Chapter 92
Picture School.
The fourth school among the “Six Schools” of Dark Magic, it was a place where dark mages who primarily used necromancy to handle corpses gathered.
Yair, a twenty-two-year-old young man belonging to that place.
To describe him in a single word - - .
A genius.
Literally, a heaven-sent talent.
He had reached the ranks of the 6th circle in just three years since encountering Dark Magic.
His combat power was enough to easily overwhelm even a bishop-level priest of the Holy Imperial Church.
The reason someone like him came all the way to this frontier of the Arden territory.
It was because he had heard an interesting rumor at a tavern he happened to stop by.
“Hey, did you hear that rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“The story about the Arden territory. Well. Over there - “
They said an incredible dark mage had appeared in a place called the frontier’s Arden territory.
They said that with a single cast of magic from atop the castle wall, countless soldiers were annihilated.
They said that in the end, they killed a bishop of the Holy Imperial Church and led the war to victory.
And the true identity of the dark mage who showed off such incredible martial prowess was none other than a young girl.
“…Misters. Could I hear that story in more detail?”
Yair’s interest was instantly piqued.
Of course, since it was a rumor coming from the mouths of drunks, he had to take into account that there would be some exaggeration mixed in.
'If it’s true, it might be a genius dark mage around my age.'
He would know for sure once he met them.
And while he was at it, obtaining the corpse of the bishop-level priest that the dark mage supposedly took care of would be a great help.
While passing through the forest of Arden with such a light heart and taking care of a monster that attacked him.
He ended up encountering them.
'…Oh my. To think I’d run into them right away like this.'
Yair approached them amicably, offering a cheerful greeting on the outside, but on the inside, he was sharply observing the situation and staying thoroughly on guard.
'It wasn’t one person, but two.'
That tanned girl getting startled over there… just seemed like an ordinary guide.
The other two were the strong ones.
One was an expressionless woman with black hair and red eyes.
“…”
She didn’t give any answer to Yair’s words, merely staring intently at him.
A rather exotic appearance.
She was wearing peculiar clothes made of black leather that clung tightly to her body.
“What on earth is that material? Is it made from monster leather?”
He couldn’t get a grasp on it at all.
Moreover, since she wasn’t reacting at all, he couldn’t figure out her inner thoughts whatsoever.
And the other one.
“Hehe… There’s a lot of blood… Master will be pleased…!”
She was a timid-looking girl with blonde hair and red eyes.
With a giggling face, she was muttering incomprehensible words, continuously extracting blood from the monster’s corpse.
Watching that bizarre sight carefully, Yair inwardly came to a conclusion.
“Seeing as they handle blood, they must be from the Naspe School.”
He inwardly thought it was a relief.
The Naspe School was a school that handled Blood Magic.
They maintained a friendly relationship with the Picture School he belonged to.
So he felt relieved and proposed a trade to exchange the blood and the corpse.
But.
Right at that moment.
Vwoom - !
Suddenly, without any warning, the empty air distorted and a door opened.
A purple door.
And from within it, two people appeared.
“Spatial Magic…?!”
Yair’s eyes wavered greatly.
He had only heard of it in books; this was his first time actually witnessing it right before his eyes.
Wasn’t this a miracle only possible for the 8th circle or higher?
Furthermore, he couldn’t feel any aura of magical power at all.
The ones who crossed over through that door were also exuding a suffocating aura.
“The Liege Lord’s call! I have received it.”
A woman in an outfit reminiscent of a maid outfit was leaking an immense intimidation that seemed to crush the surrounding air.
“Hi!! Nice to meet ya!”
And even a red-haired girl who appeared behind her greeted them cheerfully.
Yair had been surrounded on all sides by an extraordinary group in the blink of an eye.
A drop of cold sweat flowed down his forehead.
Moreover, there was something that kept bothering him among the words they said.
“Master, Liege Lord.”
It meant that they too were ultimately nothing more than subordinates serving someone.
