Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Helio City (4)
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The thick hand resting on his shoulder didn't leave Tae-jin alone, giving him a light shake. He even found that touch endearing.
But when Tae-jin showed no reaction, the shaking grew stronger. Such a soft, fluffy hand.
Fluffy hand?
Tae-jin felt a sense of wrongness. He might not know her name, but she wasn't some fur-covered fairy. There was no reason her hand should feel fluffy.
So what was this hand shaking him?
Unable to contain his curiosity, Tae-jin turned around and came face-to-face with Pavilion's menacing visage.
"Wah! What the heck? Where'd you pop out from?"
In that instant, a flash of something being terribly wrong crossed his mind. Tae-jin whipped his head forward like lightning, but there was nothing in front of him.
No beautiful rabbit beastkin, no hut of hers, no bed they'd been about to share. He was just standing there blankly in front of the stone pagoda and the fallen deer.
His head spun for a moment. What the hell was going on?
Pavilion spoke to him.
"What kind of sweet dream were you having?"
That single line made his heart sink.
It so clearly confirmed that all that happiness had been confined to his dream.
He felt like bursting into tears. Tae-jin crouched right there, taking deep breaths to patch up his half-shattered mentality.
Yeah. It was just an illusion.
Tae-jin clearly understood that it had all been a mirage. But rather than relief at waking from it, a deep lingering regret remained.
Just ten more minutes before waking me!
Pavilion seemed so cruel. He wasn't asking for much. If only he'd woken ten minutes later, it would have been perfect.
Tae-jin desperately tried to mind-control himself.
The world is vast. Even if Pavilion was a beastkin, he didn't know every rabbit beastkin out there. Someday, he might meet someone like the girl from his dream.
Of course, it was a huge shame, but he could think of it as having one happy memory to cherish.
It was a simple mind-control exercise, but reaching that basic conclusion took him over ten minutes.
That's how immense the bliss he'd felt in the illusion had been.
Where'd old man Richer go, though?
Finding old man Richer took less than three seconds. He was right there to Tae-jin's left, trapped in his own illusion with a contented smile.
Just like Tae-jin, he seemed blankly locked in an embrace with someone.
Pavilion shook old man Richer's shoulder with the same sullen expression he'd used on Tae-jin, rousing him. Rationality slowly returned to Richer's face.
A sudden question popped into Tae-jin's mind. Why hadn't Pavilion fallen into the illusion?
"Pavilion. How'd you avoid getting caught in the illusion alone? It's the total opposite of before."
"Me? I saw the illusion too."
"Really? How'd you break out of it? I had no clue it was an illusion until you woke me."
Pavilion spoke with a calm, steadfast expression.
"A swordsman's greatest virtue is composure. I've heard the fastest way out of an illusion is through a serene, cool-headed mind. I was the first of us three to regain my calm, so I woke first."
Tae-jin was startled. He hadn't expected much from a smuggler, but Pavilion might be a far more impressive swordsman than he'd thought.
Just then, old man Richer came to his senses and let out a deep sigh.
"Hoo."
"Feeling better now?"
Unlike Tae-jin, old man Richer seemed to quickly accept that what he'd seen was an illusion.
His face showed satisfaction with that brief happiness, rather than regret or frustration.
"Yeah. I got careless. To think I'd get trapped in an illusion like that. Whoever did it has some real skill... Be careful. It's coming again."
"Coming again?"
Tae-jin immediately focused his mind. He could vaguely sense an alien energy approaching the three of them from the surroundings.
The two mages gathered their mana to counter the incoming energy, easily repelling the suspicious force.
The energy was so stealthy it was hard to detect even when focusing, but with prior preparation, it was simple to fend off.
The repelled energy retreated swiftly, like a wild beast failing its hunt.
Old man Richer frowned and said,
"It seems the illusions repeat every few minutes. Pretty skilled and thorough. If Pavilion hadn't shaken off his illusion so quickly, we might've been trapped in there forever."
"Forever?"
"Yeah. Like getting caught in a second illusion before escaping the first, and a third before the second, and so on."
A chill ran down his spine.
"We almost had a real disaster."
As he said that and glanced at Pavilion, Tae-jin noticed something odd. Unlike the other two, Pavilion had been fully ensnared by the illusion.
But Pavilion hadn't been trapped for long. He'd frozen in place, then shuddered violently all over for two or three seconds before snapping out of it.
Once free of the illusion, Pavilion looked around with a fidgety expression, and old man Richer stared at him in shock.
