chapter 47

Liamson pointed to the village and said.

“I forgot to tell you, but there’s a strange body in the center.”

A strange body?

Led by Liamson, they immediately went directly to that place.

As he’d said, there was a charred body in the center of the village.

Camille squatted down and began examining the body, but she didn’t touch it, in case it was a trap.

The cause of death was immediately apparent.

“It wasn’t burnt. I think they were struck by lightning.”

“It seems the Demigod’s Apostle might have the power of lightning.”

At those words, Frey turned to look at Mikel.

“You said that the Apostles can use the Demigods’ powers. To what extent can they borrow their powers?”

“Well. Come to think of it, I was never told in detail.”

Mikel inwardly realised that he was treating Frey as a superior.

He managed to keep his composure without being disturbed by the things that were happening, so it was impossible to treat him like a newbie.

“It’s true that the Demigods have transcendental powers, but they can’t fully utilize them on the continent. We don’t know for sure, but if certain conditions aren’t met or they aren’t in specific areas then their power is limited.”

That was all he knew.

The thing to note however, was that they did not know what those conditions were yet.

There were some things that they had noticed but even then they couldn’t be certain.

Frey focused on Mikel’s words without expressing any opinions of his own.

“It’s through the existence of the Apostles that they are able to bypass those limits. Every Demigod is able to create one Apostle to follow their will.”

“Is one the maximum?”

“As far as we know, it is. And the created Apostles can use the powers of the Demigod they serve.”

Frey’s expression became serious.

“Then doesn’t that mean that the Circle’s situation is quite desperate?”

“Not exactly. The Demigods have their own risks.”

Frey’s gaze became sharp.

“What risks?”

“If you kill an Apostle, it will affect the Demigod.”

Mikel continued his words with a serious expression as well.

“The Circle has some information on a few Demigods who are hiding in the Kastkau Empire. It is valuable information that took us as little as a few decades and as much as a few centuries to gather.”

This was great news.

If the Demigods truly wanted to disappear then there was no way that the Circle would be able to find any traces, but they did not do that.

However, Frey had been given a glimpse of the Demigods’ arrogance from this information.

It was almost certain that they knew the humans were keeping tabs on them. Yet they chose not to respond to it.

This was obviously a sign.

They were convinced that regardless of what they did, the humans would be unable to stop them.

“We once defeated a Demigod’s Apostle in the Kastkau Empire. Then something strange happened.”

“Something strange?”

“The Demigod disappeared.”

“…!”

Mikel’s eyes sharpened.

“It was then that we were sure. Killing the Apostles has some effect on the Demigods.”

Frey had never heard such rumors.

Because he had experienced it in the past, he knew how impossible it was to face the Demigods head on.

He had thought that it would be nice if they had found some way to deal damage to them but now he had learned of the existence of Apostles.

‘But why did they create such an existence?’

They weren’t there 4,000 years ago.

Did they learn how to create Apostles over the years?

Or were they able to do it from the start but there was another reason why they decided to use them now?

‘…’

Anyway, there were now even more reasons why they couldn’t back down here.

If they could really deal damage to the Demigod, then it was worth it to risk it and try to kill the Apostle.

“That’s all I know.”

“It’s enough.”

As Liamson looked around, his eyes were soon drawn to a hill behind the village.

“Now that we’re done talking, we can start looking for the Apostle. My teacher and I will go up that hill. We will be able to see the surrounding area from there.”

“Then Mr. Mikel and I will look around the village one more time.”

“Sure.”

Liamson and Camille then left.

Mikel, who was now alone with Frey, turned to him and asked.

“…how old are you this year?”

“I’m twenty.”

Mikel’s body shook for a moment.

“Twenty…! At that age you managed to reach the 7 star level. Really…I really can’t believe it.”

His astonishment was natural.

There had never been a 7 star wizard in history who was as young as he was.

Could the word ‘genius’ even describe him?

“Aren’t 7 star wizards common in the Circle?”

“Not really. If you are 7 stars, then you would get the position of Force Honor in any circle.”

Shepard and the wizard named Lukes were Force Honors.

