Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Wizard
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"It's getting creepier by the minute..."
"Undead are cursed, they say. If you die fighting them, you turn into one too... and have to drag that cursed husk around forever..."
"Who told you that?"
"Mom did..."
As they ventured deeper into the forest, the mercenaries chattered away amid the increasingly ominous atmosphere. But that lasted only until Kyle's gaze fell upon them—they promptly shut their mouths and gripped their weapons tightly.
Meanwhile, Lenia's mind was elsewhere, fixated on the possibility that black magic might be behind this incident.
'Maybe this is why Father collapsed...'
She had taken over as acting countess because the territory's true lord, the count himself, had fallen ill. He wasn't dead yet, still receiving devoted care from the maids, but honestly, she had given up hope that he'd ever rise from his bed again.
An illness of unknown origin. But Lenia suspected it was a plot by Count Sarisa, who had been at odds with her father at the time. So now, with this event unfolding right inside Lucas territory, she couldn't help wondering if it was connected.
Especially since the incident had occurred right on the border between their lands.
"Lady Lenia. What are you thinking about so intently?"
At Kyle's question, Lenia shook her head as if it were nothing.
"It's nothing. Just... if this really is black magic, shouldn't we bring in a wizard?"
A wizard. In the past, beings who wielded powerful spells at will, lording over common folk. But that glory was short-lived; their insular structure, meant to protect their power, led to the loss of countless spells.
These days, only a tiny handful remained, scraping by crafting trinkets for nobles' convenience. Those in the know sneered at them as karmic retribution.
"Even so... where would we find a wizard?"
Kyle replied. Wizards were that rare. And as they spoke, the group arrived at another spot.
"Milord! There's a massive web here!"
"This must be their nest!"
Deep in the forest, the place they encountered was unmistakably the spiders' lair. White, translucent webs stretched thickly between the trees, festooned with bulging sacs like egg pouches.
But they soon realized those weren't eggs. At the base, similar sacs lay discarded, and peering inside revealed animal corpses—or human ones.
"Disgusting bastards!"
The mercenaries grimaced at the sight. They'd seen plenty of bodies, but ones drained of fluids, leaving only bones and skin, were grotesquely unnatural.
"Let's just burn it all!"
One mercenary raised his torch toward the webs, but Kyle snatched it from his hand.
It was just a hunch, but if any of those sacs still held living people, that would be a disaster. Plus, forest fires were hell to put out.
"Looks like we'll have to take them down ourselves. But finding them like this makes it easy enough. Rapork!"
"Yes, milord."
"Have the crossbowmen shoot them down. They're all clumped up out in the open—might as well treat it like target practice, right?"
"Haha! Spot on! Hey! Fletcher! Gale! Crossbows on those things!"
****
Kieeeek!
Each arrow strike sent the spiders shrieking and staggering. They desperately scurried from tree to tree, but their massive bodies couldn't fully hide among the leaves.
"Gale! You gonna make a living as a merc with that aim? Shoot straight!"
"My apologies!"
Under Rapork's scolding, the two crossbow-wielding mercenaries fired relentlessly at the spiders. And soon enough...
Thud!
"No more in sight!"
The last spider plummeted to the ground, bristling with arrows, and the mercenaries scanned the area before reporting back.
"Without the ambush, they're really nothing special."
"That's not as easy as it sounds. Can't just keep staring at the sky forever."
"Clear the webs first! Don't cut 'em with blades—cauterize with fire! Be careful not to start a blaze!"
With the spiders gone, the mercenaries relaxed, chuckling among themselves as they began dismantling the webs. Sticky ones with fire, non-sticky with blades.
They also pulled down the dangling sacs—prey pouches or egg sacs, who knew?—and discovered something: these things were incredibly tough.
"Blades barely cut through."
"If we... made this into... a cloak..."
Lenia and Hillia fiddled with a freshly torn web as they murmured. Just as they said, the silk from these spiders' cocoons had commercial potential. The sticky webs were too adhesive to be practical, but the cocoons weren't sticky at all.
