Potsral Mountain Range could be crossed and the area near the Land of the Warriors could be passed through without much time needed. The party’s skill level was simply too high to be hindered by such things.
In fact, the party consisted of a apostle candidate and the future leader of the Paladins, the boss of the seventh act. It would not be easy to feel threatened by any normal occurrence with such a group.
“Oh, I can do that!”
“No need. This is the job for a follower like me.”
“I am also Dame Aries’s squire, though.”
“Then assist her.”
“Uh….”
The most surprising event was not the occasional monster, but rather the unexpected friction between Maya and Leo. The friction reached the point where Khan was left speechless because the cause of their argument was “Assisting Khan is my role.”
‘Can a person change that much?’
Khan couldn’t understand what had changed such an arrogant person into a loyal subject. Even Aries, who rarely voiced opinions, left a comment about Maya.
“What a strange person.”
“I know, so don’t say more.”
‘I can somewhat guess the reason….’
Maya was the young lady of a knight family and had even thrown away her status as a Golden Badge Mercenary to become a follower, showing how much she desired strength. But when an unexpected strong person appeared and tried to take the “follower position,” she must have felt threatened.
Above all, Maya must have felt a sense of crisis from Leo’s ability, who had dealt with the orcs in the Potsral Mountain Range on his own.
Aries, being a apostle candidate, was naturally accepted as strong. But who would have expected a mere squire with a “preliminary” tag to be this powerful?
‘It’s an unavoidable matter.’
Leo is one of the bosses in the seventh act of the ‘Midland Quest,’ where the difficulty skyrockets starting from the fifth act. Naturally, his talent can be compared to the continent’s hero-level strong individuals.
‘She’ll probably give up halfway….’
It’s one thing to boost her combat power with various items, but for someone like him, who’s become stronger through stats and skills, to teach her would be impossible. In the end, Maya had to find her own way.
The journey itself was incredibly peaceful, and thanks to taking the shortest route through the Potsral Mountain Range, they arrived at the forest of the Inverted Cross faster than expected, where the witch resided.
Unexpectedly, a ‘gift’ awaited Khan, packaged just for him.
“You…!”
“Baron Ephil, you damn bastard.”
Khan twisted his lips at the sight of Baron Ephil, the one responsible for spreading his whereabouts and making him a target for Darkin, trembling and bleeding from all over his body.
“Wait…!”
Sensing something unusual, Ephil hurriedly tried to speak, but Khan’s fist was faster.
Bang──!
Khan had no intention of listening to the baron’s excuses. Although Ephil seemed to have trained to some extent, shedding his pig-like body to become more fit, there was no way he could withstand the punch Khan delivered with such intensity.
The baron, who flew at an incredible speed and collided with a tree, collapsed, spitting blood. Just when Khan was about to finish him off for good, the trees of the Forest of the Inverted Cross stretched their branches like tentacles and pulled Baron Ephil up.
Crunch- Crunch-
At the sound of the tree monsters chewing Baron Ephil whole, Khan recalled something.
Baron Ephil, a vassal of the Marquis’s border region, standing frozen and the forest’s state changing violently meant…
“Look who it is.”
A bewitching voice tickled his ears. Aries frowned, and Maya and Leo placed their hands on their weapons, alert.
As for Khan…
“Hem. It’s been a while.”
“Indeed. At first, I thought I was seeing things. Who would have imagined you’d come into my territory willingly…?”
“It’s not an impossible place to come to, is it?”
“Right. That’s not the case. Do you know? I’ve always been waiting for you to come.”
“For some reason….”
“I even prayed that you wouldn’t die in some random place. I wanted to end you with my own hands, at least.”
Rumble-!
The forest twisted, responding to its master’s emotions. Trees everywhere moved their branches like hands, stretching them toward the sky, while the flowers below opened their mouths wide, filled with sharp teeth.
“What on earth is this…!”
Seeing this bizarre phenomenon that transcended the realm of magic, Leo grasped his sword and shield, prepared to unleash his holy power on the witch who had appeared in mid-air.
Even the spells handled by the mages of the Mage Tower couldn’t create such phenomena instantly and over such a wide area. This wasn’t just magic; it looked more like black magic wielded by dark sorcerers…!
“Are you traveling with two Paladins? You must have been having quite the fun outside while committing such acts.”
“Not really—”
“Stop.”
Swoosh!
A pure white light forcefully dispelled the darkness that had settled over the forest. Aries generated an immense holy power that encroached into the witch’s domain, causing the corner of her mouth to twitch upwards.
“Interesting.”
“Not at all amusing.”
Rumble…!
With a wave of the witch’s hand, the darkness, which had been pushed back helplessly, began to reclaim its original territory by repelling the holy power. Aries furrowed her brows and increased her holy power, leading to a fierce clash where neither energy would yield an inch.
“Hah. You’re not just an ordinary Paladin, are you? Where did you pick up such a peculiar kid, anyway?”
Something in the witch’s words irked Aries, causing her pure white energy to rage even more furiously. Just when a smile was about to deepen at the witch’s lips, Khan, who had been hesitating and awkwardly trying to steer the conversation, sighed deeply.
