Chapter 322 : Chapter 322
Chapter 322. The Mage Tower’s Fantasy Species
The path leading to the Magical Beast Breeding Facility was damp and dark.
Only the faint glow of magic lamps hanging from the ceiling illuminated the group’s way forward.
There were six of them in total.
Hector, the supervisor of the Magical Beast Breeding Facility, and Vargas, the supervisor of the Magical Beast Dissection Area.
Then there were Radel and the rookie laborers.
Vargas had come along to supervise the rookies under his charge, but the rookies themselves were in a different situation.
They had been dragged here because of the condition Radel had set: if he solved the Cavrins’ feeding problem, he wanted a day off not only for himself but also for his “colleagues.”
It was only natural that the footsteps of the rookies following behind Radel were heavy.
Ever since they heard the massive iron door of the dissection area slam shut behind them, their hearts had been pounding with unease.
‘If this goes wrong, are we going to lose our heads too?’
‘That bastard is definitely trying to screw us over.’
One laborer swallowed hard and glared at Radel’s back as he walked ahead.
Radel wore the same shabby work clothes as the rest of them, yet an inexplicable confidence seeped into his stride.
“Damn it, why did he drag us into this too?”
Another laborer whispered a curse.
When Radel had included the rookies’ vacation as part of his condition to Hector, they had not felt joy but a chill running down their spines.
This was collective responsibility, plain and simple.
An unspoken pressure that said: if you fail, you all die together.
They felt that they had been firmly hooked by that strange country bumpkin.
Unaware of the rookies’ anxiety, rough breathing from magical beasts began to echo from the end of the corridor.
- GRRRL!
- GUUK, GUUK!
- KREEEK!
Beyond the iron bars, the eyes of the magical beasts gleamed with hunger.
Thick white drool dripped from their mouths. Without realizing it, the rookies halted and hid behind one another.
But Radel was different.
He calmly approached the bars and met the beasts’ gazes head-on.
The magical beasts roared threateningly, yet he paid them no heed.
Watching him, Hector, the supervisor of the breeding facility, and Vargas, the supervisor of the dissection area, quietly exchanged glances.
“Is he really a rookie? He has no fear.”
“He is the ace among this batch of rookies. He is the one who sent a charging magical beast flying with a single blow at the dissection area not long ago.”
At Vargas’s words, Hector snorted.
“So what? Wasn’t that beast half-dead already? How can a feeble thing like that compare to these lively ones?”
He had taken in countless rookies over the years.
At first, they all acted fearless like that, but the moment a magical beast’s teeth brushed their necks, they usually wet themselves and ran.
Inexperience could never be hidden.
Already furious to the point of boiling over because of the Cavrins, Hector curled his lips crookedly, intending to knock the arrogance out of this insolent rookie.
However, Radel seemed unconcerned with their gazes and merely examined the interior of the breeding facility carefully.
When the group finally reached the area where the Moonstone Cavrins lived, the damp, fishy air suddenly changed.
Even the rookies who had come along sniffed instinctively.
“Huh? This is a breeding facility, but it smells… nice.”
What appeared before their eyes were the Moonstone Cavrins.
Beautiful magical beasts with pure white fur and Moonstones shimmering brilliantly on their foreheads.
They were curled up languidly beneath magical lighting that mimicked sunlight.
At their cute yet mystical appearance, the rookies were momentarily spellbound.
“So this is a Moonstone Cavrin…….”
“They are adorable…….”
But what shocked them even more was the environment the Cavrins lived in.
It was a breeding facility so luxurious that even Radel, who had majored in Cryptozoology at the academy, was taken aback.
On elegant solid-wood beds sized perfectly for the Cavrins lay soft velvet sheets, and at the head of each bed was a plush pillow made of the finest goose feathers.
The floor was covered in carpets with exotic patterns, and the food bowls were carved entirely from marble.
Anyone would mistake it for a royal residence rather than a beast’s enclosure.
It was not even comparable to the rookies’ shabby dormitory.
“……Hey, isn’t this better than our room?”
“Seriously. Look at that food. That is what they feed magical beasts?”
“I want to eat it myself.”
Fresh fruit, premium magical beast meat glistening with fat, carefully shaped dumplings, and fish with every bone perfectly removed. No matter how precious the beasts were, they could not possibly be treated better than this.
Hearing their murmurs, Hector cut in sharply.
“These fellows are more precious than the Mage Tower’s laborers. This level of treatment is only natural.”
His words were tinged with pride in the Cavrins.
At that moment, Radel, who had been quietly observing everything, spoke.
“Do you clean the breeding facility every day?”
“Of course. We keep it so clean that you cannot find a single insect.”
“And the meals are always like this?”
“The Mage Tower’s kitchen prepares top-grade ingredients specifically and sends them over.”
Even to Radel, it looked that way. A perfect environment, a perfect diet.
Yet the Cavrins showed no interest in any of it. Even when they went near the bowls, they ignored them completely.
Seeing this, Vargas asked in confusion.
“They have not touched it at all, even after starving for three days?”
“That is right. I am losing my mind. Why else would I come begging you for laborers? If the mages find out about this, who knows what will happen!”
Hector clutched his head.
Radel quietly observed the Cavrins.
They wandered around the enclosure or lay down lazily, but their eyes looked hollow, as if yearning for something.
A snickering voice echoed in his head.
- That breeding facility is far more comfortable than the academy dormitories! Heh heh, compared to where they originally lived, this place is paradise!
It was the Spirit of the Library speaking to Radel.
Radel murmured softly toward the book tucked under his arm.
