Chapter 6

Chapter 6

‘The ride quality is incredible. It cannot even be compared to a carriage.’

He had never ridden in a carriage, but even without knowing for certain, his backside would probably have hurt more than it did in a mana-powered vehicle.

A mana-powered vehicle that moved using mana stones as its power source had a ride quality similar to a car from reality.

That did not mean its appearance resembled one.

It looked like a carriage, but it had no horses.

A horseless carriage, one might say.

Seeing a carriage move without horses did feel novel.

Though right now was not the time to care about such things.

“Um, Father.”

“What is it?”

“Do you not have any urgent work?”

“I postponed all of it, so do not concern yourself.”

‘How could I not be concerned? You are not just anyone. You are my 8th-Circle father, personally guarding me.’

Calling it guarding only meant that they were riding in the same mana-powered vehicle, but even that was more than enough.

His father, a renowned archmage in the Deccan Kingdom, was watching over him at his side.

‘How could I not feel burdened when you canceled your work to come with me?’

Zeke swallowed those thoughts and looked out the window to hide his discomfort, but he understood how his father felt.

His youngest son, whom he had cherished since childhood, was going to a dangerous place. What father would remain still?

‘Is this a father’s love?’

Even though he had no talent, his father had not only refused to give up on him, but had come to guard him personally like this.

“Thank you, Father.”

At the unexpected expression of gratitude, Gerard looked slightly flustered.

“Ahem. There is no need to thank me for this.”

However, perhaps because he was pleased, he soon wore a proud smile.

***

Monsters did not appear in the Kalifa Mountains, where the Dragon Ruins were located.

Three thousand years ago, the dragons, who could be called the originators of magic, had fought and died here for some unknown reason.

The corpses of the dragons had disappeared with the passage of time, but the traces of their battle remained.

Perhaps because of that, monsters that feared dragons did not even come near this place.

There was not even a small village, so merchants had stopped coming as well.

Naturally, that also meant there was no reason for bandits to appear.

Because of that, the journey to the ruins was not especially difficult.

Thanks to the servants, he could eat three meals a day without lifting a finger, and because there were enough guard knights, he could sleep without worry while camping.

Above all, an 8th-Circle archmage was guarding them with all his senses sharpened, so what was there to worry about?

‘Honestly, Father. I told you to get some sleep.’

When Zeke woke up rubbing his eyes, his father was sitting cross-legged.

Despite Zeke having tried so hard to stop him, it seemed he had not slept at all, keeping watch throughout the night.

‘Even though I told him to leave it to the knights, he said he had to detect magical energy, and in the end, he really did not sleep.’

When people thought of assassins, they usually imagined bandits holding daggers, but in this world, mages were perfect for assassination.

They could conceal their appearance and unleash long-range magical bombardments, making them ideal for eliminating a target.

Because of that, detecting magical energy in advance was more important than anything, and the only person here capable of fulfilling that role was his father, a mage.

‘Of course, I can do it too.’

Mana Absorption was a skill that could be turned On/Off, but whether he liked it or not, its ability to detect mana was always active.

This was the reason Zeke could sleep without worry.

However, since he could not reveal that he could detect mana despite being ignorant of magic, he had no choice but to leave it to his father.

‘Well, Father can probably detect a wider range than I can. I can still only read a range of 20m.’

Wanting to reach 9-Star as soon as possible, Zeke ate the soup the servant prepared for him and departed immediately.

After that, it took exactly two days to arrive at the Dragon Ruins.

“So this is the place. The site where the dragons fought.”

Though they were called ruins, there was nothing grand about them.

Only an endlessly desolate land.

All that remained there was earth where not even a single blade of grass grew, withered trees, and damp, gloomy air.

‘This is a place even archmages avoid? Then Father too?’

Zeke immediately examined his father’s face.

Sure enough, perhaps because he was an archmage, traces of fear could be seen on his face.

“Can you feel it?”

“Pardon? Feel what?”

