Translator: Kurehashi Aiko
VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 17: Interlude ~A Sign of Disaster~
Barza, one of the teachers at Signos Magic Academy from Magic Combat Division, was in the middle of investigating the theft case which occurred on Academy"s grounds roughly a month ago.
Up until now, since he was not able to conduct an extensive investigation, he was unable to determine any legitimate facts about the crime itself or the criminal. Thanks to that he became desperate for any new information at all, but at the same time he needed to keep his informants clean from any Academy authorities, keeping the matter an absolute secret.
Although it was not your standard method of investigation, if he could employ magical measures into this case like prediction, divination and the such, he would be able to yield some results much faster than through normal measures.
Right now, his partner was someone who was more of a researcher than a magician, someone who understood very little in the topic of magic and the such.
He was supposed to be a Hunter, and his specialization was that of a pharmacist.
Indeed, Nectar Figura looked like a really gentle person in each sense and aspect of the word.
He was said to be able to handle basic magic to some degree, was walking round with a short staff and had pouches with general goods hanging from his waist. He also had a long hair that for now he had gathered in a single bunch. That being said, he looked just like your typical Hunter.
He was still not sure what was so great about him that even the Academy"s Headmaster insisted on recommending him for a job like that.
However, now was hardly the time nor the place to wonder about such trivial things.
From an early morning, Barza decided to search around the Signos Plains aside form the personnel that was a.s.signed there. This man was his guide.
As soon as he entered the forest, the young man frowned his brows.「…… Strange. The concentration of magic is so dense here.」
「Not at all. The magic concentration may be high around these parts, but it is stable. I"d say it"s perfectly normal.」Barza was surprised with that remark and replied back.
Since the Magical Disaster that took place about hundred years ago, the magic concentration was exceptionally high around this area.
These woods were in the middle of the Signos Plains, and because of magical concentration here it was not suited for human habitation, and people were normally prohibited from entering here.
So it shouldn"t be that much of a surprise that the magic concentration here would sometimes be higher than normal.
Still, the value of magical energy in the air that was measured ten days ago was a little higher than the average value.
However, what came to him as a surprise was the fact that this supposedly inexperienced with magic young man could perceive this slight change so easily.
「No, that"s not it……」
The young man looks around, as if his eyes were tracing something that couldn"t be seen.
At that moment, he looked behind him sharply, and at the same time moved the short staff that was hanging at his waist.
「Wind Blade!」
As he said the words in ancient language, lots of wind blades appeared from the staff and flew forward, cutting up the monster that was trying to sneak behind them and attack them.
Probably a monster of third grade, it couldn"t withstand the blades and scattered into tiny particles, leaving behind a magic stone.
Nectar destroyed the monster with a simple spell so fast that even Barza was unable to perceive it, and he continued speaking after putting his staff away, as if nothing happened.
「This magic concentration is similar to that of the Magical Disaster from hundred years ago. And since we encountered a monster like that, more of them can be out there. You should let the other search groups know about that and make them contact you as soon as they stumble upon one.」
「What……」
「Monsters like that are usually attracted to human habitats with dense magical energy flow. Signos Academy is a perfect feeding ground for them.」
Frustrated by what he heard, Barza began sending messages to other search groups, getting them up to speed.
Even if the magic concentration in this area was high, because of the Black Flame Dragon there were usually very few monsters around these parts.
It would be something else if a powerful monsters were appearing here on a daily basis, but alas, nothing like that happened in more than half a year or so.
Even Barza, who was at the Academy for quite a while now, have never seen something quite like this before.
Even though he was astonished that a monster got destroyed right in front of him, he almost lost it when the replies from his friends started to pour in, stating that the frequency of battles with monsters and demons were increasing more and more.
「You should stop your search immediately and send a warning to the Academy.」
「Is that really alright?」
Seeing that this young man"s calm and collected demeanor was unflinching even in this situation, Barza felt ashamed that he himself was shaking so much.
Barza summoned his familiar and sent it to the Academy with words he heard from this man, while he himself procured something from inside of his pocket and handed it to him. It was a small nail-like looking scale.
「Keep it, when the battle comes it"s going to be a really ferocious one, so you might need that talisman more than I do.」
Barza, who initially planned on returning to Signos Academy right after that, was surprised hearing his words.
「Don"t tell me, you"re going to continue your search?」
「Yes, there must surely be a reason for this sharp of rising of magical power throughout the region. With this staff, I should be able to discover its point of origin as I explore the land more.」
He may have done do unintentionally, but Barza knew that it was a lie that this man here knew next to nothing about magic and its flow.
Thanks to his previous words, Barza stopped believing that this man was nothing more but a simple pharmacist.
「You, what are you……」
「There is no time to explain, this rise in magical power is clearly not a natural phenomenon. It is only a matter of time before monsters begin to sp.a.w.n out of it. Before that happens, we must at least pinpoint the place it originates from.」
After hearing those words, Barza felt at ease.
Yes, in that situation it was the most natural thing to do, finding the origin would prevent the monsters from reaching the Signos Academy.
If there was indeed a risk of third party being involved, then they must identify the cause of the disturbance as soon as possible.
As regrettable as it may have seemed, this young man"s ability to sense the flow of magical power far surpa.s.sed that of Barza.
「Once you proceed in the direction of the magical power flow, you will understand.」
「Yes.」
Nectar nods back to Barza, proceeds to take out his staff and a.s.sumes the battle stance.
「No way…… This facility should have been completely destroyed!」
Barza was too far engrossed in watching his surroundings, thanks to that he missed a slight twitch that danced through Nectar"s usual stiff expression.