Episode 39: The Mage Society Festival (4)
“Rudius… my son…….”
The banquet ended because of the man’s outburst.
There was no tedious classical music, nor laughter.
Only guards clad in silver armor turned the surroundings upside down.
Normally, a banquet wouldn’t end just because some child went missing, but it made sense—because the one hosting this banquet, and the one ruling this city, was ‘Count Lartman.’
Soon, dozens of nobles gathered around the heartbroken man.
“Don’t worry, Count. We’ll find him soon.”
“What are you all standing around for! Send out the personal bodyguards too! You need to find my son!”
Dozens of nobles made a fuss around the man engulfed in sorrow.
As if trying to use this tragedy as an opportunity to improve relations with him.
Their pretense continued.
And the students standing nearby also gauged the mood.
They were worried that if they somehow offended him, their patronage would be cut off.
“Young Master Rudius!”
“Young master, where are you!”
Voices calling out for the little boy echoed throughout the garden and building.
He might be hiding somewhere playing a prank, or asleep in a quiet place, but those searching were frantic.
Just then, Count Lartman’s personal mage appeared, having heard the news.
Flashy clothes and a neat side-parted hairstyle.
Perhaps because he had been enjoying the party, he looked immaculate.
“Oh! Philip is here!”
“If it’s Tracker Philip, we can trust him!”
The man smiled brightly at the nobles’ excited cries.
His confidence could be felt in the way he walked with his chest puffed out.
Moreover, Sid also took interest in the flashy title of ‘Tracker.’
‘Tracker Philip?’
[2,237,450]
He was a man who comfortably exceeded the 5th Circle, befitting his flashy title.
Sid observed his face.
A face that looked to be in his mid-to-late thirties.
Considering Hammond, who had revealed himself to be a ‘Kingdom Battle Mage,’ he wondered if the name ‘Tracker’ would live up to its role.
However, his arrival brought vitality back to the gloomy mansion.
“Everyone, rest easy. Now that I’m here, it’s as good as done.”
The man who came to the center of the banquet hall emanated mana.
Soon, flames resembling will-o’-wisps scattered and slipped right into the dining hall’s drain.
The people who flocked to the dining hall following the flames each made a commotion.
In the storeroom where ingredients were kept, there was a drain hole large enough for a child to enter.
“As expected of Tracker Philip! He already found a clue, hasn’t he?”
“Kuh… We too should have a 5th Circle mage on exclusive retainer….”
There was no concern for the missing child in the people’s voices.
Only gestures to look good before the Count and a thirst for a competent mage.
As he scanned the dining hall, Philip’s eyes flashed sharply.
The chefs and guards protecting the dining hall were startled by his gaze.
“It’s Ratmen. Creatures that live in the gutters; it seems they came in through the sewer. According to my tracking magic, below here connects to an underground waterway.”
“Ratmen?”
He spoke, pointing to the missing ingredients and scratch marks from claws.
Murmurs spread at his words.
It was worth buzzing about that ‘rat humans’ had appeared in the splendid banquet hall—not even ordinary rats.
“What did you say? Ratmen?”
The enraged Count rushed over at the news that monsters had invaded.
He slapped a guard’s cheek, revealing his furious temper.
“How! Could rat bastards! Get into! My mansion! You worthless pieces of trash!”
Slap! Crack, slap!
The Count, flushed bright red, clenched his teeth.
Having revealed such futile hatred, the Count stuck to Philip’s side.
The mage chased the Ratmen’s lingering traces with sharp eyes.
The noble lord beside him looked truly frantic.
“What does it look like, Philip? Is this their doing? Did the Ratmen kidnap Rudius? Is he alive? Please tell me he’s alive!”
Soon, the mana that had entered the drain returned.
The man, examining the mana for a moment, nodded.
He put on the white gloves he had removed and smiled leisurely.
