Chapter 67: The First Year at the Academy - Invisible Mansion 1
Chapter 67. The First Year at the Academy – Invisible Mansion 1
It's been a long time since I've seen orcs.
We ducked the clubs and axes that were being swung at us with force, slashing at their limbs and blocking their movement.
When the orcs noticed us, we were in a deadlock, and we were sure to finish them off.
After stabbing through the neck of the third one from behind, my companion opened her mouth.
"I knew they were strong, but I didn't expect them to be this strong."
Elphimia looked down at the orcs, clutching her short-staff wand.
She had only been spectating. She had blocked the orcs' movement to avoid an attack on that side. Magic is useful, but there is a limit to how many moves you can make.
The day after I received the request, we passed through the south gate and came to the southwest forest.
Elphimia was wearing the same clothes I had seen before, and her baggage consisted of only a short staff wand, a knife, and a shoulder bag. She was lightly dressed for a one-day trip. When I pointed this out, a tent and sleeping bag appeared from a small bag. It was a magical bag. Bourgeois.
I dropped the bloodstain from the Rhino sword and put his baggage back on his back.
Elphimia tilted her head at the sight.
"Aren't you going to dismantle it?"
"Eh, I can?"
I asked back.
"You wouldn't leave it behind if you were an adventurer. I'll put it in my bag for you."
I take her at her word and quickly dismantle it.
We can use orc skins to make leather armor, but it takes too long. Elphimia must have wanted to move on quickly, so she gave up.
We find no magic stone, and the weapons are unlikely to be worth money, so we cut out only the proof of defeat.
And soon after moving on, we encountered wolves this time and fought them off.
We only managed to skin one wolf and get a small amount of meat from the rest.
The forest facing south seemed to have a slightly different kind of monster. As Tobias had said during the field training, monsters probably have their territories.
After that, we avoided fighting, sometimes taking long detours to advance through the forest.
Elphimia's casual gait reminded me of our previous encounter.
After all, I had not advised her. I know it would have been pointless if I knew what was going on, but I still think it's dangerous for a magician to go in alone. Even though they are all weak monsters, the signs are getting thicker as we go on.
The first thing you need to do is to look behind you and open your mouth.
"Even if you have your reasons, isn't it dangerous to go into the forest alone?"
"I don't want you to tell me that."
"Right. That's why I didn't tell you."
I agree with the immediate rebuttal.
To me, Elphimia raised her right hand and showed me her finger.
"And don't worry. It's a Danger Detection ring."
"It's in your skills. As I recall, it's also a magic–"
"[Sensing Peril]. It's intermediate-level magic with a denatured attribute. It has a duration, but this one is unlimited. It's more like a skill. I think the effect is about rank 2."
Markant had rank 3, while Halvith had rank 1.
How useful would rank 2 be?
While I was thinking about this, Elphimia suddenly stopped.
She put her hand on the handle.
Did the ring react? My [Presence Detection] didn't catch anything, though.
Only the sound of the wind rustles in the forest.
Tilting my head, I turn around to see Elphimia pointing to the front.
"Here."
I looked back at the forest, but it was just an ordinary forest.
There was no building, not even an open space where one could build.
I look around and notice something else unusual.
Many of the surrounding plants and flowers were dead, and there were countless scratches on the bark of the trees.
I've seen this situation before in field exercises.
"Did you use the [Freezing Storm]?"
"Yes, because the demons were in the way."
Elphimia picked up a pebble and threw it in front of her.
The pebble came back and fell to the ground.
It neither turned nor disappeared. It just flew and fell.
"I can't believe it. That's where the warding is."
"I've never seen warding this sophisticated before. If I hadn't used range magic, I would've been fooled. But if I feel the discomfort, it can't fool [Magic Sight]."
"How do you see?"
"Magic in the natural world is irregular. It's free-spirited. But it's different here. It's cleverly pretending to be natural, but it feels artificial."
I looked at it again, but I had no idea what it was.
There are two types of magic: [Magic Search], which is at the beginner level, and [Magic Scrutinize], which is at the intermediate level. Elphimia also could use the former. But she doesn't mention it, probably because she can't see through it.
"Yes."
Elphimia held out her hand.
Shake your hand?
"Come on, hurry up. You think you can get in alone?"
"Oh, I see what you mean."
Oh, I see. Our objective was the invisible mansion. I shouldn't have been impressed by the warding.
I grabbed her, and Elphimia squeezed back tightly.
"Let's go. You can keep your eyes open, but make sure you go the way I'm pulling you."
Saying that Elphimia starts walking.
I pay attention to the changes around me, but nothing happens.
From the side, it's just a boy and a girl taking a friendly stroll.
