Chapter 77 : Chapter 77

Chapter 77

The inside of the magical beast king’s body was like a huge cave.

Eddie levitated his body with levitation magic and went deeper.

‘There it is.’

The place he arrived at was the heart.

Eddie finally realized it as he saw the huge heart beating in front of him.

That this investment contract had been concluded.

‘Of course, it has only been concluded verbally for now. It will only be sealed when I successfully remove that mana bloodstone without dying.’

The mana bloodstone embedded in Rakan’s heart was on a different level in size.

Unlike the normal mana bloodstones, which were the size of half a fist, it was a huge one the size of a person’s face.

It seemed to have been specially made to neutralize Rakan.

‘If I touch the mana bloodstone even slightly incorrectly, Rakan will kill me immediately.’

As it was embedded in his heart, his judgment would be merciless.

Then, there was only one surefire way.

‘Feed the mana bloodstone plenty of mana, then deploy a reverse formula to destroy it from the inside.’

Eddie placed his right hand on the mana bloodstone and let his mana flow.

As expected, the mana bloodstone greedily absorbed the mana.

First, he had to understand the absorption formula structure of this impure mana gem.

And to do that, he had to pour in mana faster than the absorption speed.

That was the only way to understand it without missing any part.

“Huuuuu…!”

With a deep breath, Eddie’s mana circle poured out a huge amount of mana.

The mana was poured into the mana bloodstone through his right hand, and new mana was supplied as soon as it was absorbed.

‘They combined smelted mana gems. However, they connected the formulas of the smelted mana gems with a single unfamiliar formula. If I can just figure out this part…’

He was in the middle of understanding the interior to some extent.

Kwaaaaaaaaaa-!

“Ugh…”

His vision blurred.

His heart rate quickened and his body temperature rose, making his head feel hot.

Eddie closed his eyes and gathered his mental strength.

The single unfamiliar formula was truly complex and tricky.

But mana gems were a material as familiar as bread to a mage.

And of course, Eddie of his past life, befitting a great archmage, had dissected and analyzed the formulas of over a hundred thousand mana gems.

Thus, he had come to realize and establish one rule.

‘Inside a completed mana gem, there are no blocked paths.’

There might be complex formulas in a mana gem, but there were no blocked formulas.

As a material activated by mana, there had to be a path for it.

It just took a little more time to understand something unfamiliar or complex.

Eddie recalled a way to shorten that time and poured in even more mana.

It was a method inspired by a maze problem he had once received from the former dean, Galliard.

A crude but intuitive method.

‘He got angry that I solved it with such a trick, though.’

If you fill the entire interior, something will eventually come out of the exit.

Eddie’s mana circle poured out mana like a waterfall.

His entire body’s mana circuits shimmered, and the capillaries around his eyes burst.

Not only had he consumed all the mana he had previously refined, but he had also drawn out all the mana accumulated in his body.

‘I see it.’

Then, the maze called the mana bloodstone was completely filled.

The remaining mana, after being absorbed by Eddie’s mana, colored and illuminated the mana bloodstone’s formula circuits.

The formula map in his head was slowly being completed.

Drip-

In the meantime, blood flowed from the hole in his shoulder.

But Eddie, whose senses were paralyzed due to his extremely high body temperature, did not feel any pain.

Drip-

This time, his nose started to bleed.

The metallic taste of blood seeping into his mouth actually helped Eddie to regain his senses, and he drew up even more mana.

‘Done.’

Finally, the entire absorption formula structure of the mana bloodstone was understood.

Now it was time to challenge its destruction.

“Huuuuuuup-!!”

Eddie forced himself to take a deep breath, his whole body trembling, to calm his constantly panting breath.

And his golden eyes, reddened from the burst blood vessels, shone.

The mana’s ‘reverse formula’ was deployed brightly and strongly.

“Keeeeeeeeut-!”

The flow of mana within the mana bloodstone, which had been flowing in only one direction, changed in an instant.

As the mana began to flow in the reverse direction, the mana bloodstone trembled.