“I suppose you cannot feel it. My whole body is already tingling from the waves of magical energy.”

‘Waves of magical energy?’

Zeke turned his head and looked at the ruins, but all he could feel was desolation.

The system did not detect magical energy or anything of the sort either.

‘Is it because of the difference in detection range?’

As expected of an 8th-Circle mage, his father could sense magical energy over a wider range.

At that moment, Gerard bid him farewell unexpectedly.

“It seems this is as far as I can accompany you. I should return now.”

“Pardon? You are leaving?”

“I did postpone my schedule and come here, but it is still too important to disregard entirely.”

“Ah, then you should go. I do not know how long I will be staying here either.”

“Do not stay too long. If there is no effect, you may stop and return.”

“I understand. Thank you for bringing me here, Father.”

“Yes. Before I leave, take this first.”

What his father handed him was an orb-shaped communication device.

A spell formula was engraved into it along with a mana stone, allowing mana to be sent through it like radio waves whenever one wished to communicate.

In other words, it was like a modern telephone.

“Contact me through the communication orb if anything happens. I have designated the coordinates, so I will teleport directly to your location.”

“You did not have to go this far... Thank you.”

“First, go a little deeper into the ruins. I will leave after confirming that you are safe.”

Zeke nodded, then walked toward the center of the ruins with a tense expression.

Step, step.

[Mana has been detected 20m ahead.]

[The ‘Mana Absorption’ skill has been activated. Would you like to use it now? Y/N]

‘Oh, there really was mana.’

Even without the message, he could feel it once he got closer.

A skin-prickling aura of mana.

‘Since I can feel mana, this body definitely has talent. But.’

It would be troublesome if his father learned that fact.

If Zeke wanted to continue using Mana Absorption in the future.

‘I must not turn the skill on now either. If I absorb the magical energy, Father will notice.’

Standing tall in the center of the ruins, Zeke turned back to Gerard with a broad smile.

When he waved his arms around, proving that nothing was wrong, a relieved smile appeared on Gerard’s face.

“It seems there is nothing wrong with his body. Hoo, should I be laughing at this? It proves once more that he has no Mana Affinity.”

Gerard muttered with an expression that showed he did not know whether to laugh or not, then shouted.

“I have confirmed your safety, so I will be going now! I hope there will be good results! Contact me through the communication orb if anything happens!”

“Yes, Father!”

After confirming that Gerard had left, Zeke finally turned on the skill.

[You have absorbed 18 mana.]

[You have absorbed 17 mana.]

[You have absorbed 19 mana.]

[The skill’s proficiency has increased by 18.]

[The skill’s proficiency has increased by 17.]

[The skill’s proficiency has increased by 19.]

[Proficiency until 3-Star Achievement : 54/300]

Once he left the skill on, the magical energy within his detection range flowed into him.

And rapidly, at that.

‘Wow. This is incredible, is it not? My proficiency is already half full.’

It could not be compared to filling his proficiency alone in the magical archive.

At this rate, he might reach 9-Star in a single day.

‘Now that I have absorbed the magical energy, that skin-prickling feeling has vanished too.’

Zeke settled down and sat on the spot.

Thinking he had to strike while the iron was hot, he began absorbing all the magical energy around him.

***

‘Is he all right?’

Raker Van, who had come along as the person in charge of the escort mission, looked worriedly at the Fourth Young Master, who was sitting as though in meditation.

He was worried because Zeke had been sitting cross-legged like that for thirty minutes.

‘An ordinary person would have lost his posture by now.’

For some reason, Young Master Zeke’s posture did not waver.

Even though he was someone no different from an ordinary person, unable to learn aura, let alone magic.

‘Can he feel the mana? I am curious, but I cannot ask.’

Because the young master had ordered them not to come close just in case, they could only watch from thirty meters away like this.

That did not mean they were neglecting their guard duty.

The guards, including Raker himself, had their nerves sharpened so they could respond immediately if anyone appeared nearby.

‘Is he truly all right? Can we leave him like that?’

