Chapter 6: Winter Forest Exploration (2)

For convenience, the territory previously known as the Duke’s domain is referred to as the Grand Duchy, but in reality, the land governed by Escalante was much larger. This was because the Emperor had offloaded all the troublesome territories of the North onto him.

These were places where direct management was more trouble than it was worth. With more land to be responsible for but no profit, it was natural for the Grand Duke to have headaches from constantly having to cover losses.

“Welcome, Your Grace!”

The place where the expedition team arrived with a burst of light. Derahin Territory, located at the northwestern end of the Superia Empire, was one such place. It bordered the Winter Forest, where monsters poured out annually, necessitating regular military and resource support.

“Have you waited long?”

“No, please come inside.”

Viscount Derahin greeted Tehis with utmost respect. Since the Emperor had abandoned this land, the fate of the Viscounty depended on the man before him.

“Rather than delaying inside, let’s depart immediately.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

At the Viscount’s signal, the waiting troops began to move. Orders were relayed from the commanding ranks downwards, creating a large wave of movement.

“Open the gates!”

Most of Derahin’s forces were composed of regular soldiers, but a few knights in plate armor moved around intermittently. Due to the nature of the territory, the warp gate was installed near the castle gates, so it didn’t take long for the large group to exit the castle.

From the center of the army, which surrounded the expedition team in a circle, Chloe lightly grabbed Tehis’s arm.

“Not everyone here is entering the Winter Forest, right?”

“Only the selected 50 will enter. The rest are escorting troops to ensure they don’t exhaust themselves before then.”

“That’s a relief. It’s hard to take care of so many people.”

Tehis looked down at Chloe, who spoke naturally from a protector’s perspective.

Although not used to the most delicate-looking woman here saying such things, he felt reassured. She had lowered her hood, but the Mage Tower robe enveloping her body felt incredibly reliable.

“The expedition team is made up of elites, so there’s no need to worry. We’ll make sure not to be a burden.”

“Then I’ll focus on identifying the cause. With such a reliable escort, I’m at ease.”

Smiling at Tehis, Chloe looked far ahead. They said the frequency of monster appearances had increased significantly, and even now, there were several medium-sized monsters emerging from the Winter Forest to attack the soldiers.

‘Normally, seeing such a large group would make them cautious.’

She watched a Snow Orc fight fiercely as if it had no intention of returning to the Winter Forest, eventually dying gloriously. Even though the exploration hadn’t officially started, the monsters’ behavior was clearly unusual.

“Your Grace, we will withdraw from here.”

“Then I’ll see you upon our return, Viscount Derahin.”

“Yes, Your Grace. I wish you a safe return.”

Tehis turned his gaze from the courteous noble to the expedition team. Nodding at their uniformly sharp eyes, he began to walk first.

The expedition team moved through the soldiers who stepped aside without crossing the boundary of the Winter Forest.

Chloe hadn’t taken many steps past the boundary when she sensed a peculiar flow of mana and reached out a hand.

‘It’s certainly forbidden.’

She surveyed the snow-covered forest. The air clashing and tearing against itself emitted a cold chill.

The Winter Forest, one of the continent’s four prohibited zones. True to its infamous reputation, the mana patterns she saw for the first time were not just rough but violent, making it uncomfortable to synchronize with.

At this level, it was evident that not only formal mages but even some high-level mages would find it difficult to handle natural mana.

Tehis, who had turned to Chloe, who had paused for a moment, asked seriously.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, let’s keep going.”

She withdrew her hand and answered. Her orange eyes, sparkling like jewels, perceived the flow of mana.

The first stage of magic, mana perception. The second, mana synchronization. The third, mana control.

Chloe was judged to be at a Senior level in two of these three. It meant her synchronization and control were at the limits of human capability.

‘This means I can handle it.’

However, it wasn’t enough to cast magic without incantation as usual, so she muttered the basic runes.

[Wind, be still.]

As if responding to the strange resonance that spread with her words, the mana that had been rampaging around her calmed down in synchronization.

The expedition members, whose breaths had become labored in the cold and sharp air, directed their gaze at the mage. Chloe spoke to them as they exhaled relaxed breaths, wrapped in a gentle spring breeze.

“Now I understand why it’s called the Winter Forest. We’ll move like this for now, so please handle the monsters.”

“Yes, Mage!”

