The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 62

My steps felt light as I left the Terra Barrier. Considering I would have to spend anywhere from a few months to a year in the Monster’s Land, a place devoid of humanity, it would be insane not to feel that way.

And nowhere in my plan did I intend to collapse from exhaustion due to thirst or hunger. I had prepared as much as I could, and those supplies were neatly organized in my subspace [a personal storage dimension], not in my hands.

Food, water, clothes, shoes, magic stones, ammunition, and so on. Even though my subspace wasn’t small, it was filled to the point where there was no empty space. I couldn’t deny that I had overstocked, since items inside the subspace wouldn’t decay or wear out over time.

Excessive is as bad as insufficient.

An idiom that means going too far is as bad as not going far enough.

The more, the better.

An idiom that means the more you have, the better it is.

But I didn’t know an idiom that said having less was better. If so, wouldn’t it be better to have too much than too little? At least I could avoid the worst-case scenario. But I quickly came to my senses.

“Stop with the useless thoughts and focus.”

This isn’t inside the Terra Barrier. This is one of the most forbidden places on the continent, the Monster’s Land. No matter who comes here, they can afford to be relaxed, but not careless. So, I need to show an attitude befitting this place.

The goal is northwest from my current location: an unnamed mountain where I saw the legendary being called a dragon a long time ago. My pace quickened.

#

I used the map and my vision to navigate. The Terra Barrier was vast, and most of the land was plains, so it was easy to lose direction if I lost focus.

The map also started its search based on the direction I was facing, not an absolute direction, which made things quite difficult. It was hard to even sense if I was going in a straight line, and I couldn’t keep the map active all the time.

Nevertheless, I maintained the general direction of northwest, dealing with monsters I encountered along the way, and steadily moved north. Sometimes I hid like a mouse, sometimes I avoided them, and sometimes I dealt with them, but not a single day passed without encountering a monster.

As the sun rose and set, time passed, and I arrived. At the place that brought the biggest change in my life, the place that gave me memories I would never forget until the day I died. But I soon doubted my eyes.

I returned to the place of memories, but the one who gave me those memories wasn’t there.

“Damn it!”

The map was working perfectly, but it only showed magic reactions and terrain. There were magic reactions in the mountain, but they weren’t significant. They weren’t even half of what his used to be.

“I was naive.”

I searched the mountain thoroughly. Even if my memory was good, it was impossible to remember the location of the cave after seven years, so I used the map. Since the mountain itself wasn’t very big, it didn’t take long to find the entrance to the cave.

And I had to admit it. I was naive. There was no guarantee that he would still be here just because he was here back then, but I foolishly assumed he would still be here.

“How stupid. All that learning was for nothing.”

I didn’t even consider it. That’s because I knew that dragons didn’t leave their lairs, just like people don’t leave their homes. It wasn’t strange to think that way.

But it’s too early to give up. I quickly searched the inside of the cave. Even if he wasn’t here now, he might not have left completely. If so, there would be traces left. And that judgment was half right and half wrong. There were traces, but they led to an undesirable conclusion.

The corpses of monsters and various byproducts were so rotten that they were unrecognizable. Considering that it was cooler here than anywhere else even in summer, it was clear that they had been left unattended for quite some time.

Slip-

I slipped on the first step. I waited around for a few days, hoping against hope that he would come, but I couldn’t even find a single scale of his. In the end, the thirsty dig the well [meaning you have to take action yourself when you need something]. I had no choice but to search for his whereabouts myself. But it wouldn’t be easy.

First, the Monster’s Land was too vast. The existence of one person was like a grain of sand on a beach. He also boasted a size that combined several other higher species, but at best, he was just a needle slightly larger than sand. In the end, it was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

Second, the map was not omnipotent. The map accurately searches the radius around me. If I concentrated my magic, I could search only a certain part like an awl [a pointed tool], or a longer area, but the efficiency was not good. The additional area I could see was also narrow.

