Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 83

83. The Zyleo Mountains

The Zyleo Mountains, situated in the northwestern part of the continent, were a considerable distance from Ego, which lay at the eastern end.

“Hoo. This road seems to go on forever.”

Drew sighed as they made their way to the Portal Management Bureau.

“We have to take the portal five times, right?”

“Yeah. It’s almost like crossing the entire continent.”

“Ugh. I start feeling nauseous after the third portal jump.”

There was no other choice. Using the portals was the fastest way to reach their destination.

“So, are we headed to Laptel Village?”

“Yeah. It’s the closest settlement to the Zyleo Mountains.”

“But it’s still quite a trek from there, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. There aren’t any villages right next to the Zyleo Mountains, making Laptel the nearest option.”

Ego had a relatively better setup. They could use Aital Village as a staging point near the Ego Forest.

But the Zyleo Mountains were different.

‘Who would want to live nearby?’

A place crawling with monsters, and not just different races of them. No one in their right mind would settle there.

“Even from Laptel, it’s still a six-hour carriage ride.”

That’s why even Laptel, the closest village, was so far away.

“Ugh. I’m already tired. Do you think we’ll even find a carriage? The villagers of Laptel probably don’t want anything to do with the Zyleo Mountains.”

That was a valid point.

The residents of Laptel had their reasons for living there, and those reasons included staying as far away from the Zyleo Mountains as possible. The chances of them agreeing to a trip to the mountains were slim.

‘That would be the case for ordinary villagers, but…’

However, they weren’t going in unprepared.

“Don’t worry. Angel already took care of it.”

“Oh, really?”

“Of course. Securing a reliable coachman was one of the things Ian requested.”

He had introduced Angel as a mercenary, so he answered accordingly. Naturally, the coachman he’d arranged was likely a member of the Circle [a secret organization or faction].

Drew’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow! That must have been tough!”

“Then let’s get going.”

They soon arrived at the Aital Portal Management Bureau.

The portal manager recognized the red eyes and, after a formal identity verification, directed them to the portal.

After five identity checks, they were able to use the portal without stopping, all thanks to the red eyes.

Whooosh!

In less than ten minutes, they had passed through the fifth portal.

“Ugh!”

Drew felt nauseous from the repeated teleportations.

“Heh heh! Welcome to Laptel!”

The cheerful voice of the Laptel portal manager greeted them.

“Oh, you must be Lord Delema.”

The facility was rather shabby compared to other portal management bureaus. It resembled a poorly maintained warehouse.

‘This place isn’t very popular, huh?’

Even though it was six hours away from the Zyleo Mountains by carriage, it felt like the front lines.

“Then, is the carriage waiting out front the one you requested?”

The portal manager gestured towards the half-open door.

“Yes. It’s ours.”

Angel nodded in confirmation. It was the Circle’s carriage, already waiting for them.

“Oh, great! Then I hope you have a pleasant time in Laptel.”

They stepped outside to the manager’s warm farewell. The cool night air washed over them.

‘Why is it so big?’

The carriage Angel had arranged was about three times larger than a normal one. Six horses were harnessed in the lead.

“You’ve arrived.”

“You’ve arrived.”

Two figures stood beside the massive carriage, bowing their heads. They appeared to be in their early twenties, a man and a woman.

Angel must have briefed them beforehand, as they didn’t utter anything like, “For the One!” [a potential religious or organizational slogan].

“Hng!”

“Hup!”

They shuddered as they looked at my face.

‘Why are they staring so intently?’

[You must look almost like a god to them.]

They must have heard in advance that I was Angelus’s herald [a messenger or representative].

“M-My name is Rica!”

“I’m Andy!”

The two introduced themselves eagerly, as if wanting me to remember them.

“Ahem!”

Angel cleared his throat, and Rica and Andy finally snapped out of it.

“Please, come inside!”

“We will safely escort you to the Zyleo Mountains.”

The two then pulled back the carriage curtain. From the outside, it looked like a large, plain tent.

‘It’s incredibly spacious.’

[They must have spent a fortune.]

The interior was neatly arranged, resembling a decent inn. It was clear that Angel and the two had put a lot of effort into it.

“It’s very nice.”

At my quiet words,

“A-Ah! You noticed!”

“T-Thank you! Have a good rest!”

Rica and Andy couldn’t contain their excitement. They bowed at a 90-degree angle and then hurried to the driver’s seat.

‘Anyone would think they’d received a blessing.’

[It’s kind of like that for them.]

Angel nodded, looking satisfied.

“I had them set up special beds.”

Inside the spacious carriage, four beds awaited them. It was a luxurious carriage that made the long journey seem less daunting.

‘Thanks to them, I’ll be able to travel very comfortably.’

Angel knew they would be traveling at night and had thoughtfully prepared the beds in advance so they could sleep.

“Wow! It’s so fluffy!”

Drew had already thrown himself onto the bed at the far end.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve ridden in such a nice carriage.”

Admun was also looking around in amazement.

‘They deliberately made the outside of the carriage look shabby.’

[They need to prepare for possible attacks.]

A carriage with a flashy exterior would be a prime target for bandits.

