The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 35



Only Krnovel

Episode 35 Wizard Hunt (1)

A space with an atmosphere somewhere between a cave and a basement.

Surrounded by rough natural stones on all sides, only the piled-up gneiss flagstones proved that it was an artificially created place. A damp air flowed as if I was swimming halfway through water, but in contrast, colorful candles were lit in the closet, making the space as bright as day.

On the smoothly polished stone slab, an intricately intertwined magic circle was drawn.

Concentric circles overlapped several times within a majestic circle, mysterious letters with a wonder that ordinary people cannot interpret, and symbols that connect, twist, and transform those letters. I don’t know what it was used for, but each thick line had a subtle red glow.

And there was an iron bar placed in the blank space on one side of the magic circle.

The size of the iron cage was much larger than that used to confine ordinary animals. There were as many as three trolls trapped inside.

– Kuruk… … .

– Gulp, gurgle… … .

Trolls usually have the strength to break thick bars like a child’s fingers. But these trolls didn’t even think about touching the bars. They just opened their small eyes and huddled like sick donkeys, breathing wearily.

For a moment, all you could hear was the troll’s breathing. The faint sound of metal chains hitting each other and the sound of humming could be heard from somewhere.

Crackle, crunch… … .

‘Hmm, hmm, hmm ~ ♪’

The sound got closer and closer. The wall that looked like natural stone suddenly collapsed, revealing the image of a man. As the man and those who followed him entered, the wall rose again, neatly reassembled, just as it had collapsed.

He was a man with a strange aura. His gray hair, high-precision glasses, sad eyes, and pale skin gave him a scholarly impression. However, in contrast, his eyes had an inorganic glow, and the chains he held in his hands were tied with people covered in blood.

Other than the fact that their entire bodies were covered in bruises and wounds, there didn’t seem to be much in common among the people tied up in rows. Two sturdy men and a mysterious woman. They gave blank stares and just walked along as the man led them.

Tuk – !

But the moment she hit one side of the wall, the woman’s eyes suddenly regained focus. She frowned and opened her chapped lips.

“… … Assistant? Ugh, what is this… … Where, where am I? What the heck are these chains… … .”

The man’s facial muscles were distorted. However, he soon hid his anger and looked back at her with a bright smile.

“It’s no big deal, don’t worry, Secretary. “Would you like to take a look here?”

“Hey, Assistant? What are you talking about… …”

As soon as the man snapped his fingers, the woman’s eyes became blurry again. She loses her words and follows her footsteps like a puppet.

The man pulled the chain and made the people sit in another space of the magic circle. They lay calmly on the floor like slaughtered animals.

In a magic circle, the blank space is usually where the target of the spell, or the sacrifice, is placed. That means that one side of the troll or person is the target, and the other side is the sacrifice.

The man stood in the center of the camp and placed his hands on the floor. The soft light of the magic circle added to its brilliance, and the people sitting in the margins floated into the air.

This time, the ones to be offered as sacrifices were people.

Crackle, quack, quack, quack –

The chains tightly bound the three bodies. In that moment, the two men and one woman lost their forms. Every bone was broken, every muscle was crushed, and every skin was twisted. The flesh was lumped together into a huge lump of meat, and red blood and fluids dripped from underneath.

The pressure of the chain squeezed the meat even harder. Blood flowed down and formed a wet puddle on the flagstone. At some point, the puddle turned pitch black, and then instantly vaporized, turning into a dark afterglow.

The remnants that emerged were split in half. One side nested on the candle’s wick and the other side nested in the troll’s body. As soon as the candle was lit, the eyes of the trolls locked in the cage opened wide.

The man ordered towards the trolls.

“Come out of there and kneel before your master.”

– Wow… … .

– Kuoooooo… … .

Ki-ki-gi …

The trolls easily bent the bars and leapt out of the cage. Then, as commanded, they knelt before the man. Outwardly, there was no indication that they were under magical control.

The man nodded contentedly and placed the lit candle on one side of the closet.

It was a reassuring sight to look at. Every single candle that filled this closet was connected to the spirit of the monsters. Although most of them are still trapped underground and waiting, the man believed that the day would come when he would proudly lead the army of monsters and take over the outside world.

But the eyes of the man who was searching the closet wavered.

“hmm?”

Two trolls from Twin Canyon, monsters released into the outside world as a test a few months ago. The candle connected to the monster’s spirit was extinguished.

The man narrowed his eyes. He had done enough behind the scenes to prevent the council from killing the troll, so what on earth had happened? Did he really have to resort to the help of the council or his family?

‘… … ‘I need to check.’

He snapped his fingers again. A small shadow flew in from somewhere. It was Monoeye, a monster with a single-eyed body and bat wings.

