Chapter 37 : Chapter 37

Chapter 37 : Intelligence Agency Tello (5)

The primary byproducts obtainable from the corpses of demonic beasts were usually tough hides or claws—body parts that could be refined into equipment.

The byproducts I collected from Damanos’s corpse were of that nature as well.

Since receiving the Heart Engraving, I hadn’t had any need to extract hearts, so I didn’t bother cutting open Damanos’s abdomen.

But this time was different.

I sensed an alien energy emanating from Damanos’s chest.

A yellow crystal, embedded like a stake in its heart and from it, an ominous demonic aura—slightly more sinister than that of a demonic beast.

Unfortunately, that was all I could discern.

A more professional analysis could be left to Nofen, the expert.

I sliced open the chests of the other Damanos corpses.

All their other organs had melted away, but their hearts remained intact and in each of their hearts, a yellow crystal was embedded.

Pop.

I extracted the crystals.

The crystals, slightly larger than a thumbnail, lost their glow the moment they were removed from the hearts, but the ominous aura lingered.

At my waist, aside from my scabbard, two pieces of equipment were attached.

They were magical tools that functioned similarly to walkie-talkies from Earth.

One of them was given to me by Blaze before leaving Chilgong Fortress.

A walkie-talkie for the Crows, used to communicate with Kiyot or Siriel or to receive alerts if something unusual happened at the Dome.

It was an established fact that the Dome would break, but the timing was unclear.

That said, I couldn’t just join the Crows and stand guard in front of the Dome.

Blaze, as the Dome’s overseer and a reliable senior Crow, would take care of coordinating with my teammates.

The other device was a walkie-talkie for Tello, given to me by Nofen.

I immediately picked up the Tello walkie-talkie and infused it with mana.

It was a complex device that only responded to the mana of its owner and couldn’t even be

used unless you were at least Third-Rank.

Tapping the walkie-talkie, I called for Nofen.

- Long time no see! Did you make it back home okay?

“Yes, yes… but I found something strange.”

I explained what had happened.

When I mentioned that I had fought a pack of Grade 3 Damanos beasts and managed to kill them all, Nofen was startled, but that wasn’t the important part.

- Hmm… I’ll need to check, but it’s likely the work of a demon.

Nofen cautiously speculated that it was probably a demon’s doing.

To control a Grade 3 beast like Damanos, wouldn’t that require an extraordinary individual?

When I asked, Nofen said that might not necessarily be the case.

Given the use of something like the yellow crystal, the demon itself might not be of a particularly high level.

“Then I’ll return with the evidence right away.”

- No way! Do you know how far it is from there to Raveno? I’ll send someone to you. Where exactly are you?

I didn’t know who he was sending, but since Nofen spoke so confidently, I described my location.

- They’ll be there within an hour. Send it with them!

As soon as the communication with Nofen ended, I collapsed with a thud.

The Dragon Heart was pounding within me, and my body was quite exhausted.

There wasn’t a single tree left to sit against in the vicinity.

With no other choice, I leaned against the corpse of a large Damanos.

Just as I was about to doze off, I sensed a faint demonic aura nearby.

Forcing my drooping eyes open, I scanned the surroundings to locate the source of the aura.

Then I noticed a thin thread-like trail.

Following it, I soon found it.

A fist-sized eyeball, its veins grotesquely bulging.

‘Arlook?’

It was a mere Grade 9 demonic beast, but it had the ability to share its vision.

It seemed a demon was monitoring me.

Crunch.

I stomped on it, crushing it.

The squishy sensation under my foot was unpleasant, so I wiped the oozing liquid on the sand and returned to the Damanos corpse, slumping down again.

* * *

“Get up, rookie.”

A somewhat irritable voice startled me awake.

Standing before me were Eidon and Keldric, whom I had met before.

I sprang to my feet, bowing deeply in greeting.

Eidon gave a cursory acknowledgement, while Keldric, standing behind him, gave a small wave.

Their arrival was quite unexpected.

Eidon was undoubtedly a highly skilled mage and seemed busy, so I hadn’t expected him to take on what was essentially an errand for Nofen.

“What’s the item you’re handing over?”

“These.”

I placed the four crystals in Eidon’s palm.

He fiddled with them, examining them closely.

Gradually, the irritation on his face faded.

“Do I need to deliver these immediately?”

“The sooner, the better.”

“Can I take a look at them for a bit before handing them over?”

His eyes seemed to sparkle with curiosity.

Reluctantly, I nodded.

Satisfied, Eidon shouted toward Keldric.

“I’ll examine these items briefly before returning. In the meantime, you two stand guard.”

“Yes, sir!”

Keldric responded sharply, his voice full of discipline.

He gestured for me to follow him.

I glanced at Eidon as I followed Keldric.

Eidon was humming, drawing something on the ground.

As someone with no knowledge of magic, I couldn’t tell what he was doing.

But one thing was clear: Eidon looked extremely pleased.

…And Keldric was moving at a brisk pace.

Only after we’d put some distance between us and Eidon did Keldric speak in a low voice.

“Don’t keep glancing at him. You’ll get scolded if he notices.”

