Chapter 29
The Mage of the Abandoned Warehouse (2)
Three days had passed since Kaspar established his new home in the abandoned warehouse.
With the expedition to Herbville only two days away, Kaspar had been freely experimenting with all sorts of magic.
He had now become proficient at controlling Sael’s vampiric roots. Once he had gained a sufficient understanding of their voracious nature, he became capable of roughly calculating how their blood absorption changed according to their size and number.
He had also refined the original magic circle so that he could designate where the roots would emerge.
With this, there would be no repeat of the accident in which the vampiric roots had sprouted from the ground floor and smashed through the floor above.
Kaspar was in high spirits as he played to his heart’s content, freely using both the magic he already knew and the new spells he had created by combining them.
This abandoned warehouse truly was an ideal place for him.
No one ever came here. It was quite literally a perfect playground.
Kaspar spent all day inside this marvelous abandoned warehouse.
Except, of course, when he occasionally went to visit Mark at the street market in District Five.
“A necromancy spellbook?”
Mark repeated the question with a reluctant expression.
His stall was a wagon temporarily converted into a shop.
Beside him, Bugs and Rex were frantically selling various local specialties gathered from the forest.
“Yes. I’ll pay generously, so I’d appreciate it if you could obtain a necromancy spellbook from someone you know.”
“……”
“Ah, would that be difficult?”
“That isn’t the problem.”
Mark sighed inwardly.
After meeting Kaspar several times, he now understood that the mage standing before him was not the wicked or sinister sort.
If anything, he was closer to the opposite—excessively diligent and honest.
If Kaspar wanted, he could probably extort spellbooks from people without paying a single coin, yet he always bought them at full price.
Frankly, from a merchant’s perspective, he was a highly likable customer. He was the sort of customer Mark wanted to maintain a long-term relationship with whenever possible.
‘Even so, asking me to obtain a necromancy spellbook…?’
“If it were any other spellbook, I could bend over backward and somehow obtain it for you. But to be honest, I can’t promise you anything when it comes to necromancy spellbooks.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s a matter of procedure and process. For one thing, necromancy spellbooks themselves are difficult to obtain. And if the officials here decide to make an issue of one, they can find endless reasons to cause trouble.”
Mark handed Kaspar the spellbooks he had requested.
“I can obtain other spellbooks for you. Does it really have to be one on necromancy?”
“Hmm. I recently learned a new spell, but I’ve encountered several difficulties while trying to master it. I thought a necromancy spellbook might help.”
Kaspar answered as he handed over the money.
The trio’s eyes widened simultaneously.
‘Weren’t you affiliated with the Nature Magic Tower?’
‘Then what was that spell you toyed with us using? Those writhing roots…’
The horrifying memory suddenly resurfaced, making Mark shudder and shake his head.
“Ahem. Very well. I’ll ask around through the channels I know. But as I said, I can’t make any promises.”
“That will be enough. Thank you.”
After bidding them farewell, Kaspar turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Mark watched him leave and muttered,
“I suppose I’ll have to look into the black market.”
The black market was where various items from the Magic Towers were secretly traded.
Mark acknowledged the usefulness of the diverse wares sold there, but between its bleak atmosphere and the dangerous-looking shops, it was not a place that appealed to him.
It was far too suffocating for a diligent, law-abiding merchant like himself.
‘But what choice do I have? If he’s got me by the leash, I have to obey.’
For no particular reason, Mark smacked Rex on the back while he was enthusiastically explaining the benefits of bundled herbs to a group of middle-aged women.
On his way back to the abandoned warehouse, Kaspar examined the spellbooks he had received from Mark.
Understanding Runes.
Rediscovering General Magic.
Magic Enhancement.
An Overview of General Magic, Volume One.
What he felt could best be described as yearning.
Rather than blindly swinging around whatever happened to be in his hands, he yearned to fully understand why things happened the way they did.
Perhaps it was similar to the yearning felt by two lovers holding hands for the first time, wanting to know everything about each other.
Of course, Kaspar, who had little interest in romance—let alone any experience with a lover—would probably have tilted his head in confusion even if someone had explained it that way.
Creeeak.
“You’re back?”
Most of the books contained basic knowledge and covered general-purpose magic commonly studied by beginners.
They would be sufficient for the time being. Kaspar could use magic, but that alone was not enough for him.
