How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (12)

Kwaang―!

Ten minutes into the standoff with the werewolves, I once again spread a barrier across the air with my wand.

The werewolf’s heavy body crashed into the barrier.

I pushed mana forcefully into the arm holding my wand to maintain my defensive stance. After finding some stability, I surveyed the pack of werewolves.

‘The other ones aren’t Chimeras.’

Though it was a dark forest where even moonlight couldn’t penetrate, the constant barrage of magic provided enough visibility.

Whether from tension or the cold dawn air, my skin prickled. I bit my lip and continued swinging my wand.

‘Honestly…’

I hadn’t expected werewolves to appear in this low-level monster habitat.

Much less werewolves that someone had maliciously tampered with.

The novel never once mentioned werewolves appearing here, and the Protagonist had also chosen this place intentionally for its safety during simple exploration.

When I had investigated directly, this location’s safety had already been verified through countless sources.

Though my plan had gone completely awry and I was now facing mortal danger… I needed a change of perspective for now.

‘Maybe this worked out for the better.’

Looking at it positively, this wasn’t an entirely bad situation.

After thinking that far, I immediately shook my head.

‘I’m not crazy.’

Honestly, I was scared. No matter how much I tried to change my perspective, I couldn’t think so positively when facing a life-threatening situation.

But what’s done is done. Then I have to do my best to survive. I don’t need to be blindly positive, but I can’t surrender my life to regret either.

I gripped my wand tightly with my sweaty hands.

Kwaang―! Kwang―!

The werewolves charged at the thick barrier relentlessly without showing any signs of fatigue. You’d think they’d give up and retreat after ramming their heads so many times, but there was no sign of that happening.

I thrust my wand forward like a spear and sent one werewolf flying far away.

Kwaang―!

[Grrrrrrrrowl…]

The werewolf’s pained howl reached my ears.

A new fishy smell layered over the thick scent of blood that had been vibrating headache-inducingly since earlier. The werewolves went even more berserk at the smell of their pack member’s blood.

I increased my attack speed accordingly. Then, something flashed across the edge of my vision.

“…!”

The space to my right flashed brightly.

The werewolf’s red eyes flickered like film frames as it was pushed right up to my face.

Kwaaaaang―! Kuwoong―

“Ugh!”

I fell to the ground from the recoil.

I hadn’t had time to put strength into my legs because I’d swung my wand so hastily.

The werewolf died along with the tree that fell behind it, and once again the strong smell of blood lingered at my nose.

“Lucas!”

Leo shouted from somewhere.

We’d gotten quite far apart in the process of driving off the werewolves, so his voice reached me with a heavy echo.

“Just watch your own surroundings!”

I knocked away a werewolf flying at me and shouted back with bulging veins.

That guy has the leisure to worry about others in this situation.

I kicked off the ground and stood up.

I could tell well enough that I’d given the werewolves time from the moment I fell.

So, this one choice now was practically determining my future.

As expected, the remaining two werewolves charged at me frantically. I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped my wand with both hands, driving it down into the ground without hesitation.

Kwaaaaaaang―!

Pure white light poured from my wand, illuminating the forest.

Leo, who had finished his task and was coming to help me, covered his eyes. Sensing someone approaching, I ran toward a wolf in the distance and shouted.

“Leo, take care of that one!”

Leo quickly lowered his arm and examined the ground. One fallen werewolf was staggering to its feet. You could tell at a glance it couldn’t walk properly – it was already in a severely weakened state.

“…”

Leo stepped back, watching the werewolf approach while drooling.

The werewolf snapped at where Leo had been standing, then staggered again. When he cast magic, it collapsed weakly to the side. Leo approached and looked down at the dying werewolf.

‘Thinking of that Chimera creature…’

These werewolves were probably all made this way by humans too.

If we left them alive now, we couldn’t guarantee our own lives, and even if we somehow survived, there was a possibility they’d go down to the Residential Area, so we had to kill all the werewolves here and now. I don’t regret this decision.

