Genius Warlock

Prev I TOC I Next

“That’s amazing. I mean it sincerely.” Yareli said from the passenger seat. With one hand, she executed a magical incantation that Oliver had taught her, demonstrating it on a small scale.

Even among the prodigies assembled at the Magic Tower, her presence stood out as she adapted intricate and perilous magical formulas, centered around magic itself, to her unique style, showcasing her innate talent.

“Thanks for the compliment, but I didn’t create that formula. It’s just an imitation of what I’ve seen. The praise should go to Mr. Willes, who created it.” Oliver acknowledged, mentioning Willes, one of the leaders of the Kel Liberation Army.

At first glance, Willes’s fire magic appeared basic, adhering to fundamental principles, but beneath its surface lay creativity, a willingness to take risks, and a spirit of challenge. Most importantly, it was infused with talent and dedication.

It was a type of fire magic that could prove dangerous if mishandled, making its existence even more remarkable.

This was why Oliver held Willes in such high regard for creating such magic.

“You’re right, but being able to imitate and even teach it is a talent that shouldn’t be underestimated.” Yareli replied.

She labeled it as mere talent for the sake of convenience, but she couldn’t deny that Oliver’s ability went beyond talent. To replicate something after seeing it once was undoubtedly a remarkable talent, a divine gift, but the capacity to grasp that essence with just a touch transcended the realm of talent.

It was akin to not calling the ability to fly in the sky a talent.

Oliver had claimed to have learned this technique in the distant Eastern deserts, but it didn’t make sense.

When would he, raised by a warlock organization and later taken in by Merlin, have had the opportunity to learn techniques from the distant Eastern deserts?

A moment’s reflection revealed it to be an absurd falsehood.

In fact, from the very beginning, it was unclear whether his claim was true or false. He simply insisted that it was.

Yareli, and her grandmother, the One Master of the Skadi sub School, found it increasingly challenging to make sense of what they witnessed.

Even after experiencing it firsthand, it felt unreal and inexplicable.

Suddenly, Yareli began to question whether the order to observe Zenon was solely because he was a disciple of the Archiver.

“Miss Yareli.”

“Yes?”

“We’ve arrived.”

Yareli had been so engrossed in practicing the formula and lost in thought that she hadn’t even realized they had reached the logistics center.

She hurriedly deactivated the formula she was practicing and exited the vehicle in a hurry.

“Weren’t you planning to get out of the car when we were close by? To approach carefully?”

“That was the plan, but I didn’t feel any signs of anyone around.” replied Oliver, who had also disembarked. Indeed, there were no indications of anyone inside the logistics center warehouse. Yareli, with a sense of foreboding, extended her mana like a thread to thoroughly scan the surroundings but still found no one.

It was an unexpected situation, leaving Yareli puzzled.

“Is this… the right place?”

“According to the map, it is.”

Oliver shrank the vehicle they had received from Rokuri University using a reduction spell, lightened it with a weight reduction spell, and placed it in his pocket.

Despite his clumsy appearance, his abilities and task management were dependable, prompting Yareli to reevaluate the situation at the logistics center.

‘Is this place unrelated to Human-meat Chef? Or has someone already cleaned up and fled?’

Either way, it didn’t make sense. Even if it had nothing to do with Human-meat Chef, the abrupt closure was unusual, and the idea that Human-meat Chef had cleaned up and fled didn’t quite add up, especially with dozens of other businesses still operational.

‘It would have been a target for an attack.’

Yareli contemplated the situation but soon realized that thinking alone wouldn’t solve this mystery. It required a firsthand investigation.

“Let’s go in and have a look. Who knows what we might find.”

“I agree.” replied Oliver.

With their agreement, Yareli promptly entered the building. Just as she had sensed from the outside, the interior was empty, filled only with vacant wooden crates and layers of dust.

“There’s nothing on the ground level,” noted Oliver, using his warlock’s vision to scan the area. Upon hearing this, Yareli inferred the hidden meaning and inquired, “What about the basement?”

Oliver explained, “There are no people, but there are machines imbued with mana. It took a while to notice them due to the extensive security in the basement.”

In response, Yareli channeled mana through her feet and infused a substantial amount into the floor. As Oliver had mentioned, numerous magic circles covered the entire basement.

Upon seeing the magic circles, Yareli manipulated the mana within the floor, freezing both the floor and the magic circles simultaneously.

Crackling sounds filled the air as the security magic circle resisted Yareli’s efforts, but she meticulously analyzed its structure and pattern, gradually eroding it in reverse.

As proof of her success, a cold, blue magic emanated from Yareli’s feet, spreading over a certain area and freezing the floor’s surface. This icy spread didn’t stop there but continued to extend downward.

The intense cold severely weakened the floor’s durability and the magic circle. Yareli then raised one leg and forcefully stomped on the floor.

With a resounding impact and a crisp sound, the floor collapsed, engulfing Yareli. Oliver acted swiftly, following her into the dark abyss.

“What is this…?” Oliver questioned as they descended into the basement, the only sources of light in the darkness revealing dozens of cylindrical glass tubes. Each tube contained a fluid imbued with magic and life force, preserving human body parts.

Within these tubes, one could find eyes of various colors, hair with a red fluorescent glow, human skin with scales, black bones, and more—a wide variety of specimens.

Although Oliver had created several corpse dolls himself, this sight raised questions, as it was unlike anything he had seen before.

