Chapter 332: The Black Market (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 332: The Black Market (5)
While invisible, I circled the church once, surveying its active defense systems with my own eyes.
“Pretty solid.”
The overall security was handled by magic circles installed on the building's outer walls and private grounds. Any potential weak points were covered by two-man patrol teams, as well as a watchman standing atop the tall bell tower, looking down.
On top of that, a Detect magic spell, designed to spot invisibility magic or stealth artifacts, was being cast at short intervals.
It seemed they were desperate to protect this church, or something inside it.
“Hmm.”
I returned to my original spot and sank into thought.
An overview of the church formed in my mind. I added the locations of the densely packed magic circles, along with the lines of sight and patrol routes of the watchman and the patrol teams.
The different security systems interlocked so perfectly that there were no discernible blind spots.
In a situation like this, there was only one solution.
“I'll just have to make a blind spot.”
If there isn't one, you make one. What other choice is there?
After running a few simulations in my head, I got into position, still invisible.
My starting point was on the opposite side of the main entrance—the furthest point from it, and therefore, the most heavily secured area.
“Alright, first things first…”
The first task was to disable the magic circles blocking the way in.
At first glance, it was a tranquil garden that looked perfect for children to play in. But through my eyes, that impression changed drastically.
Threads of mana that would sound a loud alarm if touched were woven densely through the air, and traps like landmines, set to explode the moment they were stepped on, were packed every one or two steps.
It was a deadly landscape where an unwitting intruder would lose their life in less than three seconds.
I was going to make a path here. A path only I could cross.
I scattered the refined mana circulating within my body over the path I'd mapped out in my head.
The pure white mana spread out like a mist. I had it secretly infiltrate the magic circles within range, then chanted in a low voice.
「Freeze Spell.」
Pure white mana. In other words, ice-attribute mana freezes everything it touches. This magic was an application of that principle.
I had the ice-attribute mana infiltrate the magic circles and temporarily freeze the mana within them. Just for the short time I needed to cross the garden.
Beneath a large, thick tree. Reaching the safe zone I had scouted beforehand, I looked back at the path I had taken with a slightly bemused expression.
The magic circles had already thawed and reactivated, as if nothing had ever happened.
“It actually worked…”
I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately.
That's how many things, utterly impossible by conventional magical standards, were now unfolding at my fingertips.
In the first place, was it even plausible for ice-attribute mana to freeze an active magic circle?
If anyone could do it, every ice-attribute mage would be a master thief by now.
“I think I get it now.”
I had found another path. A path my magic needed to take to grow.
“The Expansion of Concept.”
Expanding the commonly accepted scope of a concept. This magic was no different.
The concept of ‘freezing’ embodied by ice-attribute mana is normally confined to physical matter. But just now, I succeeded in expanding that concept. By freezing not just matter, but mana itself, and the flow it generates.
“…Though I have no idea how it's possible.”
I didn't know the exact mechanism or reason for how it worked.
The idea just popped into my head, I tried it, and it succeeded. That's all.
Other mages might find it absurd, but to me, this is what magic is.
Anyway. That's not what's important right now.
“Next up is…”
There were two more obstacles to overcome. The watchman in the bell tower looking down this way, and the patrol team that came by periodically.
I'd spent a good deal of time wondering how to handle the watchman. In the end, there was only one way.
“I have to cover his eyes.”
To blind those wide-open eyes of his.
The problem was how to do it…
“A mage should act like a mage.”
I'd use magic.
I drew up my mana, spread it wide, and projected an image of the surrounding area onto it. And with this, I would block his vision.
「Illusion.」
An illusion, a perfect projection of reality, descended before his eyes. Now, he wouldn't notice me even if I went right up to his face and waved.
“One down.”
All that was left was the patrol team. They were the ones who'd troubled my thoughts until the very end.
I just couldn't figure out how to deal with them. So I decided to end it with what I do best.
Crack! Thwack! Thud!
Seeing the two priests collapse simultaneously without even a death scream was quite satisfying.
“See? Sometimes you just have to get physical.”
After hiding the two sprawled-out priests somewhere out of sight, I leaped up and entered through a conveniently open window.
The first thing I saw upon entering were two bunk beds, one on each side.
“A dorm?”
It seemed to be the sleeping quarters for the priests residing in the church.
I quickly crossed the room, pressed my ear to the door, and listened for any sounds from outside.
“……”
After confirming there were no sounds or presences, I gently pushed the door open.
Creeak…
They should oil this door.
Stepping out of the room, I found myself in a long hallway. On either side were rows of doors identical to the one I'd just come through.
Judging by the room numbers, this entire area seemed to be bedrooms.
With my senses sharpened, I walked down the hall one step at a time.
Soon, I came to a railing overlooking the first-floor chapel below. What caught my eye was the stone statue placed at the very front of the chapel.
It was a statue of a goddess, a kind I'd never seen before, with her eyes blindfolded and her hands clasped before her chest.
“…Definitely a cult.”
So, it was certain these guys were a cult. Now, where could our dear Hunter Son Si-woo be?
I quickly ruled out the hallway I'd just passed through and the chapel. If he was here for something important, it would have to be a secret matter, and they wouldn't discuss that in an open space like the chapel.
