Chapter 185. Cooperation (1)
A Guardian-class Elf.
That was how the carriers referred to the blonde Elf.
Verden did not possess deep knowledge about other races, including Elves.
To begin with, he had no real interest, and since he had been self-studying and researching magical knowledge in the magic tower, he had no time to spare for such things anyway.
At best, he had read a few popular books. Naturally, he had no idea about the hierarchy among Elves, or what kind of power they wielded.
'Still, that blonde Elf is clearly different from the others.'
Verden checked the direction the carriers were moving, then pulled out a mid-grade magic stone from his spatial bag. It was for the groundwork he needed to prepare before causing a stir.
Four pillars at the edges supporting the ceiling.
Behind each one, he drew the same magic circle with the magic stone as the center. It was not a spell that required much effort, so it did not take long.
'With this, it's done.'
Finishing the last stroke, he stilled the magic power gathered at the tip of his index finger.
There was no mistake in the magic circles.
Confident in his own skill, Verden immediately moved in the direction the blonde Elf had been carried.
Before long, a space appeared where the faint glow of magic-stone lamps lingered.
Surgical tools were neatly arranged, and in the center stood Drevus, dressed impeccably.
He cried out in delight as he looked at the blonde Elf with a bright face.
"Oooooooh! Alive, truly alive! This is genuinely moving. To think I'd see a living Guardian-class Elf in my lifetime…! I can touch it right away, can't I?"
"From this moment, ownership of the Elf has been transferred to Lord Drevus."
"You do not need to ask permission."
Smiling, Drevus pushed aside the two carriers and immediately caressed the Elf.
Arms and shoulders, legs, chest area, and abdomen. Finally, he pressed down firmly on the head, expressing admiration.
"To think it's still alive when the inside is such a wreck… truly a body different in nature from the Elf corpses I've seen until now. Ha, just looking at it makes my desire for research boil up. So many experimental ideas come to mind. Ah, if you're done with your work, you can leave. Today, I'm going to dissect this Elf thoroughly, so don't get in the way."
"Yes, but there is one thing you should be cautious about."
"…?"
"This Elf once awoke during an experiment and killed six mages. Of course, in its current state, even if it regains consciousness, it won't be able to move a single finger… but unlike before, this is not a cold corpse, it is a living being. Please keep that in mind."
"Keep that in mind? Me?"
At the carrier's warning, Drevus let out a scoff. He tapped the blonde Elf's head with his white-gloved hand.
"Even if it were perfectly alive, it wouldn't be able to approach me and would freeze to death instead. Why should I be careful of a dying specimen? I'll handle it, so don't meddle and just go."
"Understood. We pray you achieve results."
The carriers bowed their heads and left.
Soon, faint tremors echoed from afar, and their presence completely vanished.
So they had gone outside the laboratory.
Verden turned his gaze toward Drevus.
Drevus, completely unaware that a stranger had entered his laboratory, was wholly focused on the blonde Elf.
"Ha, where should I begin? Starting with the heart or brain would be too risky… maybe the hands or feet would be better. Or perhaps I should look at the internal organs that are still relatively intact? If I do that, I'll have to minimize the bleeding as much as possible…"
Muttering to himself, Drevus narrowed his eyes.
Then, as if he had decided on a course, he nodded with satisfaction. He rummaged through his surgical tools, but finding something missing, he hastily removed his gloves and left the spot in a hurry.
Silence descended on the laboratory.
From within the shadows, Verden revealed himself.
***
"..."
Step, step.
Verden walked forward and casually took Drevus's place.
The unconscious blonde Elf.
Like Drevus had done, he pressed gently on the Elf's body. The tissues forming the body were strangely soft, as though some of them had been destroyed.
The exterior seemed fine, but the inside was in ruins.
'Some powerful force tore through the insides.'
Not in a moment, but over a long duration.
For a mage, it was akin to the mana circuits being continually overloaded, ultimately destroyed, and necrotized.
'There is only one case where such an accident occurs.'
It is when one deliberately induces overload.
Of course, it was a phenomenon very rarely seen.
Destroying one's own mana circuits was like cutting off one's fingers one by one until death.
It meant the pain was enough to drive one's mind completely blank.
What kind of experiments had been performed to cause this?
Whatever it was, the Elf must have suffered agonies beyond torture.
Verden's eyes twitched.
Human experimentation, loathsome because he had once experienced it. Even if it was not a human but an Elf, the feeling of disgust did not fade.
At that moment, footsteps approaching from behind suddenly halted.
Verden turned his body.
There stood Drevus, holding strange medicines in his hands.
"Hm? Who are you? I clearly told you not to disturb me…"
"Do I look like someone who carries specimens around?"
At those words, Drevus examined Verden.
Gray armor engraved with strange patterns, a green robe, ashen hair, and blue eyes. With an appearance rare enough to count on one hand in his life, Drevus stroked his chin with his bare hand.
"Hmm, certainly an unfamiliar face. Since I haven't heard about you from His Highness, you're not of the royal family, and you don't have pointed ears, so you're not an Elf either. What business do you have here? And how did you get in?"
"You're not the one who gets to ask questions."
Fwoooosh!
In an instant, Verden's mana flared and swept through the laboratory.
'This is… mana detection?'
Drevus narrowed his brow.
Among the 1st-tier basic spells, it was not mana burst, nor mana coercion, but mana detection.
He understood that the uninvited guest before him had crawled into the laboratory with impure intentions. Yet, he could not begin to guess why he was wielding mana in such a way.
In the meantime, Verden's move had already begun.
The magic circles, which had been delayed by the magic stones, reacted to Verden's mana.
The Obstruction.
