Chapter 65
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 065
Chapter Title: Grimoire and the Wind Mage (5)
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‘Space-Time Magic, huh...’
Space-Time Magic lived up to its name—it was magic that manipulated time and space.
Naturally, it was far rarer to witness than even Lightning Magic.
For one thing, grimoires containing Space-Time Magic were incredibly scarce. And the mages who had mastered them? Even rarer still.
Even my master, with all his vast experience, had never laid eyes on a single practitioner of Space-Time Magic.
“You’re saying there’s really a Space-Time Grimoire stored in those ruins? Did your senior see it with their own eyes?”
I pressed Nina for a straight answer.
She scratched her cheek with her right index finger.
Then, avoiding my gaze, she replied.
“Truth be told, I haven’t gone into the ruins myself to confirm the grimoire’s there. It’s just my guess. But I’m pretty damn sure. The mystery emanating from the ruins is tied to space.”
“Tied to space?”
“Yeah. Anyone who steps even a foot inside the ruins just... vanishes. And from what I know, none of those who disappeared have ever come back.”
“Could it be illusion magic?”
“If it were, objects thrown inside should vanish too. But they don’t—they stay right where they land. Oh, and the mana inside feels nothing like what you’d sense from illusion magic.”
People who enter the ruins disappear.
That was definitely some space-related phenomenon.
And the mana radiating from within was unusual, to boot.
So Nina’s hunch about a Space-Time Grimoire being inside wasn’t some wild fantasy.
It was worth investigating.
‘If there really is a Space-Time Grimoire in those ruins, maybe I could learn a spell to hop dimensions by reading it.’
That would let me return to Earth right away.
I couldn’t pass up a chance like that.
“Honestly, all I know about the ruins comes from what my master told me, so I’ve got nothing more to share. Sorry about that.”
With that, Nina handed me something.
It was an old map.
I took it and scanned it over. It roughly marked northern villages and cities, along with what looked like the Space-Time Mage’s ruins.
“This is the map I got from my master. Oh, my master got it from their master. And their master’s master got it from theirs. It’s ancient.”
“But will the grimoire still be there after all this time? Someone might’ve already taken it.”
“I think it’s still there. Two years ago, I watched my master head into the ruins myself. They were the greatest mage in the north... and they never came back. If even they failed, most people wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Ah...”
Nina had brought up her master’s death.
Caught off guard by the heavy topic, I rolled my eyes awkwardly, and she shrugged.
“Don’t sweat it. My master brought it on themselves. I tried to talk them out of going in.”
Her words only made me worry.
She’d called her master the top mage in the north.
I had no idea if that was true, but it meant they were skilled enough to make the claim.
Could I succeed where someone like that had failed?
‘No way to know until I try.’
I steeled my resolve.
Once I wrapped things up in the east, I’d head to the Space-Time Mage’s ruins.
My meeting with Nina had been enlightening.
It’d been ages since I’d geeked out over magic, quenching that intellectual thirst.
I’d even gotten the lowdown on the north’s situation.
Seemed as chaotic up there as it was in the east.
But nothing I needed to worry about right now.
‘Focus on the east for now.’
The Eastern Branch Chief.
No telling when he’d strike.
I had to prepare as best I could.
How?
By reading grimoires.
Earth. Good earth. I want to eat. A whole lot.
On the way home, I checked the Earth Dragon Grimoire’s demand.
It was simple enough.
It wanted to eat a ton of good soil.
‘Just like the Spiky Rock Grimoire’s request.’
The Spiky Rock Grimoire, which held the Stone Spike spell.
It had craved top-quality clay.
I’d given it mana soil, and it was thrilled.
The Earth Dragon Grimoire would love it too, no doubt.
One catch, though.
The “a whole lot” part.
No clue how much that meant, so I figured I’d prepare as much as possible.
“Gilbert, could you fetch some soil?”
Back home, I had Gilbert shovel dirt into wooden barrels.
Once he brought it in, I used it to churn out mana soil like mad.
‘This enough?’
Soon, a huge pile of mana soil towered before me.
I watched the Earth Dragon Grimoire’s reaction as I set it beside the heap.
Not enough. More! Lots more!
This was a full cartload, and it wanted more?
