Chapter 160

It was the middle of the night after the announcement of the Ortem Gourd was made by Abel .

“Uu…… uuuuuhhhh……”

Inside the dimly lit warehouse, a single, elderly man was moaning powerlessly .

He was Icarus Izaida, the former leader of the Alchemy Division .

He had lost his position after the development of the crops he had spent years researching was instantly snatched away by Abel, who appeared from the side, and now he was in danger of being expelled from the Fage territory .

He knew that there was no way he could use alchemy to develop a convenient crop .

So he only showed a glimpse of reasonable hope to the residents and did what he wanted to do .

That was certainly true .

But even if that was true, the correction of the report Abel had filled out was too much of an assessment .

It is true that there were many parts of the report that were written in a deceptive manner, but the standard that Abel asks of his writers is too high to begin with .

I don’t remember being mocked so thoroughly and nervously .

It’s now at a morbid level .

“Why, why does this have to happen to me! I am …… this, Master Icarus the Great Sorcerer! I was a hero! I even saved the land from a caused by a magic beast disaster monster panic! And yet…… you ungrateful people!”

He kicked the wall of the warehouse, screaming .

Right now, Icarus could not use magic .

In addition to the shackles of the magic sealer, the spirit scattering Ortem prepared by Abel had been laid out in the warehouse .

The thoroughness of this also continued to get on Icarus’ nerves .

The Ortem’s somewhat cryptic face was staring at Icarus from all sides .

When he was young, Icarus had been a famous adventurer in Royal Capital .

One day, Icarus heard that a great nobleman was looking for a skilled sorcerer .

He decided it was time for him to get down to business, so he went to the nobleman to advertise himself to him .

At the time, Icarus was well-liked by those around him, and he was completely on top of his game .

But out of the four sorcerers gathered at that time, Icarus had the lowest opinion of all of them .

He was a top-notch stray adventurer, and his name sold well because he had always wanted to show off, but he was not one of the best sorcerers in the service of a great nobleman .

On top of that, the other sorcerers were all born of noble aristocrats, whereas Icarus was the only one born of the common people, and he was completely ignorant of everything from greetings to food etiquette .

Icarus, who rode in with confidence, was so impatient that he couldn’t even bring out his usual abilities to the fullest .

He was told that he could hire him for a different quota, but that was unacceptable to the proudful Icarus .

It was then that Icarus decided .

Let’s stand ahead of the fogs rather than the dragon’s tail, he said .

It was against this backdrop that Icarus had served the predecessor of Lark, a poor country lord .

He continued to look down on those around him to distract him from the reality of his own small world, and this was exacerbated and ended up being overwhelmed by the young lad and trapped in a dingy warehouse .

It was then that Ringus appeared .

“I’d like to speak with Icarus-san about a few things…… Yes, I have the lord’s approval, look . Since I’m in a hurry, could you please let me through quickly?”

Fooling the guards at the warehouse, Ringus came to Icarus’ aid .

Ringus told Icarus about his careful plan and let him hear it, and even inspired Icarus with a sycophantic remark that someone like you shouldn’t have to go through this .

If all of Ringus’ talk really works, then surely you can get rid of Abel .

He was confident that if he let Abel be driven out, he could at least persuade the lord and residents .

He could restore his position to some extent, if not to the same extent as before .

“If we just make it difficult, if we continue to argue, this is the one who will get ripped off . I would like to see a visible push, not a dialectic, …… In other words, we need you to showcase your power, Icarus-san . ”

Ringus says, somewhat painfully .

Icarus looked at him and snickered .

“You doubt whether I can win, don’t you?”

“No, no, I didn’t intend to say that…… just to say I’d like to insure you, or maybe you can give me some wisdom . ”

“I’m not going to look down on that little bastard after all this time . It’s true, he is a monster, as far as the eye can see . So I’m going to have a Vernasse-style duel . ”

“What is the Vernasse style ……?”

“The missionary doesn’t know this . It’s a dueling system used in the magical city of Vernasse . ”

In the magical city of Vernasse, there used to be many quarrels between sorcerers .

As a result, a dueling system was created to ensure safety and equality .

There are several detailed agreements, but the most important one is that they do not allow the use of magic other than the use of magic bullets .

If top-notch magicians fight each other seriously, not only their own lives, the surrounding terrain will not be safe .

Before Vernasse-style dueling was established, each of them set limits on how much they could do to each other, but if they were about to lose, they would exploit the holes in the agreement or overinterpret it, leading to many cases of unnecessary disputes .

As a result, an agreement to limit the use of magic to a magic bullet that anyone can use and that does not cause too much damage to the people around it has become popular .

Icarus, as his second names suggest, was absolutely confident in his magic ability to control magic bullets .

