Chapter 93
Chapter 93
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Magic Genius with Korean Patch
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"The weather's nice, so shall we have dinner in the yard?"
While sipping tea and chatting lightly, as evening arrived, Mirna naturally guided the group outside.
"Wow, awesome!"
"We put some extra effort in since you said you were coming."
Stepping out from the narrow house, what unfolded before them was a barbecue party.
Pork skewered on spits and grilling to a golden brown exuded a lavish aroma of spices used generously.
"Th-this is my first time eating like this!"
Lena, who was usually served only fine restaurant dishes, faced this romantic meal with her eyes sparkling brightly.
"We prepared plenty, so eat as much as you like."
Mirna gave Lena a warm, gentle smile.
'Something feels different.'
Not quite the wistful feeling he'd glimpsed earlier during their chat.
But there was a subtle difference in how Mirna treated Lena compared to the others.
He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was—just something, some indefinable vibe.
'...I can't explain what I'm sensing either.'
Without that fleeting gaze from before, he probably wouldn't have noticed.
It was subtle enough to brush off as imagination, but something nagged at Jeon.
Still, he couldn't very well grab Mirna and interrogate her about it.
"Let's eat."
Pushing his tangled thoughts to the back of his mind, Jeon decided to focus on the meal.
"Welcome to our village."
"Thank you."
"Haha, we're the ones who are grateful."
The spread was enticing enough to chase away any complicated thoughts.
"Wow, the meat juices are insane!"
"Right? Cooking's my hobby, even if I don't look the part. Haha!"
At the praise from Jeon and the others, Josh, the one handling the cooking, let out a hearty laugh.
With his plump build and tanned skin, he seemed spurred on by the compliments and grilled the barbecue with even more enthusiasm.
'Magic can be used like that too.'
The reason his food was so delicious was because he incorporated magic into his cooking.
Especially in meat dishes where fire control was key—even while roasting a whole pig, he adjusted the flame intensity for each section.
His grilled meat simply couldn't taste bad.
Moreover, as a hobbyist, his skills rivaled those of a seasoned professional.
Not only did he use spices perfectly,
but he also sliced certain parts at the right doneness, applied separate sauces, and grilled them further—going all out to create distinct flavors for each cut, even in a simple pork barbecue.
"Wow! It's really delicious! I've never had pork like this before!"
As a result, even Lena, the lady of the Silvermont Family who had tasted all sorts of fine foods, showered it with praise.
Josh's cooking was that satisfying.
'Feels like broadening my horizons.'
Jeon had mainly used and researched magic for combat until now, so he was struck anew by how it could be applied this way.
Plus, if control was precise enough to fine-tune magic intensity like that, its utility would be outstanding in battle or anywhere else.
'Honestly, I was worried they'd all be a bit down...'
In Jeon's mind, the Silvermont mages were a group who had left their homeland, hidden their identities, endured endless hardships while pursued by the Luin Church—coming across as somewhat solitary and rugged.
Recently, one of their pillar-like leaders had betrayed them, nearly leading to their demise; they'd barely survived but lost that pillar in the process.
He'd expected some gloominess, but saw none of it.
'Good.'
Seeing them like that eased Jeon's mind, allowing him to fully enjoy the dinner.
With delicious food and lively conversation, it was more fun and satisfying than any recent evening meal.
And so, the enjoyable dinner drew to a close.
"Wow! Thank you for the amazing meal."
"I never knew pork alone could make a full course meal."
"Thanks for the feast."
"It was the best!"
The group all thanked Josh, who had prepared the food.
"Hahaha! I'm the one grateful you all enjoyed it so much. Well, it's getting late—I'll guide you to your lodgings now."
Perhaps because the dinner had been so enjoyable,
it had stretched on longer than expected, and darkness had already settled over the village.
The villagers were one by one preparing for bed; quite some time had passed.
"Ah, already this late..."
"Get some sleep, and tomorrow I'll show you around the village right away. Look forward to my breakfast too! Hahaha!"
Lena showed a hint of regret at the sudden bedtime despite feeling like they'd just arrived, but Josh soothed her with his usual hearty laugh.
As the group began heading to their lodgings one by one,
-Jeon-nim, please stay behind a moment.
Jeon had no choice but to halt at Mirna's voice transmitting directly into his mind once more.
"Hm? Jeon, not going?"
"Huh? Ah, my lodging's in a different direction. Right, Josh-nim?"
Lena shot Jeon a puzzled look as he suddenly stopped.
Jeon, who had paused for a moment, quickly poked Josh's side as if seeking backup.
"Pardon? Ah, yes, yes. Please wait a bit—I'll take the others first, then guide you to your place afterward."
Josh perfectly caught Jeon's signal for help and led the rest of the group away.
