Chapter 19 - Exemption Mission and Non-Mages (4)
Enoch observed the doll in his hand again.
The doll's long ears. Short tail and legs. Even the face with a dumb expression.
Anyone would think it was a rabbit, but....
"It's a fox!"
She was making nonsensical claims with a sulky face, looking up at him, who was taller than her.
Judging from that expression, she must have been very confident in the doll she made.
"...Ugh, I really tried my best to make it."
Chloe was becoming more and more tearful.
But Enoch, rather than her, was observing the doll again with an even more serious expression.
He tried to find the appearance of a fox, but it was really impossible.
But there was still a way to change the little girl's mind.
「Chloe didn't grow up hearing proper compliments from a young age. So she shows a very weak side to compliments directed at her.」
Enoch quickly handed her the doll, speaking in a kind voice.
"Of course! I meant a fox that's cute like a rabbit."
Chloe replied in a pouty voice.
"Hmph, do you think I'll fall for your excuses...?"
"Ah, to make such a complete doll with magic, I didn't expect to meet a mage as talented as you. And so pretty too."
"Talented...? Pretty...?"
Chloe stuttered, slightly flustered by the sudden barrage of compliments.
Enoch didn't miss the opportunity and poured out even more compliments.
"It wouldn't have been easy to make so many dolls like this, you're amazing. Have you been making them with magic for a long time? They're all unique and cute."
"I, I've only been able to use magic for a while. Until then, I didn't even know I was a mage."
Enoch's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment.
'So she was a mage from the start, but her magic manifested late.'
It was rare but occasionally happened even within the Empire. Usually, they open their eyes to magic before the age of ten, but there are cases where it is this late.
If you have a talent for magic, it is manifested by at least the age of thirteen.
"It's hard to believe that you haven't been using magic for long. You really made it well."
Of course, rabbits and foxes are different species, but it's not a compliment he doesn't mean at all.
It would be stranger if a child who hasn't been using magic for long could handle magic more elaborately than this.
"Re, really...?"
Chloe's ears were red, and it was obvious that she didn't know what to do, embarrassed by the sudden compliments.
Enoch smiled inwardly at the reaction.
'Easier than I thought.'
Chloe was still said to be weak to compliments even 5 years after the current time in the original story.
The thought that it would have been even more so in her childhood was accurate.
"Thank you for complimenting me."
Chloe fiddled with the doll with her ears red.
Well, she was from an orphanage where only non-mages, who are despised even within the Empire, gather. Perhaps it was natural that she grew up in an environment where she couldn't receive compliments.
'I think I roughly know why Chloe was weak to compliments in the original story.'
She had already loosened her sullen expression and was looking down at the doll in her hand, and said.
"...Actually, I was practicing elemental magic."
"Practice?"
"Yes. They said that if I practice shaping with concentration, my skills in handling mana will improve. The mage uncle who came here last time saw me using magic by chance and said that."
Chloe looked down at the doll she claimed was a fox with a slightly gloomy expression.
"I know it too. That I'm still lacking a lot. But the other kids were kidnapped, and I hate that I can't do anything even though I have the talent of a mage..."
Her bright light brown eyes deepened.
Was she feeling guilty even at such a young age?
"I'm going to leave the orphanage soon too. And someday, I want to become a great high-ranking mage and have the power to save my lost friends. But..."
Chloe teared up slightly with sad eyes.
"The mage uncle who came here before said that the rank of magic only increases with enlightenment. That's too difficult for me. I want to become stronger so I can save my friends quickly, but enlightenment is..."
Enoch silently watched her profile.
She looked quite pitiful to the one watching.
In the end, she remains at the 14th rank in the original story. That means she didn't get any special 'enlightenment' even after that.
These stories are described in detail in the original story.
「The ranks of mages are ultimately directly related to enlightenment.」
But the enlightenment that mages gain is not something that can be solved with talent and effort alone.
Even looking at the characters in the original story, the way people gain enlightenment is different for each person.
「Someone in the countless stars that seem to pour down on the night sky.」
「Someone in death in the battlefield where blood and flesh splatter.」
「Someone in the melody of the lullaby that her mother gently sang.」
「Someone gains enlightenment from the life that dwells in the flower buds of the weeds that bloom in the front yard.」
In addition, the way the mages in each field realize it is also different. The training to gain such enlightenment is all different.
Therefore, until you actually gain enlightenment, you can only wander around without knowing that it is a way to gain enlightenment.
That's why the fashion of the imperial mages doesn't just include modern functional robes or wide-brimmed mage conical hats.
There are also many practitioners who wander around in such traveler attire, seeking enlightenment.
Enoch looked down at Chloe, who was sulking next to him, and casually asked.
"If it's a mage who taught you, from Elsyde?"
