Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Ruins of Vikan
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*Whirr— Whirr—.*
A small vortex formed in Tahul’s hand.
It was a mana vortex, imbued with the energy of the wind.
“Give it a try.”
Do-jae opened his palm and focused his mind on his fingertips.
He recalled the basics of magic Tahul had explained and tried to contain the mana in his hand.
But it wasn't as easy as it sounded.
“Ugh…”
“What are you doing?”
He somehow managed to gather the mana in one place.
Thanks to the Nerves of the Golem, he was sensitive to mana, and he’d already had experience pushing and pulling it on several occasions.
The problem, however, was the shape.
No matter how hard he tried to condense the mana into a single point like Tahul, he couldn't do it easily.
‘It’s not like I’m training to create a spiraling sphere…’
Trying to manipulate mana that was neither visible nor tangible based on words alone was no easy feat.
“Please explain it one more time. A little more detail, if you would.”
“Good grief. A man who can summon golems can’t even do this one simple thing?”
Tahul looked at him with a pathetic expression before gathering mana in his hand once more.
*Whoosh—.*
A wind began to blow inside the carriage.
It was as if the air was being sucked into Tahul’s palm.
“Watch closely. Magic, at its core, is compression.”
Do-jae’s eyes widened as he stared at Tahul’s hand.
It wasn't that straining his eyes would let him see anything, but he focused to feel the flow of mana.
“Next is rotation. This is when you infuse the elements scattered in the atmosphere into the mana cluster.”
As soon as Tahul finished speaking, the mana cluster on his palm began to radiate heat.
It grew so hot that Do-jae could feel it on his face. The air in the carriage quickly became dry.
*Fwoosh—!*
“This is a Fireball, the most basic of all attack spells.”
A blazing, flickering mass of flames had appeared on Tahul’s palm.
“And to make this spell stronger, it’s a matter of how much more you compress and rotate it…”
Tahul gazed intently at the Fireball.
More and more mana began to gather on his palm, and the temperature of the red flame soared until it turned bluish.
“It may be a basic Fireball, but depending on the caster’s skill, it can display far greater firepower like this.”
*Fwip—!*
Tahul threw the Fireball out the window.
The sphere of fire shot out at an incredible speed, turning a large tree to ash in an instant.
“Aah! What was that?”
“Heh heh, just a little game, a game. Don’t mind me and keep going.”
Do-jae’s eyes remained fixed on the spot where the Fireball had flown.
The powerfully compressed mana rotated at high speed, retaining the energy of the flame without dissipating, and only exploded upon hitting the tree, unleashing all its energy in every direction.
‘Compression…’
Do-jae once again began to roll mana on his palm.
He contained a small amount of mana with the Nerves of the Golem and, like rolling a snowball, gathered the surrounding mana, pulling it together.
‘Rotation…’
Next was to rotate the mana.
He slowly turned the clustered mana, but being unused to it, his fingers moved and his palm twisted slightly in the direction of the rotation.
“Khuhuhu, you can keep your hand still.”
You know how some people who play racing or FPS games move their bodies even though the monitor stays still?
In a similar way, Do-jae subconsciously rotated his palm, trying his best to spin the compressed mass of mana.
‘It’s… It’s working!’
After about ten minutes of trying, he succeeded in rotating the compressed mana.
Once it started spinning, the mana no longer dissipated, maintaining its trajectory.
‘The key is the core.’
For a mass of mana to maintain its form, the core was crucial.
He had to maintain more compressed mana in the very center and gradually decrease the amount of mana in the rotating periphery.
Only then could the mana cluster maintain its shape without collapsing.
“Then, you imbue it with the elements from the atmosphere. If you want to make a Fireball, the element of fire. If you want to make a Wind Ball, the element of wind.”
Do-jae began to concentrate again, trying to sense the elements Tahul spoke of.
But soon after, the compressed mana cluster burst and dissipated into the air.
‘The element of fire, the element of wind. That doesn’t make any scientific sense…’
No matter how hard he tried to feel it, his existing knowledge conflicted with the concept, making it impossible.
As a result, his concentration waned, and he could no longer maintain the compression and rotation.
“That’s enough. This is harder than I thought.”
“Of course! It takes ages just to sense mana. Elves, with their long lifespans and affinity for nature, have the innate qualities of a mage, but it’s an even more difficult task for humans.”
“And yet some humans use it like it’s nothing, calling it a skill. It’s quite remarkable.”
“Eh? A skill?”
“It’s a thing we have.”
Realizing that magic wasn't something he could learn overnight, Do-jae decided to try another method.
*Ssk—.*
“Could you draw that magic circle for me here?”
Do-jae took out a pen and paper from his Subspace and handed them to Tahul.
He might not know magic, but he thought he could succeed with a magic circle.
After all, the earrings and ring Do-jae wore worked by simply infusing mana into the magic circle itself.
“Hmph, draw it again? Young man, you seem to take magic circles lightly. They’re not something you can just draw whenever you please. One mistake could lead to disaster.”
“I’m confident in my ability to copy things. And my memory has been getting better lately, so I think I can draw it exactly as I see it.”
“Tsk, tsk. Fine, I’ll teach you one of the simplest magic circles. Try to copy it.”
“What kind of magic is it? I was hoping for the one you drew on the golems.”
“I told you, that one is difficult. The one I’m about to draw is a magic circle that makes objects sturdier and harder, so try this one first.”
Tahul began to draw a magic circle on the paper.
His face was filled with annoyance as he had to redraw it every time the carriage jolted and shook, but he eventually completed a relatively simple magic circle.
