Chapter 57: The Pointer, Yelayen
Immediately after the aftermath of the battle subsided, the entire forest fell into silence. Clear air rippled on the gentle breeze, and through it, the mage's aura spread softly.
The Mountain Rabbits kept glancing at one person repeatedly while collecting the bodies of their fallen comrades.
The Pointer, Yelayen.
A legendary being who had lived from thousands of years ago until now. His violet eyes sparkled as if reflecting light. He wore a gray robe over his shoulders, and silver beard and hair flowed above it.
A mysterious atmosphere, no. An aura that seemed to transcend humanity.
Naturally, as expected, even after holding the funeral and treating the wounded, no one could open their mouth. Even Royce lost his captain's vigor and momentarily let down his guard. The recruits and mid-level mercenaries were also encountering a mage for the first time, so they wore expressions filled half with fear and half with awe.
"Volga, if you could just say something to him..."
"Shut your trap."
Volga coldly rejected Witri's request that wasn't quite a request. Who would dare speak to him? Though outwardly he looked like an old man holding a staff, they all felt the mage's true power.
Right on cue, the scene from the tail end of the battle flashed through their minds.
From far away, an old man wearing a robe walked toward them.
Tak, tak, tak.
With each step he took, it seemed as if the world was being redrawn. The dirt beneath his feet trembled finely in response to his magic power, and the wind moved following his presence, soothing those who were startled.
Thus, space distorted wherever he advanced.
At this, the assassins pointed their blades to the very end and charged toward Yelayen. As if accepting death, they carried out their final assault.
Pususss—
But before the blades could even reach him, they themselves disappeared. Their bodies weren't shattered into pieces. Without a single scream, as if a single painting had been soaked in water, they scattered and crumbled like spreading ink.
Whiiiii.
Each time Yelayen lightly waved the tip of his staff, an assassin's body floated in midair, and soon their bodies turned into black ash and fluttered in the breeze. The beings that had been moving and alive faded in the order he pointed.
Could that even be called death?
Around that time, only stillness filled the surroundings. The wolves refused their master's commands and fled with their tails tucked, and even the assassins realized they couldn't avoid annihilation and dropped their daggers. However, the mage did not permit even that.
They were beings that should not have been alive in the first place.
Tak, tak, tak.
After that, there was no resistance whatsoever.
Only the sound of his staff tapping echoed in time with his footsteps. The enemies completely disappeared, leaving only the places where they had existed just moments before.
Then suddenly, Yelayen's footsteps stopped. His gaze reached the leader of the assassins. Then, letting out a small sigh, he muttered quietly.
[You cannot exist in this place.]
A declaration made of magic power.
Though not an attack containing physical force like a blade, it was all the more effective for that reason. If he remained here any longer, he would be unable to avoid annihilation.
It was a law established by Yelayen.
[...Disgusting thing. I cannot block you forever.]
"That may be so. But today is mine."
The leader of the assassins spat out words of curse, but they left no impact whatsoever on his opponent's soul.
[I command you, return to the place where you were bound.]
When the second declaration was made, the shadow that had remained until the last disappeared without a trace. As if there had been nothing there from the beginning, the traces completely vanished.
Gulp.
All that remained was the sound of swallowing.
Royce, Gregor, Basim, and others. Even the most veteran mercenaries couldn't hide their shocked expressions, so how much more so for the recruits?
"Yelayen! You summoned me! You've finally come!"
"Indeed. I'm later than scheduled."
Only Adrian Deconti was the exception.
In any case, tension couldn't last forever. Volga shook his head vigorously and returned to reality.
Tadadadak!
In the meantime, those who were relatively unharmed had lit fires and were preparing to care for the wounded. Yes, the battle was over.
The recruits had suffered damage close to total annihilation, nearly half of the mid-level mercenaries, and the number of veteran mercenaries had also greatly decreased, but somehow, they had survived. As he let out a sigh, only then did fatigue wash over him.
