Chapter 76: Magic Empire Blockade
"It’s really that important?" Ian asked, genuinely shocked by what he had just heard.
"Yeah, that is exactly why my brother was flipping out so much about it," Sarah said, taking another bite of her food.
"If beast cores are that important and rare, wouldn’t the Great Forest just be completely filled with overpowered Magicians and greedy Aura users hunting for them?" Ian asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well... what you are describing actually did happen a very long time ago," Sarah explained, her tone turning serious. "Back in those days, many kingdoms that bordered the Great Forest formed a massive, united expedition led by the Magic Empire to attack the forest and harvest the beasts. Our kingdom was part of it, too."
She paused for a moment, letting out a small sigh. "But that massive expedition ended in an absolute, blood-soaked disaster. They suffered catastrophic losses. Who knew the beasts living in there were so powerful and so incredibly organized? It was like there was a literal kingdom of monsters operating deep inside the forest." She paused again, letting the sheer scale of the disaster sink in.
"And the worst part of it is that the expedition didn’t even reach the inner part of the forest. But during that slaughter, a single, incredibly powerful Mage appeared. A Mage who could actually communicate with the beasts. And that Mage made a sacred contract with one of the most powerful ancient beasts in the entire forest..."
"A dragon," Ian said, cutting her off.
"Yes, a dragon," Sarah agreed with a nod. "I guess you would know who it was, after all. Since there is only one person who can actively control a dragon on this entire continent," she said, looking at Ian.
"Yeah... Richard Cornwall. The owner of the Beast Tower," Ian said, recalling it.
"Exactly. But at that specific time, he didn’t even own a magic tower; he was just a member of another powerful faction. I don’t know what kind of dark deal happened deep inside those woods, but shortly after, the Magic Empire suddenly betrayed the other kingdoms," Sarah explained, lowering her voice. "They announced that they would no longer allow anyone to enter the deep forest anymore. If anyone tried to enter, they would be killed on sight by the Empire’s forces."
"And then," she continued, "they built massive magical structures right at the border where the outer forest meets the inner forest. They declared that if any humans or demi-humans ever tried to cross into the inner part of the forest, they would be instantly obliterated by those towers. That is how they came to be known as the Magic Beast Towers."
"Huh? Aren’t the Beast Towers officially located inside the Magic Empire?" Ian asked, completely confused.
"Well, there is actually only one Beast Tower inside the Magic Empire’s borders. The rest of them are secretly hidden deep within the Great Forest," she said, scratching her head.
"Ooh... I see," Ian murmured, his eyes widening in understanding.
"But you know, when I heard this history story from my uncle, I thought maybe the Magic Empire came to a secret deal with the ancient beasts. Like, in exchange for keeping humanity away from the forest, the Empire regularly receives something incredibly valuable from the beasts... and that is the real reason why they built those blockade towers," she theorized, seeing Ian nod for her to go on.
"But my uncle says that the Magic Empire released an official statement a while back claiming it was strictly for the safety of mankind. That is why they placed such strict, violent regulations on the forest borders. They claimed that deep inside the inner forest lurks something that us humans can’t even comprehend."
"In a world filled with magic and ancient unknowns... I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if creatures we can’t even comprehend actually exist," Ian said, thinking back to the system simulation and the terrifying Red Orcs.
"Yeah, maybe you are right," she said, finally standing up from the table. "Anyway, I think I have entertained you enough for one morning. I should really get going now."
"Oh, leaving already? Well, thanks for the information, anyway," Ian said.
"Just think of it as my own way of apologizing to you guys," she smiled faintly. She then turned and walked out of the inn, leaving Ian alone at the table.
...
"Did you really have to tell him all of that?" Zena asked. He was standing just outside the heavy wooden doors of the inn, waiting for her.
"Well, yeah! He did save you from those Orcs, after all. So I was just thanking him by telling him things that I know he wouldn’t learn anywhere else," she said, walking down the steps.
"You don’t have to feel bad anymore, you idiot," Zena sighed, crossing his arms. "I know you wouldn’t have just cowardly left me in those woods to die. I even heard that when you flew away, you desperately went to find Uncle and Dad at the estate, but they weren’t there. And you even went to the Adventurer’s Guild to desperately look for high-ranking Adventurers who could fight a Red Orc to help us... but you found no one because nobody in this town would be crazy enough to fight a Red Orc."
Zena looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "So... you don’t have to feel bad. I know you tried your best."
"Then why were you so angry with me earlier?" she asked, looking genuinely sad.
"I’m not angry with you about the forest! I’m just angry at those two Thorne idiots who literally threw away the most important magical item ever!" Zena groaned. "And... you kinda brought up that stupid rumor, which is exactly why I’m pissed at you!"
"Ha-ha-ha!" Sarah instantly burst out laughing the second Zena mentioned the rumor.
"Is that all this was about?! That stupid rumor?!" she said between fits of laughter. "Well, you really can’t blame people in town for guessing! Since your body is permanently cursed and can’t grow... people just naturally assume your ’thingy’ can’t grow either!" she wheezed, holding her stomach.
"Shut up!! That is exactly why I hate you! Do you honestly think I don’t know that YOU are the one who is actively spreading those rumors around town?!" Zena yelled, his face burning bright red as he stormed away down the dirt street.
"By the way," Sarah called out, wiping a literal tear of laughter from her eye as she jogged after him. "Do you by any chance have any idea where Uncle and Dad went?"
"Well, they might have gone over to the Thorne Estate to officially finalize their alliance," Zena grumbled, still walking fast.
"Ooh... right. I almost forgot about that," she said, quickly following him.
...
— Outside the Thorne Estate —
(Ian’s Home)
"Hey, 32. Do we really have to do this right now in the middle of the afternoon? We could have just waited for the sun to go down and then made our move under the cover of darkness," a girl with bright pink hair complained. "And besides... four people? Isn’t this a bit overkill just to assassinate two little girls and a sick woman who is only at the Second Stage of Aura?"
She was talking to a quiet, grey-haired man wearing a dark, featureless mask. They were crouching flawlessly in the high branches of a tree overlooking the quiet Thorne mansion.
"We just do exactly what we were ordered to do, 44. Nothing more, nothing less," the grey-haired man said coldly.
"Man, you really are a buzzkill," 44 sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "I just feel like it’s way too much manpower for just three weak targets. Three of us are Fourth-Stage Aura users, and one is a Third-Stage! As I said overkill."
Suddenly, an older man wearing a dark mask silently dropped onto the thick branch right beside them.
"I just scouted the perimeter. I found out that their new Head Guard, Trevor, is not even inside the estate right now. He left a few hours ago," the older man reported. "So this is the absolute perfect time to strike them."
"Tsk... this mission just went from super easy to completely lame," 44 groaned, standing up on the branch and stretching her arms. "Let’s just get this over with quickly. I’ve got other things to do today."
"44, do not carelessly remove your mask this time, okay?" the older man warned sharply.
"10, don’t worry about me," she said, a wicked, confident smile forming beneath her mask. "With you guys here, I probably won’t even need to lift a single finger in there."