novelraw Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Chapter 25
After returning to the Crescent Moon Training Ground, Feyr began organizing his thoughts during the remaining time.
How far could he raise his level in a week?
To move even somewhat comfortably in Felid Forest, he'd need to reach the 4th Star Tier.
The gap between a Mana User and a Sword Expert was enormous.
But a week was far too short.
'Even 2 months would be cutting it close.'
The one consolation was that he had the Eater of Mana.
Storing the maximum amount of Mana he could pack into it over the course of a week.
That was the best he could do right now.
'Ah, right.'
Feyr suddenly remembered something he'd forgotten and rummaged through the luggage he'd brought from the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground.
A single wooden box inside.
The Spirit Medicine Zak had given him previously.
Feyr opened the wooden box containing the Spirit Medicine.
A red liquid contained in a small bottle.
Even at a glance, he could tell it was a Spirit Medicine that carried an attribute.
'A Blood-Attribute Spirit Medicine.'
Perhaps because he'd shown that his Mana carried an attribute before—it seemed Zak had gone out of his way to prepare a Spirit Medicine with a Blood Attribute.
An evidently high-quality Spirit Medicine at a glance.
'It's a shame to use it right away, but—'
What use was it if he died?
If it could help him store even a little more Mana, then however much of a shame it might be, he had no choice but to use it.
Thinking thus, Feyr knocked back the Spirit Medicine in an instant.
***
Time passed.
Saaaah—
Feyr, who had fully absorbed all the energy from the Spirit Medicine, opened his closed eyes.
Perhaps because his Mana had shifted to Blood-Attribute, the absorption rate of the Spirit Medicine was extremely high.
Thanks to that, he had been able to feed the Eater of Mana with far more Mana than he'd originally aimed for.
'At this rate, I can have it ready for use within a week.'
Reaching his goal of the 4th Star Tier was impossible, but making the Eater of Mana serviceable had become achievable.
He would no longer have to trail helplessly behind the knights all the way to Felid Forest.
In other words, it meant he could act independently.
'I could visit the place the Mad Demon mentioned, or go searching for ruins and labyrinths.'
And if he could clear them while he was at it, all the better.
Ruins and labyrinths sometimes harbored dormant Artifacts inside.
And Artifacts—the more, the better.
How could it be otherwise?
Each one could rightly be called a divine treasure, a secret trove.
'Tools of limitless potential whose very performance changes depending on how they're applied.'
Even their value was impossible to estimate—that was what Artifacts were.
And so people say that a touch of imagination is crucial when handling them.
'At any rate, I'll need to focus on packing Mana into the Eater of Mana for the rest of the week.'
They wouldn't involve him in training for the week anyway.
Physical conditioning was an option, but it ranked lower in priority right now.
Having finished calculating his efficiency, Feyr moved to attend to what needed to be done.
But then.
'This wooden box. Why does it seem so large?'
The box was noticeably bigger than what would be needed to hold just the Spirit Medicine.
Was there any reason for Zak to do something this wasteful?
Puzzled by the situation, Feyr immediately began prying apart the wooden box.
And inside it was—
"Ha—!"
To think he'd hidden such a gift inside a gift.
Truly, what a man after his own heart.
***
The week flew by in no time.
During that time, Feyr did nothing but repeatedly work at storing Mana into the Eater of Mana.
As a result, in terms of pure Mana volume alone, he had managed to accumulate an amount reaching that of a fully mature 3rd Star Tier.
Feyr's own Mana combined with the Mana stored in the Eater of Mana.
2 lots' worth of 3rd Star Tier Mana—enough, at the very least, to avoid dying pathetically in the middle of a forest.
And so, as Feyr was making every preparation—
Ssss—
The black mist from before rose around Feyr.
Whether because the Blood Oath had been made, the mist appeared wherever Feyr happened to be.
The black mist took shape into the form of a dog, then promptly opened its mouth to speak.
[The day of assembly has come. All volunteers for the Felid Forest Exploration are to gather at the plaza in front of Fortress City Rehilicia by 5 p.m. on this day.]
The black dog and the mist, having delivered its message, disappeared as if they had never existed at all.
Feyr stared quietly at the spot where the black dog had vanished and thought.
'Rehilicia, is it—'
Fortress City Rehilicia.
A city situated near Felid Forest, its defining feature being that it is completely surrounded by walls on all sides.
The fact that Magical Beasts periodically invade was, if anything, yet another defining feature of the place.
'This too was an unsolved mystery from my past life.'
It had become clear that Magical Beasts were crawling out of the forest.
But their origin—where exactly these Magical Beasts were crawling out from—had never been pinpointed.
'Well, that’s not my problem.'
Thinking thus, Feyr opened the door of his quarters and stepped out.
The distance from here to Rehilicia was quite considerable.
Even setting out now, he wouldn't arrive by 5 p.m.
But with a bit of a shortcut, he could drastically cut down the travel time.
'He just had to use a Magical Beast.'
What did that mean?
It meant riding a Magical Beast the same way one would ride a horse.
Of course, Magical Beasts cannot be tamed.
Taming Magical Beasts was something only the demon folk could manage at best.
For mere humans to tame Magical Beasts was a statement bordering on the impossible.
And that was precisely why it was called a shortcut.
'Would there be anyone accompanying me?'
Even though he now held the new identity of a Trainee, Feyr's fundamental status was still that of a slave.
For that reason, his freedom of movement was still restricted for now.
Even within Beilhart's territory, Feyr wandering around at will was not something easily done.
'I'll have to go out and see first.'
When Feyr arrived at the entrance and came face-to-face with a guard, the guard moved to block him.
"Halt."
‘So it comes to this after all.’
Just as Feyr was about to explain his situation—
"Just let him through."
