Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47 "A Barrier Master, huh? That won't be much help in a fight."
"Well, with that much mana, he should be able to pull his weight even without a combat-oriented bloodline."
As expected, once his bloodline ability was revealed, the suspicious glares directed at Turan vanished instantly.
While there were indeed Barrier Masters among the vassal families of the Zahar, there were dozens of such bloodlines to consider. No one felt the need to dig any deeper.
Leaving those now-relaxed gazes behind, Turan felt the mana of the Barrier Master bloodline dwelling within him dissipate completely.
Good, that was perfect. All that practice paid off.
When he had first realized the true power of the Mimic Relic, he had absorbed the mana of ten nobles in the Underground Labyrinth, storing their bloodline abilities within himself.
The breakdown was specific: three Hunter-Pursuers, one Illusionist, one Berserker, one Healer, and four Barrier Masters.
The reason there were so many Barrier Masters was that it was the signature bloodline of the family ruling Banipel, the city where the Tomb of the Gods was located. Their family head had even personally charged into the depths back then to rescue Perga.
While working as Kalamaf's guardian, Turan had conducted several experiments using the Zahar mana he already possessed—which was of little value to him—and the surplus Barrier Master mana.
During those experiments, he discovered a surprising fact: he didn't necessarily have to consume a full person's worth of mana to use the relic.
To exert full power, such as when he used the Strength-bearer bloodline, he needed to drain a full unit of mana. However, for a simple demonstration like the one he just performed, a few drops were more than enough.
Even accounting for the small amount lost during his experiments, he still had about three and a half units left. If he rationed it properly, mimicking a Barrier Master wouldn't be difficult.
After a brief silence, Meisa stepped forward. "Is anyone still unsatisfied?"
"It is sufficient."
"I have no objections either, My Lady."
"Hmm."
"Good. Then we consider this matter settled. Everyone, to the briefing room."
Once she confirmed that the nobles were in agreement, she led Turan and the others to a meeting room situated in the center of the Arabion camp.
The room was furnished with tables and chairs, though their mismatched styles suggested they had been scavenged from various ruined cities and villages.
"We will now begin the tactical briefing. Project the battlefield."
At Meisa's command, a noble reached out over the table. Soon, light flowed out, shaping itself into a phantom projection of a canyon.
This was the power of the Illusion bloodline, which allowed for the delicate manipulation of light. It was the same ability contained within the Mimic Relic.
I wonder if I could do that if I practiced enough.
While Turan harbored that thought and examined the dwarves' hideout—the site of the upcoming battle—Meisa pointed at the illusion.
"As you can see, the place where they are hiding is a canyon. Last time, we suffered heavy losses because we deployed too many troops into such a confined space. Therefore, this time, only the nobles and about a hundred skilled knights will enter."
"Wouldn't we need at least a hundred and fifty?"
"That number would have to include those who are still injured. Against these sub-humans, they would be nothing but dead weight."
"Still..."
"The enemy lost nearly half of their necromancers last time as well. This will be enough."
After the nobles discussed it for a while, the number of knights was set at one hundred and twenty. Once they finished discussing the formation, Meisa gave another command to the noble with the Illusion bloodline.
"The thing we must be most cautious of are the weapons used by the dwarves. Since the battlefield was so chaotic last time, some of you might not have seen them, so take a look."
A moment later, a second illusion appeared. It was an object Turan had never seen in his life.
It was a long metal apparatus with several round, tube-like parts attached to the side and a long cylinder extending from the front. At a glance, it looked somewhat like a spear, but it seemed far too cumbersome to be used as one.
"This is the dwarves' magic device. When they use it, smoke erupts in all directions and a hunk of metal is launched. They have large ones they drag around and smaller ones they carry. Even the small ones can be fatal to a knight if hit in a vital spot, and the large ones can deal significant damage even to nobles."
