Chapter 148

It took longer than expected, but finally, all six sorcerers were able to have their own homemade Ortem .

There were remnants of failed creations lying around .

Some of the failed creations had vertical lines drawn across their faces in resentment .

Once during the process, I wondered if I should compromise, even if it was a little distorted .

But after all, I thought it would be better to instruct them exactly what to do first, so I decided to have them recreate it and bring it up to the minimum line .

There were two people who were inevitably clumsy, though, so it ended up being me and Mea carving those people’s portions .

While the other five people were sitting with a mixture of accomplishment and frustration with the Ortem, Rinoa, who looked unconcerned, approached us alone .

“…… Can this really bring the clouds together?”

Rinoa asks, poking at the Ortem in her hand .

She is the only one of the six who has passed the Ortem check in one shot .

That’s probably why there is less exhaustion .

Rinoa’s rather long ears sway faintly in the wind .

I hear that her race, the Noir, is dexterous and surprisingly strong .

Her Ortem carving was also quite good for the first time .

This is the kind of person I wanted .

I’m confident in my Ortem carving, but that’s only because I have the World Tree’s wood carving knife .

When it comes to the processing of metals and ores, which requires a lot of power, I can’t do anything about it .

After ingratiating myself to the territory with this mess, it might not be a bad idea to have her process the remnants of the Zeshum ruins .

What to make and how to have her design it .

I’ve had a few ideas in my head since the day I picked it up, but let’s fill in the specifics .

“Abel, your face, it’s loose……”

Mea whispers into my ear in a blur .

When I came to my senses, Rinoa was looking at me suspiciously .

“Well…… did I say what we’re going to make now?”

After I said it, I realized that my thoughts and the words I said were stumbling around .

At the edge of my vision, I could see the sorcerers who had been heaving and listening to my words, revealing their despair at the thought of making something else .

“The utility of this Ortem”

Rinoa shakes her head and answers shortly .

I clear my throat and regain my composure .

“I’d say definitely…… but there’s an element of uncertainty . ”

I follow the clouds with my eyes as they move in a subtle evasive motion from around the vicinity of Fage territory .

The flow is slow and only very slightly uncomfortable .

But I can see that there is almost no doubt that something is being done .

Rinoa seemed to know what I meant and stared at the clouds in the sky .

The sorcerers let out a sigh and slumped their shoulders as they looked at their homemade Ortem with stagnant eyes .

I guess they interpreted my words as a precautionary measure and decided they weren’t very confident .

I have absolute confidence in the cloud gathering itself .

However, in this kind of magic, the first move is basically superior .

As the person who was in the back of the pack, it was right to destroy the medium that the other side was using to maintain the cloud dispersal magic, or to take the time to assess and analyze the enemy’s magic .

I can’t spend time on this kind of scene this time, though, so I’m going to take on this challenge, knowing that I’m at a disadvantage .

I won’t participate at first, just to let you know how great Ortem is .

I’ll only participate if things don’t go well .

If it still fails, I have a move in mind .

In the worst-case scenario, we can dig a hole in the area with magic and make an avalanche of water and build a large cistern .

“Well, there’s no way we can go this far and not try it . ”

All six of them obeyed me and sat down in a circle .

An Ortem placed in front of them .

“Now then, please use the magic circle and spells as I instructed!”

I clapped my hands as I said it, and the six men waved their wands and pointed them at the Ortem .

“Puppet, gather the clouds . ”

The six sorcerers chant at the same time .

The glow of magic power released from the wand enters the Ortem, and the Ortem’s eyes glow as the holes crackle .

“He-, hey, Abel-dono, nothing’s happening……”

After a minute or so, the skinny man among the sorcerer’s said uneasily, turning his face away from the Ortem and looking back at me .

He was called a jaguar, by Rinoa .

He was one half of the two that lacked a bit of concentration and was the one half of the two that didn’t do well with the Ortem carving .

From the conversations of the sorcerers, it seems that the jaguar was not a very good magician either .

Ortem carving is also an aspect that tests one’s skills as a sorcerer, such as concentration and spatial grasping ability .

I even spent my childhood training the basics of sorcery through Ortem carving .

Jaguar was initially hired as a private army, but it seems that he was sent over here with the intention of increasing the number of people on Rinoa’s side within the alchemy division .

“Shut up and focus . ”

Before I could respond to Jaguar’s words, Rinoa gave him a warning .

The jaguar bows his head apologetically and points his wand at the Ortem again .

I make sure the jaguar has flashed his own Ortem before I observe the clouds in the sky again .

The flow of clouds coming towards Fage territory is getting faster and faster .

The clouds that had been bending their course just before they wobbled and approached the fage territory are gathering more and more into the fage territory .

The clouds that had been separated from the fage territory until now due to being artificially interfered with by magic are probably rushing in all at once .

Visibly, a cluster of clouds was approaching from all directions .

“Oh, ohhhhhhhh…!”

Jaguar drops his wand from his hand and stands up, tears streaming down his face as he sees the clouds coming towards him .

“They’re coming…… every time they’ve approached, they’ve stayed as far away from here as possible, but now those damn clouds are coming into Fage territory! Come on, guys!”

The other sorcerers seemed to feel the same way .

Their faces were shining and they were holding each other’s hands .

In their eyes, their smiles were full of hope, as if they could see the future recovery of the territory .

“Now, this should solve our biggest problem, the water shortage! We can give that Icarus bastard a run for his money!”

“Thank God! I’m glad I carved it! I thought the design was kind of annoying when I was re-carving it, but now that I look back at it, it looks like an angel!”

The sorcerers joined hands and rejoiced in each other’s company .

Rinoa narrowed her eyes and looked around to admonish them, but suddenly let out a smile as if the venom had been drained from her .

