Chapter 136: …Real-time increase of research data
The aura of black magic grows thicker by the minute.
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Laura, the court mage.
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She was the one who had picked a fight with me over my tower design during the verification at the imperial palace, and had been soundly defeated in an argument.
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Perhaps out of loyalty to the princess’s command, I could feel that Laura had put a lot of effort into setting up this ballroom.
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For instance, the fact that it had a three-story structure was impressive.
It was needless to say that there were many people trapped inside the ballroom right now.
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I examined the barrier first.
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If I had more time, I could figure out its principle, but it was not a good option since the poison was spreading through people’s bodies.
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Therefore, I only deduced a few facts first.
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“…How audacious.”
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The density of the barrier was quite high.
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It was almost impossible to maintain such a level of barrier density from a distance. In other words, it also meant that the caster was still on the scene.
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The master of black magic, the vampire, was here.
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“…”
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Then, a purple mist began to slowly spread inside the ballroom.
The foul energy that stung my eyes, this mist was also laced with poison.
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The source was upstairs.
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“Don’t you dare leave the first floor.”
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I took some basic measures to prevent the poison from spreading to everyone, and then I moved to the second floor.
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As I cleared the purple mist that was getting thicker and thicker, I walked relying only on my senses.
“Please calm down, everyone. It will be okay.”
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I heard a voice when I reached the second floor.
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I manifested the wind element to temporarily clear the purple mist. Then, I saw a group of people huddled together.
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“I wrote it down, I wrote it down… Is this all the confirmed people? It would be nice if we could go to the third floor too…”
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A very small girl was diligently writing something on a notebook.
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She felt my presence and turned her head towards me, which was facing the notebook.
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“Oh? It’s Flan?”
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I didn’t recognize her at all, but she seemed to know me and greeted me warmly.
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“I’m glad! Junior, you can see with your eyes that the situation is not good. But still, it’s really reassuring to meet you like this.”
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She pointed to the name tag on her chest belatedly.
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“Ah, I’m Emily. The president of the second year of the magic department. I’m not a suspicious person. Just in case you mistake me for a vampire.”
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I quietly looked at her.
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Her asymmetrical bob hair was brown, and she wore a badge that said ‘president’ on her shoulder.
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Her notebook was full of people’s names. Emily must have been writing down the list of people whose safety was confirmed.
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“Oh? It’s Flan!”
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Then, someone else noticed me and shouted loudly.
The shout spread to the surroundings one by one.
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“Flan? Did you say Flan?”
“Save me, please!”
“I can’t breathe…! Let me breathe!”
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The voices of the people begging for their lives mixed and became a discord.
It kept bothering me.
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“Stop.”
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The noisy voices quieted down at once.
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I also looked at them carefully.
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Student, student, student… Strangely, they were all students.
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“Those vampires… They cunningly targeted the gap when there were no professors or court mages. Not to mention, there are no knights either.”
Emily said with a worried expression and voice.
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I nodded quietly.
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The vampires were not fools, so they must have used their own strategy to realize their plan.
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“It was a poison that could be activated at any moment, it was not easy to detect it beforehand.”
“No wonder. Anyway, it’s a big . We’re trying our best with magic or innate abilities, but I don’t know how long we can last.”
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Emily’s complexion was not very good either.
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She was gasping for breath and cold sweat was dripping from her forehead, but she tried to act fine.
She looked fitting for the ‘president’ written on her badge.
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She tapped her trivia nervously.
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“The trivia is completely useless here too. I gave it to all the participants of the Advent Festival, but…”
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“I’ll extend the time for you.”
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I used some basic healing magic on the people gathered there.
As long as they didn’t resist me, the poison spreading in their bodies would be slowed down a bit.
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Then I asked Emily more.
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“There must be more people inside.”
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“Yes. Junior, this is only the second floor’s people.”
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She shook her head with a serious expression.
At the same time, she showed me her notebook.
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“Actually, the reason I wrote the list was to check the survival status of the famous investors.”
“But.”
“No. It’s really strange. There are only students here. The investors are all on the third floor, but I don’t have the courage to go up there.”
I quickly made a decision.
“You all stay on the first floor.”
“Move? But nior, even if we go down to the first floor, it’s useless if the barrier is not lifted.”
“I’ll lift it.”
That was the end of the conversation.
I headed to the third floor.
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On the third floor, a thick purple mist awaited me, unlike anything I had seen before.
The mist that used to wrap around my ankles now obscured my vision.
The poison it contained was also much stronger.
─They gave it to all the participants of the Advent ….
