novelraw Chapter 282
Chapter 282
Chapter 282
At the outskirts of Aquilonia, low mountain ridges that bordered the kingdom.
Past a campsite with traces of fire and deeper inside,
One could see a pile of stones collapsed from within and a small cave entrance that required bending at the waist to enter.
No beasts had made their nests inside the cave.
Even the warm sunlight of day could not penetrate the darkness that had accumulated for so long, and instead only chilling coldness emanated.
-Drip.
The sound of a water drop.
A black stream flowing from inside the cave squeezed through the cracks between stones.
Through the gaps of ice that someone had shattered,It pooled beneath rocks and pebbles before finally creating a stream that headed outside.
-Drip, drip.
Black drops fell, pushing away the fresh morning dew that had been hanging on grass blades.
The grass blade, bent from the weight, dropped the black drop onto a snail slowly passing by in the shade.
The snail with its pale yellow shell began to dissolve the moment it touched the drop.
The black drop that devoured the snail turned to mush along with its shell slowly moved and absorbed whatever it encountered.
Ants, ladybugs, earthworms, mantises.
Having grown to the size of an adult's fist, it discovered a rotting dead bird.
The black drop that swallowed the bird swarming with insects whole was no longer an ambiguous form.
A sleek 'bird' with an entirely smooth, black-gleaming body.
The 'bird' took flight according to the instincts that the animal it had devoured possessed in life.
Clouds, sky, wind, sun.
The appearance of the planet that it had felt when Idra existed in ancient times came back faintly.
Even if it was a being that had failed to become Idra's avatar.
Below the creature that glided through the air riding the wind, a dense green forest ended and a light green field appeared.
In the field, five goats were grazing. Occasionally, faint "baa-" sounds could be heard.
And there was also one woman watching them.
A country girl who had put down a carelessly broken walking stick on the ground and was trying to coax the goats closer by plucking grass at her feet.
The 'bird' instinctively circled above them, then stopped flapping its wings and dove downward.
-Screech!
"What's that?"
The woman panicked and reflexively held out both hands.
A small bird dropped into her palms. It was small enough that she could cup her hands slightly around it.
She wasn't particularly compassionate, but neither was she the type to just throw away a bird she had inadvertently caught.
It didn't seem injured anywhere, maybe it needed some water...
It was the moment she looked around.
The woman's hands suddenly felt light. The bird was melting away like sticky black liquid.
"Oh my!"
She shook her hands in surprise, but the black substance didn't fall to the ground and instead was climbing up her arms.
As she screamed and stepped backward with both arms stretched forward, she tripped over her walking stick and fell backwards.
Convulsive screams and cries for help followed, and with choking gasps as her last...
It opened its eyes.
A being with a body similar to a female form stood up staggering.
The grass touching its feet grew infinitely before quickly rotting and withering.
It looked around as if not knowing where to go.
-Baaaa.
One goat cried.
The creatures that had been chewing fresh grass just moments before were looking at it as if they knew nothing.
Baa, baaa.
Living things. Warm things with flowing blood.
To the being that had already taken over one human body, they had no value whatsoever.
But it hesitated and approached the goats with difficulty.
The goats were bleating gently without any wariness, and among them, one had a very swollen belly.
It crouched down in front of that one. The goat that would soon become a mother made eye contact with it.
Slightly curved horns, ears perked up horizontally, fur matted with dirt and dust.
After examining everything carefully, it pressed its cheek against the goat's side.
It could feel it. The goat and the lives about to be born within it.
Growing, and growing again, giving birth and giving birth again.
Thus this strange animal would exist forever. Even if it lost one body, it would continue to exist as the same species.
It affirmed the being that carried life, the things that would be born in the future, and the emotions and actions that necessarily accompanied obtaining that result.
The being that harbored the origin of abundance.
The first thing it blessed upon coming out into the world was a goat heavy with young.
Shadows writhed. Behind the black woman, everything emerged from the boundary between field and forest. The sounds of thousands of goats crying came from all directions.
It was the sound of the children that Shub-Niggurath had decided to birth.
* * *
The only place he could stay was Gladheim, Asgard's royal castle.
So he had returned for now, but actually this place wasn't a perfect safe zone either.
Right now it was dark and the blizzard was severe,
But tomorrow the Mage Tower would definitely come to make official complaints.
Then everything he had done with the fake Eibon statue and the records archive would be discovered.
Less than three days had passed, but King Oderus might drive him out.
But he hadn't even visited the capital of ancient Acheron yet, and he hadn't gained any reward for the trouble Yurik had gone through negotiating with the Queen.
Considering all the circumstances so far.
"We need to settle this tonight."
"Pardon?"
In the guest room of Gladheim.
He had seated the escort knight and mage and was finally catching his breath.
The mage asked bewildered.
"Of course it would be good to find out quickly. But would it be possible in one night? Even I only have that paper."
"We have to make it possible. Otherwise it won't be good for any of us. Unless you want the people sent from the Mage Tower tomorrow to take you away."
"Who would want that? But I meant it's realistically difficult."
"About that paper your friend left. I examined it carefully again while riding the sled."
"Did you discover something?"
"It's not certain. But first I have something to ask."
He pointed to the paper with its torn corner reattached and asked.
"What does expulsion from the Mage Tower mean?"
"It means literally leaving. Once expelled from the Mage Tower, even if you have magical aptitude, you can never return. No matter what great achievements you accumulate, you won't be recognized as a 'mage.'"
"That would be quite shameful from a mage's perspective."
"That's right. That's why the Mage Tower doesn't abuse expulsions either. Do you know about the Mage Tower's internal management system?"
"No."
"To put it simply, the Mage Tower has one general director, and including him, there's a committee made up of mages who have achieved excellent research results or have abundant magical experience. It's to check the general director's authority and make fair judgments."
