LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 202 - The Scarecrow's Prayer (3)
It was only after two hours of suffering from the torture device I created that we were able to check out of the inn and leave.
“Hmm, the efficiency is lower than expected. When forcibly developing the main channels, it was at least twice as effective as this.”
“It can’t be helped. Unlike the main channels, the minor channels need to be approached more delicately and carefully.”
Jade and Abassael examined the torture device called “Mana Circuit Development Magical Tool” to modify it, poking and prodding my body while looking at the blueprints, seemingly satisfied.
“I… am not… an experimental animal… you bastards!”
I struggled to get up and drop-kicked the two.
“Oof!”
“Ugh!”
Leaving the two rolling on the floor of the carriage after being hit in the stomach, I checked my body’s condition.
Thanks to adjusting the basic design based on Geor’s research, there were no side effects or aftereffects.
However, as the two said, the efficiency was not very high due to the careful approach to developing the minor channels.
Unlike when developing the main channels, this time, the minor channels near the heart that produces mana and in the chest were intensively developed.
In terms of the overall body ratio, it was about one-tenth. As a result, the mana container itself did not grow that much.
However, thanks to developing the minor channels in the chest where the heart that produces mana is located, the mana production itself greatly increased.
To use an analogy, the size of the container for storing mana hasn’t changed much, but the size of the faucet has become much wider.
“Phew… You’re saying I have to do this damn thing nine more times?”
Perhaps it could be more than that, but let’s not think about such a terrible possibility.
“Hahaha! Think positively. Still, with nine times, you’ll complete a lifetime’s worth of mana circuit development that others do.”
Mana circuit development does not simply end with widening the main and minor channels.
Rather, completing the channels could be said to be the beginning of mana circuit development.
The process of increasing the density of mana is said to be much more difficult than circuit development.
How difficult is it? Well, since my density was too high from the beginning, I don’t really know how difficult it is?
“Really, I can’t even hate you if you can’t even speak properly.”
I pinched Jade’s cheek and stretched it mercilessly.
“Iph- hurs.”
“Say it hurts. Pain is youth. So feel some more youth yourself.”
As I stretched Jade’s cheek and smiled at Abassael, Abassael raised both hands and surrendered.
“I’m past the age to enjoy my youth, my lord.”
“They say life begins at forty.”
I approached Abassael, who was slowly trying to escape.
“Haha, it’s the first time I’ve heard that.”
“Come here!”
“Aaaah! My lord!”
After stretching Abassael’s cheeks as well, I tried to stretch the cheeks of Yard, whom I had tied up, but Yard, who was quick-witted, had already escaped to the coachman’s seat, volunteering to be the coachman.
Silua was the one who controlled the foal series pulling the carriage anyway. Cunning fellow.
“Yuan, where is our next destination?”
Jade, who was rubbing his reddened cheeks with tears in his eyes, looked out the window and asked.
“Well, there are about two places I’m considering as the next destination. Where should we go first?”
It was starting to feel like the future was greatly distorted to determine the order based on the contents of the novel.
Competing with Arcana over the “Heavenly Weapon’s Edge” in the Constellation Labyrinth should have been at least five years later.
Moreover, the competitors should have been “Arcana 05, Hierophant” and “Arcana 12, The Hanged Man”, “Arcana 17, The Star”, not “Arcana 02, High Priestess” and “Arcana 07, The Chariot”.
Well, I had changed the fates of too many people by surviving.
The joining of Silua, who would have become the worst weapon in history.
The subjugation of the Red Eyes three years earlier, the survival of Yekatrice, who would have died from a cursed disease, and the death of Jeffreys.
The survival of the mermaid Aili, who would have gone mad without being able to purify the Kraken in the end.
The early relocation of the dwarf Bifleod clan’s home.
The death of Vermilion, who would have become the worst villain of the century, and the survival of the city’s residents, who would have been annihilated.
It would be strange if the future didn’t change when Arcana had a prophet who could read fate.
Even with about 2 years and 4 months left until the starting point of the novel, it was like this, so the development of the novel could not be trusted in the future.
While contemplating, I took out a copper coin and flipped it up.
If it didn’t matter where I went first, it wasn’t bad to decide by luck.
Perhaps the so-called fate that the arrogant gods had set might lead me.
“Drumroll please~! The next destination is!”
The copper coin spinning in the air landed on the back of my hand.
The next destination was decided.
*******
Three people were standing side by side at the entrance of a forest called the “Ghost-Possessed Forest” or the “Forest Where the Witch Sleeps” by the people of nearby villages.
“Wow, the moon really treats people roughly. Don’t you think?”
The middle-aged man standing at the entrance, “Arcana 00, The Fool” Yumil Javan, smiled playfully and sought agreement from the other two.
However, Rouerfel Jeffreys, one of the “Arcana 06, The Lovers” standing next to him, and the diminutive “Arcana 09, The Hermit” Gablo Osmond, whose entire body was covered in a cloak and mask, did not particularly respond.
“That’s too much. I miss our baby bird who always reacts well~”
As Javan grumbled and looked into the forest, which maintained a deep darkness even in broad daylight, a woman wearing a deeply pulled-down hood that hid her face walked out from the forest.
“I agree. The moon is really mean, Fool.”
The woman who giggled in agreement with Javan’s words was “Arcana 12, The Hanged Man”.
At her appearance, Javan snapped his fingers and pulled out a single red rose hidden in his sleeve with sleight of hand.