The massive cylindrical glass tubes, the magical fluid within, and the supporting machinery indicated a significant investment of money, technology, and effort.

While it was true that human corpses and body parts needed careful preservation to prevent decay, this level of preservation seemed excessive.

“These are special specimens,” Yareli explained.

“Special specimens? What are those?” Oliver inquired.

“Literally, unusual and exceptional bodies. They’re rare talents that occasionally appear in certain families. Like dragon skin resistant to fire, hair that acts as a catalyst for magic, magical eyes (魔眼) that exert special powers using magic.”

“Like your eyes, Miss Yareli?”

“…Did you hear about them?” Yareli asked, slightly surprised, although there was no reason for astonishment.

The fact that the Issai family possessed unique eyes was common knowledge among those at the Magic Tower. Naturally, Oliver, who had spent time at the Tower, would have heard about it as well.

“No, I didn’t hear.”

“…You didn’t?”

“Yes. No one told me that your eyes are special specimens or magical eyes (魔眼).”

It made sense. It was common knowledge, and no one would typically go out of their way to explain it. Moreover, despite Oliver’s notable accomplishments, he hadn’t been at the Tower for even a year.

“But how did you know about my eyes…”

“I thought they were special?”

Oliver, in a surprising departure from his usual behavior, finished Yareli’s sentence flawlessly. However, this improvement in his speech wasn’t due to any enhancement of Oliver’s sensory abilities. It was simply because Yareli’s eyes appeared beautiful and extraordinary through her round, thick glasses, and he had just expressed what he observed.

Nevertheless, Yareli responded with a blend of embarrassment and denial.

“My eyes are… just a bit special in their power, nothing too extraordinary.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Just a fortunate birth trait. I can’t really use it properly… But how did you know my eyes were special?”

“I saw a unique… unusual aura in them.”

Yareli was taken aback. She was certain she wore glasses that sealed and blocked the mana in her eyes. However, as she looked at the man before her, her doubts quickly dissipated.

Zenon, Dave… This enigmatic man with two names seemed to possess a power that made everything he did seem plausible. Even the most implausible actions carried an air of conviction.

“It’s strange. I’ve seen quite a bit of the world, but why am I only encountering these special specimens now?”

“Because most of them were hunted in the past. By the same sorcerer.”

A different, unexpected voice interjected.

Both Yareli and Oliver turned in surprise towards the source of the sound.

There stood a man who had not been there just moments ago.

With his shoulders squared, a clean jawline, a flat stomach, impeccably groomed hair, and dressed in a stylish suit, the man appeared almost ethereal. He greeted them with a blend of politeness and arrogance.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Human-meat Chef.”

The man revealed his identity without hesitation. Yareli was startled but quickly sensed that his words were true.

The reason was the immense amount of mana radiating from the man, filling the spacious basement. It defied common sense.

Realizing the situation, Yareli acted immediately.

She concentrated mana on her feet and activated a spell. She attempted to create a massive ice pillar to freeze the entire space in the blink of an eye.

The problem was, Human-meat Chef’s response exceeded that.

Shiiiiiing.

Human-meat Chef’s brown iris turned red and emitted light, effortlessly melting Yareli’s extensive ice with just a glance.

The power, precision, and speed of the reaction were all remarkable.

Oliver asked, “Is that eye a special specimen too?”

“Right. It can burn anything just by looking. But I have no intention to do so now, so relax.”

To prove his point, Human-meat Chef nonchalantly fetched a chair from a corner of the basement and sat down, showing no hostility.

Observing his vast and turbulent emotions, Oliver inquired, “May we also bring chairs and sit down?”

Human-meat Chef nodded in approval, and Oliver, bowing his head slightly in politeness, fetched two chairs.

Yareli watched Oliver silently, as if questioning his actions.

Oliver reassured her, “He doesn’t intend to harm us for now, so we don’t need to worry immediately.”

“Right, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. Sit down,” Human-meat Chef remarked casually, with an attitude that was both vexing and strangely persuasive.

Yareli shifted her gaze between Human-meat Chef and Oliver before finally sitting down on a chair. Following her lead, Oliver also took a seat, prompting Human-meat Chef to speak.

“By the way, can you read my emotions?”

“They are vast and tumultuous like waves, not easy, but I can catch glimpses of them.”

“Oh… Good eyes. I see why Puppet might have protected you for a while.”

The Black Hand’s finger, the Eternal Puppet – Yareli was startled once again by these words and glanced at Oliver.

Normally, Oliver would have responded, but he also had a question of his own, so he temporarily set aside his usual reactions.

“Do you know Puppet well?”

“We talk. He’s one of the few humans I can communicate with. At the same time, he’s the most inscrutable… That’s why I was curious. I wanted to see what kind of person Puppet had taken a momentary interest in.”

(To be Continued)

CH 404-413 (Vs Human-meat Chef Part2) $3CH 414-423 (Vs Human-meat Chef Part3) $3CH 424-433 (Vs Human-meat Chef Part4) $3434~ $1/chapter

OR

$5/month11 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$15/month17 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$30/month23 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$45/month60 chap ahead + 6 chap/week

Prev I TOC I Next

<ul data-sharing-events-added="true">LikeLoading...

Baby 20March 18, 2022In "OH Baby !"

World 14December 8, 2023In "Prisoner"

Genius 183March 23, 2023In "Warlock"