Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Scholars and those who consider themselves well-educated all know that the world is round.
This can be easily deduced simply by observing the horizon or the sea line, and several astronomical texts passed down from the ancient imperial era contain theories about this.
Nevertheless, no one has ever traveled in one direction, continuing onward to complete a full circuit of the world, because it is blocked by four types of natural barriers.
The snow cloud zone that appears when one continues northward from the Northern Sea or other northern regions.
Consisting solely of bottomless snow like a marsh, it’s impossible to traverse by foot or boat.
A few Arabion mages once attempted to fly across, but even when two people took turns carrying each other and flew for days, they couldn’t reach the end and returned.
Naturally, those who failed to properly gauge their magical or physical limits and pushed themselves too hard never returned alive.
The fog plains that appear when one continues eastward from the eastern regions.
Literally a dense fog that extends from the ground to the sky, making it impossible to see even what’s right in front of you, causing anyone who enters to instantly lose their sense of direction.
One might think it possible to navigate using ropes and stakes, but this too has limitations.
Approximately 24 hours.
After that amount of time, stakes driven into the ground, ropes, and symbols marked on the earth all completely disappear.
From then on, one can only endlessly circle around, desperately trying to find a way out of the fog.
The endless sea that naturally appears when continuing southward from the Southern Sea.
A vast ocean stretches out with not even a single island in sight, and after traveling southward for dozens of days, if one turns the bow northward, they mysteriously return to their original location as if by magic.
Long ago, a certain family loaded a magically enhanced ship with enough supplies to circle the world twice and set out on a voyage, only to return four years later with just eight survivors.
They claimed that for four years they had continued southward, surviving on fish and rainwater, but after most had starved to death, they killed the captain, turned the bow northward, and miraculously returned to their departure island after just two days.
And finally, the Sky Mountains in the west.
These mountains rise so high they can be clearly seen from over a thousand kilometers away, forming a barrier-like wall on one side.
Their height is such that even birds find it too cold and difficult to breathe, forcing them to abandon any attempt to cross.
From this description alone, it’s evident that many adventurers who attempted to explore beyond these barriers met terrible ends.
Naturally, when Turan proposed crossing one of these barriers, objections followed.
“Wait, didn’t you say before that it was too dangerous and we should give up?”
“That was when we were much weaker than now. If anything, you’re the one whose opinion has changed, aren’t you?”
“Well, that’s true, but… Meisa, what do you think?”
“I don’t mind either way.”
At Meisa’s resolute answer, Solif looked back and forth between them before shaking his head.
In fact, back when the three were exploring the Northern Sea hunting magical beasts, it was actually Solif who had proposed going beyond the Sky Mountains.
Unlike him, Turan had suggested postponing such an expedition to an unknown region for another time.
But now the reason for their completely reversed viewpoints was simple.
“Back then, I thought it might be doable with just the three of us… but how could we take your parents to such a dangerous place?”
“Of course we wouldn’t bring them along right away.”
“Then what?”
“First, we’d have them stay in a village near the Sky Mountains, and we’d cross over by ourselves. Then, after confirming it’s safe enough, we could bring them over.”
“Hmm.”
Thinking that sounded reasonable, Solif, who had been strongly objecting, nodded.
Godis, Solif’s father, who had been quietly listening to this, spoke up.
“While I appreciate your concern, how could I possibly ask my son and his friends to explore such a place on our behalf?”
“It may not necessarily be that dangerous.”
Turan calmly explained to them.
The ‘adventurers’ who had explored these ‘barriers’ in the past, even the strongest among them, were at best mid to upper-rank nobles.
This was naturally because family heads or the rare top-tier mages wouldn’t bother taking such risks.
“Besides, looking at examples from other regions, it’s likely not particularly dangerous as long as we don’t push ourselves too hard.”
The snow cloud zone could be safely navigated by simply turning back when one still had enough strength to fly back.
Similarly, the endless sea could be safely exited by changing direction when food supplies ran low.
Even the fog zone was safe as long as one returned within a day.
