Chapter 994: The First Gateway (4)

“This way, Mr. Evan.”

Whoosh.

Turning through the secluded alleys of Gateway City, they headed for the back door of a dilapidated tavern.

As soon as they stepped inside, boisterous laughter echoed from all directions.

At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary scene, no different from any other bar in a bustling street.

But Lennok didn’t miss that some of the bar’s patrons exchanged quick glances with Angel.

“They’re psychics.”

“……”

Most of the patrons inside the bar each possessed their own unique, distinct psychic waves.

A peculiar wavelength only felt from psychics with considerable skill.

“Is this tavern itself the Gateway branch of the Ability Awakening Warband?”

“I’ll explain that part later. Let’s discuss the most important matter first.”

Angel nodded and immediately led Lennok to a private room in one corner of the tavern.

“As the commander must have explained, the Conjunction Spell Master has entrusted the management of the Gateway to the Gateway Search Party and the Chimeras.”

“……”

“The Chimeras he created are monsters that have shed organic matter, transcending assimilation with inorganic matter to the point of deceiving perception.”

Angel said, as they entered the hallway behind the tavern.

“Unlike exceptionally skilled spellcasters like you or Mr. Van, most superhumans would find it difficult to even realize such things are present beside them.”

“Deceiving perception…”

Considering the existence of the flesh giant that had become one with the gate, it wasn’t a hard explanation to accept.

“The problem is that even such Chimeras hold little meaning to the Conjunction Spell Master. They are all mere byproducts generated during the research process of his Conjunction Spellcraft.”

“Researching Conjunction Spellcraft? That sounds strange.”

Lennok retorted.

“Would a Grand Spell Master of the Alliance intentionally leave behind such byproducts while researching his own spellcraft?”

At the point of reaching Level 8, most spellcasters are no longer bound by physical limitations when researching their true magic.

Becoming a Grand Wizard means breaking the seven hierarchies of self-modification and forging one’s own path.

What’s important is to firmly grasp concepts so that the spellcaster’s own mindscape, will-thought, and mental balance don’t collapse.

Even Lennok, after reaching Level 8, hadn’t physically ‘researched’ lightning or fire much.

At most, he’d only tried them out experimentally when learning new techniques or mindscape skills.

But Angel shook his head at Lennok’s words.

“That’s because the Conjunction Spell Master’s trait-type Conjunction Spellcraft possesses unusually powerful and unique properties.”

“……”

“It is also the decisive reason why the Conjunction Spell Master continues to research his spellcraft even now.”

Creak…!!

Angel said, having found and pushed open a hidden door beyond the private room.

“To collect information about that, we needed to contact an official from the Warband.”

As the iron door opened, an intense psychic wave assailed Lennok from within.

Fwaaang!!

It wasn’t a hostile wave like animosity or killing intent, but a sharp psychic wave akin to caution.

So intense was the psychic projection that a physical force seemed to gently push Lennok back.

“……”

Lennok, deflecting the psychic wave pouring from the doorway, raised his gaze and peered into the room.

A man of unusually large stature was in the room, his back turned, tinkering with something.

Scrape, scrape.

Each time he carefully moved his arm, a slow grinding sound could be heard.

Was this large man the one who just unleashed the psychic wave on Lennok?

Just as Lennok was about to raise his will-thought, the man spoke.

“So, you’re the Flame magic user rumored to have taken down Lieutenant General Roberaid.”

“……”

“Thank you. I want to express my gratitude on his behalf. That stuffy soldier had Uellert, the Eighth Seat, bedridden for a while, you see.”

Lennok paused at the unexpected topic, as the man slowly pushed up both his arms and spoke.

“If Ballak O’Edon, the Sixth Seat, hadn’t intervened, we would have lost a valuable high-level ability user.”

“……Where is Ballak O’Edon?”

“Ah, you met Ballak O’Edon, the Sixth Seat, once in the Hanghasa Labyrinth, didn’t you?”

The man said, slowly turning around.

