Chapter 105
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Genius and Vampire (2)
After the battle began.
The first to strike was Patrick.
The moment Heros assigned his forces, Patrick unleashed his magic.
"Die!"
A lump of water materialized in front of Patrick, swiftly transforming into a thick jet that shot toward Heros.
But it missed its mark.
The golem had blocked Heros's path.
Splash!
A water stream too weak to pierce rock.
An expected outcome.
Patrick, as if anticipating this, calmly cast another spell with a composed expression.
Thud!
This time, it wasn't water but rock.
A stone jutted up from the ground.
It slammed into the golem.
Curiously, its tip was shaped like a fist.
Thump!
The golem staggered back slightly from the impact.
Chunks of stone crumbled from its body.
Was the hit particularly solid this time?
A clear fist imprint marked the spot where it struck.
'He really does have exceptional talent.'
Goph admired Patrick's boldness.
At such a young age, he wielded a variety of spells freely, pressuring Heros relentlessly.
It was a level of skill Goph could never imitate.
In fact, that's why Goph was here.
To recruit Patrick into Eremus.
That was his mission.
'His casting speed is insanely fast.'
What impressed Goph most was Patrick's spell completion speed.
No matter the magic, he finished it within ten seconds and attacked.
Perhaps because of that?
Much to Goph's relief, Heros couldn't counter effectively, merely using his golem to block the projectiles.
'Could it be...?'
Was Patrick actually going to win?
Goph harbored that hope.
But it shattered soon enough.
"You're holding up better than I expected."
The golem lay half-destroyed from Patrick's barrage.
Heros muttered as he gazed at it.
'Huh?'
A horrifying possibility flashed through Goph's mind upon hearing Heros.
'What if Heros was deliberately taking hits just to test the golem's durability?'
If so...
Shouldn't he run now?
Goph swallowed hard, thinking that.
At that moment, the seven undead guarding Heros lunged forward.
They began massacring Patrick's undead.
'No way, is that even possible?'
Heros's undead.
They looked no different from humans, and their strength rivaled seasoned knights.
The ideal undead every necromancer dreamed of.
And he commanded not one, but seven?
Goph couldn't comprehend it.
'How much mana does he even have?'
Heros's minions.
They were the strongest undead Goph had ever encountered, bar none.
They must have been enhanced with necromancy.
Which meant maintaining their summons consumed a massive amount of mana constantly.
'Ah, so that's why he stayed put.'
The showdown with the Eastern Branch Chief.
Word was Heros had used various spells there.
Not now, though.
With more undead active, he lacked mana for other magic.
Goph figured.
But that guess missed the mark too.
Thump!
Undead approaching Heros.
They exploded into chunks of flesh in an instant.
It happened so fast.
Goph couldn't process it.
'What the hell just happened.'
Did a transparent giant trample them?
Nothing else explained it.
'Oh, earth magic.'
Goph sensed the lingering mana.
Only then did he realize this bizarre event stemmed from earth magic.
But the shocks didn't end there.
Crackle!
Two bolts of lightning appeared before Heros.
They targeted Goph and Patrick respectively.
Goph, on guard, ducked under the desk and barely dodged.
Whoosh!
As Goph sighed in relief.
A small fireball flew, striking an undead.
Sparks spread from there, igniting more undead.
Soon, the parlor reeked of burning flesh.
Of course, Patrick wasn't just taking it lying down.
Fwoosh!
A gale whipped up by Patrick hurtled toward Heros.
Strong enough to easily lift a person high into the air.
But a transparent barrier materialized in midair, blocking and dissipating it harmlessly.
'What is this guy.'
Commanding seven knight-level necromantic minions, wiping out dozens of foes with earth magic at once, wielding notoriously hard-to-master lightning magic, and casually using fire and wind spells too?
'This is bullshit.'
Goph finally realized.
Compared to Heros, Patrick was an amateur.
The moment I stepped in for real.
The battle turned one-sided.
This was only natural.
The skill gap was vast.
Had I not let Patrick hit me to test the golem's durability, it would've ended sooner.
'He thought this level of power could kill me? Way too arrogant.'
I thought that as I eyed Patrick.
Maybe because things weren't going his way?
He looked visibly flustered.
Yet he kept casting, clearly still hunting for an opening to turn the tide.
Thud!
A fist-shaped rock erupted from the ground.
It flew at me.
A spell I'd seen before.
'Rock Throw.'
