Training-Addicted Mage In A Progression Fantasy-Chapter 49: Strange Deal

Leon suddenly realized how much his mindset had shifted since his first encounter with the Witch.Back then, he would have been frantically thinking of escape routes, but now he merely felt his heart racing from tension.

Leon briefly glanced at the reassuring presence of Kito.

“?”

Kito returned a quizzical look. Leon communicated mentally with her.

-Can you handle her?

-If you're sure you won't get caught in the crossfire, then yes.

Before Leon could consider a way to withstand a battle between Advanced Insight Wizards, the Witch raised her hand.A black fire blazed fiercely on her palm.

Leon’s gaze flicked to his left arm, which throbbed slightly.It was the arm that had been burned before.

She hurled the fiercely burning Fireball towards Leon.

Crazy woman!

To attack with lethal intent right after claiming she’d found him.There was no way Leon could muster polite words now.He wasn’t refined enough to respect even his enemies.

Kito immediately opened her mouth.Her breath clashed with the Witch’s Magic.

Leon hastily retreated from the impact zone of the two Magics.

As flames scattered and the breath dissipated into smoke, the leaves touched by the smoke instantly withered.After a few Magic collisions, the aftermath became too intense to handle.

“Wait!”

Leon tried to halt both of them.Unsure if the Witch would heed his words, Leon quickly followed up.

“What do you want from me?”

There had to be a reason she claimed to have found him.If it was about Gigantes, he thought there might be room for negotiation.

“...I’m curious.”“What?”

The Witch’s unexpected response made Leon frown.

“What are you curious about?”“How do you vanish without my knowledge?”

So that was it.Leon wasn’t sure whether to be relieved she wasn’t after Gigantes, or unnerved by her persistent fixation on his disappearing act.

Leon calmly continued his questioning.

“If you’re curious about that, couldn’t you just ask? Why attack out of nowhere?”“You’re right.”“...”

The Witch lowered her hand.Leon felt drained by how easily she conceded.

Is she really this simple-minded?

Of course, this conversation was only possible because Leon now had the power to resist her.Leon pressed on, maintaining his guard.

“Will you leave if I tell you?”“No.”“Why?”“I’m curious.”“About what now?”“You.”

As the conversation continued, bizarrely casual in the midst of battle, Kito spoke coldly.

“What are you doing now?”

Leon appeased her mentally in a way only Kito could understand.

-I think we can resolve this through talking.

-Do you really need to do this? This is my territory.

-Trust me.

-......Alright.

Kito concealed her sharp teeth but continued glaring fiercely at the Witch.

“You’re curious about me?”“Yes, how you keep defying my expectations......”

The Witch muttered, almost to herself.Her demeanor seemed oddly subdued.

“From your expectations?”“It’s the first time I’ve failed to kill someone I’ve decided to eliminate.”“So you’re curious about my method?”

She spoke with an expressionless face, as if it should be obvious.

“Tell me.”“No.”“Then die.”“Will you know if you kill me?”“No.”“Then you shouldn’t kill me.”“Right...”

What’s with this absurd woman?

Maybe this......

Leon pondered for a moment before casually suggesting.

“How about we make a deal?”“A deal?”“You said you were curious about me. If you want to know, do one thing I want.”“...”

She wrinkled her nose slightly, as if displeased.Normally, a deal between an Intermediate Arcane Mage and an Advanced Insight Wizard would be unthinkable.

But she was curious about Leon, and Leon had the means to resist if she tried to force her way.It meant they had reached a point where negotiation was possible.

“You know it’s not a problem that can be solved by killing, right?”“I see.”“So what should you say now?”“What do you... want...?”“That’s right!”

Leon held up one finger.

“If you do just one thing for me, I’ll tell you.”“What is it?”“Do you know about Black Mages?”

Leon planned to ask the Witch to deal with the Black Mages, and in the meantime, cross over to the Empire.The Witch would be occupied dealing with the Black Mages who were mass-producing high-level Mages, and the Black Mages would be troubled by the Witch.

“Black Mages...... I know.”“How’s your relationship with them?”“Don’t know.”

Did she mean she just didn’t know them?Her extremely brief responses left Leon to interpret in his own way.

“I’m in a very troublesome relationship with them, you see?”“You want me to deal with them?”“Yes. ...Can you?”

The Witch nodded.

“Yes. You want me to kill them all, right?”“Uh......”

Is that okay?No, is that even possible?

“Do you know about Tenelon...?”“Don’t know.”“...”

In truth, Leon didn’t know how to distinguish between the Black Mages of Tenelon and the others.The only method he knew was to check their tokens, but he couldn’t ask her to check each one individually.

Leon harbored no fondness for the Black Mages either, and he figured it would take more time if the Witch dealt with all of them.

“Will you tell me everything when I return after killing them all?”“Yes, I’ll tell you.”“Everything I’m curious about?”“...”

What could she be so curious about?Somehow, he hesitated for a moment.

Am I taking this too lightly?

Leon might be overlooking something because she agreed too easily to tell everything.As Leon hesitated to answer, the Witch spoke.

“I can pursue you for a lifetime.”“...”

At these chilling words, Leon asked.

“By the way, how did you know my location?”“My Magic was on you.”“......So you can track my location for a lifetime?”“Yes.”

-You can purify it with Light Magic.