He also wanted to understand the theories forming the foundation of magic and the new interpretations proposed by the Empire’s magical scholars.
Someone was waiting to greet Kaspar when he entered the abandoned warehouse.
An intruder sitting atop a half-broken iron crate.
She possessed a seductive voice and wore a dress embroidered with brilliant flower petals. The fabric blatantly accentuated the contours of her body, exuding an alluring air.
“…Who are you?”
Kaspar asked, considerably startled.
The abandoned warehouse was surrounded by a shield.
In other words, the fact that she had entered meant she had breached the shield Kaspar had painstakingly erected.
Moonlight had not yet entered the warehouse, so he could not clearly make out her face.
Yet her presence did not diminish in the slightest. If anything, it felt even stronger.
That was only natural.
She had effortlessly broken through a shield that neither Jerpet nor Sael had been able to penetrate easily.
Kaspar stepped back and regarded her warily.
Seemingly unconcerned, the woman extended her long, pale legs and rose from the crate.
Tap, tap, tap.
Her steps were light. Rather than treading on the warehouse’s cold stone floor, she seemed to float slightly above it and walk upon the air itself.
No matter how one looked at her, she openly radiated an extraordinary presence.
“What business do you have here?”
Kaspar asked without lowering his guard.
“So you’re the boy who defeated Sael?”
The woman approached before stopping at a certain distance and studying Kaspar.
Her moon-yellow eyes shone through the dimness, piercing the shadowy outline of her face.
“You’re a Black Druid.”
Kaspar spoke.
If she knew Sael’s name, there was no other plausible possibility.
“That’s right. My name is Raleid, and as you said, I belong to the Black Druids.”
Raleid continued,
“When I heard that insolent bitch Sael had been defeated, I became curious. I wanted to know who her opponent was and what kind of person they might be, so I came to see you.”
“How did you get past the fortress?”
“Hmm. Don’t try to learn too many things at once.”
“…I remember someone telling me something similar before.”
“Hehe. Is that so?”
Raleid crossed her arms and nodded to herself.
There was not the slightest trace of tension in her posture. It was the attitude of someone utterly convinced that she was stronger than her opponent.
Force Whip.
Mana blossomed and condensed at Kaspar’s fingertips.
Crackle!
Raleid closed the distance a little more and scrutinized Kaspar’s face.
“Quite handsome. Very handsome indeed.”
“…?”
“I can tell even with my poor vision. You’re good-looking, but there’s also a peculiar air about you… I like you more than I expected.”
The energy condensed as though not merely mana but space itself had been compressed and woven together. A moment later, a whip of white light formed.
The dust scattered across the floor was swept aside in a straight line.
An ominous force radiated from Force Whip despite it being nothing more than a beginner-level spell.
It was a concentration of power on an entirely different level from the whip created by the gang leader.
“Wow, you raised that pathetic spell to this level?… No, w-wait a minute!”
Raleid had initially exclaimed in admiration, but she recoiled in horror when Kaspar assumed a stance to swing the whip.
“Do you have to be so hostile right from the start?”
“Huh? A Black Druid came to see me. Weren’t we going to fight?”
Vines glittering with a sickening green light surged violently from the ground.
Bzzzzzz!
Raleid responded with a bewildered expression.
“What are you talking about? Did that bitch Sael fill your head with nasty prejudices about us?”
“Isn’t your objective to incite the kin and magical beasts into an uprising?”
“Well, yes, but—whoa! Wait!”
Seeing Kaspar pull his hand back to lash out, Raleid waved her hands frantically and retreated.
“Good grief. Why are children these days so violent? You cast spells before even talking.”
Raleid raised one foot slightly and tapped the floor.
The ground around her feet writhed as though snakes were burrowing through it.
Dozens of vines erupted and formed a circular wall around Raleid.
Then, atop those vines—
Flutter. Flutter.
Flower buds began to bloom.
Some were red. Others were black.
The buds differed in color, but they blossomed simultaneously as though they were all connected.
Squelch.
The petals were all the more sinister for their splendor. Sharp, thornlike protrusions jutted from within them, their tips trained on Kaspar like arrowheads.
“Let me make this clear. I didn’t come here to fight. These flowers are merely a spell meant to show you that it isn’t because I lack the strength to do so.”
Raleid nodded.
“I’ll get straight to the point. Join us.”
After seeing the flowers, Kaspar lowered his arm to his side.
“Fascinating.”
“What is?”
