I Alone Regress in a Hero Party That Was Annihilated - Chapter 62
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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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#62. Eccentric Mage (3)
— — —
Featherback looked into the mage’s bare face.
As the loose robe was removed, the mage’s face and hair were completely revealed.
‘…Just as I expected.’
Featherback nodded his head.
Her identity was exactly as he had suspected.
Green-gold hair was a physical characteristic difficult to find among modern humanity.
But the part that revealed her alien nature even more distinctly was her ears.
Ears so long and pointed that they couldn’t be considered human ears.
Featherback was well acquainted with the human-like species that had green-gold hair, light green eyes, and long pointed ears.
Elves.
Beings who had already been using magic since before the Mythical Age, when humanity had just begun breaking stones to grind or cut things.
Nothing was known for certain about their origins.
Various theories abounded: that they were individuals created exceptionally beautiful and wise when God made humans, that they were born from humans sharing love with spirits, that they came from other constellations beyond the night sky.
In any case.
They were said to be born with beautiful appearances that perfectly met human aesthetic standards, long lifespans, powerful bodies, and naturally superior magical abilities.
…However.
‘At this point in time, the existence of elves is merely a fragment of old myths.’
Elves had long since disappeared from human history due to several major events that occurred long ago.
Featherback stared intently at the unconscious elf before him for a while.
The unconscious elf was still muttering something like sleep talk.
“Really… didn’t think… of killing… ugh… don’t do this…”
Featherback frowned.
‘Too foolish to be called a pureblooded elf. A half-elf? Or a quarter-elf?’
The pureblooded elves he had met before his regression were usually around 3 meters tall.
But this elf before him couldn’t be more than 170cm tall, even being generous.
‘Her mana is also weak. She’s a degraded species.’
It was the same as with Ice Dragon Adara that he had hunted before.
This one was a degraded version of a pureblooded elf.
‘Still, elf blood is precious. If I hand her over to a slave trader in the Imperial Capital, I could easily buy two or three small fortresses in the countryside.’
She was a being that appeared in mythology books.
If rumors had spread that an elf lived in the Nightmare-Devouring Forest, all the nobles of the Northern Region, no, even the Imperial Family from the Imperial Capital would have come rushing with their armies.
Just then.
“…!”
The elf suddenly flinched and trembled.
Suddenly, a tremor could be felt from the elf’s body.
Featherback spoke in his characteristic dry tone.
“If you’re awake, open your eyes.”
“….”
The elf remained quiet.
A drop of cold sweat could be seen forming on her forehead.
Featherback grabbed her head and applied pressure with his grip.
…Crack!
Featherback’s grip strength, which could crush even a Sasquatch’s skull, tightly grasped the elf’s entire head.
“Aaah! Stop! I’m awake, I’m awake!”
The elf opened her eyes.
Featherback’s gaze sank coldly.
Soon after, the elf asked.
“What, what are you exactly? What is your true identity…”
“It was written on the invitation. I’m Mörsolt.”
“The child of Mörsolt I know isn’t like this! That child was more gentle and kind…”
As her words seemed to drag on, Featherback applied pressure with his hand.
“It’s me.”
“Kheuk! Gueok! Kak! Ah, I understand! St, st, stop! I’m dying!”
The elf tapped Featherback’s wrist while coughing.
Featherback slightly loosened the pressure in his hand.
Only then did the elf catch her breath.
Featherback said.
“For a rat bastard living in hiding, you have sharp ears.”
“Rat bastard! How dare you insult an elf like that…!”
Just as she was about to get angry, Featherback spoke first.
“Quinbits.”
Instantly, the elf’s body stiffened.
Featherback continued speaking.
“Quinbits Alvheim. Right?”
“You… How do you know my name?”
The elf mage Quinbits asked back with a dazed expression.
Featherback recalled the time before his regression.
‘She said it was that person’s younger sister. Indeed, they do resemble each other.’
The Hero Party that had been annihilated while fighting the Demon King.
There was one elf who belonged to that group.
Though she had fallen without being able to cross the Final Ridge, she was a comrade who had given Featherback much inspiration and help.
She used to constantly say how wonderful it would have been if her younger sister had been in this party.
Of course, that younger sister had already died early on when the Demon King’s full-scale offensive began.
