Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 65

65. The Turncoat (4)

“Leave him to me, and please carry on with your business.”

Angel bowed in front of Dorn’s General Store. With him watching over things, there was nothing to worry about.

“Thank you. I’m counting on you.”

Admun and I headed back to the inn.

“Did you learn a lot from Angel?”

“Ah, he taught me a bit about stealth. Angel is very skilled at using Silence magic.”

Angel’s method of erasing his presence was impressive. He was more of a master of silencing magic than a master of stealth.

‘Plus, he uses Blink [a short-range teleportation spell].’

Angel came to Apate’s lodging before and stood behind me. It was a feat impossible without Blink magic.

‘Where did he learn that?’

[I know, right? Teleportation magic is not ordinary magic.]

It wasn’t just that the magic was hard to learn. The difficulty was extremely high, and the knowledge was passed down in secret to only a select few.

‘It feels similar to the secret techniques of each family.’

A rare magic that wasn’t even in the Dellama library. Angel was subtly mixing these magics to move around without a sound.

‘The way he does it, he seems more like an assassin than a magician.’

[What’s so special about an assassin? They just move quietly and take heads. As long as you get to the destination, it doesn’t matter how you get there.]

‘What’s the destination? I’ve never heard of it.’

[Well, not really. It just means that as long as you reach the destination, it doesn’t matter how.]

I nodded vaguely. Whether assassin or magician, being able to move quietly makes you a master of stealth.

“And he said he would get me an artifact with Silence magic on it!”

Admun looked back at Angel and smiled brightly.

“That’s great.”

Seeing that, the corners of my mouth lifted slightly.

‘Looks like he’s fitting in well.’

It was the dynamic I wanted. If my companions trust and rely on each other, I will have more reliable support.

Beyond simply trusting and caring for each other, it becomes possible to create synergy by combining each other’s strengths.

[And if they handle Aura later, they’ll become much stronger.]

The inn entrance arrived quickly as we were talking. Opening the door, the busy owner greeted us.

“Oh my, looks like you’ve been out since early morning. It’s good to be young.”

She had already woken up and was preparing to open the restaurant. With a light nod, I headed to Drew’s room.

“Drew! Are you awake? Let’s get going.”

After knocking on the door and waiting for a while,

Squeak-

Drew peeked his head out through the crack in the door.

“Ah, I just woke up. I’ll get ready quickly…! Huh?”

He rubbed his eyes with both hands.

“Is this a dream?”

“What?”

“Why is Admun here? Or is he a ghost?”

It was because of Admun standing behind me.

“It’s not a dream, and he’s not a ghost. Admun is going to the Hall with us.”

“Eh, really?”

“Yeah, get ready and come out quickly.”

“Okay, wait a minute!”

Drew quickly put on his clothes. Since most of the luggage was already in my subspace, it didn’t take long.

“Let’s have a simple meal and leave right away.”

Thanks to the inn owner who woke up early, we finished a simple meal. We headed straight to Ego Forest.

“The Leaf Clan said they would come out to greet us at the entrance.”

It was the way to the place Grantel had designated yesterday.

“I’m nervous. An alien race.”

Unlike Drew, who had met the Leaf Clan once, Admun was very nervous.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. They just look a little different, but the rest is the same as people.”

No, they must have been much purer beings. If you respect what they value, they were people who lived more quietly than anyone else.

However, the reaction of humans to alien races was often similar to Admun’s. Most people regarded them as fearful beings like monsters.

“You’ll see how kind they are when you actually meet them.”

“Ah, I see. I understand.”

“Of course, there are some fierce ones among them, but that’s the same with humans, right?”

Saying that, we entered the Ego Forest.

“Young human. What were you talking about?”

From within the lush bushes, a vibrating voice greeted us. Kral and the Leaf Clan members appeared in front of us.

“Ah!”

Admun was briefly surprised by their mysterious appearance. The Leaf Clan was wary of him as well.

“I didn’t see this human yesterday. Is he with you?”

“Yes. He’s just surprised, but he’s a trustworthy friend.”

“Okay. I can trust what a Leaf Clan friend says.”

Since I had already built a friendship with Grantel, no further verification was necessary.

“Then I’ll ask for your help.”

“Hold on tight.”

As expected, the Leaf Clan covered our eyes and moved with their quick movement.

“Heuk!”

Today, Admun’s groan was briefly heard instead of Drew’s.

* * *

“You’ve come, young human.”

Grantel greeted us in front of the thousand-year-old tree. His physique was as small as other Leaf Clan members, but the dignity he exuded was extraordinary.

“That’s the chief you were talking about.”

Admun, who saw him for the first time, bowed his head.

“That’s a human I’ve never seen before.”

“He’s my companion.”

“Are you going to take him to the Hall with you?”

“Yes. Please. I think it will be a great help to that friend.”

