How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 350

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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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“What coordinate system are we in now?”

[Bavaria.]

I slightly raised the corners of my mouth at Leo’s concise answer.

We had escaped Corbiniano. Corbiniano was the name of the operation to infiltrate Pleroma Munich-Freising, and though it had become natural due to our behavior so far, that was exactly what we called the Pleroma Munich-Freising coordinate system. Seeing that both Elias and I who were in this place had moved directly to Bavaria, the building containing the control room must have been bundled together as one mass with the archbishop’s residence area.

Then it was time to search for the Bishop…

‘Why haven’t we heard search results from Team C of the 98th?’

Hadn’t they gone to the archive in advance? Since the archive was the only place remaining in this coordinate system, we should have heard notification that they discovered the Bishop by now. Command had also sent them a message.

[98th C, what’s the situation?]

[Still searching. We can’t move rashly because of the air.]

The air. Earlier, I had said that Team A and B of the 91st would move to the control room to prevent the Pleroma from escaping and take action. Being able to occupy the control room and deploy specific magic in their air had become common knowledge to me through dozens of experiences, and naturally had to be applied to our strategy. However, we only cast control magic against spatial magic to prevent them from escaping, not mind manipulation magic.

There were two problems with that. First, our allies would also inhale air mixed with mind manipulation drugs—drugs that imitated Pleroma’s substances. Though we could drive out the drugs with divine power each time, this would require all allies to stay close to Arcane Mages, and if not, even enemies would be less affected by the drugs due to the purification influence: this created the weakness that restrictions on our movement range would make it difficult to respond flexibly when variables occurred. Second, the moment we extracted the space bound to that coordinate to Bavaria, that coordinate would escape the sphere of influence of the Pleroma control room, and all Pleroma would break free from the drugs in the air and be able to fight again.

Then couldn’t Vatican Mages wait in Bavaria and directly cast wide-area mind manipulation magic? Yes, that would be right. However, since this was not much different from robbing Peter to pay Paul, and the first problem still remained as a subtle weakness, we had established a strategy to not use mind manipulation drugs in places where most opponents that we and the Vatican support mages could subdue without difficulty were located, but to use the drugs after driving the Bishop into one coordinate system. Therefore, now that only one coordinate system remained, mind manipulation drugs had already been dispersed in the archive.

‘Even if there are movement restrictions, they should have found them by now.’

The opponents should already be in a weakened state, and in such a state it wouldn’t be easy to hide, so discovering them shouldn’t be difficult. After discovery, they were supposed to come out immediately and join the teams scheduled to face the Bishop, but if they’re this late…

“You want to stay here forever. Right.”

Since it was a situation where we couldn’t help but feel something was strange, I heard Elias’s dry muttering. Since leaving this building would reveal the real Bavaria, I too wanted to stay here forever. If I said I didn’t want to return to that Isar River where I once used divine power before the King of Bavaria to feel the spring breeze, and sit around the table at Munich Residenz with friends eating warm food, that would be a lie. The past is also uncertain, but at least it’s much clearer than the uncertainty the future holds. Our victory might only last until this very moment, and perhaps only we who live in the present smile without knowing that fact. However, even so, we couldn’t continue staying in the past.

Earlier Leo had told command that our 101st would move to the base. It was time for us to go as well.

I took Elias’s hand and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, I could see the dam of the Isar River before me. Cold wind rushed from the river, making my whole body shiver. After becoming conscious of the wind, I raised my head toward the 101st friends who were looking at me. Leo, who had covered his earpiece artifact with his hand to prevent sound from entering, looked around at everyone and spoke quietly.

“91st A, 98th A, and our 101st will move to the final coordinate to join 98th C.”

“That’s a lot.”

“The remaining three teams are dealing with Pleroma left in coordinates that moved to Bavaria, so they’ll be deployed after monitoring the situation.”

We nodded. Leo paused once before adding.

“Let’s do well until the end.”

I smiled at Leo’s words. Soon Leo tapped his artifact to send a movement signal to command, then began counting down from 5, and we stomped our feet at the same moment.

Crash—

“…!”

I squinted my eyes at the fierce wind hitting my face. The grassy smell I had grown sick of even this morning stung my nose. A vast field spread out in the darkness, and I narrowed my brow looking at the forest beyond.

‘…This isn’t indoors.’

This isn’t the archive. We definitely didn’t hear such words from Team C of the 98th?

[The coordinates…! We’ve arrived at a field, not the archive.]

[—David said, The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones…]

[Can you hear us? Even casting separation spells, we’re not moving to Bavaria.]

We weren’t the only ones who moved at the same moment. Team A of the 91st, who had fallen somewhere, also shouted in confused voices. It was bewildering to hear that not only had they arrived at a field, but they also couldn’t move to Bavaria. I saw Narke beside me trying the same magic before pressing her forehead.

The archive coordinates were uniquely not obtained during strategy establishment, but information extracted by an Arcane Mage who joined from the Vatican side here by interrogating Pleroma. Why did it have to be that way? When we returned here and searched the university library site we had visited in the extra chapter, there were no traces of any dual coordinate system there. They had changed the coordinates of numerous spatial systems they had already constructed and periodically altered entry routes, but continued using the locations themselves as they were, yet only the archive was different. Had they pulled something at this stage?

Then Ulrike said urgently.

“Did we miscalculate the coordinates…!”

“That can’t be.”

