Chapter 194: On the Way to the Library (2)

“...Achoo!”

“Good thing Mikhail is a wind sorcerer.”

“Good thing? He dried our clothes in the cold wind in the middle of winter. We almost froze to death because of him, not just from falling into the river.”

Serica Lauren rubbed her reddened cheeks with the back of her hand.

“For a 4th Class sorcerer, it’s embarrassing that you can't even use a basic warming spell... Achoo! Ugh, that’s something a 1st Class sorcerer can do. Aren’t you from the empire?” Serica rebuked Mikhail, sniffling and shivering.

“They teach those spells in big cities. Even if you’re born with mana in the empire, people in small villages know nothing about it.” Karyl then scoffed, “People being blessed by the gods? What good is being born with mana? Less than one-tenth of the population can even use basic spells like that.”

“Alright, I was just saying... No need to get so fired up.”

“...”

Serica stared at Karyl, puzzled.

I can’t believe I’m getting mad over this... Do I still get worked up over the empire?

With a sour expression, Karyl scanned the area and then picked a few long blades of grass growing by the riverbank.

“If you’re cold, chew on this. It’ll warm you up a bit.”

“Did you live in the mountains or something? You know the strangest things.”

Karyl awkwardly handed the leaves to Serica and then strode off.

“What's with him? Your master isn't usually like this, is he?”

“Not really,” Mikhail replied, equally perplexed.

Serica wrinkled her nose and chewed on the leaves Karyl gave her.

“...Ack! Yuck! It’s so bitter!”

***

“...”

Aslak was at a loss for words, staring blankly ahead. He had been born and raised in Antihum, serving as a gatekeeper his entire life.

The elders often spoke of the Immortal Council as the home of the continent’s most powerful sorceress. Thus, for the residents of Antihum, gaining recognition and being admitted into the Immortal Council was the greatest joy and ultimate goal.

However, that was not easily achieved, as only those with exceptional talent were chosen. In just a month, Aslak would come of age and be allowed to join the Immortal Council. It was a dream come true, a source of immense pride—until now.

“Achoo—!”

“I told you to keep chewing on that,” Karyl reminded.

“Isn't that poison ivy or something?”

Gatekeepers lay sprawled everywhere. Unlike Aslak, who was still an apprentice, these were seasoned members of the Immortal Council.

“Hey, open the door,” said the boy who had quickly subdued the five gatekeepers of Antihum.

“What?”

“I have business at the Grand Library. If you want, you can relay the message inside.”

“Who... should I say is here?”

Aslak wondered if this visit was pre-arranged, but then he immediately realized it was a silly question. If these people had an appointment, they wouldn’t have attacked the gatekeepers without a word. Their faces had been filled with anger from the moment they approached.

“You’re the ones who set up the mana net in Fonein, right? That trap requires constant mana replenishment to function. Who manages it?”

“What? Oh... That would be Sir Benedict from the Magic Strategy Division.”

“Sir, my foot. Did he set up that net? Nearly got my head chopped off because of it!” Mikhail growled as he stepped forward.

“Achoo—!”

“Probably...”

Aslak hastily pointed his staff at Mikhail despite knowing it was futile.

“The Magic Strategy Division? Does Antihum have such a department? What do they do?”

“They... handle the security of Antihum.”

“So, are you one of them?”

Aslak swallowed hard and nodded.

“I’m still an apprentice.”

Karyl casually patted Aslak on the shoulder and walked past him to place his hand on the enormous gate.

It was well known that Antihum’s gates would only open to the mana of sorcerers of the 4th Class or higher. Thus, Aslak was stunned to see Karyl calmly placing his hand on the door.

Is he... a sorcerer?

Aslak looked at the gatekeepers sprawled out on the ground. It didn’t seem like they had been defeated with any particular technique or spell. Though Karyl had a sword at his waist, he hadn’t even bothered to draw it, instead taking them down with his bare fists.

Rumble... Rumble...

On top of demonstrating incredible fighting skills that would likely make others mistake him for a barbarian, Karyl had just opened the gates of Antihum. Aslak stared at him, his jaw hitting the floor.

“Ah... but on second thoughts, just walking in might not bring out those strategists or whatever they call themselves. Maybe I should break something instead.”

“What?!”

Karyl mused aloud, pretending to contemplate as he fiddled with the statue near the gate.

“Breaking off a head or two should do the trick.”

It was the statue of Nain Darhorn, the head of the Immortal Council. Karyl climbed up the statue and nonchalantly tapped the head as if addressing a subordinate.

“Cough...”

