The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 24



Only Krnovel

You should always have a last resort prepared.

[-It’s a type of detection magic.]

Previously, when I had a partnership with Lien.

She once cast a spell on Enoch, with one condition.

Enoch briefly recalled his memories of that time.

[I can tell if you feel your life is in danger.]

‘At the time, I didn’t really understand what he meant.’

Enoch gazed at Lien’s slender neck, hidden by her silver hair that shone brightly.

Wheein.

On her white nape, silvery mana was shining faintly like a choker.

At the time of the contract at the banquet hall, I remember that both sides were enchanted in the form of a neck wrap.

Perhaps it came here as soon as it sensed a threat with that magic.

“…Who are you?”

Tantalus glared at her who had suddenly appeared and asked. He seemed to have not sensed any movement until just a moment ago.

“Of all the Elseids I’ve seen so far, this is the best.”

Tantalus glared at Lien and asked, spitting out the broken cigar.

“You two. What are you doing?”

Swish.

However, Lien silently retrieved the wire and blocked the path of the fallen Enoch.

Tantalus’ dark green eyes and Lien’s blue eyes looked at each other.

“Interesting.”

Tantalus was the first to break the brief silence.

He said with a bitter, mocking smile.

“Now even someone else’s maid is being bullied in my lab.”

He took a metal cigar case out of his bosom.

As he pressed down on the switch on the side of the case with his thumb, the cover opened and a spring mechanism was activated.

A new cigar popped into the air.

Whirik

“It’s really interesting.”

He flicked his fingers at the falling cigars, spinning in the air.

Taaak!

The cigar catches fire at the end and burns.

At the same time that Tantalus caught the cigar in midair with his fingers, enveloping it in green smoke, Lien stretched out her arm and fired a wire at him.

Peeeing

But it was as if it had already been expected.

Tantalus’ body was enveloped in green mana smoke for a moment, and his form teleported backwards in an instant.

“No way!”

Tantalus shouted mockingly, and immediately began arranging magic in the air for a counterattack.

However, Lien’s wire, which had already stretched out, wrapped around one of the pillars in the room instead of the one that had teleported.

Wheein

Lien immediately deployed a magic circle.

She pulled the wire hanging from the pillar beyond the white magic circle and chased after him at high speed.

The movements were so smooth and nimble that Enoch momentarily doubted his own eyes.

‘As expected, you weren’t even at full strength when you faced me at the banquet last time.’

Meanwhile, Tantalus’ green cigar smoke rises against Lien, arranged in geometric patterns.

To block Lien’s incoming attack wire, a translucent barrier was formed.

Whirlwind.

But Lien’s wire quickly wrapped itself around the barrier itself.

Lien didn’t miss that moment, lightly turned her body and kicked the wall once.

widely

Then he pulls the wire and charges forward, using the tied barrier as support.

Lien, who spread out silver-white wires that glowed even in the darkness, rushed towards Tantalus, who was enveloped in thick green smoke.

grasp

As soon as the distance closed, Lien quickly returned the wire he had fired first and swung it at Tantalus.

In a split second, the wire cutting through the air was dyed with a clear silvery mana.

Kwachajajajak!

The equipment in the room where the metal thread passed through was neatly cut.

All the pipes and test tubes along the path were shattered and scattered.

And the trajectory of the wires that followed was headed straight for Tantalus’ head.

“… … !”

He calmly blew out a puff of cigar smoke and deployed his magic, glaring at Lien’s blue eyes that had rushed in front of him with his dark green ones.

The next moment, Tantalus’ body, engulfed in smoke, disappeared and reappeared several meters behind.

Lien didn’t bother to pursue him any further.

Beyond the space where wires were installed across the air due to battle.

Lien, who was glaring at Tantalus with a cold gaze, took a step forward towards Enoch, who was still lying down, and stood as if protecting him.

The maid’s outfit rose and fell like black and white flowers, following her movements in the darkness.

Tantalus slowly opened his mouth as if he was astonished at the action of prioritizing the life of the fallen boy over the immediate death of the enemy in front of him.

“… This is true.”

He looked at the silvery threads weaving intricately through the air, cutting through the darkness of the laboratory, and asked Lien in a tone of interest.

“That hooded swordsman from earlier too. Was there a magician like you in Elseid? How can someone with such skills not even be rumored? Have I been stuck in the lab for too long?”

Lien examined the recovered wire without answering, then wiped it thoroughly with the hem of her maid’s apron as if she were wiping away dirt.

A drop of blood spread across the white cloth where the wire had been wiped.