He had also learned of the higher positions Circle Rounder and Circle Master.

Frey slowly feigned ignorance and said.

“I’m a bit interested in the Phisfounder Armlets.”

“Hmm? You’re interested in our circle?”

“If you’re not interested in Iris Phisfounder’s black magic, contracts and summons, you couldn’t claim to be a wizard.”

“Hoho! That’s right.”

Mikel smiled proudly at those words.

From his conversations with Shepard, Frey had learned that each circle member had an extreme amount of pride in their respective organizations.

However, Mikel let out a low laugh, unaware of Frey’s thoughts.

‘If Frey joined our circle then it would be a tremendous boost in strength.’

Maybe he could be a step ahead of the Lucid Swords and Strow Necklaces.

If the talent of this up and coming young man was revealed, it would certainly cause a huge commotion within the circle.

They would all go all out to invite Frey.

This was his chance to put in a few words before the massive recruitment war started. It was a huge advantage.

Mikel opened his mouth the same moment that he came to that conclusion.

“The Phisfounder Armlets, Lucid Swords and Strow Necklaces. These three circles are normally referred to as the Three Heads. This is because they have the most strength, numbers and influence out of all the circles.”

“I see.”

“Our Phisfounder Armlets are a bit smaller when compared to the other two circles. However, we have a large number of contractors and summoners. Of course, the number of pure wizards like me is not small either.”

Contractors were those who made contracts with Demons from the Demon World while Summoners were those who summoned Demons to do their bidding. (TL: should I change ‘Demon World’ to ‘Underworld?’)

Mikel explained that becoming a contractor or a summoner relied more heavily on talent than being a pure wizard.

This meant that simply putting in the effort would not be able to help them much.

“Our leader, Master Altan, has signed a contract with Barbatos, one of the Grand Dukes in the Demon World.”

“Demon of Greed Barbatos?”

Frey couldn’t help but be surprised at that bit of information.

The Grand Dukes of the Demon World were very cunning and incredibly dangerous.

It was a well known fact that it was incredibly hard to sign a contract with a Grand Duke rank Demon because they all viewed humans as nothing more than bugs.

Mikel’s face was shining with pride.

“I guess you know a bit about the demons of the Demon World. Everything I’ve said is true.”

“That’s…pretty amazing.”

Iris was the only one that Frey knew who had been able to sign a contract with the Grand Dukes.

Although she had signed contracts with three Grand Dukes, he didn’t know if Master Altan had also signed contracts with more Grand Dukes.

“It seems that the Phisfounder Armlets aren’t all witches.”

“I told you. There are pure wizards like me. It is the same in all the circles. There are Magic Warriors in the Strow Necklaces and Wizards in the Lucid Swords. It’s only that the numbers are slightly lower and their strengths are a bit weaker.”

As Mikel said this, he turned to look at the hill that Liamson had gone to.

“Actually that’s not that big of a deal. It might seem funny to say this, but the Circle is an open organization. Although only a few people would actually admit.”

Well. He’d never expected to fight side by side with Dark Elves one day.

“I’m telling you this specifically, but among the Force Honors in our circle, there is a Half-Demon.”

“…”

Afterward, Mikel continued to list the advantages of the Phisfounder Armlets.

Frey nodded cooperatively, pretending to be interested, but the thoughts in his head were completely different.

‘He hasn’t told me any key information.’

There was absolutely no words about the identities of the Circle Master or Circle Rounders who Frey was most interested in.

Although he knew the Circle Master’s name was Altan and that he was contracted to a Grand Duke rank Demon, it seemed that he didn’t know any other useful pieces of information.

Perhaps the fact Altan was contracted to a Grand Duke was something that was known by most of the circle members.

With that kind of achievement, they would not embarrass the pride of the Three Head Circles.

‘Or maybe Mikel just doesn’t know much.’

Mikel was powerful enough to become a Floor Master in the 3rd Magic Tower, but in the circle he was not even strong enough to become an executive.

It seemed that if he wanted more information, it would be better to talk to an executive like Shepard.

By the time their conversation had ended, Liamson and Camille had returned.