"Yes, that's right. But, how do you know that...?"
Chloe, who answered that, suddenly realized something and raised her head, asking.
"Ah! Are you a mage from Elsyde? You gave me something to give you last time!"
"That's right."
At that answer, the tearful expression disappeared from Chloe's face, and it was replaced with a sparkling surprise.
"Wow... I didn't really expect a mage from the Main House to come again!"
She rummaged through the small bag she was carrying and took something out of it.
Enoch smiled faintly without realizing it as he checked the item Chloe handed him.
'It was worth it to match her mood.'
An artifact with a familiar shape that he had seen in the original story.
It was a rectangular terminal with a display.
If he hadn't come here, he might have had difficulties in this mission.
Chloe tilted her head as she looked at the thing in Enoch's hand.
"But it was said to be important... What is this anyway? I really don't know..."
"I wonder."
"Eee.... I was curious about what it was."
Enoch replied briefly to Chloe, who stretched out her shoulders as if she was discouraged.
"You probably wouldn't know even if I told you."
"Hmph."
Chloe puffed out her cheeks again, as if she felt bad that she was being ignored.
But since he received the item, he had no obligation to 맞춰 [match] her mood anymore.
'Now let her sulk or whatever she wants.'
Besides, Chloe wouldn't know what it was even if he really told her.
This is one of the tactical artifacts that the affiliate company of the 'Artigen' Main House, the headquarters of magic engineering, manufactures by receiving only a very small amount of custom orders.
「Miniature Surveillance Camera: Terminal」
A portable reconnaissance artifact that uses the user's mana as power.
Like a modern closed-circuit camera, it is installed somewhere and used to monitor the place.
And this terminal is a kind of portable transmission device that can check the videos recorded on the surveillance camera.
Enoch stared at it for a moment.
The missing mage left something like this behind.
It didn't even appear in the original story.
But where is this surveillance artifact installed and what is it monitoring?
Enoch carefully put it in his arms.
'I'll have to check it.'
***
Enoch went straight back to the lodging he was assigned to in the mansion.
After locking the door and checking the surroundings, Enoch finally took out the artifact he had received from Chloe from his arms.
'Thankfully, it's still working.'
Most of the artifacts produced in modern times are ultimately for mages, as they are in the Magic Empire.
Of course, most of them can only be operated if you know how to use magic.
Originally, Enoch could not use magic, so he would not be able to operate even this artifact on his own.
But fortunately, this surveillance magic tool was already in operation.
Probably the owner of this artifact, the missing mage, had in advance charged a sufficient amount of mana into the terminal.
'Operation is... was it like this?'
Enoch operated the terminal's display.
It was definitely the first time he had seen the artifact, but strangely, he was acting quite familiar.
'It's a bit strange. How do I know how to operate an artifact I've never seen before?'
In the game, he only had to press one operation key and the character would use it on his own.
Nevertheless, the operation method of the terminal remained vividly in his memory for some reason.
Maybe he saw it in the game's motion? It didn't seem to be that clearly described.
At the moment he had some doubts about his artifact knowledge-
Woong-
A faint operating sound rang from the terminal.
Pat!
Finally, beyond the screen of the terminal.
The scenery of another place unfolded.
「Successfully connected to the installed surveillance lens: Leopold Administrator's Mansion Study」
A message appeared on the slightly noisy screen.
Was he spying on the administrator's study?
The administrator's study he had broken into earlier.
But unlike now, which was still evening, it was a dark night outside the study's window.
「Unconfirmed record: Play 2 weeks ago video」
Judging from the message on the display, it was a video from just before the missing mage disappeared.
[Administrator. The preparations for our experiment are perfect.]
The recorded voice in the video flowed out.
[But now that the Elsyde mage who was dispatched has approached the secrets of our experiment, of all times....]
A strange man was sitting in front of the administrator.
[After all, the one who is absent instructed us to put the children's experiment on hold. I didn't expect the skills of Oscar, who was once a famous combat mage of Elsyde, to be only this much.]
Enoch recognized the identity of the strange man at once as he looked at the pattern of the ticking pocket watch.
「Vendetta Decurion」
A person who leads ten general members of the secret society Vendetta.
[Your tone is extremely rude, Decurion. The opponent is a 13th rank mage. He must have noticed something suspicious because he is that skilled.]
Oscar twisted his lips.
[Those Elsyde bastards. They don't even care about non-mages, but if they see something that looks like a chance to gain merit as the Main House, they rush at it like crazy. It's disgusting.]
[Haha. I didn't expect you, who were once a loyal combat mage of Elsyde, to say that.]
[Don't scratch my nerves. I didn't know anything at that time.]
Administrator Oscar added, spitting it out.
