Chapter 104 - But It Works? (1)

The day after Alon returned from the Ruins of Malaka.

"It really is pitch-black."

"Yes."

"And there's a dragon in here? A Shadow Dragon or whatever it's called?"

"Yes."

"Then when does it hatch?"

"Hmm..."

Alon fell silent at Evan's question. Naturally, he had no idea when the Shadow Dragon would hatch either.

'I'd at least be able to guess if it had appeared in the game.'

Despite spending an enormous amount of time playing Psychedelia and exploring every imaginable place, he had never once heard or seen the name Shadow Dragon. In short, he knew nothing about it.

"... Would the Information Guild know if we asked?"

"I'm not sure... I doubt this is their area of expertise."

"Really?"

"Well, they collect and sell news of what's happening in the world, not ancient information like that. Of course, it might be different if there were actual rumors circulating about it."

Alon considered Evan's words for a moment, then exclaimed.

"Ah."

"Have you thought of something?"

Alon nodded.

"Yes. I thought of someone I could ask."

"Who?"

"Rine."

"... Rine?"

Evan looked bewildered.

But Alon knew she possessed the Library of All Ages.

'Could Rine know?'

He knew her mind contained most information, except for things she was not supposed to know according to the setting.

'I should go see her.'

He promptly rose from his seat.

"My lord? Where are you going?"

"Straight to our next destination."

"What? It's only been a day since we got back from the ruins. Wouldn't it be better to rest a little?"

Evan's surprise was understandable, especially after seeing how much strength Alon had expended. But Alon was firm.

"No. I intend to finish everything as quickly as possible."

"Why?"

"Because I want to rest. It's too humid here."

"Ah..."

Evan nodded in agreement.

"You certainly do hate humidity, my lord."

"Yes. It's so uncomfortable here that I can't rest."

Evan looked at him as if to ask whether it was really that bad, but Alon meant every word.

'I simply can't rest here.'

Alon was not particularly fussy about where he slept. Before switching to his current carriage, he had always camped during carriage journeys, and he had managed perfectly well in the desert without much complaint. The same had been true in the port city.

Humidity, however, was truly difficult to endure.

'I'll finish as quickly as possible and get out of this jungle.'

With that resolve, Alon rose. Just then...

"My lord, are you in?"

"... Riyan?"

"Ah, yes."

Riyan had come to see him.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thanks to you."

Watching her avert her eyes slightly and smile awkwardly, Alon asked,

"So, what brings you here?"

"Ah, well, we're heading back now."

"... Already?"

"Yes. After what happened yesterday..."

Continuing the expedition would certainly be too much. Alon nodded in understanding.

"... That makes sense."

"Besides, I've heard something a little strange has happened near the magic tower."

"Something strange?"

"Yes. So I need to get back to the tower quickly."

"I see. Then I'll see you again another time."

Riyan's face brightened at his promise of another meeting.

"Yes, I hope we'll meet again. Oh, and would you like to have a meal together next time?"

"A meal?"

"Yes. You saved my life, so I'd like to treat you."

Alon thought for a moment, then nodded again in acceptance.

"In that case, all right."

"Then please do visit the Red Magic Tower sometime...!"

"I will."

After hearing his answer, Riyan bowed deeply, then turned and left. Evan, who had been watching, spoke up.

"She's definitely friendlier than before."

"Is she?"

"Yes. Maybe it's because that magic was so impressive."

"That subject again?"

"It's not so much that. I'm just saying it certainly made an impact."

At the response rooted in Evan's personal tastes, Alon quietly chuckled behind his expressionless face.

"Let's leave it at that."

He resumed preparing to leave.

'... Was it really that impressive?'

... For no particular reason, the thought crossed his mind.

####

Once his preparations were complete, Alon left Evan behind and headed alone to the Hermit's Hideout. It was so Evan could guard their newly acquired Shadow Dragon's egg.

"..."

When told to stay behind and guard the egg, Evan had broken into a smile and nodded eagerly.

Alon chuckled, then began walking northeast toward the Selvanus Zone.

The Selvanus Zone.

Of all the areas people had explored, it was unquestionably one of the most dangerous. Inhabited by all manner of mutated monsters, it was somewhere Alon would ordinarily never dare enter alone.

Yet he was unworried, thanks to a blessing.

'Imariana's Blessing.'

Alon looked northeast, at the enormous stone statue that effectively marked the boundary of the Selvanus Zone. Like the statues at other ruins, it seemed modeled after an unknown goddess and was covered in moss. That posed no particular problem, however, so he approached it, pressed his palms together, and bowed his head.

Perhaps five seconds passed.

"O great god Imariana. If you grant me the opportunity to see this region with my own eyes, I will seek out your possessions and offer them to you."

A faint light began emanating from the moss-covered statue and seeped into Alon. He smiled in satisfaction.

From the moment he received Imariana's Blessing, the Selvanus Zone was no longer dangerous to him. It was no different from an ordinary forest.

