The Mage's Laboratory (1)
Meanwhile, though Calix had shouted for them to set off with vigor, he himself was stuck sitting on a rickety cart, bored out of his mind as the scenery dragged by endlessly.
He still didn't know how to ride a horse.
Beside him, the soldiers marched swiftly through the rugged forest, their breaths coming in harsh gasps.
One might expect them to envy or resent Calix, who rode comfortably, but nothing of the sort happened.
On the contrary, their eyes welled up with emotion.
He had lavished expensive low-grade potions on every single wounded soldier without hesitation.
Not just the knights, but the regular infantry as well.
At first, Krout had freaked out and tried to stop him.
"Young master! Those are only called low-grade in name—they're outrageously expensive! Viscount Russell gave them to you out of concern for your safety, not so you could hand them out like water. These dozen bottles are half the count's reserves!"
"So you're saying I should just watch the wounded suffer?"
"That's...!"
Krout swallowed the words rising to his throat.
Everyone was watching—not just the other soldiers, but the wounded themselves.
He couldn't very well say to abandon the hopeless cases or that the potions cost more than their lives.
"Ugh, the old man's gonna chew me out big time."
"Don't worry. By the end of this expedition, we'll be chugging low-grade potions like water."
Krout shook his head, baffled by Calix's bottomless confidence.
"Hah, I hope you're right."
About to say more, Krout fell silent at the sudden hush around them.
The soldiers had all bowed their heads, gritting their teeth as they marched on.
Born the son of a knight and rising through the ranks on raw talent, Krout couldn’t fully grasp the foot soldiers’ emotions.
But even he felt a swell of pride in his chest.
Only now did he truly understand his father's words.
'Son, a man lays down his life for those who recognize him. You'll get it when you meet a lord worth serving.'
14% → 18%
Sensing Krout's burning gaze, Calix furrowed his brow slightly.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing."
"By the way, wouldn't it be risky to pick a few elites and rush ahead?"
"I get that you're anxious about the wounded, but no chance."
Right on cue, a monster's roar echoed.
"Wooooaaargh—!"
Krout shrugged pointedly.
Calix's group battled scattered monster packs and pressed on for several more days.
Some knights were eager to see for themselves how he'd taken down two mid-sized monsters, but he just sat on the cart, lost in thought.
In the end, Krout was pushed forward as their representative.
"Ahem! Young master, if I may... "
Calix suddenly raised a hand and shouted.
"Everyone, halt!"
"H-halt?"
"Halt!"
Startled, Krout choked and coughed.
"Kek! What's going on all of a sudden?"
"We've reached the destination."
Finally looking around, Krout tilted his head.
"Pardon? This is the secret vault? No guards in sight... Maybe it's been abandoned after all these years?"
Krout was right.
The expedition had stopped in the middle of nowhere—a dense forest.
No path even.
Even a secret vault needed guards in such isolation.
To handle occasional bandit scum or periodically clear out nesting monsters.
Laila had even testified to a secret unit stationed nearby, where she'd undergone brutal training.
But this place showed no human touch—pure primordial woods.
"No word from Laila yet?"
"No, sir."
"Can't be helped. Set up camp here."
"Here?"
"Yes. It has to be this spot. Right where I'm standing—that's the command tent."
"Uh, understood."
Calix offered no explanation, yet no one objected.
Not after seeing him share low-grade potions freely even with the rank-and-file.
They figured he had his reasons.
The expedition leaders pitched a large tent at the designated spot and began their meeting.
Confirming all knights present, Calix pointed to a spot on the crude map hanging on a wooden board.
"If my guess is right, the Kosalin viscountcy's secret vault is right here."
"That... doesn't look like this place?"
"Correct. A bit away from camp."
"A bit? If the map's accurate, we'd have to skirt the valley—takes a full week."
"Heh heh."
Krout's face hardened.
"Nothing to laugh about. The men endured superhuman marches on sheer willpower. And now they've heard we've arrived—they're relaxing. Tell them to march another week? Half will collapse."
The other knights' faces darkened too.
They'd die for Calix gladly, but this was pointless suicide.
Another knight voiced grim prospects.
