Episode 417
Episode 417
'Could it be that he's dissatisfied with the Wardanaz magic? Even so, this is too much.'
Angrago thought to himself.
No matter how strict the standards were, even the professors at Einrogard would have no choice but to acknowledge that Wardanaz had done well.
Yet, to show such dissatisfaction...
This was strictness taken to an extreme.
"Honored Magician. Would you like to take a short rest?"
"Huh?"
Valdororn, who had been sighing, was taken aback by the adventurers' question.
Rest? When he hadn't even done anything yet.
How could he possibly rest when he was being watched so closely?
"I-I'm fine."
"Gasp... Is that so? Understood."
The adventurers accepted his response with visible surprise. Valdororn wondered if he had made some kind of mistake.
'Ah...!'
Upon reflection, he realized the adventurers hadn't suggested resting for his sake—it was for Lee Han.
A mage's mana wasn't infinite, and continuously casting spells like that would naturally require breaks.
"N-No, that's not it!"
"Honored Magician is stricter than we thought. Even so..."
"Shh. Don't provoke him. Stay quiet."
Valdororn, belatedly realizing the misunderstanding, hurriedly tried to clarify, but the adventurers were already whispering among themselves—'By the heavens! He's unbelievably strict!'
Suddenly branded as a rigid, old-fashioned mage of the worst kind, Valdororn's face twisted in dismay.
"Um... Let's take a short break before continuing."
"Huh? I'm fine, though."
"I'm not."
"Haha. Lord Valdororn. If you're worried about me, I'm truly fine. My mana reserves are plentiful."
"......"
The summoners and black mages who had participated in the <Boltzmann's Call> festival crossed their arms and glared at the black rock.
"Hmm."
"Huuuuum."
"Khm."
"Khhhm."
"...Shouldn't we just admit we don't know and call it a day?"
"Quiet! Stay quiet!"
"Who said they don't know?! It's not over yet!"
Mages who had poured their heart and soul into academic gatherings or festivals tended to find themselves temporarily idle afterward.
Few were as bored as these mages.
Having gathered in a nearby village after the festival to chat, they had been chatting excitedly when a circulating rumor caught their interest.
—Anomalies caused by mana are occurring in the Black Rock Forest?
—Then why don't we compete to see who can solve it first?
Curiosity was a virtue every mage ought to possess.
Intrigued by the rumor, the mages swarmed into the forest in droves.
Though illusions blocked their path, they were no match for seasoned mages.
After thoroughly scouring the area, the mages discovered that mana was converging at a single point in the forest.
—This black rock is absorbing mana... How peculiar. I can't figure out why it's concentrating here.
—That aside, isn't it strange that an ordinary rock like this can withstand this much mana? There must be something hidden here.
—The villagers said this rock has been here since before the forest even had a name. If the forest's mana has been accumulating here, its durability makes sense.
—Even if that explains its sturdiness, why is the forest's mana flow converging here?
—Hmm.
—Huuuuum...
Though they had rushed here confident that such an anomaly would be easily resolved by mages of their caliber, the unexpected difficulty of the problem soon had them sweating.
Under normal circumstances, they would have pooled their knowledge and worked together—but these mages weren't from the same school or guild.
Just days ago, they had been fierce rivals at the festival.
Their pride made it impossible to concede defeat easily.
'I can't be the first to admit it. If those bastards admit it first...'
'I'll never admit it first! If those guys do, then...'
As the mages groaned and struggled around the black rock, Lee Han's group emerged from the distance, clearing a path through the forest.
"!"
Lee Han was startled to see the black rock—the focal point of the forest's densest mana—surrounded by mages.
"There are people who arrived first."
"O-oh no!"
The adventurers' faces paled as they exclaimed.
They looked even more startled than when the forest mist had thickened.
"This is bad news, Honored Mage."
"That doesn't seem... like such a big deal?"
Lee Han was taken aback by how alarmed the adventurers appeared.
Of course, if the mages gathered there were practitioners who'd sold their souls to evil magic, their reaction would make sense.
But those mages weren't that type. Moreover, from a distance, they looked familiar.
They were definitely mages who'd participated in the Einrogard festival not long ago.
'They must've come after hearing rumors.'
With strange rumors circulating while staying in nearby villages, it was only natural for mages to flock here like this.
"Is it because you think there are black mages? Contrary to rumors, black mages don't necessarily raise undead and destroy their surroundings."
"Huh? No, that's not it. It's because of the request."
People often assumed that the difficulties adventurers faced while completing requests were mostly obstacles related to the request itself.
But surprisingly, there were many external challenges unrelated to the request too.
This situation was one such case.
They needed to approach the black rock at the forest's center and investigate the area, but mages had already taken position there.
Naturally, the mages had no reason or obligation to yield.
Especially when it came to mana-related anomalies—mages never backed down in such situations.
Goo Bon and his companions already felt a headache coming on, wondering how to persuade the mages.
"Can't we just ask them politely?"
"Sigh. That won't be easy. Mage-nims don't readily yield in situations like this. They won't concede until they're personally satisfied."
Valdororn, who had been listening nearby, chimed in as if agreeing.
"He's right. That's just how mages are—they never back down when they're this invested in something."
"Exactly! Lord Valdororn sees through everything."
'Cut it out, you brats.'
Valdororn cursed inwardly and averted his gaze.
Considering he hadn't contributed anything so far, he wanted to find a way to persuade those mages, but...
No ideas came to mind.
'If I try talking, they'll probably just tell me to scram.'
Imperial mages weren't the type to oblige some random, insignificant mage they'd never seen before.
