Chapter 59. If I'm Not a Punk, Then?
The area around the abandoned warehouse was filled with dust in an instant.
In that space turned hazy so you couldn't see an inch ahead, a gust of wind swept through at that moment.
Whooooooosh....
"W-what is this! Are you trying to smash the hideout I worked so hard to make?!"
Senior shouted with an exasperated expression.
Before I knew it, broad force fields had spread around, and here I could glimpse the true face of an old war mage.
There were three force fields total.
One covering the hideout, one protecting Senior, and one more to keep the impact from spreading outward.
Deploying multiple force fields wasn't difficult in itself, but deploying them quickly while keeping them sturdy was another matter.
Anyway.
'Hmm, the power's really not satisfying.'
I looked at Senior's force field, which held strong.
A force field that boasted a smooth surface without a single crack.
It wasn't like I'd detonated at maximum output, but it was still a disappointing result.
But Senior's thoughts seemed different.
"Hoo—anyway. Tell me honestly. Where the hell did you crawl in from? What, did you steal and learn some ancient secret manual somewhere?"
"What are you talking about?"
"How did you get a technique like this? With this amount of mana, that level of explosive force—by my common sense, I can't understand it."
Of course he couldn't.
Whether it's magic or a technique that uses mana, there are two factors that decide its power.
One is absolute quantity, and the other is quality.
But the mana stored in hongok just now was woefully lacking in absolute quantity.
'In the end, the answer is in quality.'
Even taking that into account, it would still be incomprehensible.
"I've known for a long time your mana is unusually pure for your age—no, compared to anyone. But even so, this is beyond a level I can understand."
Even if you raise only quality, power doesn't rise without limit, and the same is true if you raise only absolute quantity.
That was probably why.
To Senior, who stared at me skeptically, I gave the answer plainly.
"If you collide the particles of mana, it becomes a simple matter."
"Particles of mana?"
"Don't you know?"
Senior tilted his head like it was the first he'd ever heard of it.
But the one more flustered was me.
"Then how did you make a Magic Prison?"
"Who said I made it? I was taught by an old colleague. I struggled quite a bit."
"An old colleague… you mean the one in the great forest?"
At my question, Senior smiled with a strangely wistful look.
"A guy who went farther than that."
It wasn't a perfectly explicit expression, but the look and nuance were enough to guess.
The old war.
In that turbulent era, how many people died?
The strong and the weak. The good and the evil. Men and women, the young and the old— even children.
The monster called war devours everything.
"Well, fine. Mana particles, whatever. Cut the explanation. Even if I hear it, I don't think I'll understand."
"Ah, yes."
That's true.
Like how it's difficult to explain the existence of light to someone who cannot see—
there's no way to explain mana particles to someone who cannot feel them.
Even I only grasp their existence by intuition.
"But technique aside—where did those red orbs from earlier go?"
"Ah, those?"
Senior looked at me with a strangely impatient expression—probably because he'd mistaken hongok for an artifact.
There were quite a lot of them, so he must've been thinking of asking to borrow one.
But there was no need to worry.
Smiling, I raised a finger.
"Middle finger? Do you want to die?"
"Ah, sorry."
To think Senior would know a Black and White Zone-style insult.
I quickly switched to my index finger, then drew up a blood drop—hongok—just like before.
But why?
Senior's face turned as red as hongok.
"Y-you, you bastard... you tricked me?!"
"Senior, you misunderstand. I said I'd tell you the source, and that's all. I never said anything else."
At times like this, an innocent expression is best.
Though if it backfires, it backfires spectacularly.
"You bastard! You bastard!"
Thud! Thud!
"Ugh!"
Senior rushed in and bonked the top of my head with heavy hits.
Grrrk! Gkkk!
From somewhere, Breakfast No. 1 flew in and circled above my head as if mocking me.
That damned thing.
Someday it needed to get eaten for it to come to its senses.
The commotion didn't last long.
Senior was still a fairly benevolent man.
He gave me four or five bumps on my head, but with broad-mindedness, he willingly accepted the use of hongok.
Thanks to that, I could test hongok with peace of mind, and I found a few points to improve.
'My mastery of the proliferation formula is still insufficient.'
