Chapter 94: War Information!
I smiled internally.
Just as I expected.
Then I asked another question.
— Biochip.
— Estimate that old man’s strength.
[Estimated result.]
[Acólito Level III.]
[Physical condition: recovering.]
[Severe physical and mental damage detected.]
So that old man had already suffered some extremely serious disaster.
I continued pretending to carefully analyze the scroll for a few more seconds.
Then I raised my eyes.
— This does not seem to be part of Redfo’s writings.
I looked directly at him.
— In fact...
— It seems much more like a fragment from Karn’s Diary.
The old man’s smile froze.
For only an instant.
Soon, it returned to normal.
— How can you say that?
His voice now sounded slightly less confident.
I calmly observed his reaction.
That small flash of surprise had been enough.
— Even assuming it really is from Karn...
— It still isn’t worth a thousand crystals.
The old man quickly tried to argue.
— But Karn was a Level II Mage!
— Two years ago, a similar fragment was sold for exactly that price!
— I am charging only a fair price!
I smiled faintly.
— Karn’s teachings were written using advanced arcane language.
I ran my finger over the symbols.
— An ordinary Acólito would never be able to decipher them.
I pointed toward the lower corner.
— Besides...
— Look at the numbering.
The old man remained silent.
— Karn also encoded the numbers of his own pages.
— This fragment corresponds only to page twelve.
— Several scholars agree that the first thirty pages only record experiences from when he was still a simple Acólito.
— His true inheritance begins much later.
I looked at him again.
— The truly valuable pages easily surpass the hundredth.
I slowly shook my head.
— Considering all of that...
— One hundred crystals would be the highest reasonable value for this fragment.
Silence.
The old man stared at me for several seconds.
Then he let out an unexpected laugh.
— Hahaha!
He scratched his head.
— The weather is really good today.
— I never imagined I would find someone so knowledgeable.
He raised his hands in surrender.
— Fine.
— Choose anything else.
I shook my head negatively.
— No.
I raised the scroll.
— This one was the one that caught my interest.
I calmly took out a second-level magic crystal.
I placed it on the counter.
Its value corresponded exactly to one hundred magic crystals.
— A fair price.
The old man looked first at the crystal.
Then at me.
Finally, he gave a resigned smile.
— Deal.
I carefully stored the scroll inside my robes.
Perhaps any other Acólito would never be able to decipher that writing.
But I was not exactly an ordinary Acólito.
While preparing to hear the promised information, I gave one final mental command.
— Biochip.
— Immediately begin a complete deciphering project of this fragment.
[Bip!]
[New task created.]
[Cryptographic analysis initiated.]
I smiled faintly.
In terms of processing capability...
Even an Official Mage would have difficulty competing with the Biochip.
"Well... well..."
The old man opened a tired smile.
— So...
— What exactly do you want to know?
Before I could answer, he picked up the second-level magic crystal I had placed on the counter.
Then...
Without any ceremony...
He opened his mouth.
Crunch.
My eyes widened.
He...
Was he chewing that?
No.
Worse.
The old man simply swallowed the entire crystal without even chewing it.
I followed the movement with an incredulous gaze.
That was a second-level magic crystal.
And that guy...
Had just swallowed it as if it were a piece of bread.
A few seconds later, a faint glow passed through his pale skin.
He let out a long sigh of satisfaction.
— Ah...
— I needed that energy.
— If you gave me another six thousand magic crystals...
— I could probably finish rebuilding my physical body.
I watched him carefully.
So that was it.
The Biochip was right.
His injuries must have been much more severe than I had imagined.
Even so...
It was not my problem.
I shook my head.
— I want to know about Arcangrove Tower.
— How is the war going?
The old man narrowed his eyes.
— Arcangrove Tower...
He remained silent for several seconds.
— Did you study there?
I immediately answered.
— I am only interested in the situation.
I shrugged.
— The farther away I stay from that war...
— The lower the chance of suffering any collateral damage.
The old man seemed to accept the answer.
— Fair enough.
He leaned back in his chair.
— The situation is terrible.
— The Black Blood Tower and the Black Bull Tower have formed an alliance.
— The two of them decided to attack Arcangrove Tower simultaneously.