“Scout the Twin Canyons and the vicinity. And report to me everything you find out.”

– Chiik, chiik!

With a slap, the monoeye flew over the open stone wall. Remtana’s aide, Ymir Demil, pushed up her glasses and her colorless eyes shone.

*

Bam!

– Click!

The axe blade tore through something flying. There was a rat-like sound and blood spurted out.

The soldiers of the disaster corps slowly got up. They were startled by the sight of Kadim suddenly throwing an axe into the air and bowing down. Duncan stepped forward and asked, as the soldiers coughed awkwardly.

“What, what did you hit, Your Majesty? Why are you suddenly using an axe… … .”

“I don’t know. I should go and check.”

When I went to see it, the body of the corpse was shredded and only two wings that resembled a bat remained intact. Judging from the blood that was mixed with a lot of vitreous body, it was not an ordinary bat. Above all, I felt a faint aura similar to a troll.

After Kadim finished observing, he approached Enrico.

“You said the monsters were dry around here, didn’t you, Councilor?”

“That’s right… … ?”

“Then I guess the wizard doesn’t only control trolls. He just sent a scout monster over here.”

“… … “Is that really true?”

Kadim held up the corpse of Monoeye, which had been reduced to a rag. Enrico let out a sigh. It seemed best to pass through the valley as quickly as possible. The soldiers, without knowing what was going on, followed the sergeant’s instructions and increased their marching speed.

Enrico, the corps of the sergeants, and Kadim and Duncan were leaving Eckel and heading to Remtana. They were returning to their base after recovering from their illness. It was a journey that was not particularly time-consuming, but the events of the past had left them without a moment to spare.

Kadim accepted the councilor’s offer to kill the wizard.

Anyway, I wanted to meet the wizard at least once because of the identity of the energy that was in the troll. On top of that, I could avoid the charge of killing the Arch Paladin and even receive compensation, so it was an offer that was difficult to refuse.

However, there was one major blind spot in the proposal.

‘But anyway, aren’t we supposed to kill the wizard from the Magic Tower, Inspector?’

‘……exactly.’

‘This is difficult. My destination is the Magic Tower. My goal is to find the records of the first Magic Tower Lord there. If the fact that I killed the wizard is revealed, my plan may be disrupted.’

Enrico was momentarily taken aback. However, like an experienced politician, he skillfully eliminated his blind spots.

‘The wizards of the Magic Tower value knowledge more than gold and silver treasure. Anything that is as good as a record of the first Mage Tower owner is like a holy relic to them. I don’t know why you’re looking for it… … Unless you have great connections inside, you wouldn’t have been able to see it anyway.’

‘… … .’

‘How about doing it this way? If you accept my offer, I will try my best to find a way to read it. It won’t be easy, but it will be much better than you finding it on your own. And don’t worry, I will cover up the fact that you harmed the wizard so that no one will know.’

I did expect that it would not be easy to find the records even after arriving at the Magic Tower. Originally, I was planning on cutting down all the wizards that got in my way, but there’s no harm in using a more moderate solution. Only then did Kadim accept the counselor’s suggestion.

The wizard’s assistant is currently in hiding, so his exact location is unknown. However, he is definitely around Remtana, so he decided to stay there for the time being and search the area. Kadim hurried his steps and fell into thought for a moment.

‘Wizard, wizard… … .’

According to my memories of the game and the first episode, they are humans but imitators of ‘spirits’.

The original way of the spirits was to take in the mana floating in the atmosphere into their bodies and manifest mysteries externally. Humans who had extremely high mana sensitivity and could imitate this way called themselves ‘wizards’ and performed miracles that transcended common sense.

But now something has changed.

Kadim’s mana sensitivity was the worst among the warriors.

Not only was he unable to sense the mana in the air, he was also unable to notice even when a wizard was gathering a lot of mana right in front of him.

Of course, it was rare for a wizard to be harmed by cutting off his head or physically destroying his magic before reciting a spell. However, in any case, when it came to magic and mana, Khadim was no better than a dullard.

But now he could sense the presence of ‘magic’.

Even though it was faint and vague, I could feel a dark energy, and when I killed a monster, I could see a dark afterimage.

There seemed to be one of three possibilities. Maybe you gained a new unique characteristic related to magic as a second-time perk, maybe the aide’s magic is something special, or maybe the principles of ‘magic’ have changed differently over the past 300 years for some reason… … .

‘Well, well… …Should we build a tower to teach wizards?’

What Melissa said in the first round suddenly flashed through my mind again.

“… … .”

Kadim shook his head. There was still no solid evidence either way. If he found the wizard and defeated him, the truth would come out naturally. For now, it was more important to prepare thoroughly for the encounter.

