The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 130

Chapter 16: Disguise: The Subjugated Scoundrel

The second battle was anticlimactic.

Once the Blessing Demon’s trump card, its blessing, proved ineffective, it was no different from the Dantalian-class demons I had previously encountered.

-Kuh-heok! How can you continue to use mana even after discarding it? Do you carry multiple types of energy within your body?

“You’ve figured it out. That’s right. Exactly that.”

-You madman… I’ve never seen or heard of a human like you.

“Now you have. Consider it a valuable experience. Though it will be your last.”

Fighting after discarding the green mana gave rise to a new sensation.

Previously, I had always used the three types of mana together, but this situation presented an opportunity to use the blue mana and Dragon Blood separately.

And then…

Tsupaat!!

The colors of the sword energy became diverse.

When using only blue mana, the sword energy was blue.

When using Dragon Blood, the sword energy adorned the sky with silver.

It wasn’t just the colors that diversified.

I had always thought of mana as the same, regardless of its type, and used it accordingly.

But that shouldn’t have been the case.

‘That was a very foolish thing to do.’

It was like raising three children with vastly different personalities and physical conditions using the same curriculum.

I was ashamed of my past self for not even considering separating the three children and providing them with customized tutoring.

With the idea in mind, I used the Forest Keeper as a sandbag to test it out.

Then, a system window I had never seen before appeared before my eyes.

[Mana Awakening has been awakened.]

[Green Mana Awakening: 50%] [↑0.0%]

[Blue Mana Awakening: 38%] [↑1.5%]

[Dragon Blood Awakening: 42%] [↑0.5%]

[Mixing Rate: 22%] [↓3.5%]

As expected.

The awakening values differed for each mana.

I had always tried to make mana with completely different properties act as a group, so an awakening imbalance was inevitable.

The energy collision that Cheonma had previously warned about, or the Mana Deviation, must have been the result of this imbalance.

Now that I knew that mana also had an awakening value, I had a rough blueprint of how to train mana in the future.

Meanwhile, as I rotated through various mana to increase their awakening values, Viprons noticed that he was being used as a practice partner and became furious.

-How dare you! How dare you afford to be so relaxed against me! Uwaaaaaaa!!!!

Kwakwakwakwa!!!

Was this his last struggle?

Magi [magical energy] exploded from the demon’s body.

Then, the magi surged throughout the forest.

Guwoooooooo!!!

The roars of monsters echoed throughout the Forest of Magic Beasts.

“What have you done?”

-Keuheuheuh, I knew this day would come eventually. This is a contingency plan for that time.

Kugugugugu!!

The ground rumbled, and the earth shook from side to side.

I summoned tree trunks with Bind and lifted my feet slightly off the ground.

It felt like a herd of bison was approaching.

-The monsters of the Forest of Magic Beasts live by consuming magi. Now that I’ve scattered that magi, the confused creatures will flock here. Khahahahat!!

As the Forest Keeper boasted, all sorts of monsters approached.

Goblins, Kobolds, Orcs, Ratmen, Saber Tigers, Trolls, Ogres, and more.

The various monsters swarmed, baring their teeth, and their momentum was quite fierce.

“Kuaaaa!!!”

“Uwaaak!!”

The ogre that rushed in first swung its club, and the head of one of Ashel’s gang exploded.

Starting with that, the others died one after another from the monsters’ attacks.

Bron and Merian were unharmed because Campbell protected them.

“Damn it! We shouldn’t have come to this cursed forest!!”

Ashel, who had somehow broken free from the tree roots that had been binding him, screamed and threw himself towards Bron and Merian.

Thanks to that, Ashel was the only one who survived.

-Was it Khan? I admit you’re strong. Not just strong, but a freak among freaks. But no matter how strong you are, you can’t face so many monsters with just one sword. Accept your end.

Viprons, mistaking that the tide had turned, laughed triumphantly.

Well, if I had such a large monster army behind me, I’d be emboldened too.

But he doesn’t know.

I haven’t even unleashed half of my power yet.

While fighting Viprons, I hadn’t even used Druid skills except for movement skills.

And Druid skills are exceptionally effective against a large group.