[Tell the Vendetta members in the underground facility here. I will soon lure the dispatched mage to the underground. Ambush and subdue him then. It would be good to give him as an experimental material gift to 'that person'.]
But the Decurion laughed as if it was ridiculous.
[There is no need to use the members.]
[What?]
[The 13th rank mage of Elsyde is only alone. It is enough to entrust it to the 'Magical Beast Experiment Subject' for security. In the first place, 'that person' also needs the actual combat data of the Magical Beast that he made in the past.]
[Don't underestimate him too much. He is also a mage from a Follower Family of Elsyde's 3rd Level direct line.]
[There is no problem. Because it is a creation made by 'that person'.]
The Decurion said in a confident tone.
[Don't worry. Although the Magical Beasts that 'that person' had been making for fun since before he set up the laboratory in this orphanage, it will be enough to subdue the mage of Elsyde.]
Enoch had been roughly guessing who the person they had been talking about since earlier was.
'[That person]. He's probably a guy who appeared in the original story.'
The one called 'that person' by Vendetta does not directly appear in Leopold in the original story.
But he knows who he is.
A mastermind who issues instructions and proceeds with the experiments that he is conducting. A person with the status of a mid-boss who has all kinds of experimental subjects 5 years later.
He didn't expect to hear him mentioned here.
Meanwhile, Administrator Oscar asked him back with a slightly puzzled expression.
[I've been wondering since before. What is that person ultimately trying to achieve through human experimentation?]
[Haha. It's been a while since you've been working with us, and you're only curious now?]
[That person has been fulfilling what I wanted without saying anything so far, so I didn't bother to ask separately... But sometimes I wonder. What a genius wants to obtain in the end through experimentation.]
Oscar added, glancing at the labyrinth garden where the underground laboratory was located outside the window.
[I heard that that person had been conducting human experiments in other areas even before he contracted with me and established a laboratory in the orphanage?]
[That's right. As I said earlier, the Magical Beasts that are set up in the basement now are by-products of that time.]
[If he's so obsessed with human experimentation, there must be something he wants, so he continues the experiment.]
The Decurion smiled slightly and replied.
[Well, he has been showing great interest in researching the black magic and human experiments that existed in the past empire recently.]
[Black magic. Well, is human experimentation classified in that way? The purpose of the experiment is ultimately a secret, I guess.]
[I wonder. He only told me that the purpose of the experiment is all related to the 'world outside the world'. I honestly have no idea what that means... But I'll never be able to understand it anyway.]
Enoch was startled for a moment as he concentrated on the story.
'The world outside the world?'
Such words did not even appear in the original story.
Moreover, it was a story that somehow overlapped with him, who had possessed Enoch's body. It wouldn't just be his mood that it felt quite ominous.
It was just a casual conversation between the two, but it seemed necessary to remember it.
[Huh. The world outside the world... Well, how can I, who is stuck as a mere 13th rank combat mage, understand such a genius? Hearing that, there is no such thing as a pie in the sky.]
[Well, isn't that why that person has already crossed the wall of 10th rank? Because their way of thinking is different from that of ordinary people.]
He added as if he was complaining.
[Even recently, he has suddenly been showing interest in the direct descendants of the Main Houses. I work under that person, but I can't understand the meaning at all.]
The Decurion changed the subject, saying anyway.
[Returning to the main point, the individual abilities of the Magical Beasts I saw are on par with 14th rank combat mages. There are many of those guys in the basement, and if you lure him and ambush him, there will be no problem.]
Enoch frowned as he listened to the story.
There are many Magical Beasts in the basement.
'This is unexpected.'
Even if it was 5 years before the original story, it was the time when the experiment had just begun in earnest in Leopold. It was judged that it was not a time to move on to the mass production stage.
Therefore, he thought that he would only have to deal with one or two Magical Beasts at most.
But contrary to such a guess, there are many Magical Beasts in the current underground laboratory.
It happened because he didn't know that the experiment had been going on even before it settled in the orphanage.
[If you say so much, I'll believe you.]
The administrator said with a slight smile.
The Decurion also nodded as if he had been waiting for it.
[Let's have the Magical Beasts wait in the laboratory. But, how will you lure him?]
[If he's from Elsyde, we won't be able to entice him with anything.]
Oscar said quietly, looking at the lights of the orphanage visible outside the window.
[Each of the mages who are rolling around enough to be trampled on in that huge Fortress are quite skilled. They have crossed the barrier of at least the 15th rank. But for those who are assigned to the mission, regardless of rank, there is one 'clear weakness'.]
[What is that?]
[Reputation.]
Oscar smiled coldly as he looked at the children moving in the orphanage.
[The Main House gives the mission, which is ultimately a process to enhance the prestige of the family by solving the case. But what if the situation gets worse and worse in the mission he was dispatched to?]