So it was like the relationship between a president and congress.
"To expel a mage affiliated with the Mage Tower, a majority of the committee excluding the general director must agree."
"I see. Are there no cases of bribing committee mages to expel someone disagreeable?"
"Theoretically possible, but well. Would people who have devoted everything to magic be swayed by bribes? A mage's greatest value is magic. The standards themselves are different from ordinary people in the world. Our goal as mages is to research magic and reach ever higher realms."
"Hmm. Anyway, I understand. So expulsion isn't such a simple matter either."
"Being driven out of the Mage Tower is the most shameful thing for a mage. Unless it's something serious, most cases end with dismissal."
"But your friend didn't commit something serious, did he? They said he dishonored the Mage Tower."
"The Mage Tower's pride is magic. Certainly saying strange things at a royal meeting deserves reprimand, but I don't understand whether this deserves the punishment of expulsion!"
"Then we need to think about it."
What was written most boldly on the paper was about 'Nabua-Takitan's school.'
"Your friend didn't leave because he dishonored the Mage Tower at the meeting. This paper is telling us that."
"The paper?"
"I don't know much about the mage called Nabua-Takitan, but I can tell he had a great influence on later mages' theories about magical power amplification."
This was a fact clearly shown in the expelled members' research notes.
Research and contemplation on standardized magical power - how to increase the magical power one possessed.
Nabua-Takitan had devised methods to convert atypical magical power, the magical power existing in flora and fauna.
But as he had seen in the appendix materials, the conclusion was that it was too inefficient.
Looking at this alone, one might feel it was just testing one's hypothesis and finding it wasn't so.
"Nabua-Takitan would have wanted to pursue more efficient methods for magical power amplification too. So he left such methods on record for later generations, meaning they should avoid inefficient methods."
"That's common. During research you face countless crossroads, and pioneers record in detail what failed and what succeeded. That way later generations can use it as a stepping stone to approach research success..."
"I know. But what if later generations thought differently?"
"Pardon? How?"
"Magical power amplification through consumption that Nabua-Takitan advocated. Looking at this alone, it's not bad. Just by simply eating, magical power increases."
It was certainly attractive.
Instead of going through difficult journeys or ascetic practices to enhance magical power, if one could obtain magical power from everyday activities.
Anyone would choose the latter.
"Then..."
"To convert magical power, you'd need to go through alchemical refinement processes, or consume already completed standardized magical power, right?"
"But there can't be 'standardized magical power' commonly available in nature, right? Everything that comes to the dinner table is all atypical magical power."
"What are you talking about? Standardized magical power being rare?"
"Pardon?"
He pointed to himself.
The moment the mage saw that, his face went blank.
"You've never thought about eating them, so your perspective narrowed. But if you change your thinking, there's no better prey."
If human magical power was treated as standardized magical power,
The Mage Tower was full of walking magical power amplifiers.
The mage looked flustered and shook his head.
"Th-that can't be. That's impossible. We only aim for magical research..."
"Right, you amplify magical power for the purpose of magical research. How about thinking more like a 'mage.'"
"Mage Tower mages don't engage in such acts! Why are you insulting a desperate person so much?!"
He exploded and stood up angrily. But that didn't give much impression.
Because,
"All mages are the same."
"What did you say?"
"I said they're all the same. I'm not a mage, but I've seen enough of the great Great Mage you speak of."
The Eibon he remembered was a kind and powerful mage.
She always cherished him terribly while showing courtesy to Aphoom-Zhah. She tried to keep the things he taught her. She was a good, obedient child.
But the side she didn't show him was different.
She cherished her disciples but didn't love them,
She was harsh with things that deviated from standards,
She was more interested in stories of the stars than people,
And she was blind and mad.
Not all gems are beautifully processed.
Not all mages could be good children like Eibon.
They had lacking aspects. Whether others filled those gaps was a matter of luck.
And Eibon's successors - were all unlucky bastards.
"You were always desperate. So you picked up half-finished things and even elevated them to divinity... Of course I don't intend to blame you for that. But don't deny the essence of mages. You were born that way originally. You've been that way until now and will continue to be."
"......"
"If you live without knowing that, you'll also become strange someday. Do you want that?"
"Who exactly are you?"
The mage barely managed to ask.
He could only smile blandly at the voice tinged with vague fear and confusion.
"Someone who's a bit older than he looks."
"Such-"
"Now let's establish a hypothesis. Like a mage. Your friend noticed that there was a school in the Mage Tower that adhered to the magical power enhancement theory through consumption that Nabua-Takitan advocated."
"......"
"But that friend didn't report to the Mage Tower's director and went to a royal meeting to spout nonsense about a 'great being.' Why?"
"Because he thought Nabua-Takitan's school was related to the severe cold...?"
"The Mage Tower that received this report thought your friend had approached the truth, so they made him disappear under the guise of expulsion. They thought no one would read expelled members' records since they were no different from waste, so they moved them to the archive and left them there."
"And-"
"But fortunately, part of the clue he left fell into his close friend's hands."
He gestured to the mage and continued.
"A great being. A mage school seeking magical power amplification through consumption. Sudden severe cold. Where do you think we should go to connect all of this together?"
The mage's gaze turned to the paper on the table.
The corner of the paper with clear creasing marks.
The part he had torn off and handed to him.
The mage screamed.
"White tree!"
"Is there somewhere that comes to mind? I don't know this area well."
"If it's a white tree, it must be a birch tree. There's a birch forest owned by the Mage Tower. I know you can obtain various materials needed for alchemy there. But..."
"But?"
The mage's complexion darkened slightly. After hesitating briefly, he said.
"If unauthorized people enter the white forest, monsters living in the forest will tear their limbs apart. You can only enter safely with committee permission."