Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Northern Duke (11)
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A stranger ceiling stared back at me.
Well, though unfamiliar, I immediately realized it was the inside of a temporary tent in the encampment.
I cautiously raised my hand to check my body's condition, then sat up.
"Looking perfectly fine, aren't you?"
A melodic voice came from beside me.
When I turned my head, Ray's eyes blazed beyond her mask, as if she were displeased about something.
"How'd it go?"
"You're seriously asking that first?"
Ray crossed her arms even more tightly.
"It went well. Once the archdemon died, we returned to the plains, and people are preparing for the next floor."
"Then why are you mad?"
"You don't know why I'm mad?"
Ray suddenly spoke like a sulky girlfriend.
It was a novel shock to me, someone who'd never dated in my previous life due to constant busyness.
Misinterpreting my silence, Ray's eyes narrowed behind the mask.
"Think about why. Anyway, you're supposed to be 17, right?"
"Huh? Oh... so that's the decision?"
I finally realized what Ray was talking about.
"Actually, it was a lie. There's no way that student could still be alive. I just impersonated her because no one believed it."
"Huh?"
Her unexpected answer made Ray's eyes widen.
I quietly raised my fist and flicked her forehead.
"Ow!"
"Sneaking in the casual speech now?"
"I saved you too! We're even now!"
"Huh? Are we?"
Suddenly, I recalled the last moments before falling asleep.
'Using the mana equivalent of two top-grade mana stones was indeed overkill... This was riskier than I thought.'
I circulated my mana to check my body's status.
The mana moved far more swiftly and smoothly than before.
Spells I'd only imagined but failed to cast now felt achievable.
'If the spell had failed and I couldn't ascend circles... I'd have died for sure.'
Of course, failure hadn't even crossed my mind at the time.
Looking back, it had been quite a reckless challenge.
'Success meant ascending circles, failure meant death... What insane stunt did I pull?'
I belatedly realized what I'd done.
Mages typically attempted circle ascension only after thorough preparation in safe conditions.
Using high-grade mana stones to force ascension was taboo.
Though desperate mages did try it in life-or-death crises.
Nine times out of ten, they failed and died.
'Thinking about my last death, I might respawn a few times...'
But I couldn't squander lives when I didn't know how many spares I had.
I quietly crossed my arms and turned to Ray, who was watching me.
"Umm... sorry."
"Get it now? Don't ever pull that crap again. I won't help you."
"But saving the Northern Duke with my life on the line—doesn't that net me some gain?"
"Are you insane?!"
Ray finally swung a fist at me.
As her fist met my head, a soft sensation enveloped her hand.
"Huh?"
"See? Reaching 5th Circle lets me do this."
Before, I could only fix or reinforce space.
Now, at 5th Circle, I could alter its properties.
"What should I call this? Squishy cushion?"
Fascinated, Ray poked at the soft space I'd created.
I maneuvered the spell in front of her.
Amazed by the squishy air, Ray kept prodding it.
"That earlier comment was a joke. Sorry."
"You... you're really not an academy student, are you?"
"Huh?"
"You pull the same dangerous stunts... As if there'd be two weirdos like that...?"
Her hands kept fiddling with the air.
But her gaze was fixed on me.
"Well... there's no way to prove it anyway."
"Come to think of it, the academy student mentioned the future too—told me to conserve mana ahead of time..."
"Hey! You're awake, so time to meet the Duke! Let's go."
Before Ray's thoughts could continue, I stood up.
Stepping out of the tent, the encampment brimmed with people.
Someone nearby spotted me and shouted.
"The hero of the North has awakened!"
All eyes in the encampment turned to me.
"What?! Sign mine first!"
"Me first!"
People surged toward me.
"No, you all took down the archdemon, right?"
I couldn't quite grasp the situation.
I'd only transported people to the archdemon's subspace.
Though impossible without me, so I understood my contribution was big...
"Is this hero worship worthy?"
I'd wring a hefty reward from the Northern Duke, but cheers from everyone else baffled me.
"Isn't the Northern Duke the hero of the North?"
"Sure."
"Then what does that make the one who saved the hero?"
"Ah..."
I didn't fully grasp the Northern Duke's influence in the North.
I knew the theory, but not the depth of the people's emotions.
To northerners, the Duke was like a father to all.
His tales of becoming Duke in his twenties were beyond mythic.
Such a figure had faced death.
The one who stepped up first when all had given up held unmatched prestige.
"So how'd you escape the archdemon's subspace before?"
A man casually asked, plunging the encampment into silence.
"That idiot..."
"Huh?"
The man tilted his head, oblivious to his blunder.
"Haha... actually, about being an academy student..."
"I'll explain that."
As I began repeating my explanation to Ray, a deep voice boomed from afar.
Mercenaries around me parted instantly, opening a path.
The Northern Duke strode through.
"I investigated Eric's past. He's not connected to the academy student."
Standing before me, the Duke surveyed the crowd.
"And if this Eric were the academy student, it'd mean reaching 5th Circle at 17. Does anyone here truly believe that?"