If so, it meant there was a high probability that the true master who cast that incredible spatial magic was someone else.
“Hmm. This is… dangerous.”
Having quickly done the calculations in his head, Yair’s eyes sank for a moment.
If this is the case, there is only one way.
Paat - !
He swiftly raised both of his hands.
Above his head.
“Surrender! Surrender! Let’s talk this out; let’s talk!”
The genius dark mage was also incredibly fast at assessing the situation.
* * *
'Huh?'
The dark mage suddenly threw both hands up and surrendered with a white flag.
I had given the order to capture him stylishly without killing him, but I never thought he’d surrender before we even did anything.
“This kind of kills the mood.”
I stared blankly at the Sight Sharing screen with those thoughts.
I suddenly realized my mistake.
'Ah, wait a minute. I didn’t cancel the order for the girls…'
Crash, bang, thud - !
“Keuheok…?!”
Before I could even give the order to stop, Si-yeon moved like lightning and pinned Yair to the ground.
“I, I said I surrender!”
“If you keep moving, your arm will pop out. Be careful.”
Yair let out a pained sound, but Si-yeon warned him without changing her expression, firmly twisting and pressing down on his joints.
“Argh, seriously!”
Even with his cheek pressed against the floor, Yair grumbled as if he were dumbfounded.
Then, he suddenly shouted into the empty air instead of at Si-yeon.
“U-Um, you high-ranking person who’s the Master or Liege Lord! You’re watching this right now, aren’t you?”
“…?”
“I really didn’t resist, okay? Please tell the girls to handle me a little more gently! From the looks of it, you seem to be a Senior walking the same path, and you don’t intend to crush the potential of a promising junior like this, do you!”
“Huh? How did he know I was watching?”
Did he figure out there was someone behind them just by hearing a few words the girls spat out?
He was a guy with incredibly quick wits.
I immediately activated [Appraisal Eye] to check his true inner thoughts.
However,
[Appraisal has been blocked.]
A red message window popped up and blocked it.
'Whoa. It doesn’t work.'
The fact that the Appraisal Eye didn’t work.
That guy was a strong person with a large level gap compared to me.
Even so, seeing as he really wasn’t using force and was just lying face down, it was a situation worth trusting for now.
Of course, I couldn’t let my guard down since I didn’t know when he might suddenly change his attitude and launch a surprise attack.
I hurriedly took out the LocknLock container I had brought from home out of my Inventory to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.
And I scooped up the congealed blood and started chewing it, chomp, chomp.
“D-Distinguished One…? Were you hungry…?”
The Lord, who had been looking at documents on one side of the office, asked in surprise.
“I see a bright red light coming from your eyes as you hurriedly eat your meal… If you wish, I shall prepare a grand banquet right this instant!”
“Mmph. Do not disturb me while I am eating.”
I waved my hand in annoyance and swallowed the congealed blood.
I’m in the middle of important work right now.
I don’t know when I’ll have to use a skill to provide support, so I need to replenish the blood power consumed from opening the dimensional portal.
And I’m just using the [Sight Sharing] skill, so it only looks like my pupils are glowing red to others.
Why would I light up my eyes suddenly and show gluttony?
Even if I’m in a child’s body, would I do that?!
Glare!
Feeling annoyed for no reason, I shot a glare at the Lord, and the Lord bowed his head in fright.
Anyway.
That dark mage beyond the screen seemed like a guy you could reason with.
I decided to converse directly via telepathy through Katarina.
Katarina, having received my intentions, glared fiercely at Yair pinned to the floor.
“Si-yeon. Release him.”
“Ouch, I thought my back was going to snap.”
As Si-yeon obediently took her hands off, Yair let out a groan and raised his body.
“The Liege Lord has said she will question you directly. Be careful not to use disrespectful language.”
“Oh, thanks. Sister!”
Yair, who answered brazenly, patted off the dirt and dust on his clothes, then bowed his head politely.
