Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Blocked at Chavide's Border
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Unlike Labyrinth, where the air carried a faint dusty smell from the crowds,
"Hoo..."
I took a deep breath.
It wasn't the smell of roads—it was the fresh, grassy scent of fields after galloping on horseback.
"Feels refreshing."
Cawaaack—
What was that?
I'd been savoring the crisp air for a while when a weird noise came from behind.
"No way, is the crow puking?"
"Hmm. Is that what they call a bird flu?"
Cawurp? Caaaaw!
Zero edged away from the puking crow, which flapped angrily before hurling again.
Was it caught in the portal with us by accident, or was it a local crow that caught some endemic disease?
After Zero steadied the staggering, retching bird on its first portal trip and we exited the gate, the building styles immediately caught my eye—different from Labyrinth or Raves, Cain's homeland.
Stone, plaster, something like magic-infused cement clay. The city lacked uniformity: some buildings were pure stone, others emphasized wood and cloth, ranging from massive tent-like structures to ones that looked like a single twisted tree had formed them.
It really felt like a place where multiple races coexisted.
A frogman leading a slave with a sprayer, a horn-broken minotaur-like bovine race.
A man nearly human but with a long crocodile tail from his hips.
No matter where I looked, the proportion of demi-humans was higher than in any other city we'd visited.
High enough that it almost felt reversed.
'Here, me and Cain are the minority races.'
I shrugged and glanced at Luna, who was looking around with fresh wonder on her face.
"How far is it from here to Luna's home?"
"Given the season, they'll have ventured a bit outward for water and grass... I think we can reach them in about a week, young master."
Even with our horses, which were faster and hardier than most, a week meant wagons or similar transport could take up to a month in the worst cases.
"Well, we've got things to do along the way, so it won't be boring. Luna, teach Zero some miscellaneous stuff."
Ignoring the stares from onlookers, I mounted up.
To accommodate Zero, who was still awkward with riding, we set off at a slightly brisk pace as I opened my codex.
Seeing that, Cain opened his pack and pulled out a book, while Luna rode up beside Zero to point out edible grasses by the roadside.
'Remote area, and we've got time to kill. Perfect for checking attribute stone enchants.'
I left the codex floating and flipped pages with just my fingertips, then opened sub-space with my other hand to retrieve a few attribute stones.
A fire attribute stone with a faint warmth. A wind one that made the air ripple in my palm.
I opened the page for Magic Missile—the most basic neutral magic—and rolled the stones in my hand before placing one on the page.
Rub rub.
"Ah, not working."
I rubbed the page, saw no change in the stone or codex, and hmmed, digging through my memories.
How did enchanting work in Innocent Saga?
'Well, mouse click and drag, duh.'
I furrowed my brow, rubbed the stone on the page and even the codex cover, then tossed it back into sub-space.
Sometimes dragging onto random things made them vanish with a pop, so I'd waited for open space fearing an explosion.
But no reaction at all?
"So... the ones with three-pronged leaf tips... blanch them lightly in saltwater to remove the bitterness..."
"Rabbit senpai. It's so fascinating. It feels like magic. How so much changes just from boiling, grilling, or frying."
Luna hesitated, still shy around Zero, while Zero listened with wide, sparkling eyes.
The protagonist sat picture-perfect on his horse, reading his book despite the motion.
I pulled out another fire stone and fiddled with it.
No helping it—Innocent Saga was a game, so some differences from this real world were inevitable.
Click-and-drag was just a convenience feature.
Scraaape—
With the codex hovering, one hand on the stone, the other habitually spinning my ring, I suddenly glanced down.
Even if it was bloodline magic passed down through family, using Krueger's ring meant even Adelrian's talentless body had basic magic affinity.
A flicker of insight hit me, and I chuckled softly.
The codex wasn't true magic; if anything, it was more like a storage case.
I gripped the fire stone tight, flipped to Magic Missile, and placed my empty hand over it.
"By the power of truth."
The moment I chanted the invocation to draw out the imbued power, hand on the codex—
From pronouncing 'truth,' I felt the stone's power flow through me as a conduit, and by 'power,' the activated Magic Missile glowed red with a faint heat.
"...Young master?"
"No monsters nearby—why cast now?"
"Please spare me..."
As three pairs of eyes turned to me, I grinned.
"Just running some experiments."
I flicked my finger, launching the missile at a withered tree in the distance.
Boom!
Smoke rose from the round crater, then flames erupted, engulfing the tree.
"Looks like a success."
* * *
Ever since that first success, aside from time spent pitching tents, resting, or eating, I've been tinkering nonstop with attribute stones and the codex while riding.
