Volcanic Zone (1)
It’s been two days since I left Balkan.
The group, which entered the vicinity of the volcanic zone at a faster-than-expected speed, stopped at a pre-selected stopover to supply supplies and take a break.
There is no stopping on the way back after completing the investigation of the Magic Tower, so you need to replenish oil and other supplies here.
From here on, Lennok changed his face appropriately because he could be caught in the Mage Tower’s surveillance net.
I can’t show him changing his magic pattern right in front of Ibelin’s eyes, but if he hides his presence with Nyx’s insignia, it will be difficult to recognize Lennok.
There was no reason to reveal the fact that the Aspect Wizard was with him on this journey.
It was Eveline’s judgment that it was a handshake to openly reveal the strength of this side now, when the direction of the Blaber Mage’s tower was unclear.
“There’s someone I’m supposed to meet here. We arrived earlier than expected, so we have to wait.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“This visit to the Blaver Magic Tower is not something the Balkan City Government does alone.”
Evelyn, who was sitting in front of the pyre and bounced off her magic, spoke.
Tadak!
In an instant, the embers that bounced between the fingers clung to the pile of dry wood, ignited it, and a small bonfire was completed.
Throwing a pile of burning firewood into the fireplace of the stopover, she continued.
“If Balkans are simply insisting on their own, there’s no way the other side will accept it as it is. That’s why I decided to borrow the name of another city.”
“What about other cities?”
“Machine City Machina.”
Evelyn replied.
“You are a customer who greedily consumes materials that are as important as the proportion of the Blaver Magic Tower in the steel industry.”
thump thump!!
As soon as I finished speaking, I heard someone knocking on the door of the inn.
As the agent who was taking a break unlocked the lock, something heavy was poured into the room.
dump!!
A hoarse voice came from among the filthy, dusty fur.
“No water….”
As it trembled and sighed and slumped, a low silence settled inside the inn.
Lennok turned his head and stared at Evelyn in silence.
“Does the envoy of Machine City really mean this hair ball?”
“…Let’s save it and think about it.”
After Lennok roughly wiped away the hairballs with his cleansing magic and the agents scooped up water, the party was able to accurately identify the other party.
A middle-aged man with a thick beard that is not too thick.
He is not that short, but his body is wide open to the side, so he has a fairly thick physique.
“Um…. Thank you for your help.”
A serious expression and a heavy voice to match.
The man who introduced himself as Mouser lowered his head as he looked around at the group with a more relaxed complexion.
“I was very sorry in the first meeting. I was really thirsty and was about to die.”
“What happened to the other party?”
Evelyn asked with a cold expression.
“I heard that the Makina side will move in a similar group to ours.”
At her words, Mouser scratched his beard.
When something wriggling came out from the inside of the beard, the agents looked frightened, but held their positions with superhuman patience.
“Um, that…Even until the day before, I was moving with the party, but I was the only one left on the way. I don’t know where it went wrong.”
“Are you saying that now?”
Mouser also broke out in a cold sweat, probably feeling an unknown chill at Evelyn’s cold appearance, which was completely different from when he met Lennok.
“I don’t remember that very well. I definitely remember going into a strange cave, but after that I was left alone and collapsed in the middle of the meadow. Somehow I came all the way here by looking at the night sky and pointing out the direction… … There was nothing left of food.”
“Tell me more about the cave.”
At Lennok’s words, Mouser pondered.
“There were stones that gave off strange light here and there. It was the first of its kind I’ve ever seen in my life, even though I pride myself on working with quite a few ores. I tried to collect one out of curiosity, but it stuck to the wall and didn’t come out well. at there….”
“at there?”
“Looks like you passed out.”
“….”
Mouser, slightly wincing at the cold eyes of the party, said.
“Don’t look at me with those eyes. I was just doing my duty as a blacksmith! Seeing such a cave, how can you not go inside!!”
“I wish I could have cared about our promise to you first, at least for today…“
Evelyn said that and sighed.
“Do you have any means to find out the whereabouts of the companions? If not, let’s go to the Magic Tower by ourselves. If we can’t make it to the promised time, the Mage Tower may refuse to enter using that as an excuse.”
“That is….”
Mouser was breaking out in a cold sweat, but at the end he couldn’t say anything and kept his mouth shut.
“Perhaps the Blaver Magic Tower has already retrieved and cared for the companions. I think it would be right to think about it after entering the volcanic zone.”
“I see…. I’m sure the other colleagues know how to see the constellations as much as I do, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find directions.”
Lennok was lost in thought, with his hairy hair nodding slightly downcast.
‘It’s a cave… … .’
In this world full of mysteries and unexplored places, Lennok’s knowledge of the general terrain does not work.
However, it is awkward in many ways that Evelyn did not know about a nearby cave that would interest Mouser, an industrial engineer in Machine City.
Maybe it has something to do with the recent actions of the Blaver Magic Tower.
Evelyn might have guessed to some extent, but she seemed to want to avoid delaying her schedule while exploring the cave right away.
In the first place, since this visit itself was a meeting made by exercising the power of the two cities, he did not want to give an excuse to refuse the promise at the Magic Tower.
Since it would be possible to explore the cave even after entering the volcanic zone, he must have thought that it was right to deal with urgent matters first.
“Then, let’s take a break today and head into the volcanic area early tomorrow morning.”
Evelyn said as she looked around the party.
“Even inside the volcanic zone, there will be no danger or lack of supplies as there are residences centered around the mage tower. Maybe we can find Mouser’s group inside.”
“I understand.”
Mouser nodded and suddenly began to snort.
“By the way, is there any beer around here? If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to share a drink with you for a good night’s sleep tonight.”
“….”
Would it be an illusion if he thought of a race that Lennok had only seen in books, even though it must be human?
