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Return of The 8th Class Mage (Web Novel) - Chapter 130. Dimensionless Space (1)
Chapter 130. Dimensionless Space (1)
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Maliotus wasn’t wrong. An entrance to the cave was visible at the top of the highest peak of the mountain. Was it because the location was such that it was impossible for any ordinary life form to climb up to?
There was absolutely no sign of attempting to hide or even camouflage the entrance at all.
“It’s true, it is easily visible.”
(It certainly is. There doesn’t appear to be any other entrance, either)
Even though he had heard about it, Ian couldn’t hide his surprise at how open it was. Going beyond audacity, it felt like a trap.
“Seer detection.”
At last, Ian used seer detection spell. It was understandable how the Dragonian father and son were entrapped without any resistance. No Gargoyle activity was felt from any place in the mountain range. It was the after-effect of petrification. Only one gargoyle’s presence could be detected.
‘Maybe, it’s the king of the gargoyles.’
That bastard alone did not petrify. The ambience of the opened entrance and masquerading as a lone warrior was felt. It looked as a trap, no matter who was looking at it.
‘If it is truly a trap, who is it for?’
There were only a handful of entities that could fall into such a special trap. First of all, the entity must be able to fly freely, and must be capable of incanting very high level of seer detection spell. Based purely on Ian’s logic alone, there would only be the dragonians and Ian, himself.
‘…… Right now, the only focus is on catching the bastard.’
Ian cleared his head. He has decided to think simply. Everything could be attained from the entity that was inside the cave, the king of the Gargoyles, the ancient monster that has reappeared after a long hiatus.
“Before the monster senses it.”
Ian spoke as he looked on everyone.
“I’ll go first.”
Ian landed quickly. Other members soon followed. The cave’s entrance had been roughly dug. The opening was of great width.
“There are no changes in the plan. Everyone except the queen will remain here and fight off the gargoyles. We will return in no time. And this……”
Ian put several magic spells on everyone. It was the magic to strengthen their bodies and minds.
“This is complimentary. Please be strong, everyone.”
Ian commented in an attempt to put everyone at ease. He went deep into the cave.
(Don’t anyone get killed. I shall return soon.)
The fairy queen also instructed her troops. Of course, she did not speak in terms of giving commands. Her devotion towards her own kind was felt.
(Please be careful. Your highness.)
(I will.)
Ian and the fairy queen charged into the cave in earnest. As the peak of the mountain was high, the cave, too, was deep and wide. It was definitely a cave that penetrated entire mountain range.
“Do you know why only you, the queen, are accompanying me?”
It was an out of the blue question. The fairy queen replied.
(Because I am the strongest among us all?)
“It is close, but not quite.”
(I do not know. Do speak.)
“It is because, you are the queen.”
(Speak in easier terms.)
“Our adversary is a king, isn’t he?”
The conversation took more on a tangent trajectory as it went on. The fairy queen spoke in a little annoyed tone.
(What does that got to do with this?)
“To figure out who is the ruler among royalty……”
(Krrrrrrrr……!)
As Ian’s silly joke was continuing. A clicking sound of tongue was heard from inside the cave.
“… Wanted to see who that would be.”
(You’ve become quite a joker. Are you nervous?)
She was not wrong. Unlike the usual self, Ian was nervous. Was it because he was about to come face to face with a strong adversary? No, it wasn’t because of such reasons.
“I think so.”
(Huh! I guess you are just a useless human after all.)
If the strength of his adversary was the reason for being nervous then he should have felt the same way before the dragon as well. However, that wasn’t the case. It was the same with the king of the gargoyles.
‘There isn’t a whole lot of difference from the dragon.’
Unless it was an entity that parallels the true dragon or the first sorcerer inside the black art’s realm, it was near impossible to cause Ian to become nervous on account of strength alone. However,
‘This could be the key to everything.’
As it was said by the spirit of Reseese Rajendu. The cause behind the disappearance of the dragon race from this world. The possible relationship between the first sorcerer and the cause of that. The nexus to Ian Page, himself. Certainly, there were many entangled issues.
(Krrrrrr……!)
The strange cries, mimicking metals grating sound, wings and body that were many folds bigger than that of an ordinary gargoyle, large turned-up nose, and dry purple lips and vividly yellow canines… All these characteristics, mingling together with gray hide, what appeared ahead were truly a grotesque creation.
(Krr! Krrrrr!)
‘The king of the gargoyle’ spit out something that was in his mouth. Shockingly, it was a ‘body of one of his kind’. It was falling apart as it has been mauled half way.
(Unbelievable that that thing is the king. The gargoyle bastards don’t have any luck.)
“I agree.”
What a king. Killing his own kind wasn’t good enough and he eats them, too.
Who on earth could have imagined such a thing?
“Are you the king of the gargoyles?”
Ian spoke, taking a step closer to him.
“They said that you were sealed in by the dragons.”
(Krrr……!)
“How did you escape?”
(Krrrrrrr……!)
