Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 66

66. Traitor (5)

Whoosh!

The rough sound of wind cutting through the air stimulated my ears, letting me know we were moving at a rapid pace.

‘The Hole…’

[It’s been a while.]

As the wind noise subsided, light pierced through the gaps in the darkness. The Leaf Clan’s leaves, which had been covering my eyes, were being removed.

“This is the Hole you’ve been longing for.”

With Grantel’s gentle voice, my vision returned. The sudden influx of light made me instinctively squint.

“Ugh…”

Drew also let out a short groan.

[Still a fascinating place.]

Only Oberon, whose eyes hadn’t been covered, calmly observed the scenery.

After a short time for my eyes to adjust, the stunning view came into focus.

“The Hole…”

The landscape before me was exactly as I remembered it.

A massive crater, hundreds of meters in diameter. Within it, a huge heat haze was rising.

The colorful heat haze, rising like smoke, created a spectacle unlike anything I had ever seen.

“So, this is the Hole…”

Drew muttered, captivated by the sight. It must have seemed mysterious to him as well.

“What are those heat hazes?”

Admun was also gaping.

“Those are condensed energies.”

“Energies…?”

“Yes, energies like mana that nature possesses.”

Admun and Drew simultaneously groaned at those words.

“Huh…?”

The two’s reactions were understandable.

“How dense must the energy be to be visible?”

Energies like mana or aura could only be sensed by skilled mages or knights with intense concentration.

Yet, what was unfolding before their eyes? Energies that were difficult to detect even when trying to focus were scattering like smoke.

‘It’s still the same.’

The ‘intangible’ energies were visualized, constantly overwhelming my eyes. The energies gradually faded as they rose into the sky, spreading throughout the Ego Forest.

[A strange place indeed.]

‘And a scary one too.’

Such dense energies were naturally having a considerable impact on our bodies. Soon, the energies began to flow in and out of us.

“Uh… uh?”

Drew and Admun were patting their bodies in confusion. The rough and strong energies they had never felt before began to wreak havoc inside them.

“Quick, eat the Hyeon Fruit.”

As I bit into the green fruit first, the children immediately followed suit.

Whoosh!

The energy dormant in the Hyeon Fruit rapidly flowed into our bodies, coursing through the meridians and creating a sensation of walls forming in places.

It was a sensation that those who cultivated aura and mana would be horrified by, but…

‘Now I can finally breathe.’

At this moment, it was a very welcome reaction. The overwhelmingly powerful energies of the Hole were blocked by the Hyeon Fruit, preventing them from entering our bodies any further.

The energies simply brushed past us, as if we were of no interest to them.

‘I can make it through today.’

The Hyeon Fruit’s effects lasted exactly one day. We were planning to leave this place before nightfall, so it was plenty of time.

“Whew. I felt like those energies were trying to take over my body just now.”

Drew, with his mouth full of Hyeon Fruit, was wiping his chest.

“It was a strange feeling. So, this is what it feels like to manipulate mana.”

Admun, who had never really felt aura or mana, was looking down at his body with a curious expression.

“Yes. There’s mana and other energies mixed in.”

The children were still training without knowing the true nature of aura.

‘I should probably tell them what aura is soon.’

The time spent in the Hole would also be a time for them to learn what they were training.

* * *

First, we sat down next to the Hole’s crater. Drew and Admun sat on either side of me. The Leaf Clan members simply stared at us.

“What are we supposed to do now?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing here but smoke?”

Drew and Admun asked with questioning voices.

“We’re going to absorb some of the energies here.”

“We ate the Hyeon Fruit, so how are we supposed to absorb energy? I can’t even control the mana in my body, let alone the energies in the Hole.”

Drew shrugged. I looked at the heat haze blurring my vision and opened my mouth slightly.

“You don’t have to do anything. Just sit still.”

Perhaps my answer didn’t resolve their doubts.

“Huh?”

“Yes?”

The two of them looked at me simultaneously.

“Exactly as I said. Staying still is the best thing to do. We can’t control the energies here at our level. Remember how you felt before you ate the Hyeon Fruit?”

“Ah, yeah. The energy was too strong. I couldn’t control it.”

Drew nodded.

“Unless you’re a resident of the Ego who has lived here since birth, you can’t be here without the Hyeon Fruit. You’ll immediately fall into mana backlash [a dangerous overload of magical energy].”

“Ugh. Mana backlash…”

“All we can do now is eat the Hyeon Fruit and stay here as long as possible.”

Although it was an energy that our bodies couldn’t accept, it was enough.

‘Because it’s such a strong energy…’

Just being exposed to this smoke was enough to achieve my goal.

“Then we’ll be imbued with the scent of this place.”

“The scent of the atmosphere…?”

“Yes. It happens when you’re exposed to such dense energy for a long time. I call it ‘Ki-Hyang’ [Energy Fragrance].”

Ki-Hyang (氣香). It wasn’t a term defined by anyone. It was just a phenomenon I discovered, and I gave it a name that was easy for me to call it.

“If you’re imbued with the Ki-Hyang of the Hole, the monsters in the Xylo Mountains won’t touch us. They’ll mistake us for being incredibly strong.”

