I took the Magic Stone from Yan’s hand and held it out to Miss Jamie.
“Miss Jamie. Could you use some ice-type magic on this? Think of it as if there’s lingering heat inside the stone, and try to neutralize that heat with your ice magic. Don’t destroy or freeze it, though. Please be delicate.”
“You sure know how to ask troublesome favors. Hold on a sec.”
Jamie carefully cupped the Magic Stone in both hands.
Soon, a faint blue light flickered over the surface before fading away.
“Are you absorbing the mana? I see. So, by neutralizing the heat inside the Magic Stone from the volcanic region, you’re restoring it to its original state and bringing back its original properties?”
Yan seemed excited by the Magic Stone’s unique reaction, bouncing on his feet.
Now he looks more like his actual age.
“That’s exactly right. Miss Jamie, could you keep repeating the process until all the latent heat inside the Magic Stone is removed?”
This was a kind of enchantment work, which was much more difficult than simply casting magic.
That’s why we needed someone at Fifth Circle or higher.
It was fortunate that we managed to find someone like Miss Jamie.
The Helpion Duchy really is impressive.
Just shout, ‘Looking for a Fifth Circle mage!’ at the tavern, and one will show up in no time.
“What are you planning to use this for?”
Charles, perhaps feeling left out, sidled over and spoke up.
“Charles, you said you know a lot about Monster habits, right?”
“Of course! In the Helpion Duchy, if you mention Charles, everyone thinks of a Monster expert! I’m one of the top three Monster specialists in the Grizzly Mercenary Corps!”
“We know that weak Monsters never invade the territory of stronger ones. But how do weak Monsters figure out where the strong ones live?”
Charles puffed out his chest with pride, exhaling loudly through his nose.
“It’s the smell, the smell. Monsters of each species have a unique scent! They use those scents to mark and recognize territories. From their droppings to their skin and even their mouths, you can tell by the smell. Only highly trained professional hunters like me can distinguish them!”
Perfect, that was exactly the answer I wanted.
He explained it well.
“Actually, that’s what this thing is for.”
Everyone blinked at me, as if they didn’t quite understand.
“Are you going to burn it as incense or something?”
“Haha, to put it bluntly, this Magic Stone is Monster droppings.”
At my words, Charles recoiled in horror.
“This tiny thing is Monster poop?!”
Maybe it was the crude word, ‘poop.’
Even Lone, who had just handed me the Magic Stone, stiffened up.
Did she not realize what she’d brought me?
Jamie’s face, as she channeled mana into the stone, also twisted in disgust.
Both of their gazes bore into me.
I felt like I could practically read all the curses and ill-will in their eyes as if they were written out.
“You’re telling me… I just got poop on my hands?”
“Miss Jamie, please calm down. The mana you’re gathering in your hands—isn’t that for attack magic? I’m pretty sensitive to these things. It’s a stone, a stone! The poop hardened because of the lava…”
“Can’t you talk without saying ‘poop’ over and over?!”
Jamie squeezed her eyes shut in horror.
Still, I had to commend her for not dropping the stone.
Maybe if I explained a bit more about the process, she’d feel more motivated.
“What you’re doing now is reviving the scent and mana within the droppings that have been solidified by lava. The lava covered the droppings, and they hardened into a Magic Stone. By infusing it with ice mana, you’re restoring it to its original state, just like when it was fresh…”
“Re… re… ugh!”
“Shut up! Mana, commission, whatever, I’ll kill you all before I care about any of that!”
Whoa, Miss Jamie, that’s quite the reaction.
But it’s not like the stone is literally turning back into poop; it’s just reviving the Monster’s latent energy that was hidden within.
At least Yan, who’d been listening with interest, looked around awkwardly, as if feeling sorry for me.
I quietly promised Yan I’d explain everything later, and he nodded vigorously.
“Hey, is this really going to work? Even if you restore the scent, what if it’s from a weak Monster? This is the most dangerous place in the world, you know!”
“That’s why I hired you all.”
Question marks seemed to pop up above everyone’s heads.
“You’re strong mercenaries who know Monster habits well. Why else would I have hired you?”
“No way…”
Maybe something clicked.
Charles’s eyes began to tremble.
“Bring me back a live Monster.”
To be honest, I’d only read about this in the Akashic Record, so I wasn’t even sure it would work.
That’s why I needed to test it.
I smiled sweetly and shooed Charles’s group away with a wave.
They left, faces twisted as if they’d just bitten into something foul.
Tsk tsk. If you have to do it anyway, wouldn’t it be better to do it with a cheerful heart?
Not long after they left, Lone spoke up.
“Brother. But… that poop… what kind of Monster is it from?”
At Lone’s question, Yan, Jamie, and Cain, who’d stayed behind for security, all looked at me.
“Oh, did I not mention it yet?”
“You just said it was droppings.”
“You heard it was from Volprion Volcano. I thought that was enough of a hint.”
“But nothing lives in Volprion Volcano.”
Jamie muttered, looking skeptical.
