Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Narrow Path
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The prisoners’ eyes widened.
While casting a high-level psychokinetic spell, he had simultaneously manifested both fire and ice magic.
How could someone who still looked like a boy be capable of such a feat?
It was something they couldn't even imagine, but for Loan, it was just another day at the office.
It was merely one of the moments where he formed a hypothesis and proved it.
‘So this is another way to use a Domain…’
The most remarkable aspect of the Domain was its ability to slow the time of any opponent who entered its radius.
On top of that, it could manipulate the opponent's first step according to his will.
It was a fleeting moment, but for Loan, it was more than enough time.
Furthermore, the Domain itself acted as a sturdy mana tank, a sealed mana laboratory isolated from the outside world.
Thus, the ghouls that had willingly stepped into his Domain had unwittingly become test subjects for a new idea.
‘My apologies. There’s something I want to try.’
These were beings who had become monsters against their will.
With a sincere heart, Loan offered a short, silent prayer as he raised both hands.
Amidst the slow movements of the ghouls within his Domain, only Loan’s left and right hands moved with haste.
[Speed Control], [Friction Increase], [Mana Compression], [Saturation Increase], [Barrier Creation], [Heat Exchange Increase], [Cohesion Enhancement], [Crystallization Acceleration]…
As a series of 1st Circle mana manipulation spells were cast,
the air, stripped of its heat, rapidly cooled and, under further pressure, materialized into ice crystals. The intense heat generated in the process was then simultaneously manifested as flames.
A heat exchange, all occurring within the Domain.
That was the truth behind the phenomenon that made him appear to be a high-ranking mage.
"Kieeeeeeek!"
"Krrraaaack!"
And so, Loan attacked the ghouls, wielding fire in one hand and ice in the other.
They were frozen and shattered, burned and reduced to ash.
After Sheville took down the last of the fleeing ghouls, Loan had perfectly cleared the area when it suddenly occurred to him.
"Ah… I was supposed to bring back their tongues."
He let out a small sigh.
He remembered being told they would pay for one ghoul per tongue.
The tongues of ghouls that had been turned to ash or shattered into pieces would be of little use.
Then, Loan’s gaze naturally fell upon the prisoners.
"Why are you looking at us like that?"
"Wh-What! No! We’re, we’re human!"
the people shrieked, utterly terrified.
Among the five prisoners were the same party members who had looked down on him, perhaps even wished for his death.
It was a most curious reunion.
Loan spoke.
"There seems to have been a misunderstanding. There's no reason for me to cut out your tongues. No matter how much you ignored me."
He had been so immersed in his mercenary disguise that he had momentarily forgotten himself.
He had infiltrated for reconnaissance anyway; what use would he have for their tongues?
"..."
Despite his gentle tone, the prisoners looked unconvinced.
The three who had been in Loan’s party exchanged glances before they all started talking at once, as if on cue.
"Hey, we might have been a bit rough with our words at first, but how could you just leave like that?"
"That's right. It's normal for mercenaries to get to know each other. When you suddenly vanished, we went looking for you and unavoidably ended up like this, you see?"
"It would have been nice if you had told us beforehand that you were such a skilled mage."
Loan listened patiently to their lengthy excuses before speaking.
"This is what you'd call being long-tongued, isn't it?"
"T-Tongue? Why the tongue again?"
The men, loosely bound by ropes, recoiled in terror.
"It was a joke."
Loan said with a bright smile.
In that moment, Sheville flew in and precisely sliced through the ropes binding them.
Some of them shrieked and wet themselves as the blade flashed past unexpectedly.
Loan sighed softly at their weakness.
They may be foolish and weak, but they were citizens he had to protect. He should feel pity for them.
‘This is proper character.’
Loan believed this was the attitude he should maintain as a member of the Union.
"Thank you…"
Though they repeatedly expressed their gratitude, the freed men couldn't hide the suspicion in their eyes.
Loan asked,
"How did this happen? You all seemed quite skilled when I saw you enter."
He asked politely, but perhaps they took it as sarcasm again.
They flinched, exchanging glances and remaining silent.
As Loan waited patiently, the man in heavy armor finally spoke up.
"If it had just been ghouls, we could have handled it ourselves, but there was a dark priest among them…"
"A dark priest?"
Loan's eyes gleamed.
A dark priest of Le Tell. The ones who cast wicked black magic or curses on humans, turning them into Human Trees and ghouls.
To Loan, they were his sworn enemies.
Perhaps because his heart was seething,
the flow of Convection suddenly intensified, stirring up blood and dust that swirled around Loan like a mist.
The prisoners gasped and scrambled backward.
The man hurriedly said,
"Yes… We saw him subdue us and head over there, beyond that hill."
While Loan turned his gaze in the direction the man pointed, the prisoners scrambled to their feet and started running toward the city.
Loan didn't even spare them a glance as they fled.
A moment later, Sienna appeared as she always did, materializing out of thin air. Only then did Loan turn and place a hand on his chest.
"Well done."
"Thank you."
Loan felt a surge of pleasure at the simple praise.
Sienna’s gaze was still fixed on a distant point.
"If there's a dark priest, there are likely many ghouls. We move together from here."
"Yes. What about Lucas…"
"He's drawing quite a bit of attention, so he should be fine on his own. It looks like more mercenaries are gathering around him, too."
Loan nodded silently.
Lucas had that kind of charm. His innocence and cheerful spirit naturally drew people to him.
The two of them immediately set off toward the hill where the dark priest was said to be.
