Chapter 669: Chapter 669

The first thing Ghislain did was send a letter to Rio. Ghislain told him to buy and send him as many grimoires as he could get his hands on.

Even if they were only low-circle spells, there was no harm in learning magic that Astion didn’t know.

‘Since I can just absorb it all.’

He used the money he had on hand to take on a bunch of requests from nearby territories. He also made some inquiries to see if there were any mages on the run after committing crimes.

While Ghislain gathered information, even using the Information Guild, he kept pressing Astion and absorbed every bit of magic knowledge he had.

Fwaaaaash!

Chunks of ice flew through the air.

“Man, this is really great. I’ll be able to live comfortably even after I go back.”

Ghislain was thoroughly satisfied with the fact that he could use magic in daily life rather than just in battle. He especially enjoyed chilling water and drinking it cold.

There had been countless inconveniences while living the mercenary life. Purifying water, keeping warm or cool, preserving the freshness of food – those had always been issues.

After reaching a certain level, he managed to endure those hardships, but enduring wasn’t the same as being comfortable.

But look at me now. All those annoying daily-life problems were being solved one by one.

“Feels like I’ve been ripped off by life until now. Maybe I should’ve just become a mage from the start.”

‘Had I really gone down that path, I wouldn’t have grown as much as I did now. With my personality, it would’ve been impossible to consistently study something so vast.’

It was only fun now because he was reaping the rewards so easily. In just a few days, he’d already drained Astion of all the magic he knew.

“Hey, hey, don’t you really know anything else?”

— I don’t… This is so unfair…

Astion had a constitution sensitive enough to accept possessors.

Thanks to that, he had quickly awakened to the presence of mana and learned magic more easily than anyone else.

But even for him, magic was a field so complex that it had taken him years of headache-inducing study.

— I might actually be a genius. My talent… it’s terrifying…

It would be a lie to say he never had such thoughts. Astion had a certain pride in the natural talent he was born with and the effort he’d put in.

He was also always grateful for the fortune of being possessed.

But seeing Ghislain learn multiple spells in a single day without even understanding the formulas, just picking up the mana control techniques left him feeling dejected.

— Maybe I… am trash… Magic isn’t about brains; it’s about the body…

Because of him, Astion’s sense of comparison had become so warped that he no longer understood the average and ended up wallowing in misery.

Ghislain laughed when he noticed Astion growing despondent.

‘Hey, don’t get so down. I’ll help you grow stronger in no time.’

Right now, it was technically his body, but eventually, he planned to return it to Astion. He was also planning to significantly increase its mana.

As he learned magic, the training routine for the three of them began to shift a bit as well.

Fwoooosh!

Dozens of fireballs materialized in midair.

“Starting today, we’ll be training for battles against mages too.”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The fireballs flew mercilessly toward the three of them.

The sudden spike in training difficulty left the three of them completely overwhelmed.

“W-What is this?!”

The spells came at them like a knight’s sword, aiming only for their vital points and there were dozens of them at once.

Ghislain had plenty of experience fighting mages. The high priests of the Salvation Church, in some ways, fought more like mages themselves.

Applying that experience, he demonstrated techniques that were on a transcendent level, attacks no ordinary mage would even think of executing.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“Aaaaagh!”

They couldn’t even manage to deflect a few of the fireballs. The ground itself shook so much that they couldn’t even maintain their stance properly.

There are limits to physical combat techniques due to the structure of the human body. But once he started using magic, an endless variety of attack methods emerged.

The three of them got relentlessly pelted by fire and ice.

And that wasn’t all. With his incredible knack for improvisation, he tormented them with wildly unpredictable attacks.

“Wow, magic is so damn convenient and great.”

He grinned from ear to ear as he kept casting spells. Learning new techniques was always a delight.

On the other hand, the three being targeted could only feel that the bullying had leveled up.

Eventually, the hot-tempered Kyle was the first to blow his top.

“I quit! How the hell are we supposed to block this?!”

He turned on his heels and ran. Julien and Deneb, who had been watching for the right moment, immediately followed.

“Well, well? Running away? This is all for your own good, you know!?”

“For our good?! You’re gonna kill us at this rate!”

“I’m not gonna kill you!”

He spun his staff around and chased after them. The three of them ground their teeth, watching him look like he was having the time of his life.

Besides training the three of them, he also started using magic to gradually stabilize the body.

It wasn’t something that could be done in one go. So, he focused solely on not disrupting the balance for now.

Astion, worried as he was, had no choice but to simply watch.

* * *

Even while learning magic, Ghislain didn’t neglect increasing his mana.

He used the mage’s meditation technique he had learned from Astion to gather mana.

‘It’s a shame I can’t form a core.’

