The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower
[Translator - Clara]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 48: Variable (2)
Two pairs of crimson eyes clashed in midair.
An intense difference in temperature.
One side showed no emotion, while the other could not hide its fierce hostility.
Glaring at her in silence, Killian exhaled as he tried to calm his explosive anger.
There was something he wanted to hear directly from her when they met.
"Is it true?"
"What is?"
"......Did you really steal the King's Tattoo from the temple in the forest and cause the tribal chief who tried to stop you to lose his sanity? Was it truly your doing?"
When he first heard the news, he thought it was a bad joke.
The older sister he knew, though rough in personality, was someone who deserved respect.
She had become the head warrior at just eighteen years old, the strongest fighter in the forest, his role model, and someone who knew the duty of a protector.
"Yes, it's true."
A cold winter breeze howled through the forest.
He bit his lips so hard he could taste blood in his mouth.
He had hoped that she would deny it.
Maybe he wanted her to say it was all a misunderstanding, that it wasn't her at all.
‘If she does, then maybe, given time... we could clear this up and go back to how things were before.’
But the effortless and hollow affirmation, without even a hint of hesitation or guilt, left him feeling drained.
"You don't even seem to have any excuse to make."
"I have no reason to."
"......Do you know this? The tribal chief you drove insane was someone who loved you the most. And he met a dishonorable death, not on the battlefield but elsewhere, away from glory."
"Oh, how unfortunate."
Her attitude showed no signs of remorse.
Realizing any further conversation would be pointless, Killian clenched his fist, and her eyes widened slightly.
"Are you going to attack me? You can't possibly be unaware of the gap between us."
"It doesn't matter. A warrior of the forest never retreats, no matter how strong the opponent."
"You foolish brother, sometimes you need to retreat and run away. That's the smart way to live in this world."
"My father and the tribal chief taught me not the life of a wise man but the life of a warrior."
"......Those forest idiots."
She shook her head in disapproval and gave him a piece of advice.
"Are you sure about this? If you don’t go help now, your friend will die too."
"Oscar is strong. He won’t fall to those puppets."
With unwavering conviction in his eyes, Killian charged directly at her.
"Haah, haah...!"
"Pant, pant."
The faces of the two mercenaries running through the forest were filled with terror.
Their pursuers kept coming, even with broken limbs, even with their necks twisted.
"Ahh!"
One of the mercenaries tripped on a rock and tumbled to the ground.
He reached out a hand toward the mercenary running ahead.
"Help me! Please!"
The mercenary hesitated, looking back.
They weren’t particularly close; they had only met through this mission.
No one would blame him for not helping, and using him as a decoy would make his own escape safer.
"......Damn it, damn it!"
But despite himself, he turned back.
Perhaps it was because of the photo of the man's young son that he had proudly shown off earlier.
"Grab on!"
He quickly grabbed the fallen mercenary’s hand and pulled him up.
At the same time, an enemy lunged out from behind a tree, swinging a sword.
‘Damn it... this is why people shouldn’t do things they’re not used to.’
As the mercenary clenched his teeth in despair, a sudden gust of wind blew by, followed by a loud crash as the enemy was slammed into a tree.
Whooosh.
"Are you okay?"
"Oscar!"
Relief washed over the mercenary’s face upon seeing a familiar ally.
Although only a level 3, Oscar had performed outstandingly tonight, far more than anyone else.
Oscar, keeping his gaze fixed on the drooling enemies approaching, spoke calmly.
"If you know anything about these guys, tell me everything."
"Uh..."
The two mercenaries glanced at each other before they hurriedly spilled all the information they had.
"They seem unable to feel pain. They kept coming at us even with swords stuck in their bodies."
"Breaking their limbs doesn't work. You have to aim for the head. They die if you stab their heart, but it takes a while."
"Do you know why they ended up like this?"
"We’re not sure, but Killian called the woman leading them Kaya Lockwood."
"......Kaya Lockwood?"
Oscar flinched at the familiar name.
How could he not recognize it?
That was the name Radan often bragged about, endlessly showing off pictures of his daughter.
‘If the enemy is truly Radan's daughter...'
His mind raced, quickly piecing together a conclusion.
‘Wait, could this be the effect of the King’s Tattoo?’
The King's Tattoo is a mark passed down to only one warrior of the forest, known as the strongest of their generation.
It’s a tattoo imbued with the power to lead all tattoo practitioners, and whoever bears it becomes the future tribal chief.
Moreover, if the wearer dies, the tattoo vanishes from the skin and returns to the Forest Temple as an artifact.
‘If that’s true, then the technique used to turn them into this state must be...’
One of the abilities of the King’s Tattoo, called 『Increasing Morale』.
Of course, it was never meant to turn people into mindless berserkers like this.
