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TL: ALT
Chapter 179 – Day 10 of Management Life
While fighting Nushi, I didn’t realize it, but morning had arrived.
I tried to hit it and change the direction of its spinning magic, but nothing worked. I considered pulling out the rock it was stuck in. However, I knew that if it used enough magic to repel the magic cube, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“They say that magic is all about imagery, but right now, it’s showing me the true power of magic.”
“What should we do?”
Lipa was also up all night and looked dazed.
“What should we do? As they say, leave it to the experts.”
“Experts?”
“Ugh!”
The mucus covering the giant catfish’s skin became stickier and began clinging to us like slime.
We went outside to get some fresh air and returned to town.
Despite the early hour, it seemed the royal army had begun its attack again today. Balloons were piercing the triangular roof of the church and bursting into flames.
Thud.
Soldiers fell from the sky, their bodies covered in bruises. They still seemed to be breathing, so we left them alone.
The difference from yesterday was that the adventurers were affected as well. A magician with an arrow in his butt and warriors with dented armor screamed and ran away from the entrance.
The shopkeepers in the square abandoned their stalls and fled toward the mine, too.
“Did a devil or something come out?”
“Never mind that. Let’s go hunt the boss. This is perfect. Let’s get some food from the stalls. It’s wartime, so they’ll probably let us eat for free.”
Lipa and I stuffed bread with vegetables and venison sausage. There were also sweet drinks, and we could drink as much as we wanted.
Whoosh!
Thud! Roll…
“Guh!”
While we were sitting on wooden boxes eating, swords and people flew in from the entrance. The adventurers and soldiers wearing expensive-looking armor didn’t seem to care.
“Civil war is tough, after all.”
“It would be better if it didn’t exist.”
Rumble, rumble.
Finally, there was a sound like a building collapsing.
Out of curiosity, I finished my breakfast and went to take a look. The slave trader’s building had collapsed, sending up a cloud of dust.
“This is bad. I was going to ask the sorcerers for help, but they’re probably dead now.”
Gohot!
“What the hell have you done? You can’t just throw everything away!”
The sorcerers seemed to have miraculously survived. They were tied up with their fellow sorcerers and the captured soldiers and were being led outside.
“It’s because you won’t tell us where Makyo is!”
“Just confess already. Fighting is pointless.”
“Ugh, this is a hassle.”
There were familiar voices and women there.
“Ugh! I came here to stop the civil war, and now look at this. It’s like demons and devils arrived at the same time.”
Lipa was stunned by the women of the demonic land.
It seems that Chel, Hel, and Sylvia literally blew both the royal army and the rebel army away. At this point, we can no longer pretend to be volunteer soldiers.
For now, let’s leave the cleanup to those responsible and get on with our work.
“Hey, genius!”
“Ah, what is it?”
“Do you need something?”
“D-did you call me?”
I was supposed to call the sorcerer, but for some reason, the women of the demonic land turned around.
“Not you guys! Lipa, give them a lecture…”
I left the women with Lipa and called the sorcerer.
“I couldn’t defeat the master. That curse… Tell me how to break the high-speed magic.”
The sorcerer looked at the other sorcerers, then at me.
“Do you really think you can defeat the Master? Without any knowledge or weapons?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, I just thought it was in the middle of creating a curse. It’s time to break the curse.”
The genius sorcerer pushed the masked man behind him.
“I am Tokitamago* of the Ura Hundred Families, a clan of curse breakers.” [T/N: It can mean ‘beaten eggs.’]
The masked young man introduced himself.
“That’s a nice name.”
“It’s easier to break a curse if it’s not a name used in everyday life.”
“I see. I am Makyo, lord of the demonic land. Do you know how to break the curse?”
“I don’t know. But is it true that the magic was spinning?”
“Yes, I think hatred and anger are affecting the magical power. Like this.”
I applied the spinning magical power to the fallen shield.
Grind, grind!
The iron shield twisted and became as thin as a morning glory bud.
“Curse Eye! Did you see it!?”
Tokitamago turned around and looked at another sorcerer.
“The phenomenon is as you see it. I am Uchidome of the Omote-hundred family, Curse Eye Clan.”
“What a nice name.”
“My brother’s name is Todome. My parents messed up.” [T/N: Uchidome means “that’s the end,” and Todome means “to put an end.” So, yeah, their names are related to ending something or something along those lines.]
They seem like a clan that understands humor.
“So, what Makyo-san just did was simply rotate your magical power?”
“That’s right. Can you see magical power?”
“That’s what our clan does. Magical power rotates when resentment and anger mix in stagnant magical power. Can you do it without adding thoughts?”
“Yes, I can. If you rotate the magical power inside your body, it won’t leak out, so it’s good for hiding.”
“Ah, so that’s how it develops.”
He was impressed, but that wasn’t the main point.
“So, how do we break the curse of that giant catfish?”
“If we could grant the master’s wish, that would be the easiest solution. However, doing so would destroy the entire town. The most realistic option is to forcibly change the direction of the rotating magic and release it, thereby breaking the curse.”
“I agree.”
The two masked curse practitioners nodded in unison.
“What exactly is a curse release?”
“It’s the process of digesting the turbulent emotions that form the curse and dispersing the magical power like a whirlwind.”
I gathered magic power in my right hand and released it. A small ball of magic spread throughout the area.
From the outside, it probably looked like I was showing my hands to them, but if you could see the magic power, you would understand what was happening.