Kito informed him mentally.Somewhat relieved, Leon pressed further.

“Have you known my location all this time?”“Yes.”“Then why did you come looking for me now?”“Because you kept disappearing.”

It seems she can’t track him when he vanishes into the Magic Orb.

“Did you come to the Beast Forest to find me?”“Yes.”“Was it you who drove out the rulers from the Central area?”

The Witch tilted her head.

“I thought you were heading to the Central area.”“So you were in the Central area?”“I went there first to wait, but annoying things came at me.”“It was you......”

Leon sighed and said.

“If you really can’t trust me, we could make an oath or something.”“...I can’t make oaths.”

-Witches are forbidden from making oaths.

Hearing Kito’s words, Leon thought, “Ah, that’s right,” but didn’t show it.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you.”“...Okay.”

As the Witch who accepted the deal turned to leave, Leon stopped her.

“Wait, before you go.”

Leon took out a compass from his Spatial Pocket.

“Just one drop of blood.”“...Why?”“I need to know your location too.”“There’s no need for that. I’ll come find you.”“...It’s necessary.”“Is it?”

The Witch obediently made a cut on her index finger and floated a drop of blood in the air, offering it to Leon.Leon placed that blood on the compass.

The drop of blood was instantly absorbed.And then the needle moved, pointing directly at the Witch in front of him and vibrating frantically.

Leon smiled with satisfaction, while the Witch spoke with her still expressionless face.

“I’ll be back soon.”“Take care.”

The two who had somehow ended up exchanging farewells.Kito looked alternately at the departing Witch and Leon, as if in disbelief.

“This conversation baffles me. Are you really going to tell her about the Magic Orb if she asks?”“If she manages to deal with all the Black Mages and find me... I suppose I’ll have to.”“You think she can’t accomplish it?”“I believe it’ll take her a considerable amount of time. Until then, I need to become strong enough to stand my ground against the Witch.”“You’re already capable of doing that.”“True, but I can’t let you face her alone, can I?”“Hmm... How admirable.”

Kito answered languidly as she transformed back into her human form and lay down on top of Leon’s head.

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***

During his training in Kito’s Lair, Leon once asked her about the Runic Script.

“I don’t know much about it.”

She said she had only heard the name but didn’t know the details.

A script forgotten even before Kito’s birth and only passed down among humans. If even Kito, who had lived for a thousand years, didn’t know about it, Leon figured it wouldn’t be easy to learn about the Runic Script.

The only remaining option was to go to the place with the highest level of Magic among humans.

Maybe I can find out if I go to the Empire?

The Derkanthia Empire that Arpina had mentioned.However, a pass was needed to cross the border.And to issue a pass, identity verification was necessary.Leon didn’t have any Identification Token to verify his identity because he wasn’t an adult yet.

After much deliberation, the method he devised was to take a request from the Adventurers’ Guild.Conveniently, he also had a Bronze Adventurer badge that could verify his identity.He planned to cross over by taking on a mission to escort a merchant group heading to the Empire.

Leon, who left the Beast Forest after a week, immediately sought out the Adventurers’ Guild.

It had been almost a year since he had last visited the free city of Crest, but it didn’t feel like much time had passed.Leon’s sense of time was skewed because he had been training intensively for a year.

Inside the guild building, several adventurers were seated.Leon first checked the bulletin board where mission announcements were posted.

Derkanthia Dispatch Merchant Group Escort Mission

He found the mission he wanted, but couldn’t choose it right away.

Condition: Silver Adventurer

Leon, who was a Bronze Adventurer, couldn’t take on the mission.He immediately approached the desk and addressed the receptionist.

“How can I become a Silver Adventurer?”“Oh... Are you the Mage from before?”

The receptionist seemed to remember Leon.Leon presented his Bronze Adventurer badge.

“Yes, that’s right.”“Just a moment. Usually, you need to accumulate achievements to qualify for a challenge to become a Silver Adventurer, but for Mages, the criteria are a bit vague......”

After asking Leon to wait, the receptionist brought over Maxius.

He widened his eyes upon seeing Leon.

“Mr. Theo?”“Hello.”“Where have you been for the past year......”“Didn’t Dave tell you?”“No, he did tell us. He said you went to gain experience and came back. ......But, I’m surprised you suddenly want to become a Silver Adventurer.”“I’m sorry for only coming when I need something.”“No, why would an adventurer be an adventurer? There’s no need to apologize at all.”

As Leon and Maxius were catching up, the murmuring inside the guild started to grow louder.

“Dave’s party is back.”“I heard Dave swept through Zone 2 again this time?”“He’s really on a roll.”“They say he’ll soon become a Silver Adventurer.”“I’m envious...... I heard they received a Mage’s Artifact.”“Those guys hit the jackpot.”

Leon’s ears perked up at the name he hadn’t heard in a long time.As he turned his head, he saw four figures entering through the door.Three of them were familiar faces.Dave, Karin, Linne.

So they were alive.

Their armor was significantly upgraded compared to what Leon remembered.Dave, who used to wear family armor, was now clad in plate armor.And he was wearing the Green Flute that Leon had given him like a necklace.

Looks like he’s been using the Guardian Golem Flute well.

Dave, whose eyes had become quite experienced, was approaching the desk when his gaze met Leon’s.

“Huh...? Huh? Mage?!”

His voice echoed throughout the entire first floor.