ALL NOVEL Chapter 11
The evidence that he remembers the past he has lost is somewhat lacking, but it is certainly worth considering.
After all, out of nowhere, Kasys Lenokhnen warned to be careful.
‘Looking at his attitude, it seems like he doesn’t remember in detail. Is it the soul that remembers?’
No, that doesn’t make sense. If the soul remembered a lost past, then there’s no way he wouldn’t have recognized me on the first night.
The soul is the deepest blood that is etched into a person. If memories are imprinted there, then Johan should have thought of Fransia the moment he saw her.
‘I don’t know.’
Of course, the rumors about Kasys Lenokhnen being dangerous are true. He’s known as the battlefield demon who takes even the heads of surrendered foes.
Also, he exudes a killing intent towards the allies of the First Public Affairs Officer, making it difficult for other generals to deal with him.
‘Did he just say to be careful simply because of such rumors?’
Fransia looked at Johan’s back and bit her lip. She wanted to ask him if he remembers anything.
But she couldn’t say that. Revealing that she has returned is the greatest taboo among those magical prohibitions.
The exact reason is unknown. It’s just that the celestial wizard from the myth who created that magic wrote it like that in the spellbook.
‘What on earth could it be?’
Magic that breaks causality has no information beyond its description, so Fransia was just as frustrated.
“All troops are ready!”
While Fransia was lost in thought, those who had completed preparations began to mount their horses one by one.
“Fransia?”
Johan tilted his head. Fransia was tightly holding onto his arm and wouldn’t let go.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
Fransia awkwardly smiled and released Johan’s arm.
“…You have to be careful, okay?”
“I know.”
“And about the rampaging demon beasts too.”
“Rampaging demon beasts?”
Johan’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Only those who walk the path of magic can incite a rampage in demon beasts.
‘Well, I suppose Fransia knows that. It’s a common occurrence during dungeon reconnaissance missions.’
Those who walk the path of magic, whether practitioners or wizards, establish their domains near dungeons swarming with demon beasts.
Communicating with demon beasts deepens their mastery of magic.
These wizards can control or incite demon beasts into rampages, making them the most dangerous existence for Public Affairs Officers entering dungeon reconnaissance missions.
“I will be careful.”
Johan gently smiled and patted Fransia’s head. Only then did she smile faintly and turn to leave.
“Johan! Hurry up here!”
At that moment, the Deputy Head, Tersis, who was leading the horses ahead, called out to him.
“Yes, I’m coming now!”
Johan adjusted his robe and dashed toward Tersis to grab the reins.
“How’s it going? Are you a good rider?”
“I’m not very good. I learned when I was quite young.”
“Haha! Well, if you can pass the test, that means you’re at least above average!”
Tersis laughed heartily while giving Johan’s shoulders a few pats with his large hands.
“You don’t need to be too tense. The unit you’ve joined is being led by me personally.”
“That puts me at ease. I’m glad to be with you, Deputy Head.”
Johan replied with a light smile and stepped onto the saddle to mount the horse.
This was the final hurdle to officially become an Archmage.
*
The march that began in the morning continued until nightfall.
After taking breaks and having meals along the way, we finally arrived at the eastern dungeon of the empire by night.
The air changed drastically; I understood why this place was called a dungeon.
“We will set up a forward base here. Moving further in will likely draw the attention of the demon beasts.”
“Understood!”
At Fedelian’s command, a knight planted the flag he was carrying into the ground.
“We set up a forward base!”
Then, soldiers and knights began to move and set up tents around him.
“More towards the inside!”
“Spread it out!”
While they were setting up the tents, Johan looked around, searching for Fransia. She was not in sight at all, given that the unit was completely the opposite direction.
‘Well, it’s not like I was hoping to see her here anyway.’
This was Johan’s first mission as a Public Affairs Officer, the beginning of everything—dungeon reconnaissance.
It would be a breach of military discipline to be chattering along with her even in such a situation.
“Who are you looking for so eagerly?”
Just then, a female voice rang out from behind him. Johan turned to look in the direction of the voice.
“Violet Ratalen—no, just Violet.”
“I’m delighted to be called by my name.”
Violet giggled and placed her hand on Johan’s shoulder. She twisted her red lips into an alluring smile.
“How is it, your first dungeon reconnaissance mission? Are you nervous?”
“I’m not particularly nervous because there are some reliable folks around.”
“Oh really? Normally, it’s normal to be so anxious that you can’t sleep.”
Violet smoothly glided her hand up to Johan’s cheek and caressed it.
“Your skin is nice, do you take special care of it?”
“I don’t do anything special.”
“Is that so? I’m envious. Hehe.”
What could possibly be so delightful to be smiling about? Johan’s gaze turned cold.
‘I’d rather she stop this kind of thing.’
And his expression also hardened. While contact like this was something that always happened when meeting a woman, Violet’s touch was unnecessarily sticky and overwhelming.
“Violet. I apologize for saying this, but—”
“Oh, you don’t want me touching you?”
She had been reading his expression all along and quickly removed her hand, displaying a subtle grin.
“I just can’t help wanting to touch you when it’s Johan.”
“……”
“If that bothered you, I’m sorry?”
Violet tilted her head slightly.
“Johan, you’re quite the wall. As if you have a lover or something.”
“……”
Johan maintained his silence and avoided the question.