Jijik.
The video was cut off there.
「Charged mana: Depleted」
A message flashing on the video on the screen.
And at that moment, the outside of the door suddenly became noisy and someone knocked on the door urgently.
Squeak
Enoch put the terminal away and opened the door halfway.
The butler was standing in front of him with a urgent expression.
"Enoch-nim, a child has disappeared from the orphanage just now! And a letter left for Enoch-nim at the scene...!"
He hurriedly took out a note.
There was a concise threatening message written on it.
「If you want the child who was kidnapped this time to survive, wait alone in the mansion's backyard at midnight without telling anyone. If you disobey, we will kill the child immediately and send the corpse back.」
'Send back?'
It's not just killing.
He specifically said that he would send the corpse back.
In Enoch's mind, the administrator's words from the video he had just heard came to mind.
[...what if the situation gets worse and worse in the mission he was dispatched to?]
A threat to kill the kidnapped child and send the corpse back if he doesn't come to save her.
It's a threat that seems too much for a kidnapper holding a hostage.
The intention was obvious.
The direct descendant of the Elsyde Main House did not solve the case, let alone save the hostage. They were trying to frame him with that.
It was even more fatal to Enoch, who was about to be disowned.
'So they're inducing me like this.'
He couldn't call for reinforcements as threatened.
If he requested support from the Elsyde family, there was no way that the administrator, who is the owner of this mansion, would not notice that fact.
In other words. It's pressure to follow his instructions on his own.
'First of all, even from their point of view, they won't rashly kill the child they took as a hostage.'
They are the ones who are detaining the children kidnapped for human experimentation in the first place. They will be safe for now.
Enoch turned his head to the window and checked the time.
The evening glow was still burning outside.
There was a lot of time left until midnight.
"Here is a photo of the kidnapped child. I must inform my master of this fact, so I will excuse myself!"
The butler hurriedly ran down the hallway.
Judging from those actions, he probably doesn't know what the administrator is plotting behind his back.
Enoch looked at the photo he received.
And at that moment, his eyes narrowed slightly.
'...Chloe?'
A young girl with a neat face and beige hair hanging down. The child he had just met.
He hadn't expected the administrator to kidnap Chloe and use her as bait.
Enoch looked at the photo with a troubled expression.
One more reason to save her has been added.
'If I leave her to die like this, it may affect the starting point of the original story.'
Chloe is definitely one of the characters who appeared in the original story.
Although she has no importance, she is a person who is somewhat related to the events that occur in the original story.
In order to block the possibility of the official history being 역변 [reverse change], it is beneficial for him to keep her alive as much as possible.
Besides, he can't leave her to die because of the success of the mission.
But….
'If the information from the enemies I just heard is correct, it's a dog's death if I go in my current state.'
Although there is Lien, a helper, in this mission, he cannot rely on her alone.
No matter how strong she is, there is no guarantee that she can completely protect him in all the unexpected situations during the mission.
'Above all, I know the stats of the Magical Beast experimental subjects that were shown in the original story well.'
The Magical Beast experimental subjects that popped out of Leopold were guys who boasted strong durability while wearing hard carapaces.
Moreover, there are not just one of those monsters, but multiple.
Therefore, there is a very high probability that they will attack in groups.
'The 1st Form, Explosion Sword, which I inherited now, accelerates the body to increase the mobility and power of the sword strike.'
That's why it was a problem.
There were clear limits to Explosion Sword alone.
In fact, when Lien restricted his range of motion with wires at the banquet, combat that emphasized mobility, including the 1st Form Explosion Sword, was meaningless.
Even the current battlefield is a much narrower basement.
Therefore, if a large number of Magical Beasts attack in a narrow space, there is a very high possibility that there will be a limit to avoiding attacks and fighting.
In other words, the conclusion is one.
'I need a form of sword that can cover one-to-many.'
To deal with enemies all at once in a narrow space, a technique that can 'respond to group battles' was needed.
There was no guarantee that he could avoid all the attacks of the enemy that would be randomly poured out in the group battle in the narrow battlefield.
If he could learn a defensive form that could block or deflect the attacks of the enemy that would be randomly poured out in the group battle, it would be the best.
Anyway.
There was only one answer to solve the problem.
'I have to move on to the next inheritance stage in the inner world.'
There was still enough time left until midnight.
Enoch sat on the bed and concentrated.
Sigh.
He closes his eyes and calms his breathing to enter the inner world. A darker darkness descends over his closed eyelids.
A sense that reveals everything about himself.
Again, a feeling of precipitation into the inner image wrapped around his whole body.
'In the game, you always have to steadily level up your specs until the main story battle.'
It was no different even in the world that had become reality.