“Ah…! So, we’re not really gathering mana, but pretending to gather it?”

That’s how it was.

[Pretending to be strong.]

‘Monsters are sensitive to energy.’

They lived by the law of the jungle. Thanks to the dense Ki-Hyang emanating from us, they would be intimidated and wouldn’t approach us.

“I understand! Then we can freely enter and exit the Xylo Mountains for the rest of our lives? Wow, that’s amazing!”

Drew opened his mouth wide. Admun also blinked, unable to hide his anticipation.

‘Of course, I wish that were the case…’

Unfortunately, I shook my head.

“That’s not true. Ki-Hyang doesn’t last that long.”

“Ah…?”

“If you’re imbued with Ki-Hyang for a day, it’ll all disappear tomorrow. But the longer you stay here, the longer the Ki-Hyang will last.”

“So, that’s why you said we have to come here for several days?”

“Yes. Until we go to the Xylo Mountains with Angel, we’ll come here every day.”

Only then did the two understand why we had come to the Hole.

“If we stay for about a month, we can last about two weeks in the Xylo Mountains.”

The time left until the day we promised to go to the Xylo Mountains was a month. Until then, we had to imbue our bodies with a dense Ki-Hyang.

“Oh, so we’re just going to be here for a month?”

“Yes. But we’ll go back to the accommodation at night and come every day during the day. When the sun sets, the energies here become much more ferocious. Even the Hyeon Fruit won’t be enough then, and we won’t be able to withstand it.”

“Okay! Staying still is a piece of cake!”

Drew, who had already adapted, unpacked the bundle he was carrying on his back.

‘When did he pack this?’

Crunch!

He picked up a fruit from the bundle full of fruit and bit into it.

* * *

It was a series of uneventful days. A continuous cycle of moving to the Hole when the dawn broke and returning to the accommodation in Aital before the sun set. It was thanks to the Leaf Clan’s support that we were able to do so without incident.

‘Today is exactly the seventh day.’

As I watched the newly rising sun and was about to leave the inn room,

Knock- knock-

The sound of knocking came a step ahead. I expected who would be on the other side, so I immediately opened the door and welcomed him.

“I greet the Messenger.”

Angel bowed his head. There was only one reason he would have sought me out so early in the morning.

“Has Dorn shown any movement?”

“Yes. Last night, I witnessed him meeting with other races near the Ego Forest.”

“It seems he’s about to start trading. What kind of guys came out to meet Dorn?”

Finally, it was an opportunity to catch the tails of the Ego’s traitors.

“There were two of them. They were large and had mottled patterns.”

“…The Tiger Clan.”

“I believe so. They looked exactly like what I saw in the literature.”

“Of all the races, it had to be them…”

A race that was among the top in combat power among the other races.

‘I hope the entire Tiger Clan isn’t like that…’

I could only hope that it was a few individuals acting alone. If the entire Tiger Clan was like that, it was hard to even imagine what sacrifices would be needed to stop them.

“So, how did they say they would trade?”

“They were paying with magic bombs in exchange for rescuing the Origin and Lightwing Clans.”

“Magic bombs?”

“Yes. They said they would give more if the mission was completed.”

“What on earth are they up to?”

I couldn’t understand their intentions. There was no reason for them, who only lived inside the Ego, to use magic bombs.

“Hmm. So, when did they say they would rescue the Origin and Lightwing Clans by?”

“They said the Origin Clan would be enough in a day, but they needed a week because it would take some time to find the Lightwing Clan.”

“A week… I understand. Angel, you keep tracking Dorn until then. I’ll prepare inside the Ego in my own way.”

“Understood. I will also summon the powerful members of the Central Council here by the day of the trade.”

After bowing his head, Angel disappeared. He used Blink magic again.

‘I have to tell Grantel.’

I quickly woke up Drew and Admun.

* * *

We arrived at the entrance of the Ego Forest. As expected, the Leaf Clan was waiting for us, and Grantel handed us the Hyeon Fruit.

“Everyone, take one.”

Drew and Admun now took the Hyeon Fruit familiarly. As I took my share of the Hyeon Fruit, I whispered to Grantel.

“I have something to tell you before going to the Hole today.”

“Is it a story that only I should hear?”

“I think that would be better.”

A story related to the Ego’s traitors. To prevent unnecessary conflict, it was better for the rest of the Leaf Clan not to know yet.

“Then let’s go this way for a moment.”

Grantel naturally led me to the opposite side.

“Yes. What do you have to say? Is there anything else you need?”

His mystical eyes scanned me.

“It’s not that, it’s related to the kidnapping case I mentioned before.”

“…Have you found a clue?”

“Yes. I captured a trading scene… Unfortunately, it seems the Tiger Clan is involved. It seemed they were kidnapping from inside the Ego and bringing them to the humans.”

“Heo. To think there are really such terrible guys…”

“But there’s a question.”

“What is it?”

Perhaps feeling the seriousness of the situation, Grantel took a step closer.

“They were demanding magic bombs in exchange for handing over the other races.”

“Magic bombs?”

His brow furrowed sharply.