"Well, even Archmage Everrund of Khalid reached 5th at 21..."
Genius draws attention.
But excess genius breeds doubt.
People reshape the unbelievable to fit belief.
They assume superhuman geniuses use cheats.
'Truth is, my 5th Circle ascent was a cheat too.'
A mere 17-year-old using two top-grade mana stones, amplified by ancient mage spells.
Hundreds accepting a child's mana into their bodies?
Unprecedented in all history books.
"So quit the nonsense and keep your mouths shut."
When even the Northern Duke affirmed it, heads nodded.
'Won't last long, though.'
I glanced at a priest-robed man near the encampment edge.
A fellow Spatial School mage of similar age? Maybe.
But two emerging from the archdemon's subspace around the same time?
The Papal Court would seek definitive answers.
I pondered my future moves.
"I must reward you for my life, but there's still work left."
The Duke's voice reached my preoccupied ears.
I turned to the isolated tent of the Duke's daughter.
Demons' promises are absolute, but we'd broken ours first.
We'd slain the archdemon, yet her curse lingered.
"The entrance to the next floor is found. The first vanguard's been gone less than eight hours."
"Let's give the reward after saving the Duke's daughter."
"Haha. How much do you plan to gouge me? The Dukedom itself wouldn't suffice."
Startled by the jest, I glanced at the nearby Duke's son.
Thankfully, he smiled knowingly.
"Will you join the next floor assault?"
"A mercenary doesn't pass up major merits."
"Greedy even after saving my life. The truest mercenary."
Some mercenaries flinched.
Those absent from the Duke-rescue party avoided his gaze.
"As promised, 20 gold to all! And 100 gold to those who came for me!"
"Your Grace! Most generous!"
"And those who contributed to the 6th floor conquest—5,000 gold by merit!"
"Woooaaah!!!"
Cheers filled the encampment.
Flustered, I whispered to the Duke.
"Is this really okay?"
"Fine. Back in the city, we'll have plenty of free labor."
The Duke beamed at the mercenaries.
Time passed; eight hours for the first vanguard arrived.
The Duke sent the second immediately.
They too vanished past eight hours.
Finally, he abandoned vanguards and opted to enter personally.
"This is the 6th floor entrance...?"
Ray beside me eyed the cave.
A narrow mouth—two meters high, one wide—shimmered with a veil.
"Next floor's a cave, huh."
"Ugh... Another stage for Eric to shine..."
"Weren't most floors open spaces anyway?"
"Vanguard led by me and the Duke's son! Rear by chief mage and knight commander!"
At the Duke's order, a long line formed.
Midway, Ray and I watched it dwindle.
"No more ancient magic mana stones left..."
"What'll we do? Unless another archdemon shows."
Beyond this, even I didn't know.
In the original, after losing the Duke, barbarians attacked the Great Wall amid encampment despair.
The Duke's son and key forces left the dungeon for the wall.
Few mercenaries remained, unmentioned.
Returning after repelling barbarians, the Duke's daughter was dead.
Then the heroine consoled the grieving son, losing father and sister...
'Plot advanced two months faster, so barbarians need time.'
The line shortened; our turn came.
As the person ahead vanished through the veil, we followed.
Crossing, we entered a vast cavern.
"What? No one's here?"
Over a hundred had entered before us.
Yet the cavern was empty.
As I scanned quietly—
"Kyaaaah!"
Ray's scream echoed.
"Wha—damn, mana suppression space?"
Subspace unraveled, spilling items.
Maskless Ray clutched her face, screaming.
"I won't look, don't worry—hey! Hey!"
She began clawing her face with nails.
Blood flowed; I rushed to her.
Forcibly prying her hands, I saw dilated pupils.
Black irises pulsed wide and narrow.
Her body shook violently, teeth chattering.
Scanning for cover, but holding her hands left no room.
I hugged Ray, hiding her face in my coat.
"It's okay... it's okay..."
I repeated softly.
Time passed; her breathing steadied.
Soft sobs emerged.
"Daddy..."
Her face against my clothes grew wet.
I didn't know comforting crying women, but calming panic? Yes.
I recalled the team leader soothing a panicked patient calling for mom.
Panic impairs cognition.
His male voice as "mom's here" worked wonders.
"It's okay, my daughter... Daddy's here."
Strength left her hands.
I released them gently, stroking her hair.
Tremors faded; silence fell.
Waiting quietly, something felt off.
'Should be snapping out of it by now?'
Tension returned to her relaxed body.
Glancing down, red-flushed ears and neck caught my eye.
"Hey, you're back to normal, right?"
Her body jolted.
"Mm..."
Ray faked sleep with a groan.
"Miss Ray? Hey, Miss Ray... Time to get up if you're fine?"
"..."
Abandoning pretense, she pulled away, back turned, heading to a corner.
Squatting, face buried in thighs.
"Anyone this defenseless in a dungeon? Nah, not even rookies. Wait, only twice in? Rookie status?"
She flinched at each word.
Too fun; I teased harder.