Chapter 67
Rai silently stared at the vivid green currents.
‘Although everything was pointing to one thing, deep down, I wanted to believe it wasn’t true….’
Rai closed his eyes. Letting out a small sigh, he clenched his fist.
“I don’t know that there’s ever been an anomaly in the seals before, so why all of a sudden…” Marcel, the red-haired mage standing beside Reina, asked.
He had just returned to the tower as the leader of the First Mage Corps, having been away in recent months dealing with the mysterious beasts that had been rampant on the southern border. While investigating the mysterious beasts’ sudden appearance, he discovered traces of dimensional magic at the end of one of the caves.
The traces found on the prison wall where the Hick’s incident occurred were consistent with the expected signs of dimensional magic. And with the destruction of the First Seal, it all pointed to one conclusion.
“The seals of Elkiore are being broken,” said Rai dryly.
Reina and Marcel exchanged glances. It was the first time Rai had directly mentioned the highly classified seals of Elkiore, which was shrouded in secrecy.
Elkiore, known in Alucina as little more than a legendary sorcerer, was a grand mage of elven origins. Born with innate talents, he immersed himself in forbidden magic, particularly dimensional magic, over several hundred years.
Thirty years ago, after opening dimensional gates everywhere and inviting the fiends of the Abyss, he was banished to the Forgotten Desert and sealed away by Hildite, then Lord and ruler of the Fae realm.
After expending all his strength in subduing the monsters and sealing Elkiore, Hildite passed away. Delphior, the current ruler, ascended to the throne following the disappearance of Hildite’s only heir, his son.
For some unknown reason, the only gate Elkiore opened that remained unclosed was the one connected to the Kingdom of Alucina. Because of Elkiore’s disappearance, no direct link to the abyss had been established, but occasionally beings from other worlds would emerge.
In exchange for managing the gate, the Emperor of Alucina gave the Mage Tower full autonomy over it and the seals. And for the past 30 years, none of the four seals left by Hildite had wavered, and Elkiore was never seen or heard from again.
Up to this point, the information was known to the high-ranking sorcerers. Although everyone was aware, it was an event they hesitated to mention. It had the potential to become a significant disaster if revealed to the general populace, and thus, it remained undisclosed.
But the shadowy figure, seemingly forgotten, raised its head like a snake.
“For now, place additional reinforcements on the remaining second, third, and fourth seals.”
“Yes.”
Rai pondered deeply.
‘There haven’t been any significant changes recently. What on earth could have affected Elkiore’s seal?’
He let out a small sigh.
“The exact cause is still unknown. However, what is certain is…”
Turning to the two mages, Rai said, “I will go to Regia.”
***
Days passed with no results. I went to the seaside under the pretext of searching for sea monsters for my Deep-Sea Monster class. Pretending to swim with a bubble of air on my head, I approached the professor and tried to get some information, but to no avail.
“Professor, what should I do if I encounter the Leviathan? Are there any weak points or something like that?”
The professor pushed up his glasses and said seriously, “In general, if you encounter the Leviathan, you should play dead first.”
“And then?”
“Well… you have no choice but to hope they fall for your act of playing dead.”
“And if they don’t fall for it?”
“Then…that would be a pity.”
So, if you encounter it, you just play dead. Truly useless knowledge. Just in case, I also asked Slime Professor Manus:
“Professor, is there a way to survive if you encounter the Leviathan?”
The professor, who was puzzled by my question, suddenly chuckled and said, “The Leviathan isn’t a slime, student.”
“…I know that, but I was wondering if you, Professor…might know something about it.
“Hehe. Come to think of it, I’m curious too. There’s a rumor that the Leviathan is tolerant to creatures that share the same water elemental attribute. So I wonder if the Leviathan would attack a water slime?”
Asking me a question instead of answering mine. Quite an impressive skill.
When I stared blankly, unmotivated to answer, the professor said, “If you happen to find out, make sure to let me know.”
“But I’m not…a water slime.”
After slapping me on the shoulder as if to say, “What are you so worried about?” he held out a cube of blue light.
After developing a cube trauma since the last incident with Theo, my vision blurred.
He placed the cube carefully in my hand and said, “Here’s a cube containing the cute and squishy water slime transformation magic. If you ever encounter the Leviathan, make sure to use this.”
At that point, I had to wonder. Did he actually care about my well-being or was he just trying to get me out of his hair? I pocketed the cube, losing the strength to argue any further.
Professor Manus chuckled excitedly. It was indeed another useless conversation.
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