"We... Survived..."
"..."
In the moment when confused expressions and crying mixed together, Volga barely lifted his rear from in front of the campfire. He had to take care of the wounded.
Especially, his friend.
***
Calix awakens from a deep place. Darkness fills all around. Had his vision been damaged? It wouldn't be strange.
A cold sensation brushed against his skin. No, the sensation itself rather than the skin was the problem. The feeling that his body had collapsed. Pain as if his tissues had been finely split and then sutured back together was felt throughout his entire body.
'Lady Ella, how is it?'
'As expected, it's not working. The healing energy is being pushed out from within.'
'The mage was right.'
Ella and Volga's conversation faintly flows into his ears. The 4th Tier Cleric tried to examine the wounds using healing holy magic, but it didn't seem to be going as intended.
Nevertheless, the pain decreased somewhat. The feeling of magic power overload that had wrapped around his entire body also seemed to have improved quite a bit. At this, Calix recalled the situation just before losing consciousness.
[Magic Power Runaway in Progress]
[Warning! Appropriate capacity of the device exceeded. Magic Power Poisoning status.]
[Bloodline Ability Change Detected]
[Divinity, 7% → 11%]
[Warning! 'Ranita's Heart' 104% → 112%]
His vision was distorted. The feeling of his body breaking apart tore into his brain. The wind that blew from the forest patted his chest, but he was still suffocating.
But at that moment.
──[Recalculating Path Optimization.]
──[Reviewing Magic Circuit Expansion]
[Neural Accelerator 'Balder Valefor' - Capacity Limit Exceeded]
[Waiting for Reset...]
His Neural Accelerator sought an answer until the very end without giving up. It extended a hand made of magic power and connected it toward his heart. The place where Ranita's bloodline ability lay dormant. It struggled desperately to somehow increase magic power consumption and secure temporary storage space.
While Calix's body was being driven to its limits, his Neural Accelerator was also changing in a completely different way from before.
And soon, the status window shook.
[Risk Calculation Complete, Forced Adaptation in Progress...]
[Output Restriction Temporarily Released]
[Entering Neural Circuit Reconstruction Procedure.]
Even within his collapsing consciousness, Calix clearly remembered. This was not a simple change. The Neural Accelerator inherited from his ancestor, Ashapel Raimund, was trying to surpass its existing limits.
──[New Adaptation Possibility Discovered]
──[Transcendent Attribute Detected, Newly Formed 'Core' within Body Recognized.]
【Neural Accelerator Evolution Initiated】
[Device Model Name: Balder Valefor]
[System Evolution N0 → N1]
Something had changed.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, confirming this was not difficult.
<BBalder Valefor, N1>
Name: Calix
Age: 20
Biometric Indicators
Strength: 1(-6)/10 [Recovering from Fatal Injury]
Agility: 1(-6)/10 [Recovering]
Endurance: 1(-6)/10 [Recovering]
Reality Acceleration: 2.6x [Rated Output]
Maximum Oxygen Uptake (VO2 max): 2(-7)/10 [Recovering]
Vision: 0(-17)/20 [Temporary Loss, Recovering]
Physical Recovery: 10(+1)/10 [Divinity Manifestation]
[Mental State]
Mental Contamination: 36%[Very Stable]
Neural Network Status: 68%[Requires Caution]
[Physical Development]
Muscle Development: 21(-65)%[Recovering from Fatal Injury]
Bone Density: 71(-19)%[Recovering by Absorbing Magic Power]
[Bloodline Abilities]
Ranita's Heart/Source of Magic Power [100%]
⨈Detailed Attribute Opened – Divinity [11%]
⨈New Attribute Opened – Nature Attunement [9%], Core [16%]
Ashapel's Instinct/God of War [24%]
⨈1st Awakening Opened – Sixth Sense
The Neural Accelerator displayed information through his neural network instead of his eyes. The biometric indicators were a mess as expected. Unable to move even a finger, all the various values were scraping the bottom. However, the further down he looked, the more things caught his eye.