“I am a 6th circle dark mage of the Picture School, Yair.”
Having finished his self-introduction, he asked cautiously.
“…By any chance, are you a Great dark mage of the Naspe School, Senior?”
'Naspe? What’s that?'
It was a name I heard for the first time in my life.
I’ve heard of NASDAQ, though.
“This body is no mere dark mage.”
“Pardon? You’re not a Dark mage?”
“This body is the Source of great blood. It is the True Ancestor.”
At my declaration, Yair tilted his head.
“True Ancestor…?”
“Would you understand if I said the progenitor of Vampires.”
At those words, Yair’s eyes widened.
“V-vampires, you say?”
He made a dumbfounded expression for a moment, then quickly nodded his head vigorously and changed his stance.
“Oh my! I thought vampires had almost disappeared from the world, but I never dreamed there would be someone so powerful and great! It is an honor, True Ancestor-nim!”
“Good grief.”
This was, well, flattery so transparent you didn’t even need to turn on [Appraisal Eye] to see through it.
I burst into a chuckle.
“Cut the useless talk. You said earlier that you had some decent blood.”
“Ah, yes! That’s right.”
Yair spoke as if he had been waiting for this.
“Since I handle necromancy, I don’t really need blood. So whenever I obtained high-quality monster blood, I would set it aside with the intention of trading it with the guys from the Naspe School.”
Ooh.
Just hearing the words made my mouth water.
'Wow, this is crazy. Isn’t this a total goldmine?'
The temptation to just take him out right here and snatch all his items reared its head for a very brief moment.
But since the Appraisal Eye didn’t work, I couldn’t know where he had hidden the blood.
Above all, harming an opponent who was cooperating so obediently without any reason…
Even if he was an NPC of the Tower, it pricked my conscience.
'Right. Let’s gently coax him and get the blood first.'
Getting the blood was confirmed.
The problem was what came next, whether or not to accept the trade this guy was proposing.
Should we give him the bishop’s corpse or not?
'But aren’t dark mages usually all bad guys?'
Cooperating with a villain who harmed innocent people felt a bit uncomfortable.
I decided to subtly throw out a leading question.
Pretending as if I valued cruel, evil deeds more highly.
“Hmph. Since you said you use necromancy, gathering materials must have been quite enjoyable. Did you catch and kill innocent humans to take their corpses? Go ahead and boast about how cruelly you killed them. If it is an excellent evil deed, this body will gladly praise you.”
At my question, Yair scratched his head with an awkward expression.
He soon opened his mouth with a serious face.
“I’m sorry if you were expecting something like that, but… I don’t do things like that.”
“Hoh. Is that so?”
“Yes. I don’t touch corpses unless they belong to guys who are at odds with us dark mages, enemies who tried to kill me, or death row inmates. Other than that, I only use them after rightfully getting permission from the person while they were alive or their bereaved family, and paying the price.”
He finished his words with a slightly bitter smile.
“Haha. You might wonder what kind of useless act that is, though.”
“Uh… Is he for real?”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at the unexpected answer.
He pays money rightfully to buy and use corpses?
That’s totally like the cadaver system in modern medicine where bodies are donated and used for research purposes.
If those words were true, he was an incredibly ethical and upright young man for someone with the gloomy profession of a Dark mage.
Suddenly, my favorability towards the guy went up a little.
“For a mortal, that is quite an admirable mindset.”
“…Pardon?”
“To explore power while keeping the rules you have set for yourself, and to show the minimum courtesy towards life. That is by no means something to be ashamed of. This True Ancestor acknowledges your convictions.”
I praised him with sincerity.
However, Yair’s reaction upon hearing those words was unusual.
“…”
The face of the guy who had been brazenly laughing and chatting just a moment ago stiffened up instantly.
He was making an expression of being deeply moved by something.
As if he were someone who had finally heard the words he had desperately wanted to hear his entire life.
“…? Why is he suddenly acting like that?”