Chapter 25

"Mana Vessel Disease?"

It was hardly surprising, yet in another sense, it was utterly astonishing.

'She still hasn't been cured, even after fifty years?'

Thinking of her struggling with the illness all those years, Woojin could not hide his bitterness.

"A cure... Have you found one?" he asked cautiously.

"We aren't certain. But in the ruins of the Red Tower on the central continent, we found an account that might offer a clue."

Goun answered, glancing at Ruen to gauge her reaction.

'The Red Tower?'

It existed in [Evil Tale], too.

Known as a tower of mages, it was home to Suzuki Hana, the ranked player called the Red Witch.

'A cure for Mana Vessel Disease in the Red Tower...?'

That was valuable information.

Committing each piece of information he had learned from the elves to memory, Woojin continued his questions.

"What was the account about?"

"A dark mage who once lived in the Dark Forest."

'Don't tell me...'

"The Faceless Monster?"

Ruen nodded at his question.

"You know of it. Then again, it is a famous story."

'That thing again...?'

His face twisted involuntarily. It was an experience he never wanted to repeat.

"Of course I know it. I've even encountered it."

"Really?"

"In the western Dark Forest. If... you're planning to hunt it, give up. You don't stand a chance with your abilities."

It was harsh, but it needed saying.

'Even I'm still not confident I can beat it.'

If they could not even handle those collectors, there was nothing to consider.

"We know very well how horrifying that monster is. Fortunately, it isn't what we're looking for."

"Then what is?"

"The dark mage who created it."

"But he's dead, isn't he?"

Woojin recalled the dark mage's remains he had seen in the goblins' nest.

"Yes. But he left things behind."

"Things?"

"The Red Tower's records said this: Zion Muren of House Muren created the Faceless Monster."

'So the dark mage was Zion Muren.'

After hearing about the dark mage from Raoul and returning to the game, Woojin had investigated House Muren.

'There are five Muren brothers. Zion would be... the third.'

Until now, he had not known which of them was the dark mage. Now he finally had an identity.

"The records went on to say that Zion Muren used three ingredients to create the Faceless Monster."

Goun raised an index finger.

"First, the Immortal's Stake, a sacred object kept at the Third Holy See, which worships Rashin, god of light. Second, the Curse Demon's Brand, a spell that binds its target the moment it is used. And finally..."

Goun looked at Ruen. When she nodded, Goun continued.

"Third, Camilla's Green Jade."

"Camilla?"

Woojin had never heard of the first two items Goun mentioned, so they meant little to him. The last was different.

"Wait... Are you talking about the Camilla I'm thinking of?"

"Most likely."

Camilla of the Verdure.

One of the continent's seven great mystical beasts, known as the Primordial Sacred Spirits, it was a unique monster that had appeared only once in [Evil Tale].

"Don't tell me... he killed Camilla?"

"We don't know that either. The records merely say he used the Green Jade, Camilla's horn, as an ingredient."

"Hmm..."

Camilla resembled a deer with white fur and three horns on its forehead. Despite its gentle appearance, it was an extremely aggressive monster.

'If that post I read on the forums was right, all fifty of the top-ranked players who gathered to hunt Camilla were wiped out...'

Among them had been Kerga, counted as one of the strongest players in [Evil Tale].

'To take down a mystical beast like that... Zion Muren must have been far more formidable than I imagined.'

Of course, with a fifty-year gap between the game and this world, he had to consider variables such as equipment and skills.

"What matters is where Camilla's corpse lies."

"And where is that?"

With a soft rustle, Goun drew an old map from inside their clothes.

It showed not only the Dark Forest, but places across the entire continent.

Woojin's eyes flickered the moment he saw it.

'Isn't this... a world map?'

His surprise was only natural. At present, only about thirty percent of the map in [Evil Tale] had been completed.

'In the game, most regions outside the Dark Forest and the central continent are still shrouded in black.'

But Goun's map showed even those darkened regions.

'... This is far more remarkable than I expected.'

"Camilla's corpse lies in Lake Darin, a special dungeon between the Dark Forest and the central continent."

Woojin looked at the place Goun indicated.

"Lake Darin..."

That place-name did not exist in [Evil Tale].

"Then is this the Dark Forest?"

He pointed out the broad, black forest region encompassing the lake, and Goun nodded.

'The geography here is a little different from the game's.'

There had been no lake between the Dark Forest and the central continent to begin with.

Then Woojin remembered what Kahira had told him: Interstice Stones could create dungeons.

'It wouldn't be strange for Interstice Stones to create new dungeons over fifty years.'

"Could I keep this map?"

Goun looked uncomfortable at the question.

"I'm sorry. It's the only one we have..."

Woojin nodded. Instead, he read the names written around the edges of the map.

'The Ice Archipelago, the Dwarven Bulwark, the Haunted Harbor...'

All were places in unexplored regions still hidden in the game.

'The terrain may have changed, but it can't hurt to know.'

