Chapter 63: Bite the Bullet and Hang On. (2)
“What, what is this? Auxiliary magic?”
Alfoy asked in shock.
A 3rd Circle Master was considered high-level power, comparable to a Knight.
In the battlefield, they were often held in higher regard than Knights since they could wipe out dozens of common Soldiers in an instant.
To treat such Mages as merely Auxiliary magic was an unprecedented insult for Alfoy.
“There’s just such a thing. Just accept it as it is.”
Ghislaine clicked his tongue as he looked at the remaining baggage in the wagon.
“Carry the stuff yourself. Before the wagon breaks down.”
With that, he turned the horse’s head toward the Fortress.
Vanessa, flustered and fidgeting, quickly followed Ghislaine’s lead.
She showed clear signs of fear that they would be retaliated against while being with the Mages.
The Mercenaries also sheathed their weapons and passed by the Mages, throwing in a few comments.
“Why are these nobodies blocking the road?”
“Doing mercenary work with such a flimsy body?”
“I heard their employer was talking about magic. Aren’t they Mages?”
“Ha, what would Mages be doing in this rural area? They’re probably just a bunch of bookworms.”
“They look rich, maybe they’re from a Merchant Group?”
Since Ghislaine and the Mages didn’t even mention the Mage Tower, the Mercenaries couldn’t properly guess the Mages’ true identity.
Alfoy ground his teeth and glared at the Mercenaries.
“These… vulgar scum dare…?”
But he couldn’t just reveal their identity, leaving him with no way to act for now.
“Just you wait… Once I become the Tower Master, I won’t let it go unpunished.”
Other Mages wouldn’t dare to plot revenge against the noble Ghislaine.
But Alfoy had no intention of forgetting the humiliation he experienced today.
He received treatment for his injuries with the help of the other Mages. Thankfully, since no bones were broken, his condition quickly improved with low-level healing magic.
Still, while grinding his teeth in resentment toward Ghislaine, Alfoy couldn’t shake off his curiosity.
“Ugh, just how did they hit me like that?”
Only the outer skin was damaged, so he couldn’t use that as an excuse to avoid carrying the luggage. Alfoy struggled alongside the other Mages to unload the baggage.
“Ugh, why is it so heavy!”
Having come with the intention of staying for a year, they had quite a bit of luggage.
Moreover, since they thought Vanessa would handle the carrying anyway, the Mages didn’t consider the weight and packed excessively.
For Mages who had never done physical labor, the luggage was both bulky and heavy.
They could use Strength Enhancement magic, but using magic just to carry luggage would hurt their pride.
It got damaged.
Alfoy looked around and found Belinda, speaking with a serious tone.
“Bring the servants right away and have them move the luggage.”
“But you told me to move it myself. Are you sure the wagon can handle it? It looks expensive.”
“Profit…!”
“Is six people really not enough to move it? That lady Vanessa was able to handle it all by herself just fine.”
Belinda retorted cheekily.
Alfoy’s face turned red.
From her attire, she seemed no more than a mere maid. What on earth was she thinking to disregard his words?
“This territory has absolutely no sane people! I’ve never done such trivial tasks before! Isn’t it something you lowly ones should do?!”
But even while Alfoy was losing his temper, Belinda didn’t even blink.
“I don’t want to get scolded by you either. Do you even know how terrible your temper is?”
“Ugh, just you wait and see. You arrogant ones, I will absolutely not let this go!”
Reluctantly, Alfoy prepared to unleash his strength-boosting magic.
Just then, two figures came out of the castle leading the maidens. It was Elena and Rachel, the daughter of Gillian.
“Belinda! You’ve returned?”
“Oh my, Young Lady! It’s been a while! Rachel, how have you been?”
“Yes, Belinda! Have you been well?”
Rachel had been taking her medicine regularly and improved her health enough to keep Elena company.
Since they were of similar ages, the two quickly became friends and stuck together wherever they went.
“What’s that noise? What’s going on?”
At Elena’s question, Belinda casually replied.
“They’re guests, but they can’t move the heavy luggage.”
“Hmm, really? Then why didn’t you just call the servants? Is it that heavy?”
