Chapter 17: The Northern Front

A Dimensional Pouch, huh.

This tiny pouch in my hand actually contains the space of an entire room.

Just this alone makes it useful for countless things.

Its value was considerable, too.

‘This is quite high-end. Maybe about 10 pyeong?’

A Dimensional Pouch that can hold just a few boxes, let alone a whole room, already costs thousands of gold.

This one might be worth tens of thousands.

It’s a rare treasure.

“This precious thing……”

“Cl-cl… You’re still surprised, even as you’re holding it. But compared to what you’ve given me, this is a trivial item.”

“Still……”

“This teacher can always make another one, so don’t worry. The enlightenment you gave me is just that valuable.”

“…Then I’ll gratefully accept it.”

“Ho… That’s right. That’s how it should be.”

I respectfully fastened the Dimensional Pouch to my waist.

The moment I did, my teacher’s smile grew even wider.

“The more precious an item is, the more deliberately shabby it’s made to look. Well, that’s that. Now, check what’s inside.”

It felt as if my teacher would do anything for me.

He had always been a good teacher, but never one to just hand things out.

But now, it was different.

“Oh……”

A heap of items came out from inside.

Several Magic Books usable for 2nd class.

A book containing my teacher’s insights for 2nd class.

A few magic items, and—

“Are those Mana Stones?”

“Cl-cl. You recognize them at once. Two medium-grade ones. That’s all I have right now.”

Medium-grade Mana Stones.

Stones that emit their own mana—these aren’t common at all.

These Mana Stones are precious materials for magical items.

There’s currently only one way to get them.

‘Artificial Mana Stones are supposedly made by Dragons or ancient civilizations, which are now lost.’

Natural Mana Stones come from defeating monsters.

Monsters that gather where mana surges carry Mana Stones in their bodies.

Only a rare few do.

Monsters with Mana Stones are much stronger than ordinary ones.

Even if you manage to defeat such a monster, the Mana Stone often disperses upon its death.

The chances of actually obtaining one are extremely low.

And here I had two.

‘They must be my teacher’s last reserves.’

Even for a teacher who used to be a War Mage, these are hard to come by.

Just with these Mana Stones, there was already a lot I could do.

‘I can reinforce Jinbeop, too.’

Many ideas flashed through my mind.

Reinforcing Jinbeop, and a variety of applications only I could manage.

Excellent. This is unexpected luck.

“You really like Mana Stones, don’t you?”

“I do!”

“Embed one in your staff later. As for the other… you can decide how to use it. I’m sure you’ll do well.”

“Thank you!”

“No, no. In return, I do have a favor to ask of you as well……”

“What is it?”

With an apologetic expression, my teacher began to speak.

***

That was all.

‘It’s not really much of a change.’

The favor my teacher asked with such regret wasn’t anything dramatic.

It was simply more training.

Unbelievable as it sounded, he wanted me to train in magic on my own for now.

The reason wasn’t anything special.

Even before his enlightenment, my teacher had been a key force in the Spiritual Land.

Though the territory appeared peaceful on the surface, in reality, it was troubled in many ways.

‘If even I can sense it, that says enough.’

There were many rumors from outside.

When I left the Spiritual Land, I’d hear the commoners’ stories, and they were a good source for gauging the territory’s mood.

In this world, commoners are absolute weaklings.

And the weaker they are, the more easily they’re swept up by the world around them.

This world, where monsters roam, is even harsher.

That’s why the commoners, in order to survive, are especially sensitive to any changes around them, even beyond the territory.

So they end up being excellent sources of information.

From what I heard from them, it was clear things weren’t looking good.

With the current state of affairs, my teacher—being a crucial force—couldn’t just withdraw.

My own nearly awakened education was important, but there seemed to be too many urgent matters to deal with.

He didn’t specify exactly what he needed to do.

“I’ll still be within the Spiritual Land. At most, I might need to leave the outer fortress.”

“And even so, it’s difficult?”

“Sorry. It might end up taking much longer than I thought.”

But it seemed there were various problems to resolve as he made his rounds across the territory.

“Just leave it to me.”

“Thank you. Ho… Once I return, I’ll teach you intensively.”

“…That intensely?”

“Hoho. No, no. Wait for me.”

That burning zeal—he looked at me with the passion I’d almost forgotten from Korea’s infamous fervor for education.

‘That’s a bit much for me…’

Training internal power, strengthening the body, and even organizing all sorts of theories—I had planned to establish all these things, and now it was weighing on me.

But that wasn’t something happening right away.

“In any case, I’ll be going. So, make sure to fulfill this teacher’s request.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Good!”

***

While my teacher was busy, I had my own work to do. Namely—

‘The Wizard’s Mark is about to disappear.’

It was time to deal with the scum who polluted the back alleys.

“Ha, it’s been a while since I’ve been out……”

Home is comfortable.

But no matter how comfortable it is, sometimes you need some fresh air.

The past few days had passed by in a whirlwind, thanks to my teacher.

