Chapter 118: The Echoes of Starlight and Poison

It’s called Taebaek, using the characters for ‘great’ and ‘white’.

A world blanketed in snow. That was what Taebaek was.

I opened the map and looked around. I had purchased a detailed map of Taebaek’s geography, but that didn’t mean I could pinpoint the location of the Ice Crystal.

Everyone was climbing Mount Taebaek, hoping the Ice Crystal lay somewhere amidst the collapsed snowy mountains.

The only things I could rely on here were my tireless stamina and senses far keener than the average person’s.

I quickened my pace, searching for the so-called Ice Crystal.

If it had truly been forged from the breath of a dragon, I should have been able to sense some kind of draconic energy.

But there was nothing. In this place known as Taebaeksan, I couldn’t detect any trace of dragon mana. Still, that didn’t mean I felt nothing at all.

A vague and ambiguous energy—so faint it was impossible to pinpoint.

All I could say for certain was that something special was here. That was the conclusion I came to.

The mages who were sensitive to mana likely felt it too.

That’s why, while wandering around Mount Taebaek, it wasn’t uncommon to run into other mages.

With so many people gathering in one place for the same goal, disputes—both big and small—frequently broke out.

On top of that, with differing languages and cultures, clashes between beastkin and mages were inevitable. And not only between those two groups.

Every time I headed toward a place where mana flow felt absent, I came across signs of battle.

Bloodstains dyed the snow crimson, and the corpses that lay cold and still stood out starkly.

This time, the body was that of a mage. I stepped closer and looked down at it.

I recognized he was a mage because he wore the robe of the Mage Tower.

Judging by the lack of other belongings, the victors of the battle must have looted him.

Could he have imagined this?

That he would disappear into the white snow, unknown and unremembered, in a foreign land?

I wanted to report his death to the Mage Tower, but nothing remained to prove his identity.

In time, the corpse of this nameless mage would vanish beneath the snow. I stepped past it and moved on.

Mount Taebaek was also home to many monsters.

Snow-white wolves and snow leopards the size of houses could be seen.

When those white-furred beasts bounded through the snowfields, it was like watching waves of white crashing across the land.

Then it happened. Amidst the all-white mountains, a woman appeared, her body cloaked in a light breeze.

She moved as if flying, and left no footprints behind.

As the distance closed, I was able to clearly make out her appearance. A familiar face, a familiar mana flow.

“Wendy…?”

It was Wendy, whom I had parted ways with in the city that had the airship dock.

“Seris…?”

Even after spotting me, Wendy didn’t stop.

Her pale face, ragged breathing, and the way she kept glancing back—she was clearly being pursued.

Though we weren’t particularly close, I couldn’t ignore a fellow Mage Tower mage in trouble.

Without hesitation, I drew my sword.

“Run!”

Wendy shouted as she passed me.

The air around where she had been standing was tinged with the smell of blood.

I couldn’t see any wounds, but she was clearly injured.

Then, suddenly, Wendy turned around and lunged toward me.

The wind surrounding her sent the white snow scattering everywhere.

“What are you doing?!”

With urgent movements, Wendy grabbed my arm.

It seemed like she was trying to drag me away by force, but that was unnecessary.

“It’s okay.”

I gently pushed Wendy’s arm away and looked straight ahead.

A short while later, about ten beastkin emerged through the harsh snowstorm.

They were all dressed in white winter hats and coats—clearly to camouflage themselves in the snow.

“They’re here…!”

Wendy frowned in horror as she looked at the approaching beastkin.

She stood protectively in front of me, summoning fierce winds into both her hands, as if afraid I would get caught up in the conflict.

“What’s going on with them?”

“They suddenly demanded to search my belongings… When I refused, they accused me of hiding the Ice Crystal and started chasing me like that.”

I frowned at Wendy’s answer. I couldn’t sense any trace of the Ice Crystal’s energy from her.

“Wendy, you’re hurt, aren’t you?”

“Ah, yeah…”

She glanced at her shoulder in response to my question. I leapt down from Nightmare’s back and spoke.

“Protect Wendy.”

Phee-hee-hing!

Nightmare snorted loudly and nodded at my command. As Wendy trembled behind me, I stepped forward.

The ten beastkin showed clear hostility, not even trying to communicate. Even with a new person joining the situation, their attitude hadn’t changed.

The moment I raised my sword to fight, the ten beastkin all swung their arms toward the air.

Shhhk—!!

Sharp, grey projectiles—throwing weapons—sliced through the air.

There was no trace of mana, suggesting they had thrown them purely with physical strength.

Clang-clang-clang!

I deflected five of the projectiles with my sword, and caught the remaining five with my free hand.

The long sleeve of my red battle robe fluttered like it had met a storm.

A heavy silence settled over the area. Only the sound of the wind and falling snow filled the space.