Elena casually approached and effortlessly lifted a few wizards’ bags.
“Hmm? Not heavy at all! It’s quite light.”
The wizards gaped at her effortlessly carrying the load with both hands.
Belinda clapped her hands excitedly.
“Oh my, it’s not heavy at all? It seems you’ve been exercising lately!”
“Oh dear, I don’t do that sort of thing. It’s not really heavy. I’ll take care of it. We should treat our guests well after all.”
As the Young Lady took a load, the maidens couldn’t just stand by.
The maidens rushed in and swiftly moved the heavy luggage. Belinda reluctantly joined in.
With several people helping, there wasn’t much luggage left.
The wizards, feeling their pride bruised, gritted their teeth and lifted the remaining luggage.
However, their frail arms, which had never experienced such labor, began to tremble before they could even lift it.
Eventually, the coachman who had been witnessing the whole pathetic scene finally got off the wagon and muttered.
“I’ll help you all without charge. You guys really need to exercise more.”
The long-term employed coachman didn’t fear the wizards, as he saw them daily in the Mage Tower city.
‘Ugh, I want to kill them all. It’s all that guy’s fault. I will never forgive him.’
Alfoy grinded his teeth in humiliation.
Meanwhile, Ghislaine arrived at the fortress leading the mercenaries.
Just a month ago, it was still in the foundation stages, but now it was taking shape.
“Whew, quite a lot has progressed here!”
Ghislaine smiled with satisfaction before addressing the mercenaries.
“From now on, keep an eye on the Forest of Monsters. I’ll give further instructions as soon as I’m ready.”
“Understood!”
The mercenaries shouted loudly.
They were all gathered by Ghislaine as he traveled through the northern territory.
Everyone was people that Ghislaine had gathered while patrolling the northern territory.
Of course, the existing mercenaries who had entered the Forest of Monsters re-signed their contracts.
It wasn’t difficult to control the new mercenaries.
Every time new personnel joined, Gillian and Kaor crushed anyone who dared to challenge them.
The mercenaries who had fought together in the Forest of Monsters had a high level of loyalty to Ghislaine, so the new recruits couldn’t even muster the courage to challenge him.
A somewhat peculiar thing was that, perhaps because of the atmosphere created by the existing mercenaries, the new recruits also referred to Ghislaine as their leader.
Before leaving, Ghislaine added one more thing.
“Take good care of your equipment and horses. I won’t forgive anyone who wastes them on foolish things like gambling.”
“Understood!”
All the armor and horses belonged to Ghislaine, who had personally financed them.
The mercenaries prepared their gear according to their financial situation, resulting in varying qualities.
However, most bought cheap, shabby weapons, using them temporarily before replacing them.
With such gear, having a large number of people wouldn’t do much good.
So, since he was already preparing, Ghislaine fully equipped them.
He entrusted the training, management methods, and formation of the mercenaries to Gillian and Kaor and headed to the training ground.
“Why are you going to the training ground? You just came back and you’re not resting?”
Gillian asked, puzzled.
“You two can rest first. I have something to confirm about Vanessa.”
As soon as Ghislaine entered the training ground, he rolled up his sleeves and said,
“Have a seat.”
Vanessa, feeling nervous, quietly sat down in the middle of the training ground.
“I know you can’t feel mana. Is that right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“How far did you learn magic from your teacher?”
“Theoretically… I learned up to the 6th Circle.”
Vanessa mumbled, lacking confidence.
Ghislaine was a bit impressed.
‘As expected, it’s just like I heard in my past life. Just as I thought. This is quite excellent.’
Magic formulas can’t be mastered just by memorizing them.
You need a certain level of realization and understanding, along with the will to channel it.
Understanding magic formulas of up to the 6th Circle at such a young age indicates exceptional intelligence.
“Already at the 6th Circle? Impressive! You seem quite smart.”
“Oh, no. Since I’ve never actually cast any spells, I can’t confirm if my understanding is correct.”
“It’s okay; you can start doing that from now on.”
“Wha-? But I can’t feel mana…”
“I’m planning to teach you the Mana Circulation Method.”