My expression became heavy.
He continued.
For a long time.
He talked about interrupted trade routes.
Mage Families taking sides.
Closed markets.
Battlefields.
Military movements.
Rumors.
Deaths.
Betrayals.
According to him...
No one remembered anymore what the true reason for the war had been.
After so much chaos...
That no longer mattered.
Now it was simply a matter of survival.
Arcangrove Tower was completely cornered.
The enemy forces were equivalent in power.
Fighting against one of them alone would already be extremely difficult.
Against two at the same time...
It was practically impossible.
There was only one alternative left.
Remain protected behind its enormous defensive formation.
...
Almost half a day later...
...
I slowly left the shop.
Pulling the horse’s reins.
My expression was probably one of the worst from the past few months.
Damn it...
I looked at the ground as I walked.
I never imagined the situation had become this bad.
My original plan was to remain in that region for only a short time.
Now...
Perhaps it would be wiser to wait.
If the war was truly at that level...
Returning would be practically suicide.
I sighed.
Two faces immediately appeared in my memory.
Ruby.
Lina.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
I hope... you two can escape.
Stay alive.
Even knowing that world was cruel...
I still sincerely wished that both of them would survive.
I continued walking slowly.
While walking, I discreetly took out Karn’s diary fragment.
I ran my finger over its inscriptions.
— Biochip.
— How much longer until it is deciphered?
[Bip!]
[Project in progress.]
[No equivalent cryptographic pattern found in database.]
[Development of decoding hypotheses required.]
[Estimated completion time: 90 days.]
Ninety days...
I can wait.
Actually...
When I bought it, I already knew there was a huge possibility of failure.
But even so...
It was worth the gamble.
Even if the Biochip failed to break the code...
The information Trumy had sold me already easily justified those one hundred crystals.
Besides...
This was a page from Karn’s diary.
Even if it belonged to the beginning of his career...
There was still a great possibility it contained useful techniques for an Acólito.
Experiments.
Meditation methods.
Observations.
Or even records of natural resources.
Any one of those possibilities would already compensate for the investment.
The true advantage of the Biochip was precisely that.
Its processing capability.
Most of the time, it remained working silently in the background.
While I traveled...
It was like having hundreds of scholars working exclusively for me without ever resting.
I continued walking.
I only stopped when I had completely left the Layfay Family’s Market.
At the exit, another guard wearing the family’s black robe remained there.
He merely watched my departure.
As soon as I moved a safe distance away...
I gave a mental command.
— Biochip.
— Begin a complete scan of the area.
[Bip!]
A discreet blue projection appeared before my eyes.
The surrounding terrain was quickly mapped.
A few seconds later...
A small red dot appeared behind me.
[Target identified.]
[Estimated strength: Acólito Level II.]
I smiled coldly.
Only a second-level Acólito...
I continued walking as if nothing had happened.
So he does not belong to the Layfay Family.
He is just another greedy idiot trying to get rich at another Acólito’s expense.
I showed no reaction.
I let him believe he was hidden.
The pursuit continued for kilometers.
The guy had quite a lot of patience.
He waited until we were very far from the market.
Approximately a dozen kilometers.
Only then did he decide to act.
Suddenly...
The ground beneath my feet began to move.
Whoosh!
Two enormous mud hands emerged from the earth.
They grabbed my ankles tightly, attempting to trap me in place.
I calmly looked down.
I slightly tilted my head.
— Ah, no...
— I’m trapped.
My voice came out almost amused.
At the same time, I gave a single mental command.
— King Shark.
— He is hiding beneath the ground.
— Find him.
— And devour him.
The earth shook violently.
The pursuer barely had time to understand what was happening.
— AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!
The scream was interrupted almost immediately.
CRASH!
The sound of bones being crushed echoed beneath the ground.
Then...
Silence.
The mud hands holding my feet instantly collapsed.
I observed the ground for a few seconds.
No movement.
No remaining mana signature.
The Biochip confirmed.
[Target eliminated.]
I slowly nodded.
Against my enemies...
I never showed mercy.
In that world...
Sparing someone who had attempted to kill me only meant increasing the chances of encountering them again in the future.
And I had absolutely no intention of making that kind of mistake.
...
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