Normally, it was used to give allies a boost of confidence and morale.
‘But she’s pushed that effect to its extreme.’
Even he had only theorized about this possibility, having never seen it in action before.
At that moment, the allied mercenaries, weapons in hand, gathered by his side.
"We took down a few while running, but there are still many left."
"At least forty."
"Grrr..."
"Raaagh."
Mercenaries, their eyes rolled back, lost their sanity, and slowly approached with beast-like growls.
At that moment, Oscar's eyes filled with magic glowed.
'Radan said the basic principle of 『Increasing Morale』 is the continuous infusion of magic.'
As expected, he could see small threads of magic connected above the heads of the mercenaries.
Of course, just because he could see them didn't mean he could cut them.
Those threads were far too sturdy for a mere Level 3 mage to sever.
'But that doesn't mean there's no way to deal with this either.'
Oscar closed his eyes and spoke.
"Give me 30 seconds. That's all I need."
"W-Wait. Did you say 30 seconds?"
"Do you think that's as easy as it sounds against that many?"
[Translator - Clara]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Ignoring the protests of his allies, he entered deep meditation.
Mana coursing through three circuits blazed through his body.
"Graaaah!"
"Grrahhh!"
Right as the enemies let out monstrous cries and charged.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
"Goddammit, let's just hold on!"
Clenching their teeth, his allies swung their weapons.
The enemies, having lost their wits, were making large, predictable attacks, which made it easier to withstand than expected.
But the real problem was their numbers.
With only four hands, fending off the surrounding attackers for long was impossible.
"Aaaaargh!"
"Goddammit...!"
As the two allies began to get injured and let out cries of pain.
Oscar lightly exhaled the breath he had been holding and completed a spell.
『Isolation Garden』
Biiiiiing!
With a high-pitched sound, a field of magic expanded from him, annihilating all air and magic within a 20-meter radius.
It lasted only a brief moment, but what was created in that space was perfect emptiness.
'If I can't cut the magic threads, then I just have to create an environment where magic itself can't exist.'
Thud, thump, thud.
The enemies, forcibly disconnected from the 『Increasing Morale』, collapsed as if they had fainted.
As Oscar dispelled the magic, his two allies slumped to the ground, gasping for air.
"Huff! O-Oscar!"
"Don't tell me this is..."
"No."
Oscar shook his head, already knowing what they were thinking.
This was merely an imitation of Edna's unique magic, something he figured would be useful in this situation.
It was a flashy area-wide spell, but it couldn't be compared to releasing one's own world.
"Both of you, return to the mansion first."
"What? You're not coming with us?"
"No, I..."
Oscar murmured as he gazed into the depths of the forest where a colossal force had been stirring for a while.
"I have someone to bring back."
Every time Killian moved, a red afterglow trailed behind him.
He unleashed a barrage of attacks at incredible speed, each strike powerful enough to split trees and shatter rocks.
'But...'
None of them landed.
Kaya dodged every attack with a paper-thin margin.
"Your moves have improved. You’ve fixed a lot of your bad habits too."
Annoyed by her nonchalant tone, as if she were merely observing his skills, Killian gritted his teeth.
Simultaneously, two more of the tattoos engraved on his body began to glow.
『Wind Blade』, 『Sharpness』.
Then, as silver magic seeped into the five fingers he raised, they quickly elongated, resembling the claws of a wolf.
This was Killian's unique spell, created by merging two magic spells.
『Song of the Wolf』
Crack!
The sharp claws, spun with a swift rotation of his waist, slashed through every tree and rock in their trajectory.
However, they were effortlessly blocked by Kaya's index finger.
"Yes, you're doing well. You've definitely gotten stronger."
"Urgh..."
Suddenly, she leaned her head forward.
"But your attacks are still too straightforward. You don’t know how to deceive your opponent."
"...A warrior of the forest does not resort to such dishonorable tactics."
"So, you're still a fool... Hm?"
Kaya suddenly stopped talking, her brow furrowing.
The 『Increasing Morale』 she was using had been forcibly cut off.
'It was severed? By whom? How?'
A torrent of questions rushed through her mind, and at that moment, a voice whispered in Killian’s ear.
-Duck.
As soon as he recognized it as Oscar's voice, Killian lowered his upper body.
Immediately, a shot of 『Wind Sniping』flew toward where he had been standing.
Boom!
Kaya, instinctively grabbing and crushing the wind bullet that was aimed at her, had a shaken look in her eyes.
'...Wind?'
That could only mean it was Oscar Crucian, that Level 3 mage, who had severed her 『Increasing Morale』.
As disbelief clouded her face.
"Don’t look away!"
Killian’s fist, charged with radiant silver magic, landed a powerful uppercut on her chin.
[Translator - Clara]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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