Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 12

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

Chapter 12
* * *
[So you’re leaving right away without even catching your breath?]
‘Yes. The sooner we get out of here, the better it’ll be for you.’
The enormous Magical Power Mark still hovered where Liriope had been.
With that beacon drawing unwanted visitors, lingering here was far from a wise choice.
[What about the boy, then?]
At the question, Liriope hesitated.
Her gaze slid toward the boy lying beside Caliona.
Dino—the brown-haired boy the red-haired girl had tried to protect as their leader until the very end.
‘For now… I’ll have to leave him behind.’
Liriope’s expression dimmed briefly, but she quickly steadied herself.
Though she and the red-haired girl had shared something like a promise, there was no binding obligation to keep it.
Besides, right now she could barely manage her own survival and Caliona’s.
With her limits so clear, she couldn’t afford to confuse her priorities.
Trying to save another person in this situation would be nothing but arrogance and recklessness.
[You know, you’re colder than you look. Earlier you didn’t hesitate to feed that red-haired boy to the maggots without a second thought.]
The voice in her head spoke in a tone somewhere between mockery and admiration. But Liriope ignored it and slung the backpack over her shoulder.
Still, just before leaving, she hesitated for a moment, then left some of the dried rations and water from the backpack beside the brown-haired boy.
In doing so, she’d at least honored the red-haired girl’s sacrifice.
‘Besides, it’s just a possibility… but if that red-haired girl gets lucky, maybe I’ll see her alive again someday.’
The maggots were creatures that preserved their prey alive during hibernation.
So if the red-haired girl kept her wits about her, she might find a way to escape before becoming a maggot’s meal.
[So where are you headed now?]
‘To the center of this underground space.’
[What’s there?]
‘A shortcut to the Inner Residence.’
Knowing the past and the future was an invaluable advantage.
As long as no major variables appeared, she could determine the most efficient path forward.
The mage overseeing the Initiation Ceremony had said that only Qualified Children could enter the Inner Residence.
The words had sounded vague at first, but Liriope already knew from experience how to make it happen.
This time, without the trial-and-error of before, she could get her sister out of the Outer Residence as safely and quickly as possible.
After hoisting Caliona onto her back and sealing the cave entrance again, Liriope lifted her head and spotted the landmark she’d noted earlier.
In the distance, a strange tree towering toward the ceiling pointed the way forward.
Liriope stepped ahead with determination and hope.
She felt as though she could do anything, that everything would work out—a buoyant optimism filled her chest.
But that fragile optimism didn’t last long.
“Huff, puff… ugh, huff-huff.”
[Easy now. You alright?]
“Puff… huff, huff. Wheeze…”
[Looks like you’re barely holding on.]
The stamina of a thirteen-year-old was worse than she’d imagined.
She’d suspected she couldn’t carry her sister and walk for long, but her vision was already swimming?
‘No, I can push through this with willpower…’
“Huff-huff!”
‘I can overcome it.’
“Huh, puff, huff…”
‘I have to overcome it…’
“Gasp!”
In the end, Liriope tasted frustration far sooner than she’d expected and collapsed to her knees.
[You’re… no, forget it. Just catch your breath for a moment. See over there, those three trees clustered together? That’s the best place to rest.]
The lukewarm voice urging her on instead brought a subtle wave of shame and defeat.
She’d always thought no one could match her perseverance and determination, yet sheer resolve alone wasn’t enough to overcome this?
Still, recognizing her body’s limits early would prove helpful later.
Liriope forced herself to think positively while dragging legs that trembled like a newborn foal’s toward the spot the voice had indicated.
‘Just one minute. That’s all I need.’
Around her, nothing but her own ragged breathing and the occasional chirp of insects broke the profound silence.
In every direction lay only rotting wood, dry grass, countless burrows both large and small molded from earth, and stone.
As that desolate landscape filled her vision again, a strange melancholy washed over her, bringing the reality into sharp focus.
‘I really am in the Outer Residence.’
Even as she sank into that quiet contemplation, her diligent hands remained busy.
While resting, she decided to examine the backpack more carefully, and all manner of things tumbled out.
A small amount of drinking water and rations, a dirty but surprisingly sturdy rope, and a musty-smelling blanket.
Also, spare clothes torn and worn in places, and a knife the size of a palm with chips along the blade.
Beyond that were wilting Medicinal Herbs, small glass vials containing various Plant Essences, Dry Branches apparently saved for kindling, and other miscellaneous items.
[These kids had more than you’d think from how ragged they looked, eh?]
‘Not surprising. They either took their regular supply allotments from the tower, or they robbed them from other kids like before.’
The voice spoke as though taken aback, but Liriope felt disappointed. For all the backpack’s bulk, there was precious little of real use.
It seemed the higher-grade supplies that rarely appeared in the supply boxes were found only in dangerous zones, never in backwater places like this.
Liriope resignedly pulled out a small Wooden Barrel and dribbled the water inside into Caliona’s mouth.
As she did, she recalled the enormous Magical Power Mark that had hung above them earlier.
The Northern Magic Tower regularly supplied minimal resources to this underground space called the ‘Outer Residence,’ and each time it sparked fierce competition among the children.
[I don’t understand Belegot at all. Why supply resources and leave kids in a place like this? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to tie them to chairs and have them memorize one more Magic Circle? That’s how you properly train disciples.]
At that, a mixture of bitter laughter and derision played across Liriope’s lips.
Did she really need to belabor the point about how the Northern Magic Tower treated orphans’ lives like insects?
Belegot deliberately trapped children in this dangerous place and tested their luck and cunning.
Since all mages in this age had to be prepared to fight and die in Corrupted Sanctuaries, it was likely their way of hardening the children early.
‘That’s why the environment of this underground space resembles the Corrupted Sanctuary to a degree.’
Yet no matter the reasoning, Belegot’s culling was excessively harsh and cruel.
The standards they demanded of the children were unreasonably high.
Perhaps that severity stemmed from Belegot’s own dire circumstances.
‘By this point in time, maybe seventy percent of the Western Lands has been claimed by the Corrupted Sanctuary?’
The Land of Death, expanding its reach from the western edge bit by bit.
The Northern Magic Tower had been built on the northern border that faced the west—an unlucky location.
So they had no choice but to stand on the front lines first if they wanted to protect the tower.
Forget discussing the future; the Northern Magic Tower had already been fighting on the vanguard to reclaim the Corrupted Sanctuaries for ages.
‘So in my ignorant childhood, I even admired the Northern Magic Tower, thinking it was the strongest of the three towers.’
If not for that foolish fantasy, she would never have willingly walked into this hellhole.
Regardless, no one had yet realized that the Northern Magic Tower, which everyone thought was fighting desperately to eliminate the calamity, was actually coveting its power.
Could it be that Belegot was even now plotting to seize that power?
When had the sister who would later share in those intentions first learned of it?
A question suddenly surfaced, and she called out to the voice’s owner.
‘Hey.’

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