Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 115

115. The Strangers of Ias (2)

[…Could it be? Did the barrier break?]

My heart seemed to drop.
The loud noise from the residence’s entrance was the only thing that came to mind.

‘It can’t be yet!’

Carlos, too, seemed to recognize the seriousness, activating the Trident.

“Damn it!”

Without even thinking, I rushed towards the stairs.

Nothing hindered my movement in the common area. My feet, infused with aura, quickly carried me to the bottom of the stairs.

“Heuk!”

A figure descended from the stairwell entrance.

“…What?”

It was Angel, looking flustered. An expression I had never seen on him before. That made it even harder to understand the situation.

“What’s wrong!”

I had to quickly ask him what was happening.

“Ah… well, that is.”

Angel looked at me and Carlos, raising both hands.

“Please calm down first, and lower your weapons….”

He glanced back and forth between Fragrach and the Trident in our hands.

“What’s going on? Did someone break in?”

His eyes darted around as he looked at my furrowed brow.

“…That’s… I was doing some experiments. There are no intruders.”

Angel bowed deeply, at a 90-degree angle.

Seeing that, my tense body seemed to slump.

Thud.

Fragrach, falling to the ground, represented both my sense of futility and relief.

‘Haa….’

The next thought that dominated my mind was curiosity.

‘Experiments, you say?’

Carlos, too, put away the Trident and stepped towards Angel.

“What kind of experiments? Were you doing some magical research up there?”

Carlos glanced up the stairs.

“I was going to show you when it was all finished, but I’ll show you now.”

Angel gestured towards the stairs.

His steps, as he climbed the stairs, seemed more nervous than usual for some reason.

[Why is he like this? What did he do?]

He had even given his life for me, so I didn’t doubt him, but…

‘He’s a bit different than usual.’

He looked as restless as someone who had committed a crime.

[Huh?]

The reason was soon revealed.

“Hehe… you’re here?”

Aries greeted us, scratching her head awkwardly at the top of the stairs.

Her hair was charred black, as if scorched by flames.
The hallway near the stairs was also full of dents, as if swept by an explosion.

“Haa. I was surprised, thinking the barrier in the Magic Tower had been breached. What were you two doing here…?”

“As you can see, just unleashing some magic. Heehee!”

Around Aries were scattered some of the research materials she had taken out of subspace [a personal storage dimension].

“What magic?”

“Portal magic circle!”

Aries shouted cheerfully. My furrowed brow smoothed out slightly.

“…Portal?”

“Yeah! I was creating a portal that goes directly to another place without going through the Guiwang Clan’s barrier!”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“That wolf bastard asked me to? He said it was necessary for you to come and go here safely or something.”

Aries pointed to Angel.

‘Ah.’

Angel had been worried about avoiding the eyes of the Magic Tower’s mages every time he came here.

[A portal… If we can make one, it would definitely be helpful.]

If we could create a portal outside the barbed wire fence surrounding the ruins, it would be an ideal space.

‘But Aries can make that?’

[I know, right.]

Creating a portal was no ordinary feat of advanced magic. The portals that connected the entire continent had dozens of high-level mages working on building that infrastructure for years.

‘There’s nothing she can’t do.’

Even though she was a bit strange, each of the magics she could wield was enough to shake the continent.

[Her true form is an old hag, though.]

Her true identity was a quirky old woman who had researched forbidden magic for decades.

‘Well.’

She was now bickering with Angel in her young form, though.

“What? Who are you calling a wolf? You damn witch.”

“Uh-huh! You promised to treat me with respect for a month if I made a portal for you. You’re already developing bad habits?”

“…You haven’t even succeeded in the magic yet. Are you already asking for preferential treatment?”

“Hmph! I’m almost done! It was just a slight hiccup just now!”

She once again imbued mana into her hand. Her expression was unusually serious as she drew a magic circle on the wall of the stairwell.

“Hoo!”

With her quiet sigh, a magic circle was completed.

A blue magic circle the size of a person began to activate.

“Oh, is it really working?”

“Have you been fooled all your life! How much did I used to do back in the day! This body made it in three days!”

A magic circle that was still difficult for me to understand.

Koo-ooo!

The wall seemed to vibrate for a moment.

‘Huh. It’s really working.’

[Wow…….]

Before my eyes, a blue portal was swirling.

I couldn’t help but be surprised. I knew that it wasn’t a level of magic that an average mage could create alone.

‘It took Liu quite a while too.’

Back when I was at the Delema Academy, the space connection magic that Liu Delema had used to connect me to the family’s archive was a step below a portal.

[She’s definitely not ordinary.]

It was the moment when Aries felt great again.

“Heh! How is it?”

Aries was triumphant, as if she had read my mind. This time, I had no choice but to admit it.

“…Then where does this lead to?”

“Well? I designated the coordinates that wolf bastard gave me.”

Aries pointed to Angel. It was Angel who opened his mouth in her place.

“It’s the coordinates of the general store we acquired.”

“A general store? If it’s there, it’ll definitely be easy to avoid attention.”

