Offer a Tribute and Become an Archmage - Chapter 156



Only Noblemtl

Episode 156.

The eastern, outskirts of the empire.

The eastern tip of a vast continent.

There was a giant bird crossing the desert of the Bright Kingdom.

The bird was dropping hot ash, and it was the wizard of the empire.

It was Lomonodas.

“What a fascinating place.”

To the north are snow-capped mountains. To the south are swamps. And to the west, bordering the empire, is a vast desert. There is no better strategic location. And to the east is the sea. It is truly a fascinating country.

“So the empire must have left it alone.”

Otherwise, it would have become a principality or been subjugated like other countries.

Before this desert appeared, it was a land that could be eaten up at will…

“Eschwald.”

The Great Wizard appeared and turned the plains into a desert, so that the Empire would never be able to overtake the kingdom.

This was because there was no particular merit to the Bright Kingdom in crossing this vast desert and waging a war of conquest.

But that’s limited to soldiers.

It’s different if you’re a wizard.

Because you can just fly like Lomonodas.

“I wonder if it’s going to rain. I don’t like rain.”

Kookoo kookoo!! I thought it would thunder and lightning because dark clouds were gathering, but it wasn’t.

“I guess that’s not really the case.”

Lomonodas, transformed into a giant bird and flying away, looked at the desert floor.

The sands of the desert had gathered together into a large giant. The desert, which moved as if it were alive, became a giant. It soon reached out to Lomonodas.

“As expected, it is the great desert of Ashwald. Is it true that you made this land into your own grimoire?”

Lomonodas frowned.

Who would have thought that they would target and attack me even though I was flying in the sky?

“Why are you harassing me like this when my junior is just passing by!!”

When Lomonodas shouted, the sand giant answered by taking the form of an old man.

[You have only tormented the children of the kingdom once, you servants of Zenos.]

“Damn it. You’re not gonna catch me if you keep being so slow.”

[You’re talking nonsense. From the moment you set foot in this desert, you’re already as good as captured.]

Kwaaaaaaa-!!

Soon the desert was in an uproar.

The sands of the desert, rising like a waterfall in reverse, shot up into the sky and caught Lomonodas. Lomonodas immediately tried to shake off the ash and reveal his true form, but it was in vain.

“Eww!”

Before he knew it, the sand grains had dug into Lomonodas’ body and were heating up. The sand grains heated by the sun began to emit a red light and melt, turning into heated glass and trapping him. Lomonodas, shrinking and turning into a small glass bottle, was in danger of being crushed inside.

‘If it weren’t for me, I would have definitely died in this state…!’

What Lomonodas deals with is ashes.

It was ash. Ash naturally contains heat. Because of that, Lomonodas had a resistance to heat. However, because of that, it could also be said that they were not compatible.

He tried to melt the sand with heat, but the opponent could handle even that melted change. The glass made by melting sand was shaped like a bottle. Lomonodas was trapped in a giant glass bottle. At that moment, the glass bottle, which was slowly shrinking, was squeezing him.

Chick, chick!

‘rain?’

Raindrops fell.

As the rain began to fall, the desert’s restraint was subtly weakened. Lomonodas could not miss this momentary gap. Lomonodas reduced his body to ashes and escaped through the concave opening of the glass bottle.

The desert sands surged like waves, trying to catch the ashes, but unfortunately the heavens raised their hand in Lomonodas’ favor.

The ash that escaped the desert slowly gathered into a human shape and became Lomonodas.

“Ugh!”

Lomonodas suddenly vomited black blood. He vomited not once, but several times, then his face turned pale and he began to gasp for breath.

“Did the gambler… succeed?”

It was extremely difficult to make one’s body one with magic. It was a task that could easily lead to death. Lomonodas was no different from suffering an internal injury that would not easily be healed.

“I won’t be able to use magic for a while.”

Lomonodas staggered to a small village nearby.

*

Far away, out in the desert.

An old man opened his eyes in a peaceful place called the Wizard’s Forest.

The kingdom’s archmage.

There was a man called Eschwald.

“It rains out of nowhere in the desert. Fate wants him.”

Ashwald licked his lips as if he was sorry for letting go of the one he had caught.

“I can’t leave this place… What will fate want? That child? Or the empire?”

Ashwald, who was sweeping his beard with a worried face, took out a small twig from his bosom, broke it, and threw it on the floor.

The branch started to catch fire on its own, and soon a blurry doll appeared from the flames and bowed its head to him.

“An imperial wizard has entered the kingdom. He must have been quite busy… Keep an eye on him.”

-Isn’t that killing you?

“He’s a wizard. But… he’s a high level.”

-…Are you the one who ascended to the throne?

“It’s half-assed.”

The flames flickered violently.

-All right.

“It’s obvious where he’s headed anyway. He must want that kid. Mick is there, so coordinate well.”

-I won’t disappoint you.

Bam.

With the flame gone out, Ashwald muttered after a moment of deep thought.

“But why doesn’t Mick bring the answer?”

It was a strange thing for that kid.