A secret place, hidden from prying eyes. Across the wide chapel, I saw another long hallway on the opposite balcony.
The doors were different from the ones in the dormitory. I had a feeling.
“There.”
A strong premonition that he was somewhere over there.
Still invisible, I crossed through the air. I landed softly on the opposite railing.
The hallway was lit by flickering candlelight, anachronistic for the modern age. I could sense a presence from only one of the rooms.
I carefully pressed my ear to the door.
“……”
I couldn't hear a thing. It seemed to be soundproofed.
My curiosity grew. An upper floor that required a pass to enter, a church with razor-sharp security. What could they possibly be discussing in a soundproofed room?
“…I can't resist this.”
Click.
I immediately opened the door and stepped inside. Not into the room where the two were talking, of course, but the one next to it.
Pressing my ear against the adjoining wall yielded the same result: silence.
No choice, then. I estimated the layout of the next room based on the one I was in and found a suitable spot.
The bottom right corner of the thick wall. I pierced it with a thread of mana sharpened to a fine point.
Pssssst.
Slowly, carefully, so as not to make a sound.
When the tip of the thread finally pushed through the wall and met open air, I changed its shape into a funnel to draw in the sound.
“Hmm… From what I hear, your situation seems quite urgent.”
I could hear it. The dignified, deep voice of a middle-aged man.
“…That's right. That is why I wish to ask for your help.”
And the voice of Son Si-woo—a voice that had been mine for decades but now belonged to another.
An urgent situation and a request for help. What could be so urgent, and what kind of help was he seeking?
As I puzzled over it, the middle-aged man spoke in a troubled tone. “Hmm… Well, I'm not sure how I can help.”
Son Si-woo immediately retorted. “You sound a little different from when we first met. I'm sure you said you would help me in every way possible. Were those just empty words?”
His tone was sharp, tinged with impatience. Look at this bastard. He's not great at hiding his emotions, but he's doing a decent job of pretending to be me, isn't he?
Did the bastard's desperate act work? “Haha, of course not. I was merely thinking about the best way to assist you. Please, put your suspicions to rest.”
The owner of the deep voice said, placating him. And then.
“Are we not brothers who serve the same god?”
A shocking statement followed.
“……?”
What did he just say? Serve the same god? Does that mean… that bastard really became a follower of this cult?
While I was reeling from the sheer absurdity of it, their conversation continued.
“Ah, this should work.”
“…What do you mean?”
“In the end, you just need to show them, don't you? Show them that you, my brother, are still going strong.”
After those words, the conversation paused. A moment later.
Ting-a-ling!
I heard the sound of a small bell ringing.
A bell, all of a sudden? Not long after, the door to the next room opened, and I heard footsteps entering.
Clank, clank, clank, clank.
Judging by the number of steps, there were four people. From the sound of metal striking metal and the sense of heavy weight, they seemed to be clad in heavy armor.
“You called for us, Priest?” came the respectful voice of a young man.
Then, the familiar deep voice addressed Son Si-woo. “These four are some of the most skilled paladins in our entire order.”
So they were paladins. For a cult, they seem to have all the right pieces. Their influence might be much greater than I anticipated.
“…Why are you showing these men to me?” Son Si-woo's voice finally came.
A sudden frustration welled up inside me. Aigoo, you idiot. What other reason could there be for showing them to you at this exact moment?
“From now on, they will be your hands and feet.”
The conversation was going exactly as I'd expected.
“Conquer dungeons with them. Ah, of course, you need only follow from behind, brother. They will take care of everything for you.”
I quickly processed the information from the fragmented conversation. Conquer a dungeon with paladins? While doing nothing?
Hearing those words, only one possibility came to mind.
This bastard... don't tell me they found out he's not the real Son Si-woo?
Otherwise, there's no way they'd tell an S-rank Hunter to stand back with his hands behind his back and let others clear a dungeon for him.
But how? What kind of idiotic mistake could he have possibly made to get caught? Not just for anything, but for the fact that his soul had been swapped?
As my confusion deepened, Son Si-woo's voice, now much calmer than before, hit my ears. “Thank you, Priest.”
The deep voice followed. “Haha, did I not tell you? I said I would make sure you would never regret your decision to serve our god, brother.”
“…You did.”
I heard a chair scrape against the floor, followed by light footsteps. It seemed the priest, who had been sitting, was now walking toward Son Si-woo.
“Brother. You must change even more from now on.”
His voice grew quieter and quieter. It became a whisper, spoken right into his ear, and I could no longer hear it clearly.
“…and… you must. Endlessly…”
But I heard the very last word with perfect clarity.
“Fall.”
“……!”
For a moment, an auditory hallucination echoed in my ears.
[Fall.]
Why? Why did that bizarre voice from my dream overlap with the priest's voice from the next room?
The priest's near-coercive words came to a close.
“And thus, be embraced by our goddess, Invidia.”
He cried out the name of the goddess from the statue—the one with the blindfold and clasped hands.
Invidia… The moment I heard that name, something clicked in my mind.
These bastards, don't tell me.
“…Was it the game club?”
A god-tier hunch reared its head.