The Genius Magician Hides His Swordsmanship - Chapter 20

Chapter 20. Adonis Khan

The wind gathered in an instant and compressed in front of my eyes.
Fwoo!
I was stepping on it, and at the same time densely breathing in new air.

‘This won’t be easy.’

It was a simple process of stepping on it and creating a new one to step on. It was a continuation of the same process, but I couldn’t lose my concentration even for a moment.
The presence of the dense gas was so vague that it seemed like it would disappear down there.

[Surely, it’s like walking in the air.]

Oberon, who had been ignoring it as a catch, was looking curiously at it.

‘It’s still too difficult to use.’

I had passed 3 meters worth of barbed wire.
Tuk-
Finally, the other side was visible, and I’ve never been so glad to see the land I’ve always stepped on.

‘It seems that more than half my mana has been consumed.’

It had only been a few steps, but my whole body was drenched in sweat.

‘Although it’ll be quite useful for me later.’

Oberon was no longer in denial. The variety of steps that could be used meant that the number of attack routes had increased exponentially.

[Alright, alright. You are good.]

Laughter leaked out at the sight of Oberon complaining for no reason. He looked like a gorilla, but I wondered why he was as upset as a child…

[Why are you laughing? Let’s go take a look there.]
‘Alright.’

The surroundings were dark. Only the occasional light fixture illuminated the inside of the barbed wire fence.

‘What are all these things?’

The large tents installed everywhere obstructed the view. I walked through one of the tents in front of me.
Zip-
I pulled up a tent in front of me.

‘Eh?’

There was nothing.

‘This is a bit suspicious.’
[I know, they dare to set up tents.]
‘Doesn’t it look like they’re hiding something?’

Dozens of tents were installed. It must have been used to distract attention. Who knows what they’re really hiding.

[I see mages still deceive others.]
‘The question is this, when are we going to look through all of this?’

I started feeling dizzy all of a sudden. Probably because we had to inspect all these tents one by one.

[A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.]
‘Okay, let’s go around for now. Today probably won’t be the only day we’re here.’

I shook my head and took a careful step.

* * * 

Luckily, we didn’t run into anyone. The nervousness of walking around the tents slowly wore off.

‘Huh?’

I stopped in my tracks under one of the tents.

[What is that?]

We opened it up and were greeted by a few pieces of metal on the floor.

‘It can’t be…!’

As we got closer, doubt turned into conviction.

‘These are mine, right?’
[Are they? I don’t remember.]

Oberon is thousands of years old, so it could be hard for him to remember anything.

‘I’m positive. I gave them to Dolph as a gift.’

For me, it was a memory from a few years ago.

[Dolph? Ah! The butler?]
‘Yes, I gave them to him as a thank you gift.’

My teeth chattered.

‘…How dare they.’

They weren’t very valuable, but the fact that they were tampering with things that related to me enraged me.

‘Ha.’

But the anger was quickly replaced by regret.

“Dolph…”

I knelt before the objects. They were rusted and dulled metals that had been ripped apart for who knows how long. I touched them.

‘I’m sorry, I said I’d be back soon, but a thousand years have passed.’

After being chased by the Pentagram, I left this place. I never expected that the road would lead me down a path from which I would never return.

‘Why didn’t you leave in search of a life of freedom you fool?’

The discovery of these items indicated that Dolph guarded this place until the moment of his death.

‘If I knew this would happen… If only I had known I would be killed by the Pentagram. I would have told you to live your life. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry…’

I couldn’t get up, while feeling guilty for keeping them waiting for so long.
I stayed like that for a while. I needed time to gather my thoughts. Oberon stood silently beside me.
Slowly, he sifted through the metal. None of them were in pristine shape.

‘I have to take this…’

My gaze lingered on a dagger. The scabbard was covered in moss, and it looked like it might be functional.
Boom!
The dagger was still in pristine condition.

[I remember this. Was it the 10,000th season?]
‘That’s right, I gave it to Dolph to use it for self-defense.’

Only the dagger made of permanent iron still had value.

‘Whoa, even after a thousand years, Dolph, you’re still giving me something.’

At this moment I picked up the dagger and stood up.
Zip-
A sound tickled my ears. It was the sound of a tent opening.

‘Is there anyone here?’

Fortunately, it wasn’t where I was.

[I think it’s right next to us?]

A sound came from the tent on the other side. I lifted the tent and looked around. Four people wearing robes were exiting right next to them.

‘Are they mages?’

They appeared to be mages, not workers.

“Ha… Are you sure you can decipher that thing?:
“I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
“Given the ancient language, I’m guessing it’s hiding something big.”

Besides, the content of their conversation.

[Conversation?]

It was certain that something unusual was hidden in the tent they had come out of.

‘It must be something I left.’

I laid out a barrier to hide my hiding place.

‘This smells.’

I sniffed around a little.

‘It smells like…’

It had a relatively stinging smell.

‘What’s that smell?’

Suddenly, someone touched my shoulder. I almost screamed in surprise.

[What the hell?]

The beggar was smiling with yellow teeth.

‘Isn’t that the kid we saw at the restaurant earlier?’

A beggar inside a patrolled area. Even being able to approach me without a trace. Although, that’s not what’s important right now.

“Shh!”

He hurriedly lifted his index finger and put it to his mouth. Maybe this guy avoided making noise, so the mages didn’t even notice him.
Then the grinning beggar spread out his palm.

[What does that mean?]

Then, he connected his index finger and thumb to make a circle.

‘Is he asking for money?’
[This is a robbery.]