The other nobles simply nodded, as if they were already familiar with this information. Since Turan was the only one who hadn't participated in the previous battle, the explanation was essentially for his benefit.
The meeting concluded after Meisa introduced a few more of the dwarves' bizarre magic devices, including one that spewed sticky fire.
"We move out in three hours, as soon as the gate opens. If we wait any longer, the casualties from the last battle will be turned into spirits and join the enemy's ranks."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Dismissed. Turan, a word with you."
Perhaps because she had called him out separately, the nobles glanced back at Turan and Meisa as they filed out.
*
On the upper floor of the makeshift barracks was a room Meisa used as both her private quarters and office.
She closed the door and surrounded the room with a barrier of wind to prevent sound from leaking out. Then, shedding her cold, expressionless mask, she cried out.
"How did you just use the Barrier Master bloodline ability? Don't tell me you actually succeeded in replicating it through practice?!"
Back when they used to practice magic together at the Berk estate, she had taught him various spells and encouraged him to try them in an attempt to find his bloodline ability. Since Barrier Master magic had been among them, Meisa knew for a fact that he didn't possess that bloodline.
Turan, having anticipated this question, replied calmly.
"Of course not. It was a magic device."
"But it didn't look like one at all..."
If it were something that acted directly on the body, like a Guardian magic tool, it might be different. But when a bloodline magic that acts outside the body is replicated by a device, the traces are usually obvious. For example, if one were to replicate a Pyromaniac's ability, the fire would erupt from the device itself rather than from around the body.
If he had used a standard magic device to create a barrier, the nobles would have noticed immediately.
However, the Mimic Relic showed no such unnatural signs. This was because its principle was to truly grant the bloodline ability temporarily.
Despite having traveled through many regions, Turan had yet to hear of any power that could steal or mimic bloodline abilities. That was how rare this item was.
"It's a special item. However, it has quite a few restrictions, so I can't use it completely freely."
"If you were going to use something like that, you should have told me first! We could have coordinated our stories."
"I wasn't sure if I was going to use it. If they had accepted me readily, I wouldn't have brought it out. But seeing their attitude, it seemed they wouldn't accept me unless I showed them a bloodline ability."
The pressure of having untrustworthy allies at one's back would have a massive negative impact on combat. Since he wouldn't have much use for the Barrier Master ability during the assault anyway, he judged it better to use it as a way to put them at ease.
Thanks to that, they no longer had to worry about Turan suddenly using stealth to stab them in the back.
As he explained, Turan noticed a faint look of relief on Meisa's face. He could guess why.
When they lived together at the Berk estate, she had seemed indifferent to most things, yet she was full of pride and competitiveness when it came to magic. She had even attempted decay magic with such intensity that she fainted from exhaustion.
She must have been shocked, thinking that a rival she considered her equal had reached a level where he could replicate bloodline abilities through sheer skill. Knowing that she hadn't been left behind must have brought her relief.
Seeing the constant stream of people coming to see her, it seemed she had much to do as the leader of the subjugation squad. Not wanting to bother her further, Turan left the room and went to find Keorn.
The old man was sitting alone amidst a cluster of mana lamps that were so bright they were almost painful to look at.
"Elder."
"Ah, Turan. I heard things went well."
"Yes."
Unlike Meisa, he didn't ask how Turan had mimicked the Barrier Master's power. In a place like this, it wouldn't be strange for someone to be eavesdropping.
Instead of saying anything sensitive, Turan simply repeated what he had heard earlier.
"We plan to attack in three hours. They're picking a hundred and twenty people from the nobles and knights, starting with the strongest."
"A wise decision. Based on what I experienced last time, any more than that would be useless. Unfortunately, it seems I won't be going with you."
"Were you ordered to stay behind?"
Despite his age, Keorn was uninjured and possessed excellent mana. If they were picking an elite force, he was someone who definitely should have been included.
At Turan's question, the old knight nodded gloomily.