Mental contamination had decreased, bone density was written as 'Recovering by Absorbing Magic Power',, and above all, the changes in bloodline abilities were prominent.
'Ranita's Heart has filled up to 100 percent.'
It must surely be thanks to the supersaturated magic power. It had been displaying messages throughout the battle. What was important was that new attributes had opened because of it.
'I hope it's an ability that provides practical help like Sixth Sense...'
Personal wishes were pushed aside by the desire for sleep. Calix's body, not his head, required rest.
******
Five days after that.
Calix became able to move his body, albeit uncomfortably. Though Ella's worried gaze poured down on him, he showed his palm and refused to be supported. His body was recovering rapidly based on appropriate movement.
Gulp, gulp.
The Core, hovering in his heart, repeatedly sent magic power throughout his entire body and retrieved it. It widened passages and attached itself to broken body tissues. Though it was much smaller than what he encountered at the center of the forest, a more completely compressed fragment of magic power was rotating fiercely.
'It might be a secondary effect of the Core.'
However, the biggest change was something else.
Breaking through the limit meant surpassing the existing limit point. Even when pushing 'Sixth Sense' to its extreme, he no longer felt side effects. Moreover, since the rated output of the Neural Accelerator rose to '2.6', he was certain he had risen another level.
Susususu—
Though he was far from fully recovering from his injuries, the flow of wind and movement of dust were clearly reflected in his vision one by one. They came flowing softly as if possessing will, mischievously touching Calix's collar.
The voices of the mercenaries were completely muffled and utterly incomprehensible, and the sight of the campfire burning appeared divided into countless sparks. The clouds in the sky and sand on the ground, the voices and movements of living beings were separated one by one and finely fragmented.
This gave a similar feeling to once experiencing 'a time zone one could observe but not enjoy'. What had changed was the fact that he would soon be able to move his body even in such a time zone.
His eyes, viewing the world, had changed.
'So this is the world violet-radiant swordsmen lived in.'
In reality, the output standard for upper-level Knights would typically correspond to '2.6' to '3.0'. However, Calix defined it as Swordsman instead of the word Knight. He accepted his realm as it was.
He still couldn't use perfect Falling Fire. However, he would create imperfect sparks anytime again. That was a matter of time.
Yes.
He had set foot in the realm of an upper-level Swordsman.
'Even so, there are many things I need to ask.'
Soon, Calix turned his head to look at those sitting around the campfire. The person leading the conversation was Adrian Deconti.
"The Mountain Rabbits truly fought a magnificent battle. I'm not speaking honeyed words. Do you remember what I said when commissioning the mission?"
"That one must have courage, know how to face rather than flee, and possess strong mental fortitude that won't break before evil forces?"
"Correct! Your memory is remarkable!"
"Hmm..."
Though laughter didn't emerge out of respect for the fallen, the sincere praise for the Mountain Rabbits softened the stiff atmosphere. Though it was vexing that he had driven them to the battlefield while keeping secrets tightly sealed, in any case, the Prince of Latia had fought together with them. Regardless of high or low status, they had become comrades-in-arms.
And soon, everyone's gaze gathered on one old man.
"Indeed, correct words. It must be the power of pure fighting spirit and courage."
Yelayen bowed his head slightly to show respect. Then he scooped a ladle of soup from the pot hanging over the campfire and offered it.
"Gregor, would you like another bowl?"
"Ahem! They say a mage's generosity comes from his staff, but that was a blatant lie! Generosity comes from the ladle! I won't decline!"
He responded to the veteran mercenary's absurd remark with a kind laugh. His appearance and atmosphere seemed so modest that it was hard to believe he was a legendary figure.
"Oh, cook comrade! You're awake!"
"..."
Just then, Gregor suddenly noticed Calix's appearance and waved his hand vigorously.
The Pointer, Yelayen.
His gaze met with the being who held the key to secrets.