There might be something he could use in the game, so he slowly scanned the map, trying to memorize as much as possible.

"If we can find Camilla's corpse, we should be able to cure Her Majesty's illness."

It was certainly intriguing. But Goun's account was missing the most important thing.

"Is this information reliable?"

Was Camilla's corpse really in this place called Lake Darin? And could that corpse truly cure Ruen's illness?

Nothing was certain.

"You can trust it."

Just then, a high-pitched voice came from behind the elves.

Unlike the slender elves, most of whom were as tall as Woojin, the speaker barely reached his waist.

"... A child?"

"Nineteen. I may not look it, but I'm an adult."

To his surprise, the woman's body slowly rose until her eyes were level with his.

No, she rose just a little higher than that.

As though looking down on him.

'Red robes.'

Woojin had a rough idea who she was.

"My name is Irurin."

She offered Woojin no more than a slight nod in greeting before lowering herself again.

"A mage of the Red Tower?"

"Yes. I was."

There was bitterness in her voice.

"We met her when we visited the Red Tower. After hearing our situation, she agreed to join us. She was also the one who found the information about Mana Vessel Disease."

Goun leaned in to whisper quietly to Woojin.

"She's a fifth-grade mage, and probably... the Red Tower's only survivor."

The only survivor.

Now he understood her forlorn expression.

With the entire continent on the brink of destruction, even the Red Tower could hardly have remained standing.

"I can vouch for the information about Camilla. My teacher researched Mana Vessel Disease. The best remedy would be to drink the blood of the living Verdure, but... we have no alternative now."

She spoke confidently.

"And?"

Her tone was convincing enough to inspire trust. Unfortunately for her, it did not work on Woojin.

There was nothing he was better at than dealing with people.

"... Pardon?"

"You left something out. What makes you so certain Camilla's corpse is in the lake?"

Irurin's expression stiffened.

'Of course. There must be something she's hiding.'

She had joined the elves after hearing of their plight?

Mages were not the sort to offer favors like that.

Their power was tremendous, but it was difficult to control. That made their class harder to play than others, and their numbers were few.

Along with healers, mages were called an aristocrat class.

Naturally, they were haughty, too.

'Not all of them, but eight out of ten are. If they're treated like that in the game, would things be much different here?'

The way she had floated up to speak to him had already told him enough about her character.

"... Because I am my teacher's student."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"My teacher told me that he once taught Zion Muren."

"... What?"

In short, her teacher had helped create the monster now roaming the Dark Forest.

Remembering Raoul's death, Woojin unconsciously clenched his hand tight.

"When my teacher learned that the Faceless Monster was Zion Muren's creation, he left for the Dark Forest five years ago."

Irurin hesitantly continued.

"But I haven't heard from him since."

"Who is your teacher?"

"... Ratan Gray."

Good God.

At the name, Woojin let out an involuntary, incredulous laugh.

He knew that name, too. Ratan Gray was the current head of the Red Tower in [Evil Tale].

'That doesn't make sense.'

The timeline did not fit.

'The official website described the head of the Red Tower as an elderly mage.'

Raoul had said fifty years had passed since the Labyrinth Tower was summoned.

Yet here, fifty years later, the man had a nineteen-year-old student?

Unless Ratan Gray belonged to a nonhuman race such as the elves...

'To have survived since that era, he must have extended his lifespan some other way.'

"A way to increase life force..."

At that moment, something occurred to him.

'Life Drain, the dark mage skill.'

In the game, it was a spell that stole an opponent's HP to restore the caster's.

'But here, in reality, absorbing life force might work differently.'

It could extend one's lifespan, for example.

And that would mean...

'The head of the Red Tower can use dark magic?'

With that thought, the pieces seemed to fall into place.

If what Ratan Gray had taught Zion Muren was dark magic...

It was staggering.

If his suspicion was correct, [Red Tower], the largest magical association on the continent at present, was in the hands of a dark mage.

"There's no need to be nervous."

A strange feeling pulled Woojin out of his thoughts, and he looked around.

For some reason, the elves looked uneasy.

"I've got nothing against you. Your teacher's wrongdoing isn't your fault."

Only then did the elves' expressions relax a little.

After all, Irurin was their only hope. They would not want any discord.

And his relationship with Irurin mattered to Woojin as well.

'This is a chance to see for myself whether Ruen's Mana Vessel Disease can really be cured.'

"Then do we just head to Lake Darin now?"

"Well... there's a problem."

Irurin looked troubled by his question.

"A problem?"

"It seems Zion Muren placed a ward when he hid Camilla beneath the lake."

"A ward?"

"Yes. It seems to be some kind of curse magic... Unless we dispel it, we can't get inside."

Goun answered in her place.

"... A curse?"

At that moment, Woojin unfastened the pendant around his neck and held it up for them to see.

"I think I might be able to take care of that."

"...!!!"

It was the Pilgrim's Cross.