I had no other choice. First of all, in order not to get caught by the mages, I had to play nice.
I nodded and handed over a few gold coins from my pocket. Then he smiled as a reply.

“Thank you.”

I hurriedly shut the beggar’s mouth at his voice that followed.

“What are you doing!”

I paid him not to speak, and he immediately spoke up.

“Hey! Hey!”

But the beggar who shook off my hand spoke again.

“It’s okay! Those people are already gone.”

He then pointed to the mages who were indeed far away.

“There might still be people in there!”

The boy shrugged as he whispered lowly, pointing to the tent where the mages came from.

“There’s no one in there. The people who just left were the last group.”
“How do you know that?”

Then the beggar laughed.

“This is where I live. They’re excavating the ruins, and they just set up strange tents here three years ago. I’ve been watching them every day, so I can see their daily routine.”
“You live here?”
“Yes, you must’ve thought they’d already kicked me out, but I’ve watched them without getting caught once in these three years.”

I was puzzled. No matter how familiar the geography of this place is to him, it would be impossible to remain unnoticed by the mages for three years.

“Is there anywhere to hide?”
“Of course, there’s a secret room that only I go to. Now then, I’m thankful for the money. Please be careful so you don’t get caught.”

The beggar began to limp towards the tent the mages came out of.

‘A secret space? No way…’

I shouted at his back as he walked away.

“Are you sure you live here underground?”

Those words stopped the boy in his tracks. He turned back around and walked towards me, his limping suddenly cured. His cold, hard eyes fixed on me.

“Who… are you?”

I should be the one asking that question. The basement here was my hiding place, that was where I kept my mages’ research. It was a place guarded by a barrier.

‘So this guy broke through my barrier?’

The existence of the underground space was unknown unless the barrier was released.

[I’m guessing he’s not a normal guy to be able to erase his presence.]
‘It can’t be…’

A barrier that I, a thousand years ago, realized after much thought. With the help of a noble known as a magic master, it was a barrier that no one could break.
The beggar who quickly came near me widened his eyes.

“Who are you to know about this place?”

The beggar had completely changed his tone, his fists were clenched as if he was ready to fight.

‘What’s with this guy?’

He naturally put his hand on the dagger that was strapped to his waist.

“I have my own question. How did you manage to break the barrier?”

I didn’t know if there would be bloodshed. He dared to live in my abode.

“This is my home. It’s a place we’ve kept for generations!”

Suddenly, his body moved in an instant.

‘…!’

He only kicked the ground once.
Thud!
He came at me with a punch from my left before I knew it. It was too fast for my eyes to keep up with.

‘Huh?’

I hurriedly lowered my upper body,
Dig!
This time he turned to the right and stepped down.

[Would you look at this guy.]

There was no aura on it, but it was obviously a masterful move.

‘Holy shit!’

I rolled backwards, out of his path. Thanks to that, I looked ridiculous, but I didn’t care about my appearance. If it wasn’t for this method, I would have been helpless.

‘This is definitely…!’

He exploded his body with a burst of muscle. Using the centrifugal force of the attack to circle around the opponent’s body and deliver a follow-up blow.

[It’s similar to the techniques you used.]

Of course, it was so poor that it couldn’t be compared to mine, but it was clear that the stem was the same.

‘Did he steal a martial arts book from my residence?’

That was all I could think of.

‘If he knew how to deal with aura, I would have been in big trouble.’

Of course, that didn’t happen, so I had no thoughts of losing. If he’s using my techniques, it means his movements are within my palm.
A moment’s thought made me calmer.

“You are no ordinary beggar.”

I glanced at the beggar with calm eyes.

“Aren’t you the child of a magical family?”

Surprisingly, the beggar’s eyebrows twitched as if he was dodging his own attack.

‘It’ll only get harder if he drags it on for a long time.’

It would be difficult if other mages came in because of the commotion. The situation had been reversed with that single loophole.
I focused on the figure of the beggar. Neck, shoulders, pelvis, and thighs. If I couldn’t respond with the reaction speed, I had to read his movements in advance.

‘Let’s see what he’ll do next…’

In an instant, the muscles in his right thigh twitched.

‘Right!’

Taat!
As soon as his new form faded, he swung his dagger to the right. The dagger was swung without looking.

“Keugh!”

Drops of blood scatter in the air. My fist met the dagger.
Clang!
However, the impact also threw the dagger to the ground.

“You poor kid! It’s over!”

Returning to the left, his kicks were reaching toward my waist.

‘Yup, this is it.’

But I had already anticipated his next move. What greeted him was a group of thunderclouds.
Pzzt!
A wild lightning bolt shot down the beggar’s leg.

“Agh!”

The bewildered boy hurriedly twisted his body. But he couldn’t be faster than the speed of lightning.

“Kyaaa!”

The lightning bolt grazed his leg, even as he dodged.

[Nice shot!]

The beggar was rolling over clutching his leg. I picked up the dagger and held it to his neck.

“Tell me your real identity.”
“…I don’t know. Just kill me. You’ll never figure out how to break the barrier.”

He closed his eyes in resignation. His face was black, but up close, looked quite young.

‘He must be about 18.’

He had a rare determination for a boy his age.

‘That level of physical skill at this age…’

And since he broke through the barrier I set up, it was natural for me to be curious.

“Did you say you’ve lived here for generations?”

The boy opened his mouth, although his eyes still closed.

“Yes.”
“What’s your name?”

He let out a wistful sigh, then spoke.

“Come, I’ll tell you. Do not forget this name, for even in death I will curse you mages forever.”

I had no choice but to drop the dagger I held at the sound of his voice.

“Admun… Admun Dolph.”