“Of course. My magic to protect the Count and his family activated properly. In the eyes of the Ratmen, the young master likely appeared dead, so they simply took him. He is definitely alive.”
“Oh, Philip… as expected of you!”
“Ha, I told you it had to be Philip! This is why a mage is a 5th Circle mage!”
The Count was relieved by Philip’s words.
However, he could guess what it meant that they had taken a young child fallen into a near-death state.
It’s not like the monsters living in the gutters took a five-year-old child to raise him.
Although he had spoken in a positive direction, time was of the essence, so Philip continued.
“I would ask each of the nobles to lend their personal bodyguards. We will enter the sewer below and conduct a search. I will use tracking magic as well, but the scale is too large to search alone. And my dear Academy juniors.”
Serpent-like eyes reached the young students.
Seeing that he specifically said ‘Academy juniors,’ it seemed he was emphasizing that he too was from the Academy.
“This is an opportunity. An opportunity to prove your strength. Will you lend me your power?”
“Oh, yes! If you follow Philip, you can prove your abilities! Won’t you help? Hmm? Right?”
The bright, eager gazes of the Count and nobles spread.
Flower petals not yet ripe enough to bloom.
They sized up the yellow flowers they had picked.
“Understood! We’ll lend our strength!”
“M-me too! I’ll go too!”
The majority, with no real combat experience, nodded.
Of course, the yellow flowers who hadn’t been chosen by anyone were the same.
Because this was practically their last chance.
‘Sixty-three? That many are volunteering?’
Sid, watching from behind, opened his mouth.
His heart grew bitter at the fact that all sixty-three were yellow flowers.
Why were students with no real combat experience volunteering for the search?
Only Sid had fought Jii and Hammond; those students were no different from flowers in a greenhouse.
“That’s right, this is how you accumulate real combat experience!”
“Kuh, as expected of Academy students, aren’t they? Truly amazing!”
Even so, there wasn’t a single adult worried about the students.
It was like releasing fighting dogs into an arena.
The nobles wanted to see the abilities of the students they had picked.
Even the teachers didn’t try to dissuade them, shifting awkwardly as they cheered them on.
Moreover, Ruerna Pom—who might have stopped such madness—had left her seat, so there was no one to stop the frenzy.
But there was one more entity cheering on this insane act.
[How about volunteering as well, Customer?]
“Huh?”
Sid doubted his ears.
Soon, he headed to a corner where others couldn’t see, and their conversation continued.
“What do you mean, miss? It seems like an unnecessary action. With that many guards and even a 5th Circle mage, it’ll be over quickly. Besides, Ratmen are weaker than goblins.”
During that time, preparations finished as they broke open the sewer hole.
Counting the mansion’s guards and the bodyguards lent by the nobles, there were over fifty.
Adding the students who volunteered on their own, the number approached one hundred.
But at the suggestion to join them, Sid tilted his head.
[After checking the customer’s growth graph. You grow quickly in real combat. If you can accumulate combat experience through this battle, it will be your first experience fighting a living monster.]
“Ah, come to think of it, I’ve never fought a living monster before, have I?”
[That is correct.]
Sid nodded.
Up until now, all Sid had faced were bandits and mages, and the crystal sphere and Rayce he met at Bane’s mansion.
Moreover, the ‘Lamp Giant’ he had recently faced wasn’t exactly a living being either.
But ‘Ratmen’ were different.
They were creatures with hot blood flowing through them, monsters that made the underground their home and worked together.
Fighting such monsters would be good experience for Sid as well.
“Alright. Then I’ll volunteer.”
Convinced by the Passbook, Sid rolled up his sleeves.
He took off the awkward tuxedo, leaving only a white shirt, and only then did he feel like he had returned to his true self.
Watching the crowd entering the sewer, the boy waited for his turn.
When he undid one button on his chest, Sid’s distinct collarbones were revealed.
