Magic Is Learned For Nothing [EN]: Chapter 112

Magic is Learned in Vain – Episode 113

# 113

Trapped in the Mire 2

With Lotto subduing the last of the bulky knights, the battle concluded.

No one, including Baron Parasol, escaped. Only at the very end did a few, realizing the situation was dire, try to flee, but it was too late.

Baron Parasol’s ignorance, believing they could easily occupy Legion’s territory with their forces alone, led to the worst-case scenario: annihilation.

Especially noteworthy was Haimo, a seasoned mercenary.

While Bacon spearheaded the attack from the front, Haimo, with his quick judgment, disrupted the enemy’s rear, instantly reversing the situation.

Mizsett and Heiler’s contributions were also significant.

In fact, who here didn’t play a crucial role? There was some carelessness, but they defeated nearly 120 cavalrymen and knights with such a small force.

And there were no fatalities.

It seemed the other side suffered considerable casualties… but that’s their problem.

“What’s up with these guys, anyway?”

Lotto asked, pointing to a man who had collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

He saw Bacon talking with Iza. The others seemed curious as well.

Everyone was excited after the rare battle.

Originally, they were all soldiers, now deserters.

Moreover, naval soldiers. They believed their skills had improved considerably, but they weren’t sure to what extent.

The most frequent opponents were Sepia and Master Mamon.

Having always been on the receiving end, they hadn’t had a chance to realize how much stronger they had become. But seeing today, it was like, ‘Wow, we’re kind of awesome.’ That was the feeling.

A complete victory against over a hundred cavalrymen!

Bacon nudged him with his foot and said,

“Don’t know. Says he’s a baron. Name’s Parasol, apparently?”

“Baron Parasol?”

“You know him?”

“No.”

“He was proudly boasting that he was under Viscount Beach.”

“Don’t know him either. But if he’s a viscount, that’s a pretty high-ranking guy, right?”

“Yeah? Makes me uneasy. Judging by the atmosphere, it doesn’t seem like this is the end.”

“Are they targeting Master [Legion]?”

“Maybe. Not sure exactly, but could they be after the mine?”

“If that’s the case, this is a pretty big deal.”

“It is a big deal.”

“Right. So, this guy is… Baron Parasol, and he said he’s under Viscount Beach, which means other guys already know about it… Other guys might come attacking again.”

“Hmm….”

Bacon paused to think.

It was something he hadn’t considered. Lotto’s words were quite plausible.

They shouldn’t see it as just a problem between Baron Parasol and Viscount Beach.

“Hey, wake up.”

Bacon kicked Parasol’s head. But Parasol didn’t budge. Unable to contain himself, Bacon slapped him mercilessly across the cheek.

“Wake up, you bastard. Hey, Parasol!”

“Ugh….”

After about twenty slaps, Parasol groggily opened his eyes.

He looked around and, as if realizing the situation, shouted in surprise.

“You, you are insolent! How dare you… Do you know who I am!”

*Thwack!*

At that moment, Haimo, who had approached from behind, struck the back of his head with his bald head.

“Be quiet, or I won’t leave your tongue alone if you speak any further.”

In his hands, he dragged three cavalrymen who had been trying to escape.

“With this, there are no escapees.”

“Good. Lotto!”

“Yes?”

“Release the kids, seal all these guys’ mana, and lock them in the basement dungeon of the mansion. And bring me a few who seem talkative. I need to find out what’s going on.”

Bacon glared at Parasol with fierce eyes.

“Listen, Baron. It would be nice if it were winter, but it’s too warm, unfortunately. So, you know there are plenty of people who can talk besides you, right? Let’s make this easy.”

Parasol swallowed hard.

* * *

“Damn it. What is this?”

Legion asked Lilac.

“Yes? What is it?”

Lilac retorted with a sulky face.

They were currently in the Cyclops’s laboratory. After his conversion, he had spent the rest of his life here.

Once someone goes astray, they go all the way, as they say….

Could someone who was once called a great sage become this cruel?

Hundreds of glass tubes filled the laboratory.