"Apologies, but lingering here invites detection. In ten days max, the enemy will send scouts sniffing around."
Amid the heavy mood, Calix kept his faint smile.
"Krout. I only confirmed the vault's location. Never said we'd go there."
"Pardon? Isn't raiding the enemy's secret vault the whole point?"
"Yes."
Their baffled expressions screamed it: How do you raid without going?
Savoring their confusion, Calix spoke.
"We'll enter through this entrance right here."
"What do you...!"
Calix stomped the ground.
Rumble!
A stone pillar shot up from the earth.
As they gawked, Calix tapped the simple puzzle on it—like entering a code.
Ruuuuumble!
The pillar sank back, and the ground split in two. A black maw yawned open, like a monster's jaws.
Stairs led underground, vanishing into darkness midway—reeking of unease.
The impossible sight drew all eyes to Calix. But he was already stepping onto the stairs.
Freaked-out Krout and the knights grabbed and yanked him back.
"Young master, dangerous! We'll go first."
Calix shrugged indifferently.
"Fine by me. Nothing'll happen anyway."
"If I may ask... how do you know this dungeon so well? The source?"
Krout asked cautiously; Calix nodded understandingly.
"Fair enough. I've only shown weakness and incompetence till now—hard to buy it."
"N-no, that's not..."
"But tell me—does a lord have to reveal every intel source? Even tip-offs on vassal corruption? How do you protect informants then?"
"Mm..."
Krout pondered in silence.
Calix knew his dilemma.
As expedition leader, blindly following could doom his men.
But it resolved unexpectedly simply.
A regular knight stepped forward.
He knelt before Calix.
"Knight Thomas pledges loyalty to my lord. It matters not how you gained the knowledge, but how you use it. A lord who spares no low-grade potions for lowly soldiers—whatever he does, I trust there's greater purpose."
Another regular knight knelt.
"I pledge loyalty too. If purpose guides it, dying on mission is the highest honor."
One by one, every knight except Krout knelt and shouted.
"Loyalty to Lord Calix!"
Silence fell in the command tent.
Calix scanned them all before speaking.
"I'm still just a frail weakling who can't even use mana. Pledging to trash like me—you idiots."
Thomas's shoulders twitched on his knees. He snapped his head up.
"Most knights couldn't face two Sasquatch at once."
"Traps, poison, and monster infighting did the work."
Even at Calix's cynical reply, Thomas shook his head.
"Even so, without the guts to face them head-on, impossible feat. True knighthood's strength isn't body—it's heart."
"I agree!"
"Same here. Thomas, you talk real good!"
Calix's face heated; he looked away. Krout stared at the ceiling.
"Krout, you... crying?"
"Sniff! Too moving... You bastards hog all the cool moments! Waaah!"
"Shut it! Cut it out!"
"Guh!"
"Got it? Now move. Wounded outside are still teetering on death's door—some might need limbs hacked off if infections fester."
"Yes, young master!"
Having successfully infiltrated the Sasquatch lair and set it ablaze, Laila retraced her steps with light feet.
Calix had given coordinates, but work remained.
Erasing traces.
Sure enough, at the site of Calix's battle with the Sasquatch, shadow unit scouts were investigating tracks.
'Hmph, cockroach scum! Knew you'd show.'
She'd long carried out the organization's missions.
Wanted out countless times but endured.
Because of the Executioners.
Elite hunters who tracked escapees to the continent's edge and erased them.
Till she was confident of surviving them, she'd play along.
Survival was priority one.
But Calix had forced her hand into betraying them.
Now, she had to smash the organization thoroughly to live.
'I'll show how terrifying a former Executioner candidate can be.'
Her eyes flashed icy blue.
She started with a finger-sized copper tube.
Inside: a bit of baby Sasquatch blood from the lair.
She opened it, set it on the ground, then prone'd nearby.
Breath held an hour later, thudding vibrations approached.
"Kwoooogh! Kwugh!"
Not one or two.
The whole pack minus Calix's kills—eyes blazing—charged.
The scouts finally sensed the massive approach, forming up.
Bad call.
To survive, bolt at the first whiff of wrongness.
Six Sasquatch popped heads from all sides.
They were surrounded.