[Subject] Balance Inquiry
[Amount Withdrawn]
[Amount Deposited] *1,061
[Balance] *92,381 (Lartman Mansion)
Sid’s current pure mana capacity was approximately ‘1,170 mana coins.’
Each time he experienced a major incident rather than training alone, he grew rapidly.
Moreover, since approximately ‘2,000 coins’ was the starting point for a 2nd Circle mage, it wouldn’t be long before Sid too became a pure 2nd Circle mage.
But for an Academy scholarship student to be barely a 1st Circle mage….
It was quite funny in its own way.
“Now, now, let’s enter in an orderly fashion! Let’s each prove our abilities!”
“At the end of the day, they’re just rat bastards. What’re you afraid of, keke!”
“I’ve seen Ratmen in my hometown, so I know; they’re the size of a ten-year-old kid. There’s nothing to be afraid of at all.”
Starting with the guards who finished preparations, the Academy students headed into the sewer as well.
Just seeing the confident ‘Tracker Philip’ and veteran guards set their minds at ease.
Soon, a waterway with a rapid current was revealed beneath the broken hole.
It was a massive waterway large enough for hundreds of people to walk through.
‘They built a waterway like this and didn’t expect intrusions? Does this city only house idiots?’
Sid’s expression hardened.
It was large enough that an army could invade unnoticed.
It was unbelievable that they had connected such a waterway to the mansion’s sewer.
At any rate, once all personnel had descended, Philip—the one who proposed the search party—stepped forward.
He gave a stylish greeting like a host on stage.
“Thank you for volunteering like this, seasoned warriors and juniors with bright futures. Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Tracker Philip. The personal mage of Count Lartman’s family and a 5th Circle mage. I guarantee your safety. I look forward to working with you all.”
“We look forward to working with you!”
“Everyone, do your best!”
“Woooah!”
Over a hundred members of the search party cheered at the man’s greeting.
The abnormally bright atmosphere made it unclear whether they had come to conduct a search or to praise Count Lartman’s family.
Once the greeting was over, Philip divided the search teams.
“Now then, I will divide you into teams. Everyone, please pay attention to my words.”
Guards at the front.
Mages pouring down firepower from behind—a simple formation.
It was a plausible idea to place the inexperienced students in the rear, bombarding the enemy while the guards held the line.
Thanks to that, the students who would no longer have to confront monsters directly breathed sighs of relief.
“This place is a dungeon. Although they are Ratmen weaker than goblins, it is a nest they’ve burrowed and arranged to their advantage. No matter how weak the monster, you must not let your guard down. This is just my concern as your Academy senior.”
“Yes, sir!”
“We’ll be careful!”
Even though they had been inside for several minutes, the man kept talking.
Whether he had any intention of saving the Count’s son or not….
He dragged on with unnecessary preambles as he walked near the waterway.
In front of the sixty juniors, his chatter showed no signs of stopping, as if he were enjoying himself.
“But we are strong! When strong people gather, we become even stronger! Please return safely, bringing glory to your respective masters and—”
Splash!
“Kyaaaah!!!”
“Uwaaah! What is that?!”
“Philip!!!”
A monster leaped up, sending a huge spray of water into the air.
There was no time to stop the monster disappearing amidst the spray.
Caught in its vicious maw, Philip vanished without even being able to scream.
“Wh-what was that?”
The search party’s expressions hardened at what had happened in an instant.
Judging by the brief glimpse, it was clearly a crocodile nearly 10 meters long.
Who knew why a crocodile was living in such a waterway.
“…….”
But with the death of the man who was the captain and spiritual pillar of the search party, the atmosphere turned grim.
Who would have thought a 5th Circle mage would be done in by a single giant crocodile.
Bloop….
Dark red blood floated up to the surface of the silent water.
Outside the Academy, in the middle of a dungeon where no one could protect them, teenage boys and girls were facing a cruel reality.
The confidence they had felt before descending underground was completely engulfed by a nightmare.
- To be continued in Episode 40 -