“…?”

Tantalus felt a slight pain in his cheek for a moment and touched his face with his hand.

Slimy.

On his cheek, a thin wound was forming and blood was oozing out.

Tantalus lifted the corners of his lips in a moment of horror, took the cigar out of his mouth and placed it on his fingers.

If the teleportation had been even just a little bit late, his head would have been blown off.

“… that silver thread.”

But despite the gruesome truth, he smiled as if he found his wounds quite interesting.

Then he pointed with his chin at Lien’s silver wires spread out in all directions.

“Yeah, now I remember.”

Tantalus looked at Lien, who was blocking Enoch, and said with great interest.

“I thought it was wiped out a long time ago, but are there any survivors?”

He spoke with a smile on his face and put his cigar in his mouth again.

“… The youngest daughter of ‘that family’ is now working as a maid. You never know what’s going on in the world.”

‘Extinction?’

Enoch, who was listening to Tantalus’ mocking words, narrowed his eyes for a moment.

‘Do you know anything about Lien?’

My thoughts, dulled by shock, were dizzy.

Enoch concentrated on checking his physical condition, moving his hands slowly.

His limbs moved, as if he had recovered from the shock to some extent.

‘This is enough.’

He stood up, his sword in his hand.

The sword that never left my hand even as I received the shock of my body being slammed into the wall.

The sharp tip was aimed at Tantalus again.

Sling

“It’s tougher than I thought.”

He looked back at Enoch and closed one eye slightly as if he couldn’t win.

“… It’s unfortunate, but I’ll say goodbye here today. I’m a researcher, not a battle mage. I don’t know if it’s one, but it’s really tiring to fight two without proper preparation.”

Tantalus spoke thus and exhaled the smoke from his cigar forward again.

The green smoke he had inhaled deeply flowed out through his mouth and nose.

“We’ll meet again soon. Then I’ll make sure you pay for ruining my experiment.”

His dark, glowing green eyes flickered through the cigar smoke that filled his surroundings.

“I promise.”

Phew!

As soon as Lien noticed the smell, he immediately waved his hand and ejected the wire.

But the silver-white wire that cut through the air only cut through empty space filled with green cigarette smoke.

Eventually, his mana slowly subsided.

Tantalus had already disappeared.

‘I survived.’

Enoch, who confirmed that the bastard had escaped, slightly relaxed the strength in his hand holding the sword.

As I began to feel relieved, only then did I begin to feel the sharp pain creeping through my body.

dump

In the agony, Enoch fell to one knee again.

But what I felt was the joy of survival rather than the pain of suffering.

‘You took a breather.’

The 13th ranked destroyer who suddenly appeared.

Although Enoch’s characteristics had grown considerably compared to the beginning, he was not yet ready to deal with him.

Originally, I should have died without being able to move… .

Peeing.

Enoch retrieved the wire with a simple movement, and looked at the silver-haired maid, Lien, who was looking back at him, and muttered to himself.

‘It was a good thing I took out insurance.’

Lien, who did not appear in the original work.

If I hadn’t signed a contract with her as a collaborator in the first place, I didn’t want to imagine what would have happened by now.

Enoch once again expressed overwhelming gratitude for the guidance from the inner world.

‘Certainly, the inner world is not only helpful for the growth of swordsmanship. The instructions themselves are also of great help.’

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the specific instructions he was receiving from his inner world were becoming a lifeline in unexpected places.

In particular, it was a pretty good piece of advice to have Lien as an assistant.

‘Because Lien’s wire could be my lifeline more than anything else right now.’

Sigh.

Lien happened to come over and held out her hand to him.

Her long silver hair cast a faint shadow on her white cheek as she looked down.

“wake up.”

Lien’s expression, which had been emotionless for a moment, slightly wavered when he discovered the wound on Enoch’s waist.

“… was injured.”

Enoch shook his head at her words.

“It’s not deep.”

But Lien seemed unconvinced and soon spoke in a cold voice.

“What would you have done if I hadn’t been here? Have you forgotten the conditions under which I agreed to cooperate with you?”

“It’s a meaningless assumption.”

“what?”

Enoch tilted his head slightly and replied.

“You were going to come to protect me anyway, right?”

Lien looked at Enoch for a moment, then closed his eyes without answering.

Then she bent her knees and tore the hem of her maid uniform skirt.

Sizzle.

Her white thighs, previously covered by her black skirt, were revealed with such depth that it was almost risque.

But Lien didn’t really care about that fact and stretched out his arm to stop the bleeding on Enoch’s waist.