Looking carefully at these accounts, there were no malevolent traps that indiscriminately killed those who entered.
There were only those who died by their own stubbornness, repeatedly beating their heads against the same wall without giving up.
“Well…”
“It can’t be more dangerous than Zahar nobles suddenly appearing in the middle of the night, can it?”
A heavy silence fell over the cave at Turan’s words.
They already knew that several Zahar nobles had been present at the Baraha headquarters, and that one of them had even been a candidate to become heir.
Naturally, they had to consider the possibility that pursuers might be sent to harm Solif or his parents.
“Of course, we’ve eliminated all traceable mediums, but we still can’t ignore even the smallest possibility. Even if we can’t cross the barrier, that region itself isn’t bad as a hiding place.”
It was no coincidence that Turan’s mother, Bizelra, had settled in Hisaril Hill.
Among all places currently accessible to humanity, it was the area with the least influence from great families and the farthest from Zahar’s headquarters.
In truth, Turan estimated their chances of successfully exploring beyond the Sky Mountains at about fifty-fifty, and using the area around Hisaril Hill as a hideout was closer to his main plan.
At that moment, Meisa, who had been listening from the side, asked:
“Could the Zahar family head track them even that far?”
“If they had mediums, yes. But they’d rarely have the courage to come in person, especially after what just happened to Baraha.”
The raid from just the previous night perfectly demonstrated why a family head should never leave their headquarters casually.
Had the family head been present, such a catastrophe would never have occurred.
Therefore, Turan believed that even if Zahar determined their location, they would likely send someone powerful rather than the family head himself… probably his grandfather Talis or another vessel of similar rank would lead the effort.
After discussing for about another hour, the plan was set.
Their first destination would be Turan’s hometown, Hisaril Hill, followed by exploring the Sky Mountains beyond it to find a suitable hiding place.
* * *
The next evening, after resting and fully recovering their strength during the day, Turan’s group moved northward.
They didn’t go directly westward because that would lead to Zahar’s territory, the Enril Desert.
It was better to stay as far away from there as possible.
They traveled using Bije’s power, with Solif’s family riding on a swing made for three people, while Turan and Meisa used flight magic to move alongside them.
Turan, who could use invisibility magic, always scouted ahead, with the main group following behind.
“Any guards?”
“Doesn’t seem to be any.”
“Well, this area borders Ruban territory, so they’d probably be hesitant to move troops freely.”
The Ruban family, located in the northeastern part of the world, was the only great family specialized in close combat, possessing both the History and Guardian bloodlines.
According to Ymir, the god controlling them was nicknamed the ‘Druggie’?
Since they apparently didn’t communicate well with other gods, their cooperation wasn’t a major concern.
“Did you anticipate this too when you designated this place as our meeting point?”
“Not entirely, but to some extent.”
At Turan’s words, Solif looked at him as if he were some kind of monster.
In truth, Turan’s greater motivation was to visit the dueling arena said to be in this area, but he chose not to mention that.
After all, it seemed cooler to appear like a genius strategist who had predicted everything.
“We should have made the swing bigger though.”
“Too large and it would lose mobility and be easily spotted from below. It would also be harder to conceal, like now.”
While Turan and Meisa flew close together, Solif’s family wasn’t just sitting idle.
Born with the Sun bloodline, they could manipulate light to prevent the group from being visible from the ground.
Of course, this technique was terribly inefficient compared to Zahar’s invisibility, making it difficult to maintain for extended periods.
If they hadn’t already been at the edge of Baraha’s territory, needing only a few hours of flight, they wouldn’t have attempted it.
After flying continuously for about half a day,
The trees around them gradually changed to primarily coniferous varieties.
They had left the Land of Five Lakes and entered the Frostwind Forest, a region where coniferous forests mingled with highlands.
“We can move more leisurely from here on.”
“Frostwind Forest… I’ve heard about it but this is my first time visiting.”
“You’ve never been here?”
Solif nodded at Turan’s question.
“Just heard about it. We’re not exactly on the best terms with that side. Have you been here, Father, Mother?”
