Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Missing
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A room filled with furniture crafted by master artisans.
In an office that carried an air of solemn dignity, a man asked in bewilderment,
"You're saying you've found the trigger for Dimension Reverse in the Orcutas War Plains on the 4th floor?"
"That's right."
The one who answered was none other than Count Mordenaín Albert.
He was the man who now ruled over all of Blackout.
"Just what in the world is going on this season...?"
"Don't ask me."
Who else am I supposed to ask?
The words rose to the man's throat, but he barely managed to swallow them back down.
The count wore a genial smile, but until recently, he was the one who had unleashed a storm of blood across Blackout.
In crude terms, he held a status within Blackout rivaling that of an emperor.
"Then... allow me to summarize. Nine months ago, during the assault on the Black Forest, an entity called the 'Fairy Queen'—previously unknown—was discovered. The White Whale Mercenary Corps resolved it."
After that, the culprit behind the collapse of Shylock's Jenkar Mage Tower, which had earned the title of 'King,' was revealed.
The group that uncovered it was, once again, the White Whale Mercenary Corps—and it had been the work of a single mage.
And that was not all.
Though not publicly disclosed, the crisis of Dimension Reverse had arisen in the Black Forest alongside the emergence of the Heavenly Sky Church.
In the midst of it, shocking news emerged that a bishop-level figure from the Ariclotos Church had allied with the Heavenly Sky Church.
Fortunately, that crisis had been averted by the exploits of one mercenary corps.
That corps was, again, the White Whale Mercenary Corps.
And now.
An unprecedented Dimension Reverse phenomenon had occurred in the Orcutas War Plains.
"How long has it been since the Black Forest incident wrapped up, and now this...? But has the issue in the Orcutas War Plains been resolved?"
"Why else would I be having this peaceful conversation with you?"
"Good heavens... Who on earth did it? To block a Dimension Reverse single-handedly."
"The Schneider professor from Issus Academy, the Undeveloped Frontier Team, and finally, the White Whale Mercenary Corps were involved, from what I hear. The details should be in the report I handed you."
"The White Whale Mercenary Corps? Them again this time?"
At this point, the man was starting to suspect the White Whale Mercenary Corps might be the root cause of all these incidents.
Of course, it was nothing more than baseless conjecture without a shred of evidence.
"It's astonishing. All of this started after their mage mercenary captain first set foot in Blackout this year. Can you believe it?"
"Good heavens..."
Blackout was a world of unpredictability by nature, but this was going too far.
"Th-then... where is the White Whale Mercenary Corps now...?"
The world was still quiet since Issus Academy hadn't made an official announcement yet.
But the moment they revealed their role in this incident, the world would erupt in excitement.
It would be wise to attempt contact with them immediately.
"They're missing."
"Pardon?"
"Orc Lord Hargone. The moment they resolved that Dimension Reverse, every trace of them vanished without a hint."
"Don't tell me they went down with that Orc Lord...?"
"Who knows. I wouldn't go that far."
With that, the count averted his gaze from the man as if he had said all he needed to.
"In any case, make sure to relay all the relevant details."
"Ah... You needn't worry about that."
The man snapped back to attention, gathered the documents the count had given him, and hurriedly left the room.
He needed to inform the Imperial Family as soon as possible.
Once the emissary from the Imperial Family departed, Count Mordenaín was left alone. He leaned back in his chair.
"The White Whale Mercenary Corps..."
The image of that audacious mage came to mind once more.
Had he truly perished?
For some reason, it didn't feel that way.
This might just be my wishful thinking.
Either way, they had stirred up enough events to pique his interest.
"They've caused quite the stir this time. If they return, I wonder how the world will receive them?"
Rain poured down in sheets.
A man cloaked head to toe in an oil-treated robe pierced through the downpour and arrived at a lone cabin deep in the forest.
Thud, thud thud, thud thud.
After several knocks, the door opened.
"Yer back."
A woman with black hair and golden eyes greeted him.
It was Jun and Maya, the ones reported missing.
"Yeah. How's Aiden?"
"Still hasn't come to."
"Sigh. What the hell even happened?"
Right after Orc Lord Hargone's death.
The entity that had seized the Black Whale's soul swallowed the group whole like a water ghost, and they awoke in an unknown forest.
Jun, Maya, and Eleanor had regained their senses unharmed.
But Aiden alone still hadn't opened his eyes.
"Eleanor. Find out anything?"
"Same as before. His soul's still unstable, flickering wildly."
"Sigh... This is getting messy."
Jun shed his robe and scratched his head irritably as he peered out the window.
A forest shrouded in pale purple mist.
Four days had passed since he and his companions had landed here.
And this place was—
"Just where the hell are we?"
A field even Jun didn't recognize.
The biggest issue right now was undoubtedly Aiden's condition.
During the Black Whale's soul's rampage as it devoured the group after being overtaken by the Orc Lord, Aiden had been at the forefront.
"From what I know, a soul becoming this unstable is extremely rare."
