All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 168

84. Cordyceps – 2

In some worldviews, it’s called Cordyceps.

Or Vegetable Worms.

There are mushrooms that grow in similar ways, though the names differ.

These mushrooms parasitize insects, symbolizing misfortune in some places and classified as elixirs in others.

And.

In some worlds, they even parasitized animals other than insects, dominating their hosts.

‘So far, we’ve fought things from outside this world here too.’

In other words.

We cannot deny the possibility of Cordyceps from other worlds.

Nor can we rule out the possibility of it being improved through research.

As Ian watched silently, Trinmere grinned.

“Our school is very interested in material engineering. That’s why we’re also participating in research to create railroads.”

“Is that so?”

“And alchemy is essential for researching material engineering. Naturally, we can’t help but know a lot about these materials. But I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Trinmere held out the shining mushroom.

In some ways, it’s beautiful, but in others, it’s ominous.

Ise, looking at it with a wary expression, asked hesitantly.

“This grew from a human body? Where did this come from?”

“A guardian collected it from a dwarf’s corpse while investigating Tormbe Village. And as you said, this mushroom contains…”

“Yes. It contains malice. I confirmed it myself.”

A girl walked from behind them.

Dressed in a nun’s habit, she smiled bitterly and bowed.

“It’s an honor to meet such renowned figures from the continent. I am Semiramis, a nun of the Solar Church.”

“Huh?”

The girl with long, silver-gray hair tilted her head at Ian.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. But… as far as I know, Sister Semiramis, weren’t you in the middle of your bishop training?”

She seemed even more surprised by Ian’s question.

As she stared with wide eyes, Ian explained the situation.

“Ah. So you’re the Saint Ian I’ve heard so much about! It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you!”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“Ah. Right. This matter is part of my bishop training.”

Even if one becomes a bishop, they cannot always stay within the Order.

Traveling the world and solving its problems was also an important role for a cleric.

Especially since the Pelle Territory had no temples of the Lunar Order, let alone the Solar Order.

Going there to serve was also part of the bishop training.

“In the meantime, I met Saint Gust and Saint Trinmere and came to assist.”

As Ian nodded, Gust stepped forward.

“If the greetings are over, let’s continue our discussion. Upon investigation, this mushroom has tremendous hallucinogenic effects and is addictive. It accumulates malice in the body when ingested.”

“However, it’s too toxic to consume as is. Let’s see… Hey, Ise. You’re here because of the drugs, right? Do you have any?”

Ise took out the drugs and handed them over. Trinmere unfolded a piece of paper.

Showing the white powder inside, he said seriously.

“If you eat this mushroom as is, an ordinary person will die in a day. But if you refine it like this, it can play a pretty good role as a drug.”

Except for one thing.

That demonic energy accumulates in the body.

“I don’t think I can refine drugs like this. And this is the first drug we found. It’s a little different from what Ise brought.”

Ise’s was stronger and contained more malice.

In other words, this drug was being improved.

“It seems there are researchers on that side as well. It’s hard to imagine what will happen if we just leave it alone.”

As Trinmere shared the information he had gathered so far, Ian opened his mouth.

“Sharing information means you want us to join your investigation, right?”

“Aren’t you here to investigate this matter anyway? If our goals are the same, and even our affiliations are the same, there’s no reason to act separately, right?”

It wasn’t a bad suggestion.

So Ian agreed, and Ise sighed.

“I have to go around with that damn eccentric dwarf.”

“You shut up. Then.”

Trinmere, speaking in a prickly tone, nudged Gust.

“Let’s go then.”

“Is the investigation here done?”

“It doesn’t seem like there’s any particular problem here… Why? Is there something bothering you?”

“Hmm….”

Ian stared intently at the castle in the direct-controlled territory.

She already knew that he had the ability to figure out most things just by looking at them once.

So Gust expected it.

Ian neatly betrayed that expectation.

“There’s nothing here. Let’s go.”

As Ian turned away, she clicked her tongue in disappointment.

A party was formed to go to Tormbe Village.

Ian, Gust, Trinmere, Ise, and Semiramis.

Three warriors, one mage, and one cleric.

A fairly stable party became even more stable thanks to Ian.

“There’s a monster waiting over there.”

“Euryah!”

“There’s a trap over there.”

“Fire Raise!!”

“There’s a ghost over there.”

“Oh Sun!! Show your light here!!”

It’s not just the party’s combat power.

Thanks to Ian’s detection, they were able to reach near their destination without being blocked even once.

“I think about it every time, but how do you sense things so well?”

Gust asked, splitting the body of a charging troll, and Ian shrugged instead of answering.

“By the way, why are there so many monsters? This territory is terrible.”

Ise grumbled, putting his sword back into its scabbard, and Trinmere smirked.

“The Pelle County is famous for having many ley lines [naturally occurring lines of energy], so monsters gather a lot. There used to be a branch of the Magic Tower here.”

However, the head of the Pelle County fought with the Magic Tower a few generations ago and ordered them to leave.

In the end, the Magic Tower had no choice but to give up the ley lines, and the Pelle County began to use them.

“I think they’re using those ley lines to manufacture drugs.”

As Trinmere made a deduction as a mage, Ise grinned.

Seeing that smile, Trinmere gritted his teeth.

“Why are you laughing?”

“There’s no basis for that, is there? Mages always talk about ley lines…”

“You?! Don’t you know how important ley lines are?!”

They must really not get along.

They nitpick at each other and argue.

Gust didn’t even look at them and said to Ian.

“The problem is that the types of monsters have increased. As far as I know, until recently, there were many monsters around here, but there were no undead or beast-type monsters.”

“Then should we assume that something is luring them, or driving them this way? When was the last report we received?”

“Hmm… a few days after the missing persons case in the Pelle County?”

‘That’s likely.’

Until Witossan Pelle disappeared, he must have been controlling something in the drug manufacturing process.

And when he was hit by the Nightmare Flower and disappeared, and that control became impossible, this kind of thing happened.

‘Not in the exploration range yet, right?’

Then there was no need to talk nonsense here.

“Hey, if you’re going to fight, go fight somewhere else.”

Ian said coldly to Trinmere and Ise, who were arguing as if they were about to grab each other by the collar, and then walked away.

Semiramis carefully approached him.

“Saint Ian.”

“Yes.”

“I… I keep feeling it as we proceed…”

“That it’s ominous?”

“Yes.”

She was feeling worse and worse as she got closer to Tormbe Village.

No, it wasn’t just that.

She was feeling terribly unpleasant from that hill right now.

“I think there’s something there.”

As Semiramis spoke, Gust gripped her sword.

When Ise and Trinmere stopped fighting and picked up their respective weapons, Ian said to Myane.

“Myane. Protect the nun.”

“Myaaaa!!”

Myane, who was sitting on his shoulder, jumped up and snuggled into Semiramis’s arms, bristling her fur.