He didn’t plan to hide that he and Fransia were lovers, but he needed to share the least amount of information possible with Violet right in front of him.
“You’re not answering. How boring.”
With no reply coming, her face quickly turned indifferent, and she shrugged her shoulders.
“I was just trying to loosen you up a bit since you looked nervous. Well, it seems like you’re not nervous at all.”
“Since it’s something that’s going to happen anyway, I believe it’s better to conserve emotional energy and focus on doing my best.”
“Hehe, I like that point too.”
She took a step back and gave Johan a sly wink.
“Then I’ll be going now, okay?”
“Sure. You must be busy.”
“Hehe.”
Violet left with a meaningful smile.
‘I really don’t know what she’s thinking.’
At first, I thought she was trying to provoke jealousy, but it seems that wasn’t it. There’s no need to do that in a place without Kasys.
‘She must have some goal in mind.’
But I had no idea what it was. I felt like there was something I was missing, but nothing came to mind.
“Oh, Johan! There you are!”
Just as he was lost in thought, Tersis called out from behind him, surveying where Violet had just left.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing much. I just feel like I should explain the schedule.”
Tersis smiled amiably and continued explaining.
“First off, today is a rest day. Tomorrow morning, the real reconnaissance mission will start. Each unit will split up to determine their directions and check the state of the dungeon there.”
Johan nodded and listened attentively to his words.
“You understand that the reason we check the dungeon is simple enough; if their numbers grow too large, there’s a possibility of a ‘demon beast flood,’ which would create problems for the empire as well.”
A demon beast flood literally means that the numbers of demon beasts grow too large and spill out beyond the dungeon’s territory.
“It’s not always good to have a vast land, is it?”
“Exactly.”
The Rojino Empire is the largest nation on the continent. It’s only natural for there to be many dungeons whose origins are unknown.
But they can’t just erase dungeons. If they accidentally disturb the abyssal gate linked to them, it would be irreparable.
So, managing the dungeons is best achieved by occasionally sending out Public Affairs Officers or knightly orders to regulate the population of demon beasts.
“Anyway, have a good rest today. We need to head south.”
“Yes.”
Tersis gave Johan’s back a few pats with a satisfied smile before walking in the direction of his tent.
Johan narrowed his eyes and glanced in the direction where the Crown Prince was. The advantage of being in the center of the forward base was that he could see it from anywhere.
‘He could be up to something at any moment. I need to be careful.’
But the downside was that he couldn’t inspect the inside.
‘He won’t act directly since he’s the Crown Prince…’
The number of shadows he commands is close to the thousands. After all, the Crown Prince is at the center of the empire.
The only thing to do is keep the guard up as much as possible.
‘But I’m not particularly worried. In a pinch, I can always use the Book of Calamities.’
I don’t know how strong the magic contained within the Book of Calamities is, but judging by the patterns and the mana it requires, it’s certainly not ordinary.
‘If things go south, I can just flip everything upside down.’
It was one day left until they would enter the dungeon reconnaissance mission.
*
Splash, splash.
Late at night. Most of the troops were asleep, with only a minimal number of soldiers standing guard.
Splash, splash.
Crown Prince Fedelian Rojino was walking through a dense forest.
Normally, it would be standard to have a bodyguard, but he was an Arch Knight and the second sword of the empire. There would be no problem wandering through the dungeon’s woods.
With nearly dozens of shadows present, it wasn’t too dangerous either.
Splash, splash.
As he brushed aside the small branches sticking to his legs, after a while, Fedelian reached a clearing in the forest where he met men cloaked in robes.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Yeah.”
The one at the front among those cloaked men stepped forward to greet Fedelian.
“It is quite difficult to meet. Can’t you just communicate through the shadows? I don’t understand why you must see me in person.”
Fedelian frowned, displaying a look of displeasure.
The robed man bowed his head.
“I sincerely apologize for that. However, I really wanted to show you this…”
The man pulled out a bright red orb from within his robes. It looked like a glass orb, swirling with blood-red mana inside.
“Ooh. What is this?”
Fedelian asked with interest sparkling in his eyes.
“It is made from collecting the life force of demon beasts. Based on this, if a spell is cast, even an Archdemon would be unable to refuse commands.”
Hearing this, a smile crept onto his lips.
If he could control an Archdemon, it would make for an excellent weapon of war and greatly aid the operation he was currently contemplating.
“Have you finished the experiments?”
“Of course.”
The robed man placed the red glass orb back into his robe and continued.
“However, it requires a rather complex spell to use. So, the downside is that I must use it myself.”
“Hmmm.”
Fedelian stroked his chin. As long as there are shadows, there is no communication issue.
However, relying on the magic practitioners’ strength is a concern.
That power cannot be used freely anytime and anywhere.
“What is the potential for advancement?”
“For now, it is limitless.”
“Then that’s good.”
Upon hearing the expected answer, Fedelian grinned.
“Have you decided on the first use of that orb?”
“Not yet.”
“Then let’s use it now.”
Fedelian placed his hand on the robed man’s shoulder, twisting his lips into a sinister smile.
“There’s a unit heading south for reconnaissance into the dungeon. Have the Archdemon move there. In that place, kill the Archmage Johan Harsen.”
He added with a short “Ah.”
“All the unit members accompanying him can be killed as well, but make sure that the task is done properly.”