36 – The Magi
＜Chapter 36 – The Magi＞
Frontier Mansion, 3rd floor.
Thud.
Thump.
“Another failure?”
Anna, who had fallen from the strong shock, quickly got up.
“I’m sorry, Madam.”
It had been a while since anything went wrong.
After marrying Lord Frontier, everything had been going smoothly.
She pushed out the first wife’s children and worked to make her own child the successor.
And those efforts were successful.
Until Elwin died and came back to life.
“And the cleanup?”
“We didn’t reveal our identity from the beginning.”
“But Elwin would have noticed if it was him.”
“There’s no evidence. We’ve confirmed the deaths of the Sweeper Mercenary Corps.”
Brilda collapsed into her chair as if drained of energy.
“Have you discovered why they gathered mercenaries?”
“I’m sorry. It seems to be related to the trolls.”
“Troll?”
If it’s a troll, hunting it down as an ordinary soldier would be difficult.
That’s why mercenaries were called.
“Why do you think so?”
“Because of the bounty.”
“Go on.”
“We’re offering a monster extermination bounty to mercenaries. The amount is substantial, especially for trolls.”
“Isn’t it obvious? Trolls are stronger than goblins or orcs, right?”
“Even considering that, yes.”
Judging by Elwin’s actions so far,
he wouldn’t move without a reason.
Brylda roughly swept her hair back.
“I never thought Elwin, who can’t even use magic, would be such a nuisance. How’s Gibson?”
“Young Master is rapidly learning magic.”
Brylda’s rigid lips softened for the first time.
**
**
Lady Seol-Yeong’s office in the Ice Crystal Castle.
The door opened, and Aine walked in.
“Sit. How’s the mercenary situation?”
Since the incident with the Swiper Mercenary Corps,
I’ve been keeping an eye on the mercenary situation.
“The numbers coming in have actually increased.”
“Increased?”
“Even when there were murder incidents in the field, the guild turned a blind eye. But Lady Soyeongju didn’t. And treating the injured with potions had a positive effect.”
Thanks to the resolution and post-incident handling, public opinion seems to be favorable.
“It’s a weight off my shoulders. Are we ready for the goblin subjugation?”
“We have over 100 participating mercenaries.”
“Good. We depart in 3 days. Pay attention to the very end.”
“Understood.”
Goblin subjugation.
170 participating mercenaries.
25 participating hunters.
About 200 people crossed the field and moved into the densely magical area.
The atmosphere among the mercenaries was quite cheerful.
Considering it was a goblin subjugation, the reward was greater than for orcs and above.
From the mercenaries’ perspective, it felt like a windfall.
And indeed, it was in a sense.
“However… Why did the Chief come?”
“Just felt bored staying in the room.”
After the incident with the Sweeper Mercenary Corps, the Chief’s outings became frequent.
Not only regarding mercenary affairs but also in other matters.
“If it’s about the Sweeper incident, you don’t have to worry.”
“hahahaha. Still, I feel apologetic.”
It seems the Chief, as the head of the mercenary guild, is burdened with guilt for not handling the situation properly.
At that moment,
The hunter signaled a halt.
With it, the mercenaries’ gaze shifted.
The same went for Kaiman.
They each assumed a combat stance and approached the magic area with cautious steps.
“This is…”
“Oh… can you feel it too, Soyoung? It’s quite dense magic.”
Though lacking in swordsmanship or magical talent, they could clearly sense the magic.
As they continued forward,
The number of mercenaries sensing magic increased as they approached the center.
The moment more than half of them felt discomfort from the magic,
A group of goblins appeared ahead.
“What’s with the goblins…”
Originally, goblins were small.
About the size of an elementary school student,
if they knew how to handle weapons, they could take on ordinary people.
However, the goblin in front of us was different from the usual goblins.
To put it bluntly, it felt like a middle school wrestling athlete.
Not only did its height increase a bit, but its physique also stretched much more.
As I observed the goblin,
a battle broke out between mercenaries and goblins.
Mercenaries 170 vs Goblins 150.
As expected, the battle was overwhelmingly in favor of the mercenaries.
However, it wasn’t as much as I had hoped for.
“Is it at a level slightly weaker than an orc?”
I knew that magic could enhance monsters.
Actually, monsters in Ireland were not as strong as those on the continent.
But I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.
If it became a little stronger, it would surpass the strength of a bell.
After the battle, the mercenaries moved again.
As I followed them,
Kaiman, who was walking beside me, spoke.
“Do you feel it, Lady Soyoung?”
“Are these words from Magi?”
“That too, but as the magi grows thicker, it becomes more difficult to wield mana. If this continues, sword users will face considerable difficulties.”
Taking Kai-man’s opinion into account, they changed their approach starting from the next battle.
Only about twenty mercenaries at the level of sword experts moved aggressively, while the rest fought defensively.
After two battles like that,
they arrived at the heart of the dense magi.
There,
“Can goblins grow this big?”
Taller than humans,
with muscles more developed than orcs, there were goblins.
If it weren’t for their faces, one would think they belonged to a different race.
Once again, they began the battle with the charge of expert mercenaries.
They approached the enlarged goblins, cutting them down, aiming for the one who seemed to be the leader.
Among them, the most noticeable were the members of the Innocent Mercenary Corps.
