Chapter 120

Chapter 120

* * *

“This is ridiculous.”

It was absurd to meet a familiar face out of nowhere at a restaurant he visited to get a meal, but to think that the disciple whom he hadn’t seen in a long time was whimpering without any mana. Mamil frowned fiercely at Cadel as he stirred the stew with the corner of his mouth raised awkwardly.

“When I heard about the magician in the mercenary corps who killed the demon that threatened the White Kingdom, I assumed it was you. But what, with the Soul Explosion?”

“Haha....... It was a crisis of a lifetime, Mr. Mamil.”

“The crisis is ongoing. What were you doing without stopping this stupid disciple of mine?”

Lumen, who had been quietly scarfing down his cold potato stew, was startled by the sudden incrimination.

“Pardon? That’s.......”

A look of help reached him, but Cadel dismissed it with a quick shake of his head. If only he could get away from Mamil’s nagging.

“If your best friend is making a stupid choice that’s going to cost them their life, it’s your duty to stop them. Isn’t that right, huh?”

“......Yes, it’s my fault.”

Cadel kicked Lumen’s long legs under the table, and the impact spilled half the stew in his mouth, but Cadel didn’t bat an eye and smiled at Mamil.

“At least the mana is coming back. That’s good, right?”

“You got lucky.”

“Exactly, so I’m going to ride this wave of good fortune and go to the ‘Desert of Blood’.”

“Desert of Blood? I guess suicide attempts have become a hobby.”

Mamil scowled at him and said arrogantly. It was an expected reaction, but it was still funny to hear that from the very person who had just sent him to the Forest of Enchantment over a single herb. Updated chapters on novelbin(.)com

“It’s not just out of curiosity, there’s a reason I must go, and I can’t tell you the details...... Just know that there’s something as great as the ‘Amplification Grass’. I’m not going for nothing.”

“I hope it’s worth more than death.”

“You sound ominous. ......Speaking of which, Mr. Mamil.”

With a chuckle, Cadel picked up his pack from the floor. His eyes twinkled cutely as he diligently arranged the magic books and herbs on the table.

“I have no bone powder, but I do have a lot of precious herbs. What can I do with them, Master?”

It was a stroke of luck to find Mamil in this barren land. He would use this good fortune as a straw to siphon Mamil’s knowledge. The jester of Cadel, who hid his devious intentions, stood tall.

* * *

The nights in Arhem were much cooler than the days. Without thinking, Cadel, clad in his thinnest clothes, was forced to deal with the headwind.

「Intermediate Magic Book (Fire) has been deciphered!」

「Intermediate Magic Book (Darkness) has been deciphered!」

「Attribute Points (Fire) increased by 10.」

Fire and Darkness attributes. Darkness wasn’t activated because it wasn’t unlocked in advance, and Cadel had no intention of unlocking it in the future. Unfortunately, he decided to settle for enhancing his fire magic.

And since there was no [Demon Bone Powder] this time, Mamil didn’t go into as much detail as he did last time. He merely suggested a few spells to utilize Cadel’s current elemental powers.

‘I can’t help it, because he’s an exchanger. To be honest, just passing on the skill is a great harvest.’

Normally, this great man would have given as much knowledge as he received and then disappeared, but he seemed to recognize Cadel as a disciple in his own way, so there was no need to feel unfortunate.

As he slowly regained his strength, Cadel diligently gathered information about the ‘Desert of Blood’ and the supplies he would need for the journey.

In Arhem, the ‘Desert of Blood’ meant ‘death’ itself. It was not a place to wander into, even out of curiosity.

‘It seems to have a similar aspect to the Forest of Enchantment. Unlike the forest where only rumors abounded, there are real dangers lurking?’

The desert’s days were punctuated by unrelenting sandstorms that made it impossible to see an inch ahead, and the nights were said to have a vast array of monsters, as vast as the sands themselves, prowling for prey. That this was not an exaggeration was evidenced by the presence of sentries who guard the desert’s borders at night.

At one time, the Principality would periodically send out expeditions to explore the desert, but not a single expedition ever returned, and the Principality had naturally given up on investigating the desert. Entering such a place requires a stealthy approach, avoiding the night when the guards were out in force.

‘As soon as we get to the desert, we’ll see a sandstorm.’

Avoid the night and they were left with the day. Horrible, but there was no other way. The temple that would break Lydon’s seal existed within the ‘Desert of Blood’, a fact that both Cadel the transmigrator and Lydon the fairy were certain of.

‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could drop in front of the temple on our own, like in the game?’

In Hero of Knights, the Mystic Principality was one of those sub-regions that had no connection to the main story. Its only distinguishing feature was the existence of stages that broke the pesky ‘seals’ placed on S-grade fairies.

This meant players with an S-grade Fairy Clan Knight had to clear the Mystic Principality stage.

‘I didn’t think I’d ever go as far as I did here.’

Since he had already recruited Lydon, he had no choice.

Sighing heavily, Cadel squeezed the opening of his overstuffed bag shut. Lydon, watching him from behind, giggled as he shoved another candy into his mouth. Cadel’s mana had returned, and Lydon had changed back into the form of a human child.

“Can you finally break this seal? I can’t stand the anticipation.”

“You need to get your act together. With the mindset that there’s no other chance if it’s not this time, okay?”

“Of course, there will be no other chance. If we don’t find the temple, everyone will wither and die in the desert! Ahaha!”

He also made the bloody sound enjoyable. Cadel lifted the heavy luggage bag while letting go of Lydon, who did not feel the slightest sense of crisis.

“Stop unwrapping the candy and get up. Let’s head to the desert.”