Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 082. To Wipe Out (1)

When Anagin suggested they eat first, it wasn’t long before the inn attendant brought out the food.

Barley bread, salt-cured black olives, goat’s milk cheese, raisins and dried figs, lentil soup, sausages, and pickled onions.

It wasn’t anything special, but as the saying went, hunger was the best seasoning, and it was decent enough.

As soon as Anagin began eating, the three–gold-coin merchant—who had been preparing something—opened his mouth as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

“Greetings. I am Macon, an appointed merchant of the Dysis Polis, here to explain the Dam Ruin.”

The three–gold-coin merchant…. Macon spread out a large sheet of paper, roughly marked with the surrounding terrain, on a stand, and spoke politely to Anagin, Sphinx, and Sanchonius.

“The Dam Ruin?”

“It is a name I gave it arbitrarily. Isn't it a bit plain to just call it the Ruin?”

Finding the argument reasonable, Anagin nodded for him to continue.

Macon swung the pointer in one hand and tap! struck the paper.

“I prepared illustrations to make the explanation smoother. It was drawn by my subordinates based on the map. It is not precise, but you should have no trouble understanding it.”

Macon did his utmost to showcase his own competence to Anagin.

Perhaps sensing that, Anagin asked a question.

“Do you normally carry around papers that big?”

“Yes! A capable merchant is always prepared! First, I’ll explain the factions currently positioned around the Ruin!”

Answering loudly, Macon struck tap! at the Ruin marked near the bottom of the map with his pointer.

“First, the faction you must be most wary of is these doll mages.”

Sphinx nodded.

Putting aside the inherent annoyance of doll mages, they were the ones who had already claimed the Ruin. Among all those visiting the Ruin, they were likely the strongest faction. If they’d been weak, they wouldn’t have been able to hold the position.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t determine their exact numbers. The doll mages don’t purchase supplies like food and minimize outside contact…. It seems they’re using provisions brought in through large interspatial bags.”

As he ate sausage together with pickled onions, Anagin silently looked toward Sphinx.

He was checking to see if this was a valid excuse or just a merchant's incompetence.

Sphinx nodded, conveying that it was reasonable.

To begin with, mages avoided outside contact, so even merchants had limits to the information they could obtain.

Seeing Anagin accept this, Macon let out a brief sigh of relief and continued his presentation. There was more confidence in his voice than before.

“However, after considerable effort, we did obtain some information.”

“For example?”

“The leader of the doll mage group is said to be ‘Miscellaneous Doll Neiron .’”

“Miscellaneous Doll Neiron ?”

“Oh?”

“Wow!”

Sanchonius, Sphinx, and Anagin reacted in that order.

Sanchonius and Sphinx then looked at Anagin, who had reacted last, and asked,

“Do you know who that is?”

“No, I just figured I should react too, seeing how you two did.”

Sphinx, and even Sanchonius, stared at Anagin like he was insane.

Especially Sanchonius, despite his fondness and respect for Anagin, he couldn’t hide the thought: Is this man actually crazy?

But Anagin was Anagin. Even in the face of such misguided reactions, he brushed them off magnanimously.

“So, is he someone impressive?”

“He’s known as one of Magno’s officers. His ability is said to be around 5-star to 6-star range.”

Stars (星).

A unit that counts the number of blessings a practitioner has received, and an indicator of how highly ranked that practitioner is.

Even those without divine blessings indirectly applied stars to evaluate someone’s level.

“Hm…. stars go from 1 to 12, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then he’s about average, or below that, huh?”

Out of a total of 12 stars, a mage who was only 5 to 6-star.

By Anagin’s own standards, he reached what he considered a reasonable conclusion.

Since it was less than half of the maximum 12 stars, he thought it a fair assessment.

“Ah, well….”

“What is it? That look on your face says, ‘How do I explain this to this simple-minded brute?’”

“I-I didn’t think that far….”

Caught off guard, Sanchonius blurted out a rebuttal. It was hard to explain, and while he hadn't used those exact words, he was definitely struggling.

Sphinx, who had been watching Sanchonius with pity, finally stepped in to take over.

“Step back. I'll explain from here. And don't get too caught up in my brother's pace, or your personality will deteriorate beyond repair.”

“What do you people take me for?”

Anagin complained at Sphinx, who was treating him like some kind of villain.

Ignoring him, Sphinx continued.

“Brother, let me make one thing clear first. 12 stars may be the theoretical cap, but reality isn’t like that.”

“I don’t quite get what you mean.”

“I mean exactly that. Most practitioners reach their limit at 8-star, and 9-star is extremely, extremely rare. It’s a realm only those chosen by the gods can reach.”

“Chosen by the gods?”

Anagin sensed an inconsistency in Sphinx’s words.

The moment someone received a blessing, they were already chosen by a god—so what did it mean to be more chosen? The contradiction struck him as absurd.

It reminded him of something his former master once said: ‘All citizens are equal. But some citizens are more equal.’

Furthermore, if 9-star was the practical ceiling, why did the scale go to 12? It was a gap of three whole stages. It made no sense to him.