I can increase a single drop of blood to 1,024, but when the size grew larger than that, the number of splits kept decreasing.
Each time the size doubled, the number of split iterations was cut exactly in half.
"So in the end, that's the limit of your output."
"For now, yes."
But that was a problem that would be solved once I became more adept with the proliferation formula.
Aside from that, there were various improvements to be made, but nothing was a major issue.
No—if you call it an issue...
'The immediate usability is pretty incredible.'
I recalled, one by one, the ways to use hongok that I tested thanks to Senior's consideration.
Beyond artificially detonating Collision Style, its uses were endless.
Anyway, as I dug into the newly gained technique, time slipped into deep night.
Before I knew it, Breakfast No. 1 was sitting on a sofa inside the abandoned warehouse, nodding off.
"By the way, Senior."
"What is it."
Sinking into the sofa, I looked at Senior.
Physically I wasn't tired, but I'd cast unfamiliar formulas repeatedly, so the mental fatigue was considerable.
"Why did you call me today?"
After last time—when I used the reward as an excuse to squeeze out a bunch of things—
Senior and I hadn't interacted much.
After some time passed, I got busy on my side with
It wasn't like I thought he'd still be sulking, but curiosity couldn't be helped.
But why?
Senior opened his mouth with a stiff face.
"Hmm… that is. I called you because I have something to say about the great forest matter."
And his expression was extremely serious.
"I don't know what you're going to say, but speak comfortably. Listening isn't difficult."
"...Right. Speaking isn't that difficult either."
Saying that, Senior took out a cigarette and lit it, and to me it was quite a curious sight.
Did he always smoke?
A side of him I hadn't seen before.
Senior drew the smoke in deep once, then exhaled, and soon his mouth opened.
"This morning, I received a letter from that friend."
"What are you saying?"
"Seems like things are going wrong. So he asked if I could come as quickly as possible."
"Hmm."
Arms folded, I looked at Senior.
"What do you mean, things are going wrong?"
What I'd heard wasn't very detailed.
Just: his friend needed to tie up loose ends to pull out of the great forest, so I should help him.
That was about it.
Of course, it reeked of annoyance, so I squeezed rewards diligently, but I didn't know much.
At my question, Senior handed me a record orb.
"This is...."
"It's a video record modification orb he sent with the letter. He told me to use it as reference before coming. Let's talk after you watch it."
"...."
I stared at the video record modification orb Senior held out.
What on earth happened?
Normally, an old war mage of Senior's level would have a heart that could brush it off like, "Then I'll just kill them again," even if the dead rose again.
But for him to wear a face that serious—
"Hmm."
Questions could wait.
I took my gaze off Senior and placed my hand on the orb.
Questions like those would likely be solved once I saw the record inside the orb anyway.
And so.
Tzzzz....
The orb accepted my mana and rippled.
Paat—!
An image formed in midair.
'The great forest.'
What first greeted me were dense trees that blotted out the sky, and thick brush surrounding everything.
The brush in the video seemed to boast its presence as if declaring, "This is the great forest," but the main point came right after.
[Aaaagh...!]
A sharp scream echoing through the forest.
The scene in the video shook this way and that, then pushed forward, parting the brush.
And there...
"What is this...."
"...You saw it?"
Hell had unfolded.
A cold silence settled inside the abandoned warehouse.
The video's length was only about five minutes.
It wasn't long, but the silence between us lasted longer than it.
"That... what is that?"
The scenery from the video floated in my mind.
The mercenaries were screaming, fighting something, and their faces were seized by fear.
Fear—among great-forest mercenaries?!
To operate in the great forest, they were elite veterans of countless battles.
They're human, so it's not like they can't feel fear, but their threshold for terror would vastly surpass ordinary people.
'No—maybe it's only natural.'
Yes. It's natural.
Even I, watching the video, doubted my eyes for a moment.
[Kiee...!]
[Kiek...!]
The thing charging at the mercenaries in the video—no, it wasn't a living creature.
Its outward form looked like a type of monster you might commonly see in the great forest, but it was clearly...
"Undead."
"I assume you understand it isn't ordinary undead."
At Senior's words, I nodded.