And inside them, sleeping, were a vast number of chimeras [creatures made of mixed animal parts].

Human fragments were dissected, disassembled, and reassembled with dozens of other races and monsters.

There were also a tremendous number of unheard-of races and monsters.

Many of the glass tubes were empty of liquid.

Roughly two-thirds of the tubes were like that. The grotesque creatures inside were all withered and dead.

“What are all these things?”

“Chimeras. Have you never seen a chimera before?”

“What’s a chimera?”

“It’s a genetic phenomenon where different genotypes overlap in one individual, or a genetic black magic that creates a new species through the combination of different species. It’s a very highly developed magic.”

A remark made by Lich Mamon suddenly came to mind.

That those who advanced humanity’s medical practices were not priests but black mages. Seeing the chimeras, it seemed plausible.

However, the appearances of the chimeras were so bizarre that it was uncomfortable to look at them any longer.

“Are these things alive?”

“Mostly….”

“How many are there?”

“About 80 or so.”

“Could they survive in the human world?”

“I don’t know.”

“Release them.”

“Release them? From the humans’ perspective, they’re monsters.”

“This is the Düsselph Mountains. Where isn’t there a monster? All life is equal. They’ve been in those glass tubes for over hundreds of years, right?”

“Well, yes, but….”

“How long are you going to keep them locked up in there? Have some conscience.”

Lilac bristled at the word conscience. Even if everyone else criticized her, she didn’t want to be scolded by Legion.

“You know what happens if you don’t want to, right?”

“Eek, I understand. I’ll do as you say.”

“Do it now.”

“Now? Those guys are ferocious. They’ll attack us if they come out.”

“That’s then. They’ve been trapped for 500 years. Just thinking about it is suffocating. Do it now.”

Lilac hesitated.

But at Legion’s urging, she reluctantly inserted the release switch into the glass tubes containing the chimeras. White air burst out of dozens of glass tubes simultaneously.

However, the chimeras did not move.

They seemed to be dead.

“Damn it! What do you think life is, really? Annoying. Anyway, that’s done. But are we still far? I feel like we’ve been walking for over 15 minutes. This dungeon is really big.”

“We’re here.”

Lilac took the lead.

She crossed the vast laboratory. After walking for another 5 minutes, a massive iron door appeared. It was an iron door engraved with patterns where darkness swallowed light.

“What’s with these gloomy patterns?”

“Cyclops expressed his anger towards the main god in this way.”

“I’ve thought this before, but he’s a really strange guy. I don’t know what he was doing alone, making two dungeons.”

Legion clicked his tongue. In his eyes, Cyclops was a recluse who had lost his social skills.

A pitiful old man who was a bit stronger and smarter than others but ultimately couldn’t escape his second-place complex.

That’s why he went to such extremes.

If he had had a friend to share his feelings with, he might not have made such an extreme choice.

“Open it.”

“Yes.”

Lilac confirmed herself with voice magic and opened the bizarrely patterned iron door to both sides.

And laughter involuntarily escaped from Legion’s mouth.

“Ohohoho-!”

Legion clenched both fists.

“Euzazazaza! This is it! This is what I’m talking about!”

Before his eyes, countless jewels were spread out, valued at easily over tens of thousands of gold in market price. The thought of filling a carriage with jewels made him laugh.

“This is quite a lot, right?”

Lilac asked triumphantly. Her eyes seemed to say, ‘So, release me. Okay, wait a little.’

And one more thing.

Five glass tubes captivated Legion’s eyes.

Three jewels and two items. They were floating in the glass tubes. The fact that they were floating in the air without any support added to the mystery.

Legion first approached the jewels.

Now, jewels and minerals were like lifelines to him. Each rare jewel made Legion dance.

“What are these jewels?”

Legion asked Lilac.

“I don’t know either.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yes. I just heard they were dangerous. That they were to be used as energy when materializing the demon beast Gracia from the Demon Realm later. That they are unstable now.”

“What are you talking about?”

Legion tilted his head.

“So, you’re saying these are needed to properly create a being from the Demon Realm?”

“Yes.”