“No.”
“This is my first time leaving the Land of Five Lakes. It feels like an adventure, making me a bit nervous.”
Solif’s mother covered her mouth and chuckled.
When Baraha territory completely disappeared from view, they descended to the ground to let Bije rest and walked on foot for a while.
While the Baraha couple admired the tundra forest, the three young people thoroughly analyzed the contents of the soul magic book.
First, it took quite some time just to explain various terms and meanings to Meisa, who hadn’t yet read the book.
“It’s complicated…”
“I wouldn’t have understood it properly without the librarian’s interpretation. To be honest, I’m not entirely confident I understand it correctly even now.”
True to his words, the soul magic book was half philosophical treatise.
Compared to the bloodline magic they commonly used, which interfered with natural laws in a physical and intuitive manner, this was infinitely abstract and vague.
But this was precisely the ability they desperately needed to face those powerful gods.
The three passionately devoted themselves to analyzing the book’s contents.
“So the foundation is awakening spiritual awareness through meditation. The herbs mentioned are merely supplementary…”
“The real question is whether they would even work on our bodies.”
As Solif pointed out, the possibility of ordinary psychoactive substances affecting their bodies was virtually nonexistent.
And depleting their magical power enough for the drugs to take effect might actually kill them.
“Let’s try to obtain them anyway. Even if we can’t use them ourselves, we might find ordinary people to train as our disciples.”
“Ah, you mean training ordinary people to become skilled, then making them our teachers?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
For a shepherd to use sheep to find the way was not at all humiliating.
After all, sheep often knew secret mountain paths or areas with abundant grass better than humans.
Similarly, soul magic prepared for ordinary humans might be easier for them to master.
Of course, since it was dangerous, they would need to capture deserving villains to practice with.
Fortunately, the world was full of such people.
As they continued studying soul magic while moving northwest, Turan’s group faced no opposition.
Even though everyone except Turan barely concealed their appearance with simple hoods rather than proper disguises.
It seemed that either the Baraha nobles hadn’t requested cooperation in pursuing them in this direction, or if they had, Ruban had ignored the request.
Thanks to this, instead of frantically moving through uninhabited areas, they could pass through villages and cities of suitable size, enjoying quality accommodations and meals.
In a small city’s tavern that also served food,
Solif’s mother Romi reached out with her handkerchief to wipe the corner of her son’s mouth.
“This boy, still so sloppy at his age.”
“Mom…”
Seeing Solif, who despite his playful nature was the eldest among them, being treated like a baby created a peculiar feeling.
Turan and Meisa caught each other’s eyes and simultaneously burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just nice to see.”
“Indeed it is.”
The two, who had lost their mothers for different reasons, felt a strange vicarious satisfaction watching someone receive a mother’s abundant love.
Of course, Solif’s face was contorted at seeing his younger companions’ contented smiles.
* * *
On the sixth day of what could hardly be called an escape given how leisurely they traveled,
After alternating between flying and walking, they had crossed more than half of the Frostwind Forest.
During this journey, they slightly changed their direction from northwest to west.
This was because they had received news that a famous site they wanted to visit was not far away.
Around noon, Turan’s group found themselves facing a massive building.
“Is that it?”
“It’s huge…”
“Between this and the library, it seems the ancient imperial era thought bigger was always better.”
As Solif muttered, the ancient imperial dueling arena visible before them was enormous.
About fifty meters high and ninety meters long.
Marble pillars supported it on both sides, and the arched ceiling was perforated with dozens of densely packed holes, giving it the appearance of a honeycomb.
There were two main reasons they had stopped at this dueling arena.
First was to supplement their practical combat experience.
While all three had considerable combat experience compared to other nobles, they lacked experience fighting against other top-tier nobles.
They occasionally sparred with each other, but that was hardly the same as real combat.
This issue was surprisingly most severe for Turan.
He had obtained top-tier magical power relatively recently, and circumstances often forced him to conceal his identity, preventing him from using his full power in battle.
This was an opportunity to practice properly deploying all his abilities.
