How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 325

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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 (325)

 

“….”

 

Mecklenburg finally showed a faint smile. It was obvious from his entire body that he didn’t particularly want to get involved with me. I raised the corners of my mouth at him. I didn’t particularly want to have a conversation either, but I had to execute my plan right now.

 

“Ah. I’m doing what Senior asked me to do properly. I just came back from playing with the dogs. They even have names, do you know them?”

 

Mecklenburg immediately turned his head away. Even though he wasn’t trying to show it, he was probably thinking I wasn’t even worth talking to.

 

“Actually, I’ve never raised dogs before, so I was a bit worried about whether I could take good care of them. But just like Senior said, it’s really just a matter of making them recognize magical power, so it wasn’t particularly difficult. Today I received Senior’s magical power palette and buried it for training…”

 

While I was speaking and pulling at my collar to show him, Mecklenburg cut off my words sharply.

 

“How kind of you to tell me every little detail.”

 

“I think so too, but… I mentioned it in case you were curious about why Senior’s magical power remains on my clothes.”

 

Mecklenburg let out a long audible sigh and looked straight at me with a smiling face.

 

“I wasn’t curious.”

 

“….”

 

Of course. I’m not curious about your answer either.

 

I stared at him and shrugged my shoulders.

 

“At first, you seemed to be kind to me.”

 

“You don’t feel that way now?”

 

“Now you look a bit tired.”

 

“I suppose they standardize speech patterns at Ascanien too.”

 

“I wonder.”

 

I tilted my head and put on a thoughtful expression.

 

“I’m not sure, but the Hyung that Senior knows must be similar to me. I’ve actually been seeing Hyung’s image overlapping with Senior, so hearing you say this to me…”

 

I swallowed once and spoke quietly.

 

“Makes me happy.”

 

“….”

 

Silence followed. The corner of Mecklenburg’s mouth, who had been watching my face, hardened. He turned his head while maintaining an artificial smile.

 

“Let’s begin.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Light was already coming into the white space. I closed my eyes, blocking the wind hitting my face. Only after the wind subsided a bit did I look around. A city completely collapsed and burned to ash, the time seemed to be around noon. Sunlight occasionally peeking through the clouds illuminated the temporarily constructed observation deck where we stood. Various papers and artifacts were placed on a rusty green table, and dust flying from somewhere interfered with reading them. It was completely different from all the fields we had experienced so far.

 

“The city is completely in ruins. Is this ash?”

 

“The only clues given to us are maps, various building blueprints, and… newspapers and artifacts.”

 

He didn’t answer my pointless question and spoke while tapping the radio artifact. Even though he had been showing his dislike for me the whole time, he was speaking normally during the test. His amber eyes, devoid of any emotion, looked around and then returned to me.

 

“Mr. Ascanien.”

 

“Yes, Senior.”

 

“Let’s be quiet from now on.”

 

“….”

 

Ah… Was I being too noisy?

 

My strategy isn’t finished yet, so you can’t tell me to give up here. And aside from that, those words contain more problems than just hinting ‘you’re talking too much.’ No matter how much we’re on the same team, it’s ultimately a game to choose first place, so individuals need to stand out. Our leisurely Special Operations Command Chief of Staff must be somewhere here, and since he came here, and to sit in the top position in the mysterious TF that will be formed in the future, he shouldn’t give me opportunities. He’s telling me not to keep stepping forward, but what will this ultimately lead to.

 

I hardened my expression slightly and asked.

 

“Are you planning to lead the strategy, Senior?”

 

“Is there a problem?”

 

Mecklenburg raised his eyebrows and spoke. His tone was gentle, but the speed was not gentle at all. My tone must have sounded like I was challenging him to steal his position, so he wouldn’t like it. I looked at him and shook my head slightly.

 

“…Do as you wish, Senior.”

 

“….”

 

Mecklenburg pointed at the map on the table with his hand. I leaned against the cement pillar behind me, crossed my arms, and watched him place markers according to the radio’s voice. When he moved the third marker, I opened my mouth.

 

“Actually, you might be flustered if I say this now, but…”

 

“I told you to be quiet.”