Magic bullets are not powerful enough to take on high-level monsters, and they are also not very applicable, but if you are fighting against a person, a single magic bullet is all that is needed .

This is the reason why Icarus is known for its superiority in interpersonal combat .

However, Icarus’ confidence in Abel’s unfathomable depths was beginning to waver a bit .

If that was the case, he could use the rules to drag his opponent down to his own ring .

If I limit it to a battle between magic bullets, there is no way I will lose .

The magic bullets are generally a generic term of magic that creates spheres based on magic elements of fire, water, wind, and light, and shoots them at the opponent .

Since the shape of the bullets in the shape of the earth, which has always been a fixed form, are often classified separately since the types of magic circles are very different, they are often not recognized even in Vernasse-type duels .

The advantage of the magic bullets is that they can be aimed at a target, but it’s extremely difficult to control them to maintain their shape, and it’s said that it takes three times the magic power to make them larger .

In other words, the power of these magic bullets depends solely on the ability of the two people with a certain level of ability to use their magic quickly and calmly without error .

In that regard, Icarus had the confidence that he could always use magic with near-perfect accuracy when it came to magic bullets .

What was important in this regard was the timing of firing the magic bullets, the type of magic bullets, and strategy .

In strategy and other tactics, Icarus had no intention of falling behind Abel at all .

At the very least, the odds are far better than a simple game of magic .

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to revive myself, lord missionary . ”

“Yes, I’m sure you and I will continue to get along just fine . ”

Ringus says, smiling .

Icarus was no fool .

He didn’t know where Ringus’ ultimate goal was, but he knew he was being led and used .

It was also a mystery why he had so much information on the Lords’ side .

But even so, he couldn’t refuse Ringus’ invitation .

If I retreated here, it would be the end of everything for me .

I don’t care what Ringus wants to do in the Fage territory .

“Please . If you don’t drop that thing here, there’s no end in sight for me to follow……”

After that, everything went as Ringus had told us, and he even managed to get Abel to agree to a Vernasse-style duel .

In accordance with the rules of the Vernasse-style duel, a rest is interrupted in the name of mental unity .

This is not only to keep the sorcerer in good physical condition for an equal duel, but also to cool the sorcerer’s head and reduce the number of unnecessary duels .

On the day of the duel, Icarus went to the square where the duel took place .

He would beat Abel here .

Then he would use that fact to soften his own position to recover, and if he could, he would beat Abel out of Fage territory .

If he wants, he can just kill him in the duel .

He would be blamed, but it was a far more reasonable means than leaving that thing that could do anything .

A crowd had already gathered in the square, having heard the commotion .

It was lively as if a party of some sort was about to begin, but even so, everyone’s expression was dark, and they were talking in low, whispering voices .

They must be worried about what will happen to their territory from now on .

Icarus stands in the center of the crowd and waits for Abel to arrive .

There was still no sign of Abel in the crowd .

The lord, Lark, had already arrived, but there was still some time before the scheduled time .

It wouldn’t be surprising if he hadn’t come yet .

However, to Icarus, Lark seemed to be somewhat impatient .

He was pale, glancing frequently in the direction of the lord’s mansion .

Icarus thought it was odd, but at this time he was not yet that concerned .

Then a lot of time passed .

He still hadn’t appeared .

Lark had heard something from Euris, who had come to report back to him with a blue face, and he had his head in his hands .

Icarus thought that Abel must have escaped when he realized what he was planning to do .

Although he was no longer able to strike a decisive blow, this was a great gain .

Abel would later claim that this method of dueling was advantageous to Icarus, but Abel had already agreed to duel in the Vernasse style once .

This would be enough material to fuel his distrust of the residents .

Besides, there would be more support from the Ringus in the future .

A little while later, Lark orders something to the servant girl by his side, Marias .

Marias rushed towards the lord’s mansion in a hurry after receiving the order from Lark .

Lark awkwardly walked up to Icarus and faced the residents and opened his mouth after one coughing fit .

“Abel-dono is …… well, I hear he has caught a cold . He doesn’t seem to be feeling well, so we’re going to postpone it for a day after all …… . ”

The square, which had been buzzing with activity, instantly fell silent .

Icarus didn’t know what was going on either .

He looked around to see if Ringus had set something up, but Ringus also wrinkled his brow with his gaping mouth .

Ringus also throws a puzzled look back at Icarus .

He seemed to think that Icarus might have done something to him .

The two men stared at each other for a long time, but they quickly looked away from each other, thinking that it was not a good idea to let people around them get the wrong idea .

“………… so he’s faking it?”

Almost at the same time as Icarus muttered quizzically, a storm of booing erupted from the residents .

The sorcerers in Icarus’ entourage also saw this as an opportune moment to fire up the residents .

The Vernasse-style duel was in danger of being interrupted due to Abel’s illness .