And perhaps even more important was the second reason.
Near-death experience.
One of the primary methods for awakening spiritual awareness mentioned in the soul magic book was to approach death and return, and no place was better suited for this than a dueling arena where one couldn’t truly die.
Of course, whether such a shortcut would actually work remained to be seen.
If visiting the arena had required a significant detour, they might have waited for another opportunity, but fortunately, the dueling arena was directly on their route toward the Northern Sea, so it didn’t consume much time.
“But the surroundings are more modest than I expected.”
Solif remarked as he surveyed the area around the dueling arena from a low hill.
Indeed, unlike the library in Orem or the Tomb of the Gods, the environment around this dueling arena was visibly sparse.
Merely a small village attached to its side.
“It’s probably because there’s no water source.”
“Ah, I see.”
A city requires abundant drinking water to function.
Unlike the other ancient structures mentioned earlier, there was no adequate water source visible in this area.
Moreover, being situated on relatively high ground made bringing water from elsewhere inconvenient.
Of course, one could forcibly establish a city by building a massive aqueduct or extracting enormous amounts of groundwater, but apparently no one felt the arena warranted such effort.
As they chatted while entering the village beside the dueling arena, Turan exclaimed at the presences he sensed.
“Oh!”
“What is it?”
“There are an incredible number of mages. About a hundred knights and around twenty nobles, I think.”
“That’s no joke. It’s practically an army.”
Considering the nearby village had only about a hundred and twenty buildings, this was an abnormally high concentration.
Naturally, most were visitors who had come from far away to use the dueling arena.
“Next!”
“Let’s go.”
“Wait, it should be my turn now!”
“Check the number, I’m before you!”
“This person is next, please wait your turn!”
“Tch…”
In front of the dueling arena, crowded with over a hundred knights and nobles,
A single knight shouted loudly, controlling the godlike nobles with hand gestures.
Judging by the clenched fist and shield symbol within him, he appeared to be directly managed by the Ruban family, which might explain why even nobles didn’t dare treat him disrespectfully.
Turan surveyed the symbols within the gathered knights and nobles and couldn’t help but laugh.
Pyromaniac, Earth Guardian, Stream, Warrior…
There were all sorts of common bloodlines, as well as those from great families with mixed bloodlines, including even Zahar and Arabion.
Both seemed quite young and not particularly powerful, suggesting they were likely on pilgrimage.
They showed no interest in each other, apparently unaware of each other’s identity.
After observing how people used the dueling arena for a few minutes, Turan approached the administrator and said:
“Two people, please.”
“One hundred gold coins.”
The useful facility commanded an exorbitantly high fee.
Using it about ten times would cost enough to buy a decent sailing ship.
Of course, Turan’s wealth was such that this expense was negligible, so he handed over the money without hesitation.
After receiving a token, Turan sat with his companions in the waiting room, looking at one wall.
Several projections of what appeared to be ongoing duels were displayed there.
Meisa pointed at one of the screens and said:
“Look at that. Pyromaniac against… probably History.”
“It’s completely one-sided.”
The Pyromaniac’s strategy of frantically dodging while throwing fireballs was proving effective, as the History user nimbly moved around trying to close the distance but kept getting hit and forced to retreat.
It was obvious why bloodlines focused on close combat had failed to secure territory and had gradually declined.
After watching the duels intently for several minutes,
When a call came that a space was available, they moved toward it, and a commoner at the entrance politely explained:
“Infuse these two orbs with magical power to enter the dueling space. You’ll return when one side dies or admits defeat. You can press this button in the middle to turn the light red, which will prevent others from viewing your duel.”
“The limit was once per day, right?”
“Yes. Specifically, anyone who experiences death is restricted from using the facility for one day. This isn’t an internal rule but a function of the dueling arena itself, so please understand…”
Perhaps because all customers were at least knights, the commoner continued explaining in an almost servile manner.
After hearing the full explanation, Turan placed his hand on one of the orbs and looked at his opponent.
As Meisa gripped the orb on the opposite side, both of their bodies vanished.