“Ah, hot hot hot!”

“Ugh, watch out!”

“Hey, hold it back there! Hold it back there!”

Soldiers were scurrying around carrying the paladin’s plate armor covered with a cover. The new recruits’ fragments were rolling around inside, so it had to be kept level at all times, but it didn’t seem to be easy. Kadim looked at the little guy indifferently and asked the counselor.

“Commissioner, is there a blacksmith in Remtana who is both talkative and skilled? If we could craft those into weapons, it would probably make it a little easier to catch the wizard.”

Enrico quietly brushed his beard. He frowned as if he was somehow uncomfortable and then hesitantly opened his mouth.

“It is there. It is there, but… … . Phew… … .”

He stopped speaking and let out a long sigh.

*

Remtana is a small town.

Still, a city is a city, and in the center, there is a central street lined with houses and shops centered around the ambassador’s residence. It is neatly paved with brick buildings and stone pavement, and the faces of the people walking along the street are full of life, as if looking at a painting. When an important guest from outside comes to visit, it is an unwritten rule to only show them the view of the central street.

However, even if you go just a little bit to the outskirts, the true nature of the city is revealed.

Instead of the unpaved dirt floor and stone slabs, there was a lot of excrement, and people lying on top of it like it was their own living room. Dilapidated buildings grew like deformed mushrooms, and spiderweb-like alleys spread out between them. In fact, this was the average city in this world, but because it was connected to the clean central street, it felt especially contrasting.

And Kadim’s destination was a crumbling brick house in the far corner of the street outside, in a shaded area without a ray of sunlight.

Thud, thud, thud –

Kadim knocked on the rusty iron door. A thick, bitter smell of iron powder wafted through the crack in the door. But I didn’t feel any heat at all. It seemed like it had been quite a while since the furnace had been turned off.

Bang, bang, bang –

When there was no response, Kadim knocked on the door more vigorously. The screws on the hinges popped out and the corners of the door buckled. The iron door let out a dangerous groan as if it were about to break apart.

This time there was a reaction. Bang, bang, bang, the sound of something collapsing was heard beyond the door. Still, it was not until a long time later that the owner finally appeared.

“Damn it, how could a door break like that! Who is it! Who is making such a fuss at this late hour!”

His hair grew wildly like a bush, connected to his white beard, and his tattered clothes had fist-sized holes in them. He limped on his right foot, but his actions were unhindered and his voice was strong. He was an old man who looked very stubborn at first glance.

“Are you that ‘old man sledgehammer’?”

“… … What is it? “Who are you?”

“I was introduced. He is the most skilled blacksmith in this city. “He came to visit me because he had a special order to leave.”

The old man felt instinctive fear as he faced the imposing size of the barbarian. Still, the body has accumulated experience in dealing with rough things. He spat out phlegm and then sneered as if nothing had happened.

“Atalian mercenary? Hehehe… … I don’t know who told me that, but I’ve been away from my hammer for a long time. If you need some iron to forge, go to the blacksmith shop over on the main street.”

“This is not a job that can be entrusted to an ordinary blacksmith. I have enough money. I will pay you as generously as you want.”

“Money? Are you saying that I look like a beggar who is begging for money?”

Yes, it seemed. Kadim looked at the old man in silence.

Then the old man became as angry as a boiling fire.

“You uneducated, savage! You uncivilized people who used to dig dirt on the other side of the mountain range, how can you act like a nouveau riche just because you saved up money by killing people in other people’s land! Damn it, this is why you shouldn’t associate with ignorant people… … . I don’t need a single penny of that bloody, dirty money, so just get out of here… … .”

“Do you have any soft food at home, sir?”

“… … what?”

“If you don’t have any, go out and buy some soon. If your teeth are all broken, it will be difficult to eat hard things.”

The old man’s body froze. He rolled his eyes and looked at Kadim. His pupils were wide as an abyss, and his fists were clenched as hard as iron. He was definitely not a man who only used words to threaten.

The old man took a step back. He spoke in a voice that had lost all momentum.

“Ah, anyway, I can’t take on the job. Me, I completely let go. It’s not you, it’s your aide, no, even if the councilor comes all the way here and begs you, I have no intention of taking charge of it, so stop it and hurry back… … .”

“… …Is that true, Gulag?”

A middle-aged man who had been eavesdropping on the conversation in the alley sneaked out and joined in. The old man’s eyes lit up as if he had seen a ghost.

“uh? Cha, counselor… … ?”

“I asked if it was true that you had no intention of taking on the job even if I came and cleaned it up, Gulag.”

“… … .”

The old man opened his mouth wide, speechless.

He didn’t answer until a fly flew into his mouth.