Just as Raker was looking at him in concern, Zeke’s eyes quietly opened, and he stood up.

“Sir Raker.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

“I am thinking of changing locations. Would you follow me? Of course, keep your distance, since it may be dangerous to come close.”

“Ah, yes. We will do so.”

‘Where is he trying to move?’

Raker tilted his head and followed Zeke.

***

Seeing Raker and the other guard knights follow him, Zeke smiled.

‘Obtaining magical energy from only one place is inefficient. From what I can see, the amount of magical energy absorbed differs from place to place.’

Now that he had reached 6-Star, the range Zeke could absorb in these wide ruins was only a radius of 40m.

Because of that, he could feel the amount of magical energy absorbed change each time he moved locations.

‘At this rate, it will take too long to reach 9-Star. I need to reach it faster.’

Since he had already filled his daily stat amount, his top priority for now was raising the skill’s proficiency.

To raise it even a little faster, he had to move around as though searching for a water vein.

[You have absorbed 32 mana.]

[You have absorbed 33 mana.]

[You have absorbed 37 mana.]

………………

…………

[You have absorbed 48 mana.]

‘Ohh, the amount of magical energy jumped sharply when I came this way.’

As expected, the amount of magical energy seemed to differ depending on the location within the ruins.

Zeke kept his eyes on the system and moved in the direction where greater magical energy led him.

[The achievement level of the skill ‘Master of Mana’ has reached 7-Star.]

[The mana detection and absorption range has been increased from 40m▶45m.]

[The amount of stats that can be increased per day through Mana Absorption has been increased from 7▶8.]

[Proficiency until 8-Star Achievement : 0/100,000]

In the middle of that, his achievement level rose, but Zeke’s eyes were not on the message. They were on a tree.

‘Here. I feel strong magical energy from this tree.’

There were dozens of trees in the ruins, and outwardly, this one was not much different from the others.

But only this tree radiated especially strong magical energy.

In addition, it had a hole large enough for a person to enter.

“Young Master!”

“Yes?”

“We cannot follow any farther! The waves of magical energy are making the aura in our dantians tremble! If we approach any more, it seems we will be in danger too!”

“Is that so? Then all of you, wait there. I will try going inside here.”

“Pardon? Where did you say you were going?”

“Here.”

When Zeke pointed at the hole in the tree, Raker’s eyes widened in shock.

“It is dangerous to enter there...”

“Do not worry. Nothing will happen.”

Having said that, Zeke entered the hole in the tree.

“You-Young Master!”

Leaving the shrill cry of the Captain of the Guard Knights behind him.

***

Inside the hole, there was a space larger than expected.

“To think there was a space like this here.”

It was not naturally formed. Rather, it was a space someone seemed to have dug out, like an artificial cave.

Zeke felt as though he had discovered treasure.

After all, it seemed he was the first person to enter it.

‘The other mages probably could not discover it because the energy of magical energy was too powerful.’

Even if they had discovered it, if the magical energy was this strong, they would not even have been able to approach.

[You have absorbed 62 mana.]

[You have absorbed 63 mana.]

[You have absorbed 64 mana.]

………………

…………

[You have absorbed 75 mana.]

‘Look at this. The amount I am absorbing is no joke.’

If not for Mana Absorption, even Zeke would not have dared to enter this place.

‘Then shall I go in?’

Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he moved slowly.

It was dangerous because he did not know what might appear, but he trusted his own abilities.

Appearances aside, he was an A-Rank Hunter.

An A-Rank Hunter capable of Mana Absorption, at that.

[You have absorbed 86 mana.]

[You have absorbed 87 mana.]

[You have absorbed 88 mana.]

………………

…………

[You have absorbed 105 mana.]

The deeper he went, the denser the magical energy became.

‘What on earth is here for magical energy to pour out like this?’

As Zeke walked in curiosity, he was soon able to reach the end.

‘What is this?’

A large iron door was blocking the way ahead.

A strange door inscribed with runic script.