Chapter 383

Words : 2364 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

“What happened?” “It’s an old story. At the time, I was an unofficial member of the Truth Faction. I wasn’t even listed on the roster, just providing help as an external advisor.” “From what they’re saying, it seems you held quite an important position though.” “That’s right. Though precisely speaking, it wasn’t me but my daughter.” At the mention of a daughter, Roina opened her eyes wide and asked. “You had a daughter?” “What’s that supposed to mean?! Are you saying I couldn’t get married?!” As Limrei raised his staff threateningly, Roina quickly hid behind Arpa. Rudger watched this comical scene but honestly, he had the same thought as Roina. Having a daughter meant that this old man had been married. Limrei glared at Roina hiding behind Arpa and lowered his staff. “...She was my only daughter. That child was a promising member of the Truth Faction, and she researched mysteries more diligently than anyone else.” “Research about mysteries.” Rudger recalled the conversation between Limrei and the Truth Faction, and through Limrei’s current words, he understood why he had come to the Kasar Basin. All the puzzle pieces were fitting together one by one. Though many pieces were still missing, a rough picture had formed. “Could it be that Sage Limrei’s daughter...” Limrei nodded with a heavy expression. “My daughter came to this Kasar Basin as a member of the Truth Faction. But at that time, unlike now, much wasn’t known about what to be careful of and what to watch out for in the Kasar Basin.” “That means your daughter was affected by the mysterious phenomenon...” “It was a natural disaster. It happened when they were returning after successfully completing all tasks over three days. A magical storm caused by excessive mana concentration engulfed the middle of the procession that was trying to leave the Kasar Basin.” At that time, Limrei hadn’t participated in that Night of Mystery. He too was merely calmly relating a story he had heard. “Magical storms are dangerous. Even from a distance, they make your skin tingle. It’s not for nothing that they’re called disasters.” The magicians fell into panic and couldn’t mount an effective response. That’s when Limrei’s daughter stepped forward. “My daughter suggested they combine their powers to block the magical storm. The judgment was that even if they couldn’t push it away or avoid it, they could at least buy some time. Magical disasters aren’t permanent. Rather, their duration is very short. The key point of the judgment was that if they could hold out just a little, it would subside.” That judgment actually proved correct. Hundreds of magicians simultaneously cast spells to resist the magical storm. The storm stopped, and if they had held out just a little longer, it might have subsided. If there was something she overlooked it would have been human selfishness. “Some cowards, afraid of the magical storm, took advantage of the situation to escape outside. Like cracks forming in a massive wall, other magicians were influenced by this.” This much should be fine. Just me leaving should be okay. With those thoughts, magicians chose to flee but the delicate balance of forces that had barely been maintained crumbled due to the magicians’ desertion. “152 people. That was the number of people who used their magical power until the very end to try to block the magical storm.” And it was also the number of casualties. No one could offer words of comfort to Limrei’s calm recitation. The futility and anger deeply embedded in his voice were not something that could be easily empathized with. “Then the reason Sage Limrei comes here...” “It’s a lingering attachment. Perhaps, a father’s attachment to the possibility that my daughter, who was swept up in the mysterious phenomenon, might still be alive.” As a magician, he accepted his daughter’s death, but as a father, he still hadn’t accepted it. That’s why Limrei came to the Kasar Basin when the night of mystery opened, every year, for decades, holding onto hope that he might find traces of his daughter. “...Then those Truth Faction magicians over there must be survivors from that day.” “Cowardly weaklings.” Limrei ground his teeth. “Yet they have the audacity to claim they were more important people who needed to live longer. They were like that decades ago, and now they’ve gotten worse with age, perhaps from wasting their years.” Limrei muttered this and then smiled wryly at Rudger. “Still, thanks to you, I feel somewhat relieved.” “Me?” “Have you forgotten what happened just now? You gave those senile fools what they deserved. Others just trembled in fear of them for some reason which was quite annoying, but it’s been a while since I felt this satisfied.” Though it wasn’t particularly done to please him, Rudger was simply angry at the Truth Faction’s behavior as well. Even in a situation where they needed to escape the mansion somehow, such selfish behavior. And even more so their brazen behavior of coming to the library later and telling us to leave. If there hadn’t been anyone watching, or if this wasn’t an emergency situation, he might have resorted to force. “The story has gone on too long. Let’s stop talking here and search hard for useful books.” Limrei said this and left first. The other companions had no choice but to follow Limrei’s words. Rudger also left with Arpa under the pretext of searching other bookshelves. “Leader.” Realizing there were no ears listening nearby, Arpa asked Rudger. “Why are you trying to keep the hidden space a secret from our companions?” Arpa had been showing reactions of not understanding this since earlier. “Wouldn’t it be good to tell everyone?” “Because I can’t trust them.” “Who?” “Everyone.” Rudger pulled out a book from the bookshelf and rapidly flipped through its pages. Arpa still didn’t seem to understand Rudger’s words and tilted his head sideways. “Arpa. A murder happened here. You know that, right?” -Thud. Rudger closed the book. “What? Yes. Because we saw it.” “The number of killers is around ten. But that’s not important. What’s important is that there are still killers in the mansion, and they belong to the Black Dawn Society.” “Yes. So as you said, Leader, I’ve been carefully watching suspicious people.” “Right. But none of them have approached me. Even though they must know I’m here.” Arpa asked Rudger, who was putting the book back on the shelf. “But couldn’t it be because there are too many watching eyes around?” “That could be the case. But they could have at least sent signals. Yet no one sent me any signals. There wasn’t even anyone following us on our way back to the library.” Pulling out a new book, Rudger asked Arpa while turning the pages. “Why do you think that