Sienna took the lead with Loan following behind, and Loan was glad for the chance to observe her footwork up close.
He might gain some inspiration for the movement technique he had yet to perfect.
‘This is my chance.’
The way she moved, gliding past, was incredibly smooth.
Sienna had said she couldn't directly manipulate mana like he could, but from Loan’s perspective, that didn't seem to be the case.
It looked as though she was momentarily treading on the mana that spread from the center of her soles, gently pushing off it to gain propulsion.
In doing so, she constantly consumed the mana stored within her body, but the process was not forced; it was incredibly natural.
As if she were resonating with it unconsciously.
‘My inspiration wasn't wrong.’
Sienna’s movement technique was possible because of her unique magical power, but it didn't consume mana in explosive bursts, which made it compatible with Loan’s style as well.
Loan immediately began to align the flow of Convection with his direction and speed.
Treading on and pushing off circulating mana?
He envisioned this as he imbued the surface of the Convection where his feet landed with magic related to friction, repulsion, propulsion, and the power to defy gravity.
‘This is difficult.’
While the principle worked, more or less, finding the average value for all the variables was incredibly complex.
Every single step was an experiment, a study.
It was more than just awkward; it was so difficult that if he lost focus, he would forget his own footwork.
Eager to close the distance with Sienna, he even nearly tripped by stepping on empty air.
To borrow the Commander's words, he was struggling to run before he had even learned to walk.
‘I have to struggle. I’ve been five years behind.’
While Loan strove relentlessly for enlightenment, Sienna, who was ahead, would occasionally glance back to check if he was keeping up.
The intervals between her glances grew shorter and shorter, and with each look, a light of astonishment flickered in her eyes.
‘Fifty percent isn’t enough?’
She had set off at fifty percent of her full power, intending to arrive first.
Her movement technique was second only to the Commander's within the Faith Division. At full speed, even Seekers from other units would struggle to keep up.
For her to use half her strength was to match the pace of someone at the Runner level.
Of course, Loan was not at that level.
She had assumed a reasonable distance would be maintained since Loan had not learned a movement technique.
But she was wrong.
Before long, the distance between them began to shrink. Which meant that in this short time, he had grasped something.
‘Is that even possible?’
Sienna felt a strange chill as the gap closed, step by step.
She considered increasing her speed, but that felt like admitting defeat, so she stubbornly held back.
Fortunately, her efforts provided Loan with more than enough stimulation and reassurance.
‘Senior… She can clearly go faster, but she’s trying to guide me.’
Loan felt a warmth from her gaze as she glanced back, measuring the distance.
It was encouraging.
In the end, this mission for reconnaissance and espionage, much like the time he awakened his Domain, was another arrangement designed for Loan’s growth.
A rather troublesome education crafted by the consideration of the Commander and Vice-Commander, and the dedication of Sienna.
Why would they go to such lengths?
‘I’ve met good people once again.’
Overwhelmed with emotion, his hand rose unconsciously.
While running, he placed his fist on the badge on his chest, expressing his infinite gratitude.
It was the Union’s salute, performed with the utmost formality, filled with respect for the other person.
Sienna, who glanced back and witnessed the sudden salute,
"Ah!"
missed a step and performed something close to a somersault, stumbling to an abrupt halt.
And in that fleeting moment,
in the exceptionally beautiful flow of mana, and in her form—which, despite tumbling forward, maintained a perfectly straight and balanced center—Loan
"Ah…"
had a sudden realization.
What he needed to tread upon was a straight line, narrowed to its finest point, leading toward his destination.
He should have extended the Convection, which had been needlessly wrapping around his body as he ran at full speed, into a sharp, single line.
"Senior, to go this far…"
He had managed to gain propulsion and close the distance, but it had been mostly luck.
He hadn't been able to get a proper feel for it.
He felt as though he had been running aimlessly and had forgotten how to even stop in the middle of a wide road.
And in that moment, a small, very narrow, yet distinct line—a path—had appeared.
The Narrow Path.
Loan’s heart grew warm at the incredibly gracious demonstration his senior had performed, throwing her own body to teach her foolish junior who couldn't keep up properly.
"I will call it the Narrow Path."
"..."
His incomprehensible words were followed by a blazing gaze.
Sienna’s stomach burned with worry that she had shown him an unsightly display, but for some reason, this kid seemed to be burning with a different kind of fire.
He had probably had another one of his solo epiphanies, just like during their last spar.
Though she couldn't understand what he was saying right now, she was beginning to recognize the pattern.
Sienna composed her expression and asked Loan,
"You mean to find and follow the shortest path. Have you grasped the essence of the movement technique?"
"Yes. I shouldn't have been focusing only on my feet. The important thing was the direction. The shortest distance to that direction. I needed to have a wider field of view. The core of the movement technique I must learn was to extend the thick Convection of mana into a single line… If you hadn't taught me, Senior, I would have been stuck on it all day."
Loan's voice sounded unusually cheerful. He seemed to be in high spirits.
Sienna listened to him silently before slowly nodding.
"I see… I did it again."
If that's what he thought, there was no point in denying it.
In any case, it seemed she had indeed given him some inspiration.
"Then…"
Loan’s words trailed off as his gaze suddenly fixed on something in the distance.
It seemed he was re-evaluating his direction.
Sienna felt it too.
The brief commotion she and Loan had caused had alerted their targets, who were now hastily trying to flee.
Loan spoke.
"I will catch them, Senior."