The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 16



Only Krnovel

‘There are so many of them?’

Enoch’s empty room.

Enoch finally put down the last of the papers and muttered to himself in a slightly tired tone, looking at the pile of materials still filling his desk.

Immediately after forming a partnership with Lien.

The first thing I asked her was some necessary information that I, as Enoch, needed to know right away.

Now that she was unable to move easily in the room due to the risk of her identity being suspected, Lien, who was able to move freely as a maid, was the only source of information.

‘You’ve been working as a maid for a long time, so you probably know a lot about this family.’

In the current situation, that was more important than the fact that Lien was a powerful wizard of rank 10 or higher.

If you learn about the family in detail through Lien, you can reduce the possibility of your identity being suspected when talking to people from other families.

With this, the foundation for expanding the scope of activities within the family has been secured.

‘… Of course, I never imagined that when I woke up, there would be this much piled up data on my desk.’

But on the other hand, it means that the information is that detailed. And it is better to have too much information than not enough.

Enoch looked over the materials on his desk again to review them.

‘I don’t think anyone will be suspicious if it’s something like this.’

The first priority was to learn the trivial actions and noble words and deeds, the names of family members, and other common sense and basic manners necessary for living in this world.

If I didn’t want to get on the wrong side of my family and draw attention to myself for no reason, I had to start by taking care of these details.

‘I almost died trying to get all this stuff hammered into my head…’

For now, I was able to acquire enough knowledge that I needed right away.

-dripping

At that moment, a noise was heard outside the door.

Then the butler’s voice rang out politely.

“Master Enoch Elseid. Steward Grantal Skye wishes to see you.”

He slowly got up from his seat.

“I will go now.”

We can investigate the other family members later. The time left until the expulsion was running out by the minute.

Now was the time to take action.

Nothing will be solved just by staying still.

***

“Master Enoch, are you here?”

In the elegant study of the Elseid Citadel, filled with luxurious furniture, books, and documents, Grantal was sitting there.

“I heard you called me.”

“Yes. I apologize for the mess in my office. I was just signing off on an assignment.”

He paused for a moment to sign off on the mission documents, then looked straight at Enoch and said.

“Your Majesty, you have succeeded in your last mission. And all the families of the clan must, according to custom, pay their contributors a fair reward.”

Enoch nodded.

I already guessed it. That’s how the family’s mission works.

If someone has contributed to the family, we promise to give them a fair and commensurate reward.

Even if it was Enoch, who had been despised as an incompetent non-magician until now.

“That is why I would like to reward you, Young Master… but it was very difficult to find something to give you as compensation this time.”

“Grantal finished signing and tapped the fountain pen on the table,” he said.

“Usually, the reward is determined based on how much you contributed to the family for each mission. And I’ll give you a few options so you can choose the one you want.”

Grantal gestured to the butler behind him and handed him a black file.

A document file engraved with the Elseid family emblem.

When I opened it, it was a file of documents organized along with numerous pictures of magical tools. Grantal gestured.

“And these are the candidates for the compensation plan prepared for you, Young Master.”

Enoch narrowed his eyes for a moment.

Catalogs densely printed on high-quality paper.

There, just by hearing the names, there were many magical tools such as rare and powerful magical equipment and artifacts.

In-game, these are items that can only be obtained after going through a lot of hardship in the mid to late stages.

In the original, obtaining just one of these would result in a drastic spec upgrade.

“This is a list prepared in the storage room within the family. Normally, we wouldn’t give you this many choices… . Since your situation is quite special, I think we can grant you this much convenience.”

It was clear what Grantal meant.

Enoch was not a magician.

Although it is common to give magic tools or artifacts as rewards, it is probably a consideration that there is no telling what kind of item would be a suitable reward for him.

The magical tools used by wizards all have different preferred types depending on their main magic, characteristics, and compatibility.

It literally means that he prepared everything because he didn’t know what Enoch would like.

Who would call them the representative golden spoon of the empire? It felt amazing once again that all those things were sleeping in the vault of the Elseid family.

