Chapter 126: Divine Mechanism

An inexplicable phenomenon was occurring, one that even Ruan—a promising disciple of the Magic Tower—could not comprehend.

Oooooom—

To her eyes, it seemed as if the mana itself was moving on its own.

It was commonly said that when the mana present in the atmosphere was gathered to suit a mage’s body, it became magical power.

It would be nice if one could directly control mana, but humans had their limits. If there was someone who could control nature itself…

‘That would be a god.’

It would be something that had already transcended the human species.

Since they could not control nature itself, humans chose a different method. They refined and accumulated mana to suit their own bodies. That was magical power.

They tried to contain the essence of nature as much as possible, but it was still artificially accumulated. It could not become mana itself.

However, as one gained enlightenment and became a higher-level mage, a mage’s magical power would change. It would become more similar to the natural mana.

Sigh.

The important thing was that it was not easy for a mage to control mana.

So, what was this phenomenon happening right before her eyes?

“How is this possible?”

“It’s easy.”

Easy? Rayrn would do something utterly absurd and then flash that bright, sunny smile.

‘What an idiot. But…’

He was no idiot. If he were an idiot, it would be impossible to use magical power to make the mana itself move.

“It’s harmony, as I said before. Ah, coexistence is included too. It’s about creating a kind of flow.”

“…A flow.”

Flow, coexistence, harmony.

These were the methods Rayrn often mentioned for attuning mana. She understood them intellectually. But she hadn’t truly grasped them enough to say she had attained enlightenment.

“You’re the only one who would call that easy.”

“Hehe. But I’m trying hard to make you understand, aren’t I? What’s wrong? Should I explain it in a way that’s easier to grasp?”

“…Never mind.”

Rayrn had shown his secret techniques to the Magic Tower without holding back.

Understanding them was the Enchant Magic Tower’s responsibility. If she asked him to explain here, she didn’t know what else he might demand.

He was doing this even though he knew.

‘Infuriating.’

As infuriating as he was, he couldn’t be more infuriating. But at the same time, it was wondrous. His ability was undoubtedly real. Moreover, it was a method that didn’t exist in this world.

It was a method not found in any tower, be it Enchant or Elemental.

Oooooom—

Even at this moment, the mana continued to move. Slowly forming a flow, it eventually transformed completely, becoming just like natural mana.

‘An illusion has been implanted.’

An illusion that was weak against humans but infinitely cruel to monsters had clearly been created.

It was all mixed with the tiny magic circles created by the mages. Especially the final magic circle Rayrn created was on a level they couldn’t even begin to imitate.

For Ruan and the tower mages with her, it was created in a way they couldn’t even imagine.

“…What should we call this magic circle?”

Ruan suddenly had a thought.

Perhaps Rayrn was creating a completely new form of magic, one unknown even to them.

It might seem absurd, but it was happening right before their eyes.

This was a magic circle they had never seen before and would likely never see again.

“No. What kind of magic should it even be called?”

“Hmm.”

At Ruan’s words, Rayrn fell into brief contemplation.

Wiping the smile from his face, he spoke seriously.

“Let’s call it Divine Mechanism.”

“Divine Mechanism? What does that mean?”

“Yes, Divine Mechanism. Hehe. You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. But one thing is certain—it holds significant meaning for me.”

• Divine Mechanism.

A word Rayrn would later hang on the tower he established. Ruan couldn’t know the meaning of the sect Rayrn had created.

But one thing was certain.

“So, we’ve essentially erected a perfect barrier now.”

“…I suppose so.”

It meant that even considerable monsters would find it difficult to break through this magic circle.

‘An illusion has been implanted. And there are several unknown functions within it as well.’

An illusion several times more powerful than the previous illusion magic circle was squirming inside the circle.

As Rayrn said, with just one magic circle, they had erected a barrier.

There were no thick castle walls, no guards protecting them, but this was a barrier. An impenetrable barrier.

And to this, Rayrn added.

“Then, shall we go take care of the remaining work?”

“Are you really going to build them?”

“Of course! The Mercenary and Merchant gates. The two fortresses—no, the gates—will be the core connecting Leireun Fortress.”

His grand plan.

‘He’s unstoppable. I don’t know how far he’ll go.’

He had stamped out a fortress as if from a mold, and now he was setting out to build gates.

In truth, the gates had been constructed long ago. The important thing was the inside. The problem was what needed to fill them.

‘How will he fill them?’

Ruan, who had witnessed Rayrn’s miraculous progress, couldn’t help but be curious about how he would furnish the two gates.

Of course.

“How will they become the core?”

“Hehe. That depends on how you all handle it.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go. We need to go and complete the construction of the two gates!”

Rayrn said with a bright smile.

He declared very boldly.

“What’s wrong? Not going to do it? We have a contract. A contract.”

“You really are a bad guy.”

“Hehe. Let’s go.”

Based on the contract, he was putting the mages to work. Ruan included!

For Ruan, who had felt a moment of awe and fondness for Rayrn, it felt like something abruptly cooled off.

But she had no choice.

“Let’s go. I’ll finish this quickly and then completely analyze this crazy magic circle!”

“Hehe. If you can.”

A contract was a contract!

The barrier created by the method Rayrn established worked perfectly.

-Squeak. Thud.

-Squawk!?

Lowest-grade monsters like Kobolds and mid-grade monsters like Hellivens, which preyed on Goblins, were all sucked in.

