Chapter 65: The Real Combat Needed to Raise Skills (1)

Alito entered Elina’s chamber, and his expression was grim, as if he had already heard the news.

“Phew……!”

The first thing he did upon entering was let out a deep sigh.

“If you’re here to scold me, please don’t. I’m not in the mood for it either.”

At her sharp tone, Alito turned to Feian and asked,

“Even after several days past the promised date, he still hasn’t shown up?”

“……That’s correct.”

“What do you suppose has happened, in your judgment?”

He asked calmly, with an objective tone.

Feian stayed silent for a while before he began to speak.

“To be honest, I believe either he failed his mission and went into hiding, or he’s already been killed.”

“And your own opinion?”

“The latter. Aiden of the Night Ogre Mercenaries was a man overflowing with pride—excessively so. Someone like him wouldn’t simply disappear after failing a mission.”

Feian had hidden his identity when he met Aiden to commission him.

He had offered a substantial advance payment, and Aiden had accepted the request without hesitation.

The Aiden Feian had seen back then had been more arrogant than any swordsman he had met.

“So you think the result is that he’s dead.”

“For now, yes. But……”

Alito caught the uncertainty in his tone.

“Something bothers you?”

“The skill I personally felt from him— even if we had attacked together to tie up loose ends, defeating him easily would have been difficult. Not to mention, he had two subordinates under him as well…… I can’t imagine who in Kanas could have taken them down.”

Before sending Raion to Kanas, Alito had also investigated the territory.

“The only one there worth mentioning would be that knight, Alkas Derion. But even he wouldn’t be enough.”

The questions kept circling and deepening, yet no clear answers came.

One thing was certain—the chances that the Night Ogre group had met an ill fate were high.

“That’s what I think, for what it’s worth.”

“I understand. You may go.”

“Then please excuse me.”

Once Feian left, only Alito and Elina remained.

“This is becoming increasingly troublesome.”

“What on earth is happening around the Third Prince? Isn’t it strange that every assassin we’ve sent has been taken down?”

Even after thinking it over several times, Elina couldn’t understand it.

Nor could Alito.

But any further movement toward the Kanas Territory risked drawing the attention of the Royalist faction.

“Hmm……”

Elina grew anxious at Alito’s troubled expression.

“We should send someone to Kanas. We need to know what’s happening there, don’t we?”

“No. That’s not a good idea. And what could we even do there? Ashuran and Valet are handling things well enough; there shouldn’t be any major issue.”

“So you’re saying we should just sit here and do nothing?”

Elina grew frustrated with his decision.

Of course, Alito had his own thoughts.

“If necessary…… I’ll check on Kanas myself, quietly.”

“All right. Since Father insists, I’ll wait.”

“And His Majesty, the King—there’s been no problem?”

Elina shrugged at the question.

“Not particularly.”

“So he intends to simply look the other way? Or perhaps he’s plotting something.”

Given the current situation, Alito’s suspicions remained sharp and unyielding.

“There’s nothing for us to worry about here, is there? The only one we should be concerned about is the Prince.”

“Perhaps it’s better that the assassinations failed. If the Prince had died too soon, His Majesty might’ve gone into a frenzy.”

The two of them became even more cautious about their next moves.

In the annex of the Kanas Lord’s Castle, Caldein Flavan was deep in arduous research.

He was comparing the formalized magical formulas with the data of Vladmia Mahal he had studied so far, and the formulas Raion used in his magic.

Then, he discovered something significant.

“Th-this is……!”

He checked it over and over again, unable to believe it.

Because there was a similarity between the magical formula used by Vladmia Mahal and the one used by Raion.

“If this is true, then His Highness has been using magic in an impossible way…… But when I look at the way the mana flows, it’s the same.”

Ordinary magic utilized mana accumulated within the user’s body.

In contrast, Vladmia Mahal’s formula drew upon not only the caster’s internal mana but also the ambient mana dispersed in nature.

That reduced internal mana consumption and at the same time increased the spell’s power.

“To think such a simple yet complex principle could be constructed like this. If one were to learn magic by this method……!”

At that moment, Caldein’s heart began to race faster and faster.

It wasn’t because of excitement—rather, the circles within his body, which stored mana, caused his heart to race rapidly.

“Kuuk―!”

Was it because he had realized something he hadn’t known before?

The mana within Caldein, which had felt blocked and stagnant, began to surge at an incredible rate.

“My mana…….”

A storm of mana swirled violently, turning the room into chaos.

Countless parchments filled with formulas scattered everywhere.

Even amid the disorder, Caldein clutched at his chest.

The circles within his chest expanded and redrew themselves.

For his forty-seven years of life, he had remained stuck at two circles.