Gugugugugu…

A much larger vibration came.

It was as if an earthquake had occurred.

Ten gigantic figures were revealed.

Red light gleamed from the golems made of stone and wood.

-Wh-what? Where did these golems suddenly come from?

While Viprons was panicking, the situation had already unfolded.

The ten golems charged into the monster horde and stirred up the inside like wolves among sheep.

Some monsters shot arrows or bit with their teeth, but for them, lacking the intelligence to target the core, their attacks were useless.

[Wood Control]

[Stone Control]

[Spear Activation]

Not only that.

Pointed stones and wooden spears are effective against these monsters, though they are only for vision obstruction when facing high-level experts like Paladin Johann or Great Executive Sloth.

The rain of wood and stone was like the wrath of nature, and those who faced it head-on screamed.

“Kkieeeek!”

“Kuwoooo!”

“Keuheok! Keuheok!”

It was truly a massacre.

In the middle, I used Bind and Stone Lance skills to tie up the approaching monsters with tree roots and stabbed their hearts and heads with stone awls.

Only then did some of the monsters, facing overwhelming power, try to turn back and run, but that was impossible.

[Stone Shield Activation]

Giant tombstones rose from the ground one after another, forming a barricade that blocked the retreat.

The final destination for the monsters trapped in the forest coliseum was only death.

“My God…”

“Is this the power of one human?”

So much so that even my fellow party members, Brand and Merian, were stunned and stared blankly at me.

Only Campbell seemed familiar with the situation and smiled as he finished off the remaining monsters.

“As expected of the Vice-Captain.”

“It’s Khan. Khan.”

“Th-that’s right! As expected of Khan!”

Viprons was left alone again.

His last resort futilely blocked, he collapsed on his buttocks as if his legs had given out.

-You are a monster. I can’t call you human anymore… Are you a being from the Demon Realm? If you’re not a demon, I can’t explain it.

Humans and demons are all the same in that those who witness asymmetrical power call me a demon.

But I am human.

To be precise, I am a half-elf with half human and half elf blood, and I am from the Arnia Continent.

[Giant Wood]

[Giant Stone]

Giant hands are created on both arms.

“That was quite fun. But I’m still a little disappointed. If you were a little stronger, I would have used acorns or ancient artifacts.”

The Forest Keeper was dumbfounded.

He had lived for nearly three hundred years.

In that long time, he had never seen a swordsman who could freely handle various types of energy and had excellent swordsmanship skills.

But even that was not the opponent’s full power.

This guy, who wiped out an army of thousands of monsters with a flick of his finger, was truly the guardian deity of the Arnia Continent.

And he says.

He still has weapons left.

It was the first time Viprons, who had regarded humans as an inferior race and ignored them, had experienced such humiliation.

-I worked for twenty years to make the Forest of Magic Beasts a favorable stage for me. But fighting you in the forest was a truly foolish thing to do.

“You realize that now. But it’s too late.”

Jjeo—eok!!

I clapped my enlarged arms together.

The Forest Keeper, who had exhausted all his strength by detonating magi, was crushed to death between my palms.

It was a pathetic end for someone who had instilled fear in the residents of Gallanah for twenty years.

“It’s over.”

“It’s over.”

Everyone collapsed.

Brand asked me with a dazed expression.

“It’s embarrassing to ask now, but what is your real identity?”

“I’m just an ordinary adventurer, Khan.”

No one seemed to believe me.

But I can’t help it.

Baron Henon Lloyd has to remain dead until I gain power.

“By the way, thousands of monster corpses. If we take this back to the guild, we can become rich.”

Brand is right.

Monster corpses have tremendous value.

The amount of inherent magi is also enormous.

And I have a companion who loves magi very much.

“Kkyuu!!”

The baby dragon, smelling the scent, popped out of the gourd.

Merian and Bron’s eyes widened.

“Who is that child?”

“It’s a dragon.”

“…I’ll just take a nap. I must be seeing things.”

In the end, Bron cut off the fuse in his head himself.

Next to the fainted Bron, Merian looked at Coco with sparkling eyes.

As expected, cuteness is invincible to girls of this age.