Earth magic deserved an earth magic counter.
So I tried my new spell.
A rock appeared before me.
Larger than my body, about the size of a fireball from sublimation magic.
I hurled it straight at Patrick.
Boom!
His fist-shaped rock.
My boulder.
They collided midair.
My throw won.
It shattered his spell and kept flying at him.
Patrick dove aside, barely evading.
'Definitely stronger than Rock Spike.'
As I assessed the Rock Throw spell.
Patrick suddenly shouted.
"This can't be happening!"
He glanced around wildly.
Searching for an escape?
None existed.
The room's undead had long been crippled by Gilbert and the knights.
With limbs severed, they could only crawl uselessly.
The ones outside fared worse.
Bear, Conall, and their squad kept the entrance sealed.
No rescuers for him.
Goph was here, but his will had broken; he'd be no help.
'Weak-willed, huh.'
Goph huddled on the floor, trembling.
Not a fighter.
Worked in my favor.
With Goph staying out, I focused solely on Patrick.
Little resistance left, so capture, interrogate, extract info.
'Time to wrap this up.'
Tested the golem's durability.
Tried the new spell.
No reason to drag it out.
'Take him.'
I ordered Gilbert and the six undead knights.
They advanced on Patrick.
Terror-stricken, he flung spells wildly, but none harmed my knights meaningfully.
And finally.
Slash!
Gilbert's blade severed Patrick's throat.
"Surrender! I surrender!"
Goph, witnessing Patrick's end, thrust his hands up in immediate surrender.
And with that, the battle concluded.
The first thing I did after victory?
Interrogate Goph.
Finally, I learned the full story.
"So you invited me to the castle to kill me from the start?"
"Yes, that's right."
According to Goph, Patrick was a genius.
Devoured ten grimoires in a year since starting magic—talent confirmed.
But his personality was rotten.
Hence today's mess.
Patrick lacked combat experience against mages, so he lured me here to gain some.
'What a genuine lunatic.'
Fighting a stranger for "practice"?
No normal person thinks like that.
Amazed by Patrick's mindset, I pressed on with questions.
Still much I wanted to know.
"Are you and Baron Patrick with Eremus?"
"No. Only me."
"Then why are you here?"
"Ordered to recruit Baron Patrick into Eremus."
"Who gave the order?"
"Northern Branch Chief Nicholas."
That name jolted me.
Northern Branch Chief here?
Unexpected.
Hard to believe at first.
A low-rank like Goph knowing branch chief details? Suspicious.
I grilled him on it, and he answered promptly.
"I'm Nicholas's errand boy. Handled various tasks under him. So I know more about him than other dark mages."
If he worked under Nicholas, he might know his location.
The thought struck me.
If I could pinpoint Nicholas, we strike first.
Tempting.
"Where's Nicholas now?"
"At Ultan's Tomb."
Ultan's Tomb.
First I'd heard of it.
I glanced at my companions.
Someone might know.
'Cedric's clueless. Conall and Pergal seem to know. Probably in Barbarian territory...'
As I pondered.
Conall spoke up.
"Ultan is a Barbarian hero. The great warrior who terrorized the Empire's north, famed for never losing in hundreds of battles."
"Oh."
If true, Ultan was on another level.
Clear why a dark mage went there.
To make undead from his corpse.
"Any treasures at Ultan's Tomb?"
I asked Conall, just in case.
Nicholas might have other motives.
This time, Pergal answered.
"None. It's just a tomb. Only Ultan and his warriors' bodies are buried there."
"No treasures, yet he goes? Nicholas must plan undead from Ultan and his followers. No other reason."
Pergal's face twisted at my words.
Goph confirmed it.
"Nicholas is pouring everything into undead creation. Once successful, he'll lead the ultimate undead army to ravage the north. The Barbarians will fall too."
Listening to Goph, a doubt arose.
He answered faithfully, even volunteering unasked info.
Suspiciously cooperative.
Unlike other dark mages I'd met.
"Why so cooperative?"
"Only way to die painlessly."
Goph had accepted his death.
Death was certain, so better spill everything before torture.
Wise choice.
Interrogation over.
Goph met his end by Gilbert's sword.
A clean beheading—minimal suffering.
Now, what next?
Search the castle.
Why prioritize over cleanup? Simple.
Grimoires.
'Three grimoires. How am I supposed to resist?'
Mana signatures from the tower interior.
Three distinct locations.
For a grimoire addict like me, pure temptation.