Aslak was at a loss for words, completely stunned. Never in the centuries-long history of the Immortal Council had anyone dared to do such a thing.

“Who dares cause a ruckus in front of Antihum?” another voice called out, drawing everyone’s attention.

A group stood at the main gate of Antihum, all clad in the dark purple robes unique to the Immortal Council. The leader, the only one with his face exposed, had yellow teeth that gave him a ghoulish appearance when he spoke.

“Sir... Sir Benedict!”

Immediately recognizing him, Aslak quickly bowed.

“What’s going on here?”

“Well, that’s...”

As Aslak fumbled for words, Benedict looked at the fallen sorcerers.

“Did you do this?”

“Did

you

?” Karyl retorted, making Benedict’s face twist in irritation.

“Where did this lunatic come from...?”

Benedict, with an incredulous expression, walked toward Karyl, followed by a dozen sorcerers who surrounded Karyl and his companions.

“I almost lost my head because of you. They said it was your doing. A mana net? Are you insane? Don’t you know people still live near the Fonein River?”

“What? It reacted?”

The tense atmosphere shifted slightly as Benedict’s eyes widened at Karyl’s words.

“Yeah, we nearly died avoiding your mana net while traveling along the river!”

“I almost froze to death because of it,” added Mikhail, supporting Karyl’s accusation while glaring at Benedict.

Despite the initial tension, Benedict’s reaction was unexpected.

“I know Antihum has a thing for grand welcomes, but this is too much. A magic bombardment is one thing, but an invisible mana net across the entire river?”

“Magic bombardment? Don’t tell me you’re claiming you were with the Water King?”

At that, Mikhail averted his eyes.

“And the mana net? I did set it up, but it’s not meant to kill anyone. People? It doesn’t even activate for humans. Just because I study curses and necromancy doesn’t mean I play with human lives.”

“What?”

Karyl tilted his head slightly at Benedict's words.

“You’re saying you care about human lives, and yet you launch magic bombardments like that? It’s ridiculous.”

Even during the time when the entire continent suffered under the curse of Tarak, the sorcerers of the Immortal Council had locked themselves behind Antihum’s gates, refusing to come out. It was only after Olivurn’s proclamation that they finally sent Israphil, one of the Ten of the Oracle, but that was all.

“You care about human lives?”

“What?”

Benedict flinched involuntarily.

“The mana net definitely activated, and it’s a fact that we nearly died because of it.”

“Huh, you’re saying the net was activated specifically for you?”

At that moment, Benedict’s eyes changed as he just received a significant piece of information.

“It’s not entirely impossible. If that’s the case, we need to figure out who triggered it rather than why it reacted.”

He raised his hand above his head.

“So which one of you was it?”

The sorcerers surrounding them all pointed their staffs at Karyl’s group.

“Huh? What’s this about now?”

Karyl looked at the sorcerers with a bewildered expression.

“Do any of you wield spirit power?”

“...”

Karyl chuckled at Benedict’s question.

“And what if we do? Are you planning to capture us? See, this is what I hate about sorcerer guilds. They stay cooped up and have no clue about the outside world."

Karyl grabbed the staff from a sorcerer standing next to him.

“Ugh...!”

The sorcerer tried to hold onto his staff but ended up being pulled along and falling to the ground.

Thud!

“Shouldn’t you ask why we’re here or whom we seek to meet? Is this how Antihum treats guests?”

Crack!

Karyl then broke the staff.

...Even though he’s the one who beat up the guards without asking!

Aslak wanted to shout, but he knew that if he did, he’d end up like his still-unconscious colleagues.

Thump!

Karyl stomped on the fallen sorcerer’s back, knocking out another one.

“Magic Strategy Division? You can’t even assess your opponents properly. I guess you’ve got more reading to do in that library of yours.”

Karyl took a step forward, tapping his shoulder with the broken staff.

Crack—

Since crossing the river, Karyl had seemed irritable, and now he stretched his wrists as if he had been waiting for this opportunity.

“I was planning to take a librarian with me from here, but you, Benedict, seem to have volunteered for the position.”

***

“...So that’s what happened.”

“A mana net that only reacts to spirits? Who are you trying to fool? Your net caught the Water King’s neck. If its scales weren’t so tough, its head would’ve been severed clean.”

Benedict, who was lying face down with his forehead to the ground, quickly lifted his head at Karyl’s words.

“It reacted to a monster? That's impossible...!”

“Who said you could raise your head?”

“S-Sorry.”

With one eye bruised and swollen, Benedict swallowed nervously at Karyl’s sharp tone.

“So you’re saying you set up those mana nets to catch spirits, right?”