If he tried to form a core in Astion’s body right now, it would clash with the mana around the heart and cause a dangerous situation.

He could control and endure both the core and mana simultaneously, but Astion still couldn’t. That’s why he had deliberately not created a core.

Instead, he gathered mana by applying the flow of the Mana Refinement Technique and gradually incorporating the Power of Will.

It wasn’t quite at the level of Ghislain’s Mana Refinement Technique, but it was still much faster than Astion gathering mana on his own.

‘Hmm, I should also look for ways to gather mana even faster.’

But Ghislain wasn’t satisfied. Even if it was faster than the old method, it still fell short compared to his perfected Mana Refinement Technique.

So, while he was at it looking for a grimoire, he intended to search for methods to replenish mana more rapidly as well.

‘The faster my body grows stronger, the more it’ll help Astion too.’

Now, Ghislain had reached a realm where he could freely use both the mana of the circle and the mana of the core. The only difference lay in efficiency.

Even back in reality, he could use magic through the core of the Mana Refinement Technique. Conversely, here he was utilizing mana as if it were from the Refinement Technique so the more, the better.

And so, the Julien Mercenary Corps focused on training with the ample money received from Rio. During that time, a steady stream of requests and information continued to reach Ghislain.

“Ah, this one’s no good.”

“Anything involving a mage?”

“Finding a decent job’s harder than I thought.”

Ghislain rejected every request that came in. Lately, he was completely absorbed in the joy of learning magic. He wanted to get paid and gain magic at the same time.

He was a man who pursued efficiency.

“Maybe I really should head to another region…”

If he wandered around, he might come across a Magic Tower or a mage worth pummeling. He was about to move, combining travel with training when—

“Oh? There’s a black mage?”

News arrived that a black mage was causing trouble in a nearby territory called Nodehill.

The lord had attempted subjugation twice, failed both times, and even died in the process.

The heir who inherited the territory was preparing another subjugation, burning with rage.

There was also mention that, especially since the territory’s mage had been killed, mages were being treated with high regard.

“This one’s not bad.”

Black mages were extremely rare. Their knowledge was passed down more secretly than any other form of magic.

Some Magic Towers and kingdoms captured black mages for research, but those caught were usually low-circle mages, so little progress was made.

Ghislain found himself intrigued by black magic. He felt a strong urge to capture this one.

On top of that, taking down a villain aligned with the Julien Mercenary Corps’ principle of righteous acts and it would be great for training too.

“Let’s go! To capture the wicked black mage!”

Ghislain packed his belongings and moved out at once.

The black mage was still a mage, so there was a chance he possessed other grimoires or magical artifacts. He intended to take whatever he could.

With that in mind, the party quickly rode on horseback and arrived at the Barony of Nodehill.

The Barony of Nodehill was in quite a turmoil. They had failed to subjugate the black mage, and the lord had died as well.

Andrew, the son of the late lord and the newly appointed baron, had summoned many mercenaries. However, the mercenaries weren’t gathering as quickly as he had hoped.

“They failed to subjugate him twice, right? He must be insanely strong.”

“Rumor has it he’s a 5th-circle master. If that’s true, he’d be hard to catch.”

“Not only is he strong, but he fights covertly from the shadows. He’s not someone you can catch in a small barony like this.”

Most mercenaries turned down the request, saying it gave them a bad feeling. Naturally, only a few were willing to gather.

In the midst of that, when Julien’s mercenary band arrived complete with a mage and a priest, Andrew himself hurried out to greet them.

“Welcome! If you can just take down the black mage, I’ll spare no expense with your payment!”

The young lord Andrew had no intention of giving up on revenge. Besides, the black mage’s experiments had already plunged the barony into a state of unease. The subjugation was absolutely necessary.

That said, asking for help from another territory was not an option. If another army were to come, they would undoubtedly come up with some excuse to seize the barony. That was the kind of era it was.

If Andrew failed the subjugation, he’d die. If he asked another barony for help, he’d still die. There were no other choices.

Responding to the lord’s warm welcome, Julien raised his head and spoke with a smug expression.

“Th-The Julien Mercenary Corps is here. W-We’ll just catch that black mage and b-bend his back the other way.”

His expression was smug, but his face turned beet red and his words stuttered slightly. It was obvious Ghislain had forced him to say it.

“Just hearing that is already reassuring.”

However, the lord didn’t seem to find it awkward. He had already heard the news that Julien had taken down the Barony of Magrel’s top knight, and that Ghislain was a 5th-circle mage.

On top of that, they even had a priest, the natural enemy of a black mage. It was a small but elite mercenary corps.

Wearing a Claude-like expression, Ghislain stepped up beside Julien and spoke.

“We’ll take the payment as posted. We’ll inform you separately if there’s anything additionally required for the mission.”