As he understood it, once he received Imariana's Blessing, monsters would be unable to perceive him unless he attacked them first. He was therefore free to roam the forest at ease.

'... Well, there is the penalty of having to find things scattered through the forest and offer them in return for the blessing, but that isn't difficult either. I can just take a few things from the Hermit's Hideout and give them to her.'

As he remembered it, the setting established that everything in the Selvanus Zone was something the goddess had lost.

Thus, as he walked into the zone feeling somewhat at ease, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

'Come to think of it, Deus didn't return yesterday. Will he be all right?'

He worried briefly, then shook his head. Objectively speaking, there was no chance whatsoever of Deus dying here.

'... Someone who can beat even a Swordmaster like a dog couldn't possibly die in this forest.'

It might be a different story if he entered the Hundred Demons' territory, but as long as he had not gone that far, there would be no problem.

Putting his worries about Deus aside, Alon continued northeast.

At some point, he spotted a particularly enormous tree among the grotesquely grown trees of the Selvanus Zone. Two trees had grown as though twisting around each other, forming a colossal mass.

'Straight to the right from here.'

Using it as his landmark, Alon began walking to the right.

How long had he been trudging along in boredom?

"!"

As he realized he was finally nearing his destination, Alon could not help being startled. Monster corpses were piled into a mountain near the Hermit's Hideout.

The mountain of corpses rose higher than even the Selvanus Zone's trees, which already grew larger than those in the surrounding jungle, and contained an immense variety of mutants. There were bloated, lizard-shaped monsters that looked capable of easily devastating an entire village, along with other mutants, every one of them exceedingly difficult to kill.

As Alon stood momentarily dumbfounded,

"Hmm?"

He turned toward the voice and found a middle-aged man standing there. The man wore blue robes quite out of place in this jungle. Without a trace of wariness on his face, he smiled at Alon.

"Coming into a forest like this alone? You must be quite confident in your abilities as well."

"... Did you do this?"

"I did. I wanted to investigate at my leisure, but the mutants kept bothering me whenever I tried."

The middle-aged man glanced at the corpses as he spoke.

"Since I piled them up like this, hardly anything comes near except insects."

Instinctively realizing that this was no ordinary man, Alon spoke.

"May I ask your name?"

"Selaim Micardo."

"... Selaim Micardo...?"

Murmuring quietly, Alon felt his jaw drop behind his expressionless facade, then said,

"... The master of the Blue Magic Tower...?"

"That is my position, yes. Though my pupil does practically all the work."

Selaim laughed with remarkable heartiness for a middle-aged man, then addressed Alon.

"And who might you be?"

"Forgive my late introduction. My name is Alon Pallatio."

"... Alon Pallatio? ... Marquis Pallatio?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Selaim's smile grew brighter still at the introduction. Yet it was a smile like that of someone who had found a toy.

For some reason, Alon felt a chill.

####

Shortly afterward, as they conversed in an atmosphere of curious goodwill,

"Come to think of it, why have you come here?"

"I have business over there."

"... Over there? You mean the Hermit's Hideout?"

"Yes."

"Oh?"

Intrigued, Selaim continued.

"Then have you come to study it too?"

"... Well, to be precise, I've come for something inside."

"Something inside?"

"Yes."

Selaim looked a little bewildered by his answer.

"Then you mean... you've come not to study it, but to retrieve something from inside?"

"Yes."

"Hmm..."

After a moment's consideration, Selaim spoke.

"Well, I've heard you use magic close to its primordial form, so I can see why the objects inside would interest you. But may I offer some frank advice?"

"Please do."

"Giving up and going home would be better for your peace of mind."

Selaim was firm. He was not saying this out of contempt for Alon; fundamentally, he respected all mages. He simply knew how absurdly powerful the magic sealing the Hermit's Hideout was.

'As if having triple-layered magic as its foundation weren't enough, you have to reverse-calculate every spell to enter. Only then can you pass the first barrier.'

He had offered that advice because even he had taken an entire year to open the first barrier and reach the second.

"Even I took a year just to open the first door."

"... Still, since I've come this far, I'll give it a try."

"I won't insist on stopping you."

In the end, he backed down.

Having his sincere advice disregarded was not pleasant, but he still felt a little fondness for Alon. To Selaim, a true mage was, fundamentally, someone who pursued knowledge. Conversely, he believed a mage who neglected that pursuit was no mage at all.

Alon seemed better than the other young mages who had no intention of doing any legwork themselves, squabbled among themselves, and acquired only the information published by the scholarly society.

'He's different from the mages these days.'

Thus, with the affection of someone watching a promising junior grow, Selaim cheered on the younger mage as he stood before the same daunting problem that Selaim had barely managed to solve after a year of hellish toil.

Perhaps thirty seconds passed.

GRRRRRRRIND!!!!!

With a harsh noise, the hideout's first barrier opened.

"?????"

Selaim's jaw dropped.