Emily’s words came to my mind, and I took out my Trivia from my pocket.
Even if the Trivia was useless inside the barrier, there was still a way to utilize it.
I floated it in the air, then placed my palm over the cover and focused my thoughts.
“…”
If the magic tower used to send mana to the Trivia as the central role, then I would temporarily take over that role with my body.
The locations of the ones with the same 「Circuit」 as my Trivia were drawn in my head, and soon I confirmed the positions of everyone on the third floor.
The people on the third floor were all gathered in one place.
I used my sense in my head to move quickly to where they were.
Snap─!
I flicked my finger and unleashed the wind element.
As my vision widened, I saw the blue barrier and the people inside it.
At the same time, they began to recognize me.
“Huh…? Flan?”
“Did you come to save us?”
“Is the barrier lifted?”
They were holding on very systematically.
The fact that they survived on the third floor, where the poison was so strong, with another barrier inside the barrier was proof of that.
Perhaps the one who cast this barrier.
A mag with the royal seal asked me.
“What happened? Is the barrier on the first floor lifted?”
“Not yet. It’s not impossible to lift it by figuring out the principle, but it’s not a good option either.”
It was possible to dismantle it by understanding the principle.
But that would take a long time.
The blue barrier wouldn’t last that long.
The royal mag came close to me.
“We need to find a solution right away. Currently, the people I’m protecting on the third floor are all very prestigious…”
“Quiet.”
I raised one hand.
“I have a way. Just wait.”
Everyone stopped moving, and I looked around at the people protected by the blue barrier.
I checked their condition and attire carefully.
“A way…?”
“Of course, the only way is to cut off the caster’s breath.”
I confirmed that the density of the barrier was abnormally high, so the caster must be here.
“…”
I also wondered.
Why did the royal mag protect the other investors for the sake of the magic department?
Why were there no investors on the second floor?
I slowly closed and opened my eyes.
The blue barrier looked like a trap to me.
Snap─!
I flicked my finger.
I was inspired by Maiev’s black magic.
I manifested 「Taxidermy」.
「Taxidermy」 trapped the royal mag.
“Hey!”
Someone shouted urgently.
“He’s the finance minister Reilly’s escort mag. What are you doing!”
Everyone’s eyes turned to one person.
He was the old man I had met at mansion.
‘He was the royal .’
Reilly opened his mouth.
“That’s right. She’s the royal mag who has been escorting me. Please release the magic.”
“Hmm.”
But I only smirked lightly.
The disguise method was different from Maiev’s.
The vampires act unpredictably, they said. That didn’t seem to be a lie. But they didn’t deviate too much either.
I calmly opened my mouth.
“Humans have mana in their bodies, and when magic touches them, they show a unique resistance. This is an instinctive defense mechanism that cannot be controlled.”
Thud…
The frame that had trapped the royal mage shattered by itself.
I lifted the broken frame with telekinesis. There was a red aura seeping into the cracks of the wood.
I stared at her who had escaped by her own force.
“Your defense mechanism is not mana, but life force. How dare a mere vampire impersonate a human.”
The others widened their eyes and looked at the royal mage. She seemed a bit surprised herself.
“…”
The royal mage let out a sinister laugh.
And then she scratched her neck with her nails. Then her original appearance disappeared without a trace.
What appeared was a girl vampire who wore a black dress and hugged a cursed doll.
“You fell for it~ How did you use the preservation? I thought it was Maiev for a moment and got confused.”
The girl’s mouth curled up, but her eyes were full of contempt for humans.
“And do you know this?”
The vampire’s cursed doll was filled with venom.
“You’re using human magic to clumsily imitate black magic. I can’t stand that kind of behavior.”
Kukukuku…
The girl’s body was wrapped in a purple aura.
“First, I’ll break all ten of your fingers, and then we’ll negotiate calmly, okay?”
A tremendous energy rose up in a dark red color, but I had no intention of checking the result of her black magic.
I focused my mind.
The surroundings started to look like the mage’s vision, and the currents changed into clear lines.
I didn’t need much time to calculate.
I just preserved her entire ‘manifestation process’.
“Huh…?”
On the white paper inside the frame, the formula of the black magic that the girl vampire tried to manifest was recorded.
I didn’t need to understand this process.
As long as I could contain the opponent’s thing with more mana capacity, I could preserve it for now.
“What. What did you do?”
The vampire manifested another black magic.
That formula was also neatly stored in the frame.
“Different from Maiev…? Hey, what are you?”
“…”
One, two, three.
The preserved formulas increased.
I couldn’t help but smile.
…Because my research data was increasing in real time.
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