“Oh, got it.”

Feeling a bit anxious, I asked Keldric, “He told us to guard him, but is it okay to be this far away?”

“It’s fine. He doesn’t like it when we hover around while he’s casting magic.”

“Hmm… those crystals are kind of important. They won’t get damaged or anything, right?”

“They’ll be fine. He’s a bit eccentric, but he takes Tello’s work very seriously.”

Keldric said he had learned a lot from working with Eidon, his superior, on missions.

However, instead of talking about what he had learned, Keldric focused on Eidon himself.

He explained that Eidon was an incredibly powerful mage and deeply loyal to Tello, then went on at length about how unpredictable mages could be.

Mages were generally considered erratic beings, requiring not only exceptional talent with mana but also an insatiable curiosity and quirky temperament to become one.

When Adjak formed its expedition team, aside from the mage Hirtus, who had been a comrade from the start, recruiting other mages had been a challenge.

Given how rare skilled mages were outside of magic towers, Eidon’s standing in Tello must be significant.

So why was someone like him running errands like this?

As I was thinking this, Keldric asked a similar question.

“By the way, what kind of person is your superior? Eidon seems to be completely under their thumb.”

“Under their thumb?”

“Yeah, we were in the middle of an important mission for the Empire, you know.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But as soon as Nofen called, he dropped everything and rushed over. Does Nofen have some kind of leverage over him?”

I couldn’t imagine Nofen holding leverage over anyone or blackmailing them.

The Nofen I knew always seemed somewhat careless.

He was the kind of person who handled the inventory lists for a seemingly insignificant textile factory.

Yet, judging by how confidently Nofen spoke, as if certain Eidon would follow his orders, there was clearly something between them.

“So, what kind of work are you doing these days? You’re not sticking with your superior.”

There was a hint of envy in Keldric’s voice.

I told him I was tracking demons and recounted the recent events.

As Keldric and I shared details about our respective missions, Eidon’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Keldric! Come back!”

“Yes, sir!”

At Eidon’s shout, we hurriedly ran back to him.

Eidon, now looking somewhat sullen, spoke to me in a low voice.

“Analyzing these crystals with magic has its limits. I’ll deliver them to Nofen.”

“Thank you.”

“Then, walk the path you find.”

“Walk the path you find.”

Ugh, that greeting really doesn’t roll off the tongue.

Eidon promptly created a teleportation portal and stepped through it.

Even after the portal vanished, I stared at the spot for a while.

A lingering question remained in my mind.

A man once called a genius in the Third Autonomous Region.

A man mocked in a textile factory, handling menial tasks for Tello.

A man whom the brilliant mage Eidon fears.

‘Just who is Nofen?’

* * *

Tello agents were provided with lodging and amenities in each autonomous region.

To rest and wait for Nofen’s call, I headed to the 19th Autonomous Region of Habisa.

When I arrived at the entrance, I was met with an awkward scene.

“One, two, three—lift the tree and move it!”

“Come on, put some strength into it!”

Unlike other autonomous regions, Habisa’s 19th Autonomous Region was nestled in a coniferous forest on a mountainside.

Due to the aftermath of my battle with the Damanos, trees had been blown into the village, damaging its wooden palisades and causing quite a commotion.

Though the distance between the battlefield and the 19th Autonomous Region wasn’t short, it seemed some trees had been carried by the wind from high altitudes.

“Uh… I’m Polarin Adjak from Tello.”

“Oh, it’s you!”

When I awkwardly introduced my affiliation, the workers of the 19th Autonomous Region greeted me warmly with bright smiles.

“Sorry about this. I didn’t expect the trees to fly this far… I’ll help out.”

“No, no! We were already anxious about something floating in the sky, but thanks to you, we’re relieved!”

“Aren’t you the one who took first place in the Coming-of-Age Ceremony?”

“You’re from the 18th Autonomous Region, right?”

As expected of the Adjak Autonomous Region, which placed great importance on the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, I was warmly welcomed in most regions, especially in the lower autonomous regions.

While helping the villagers clean up, I ran into others who had been under Tayon’s command. They hugged me, expressing their delight at seeing me.

“Polarin, it’s been a while!”

“Hey, good to see you, brother!”

“You took first place, right? That’s amazing!”

They celebrated my victory as if it were their own, showering me with congratulations.

“Well done. To think someone like you came from a lower autonomous region.”

“Thank you…”

Like the 18th Autonomous Region, this place wasn’t wealthy, so I couldn’t expect the lavish hospitality of the 3rd or 9th regions.

Still, the warmth here allowed me to rest comfortably.

As my exhausted body relaxed and I felt the purer mana surging from my upgraded Dragon Heart, my eyes began to close.

Just before I fell asleep—

Tap tap.

The walkie-talkie buzzed.

“Yes, Nofen. Did you receive the items I sent?”

- Yep, I got them. But it seems something huge is happening…

“What’s going on?”

- Rest up for today. Can you head to the Hamdel Desert tomorrow?

The scorching desert region of Hamdel.

The place known as the “Sand Hell.” He was asking if I could go there.

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