But…

‘What if there had been medicine?’

There would have been no reason for them to suffer like this. The number of people harmed by monsters would have decreased significantly too. It would have been good for everyone.

Leo placed his hand on the werewolf’s chest.

When he channeled mana into it, the outline of the core became visible.

‘What kind of poison has Lucas been drinking? If it’s poison that suppresses the core, it could help as a temporary measure. Ultimately, the core itself needs to be removed, so… something would need to be inserted.’

Leo stroked his chin.

Should I try finding materials to strengthen that poison and adding them?

To make it work right up until just before penetrating the heart, I’d need to conduct experiments on each species.

Since the poison spread through the body needs to be detoxified after core dismantling, I’d need to calculate that time and the time the medicine takes to work, then administer the drug at the appropriate moment.

‘If I want to supply both medicines together, there would be difficulties cost-wise.’

Leo was so absorbed in thought that he didn’t notice Luca approaching right in front of him.

“…”

I let out a hollow laugh.

Leo was lost in thought while observing the dead werewolf.

‘Is this really the situation I think it is?’

Right now… I think I just witnessed the moment when the development of the contamination cure was significantly accelerated.

I plopped down beside him and asked.

“Are you going to make a cure?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“It’s written all over your face.”

“Huh? Anyway, I’m going to try. Just try.”

“That’s great. You’ll succeed if it’s you.”

“Hmm…”

Leo, who had been frowning at various calculations, grinned.

“Right, I’ll have to make sure I succeed.”

Having read about ten years later, witnessing his growth process directly was quite moving.

In this place where nothing was familiar, it felt like encountering someone I’d known fairly well.

‘…I think I accelerated things a bit, but anyway.’

Good things are good things, right?

I stood up and asked.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Just some scratches on my forearm, nothing else. What about you?”

“Nothing.”

Unlike Leo, I had identity issues, so I couldn’t create clues like wounds that could identify a person, but fortunately no major injuries occurred.

I picked up the sack I’d brought and gestured toward the werewolves.

“Come on, let’s clean up and head back.”

* * *

“You’re back. I was worried since you didn’t return even though it’s almost morning…”

The Caretaker started to welcome the two of them but stopped in place.

The sack they’d brought floating halfway in the air was even bigger than before.

‘Just how many did they kill?’

Even though it’s an area where magical beasts roam, it’s not exactly a dangerous region, so there’s no way such a quantity could be caught. I was almost in awe wondering how far out one would have to go to catch that much.

His eyes, filled with shock and admiration, belatedly turned to the two people’s clothes. Though their dark clothing didn’t stand out much, upon closer inspection, it was stained with blood and muddy water.

“Are you alright?!”

“We’re fine. We’d like you to process these first.”

Leo gathered the sacks and set them down on the floor. The Caretaker took the sacks and untied the strings.

“Let me see… hm?”

The Caretaker turned pale and froze in place.

‘I knew he’d react like that.’

I provided additional explanation before he could get more shocked.

“They’re Werewolves. You’ll probably need to contact the Security Bureau.”

“Th-there’s no way these could be here…”

These were at least intermediate-level magical beasts or higher.

Even someone like me who knew nothing could tell that much for certain. These weren’t magical beasts that should appear in This Location, which was designated as a low-risk danger zone.

Of course, regardless of the magical beasts’ grade, having grown up in This Location his whole life, he had never once seen Werewolves living here.

“Ah, there’s one Chimera Werewolf among them.”

“What?!”

“It appears someone intentionally cast magic to combine a Werewolf with another creature. There will probably be a gag order issued regarding that creature. Don’t carelessly mention it to the media.”

Since it wasn’t common for mages to set foot in places like this, there was a high possibility that news outlets would come for coverage.

It would be best if they knew nothing at all, but since we had to receive money transfers from the bank connected to This Location, the story couldn’t help but leak out.

At my words, the Caretaker turned pale like someone who had accidentally gotten involved in shady business and nodded his head vigorously.

“Yes, of course.”

