Magic (35K! Please Keep Reading!)

Magic (3.5K! Please Keep Reading!)

"Darko."

Roland raised an arm, gently stopping the panting Darko behind him as he lowered his voice.

"Something's not right up ahead. Wait here—I'll go take a look."

"Okay..."

The blood loss and intense pain left Darko dizzy. He barely nodded, looking completely dazed.

Though they had already passed beyond the goblins' patrol range, Roland still cautiously scanned the surroundings, making sure nothing was amiss.

Only after confirming the area was safe did he carefully help Darko lean against the trunk of a sturdy tree.

After settling his companion, Roland began moving forward without a sound.

He deliberately lightened his steps, precisely avoiding every dead branch and fallen leaf on the ground.

As he drew closer, the faint sounds of fighting gradually became clear.

Once he was close enough to the source, Roland nimbly crouched and slipped into a dense thicket.

Holding his breath, he slowly parted the tangled branches and leaves before him, peering through the gaps with sharp eyes.

"This is..."

Roland's pupils contracted slightly, and the sight before him caught his breath.

Beyond the bushes lay a sunken hollow, its terrain sloping steeply downward to form a natural arena. At its center was a massive earthen pit.

On the western side of the hollow, dozens of humans stood back to back in a circular formation, battling the tide-like rush of goblins.

They were well-equipped, with gleaming half-armor protecting their vital areas. They wielded longswords and kite shields, their movements orderly and uniform—clearly the result of rigorous training.

The white cloaks on their backs snapped in the wind, and the golden sun emblems embroidered upon them stood out vividly in the dim forest.

"They're from the Blazing Sun Church."

Seeing that familiar sun emblem, Roland slowly furrowed his brow.

The school the Original Body had attended in childhood had been funded by the Blazing Sun Church.

The most obvious mark of the Blazing Sun Church's followers was that pattern, like rays of sunlight spreading outward.

Yet in his memory, the Church's followers were mostly elderly or middle-aged men in white robes, resembling learned scholars more than anything else.

He had never seen warriors as formidable as these.

As he pondered this, over a hundred goblins surged toward the Blazing Sun Church's warriors like a flood, wildly swinging their crude weapons and letting out piercing howls.

Yet the Blazing Sun Church's warriors remained utterly unruffled.

Their blades were precise and deadly, each slash accompanied by a goblin's scream.

The shields in their hands held firm, their steps perfectly coordinated, like an unshakable wall of steel.

No matter how numerous the goblins were, they could not stop their advance.

"These goblins seem to be guarding something."

Watching the goblins throw themselves forward one after another, using their bodies to halt the Blazing Sun Church warriors, Roland followed the direction opposite their charge with his gaze.

It finally settled on the deep pit at the center of the hollow.

There seemed to be something there.

Sunlight slanted down, and the bottom of the pit reflected a blinding white glare.

Roland narrowed his eyes and looked more closely.

A huge white object lay half-buried in the earth, its jagged outline covered in mottled cracks and dried stains.

"Looks like a bone?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Roland's eyes.

Its shape resembled the rib of some enormous creature, its broken edges rough and menacing.

Even as a mere remnant, it was vast enough to inspire dread.

Even stranger, faint dark-red patterns appeared across the bone's surface, like dried bloodstains.

"These patterns..."

Roland stared at the scene before him, and the goblins he had slain earlier surfaced in his mind.

"They look somewhat like the red patterns on the goblins."

Just as he sank into thought, a shrill screech suddenly tore through the sky.

Following the sound, he saw a completely blood-red goblin standing at the edge of the pit, holding aloft a white rod-shaped object resembling a scepter.

Sunlight flowed across the surface of the white rod, refracting an eerie gleam.

The next second, Roland's pupils abruptly shrank, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.

He clearly saw several fist-sized balls of fire suddenly materialize around the Blood Goblin.

The flames flickered with a blinding glare beneath the blazing sun, flowing endlessly like molten red gold.

The searing heat warped the surrounding air, forming visible waves of heat.

Whoosh!

With a sweep of the Blood Goblin's white staff, the fireballs shot forth like arrows loosed from a bow.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted across the battlefield.

The blazing fireballs landed precisely in the center of the Blazing Sun Church warriors' formation.

Violent flames surged outward in all directions, branding dozens of shocking blackened craters into the ground.

The powerful shockwave, like an invisible giant hand, sent the well-trained warriors sprawling.

Shattered fragments of armor and broken weapons scattered through the air, mingling with a rain of crimson blood as they fell, kicking up clouds of dark red dust from the scorched earth.

The once-impenetrable defensive formation instantly fell apart under that devastating blow, its orderly ranks turning into a chaotic wreckage in the blink of an eye.

Yet before the aftermath of the explosion had even faded, the Blazing Sun Church warriors who had not been knocked down were already back on their feet, fiercer fighting spirit burning in their eyes as they launched another savage assault on the goblins.

But the Blood Goblin seemed to have exhausted all its strength. It lay limp on the ground, its chest heaving violently, while even the vivid crimson patterns on its skin had dimmed and lost their luster.

Without its support, the battlefield fell into a stalemate once more, with both sides locked in a desperate struggle.

"That had to be magic."

Roland wiped the cold sweat from his brow and slowly backed up to Darko's side.

"Roland... y-you're back?"

Darko did not ask what his companion had seen. He merely forced open his drooping eyelids, his voice so weak it was almost inaudible.

"Yes, I'm back."

Roland's voice was tight.

