Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 90 - 87: Brothers, Light ’Em Up

"You’re right." Peterson’s expression changed.

Through his Dark Vision, he could see nothing in the direction of the sound. Humboldt Great Mage pondered for a moment, then had an apprentice bring the man from the Hunter’s Cottage.

"We need you to provide some of Albert’s... your son’s... clothes and bedding."

The man’s expression was vacant, the drunken flush from earlier in the day gone from his face. He glanced at his paralyzed wife but said nothing, simply doing as the Master instructed.

Humboldt Great Mage released the wolf and the Wild Boar from their magical restraints, gently stroking their heads.

The two animals instantly became alert. They sniffed the child’s clothing, then split up to search the area around the village, focusing on the direction the crying was coming from.

The wolf and the boar returned. Humboldt knelt on one knee and held out a hand. The wolf nudged the Great Mage’s hand with its nose and began to wag its tail.

’It’s already acting like a dog?’ Rorschach felt a pang of envy for Mages who specialized in the Natural System. ’Their taming skills are incredibly efficient.’

"They couldn’t pick up the missing child’s scent," Master Humboldt said gravely. "But there’s something big in the woods. The animals are afraid to go near it."

At his words, everyone went on alert again. The Great Mage picked a strand of hair from the bedding and summoned an emerald, spectral flame to incinerate it. The sparks dissipated, and nothing happened.

"There’s no connection to the missing child, neither physically nor by soul."

The hope in the watching father’s eyes died completely. He helped his wife back to their wooden cottage and shut the simple door with a THUD.

"We’re done searching. Attack directly."

At the command, the apprentice and Peterson raised their Oak Staves, launching a volley of multicolored orbs into the pitch-black forest.

Fire, ice, acid, lightning—each colored orb exploded with a different power.

The barrage of Projectiles was a wild spectacle. Some of the colorful orbs flew through the woods and burst in the darkness, while others slammed into trees. After the intense volley, the forest fell silent again... only for the child’s sobbing to resume.

"Is this damned thing toying with us?!"

Peterson was furious. The renewed crying felt like a taunt, as if some foul thing in the forest had eagerly resumed its wailing just to prove their attack had been utterly useless.

WHOOSH—

A massive conflagration lit up the night. On command, Rorschach unleashed his Fireball Skill for the first time in a while. All the surrounding trees were blasted away, drawing stunned looks from Peterson and the apprentice.

His Fireball was far more powerful now than it had been during his promotion exam or the merchant convoy escort. With his improved Magic Control, he now compressed his Magic Power to a certain degree before even igniting the flame.

Moreover, he also compressed the converted Fire Element—the ball of plasma itself. While he charged it, the Fireball visibly shifted from orange-red to yellow, finally turning the pale blue of complete combustion as a scorching heat wave battered his face.

Judging by the color, its core temperature was around 2,000 degrees. Thankfully, the guidance of his Magic Power and the repulsive force from the compression prevented too much heat from radiating out during the charging phase.

’So, the real challenge in improving the Fireball Skill is not roasting yourself.’ Another note for Rorschach’s casting journal.

As it shot forward, the Dissociation of the fiery mass began to spiral out of control. The compressed matter and energy erupted, snapping rooted trees in half at their trunks. Light and heat poured out in a frenzy, pushing the air into a piercing roar.

It all happened in an instant.

’Damn...’ Rorschach had only wanted to test its power. He hadn’t expected the results to be quite so exceptional.

’I wonder if the sand-covered Divine Corpse would be vitrified after taking two of those?’

As the young man’s mind wandered, someone glimpsed a figure illuminated by the fiery blast. "There’s something over there!"

Rorschach focused his gaze. Sure enough, something was scrambling away between the toppled tree trunks. It was perhaps two stories tall, crawling on the ground with extremely long limbs. It was gone in a flash, too quick to make out any further details.

Most of the others, however, hadn’t seen it, still dazed and reeling from the impact of the Fireball Skill.

Then, a venomous, hoarse roar echoed from within the forest, the sound gradually fading into the distance.

"Rorschach Mage, at this range, you’ll need to control your magic’s power. It could easily endanger others."

"My apologies. I’ll be more careful in the future."

Master Humboldt hadn’t participated in what was meant to be a probing attack—one that Rorschach had inadvertently turned into a truly damaging blow—because he had been preparing a large-scale spell:

He thrust his Oak Staff into the ground. A golden-green light spread out from it, continuously expanding to form a Barrier that enveloped the inn and the couple’s cottage.

As the Barrier expanded, the Oak Staff grew as well, sprouting leafy veins until it had transformed into a towering, giant tree. It, along with Alexander von Humboldt, radiated the sublime aura of a Holy Spirit.

Rorschach could feel it. All the Magic Power within the Barrier was now being drawn toward and then expelled from the oak tree, imbued with a sacred quality. Standing within the Barrier, the fatigue from his earlier Casting was also rapidly receding.

"In the daytime, it would absorb sunlight, making the Barrier’s protection and duration even stronger. But under the moonlight, it is still sufficient to provide shelter for the remainder of the night."

Alexander, a name meaning "Guardian of Mankind" in the Jabber Language. At this moment, the Great Mage lived up to his name.

Now the center of this space, Humboldt Great Mage’s words became even more indisputable. He gave the order, "Everyone can rest for now, but don’t lower your guard. Readjust and recover your Magic Power."

Back at the inn, Rorschach was heading upstairs when he ran into Cavendish climbing down from the roof. Cursing, Cavendish clutched an instrument and muttered, "The Ether environment keeps distorting. The refractive deviation is frighteningly large..."

Rorschach said nothing, but before he could enter his room, Peterson called out to him.

"Rorschach Mage. Master Humboldt would like to see you in his room."

A parchment scroll was spread out in Humboldt’s room, which Rorschach recognized as a portable Communication Scroll.

’Is he contacting the Tower of Forest?’

"Tonight’s situation wasn’t actually that severe. At the very least, the animals were only frightened, and as we both saw, the forest’s anomaly and that monster can be driven away."

Rorschach nodded in agreement. Humboldt continued, "However, my concern is that we are currently only on the outskirts of a long-established outpost—the periphery of the Core Area. It’s highly likely the anomaly deeper in the forest is far more severe."

"I have already contacted the Tower of Forest to request reinforcements. What are your thoughts, Rorschach Mage? Do you think our team should press on?"

’You’re the boss, you make the call.’ Rorschach wanted to say that, but since he’d been invited to a private meeting, he knew he had to show he was using his head.

"Let’s review what we know. The people here have developed a Tree God Faith outside of the Deryats and Silvanos traditions. There must be a source for it."

He recalled the giant tree from Melson’s memories and spread out the map the old village chief had marked.

"Decades ago, an Empire unit accompanied a Mage to wipe out an Elf settlement. Deep in the Black Forest, they encountered an exceptionally large, giant tree."

"This giant tree also has a Mapping in the source of our intelligence, the Divine Art Deryats Forest. This suggests it’s likely the core of the anomaly and is linked to the Divine Corpse incident in the Sub-plane."

’The version of the Divine Art Rorschach had given the Tower of Forest was still the one for the Blood Array. He wondered if they had researched it at all.’

While the three Mages were meeting, the woman in the Hunter’s Cottage lifted the cloth curtain. Peeking through the gap at the sacred Guardian Oak, she trembled and whispered:

"Tree God! Tree God! We don’t need you to heal Albert anymore! We don’t need you to cure his disability! Just bring him back... bring my child back..."

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Seeing his wife growing more agitated as she mumbled, the man clamped his hand firmly over her mouth.