Four magic circles activated simultaneously, resonating with one another. The circles, enhanced beyond their original performance, spread a thin, translucent veil of mana, permeating throughout the entire laboratory.
The ceiling, the walls, even the floor upon which the two men stood.
Drevus, who had pierced through the nature of the magic circles.
He twitched his eyebrows, then turned his head forward.
In the brief moment when his gaze had strayed, Verden was already holding a staff in his right hand. Staring into those blue eyes, Drevus asked in a low voice.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?"
"I have many questions to ask you."
Verden stated his purpose calmly.
"So I ask for your cooperation."
***
"What…."
Drevus could not conceal his bewilderment and wore a stupefied expression.
Not only had this man broken into his laboratory, but he had also sealed off the inside and outside with a magic circle, and then suddenly demanded cooperation.
Judging by the staff in hand, and his attitude, this was nothing less than outright intimidation.
It was a reality he was experiencing for the first time in his life.
Before long, Drevus twisted the corners of his mouth. Anger aside, the situation itself was absurd. So absurd that he could only laugh.
"Hahahahahahaha! Cooperation? Cooperation, you say? To think I'd be threatened like a robbery inside my own laboratory. And in the castle of the First Prince, no less! Isn't this refreshingly new, even too new?"
Swiish.
Drevus wiped the tears forming in the corners of his eyes, then sneered.
"By the way, are you a mage? A robber mage… I don't know what confidence you have, or how you managed to crawl in here like a rat, but to dare enter a place guarded by me, 'Drevus Peonterode', of the Royal Court Mage Corps of Estiria… your luck is abysmal, truly abysmal."
So he was part of the Royal Court Mage Corps.
'He belongs to a higher organization than I thought.'
Naturally, that meant he would know much.
He would likely possess knowledge of fairly important matters as well. In many ways, he was quite the catch.
Of course, it also meant he was strong.
Judging his level roughly, he was likely hovering around lower 5th-tier.
'Well, it doesn't matter if he's a magus.'
Verden had no thought whatsoever of losing in a magical battle.
All that mattered was protecting the blonde Elf, preserving the laboratory, and calculating how to subdue Drevus alive.
After laughing to his fill, Drevus activated his mana circuits.
The medicines he held floated up and settled onto a nearby desk. He pulled a crafted staff from his robes and aimed it at Verden.
"Well, as a light warm-up before I begin my experiments, this isn't bad. In fact, the anticipation swelling within me makes it even better. You… whatever your name is, I'll kill you in the blink of an eye, so endure it for a little while. Ah, but before that, I should put things in order."
Drevus gave his staff a casual wave.
The desk laden with all kinds of experimental tools, and the cart upon which the Elf lay, were flung against the wall.
Telekinesis.
His ability to manipulate mana was of a high level.
'The Elf will be safe, then.'
It seemed Drevus was as attentive to the blonde Elf as Verden was. He wasn't some novice mage, and there was no way a stray spell would strike the Elf.
Verden strengthened his mana circuits even further.
Verden and Drevus.
Both leveled their weapons and mana at each other.
"Oh, for a rat of a mage, you're quite composed."
Drevus's eyes curved into crescents.
He wondered how that Elf-like face would contort in just a moment.
'Hm, now that I look, his equipment seems rather rare too.'
After freezing him to death, he would strip away what he had and use the remainder as an experimental specimen. If kept alive, he could extract various pieces of information, but for Drevus, killing him and erasing all traces was simpler.
Otherwise, he might be dragged about by the First Prince before he even had a chance to experiment.
If he got properly ensnared, he would prove his incompetence before he could accomplish anything.
'So whether alive or dead, it must end swiftly.'
With his decision made, Drevus launched the first strike.
A spell meant to mislead.
Five ice arrows flew in a straight line, yet Verden did not react. When the arrows struck directly, a veil of mana rose from all directions and shielded him.
Even though he had not manipulated his mana otherwise.
'An automatic mana barrier? It seems like a function embedded in his armor or robe… to think he'd actually use something so inefficient and rare.'
But even if he was under constant protection from a magic item, there were countless ways to pierce it. Especially for a mage of water and ice.
Mana transformed into its element.
A violent surge of waves rose and surged toward Verden from above and below.
The basic strategy of a water-element mage was always linkage.
They would seize the opponent's space, gradually drown them, or, if they also possessed ice attributes, trap them in water and freeze them—ending the battle in an instant.
Drevus was clearly of the latter type, a high 4th-tier mage.
Chwaaaaaa.
The crashing waves split to either side.
Instead of rushing Verden directly, the spell split again and shot toward the ceiling.
Breaking apart, the waves came crashing from all directions.
Then, wringing out his mana, Drevus cast another spell.
Frost spread out from Drevus, touching the surging currents.
In an instant, the spreading chill froze parts of the crashing waves. Mixed with icy fragments, the frigid tide poured down upon Verden.
There was no room to evade.
Perhaps it could be melted with fire, or smashed head-on, but to dispel such a massive frozen tide in time was impossible.
"Nothing special at all."
Drevus was convinced of overwhelming victory.
But so was Verden.
The frost amplification of the Ring of Permafrost (replica), and the range amplification of Maybel's Earrings. The mastery Verden held over ice-element spells to begin with.
The cold radiating from the Oculus devoured Drevus's chained spells without mercy.
Fire consumes fire, ice freezes ice.
Such is the hierarchy that emerges when the gap between mages of the same element is vast.
Drevus stared blankly as the spells he had cast with confidence turned to mere shards of ice.
"What is this…."
And at that moment, a voice was heard.
"One hand."
One hand?
What did that mean?
As comprehension dawned, something was felt from behind.
Mana materialized out of empty air.
Before he could react, a stone fragment shot from his blind spot and shattered the back of Drevus's hand.