The Shadow of the Holy Land (2)
I had slain the Gandalf of this other world exactly four days ago.
Veronica seemed to be struggling with deciphering the magic circle itself, but she was making decent progress in completing her own spatial magic by reverse-engineering its structure.
“Replicating it perfectly is difficult, but imitation is possible. If I connect it in the form of a gate, there should be no risk of accidents either.”
That was what Veronica had said. Apparently, if you drew the magic circle and set it up for movement, you wouldn’t have to worry about the kind of horrific teleportation mishaps common in sci-fi stories—like fusing with a fly mid-teleport. That shit would be a nightmare.
‘Sleipnir’s magic circle is just on another level. So even a downgraded copy can be achieved with the techniques Veronica learned from humans?’
I let out a sigh after hearing the news. Veronica’s achievement was impressive, and as her husband I was genuinely proud, but the result hinted at a rather unpleasant truth.
‘Looks like those Compilation Battalion bastards can use spatial movement too.’
No matter how much of a goddess my wife was, if a transport magic circle fell within the realm of something an individual could decipher, then the Compilation Battalion would have surely cracked it as well.
‘They would have recorded the circle while destroying the Unicorn’s sanctuary. There’s no way they couldn’t have interpreted it over the decades—or even centuries—since then.’
Therefore, it was safe to assume those bastards also possessed spatial movement magic. It was an incredibly rare spell in this world, but if that were the case, it explained how forces like Tabula and Enlir were scattered across the continent.
Just think about how I ended up as a slave. Sneaking into a country isn’t exactly easy.
Do you have some concerns weighing on your mind?
Adelaide must have noticed my troubled expression. She approached and asked if there was anything she could help with. Perhaps she thought I was struggling with my training?
I had been practicing with Odin’s Eye, so I simply shrugged.
Besides, changing my own face was difficult. I could manage it for a short time, but after a few minutes it would collapse like my legs giving out during squats.
Unlike in fantasy novels, transformation magic in this world wasn’t something you could just casually slap onto other people. If it were, criminals here would be running absolutely wild. Altering someone else’s body belonged to an entirely different field called mutation magic.
‘Our party members all have such strong personalities.’
If we were going to search for Tirsi, we’d have to move around in many different ways. And if outsiders started wandering all over the place, they’d naturally draw attention. Even with disguises, I was still concerned.
But at my words, Adelaide gave an awkward smile.
“Huh? …Oh.”
I asked again, not catching on at first, then finally realized what she meant. Just like in my Norse mythology bible—the Marvel movies—Loki in this world was a master of transformation and the god of the giant Jotun race. Hadn’t Sleipnir, who seemed to carry his blood strongly, appeared so massively in my dreams?
Adelaide, who was quite large even if not to that extent, must have manifested the blood of the Jotun—and Loki’s talent—far more strongly than other Bicorns. This fucking bloodline-dependent other world worked exactly like that.
I cleared my throat. I had never called myself this, but wasn’t I the one being evaluated as the successor to the God of Magic? Since I was getting completely outclassed in magical skill, I had no response. Odin probably couldn’t beat Loki in transformation magic either, but that was beside the point.
Items with high-level transformation magic were extremely rare. You might be able to create something that changed appearance, but maintaining and moving in the transformed body ultimately depended on the user. Anyone could sit in a cockpit. But only those with talent and effort could work as pilots or captains. Transformation magic was the same.
Even if I used a transformation item that Veronica had poured her heart into creating, I wouldn’t know how to move the wings.
“What?”
I asked again at Adelaide’s calm reply. It couldn’t be an ordinary object? Did that mean that with something extraordinary, it was possible to create a high-performance transformation magic item?
The wise Bicorn immediately noticed my confusion and continued.
Like some kind of special effects makeup machine that spies used before missions? In that case, it was a successful example that held no meaning for us. There was no way we could carry something that large around.
I nodded and asked the important question.
Adelaide’s eyes widened, and she burst into laughter, thinking I was joking.
When I asked seriously, Adelaide’s lips twitched. Then when I brought out the orichalcum necklace I had stored on the slate, she simply gaped at it, mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
Adelaide looked stunned, then her expression turned completely serious. Of course, she wasn’t doubting my words.
‘That Veronica, she completely left out the part about the orichalcum pillar.’
Now I felt bad. Adelaide, who had gone expressionless, suddenly smiled brightly.
