The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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“Is there a Black Mage?”

Ghislaine was the first to send a letter to Rio, asking him to buy as many magic books as he could get his hands on.

Even if he could only get Lower Circle Magic, it wouldn’t hurt to learn spells that Astion didn’t know.

‘I can just absorb everything,’ he thought.

Ghislaine pooled the money he had and gathered a bunch of requests from the Surrounding Territory. He also inquired about any mages committing crimes and on the run.

While collecting information, he nagged Astion to ensure he learned every spell the latter knew.

Whoosh!

Chunks of ice were flying through the air.

“Wow, this is really great. I can live comfortably even back home!”

Ghislaine was quite satisfied that he could use magic for daily life rather than just for combat. He particularly enjoyed making ice cold water to drink.

There were so many inconveniences during his mercenary life. Especially when it came to purifying water, warding off cold or heat, and keeping food fresh.

Once he reached a certain level, it was manageable, but that was just enduring; it wasn’t comfortable.

But look at now! The annoying issues of daily life were quickly getting solved.

“I feel like I wasted my life. I should’ve just become a mage from the start.”

If he really had done that, he wouldn’t have grown as much as he had. With Ghislaine’s personality, it would’ve been impossible to consistently study that vast material.

Enjoying how easy it was now, he had gobbled up all the spells Astion knew in just a matter of days.

“Hey, don’t you know any more?”

—No… This is so unfair…

Astion was particularly sensitive, capable of taking in other beings.

Because of that trait, he quickly recognized the existence of mana and learned magic easier than anyone else.

But even he had to study intensely for years to grasp the complexities of magic.

‘Am I a genius? My talent intimidates me…’

It would be a lie to say he hadn’t thought that before. Astion took pride in his innate talent and the effort he had put in.

He was always grateful for the luck that came with being able to absorb other beings.

However, seeing Ghislaine gobbling up multiple spells each day while having no clue about the rituals or methods made him feel a bit inferior.

—I might be… garbage… Magic isn’t about brains; it’s all physical…

Ghislaine had raised the bar so high that Astion didn’t know the average, leading him to feel miserable about himself.

Noticing that Astion was down, Ghislaine laughed. “Hey, cheer up! I’ll help you grow quickly too.”

Right now it’s his body (?), but one day it’ll go back to Astion. He planned to increase his mana a lot too.

As Ghislaine learned magic, the training method for the Three People also slightly altered.

Whoosh!

Dozens of fireballs manifested in the air.

“From today onwards, we’ll also practice fighting against mages.”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The fireballs mercilessly flew towards the three.

The sudden spike in training difficulty left them disoriented.

“W-What is this?!”

The magic was targeting their vitals like a knight’s sword. And it was coming in dozens!

Ghislaine had fought many mages before. The High Priests of the Salvation Society fought in ways closer to those of mages.

Drawing from that experience, Ghislaine demonstrated superhuman-level attack techniques that ordinary mages would never be able to exhibit.

Zap! Zap! Zap!

“Aaaah!”

The three couldn’t even knock away a few fireballs. The ground shook so much they couldn’t properly stabilize themselves.

Due to human anatomy, there are limits to physically-based actions. But as soon as they used magic, endless methods of attack sprang forth.

They were bombarded by fire and ice chunks.

But it didn’t end there. Ghislaine’s adaptability allowed him to torment the trio with bizarre and creative attacks.

“Wow, magic is really convenient and nice.”

Ghislaine smiled brightly as he launched his magic. It was always a joy to learn new techniques.

On the other hand, the three could only think how much the harassment had intensified.

Eventually, the impatient Kyle was the first to blow up.

“I’m done! How the hell are we supposed to block this?!”

He turned on his heel and ran away. Astion and Deneb, who were hesitating, followed right after.

“Oh? Running away? This is all for your benefit!”

“Benefit? We’re going to die from this!”

“I won’t let you die!”

Ghislaine spun his staff wildly and chased after the three. The sheer joy on his face made them grit their teeth.

Aside from training the trio, Ghislaine began to stabilize his own body using his magic.

This wasn’t something that would happen overnight. So, he focused on not disrupting his balance for now.

Though concerned, Astion could only watch from the sidelines.

* * *

While learning magic, Ghislaine didn’t neglect increasing his mana.

Using the meditation techniques Astion taught him, he started gathering mana.

“It’s a shame I can’t create a core.”

If he made a core in Astion’s body now, it would actually conflict with the mana in his heart and create a dangerous situation.