The entity did not seem to understand. Is he no more than just a monster? The entity that had ruled as the ancient predator?
“My queen.”
(I’m listening.)
“Please look for Evantus. I’ll take him on.”
(Can you handle it?)
“Definitely.”
(……Good. Be careful.)
“You be careful, too, my queen.”
The cave was spacious. If Evantus has not been eaten yet, he will certainly be somewhere in the cave in one form or another. Ian put the queen in charge of searching for him.
(Krrrrrr……!)
There was no more need to even think. Ian, immediately, gathered mana. Clearly, hostility was being detected from all around.
“I thought we could talk.”
The king of the gargoyle drooled seeing that. Although there weren’t any words, emotions were felt. It did not appear as if it was guarded against the intruder. The predator that put the entire world in terror at one time. It was the easiness that only such an entity could demonstrate.
(Kkkkkkkk……!)
The king of the gargoyles split open the wings in a threatening manner. Yet, Ian showed no sign of hesitation. The size of the monster only neared the bottom of what he has encountered up to now. The spirit of Reseese Rajendu, inside the repository of time, the dragon, and dra-dragons were bigger that this king of the gargoyles.
(Kaaaakkk-!)
Bizarre cries flowed out of the monster’s mouth. It was in the sound range that simply went beyond the normalcy. Perhaps, this sound was a way to summon all the gargoyles in the Soffit Mountain Range.
Kookookookoooo-!
Then the whole mountain range shook as if there was an avalanche in the mountains. It was due to countless numbers of gargoyles moving all at once.
‘For crying out loud, how many are there?’
It was impossible to even guess. But one fact could be anticipated without much difficulty. Should all those gargoyles descend from the mountains, that is, if they were to go out in to the world and go berserk……
‘Catastrophe.’
According to the spirit of the dragon, this was a race of monsters that could not form any harmony. However, that was only a necessary character when forming an ordered military force. But to think that those monsters would go berserk and kill humans, its own kind, or any 3rd entity types without any regard. That would be nothing short of a disaster for all of the continent.
“…… At any rate.”
Ian summoned many ice blocks. It was certainly a classic battle to be cherished for the first time in a long while.
“Any reason to reduce the numbers.”
‘The ancient predator’ and ‘this world’s strongest’.
The two monsters began to engage.
***
“Aaaaah!”
Meanwhile, Cleven, the youngest looking one of the small group that was guarding the entrance, shouted. He was watching over the entire mountain range with the dra-dragon, and must have finally detected the gargoyles’ movements.
“They’re coming! So many of them! Like a colony of ants! A colony of ants!”
How could he be so innocent? He should know who that the colony of ants will be attacking.
“Come down now. You should protect our position.”
“Yes-sup!”
Cleven, the kid sculptor listened to Bertholdoo, the tailor, closely. Without questioning, he came down and began guarding the entrance of the cave. Of course, he did not separate himself from the scruff of the neck of the dra-dragon.
“As all of you know, we cannot allow the gargoyles to advance. At least until Sir Ian returns from his mission. So, do not become overzealous and break the formation by moving forward individually. For the most part, they will stop at the foot of the dragon statues.”
The six ‘dra-dragon’ dragon golems were great shields on their own. Not only could they not feel pain, they were also incredibly strong. Even Ian would not be able to break them. If such statues were to blockade the entrance then certainly almost all attempts to get through would be deterred.
“Half human, half dragon, young lady Hernelia and all of you fairies would just stop those that try to come into the cave…”
(Wait.)
Hernelia, the dragonian, interrupted Bertholdoo. Why did she as it wasn’t a half bad instruction?
“What is it?”
(What do you mean, ‘young lady’? Although, my façade may appear young, I more than likely have lived several life times of your lifetime, the human. I advise you to speak with caution going forward.)
“Hahaha!”
Hernelia warned, taking a little bit of time. Bertholdoo laughed heartily in response. The other masters also laughed loudly.
(……Why are you laughing?)
“Ah, I beg your pardon. So, the young lady is how old this year……?”
(I gave up keeping track, long ago already. I’ve been living since almost two hundred years ago.)
“Two hundred? Well then, addressing you as a young lady is appropriate. I thought you were going to say much longer.”
(……What?)
“If young lady is not to your liking, I will call you a young maiden.”
(What nonsense……!)
Hernelia is over two hundred years old. Bertholdoo has existed much longer than that. At the moment the conversation between the two fossils was about to drag on.
“Kaaaaak-!”
The first gargoyle came into the view. Of course, that was only the beginning. Then gargoyles began to swarm in from every direction. Their number was as described by Cleven. It was truly as if a ‘colony of ants’ was swarming. On top of that, they were the colony of ants, each individual one bigger than human.
“Everyone stand your position!”
A fierce battle also ensued outside of the cave.
***
K-wang!
The king of the gargoyles was covered with dust. The opponent that he looked down on as a mere prey. Unexpectedly, his resistance was much stronger than expected.