Pavilion cleared his throat awkwardly and said to Richer,
"Ahem. You two go on ahead. I'll catch up soon."
Richer nodded, avoiding his eyes.
"Alright."
Tae-jin cut into the conversation with a question.
"Can't we just go together? What's going on?"
Pavilion shook his head, speaking in a firm tone.
"Something urgent came up. I'll follow right behind, so go first."
"Yeah, Pavilion can handle himself. Don't worry."
Old man Richer said that and immediately started walking.
Tae-jin followed at a leisurely pace and tossed out a question.
"What urgent business does Pavilion have all of a sudden?"
"No need to know."
"Why? Is it related to the illusion?"
"It is."
"Just give me a little hint. Feels like you're leaving me out."
Old man Richer kept his gaze fixed ahead and calmly changed the subject.
"Ever wonder how long rabbit mating lasts? Just a few seconds?"
A short while later, Pavilion reappeared, wearing fresh pants.
Afterward, the suspicious energy approached a couple more times, but the group, prepared in advance, repelled it without issue.
Among them, Pavilion was the most vulnerable to the energy.
He couldn't even sense its presence and had to rely entirely on Tae-jin and old man Richer.
But neither Tae-jin nor even Richer could pinpoint the energy's true nature or origin.
"I've got a couple of hunches, but I can't say which is right. It's on the tip of my tongue."
If even old man Richer, who'd seen it all, couldn't figure it out properly, Tae-jin started feeling uneasy.
"Old man. Wouldn't it be better to just head back? Charging headlong into unknown danger without a plan doesn't seem smart. Doesn't feel like proper mage protocol either."
"True, but seeing the lord so stressed... Let's just climb to the hilltop, check the surroundings, and turn back."
"Hope nothing bad happens."
"I'm a bit worried too, but we need something to report, right? At least find a clue, and the Volterio palace can take countermeasures. Wrapping this up might even get us a reward."
"Got it. No greed—just scout the summit and come straight down."
"Agreed."
The three followed the gentle slope up to the hilltop.
With no idea where the monster might be hiding, the low hill was their only destination.
About thirty minutes into trekking through the forest, a small golden bird landed in front of them.
"What kind of bird is that? It's so pretty."
Pavilion looked equally clueless. Then, the little bird's beak opened, and a thick, low voice emanated from it.
"What are you lot?"
Tae-jin jumped and asked old man Richer,
"Talking birds exist?"
"They do, but not this one. Seems manipulated somehow. Not magic... Ah!"
Old man Richer looked like something had clicked. But with no immediate answer, the bird opened its beak again.
"State your identity. If you don't answer, I'll treat you as enemies and attack."
Richer replied with a satisfied expression.
"You're a shaman, aren't you?"
The little bird paused, turned its head a full circle, and responded.
"How'd you know?"
"That mind-bewitching energy from earlier—I'd felt something similar before. The core felt like a spirit pole, but the fringes were sloppily patched, so I was confused. Now it's clear."
The bird tilted its head curiously and asked Richer,
"Similar sensation? You know other shamans?"
"Met one once. Know Mrazdin?"
The bird froze again, and a long silence stretched between the three humans and the one bird.
After about three minutes, the bird spoke in a low voice once more.
"... Wait a moment. I'll come to you now."
The three lightly stretched while awaiting the shaman.
It wasn't long before a hunched, grotesque figure emerged from the underbrush.
His skin was a bluish hue, clad in ragged hides of beasts.
His attire wasn't the only oddity. Two tusks about a foot and a half long protruded from his mouth, and he had only three fingers and three toes per hand and foot. His feet resembled a bird's.
Tae-jin hadn't encountered many trolls. Three or four at most. They were a rare race.
The shaman stood silently, staring at Richer before speaking.
"Where'd you see Mrazdin?"
"Last fall, on the way back to the imperial capital after quelling a revolt with this lady—met him near Esra and traveled together a few days."
"Esra... That fits."
"And you are?"
"Gramidin, successor to Mrazdin."
"Mrazdin's successor? Does that mean Mrazdin's around here too?"
"No. Master is dead."
"Dead? Who could kill Mrazdin? Did he fight another shaman?"
Gramidin shook his head.
"No. He couldn't recover from the damage during the spirit transfer."
"Spirit transfer, huh... So you're a half-shaman now."
Gramidin furrowed his brow, denying it.
"The spirit transferred properly. Can't call me half."
"When I met Mrazdin, he was seeking a successor. For a troll to become a proper shaman, it takes five springs at least. You have the spirit, but not enough training."
The troll couldn't refute that.