Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Darkness Pursuit (4)
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World Tree leaf.
Something I picked up by chance at the black market, but I still didn't know exactly what it was.
"Well, analyzing it should reveal the truth."
This was supposed to be a stroke of serendipitous fortune.
You know, stumbling into a place by accident and gaining a power boost or a clue for the path ahead.
"But I got it so easily that it feels a bit off."
Of course, not just anyone could drop over ten billion won worth of gold on the spot like that.
Right there at the market, no less.
"Now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't so easy after all?"
If I hadn't had the money, I might not have gotten it at all—or I'd have had to steal it.
And stealing it would've meant fighting the black market guards, plus getting hunted down afterward.
"Actually, I couldn't have stolen it in the first place."
Even now, without magic, I was buying Magic Tower parchment to scribble on.
Without money, I wouldn't have even afforded parchment and never would've gone there.
The difficulty had ended up lower than expected, all thanks to it.
Writing novels, compiling them into books, and selling them for profit.
"I hope it's worth the price."
I entered the building prepared next to the imperial palace.
This warehouse had started as storage for flesh golems and such, but recently I'd asked Lieutenant Colonel Lirun to remodel part of it into a makeshift lab.
It was lacking in many ways compared to my research lab back in Rlangbur, but it was serviceable enough.
Perfectly fine for investigating something like this leaf, at least.
I set the box on the table and prepared the stone slab engraved with magic circles.
It wasn't for handling delicate items without touching them.
Instead, it isolated special objects from external variables.
You could still touch it and infuse mana.
But it blocked unforeseen interference to ensure reliable experimental results.
"A pricey piece of kit."
I'd gotten it from the Magic Tower as a non-commercial item, and I'd heard it had cost a fortune.
At least my reputation had gotten it for half price, or so they said.
I placed the leaf from the box onto the slab.
Placing both hands on the stone, I infused mana, and the leaf floated lightly into the air.
"Setup complete."
I began examining the characters that appeared below the leaf, above the slab.
It was a basic analysis spell, but it wouldn't tell me exactly what this thing was.
Instead, it revealed what spells it could channel.
Helping set the direction for experiments.
"No standard analysis spells work. Guess I'll have to infuse mana and poke around manually."
What a shame.
It would've been so convenient if analysis magic could handle it.
Still, it was good news in its own way.
The odds of it being a crude fake dropped a bit.
"Even if it's fake, it's no low-rent knockoff."
Alright then, time to take a closer look.
I positioned my hands around the leaf at a set distance and slowly infused mana.
At first, it resisted like it was rejecting me, but a bit more force let me slip right in.
"Whoa, that's bright."
The moment I infused mana, it started glowing.
Emitting actual light, so much I couldn't keep my eyes open.
I ended up squeezing them shut.
Then my other senses sharpened, letting me feel the leaf more clearly.
Mana flowed inside, filling it up.
Following the grain, I noticed it vanishing at one particular point.
"What the...? A hole?"
Did the leaf have some hole I didn't know about? I cracked my eyes open and—
"Gah! My eyes!"
I'd burned them for nothing.
I stopped the mana infusion, and the glow ceased.
"Need to grab some sunglasses or something."
No sunglasses, but I could improvise something similar.
I stood from the chair and headed to the pile of materials stacked nearby.
Bending down, I rummaged through, searching for what I remembered seeing.
"It was definitely here."
Ah, found it.
I pulled out a hand mirror, worn from use.
Not fancy, but it had a peculiar charm.
About the size of my face, and surprisingly, it was an artifact.
"Picked it up when I sensed weird mana flows around here."
This artifact could reflect light.
Duh, you say?
It was a double-sided mirror you could see the back through, so it needed that function.
It let through only the light you wanted and reflected the rest.
In simple terms, a criminal's tool.
No idea why they'd made it, but it'd be a big help now.
"Blocks excess light while letting me see straight."
If it worked right, anyway.
I attached the mirror to my helmet and put it on.
Looked ridiculous, but no choice.