He wanted to push the issue, but he knew there was an order to things.

He decided to bury the question for now and keep the conversation moving.

“I get it, I get it. So the point is, 6-star isn’t exactly average.”

“Yeah. A 5 or 6-star mage is at the stage where they understand the fundamentals of their field of magic and add their own interpretation on top of it.”

“I still don’t really get what you mean.”

“...To put it in perspective, they might be stronger than the members of the New Argonaut Expedition Team.”

Sphinx brought up a comparison to make it easier to understand. Judging by the fact that Sanchonius didn’t object, it seemed to be true.

“Oh…. Even so, I’m not particularly worried.”

Even after hearing that they were stronger than the New Argonaut Expedition Team, Anagin didn’t feel much of a threat.

If they were just stronger than those guys, the extent of it was obvious.

Sanchonius issued a warning.

“Even so, you should be careful. Magno moves as a group, and Miscellaneous Doll Neiron , is the same. Depending on their level of preparation and resources, doll mages can exert force on the scale of an army.”

It was a warning with solid grounds.

As Sanchonius said, doll mages acting in groups possessed military-level power.

Macon chimed in.

“I may be overstepping, but I would also advise caution. It’s not just doll mages—several practitioners have joined them as well.”

“Really?”

“Yes, we believe it’s due to the nature of the Ruin.”

Macon continued his explanation, clearly showing how much effort it had taken him to uncover this information.

“We haven’t seen it directly because of the fortress built around the Ruin, but according to rumors, there’s a door blocking the area beneath the Ruin.”

“A door?”

“Yes! A door! But it doesn’t seem to be an ordinary one. Several practitioners tried to break it, but failed. They say it can only be opened with magic, which is why some practitioners have begun cooperating with the doll mages.”

“Ah….”

Sanchonius let out an exclamation filled with discomfort.

If practitioners were willing to join forces with Miscellaneous Doll Neiron , that meant they weren’t ordinary by any means…….

That would mean the force they were facing was roughly twice what Sanchonius had initially anticipated.

Even for Anagin, it was questionable whether he could break through that level of power and enter the Ruin.

And if they factored in the other practitioners lurking around the Ruin, watching for an opportunity, the difficulty skyrocketed.

On top of that, they would also have to break through the magical door sealing the lower levels of the Ruin?

Sanchonius found himself thinking it might be easier to track down someone who had already secured orichalcum and negotiate with them instead.

If they could just obtain orichalcum, the mission would effectively be complete…. Of course, that negotiation wouldn’t be easy either. Orichalcum wasn’t cheap by any stretch.

While Sanchonius was lost in these thoughts, Anagin raised his hand.

“I’ve got two questions.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Miscellaneous Doll Neiron . Why is he called ‘Miscellaneous Doll’?”

“Ah, that’s because he’s a mage who controls a wide variety of dolls. From corpse dolls stitched together from animal remains, to dolls made of mud or bricks.”

“Second question. This sounds like information you wouldn’t learn just by passing by and overhearing a few words. How did you find all this out?”

“As I said before, through diligent investigation. In order to be of help to you, Sir Anagin—”

“—I get the sentiment. Tell me the real reason. I don’t like wasting time.”

At Anagin’s firm demand, Macon confessed honestly.

After Anagin left, Dysis Polis secured surplus funds and, with that, acquired various local specialties.

However, Riothes, the City Lord of Dysis Polis, wasn’t satisfied. Wanting to produce even more specialty goods, he sent Macon here.

“Does this place have something special?”

“There’s a medicinal herb called Herba. It has the effect of calming bodily heat and manic symptoms, and is found near rivers, embankments, and dams. I was dispatched here to secure it. In the process, the Ruin were discovered, and that led to this investigation.”

“Hm. Go on.”

Macon nodded and proceeded to explain the other groups of practitioners confronting Miscellaneous Doll Neiron .

There were vicious mercenary bands, fairly famous practitioners, and reasonably well-known treasure hunters. None of it particularly impressed Anagin.

“…That’s the general picture. There are a few other groups as well, but compared to these, their strength and reputation are insignificant. Would you like me to explain them too?”

“No, that’s fine.”

“I think that’s a good decision as well…. Just my personal opinion, but to enter the Ruin, it might be best to join forces with whichever group is strongest. Fortunately, there’s one group we’re acquainted with, so if you’d like, I could introduce—”

“—More importantly, what’s the situation in this town right now?”

“The situation, you say?”

“The state of the village. It was noisy when I arrived.”

“To be honest, it’s not good. There have been several violent clashes, and with the standoff dragging on, the atmosphere has grown grim. With people gathering here, food prices have risen sharply as well.”

Just as Sanchonius had said.

“But people must’ve made money too, right?”

“Explaining that gets a bit complicated.”

“Explain it simply.”

“……The village chief is practically pocketing everything himself, so the villagers aren’t benefiting much at all. They’re just suffering. Most people probably want this situation to end as soon as possible.”

“Is there someone who could be considered a representative of those people?”

“There... is, but?”

“Bring them here. I’ll resolve that problem for them.”