“Ooh, Lady. So you agree, Lady. But since when did you become a lady? ‘The Hanged Man’?”
When he pointed out that she had definitely taken the form of a man during the previous mission of invading the Winter Tree Forest in the Bastille Mountains, the woman who received the rose giggled.
“Who knows? When was it? Hehe! Was it five hours ago? I can’t remember.”
She, who answered calmly with a laugh, was also one of the doppelgangers created from the soul fragments of “The Hanged Man”.
In response to her answer, Javan spoke languidly as if it didn’t matter.
“Well, it’s not really important when you became a woman. What’s always important for people is the present, isn’t it?”
“The Hanged Man” took a big step back, getting goosebumps at the sight of him making a wink with a subtle gaze.
At the same time, she vowed to only use male doppelgangers the next time she moved together with Javan.
“But it’s unusual. You’re moving without playing hooky and being separated from your beloved wife.”
“The Hanged Man” asked Rouerfel to change the subject.
At her question, Rouerfel glanced at Javan.
Seeing that, she and the masked Osmond immediately nodded their heads as if they understood.
“Indeed. Even if it’s a workplace, I fully understand not wanting to bring your wife to a place where there’s a pervert who flirts as soon as he sees a skirt, as if in heat.”
“The worst.”
In fact, his wife was approaching Nivel to extract information in order to fulfill the contract with Abassael, and Rouerfel himself had come only to extract information from Javan.
But the two misunderstood on their own.
Javan felt wronged by the two’s gazes as if looking at trash.
“No! No matter how wide my attacking range is, I don’t hit on married women!”
The words of a person who suddenly made a pass at someone he had always met as a male doppelganger until now just because they came as a female doppelganger were not trustworthy at all.
“Just how wide is your attacking range for you to say that?”
At Rouerfel’s question, Javan laughed cheerfully and shrugged his shoulders.
“Who knows? I haven’t counted, but in terms of age, about 18 to 117 years old? I don’t particularly discriminate based on race either… But I tend to give up on married women with a heavy heart.”
At Javan’s answer, Rouerfel and Osmond each made a comment in admiration.
“Wow… 117 years old.”
“Pervert.”
In response to their reactions, “The Hanged Man” giggled and said,
“Now, let’s stop the small talk here and start preparing for work. It’s not as dangerous as infiltrating the territory of the Winter Tree Sage in the Bastille Mountains like last time, which was at the level of a suicide squad, but this mission is also quite dangerous.”
Everyone nodded at her words.
“They say there are terrible monsters roaming inside.”
“That’s why four of us have gathered.”
Usually, the high-ranking members called the Numbers were not mobilized for Arcana’s missions.
Their mobilization meant that it was a truly important task for Arcana, a case where they absolutely needed to obtain an item, or an extremely dangerous mission that only they could handle.
The fact that four of them had gathered for this job meant that it was both important and dangerous for Arcana.
“Speaking of which, didn’t the High Priestess and the Chariot say they had a mission around here?”
Amelia probably wouldn’t be able to come easily even after completing her mission due to the bothersome holy knights and priests clinging to her, but Rotulus was different.
At “The Hanged Man”‘s hopeful question, Javan shook his head.
“It’s best not to expect support from them either, as their mission is also quite dangerous.”
Having gone to provide support before coming here, he knew how dangerous the mission in the Constellation Labyrinth was.
The fact that they had to face monsters presumed to be the legendary divine beast Fenrir and the mythical Rockslide Sheep, even if they were accompanied by subordinates, was a difficulty level that made it strange to deploy only two high-ranking members.
As such, they did not expect support.
“Is that so? It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.”
Contrary to her words, she casually moved on and lit a lantern with ghostly fire using magic, then took the lead and entered the forest.
The other three also entered the forest.
*******
Yard opened the window connected to the coachman’s seat and announced their arrival.
“We’ve arrived. It’s closer than I thought.”
This carriage had so little shaking that it was hard to tell if it was moving or stopped when the curtains were drawn.
I took out my pocket watch and checked the time.
“We arrived earlier than planned.”
Until now, the destinations had been a few days’ distance away, but this time, the “Witch’s Forest” was not very far from the relic city of Vahanad.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t strange to arrive early since the foal series had run on a well-paved road to transport supplies to the western front.
The Witch’s Forest, the destination this time, was located adjacent to the western front formed with the enemy nation.
I got out of the carriage, stretched, and asked Abassael,
“We probably can’t take this carriage inside. Can we just leave it here?”
The carriage, which was covered in spatial magic, did not enter the subspace.
At my question, Abassael, who had also gotten out of the carriage, looked around.
“It’s a plain with nothing but the forest. In this case, we can bury it in the ground for concealment.”
As the party members got out of the carriage, Abassael dug a hole in the ground with magic, put the carriage inside, and covered it with grass-covered soil for camouflage.
He then concealed the traces of the ground being lifted with illusion magic, making it perfect.
Although we had arrived earlier than expected and the sun was still in the sky, it was dangerous to enter that forest at night.
“Let’s camp here today and enter the forest when morning comes.”
At my words, Jade, Yard, and Gilbert began to prepare the camp, while I lit a campfire in a suitable location and took out a notebook and a book.
I pondered what tasks to give to Slave No. 6, Notrasfel, who was newly engraved in the leash (cursed notebook) I had sent to the thugs in the empire, and opened “The Legendary Necromancer Billy’s Grimoire”.