“The way these flowers move is very similar to what happened when someone I knew appeared.”
“A woman?”
“Yes.”
The corners of Raleid’s lips rose at Kaspar’s answer.
“Hmm? So I share something in common with a woman precious to our dear Kaspar? In that case, may I hope that our constructive discussion will proceed a little more favorably?”
“A constructive discussion?”
“Yes.”
Kaspar stared blankly at Raleid.
What was wrong with this woman?
She had suddenly appeared and immediately demanded that he join her?
“Of course, I initially came merely out of curiosity, but I’ve taken a liking to you. I’m very fond of talented children. Especially when they’re handsome.”
Raleid’s lingering gaze swept Kaspar from head to toe.
In truth, his looks and talent aside, she was more interested in teaching him and watching him crush Sael.
‘If only I could shatter that insolent bitch’s pride.’
That was how she truly felt.
“Hehe.”
“I find the humor of the Black Druids rather difficult to follow.”
“My, Kaspar. Treating a woman’s sincerity as a joke? You’ve hurt my feelings.”
Raleid giggled.
A moment later, she stopped laughing and spoke in a gentle voice.
“I’m saying this for your sake, Kaspar. There is no future for you in White Eagle Fortress.”
“I don’t find that particularly convincing.”
“Ahaha. You have no idea what’s happening in the Eternal Forest beyond the fortress, do you? Did you know that we’ve joined forces with the Beast Walkers?”
The Black Druid Society and the Beast Walkers.
The two groups were utterly different, yet they shared one thing in common.
Their hatred of all civilization.
That single commonality had brought them together. They had formed an alliance of hatred.
And their first enemy was White Eagle Fortress, the First Gateway.
“You people holed up inside here wouldn’t know. Shamans of the Beast Walkers are currently gathering throughout the forest.”
“…Are you referring to Rathead?”
“Rathead is one of them. In any case, their power will continue to grow. And they’ll spread malice throughout the forest without restraint.”
Malice was miasma—a twisted form of yin energy, one of the two supreme forces that constituted the world’s natural order.
“The forest, once steeped in malice, will soon bare its fangs at the civilized races. Magical beasts and monsters will proliferate, and kin hostile toward civilized races will be resurrected. All of that will lead directly to an offensive against the gateway.”
Kaspar recalled the wolf kin he had encountered in Huntingville.
It had slaughtered the Silver Wolf Mercenaries as though they were ants.
The difference in strength had been so overwhelming that neither Aezk nor Kaspar could contend with it.
Had the Bride of the Black Rose not appeared, everyone there, Kaspar included, would have been massacred.
A single kin was a calamity in its own right.
Yet Raleid claimed that not one, but several such beings would be resurrected.
If she was telling the truth—
“I wonder. When that time comes, how long will this pathetic little gateway manage to hold out?”
Raleid smiled provocatively and extended her hand toward Kaspar.
As though inviting him to take it.
Her pure white, radiant skin stood out clearly even in the darkness of the abandoned warehouse.
“I’ll say it again. Come with us. Cast aside your prejudice and preconceptions, and you’ll see a new truth. The truth that what oppresses humanity is neither evil nor anything else—it is civilization itself.”
“……”
“Of course, I’m not asking you to come empty-handed.”
“Empty-handed?”
“I mean I’ll pay you an appropriate price. Money? Status? Women? Or perhaps all three? Don’t be shy. You’re at an age when your blood runs hot, so I’m sure there are plenty of things you desire.”
Kaspar briefly considered Raleid’s offer.
But not for long.
“Lady Raleid.”
“Yes, go ahead. Tell me whatever you desire. I’ll grant you anything.”
Her voice dripped with such seduction that, had she not been a Black Druid, one might have mistaken her for a tavern courtesan.
Kaspar’s reply, by contrast, was simple.
“Magic.”
“Hmm? Hehe. Naturally, a mage would desire magic. If you come under my wing—”
“No.”
Kaspar shook his head.
“All magic.”
“…What?”
“I want to learn as much magic as possible and experience the fullness that wells up inside me through it.”
“Huh…? What are you talking about?”
Raleid’s eyes narrowed.
There was something strange about what the boy had said.
The fullness that welled up inside him through magic?
Not merely learning and mastering it?
Seeing Raleid’s reaction, Kaspar fell into thought for a moment. It seemed his explanation had been too vague.
‘Then how should I explain it?’
