other way around, not you making proposals to me?”
“That must be because our current relationship is that of an investor and the mage who received the investment.”
Pernyan had no intention of backing down, and in the end, Rosalia had no choice but to nod.
“This is the last time I'm indulging your stubbornness.”
She put a cigarette to her lips and dismissed him.
“Thank you, Professor.”
Pernyan bowed his head deeply and left the office. He then went straight to find Ruina.
It wasn't for any particular reason.
He had seen the prophecy of Ruina's breakdown, and a part of him just felt uneasy.
“That's a relief...”
“What's that all of a sudden?”
“No, it's just that I saw something a little strange.”
There was no sense that tears of blood were about to stream from her seemingly innocent blue eyes.
“Want some chocolate?”
“I have some too.”
“This is a new product made with distilled spirits from the Taklakan Desert. It just came out.”
“…Just one, may I have a taste?”
A chocolate shaped like a liquor bottle went into Ruina's mouth.
The moment she bit into it with a crunch, the subtle aroma and taste of the spirits blended with the chocolate, bringing a smile to her lips.
“Your verdict?”
“It's delicious.”
“To what extent?”
“Enough that I'd want to eat it quite often?”
“Hmm, so this new product is at that level. I see.”
As Pernyan nodded, Ruina's eyes narrowed.
“…What is it?”
“The only ones you've called 'the best' were the kraken ink chocolate and the World Tree bark chocolate. The ice crystal chocolate was on the same level as this one, 'want to eat often.' Below that was 'ordinarily' delicious.”
So on a 5-point scale, it's about a 4? For reference, 'ordinarily' is a 3.
“Getting a 5 is hard, as expected. Elves really are good at making chocolate.”
“…Are you using me as a test subject?”
“A test subject? I gave you the honor of tasting a new product first. Besides, would I ever feed you trash?”
“…That's true, but.”
Ruina couldn't help but nod, though she felt something wasn't quite right.
* * *
The Mana Stone amalgam was handed over to the Golden Turtle Merchant Guild.
Pernyan placed the Mana Stone amalgam in a specially made crate and finished his preparations for departure.
He spread out a map.
“First, we'll take a ship to Ebgna. From there, we'll switch to an overland route to Valerich. A simple journey.”
For the escort, he once again summoned the Red Shell Knights and additionally hired priests from the Dragon God Cult.
Thirty elite knights, twenty high-ranking mages, and fifty elite soldiers.
It was a force capable of chewing through just about anything.
Hiring the priests cost a fortune, but money wasn't the issue.
‘Abel Kalens did say it. To look forward to what's coming.’
Because if you lose your life, you can't even spend the money you've painstakingly saved.
Pernyan had no intention of being the fool who dies leaving behind all the money he'd gathered.
Tapping each stone before crossing the bridge. He had to be especially careful the moment he left the academy, where the Archmage chancellor resided.
And so, three ships, with added laborers and regular soldiers, set sail.
The first two days passed without incident.
The sky was clear without a single cloud, and the sea was calm. The ship sailed smoothly, cutting through the water.
The problem occurred two days later.
*Rumble—*
Rain began to fall and lightning flashed from the sky that had been slowly gathering dark clouds.
The waves surged, and the ship rocked.
“Hold the helm!”
“Keep a safe distance between the ships so they don't collide!”
The sailors struggled to endure the storm. The magic of the Dragon God Cult priests helped intermittently.
“This feels unsettling.”
Pernyan stood on the rocking deck, gazing into the distance.
A clear sky was visible far away. A starkly different scene from where their ships were.
“I heard things like this are common at sea?”
“They are, of course, but it's just that a bad memory comes to mind.”
“A bad memory?”
“Well...”
*-Thump, thump!*
Wooden's thumping had softened a bit after he'd complained so much about it hurting. Thanks to that, Pernyan was certain.
“…Monsters are approaching.”
A moment later, Professor Rosalia's expression hardened.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
“Monsters are approaching! Brace yourselves!”
At Pernyan's command, the sailors began to move quickly, even as the ship rocked.
“Their response is quite fast.”
“Just in case, I brought the best of the best sailors from the guild.”
Amidst the raging storm, Sea Serpents raised their heads.
A full ten of them. This was by no means normal. Especially considering the surrounding waters were teeming with Sea Worms.
“Fire!”
“Fire!”
And right after, massive ballista bolts flew toward their heads.
*Crunch—*
*BOOM!*
*KIIIIIAAAK!*
The huge ballista bolts pierced the thick scales of the Sea Serpents. The beasts screamed.