But now, despite the pain, the circles continued forming—until finally, there were five.

“Kuuaaaah―!”

Caldein’s blocked breath suddenly burst open.

When he came back to his senses, sweat was pouring from every inch of his body as he gasped for air.

“Huff……! Huff……! Th-this mana really built up inside me?”

Even without focusing, he could sense how many circles he now had and how much mana was stored within them.

For Caldein, who had lived his life as a mere two-circle mage, it was unbelievable—even to himself.

Knock, knock!

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Standing outside the annex was Raion, who had quietly entered.

“So, you’ve finally awakened the knowledge you’ve worked so hard to accumulate?”

“M-Master……!”

Since arriving in Kanas Territory, Caldein had rarely left the annex, dedicating himself solely to research.

He was so reclusive that the maids had even nicknamed him “the Ghost of the Annex.”

And now, at long last, his efforts were bearing fruit.

“Specific Analysis.”

At the utterance of the ability, an information window appeared before Raion’s eyes.

[Target Information]

Name: Caldein Flavan

Age: 47

Occupation: Mage under Raion / 5-Circle Mage

Title: One Who Awakened the Knowledge of Vladmia Mahal

Health: 720 / 720

Stamina: 630 / 630

Mana: 8,300 / 8,300

Abilities:

Magic Level 5-Circle

There were significant changes across the board.

Especially the mana—it had increased to a level incomparable to before.

In fact, the numbers showed nearly twenty times more mana than his previous state.

“Have I truly awakened the essence of Vladmia Mahal?”

Caldein still couldn’t believe it.

Of course, his intent in studying Vladmia Mahal’s knowledge had never been to gain this kind of power.

He had merely devoted his life to exploring and preserving knowledge.

But the result had far exceeded imagination.

“This is something worth celebrating. But if you keep your mana so open, you’ll exhaust yourself quickly.”

“Pardon? What do you mean…….”

At that moment, Caldein was unintentionally releasing his mana uncontrollably.

“It seems you still don’t fully understand. I’ll suppress it for you.”

Raion approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He manipulated his own mana to seize and stabilize the flow pouring from Caldein.

Instantly, Caldein felt relief wash over him, and a long sigh escaped his lips.

“Phew……! So this is the sensation you spoke of.”

Caldein had known he was leaking mana but couldn’t stop it. Yet when Raion intervened, he could feel the flow stabilizing almost immediately.

“It’s natural that controlling power gained so suddenly would be difficult.”

“Will I even be able to handle this?”

A 5-Circle mage’s mana and spells were on par with a Royal Mage Division Commander.

At that level, a mage could go beyond manifestation, formation, application, and amplification—to even achieve reconstruction.

Of course, that didn’t mean immediately.

It depended on how he trained his newly attained mana.

“You’ll have to make yourself capable of handling it. Actually, this works out quite well. You’ll need an opponent for your magic training, after all.”

“Pardon? What do you mean……?”

Caldein couldn’t understand.

Raion only smiled faintly and looked at him quietly.

Jade had just returned to the lord’s castle after completing the knights’ Guerrilla Combat Training.

He went looking for Raion to report on the training progress, but the latter wasn’t in his quarters or the annex.

“Where could he be?”

Then, he happened to spot Monica passing nearby.

“Monica!”

“What is it?”

“Do you know where Master is? I’ve been searching for him for a while, but he’s nowhere to be found.”

“His Highness? Now that you mention it, he said he had to go out for something after lunch.”

The sun had already set, and darkness had fallen.

Normally, even when he went out, Raion always returned before sunset—so this was unusual.

Then, Shtefan also happened to be walking by and joined them.

“Do either of you know where His Highness is? The additional personnel for the Theron Village expedition are ready, and I need his approval.”

“I’m looking for him as well. But he’s not in his quarters or the annex.”

“I just came from there myself.”

The three of them entered Raion’s office as they spoke.

There, on the desk, lay a small note.

[I’m going hunting with Caldein for a bit. It’ll take a few days. Jade, take care of the castle while I’m gone. — Raion]

“…….”

Shtefan, Jade, and Monica read the letter together, speechless.

It had happened during the brief period when Patrick, Raion’s personal watcher, was away from Kanas on official business.

“What should we do about this?”

After a moment of silence, Jade asked Shtefan cautiously.

But Shtefan, just as dumbfounded, struggled to come up with an answer.

“I know. And hunting, of all things? The subjugation was completed not long ago. Surely he hasn’t gone to the Clamen Mountain Range?”

Currently, that was the only place in the Kanas Territory where monsters might still remain.

“Find out where he went, immediately.”

“Understood.”

At Shtefan’s request, Jade moved at once.

After all, the mere fact that Prince Raion had disappeared was already a serious matter.

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