“Then you’d know. He’s adjusting his abilities. He went through a rough patch a few days before meeting you, so it’ll take some time before he can show his face.”

“……”

“His ability is the most prone to rampaging among psychics of the same level. The Warband is managing him intensively, you see.”

A muscular man with a mustache. His apparent age was around forty.

Dressed in a shirt and suspenders, his rolled-up sleeves gave him an active appearance.

Holding a horn pipe, the man rose abruptly and strode forward, extending a hand.

“I’m Bernard, an explorer. It’s an honor to meet the rumored Cheonbeon.”

“An executive of an ability user group is working as an explorer?”

Lennok asked, looking at the hand he offered.

“Doesn’t seem like a suitable profession.”

“……Hmm.”

“That psychic wave you just launched at me. It was a kind of will-thought, modulated to be stimulating for reconnaissance.”

Lennok, staring intently at Bernard’s face, finally seemed to understand and nodded.

“So you possess an innate ability specialized for information gathering and search. Otherwise, there’d be no reason for you to cooperate with Angel.”

“……”

Bernard, whose abilities and lineage had been discerned immediately upon meeting, lost for words, turned his gaze to Angel.

“Is… is he usually like this?”

“Bernard. What are you talking about, after saying it yourself just now?”

Angel shrugged.

“He’s the wizard who survived the Hanghasa Labyrinth. In terms of sheer ability, he should be among the Ten Seats of the Warband. Of course his insight would be exceptional.”

“No, there have been almost no wizards who could analyze my psychic wave to this extent just by seeing it.”

Bernard’s eyes gleamed with suspicion as he looked at Lennok.

“This isn’t possible with just exceptional sensitivity. Perhaps, Cheonbeon, you’re also an innate ability user?”

“……”

“It’s extremely rare for a high-level wizard to also awaken an innate ability, except for the Chairman.”

Lennok remained silent, and Angel sighed in exasperation.

“Even if the Central Front is vast, do you think such a thing is common?”

“Here we go again. That Eye of Blue Spellcaster who’s holed up alone in a megacity lab?”

Bernard grumbled and turned his back.

“Fine. What more is there to say? Let’s just say I was mistaken.”

“No, you weren’t wrong.”

“What?”

“When handling barrier spellcraft, one becomes accustomed to detecting various types of forces beyond just spellcraft.”

Wooong!!

As a complex barrier formation overlapped and rotated in Lennok’s hand, Bernard’s mouth opened slightly.

“It’s not an innate ability, but it’s a domain of talent that cannot be entirely called spellcraft either. You have good intuition.”

“……I can’t believe it. To miniaturize a barrier formation and carry it around directly.”

Bernard muttered in disbelief.

“So, the story about meeting Jindun directly in the Hanghasa Labyrinth wasn’t a lie after all?”

“If your questions are answered, can we move on to the main topic?”

Lennok said, nodding his head.

“This ice guy has been holding back, saying he can only properly explain once he meets you.”

“……Alright. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Bernard, after a moment’s hesitation, finally nodded.

“I’ll explain what’s happening at the Gateway right now.”

“……”

Lennok silently watched Bernard’s retreating figure as he held the carved horn pipe.

‘His innate senses aren’t bad at all. And his temperament seems normal, considering the Warband’s reputation.’

Having met Ballak O’Edon, the Level 8 gravity-type superhuman, Lennok had some understanding of what the Ability Awakening Warband was.

An alliance of ability users who would stop at nothing to awaken and control psychics that functioned purely on innate talent.

A colossal force that had changed so much that even Angel, who was part of the Warband in its early days, had abandoned the organization.

Since he was told that Bernard was an acquaintance who was part of such a Warband, he had expected a superhuman who had abandoned his humanity, but Bernard’s reactions were surprisingly normal.

Even after Lennok intentionally provoked him by displaying barrier spellcraft to gauge his reaction, there was nothing significantly unusual.

‘For now, it’s fine to observe the situation.’