is?” “That’s...” Arpa was about to answer that he didn’t know but then changed his mind. If Rudger asked like this, it meant he had given enough clues. Rudger said he couldn’t trust them. Though he didn’t specifically point out who, saying everyone, but in the current situation, maintaining secrecy had another clear reason. “Are there more?” Rudger’s eyes lit up at Arpa’s question and he asked to confirm. “More what?” “The Black Dawn Society you mentioned, Leader. You’re nominally their executive, right? Yet there being no contact or signals doesn’t mean they’re ignoring you, but rather that there’s no need for it?” Am I right? Meeting Arpa’s eyes that asked this, Rudger smiled and said. “Correct.” Rudger put the book back on the shelf. “Them not approaching me, it’s not because the situation doesn’t allow it. It’s because there’s no need to.” “No need meaning...?” “For instance, perhaps there’s already someone who can exchange information about me.” “What? But our companions...” “Arpa. It’s good to trust people, but excessive trust can sometimes be poison. Doubt is absolutely necessary in life.” Arpa’s face became gloomy at Rudger’s firm words. “Still, something doesn’t seem right. Everyone seems like good people, to think that someone among them is deceiving us. Why? Is there really a need for that?” “Everyone has their own reasons. Whether it’s for a greater cause, or just something trivial.” “Then, what are you going to do now?” “For now, we’ll have to watch. It’s not too late to respond after confirming how they act. Above all, the most important thing now is finding a way to escape this mansion.” “Were there any clues in the inner room?” Rudger nodded. “I discovered the secrets of the mansion’s interior. Various mysterious phenomena, magical traps, and even the organization that manages this mansion.” “Then we can get out now, right?” “Not right away. The thing that locked the mansion’s doors is related to the mechanical device, but the problem is we don’t know the location of the device yet.” “We need to find and move that. But how do we explain this to the others?” “That’s another one of our new problems.” The restriction of having to move in groups of five was extremely inconvenient since they had to move together wherever they go. “And I’m not just suspicious of our companions. The other Truth Faction magicians in this library are also suspects.” If they hadn’t come to the library, he wouldn’t have thought much of it, but their timing of entering the library was concerning. “What is the Black Dawn Society trying to do here?” “Though I’m not certain, there was something about it in the contents of the book written inside.” “What is it?” “This Kasar Basin is land created where massive energy flows through the earth, that is, ley lines converge in one place. If I had to make an analogy, it could be seen as a natural dam containing enormous water. What do you think would happen if this dam were to collapse?” “Well, there would be tremendous damage, right? All the surrounding area would be flooded as the water is released all at once...” Arpa stopped mid-sentence and opened his eyes wide. “No way...” “That’s exactly it. They’re trying to destroy the flow of ley lines that exist in this Kasar Basin.” The collapse of ley lines. Could such a thing be possible? Arpa, who hadn’t encountered knowledge in this area, was doubtful whether this plan was feasible from the start. “It’s probably possible. We can’t deny that they’ve discovered some method.” “How do they plan to destroy the ley lines?” “The Kasar Basin has five massive ley lines merged together. If you twist their flow in the middle, the forces maintaining balance will become entangled and collide. It’s not a particularly difficult method.” The repercussions from the collision will bring terrible disaster to the area. This was the method Leslie mentioned, the way to wipe out all magicians at once. Until now, they didn’t know the method, but after interpreting the contents written in the hidden room, the possible method was clear. “One of those important ley lines is right where this secret mansion stands. That’s probably why they entered the mansion.” “Then we need to stop them quickly.” “Right. The problem is how to persuade our companions to move...” Just as he was considering how to gloss over it, the interior of the mansion began to shake with a rumbling sound. “Leader! The mansion...!” “I know.” Rudger headed to the center of the library with Arpa. The place was full of people who had gathered because of the current vibrations. Roina, who spotted Rudger, shouted. “Mr. Rudger!” “Is everyone alright?” “Yes. But these vibrations...” “It seems something is about to happen.” The Black Dawn Society must have made their move. Whether they tampered with the ley lines or the mansion’s mechanism was unknown. Either way, it definitely wasn’t something ordinary. The continuing vibrations eventually subsided but no one in the place was happy about this fact. Everyone instinctively realized that this silence was similar to the calm before a storm. The Truth Faction magicians had varying opinions among themselves. “Shouldn’t we get out of here?” “It might be nothing. The library is safe, so it wouldn’t be bad to observe the situation from here.” “The door might be open right now.” “There’s still plenty of time until midnight. We’re still fine.” Tortei stepped forward to organize the situation. “For now, we watch. Moving rashly from here could rather get us caught up in it.” While saying this, Tortei glanced at Limrei. It was a look asking what he was going to do. Limrei shot a glance at Tortei and then said to Rudger. “Let’s go out. Nothing good will come from staying here. Or do you plan to stay?” “I was also thinking we should leave.” Rudger led his companions out of the library. The Truth Faction magicians clicked their tongues at Rudger’s back, but he simply ignored it. Rudger’s group, who came out to the corridor, tensed at the even more silent air of the mansion. “Everyone be careful. We don’t know what will happen now.” Just as everyone was about to answer in agreement, a scream echoed from beyond the corridor. “Aaaagh!” Unlike the auditory hallucinations from the mysterious phenomena so far, this was a scream directly let out by a living person. Soon after, a pale-faced magician came running towards them through the corridor as if fleeing. “Help! Monster! Monster!” Monster? More importantly, why is that person alone? Where are his companions? Everyone was puzzled by this sight. At that moment, something writhed in the darkness far down the corridor. Arpa, who noticed first, asked in surprise. “What is that?” Grotesque monsters were chasing the fleeing magician.

Chapter 383

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