Vanessa’s complexion darkened a bit.
“You don’t know the Mana Circulation Method?”
She shook her head in response.
“My teacher found a simple Mana Circulation Method and taught it to me. But it was useless.”
“Hm, I see… So you did try it.”
Ghislaine nodded, as if he understood.
He had also heard about it, albeit briefly, in his past life. He’d attempted the Mana Circulation Method too.
If you can’t feel mana in the first place, the Mana Circulation Method is of no use.
You need to feel mana to accept it and accumulate it within your body, right?
Moreover, a mage wouldn’t have properly understood the Mana Circulation Method.
“It’s okay. I’ll teach you in a different way. First, you need to feel the mana, right?”
“Yes?”
Ghislaine asked with a serious demeanor.
“Do you still want to learn magic right now?”
Vanessa bowed her head, trying to hide her trembling eyes.
Of course, she wanted to.
Wasn’t her constant glance at Ghislaine’s face hoping for permission to learn magic later?
She swallowed hard and nodded.
nod while swallowing.
“Yes, I want to keep studying.”
“Great. Then bite down hard and hold on tight. If anything goes wrong, you’ll die and I’ll be fine.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Starting now.”
Without a lengthy explanation, Ghislaine placed her palm on Vanessa’s back.
Whooosh!
Mana began to flow from Ghislaine’s palm into Vanessa’s body.
Ghislaine moved the mana carefully.
The mana swept through every corner of her body and started to gather below her navel.
“What is this…?”
Vanessa’s eyes widened, feeling a force she had never experienced before.
“Shut your mouth. What just entered is my mana. You need to feel how the mana moves without missing a beat.”
Vanessa realized that she was having the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity right then and there.
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to feel the alien energy entering her body.
Whooosh!
As the flow of mana stabilized, Ghislaine breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
‘For now, it’s a success.’
Ghislaine created a temporary little mana core within her body.
Unbeknownst to Vanessa, the method Ghislaine was attempting required delicate mana manipulation and tremendous concentration.
If you weren’t a top-tier talent, you wouldn’t even dare to think about trying it.
Normally, the proper way is to feel the mana, learn the breathing techniques, and create your own core.
But doing it that way would leave Ghislaine uncertain about when Vanessa could be successful. Right now, it was more important to get her to feel the mana.
Since it was a core made from Ghislaine’s mana, it would eventually dissolve over time.
Before that, Vanessa needed to be able to feel and absorb some mana on her own.
Whooosh.
As Ghislaine infused her will into the mana, the core created within Vanessa’s body began spinning violently and started absorbing mana.
Instead of naturally absorbing mana through breathing, it was forcing the surrounding mana to be sucked in by circulating the mana.
“Ugh.”
Vanessa clenched her teeth in pain but endured as best as she could.
This was the mana she had dreamed of.
The sensation she was experiencing for the first time was painful, yet exhilarating.
‘Just a little more.’
Vanessa wished for this feeling to last longer, but Ghislaine was slowly preparing to end the mana induction.
Bam!
At that moment, Vanessa suddenly recalled a plethora of magical formulas she had studied.
Those thoughts that had always lingered in her mind were now trying to burst out as they encountered a sliver of mana.
Lost in the ecstasy of feeling mana for the first time, Vanessa fell into a state of euphoria.
Zing―! Zing―! Zing―!
Magic circles began appearing in the air.
As if something that had been suppressed until now had exploded, she was casting spells without even realizing it.
The number of magic circles quickly surpassed five.
“Are you already attempting multi-casting?”
Ghislaine was taken aback and reduced the amount of mana she was infusing.
The magic circles were greedily consuming Ghislaine’s mana instead of the tiny amount present in Vanessa.
If she pulled back abruptly, Vanessa would be in danger, so she reduced the mana slowly…
But as Ghislaine cut off the mana, another problem arose.
Hisssss…
Vanessa’s hair started to turn white from the tips.
As the mana dwindled, it was beginning to siphon off her life force.
“Damn it! Get a grip!”
She couldn’t just let her life force burn away. Ghislaine shouted as she unleashed mana once more.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