While Ghislaine could handle both the core and mana at the same time, Astion still wasn’t able to do that. So, he intentionally refrained from creating a core.

Instead, he applied the flow of the Mana Circulation Method and steadily used his willpower to gather mana.

Though not on par with Astion’s Mana Circulation Method, it was significantly quicker than when Astion was gathering mana alone.

“Hmm, I need to look for a faster way to gather mana.”

But Ghislaine wasn’t satisfied. Even if he could gather it faster than before, it still paled in comparison to his perfected Mana Circulation Method.

Thus, alongside looking for magic books, he intended to find ways to fill his mana quickly.

“The stronger I get, the more it’ll help Astion.”

At this point, Ghislaine moved through a stage where he could use both Circle Mana and Core Mana interchangeably. The only difference was efficiency.

Even in reality, he could use magic with the core from his Mana Circulation Method. Conversely, here he could also utilize mana like in the Mana Circulation, so the more, the merrier.

This way, Yulien’s Mercenary Group devoted themselves to training with the ample funds received from Rio. Meanwhile, various requests and bits of information steadily reached Ghislaine.

“Ah, this one’s not great.”

“Is there anything related to mages?”

“It’s harder than I thought to find a good job.”

Ghislaine turned down every request that came in. He was currently immersed in the fun of learning magic. He wanted to gain magic while also working.

He was a man who pursued efficiency.

“Looks like I might have to go to another region…”

While wandering around, he thought he could find a Mage Tower or a mage to take down. Just as he was about to start moving while training as well…

“Oh? There’s a Black Mage?”

He received information that a Black Mage was causing trouble in a nearby territory called Nodehill.

Apparently, the lord had attempted to hunt him down twice but failed, resulting in the lord’s death.

The heir who succeeded the territory was filled with rage and was preparing to hunt down the Black Mage again.

Especially since the territory’s mage had died, they were offering a generous reward for any mages willing to help.

“This is great.”

Black Mages were incredibly rare. Their knowledge was passed down more secretly than any other form of magic.

Some Mage Towers and kingdoms tried to capture Black Mages for research, but most of the ones caught were merely Lower Circle Mages, yielding little progress.

Ghislaine’s curiosity about Black Magic peaked. He thought he definitely needed to catch this one.

Moreover, it aligned perfectly with Yulien’s Mercenary Group’s altruistic mission to take down the bad guy while serving as great training.

“Let’s go! Let’s catch that wicked Black Mage!”

Without delay, Ghislaine packed his things and set off.

Since the Black Mage was a mage, he might possess other magic books or magical items. If he could sneak away with anything, he surely would!

Thus, the group rode swiftly and soon arrived at the Nodehill Baron’s territory.

Nodehill was quite chaotic. After the failed attempts to hunt the Black Mage and the lord’s death, distress filled the air.

The new lord, Andrew, summoned numerous mercenaries. However, they didn’t gather as quickly as he had hoped.

“We’ve already failed the hunt twice, right? He must be really powerful.”

“There’s a rumor he’s a 5th Circle Master. That won’t be easy to capture.”

“He’s also said to be skilled at hiding and fighting stealthily. He’s not something you can catch in a small barony like this.”

Most mercenaries turned down the request, feeling reluctant. Thus, the number of participants dwindled.

Meanwhile, Yulien’s Mercenary Group, which included mages and priests, arrived, prompting Andrew to approach them first.

“Welcome! If you can catch the Black Mage, you’ll be generously rewarded!”

The young lord Andrew was unwilling to give up his quest for revenge. The territory was in disarray due to the Black Mage’s experiments, so he had to proceed with the hunt.

Yet, he felt it would be challenging to ask for help from neighboring territories. If another army arrived, it was obvious they would find some justification to take over the territory. That was the era they lived in.

Andrew was in a situation where failing the hunt meant death, but so did asking neighboring territories for help. There were no choices left.

With the lord’s hospitality, Yulien looked up and said with an arrogant expression, “We are the Yulien Mercenary Group. We’ll just catch that Black Mage and bend him backwards—oh, and make him regret it.”

Even though his attitude was smug, his face turned red, and he stuttered a bit. Ghislaine had forced him to say this.

“Just hearing that fills me with confidence.”

Yet, the lord didn’t sense the awkwardness. He had already heard news of Yulien defeating the strongest knight of Baron Magrell, as well as Ghislaine being a 5th Circle Mage.

On top of that, they had priests who were the Black Mage’s natural enemies. They were indeed a small but impressive mercenary group.