*

There is one two-story mansion in Hopper Village that is larger than the other houses.

It was, of course, the home of the owner of this place, Ronnove Hopper, and today a new person was lying in the guest room there.

“Did this guy come out of the rock?”

“Yeah. It came out when I broke the rock. But it was a really hard rock… Why was it in there?”

“My lord. If the old man says he has been locked up for a hundred years… could he be a villain who has been sealed by someone?”

“He didn’t seem like such a bad person.”

What should I say?

He seemed a bit eccentric. He was trapped for a hundred years and fell down holding his neck. I guess you could say he was a bit sloppy.

He seemed like an easy target for scams.

“then…”

Benny said, grabbing the hilt of the sword at his waist.

“That’s right. He’s a wizard.”

Although Ronobe was born from a rock and only monkeys knew how to do so, he was not so stupid as to not notice the magic flowing out of his body.

This old man is a wizard.

That’s a pretty high level wizard too.

I don’t know why it was trapped in the rock, but if used well, it seems like it would be a strong ally to this Hopper village.

“But why aren’t you getting up?”

“I collapsed because my blood pressure was high… won’t I get up soon?”

At the moment when Ronobe was about to poke it.

“Ugh!”

“Wow! This is surprising.”

Old man. No, Gergoyle has risen.

“Gasp, gasp. Kk, I had a dream. I was trapped by that damned guy… Gasp! Where am I! Am I still in a dream? Am I in a dream, too?”

Soon, Gergoyle’s hand went to the maid’s buttocks beside him.

“Whoa!”

“What are you doing!”

“Ku, this isn’t a dream. Ahem.”

Gergoyle cleared his throat, wiggling his fingers as if savoring the feel of his hand.

‘I haven’t committed sexual harassment yet…’

How dare he climb over a wall like this. Looking at the guy, he was no ordinary guy. Ronobe quickly brought Beni to his side.

“why?”

“Arthur. No matter how much I am a country, I will not touch something that is not ripe.”

“What?”

Benny suddenly tried to draw his sword.

“Hold on, hold on.”

Maybe it’s because I became a knight, but whenever I get a chance, I always try to draw my sword.

“Old man. I am Baron Jun Hopper. Let me introduce myself formally.”

“Ahem. Gergoyle. He wasn’t exactly a noble, but he had a reputation that rivaled that of a nobleman. Well, after a hundred years, only that old man would remember me.”

Still alive after a hundred years.

It means there is a wizard who knows him.

“Who is trapped in the rock?”

“Who else in this kingdom would do such a thing? Ashwald.”

Most of those gathered here gasped at the mention of Eschwald’s name.

The Great Wizard of the Kingdom. No one expected that Ashwald’s name would be mentioned.

“What was your relationship with Ashwald? Were you rivals or something?”

“Huh, if only I had time, Ashwald would have been beyond my reach! It was because I didn’t have enough time to prepare! Time!”

Perhaps he had a fight with Ashwald and was trapped in a rock. Judging from the way he flinches when I mention Ashwald’s name, he must be of a lower rank than him.

“By the way, even though it’s been a hundred years, you still managed to break that rock. Your magic is quite good. If you take me as your teacher, I will teach you my teachings.”

Ronobe was dumbfounded by the sudden offer to accept him as a disciple. Becoming a disciple of Ashwald was something to consider, but it was an offer from someone lower than him. And it was from someone who had been trapped in a rock for a hundred years. Ronobe responded immediately.

“That’s fine.”

“What the heck?! How dare you refuse Gergoyle’s offer to take you as his disciple! You idiot! How dare you know who I am!!”

“Aren’t you a one-time wizard who was sealed by Ashwald? If it weren’t for me, you would have been locked up for hundreds of years. Why don’t you bow your head to me and consider me your benefactor?”

“Hey, hey! This guy is really yellow! I’ll cut this bald head off right now…!!”

Gergoyle, whose face turned red and was about to get out of bed, fell down again, holding the back of his neck as if his blood pressure had risen.

“Farewell, ordinary people of the time when I was not around.”

“This, this guy…!! Ugh!”

Ronobe came to his senses and took a potion out of his bosom and fed it to Gergoyle, who had started to bite the bubbles.

“I don’t know how he survived being trapped in a rock for a hundred years, but his body seems to have weakened. Ronobe, don’t bother him too much.”

“I told you that old man said it first?”

“Okay. Okay, I got it. Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay…”

As Benny went out, patting Ronobé’s butt with his mouth open, Liam came over and linked arms with him, giggling.

“Hey, even though I saved you, is it right for you to get upset because you said you didn’t want to become my disciple?”

It was absurd.

He must have been an old man who had never had a proper social life before.

“Old people are naturally picky. My father too… Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Inma. But you shouldn’t do that to your father. Your father sent me pigs and wheat and everything.”

As Piyove went back and forth between Sist and Hopper, the village chief kept sending him something. It was something like asking him to take good care of his son, so I couldn’t refuse. Honestly, I wanted to squeeze more out of him, but I held back because I was aware of Liam’s reaction.