Though I hadn’t gotten my own tasks done, I had gained much.

That sturdy Dimensional Pouch at my waist was one of the results.

‘I need to run some Jinbeop experiments once I get back. Let’s get moving.’

Filled with motivation, I dashed off.

Taak.

Inner energy surged through my legs, making me faster.

The wind whistled past my ears.

While Reyrn was on the move, there was activity all throughout the Count of Ophern’s domain.

The greatest commotion was the monster outbreak.

It’s the same in every territory—monsters periodically increase in number and cause problems.

Monsters hide well and breed quickly, so eradicating them is impossible.

Moreover, there aren’t that many safe areas for people to live.

That’s why periodic monster exterminations are only natural.

But this time, something was off.

“A ratman outbreak like this makes no sense, does it?”

Eldin, first son of the Count of Ophern, looked down at the corpse beneath his feet and asked.

He was blocking the North, standing in for his father.

At his feet was the corpse of a bipedal monster with a rat’s face, about two-thirds the size of a man.

Looking around, you’d see thousands of ratman corpses strewn everywhere.

The beastmen, Ratmen.

They are intelligent monsters, but are treated as being on par with goblins.

However, their numbers can swell at an alarming rate.

Even other beastmen shudder at the thought of Ratmen.

“This truly makes no sense. Originally, we shouldn’t see them for at least another half a year.”

The Count of Ophern had assigned a lieutenant to assist him, to make up for his eldest son’s lack of experience.

The veteran knight, who had once looked down on Eldin, had long since pledged his loyalty.

He treated Eldin just as he would the Count of Ophern.

“Was there no scouting done?”

“There were no problems at all until then. Everything proceeded as expected. They were just increasing their numbers among themselves.”

“And yet they attacked like this?”

“…Yes. There’s no way to identify the cause right now.”

“I thought as much. A ratman outbreak…”

The lieutenant, making his report, wore a clearly flustered expression.

Even he, hardened by experience in the North, had not anticipated this situation.

The outbreak was faster than expected, and far larger than previous records.

The unexpected monster surge had caught even him off guard.

“An unexpected development…”

Eldin’s face hardened as he listened to the lieutenant’s words.

‘It’s always unexpected, but this is far too early.’

Things were getting complicated.

The ratman outbreak was a regular occurrence.

Within a year, their numbers would explode like wildfire.

Ratmen also prey on other monsters.

But even when they do, they only turn to targeting humans when food becomes truly scarce—specifically, the grain humans have harvested!

It happens in the gap between autumn and winter, right after the harvest, when the grain is stored.

‘There hasn’t even been much planted this year, let alone harvested.’

According to records from the North, the ratmen should only start moving about three months after the harvest is complete.

They don’t know how to cultivate crops themselves, so they come after the grain harvested by humans.

Though they are weak for monsters, the ratmen are cunning and know how to use that to their advantage.

When fighting ratmen, you had to dig traps they couldn’t escape from.

In fact, that was how last year’s invasion was handled—digging pits and then burning them all at once.

There was no reason for the ratmen to attack now, in spring.

It made no sense for their numbers to have swelled enough to risk attacking humans.

And yet, here they were, attacking in force.

If the ratmen spread across the territory—

‘That’s the worst-case scenario.’

The plague that always accompanies them would spread.

The disease that comes with the ratmen always produces the worst casualties.

That alone must be prevented at all costs.

As the first son of the Count of Ophern and heir to the house, Eldin could never allow that.

‘First, I have to stop them.’

He had to stop them before they could spread.

That was the top priority. And after that—

‘Find the cause.’

He had to figure out what triggered this outbreak.

The order of tasks was clear.

‘Again…’

The problem was, there were always things preventing you from following that order.

Kiiiiiik.

That all-too-familiar ratman screech rang out again.

They were clearly coming for the ratman corpses.

“Prepare yourselves.”

Srring—

He drew his sword.

That was the signal.

The northern troops, waiting for that sign, all readied their weapons.

They’d long since grown weary from the previous battle.

But they weren’t so weak as to be defeated by ratmen. These were the elite troops of the North.

Kiiiiiik!

The approaching ratmen’s eyes glowed red.

“The chieftain.”

Eldin fixed his gaze on the largest ratman and shouted at the same time.

“Archers! Fire! Keep firing until they reach us! Spearmen, form up!”

Swaaa—

Instead of answering, a volley of arrows rained down on the ratmen.

Thwock. Thud. Thwock.

The North, prized by the Count of Ophern, was always well-supplied.

The stockpiled arrows buried themselves in the ratmen’s hides.

‘Not enough.’

Many ratmen fell, but Eldin still felt a thirst.

‘There must be more behind them.’

He had been taught that a true leader sees beyond what’s in front of him.

If he got blocked here before even grasping the cause, it would be for nothing.

This was just the beginning. No wonder he felt thirsty.

Even so, he shouted, “Fire! Spearmen, stand ready!”

Thuuuuud—

The northern battlefield began to stain red.