"Magic beast in this one!"
"Human in here!"
As they pondered breeding these giant spiders for silk production, the contents of the sacs began spilling out one by one: magic beasts, wild animals, and people.
These captives appeared to be merchants passing through the forest for trade or villagers who'd entered to forage for herbs. Unconscious but mercifully still breathing.
"Dead ones over there! Living ones this way! Kill the beasts and skin 'em!"
Made sense—they'd want live food for long-term storage. Poison would kill them outright, so they must've used a paralytic toxin. We decided to wait for them to wake.
"Might end up camping here tonight. Hope they come to quick."
"Or how about splitting off some soldiers here?"
I shook my head at Rapork's suggestion. No telling what else lurked ahead; dividing forces now could lead to heavy losses. And shortly after...
"Ow! I'm dying here!"
"Water! Please, some water!"
Fortunately, those paralyzed in the sacs recovered swiftly, regaining their senses. They didn't know how long they'd been trapped, but seeing most of their captured companions gone left them collapsing in despair.
"What's your name?"
"Taylor, sir. An honor."
"What do you do?"
"Merchant. Heading from Brooks territory to sell hides when those things ambushed us..."
"Got anywhere to go back to?"
"Not really. Back home, I've lost everything..."
"If not, settle in Lucas territory. I'll introduce you to someone."
Among the spider's captives were some real talents—like the merchants. Folks who could handle numbers were valuable anywhere, so I aimed to lure them to my territory.
But while scouting merchants and securing talent, I stumbled upon an unexpected big catch.
"Name?"
"Oliver."
"What'd you do? Farmer?"
Oliver evoked olive trees, so I tossed out a light joke with a grin.
"Haha... no, not that. I'm a wizard."
"Right, a wizard... Wait, wizard?"
A wizard popping up out of nowhere—especially one nearly spider food?
"Real wizard?"
"Yes."
"Proof?"
"I can show a simple spell. Light that banishes darkness."
In that instant, a soft white glow emanated from his fingertips. Genuine light. Not blindingly bright, but enough to qualify him as a wizard.
"How'd you end up here? You must've been treated well wherever you lived."
Oliver's face turned bitter.
"I ran away. Wizards pass down skills through strict apprenticeships—you have to serve your master. But he wouldn't let me go independent."
Like on Earth, apprenticeship has clear pros and cons—at least from the apprentice's view, all cons.
Endless training with no end date, pay bordering on exploitation—or none at all. "Be grateful you're learning." And if they even taught properly, great; often they just worked you to death then kicked you out or died first.
This wizard had clearly fled the apprenticeship system's injustices firsthand.
"So you didn't learn everything, then?"
He nodded.
"Embarrassing, but yes. No secret arts from my master—just common spells..."
"Common spells? What's the level? Can you make anything?"
"Warm or cool water, or light like you saw."
"...That's it?"
"That's it."
Wizards might be less useful than I'd hoped. If that's all they could do. Or maybe just because he lacked secret techniques. Still, better than nothing, so I decided to bring him to the territory.
"I see... If you're interested, come to our territory. Better than you think. Settle there, and we'll provide a free house plus research funds."
Sensing my disappointment in my eyes, he hurriedly added,
"Ahem! But I've read tons of books. And I took plenty when I fled."
Books were valuable, so that nearly tempted me—but he had none on him now. Probably lost to the spiders.
"Where'd you lose the books? I might be able to find them."
He shook his head with a smile.
"No need. I've got them."
Oliver produced a small pouch. He reached in and pulled out a book. No way...
"This is a space-expansion pouch. Doesn't hold much even expanded, but it's my master's. Took it—and the books."
Thought he was a wizard; turns out he's a spell-slinging thief. His master was probably raging mad right now, vowing to kill him. Books weren't cheap, and he'd stuffed the space pouch full before bolting.
And a space-expansion pouch... I felt intense interest in this item that reeked of cheap fantasy tropes. If we could mass-produce those...