He followed Angel and Bernard into the basement.

There was a large workbench where Bernard had been carving the horn pipe, and a long table next to it.

On the table, various kinds of liquor bottles were neatly arranged in a line.

Lennok, checking the brands of the bottles categorized by label, asked.

“There’s whiskey sold only in the Northern Continent. Is collecting liquor your hobby?”

“Well, something like that. You could call it a pastime I pick up while working.”

Bernard said, cleaning the table and chairs, and picking up a liquor bottle.

He uncorked it with one hand and casually offered the whiskey bottle to Lennok.

“It’s going to be a bit of a long story, would you care for a drink?”

“No, keep it short.”

Lennok cut him off sharply, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

“I don’t have much time. I intend to hear only the essentials briefly and then leave.”

“Right. Not much time.”

Bernard took a long swig from the bottle, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and asked.

“That’s because the Conjunction Spell Master gave you a 48-hour grace period, isn’t it?”

“……”

A question that cut straight to the core right from the start.

But instead of wavering, Lennok stared at Bernard with a cold gaze.

As expected, the Ability Awakening Warband knew what Lennok had experienced outside the Gateway.

Even if they didn’t know every detail, they were aware of the general flow of events.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t know the conversation between the Conjunction Spell Master and Lennok at the Gateway.

Lennok nodded instead of answering, and Bernard nodded back.

“As you might guess, I’m in charge of collecting information around the Gateway. Angel contacted me because he knew what kind of work I was doing for the Warband.”

“Bernard is the ability user within the Warband granted the most freedom and authority to operate independently.”

Angel added, as if to elaborate.

“His own psychic abilities are fully developed, and since he’s from ‘Pioneer’, the Warband tends to respect his status.”

“Pioneer?”

Lennok frowned at the unfamiliar word, and Angel replied.

“It’s an explorer organization that made a name for itself on the continent. It consisted of five superhumans, and Bernard was one of them.”

“Haha, that was a long time ago, a bit embarrassing.”

“……”

As Lennok watched Bernard scratch his head, Angel asked, seemingly surprised.

“It’s an organization that achieved various feats, like discovering the hideouts of Ascendants and the graveyard outside Ars Nova. You don’t know about them at all?”

“I haven’t had much interaction with explorers.”

Lennok shook his head.

“All the famous superhumans I’ve met were targets to be killed. Do I need to explain further?”

“……I see. If I were to tell you something you might know about…”

Angel cleared his throat and said.

“During the Holy War, they were the ones who found the entrance to the Valley of Lament, where the cult’s main headquarters was located, and stopped the war.”

“……They found the entrance to the cult’s main headquarters?”

“Once the Valley of Lament was discovered, the cult’s advance halted, and the Holy War concluded six months later, so they can be seen as having provided the impetus for the end of the war.”

Angel replied.

“Though it’s disbanded now and its members have scattered, their achievements are highly regarded even by the Central government.”

“……”

It was surprising that an explorer organization had achieved feats in the Holy War, but also intriguing that it was done using their specialized skills.

Above all, the very fact that such a thing was possible even though the Pontiff was surely at the main headquarters during the Holy War.

“I understand you’re a capable explorer. What’s the reason for emphasizing that to me?”

“Rather than emphasizing…”

Angel shrugged.

“Even Bernard is having trouble investigating the Conjunction Spell Master.”

“……”

“Let’s start after you see this.”

Bernard pulled out a thick file from a heavy box under the table and opened it.

As soon as the file was opened, a photograph immediately caught the eye. It was the strange, colossal architectural structure covered in a bizarre membrane.

Standing tall in the middle of the city, it exuded a powerful, vivid dynamism that seemed to burst out of the photograph.

Feeling the strangeness emanating from the printed photo alone, Lennok’s expression hardened for a moment.

“……This is.”

“The trait-type installed life Domain that the Conjunction Spell Master built in the heart of Gateway City. Commonly known as the ‘Operating Theater’.”

Bernard said, pushing the photo in front of Lennok.