“Let’s do that. We’ll give you everything we can.”

Ghislain’s party received an extremely warm reception. Even after their arrival, Andrew kept pouring the barony’s finances into recruiting more mercenaries.

Still, while preparing for the subjugation, Andrew couldn’t hide his unease.

“Sigh… If we fail again, this barony’s finished… What am I supposed to do?”

The worry was overwhelming. The power of the Black Mage was a problem, but there was an even bigger issue.

During the last subjugation attempt, several soldiers had suddenly turned on their own and attacked their allies. Though it lasted only a brief moment, the fact that it happened mid-battle brought about devastating consequences.

In the end, the entire army fell into chaos and was pitifully defeated by the Black Mage.

Andrew paced around the room, muttering.

“A few soldiers were hit by a mind control spell. That means someone had cast the magic in advance and is in this territory. And pretty damn close too.”

It meant someone aligned with the Black Mage had infiltrated the territory under a false identity. Unless that person was found, there was no way they could march out again.

In the end, they had no choice but to delay the subjugation and search for the culprit with the mage and priest who had just arrived.

The rumor soon reached the ears of Ghislain’s party, who were being treated with the utmost hospitality.

Ghislain, nibbling on some fruit, let out a small chuckle.

“Looks like someone working with the Black Mage has snuck in. If they want to find that bastard, there’s no way they can start the subjugation right away. How long would it take to investigate every soldier and servant?”

If someone really was under mind control, they would have to check each one with magic and divine power.

Deneb asked curiously.

“If even the retainers were affected, wouldn’t that be seriously dangerous?”

“The high-ranking folks are guarded by knights, so they should be fine. Outsiders can’t easily approach them and mind control magic isn’t exactly easy to pull off.”

“Not easy?”

“Exactly what I said. It doesn’t work well. And even when it does, it only lasts a short while. If messing with someone else’s mind were easy, this tiny territory would’ve already been wiped out by one mage alone, don’t you think? That means the caster’s at least a high-circle mage.”

Kyle nodded in agreement.

“Judging by how it was only a few soldiers who caused a brief disturbance, it seems like the caster targeted a few easy marks.”

“Yeah, they probably cast short-term, conditional spells on a few individuals. Even that much would’ve been deadly for a territory force this weak.”

Normally, in territories with proper mages, incidents like this rarely occurred. They regularly conducted spy hunts and magical inspections.

Even if a few soldiers acted out, it wouldn’t cause such a major blow.

That’s why enemies didn’t bother with such pointless attempts.

But things were a little different in this small territory.

“They said the only mage here was killed during the first subjugation, right? That’ll make it even harder to find the infiltrator. The bastard’s probably being extra cautious too. I’d guess he’s at least a 4th-circle mage.”

At that level, one could control a few dim-witted soldiers if enough time was spent on it.

The infiltrator was likely still working behind the scenes, constantly observing the situation.

At Ghislain’s words, Deneb asked again.

“Then what should we do?”

The three of them looked at Ghislain with eyes full of expectation. After all, Ghislain always had a solution for everything.

Ghislain picked up another piece of fruit and fell into thought.

“Well… in a situation like this, I suppose we’ll have to investigate everyone, one by one…”

It would take a long time, but there wasn’t much else they could do right now.

In the end, they had no choice but to delay the subjugation and conduct a thorough investigation of all personnel.

Not only did they need to find those under mind control, but also identify the culprit behind it.

Deneb muttered with a look of regret.

“Isn’t there some quick and easy way to do this?”

Suddenly, a phrase Maurice used to say to him all the time popped into Ghislain’s mind.

—You damn duck! We need to weigh this bastard to see if he weighs the same as a duck!

“Don’t they have superstitions like that in this era? Something about Black Mages or witches weighing the same as a duck.”

“There’s a superstition like that? Never heard of it.”

“Ah, I guess they didn’t have that kind of superstition in the past. Don’t take it too seriously, it just popped into my head. Anyway, I’ll go speak with the Lord and discuss a possible approach.”

Ghislain figured he’d have to step in and solve the problem himself. After all, he was the only person in the territory capable of using magic.

The subjugation would have to be delayed a little, but that couldn’t be helped if they wanted to minimize damage.

But something happened that Ghislain hadn’t anticipated. A servant who had been attending them and overheard the conversation went and reported it to a superior.

The report made its way up the chain of command, all the way to the Lord because it was said to be a method subtly mentioned by the mage.

Soon after, a new order was issued.

—All soldiers and servants, gather at the training ground! We’re going to see if you weigh the same as a duck!

When Ghislain heard the news, he wore a blank expression.

The Lord was certainly decisive and bold… but this level of primitiveness was beyond belief.