With a face like Claude’s, Ghislaine stuck to Yulien and said, “We’ll accept the reward as stated. We’ll compile a list of any additional needs for the request.”

“Sounds good. We’ll provide you with all we can.”

Ghislaine and his group received exceptional treatment. Since they had arrived, Andrew drained his territory’s finances to gather mercenaries.

Even while preparing for the hunt, Andrew couldn’t conceal his anxiety.

“Sigh… If we fail again, this territory is finished… What should I do?”

He was worried beyond words. The Black Mage’s power was an issue, but a greater problem loomed.

During the last hunt, a few soldiers suddenly turned on their allies. Though it lasted only a short time, it turned deadly due to the chaos of battle.

This caused the entire army to panic, falling prey to the Black Mage’s tricks.

Andrew paced the room, murmuring to himself.

“A few soldiers fell victim to Mind Control magic. That means there’s definitely someone in this territory who cast that spell. And they’re probably very close.”

This meant there was someone allied with the Black Mage hiding their identity within the territory. Without capturing them, they couldn’t set out.

Thus, Andrew had to delay the hunt and work with the mages and priests to track down the culprit.

This gossip had also reached Ghislaine’s group, who were being lavished with attention.

While munching on fruit, Ghislaine chuckled to himself.

“So, someone allied with the Black Mage has infiltrated here, huh? It’ll be impossible to start the hunt right away if we want to find them. When could we possibly check all forces and servants?”

If there truly were those under Mind Control, each one would need to be examined with magic and divine power.

Deneb curiously asked, “What if the retainers were affected? Isn’t that really dangerous?”

“The higher-ups are protected by knights, so they should be fine. No outsiders can approach. Plus, Mind Control magic isn’t really that simple.”

“Not simple?”

“Exactly. It’s not so easy to get caught. Even if you do, it’s usually only for a short time. If manipulating someone’s mind were easy, a territory this small would have been destroyed a long time ago by just one person working alone, you see? That’s what High Circle Mages are for.”

Kyle nodded in agreement.

“Given that only a few soldiers caused a brief bout of chaos, it seems they only targeted a few easy ones.”

“Yeah, it’s likely some short-term conditional magic was placed on just a handful of them. In a weak territory like this, that would have been devastating.”

Such a situation rarely occurred where a fully competent mage resided because they regularly purged spies and conducted magical inspections.

To begin with, if a few soldiers acted out, it wouldn’t cause substantial damage at all.

That’s why foes also wouldn’t bother with pointless attempts like this.

However, this small territory had a different circumstance.

“Isn’t it said that the only mage here died during the first hunt? Then it’ll be even harder to find. That infiltrator will be on guard as well. I suspect they’d be around 4th Circle level.”

Such a level could control a few incompetent soldiers, given enough time.

The infiltrator would likely still be observing the situation and working behind the scenes.

With Ghislaine’s statement, Deneb asked again, “So, what should we do?”

All three stared at Ghislaine with eager eyes. After all, he solved everything.

Ghislaine popped another piece of fruit into his mouth and fell into thought.

“Hmm… In the current situation, it seems we’ll need to investigate each one of them…”

It’d take a considerable amount of time, but there wasn’t much else they could do.

In the end, they had no choice but to postpone the hunt and conduct strict investigations on everyone involved.

They needed to find not only those under Mind Control but the culprit as well.

Deneb muttered with a look of disappointment, “Isn’t there a fast and easy way?”

Suddenly, Ghislaine remembered something Maurice always used to tell him.

—You silly goose! Let’s weigh if this goose is equal to a duck!

“Isn’t there some superstition about this? They say Black Mages or witches weigh the same as geese.”

“There’s such a superstition? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Ah, I guess there wasn’t any superstition back then. Just a random thought that crossed my mind, so don’t take it too seriously. For now, I’ll meet with the lord to discuss a method.”

Ghislaine decided he had no choice but to step up to solve this. After all, he was the only one in this territory who could use magic.

They might need to delay the hunt a little, but it couldn’t be helped if they wanted to minimize damage.

However, Ghislaine didn’t expect what would happen next. One of the servants, who had been serving them and listening to their conversation, reported the information to his superior.

The report traveled up the chain of command and even reached the lord. Given that the mage had casually suggested a method, it spread quickly.

And soon, a new command was issued.

—All forces and servants, gather at the training ground! We will verify if they weigh the same as a goose!

Upon hearing the news, Ghislaine froze with a blank expression.

The lord was decisive and bold, but… he couldn’t believe just how uncivilized he could be.

 

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