 

“I really wanted to work together as colleagues with Senior, so I’m happy that this opportunity arose.”

 

Mecklenburg’s hand stopped.

 

“Although I didn’t have many opportunities to talk with Hyung, I’ve always heard from those around me. That Lord Mecklenburg is Hyung’s closest friend, and that you’re an excellent person like Hyung. When I actually got to meet you, I was really surprised that you weren’t different from the image I had drawn since childhood. We may have had some differences of opinion, but there can always be differences in thinking, can’t there.”

 

“….”

 

“So… Senior might not like me, but I still can’t believe that I met someone I respected as part of the same team like this.”

 

“Be quiet.”

 

Mecklenburg answered coldly while keeping his gaze fixed on the map without raising his head. The marker he had just placed on the map wobbled, unable to maintain its center. I, who had been leaning against the pillar, took a step closer, pressed the marker firmly, and waited for his words. But no matter how long I waited, no words came, and Mecklenburg was bowing his head toward the map while gripping the table.

 

“….”

 

I lifted my hat slightly and looked up at the sky. Sunlight was coming through the thin Vitriol smoke covering the sky.

 

This game consists of a total of 3 sets, with 5 minutes given for strategy planning, and then we need to find the portal leading to the Pleroma base and the prisoners within the 7 minutes of main game time. Since we have to deal with this entire downtown area, we can’t just randomly rummage around everywhere. We need to use the given 5 minutes preciously, but 2 minutes have already passed. I turned my gaze back to Mecklenburg and quietly opened my mouth.

 

“Please speak. Whatever instructions Senior gives, I’ll do my best to follow them.”

 

At those words, Mecklenburg unexpectedly raised his head, and I quickly put on an appropriate expression. Since I had already heated up my face with tension, it wasn’t difficult. An emotion I had never seen before crossed Mecklenburg’s face.

 

“….”

 

That emotion was different from the triumphant or conceited feelings I had seen from Class 98 Team A members. It was, so to speak… a collection of various emotions led by tension and anxiety. Occupational hazard helps at times like this. I smiled, feeling the back of my neck grow cold.

 

I had expected it, but seeing it directly brought even greater pleasure.

 

“Now you’re looking at me.”

 

“….”

 

In many ways.

 

I said that with a smile and tapped my watch.

 

“2 minutes and 30 seconds have already passed. We’ll have to go down to the field soon. Please give instructions quickly.”

 

Whether he was dazed from thinking too much or his mind had gone blank from taking a hit somewhere, Mecklenburg silently nodded and listened to the sound coming from the radio.

 

[…A large fire has occurred in the 3 o’clock direction from City Hall, so citizens remaining in Berlin should not enter East Brandenburg and evacuate in other directions. A large fire in the 3 o’clock direction from City Hall…]

 

He pressed his lips tightly, clenched his fist, and placed a marker indicating entry prohibition on the map. It was time to quickly search through newspapers and place all markers on the map, so this wasn’t the time to be so slow. Though I’m not planning to do anything after making him slow.

 

‘…Good effect.’

 

No matter how much I had a plan, it would be unreasonable to be confident that the opponent would move according to my will. If it weren’t for the advice Narke casually threw my way, I wouldn’t have attempted this kind of acting, but the effect was so good that I should go thank Narke.

 

Even if he knew my sweet talk was false, he was already captivated by immediate expectations and the need for proof. I used a similar but somewhat different method with Class 98 Team A—the strategy was slightly different: I appealed to them that I had respected each team member individually and had consistently studied each of their strengths—, but although Class 98 Team A decided it would be good to show their skills well in front of a junior, they didn’t slow down their thinking speed due to tension like Mecklenburg. This reaction surprised even me… and was scary enough to exceed my expectations by far. If Leo or someone else had said exactly what I said, Mecklenburg would have just smiled. But this happened entirely because I was the one who said it.

 

‘…This is insane in another direction.’

 

I couldn’t help but instinctively get goosebumps. Yes, his desire for recognition and longing far exceeded normal levels enough to cause such an immediate reaction. It would be that desire that went unrecognized during the 15 years of growing up with Adrian Ascanien.