In the case of the Kobold, the moment it entered the barrier.

-Squeak?

All its strength began to drain away.

The barrier activated as soon as the Kobold entered. The barrier covered a vast area. To maintain this area, it mercilessly stole the life force of any monster that entered.

That wasn’t the end.

Once inside the barrier.

-Squawk! Choke!

Whoooooosh— Whoosh—

They fell into a deep illusion, like a Helliven swinging its weapon madly all alone.

In the Helliven’s eyes, it would see an illusion of the Kobolds it preyed upon, waiting all around for the rain of its club blows.

But in reality, it was just swinging its weapon alone amidst no one. Trapped in the illusion, its stamina had no choice but to drain away as well.

-Squeak.

-Squawk.

Moving while having both their life force and stamina sucked dry by the barrier, even monsters that moved by instinct would inevitably grow exhausted.

Once it had sucked them dry enough, the barrier carefully guided the monsters.

-Squeak!?

Right to the edge of the barrier. The barrier itself was expelling the monsters.

What awaited them at the barrier’s edge was.

“They’re out! Stab them!”

“Oho. Another windfall today!”

Rayrn’s soldiers and the mercenary group contracted with him.

The soldiers were strong troops raised in the Earl’s Territory, who had honed their skills by being active in the fortress.

The mercenaries went without saying. They were individuals who had cultivated their strength by wandering battlefields, risking their lives countless times. Though sometimes treated worse than knights, their strength in actual combat was proven by their survival.

They waited at the barrier’s edge for the monsters, fully prepared.

Squeak!

-Choke!

The Kobolds or Hellivens, moving by instinct, charged at the waiting soldiers or mercenaries, but.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“Stab them properly! If the wounds are too big, the goods get damaged!”

Thwump—

Thump—

The monsters, exhausted from wandering the barrier, were mere prey to them.

The common sense that monsters ate people was reversed here.

“Move to the next area immediately!”

“Okay! Ready!”

With practiced movements, they kept moving and slaughtered the monsters.

Slaughtering the exhausted monsters that emerged from the barrier.

That was the daily routine and combat training for the mercenaries and soldiers stationed at the barrier’s edge.

Even if they were tired monsters, monsters were still monsters. Just facing them provided them with endless real combat experience.

Even dealing with exhausted and weakened monsters, the experience gained from real combat became the foundation for their growth.

“Staying here makes the world feel completely different.”

“Maybe. Did you ever think about hunting monsters this easily? I never imagined it.”

“To reach this level in less than a year…”

“It’s terrifying. And I hear he’s starting another project at the gates? What on earth is it this time?”

A monster hunting ground. An inverted food chain.

Rayrn, who had created such a foundation, was on the move again today, shuttling between the two fortresses with mages and engineers.

Sigh.

Using Gyeong-gong to move, he spent the mornings at the Mercenary gate and the afternoons at the Merchant gate, directing the construction.

In the case of the Merchant gate, buildings were being endlessly erected on a vast empty lot.

‘We need to do it by category. Haphazardly doing it won’t create differentiation.’

Everything was proceeding according to Rayrn’s vision. The Merchant gate, as its name implied, was intended to be a trap to lure merchants.

So, there was nothing difficult. They just needed to prepare buildings and facilities attractive enough to draw merchants in. The special ones only required Rayrn to prepare a few more.

The important part was elsewhere.

Namely, the gate ‘Mercenary.’

This place, true to its name, was a trap to lure mercenaries. Additionally.

‘It will become a training center to tightly absorb the lacking talent.’

For Rayrn, who knew how to utilize people, this would become an extremely important place later on.

Therefore, Rayrn paid more attention to the Mercenary gate than the Merchant gate.

‘The size is good.’

A vast empty lot. Rayrn had completely cleared the forest behind the Mercenary gate.

It was partly due to Rayrn’s own power, having nearly mastered the first-class earth magic, Dig, but…

“Phew… I can’t do any more!”

“You just need to move your magical power a bit more efficiently. Like this, for example?”

Oooooom—

“That’s mean. If you show me a method like that, I have no choice but to try and follow it.”

“That’s why you should hurry up and do it.”

“Tsk. With the power of the earth, shape the land! Dig!”

The help of the mages following (?) Rayrn’s lead was also significant.

If they hadn’t helped, even Rayrn would have found it impossible to turn almost the entire visible area into an empty lot.

‘Build the facilities, and then make it so settlers can move in. Hmm. We’ll need inns in the commercial district too.’

To others, it was just an empty lot, but in Rayrn’s eyes, buildings to fill the Mercenary gate were already packed.

Among them, the most important was a facility perfectly suited to a gate named ‘Mercenary.’

“It needs to be bigger! It must be large enough to accommodate at least several thousand people with room to spare, I tell you!”

“…Isn’t it already big enough?”

Rayrn was using a significant portion of the empty lot to build one specific thing.

“No. It’s insufficient. Let’s expand it even larger here.”

“Ahh… There’s no end to this.”

“If you don’t want to have to do construction again later, let’s get moving, shall we?”

“Sigh.”

In Rayrn’s words, this empty lot would forever be a place that acted as a trap to suck in talent.

For that purpose.

Ooooomooooom—

The mages of the Enchant Magic Tower were using magic tirelessly again today.

While the gate construction was in full swing, elsewhere…

“Advance! Push them back!”

Another bloody battle was taking place.