“You’ve mastered the basics of breaking a curse? How did you learn to do that?”
“I wanted to get rid of my magic power. I can’t walk on magic circles or anything.”
“Ah…”
The curse mages listened to my story and looked up at the sky.
“Then, let’s change the direction of rotation and try to dispel the fog to defeat the giant catfish.”
“”Yes.””
I decided to take the two curse mages back to the mine for now.
“Oh, if you want something to eat, you can get something from the food stall over there.”
While the curse mages went to get breakfast, I watched Lipa lecture the girls.
“Do you understand? Even if we destroy this place now, people will live here in the future! You know from your experiences in the demonic land how difficult it is to live without a place to stay!”
“I understand. Don’t get so angry.”
“We were just dealing with the enemy and destroyed the slave trader’s building.”
“Th-this is an invasion by the royal army!”
The three women made excuses, but Lipa wouldn’t back down.
“Then why did you knock out the adventurers?”
“They attacked us, so I had to fight back.”
“There’s a saying: ‘When two people fight, both are at fault.'”
“I-it just happened.”
“Please help with the healing and repairs!”
“””Okay.”””
They feel discouraged after being scolded.
“Idiots.”
I whispered under my breath, and the three of them glared at me. Even though I was pretty far away, they have super hearing.
Next to them, the genius sorcerer loudly persuaded the gathered townspeople not to cause any more damage, saying, “Keep your distance from these people, or it will become an international issue!”
“We can go!”
I’ve prepared some snacks.”
Since the sorcerers figured it would take some time, they gathered food in large bags.
“All right, let’s go.”
I also made sure to bring enough magic stone lamps for everyone. I simply picked them up off the ground, but light is important in a dark cave.
I had already taken care of most of the monsters along the way, so we were able to proceed to the back without any obstacles.
At the end of the tunnel, there was a large black catfish. When illuminated by the light, its mucus reflected the light, making it look as if it were about to move.
Faced with the giant catfish, the curse practitioners held their breath.
“Don’t be nervous. I don’t think it will move right away. We beat it all night yesterday.”
“Is that so?”
The two curse mages seemed prepared for a long battle and began to unpack their belongings.
I immediately tried to change the direction of the magical power rotating inside the catfish.
However, the cube of magical power was being repelled, which made it difficult to inject more. I tried stabbing it directly with the swords the curse mages had brought, but the slime prevented the blades from penetrating.
“Try applying magic in the opposite direction.”
Following the sorcerers’ advice, I applied magic in the opposite direction of the giant catfish’s rotation. However, this only caused the mucus on its skin to scatter.
“It’s spinning out of control.”
“If we keep this up, it’ll just spin faster. Try something else.”
I couldn’t make any progress on my own, so we took a short break.
The two sorcerers chanted spells and placed talismans in an attempt to stop the magic’s rotation. It seemed to work; the giant catfish pulsed like a heartbeat.
However, the effect was only momentary. The talismans turned pitch black and melted away.
“What went wrong?”
“The purification rituals, exorcism chants, and talismans seem to have been useless.”
“Is that how you defeat a Nushi?”
“No, a rampaging Nushi can only be bound and sealed. There have been cases where the spell was broken, but with a Nushi this large, we have no choice but to wait for its anger to subside…”
“So, is it best to leave it as it is? It could start raging again at any moment. Are you willing to sacrifice the town?”
“…”
“No, there’s no point in blaming the two of you. Let’s think about it.”
We had no choice but to use trial and error.
“Let’s start by slowing down the rotation. We know the power of images and thoughts is strong. If we counteract them in the same direction, they will only grow. Let’s try expanding it.”
I had only been thinking about reducing the magical power, but it should be possible to change the property of the rotating magical power.
I reached for the drink I had brought and took a sip. It was slightly sweet and refreshing. If I made juice from the fruit of the demonic land, it would burn my throat with its sweetness. Sweet and sticky…
Bang!
I clapped my palms together.
The sweetest thing in the demonic land is probably the Honey Ant’s honey. It’s not just sticky; it’s also viscous.
I rubbed my hands together and imbued the image with magic, kneading it. If I could gradually solidify it like palm tree sap, I might be able to stop the magic’s rotation.
I repeated the process of infusing magic into my hands and slapping them together as I gradually approached the creature.
The magic, which was even more viscous than the mucus covering the giant catfish’s skin, expanded and pushed into the creature’s body. The intangible magic was swallowed up by the creature’s body.
Thud.
The spinning magic became viscous and gradually stopped spinning.
Juuu!
The master’s body temperature rose, and the mucus on its skin dried instantly, releasing white smoke. It seemed that the high-speed force had lost its outlet.
If it stopped, the magic cube would not be repelled.
I took out the piece of giant catfish flesh with the red-hot magic stone at its center.
Zupon!
The square piece of flesh burned and melted, revealing an oval-shaped, glowing red magic stone.
“I’ve never seen such a large magic stone…”
The two sorcerers gaped in astonishment. The stone was as large as two adult men. It was probably something rarely seen.
“It’s a good thing the master was immobilized. It would have been disastrous if it had continued rampaging.”
The Great Catfish’s master had been defeated.
We waited for the magic stones to cool down before leaving the mine.
The townspeople cheered loudly when they saw the master’s magic stones, but the sorcerers and I fell down.
There was no magic stone deposit where the master’s body had been pulled out, after all.
The magical energy veins had shifted. This mine will likely be abandoned as a source of magic stones.
It was a pointless civil war.
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