With those words and a humble bow, Adelaide departed.
Thud… Thud…
The fact that she was deliberately making her footsteps loud in front of me suggested she was quite angry. It looked like our maid who was researching the magic circle was about to get hit by a storm of fire.
As I watched her leave, I made the sign of the cross.
“Sorry, Veronica. But this isn’t my fault.”
Who told her to hide it from her teacher?
I chuckled and returned to what I had been doing.
Shwaaaaaah—
I raised the mana coating of Beast Regression and observed it with Odin’s Eye. Talking with Adelaide had relieved some of the mental fatigue in my head, but the moment I activated my magic interpretation ability, it felt like my brain was being pickled in mint soda.
“Gwaaaaaaaaah…!”
I probably lasted about ten seconds. The illusion that even my eyesight was being destroyed made me cut it off and collapse.
“Fuck, this is ridiculously hard.”
Still, it was worth trying. The mana of Beast Regression was moving far more freely than before.
—Whiririric!
Of course, the rune of ᛒ (Berkanan) played a big part in that. Over the past four days, I had raised my proficiency with the Berkanan rune enough to manifest a mandala.
The mana coating moved in all directions in response to the mandala.
—Whoosh!
I sat up with my eyes closed and focused on the flow of mana.
‘The effect of Beast Regression is way too flashy.’
A fluorescent mana coating that wrapped around my entire body! No matter how I changed its color or shape with the Berkanan rune, it still stood out like a sore thumb.
If I wanted to hide my identity in Romania, I had to solve this problem first.
So I planned to push the mana coating inside my body, beneath the skin, just like with Gerður.
‘Instead of covering the body like an exoskeleton, I’ll let the mana of Beast Regression permeate inside as an endoskeleton and toughened skin.’
Naturally, this would lower my defense. It was like wearing a padded jacket under a dress shirt. The thickness would decrease and so would the power. But any loss in strength could be covered by Gerður, so that wasn’t a big issue.
‘Weaker defense? Just don’t get hit.’
And even if I did get hit, I had the giant leather armor. If an enemy strong enough to tear through that and injure me appeared, I’d have to abandon all disguises and go all out anyway. Worrying about such cases was pointless.
‘Permeate the mana coating into the body…!’
Shwaaaaaah—!
The Berkanan rune pushed the mana of Beast Regression into my body. It felt like someone was stepping on a balloon pump attached to a syringe. I grimaced.
Simply enduring it held no meaning. It would only drain my concentration. Lowering the output would make it bearable, but then the defense would drop too much.
Fortunately, I knew the answer to this problem. Any man would know it.
If it feels like you’re about to burst from holding it in, what do you do?
‘You pull it out nice and clean.’
I extended the arm I had been pulling back. I released the explosively writhing mana through my palm and maintained its shape.
“MetalGreymon Ultimate Evolution!”
—Clang!!
The mana of Beast Regression condensed in my palm and surged out like thick aura. What had been difficult for me before—spell formula fusion—had produced a result thanks to the improved understanding I had gained over four days.
I could feel the mana coating enveloping my body. In this state, my skin would probably block enemy attacks as if it were made of steel.
Honestly, while fighting I’d probably end up with more minor scratches than when using an external coating, but that was something I’d have to accept. Dana’s palm smash that would come flying while she healed my wounds was already terrifying me.
‘Let me tweak it a little more.’
I used the Berkanan rune to change the color of the mana so no one could identify my fighting style, and even applied Burning Hand.
Fwoooooosh—!
Blue flames of extreme yang energy erupted.
“What is this magnificent appearance…! You look as majestic as a hero of the righteous path!”
This was… my new form!
If I fought in this state, no one would ever imagine I was the spear-wielding idiot Nord.
I tested it by swinging a hand infused with the power of the beast through the empty air.
—Fwoooooosh!!
Flames and claws tore through the air with a terrifying sound. I didn’t even need to test its power separately to know. These claws would at least possess the attack power of a Gold Class.
No, that wasn’t right. This had already surpassed claws. These were spears.
“From now on, I shall call this the Blood Hand Demonic Art!”
When I also considered the transformation item Adelaide would create for me, there was no chance that our party members’ activity records would be exposed to anyone.
In other words, it meant we could hide our identities from the Compilation Battalion and the like while searching for Tirsi.