Looked like I’d need to make way more than I thought.
“Sir Bear, Sir Conal. Help Gilbert out.”
In the end, I roped in Bear and Conal too.
The three burly knights got to shoveling.
I felt bad using elite knights for grunt work like this, but to their credit, they followed orders without a peep.
Thanks to them, I soon had a mana soil pile as tall as me.
‘Mana’s tapped out now.’
If the grimoire still wasn’t happy, oh well.
I’d just have to take my time fulfilling its demands.
‘How’s this? Satisfied yet?’
I eyed the Earth Dragon Grimoire.
Then its voice rang out.
A mouthful.
The moment the Earth Dragon Grimoire spoke, the mana soil vanished in a flash.
Then came its verdict.
But. Delicious.
True to the Spiky Rock Grimoire’s seal of approval, it rated the top-grade soil highly.
Shraaak!
The pages flipped rapidly.
I watched until they stopped at the halfway mark.
Meaning one more spell to learn.
Glad I’d swapped with Nina now.
‘Wonder what spell it is.’
Curious, I checked the new magic.
Devouring Ground.
It turned the designated ground to mush, sucking enemies who stepped on it straight into the earth.
Mana cost of 100 was a bit steep, but the effect justified it.
It covered a wide area, after all.
Plus, the Earth Dragon Grimoire boosted my mana by 50, so I could handle the cost.
‘What’s the second demand?’
After reviewing the first spell, I checked the next request.
Earth. I want to eat. More than. The first time. Way more.
The slow-drawling Earth Dragon Grimoire.
It wanted way more mana soil than the first batch.
This’d take more than a day.
‘Eh, beats having nothing to do.’
Mana soil production it was, for the foreseeable future.
I glanced ahead.
The burly trio was resting after shoveling.
“Thanks. Thanks to you all, I learned a new spell without a hitch.”
After thanking the trio who’d shoveled for me, I mentally tallied the last two days.
Six new spells from yesterday till now.
Mana boost of 170 total—165 after subtracting upkeep for Smooth Skin.
Solid gains.
Bottom line: usable mana now at 670.
Unless I went nuts spamming spells, I wouldn’t run dry.
‘Real progress.’
Twenty grimoires read, twenty-one spells learned.
Any other mage would freak.
Mastering that many—and that varied—was insanely tough for one person.
But I’d pulled it off.
Even snagged that elusive Lightning Magic.
Space-Time Magic would be no different.
‘Just you wait.’
I vowed it.
The Space-Time Mage’s ruins.
I’d claim the grimoire slumbering there, no matter what.
The cavalryman urged his horse off the path.
One of the ten scouts dispatched by Count Chester around the castle.
‘Aren’t they sending us too far out? This feels more like rearguard duty than scouting.’
The scout grumbled inwardly.
Normal scouts returned within a day.
But he was already quite a ways from Chester Castle.
Even galloping back now would take two full days.
“You’re working hard too.”
He patted his mount and murmured.
Then the path ended.
Out of the forest at last, he took in the open view and whistled.
“Wow, what a sight.”
The vast plain alone refreshed the soul just looking at it.
So the scout paused to admire it.
That’s when something odd caught his eye.
‘What’s that?’
He narrowed his eyes.
A black line at the plain’s edge.
It writhed like a living thing.
Heading this way.
Even with his sharp vision, it took staring awhile to make it out, given the distance.
‘An army!’
The approaching force’s identity.
An army of undead.
Rotting corpses shambling forward with agonizing effort.
Their numbers were so vast, he couldn’t gauge the size at a glance.
‘Gods...’
His heart pounded wildly.
Yet the scout held position, straining to assess the army’s scale.
That was his duty.
First, he scanned for banners.
Not a single one.
‘No banners at all.’
Gauging army size was straightforward: count banners, then soldiers per banner.
Multiply to estimate.
No banners meant another way.
‘Gotta get closer.’
Ignoring his fear, the scout advanced.
He scrutinized the undead horde.
Focusing on its width and length.
How many up front? How many ranks behind?
That’d give a rough count.
‘Front row about 50. Followed by around 20 ranks. 50 per rank, 20 ranks...’
His mind raced.
He arrived at a number.
‘At least 1,000...!’
The scout’s eyes shook violently.