“Urgh…”

The beastkin began to step back cautiously, glaring at me.

They seemed to realize I wasn’t someone they could easily handle.

Then, the one standing farthest to the right gave a small hand signal.

Instantly, the other nine moved together—throwing more projectiles as they leapt backward.

The moment the incoming daggers filled my vision, I swung my sword toward the ground and released my mana.

As the mana circle spun and the starlight mana surged out to cover the surroundings, the daggers flying toward me suddenly froze midair.

“Gasp…”

Wendy’s voice, tinged with shock, came from behind me.

It seemed the new magic unfolding before her eyes had piqued her curiosity.

She stared at me with glittering eyes, seemingly forgetting how close to death she had just been.

“W-What was that…? What kind of magic is that?”

“Hmm…”

I tilted my head at Wendy’s question.

This spell didn’t really have a specific name.

It was more of a preparatory step for using spatial magic like Blink or Teleport.

It was the same type of step necessary to manifest one’s inner world.

Still, if I had to give it a name…

“Psychokinesis…? Mancheonhwa-u?”

Honestly, calling it Mancheonhwa-u felt a bit much.

There weren’t enough daggers for it to really earn that name—it was more of a poor imitation.

The starlight mana that had taken control of the surroundings began to cover the daggers frozen in midair.

And in that moment, the countless daggers floating all around began to move at the flick of my hand.

Enveloped in shimmering starlight, the daggers shot out through the fierce blizzard.

As soon as I pinpointed the positions of the ten beastkin who had fled using my expanded sensing, the star-wrapped daggers swept through them.

When the mana-imbued daggers struck down, snow burst into the air like an explosion.

Having taken care of all ten beastkin, the daggers returned to me.

My range of spatial control had expanded greatly—thanks to the dragon’s mana I had absorbed recently.

When I retrieved the starlight mana surrounding the daggers, they all fell to the ground at once.

Snow blanketed the blades, now stained with red blood.

“W-Wow…”

Wendy let out a gasp of admiration.

I gave a small smile and said,

“Let’s check your wounds. There could be poison.”

“P-Poison…?”

At my words, Wendy hastily pulled down her robe.

The wound was around her shoulder blade.

Just as I suspected, a bluish bruise had begun to form.

“H-How bad is it?”

“We should head down the mountain.”

“W-What?”

Without answering her dazed reply, I placed Wendy on Nightmare’s back, turned around, and began galloping down the mountain.

While wounds could be healed with magic, poison was a different matter.

After descending the mountain, I sought out the most renowned physician in Taebaek.

The physician was a goat beastkin with a long, white beard.

The apothecary was filled with the scent of various herbs.

Wendy lay on the patient’s bed as the goat physician examined her.

“How is it?”

At my question, the goat beastkin stroked his beard and nodded as he looked over Wendy’s wound.

“There’s nothing serious. I’ll go prepare an antidote—please wait a moment.”

Once the physician disappeared, Wendy looked up at me with worried eyes.

She was always someone who smiled like a cool breeze, but now, the thought of poison in her body had clearly shaken her.

“It’ll be fine.”

“Really…? Are these doctors even reliable? They’re beastkin…”

It seemed Wendy had grown distrustful of beastkin after what happened earlier.

But what choice did we have?

The only doctors here were beastkin.

About thirty minutes later, the goat physician returned, holding a bowl of dark red liquid and a paper pouch.

“Drink this after eating. The poison should naturally leave your body in about two days. Just be sure to avoid any strenuous activity until then.”

After paying for the medicine, we left the apothecary and walked along the streets.

Wendy trailed behind me with a gloomy expression.

Nightmare, on the other hand, looked overly cheerful, tapping his hooves in a peculiar rhythm and wagging his tail like it was dancing.

“Are you here looking for Ice Crystals too, Wendy?”

“Yeah… You too?”

“Ah, something like that.”

“Figures. Magicians really do think alike…”

We were on our way to find an inn to stay the night when I turned my head to look around.

That’s when I spotted two handsome men walking down the street.

They had changed their hair color and were wearing robes typical of magicians, but my eyes weren’t so easily fooled.

They were Cheongbin and Jeokpung.

“What’s up? You know them?”

Their horns, which they used to show off so proudly, were nowhere to be seen.

And their hands, revealed under the edges of their robes, were smooth, with no trace of scales.

They looked exactly like magicians from the Mage Tower.

Even Wendy didn’t seem to sense anything strange, so there was no way ordinary beastkin would recognize them.

Where had they even gotten those robes?

Frowning, I carefully led Wendy and Nightmare into a nearby alley.

“They’re really good-looking… If you know them, introduce me later.”

“Shh…”

“Why…?”

“They’re not with the Mage Tower.”

“Then they’re impersonating…?”

What was their goal?

I placed Wendy back onto Nightmare’s back and quietly left the city.