"But I'm afraid we'll have to take a detour."

Remembering the terrifying sight from moments ago, Roland still felt a chill crawl up the back of his neck.

Fireballs that had appeared out of nowhere, Blazing Sun Church warriors blown apart in sprays of flesh and blood—

All of it lay beyond his understanding.

He quickly crouched down, tensing his sturdy arms.

"Come on, Darko. There's no time to waste. Get on my back—I'll get you out of here."

"This..."

His noble pride made Darko instinctively want to refuse, but when he saw Roland's resolute gaze, then looked down at his own mangled, bloodied calves, he could only nod in resignation.

Once Darko's full weight settled onto his back, Roland took a deep breath, adjusted his posture, and immediately moved quickly along the edge of the depression.

"That was definitely magic!"

Though he had never seen magic in this world with his own eyes, Roland could think of no explanation other than magic for the ability to summon fireballs out of thin air.

He suddenly remembered what Bronson had said before.

"...Other races need time to regain mastery of magic, but monsters... need only instinct."

"But for goblins to wield magic—this is simply..."

Whether in the games and novels of his past life or in the rumors of this world, goblins had always been the weakest kind of monster.

Roland's earlier battles had only strengthened that belief.

Yet everything he had witnessed just now had completely overturned his understanding.

His brow furrowed as the images from moments ago replayed over and over in his mind.

"Casting magic... could it be related to the white scepter in that Blood Goblin's hand?"

"And that gigantic skeleton... what was that?"

Despite the turmoil in his thoughts, Roland did not dare slow his pace in the slightest.

By his estimation, even at full strength, he was at most equal to those Blazing Sun Church warriors.

If even those well-equipped Blazing Sun Church warriors had suffered such grievous casualties beneath the fireball barrage, there was no way he could fight them.

This was not the time to satisfy his curiosity.

Escaping with his life was the top priority!

With that thought, Roland quickened his pace again.

When they finally reached the edge of the forest, the sounds of slaughter and booming explosions from the depression could still be faintly heard.

Roland pushed aside the dense brush before him.

When that familiar muddy path came into view, he felt for the first time that this uneven, pothole-ridden road was so dear.

"Darko..."

Roland gently shook Darko's shoulders, rousing the young noble who was on the verge of passing out.

"Which way should we go next?"

"This way. Ugh."

After leaving the dark forest, Darko's spirits visibly improved.

He forced his heavy eyelids open and frowned as he looked around.

After a moment, he laboriously raised an arm and pointed toward a winding path.

"This is the path west of the estate. Follow this direction a little farther, and we should be able to return to the estate."

"West? Looks like we made a big circle through the forest."

After confirming their bearings, Roland immediately adjusted his posture and steadily headed in the direction Darko had indicated.

The instant he left the forest, he clearly felt the agility boost from [Adaptive Training] abruptly vanish, making his steps much heavier.

Fortunately, the journey back was uneventful.

As the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the horizon red, the familiar outline of the estate finally came into view.

"Damn it! We're finally back!"

Darko's voice carried barely restrained excitement.

He lightly patted Roland's shoulder. Though his voice was weak, it remained stubborn.

"Roland. Put me down."

Seeing the unyielding look in the young noble's eyes, Roland had no choice but to carefully crouch down.

"Hiss."

The moment Darko's feet touched the ground, a suppressed gasp squeezed through his clenched teeth.

Even so, Darko stubbornly used his iron sword as a cane, dragging his injured leg as he limped toward the estate gates.

"Stop! Who goes there? M-Master Darko?"

John's familiar voice came from atop the wall.

When he clearly saw the blood-stained face of the approaching figure, his voice suddenly rose.

He loudly ordered the guards to open the gates while hurriedly running down from the wall, not forgetting to send someone racing into the estate to deliver the news.

"M-Master Darko, what happened to you?"

Looking at the utterly clueless John before him, Darko's rage flared even hotter. His trembling hand abruptly drew the iron sword, and he raised it as though to strike.

Bang!

A powerful hand firmly clamped around his wrist.

"Darko."

Roland's low voice calmed the furious young noble somewhat.

He slowly lowered Darko's arm and spoke softly.

"What you need more right now is a physician."

Darko's chest heaved violently before he finally nodded dejectedly.

"Right. Right."

He shot John a hateful glare, his voice hoarse.

"If Roland hadn't stopped me, I'd have chopped you to pieces and fed you to the dogs!"

The iron sword slammed back into its sheath.

"What are you standing around for? Go get the physician!"

The estate immediately descended into chaos.

Amid the servants' frantic rushing about, Roland keenly noticed something unusual.

There were more than twice as many guards patrolling the estate as usual.

Moreover, they looked tense, constantly moving weapons and provisions.

The entire estate was permeated by the atmosphere of preparing for battle.

"Captain John."

Roland lowered his voice and stopped the guard captain, who had been standing there with his head lowered in silence.

"Thanks for earlier, Roland."

Watching John continuously wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, Roland said nothing more.

He understood John's predicament.

After all, when Darko went hunting, he often did not return until late at night.

The guards had long since grown used to it.

They truly couldn't be blamed for failing to notice this time.

"You and Young Master Darko, exactly—"

"Let's not talk about that yet."

Roland waved him off.

"Did something happen at the manor?"

John's expression tightened. After cautiously scanning the surroundings, he leaned closer and whispered, "The manor is fine. But..."

He let out a heavy sigh.

"It's over at Black Fir Forest..."

As the two spoke, hurried footsteps sounded nearby.