Jun pressed Eleanor for details.
"Rare how?"
"They encountered some colossal entity and suffered a mental shock. Like a form of shock syndrome?"
"Was the Black Whale's soul that massive?"
"Not exactly..."
Eleanor ran her hand over her black bandages as she spoke.
"I didn't see it clearly, but when that black whale calf swallowed us... I felt something. Something familiar."
"...Familiar to you?"
Something immediately flashed in Jun's mind.
"Outer God?"
"Yeah. That thing."
"The Orc Lord said his soul got bound to the netherworld after tangling with an Outer God in the past. And right before dying, it tried dragging us down like a water ghost. So then..."
"For a split second, it felt like we brushed against an Outer God. He was right up front, after all."
"...This is complicated. Any treatment?"
Eleanor shook her head at the question.
"Time might heal it... but cases like this are so rare I can't say for sure. Sometimes they never recover as time passes—or worse, they turn into lunatics."
"Whew."
Jun shifted his gaze to Maya.
"Maya. How are you holding up?"
"Just feelin' a bit drained, nothin' else."
"You're the one who looks exhausted. You okay?"
Eleanor eyed Jun with clear concern.
"I'm managing for now."
Jun slumped into an old chair.
He scanned the dusty cabin interior once more.
It was pristine.
Even staring into empty space revealed only drifting dust motes.
How long has it been since I saw a sight like this?
A scene that had been utterly commonplace in his 'Lee Jung-jun' days.
But to Jun, it felt utterly alien.
The mana that always swirled around him... was nowhere to be seen.
In this field of unknown origin.
There simply was no mana.
"Whew. Alright, let's recap."
Over the past four days, Jun had pieced together a few facts about this field.
First.
Mana doesn't flow here.
He still didn't know why. It felt different from the silent plains where the Black Whale lurked—there, mana had no time to linger because it was constantly being devoured.
Here, mana itself was imperceptible.
Second.
Rain fell incessantly, and the area was blanketed in unidentified pale purple mist.
No matter how much he racked his brain with [Exceptional Memory], he'd never encountered a field like this.
His past life's memories yielded nothing either.
Third.
The surroundings were all forest, but he'd found what appeared to be an abandoned man-made road.
He hadn't checked where it led, though.
And finally, fourth.
"Why hasn't that thing despawned?"
"Hm... Who knows."
Eleanor responded to Jun.
They were both staring at something outside the window.
A monster corpse with dark purple skin and a face bubbling with grotesque blisters.
So, the fourth discovery was... that dead monster corpses didn't dissolve into particles and disappear—they stayed intact.
"Should I go dissect it or something?"
As Jun pondered aloud, Eleanor shrugged.
"Better not get too close if you can help it."
"We can't just sit here doing nothing."
"True, but..."
The group was reluctant to move carelessly.
The main issue was Aiden still being unconscious.
Venturing out and drawing monster aggro would mean fleeing with an immobile Aiden in tow.
Not a great option.
"Maya. Let's go check it out."
"Got it."
Maya had a knack for butchering, so they decided to enlist her help.
Around the purple-skinned monster, traces of battle remained starkly visible.
Craters in the ground, a few toppled and leaning trees, and so on.
They'd encountered this purple-skinned beast around the time they found the cabin.
After two days of wandering the forest, they'd spotted the cabin—and it with them.
"Careful. Something might burst out from inside."
"No life signs. Soul's completely gone."
"Hm."
Maya approached without hesitation and began dismantling the monster swiftly.
She sliced open the belly hide and carefully extracted the organs to avoid spoilage.
"Internals are rotting."
"Heart?"
"No movement."
"Crack it open?"
At Jun's word, Maya sliced the heart without pause.
From within...
"...A cylinder?"
A cylinder filled with blue-glowing energy popped out.
Its familiar hue was unmistakably mana.
"Whoa."
"It's vanishing."
Once the mana-filled cylinder was removed, the monster's corpse particleized and disappeared.
"So that's why it wouldn't despawn..."
"That's mana inside, right?"
"Yeah. Insanely condensed mana, too."
"...But can mana even liquify like this?"
"No. Not normally."
Mana potions guided mana to gather within the body—they weren't made of pure mana themselves.
"What the hell is this? What happened here?"
"Beats me."
Maya shrugged indifferently and trudged back to the cabin.
"What is it?"
"Liquefied mana."
"Mana... and highly condensed at that?"
Eleanor sensed the mana within the cylinder and tilted her head.
"Highly condensed liquid mana... Ring any bells?"
Jun nodded faintly at Eleanor's question—she knew nothing about this.
"Ancient alchemists. This is their handiwork."
"...Alchemists?"
"Yeah. And the places where their traces usually turn up..."
The 5th floor fields were prime candidates.
"Damn. No wonder it felt so damn tough."
Jun scowled at the spot where the now-vanished monster had fallen.
They'd been unceremoniously dropped into the 5th floor, of all places.