That was, to describe it more accurately. At least, that’s what the king of the gargoyles felt. That human sorcerer with brown hair. He didn’t appear to the king of the gargoyles as a human being.
‘Weaker than I thought.’
On the other hand, Ian was at ease. At least, he felt many tens of folds more relaxed compared to when he had faced the dragon. Of course, the power of the gargoyles’ king was in the headcounts.
But since the source of his power was being kept at bay, at the entrance of the cave, it would be rendered useless.
‘Should slowly subdue him now.’
How long the shield at the entrance would hold was not known. It was better to subdue him as soon as possible. If it was possible to interrogate this entity, that would be attempted. However, assessing the conditions of the bastard, that choice would need to be forgone.
“Let me end it.”
A gigantic hand appeared above Ian’s head. The pair of hands made of ice mimicked exactly Ian’s hands. The looks of them and the movements all exactly mimicked Ian’s hands.
(Kwaaaak-!)
That gigantic ice hands snatched the bastard’s wing. Was that all? It ripped up the right wing from there. The screams of the gargoyles’ king echoed loudly throughout the cave.
(Stop! Stop! You…humaaaan-!)
At that moment. An unfamiliar voice struck inside of Ian’s head. The nasty voice that brought out the utmost unpleasantness from just by listening, it was certainly the gargoyle’s voice.
“You can talk?”
Ian relieved the enormous pressure that he was exerting through the ice hands. Instead, he held him lightly and brought him close to his face. The two entities, Ian and gargoyles’ king, finally met each other’s eyes, for the first time.
“……?”
Soon, Ian felt awed. The bastard’s eyes were truly weird. It wasn’t that he was one eyed or had no eyeballs. It surely wasn’t such an issue.
“The eyes……”
Half bow, they were exactly a half bow shape. Both of gargoyle’s eyes were exactly half bowed. That is, only half remained in each eye. It was as if half was torn apart. It was beyond being grotesque.
(Allegrapo.)
It was right then. It was truly in a blink of an eye. That was, in the time that Ian stared into the bastard. It didn’t even amount to a few seconds. That’s how long it was for sure.
(Hoonkanathio,Harknap!)
Allegrapo, Hookanathio, Harknap.
The words that could not be interpreted came into his head.
“Kr……!”
Ian let out a painful moan. Indescribable pain overtook him. Even the ice hands were melting away. Exactly what witchcraft is this? The answer was immediately found.
‘Petrification……?’
Ian’s body was hardening stiff. It wasn’t an ordinary symptom of paralysis. He has begun to transform into a stone. It was ‘petrification’ as the word suggested.
‘Let’s be calm. Be calm.’
Ian held on to the last strain of his consciousness. And he thought it out first of all. First, the king of the gargoyles…
‘Even that bastard’s body was hardening.’
The problem would be much bigger, should Ian be the only one turning into a stone. However, the king of the gargoyles also began to petrify. It appeared to be a kamikaze style attack.
‘Petrification is the ability to enter the dimensionless space.’
He thought of the information that the spirit of Reseese Rajendu had given him. At the end of the petrification process, the body turns into a stone, the mind enters into the dimensionless space. That is, even Ian’s mind would enter the dimensionless space.
‘I would enter the dimensionless space with the bastard.’
Based on the process, that was the most likely scenario. Of course, it could have been the bastard’s plan all along.
‘If I can only stay focused, I can somehow……’
When Ian’s thoughts reached that point. The blurring view turned into darkness. Even the thought process has stopped for that moment. It was the effect of the body, completely turning into a hard stone.
‘……!’
How much time has passed in that condition? His lost mind woke up. Even the vision returned from the darkness.
‘This is……?’
The gargoyle’s cave that he was in. At least, this wasn’t that place. The prairie that was filled with purple sand. There was even purple lightening.
Kwaaang! K-k-kwaaaaang-!
Beyond being unfamiliar, it was a disparate space. Even the king of the gargoyles came into his view. As if he was used to it, the bastard flew away to somewhere. Although an immediate attempt was made to chase after him, it was impossible. That was because no magic could be initiated at all.
‘This was different than the repository of time.’
Ian calmly surveyed the surroundings. In a short time, he couldn’t help, but be astonished. A nebulous landscape, at the end of the direction to which the gargoyle flew, came into his view. That was the issue.
“……?”
A gigantic purple sphere. The sphere that was as big as if the gargoyle’s eye has been magnified by tens and thousands folds, was levitating in the air. The purple lightening that was thought to be from the sky was also the energy that was spewing out of that sphere. Yet, there was an entity that has captivated Ian’s eyes. And it wasn’t the purple sphere. Of course, the sphere was also astonishing.
However…
“No……”
The entities were surrounding the purple sphere. With each one’s mana, the entities were helping to maintain the sphere’s form. The countless number of entities came into his view. There was no wonder. The identities of the entities were very definite, and familiar.
“……Dragon?”
The spirit of Reseese Rajendu. The speculation that he had made was correct. The dragon race that was thought to have been extinct. They existed in the ‘dimensionless space’.