“Hmm. I see. So, you’re only taking those two people with you?”

“Yes.”

When I nodded, Grantel called the surrounding Leaf Clan members.

“Everyone, prepare to depart and bring the Hyeon fruit to these humans.”

Drew tilted his head at the words.

“Hyeon fruit?”

That was because it was one of the elixirs that magicians never consumed. It was a fruit that temporarily solidified the mana in the body so that it could not be used.

“Yes. If you use mana near the Hall, you might become a disabled person. So, we’re trying to prevent it from being used in the first place.”

Because the energy was inconsistent and too fierce, mana backflow often occurred.

‘So the Ominous Star couldn’t touch this place.’

A space where even the powerful magicians had to be careful. For them, who handled mana, there was no reason to invade while taking such a great risk.

“Indeed, you know a lot about this place.”

Grantel nodded and handed out the Hyeon fruit. It was all experience I had seen and heard directly in my previous life, but.

“Yes. The elders of my family told me.”

I could only say that.

However, I had something else to tell him, so I whispered to him as I accepted the Hyeon fruit.

“Um, Grantel.”

“What is it?”

“It may be hard to believe, but I think it’s related to what you said yesterday.”

He was now listening intently with a serious expression.

“You know that there are humans trading Ego residents, right?”

Grantel’s expression hardened at the serious topic.

“I know… I’m worried because so many people have been disappearing these days.”

“It seems that there are Ego residents behind it. It seems that they are kidnapping fellow Ego residents and selling them to humans.”

“What? Even though our relationship is not what it used to be, there’s no way…”

He couldn’t easily accept reality.

“I don’t want to believe it either. I haven’t obtained any solid evidence yet. So, I’m trying to check with Grantel’s help.”

“Is there a way to check?”

“Yes. Among the humans, I met a guy who claims to be in contact with a traitor from Ego. I offered him a deal, and he accepted.”

Grantel grabbed his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Heo… If we investigate them, we can get information.”

“Yes. I have my people following the human merchant. Grantel, please take care of the Ego side.”

“Okay. What should I do?”

Soon, he sent a determined look.

“When they make contact, I’ll get the information about the traitors. Then please track them down. It’s probably not just one or two people, so we have to root them out.”

The forest keepers would be able to move more secretly and quickly than anyone else in the Ego Forest.

‘I’m not just asking them to fight.’

They were optimized for this mission.

“Of course, I have to. They’re threatening the peace of Ego!”

Of course, they would be full of justice, as they loved this place.

“Then let’s go to the Hall first. I’ll let you know as soon as the information comes in.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

* * *

We walked for a while from the thousand-year-old tree.

‘I wonder if there’s anything useful.’

Since we were quite deep inside, there were mysterious fruits everywhere. I was walking slowly and looking around in case I found an elixir while moving.

“Wow! This fruit is here too! This is really delicious!”

Drew was picking up the fruit as if he was excited.

“Make sure to get permission from the Leaf Clan members before eating it. Some of them are poisonous.”

“Gasp! Poison?”

He was now wary of the fruits in his hand.

“Those are okay. You’ve been eating them well so far.”

“Ah, really?”

The serious expression was temporary, and Drew took a big bite.

[Oh, look at that.]

At that moment, Oberon pointed to the bottom of a small tree.

‘Huh? That’s?’

A finger-sized purple mushroom was blooming. When my gaze stayed there, Grantel’s head naturally turned.

“Heo. That’s blooming again.”

Grantel frowned. He went directly to pick the mushroom.

“Never be interested in this. You shouldn’t touch it, and you shouldn’t eat it even more.”

I nodded.

“It’s odorless.”

“Do you know this too?”

“Yes. Isn’t it a poisonous mushroom?”

As if he wasn’t surprised at how I knew it, Grantel naturally continued the conversation.

“As you said. It has a poison so strong that it can kill even the most robust person in seconds.”

He was showing the purple powder attached to the surface of the mushroom cap.

“It sometimes blooms on the road like this, and the Ego residents get seriously hurt.”

Grantel was grumbling and trying to incinerate the odorless mushroom.

“Wait a minute.”

I hurriedly stopped him.

“Can I take that?”

“This? It’s dangerous just to touch it.”

A deadly poison that can inflict a fatal wound just by touching it.

That’s why I wanted it even more. Having a deadly poison meant that there was one more way to attack.

“I know the odorless mushroom well. You can grab the bottom, right? There’s no poison there.”

“…Hmm. I see. You’ll know how to use it.”

“Thank you.”

I put the odorless mushroom in my subspace.

‘This is something.’

Although I didn’t find an elixir, it was worth looking around.

After walking again for a while.

“Then everyone, please cover your eyes again.”

Grantel’s voice continued again.

“The way to the Hall cannot be revealed to outsiders.”

A large leaf came and darkened the view.