Chapter 373

Words : 2444 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

The commotion didn’t last long and was quickly settled. The three Cheshire Tigers that attacked the expedition ended up as cold corpses on the ground. The Cheshire Tiger that died with its head crushed was the work of Rudger and Arpa. The other two Cheshire Tigers each died after being pierced by steel spears and electrocuted, or developing strange blisters all over their bodies and coughing up blood. The condition of the corpses alone highlighted the characteristics of the magicians who fought. Among them, Arpa drew the most attention. The magicians who witnessed Arpa killing the Cheshire Tiger whispered among themselves. “That kid. What exactly is their identity?” “Since he’s traveling with Rudger Chelici, I thought he was just a school student.” “Did you see? He swung that Cheshire Tiger with bare hands. Is he a knight?” “That young kid, a knight? Talk sense. Even cadets aren’t that young.” “If not that, how do you explain that strength?” It was no small wonder that Arpa, who appeared to be a child, killed a huge tiger with bare hands. It was amazing enough that the target was a tiger, but this one had become the ruler of an area after absorbing the magical power of the Kasar Basin for a long time. Even though they were a team of three, taking down such a beast was still an impressive feat. The magicians speculated that Arpa was an apprentice knight with exceptional talent and that with such skill, he would soon become a knight. Roina, who overheard the surrounding chatter, asked Arpa. “Were you a knight?” “I’m not a knight.” “Not a knight, but how did you get such strength...Ah!” Roina seemed to catch on and flashed a grin at Arpa while winking one eye. “I get it. I’ll pretend I don’t know.” “What?” “That’s what it is, right? Something that shouldn’t be revealed. I’m quite perceptive, you know.” “I really am not.” Perceptive? At this point, wasn’t it more like completely lacking perception? Seeing Arpa’s confusion at this situation, Rudger spoke quietly so only they could hear. “That’s how it usually is. People only see what they want to see. It’s a familiar thing.” “Isn’t my case different from Leader’s?” “How is it different?” “Well...” Arpa pondered how to explain this. Come to think of it, there were some aspects that overlapped with what Rudger had experienced so far so Arpa decided to accept and move on. More than that, the subsequent cleanup process that was happening now was piquing their curiosity. “What’s that?” “A corpse bag.” Rudger mumbled calmly. “As the name suggests, it’s a bag for storing corpses. It’s a kind of magical item with low-temperature preservation and weight reduction enchantments to prevent decay.” “Why would they need such...?” “They probably brought it in case something like this happened. Leaving the bodies behind would be disrespectful to the deceased.” “To think they had it prepared. That’s somewhat sad.” “In this Kasar Basin, it might be fortunate to even recover the corpses.” The death toll from the Cheshire Tiger attack was 23. As a result, 15 porters and 8 magicians died. It was a tragedy that occurred because they failed to fully understand the habits and characteristics of Cheshire Tigers. “Hey! How long are we going to stay here! Let’s get moving!” At that moment, voices grew louder from one side as two groups clashed. It was a one-sided confrontation, with elderly people who appeared to be researchers doing the arguing. “How much time do you think we have? Here, every minute and second is precious, not just days. If we dawdle like this, when will we ever reach the mansion?” “People died. Among them were combat magicians who fought on the front lines.” “Dead is dead. What’s so difficult about just collecting the corpses and moving on!” “Is that what you have to say about the magicians who died fighting to protect you?” “Wasn’t that the deal in the first place? We provide knowledge, and you provide force. Whatever disasters happen in between aren’t anyone’s responsibility. That’s what was said, wasn’t it?” “You can’t even feel the slightest bit of regret?” “Hmph. Did we come here to mourn people? We came to pursue knowledge. Beyond that, it’s not our concern.” At the elderly scholar’s words, the combat magician gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. As Rudger and Arpa watched this scene, Roina, who had briefly gone somewhere, recognized the scholars and her face hardened. “It’s the Truth Faction.” “You know them?” “Of course. They’re famous in this field. They’re a school that researches knowledge and studies magic, mostly composed of elderly people.” “They seem to be famous in not