Chapter 371

Words : 2436 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

Shock. Disbelief. Surprise. These were the emotions mostly contained in the gazes directed at Rudger. However, occasionally, some different kinds of gazes were mixed in. Interest, curiosity, competitive spirit. Those who saw Rudger’s abilities and rather than being surprised, simply regarded it as somewhat unusual. Most of them were people who were on the list Arpa had mentioned. ‘The problem is that I still can’t distinguish who Leslie is among them.’ Usually, with this level of performance, he expected to see an unusual reaction. That’s why he had instructed Arpa to watch carefully, but judging by Arpa’s response, there didn’t seem to be anyone like that. At that moment, Arpa approached Rudger and quietly asked. “Leader. Is it okay to draw attention like this?” “Of course not. I originally planned to stay quiet.” “I didn’t see any suspicious people like you mentioned, Leader. Isn’t that a problem?” “Maybe they’re here but not showing themselves. I’ll change the plan.” “How are you going to change it?” “If we can’t find them even when we look, we’ll have to make them come to us.” Originally, Rudger wanted to find the Black Dawn members who had infiltrated this place. Leslie himself would be best, but even one of his subordinates would do. However, if they forcefully tried to make contact, it would only make the other side suspicious so he decided to flip his thinking. Instead of searching for them, he would make them come looking for him. “For that, I’ll need to make more noise.” In that sense, Sempas picking a fight was nothing short of a perfect opportunity, because it had sufficiently established his presence to those around. And this was just the beginning. That’s when a magician approached Rudger. Wondering who it was, he looked and saw a familiar face. “Ru, Rudger Chelici sir. It’s been a while. I’m so glad to meet you here.” Roina Pavlini. Her face was full of relief at finding someone she knew in this far-off land. ‘...This wasn’t exactly who I wanted approaching.’ Roina Pavlini drew close to Rudger as if she had found a savior in hell. “He, hehe. What brings you here, Mr. Rudger? You’re participating in the expedition now, right? If it’s alright, could I join you?” “Magician Roina Pavlini...” “Please just call me by my name.” “...Don’t you have companions you came with, Roina?” Rudger said this while glancing sideways at the magicians who were with Roina. “Ah, well, yes, but...” Roina stumbled over her words, seemingly conscious of something. “Well, with those people...how should I put it, we’re not exactly close.” “Aren’t you from the same magic association?” “We, we are from the same association but. Just because we’re in the same association doesn’t mean we’re all close. Besides, they’re kind of burdensome. We didn’t have any connection to begin with, and they were forcibly assigned to me by another department...” Roina’s words were disorganized, but to summarize, she was saying they weren’t close so it was uncomfortable. “In other words, you’re saying it’s frustrating being there because you’re not close with them.” “I, I didn’t go that far...but it’s similar.” If it’s similar, isn’t that basically saying exactly that? “I understand you came to me since you’re not close with them because you at least know me. But I find it strange.” “Yes?” “We’re not particularly close either, are we?” “...!” Roina’s face showed she had received a great shock at Rudger’s words. If someone had witnessed the sky falling, they would probably make exactly this expression. “W-weren’t we close?” “...” For a moment, Rudger wondered if he had actually been close with her. That’s how sincere Roina was being. ‘But no matter how I think about it, we’ve never been close.’ To begin with, this was only the third time they’d seen each other’s faces. And even then, they’d never had any real conversations. “For what reason do you say that?” “W-well. Because you saved me and my students that day in the capital.” Just for that reason? No. One could think that way. It wasn’t a small matter after all. In fact, if Rudger hadn’t come to save her, Roina would have been seriously injured. Since her magic power was almost depleted, she might have even died. Rudger appeared like a miracle there, so calling him a lifesaver wasn’t wrong. But isn’t there an enormous gap between being a lifesaver and being close friends? When he pointed this out, Roina innocently asked. “Huh? If someone saves your life, doesn’t that mean you’ve become close?” “...” Rudger was freshly reminded of something he had forgotten. All the magicians who had achieved 6th Circle, “Lexer” rank were