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Basil, the commander of the Erkal guards, glanced at Damian walking beside him.

‘…This brat.’

He recalled when Tarion first came to report about the “Magi.”

Tarion looked quite angry.

— When will the reconnaissance team stop wasting their wages?

A strong tone.

Tarion’s sudden visit to the guards and his threatening attitude made the atmosphere tense.

Soon, the evidence he presented.

Even the ridiculous suspicion of something called “Magi.”

At first, it seemed absurd and was ignored.

Basil even criticized Tarion’s rude behavior.

But after the temple testified that the evidence Tarion brought held an evil aura, the atmosphere changed.

As Tarion had said, the reconnaissance team had become a group wasting their wages.

‘How does he know about the Magi?’

Although Damian had a rather sturdy build, he still had a boyish face.

At most, he looked fifteen.

Yet, this kid was the one who raised suspicions about the Magi.

“Was it Damian?”

“…?”

Damian looked at Basil, who had suddenly started a conversation.

Slightly wrinkled forehead.

Dull blonde hair and similarly colored front teeth stood out.

Damian nodded.

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

Basil stopped in his tracks, startled by the short response from the young boy.

“…Is there a problem? You’re with the Erkal guards. I’m from the Neokalitz unit.”

Different units, so rank and all that don’t matter—you’re just an old guy.

Damian asked Basil with a look that seemed to question his sanity.

Basil’s voice shook slightly.

“Well, still, I’m a—”

“Oh, whatever. Let’s not be uptight among old guys. But don’t worry, I’ll cooperate as much as possible.”

Damian waved his hand dismissively and strode forward.

Basil gritted his teeth at the sight.

“Look at that crazy kid…!”

He vowed to complain to Tarion when he returned. But then.

“Who is that person?”

Claire, who had been quietly following behind, asked Basil.

Basil looked at Claire.

A white priest’s robe.

Her face was barely visible under the white mask that covered her nose and a robe that pressed down on her.

But the glimpse of long eyelashes peeking out from under the robe.

Eyes that sparkled enough to stir Basil’s imagination.

Basil quickly scanned Claire up and down and spoke in a polite tone.

“…He’s a new soldier named Damian from the Neokalitz unit. I heard he was the first to raise suspicions about the Magi.”

“Is that so?”

Claire looked at Damian, who was walking ahead.

The statement that he was the first to raise suspicions about the Magi piqued her interest.

However,

“…”

Claire’s gaze at Damian wasn’t entirely friendly.

To recognize the Magi means…

‘It could also mean that he already knows about the Magi…’

Every possibility should remain open, shouldn’t it?

Claire’s gaze remained fixed on Damian for a while.

* * *

Rustle, rustle.

With the sound of dried leaves crunching underfoot, Damian held his breath and surveyed his surroundings.

There was no particular sense of danger.

‘It feels denser the further in we go.’

It couldn’t be precisely defined as “Magi.”

After all, Damian couldn’t sense the Magi.

It was just a pressing weight on his shoulders.

The heavy air entered through his nose.

The heightened, sharp awareness as if standing in the heart of a battlefield.

“Are you sensing something?”

Someone approached Damian at that moment.

Damian turned his head towards them.

“It’s you, Priestess.”

“Claire. I heard you were the first to raise suspicions about the Magi. May I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“How did you know it was the Magi?”

Claire’s eyes changed.

She asked directly without beating around the bush, and Damian chuckled slightly.

‘That look…’

He was being suspected.

Well, the Magi was indeed a significant issue for the priests.

“I learned from my late father.”

“The Magi?”

“No, about suspicious circumstances like this. My father told me he had similar experiences in the past.”

“…Could you tell me more in detail?”

Damian nodded at her request.

“Did you see the corpse?”

“Yes.”

“What could be inferred from it were the black spots. They weren’t caused by a common illness.

But above all, what was most suspicious was the abnormal ferocity and strength.”

Damian glanced around as he spoke.

“I know a fair amount about the monsters in the Bronselian Forest.”

But the Black Bear he encountered then was a type he had never seen before.

Both in size and strength.

“Moreover, it seemed slightly insane, so I suspected it might be addicted to the Magi.”

“Did you also learn that from your late father?”

“Yes.”

An unwavering answer.

Unshaken eyes.

Claire, who was looking at Damian, eventually nodded.

“I see, thank you for your answer.”

Claire bowed politely and turned around.

His explanation was quite convincing. However…

‘It’s almost too convincing…’

Could that be a problem?

Furthermore, there was no way to verify what his father taught him.

How could you find someone who’s deceased?

Although some suspicion remained.

“I think we need to move further in.”

To be sure, they needed to encounter a monster afflicted by the Magi.

At Claire’s request, Basil looked at the search team and spoke.

“Move out.”

They were now in a place where encountering a monster at any moment wouldn’t be unusual.

The search team walked on, their expressions tense.

‘Hmm… not yet.’

But Damian had no interest in finding the Magi.

His focus was solely on.

‘Herbs! Herbs! Herbs!’

Herbs That Help Enhance Magic Power!

Of course, he also planned to collect herbs that could be used to treat his fellow soldiers.