 

‘Whatever the case, this isn’t the time.’

 

I caught the opportunity, so now it’s time to think. I watched the second hand move and looked around. Leo and the 91st representative on the opposite side would have already established their strategy.

 

‘One of them might come to attack me.’

 

If so, Leo, who knows me too well, would come to subdue me, and the Representative Mage of Class 91 would use that time to move according to strategy. I should have hit Leo’s head to erase his memory before coming, but that’s regrettable. I thought while flicking my finger to shock Leo’s core. If I get permission, I can use artifacts here, but in Leo’s case, he would have left them out since he can’t explain the purpose of those artifacts to others. In other words, Leo can’t hit my core.

 

I continued shocking his core while turning newspaper pages to read the densely packed text.

 

[Unter den Linden devastated… Vitriol contamination exceeds 80%, entry impossible before purification work]

 

[Treptower Park temporarily closed]

 

[Spree River contaminated with Vitriol and runaway chemicals]

 

[Grunewald Forest-Havel-Pfaueninsel-Western Düppeler Forest Pleroma executive-level sighting reports continue… Pfaueninsel occupation suspected]

 

‘Looks real.’

 

They made a simulation of something that shouldn’t actually happen. I checked the final update time printed in the newspaper article. 10 AM.

 

Conversely, the Vitriol-runaway chemical contamination status of major points in each area was being updated in real time, and fortunately there were past copies at 1-hour intervals here. I first checked the contamination status column marked 10 AM.

 

‘Berlin Spree River ★★★, Berlin Havel River Southwest ★☆☆, Jungfernsee-Tegeler See ★★★, Langer See-Müggelsee ☆☆☆, Tegeler See ☆☆☆…’

 

There were numerous listings, but this was what I focused on for now.

 

And 12 PM.

 

‘Berlin Spree River ★★☆, Berlin Havel River Southwest ★★☆, Jungfernsee-Tegeler See ★★★, Langer See-Müggelsee ★★★, Tegeler See ★☆☆.’

 

I read the river contamination information written in the status column and drew a picture in my head instead of stealing Mecklenburg’s map.

 

1. Unter den Linden. The center of Berlin where we’re currently located has high contamination, but we mages must endure it.

 

2. Treptower Park is a place with bad memories. If you go southeast from Treptower to Berlin, there’s Müggelsee, and if you go further down there’s Brandenburg. Conversely, if you go northwest from Brandenburg, there’s Müggelsee and Treptower Park. Around there were Penthalon Main Stadium and the event venue.

 

3. Grunewald-Havel-Pfaueninsel-Western Düppeler is located in southwestern Berlin. Very close to Brandenburg.

 

Now for rivers and lakes. To greatly simplify the major flow, it goes Müggelsee (lake)-Spree River-Havel River in order from southeast to northwest. Tegeler See is located in northwestern Berlin. Jungfernsee-Tegeler See are lakes connected from the Havel River, located below the Grunewald-Pfaueninsel-Western Düppeler forests where those executive-level sightings were reported.

 

Honestly, I’m not very familiar with Berlin geography—I wasn’t very interested in Seoul geography when I lived in 21st century Seoul either—, but this gives me a rough picture.

 

So, how did my work turn out.

 

“Senior.”

 

“Don’t rush me.”

 

“1 minute left.”

 

I can hear Mecklenburg swallowing his saliva from here. I glanced at where the Mimesis camera was located, then exhaled and stood in front of the table. I can see Mecklenburg’s fingertips pressing firmly against the table.

 

Earlier, he told me to be quiet.

 

Is there really a need to say such things outright? When there’s such a good way to make him shut his mouth like this.

 

[Deployment authorization in 30 seconds.]

 

As soon as that notification sounded, he, looking even paler than before, barely managed to open his mouth as if being pushed.

 

“First, let’s go to Pfaueninsel.”

 

I looked at his head, deeply bowed as he stared at the map.

 

It’s over.

 

He’s already lost his pace. No matter how much he’s the eternal second place pushed around by his hyung, he’s not the type of talent to say something like this.

 

“You’re saying we should look there to see if there are traces of Pleroma.”

