Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Chapter.4 Eyelids (19)
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***
Crackle, crackle-crackle!
That night, the Professor slipped into Tobrun's northeastern industrial district. According to the plan he'd hashed out with Rakshasha, the operation was set to kick off at 1 a.m.—about an hour from now.
It was called an industrial district, but it wasn't some grand lineup of factories. Just ramshackle houses crammed together, with backyard workshops strung out in a row.
This was the underbelly of Tobrun, famous for its diverse artifacts.
‘These tiny workshops churn out peripheral parts for artifacts based on blueprints they're given, etch the circuits inside, and then the Mage Tower takes delivery, inscribes the spells, processes the mana stones, and finishes them up.’
At first glance, it sounded like a nicely balanced division of labor. But the cut that went to the workshop folks was ridiculously low.
‘Barely enough to keep body and soul together, and even that gets mostly snatched away as "usage fees" for the mana burned in processing.’
You didn't need all that background to see how grim life was for folks subcontracting under the Mage Tower—just look at the street's dreary vibe.
And at the end of this workshop alley sat the Professor's target facility.
Hummm—hummm—
The closer he got, the stronger the sensation, like his hair standing on end.
‘Looks like I found the right place.’
A rundown wooden building practically plastered against Tobrun's northeastern wall. Inside that place slumbered the single most crucial item for this operation.
The Professor scanned his surroundings and approached the building slowly.
‘In Tobrun, where the alleys are so densely packed it's hard for people to squeeze through, a wide-open empty lot like this?’
The workshops that had crowded the street up to now looked downright silly by comparison. Around this wooden structure leaking an eerie purple glow, not a single building stood. It wasn't like someone had forbidden it—no one built there because people naturally shunned the area.
‘Hate facilities are something everyone avoids, wherever you go.’
The building right in front of the Professor, the "Void Mana Stone Depot," was a prime example of one.
***
Void mana stones.
Their official name was something grandiose like "void mana stones," but in the end, they were industrial waste.
Tobrun used a ton of them since it cranked out so many cheap magic items. Things like the teacup Rakshasha had used to keep her tea warm, or the little boat that ferried itself up and down the river—they were all Mage Tower products, powered by low-grade or lowest-grade mana stones.
The problem was the mana stones left over after use—the ones drained completely empty of mana.
Mana has a tendency to flow from areas of low concentration to high. But what happens when you artificially empty a medium like a mana stone that can hold it?
It creates a "zero mana" state that doesn't occur naturally, emitting purple light and aggressively repelling surrounding mana. That's what they call a void mana stone.
‘And Tobrun spits out over 100kg of them a day.’
Mana is an energy tied to life force. Living people naturally carry some, so hanging around void mana stones makes you feel inexplicably queasy, tires you out fast, and prolonged exposure can leave you wasting away. That's why not a single house stood near a depot. No matter how tough life got, no one crawled into a death trap.
There were a couple more void mana stone depots besides this one, which was why Rakshasha had wrinkled her nose at the term. Every single one was stuck in a slum. Anyone living or doing business in Tobrun's slums had every reason to hate void mana stones.
‘They could've at least put this outside town. The Mage Tower folks are going too far.’
Void mana stones are a nightmare to dispose of. Bury them, and they suck the vitality out of the surrounding soil, turning it barren. Toss them in water, and it fouls the whole supply.
Their one redeeming feature? Pile them up high enough, and the mana repelled by their fields gets funneled into one stone. Every once in a blue moon, like rain in a drought, a real mana stone forms.
That depot was there to recover those rare mana stones. They'd built it inside the city walls probably to keep an eye on things—wouldn't want civilians snatching any recovered stones.
Screeeeech—
Pushing open the door, the neglected hinges screamed as the purple haze trapped within the thin wooden walls seeped out through the gap.
Whummm—
[Ugh, this sucks.]
The Professor felt it too. A nauseating churn, like brutal motion sickness.
“No helping it. With this much void mana stone piled up, any residual mana in your body would've been flushed out long ago.”
That's why depots like this—fairly vital for producing mana stones—ended up on the city's outskirts.
Knights who cultivated mana in their bodies through training? Forget it. And mages, who freak out over anything bad for their mana circuits like overzealous health nuts? They wouldn't go near the stuff. If my own magic skills were just a bit higher, I never would've dreamed up this plan. Mana doesn't accumulate by attribute unless you hit some crazy stroke of luck.
The fresh sense of mana he'd gained vanished, leaving a hollow ache in his chest like losing an arm.
And that emptiness thrilled him.
If a guy who'd barely started learning magic felt it this bad after less than a day, how crushing would it be for lifelong mages?
“Alright then, time to get ready.”
The Professor pulled the rags he'd worn entering the city from his inventory and swapped them for the clothes Rakshasha had gifted him.
‘Shirt? Nah, no need.’
What he was about to do was a nation-level crime. Better to look as mutant-like as possible.
‘Hey, parasite.’
[Yeah? You call?]
‘Yeah. You said last time you could stimulate the infection factors in my body, right? Think you can clump some on my face?’
[Hide your face... No need for all that hassle then. Peel off some skin—your face skin.’
‘...What?’
[Didn't hear me? Just the outer layer's fine. Make a nice big gash. I'll handle the rest.]
The Professor hesitated but went along with it. No nightmares lately, and the parasite had been pretty cooperative.
He grabbed a shard of void mana stone nearby and raked it hard across his face. A sharp ripping sound, and a deep gash sliced diagonally across it.
‘Arrrgh! Good now?’
[Yeah. That'll do.]
As the parasite spoke, a sweet scent wafted. Blood oozed from the wound, crawling over his face before hardening into new tissue that blanketed it.
[Ta-da. Total mutant look now.]