“Kkyukkyu!!”

But Coco didn’t have time to pay attention to Merian right now.

A feast was spread out before her eyes.

She rushed to the corpses of thousands of monsters and the demon Viprons, consuming magi to her heart’s content.

Woojuk woojuk

“Yeah. Eat a lot.”

It would probably take Coco quite a long time to eat all of that, so I decided to take a nap in the meantime.

A system window appeared in my consciousness as I closed my eyes.

[Coco – Hatchling I]

[Evolution Rate – 100%] [↑98%]

[Evolution has begun]

[Became Hatchling II]

[Learned Lightning Skill]

* * *

Flash!

I opened my eyes.

The mental fatigue was completely gone.

Campbell was dozing off next to me.

I thought he was standing guard.

“Kkyu!”

Coco flew over and hugged me when she saw that I had woken up.

“Did you eat well? Why have you gotten so heavy?”

“Kkyuuu!!”

She suddenly gained 10kg.

She became heavy and plump.

As expected, the answer is to feed children a lot.

Another change was that the length of the horns on her forehead had grown a little longer.

It wasn’t just her size that had increased.

Electricity was generated from the horns on the left and right.

It was still at the level of a stun gun, but I was looking forward to how powerful it would become as she grew.

“Kkyu!”

Pajijik

“Kkeuaaak!!”

Coco stabbed Campbell’s butt with her electric horns, and he, who had been nodding, jumped up.

“Hey! You damn lizard!”

“Kkyukkyukkyu!”

Coco’s face, flying up, was full of satisfaction at having pranked Campbell.

I have a feeling that Campbell’s future will be rougher as Coco grows.

“Ah! Khan-nim!”

It seems that other party members were also sleeping besides me.

Merian, who came with swollen eyes, said urgently.

“Ashel has disappeared!”

“Huh? He was definitely here until I fell asleep?”

Campbell tilted his head.

Did he run away because he was afraid of my power?

This has become troublesome.

Ashel learned too many secrets in this Forest Keeper subjugation.

From the fact that Merian is a saintess to the fact that I have powers beyond common sense.

Brand is on our side, so we can silence him, but we can’t do that with Ashel, so I had to go catch him.

“Let’s move.”

[Wind Control]

[Haste]

I cast a group movement speed buff.

Merian looked at the gentle breeze that wrapped around her ankles with wonder.

“I feel like my body is flying away.”

With the help of the wind, we ran quickly.

Fortunately, Ashel didn’t go far.

We found him on the opposite side of the fork in the road where Aron had died before.

“Ashel.”

“You guys are so annoying! How can you fight so fiercely and come back without resting for even an hour?”

[Tenacious Vitality]

[Increased Health Recovery]

Physical fatigue recovers quickly, so I can move as soon as I recover from mental fatigue.

Ashel, who doesn’t know that, must have thought I was a monster.

“Where are you going to run? You know more than you need to. Now you have to be with us whether you live or die.”

“I refuse. As soon as I arrive in Gallanah, I’ll reveal your identity to everyone. I’ll also tell them that Merian is a saintess. The Bellanus Holy Nation will be happy to hear that.”

Based on the data he had learned before, Ashel ran down the gloomy path, leaving the sunny path behind.

Campbell glanced at me.

“What should we do? Should we go catch him?”

“Wait a moment.”

I raised my hand to stop Campbell.

My Druid’s intuition was activated.

I don’t know why, but the gloomy path is dangerous.

It was a real ‘intuition’ different from the one with Aron last time.

And…

Kuwoooooooo!!

The ground overturned, and the Gray Worm reappeared.

Thousands of teeth rushed at Ashel.

Ashel, standing as if nailed to the ground, muttered self-deprecatingly.

“I guess I’m just unlucky…”

That was Ashel’s last words.

The Gray Worm, which had swallowed Ashel, returned home as if nothing had happened.

It seems that the Gray Worm changed its hunting ground from the sunny path to the gloomy path as the monster commotion occurred earlier.

Anyway, Ashel and Aron are grateful brothers.

They always showed us the right way.

“Let’s go down the sunny path this time.”