episode_0011

The space revealed by the splitting of the bookshelf was blocked by an invisible curtain.

Leon hesitated to step in, but instead looked around the area.

If it was a space where a warlock hid, it wouldn’t be strange if it was blocked by a protective barrier like this.

Leon couldn’t find any way to remove the shield.

Eventually, Leon entered the space inside the jewel and faced the old man’s corpse again.

The sight of the old man lying coldly on the floor made Leon’s heart flutter once again.

Leon shook his head with difficulty and searched the old man’s arms.

The first thing that caught my eye was the smooth texture of the pocket.

‘Subspace pocket!’

Leon immediately injected magic power and emptied his pockets of everything.

Fortunately, it was not an advanced subspace pocket, but it responded to Leon’s mana.

There were five dropped items.

There was a color badge, a green vial, a scroll, a book, and a black brooch.

First, the same color token that Leon has also seen.

It is a token that the store owner has, and it was transferred when he went on an errand to buy herbs.

Next is a clear vial containing green liquid.

‘Is it poison…?’

A color that gives off an eerie feeling just by looking at it.

‘Don’t touch it carelessly.’

Leon, who had moved the vial to his subspace pocket, picked up the scroll next to the vial.

Leon’s eyes widened as he unrolled the scroll and scanned its contents.

It was a recipe for a class E elixir.

‘The old man was looking for herbs to make an E-class elixir!’

I kind of thought that might be the case.

The herbs he had sent Leon on errands for were herbs that were not included in the recipe for a Class F elixir, except for one.

I haven’t yet obtained all the herbs needed to make a Grade F elixir, but it wouldn’t be a loss to have them.

Leon felt good about finally receiving the reward for using all the magic scrolls he had, and he looked at the rest of the items.

As expected, the book was a magic book about black magic.

The title is ‘Call of the Abyss.’

The title itself was ominous, as if it were some kind of closed-off black magic.

And finally, the black brooch.

If it was an item in a subspace, it would have to have some kind of purpose, but no matter how much I looked at it, I couldn’t figure out what it was.

Leon came out of the orb, holding the brooch in his hand and packing everything else in his subspace pocket.

Leon opened his eyes again in the old man’s study and slowly placed the hand holding the black brooch against the protective shield covering the secret space.

He held out only the brooch so as not to touch it, and when he touched it, the brooch went into the protective shell.

Leon, who had gained confidence, boldly put his hands all the way in.

‘It passes.’

The black brooch was, of course, a sign that allowed entry into the secret place.

Leon pushed his entire body into the shield.

As we entered the shelter, we saw a staircase leading down.

As I went down the dark stairs, a huge cave appeared.

The reason I could confirm that it was a shared space was because there was a soft light shining only on that space.

widely-

Leon descended the last step.

“Huh… .”

And the sight of the gigantic silhouette catching my eye in the vast open space took my breath away.

A size that would be five times that of a human.

A long, elongated neck, similar to a long, protruding beak.

Huge wings covering a body of dull gray feathers.

‘bird……?’

It was the silhouette of a giant bird.

A huge bird was lying on its belly on the ground.

It didn’t look like he was resting.

Shackles wrapped around thin ankles. Bandages wrapped around the entire body.

And the thick blood seeping out between the bandages.

Leon carefully took his foot off the ground after confirming that the bird had its eyes closed.

A desk was placed far away from the bird.

‘Were you studying birds?’

When I looked over the desk, I found a scroll written like an observation journal.

—————————————————————————

[Observation Week 62.]

– Poison can no longer be extracted through blood sampling.

-Your energy begins to decline noticeably.

-Even though I have been taking E-class elixirs consistently, there has been no change.

-We are currently researching other ways to restore the monster.

-How to awaken Mana on your own? An elixir? If there is, it would help… … .

—————————————————————————

The last sentence ended in an incomplete manner, as if it was just a thought taken straight from my head.

Leon took the scroll and looked around.

On the iron plate connected to the desk were the remains of used herbs, and underneath the iron plate was a large box.

I found a box containing a large number of green vials.

It was the exact same green vial that was in the old man’s subspace pocket.

And another scroll placed on top of it.

When I looked at it, it was the 61st week observation log.

There wasn’t much difference from the 62-week diary.

‘Are you saving it to send somewhere else?’

Leon put them all in his subspace pocket.

And I just placed one green vial on the desk.

So that the wizards who later found out that the old man had disappeared and came to investigate could find him.

Leon’s plan was to manipulate the situation by having the old man who was studying black magic leave Widia alone and return to his hideout.

‘Now all that remains is to deal with the bird… … .’

It was strange that the old man who was conducting the research left this monster behind and escaped.

As I was looking at the goblin in thought, the goblin’s large eyes suddenly opened.

The newly torn pupil turns towards Leon.

“Who are you again… … .”

The voice of the goblin echoed through the hall.

A voice that is hoarse and languid.

Leon was startled and hurriedly hid his expression.

“ He took over the old man’s work as a successor.”

“Hmm… … I don’t feel any dark magic for that… … .”

The goblin’s words paused for a moment as if he was laughing, then continued.

“Porn, what happened to that kid?”

I tried to hide my identity, but I was immediately exposed.

Porn was the old man’s name.

“What are you planning to do with me?”

It was a voice that seemed to be floating, as if it were a test.

Leon kept his mouth shut and sat deep in thought.

‘Should I kill him like this? When the wizard finds out later, he might find out what I’ve done. I feel uncomfortable speaking to people with reason, but… … .’