Of course, it’s obvious that this isn’t the time to worry about efficiency. If I could just find his tail once, it wouldn’t be difficult to follow him no matter how long it took. But this was a matter of limits, not efficiency.

The engraving is not omnipotent. It looks like it, but it’s definitely not. To properly utilize the engraving, a base material was needed, and the material for the map was paper. It was parchment made to absorb as much magic as possible, but it was still just ordinary paper.

And the limit of magic that parchment could absorb was a radius of 5km around me. That was the limit of the map.

In the end, the only method I could choose was to move a certain distance and then check for his presence using the map. It was a truly hands-on approach and could only boast extreme inefficiency. There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t pass through an area that I had already searched. In the worst case, I might not be able to find him even after searching the entire Monster’s Land.

‘That can’t happen.’

It’s something that could take years, and even that time could be a useless waste of time. It was a worst-case scenario, but since it could actually happen, I needed a plan.

Fortunately, I had enough materials. If I could just decide on a way to fill the gaps, I could make enough with the materials stored in my subspace and local procurement.

#

I pondered deeply, but the decision was quick. After thinking about the most efficient way to check his location from a distance, I created the necessary equipment.

The method was simple: create a beacon to track his location. And by placing beacons at regular intervals, the beacon would send a signal to me when his presence was confirmed. Even if I didn’t know the exact location, I could find the exact location through the map if he was nearby, so this was enough.

It didn’t require much magic, and quantity was more important than precision, so hastily made beacons began to pile up in my subspace. The durability was so weak that it would break if someone kicked it hard, sending a signal was only one-time use, and the search range was only a few hundred meters in radius.

It wasn’t a satisfactory performance since it was a makeshift item made on the spot, but considering it was a disposable net to catch him, it could be seen as sufficient performance.

‘I should improve it later. If I apply it a little, I think a good item will come out.’

My desire for research as a wizard flared up, but I suppressed it since there was something more urgent to do now. Once this is over, I’ll have plenty of time, so I can indulge in my research desire then.

From the day after all the preparations were completed, I started wandering around the Monster’s Land again, repeating the act of moving a certain distance, installing a beacon, moving another certain distance, planting a beacon, and checking the map.

It was a tedious task, but I didn’t lose focus and did my best to avoid any gaps. Even if he managed to slip through the gaps, he wouldn’t be able to escape, as multiple layers and dozens of beacons waited in a net.

Summer passed and autumn passed. Winter was approaching, but I had no intention of turning back. It wasn’t a full-scale battle, and the items I had brought when I left, which were excessive, supported me firmly despite the unexpected situations. As I was slowly expanding my territory in the blizzard where I couldn’t see an inch ahead, the beacon that had been silent finally started to do its job.

Blink- Blink- Blink- Blink-

Several beacons send signals in succession. The direction is southwest from my current location, heading north at a rapid pace from the unnamed mountain where I started the operation.

“Got him.”

Half a year and half of half a year. Almost a year had passed before I could catch his shadow. And I had no intention of letting go of that shadow.

#

The signal no longer sounds. It was a one-time use in the first place, and the signal couldn’t sound in areas where it wasn’t installed. I arrived at the place where the last signal sounded and moved along his direction of movement. There was no reason for him, who flies in the sky in this place without any obstacles, not to go straight towards his goal.

And I finally found it. It barely touched the edge of the map, but it was clear and deep blue. I had only seen this level of magic reaction twice so far. If I exclude the magic stone mine, which had a much wider range of the same magic reaction, then only he remained.

I hid my presence using all the means I could, in case he noticed, and physically hid myself using the surrounding natural objects. Scales with black and red light coexisting, huge two horns, and an unbelievably huge bulk.

Most of all, one eye was closed as if he had suffered a severe injury. It was definitely ‘that guy’ I had been chasing for nearly ten years.

“Finally found him.”

The initial target deadline was ten years. I had decided to scatter his bone powder in the graves of my comrades within that time. And that opportunity was given to me at this moment. All that remains is to seize the given opportunity.

“Stay where you are.”

I’ll start hunting as soon as I’m ready.