"Now, back to—"
"Edn. Message for you from... What in the world are you doing?"
...it?
Lieutenant Colonel Lirun had walked in right then and caught me with the mirror helmet.
His expression was too wounding to describe, so I won't.
I hurriedly explained, and after seeing the leaf, he sighed and nodded.
"Got it. If that's the case."
"Ahem, thanks. So, what's the message?"
"Ah, right."
The news Lieutenant Colonel Lirun relayed was shocking.
Though I'd half-expected it.
"Wrapping things up, huh?"
"Yeah. Can't find a single trace, after all."
Not just stalled progress—didn't want to waste resources pointlessly.
Fair enough if tracking was impossible, like he said.
But I wasn't ready to give up yet.
Maybe because I'd already given up big once before?
I'd gone to the trouble of getting this leaf, after all. No quitting now.
"I'm modifying the tracking spell right now. Give me one week."
"...You sure you can pull it off? Not doubting you, but if it's not done in time, we're done. His Majesty isn't patient."
Ah, pressure from the palace.
All the more reason to hurry.
Might be reckless bravado, but somehow I felt I could do it in a week.
"Leave it to me."
"Fine. Exactly one week from now, come find me."
Lieutenant Colonel Lirun left, and I could focus on the leaf again.
Three days later, I was facedown on the table.
"Damn it. This stupid leaf."
I could at least glare at it bare-eyed with my makeshift sunglasses.
But that was as far as it went.
There was definitely a spot where mana vanished, but I couldn't figure out why.
"Can't even replicate it."
I'd thought I could mimic it without knowing the principle.
Causing a phenomenon is easy; proving and systematizing it with equations is hard.
Didn't expect both to fail.
I lifted my head to stare at the leaf.
The World Tree leaf still shimmered mysteriously.
Mystical at first; now it just seemed to mock me.
"What the hell is it? Am I approaching it wrong?"
Maybe it was in the realm of enlightenment.
If so, I probably couldn't crack it alone.
No, it felt impossible solo.
"No way. I only need to bend once."
Yeah, one more try.
I donned the mirror helmet again and sat.
Hands on either side of the leaf, I infused mana.
It glowed as before.
Then mana vanished at that one spot.
"Yes, this part. If I can just crack this..."
My instincts screamed this was the breakthrough.
Not just for the tracking spell—for my magic in general.
Though it might be pointless obsession.
But after three days poured in, I needed something.
I kept feeding mana, probing reactions.
Still no clue on the principle.
I just knew mana vanished there.
"What's the issue?"
I tried everything.
Other mana sources, basic spells, you name it.
Stopping the infusion, I pondered.
Then my eye caught the stone slab holding the leaf.
"No way—it's blocking variables?"
Plausible.
Experiments often failed in controlled labs.
Controlling variables had backfired here.
"Let's remove it and see."
Mana couldn't just vanish into thin air, right?
Existing things don't cease completely.
Unless it was an absolute being that ruled the universe itself.
"There we go."
I cleared the slab and set it on the table.
The leaf still shimmered unchanged.
Hands around it again, mana infusion.
It absorbed mana and glowed as before.
"Same up to here."
Center of the leaf, where mana vanished.
Eyes wide, I watched the flow.
When my mana finally reached that spot, something wondrous happened.
"Huh...? Space is warping?"
Subtle, but space itself bent.
Impossible to observe on the slab.
The warp sucked in mana, making it vanish.
In other words, it was teleporting it somewhere—or like a black hole.
"No way. Holy shit, is this real?"
The actual World Tree?
More mana sped up the flow, intensifying the warp.
Same result, but bigger distortion.
I cut off supply and tried mixed mana.
My mana and mana crystal mana together.
"The first one's bouncing out."
Limited capacity at once?
Or only one type at a time?
Excitement building.
I experimented relentlessly—tormenting the leaf, rather.
How space warped.
How it operated with mana input.
And so, racing the deadline, I succeeded in modifying the tracking spell.
The birth of a ultra-luxury tracker powered by the World Tree leaf.