As silence fell due to the Caretaker’s panic, I immediately got to the main point.

“So, when can we receive our compensation? The cash you have stored here won’t be enough to cover it.”

Due to theft risks, only small amounts were kept here.

To begin with, all those who had received compensation until now had been non-mages, so large amounts hadn’t been involved.

“Ah, that’s…”

The Caretaker got up from his seat and opened a desk drawer.

A communication magic device bearing the Imperial Central Bank’s logo revealed itself.

* * *

Though it seemed unused for a long time with cobwebs on it, the communication magic device wasn’t just decoration.

Less than 10 minutes after contacting the bank, a new transaction record appeared in Leo’s account.

“N-nine hundred fifty thousand…”

Returning to the place where we had first warped, Leo muttered with a pale face.

I agreed with that reaction too. It was money equivalent to 100 million won.

‘This is insane.’

No matter how much we risked our lives, it was an absurd amount for half a day’s work.

No matter how ignorant of market rates he was, Leo seemed to know that earning close to 100 million in this amount of time was rare.

I inwardly raised my assessment of Leo’s sense of reality and opened my mouth.

“They had set it at 100,000 pel per Werewolf.”

10 million won per creature.

Whether they had casually set the price not knowing anyone would actually come to hunt them, or whether they valued high-level personnel capable of dealing with Werewolf packs accordingly, it didn’t feel very realistic as compensation.

Of course, if they had added a danger premium, it would be a reasonable price.

Since corrupted creatures exert dozens or hundreds of times their original strength, one would have to face them prepared to die unless they were at a considerable level.

“…It was an unexpected problem, but it wasn’t completely impossible to handle either, and I’m glad we resolved it well without getting seriously injured.”

Leo took out his magic-imbued bankbook and looked at the numbers that had just been recorded.

“When we get back, I’ll add functions to those items I picked out before and place the order right away. I can get better ones to match the price.”

“Thanks. Ah, don’t spend half of that and keep it for yourself. No matter what, it feels a bit wrong for me to take everything alone.”

Honestly, when I had imagined trivial magical beasts, I didn’t think much of it even when the Antagonist said he’d give me everything, but after unintentionally putting him through a life-and-death experience, I felt a bit reluctant to take all that money alone.

Unlike me, Leo tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

“Hmm… I don’t really need to take any.”

“…”

What’s with that ‘really’? He probably said it without much thought, but from my perspective with a balance practically at zero, I could only let out a hollow laugh.

Hearing the deflating sound from beside him, Leo belatedly began to explain.

“Ahem… It’s not what you’re thinking. It would be good to pour it all in and stabilize your core as soon as possible. I was the one who said I’d follow you here in the first place. I also said from the beginning that I’d give you everything. And besides, I don’t have anything to buy…”

“I understand everything, so stop explaining.”

“Right.”

Leo found a suitable spot and cast a teleportation spell.

The space instantly changed to Leo’s Training Ground.

Leo glanced once at the open Training Ground ceiling and then knocked on the Training Ground door.

“Well, let’s head to the Dormitory now. Let’s both rest tonight and meet tomorrow evening.”

“Alright, you worked hard today. Go in quickly.”

At my farewell, Leo waved his hand.

I was about to take out my pendant but stopped and quietly spoke.

“Leo.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for today.”

Without the Antagonist, it would have been difficult to face the Werewolf pack alone. I felt this in many ways. To gain such a good colleague right from the start, I was lucky.

At those words, Leo made a surprised expression, then smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s what I should be saying.”

* * *

‘What does he mean that’s what he should be saying?’

Truly like a magic fanatic.

In the end, wasn’t he saying it was fine to face the Werewolf pack because he could see magic?

His passion is no ordinary passion. I could understand why the Protagonist kept him by his side for 10 whole years.

With these various thoughts, I gathered my books and left my room.

Before I even left the floor, I heard a familiar story.

“Hey, I heard someone swept up 950,000 pel from the North-Eastern Forest today.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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