A young ranger answered in a voice filled with admiration. Although it wasn’t his place to answer, as knights handled the monsters while rangers were responsible for exploration and other tasks.

Chloe watched with a smile as the man, who seemed to be his superior, scolded him in a low voice, then turned to Tehis.

“We’re still at the entrance, so I can’t identify a direction that seems to be the cause. For now, let’s follow the rangers and observe.”

“Yes, Chloe. If necessary, you can rest at any time.”

The mage, feeling reassured by the Grand Duke’s consideration, looked at the backs of the widely spread rangers. Those who moved out of her control range flinched as they were cut by the sharp wind but couldn’t help it. Controlling the air of the entire Winter Forest was impossible, so the limit was to protect as far as she could see.

“Do you think we can finish within a fortnight?”

“We’ll have to try our best to aim for that.”

Chloe recalled leaving Derahin Castle at Tehis’s calm voice. They must have been blocking this place for a long time, yet the signs of collapse and the traces of death that hadn’t been fully dealt with were evident. Leaving it for even a few more months would surely result in a breach during the winter monster wave.

‘That’s probably why they came to the Mage Tower.’

Requests for Senior mages are extremely rare. This is because the likelihood of them accepting a request is remarkably low.

Beyond the rank, the Mage Tower’s system, which provides additional support for research materials based on how much one contributes to the repository of knowledge, meant that Senior Mage had no need to take external requests.

In the first place, the position of a Senior Mage could only be reached by having a top-level thesis recognized.

In short, such requests are very rare, and for the Mage Tower Master to mediate and pass it on to her was even more unusual.

‘He said he connected it to me because it seemed like I would need it…’

Chloe thought of Isrion, whom she had met the previous day. Even after over a decade as his disciple, it was hard to fathom the true intentions behind his ever-gentle smile. Knowing he was someone who would stand by unless the empire, a significant client, was on the verge of collapse, she was curious about his intentions.

As she walked, lost in various thoughts, Tehis gently spoke to her.

“How long can you maintain this magic?”

“If necessary, I can manage all day. But I’ll be quite tired.”

“Then let’s aim for adaptation today. Even with preparation, it’s hard to block the wind inside.”

“That’s why it’s forbidden, isn’t it?”

Chloe glanced at a ranger who had ventured far and returned with blood flowing from his eyes. Knights who had reached the level of experts seemed to protect themselves somewhat, but several rangers, who couldn’t enhance their bodies as much, were already starting to get injured.

Why is something forbidden? Why is a Senior-level mage needed for a forbidden exploration?

The answer is simple. Ordinary humans cannot oppose nature.

Even just looking at the expedition team wrapped tightly from head to toe, it was clear. Just by being here, they were cut by the wind and pouring potions, so staying here long without a mage was impossible.

“If adaptation is the goal, let’s move a bit more and set up a base early. We can stay in one place for about a day.”

“That would be best. Let’s check the movement paths of nearby monsters and start moving together from tomorrow.”

Tehis revised his plan in his mind and signaled for reorganization. The air was rougher than expected, making it difficult to spread the rangers out.

Instead, it seemed better for the ranger unit to conduct detailed searches near Chloe and send the knights out to roughly confirm the positions and movement directions of the monsters.

‘It’s fortunate that there aren’t many large monsters.’

There were occasional battles, but so far, only medium-sized ones that regular knights could handle had appeared, so he hadn’t needed to step in personally.

Tehis passed by those collecting the recently defeated monster corpses into magic pouches. Time quickly passed as he took the initiative to find a suitable spot for a temporary base and tidy up the surroundings.

* * *

“Your Grace, the meal is ready.”

“Where is Chloe?”

“The mage is inspecting the perimeter of the temporary base.”

At the words of Bren, the commander of the knights under Escalante, Tehis nodded. Since he was planning to survey the area for inspection anyway, he stepped out of the tent instead of telling them to call her.

“Gather everyone for the meal. There’s no need for additional reports if the numbers match.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Leaving Bren, who answered politely, Tehis went to find Chloe. Since the temporary base wasn’t that large, he quickly found her.

“Chloe.”

“Just a moment.”

Holding a mana stone, Chloe, who was concentrating on something, raised her other hand to stop Tehis. Standing by her side as she muttered incomprehensible words with a serious face, soon the humming vibration of mana occurred.

From the magic circle spreading along the ground, a translucent barrier wavered in a dome shape, enveloping the clearing.