“You mean the place where the Moonstone Cavrins originally lived?”
- That is right! It was a complete jungle, a jungle! A misty forest deep in rugged mountain ranges! Predators everywhere, poisonous plants covering the ground!
A jungle.
At that single word, all the pieces clicked into place in Radel’s mind.
As if he had realized something, he turned toward Hector and Vargas.
“Is there a place in the Mage Tower where plants are grown?”
***
“AAAAAH!”
“Help!”
“Are you trying to kill us?!”
At the Mage Tower’s old plant collection site, commonly known as the “Abandoned Collection Area,” the rookies’ desperate screams echoed through the air.
They were facing the greatest crisis of their lives.
Ignoring his companions’ wails, Radel carefully gathered things scattered on the ground.
The sack in his hands was already bulging with unidentified contents.
The rookies were losing their minds.
From the moment that country bumpkin, who had asked whether there was a place to grow plants, chose this place instead of a peaceful greenhouse or a well-maintained herb garden, a sense of foreboding had begun.
They did not know what he was thinking, but this was a truly insane choice.
This place was not merely poorly managed.
There was a reason every laborer in the Mage Tower avoided it.
It was a living hell, teeming with beastified plants.
“Mom!”
“AAAAAAH!”
“Let go! Let go of me!”
One laborer was dangling in midair, caught by the tongue of a gigantic carnivorous plant that spewed sticky slime, while another was being dragged along the ground by a “paralyzing vine tendril” that had burst up from below and wrapped around his ankle.
Despite their screams, that strange fellow calmly swept things into his sack as if it did not matter what happened to them.
Then he straightened up briefly and looked in their direction.
A plant’s vines were binding their legs and pushing them into a massive cylindrical pouch.
Inside the pouch, digestive fluid was already seeping out, melting their clothes.
HISSS!
Yet Radel remained calm.
“You are still fine. Even if the digestive fluid comes out, you will not die right away, so do not worry.”
At his nonchalant voice, one of the rookies finally snapped and screamed.
“You lunatic!”
Facing the possibility of death, his last thread of reason had broken.
“You bastard, I will not let this go! Once we get out of here, you are dead!”
What had they done so wrong?
It was true that they had resented him, but after being assigned to the dissection area, they had not even had the chance to act on it. That country bumpkin worked well and was strong despite his appearance. Once they noticed that, they simply followed his instructions.
And now this was happening!
“Huh? Did I hear wrong? It sounded like someone called me a lunatic. And said they would kill me…….”
Radel muttered as if he had heard something strange while picking things up from the ground.
“Should I just go back alone like this?”
At that single sentence, the movements of the laborers struggling inside the plant pouch froze. Almost simultaneously, they shouted desperately.
“No! No!”
“You must have misheard!”
“I think I lost my mind for a moment! Please, spare us!”
With a satisfied smile, Radel returned to gathering materials.
The place where Moonstone Cavrins originally lived was a misty forest in rugged mountain ranges.
A land crawling with predators and blanketed in poisonous plants.
In such a harsh environment, their food sources would have been limited.
For small, omnivorous magical beasts like Cavrins, the prey they favored in a jungle was obvious.
Small insects and bugs.
Moreover, Cavrins were sensitive and aggressive magical beasts.
There was no way such creatures lacked hunting instincts.
An environment that was too comfortable and safe, and food that arrived perfectly prepared, had instead become poison to them.
A magical beast that lost its wildness would also lose its will to live.
Once his sack had grown heavy, Radel stood up.
‘Those guys should be about out of strength by now.’
More importantly, it was time to feed the Cavrins properly.
***
“You! What do you think you are doing right now?!”
Hector could not believe the scene unfolding before his eyes.
That rookie named Radel was releasing disgusting insects onto the floor of the Cavrins’ luxurious breeding facility.
“Get rid of those filthy things immediately!”
Seeing the bugs crawling across the floor, Hector shrieked in horror.
“It will be fine. Please trust me.”
Radel’s gaze, however, was more serious than ever.
He addressed the Cavrins, who had been lying listlessly.
“All right. It is time to eat.”
At that moment, something miraculous happened.
Sniff, sniff.
The noses of the Cavrins, who had not touched even water for three days, twitched.
Their eyes snapped open, fixing on the living insects crawling across the floor.
- KREEEK!
One Cavrin leapt off its bed and snatched a bug at lightning speed.
Then it chewed noisily, devouring it with relish.
That sight was the signal. The other Cavrins began hunting all at once.
There was no trace of their former lethargy. They were agile, swift, and brimming with vitality.
“What in the world…….”
Beside the speechless Hector, Vargas murmured in awe.
“They finally look alive again.”
The rookie laborers also stared blankly at the scene.
Who would have imagined that such beautiful and noble magical beasts would eat filthy insects?
While everyone stood frozen in shock, Radel watched the Cavrins with a satisfied expression.
Hector, still reeling, finally managed to speak.
“Why…… why is this happening? Why would they ignore delicious food for such worthless bugs……?”
“Well. Perhaps no matter how good the food is, it cannot compare to prey they hunted themselves. They are magical beasts, after all.”
With those words, the breeding facility filled only with the sound of Cavrins crunching insects.
Hector gazed at their lively movements with sunken eyes.
The rookie’s words were undeniably correct.
The Cavrins hunting insects were the most vibrant he had ever seen them.
Inside Radel’s head, the spirit’s voice rang out.
- Heh heh, this should earn you that vacation! Have you thought about what you will do?
Radel quietly nodded.
Naturally, he had no intention of spending his vacation simply relaxing.
There was something he needed to find within the Mage Tower.