Camille spoke with her characteristically calm face.

“There is a forest over the hill, it seems to be suspicious.”

“Suspicious?”

“There was a bloody smell, but no traces in the forest. It gave me a bad feeling.”

“Dead forest. It’s a dead forest.”

Liamson had an unpleasant look on his face.

Regardless of their behaviour, Dark Elves were also a race of the forests, so seeing damaged trees made them upset.

First, they headed toward the forest.

Frey felt the strangely unpleasant air and finally understood what Liamson meant by ‘Dead Forest’.

There wasn’t even the sound of small insects or the fresh smell of grass.

It was as if all ‘life’ was missing from the forest.

Camille clicked her tongue.

“Only a shell is left. Even the trees are dead.”

“It was all absorbed.”

“Right.”

Camille nodded at Frey’s words before kneeling on one knee and putting her palm on the ground.

“…The entire forest is likely a trap. It’s impossible to get a sense of what’s happening inside because of some sort of array.”

Everyone’s eyes simultaneously turned to Frey.

“What should we do?”

“…”

Frey though for a moment before opening his mouth.

“You said that this forest is already dead. So you wouldn’t mind if I destroyed it right?”

“It doesn’t matter, but how? It won’t be easy to burn the forest with the interference from the array.”

“I don’t intend to burn it.”

It was dangerous to set fire to the forest.

Frey got closer to the forest and looked around.

‘This is it. The array.’

Just as Camille had said, he could feel something covering the forest.

Frey stood there blankly for a while.

Liamson looked toward Camille and asked.

“What is Frey doing?”

“…I think he’s looking at the array.”

“The focal point of the array?”

“That’s right.”

Camille was looking at Frey with a dubious expression on her face.

Breaking down an array that had already been activated was very complicated and time consuming.

Mikel was also aware of this face.

‘It would take at least 2 days to break down this kind of array…’

In order to destroy the array, not only did the wizard’s level need to be high, but their brain must be extraordinary.

This was because one had to find the answers for dozens or even hundreds of intertwined equations and expressions using only mental arithmetic.

If one made even a single mistake then there was a chance that they would entangle the array even more, or there could be backlash that they would suffer from directly.

Then Frey seemed to come out of his daze and walked back to the group.

Camille looked at him and said.

“If you intend to destroy the array properly then we will stay here and stand guard.”

“There’s no need for that.”

Frey shot a strange gaze at Camille.

“Then?”

“The array has already been destroyed. Now all I need to do is destroy the forest.”

“Wh-, what?”

“You should step back.”

Camille, Liamson and Mikel all stepped back with confused expressions on their faces.

Frey looked at the forest once again and cast a spell.

“Windstorm.”

Hoooo.

A violent wind suddenly began blowing in the area.

Mikel hurriedly cast a Barrier spell.

This was because the winds were so strong that he felt that his body would be blown away.

Liamson and Camille also hurriedly entered the barrier.

Kooo.

Frey’s robe fluttered violently.

The huge storm that was happening in front of him had already reached the level where it could be considered a natural disaster.

Mikel opened his mouth wide as he witnessed this incredible feat of magic.

‘Un-, unbelievable!’

The fluctuating mana!

And the storm!

Mikel had thought that Frey was just a wizard who had recently reached the 7 star level, but the magical power that he was currently exhibiting was beyond imagination.

It was not enough to say that he already had great achievements

Kuaah.

The storm literally smashed against the forest.

Trees were uprooted and huge boulders were thrown into the sky as though they were small pebbles.

Even Camille’s normally calm expression could not help but change when she saw this seemingly transcendental sight.

And when the storm stopped.

“…”

In the completely decimated forest, a man could be seen walking.

Frey realised that that man was most likely the Apostle.

It was then.

Mikel’s face became overcome with grief when he noticed this man.

“I, I don’t believe it. This…this is impossible.”

“You know who that is?”

“Ah, it’s…Honor Lukes…!”

“What?”

Liamson’s face twisted and Mikel kept speaking with a trembling voice.

“That’s Honor Lukes, the deputy head of the 3rd Magic Tower.”

(TL:…woah…)