Kwajik-!

And soon, the mana particles within the formula circuit collided, and a crack appeared in the mana bloodstone.

Eddie put more strength into his hand, which had lost all sensation.

Kwajijik-!

The mana bloodstone cracked, and at the same time, Eddie’s vision flickered.

His body was breaking down here and there, unable to withstand the high fever.

He could even hear a ringing in his ears, and he couldn’t see or hear anything.

But Eddie, confident of victory, smiled and poured all his remaining mana into the reverse formula.

Kwadeudeuk-!

Finally, with the collapse of the formula circuit, the mana bloodstone turned to ash.

The golden light disappeared, and Eddie’s eyes closed.

The levitation magic that had been keeping his body afloat also lost its power.

Eddie’s body plummeted deep into Rakan’s body.

And.

Thump-!

With a loud heartbeat, the ashen mana bloodstone broke away from Rakan’s heart.

***

“Seueueueup- Huuuuuu…”

Thick cigarette smoke filled the tent.

Rob exhaled white smoke and paced anxiously around the tent.

He called the city hall mages every ten minutes out of anxiety to ask about the situation, but there was no progress.

The answers were all the same.

“Ah… there is still no signal from the search party yet.”

“Even with a wide-area deployment of search magic, the mana of the ruins is so powerful that the formula keeps getting disrupted…”

“For now, it would be best to calmly wait for the aide’s contact…”

“How long do you expect me to wait!”

Finally, after hearing the same thing for the umpteenth time, Rob threw a map at the mages.

The students frowned as they heard the mayor’s voice, who was raging and taking it out on his subordinates.

And the expressions of the city hall employees caught in the middle grew even darker.

Of course, it wasn’t that they couldn’t understand the mayor’s anxiety.

The news of the situation had already been reported not only to the academy but also to each family.

Tomorrow, the name of Lacania City would be on the front page of every newspaper, and criticism from the influential families of the magical world would pour in.

Of course, this incident was an accident that even the mayor could not have predicted.

Who would have known that three students would sneak out of the campsite at night and that a magical beast would appear?

But unfortunately, Mayor Rob Dixon did not have the political foundation to overcome an accident of this magnitude.

He had become the mayor of Lacania City thanks to the influence of the imperial finance minister.

The finance minister’s protection was the only political foundation that supported him.

But if the high-ranking nobles of the magical world united and criticized him, even the finance minister would not be able to withstand it.

It was obvious that if the problem grew, all the responsibility would be placed on Rob.

The mayor’s agitated shouts continued to be heard from outside the tent.

The employees became more and more wary as the students began to show their displeasure.

They were students, but many of them were their superiors in terms of status.

‘If they say something like, “Do something about the mayor”…’

‘We can’t relay it, and we can’t not relay it… we’re the only ones who will suffer.’

‘Even if Marcel Kirhausen returns safely, he’ll be summoned to the finance minister’s villa several times.’

‘Hah… I hate all of this…’

The expressions of the city hall employees hardened even more.

Their fatigue was doubled as they had to be wary while guarding the campsite without any sleep.

But all they could do now was pray.

That the missing students would return safely before the people from each family arrived.

And that when they returned, Marcel Kirhausen would say, ‘It was not the fault of the Lacania City Hall.’

The city hall employees prayed and prayed with desperate hearts.

It was then.

Paaaaaaaat-!

A portal opened in the middle of the plaza, emitting a huge light.

The surprised students moved out of the way, and soon, a man’s scream was heard from inside.

“Kkeuaaaaaaaak-!!!”

The man who came out of the portal as if he were being spat out was Blake.

He rolled on the plaza floor, groaning, and soon vomited.

Everyone gathered in the campsite looked at him in surprise.

But Blake was just the beginning.

Dozens of people, all tangled up, began to pour out of the portal at once.

“Uwaaaaaak-!”

“Heuaaaaaak-!

The ones who poured out, tangled and bumping into each other, were the city hall employees and mages who had escaped from the ruins a few hours ago.

“Aaaak-! My leg!”