How could he explain the sensation he had first experienced at the monastery—the feeling that had remained with him ever since and eventually become the purpose of his life?
“When you eat while you’re hungry, it makes you feel good, doesn’t it? When it’s hot and you enter somewhere cool, you feel refreshed. And when you return home after being outside, you feel at ease.”
“That’s true… but what does that have to do with anything?”
“That’s how I feel when I use magic. It fills me. I’m not sure how to describe it, but I simply feel… fulfilled.”
“……”
“I can’t define it in any one way. The complete satisfaction of desire? The gratifying relief of deprivation? Ah… I see.”
Kaspar murmured in realization.
As he spoke, his thoughts began to take shape, and the closest expression finally came to mind.
“The vivid fullness of a multifaceted life.”
Yes. That was it.
Magic had given meaning and purpose to his life.
It had led him out of a gray world and into one overflowing with every color imaginable.
It was infinitely sweet and beautiful in and of itself.
Magic.
“That’s why I want to learn and experience as much magic as possible until the day I die. It doesn’t matter what kind of magic it is. Whether it belongs to a Magic Tower or to someone else. What matters is the endless variety of sensations I can experience through magic itself.”
“……”
“And when I ask myself where the greatest amount of magic has been preserved in this world, no matter how much I think about it, the answer is always the same—the Epros Empire.”
Indeed, anyone in the world would give the same answer.
If one considered only the quantity rather than the quality of magic, the Epros Empire possessed more of it than any other place.
“But you want me to help you overthrow the Empire. Then what happens to all the magic within its Magic Towers? What will become of it? When you speak of destroying civilization, is there some qualifier attached to it that says, ‘Except for all Magic Towers’?”
“Hehe. You speak as though you could master the magic of every Magic Tower.”
Despite her outward composure, Raleid was losing her calm as the sense of incongruity grew stronger.
More precisely, it was the sense of incongruity she felt from the being standing before her.
“To be honest, I’m curious about that too. It feels as though I might be able to.”
“Hehe… How arrogant of you, child.”
It seemed to have begun when he said he could feel magic.
The boy had said he felt magic as though it were delicious food or the comfort of home.
Then he had gone further, describing it as the complete satisfaction of desire, the gratifying relief of deprivation, and the vivid fullness of a multifaceted life.
‘I don’t understand. I don’t understand a single thing he’s saying.’
Her heart pounded violently.
No one in the world spoke of magic that way. Of that, she was certain.
Magic was an abnormal transformation brought about through the mana that suffused heaven and earth.
One could say that they felt mana.
But no one could say that they felt the transformation itself as they would food, a home, or clothing.
Fulfillment? Relief? A sensation of fullness?
No one could possibly describe it that way.
Unless…
“That would mean you aren’t human.”
It happened at that moment.
“You would have to be insane to dare say that you wish to master the magic of every Magic Tower. The overwhelming majority cannot reach the end of even a single path… But if what you claim is truly possible…”
As though it had all been arranged in advance, moonlight streamed through a gap in the ruined roof.
Its pale glow fell upon Kaspar.
His face was illuminated beneath the moonlight.
Jet-black hair.
Luminous green eyes.
Because those were not human sensations.
If he truly could experience magic that way…
If he genuinely meant what he had said…
Raleid’s eyes widened in shock.
“You…?”
The being before her perfectly matched the description of the person the Beast Walkers were searching for.
Raleid opened her mouth and tried to speak, but suddenly fell silent.
A moment later, she quickly restored her usual seductive smile and looked at Kaspar.
“Hehe. So this is how things turn out. What an amusing coincidence.”
Countless calculations raced through Raleid’s mind in the span of a few moments.
If she could take this boy with her, he would undoubtedly become an extraordinarily valuable asset.
However—
It would still be impossible to drag him away by force here.
Even if it had only been a clone, he was undeniably a powerful mage who had defeated Sael. His delicate appearance concealed strength beyond imagination.
Even if Raleid managed to incapacitate him, she could not rule out the possibility that others would notice the commotion and swarm them during the process.
‘Then I have no choice but to wait for another opportunity.’
She would retreat for now and devise a way to abduct the boy later.
If necessary, she would even join forces with the other executives.
Having made up her mind, Raleid gave him an enchanting smile.
“Let us meet again soon, Kaspar.”
“I’d rather not.”
The Force Whip lashed across Raleid’s body.