In the end, the party managed to put him to sleep after finding the supply beer stored in the warehouse of the stopover and feeding him more than three barrels.
The agents looked suspiciously at Mouser, who had fallen asleep with his red face stroking his stomach.
“Can you trust that person?”
Evelyn let out a small sigh at the agent’s question.
“Judging from the pre-confirmed list, there is no doubt. He’s the head of the well-known Abomer Workshop in Machine City Machina. This time, he said he volunteered because he wanted to see the metals produced in the Blaver Mage Tower with his own eyes after a long time.”
“Then, the possibility that the Mage Tower led the disappearance of the other party is low.”
said Lennok.
“Machine City. Also, if you treat the party of a well-known workshop manager badly, you will suffer a lot of damage.”
“I think so too, but…I don’t know. Actually, this trip is going to check that out.”
“….”
“Let’s finish with this for now and talk again tomorrow. That’s what I said, but if you want to last long in the volcanic area, you’ll need to replenish your energy.”
* * *
Claronis, a volcanic area where the Blaver Magic Tower is located, is quite famous even in the Balkans, which is full of all sorts of mysterious natural phenomena.
It is not an easy thing to say that it is not a dormant volcano that has stopped its activity, but volcanoes that actually erupt lava are gathered nearby to form a huge volcanic zone.
It wouldn’t be unusual for the headquarters of the Mage Tower, which deals with flame-type magic, to be located in such a place.
In modern magic academia, where old superstitions and prejudices have disappeared and theories and demonstrations have gained the upper hand, wizards recognize that it is more efficient to borrow tools or the power of a teacher rather than a special environment.
However, nonetheless, the Blaber Mage Tower, which repeatedly practiced magic in a disaster zone with high fever, was one of the very conservative groups that insisted on tradition even in the academic world, which had recently become quite flexible.
“In terms of being conservative and insisting on tradition, it can be compared to the Sinclair Magic Tower.”
Evelyn murmured as she looked at the scenery passing by.
After entering the volcanic zone, the number of words in the group decreased drastically, but she still did not break a drop of sweat.
The speed of the off-road jeep to climb the mountain with somewhat rough terrain was pleasant, but it is because the air that gets hotter as you head up the mountain chokes your breath.
Under the volcanic zone, the flowers and bushes that had bloomed little by little gradually disappeared, and now all you can see are black stones and the sky smeared with ash.
If that were all, even the agents who had trained their bodies with magical power would not be silent, but not many people could maintain their usual attitude even when they saw the river of lava flowing right next to the jeep.
Only Lennok was sitting in the back of the jeep, looking unconcerned, wiggling his fingers.
“But the Blaver Magic Tower. Among them, the West Continent Branch receives a good evaluation because it entered the steel industry using the environment as a weapon instead of being bound by old traditions. This place, which handles enormous heat, deserves to be called one of the best blacksmiths on the continent.”
“….”
“Naturally, various transportation and trade routes lead to this place to smelt all kinds of rare metals, and the amount of capital flowing in continues to increase. Experts say that at this rate, it would not be impossible for a village to be formed near a volcanic area… … .”
Evelyn, who continued talking like that, suddenly took out an arrow from her waistband and swung it as it was.
Wedge love!!
The green flash ran through the thick rocks and pierced something.
Something that rushed at the party from behind a rock lost its power and collapsed, revealing itself.
[Kiyi….]
a four-legged beast. It has an appearance resembling a hyena, but its body is actually made of rock, and a hot substance similar to lava flows in the parts that make up the joints.
The beast, whose head had been pierced through the front, let out a faint throes and collapsed, but the fluid that flowed from the beast’s body began to burn the jeep’s tires in an instant.
Chi profit!!
“…It is a lava monster.”
The agent quickly reversed the jeep to minimize damage, but more than two tires had to be replaced.
“I’ve heard that they sometimes appear near volcanic zones… … . It’s the first time I’ve actually seen it.”
“Because there aren’t many things to go to and from the volcanic area naked like this.”
“The problem doesn’t seem to appear occasionally.”
[Churrr…!!]
The presence of a beast spitting hot saliva between large rocks.
Not just one or two, but dozens.
“ha…. Let’s deal with it and talk again.”
The moment Eveline and other agents stood up while sighing.
Aaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Suddenly, a pure white wave came from behind and swept away the lava monsters running from the front.
A sharp chill that instantly freezes the stale air of the volcanic region.
Before they could properly identify the source, the monsters, swept away by the waves of cold air, began to struggle and scream in pain.
[Ese Esum !!]
Always hotly fixed in the hot body, which is always informed, and the life reaction is rapidly lost and collapsed.
The waves of cold air did not stop at the first wave, but spread out to every corner of the bedrock as if resonating one after another, clearing the road and clearing out obstacles in no time.
One of the agents who was watching the scene muttered in horror.
“This kind of freezing technique in a place where there is no water….”
In an instant, attention is focused on the person who painted the surrounding dark red rocks white.
Lennok calmly accepted that gaze and moved on.
“Go right away.”
Books on Farden McQueen’s spells were not the only items brought from the cartel’s executive safe.
In Lennok’s hand was a book that was different from [The Master’s Guide to the World] that he had been reading.
[Ice magic that even beginners can easily follow.]
Although the title was very intuitive, the title of the book is not that important. What is more important than anything else is the contents.
Even as he thought so, Lennok slipped the book into his coat and met Evelyn’s gaze.
“…?”
I thought I hid it quickly, but it seems I couldn’t fool Ibelin’s eyes.
She blinked a few times and then began to look at Lennok with a slightly bewildered expression.
“….”
All Lennok could do was avert his gaze.
Genius Magician Who Takes Medicine Chapter 245