Mostly, she was probably trying to rush the resumption of her magic, but she reconsidered her decision to let them bask in the joy for now .

“Abel-dono, the sky! The sky! Haha, I can’t believe it’s going to be this awesome…!”

Jaguar points to the heavens as he spluttered .

“…… Well, it sure is a hell of a thing, isn’t it?”

“What?”

When I return the words, the jaguar looks back at the heavens and his expression is cloudy .

White and blue . The sky is split in two .

That was the illusion of a scene .

The clouds were blatantly avoiding the vicinity of the Fage territory . From a certain borderline, they did not approach at all .

A gap, an artificial shape, as if drawing an ellipse, marked the border between the clouds and the sky .

The more the clouds gathered, the more blatantly they emerged .

Up until now, when It was backing away from that line, it wouldn’t have been so obvious .

As a result of pushing back the repulsive force and advancing, the wards that were playing the clouds became clearly visible .

Probably the person who set up the cloud-dispersing magic didn’t want this to happen, nor did they anticipate it .

“Wha…… What is that…… that is definitely strange…… because it was so……”

The jaguar’s voice quivered and he slumped to the spot without power .

The clouds have not crossed any boundaries .

There is no doubt that there has been an artificial intervention .

Rinoa, too, bit her lip and stared at the wall of clouds with disgust on her young face .

“I knew it was strange . But I didn’t think it was really……”

“It’s a pretty big deal . ”

I’d take a different approach, and I’m confident I’d be able to ripen it with a simple technique while camouflaging it better .

If this is exposed so blatantly, the fact that I’m aware of the people who are causing harm to this territory may be known to the sorcerer as well .

It would have been nice if they had at least set up a self-destructive technique to cover up the deception .

In that sense, it might have taken one .

“…… Such a complex and large-scale magic circle, Even for me, this is the second time I’ve seen it . The first time was Nargarn’s regeneration formula . ”

Rinoa says out in frustration .

“Hmm?”

I feel like the remarks were picked up with a different agenda .

“H, hey, what’s that all about? You’re on to something, aren’t you, Lord Deputy Commander? By the looks of it, right? Yes, there was some mistake in the magic circle or something……”

Jaguar calls out to me with his face twitching .

This wasn’t such a big deal, it was a tiny mistake .

It was as if he was desperately trying to fool himself into thinking so .

“…… Abel-dono, well done . The only thing we can do right now is to report this matter to our lord, that’s all . ”

Rinoa shakes her head in response to Jaguar’s words and denies it .

“N, no way! What was that cloud gathering spell we’ve been working so hard on? what, what the hell is that wall…?”

“You know what I mean . It’s a warding . And that’s some serious water magic . This territory is being targeted . Report this to Master Lark……”

“How can we resist a guy who has been hiding all this time with those huge wards!”

The jaguar screams hysterically and slams his staff to the ground .

“That Icarus guy used me so much! And the eyes of the people in the village looked at me like I was crazy! And yet, still, I believed that if I came here, through desperate trial and error, I could make it work! I can’t do it! How do you expect me to report that to Lark-sama! You can’t do anything about it even if you know!”

Jaguar kneels on the ground and grips the dirt with his fingers .

The tears that had been wet with tears of joy cover the cheeks that had been shed by other factors .

The other sorcerers who were there, including Rinoa, simply looked down, as if they couldn’t think of any words to reply to him .

“Jaguar……”

Rinoa blurts out his name .

“…… It was in vain, all of it . After all that effort and desperation, I feel stupid . The only thing you can do now is to leave without saying a word, because Nalgarn isn’t here . You can’t do anything even if I’m here or the Assistant Commander is here . I’m sure that this place will be destroyed no matter how hard you try . ”

The jaguar spits out a grudge .

The atmosphere of the place becomes heavy .

Perhaps Jaguar was a drifter who had come to the Fage territory as an adventurer, and was one of those who were saved by Lark .

In truth, he must have wanted to repay Lark for his kindness .

“A, Abel…… . what, what the hell is that thing?”

Mea also seems to be terrified by the strangeness of the sky and grips my sleeve tightly .

I give a small nod and touch Mea’s shoulder with the opposite hand from the one that’s holding my sleeve .

“It’s okay, don’t worry . I can handle that much . ”

“Ah…… yes . ”

Mea seemed to feel a strong conviction in my words, nodded her head, and gently removed her hand from my sleeve .

I walked up to the World Tree’s Ortem, which I had prepared as a sample to have carved, and pointed my wand at it .

“Abel-dono, that’s enough, isn’t it, already……”

One of the sorceresses said wearily .

I returned a suitably bitter smile and then waved my wand .

…… maybe I should put some effort into it .

The enemy seems to be very tense .

“Puppet, gather the clouds . ”

A dazzling light flooded out of the World Tree’s Ortem’s eyes .

Everyone present covered their eyes with their hands .

Zuooooooooooooh!

Clouds surged into the wards .

A low sound, as if space were battling with each other, reverberates throughout the Fage territory .

“Form, Dragon”

Through the World Tree’s Ortem, I cast a spell on the clouds .

The clouds swirled and clumped together to form a dragon with a long body .

The dragon dives into the warding, opening its large mouth .

The invisible warding collapses away with a high-pitched sound .

The clouds that had represented the dragon dispersed and flowed into the sky above the Fage territory .

“Oh, he’s gone, he’s gone . ”

…… a little too much .

We’re going to have to control the flow of clouds for a while .

” ” “What?” ” “

The sorcerers look at the sky with stunned faces .

The jaguar remains in a crawling posture on the ground, with only his neck bent wide to gaze at the sky, his mouth open with an ache .

“Abel-dono…… you, are you a human?”

The female sorcerer who had called out to me earlier to stop me from doing this said with a complexion that was more awe than admiration .