“Please choose the reward you want.”

Swish.

Enoch reached out without hesitation.

Anyway, one way or another, he had already decided what to choose.

Granthal also followed his fingertips with his eyes.

And when he finally stopped, Granthal’s eyes opened wide.

Enoch’s fingertips─

“Master Enoch?”

─Not a catalogue containing numerous artifacts.

Just a moment ago, he was looking at the mission documents that Grantal was approving.

“As compensation, I would like to undertake the task of exemption to have my expulsion revoked.”

“… … !”

“Exemption Mission”

A solo mission of such high difficulty that it could literally rescind the family’s expulsion.

The last card that a direct descendant who is about to be expelled can use to prove his or her worth to the family and remain in the family.

Meanwhile, Granthal, who heard Enoch’s remark, asked back with a rare look of surprise.

“Are you serious about the exemption mission?”

“Yes. I understand that according to the customs of the ancient empire, a direct descendant facing expulsion is given one opportunity to prove himself. Through that, I would like to have my expulsion revoked.”

In this empire filled only with wizards, Enoch has been branded as an incompetent non-wizard up until now.

That’s why I’ve never been sent on a family mission before.

If a direct descendant who can’t even use magic is known to have failed in his mission, the family cannot help but worry about what the outside world will think.

Moreover, there was no way that Enoch, who was like that, would be given the option of a [Exemption Mission], which consisted of a difficulty level that could not even be compared to that of a normal mission.

‘However, Enoch has achieved certain results by being forced to take on a solo mission and succeeding.’

Of course, Enoch was still not a wizard, but by this point, even they were starting to get confused.

Crucially, Lien had already heard that there were rumors going around that ‘Enoch had suddenly developed magic powers.’

In fact, it was the first time that he had openly demonstrated his potential to his family.

So, at this point, to prevent any other story from coming up, if you choose the exemption mission as a mission reward… .

‘No matter how much the other members of the family thought Enoch was incompetent, they had no reason to refuse.’

Besides, there must have been those who considered me, a non-magician, a thorn in their side. In order to avoid being caught in the footsteps later, I had to handle things this thoroughly.

“I understand your will, my lord.”

Granthal nodded slowly.

“Besides, since you have already successfully completed your first mission, I, as the representative of the family, have no other reason to refuse your request for an exemption from the mission.”

He added with a warning glint in his eyes.

“But as you know… including the Juga clan, and countless other magic families. If you look at the precedents of all families up until now, the results of those who have carried out the exemption mission have all ended in failure.”

Enoch nodded readily.

It was a story I already knew.

“And most of them are due to the death of the person who was given the exemption mission during the mission. That is the main reason why no one wants to choose the exemption mission in modern times.”

There was no lie in Granthal’s words.

In fact, most exemption missions carried out in the Empire ‘end with the death of the person concerned.’

That means the mission itself is ridiculously harsh and dangerous.

Although it is a place to officially prove one’s worth, those who do not accept the family’s decision to expel them are unlikely to be assigned to such an easy task.

The essence of the [Exemption Mission] system is to achieve overwhelming results that everyone can agree on.

In other words, it is literally ‘the last chance to risk your life’.

And of course, Enoch was no exception.

“Once you choose an exemption mission, you cannot give up on it.”

Granthal asked one last time as if to confirm.

“Are you really willing to walk that path of trial?”

“yes.”

Enoch’s unwavering answer. Grantal nodded slightly in admiration.

“… As expected, you too are of that person’s bloodline.”

Enoch narrowed his eyes unconsciously.

‘That’s him.’

Are you referring to the Earl, Enoch’s father and current head of the household?

But before he could think any further, Grantal asked back in a serious tone.

“Very well. As the steward in charge of all duties and rewards of the House of Zhu, I will accept your request according to the customs of the Empire. The exemption mission will proceed as follows according to the procedure.”

He continued in a very businesslike tone.