‘As expected, you don’t deny it.’

Lien, with Enoch’s shirt pulled up and her arms around his waist, begins to stop the bleeding from his wound with her usual expressionless face.

Enoch looked down at her back with calm, sunken black eyes.

‘Come to think of it, why on earth are you trying to protect Enoch so much?’

As soon as it got really dangerous, you came straight here to protect me.

At this point, I’m starting to wonder what their relationship was like before.

No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like it was a simple employee-employer relationship.

‘… You’ll find out someday.’

Anyway, there is a lot of time to spend as Enoch.

As I continue to work with this body, I will slowly learn about their relationship.

Enoch opened his mouth to Lien, who had just finished stopping the bleeding from the wound on his waist.

“The mission is not over yet.”

As he said that, Enoch took out a key from his bosom. It was the key he had obtained from a regular member of the Vendetta at the entrance earlier.

Jjang.

He tossed it to Lien, nodding inside.

“There’s a warehouse inside. The children are probably trapped there.”

Lien, who received the key, looked at Enoch for a moment.

A look that asks, “What are you going to do in the meantime?”

“I have something else to do.”

Enoch said this and turned away.

And then he smiled without Lien seeing.

Anyway, since I survived, it was clear what I had to do now.

‘If you’ve been working hard, it’s time to try farming.’

Just thinking about it makes me feel refreshed.

Farming is the driving force behind spec-up.

And I clearly remember the reward I was able to obtain after clearing this stage in the original.

‘According to the setting, it’s an item that still exists today, 5 years ago.’

Enoch approached one side of the laboratory, recalling his memories.

‘I see.’

Moon.

Enoch picked up a flask on one side of the laboratory. It contained a transparent liquid with a light green tint.

A reagent without any label or instructions, but Enoch knew its true identity very well.

–

“Growth-type magic resistance reagent”

A potion of magic resistance created by Tantalus of Vendetta.

The more you are exposed to magical attacks, the more resistance you build up.

A reagent manufactured in extremely small quantities for testing purposes to ensure that subjects can withstand the stress imposed on them during human experiments.

There were no side effects, but mass production was not possible because the material costs were so high that it could not be handled.

It has been fermented for 10 years, giving it a unique aroma and taste.

Effect: The more you are hit by magic, the stronger your resistance becomes.

–

In the original, a hidden reward item that can only be obtained on this map.

It is a potion that is practically indispensable for character growth, and the faster you obtain it, the better the efficiency.

If you deal with wizards in the future, you will naturally be hit by their magic.

Every time that happens, magic resistance automatically increases step by step.

So the faster you get it, the faster your growth timing will be.

Even Enoch, a non-magician, was no exception.

Sigh.

Enoch didn’t hesitate and poured the green-tinged liquid into his mouth.

‘Where, a taste of spec-up… .’

Enoch, who was trying to savor the taste of the spec-up to the fullest, felt the taste of the liquid filling his mouth the next moment and his eyes widened.

‘… Mint chocolate flavor?’

Woof!

Enoch held back the moment he almost spat everything out.

Who on earth came up with the idea to put mint chocolate flavor in this reagent?

‘Even this is lukewarm!’

It’s somewhat tolerable when it’s cold, but the only time you can add the word ‘taste’ to mint chocolate is when the temperature is below zero.

Melted mint chocolate is no different from liquid toothpaste.

Gulp

When he somehow managed to block his nose and swallow it all.

Just then, Lien was coming out of the laboratory storage room with some children.

It was obvious that they were children who had been kidnapped here, and their appearance was quite haggard, with tear stains on their cheeks.

A dozen children clutched the hem of Lien’s maid uniform skirt in fear.

And among them there was a familiar face.

“I, I… .”

Enoch smiled slightly at the sobbing Chloe.

She seemed relieved only after seeing that smile-

“Ugh… Ugh!”

Chloe burst into tears of relief and ran to Enoch, hugging him tightly.

Several other children who saw that also ran towards Lien and Enoch and cried loudly.

“Hee, hee. Thank you, thank you for saving me! I really appreciate it!”

Enoch grabbed the hem of his robe and stroked Chloe’s head as she cried freely, then glanced at Lien.

She was surprisingly quiet, sitting there patting and calming the other children down.

“…are you okay.”

For a moment, I had the illusion that there was a hint of warmth in those emotionless blue eyes.

Enoch looked at her for a moment, then turned his head and slowly stood up.

It wasn’t over yet.

There’s still some work to be done.

Enoch looked at the administrator’s mansion beyond the basement with his dark eyes.