‘…Back then, she said her younger sister’s name was Quinbits Alvheim. I also heard she was hiding somewhere in the Northern Marsh.’
Featherback asked Quinbits.
“Do you have an elder sister?”
“What?”
Quinbits frowned and asked back.
“What are you talking about? I don’t have any siblings.”
“…I suppose that’s right.”
Featherback nodded his head.
Besides the Hero, Mage, and Saint who used the Power of Regression, the existence of all those who belonged to the Final Hero Party had been erased during the journey back through time.
But even so, it didn’t matter.
Because Featherback clearly treasured all the memories with them.
“Quinbits Alvheim. I know what you want. I can help you achieve your long-cherished wish.”
At Featherback’s words, the elf Quinbits gritted her teeth.
“A mere human claims to know my will?”
“Anyway, you were the one who invited me.”
“…”
Quinbits closed her mouth.
Featherback clearly read the light of conflict that appeared in her expression.
“I need a mage. If you help me, I can help you too.”
“Then shall we make a deal…”
“I was thinking of doing that until I drew my sword.”
“?”
Featherback thrust his sword toward Quinbits, who wore a bewildered expression.
“You’ll have to pay the price for wasting my stamina.”
“Wh-what? I had no intention of killing you…”
“You should say that after you win. What’s the point after you lose?”
“…”
Quinbits closed her mouth.
Featherback said.
“I’ll say it again, I need a mage. And I intend to use your power for what I’m going to do.”
“By whose authority?”
“By the authority of the one holding the sword.”
“….”
Quinbits closed her mouth at the Dragon’s Tooth gleaming right before her nose.
Featherback said.
“Prepare the Mana Ring Covenant right now.”
“!”
Quinbits’ expression crumpled completely.
The Mana Ring Covenant, that was an old legend mentioned in mythology books.
Elves are an honest race that never tells lies, and this is because God forbade them from engaging in behavior that would lower their divine status.
Of course, that’s only half true.
Elves can lie just as much as anyone else.
However, sometimes when they promise the truth, they put up all their mana as collateral, and that is precisely the ‘Mana Ring Covenant’.
For elves whose mana is everything, it’s essentially making a covenant by staking all their power and life force.
If they break it, elves are said to lose all their power and life force… but whether that’s true is unknown.
Because from the Mythical Age until now, not a single elf has ever broken the Mana Ring Covenant.
Quinbits asked.
“You want to make a Mana Ring Covenant? Wh-what are you going to demand of me?”
“To help with my work.”
Featherback added more precisely.
“Always stay by my side and fully assist with my work, but you must not harbor ill intentions toward me or take actions that would harm me. Until the day I die.”
“…Isn’t that just telling me to become a slave?”
“I was putting it in more refined terms. If you prefer it that way.”
“….”
Quinbits rolls her eyes to look at the blade beside her.
Her voice trembled slightly.
“What if I refuse?”
“It depends on whether you refuse stubbornly or moderately.”
“What happens in the case of stubborn refusal?”
“I’ll stab you to death with my sword right here.”
“What if I refuse politely?”
“I’ll drag you outside the forest and sell you to the Imperial Family as a slave.”
“Hah….”
Quinbits raised her hand.
Featherback was ready to cut off her wrist the moment he saw any sign of her casting magic, but Quinbits merely swept her bangs back with her hand.
Eventually, she made an extremely rational decision.
“I’ll do it. The Mana Ring Covenant.”
“Do it.”
When Featherback gestured with his chin, Quinbits slowly drew up her mana.
Soon, red rune characters floated in midair.
Quinbits asked.
“You were the one who mentioned the Mana Ring Covenant. So you should at least be able to read the contract, right?”
“….”
Featherback stared at the rune characters for a while.
Then.
“Write it again. This is a one-year contract.”
“…You know the Runic Language?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t know. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
At Featherback’s words, Quinbits modified the contract with a bewildered expression.
Soon, the contract was revised.
Featherback carefully read the runic text floating in midair and nodded.
“Sign it.”
Featherback bit his ring finger to draw blood.
Quinbits also brought her trembling finger to Featherback’s sword tip.
— — —
…Drop!
When the blood drops from Featherback and Quinbits’ ring fingers touched the rune characters in midair.
Flash―!