Clang!
The moment the swords of Innocent Mercenary Corps leader Inon and the goblin leader clashed,
Inon’s body floated, thrown several meters back.
As Inon collapsed helplessly,
the other members took defensive stances and rushed to hold their ground.
But even that seemed no easy task.
“The Innocent Mercenary Corps is the strongest.”
Since it was originally a goblin subjugation battle, not many strong mercenaries participated.
Swoosh.
“It was worth tirelessly wandering around. I will handle this matter myself.”
.
.
30 minutes after Kaiman joined the battle.
He killed all the goblins, including the goblin chief.
Currently, they were busy obtaining loot and cleaning up the surroundings.
At that moment,
“Lord So Youngju, please take a look at this.”
In the place where the hunter’s voice was heard, there was a black stone the size of a human torso.
The moment they saw the stone, they felt that it was the origin of the overflowing magic surrounding them.
While looking at the stone, Kaiman’s voice was heard from behind.
“It’s a mana stone.”
A mana stone.
A stone containing mana.
Even mana stones the size of a finger joint are quite expensive.
But this size?
“It’s different from ordinary mana stones. It feels contaminated.”
Kim was taken aback by Kai’s words.
“Then, can’t we use it?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“I’m not sure, but its value will definitely decrease. Even being this close gives me discomfort.”
Then it’s not possible.
I need money.
Money is power.
With money alone, I can create a stronger force.
Slowly, I approached and held the mana stone.
“Soyoungju, that’s dangerous…”
Ignoring the gesture of reassurance, I closed my eyes.
Land Restoration (Lv 5)
Purifies contaminated land.
Land Restoration is a skill used to purify the land.
But, what if I can purify the mana stone?
Money.
I can also obtain a large sum of money.
I focused entirely.
Just like when purifying land contaminated with magic.
After a long time of concentration,
I saw results.
[Special Mission]
Removal of Magi from Mana Stones
HINT) Earth Restoration Skill
“Alright. With this, it should be possible.”
I couldn’t tell if what I was doing had any effect.
However, the system mentioned the Earth Restoration Skill as a hint.
In other words, it meant I could do it with this.
“Master Kaiman, leave a few mercenaries and send the rest back.”
“Understood.”
Following Kaiman’s instructions, a significant number of mercenaries returned with monster loot.
Only a few mercenaries remained.
The Innocent Mercenary Corps.
And Simon’s group.
All of them were people I had connections with.
This, too, was Kaiman’s consideration.
I expressed my gratitude and refocused my mind.
To remove the magic from the mana stones.
One hour. Two hours.
Somewhere amidst the passage of time,
The sun, illuminating the earth, disappeared.
Still, the number of removed magical creatures wasn’t significant.
“At this rate, it’ll take more than a week. But… there’s no other choice.”
The first to notice the decrease in magical creatures was Kaiman.
And the second was Innocent’s head, Linon.
It was the second night since they began removing magical creatures.
Linon approached.
“What’s the matter?”
“Was the rumor about Lady Soyoung meeting the goddess true?”
“What rumor?”
“The one about meeting the goddess.”
The goddess?
It was an unexpected question.
Taking his hand off the mana stone, he turned to Linon.
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“I was raised in the temple orphanage. Even though I wasn’t chosen by the goddess and left the temple, I’ve never forgotten her for a moment.”
He knows about Linon’s actions.
He also knows how virtuously he lived.
Helping those in need without experiencing any difficulties himself.
He explained in detail the kind of life he lived.
After the long explanation, Linon made eye contact.
“I have given you all my words. So, I will ask again. Have you truly met the Goddess?”
Eon’s serious face filled my vision.
It was the face of someone determined.
Because of that, I hesitated to answer outright.
“But… I can’t just tell Eon the truth.”
The lie about the Goddess created to hide the system.
That lie had become too big.
“Yes… I can say that.”
Thump.
Eon knelt down on both knees.
And pressed his forehead to the ground.
“Please accept me. If the will of the Goddess is with Lady Soyeongju, I also want to be with her.”
Eon is a truly useful person.
Not only is he exceptionally skilled, but he is also loyal and will never betray.
He is more like a loyal knight than a mercenary.
But if the reason he follows me is just that…
“I’m sorry. That’s difficult.”
“Lady Soyeongju.”
Eon crawled on the floor and grabbed my feet.
“My body and soul belong to the Goddess. I want to work for her. So please…”
The falsehood that began had grown too large.
Yet, my mind was still drawing the picture from when Ilnon joined.
And that future became clearer and clearer.
“I’m greedy. Too greedy.”
This time, I knelt down.
And clasped my hands in prayer.
It wasn’t to use skills as before.
I sincerely prayed to the Earth Goddess.
“I will take Ilnon with me. In exchange, I will build a grand temple for the Goddess. So, if you don’t want it even now, please speak.”
She half-opened one eye.
There was no reaction around.
“If you say nothing, I’ll take it as acceptance?”
“Honestly, Ilnon hasn’t even been given a choice by the Goddess, right?”
“I won’t defile the name of the Goddess. No, I will honor it. So, Ilnon will be mine.”
After a long prayer, I opened my eyes.
And met Ilnon’s gaze, who was looking at me.
“Ilnon. Let’s be together.”
“Thank you, Lady Soyoung!”