Is this the place?
The moment I think that – my whole body complains of something unusual.
What is this?
A sensation is similar to dizziness. At the same time, my vision shifts.
Is this interference with others – a kind of denatured magic?
I thought I was walking straight, but my view shifted to the right.
And then, just when I think I'm back, it turns left. Finally, it moves forward and backward at the same time.
The strong sense of discomfort that arises because we are resisting it.
My body and mind had been forcibly ripped out and screamed in a desperate attempt to get back in.
If Elphimia had not held me so tightly, I might shake her hand.
That is intense.
Is it similar to the sensation of stepping onto the precipice of a hallucination?
And the wards seemed to be so thick that they didn't end anytime soon.
Thanks to "Mental Resistance 5," I could withstand it, but I did not know the correct route. It is impossible to break through alone.
I cannot discover it. Even if I could, it would not allow a breakthrough.
And the elves' "magical sight" would see through it and find the correct path as well.
It was understandable that Elphimia had set her eyes on this place.
While being tossed about by such dizzying changes, the world suddenly spun around in a complete circle.
As if to bring the world into focus. My consciousness and body slowly synchronize.
The trees, blurring into layers, came together as one.
I'm out of it – or am I?
Elphimia stands still.
I move my gaze from her hand to her back and remain still.
I looked around at the scene in front of me and whispered.
"Was it there?"
"I'm sorry to invite you here, but I agree. Rumors are not foolproof."
The plaza was covered with knee-high grass, and we saw a huge structure in the center of it.
◇◇◇◇
"It looks more like a warehouse than a mansion."
A large metal door opens both ways at the front. There is no decoration on the door or the walls.
It gives an overall unfriendly impression.
The number of windows suggests that it is a two-story building, and if so, the ceiling seems quite high.
I concentrated on [Presence Detection] and searched inside the building.
Rather than a garden, it looks like a lecturer's private room. It may use a lead and iron plates.
"Just to confirm, can I get out of this ward by myself?"
"It's fine for you to get out. The wards were not designed to keep people out or to confine people in."
"Then, I'll go in. If you think it's dangerous, feel free to leave."
"Okay."
I approach the building cautiously.
I stand in front of the door, but nothing happens.
I take a cloth and drop it on the doorknob, but it slips and falls to the ground.
"If those guys were here at a time like this, I'd be able to count on them."
"Those guys?"
Elphimia heard the murmur and asked.
"They're experts. They left Selene a long time ago, though."
I remember the halfling who scratched and prodded me along the way.
Not only he, but Mirana specialized in urban exploration. That was the perfect time to do it.
"From your end, is there anything unusual?"
"None. I've tried using [Magic Search], but the building itself is responding."
It must be enchanted for protection.
[Preserve Item] – is that out of range? It's probably an intermediate-level [Preserve Facility].
Regardless of which one it is, long-term preservation requires an enormous amount of magical power. I don't know how long it's been since it was hung, but it's a grand story.
I observed the door closely.
I don't have the skills to detect traps or open locks.
How to open it—before that?
I looked, but there was no keyhole around the doorknob.
Is the key itself missing?
Fearfully, I reached out and moved the doorknob.
It didn't budge.
Of course, it didn't. Should we assume that the door was locked by magic, such as a [Lock]?
I invoked "Appraisal" as a test, but it was just a door.
There is a counterpart to lock magic, such as "Unlock," which is the magic to open the door.
Both depend on the no-attribute rank of the magician, but since the locking side has the advantage, it is of little practical use.
The ability to open locks is less than that of a toddler, and if the canker is too heavy, it cannot be moved, and if it is too complicated, I will give up. Few wizards knew how to open locks.
Locking magic also has a weakness. If you kept giving it physical attacks, the effect would wear off at some point.
We worry a little and eliminate destruction as an option. We don't want to raze the building while its identity is unknown.
There was a glass window nearby, so we peeked inside through it.
It lit dimly, but I could manage to see through.
It was a large room with several shelves. They were lined with shelves and probably held daily necessities.
At the far end on the right-hand side, there were wooden boxes piled up. Some of them had collapsed on their sides and bottoms, scattering their contents all over the floor. They appear to have deteriorated over time rather than being destroyed.
Every shelf and floor was covered with dust, and there was no sign of life, let alone a shadow or sign of a person.
The warehouse was as it appeared. It had been abandoned for a considerable number of years.
I looked through other windows, but the first floor was in the same condition.
"How is it?"
"It's a warehouse. Shelves are lined up, and a lot of daily necessities are stored. There are crates, too, but they are probably preserves. Insects ate it. It was no longer in its original state. For now, it's safe."
Hearing these words, Elphimia also approaches.