“Enough…. Let’s stop this petty confrontation. Ludmilla.”
As if waiting for those words, the witch’s eyes curved gently. Immediately, the violent clash of light and darkness vanished, and the forest, which had looked like a piece of hell, returned to its original state.
“Oh my, is that so?”
With just a snap of her fingers, Ludmilla caused such drastic changes and then asked a question. Khan sighed again, this time with a hint of resignation, and scratched the back of his head. After all, the fault lay on his side.
“I fully understand why you’re upset. So…”
“Why am I upset?”
However, the question came with an innocent smile that made him feel like he was choking.
“Why don’t you kindly explain to me why I’m so upset?”
‘Damn, this is bringing back PTSD….’
***
“Come in.”
The witch, wearing a broadly smiling face, invited the party into her abode. There wasn’t a hint of hostility or wariness on her face. This drastic change was confusing for the party, who had been ready for battle just moments earlier.
All these changes occurred right after Khan said a few words to her. Although the content of their conversation wasn’t audible, it was clear from the atmosphere that Khan must have committed some wrong against Ludmilla and was apologizing for it.
“So, what interesting stories have you brought this time? Let’s take our time to hear them.”
Clap, clap—
When Ludmilla lightly clapped her hands, the items inside the mansion began to move on their own, arranging themselves into a tea table and chairs enough for five people. The incredible sight left Maya slightly agape.
“Amazing. Is something like this possible with magic?”
“Who knows? Even I’m not entirely sure.”
“What? But…”
“It’s different from the spells that mages usually handle. Just take it as it is. Trying to understand it will just tire you out.”
“You’re quite rude.”
“Just being truthful.”
Shortly after introducing herself as Ludmilla, the witch prepared tea for the number of people present. Khan wasted no time getting to the point.
“I have an item that I would like you to interpret.”
“What about the ancient documents you brought last time? Have you already examined them?”
Without speaking, Khan placed a piece of Darkin’s scale fragment on the table. Ludmilla’s eyes lit up with intense curiosity.
“Amazing. Even though it looks like just a small fragment, it holds such power… It’s incomparable to a mountain of mana stones. Truly, the level of a real dragon is something like this…?”
“Darkin Perayas. The corpse-tampering one embedded it in himself and took on the form of a dragonkin.”
“…Really?”
Tap- Tap-
“I’ve heard of Darkin Perayas. He’s known as a master of human anatomy, having techniques the Golden Mage Tower doesn’t even possess. Although, I don’t know how true that is. It doesn’t seem like something achievable by someone who hasn’t even reached the level of an Archmage.”
“I have a theory about that.”
Khan recalled Aecharis, the scion of a great demon and one of the lords of hell, whose power was hidden within the ‘Vessel of Greed.’ And…
“He could have borrowed the knowledge of a demon. Or, he might have received help from a group or individual with knowledge of handling dragon energy.”
On this matter, Jerome, the Magus of the Gray Mage Tower, was conducting research. His apprentice, Jan, had returned to the Mage Tower, so news would likely arrive soon.
“The request I have for you is a separate issue.”
Khan took the dragon scale back into his possession and signaled to Maya. Not wanting to unnecessarily reveal Aecharis’s pouch, he had preemptively entrusted her with the ‘Mortalia’s Jewel.’
“It’s an item made by someone you know well. You might even find it more interesting than the dragon scale…”
“Great mage! This is a creation of Mortalia!”
Ludmilla raised her voice unusually high as she snatched the jewel from Maya.
“Yes, no doubt about it. It deviates from the common spell framework with a unique mana pattern… a design structure so complex and close to chaos that even I can’t decipher it at a glance. Am I right?”
“…You are.”
“Hmmm. I never thought you’d be interested in a grand magus. I used to think you were a weirdo for chasing beings whose existence was uncertain, but now a grand magus?”
“You seem to know quite a bit about great mages.”
“Of course. You could say… hmm. Well, no need for unnecessary chatter. A grand magus is truly someone who can be called a proper mage.”
As she spoke with shining eyes, various items flew in from somewhere.
『Mortalia’s Clockwork Toy』 (Legendary)
『Mortalia’s Flame Staff』 (Legendary)
Khan’s eyes widened slightly upon seeing the information on the items. Two items from the Mortalia series, and ones he had never seen in the game.
“Well, explaining in detail wouldn’t help much, so to put it simply, a grand magus is someone who establishes their own unique magical system, using ‘magic’ beyond mere spells. Naturally, their inventions are all original and exceptional. And the item you brought…”
Holding the ‘Mortalia’s Jewel’ and examining it silently for a while, Ludmilla let out a deep sigh.
“As expected, it’s hard to decipher right away.”
“Will it take some time?”
“Yes. I need to concentrate to figure it out. It’s incredibly complex.”
“You can keep it until the interpretation is done. It’s not like I can make use of it anyway.”
“Oh, that’s not entirely true.”
Ludmilla placed the sapphire in the center of the tea table and smiled softly.
“Of course, I’ll need to take a closer look, but I have a rough idea of its purpose.”
TL’s Corner:
Changing Dark mage Mortalia into Great mage Mortalia. I mistranslated it before.