“There are two exemption missions in total. The first mission is chosen by the Master. And if you pass it, the second mission is chosen by the Master. Only by completing these two missions can you finally complete the exemption mission.”

Enoch nodded briefly.

Granthal, as if he had been waiting, snapped his fingers toward another file on his desk.

A file flew towards Grantal, gliding through the air. He caught it and held it out.

The documents in that file, unlike the previous ones, had a red label indicating danger.

“These are all lists of exemption missions that would be suitable for Master Enoch. They are all classified as high-difficulty missions, so please take a look and choose the mission you want.”

But Enoch did not even glance at the proposals and answered without hesitation.

“I would like to take charge of the mass disappearance case that occurred in the small city of Leopolis, west of Elseid Territory.”

Hearing that, Grantal frowned.

“But, Your Majesty. That mission is….”

“I know. This is a mission that has already failed several times before. I even know that the last time a 13th-grade wizard was sent alone, he went missing and contact was lost.”

“But… .”

“If it’s a difficult mission, I think it’s a mission that will allow me to prove my abilities. It’s a mission that even the other excellent magicians in the family have been unable to solve.”

Granthal opened his eyes wide once again at Enoch’s words. Enoch’s answer was unexpected.

How does he know what kind of mission this is, and how does he know that it has been failed many times before?

But one thing was certain.

Everything he said was true.

“…That’s definitely true.”

As Enoch said, there was a recent disappearance of a 13th-grade wizard on that mission.

A 13th grader with accumulated mission experience is considered to be a strong player and can be considered the main force of the Elseid family.

What if a 13th-grade wizard were to take on a mission that not only failed, but also went missing? Needless to say, it was an incredibly difficult mission.

“There is no disagreement that this mission is suitable for an exemption mission. It is a problem that has been a headache for the family.”

Granthal answered as he looked at Enoch for a moment.

Clearly, he had been a loser, a boy despised by his family, who had been locked in his room until then.

But just like the last mission, his intelligence and determination were so great that it was impossible to believe that he was an incompetent non-magician who was on the verge of expulsion.

Until recently, I would never have guessed that he would make such a suggestion.

Granthal smiled briefly.

“Okay, then, I understand.”

He took the seal out of his bosom.

Winning

A halo of mana surrounded Granthal’s fingertips.

The gears inside the machine, designed with a transparent frame, meshed precisely and turned in response to mana.

“I will assign the mission to you as you wish. I will send the mission’s departure schedule and a document containing detailed information to your room soon.”

It is true that there are still doubts about Enoch’s sudden change.

But it doesn’t matter how he found out about the progress of this mission.

After all, the thing that the Elseid family is most ashamed of is incompetence itself.

Granthal had no additional comments to make about his judgments or whims.

If he demands a mission as a reward, it is his job to decide whether or not to do it.

Chararak

The seal’s form finally changed once. Grantal stamped it on the mission papers.

“May the goddess’s protection be with you.”

“thank you.”

As he opened the door to his office and came out, Enoch smiled faintly.

Things were going smoothly.

This is a mission that can be successfully completed with Enoch’s current power alone, as there are no followers.

If Enoch’s excommunication is successfully completed one by one, he can be revoked.

And that wasn’t all.

There was another reason why I had to take on this mission.

‘This mission is… … .’

─Because it is related to the death that Enoch will face.

The cause of Enoch’s death in the original is tied to this mission.

This mission is left unresolved in the original, and ultimately develops into an incident that causes Enoch’s death like a butterfly effect.

‘But now there are still five years left until the original work begins.’

That’s exactly what I had to do.

If we take care of this now before it gets worse, it will be much easier to prevent Enoch’s death in the future.

If you act now, you can stop something that would otherwise have to be stopped with a shovel, with a cotton swab.

‘It would be beneficial to resolve this now, no matter what.’

Of course, the mission he was given now was one that the Elseid family had not been able to solve up until the beginning of the original story.

Besides, in terms of story, it wasn’t even an easy mission for low-level sections…

There was nothing wrong with it.

‘Because I’ve already cleared this mission countless times.’