"What?"
Another guard grabbed the first guard's shoulder and told him to let the boy pass.
"Hey, isn't that the one?"
"Ah, the one the Head Instructor mentioned?"
The 2 seemed to have been briefed in advance and cleared the way.
Most likely, Lowell had spoken to them ahead of time.
'He knows I won't run.'
Feyr briefly thought of Lowell, then took his first step forward.
But just for a moment.
"Wait."
"——?"
A guard tossed a sword toward Feyr.
"Take it with you."
"Ah, thank you."
"You don't need to thank me. I'm giving it to you so our Training Ground doesn't look bad."
The guard said so and waved him off.
Feyr also did not add anything more.
He simply gave a small nod.
And with that, Feyr truly turned and walked away, beginning to pick up speed.
He'd have to move quickly to arrive on time.
'If that woman Batori gets even one excuse to cause trouble, who knows what kind of harm she'll bring.'
Staying as inconspicuous as possible was the wisest course.
He would keep a low profile while in Rehilicia, and once they entered the forest, slip away alone.
That was the plan Feyr had laid out.
'If we end up moving in separate groups inside the forest—'
Unfortunate as it was, he would have to deal with whoever ended up in his group.
Only then could he move freely.
'The forest is full of every kind of danger, so there'd be no shortage of justifications for it either.'
It was a stage perfectly suited to Feyr, a former assassin.
Thinking about what lay ahead, Feyr headed toward a vast open plain.
A plain that was literally wide and expansive.
It was a place teeming with beasts chasing herbivores, and other beasts chasing those beasts in turn.
The wild, where the food chain played out.
And what Feyr was targeting there was none other than a Magical Beast.
'Found one.'
A Blue-grade Magical Beast—a Gephar.
Commonly found on plains and grasslands, it resembled a cheetah but was twice the size.
The reason Feyr had sought out a Gephar was nothing complicated.
Simply because Gephars were fast.
That single reason alone.
'The others are too slow.'
He had memories of riding Magical Beasts before.
This wasn't the first time Feyr had used the shortcut he'd mentioned himself.
But.
'The method I'll be using today is, admittedly, a first.'
Thinking so, Feyr erased his presence with Moonlit Shadow Footwork.
With his presence erased, he approached a Gephar that had just finished a successful hunt.
Moving in behind it, Feyr raised his right arm.
The Eater of Mana on his right wrist flashed with a blue light, and at the same time, materialized Mana poured forth.
Chwrrrrrrrk——!
The materialized Mana instantly transformed into something like iron chains, coiling around the Gephar's neck and upper body.
[Gkeureuk?!]
The Gephar shook its neck and tried to free itself from the Mana chains, but the chains already wrapped around it refused to come loose easily.
Feyr didn't miss that opening and leapt onto the Gephar's back.
Having mounted it, Feyr fastened the Mana chains more firmly and set the direction.
Then he pulled on the Mana chains.
"Run, Gephar."
[Haaak!!]
The Gephar, with a collar now fastened around it, had no choice but to run.
And so, running as Feyr dictated, the Gephar did nothing but sprint toward the destination without rest.
***
After a long sprint.
Having arrived near Fortress City Rehilicia, Feyr retracted the materialized Mana from the Eater of Mana and simultaneously severed the Gephar's neck.
It would be a nuisance if it attacked him for no reason.
'Arrived, at any rate.'
Turning his head, the grand fortress walls characteristic of a fortress city entered his view.
This was the rallying point—Fortress City Rehilicia.
'It's been a while since I've come here, too.'
Though few in number, he had visited in his past life.
Back then, he had come here on missions from the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground, including Magical Beast subjugation support and searching for the source of Magical Beast outbreaks.
But since the timing now and then was so different, it was uncertain how much use those memories would be.
'They'll at least help me find my way around.'
Among them, there might even be undiscovered ruins or labyrinths.
With that thought, Feyr headed toward the entrance leading into the Fortress City.
But—
"Halt."
There was a problem.
Feyr had nothing on him—no item or token to prove his identity.
'I didn't think failing to get something like a temporary pass would trip me up like this.'
How was he supposed to explain this?
If he were detained here, he'd be held in place until his identity was confirmed.
And for his identity to be confirmed here, they would need to contact the Crescent Moon Training Ground or come to an agreement with the Exploration Party.
From a standpoint of not wanting to draw attention, he'd much rather avoid that if at all possible.
'And to think I even rode a Magical Beast all the way here just to arrive on time.'
At this rate, it was no different from being late.
Whatever the case, that wasn't what mattered right now.
The question was how to resolve this situation.
'Bringing up Lowell's name wouldn't do any good.'
There'd be no one who could vouch for him immediately.
In that case, would it be better to bring up the day's assembly?
Feyr stood silently for a while, and the gatekeeper narrowed his eyes and stared at him.
"If you cannot prove your identity, I will place you under arrest."
So saying, the 2 gatekeepers standing at the entrance tightened their grip on the spears they held.
'This is a problem.'
Being docilely taken into custody was, no matter how he thought about it, not a good outcome.
He thought his best option might be to take a step back and slip in among the merchants using Moonlit Shadow Footwork.
And just as he was about to make his move—
"I'll vouch for that child's identity."
Someone approaching in his direction, with the clanking sound of armor.
Armored from head to toe in entirely black plate, the figure cut a silhouette that could rightly be called a Black Knight.
And Feyr knew exactly who this Black Knight was.
The Black Knight stood before the gatekeepers and removed his helmet as he spoke.
"I am Kara Beilhart, captain of the Black Dog Knights."
The Black Hound—Kara Beilhart.
Captain of the Black Dog Knights and Batori Beilhart's loyal dog.
They had made their appearance.