such a good way.” Well, just looking at how they were arguing now, that was quite apparent. The surrounding gazes toward the Truth Faction weren’t kind either. “They’re famous alright. First of all, everyone affiliated with them is renowned, and they’re actually excellent when it comes to knowledge, but...they’re incredibly arrogant. They’ll use any means necessary to achieve their goals, disregard human life, and are full of their own stubborn views.” “From the reactions around, this doesn’t seem to be the first time.” “There hasn’t been a year without accidents due to their unreasonable schedules. That’s why most people try to avoid taking protection requests from them, but...” “They paid a lot?” Roina nodded with a bitter expression. No matter how irritating people might be, when they offer high compensation, people will inevitably be drawn to it. ‘Hmm.’ Rudger carefully observed the Truth Faction people. He thought that Leslie might be hiding among them. Meanwhile, the scene cleanup finished, and the expedition began moving again. Perhaps because of the recent Cheshire Tiger attack, the magicians were all on edge. You could tell just by the fluctuating magical power that responded to their emotional agitation. Thanks to that, or perhaps because of it, there were no attacks after the Cheshire Tigers. “Everyone’s become really sensitive.” In the midst of this, Arpa made an innocent and tactless comment. Of course, his voice was quiet enough that only Rudger and Roina could hear. “Because people died. It’s ridiculous that they still insist on going through the forest even after this happened. If we took a slight detour through the plains, it would be safer.” “That’s not true.” Roina answered sharply. It was an unusually firm tone from her, who usually appeared indecisive. “Professor Rudger, since this is your first time here, you might not know, but you can’t let your guard down in the Kasar Basin just because it’s plains. No. The plains are actually more dangerous. Yes, very dangerous.” “Is there a reason?” “It’s because of the mysterious power that dwells in this land.” “Something must have happened.” “...There were magicians who tried to open another route to the mansion. They tried to go around through the plains instead of the forest. They said it looked safer.” Roina’s voice trembled slightly as she recalled the past. “They were all 4th Circle magicians with plenty of practical experience. Even the porters were mercenaries who had been through battlefields. Objectively, it wasn’t a bad combination. Those people tried to move through open plains, going around the forest. They weren’t even trying to go too far. They just wanted to follow along the forest’s boundary.” “Their intention wasn’t bad.” “However, if there was one thing those people overlooked, it would be the strange power dwelling in this land. Professor Rudger, do you know what happened the moment those people left the forward base and headed to the plains?” Having not seen it, there was no way he could know. Of course, Roina hadn’t asked expecting an answer. “They disappeared without a trace. It happened before they had even walked 30 meters across the plains.” “You say they disappeared?” “Yes. Like phantoms, they vanished when we blinked once. A group of over ten people, composed of 4th Circle magicians, all evaporated at once. What’s even more frightening is what happened next.” “What else happened?” “The next morning something appeared in the place where they had vanished. It was a pile of pure white bones. The number of human-looking skulls matched exactly with the number of people who had disappeared.” “...” “It wasn’t like someone had placed them there. There were no such traces around. Like their disappearance, their appearance happened in an instant. And though it had only been about a day, the remains looked as if centuries had passed. It was unbelievable even when seen with our own eyes.” Roina still seemed to get goosebumps remembering that time, as she lightly rubbed her forearm with her palm. “That was 5 years ago. When I first came here.” Her voice was filled with terror. “It was too sudden. It was literally a phenomenon that defied common sense. Even though I wasn’t a Lexer at the time, I don’t think I would understand it even if I experienced it again now. No, maybe I wouldn’t want to see it.” After that incident, no magicians moved anywhere except along the forest path. This land was a different world in itself, and within that different world, countless other different worlds were spread out. “In that sense, the forest is safer. The densely grown woods help suppress the excessive flow of magical power. Like breakwaters on the coast.” “So rather than facing a massive disaster, it’s much better to take a path where there are just dangerous beasts.” “Many people died before we realized that.” If there was enough time, they might be able to pioneer a route through the plains. Unfortunately, this was an unknown land that only opened for 3 days each year. Just pioneering the forest path was doing their best. ‘It’s a mysterious land, but even more so, it’s a place where death overflows.’ He wanted to peek into the minds of the magicians who held the Night of Mystery here every year. No, considering that there are many magicians who would endure dangers for the sake of knowledge, maybe that was actually the normal thing. ‘But are there no more beasts appearing?’ Thanks to eliminating the Cheshire Tiger pack, the march wasn’t being interrupted. Although they slowed down occasionally when passing through dangerous plant groups, perhaps because everyone was sufficiently alert, there were no more accidents. ‘Bellaruna would have loved to see this.’ Then Rudger felt something that stimulated his intuition. ‘What’s this?’ It felt like a thin, sticky film of oil had swept over his body. It wasn’t a gaze since it was different from magical power detection but was something strange that was difficult to express in words. ‘Something just swept over the entire expedition.’ However, it seemed no one else had noticed it. In this place, only Rudger had felt it. His skin had slight goosebumps. ‘This didn’t happen even during the Cheshire Tiger attack.’ That meant whatever was watching the expedition now was a being beyond the Cheshire Tigers, something more dangerous than Cheshire Tigers that could use quasi-magic after absorbing magical power for a long time. ‘Perhaps there really might be an intelligent supreme beast existing here.’ No indiscriminate attacks, and it doesn’t show itself. Perhaps it wouldn’t be strange to call it the ruler of this forest. Rudger suddenly felt curious. ‘If we do meet, I wonder if I could get one of its teeth?’ * * * The march that had continued all morning ended around noon. The densely grown trees became sparse, and finally, the forest ended. Beyond the forest was a low hill, and surprisingly, a large mansion was sitting right on top of it. “Ohhh. Finally.” “Is that the secret mansion said to exist in this Kasar Basin?” Both those seeing it for the first time and those who had visited several times couldn’t take their eyes off the mansion’s grandeur. Rudger also observed the mansion with interested eyes. ‘It looks like a new house, as if it was just built.’ Even though it was built very long ago and there wouldn’t even be anyone managing it, the mansion’s exterior was as clean as if it had just been built. But they couldn’t just keep admiring it. After all, everyone here hadn’t come just to look at the mansion. Now these large numbers of people needed to enter the mansion. “Is it alright for all of us to go inside like this?” “Hmm. Professor Rudger, since this is your first time, you might find it strange, but it’s fine even if this many people enter.” “Is it because the mansion is spacious? Even so, with this many people moving at once, it would be quite crowded.” “It doesn’t matter how many people enter that mansion. Even if there were a thousand people here instead of 300, they could probably enter that mansion.” Roina spoke with such conviction. “And 300 people won’t move together at once. More precisely, they can’t.” “Because of the mysterious power dwelling in the mansion.” “That’s right. From inside the mansion, we have to move in team units now. Minimum 5 people to maximum 20 people. That’s the ‘rule’ given to the mansion.” Not only was there a maximum number, but they also had to meet a minimum number. Rudger looked at Arpa and Roina. Even like this, they only numbered three. They needed to gather at least two more people. No, perhaps because of Arpa, they might need to gather one more person. Although Arpa looked like this, he wasn’t human, so the mansion might not recognize him as such. Looking around, he could see magicians forming their teams. Out of the 300 people, about 200 were magicians who came for pure research. The porters would wait outside, and some combat magicians would also remain outside since they didn’t know what might happen. Even so, the number of people going inside would easily exceed 200. “Well, we need to gather people. Roina, is it possible?” “Huh? I, I don’t have any magician friends...” Seeing Roina immediately shake her head, Rudger wondered if he shouldn’t have asked. At that moment, an elderly magician approached Rudger. “Shall I go with you?”

Chapter 373

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