“Are you going to draw it on a golem?”
“Yes, that was my intention.”
“If your goal is to strengthen your golems, it would be better to study magic itself. Magic circles are single-use, you see.”
“I’ll study it bit by bit. I look forward to your guidance.”
“Eh, no thanks. I’m telling you, I refuse.”
Do-jae smiled at Tahul, who waved his hands in refusal.
***
They traveled for some time more, until the sun was high in the sky.
Do-jae opened the window and spoke.
“Oson, stop here.”
Coincidentally, Oson was already slowing the horses to a stop, so the carriage halted quickly.
“The leaf is somewhere around here.”
Getting out of the carriage, Do-jae took out Arktria’s branch.
The lightly trembling branch told him that a leaf from Arktria was nearby.
“It’s a complete ruin.”
Sari hopped up and down to see farther into the distance.
Just as she said, a ruined city stretched out before them.
*Clank—.*
Tahul walked over and pulled out a circular shield that was half-buried in the ground.
The shield was completely rusted, and its handle was broken and dangling.
“Judging by this crest, this was once a human castle.”
Tahul showed them the faint crest remaining on the shield’s surface.
“A book and a magnolia… that’s the crest of the Vikan Kingdom!”
“That’s right, Lady Sarieta. This is the ruin of the Vikan Kingdom, which once prospered through magic.”
Do-jae looked at the kingdom that had turned into ruins.
This kingdom, which looked like it had been abandoned for at least several hundred years, was likely a casualty of the 100-Year War.
“Be careful if you’re going inside. Places like this are perfect for monsters to hide in.”
Tahul pointed toward the interior of the ruins.
Indeed, with so many collapsed and ruined buildings, it was impossible to know what might pop out from where.
“It’s creepy, but let’s go in. What does everyone else want to do?”
“Khuhuhu, I’ll go with you. This is a kind of historical site, isn’t it? There might be some artifacts from that time left behind.”
“Me too, me too! Do-jae, I can smell an adventure here!”
“Master, I will follow you as well! Finally, this Wyvern Bone Double Axe…”
As Oson was about to draw his double-bladed axe, Do-jae stopped him.
“Oson, don’t you think you should guard the horses and the carriage?”
“Khk… But I want to do something useful…”
“No, you did more than enough at Dawn's Tear. I think it’s fine for you to rest a bit.”
Dawn’s Tear was the tavern where Oson had performed his wild dance.
Do-jae patted the shoulder of the dejected, head-bowed Oson.
Then, he opened his Subspace and took out a wooden bow and a quiver of arrows.
“Here. I figured Sari would need this now.”
Until now, thanks to Do-jae’s golems, they hadn’t even seen a single monster.
And since they hadn’t encountered any monsters inside the kingdom, Do-jae had been holding onto Sari’s bow.
But from now on, they would have to wander through the ruins, and he thought Sari would need a weapon.
Besides, wasn’t she a full-fledged Gray Elf?
“You’ve never seen my archery skills, have you, Do-jae? I may not be as good as Tuvartan, but I was known as a sharpshooter in my village!”
“Right, I’m counting on you. Let’s get moving.”
Do-jae, Sari, and Tahul started heading into the ruins through the entrance.
***
*Fwoosh—!*
Sari’s arrow struck one squarely between the eyes, and it fell backward.
But as if nothing had happened, it got back up and started shambling toward them again.
“Do-jae… the arrows don’t work…”
Sari, with a crestfallen expression, moved behind Do-jae’s golem.
The monster her excellent archery was completely ineffective against.
Its identity was none other than a zombie.
“Lady Sarieta, those aren’t ordinary zombies. They are zombies consumed by the energy of betrayal. Normal arrows won’t work on them.”
Tahul shouted to Sari, who was hiding behind the golem, and raised his magic staff high.
*Krrrumble—!*
Lightning struck from the clear sky, turning the zombies to ash.
Despite the immense destructive power, a few survived and walked toward Tahul.
*Shk—.*
*Stab—!*
Do-jae swiftly approached, lopped off a zombie’s head, and then plunged the Black Scale into its skull, shattering it.
Even with its head gone, the zombie still moved, though its speed had certainly diminished.
‘I can’t use the Sealed Memory of the Right Hand either.’
When he first encountered these zombies, he sensed they were different from normal ones.
They faintly carried the same energy of betrayal he had felt from Salreuta.
So he had tried to absorb that energy again by extending his hand, and he had nearly died.
If Sari hadn't shot her arrow, the conflicting energies of betrayal would have paralyzed Do-jae, and he would have had his chest pierced by the zombie’s hand.
‘Back then, Arktria’s leaf helped neutralize it…’
Thanks to that, Do-jae’s party was locked in a tedious battle with the constantly regenerating zombies.
Unless they were completely dismembered and burned, they attacked relentlessly, making them quite troublesome monsters.
“At this rate, there’ll be no end to this. If only we had Arktria’s leaf…”
“Then let’s do this. We’ll split up and look for the leaf.”
“Yeah! I think that’s a better idea.”
“Understood. I’ll assign two golems to each of you. If anything happens, use the golems as a decoy and run.”
Do-jae commanded four golems and sent them to Sari and Tahul.
As Tahul said, it was better to move quickly and search for the leaf rather than waste time and stamina fighting monsters.
“If you find it, send a signal through the golems. They’ll understand. I’ll send a signal if I find it, too.”
A ruin filled with zombies.
Sari, Tahul, and Do-jae split up and set off to find the leaf.