“That’s exactly the point. Why is Volprion Volcano, despite being a pristine zone with no Monsters, counted among the Twelve Great Danger Zones?”
“That’s because the volcanic environment is extreme, and Volprion Volcano was the territory of the Light Dragon Volprion since ancient times… Wait, no way, is this? Hey, seriously, are you out of your mind?!”
Looks like she figured it out mid-sentence.
I smiled at the four of them, who looked utterly dumbfounded.
“Yes, that’s right. It’s from a Dragon.”
Their eyes widened at my words.
I’d confirmed what they barely dared to believe.
“Of course, there’s no guarantee that Dragon poop will actually work. That’s why I want to test it. The mercenaries went out to catch a Monster, didn’t they? As much as I’d love for a Sandworm to show up, there’s no way we’d get that lucky, right?”
Charles and his companions pushed irritably through the riverside brush.
“They say the Sage of the Duke of Helpion has appeared—people must be crazy, calling that lunatic a sage.”
“What? Monster droppings? What kind of Monster would live in the Volprion Desert, anyway? It’s one of the most dangerous forbidden zones in the world—not even a cockroach would show up there!”
“He just brags about his drinking. If I saw him on the battlefield, I’d cut him down with a single stroke!”
The mercenaries grumbled as they slashed through the brush with their swords.
It was bad enough being in the lair of the vicious Sandworm, but now they had to bring back a live Monster?
They were the elite of the Grizzly Mercenary Corps, the strongest mercenaries in the land, deserving of the highest treatment wherever they went.
Yet here they were, being treated like E-rank errand boys.
It was infuriating.
“Hey, Charles. Aren’t we just getting scammed out of our pay here? If we run into a Sandworm, we’re really screwed.”
Charles felt the same as his companion.
He couldn’t stand the sight of that smug administrator, and he wished that arrogant mage would just drop dead.
So.
A little prank like this should be fine.
“So what? As long as we survive, that’s all that matters. Accidents happen all the time in places like this, right?”
Charles grinned wickedly, baring his teeth.
He looked ahead and saw a Sandworm, its upper body raised, munching on a deer.
“Looks like the administrator wants to keep his identity hidden. Let’s see if he can manage that when he’s facing a Sandworm’s fangs.”
The expressions of the mercenaries who’d followed Charles soon mirrored his.
The Sandworm was in a frenzy.
It had been ages since any living creature had entered its lair, which humans had discovered long ago.
But today, a lost young deer had wandered in, and the Sandworm, with senses even keener than its kin, had surged up to claim its prize.
Maybe it was the taste of fresh blood and meat after so long.
The Sandworm lingered on the surface, savoring the moment rather than retreating underground as usual.
As it slowly chewed its meal, basking in the sunlight, it spotted Charles’s group lurking nearby, as if the Demon King himself had sent them as a reward for such a diligent and superior Monster.
New prey!
Delicious life forms, right over there!
Enough for two big bites!
With a screech, the Sandworm dove into the ground in an instant.
And that was exactly what Charles’s group had been waiting for.
“All right, run!”
Charles and his companions broke into a sprint.
“Keh-heh-heh! All we have to do is bring it back alive, right?”
“Who knows where or how the Sandworm will pop up!”
“Still, we completed our mission! We! Brought the Sandworm! All the way here! We went through hell for this!”
With the Sandworm right behind them, it was truly terrifying.
The ground churned as if an earthquake had struck.
Clumps of earth flew everywhere, as if hit by explosion magic.
Most of all, the Sandworm’s massive girth and length.
It surged and dove again and again, like a relentless wave, a truly horrifying sight.
Its jaws and teeth narrowly missed the mercenaries’ clothes, and sometimes, unexpected sinkholes would open up, making them stumble.
But, as the saying goes, even a rotten fish is still a fish. Charles and his companions somehow managed to reach Laward’s group.
‘Looks like they’re pretty startled.’
Maybe it was the commotion they’d caused.
Laward’s group seemed frozen stiff.
‘Heh heh. Maybe it’s time to spice things up.’
Charles cleared his throat and shouted,
“H-help! The Sandworm is chasing us!”
Charles’s companions instantly understood his intentions.
They’d joined the Grizzly Mercenary Corps together and worked as a team for five years.
Whether fighting or pulling tricks like this, they always knew what to do.
“Damn it! That’s why they say the Sandworm’s lair is dangerous!”
“Administrator, take care of yourself! We’re out of here!”
“Don’t blame us for abandoning you!”
With those words—whether encouragement or mockery—the mercenaries scattered in all directions.
Or tried to.
“So you’re giving up on the mission, then?”
That is, until they saw Laward, completely relaxed, unlike themselves who were running for their lives.
At first, they’d thought the others were frozen in fear, but looking around, that wasn’t it.
Veteran mercenary Jamie, Yan, even Cain.
Not a single one of them looked nervous.
Only then did they realize.
The Sandworm, which had just been surging and tearing through the ground, jaws snapping at their clothes—
The deafening roar it had made was now completely gone.