The middle of a busy market with many people coming and going. If it was there, it wouldn’t be difficult to come here every day.

“We will always be guarding it. And if anything happens, we will immediately close the portal.”

Moreover, the members of the Wonshin Council, including Angel, would be constantly guarding it. There was little room to worry about external intruders.

“Thank you for your hard work, both of you.”

Aries and Angel, who had given unexpected help. The corners of my mouth naturally went up.

“Then shall we move right away?”

The moment I was about to step into the blue portal, Angel stopped me.

“Just a moment. I’ll go first.”

His hand blocked my body.

“Why?”

“That witch might have connected it to the wrong place. I can’t expose the Precursor to danger.”

Aries gritted her teeth at those words.

“What? Seriously! I did everything you asked me to!”

“I’m grateful for that, but I have to check.”

“Huh!”

With those words, Angel put his body into the portal.

It was a tense moment, when the brief 5 seconds felt like an hour.

Whoosh!

Angel popped out of the portal. He was nodding.

“It’s connected properly. To the inside of the store we acquired.”

That’s how my power took root in Ias, the base of the Magic Tower.

* * *

Whoo-oong!

Immediately after, a cluster of blue light enveloped my body.

‘Hoo.’

My vision showed the scenery of a warehouse, not the residence I was originally in. It was the warehouse behind the counter of the general store acquired by the Wonshin Council.

‘Good.’

The group appeared one after another, riding the portal in succession. Carlos, Aries, and even Angel showed up one after another.

“From now on, allow these people to use the portal.”

Angel’s request was followed by the general store employee.

“Let’s have a meal while we’re out.”

It was a break given at the same time.

“Oh! Good! Is there a good restaurant or something?”

Carlos, as expected, was delighted.

“The building next door is a restaurant. Let’s go there.”

“Hmm? The building next door? Is that a good restaurant?”

Soon, his face was filled with disappointment.

“If possible, I want to go to a good place… If you’re just going next door because it’s a hassle, can’t you take a little more time? Isn’t this our first time eating out in three days?”

“That’s the best place. It’s the most famous place in Ias.”

Carlos nodded, but he didn’t seem to trust my words.

‘You’ll know when you go and eat it yourself.’

There were many other delicious dishes besides seafood, so I wasn’t worried about taking him.

“Please keep your robes pressed down while you’re eating.”

“Hmm. I understand.”

The only thing to worry about was hiding his identity.

Squeak-

Soon after, I left the general store.

‘There are a few more people.’

As the Magic Tower’s opening day approached, Ias was much more lively than it had been just three days ago.

[Why are those guys like that?]

Carlos and Aries were excessively bowing their heads, chasing after me. Were they nervous about their identities? Their attempts to hide were attracting even more attention.

‘Sigh. I’m glad we’re not going far.’

Drrrk-

The restaurant was just a few steps away. As soon as I opened the familiar door, the smell of food stimulated my nose.

“Welcome! Oh, it’s been a while!”

The owner greeted us soon after. He recognized my face.

“The people you always come with are over there. Are you eating together today too?”

The corner seat he pointed to.

“Oh! Ian!”

“You’ve arrived.”

Drew and Admun were already sitting at the table, eating.

“What, did you two make plans separately?”

“Yeah, I heard you were busy training. So I decided to have dinner with Admun hyung [older brother/male friend].”

“Haha. I was just about to buy some food to take with me after eating.”

Admun scratched his head for no reason, but he looked good.

‘The two of them have become quite close.’

The two of them, who had been together throughout the vacation, were getting along quite well.

“Oh! Drew! You were here too!”

It seemed that I wasn’t the only one who was happy with that sight.

“Carlos, you’ve come too!”

“If Drew is here, it must really be a good restaurant!”

Carlos was also happy to see Drew.

‘…You don’t trust me when I say it’s delicious, but you trust me if Drew is here?’

[If it’s a Drew-certified restaurant, you can trust it! Drew is one step ahead when it comes to food.]

‘Tsk!’

I shook my head and naturally joined them.

“Hmm. That food looks really delicious?”

Carlos looked at the food Drew picked up with interest.

“It’s totally delicious. I wanted to come to Ias during the vacation because I missed this.”

At Drew’s teasing, Carlos immediately picked up a fork.

Poohk!

Carlos picked up the biggest chunk and brought it to his mouth.

“Oh! It’s really a unique dish! Were only the people in this neighborhood eating such delicious things?”

His gaze, unable to hide his admiration, turned to Drew again.

“What is this dish made of?”

“It’s a dish made by braising fish caught in the sea right in front of us. This house’s seasoning is really a masterpiece.”

Carlos’s jaw dropped at his answer.

Carlos, who said he didn’t want to eat seafood, was clearly shocked.

‘…I don’t know anything.’

He picked up the food and ate it without even giving me a chance to stop him, so it wasn’t our fault.

[Huh?]

But Carlos’s reaction that followed was a bit strange.

“I, is it really this delicious?”

He, who said he didn’t want to eat seafood, soon shouted to the owner.

“Hey! Give me 100 bowls of the same food here!”