Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 67

67. Suppression Operation

“It seems like they’re plotting something dangerous.”

“Do you have any idea what it could be?”

Grantel slowly nodded.

“I think I need to tell you about the current situation of the beastmen first.”

He stared at me with narrowed brows.

“According to the Trees of Ego, there’s a strange wind blowing among some of the beastmen these days.”

“A strange wind, you say…”

“Their argument is simple: Why should they, who are superior to humans, live as if confined to Ego? They want to break free from this place and expand their territory.”

“Hmm. There would be friction with humans if they did that.”

Grantel expressed his agreement with a small sigh.

“That’s the problem. They want to venture out into the world, even if it means war with humans. Or perhaps, fighting with humans is their goal from the start. That guy we encountered before is one of those types.”

Even if the beastmen were naturally warlike, expanding their territory beyond Ego was a different matter.

A guaranteed conflict with humans, namely, the magicians. A huge war like that would inevitably lead to considerable destruction.

“They seem to be gathering magic bombs and weapons to prepare for that war. They’ve even started bringing human equipment into Ego recently.”

“Even if they prepare for war with those things, they won’t be able to win. The numerical difference is too great.”

“That’s what I’m saying. The reason humans don’t interfere here is because of the Hole…”

The immense energy emanating from the Hole. Humans can’t withstand it without a Hyun [a magical artifact or protective barrier], so they simply don’t enter Ego.

‘It would be a different story outside of Ego.’

No matter how superior the various races’ abilities are to humans, the power of the magicians is not something to be ignored.

‘It would only be a pointless death.’

Even if all the residents of Ego, not just the beastmen, were to unite, it would still be a fight they couldn’t win.

“If the other races want to be active outside of Ego, they shouldn’t fight with humans. Improving relations with humans is the right way to go.”

“Just like your ancestor did in the old days.”

Grantel gave me a subtle look.

‘Why is he looking at me like that all of a sudden?’

Could it be my imagination, or do I feel a great sense of responsibility from his gaze?

[He probably wants you to take on that role.]

‘……It wouldn’t be easy even if I regained the power from a thousand years ago.’

Back then, as a knight, I was so powerful that no one but the Five Stars [a group of exceptionally powerful individuals] could stop me.

‘But now, it’s not something I can do alone.’

In the current situation where knights are ostracized, even I can’t be sure. Gathering trustworthy comrades wouldn’t be easy, and I might have to fight against magicians from all over the continent.

[Well, let’s think about that when the time comes.]

It’s not something I can do right now, so I quickly pushed it from my mind. Right now, correcting the misguided beastmen was the priority.

“Still, if what you say is true, Grantel-nim [a respectful title], it doesn’t seem like the worst-case scenario.”

“Why do you think so?”

“I was worried that the entire beastman race might be involved in this. If that were the case, it would be difficult for us to stop them.”

Grantel also nodded slowly.

“You’re right. It seems that only some of them have gone astray…”

“We must stop such absurd ideologies from spreading throughout Ego.”

“Yes. We must correct them before it becomes the folly of immature youngsters.”

Grantel once again shot me a burdensome look.

“So, do you have a plan?”

He even asked about future plans.

[He must think you’re quite capable.]

He seemed to have a high opinion of my abilities now.

“Of course, I do. That’s why I’m telling you this.”

Grantel wore a satisfied smile and gestured, a silent signal to continue talking. The corners of my lips slightly lifted.

“I’m going to fix two problems: inside and outside of Ego.”

“Inside and outside?”

“Yes. We need to weed out the traitors inside Ego and teach the human merchants outside a lesson.”

“That’s right. That way, this kind of thing won’t happen again.”

“I have a way to deal with the human merchants. Grantel-nim, please look into the actions of the Wonin and Guigwang tribes. They are the races I requested you to save.”

“Hmm. I understand.”

His eyebrows twitched once, as if he were suspicious of something.

“But even if we consider the Wonin tribe, the Guigwang tribe are rarely seen, even by our Leaf Clan.”

“Yes. That’s why I deliberately asked you to save the Guigwang tribe. They live with barriers even within Ego. Even the beastmen wouldn’t be able to catch them easily.”

A race known as masters of barrier arts. The Guigwang tribe did not mingle with the residents even in Ego. Because they were extremely cautious, they lived hidden within self-made barriers.

“But it won’t be easy for us to meet them either.”

“That’s why the Guigwang tribe is the key to this operation.”

“The key?”

“Isn’t there a specific time when they emerge?”

“Ah… !”

Even the Guigwang tribe couldn’t live within their barriers day and night, so there was a specific time when they came out.

“When the full moon rises.”

Once a month. The time when the Guigwang tribe emerges.

“We’re going to ambush the beastmen who come to capture them.”

“The full moon. That’s three days away.”

The beastman traitors would also be waiting for that day to kidnap the Guigwang tribe.