The Professor felt his face. Lumpy, uneven flesh without a smooth patch. Yeah, pure mutant.
‘Huh. Better than I thought. Thanks... Wait, why are you so damn compliant lately? It's creepy.’
[Creepy? Nah. Just being a good tenant. Gotta keep the landlord happy. You live, I live.’
...Who knows. It was good, but he still couldn't fully trust the thing.
“Anyway, face done. Clothes done. Last up—this.”
The Professor upended a leather pouch the size of his face over his head. Pre-cut holes for eyes and mouth made breathing and seeing easy.
“Robbery calls for a classic mask.”
[You idiot? Why bother changing your face if you're masking up?]
‘Shut it if you don't get it. It's tradition.’
An ancient tradition handed down through the ages. Anyone terrorizing a big facility had to rock one of these! The altered face was backup for if the mask got knocked off in a fight!
“Heh heh heh heh... Isaac, you just wait...”
The Professor crept toward the mountain of void mana stones, a sinister grin splitting his face.
***
Pheeeee—boom!
While the Professor wrestled the void mana stones in the depot, a shrill whistle pierced the night's silence.
‘Signal!’
Plan said grab a sackful and bolt for the Mage Tower right now. But...
“Eeeeek! Why won't this crap come loose!”
- Speed Wagon: Told you to read the strategy guide properly. Void mana stones stick together when piled. Massive density for their size—once clumped, you can't move 'em without chipping away. Far as I know, they're heavier than steel by volume?
“You could've mentioned that sooner!”
No plan survives contact perfectly. You build in buffers, adapt on the fly. But "haul void mana stones"? No wiggle room. Without it, the whole op collapses!
The Professor's hands were bloody, nails torn off prying at the clumped stones.
“Arrrgh! Damn it! Fine! Can't take 'em all? Just the biggest one!”
[The biggest?]
“Yeah! This!”
Crunch!
He shoved his hand under the clump's core, where they'd fully melted together into a crystal-like mass.
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: How's that the biggest? Sounds like "take it all."
- Jokasss: Can you even lift? If void mana stone weighs like steel, that's tons easy.
“Fail this, op's toast!”
Huff huff huff—
Catching his breath, the Professor tensed his whole body and yanked.
Crack, crick-crack!
His muscles ballooned like they’d burst, veins bulging grotesquely. A monster's form.
“Nngh! Rrrrrraaah!!!”
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: Dude, that's impossible! Not just lifting—it's rooted into the ground, melted together! You'd crane that shit!
“Shut up! Powerlifting's about pulling what you can't lift!”
Crrrrunch!
Splurt! Splish-splurt!
Overinflated thigh and shoulder veins burst, blood spraying. At last, the motionless clump began to shake.
- Holy: Whoa, that thing...!
“RAAAAAH!”
Crack, craaaack!
The stone fractured under impossible strain. His fingers dug into his gripped spot, feeling a solid core at the end. Channeling every ounce of strength, he hooked his fingers and wrenched it free!
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
Shatter—!
The clump finally broke, ejecting the crystal at its heart.
Huge as a quartz, even shed of clinging void stones, it was nearly three times his body size.
“Huff, huff! Heh heh heh heh! See? Works! All you "impossible" doubters, line up!”
- Heung An Mandu: Wow! Magic! The power to work miracles!
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: Uh... Mr. Mage? Is that what projecting will on the world looks like?
- Jokasss: (Phys)ical mage's special brain-muscle magic.
Thud!
Setting down the massive void crystal, regenerating his shattered arm joints, the Professor eyed the distant Mage Tower, wreathed in blue mana.
“Planned to sneak in and scatter a bunch, but... this much? No need!”
Ruuuuumble—
Far off by the west gate, an explosion roared, flames shooting skyward. No time to dawdle—the op was rolling.
***
‘It really started?’
Three minutes to go-time.
Rakshasha had infiltrated the Mage Tower, just as planned with the Professor.
The signal flare for long-range comms with her guildmates blinked urgently in her pocket.
‘[Everyone in position, preps perfect.] Hmm~ Worth the effort raising them.’
After much deliberation, Rakshasha had chosen to leverage the citizens' eyes.
With mutant hype at fever pitch, black marketeers were even selling live Rank 8 mutants. Word among old nobles was that perfectly cooked mutant meat had no infection risk and granted mutant vitality. This bizarre trend had live Rank 8s fetching absurd 70,000 silver a pop. Rakshasha had dipped into guild funds and snapped up all six on offer.
Six would do. Goal was just to draw Tobrun guards and knights' attention. Touch off a prepped "Detonation" scroll at the rendezvous, release the mutants as panicked citizens poured out...
Ding, ding-ding.
[From Shadow 3: Citizens in chaos.]
[From Shadow 1: Three wind-up men deployed.]
[From Shadow 7: Knight order mobilizing from lord's castle. Headed west gate, presumed.]
[From Shadow 5: Two more wind-up men in. Amping chaos, herding citizens to outskirts.]
Her guild had been drilled for this non-combat role from the start. Reports came in flawless, no deviations, and she awaited the next signal with anticipation.
‘Flood the Mage Tower—mages left alone as armed forces swarm west—with mass void mana stones, creating a temporary mana vacuum. Never would've dreamed it up?’
Void mana stones. Universally shunned. Mages avoided them, too heavy and hard to work for anything but trash. Yet that man spoke of them like priceless treasures.
‘What a fascinating guy... Oh?’
Thud—thud—
The ground shook, mages buzzing to the windows. Unplanned commotion.
‘Something's off. Plan was stealthier approach?’
Sensing the shift, Rakshasha crept to a window, stealth intact.
“Pffft—!”
Peering out, she gasped, forgetting her stealth entirely.
Thud—thud—
Far off, a massive purple pillar devoured the city's night, barreling closer.
***
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