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of ripples spread through the atmosphere.
Brilliant halos appeared behind Featherback and Quinbits’ heads.
It meant the Mana Ring Contract had been established.
* * *
Step― Step― Step― Step―
Featherback emerges from what used to be the Nightmare-Eating Tree Spirit.
This place had now become an ash heap billowing with acrid smoke.
Trudge— Trudge— Trudge— Trudge—
Quinbits followed behind Featherback with a forlorn expression.
“At least loosen this leash around my neck.”
“No.”
“We made a Mana Ring Covenant!”
“That’s a mythological concept, so I can’t trust it completely.”
“We Elves guard the Mana Ring Covenant with our lives! You don’t need to worry about such things!”
“You’re a quarter-elf.”
“…”
Featherback pulled on the iron chains around Quinbits’ neck as he emerged from the forest.
It was the same cold treatment he showed when dealing with the Prisoners of Narok.
Just then.
“Young Lord!”
“We’ve been waiting!”
Hounded and the soldiers came running with their faces blackened by soot.
Featherback asked.
“How did you get here?”
[We opened the path for them.]
Then the Forest Spirits appeared.
They looked at Quinbits behind them and the leash around her neck, then let out a sigh.
[But.]
[Too late, it seems…]
The Forest Spirits circled around Quinbits with somber expressions.
Quinbits also spoke to the spirits in a sad tone.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect it.”
[It’s okay. Small grasses are still alive beneath the ash pile. Given time, the forest will surely become lush again.]
Then, Featherback interjected.
“The forest becoming lush is fine, but tell it to become lush somewhere else.”
[Why?]
“What do you mean why. I’m going to relocate slash-and-burn farmers here to cultivate farmland. If there’s a haunted forest, it reduces the land we can farm and eat from.”
[How very human-centric.]
“I’m human, so of course. Anyway, I’ve warned you. Don’t ever make this kind of shitty forest again. I’ll set fire to it over and over again.”
[We don’t want to leave this place. Please, have mercy…]
The Forest Spirits plead toward Featherback.
The forest spirits plead toward the feedback.
Quinbits also spoke in a somewhat intimidated tone.
“These children are still small and can’t move to other places. Please, couldn’t you let them live here? Humans have plenty of places to live.”
She was making a big mistake.
Soon after the Demon King’s revival, humans’ position would become so narrow that there wouldn’t even be farmland left to plant a single stalk of rice.
So it was also important to cultivate the barren lands of the Northern Region into an environment suitable for human habitation as much as possible.
Featherback said.
“If you grow the forest limited to fruits, vegetables, grains, timber, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs that are beneficial to human survival, I will allow your remaining here.”
[We’ll do that.]
The Forest Spirits nodded their heads as if they had no choice.
Even this alone was a condition unilaterally favorable to humans.
“One more thing.”
Featherback demanded one more thing.
Quinbits unconsciously opened her mouth.
“What more, don’t you have any conscience?”
“Refrain from making statements that harm me.”
“What’s the big deal with this much… Ugh!”
Quinbits frowned at the faint pain coming to her chest.
The Mana Ring constricting her heart had tightened, sending her a light warning.
Featherback nodded.
‘It seems to have some effect.’
An Elf making a Mana Wheel Vow—he had only heard about it in words, but this was the first time seeing it with his own eyes.
Featherback continued speaking.
“Hand over the treasures remaining in this forest.”
[Treasures?]
The Forest Spirits looked at each other.
Featherback said.
“The items left behind by the humans who died here.”
The Nightmare-Eating Tree Spirit had existed as a Northern Region ghost story since very ancient times.
Countless kings and heroes from myths, legends, and folk tales had led armies here only to die or go missing.
This forest had silently maintained its position while swallowing up all the remains and legacies of those beings.
Featherback was demanding exactly that.
“You have no use for them anyway. Hand them over.”
[Instead, please don’t touch the small grasses sleeping in the ash pile anymore.]
The Forest Spirits courageously made their request.
Featherback, who had no interest in those things to begin with, pretended to ponder for a while before nodding his head.
Quinbits, who had been watching the negotiation between the spirits and Featherback, let out a small sigh.
‘It feels like being coiled by a greedy snake.’
The path of hardship ahead was quite clear.
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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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