The goblin sensed that Leon’s thoughts were turning in a negative direction and spoke up.

“How about making a deal?”

“How can I trust you?”

When Leon openly showed his wariness, the monster stretched out its long neck and faced Leon.

“Isn’t it foolish to reveal your true feelings without even hearing the details of the deal?”

“Really?”

Leon snorted inwardly, but nodded outwardly, telling her to speak.

No matter what the goblin says, the fact that he has the initiative won’t change.

“If you find the core of this body and bring it to me, I will grant you one wish.”

“Wish? What kind of wish? Can you grant me a wish to become a great wizard?”

“Sarcasm won’t help a rational conversation at all.”

“That’s how absurd it is.”

Leon shrugged.

As if the deliberate tapping had had an effect, the monster’s eyes, which were barely closing, stared at Leon for a moment.

“Have you ever felt like killing someone? No matter who it is, I can definitely kill at least one person.”

There was something eerie about the goblin’s words, but Leon’s expression was calm.

“I don’t want to kill anyone.”

“That can’t be. Even if it doesn’t exist right now, it could appear at any time.”

Leon shook his head silently.

Even if there was someone I wanted to kill, I would have shook my head.

“… … If that’s not what you want, you can also take whatever you want from the rares. It’ll definitely help your magic skills a lot.”

“I can’t wait.”

“… … It wouldn’t be that hard to ask for the core. Finding the core won’t completely restore my current physical condition. So it would be difficult for me to ask for anything more than that.”

The goblin drew a sharp line.

But only then did Leon feel like having a proper conversation.

Even though he rejected the offer, I felt sincerity in the way he did not make unreasonable demands.

Leon, who had been thinking for a moment, suddenly asked.

“How can I fully recover my physical condition?”

“It is possible if you recuperate for a long time in a space with high mana concentration. However, finding a space that can handle the mana required for recovery for a long time is close to a miracle. That much concentration of mana is needed.”

After hearing that, Leon made up his mind.

“If there is a way to completely restore your body condition?”

The goblin immediately laughed.

“Do you think you can take me to a place like that with your skills? With your skills, it would be difficult to break the chains that bind me now. And even if you find such a place, it would take decades to fully recover. Can you wait quietly during that time?”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to be picky right now. What if there’s a way to really free you and help you recover?”

Leon thought of a way to get the monster into the space inside the jewel.

I have never brought a rational creature into the jewel before, but I don’t think it would be a big problem.

Of course, I had no intention of bringing in this creepy monster that I still didn’t trust.

By then, the goblin seemed tired and let its long head hang down on the ground again.

“I know my situation too. But I’m saying this because it doesn’t make sense. If that’s possible, I’ll make a pact. At least I can be your servant until the end of your life.”

“Oath?”

“It’s a contract made with the magic of the oath through my blood. Once you make a contract, you can’t break it unless you want to give up your life.”

There is such a sure way.

Leon nodded, “That’s right.”

“Okay, let’s do it now.”

“… … Didn’t you understand that if you don’t keep the contract, you die?”

“Okay, I got it.”

The goblin seemed unable to understand Leon’s confident attitude, but eventually had no choice but to follow his suggestion.

“I am currently unable to use magic, so I will teach you the method.”

He calculated the spell that the goblin recited and activated the magic.

“The oath of blood and soul, bend beyond the eternal time. Soul Binding Oth!”

As he recited the spell, Leon’s magical power was rapidly consumed.

A magic circle of six stars appeared before my eyes.

Leon placed his own blood and the blood of the monster on the table and recited the terms of the contract.

In short, Leon offered the Goblin a place where his body could fully recover, and in return, he would serve as Leon’s servant horse until the end of his life. If there was such a place, the Goblin would not be able to pose a threat to Leon until he fully recovered.

If it fully recovers, it will become a servant horse, so it naturally cannot be a threat from then on.

In the process, Leon also learned the name of the monster.

“Kito.”

“… It’s been a while since I’ve been called that.”

“I bet you made the right promise, right?”

Leon knew that the oath was properly made because of the feeling of bonding, but he asked for no reason.

“Yeah… … . If you didn’t have a way to begin with, the oath wouldn’t have been properly made, but it seems like you’ve come up with a way.”

“Then I’ll let you go now.”

Once the oath was made, there was no reason to hesitate.

Leon placed a hand on the monster’s head and grabbed the Orb of Time and Space with the other hand.

And when they opened their eyes, both Kito and Leon were in the middle of the forest.

“Here… ….”

“Wait a minute.”

Leon, who came out of the orb alone, went back into the orb a few seconds later.

The monster stretched its neck out and looked around.

“… How did you do that? You clearly disappeared.”

“How long have I been gone?”

“It was only a few minutes… … .”

It seemed that living things also experienced the same flow of time whether Leon left the jewel or not.

‘I should try not to invite people over as much as possible… ‘

If Leon comes back after spending just one day in reality, the person inside the jewel will have spent two months inside.

“Do you have enough mana to recover?”

The monster lifted its long neck for a moment and took a deep breath.

“… … is enough.”

“Then focus on recovery.”

After you recover, I will use you until you die.

*****

Leon’s footsteps did not stop as he left the old man’s office.

He headed straight to the second floor of the magic library.

It was a place where the elderly were forbidden to enter because it contained a forbidden magic book, so from the first day until now, I had never set foot in there.

‘If you’re not curious about forbidden magic, you’re not a wizard.’