Someone might say,
'Just stock the codex with elemental spells per attribute, right?'
Nope.
Hunting down each one-page spell is a chore, and codex pages aren't infinite.
Around 200 max, and imbuing too-strong spells can rip them on activation.
I haven't gotten that strong yet, but once Rachel or Gadia join the party, it could happen.
So, arbitrarily adding elements to one spell saves inventory and time in combat.
'Plus, duh. Money's no object, but Koreans love cost-performance.'
Meaning me, Kang Suho.
Better than wheedling prideful mages for enchants—saves time and cash.
I fired spells away from the group, opposite our direction, and started more tests.
Neutral Magic Missile activates as a single element from the stone.
For pre-elemental arrows, it doesn't replace—feels like fusion.
Fire stone on Wind Arrow: bigger explosion.
Water on it: high-pressure water jet arrow.
Stones drain faster than on neutrals too—quickly turning gray and inert.
Fun, like a tycoon game.
Want to experiment more, but no official mage tower here, and even if, paying for enchants is a gamble. Gotta conserve.
"Your magic experiments seem to have invited uninvited guests, Adelrian."
As I snapped the codex shut, Cain spoke, and I let out a weary laugh before reopening it.
"Not my fault."
"What isn't."
"I only scorched and smashed a few trees."
Dead ones, obviously!
Cain ignored my grievance and nodded toward somewhere.
The flat plains let us spot hazy figures encircling and approaching from afar.
Clop clop—
Up close, not hooves—wide, flat feet trampling grass-mixed sand.
"You there, outsiders. Halt."
A woman of the mountain goat tribe, her white hair braided in multiple layers and tied back, rode a massive sheep-like mount, aiming a small arrow from afar as warning.
I raised both hands to show no hostility and spoke.
"What's the problem?"
Despite my polite tone, it apparently came off arrogant; her bodyguard-like followers snorted, eyes sharpening.
This is so unfair...
"Chavide bars outsiders from the interior for now. Turn back."
Oh! See that, Cain? Not because of my magic.
Pure outsider discrimination. Got it?
I shot Cain a triumphant look; he sighed and shook his head.
"But we have business inside. If I may, are you Chavide's king?"
Still hands up, smiling, I said it. The goat woman's horizontal pupils narrowed thinner.
"Don't mock me. I'm not the king, but as chief of the premier tribe managing this sector, I have full authority."
I deflated a bit, glanced at robe-hooded Luna, then softened my tone.
"Chief, we're just visiting a friend's home. If passage is denied, please explain why clearly."
"Outsiders need not know."
Infuriating.
I'm not some racist like Cain or a noble supremacist obsessed with class.
'Not even the future Beast King—why block people coming and going?'
I could guess the reasons, though.
Surging beastman slaves, food shortages pushing to the desert.
I got their side, hating outsiders seeing their mess, but to me—who knew the situation—it just looked like turfism and venting.
I slowly lowered my hands, crossed arms on the saddle, and smirked.
"Ah, so skirting your sector would be fine?"
"Are you picking a fight? Outsiders absolutely cannot enter the interior."
"Chief, you a racist? In this day and age?"
"W-what?"
Her braids quivered visibly as she recoiled. I pressed on.
"Denying outsiders without a proper reason? Can't help but think it's racial discrimination."
"I don't stoop to such lowly acts!"
"Then why block us? You let merchant caravans through, right? Or is it discrimination against the powerless and poor?"
"T-that's not it."
"Then what is? Look, our party's only real fighter is the black-haired guy there; the rest are non-combatants. Think we're here to conquer?"
"Don't insult the chief, human. Shameless. Flinging spells moments ago, now lying well. And you dare, after stealing our children!"
As the chief faltered, a leopard-patterned, rough black-haired man bellowed fiercely.
"If you have mages or shamans, they can tell—I'm no mage, so those were scrolls, not my power. You're the ones bullying powerless civilians now."
"Quiet. Why obsess over entering the interior?"
Emboldened by the leopard man, the chief snapped back sharply, adding,
"Better dismount peacefully. If you won't leave, we'll take you to our tribe to verify."
They gripped small arrows and spears; tension thickened. Cain's hand went to his sword.
"P-please... stop... Young master isn't like that. At least explain what's wrong..."
Finally, timid Luna—traits in overdrive amid strangers—shed her hood, showed her ears, and stammered.
Their eyes scanned her neck, wrists, ankles.
Thinking I'd collared or chained her, probably.
"Even with kin doesn't prove loyalty."
"For now, rabbit girl only—come here. We need to talk."
Luna turned to me at their words.
Unsure, her eyes pleaded. I nodded it was okay.