Leo cut off his words. Naturally we might think we got the coordinates wrong, but since the 91st is also here, that’s not it. There’s also the possibility we received wrong information entirely, but then what about Team C of the 98th who moved to the archive earlier?

[Team C of the 98th, where are you?!]

Team C of the 98th answered the 91st’s question in a confused voice.

[…We’re still in the archive as before. As we mentioned earlier, they’re using Kryptkirche St. Nicolaus as an archive. However, we’ve searched down to the basement levels but haven’t found any people.]

[Try reciting the coordinates once.]

[Corbiniano 790:347:495.]

‘Similar to what we recited under the dam earlier.’

Clap—

I clapped my hands hard while thinking. Since we received movement coordinates shifted by one space to avoid possible collisions, even being just similar meant coordinates leading to adjacent areas. So the conclusion is that this place where I stand is indeed the archive. Precisely…

Crash—!

Precisely ‘above’ the archive.

A roar was heard. The moment I narrowed my brow at the amber light that burst like lightning in the darkness, something suddenly warped and appeared nearby. Mecklenburg, holding his team members’ hands in one hand and striking down his staff with the other, looked at us and exhaled.

“…Whew.”

Though I had to see him briefly during mock training, seeing 25-year-old Mecklenburg this close felt strange. Compared to when 18-year-old him was frozen in tremendous shock at everything about Pleroma, that expression from those days could no longer be found. Even though I had struck the core to call him, he didn’t show any defiance like glaring at me or displaying other rebellious feelings. That wasn’t what was important right now.

He quickly tapped his artifact to communicate.

“98th A will join the 101st at Corbiniano 790:346:495 coordinates. The Bishops have overlaid spatial magic on the archive.”

Spatial magic had been overlaid on the archive location of Corbiniano coordinates. Since there were no Bishops in the archive where Team C of the 98th was located, the Bishops had created spatial magic over the coordinate system and were escaping above it.

‘Spatial magic of this scale…’

This is more difficult than building replication. Moreover, seeing that the coordinate system movement magic developed by the Vatican doesn’t work, it means this place also has several layers of defensive barriers… We had already disabled defensive magic by going through all sorts of control rooms and command centers.

‘Then it’s likely that some human itself is performing that defensive function.’

There’s a high probability they’re carrying a specific artifact and producing effects, or have unique abilities related to spatial magic. They who even recognize the latent talents of Humans and turn them into Pleroma always become troublesome to us in this way. Seeing that they’ve deployed spatial magic of this degree, they must have squeezed out every bit of stamina they had, but just the fact that this is possible shows they’re tremendously skilled.

Mecklenburg continued speaking to the 91st Mage.

“In the process of installing a plain in the narrow archive building, the distance between coordinates has increased.”

[Crash—!]

[They overlaid spatial magic… We were considering that variables could arise, so we thought so too, but the space isn’t being dismantled right now. Moreover, Team C of the 98th, who moved several minutes before us, are in the original coordinate system, aren’t they?]

“There must be a system we don’t know about. Seeing how it’s as if they didn’t simply temporarily overlay space but constructed a solid new coordinate system, it appears there’s someone who manipulates space with unique abilities.”

Mecklenburg’s opinion wasn’t much different from mine.

“So we must find the Bishops here. The magic we applied to their air was control magic against Pleroma-style spatial magic. The fact that this place where we stand could be created means it was possible not through Pleroma methods but through an individual’s unique abilities.”

Yes, that’s right. To think that Munich-Freising recruited such talent during those 7 years is quite impressive. The problem is…

I tapped my artifact and spoke.

“May I say one thing? This situation means the Pleroma can now move outside this place and call for support.”

Obviously you understand that. I swallowed those words and waited for an answer. Since we couldn’t spend time on situation assessment forever, someone had to speak.

[…]

The Representative Mage of Class 91 remained silent. Meanwhile, in my other ear, the sound of command repeating our words and announcing instructions to everyone continued. Someone answered that briefly. The Representative Mage of Class 91 thought about something for a while before speaking.

[How unfortunate that we meet again like this.]

“…”

What was he referring to? Leo, Mecklenburg and I immediately understood. Leo’s head turned toward me and I briefly made eye contact with Mecklenburg. I ignored their reactions and listened to the Representative Mage of Class 91.

[Very well. We’ve proceeded with 80% of the existing plan, but given this situation, we must forget the existing strategy. Let me briefly explain the current situation. Thanks to our simultaneous infiltration and pushing with speed, the Bishops have been moving between different spaces since we entered the bishop’s residence. Among them, the Bishop who remained and resisted died, and some escaped again to join their colleagues or went to the world outside Pleroma.]

“…”

[And now they’ll return here.]

“The command tests are helpful at times like this.”

I briefly responded to the Representative Mage of Class 91’s status report. A field—I couldn’t help but think of the second test. Perhaps it sounded somewhat rebellious, as I could see Mecklenburg’s eyes narrowing. I looked around and continued.

“Please command us, Your Excellency Albertina Hohenzollern. What should we do now?”

Let’s hear it. I don’t know what strategy they’ll present in this situation, but it wasn’t a time when I had enough mental energy left to arbitrarily overturn the chain of command. The other party took a deep breath and remained silent for a moment, then slowly began to speak.

[The positions have been reversed. However, now is not the time to test our strategic capabilities.]

It was an evasive statement. As I waited while thinking about its meaning, the Representative Mage of Class 91 continued.

[I will transfer command authority to the 101st Deputy Captain.]

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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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