“...Yes. We've been troubled by spirits occasionally appearing in the areas north of the Fonein.”

“The Immortal Council studies spirits too? That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Do spirits really emerge in the northern forests? I’ve never heard such tales.”

Karyl pressed down on Benedict’s shoulder, causing him to writhe in pain.

“Aaagh—!”

“You better not lie to me. I won’t let it slide.”

“I’m not lying! It’s true! There’s a black spirit that’s started appearing recently!” Benedict shouted as though his life depended on it.

At that, Karyl released his grip, leaving Benedict gasping for air.

“Huff, huff... We’ve never seen anything like it before... Huff... Our leader named it the Dust of the Void.”

“Dust of the Void?”

Karyl had never heard of it before. This so-called black spirit made him think of Tarak.

“Yes, yes, we don’t know where it came from. Our leader thinks there was a rift between dimensions, but we have no way to find it.”

Karyl found this story suspicious. In his previous life, he didn’t venture out into the continent until he had turned fifteen.

I didn’t know everything that happened in this world, but there's only a month left until next year.

When he first visited the Immortal Council in his past life to meet Israphil, one of the Ten of the Oracle, he hadn’t heard of such problems.

The gap between my first visit to the Immortal Council in my past life and now is only about three months.

“Are you sure it’s a spirit? After the Magical Era, most spirits disappeared.”

“Well...”

“Even the remaining spiritualists can barely summon spirits through contracts. But you’re saying these spirits are just wandering around the forest?”

Benedict looked aggrieved, struggling to explain.

[They haven't disappeared.]

A voice echoed in Karyl's mind.

Ah, of course, I wasn’t referring to you.

It was Ramine.

[That’s not it. They were concealed by magic. I’ve been here long enough to sense a faint trace of spirits.]

What? Really?

Karyl quickly looked around, but all he saw were thick bushes.

[Not here.]

Then where?

[Further inside. The faint scent is coming from deep within that building.]

“...”

Karyl stared at Antihum with a hardened expression. He was surprised to hear that the Immortal Council’s headquarters, one of the twin pillars of continental magic, harbored the presence of spirits.

Can you identify who it is?

[Of course. But if you want to find them, you’ll have to do it yourself. I won't be able to help you in there.]

Ramine's flame circled Karyl’s arm before vanishing like a burst of fireworks.

Why not?

[The entire building is enchanted. It's probably similar to the mana net that guy mentioned. It seems to weaken the power of spirits. If you go to the core, even my consciousness might be suppressed, putting me to sleep.]

Hmm...

[They didn’t even do such things in the Magical Era. The owner of this place must be quite peculiar. I wonder if they harbor ill will toward spirits.]

Even a Spirit King like you would be put to sleep?

At Karyl's question, Ramune seemed to throw a tantrum, making his flames poke at Karyl’s arm again.

[It’s not that my power is lacking. It’s

yours

. I told you before, without enough spiritual energy to open the Spirit Realm, you can’t fully utilize the power of a Spirit King.]

“...”

Karyl clicked his tongue at Ramine’s reprimand.

[But I suppose it’s fortuitous that you’re the one who came here. Normal spiritualists wouldn’t even be aware of this place, and even if they were, they wouldn't be able to awaken him.]

What do you mean?

[This place might help you surpass the limits of your spirit power, since you possess the Arcane power of light and darkness.]

No way...

Ramine spoke softly.

[Yes, the one sealed here is Duaat, one of the two Great Spirits of Light and Darkness.]

At that, Karyl’s expression contorted in disbelief. He had suspected that the power of the Spirit King was sealed inside, but he had never thought it would be one of the two Great Spirits.

What do you mean? Didn’t you say the Arcane mana I obtained at the Abyssal Rock contained both light and darkness?

[I did. And the power of the two Great Spirits does reside within you.]

How is this possible...

[There are several possibilities. Perhaps the power of the two Great Spirits was divided again as a precaution in case the seal at the Abyssal Rock was broken.]

By whom?

[It could have been the gods, or perhaps humans.]

Whoever it was, they did something reprehensible.

[The power of the two Great Spirits is lethal to Yula, after all.]

Hearing that, Karyl’s lips curled into a smile.

So, if I obtain Duaat’s power here, I’ll become complete?

[Be careful. The two Great Spirits were sealed directly by the gods. They are distinctly different from us five Spirit Kings. The fact that he’s here... is unsettling.]

Contrary to the anxious Ramine, Karyl felt exhilarated.

Something unexpected was waiting for me here.

He licked his lips in anticipation as he stared at Antihum.

A complete treasure trove, isn’t it?