"I wish I could have gone to fight with you. I feel ashamed—an old man sending a young one to the battlefield while I sit back."
"It's likely because it wouldn't look good for the 'Hero Keorn' to die fighting something like dark elves."
"Indeed. They've let me fight in relatively safe places until now, but this battle won't allow for that."
Perhaps because he wasn't in the mood for jokes, Keorn didn't look embarrassed at the mention of the play that bore his name. Instead, he let out a deep sigh.
"Then, since you're staying here, could you look after Bije until I return?"
"You're leaving her behind?"
"Yes. The terrain isn't great, and I'm worried she might get hurt by those magic devices the dwarves use."
The canyon where the enemies were hiding was said to have strong turbulence above it, and the winding terrain made it difficult even for Arabion nobles to fly. In such a situation, being hit by a magic device firing iron slugs would be dangerous.
He could trust Keorn to look after Bije.
"I shall protect her as I would my own life. Return safely."
When Turan pulled out the perch Bije was sitting on and handed it to Keorn, the bird clacked her beak as if complaining, but she didn't throw a tantrum. Having listened to the meeting alongside him, she seemed to understand that she could be a burden.
"Smart girl."
[Come back soon!]
As he stroked her head in appreciation, Bije carved the words into the wooden wall.
*
"Move out."
At Meisa's short command, a total of twenty-six nobles and one hundred and twenty knights began to move.
Their target was the dwarf den where the dark elves were hiding.
At the very front were the most powerful nobles, including Meisa, Kadram, and Turan. The center was occupied by relatively weaker nobles, while the knights flanked the sides and rear, forming a long column. It was the most efficient formation for breaking through a narrow space.
After waiting for a few minutes in that formation before a massive boulder, the rock split open with a resounding crack, revealing a deep, dark canyon.
Turan let out a small exclamation of awe at the sight.
"To think I'd actually see this..."
Even the author of A Record of a World Tour hadn't seen this cave personally, only hearing legends of its existence. Furthermore, even with the Mimic Relic, Turan couldn't sense any mana acting upon the movement of this rock.
If the dark elves hadn't left a trail while fleeing here, it likely would have remained undiscovered forever.
A moment later, the Arabion army entered the canyon, their nerves taut. The scent of blood and rotting corpses, which hadn't been felt until a moment ago, suddenly wafted toward them. Perhaps the splitting rock had some mystical property that concealed the smell.
Throughout the canyon, only faint traces of battle remained—dried bloodstains and scorch marks. Not a single corpse was left. The bodies of the Arabion soldiers had likely been taken to be turned into spirits, while the corpses of the dwarves and dark elves had either been eaten or given funerals.
As he observed this, Turan sensed presences on both sides of the canyon through the relic's heightened senses. It seemed the enemy had also noticed their entry and was deploying troops.
Turan focused his senses, watching the forms of the dwarves approaching from hundreds of meters away.
They're... quite peculiar.
Unlike the merman prince Armani, whom he had seen through the relic before, the mana structure of the dwarves was closer to the monsters he had seen in the Underground Labyrinth. The only difference was that the flames in their heads felt strangely tangled.
Could it be that dwarves are also creatures made by a god?
Before he could dwell on that thought, another type of creature entered Turan's perception. They were humanoid in shape, but their ears were long and pointed, and a strange light flickered within their brains.
Those must be the dark elves.
He had met them before, but this was the first time he was seeing them through the senses of the Mimic Relic. Only about twenty of them had glowing brains, which seemed to be a characteristic of the necromancers.
Meisa, seemingly noticing them as well, narrowed her eyes and raised her hand to halt the army.
"They're coming. Prepare for battle!"
Turan smelled the thick scent of tension and fear around him. Having suffered a surprise attack and heavy losses once before, the memories of that day were resurfacing for the soldiers.
With a metallic clank, holes opened on both sides of the canyon, and the dwarves began to crawl out.
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