Of course, someone like Angel wouldn’t be easily caught off guard, but this was a thoughtful precaution to avoid any unnecessary trouble in the first place.

Thud-.

As I sank into the soft bed,

“Giddy up!”

Andy’s voice echoed.

Drew and Admun quickly settled into their spots and fell asleep, while Angel sat on the bed and began to read.

‘Hmm. But why didn’t this work?’

The object he was fiddling with while lying on the bed was the Guardian Necklace around his neck.

[No matter how I think about it, it seems like a fake.]

‘So, you’re saying Hall Delema deliberately tried to screw over a one-year-old?’

[Delema might do something like that.]

It wasn’t like Oberon’s words were entirely unfounded.

‘But that’s a bit strange.’

It didn’t seem very likely. An influential figure like the head of Delema wouldn’t have a reason to keep me in check. Besides, it wasn’t like the necklace didn’t react at all.

‘Then, should I test it out?’

[How?]

‘I’m going to try putting mana into it again.’

[Oh? It probably won’t work anyway.]

‘I’ll try again. I was too rushed last time, so I might not have used it properly.’

Oberon nodded. There was no reason not to try.

Whoooosh!

Slowly channeling mana.

‘……It’s reacting?’

Vrrrr!

The necklace vibrated.

[It vibrated back then too…… Ah?]

Oberon’s pupils began to dilate.

Crack-.

The gem on the necklace started to crack.

‘Whoa!’

He quickly withdrew the mana he was channeling into the necklace.

Vrrr…….

The Guardian Necklace stopped vibrating.

‘Just now…… it was about to activate?’

[……I think so?]

It was a distinctly different reaction from when he used it in the Ego [a personal mental space]. Back then, the necklace’s reaction had simply fizzled out, but now, something was clearly about to happen.

‘I don’t know what’s going on.’

Oberon stared at the Guardian Necklace for a moment.

[Hmm. It doesn’t react in the Ego?]

He put forward another hypothesis.

‘In the Ego? Why?’

[Well, maybe. The energy there is so erratic.]

The Ego where the Hole was located. As he said, it was a place where energy fluctuated wildly.

‘……I’m not sure.’

The necklace was half-cracked.

Now that a glimmer of hope had been rekindled, he couldn’t bring himself to inject mana again to experiment.

If it were to activate normally, it would be such a waste. Since things were peaceful now, there was no need to receive help from the spirits.

‘Let’s just sleep for now. I’ll try using it again in Krajahn.’

With those questions left unanswered, the night in Raftel came to an end.

* * *

[Hey. Wake up.]

Oberon’s voice reached him as he dozed off. He was looking out the window of the carriage.

‘What is it?’

[We’re almost there. Look over there. It’s the Zairo Mountains.]

‘Huh? Didn’t we just leave?’

[What! You’ve been passed out for six hours straight!]

It seemed the fatigue from the Ego had caught up with him. After all that commotion, it was understandable.

[Do you even know that some bandits tried to attack us?]

‘What, bandits? What happened?’

[He took care of them all.]

Angel was still sitting by the bed.

“Are you awake? It seems we’ve almost arrived.”

He gave a gentle smile.

[He annihilated nearly twenty guys without a sound. He’s practically an assassin.]

‘Well, if it’s Angel, I guess he could do that.’

Being an 8-star skilled individual and proficient in Silence magic, quietly eliminating a band of bandits would be no problem for him.

“You’ve worked hard last night.”

“Were you awake? I tried to handle it as quietly as possible, but I apologize.”

“No, it’s fine. I just couldn’t sleep and tossed and turned a bit.”

Of course, pretending that I was awake wouldn’t be a problem either.

[Caw! He was sleeping so soundly that you could have carried him away without him noticing!]

……If only Oberon would be quiet.

Neigh!

The sound of a horse’s cry came at that awkwardly smiling moment.

“We’ve arrived.”

Angel stepped out of the carriage first.

“Wake up! Let’s go!”

He woke the other children.

“Nyaaaam!”

Drew woke up with a scream, as if he had been dreaming of eating food.

“Have we arrived?”

And Admun quietly got up.

Together with the two, they followed Angel out of the carriage.

“Oh! You’ve arrived just in time!”

Andy, who had been driving the carriage all night, greeted them with a smile, showing no signs of fatigue.

“This is the Zairo Mountains!”

Lica also waved with a bright face.

“Ooh……. So this is the Zairo Mountains.”

Drew’s mouth dropped open at the scenery outside the carriage.

It was like a wasteland, but a massive cliff blocked their path in front of them.

They were looking up at the cliff from below.

“It feels like that cliff is about to crash down on us.”

It looked as if the cliff was about to crash down on them like a tsunami. A massive cliff that stretched to the end of the horizon.

And a narrow path through it.

“We’re going through that gap.”

It was the only entrance they could enter.

[This place hasn’t changed in a thousand years.]

‘You’re telling me.’

What unfolded before their eyes was like a canyon. However, its scale was simply too enormous.

“Finally, we’re going to the Zairo Mountains.”

It was early in the morning, and the sun was just beginning to rise. They stepped into the canyon that seemed to swallow even the sun.