“Then I’ll give the Wonin tribe a warning before that.”

“Yes. That’s a good idea.”

If we could get clues about the bastards while they were trying to catch the Wonin tribe, it would be even better.

‘It’ll be hard to catch the Wonin tribe too.’

A race as fast as the Leaf Clan. Because they climb trees like monkeys, it would be difficult not to leave traces.

“I understand. Then, I’ll take you to the Hole for now.”

Thus, the hidden efforts to save the Ego forest began.

* * *

“Then, I’ll see you in the evening.”

Grantel said goodbye after taking us to the Hole. He was leaving, leaving only a few members of the Leaf Clan behind.

‘There are still three days left.’

There was nothing I could do right now, so I decided to focus on absorbing the Hole’s aura.

“Everyone, let’s sit like yesterday.”

We sat on the edge of a huge pit, hundreds of meters in diameter, next to a bottomless cliff of unknown depth.

“But why are the colors of the haze all different?”

Drew’s head tilted. Hues of colorful smoke flickered in the boy’s eyes.

“You can think of each aura as representing the power inherent within it.”

Drew nodded at that.

“Ah, like attributes?”

“Well, it’s similar. The auras here represent things that exist in nature.”

Red represented fire, and blue represented water.

‘There’s no way it’s wrong.’

It was what Kabun, the chief of the Leaf Clan a thousand years ago, had told me, so I could confidently continue the explanation.

“These are auras that are even more refined than the mana we usually gather. You can think of them as being dozens of times purer.”

“Wow… To think there’s something like that. They never taught us this at the Magic Tower.”

That was natural. It was an area that you couldn’t know unless you came to the Hole with the help of other races.

“Come to think of it, there are colors that represent all the attributes!”

Like a child who has just started reading, trying to decipher all the letters around him.

“There’s electricity, and there’s grass! Oh, then that must be dirt!”

Drew carefully observed the colors of the haze. He recited various attributes for a long time.

“… Huh?”

His mouth closed, and his gaze turned to me.

‘It’s about time to tell him, right?’

[Yeah. He should at least know what he’s accumulating in his body.]

There would be one color that he couldn’t quite figure out.

“But what’s that golden color?”

Golden hazes that occasionally appeared. There was no attribute that he knew of that had such a color.

That was the visible form of Aura [a unique energy or power].

“You know the aura I told you to sense, right?”

Although the two of them didn’t know about Aura, they weren’t completely clueless.

“Gasp, could that be it?”

“Oh… Come to think of it, it’s similar to the golden light that appears around Young Master when he concentrates.”

Both of them had no trouble figuring out what it was.

“That’s right. That’s the aura you guys are acquiring.”

“Oh, I see. So, what attribute is that?”

Drew gestured here and there, looking curious.

“Drew, you trust me, right?”

I met the boy’s eyes.

“Of course. I don’t have a better friend than you.”

“A friend… That’s right. We’re friends, so I can trust you too, right?”

Drew frowned at that.

“Of course! Why would you say something like that now?”

The boy even seemed to wrinkle his nose for no reason.

Of course, he was a trustworthy friend, but revealing Aura was a difficult decision for me as well.

‘But it’s something I have to do someday.’

Something I had decided since I first heard the name Gibson.

Even to repay the debt I owed to my comrade from a thousand years ago, I planned to pass on Aura to him.

[Yeah. It’s time to tell him.]

‘He needs to know what Aura is so he can use it in the future.’

Of course, there was no need to mention Dolph, who was like my right-hand man.

Perhaps it was because my expression had become quite serious. Drew also straightened his posture.

“Sorry, sorry. What I’m about to say is a bit serious.”

“What is it?”

“How much do you know about your family?”

The boy tilted his head.

“I know my family well. Maybe not as well as Delema, but it’s still a family that’s been around for a thousand years.”

Drew poured out his explanation as if asking why I was asking such a thing.

‘He hasn’t heard about the knight?’

Because the Gibson family was a knight family with more pride than anyone else, the identity of the knight must have been passed down somewhere in the family.

However, it was highly likely that Drew did not know his roots.

‘Well, he’s still young.’

It would be better for him to hear about the history of the Gibson family directly from the family, not from me.

If I went out of my way to say, ‘You are a descendant of a knight,’ it could create confusion in his identity.

[The adults of Gibson must have their own reasons.]

Perhaps they were waiting to tell him someday when the time was right. I didn’t want to steal that role.

There was no way that the entire Gibson family had lost their identity as knights, but if that were the case, I could become Drew’s guide at that time.

‘Yeah. Let’s just talk about Aura for now.’

At that moment, a golden haze passed before our eyes. Drew and Admun were both unable to take their eyes off the golden aura.

When the two people’s faces were bathed in gold, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Drew.”

The boy turned his gaze from the golden haze to me. I met his bright eyes.

“Do you know about something called Aura?”