'Reagents... What reagents do I have on me? Yellowstone powder is too cheap... Would they get mad if I tried bribing them with this?'
As Valdororn agonized, he raised his head at the movement he sensed ahead.
Lee Han was walking toward the mages.
"!"
Valdororn was startled.
Even if he was an Einrogard student, there was no guarantee those mages would let it slide—
"Permission granted. You can proceed with your investigation."
"......"
"......"
Valdororn and the adventurers exchanged blank stares.
"Wow, people said it'd be hard for you to come out, so I didn't expect much!"
A summoning mage shoved aside a black mage with his shoulder as he approached Lee Han.
"Ha! Of course he could come out! No matter how strict Einrogard's rules are, they wouldn't be that unreasonable. Students are people too."
The black mage retorted while trying to step on the summoning mage's foot.
As the mages jostled clumsily to get closer to Lee Han, the pressure shifted onto him, trapped in the middle.
"...Everyone. Did I do something wrong?"
"N-no! It's just those black mages being rude and pushing!"
"Don't listen to the summoning mages! Those sly bastards!"
Lee Han slowly pushed the mages aside on both sides. His physical strength, honed through Einrogard and swordsmanship training, was beyond what ordinary mages could handle.
"I'm glad to meet you all too. But if we waste my limited, short outing time meaninglessly, it'd be such a shame."
'This isn't an outing.'
Angra thought to himself.
How audacious of him to act so confidently when they'd escaped together!
Angrago was practically dying of nervousness, terrified they might get caught at any moment...
"...You're absolutely right."
"We've been showing quite an unsightly side of ourselves."
As the mages began reflecting and reconciling with each other, Lee Han wore a satisfied expression.
"Now then, could you perhaps share what you've discovered about that black rock over there?"
'What luck.'
Though his hidden intention was to take advantage of their newfound camaraderie to get free information, unfortunately, the situation didn't unfold as Lee Han had anticipated.
"We're still..."
"Huh?"
"We're still investigating it."
"...Are you telling me everyone gathered here is saying the same thing?!"
The mages suddenly coughed awkwardly and averted their eyes.
It only now struck them as embarrassing that they'd been too busy competing to properly exchange any meaningful findings.
"W-well, that's understandable. The investigation must be quite challenging..."
Lee Han's attempt at consolation only made it sting more. Flustered, the mages hastily began sharing what they knew.
-Right now, all the mana flowing through the forest is converging here, but not all of it is at the same level. Remember how I summoned a sound spirit earlier to find the path? There were paths with relatively weaker and stronger illusions. The eastern path had such powerful illusions that passing through was impossible, but the southern route we took was much easier.
-...Wait. Lord Wardanaz came from the east, didn't he?
-I had Lord Valdororn's assistance.
-Oh. Is that so? How did you manage to break through? I'm curious...
-P-please. Can we just focus on the analysis for now? We can discuss that later...
-Huh? Understood. Anyway, given this asymmetry, I started thinking the black rock might not actually be the cause of the phenomenon.
-What? Are you suggesting the cause lies elsewhere, and the black rock just happens to be where the mana flow is most concentrated?
-Exactly.
-That sounds absurd... but at this point, it's the most plausible theory! Let me run some calculations.
After scribbling down calculations, the mages' expressions turned to astonishment.
The numbers suggested there might indeed be a separate cause outside the forest.
"Let's go check it out!"
"With Lord Wardanaz here, even our toughest roadblock unravels so easily. Truly, you're the talent who'll bring glory to the Black Magic school."
"Why bring up Black Magic here of all places?"
"If you've got a problem with it, why don't you mention Summoning Magic instead?"
As the mages solved everything among themselves and started showering him with praise, Lee Han gave Valdororn an exasperated look.
"They solve everything on their own and then praise me... I appreciate the sentiment, but isn't this just ridiculous? It's downright embarrassing."
"...Absolutely!!!!!!!"
Valdororn replied with heartfelt sincerity. Few understood that sentiment as deeply as he did.
"The Knight Order?"
Emerging from the forest, the mages frowned at the distant campsite visible ahead.
Even among campsites, their outward appearance hinted at their occupants' identities.
Simple ones belonged to travelers; those surrounded by traps and wooden stakes housed mercenaries; shabby ones with a sinister air were bandits' dens...
And those that, despite being simple camps, erected wooden walls and fortified them like miniature strongholds? Only knight orders with strict discipline and resources to spare would go that far.
Just as the adventurers had grimaced at approaching the mages earlier, now the mages themselves made sour faces at the prospect of dealing with knights.
"Of all people, it had to be those helmet ornament-wearing blockheads."
"We need to request permission to inspect their camp, but I'm hesitant. They probably wouldn't even comprehend what we're trying to say."
"......"
Hearing the mages' scathing remarks, Angrago suddenly felt a surge of indignation.
That's too much!
'They're not that stupid!'
"Is there any reason for knights to be around here?"
"Huh?"
"I said, is there any reason for knights to be here? There haven't been any reports of monsters appearing."
"...Huh? Now that you mention it. Maybe just... hunting?"
Lee Han gave Angrago a look of utter disbelief. Angrago felt like he'd just been branded as one of those "helmet ornament-wearing blockheads."
"Didn't you see the forest earlier? There's nothing to hunt there."
"R-right. Then why...?"
The answer came immediately.
As they approached, the knight order's banner hanging over the campsite came into view.
It was the Beech Knights.
"......"
Lee Han stared at the banner in shock.
Don't tell me they actually sent Einrogard all the way here just to invite him to a knights' gathering?!