“My arm!”

“My neck! Uweeeek-!”

Dozens of city hall personnel were scattered everywhere, groaning in pain or vomiting.

A shocking and absurd scene.

Those in the campsite were more horrified than when they had seen the magical beast and backed away.

“What in the world happened!”

Finally, Rob, who could not watch any longer, raised his thunderous voice.

“Why did you all come out tangled up like this! Where is the young master of the Kirhausen family!”

“Ma… magical beast… keuleok…! A magical beast has appeared, Mayor!”

“I know that, that’s why we mobilized the city guard and sent 100 people! What happened to the search! Did you find the young master?!”

“W-we found him. But just as we were about to return, a central individual appeared and attacked…”

“Why did you run away just because of that… Wait. What… a c-central individual?!”

The mayor’s face, who had been shouting, turned white in an instant.

He ran to the messy Blake, grabbed him by the collar, and asked again, but the answer was the same.

And Rob raged even more, grabbing people by the collar.

“So you’re telling me that the young masters of Kirhausen and Dickens are in a place where a central individual has appeared, and you guys ran away? Are you in your right minds, right now?!”

“Kek… Kehek…! I’m… sorry…!”

Teok-

“That’s enough, Mayor.”

It was then that Samuel’s firm hand stopped Rob.

Samuel walked out of the even larger portal with the city guard.

Thanks to him, who stood in the way with a heavy expression, Blake was finally able to breathe.

But the enraged Rob then grabbed Samuel by the collar.

He had lost his reason to the point of forgetting that the city guard was not the mayor’s subordinate.

“You incompetent fool! What are we supposed to do if even you, the city guard, run away! You should have protected the young masters until the end and brought them back, even if it meant dying…”

“If you’re talking about me and Alexein, we’re fine.”

And this time, Marcel’s cold voice stopped Rob.

As the person whose life was on the line appeared, Rob quickly changed his attitude.

“Y-young master…! And Young Master Alexein! Ah- I’m glad you’re safe! Are you injured anywhere?”

“The ones who are injured are the members of the city guard who fought against the magical beast. And two professors and two students were left behind to send us off.”

“Ah, you mean the attendant of House Dickens and the red-haired female student?”

“My attendant is Hendricks here. For now, please send more troops quickly.”

Marcel and Alexein took turns berating Rob.

The two hotheads, who were always at odds and growling at each other, strangely worked well together in a situation like today.

Rob didn’t understand their words quickly and asked back in a foolish tone.

“R-reinforcements?”

“Yes. This mess happened because your employees from the city hall jumped into the portal to save themselves first.”

“Wh-what do you mean by that…?”

“Ask that aide who ran away first! Hurry up and gather troops and mages and send them to the ruins!”

As Alexein shouted with veins popping on his neck, Rob broke into a cold sweat.

Although not on the same level as Marcel Kirhausen, he was also the next head of the great magical family, House Dickens.

It was difficult to retort or ask back, so Rob just glared at Blake.

In the midst of that.

Another small portal opened on one side of the plaza.

The surprised crowd quickly cleared the area around the portal.

Soon, Fred, Brenda, and Joy came out of the portal.

In the end, they had succeeded in creating a portal with Joy’s Forwarding.

All three were in a mess, but they didn’t seem to be injured.

But Eddie was nowhere to be seen.

“W-where’s Eddie?!”

Hendricks, his face ashen, asked.

“……”

A moment of silence followed.

It didn’t take long to sense that something was wrong.

Hendricks' legs gave out, and he collapsed.

In his place, Marcel and Alexein asked again.

“Professor, where is Eddie?”

“Wh-where is that guy, Eddie Summerson?”

Fred and Brenda maintained their sorrowful expressions even at the two’s questions.

The two hesitated as to who should speak, and finally, Fred opened his mouth.

“He was bitten by a central individual of the Rakan tribe and sucked into a portal. It even caused mana interference and took away the right to open and close the portal, so by now he’s probably…”

Teolseok-

Hearing the two professors’ words, Marcel collapsed.

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