“Oho. Then that means they’re very precious.”

“Probably. But again… they said they’re unstable and very dangerous.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

Legion replied nonchalantly and opened the glass tube.

“Honghonghong! So, they’re jewels containing tremendous energy….”

They didn’t shine, but they were strange jewels that seemed to endlessly absorb light. If they were lying on the street, they might look like ordinary stones….

Anyway, since they’re good, it feels a bit strange.

Legion took all three jewels and put them in his subspace [a personal storage dimension].

Anyway, he shouldn’t recklessly disassemble them.

He didn’t want to suffer any more hardships.

First, he should take the time to find out what kind of jewels they are and then ensure maximum safety before disassembling them.

While Legion was happily collecting the jewels-

Dreyzaire had overcome his heartbreak.

Why?

Because he had found the third piece of the ‘Overlord’s Set Item’ that he thought he would never be able to obtain.

The third item inside the glass tube was a ring called the ‘Overlord’s Heart.’

Dreyzaire forcibly calmed his pounding heart and reached into the glass tube, secretly from Legion.

He grabbed the ‘Overlord’s Heart’ and put it on his finger.

“Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!”

He almost cheered.

He quickly covered his mouth with one hand and glanced at Legion. He was still distracted by the jewels and wasn’t looking at him.

Thank goodness.

-Overlord’s Heart.

-When wearing 3 pieces of the Overlord’s Set Item, physical defense increases by 20 percent.

-Resistance to magic increases.

Up to this point, these were the options for wearing the set. Looking at it, an intense desire to wear the entire set arose.

-Life force increases by 15 percent.

-When life force drops below 30 percent, there is a 10 percent chance to replenish 50 percent of life force.

-The time to replenish life force is accelerated by 200 percent.

-The time to heal wounds is accelerated by 300 percent.

-During engagement, there is a 1 percent chance for ‘Flash’ to trigger. Opponents directly hit by Flash fall into a state of abnormality for 3 seconds.

Dreyzaire clenched both fists.

With just this, the chance of being beaten to death on the street disappeared.

With just this….

“Give it back.”

If only he hadn’t heard the owner’s voice….

Son of a….

* * *

“This is a headache.”

Haimo said. His sunlit head sparkled.

“There’s no other way, is there?”

Bacon scratched his head.

The exclusive servants and new company employees had all gathered.

According to Parasol, the main force would be attacking soon.

“If we have to stop them anyway, we have to stop them.”

“Should we evacuate the kids and women and retreat to the mansion for now?”

“Right? There are too many of them to stop them here.”

Bacon agreed with Haimo’s opinion.

By now, the vicinity of the fortress was all cleared.

The captured prisoners were locked in the basement dungeon, and the children and women were sent towards the Düsselph Mountains. The men were being sorted into those who would flee and those who would stay….

In the meantime, a great vibration was echoing from far away.

Dudududududu-

Even if ordinary people didn’t know, the exclusive servants could immediately sense it. Their gazes all turned towards the forest in the distance.

The dust clouds were not yet visible.

“Looks like they’re already coming.”

Haimo stood up and stepped forward. Bacon and Lotto followed behind him. Climbing onto the completed watchtower, they began to see the dust rising in the distance.

“The number is really over five hundred.”

Heiler, the archer with good eyesight, sighed.

The faces of Lotto and the exclusive servants also darkened instantly.

Currently, their morale was quite high. They had won against over a hundred cavalrymen, so it was a natural result. But even they knew that they were helpless against numbers.

If they were swept away by that number, there was a high possibility that they would become corpses this time without being able to handle it at all.

“Damn it.”

Bacon finally made a decision.

“Everyone, return to the mansion. We will put up a siege there.”

The workers who were building the fortress trembled without saying a word at the sudden war. They knew that they couldn’t run away now.

Since they were here anyway, the possibility of those guys over there letting them live was close to zero.

Whether they lived or died, they had no choice but to follow behind those scary magic warriors.

“Ah… There’s a reason why expensive things are expensive… I shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t have….”

Sighs poured out from the mouths of the workers.