strange people. That’s the kind of stage 6th Circle was. A level that could only be reached if you had some part of you twisted compared to normal people. As Roina was the youngest to earn the Lexer rank title, it would be fair to say she was more twisted than other Lexer magicians. This lack of social awareness must be evidence of that. “If someone saves your life, they become close.” Beside him, Arpa was muttering those words. Thinking this might not be good for Arpa’s education, Rudger quickly corrected it. “While it’s true that I helped you, that doesn’t mean we became close. Just as you don’t become close with police officers or guards who help you.” “Huh? Don’t you become close with them?” “...No, you don’t.” “B-but. When I was doing academic work before, the magician who helped me with my thesis called me a friend.” “A friend?” “Yes. So I kept helping them with theses and research. It was hard, but they kept saying ‘we’re friends, right?’ so I helped. Since I became Lexer rank, they haven’t contacted me saying they’re busy, which is a shame.” “...” That’s not a friend, that’s just being used. Rudger thought about saying that, but decided to let it slide since it might hurt this person who was innocent right down to her brain. ‘Come to think of it, I think someone similar was taking my class.’ While they might give up their liver and gallbladder if someone calls them a friend, it should be fine since there’s a scary sister watching with fierce eyes. ‘How do I get rid of her?’ With Roina sticking to this side, other magicians’ attention would naturally gather. ‘Wait. Gathering attention?’ Originally, what Rudger wanted now was to deliberately draw attention. Even Leslie would have to pay attention if a First Order like himself was making noise in the operation area. ‘If you think about it that way.’ Rudger glanced at Roina. Roina was looking up at Rudger with a desperate expression. Her bangs were too long to see her eyes, but her gaze couldn’t be hidden. That must mean she really doesn’t want to be in the magic association gathering right now. “Alright. Since you put it that way, Magician Roina, I suppose it would be fine to move together.” Roina’s face brightened at Rudger’s words. “However, they might have something to say about me...” “D-don’t worry about that! I’ll explain it well to them!” Roina shouted that and quickly ran to where her companions were. Unlike before, her steps were light as if she could fly to the sky. Roina came back soon. “They said it’s fine!” Is it really fine? From afar, the magic association magicians were looking at Rudger with uncomfortable gazes. They seemed to want to confront him right away but couldn’t because of Roina. While Roina might be uncomfortable with them, conversely, they must see Roina as someone to respect since she’s a 6th Circle magician. “Well, if they’re fine with it, I don’t mind. I look forward to working with you.” “Yes!” Roina nodded her head greatly with joy. “We’re close now, right?!” “...” * * * Mad Dog Sempas seemed to be picking fights with other magicians after Rudger, causing small disturbances here and there. But magicians who frequently visited this place treated it like an annual event. It would be more accurate to say they didn’t pay attention because they had many more important things to worry about. While watching other magicians fight might be fun, exploring the mysteries of this Kasar Basin was the top priority when considering importance. “We’re departing!” When the time came, the expedition began moving following the lead commander. The number of magicians gathered at the forward base easily exceeded a thousand, and among them, about 300 magicians were moving toward the mysterious mansion. With these numbers, they had sufficient force to respond to most situations. Moreover, with excellent experts mixed in between, the expedition’s presence was even imposing. “Are we going this way?” Arpa asked Rudger while looking at the approaching forest. Rudger couldn’t give a proper answer since he didn’t know the geography of this place either. Instead, Roina answered. “Yes, that’s right. The mansion we’re heading to is beyond this forest.” “You know it well.” “Despite how I look, I’m in my 5th year here.” Roina put her hands on her hips and cleared her throat proudly, seeming to have some pride in this. Five years isn’t that long. Looking at just the days, it’s only about two weeks. ‘Still, it must be much better than someone who just arrived.’ Moreover, she was a 6th Circle magician with outstanding talent in magic theory and analysis. It was natural that she knew much more than other magicians. Yes. Fortunately, she seems helpful in these aspects, Rudger thought as he asked a question. “From what I know, the beasts living in this forest have adapted to the Kasar Basin’s environment, making them not ordinary beasts. Isn’t it dangerous to go this way then?” “Of course it’s dangerous.” Arpa asked. “Why is it dangerous?” “Whether it’s because of the magic power overflowing in the atmosphere, the flora and fauna living here have each undergone their own mutations and evolution. Even animals that look cute like rabbits are incredibly dangerous in places like this.” “To the point where magicians have difficulty dealing with them?” “It depends on the situation. Small animals are easy to handle alone, but they become difficult to deal with when they form groups, and conversely, large predators are very dangerous. About 100 people die every year during the ‘Night of Mystery.’ While the highest percentage is due to magical disasters, damage from beasts isn’t small either.” A hundred people? This many despite having magicians involved. That must mean tremendous dangers lurk behind the beauty of this land. “Among those, about 10 casualties per year are from basin creature attacks. The forward base is fine because it’s surrounded by barriers, but not outside.” “Then isn’t the forest more dangerous?” While open areas might be different, such a dense forest must have many more beasts living in it. It becomes dangerous if you’re ambushed where trees block your vision. The beasts here probably won’t simply come at you with teeth and claws. “The forest is actually better. There are traces of paths that have been pioneered for a long time, and serious magical disasters don’t occur, perhaps because of the forest trees. Of course, there are beast attacks. But we can respond to those.” “That sounds like you’re saying there are situations where response isn’t even possible.” “If that’s how it sounded, you heard correctly. The fortunate thing is that such incidents don’t happen in this forest. Above all, I think it’s quite safe with an expedition of this size.” Rudger opened his mouth while glancing at the slowly moving group of magicians. “So that’s why there are many combat-specialized magicians included.” At those words, Roina looked up at Rudger with a surprised face, as if wondering how he knew that. From Rudger’s position, it was easy to deduce since there were clearly many war mage-like people positioned. Of course, the biggest help came from the artifact worn on one eye. With it, he could examine the magical power of magicians who had grown their strength roaming battlefields. “It’s clearly visible even from the outside, compared to magicians who only do research and analysis.” “That’s right. They’re not here to examine the mansion’s mysteries, but are combat personnel preparing for possible attacks.” “Is there a need for combat magicians to come here?” “They need magical knowledge too.” Rudger nodded as if understanding. “So the scholars and researchers get safety guaranteed, and the combat magicians receive data from them.” “That’s right. It’s like a trade relationship between crocodiles and plover birds.” -Priririk. -Grrrr. Woof woof! The cries of beasts echoed from beyond the dense forest. While Arpa was curious about which beasts made those sounds, Roina thought he was scared and tried to reassure her. “It’s okay. We might have been caught off guard in the past, but now we’re well prepared for attacks so there won’t be any problems. Especially since this expedition is larger than 300 people so it should be safer than before.” Hearing the explanation, Rudger asked. “It seems this scale is unusual.” “While it generally increases every year, until last year it was just over 200 people. This year is particularly numerous.” “Is that so?” Rudger swept his sharp gaze over the expedition. While Roina treated it as nothing special, Rudger knew that this year’s unusually large gathering wasn’t simply a coincidence. “But isn’t it better to have more people? At least we can pass through the forest safely.” “Why?” Arpa asked from beside them, with eyes full of curiosity. Roina looked at such an Arpa with a pleased expression and calmly explained. “Even if they’re beasts infused with magical power, they still have wild instincts. Running away from enemies they can’t handle is nature’s law.” That’s when it happened. Rudger stared beyond the densely grown forest as if sensing something strange. “Mr. Rudger? Do you see something?” “Ms. Roina.” Rudger said with a stiff face. “Just now, the sounds of surrounding beasts suddenly stopped. Even the insect sounds.” “Huh? What does that...?” “It seems we need to prepare ourselves.”

Chapter 371

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