Getting close to Demonic Mana leads to corruption and mental pollution. Unless one is strong enough to protect themselves, they will be consumed by it.
It was enough to control his power to a level that would only be seen as impressive if word got out later. His priority was protection. If he let the knights get close to that bizarre Undead Golem emitting Demonic Mana, he would only lose precious talent.
It had been a while since he faced an interesting opponent. He was in a situation where he had to fight while exercising extreme control over his power instead of using it all.
Benson, who had accompanied Rayrn since his first patrol of the territory, was one of the knights handpicked by the Count of Ophern. He was a man who would give his life for his loyalty to the Count.
The problem was that even Benson, who rarely got surprised, found it difficult to process what was happening before his eyes. A mage—and a rare genius who could create original magic at that—could also wield a sword?
Rayrn swung his sword against the golem, weaving in and out, disrupting its offense and defense with incredible form. No, it was more than incredible; it was masterful.
The depth of Rayrn’s swordsmanship was profound. Benson had attained his knighthood through the sword, yet even he couldn’t guarantee how long he would last against Rayrn.
That was how exceptional Rayrn’s swordsmanship was. Even though his style differed from the traditional techniques of the Count of Ophern’s house, it was brilliant.
If possible, Benson wanted to watch him for days. He felt a greedy urge to observe that beautiful swordplay, wondering if he could mimic it or if it would help him break through the wall he had recently hit in his own training.
While the commoners were unaware, the conflict with the Marquis’s house had intensified behind the scenes. In such a situation, rumors of Rayrn’s true strength could become a problem. It had to be stopped.
Rayrn, who had begun incorporating magic into his swordplay, finally brought the Undead Golem down. The golem, which had grown larger by pulling in nearby iron ore and scattering Demonic Mana throughout the fight, eventually crumbled.
Despite having performed an incredible feat, Rayrn simply gave a refreshing smile and swept all the remains of the Undead Golem into his Dimensional Pouch.
Only then did he laugh loudly, looking satisfied. Even as he collected the remains, the others remained in a state of constant shock. Benson was the one to snap out of it first this time as well.
“Hard? It was nothing. If we had been unlucky, the Demonic Mana could have spread everywhere. Be careful, as there might still be some residual energy left.”
As if determined not to leave a single trace of Demonic Mana behind, Rayrn continuously cast purification magic from early morning. While not as effective as holy magic, a mage’s purification could still erase Demonic Mana.
To an onlooker, he seemed so passionate that one might wonder if he had been victimized by Demonic Mana in the past. Of course, the fact that Rayrn had fought members of the Demonic Cult who practiced Demonic Qi in his past life was a secret known only to him. There was no way they could know the reason behind his proactive movements.
To those who held Rayrn in awe, his actions were framed in a positive light. The truth remained hidden, replaced by the story that Rayrn, the strongest among them, was taking the lead to erase the Demonic Mana for their safety.
It had already been two years since Rayrn began his public activities. He first revealed his talent as a mage through territory patrols, then increased productivity as an Agriculture Official, and finally purged those who were eating away at the territory as an Administrative Officer.
Thanks to him, the atmosphere of the entire Earl’s Territory had changed significantly. Those who committed corruption shrank back, while capable people were recruited in large numbers, led by his confidant, Esty.
Despite this, they were still recruiting, claiming there was still a shortage of talent. While he gathered administrative officers, he also began using a lot of manpower by building a refinery. An unexpected boom had begun, all thanks to Rayrn.
By the time he felt the energy was completely gone, noon was approaching. After spending the noon hour on lunch, Rayrn had the soldiers surround the area and mobilized the Iron Fist.
It was an order from Rayrn, who held their lives in his hands. The men with shovels began to dig the ground frantically, as if they were born for this very task.
The people mobilized to assist in the iron mine search stepped forward. They were blacksmith apprentices who knew how to distinguish iron ore. Rayrn could distinguish it himself, but he stepped back, knowing experts were better for this.
The apprentices had been too shocked by the Undead Golem the day before to properly examine the ore. Looking nervous as if another undead might appear, the apprentices picked up the ore.
Searching for an iron mine could take months or even years. Even with Rayrn’s track record, people thought this task would take years. Finding an iron mine in the South was that rare.
Yet, it had only been three days since they started the search. Even including travel time, it hadn’t been a month. And they had already found it? The impossible had actually happened.
Even those who were full of doubt had no choice but to let it go at this point. Amidst the whispering crowd, Rayrn nodded with an expression that said this was only natural. Then, he spoke.
He began to give rational instructions for the next steps. The acquisition of the iron mine, which everyone thought would fail, began to move forward in earnest.
Time flew by. The workers’ hands showed no hesitation as they dug into the earth. When their strength failed, the next workers waiting in rotation were immediately deployed.
They still had to investigate how much was buried. However, there seemed to be no problem with the immediate supply of iron ore. It wasn’t in a mountain range; it was practically an open-pit mine that appeared as soon as they dug the ground.
As long as they could extract it, there would be no problem with transport or refining. Every bit they dug would be sent to the refinery in the Holy City, where the surging flames would turn the ore into solid iron.