Thus, only Mirna and Jeon remained in the yard.
"Hoho, impressive improvisation."
"...You spoke into my head just to see that?"
Perhaps because they were alone now,
Mirna teased him in a much more relaxed tone.
Jeon shot her a mock glare, but there was no real ire in his expression.
"Then... I suppose it's time to explain why I called you separately."
After exchanging light banter to ease the mood, Mirna finally broached the main topic.
"You said back in the dungeon that there was something you wanted to show me?"
"That's right."
Mirna had realized Jeon could use Rune Magic from the moment they first met in the dungeon and mentioned wanting to show him something.
This invitation was truly for that purpose.
"Then follow me."
With those words, Mirna turned and began walking.
'Where to?'
Without specifying the destination, Jeon followed behind her.
Though her steps seemed leisurely, Mirna moved quite briskly, so Jeon hurried to keep up.
Before he knew it, they had left the village and were climbing the mountainside.
'...Nighttime hiking.'
He'd heard of moonlit gymnastics, but moonlit hiking was unheard of.
Still, Jeon followed without complaint.
'I used to be scared of walking mountain paths at night.'
Back during his slave days when he first arrived in this world, or even when staying in Brea Village,
nighttime mountain paths were practically suicidal for him.
But now, he felt no threat at all.
Not that much time had passed, yet his position and strength had changed so dramatically.
"This is the place."
Jeon, who had diligently followed while lost in thought,
finally arrived at the destination.
"This is... the summit?"
"It is."
The spot Mirna had led him to was none other than the mountain peak.
Compared to the small village at its base, the mountain was quite tall.
Even with a mage's superior physical abilities, it had taken considerable time to climb.
"But what's up here?"
However, there was nothing particularly noteworthy to see.
Just like any peak, it overlooked the surroundings below—but at midnight, nothing was visible.
"What I want to show you is right here."
As Jeon looked around curiously, Mirna pointed to the ground with a smile.
"Below?"
Jeon's gaze followed her finger to the dirt floor.
Nothing special—just ordinary soil.
But the moment Mirna's finger touched it, changes began.
Tok.
Mirna bent her knees slightly and touched the ground at her feet.
Centered on that spot, the soil smoothly parted outward.
"Some kind of secret space?"
Without vibration or sound, like an automatic door opening, the ground slid away in all directions, revealing a spiral staircase leading downward.
Pushed back a couple steps by the moving floor, Jeon stepped forward and peered down the spiraling stairs stretching endlessly.
"Wow..."
Even with bright magical lights visible at intervals along the way, the end was nowhere in sight, drawing an involuntary exclamation from Jeon.
"You worked hard climbing up, so shall we head down now?"
Mirna smiled at the astonished Jeon and began descending the stairs.
Jeon, who had been marveling at the depths, hurriedly followed as she went down.
And as the two descended,
Smooth.
The entrance—what was now the ceiling of soil—closed naturally behind them, truly like an automatic door.
"So, what's down here exactly?"
At this point, Jeon couldn't hold back from asking what Mirna intended to show him.
A secret entrance at the mountain summit leading to an endlessly descending path.
The scale was too grand to follow silently any longer.
"What did you see in the Guardian Rune and the Will Rune, those two?"
But instead of answering, Mirna countered with a question of her own.
Jeon pondered briefly before speaking.
"Uh... I glimpsed the will and history of the Silvermont mages."
The will left by the Silvermont mages.
And naturally, their history that came with it.
He hadn't shared this with anyone before, but it felt right to tell Mirna, their current leader, the truth.
"As I thought."
Mirna nodded as if she had expected as much.
"While researching the two runes, I wondered if, beyond their meanings of guardian and will, they contained the will of us Silvermont mages..."
"Ah."
Perhaps from years of sincere study,
Mirna had grasped the two runes far more accurately than expected.
"And what lies below—the thing I want to show you—is the essence of the power accumulated by the Silvermont mages."
"Essence of power... you say?"
"Yes. Though it's quite wild, and no one has tamed it."
A power so wild that no one could tame it.
Even hearing the description, Jeon couldn't grasp what it might be.
In the end, he'd have to see it with his own eyes to understand.
So Jeon stopped asking questions and simply followed Mirna deeper and deeper.
The scenery visible along the spiral stairs never changed no matter how far they descended.
But there were definite changes beyond the visual.
Kung, kung.
The deeper they went, the clearer the heartbeat-like throbbing from below became.
And with it, an intense sense of presence grew palpable.
'What in the world is down here?'
A living creature? Some magical entity?
Unable to even guess, Jeon descended further amid the unfathomable presence.
"Ah, this is..."
Finally reaching the end of the spiral stairs, Jeon came face-to-face with a massive heart-like object, silver and black intertwined.