Ordinary undead?
What is that worth?
Even in my previous life, I saw them time and again.
But.
'Those are different.'
Yes, different.
The undead in the video was a goblin variant.
But it was on a completely different track from ordinary undead, and you could tell just by its eyes.
A cold, blue ghostly aura lodged within its pupils.
[Slice.]
[Kieeeeeek...!]
When its head flew off, a whitish afterimage rose into the air like heat haze.
If ordinary undead move by the memories left in the flesh, then that was...
'A soul. It's clearly a soul.'
What did that mean?
"Naturally-occurring undead."
"That's right. Naturally-occurring undead. If so, you also know what exists in the great forest, don't you?"
I nodded.
"There's an ancient ruin there, isn't there? And one where... an abomination is sealed."
At my words, Senior nodded.
"So...."
"Yeah. That's why… I couldn't bring myself to speak."
At this point, it was understandable.
An ancient ruin.
What is it?
To archaeologists, the only clue that lets them glimpse traces of a vanished ancient age.
To mages, a treasure trove of knowledge where they can obtain lost ancient magic.
But.
Destrow.
Destrow—an abomination, a term for the most impure beings among all impure things—and an ancient ruin where such a thing is sealed contains nothing at all.
All it has is death, despair, and phenomena no one can understand.
"I didn't know either. He probably didn't know either. If he did, he wouldn't be waiting for me in the great forest—"
"It'd be better to pull out. Or inform the imperial family. No—since it's the great forest, there wouldn't have been anyone to inform."
"Right. The great forest remains nothing but a free zone."
Whether an abomination emerges inside it, or a legendary dragon appears, the imperial family won't interfere.
So long as it doesn't leave the great forest and approach the empire.
Thinking that far, I slowly rubbed my chin.
"So what is it that you want to say?"
"The situation is urgent. But my disciples can't move right away."
That was probably true.
Senior's disciples would be of an age actively working in the field.
No matter what their affiliation was, they wouldn't be in a position where they could move as they pleased.
"Choose."
Ssssh.
At some point, Senior crushed out his cigarette into the ashtray.
"No matter what, we have to depart within two days. But I won't force you. Will you go? Or will you not go?"
At the question, I looked at Senior steadily.
"Even if you don't go, I won't take your rewards. I'll treat it as a gift to a younger colleague. On the other hand, even if you do go—"
"You mean you have nothing to give."
"Yes. It's entirely up to your will. This is not something that can be tempted with material things."
At that serious voice, I crossed my arms and organized my thoughts for a moment.
Grrrk, grrk.
In the quiet abandoned warehouse, the low cry of Breakfast No. 1—nocturnal by nature, yet sunk into a sweet sleep—echoed softly.
Then my voice sounded in the space.
"I'll go."
"Right, I knew you would— what?"
"I'm going."
Was my answer unexpected?
Senior looked visibly flustered.
"Why? Even though I told you I have nothing more to give?"
"Do you take me for a punk?"
"If you're not a punk, then who— ahem."
Senior blurted out his honest thought as-is, then realized his mistake and clamped his mouth shut.
I stared at him with hollow eyes.
But I'm not the type to get sulky over one line like that.
Because I'm a righteous Troubleshooter. My heart is so wide it can hold even small things.
Anyway.
Why did I accept going to the great forest so readily?
The reason was simple.
"You're worried about your friend, aren't you? From what I can tell, he looks like he won't pull out even if he dies."
"...That's right."
"I'm not such trash that I'd bargain with someone's life."
"…Mm!"
Maybe he was more moved than expected.
Senior stared at me with deep-set eyes. But that gaze was so burdensome.
"Is it okay if I poke you?"
"Once is fine."
I tossed out a line, and Senior answered seriously.
Seeing that, it felt like the conscience I left behind in my previous life started aching as I regressed.
Because.
Honestly, even if Senior told me not to go, I felt like I'd have to go anyway.
And that was because—
Bzzzzing—
A small tremor I could feel in my chest.
The Fire Seal reacted.
From the moment the undead revealed itself in the video, until now.
This vibration felt like it was speaking directly to me.
— Go. What you seek to know is there.
…Like that.
So how could I not go?