Then she looked into the window a disappointment came to her mind.
If her grandmother came here, she'll leave traces.
There is nothing wrong with the door, no sign of a fight.
From the dust on the shelves and floor, it seems no one has been here for a long time.
Is it 46 years, or is it longer?
Somehow, I had a feeling it was the latter.
I silently left the place and looked up at the building.
With help, I ran up the wall and clung to the window frame.
When I peeked in, I saw that the situation was almost the same as on the first floor.
Shelves lined with daily necessities and a wooden box in the corner, but not food.
This one seemed to have been damaged by age and weight.
The contents, which had fallen out, were covered with dust but shone in the sunlight.
They were gold coins.
If all the contents were gold coins, there would be no more than a few hundred.
I look at the coins.
It is hard to tell from the dust, but it is not an Arsis gold coin.
Nor are they the Sejer or Hazel gold coins of the Coges Union.
There are two kinds of unknown gold coins. The larger of the two is a Veliates gold coin. These gold coins were used until the early days of the Kingdom of Arsis and can be found in ruins. What is the other one? I think I have seen it somewhere.
I broke off my thoughts and jumped down.
I then jumped to the window several times to check the second floor but found nothing unusual.
When I returned to the entrance, Elphimia was still standing in front of the window.
After a moment, she noticed me and turned around.
Then she smiled as if I was about to be punished.
"Well, that was a wasted trip."
Despite her words, her palms clenched tightly.
I wondered how long it had been since she had started looking for her grandmother.
It's less than two days for me.
For her, the end of several years.
I couldn't guess how she was feeling.
I tried to be cheerful and opened my mouth.
"It wasn't just a waste of time. There were invisible mansions. Then this can't be the only one."
"So…?"
"Maybe."
Standing beside Elphimia, I point to a shelf, then a crate.
"The shelves are commodities and the crates are the result of preserves. There were also gold coins upstairs. Perhaps this is a contingency shelter. If so, there must be others. What if the enemy takes up position in this forest? If I were them, I'd have another place ready."
For a moment, Elphimia's eyes widened, she looked back at the window as if to confirm.
"Well then……."
"That's what I mean. I think this place belongs to Selene. Whoever built it, it's a big deal if they're storing all these supplies. Maybe it's a Selene powerhouse."
Elphimia's shoulders shook, perhaps in surprise.
"But I don't think we have anything to worry about."
I picked up a pebble and drew a picture on the ground.
Elphimia mutters, looking at it.
"That pattern …… Baromat gold coin?"
"I knew it. I was not sure because I had a vague recollection of it. There were also a lot of Veriates gold coins. Both are past currencies that are no longer in circulation. On the other hand, there were no gold coins of the Arsis Empire or the Sejer gold coins of the Coges Union."
It was more than seven hundred years ago that the Kingdom of Baromat reigned in the territory of the current Arsis Empire.
If this was a living refuge, it would have been exchanged for Arsis gold.
"Could it be – was this place built in the time of Alphys?"
"Maybe. Both gold coins were mainstream at Alphy's time, and they were the only ones who could handle this ridiculous warding magic. And Selene is too safe. Someone built a shelter, but they never got a chance to use it, and it's probably been forgotten for some time."
I throw away the pebble and look up at the building.
"There are other invisible mansions visited by your grandmother. Both are wishful thinking, but let's assume they are all true. Someone is playing a trick in the invisible mansion, and your grandmother came there. Then, the trickster founds out that the elves can see through the invisible mansion. And they don't know to who the grandmother is communicating the information. What would you do?"
"I'd move out……. They can't stay there."
"And if you are in power, you most likely know of other invisible mansions. Either move to another mansion or give up the invisible mansion itself. If it's the former, you'll make sure to check all the invisible mansions. You never know where the other pursuers are. If it is the latter, we leave no evidence behind. And if there are no traces of people coming here–"
"Have they cleared out? Then, even if my grandmother came to the invisible mansion, ……"
I shook my head.
"No, I think some traces have been left. What Mr. Trickster wants to erase is not what they were doing or what happened. I'm just saying that whatever the truth is, if all you do is investigate, you're not going to fight with Selene. They've already erased the evidence, so if they try to mess with us, it's probably just for surveillance. Anyway, let's start over."
Elphimia's eyes widened at my words.
"Are you still going to help me?"
"Why do you ask that? The request is to accompany you to the invisible mansion. If you have something else, it's not finished. Or do you want to give up and enjoy your life at the academy? If you could do that, you wouldn't be here in the first place. You."
After a moment of stupefaction, Elphimia smiles.
Then, in passing, she tapped me on the shoulder.
"Back to Selene."
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