“Your Majesty, you fight all the time with your biological father. That’s how it is.”

“That guy deserves it. He beat me so much when I was little. I still have nightmares because of that trauma.”

Come to think of it, I’ve been having nightmares a lot lately.

Maybe it’s because of the magic inside. It’s amazing that I stayed sane after touching it and casting magic for a month.

‘Could it be that the other kids Vivian met didn’t have as strong a mentality as I did? Well, that could be possible.’

Ronobe, who grew up watching his younger brother get eaten by pigs since he was young, must have a stronger mentality than most people. To begin with, he was a little better than them because he had even a little bit of modern knowledge. It was because Ronobe was diligent and had a slave mentality, but also because he had modern memories.

“What should I do?”

“I don’t know. Don’t you see that I look helpless? I’ll figure something out.”

“Was it? My lord, you always have that face, so I was confused.”

“What the heck is this kid?”

While I was bickering with Liam, Gergoyle opened his eyes again.

Ronobe hurriedly helped him up.

“You’re up. I was worried because you came out of the rock and then collapsed and didn’t get up. I’ll save you.”

“Didn’t I… just wake up a little while ago? I just woke up for the first time? T-That’s strange.”

“Yes. It seems like you had a dream.”

Ronobe spat out a lie without even wiping his mouth. Gergoyle blinked and fell for it because his face was so serious.

“Is that so? Ahem… That’s… strange. I think I had a conversation with you about something. Or not?”

“No way. This is the first time we’re having this conversation.”

“Hmm… I, I see.”

Liam looked at them with eyes that said, “Is that working?” He uncrossed his arms and grabbed the sword at his waist.

No matter what, the opponent is a wizard.

A wizard who had been trapped in a rock for a hundred years. The one who trapped the wizard was Ashwald. Liam could not believe that he was a good wizard.

‘Unless you have some degree of resentment…’

Because I thought that Ashwald, who was also a national hero, would not have imprisoned him. No matter how bad a person was, it was generally assumed that he was not an ordinary bad person, since they would lock him in a rock and throw him into the mountains.

“But, sir, how did you end up trapped there?”

“Ahem…”

Gergoyle did not speak easily.

I thought there must have been some reason behind it, but the tension reached a high when I thought that it might really be due to an evil deed.

“I could tell you how I got stuck in the rock. But wouldn’t it be better to show you whether or not I’m useful to you?”

“hmm…”

Ronobe couldn’t answer easily.

Then Gergoyle laughed as if he knew everything.

“There can’t be any calculation involved in saving people. It became a debt to me, and an excuse or pretext to you.”

Gergoyle got out of bed and headed outside. Ronobe supported him until he reached the backyard of the mansion.

“Do you practice magic here?”

“That’s the kind of thing it is.”

“I like it because it’s spacious. First of all, let me thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have rotted away on that rock until I died.”

Gergoyle was sincerely grateful.

That was fortunate.

“Saving me will be a ray of hope for you, like a cabin in a rainstorm. That’s right, because meeting a skilled wizard like me is as hard as picking stars from the sky.”

And Gergoyle used magic.

No, I tried to use it but I stopped.

“There was a strong smell of blood. Is there any blood left or anything?”

“Yes? Oh, yes. There is.”

Ronobe handed over the animal’s blood in a leather pouch.

“Oh, this is perfect. It’s fresh blood that hasn’t aged well. This is really great!”

Gergoyle turned over his pocket and spilled blood all over the floor. Just looking at him, he looked like a truly evil wizard.

‘Maybe I look like that too…’

For some reason, Ronobe was concerned about the magic he was using while stirring his internal organs. As a lord, you have to look after the hearts of people.

At that time, I was once again determined to use it without being noticed by the villagers.

“Go-go-il.”

Suddenly, Gergoyle used magic.

A miracle occurred at his fingertips. Something began to move on the blood-soaked dirt floor, and suddenly a grotesque stone statue of a monster appeared.

“Huh!”

Liam swallowed the air and Ronobé’s eyes lit up.

“A magic named after me. Isn’t it wonderful? This hideousness! This ferocity is what makes it such a powerful force!”

With long, muscular arms resting on the ground, and fangs resembling a lion’s, the horns sprouting from its head and the wings on its back make it look like a true representation of the devil.

The gargoyle, which looked like a stone statue made by hardening clay, was truly a work of art.

The problem is that it moves its eyes and body as if it were alive!

“You must understand the greatness of this magic.”

“… yes.”

As you know.

It is amazing enough that he can manipulate clay to create sculptures. That alone shows how strong his mental power is in handling magic.

But there is one thing that is even more surprising than that.

“You use it without a grimoire.”

“Kuuuuu! That’s right! That’s amazing! I see you’re spotting me!!”

It’s understandable that he can do whatever he wants with his spells, but it’s truly amazing that he can use magic without a grimoire.

I felt like I was naked in the rock, and there was a reason for that.

‘Gergoyle…’

He is a wizard who can use magic without a grimoire.

Or.

“Sir, by any chance…”

It could have been a child of tribute.

End