 

When I finished his sentence, Mecklenburg spoke as if chewing his words.

 

“Warping doesn’t even take a minute anyway. Going there and finding clues before them is the priority. Am I wrong?”

 

“Senior, you seem nervous. Aren’t we in a situation where we need to save even a minute?”

 

Beep―

 

The deployment signal sounded, but I continued speaking calmly.

 

“First, your suggestion method is too obvious. Of course, you might have wanted to give a hint that way, so setting that aside, there was an article saying that a Pleroma stronghold is suspected to be located at Pfaueninsel. You should know that Pfaueninsel is an island floating on the Havel River with Wannsee and Tiefer See lakes right below it. Pleroma would have already withdrawn from there long ago.”

 

Because.

 

Berlin Spree River ★★★, Berlin Havel River Southwest ★☆☆, Wannsee-Tiefer See ★★★, Langer See-Müggelsee ☆☆☆, Tegeler See ☆☆☆.

 

10 AM.

 

I connected the fragmented information in the newspaper with my baton.

 

“There’s information we can figure out from here. Senior, you should have gotten a sense of it by now.”

 

“….”

 

If there was a stronghold at Pfaueninsel and they had built a portal or something there, then the lakes directly below it, Wannsee and Tiefer See, shouldn’t be contaminated. What does the contamination of Wannsee-Tiefer See imply? It doesn’t mean the Pleroma Bishop built a stronghold there and is camping out, but rather that the Pleroma Bishop sprinkled poison there and left, and that poison flowed downstream within two hours to contaminate the lakes. Seeing that our journalists misunderstood that the Bishop was stationed at Pfaueninsel, Pleroma probably used some deception at the time.

 

This isn’t a game. It’s not such a simple system where only the enemy takes damage when contaminating rivers. If I contaminate rivers and land, I need to be prepared that our allies can’t use those rivers and land either. The same goes for Pleroma. They might not react to Vitriol, but they can be temporarily poisoned by their own runaway chemicals. Didn’t we already know this from our experience with Abraham?

 

Moreover, only those qualified for Vitriol can take temporary damage and quickly regain their senses. At this point, we need to check what the examiner is asking of us.

 

Even though I didn’t bother to explain out loud, Mecklenburg seemed to realize exactly where he made his mistake, slightly opening his mouth. Strength entered his fingertips.

 

Thanks for getting drawn in. I’ll gratefully take the initiative you’ve handed over.

 

I looked at his shoulders, which showed no movement as if he was holding his breath from tension, and opened my mouth.

 

“Let’s organize the possibilities first. The opposing side has probably already moved, but rather than rushing and choking, let’s do this properly.”

 

“Wait.”

 

Mecklenburg closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then stopped my words.

 

“Then where do you think the answer is?”

 

“….”

 

As expected, even when swayed by emotions, he doesn’t completely mess up. Since I only needed to break his momentum and take control of the flow, it was about time for him to start using his head too. In that sense, this question was a decent one.

 

After pondering what answer to give, I pointed to a more fundamental location.

 

“Tiergarten. For now.”

 

* * *

 

2 minutes earlier.

 

Leo stood at the table with the Representative Mage of Class 91, looking down at the map. The Representative Mage of Class 91 tapped the map with his baton and said.

 

“Count Mecklenburg on the opposing side is capable of handling water delicately, so he’ll target areas near rivers. Pleroma already has the characteristic of mainly using rivers, so we should also target rivers from this contamination status list. So.”

 

The Representative Mage of Class 91 put down his baton and looked at Leo.

 

“Now that we’ve finished organizing, let’s exchange opinions first. We only have 7 minutes allowed, so we need to move strategically. Count Wittelsbach, which area seems suspicious to you?”

 

Leo looked at the map for a while, then raised his eyes and answered.

 

“Tiergarten seems suspicious. What do you think, Senior?”

 

“I think so too.”

 

At the Representative Mage of Class 91’s words, Leo smiled and stroked his chin.

 

It was fortunate that their opinions matched, but he couldn’t avoid having this skeptical thought.

 

Is this really… a problem worth giving 7 minutes for?

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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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