Wasn’t that the reason he brought two large sacks?

And when the search team entered the inner part of the forest…

“Oh!”

“Did you find something?!”

“A monster?!”

With a small exclamation, the search team members nearby jumped in surprise and scanned their surroundings.

However…

“Wow… As expected.”

I knew it.

Damian’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the herb growing next to a small rock.

‘White Rot…’

White Rot was an herb that bloomed with white, speckled flowers.

Its stem and roots were full of ingredients that helped enhance magic power, and its leaves had the effect of rapidly restoring magical energy.

However, since the flowers were highly poisonous, one needed to cut at least 3 cm of the stem from the flower before harvesting.

‘I never thought what I studied back then would be this helpful.’

In the past, Damian couldn’t learn magic power.

Because of this, he became even more obsessed with magic and studied a lot of information related to it.

That’s why he knew the Delft Magic Training Method, and he also had considerable knowledge about herbs and artifacts related to magic.

However…

“What the hell is this guy doing?!”

“This bastard… Does he think we’re here to play around?!”

The search team members, who were startled by Damian’s actions, frowned and started cursing.

“Does this kid think we’re here leisurely picking herbs or something?”

“…What?”

These guys must be crazy.

Damian stood up and looked at the soldier in front of him.

A fierce gaze filled with youthful vigor.

A guy who still couldn’t control his temper.

Damian spoke.

“If you keep spouting off like that, you’ll die early.”

“What did you say?”

“Searching is your duty. I’m just ‘cooperating’ based on a request for help with that search. Is there something wrong with my actions right now?”

“B-because of you, everyone here got startled!”

The soldier shouted.

Damian snorted in response.

“Oh! If you’re so scared by one short exclamation, it says a lot about your level. Don’t you think that the more you speak, the more you’re dragging the reputation of the Erkal guards through the mud?”

Damian gestured subtly behind him.

The soldier frowned and glanced back.

“Gah!”

Basil was glaring at him with a murderous look.

“That’s enough. And…”

Basil approached Damian.

“I won’t allow sudden actions like that. Your actions could disrupt the search.”

“I’m only moving within the bounds.”

Damian hadn’t done anything wrong.

He hadn’t strayed from the search team, and he only moved within the set boundaries.

But Damian took a step back.

There was no need to confront those on a mission.

Though Basil frowned at Damian’s words, he turned away without saying anything.

“…Sigh.”

Damian let out a small sigh and carefully began harvesting the White Rot.

A dispute was a dispute, but he still had to gain what he came for.

Even after that, Damian focused on gathering herbs more than the search.

Though monsters occasionally appeared, they weren’t infected by the Magi.

There were only Steel Wolves or groups of Orks.

And that much was manageable with the strength of the search team.

So, Damian was able to focus even more on picking herbs.

Although the guards kept glaring at him, if he were the type to back down from that, he wouldn’t have come along.

“Wow… This is a big catch.”

He managed to gather quite a few herbs related to enhancing magic power.

He also collected a significant amount of herbs for treating the unit members.

He was at a level where it was hard to tell if he was a professional herbalist or a soldier.

Damian’s lips gradually curled up into a smile.

But at that moment…

“Graaaaaah!”

“A monster!”

“Prepare for battle!”

Just as before.

Maybe because they had easily won a few fights already.

The search team members prepared for battle with somewhat relaxed expressions.

“Heh, it’s just an Ork unit, isn’t it?”

“It looks like it’s just one unit?”

The search team members smirked.

One unit was less than half of their own numbers. It wouldn’t be difficult.

But…

“…Something seems different about those guys.”

“Huh?”

With someone’s words, the search team looked at the approaching Orks.

Unlike the brown skin they had seen before, these Orks had dark skin with spots on their bodies.

Especially their eyes, gleaming red, as if soaked in madness.

“They’re Orks infected by the Magi!”

“Everyone, be careful!”

Basil shouted loudly.

But at that moment, one of the Orks charged at a soldier in front and swung its axe.

Slice!

“…!”

The spear shaft broke, and the soldier’s head flew into the air.

The sight of their comrade’s head separated from his body in an instant caused the search team’s eyes to widen in shock.

“Pomeeeeeeen!”

A soldier who had been crying out the dead comrade’s name immediately turned to the Ork.

Eyes filled with madness and devoid of fear.

“You bastaaard! My brother!”

It seemed the dead comrade was his brother.

Half-mad, he thrust his spear at the Ork.

Thud!

The soldier’s spear pierced the Ork’s shoulder.

He aimed for the chest, but his aim wavered at the last moment.

“Graaah!”

Crunch!

The Ork grabbed the spear lodged in its shoulder and shattered the shaft.

The eyes of the soldier whose spear had broken shook violently.

Moreover, the soldier, who had momentarily frozen.

Swoosh!

Could only watch as the axe fell towards his own head.

“What are you doing? Get out of the way!”

The comrades shouted loudly, but no one could save him.

But at that moment.

Clang!

“…!”

“Pull yourself together, you fool.”

Damian, who had picked up a spear at some point, deflected the Ork’s axe as he spoke.

—