“The Spell Master, as soon as he settled in the Gateway, constructed this Domain and holed up inside, not coming out. He only emerges from the Operating Theater once a day.”

Bernard spread his fingers toward Lennok.

“That’s to greet the clients who come to his Operating Theater.”

“Clients…”

“He is a powerful trait-type spellcaster, but even more, he is an exceptional surgeon. Especially his surgical skills for high-level superhumans are renowned even within the Alliance.”

Bernard nodded.

“However, being a Grand Spell Master of the Alliance and possessing an extremely fastidious nature, he rarely took on patients unless it piqued his interest. But for some reason, since coming to the Gateway, he has consistently been taking on patients.”

“……”

Lennok had known.

The reason the Conjunction Spell Master had delayed the time, mentioning surgery.

Even the fact that he had an Operating Theater might not be solely for himself.

However, the fact that an 8-level trait-type spellcaster was also an exceptionally skilled surgeon felt strangely unique to Lennok.

Had he ventured into medicine with his talent and abilities? Or did he acquire trait-type spellcraft based on his medical talent?

Either way, Lennok could understand how singularly highly regarded the Conjunction Spell Master was among the Grand Spell Masters of the Alliance.

“I think you can guess what I’m trying to say by now.”

Bernard spread two fingers toward Lennok and nodded.

“The Conjunction Spell Master didn’t give you a 48-hour grace period out of consideration or concern for you. It’s because he’ll only have time to pay attention to you after he finishes two surgeries, one every 24 hours.”

“……”

“So, if you want to acquire the Veil Fragment, you must move while the Conjunction Spell Master is performing surgery. After 48 hours, he will never give you an opening.”

“Wait. There’s a part missing from your explanation.”

Lennok raised his hand and asked.

“You’re making it sound like I need to sneak into the Operating Theater without the Conjunction Spell Master knowing. Why do I need to enter the Operating Theater to get the Veil Fragment?”

“Because the Conjunction Spell Master’s Operating Theater is structured to envelop the entrance to the Gateway.”

Bernard said.

“The Veil Fragment can only be obtained at the Gateway entrance, and that vicinity is already covered by the Operating Theater. There’s virtually no other option.”

“……”

“The Operating Theater is the Spell Master’s own constructed Domain… Considering he’s a trait-type spellcaster, fighting inside would be suicide.”

“So, to avoid fighting the Spell Master, I need to move while he’s performing surgery. Indeed, there’s no need to clash with the Spell Master before acquiring the Veil Fragment.”

Since Lennok had come to the Gateway under the alias Cheonbeon specifically to avoid raising the Spell Master’s suspicions, avoiding a confrontation with him was a natural course of action.

However, while Lennok understood that fact, he also tilted his head in question.

“But even if he’s performing highly focused work like surgical operations, it’s difficult to remain undetected inside his Domain. And how would I even enter the Operating Theater in the first place?”

“A reasonable question. I also gathered some relevant information on that front.”

Bernard uncorked a new bottle of liquor, took a long swig, and said.

“There’s an easy way and a difficult way to enter the Conjunction Spell Master’s Operating Theater. Which one do you want to hear first?”

“Tell me both. Are you playing games with me?”

“……I’ll explain the easy way first.”

Under Lennok’s cold gaze, Bernard’s shoulders instantly slumped.

He put down the bottle, pulled out a thick bundle of papers from a box stacked under the table, and flipped through them.

“Just so you know, it’s merely a possibility. It’s one of the plans that came up while the Warband was gathering information and formulating countermeasures.”

“Why are you taking so long?”

“You’ll understand once you hear what I’m about to say, won’t you? Alright. Found it.”

He pulled out a thin file from the pile of boxes and opened it.

Bernard, narrowing his eyes and staring at the documents in the file for a long time, slowly began to speak.

“There’s a rumor that among the clients who have booked the Conjunction Spell Master’s surgery, there’s a high-ranking executive of the Eyes of Blue.”

“……What did you say?”