Immediately after.
*———!*
The ballista bolts exploded in unison. With the blasts, the heads or parts of the Sea Serpents' torsos were blown away entirely.
No matter how thick their hides, they stood no chance against an explosion from within.
“…Don't tell me.”
“Yes, they're items sold by the Dragon God Cult.”
Special ballista bolts with magical engravings.
Guaranteed by the Dragon God Cult, their effect was certain, but they were incredibly expensive. And most importantly, they were single-use.
“Ever since the Sea Serpent incident, I've always kept some in stock. I made sure to stock up even more this time.”
Once the most dangerous Sea Serpents were dealt with at once, the rest was no problem.
“Don't let a single one on board!”
No matter how numerous the Sea Worms were, they couldn't overcome their current forces and sink the ships.
The storm was the biggest obstacle, but it was solved quite simply.
*Crack—*
“This should prevent the ships from sinking.”
Professor Rosalia had frozen the sea, locking the ships in place. The three vessels, now resting on what seemed like a massive glacier, rocked less.
That wasn't all. Sea Worms were fundamentally weak to cold.
As they crawled onto the glacier, their movements became sluggish, and they were easily hunted down and killed.
“As expected, Professor, you're the best.”
“Spare me the obvious flattery.”
“I'm being sincere. You've kept the ships from sinking.”
Having dealt with the horde of sea monsters, the ships sailed on and, a few days later, arrived safely in Ebgna.
The Mana Stone amalgam was transferred to a carriage, and the overland journey continued with a caravan of five carriages.
“Will the attacks continue on land? This is Vienderk territory; it would be difficult to bring enough demonic beasts to overwhelm our forces.”
“Have you forgotten that you fought in Vienderk territory before?”
He still remembered. He'd killed one Vile Breed, trusting Rosalia to catch the other, only for her to let it escape.
“Still, we did get one piece of good information.”
“That the fiend is bald, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“There are many bald people in this world.”
“But there can't be many who are both powerful and a bald Vile Breed.”
Well, of course, but by that logic, there weren't many Vile Breeds to begin with.
Instead of retorting, Pernyan lit the cigarette she was holding in her mouth.
“If the Vile Breeds were to target the carriage, what method would they use? Block the road and fight, like last time?”
“The most common method would be to collapse the ground and drag us underground. The Vile Breeds seem to have a way to move freely through the earth.”
“If what you say is true, that's not bad. With that method, they could use more demonic beasts than expected to stage a large-scale inci—”
It was then.
*Crack—*
Speak of the ogre, and he shall appear. Just as they reached a deserted road, the ground collapsed with an ominous noise.
The collapsing ground quickly swallowed the entire party.
And in the endless abyss that opened up.
The carriages began to float on their own.
“Protect the people!”
“Stop the fall!”
Following that, the mages of the Dragon God Cult began casting reverse-gravity spells on the falling people one by one.
And so, everyone landed dozens of meters below without a single injury.
“…Are there levitation magic engravings on the carriages too?”
“I've been through this once before. I had a feeling this would happen.”
Back then, the carriage had been destroyed, causing a significant loss. Fortunately, he didn't repeat the same mistake this time.
“Before? Don't tell me you were attacked by demonic beasts before?”
“It's a long story, but...”
Pernyan stopped speaking as he sensed an ominous presence and a foul stench from the darkness.
It was Seids. Thousands of Seids, merged with the deep darkness, rushed toward them.
“Enemies!”
“Hold them back!”
The knights ignited their auras.
The priests created sacred flames that burned evil.
But the Seids were countless, and they weren't coming from just one direction.
From the front, the back, the sides, above, and even from beneath the ground.
The Seids finally broke through and clung to the crate containing the Mana Stone amalgam.
No, those weren't just Seids.
“Kohkus?”
A shadow monster similar to a Seid, but a larger and more powerful Grade 5 demonic beast. They were mixed in among the Seids.
And then.
*———!*
*————!*
The bodies of the demonic beasts swelled up and exploded.
Even then, more Kohkus and Seids continued to join them, and the explosions turned into a chain reaction.
An eardrum-shattering roar and shockwave swept through the area.
People were sent flying with screams, and Pernyan could only grit his teeth and endure.
But.
“…What in the world is that thing made of?”
Even in the face of destructive power that astonished Professor Rosalia, the crate was fine.
There were only a few dents and scratches; it hadn't broken.
“I mixed in a little adamant.”
The hardest metal in the world.
“I have some bad memories, so I took special care.”
Vile Breeds, come at me all you want.
I don't fall for the same trick twice.