The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 88



Only Noblemtl

“I’m so sorry! Enoch!!”

What suddenly caught his eye was Dionil’s crown. Enoch slowly tilted his head upon seeing it.

This was a bit unexpected.

After being rescued by Sirocco just before falling.

Enoch, who had come out and returned to base camp, was greeted by Dionil, who had bowed his head at an exact 45 degree angle.

And these were his followers, the squad members.

“I sincerely apologize. It was my fault.”

“what.”

“I should have searched the passage more thoroughly as you advised. Not only would there have been casualties, but I almost failed the mission. And on top of that, I received help from you.”

Perhaps he was talking about being hit by the explosion magic instead? Enoch asked back without even blinking.

“so?”

“That’s why. Since I was able to succeed in my mission thanks to you, I think it’s right to at least show my respect like this… … .”

“No. So.”

Enoch nodded calmly.

“With my mouth closed?”

Dionil froze at those words.

Enoch slowly shook his head in a helpless manner. Then Enoch spread his arms wide.

“Look. What the hell is this because of you?”

The bomb-proof robe he was holding wrapped around his hand was shattered. His body was covered in soot and scratches from the explosion. His clothes were soaked and dripping with water.

Of course, the explosion-proof robe was destroyed while resisting magic. I can withstand the soot and explosions on my body. The clothes got wet because I dived while farming the sword of the Black Knight.

That’s that. This was this.

Seeing cold sweat running down Dionil’s face, Enoch held out his hand in front of his eyes.

“Anyway, if you’re so sorry, you said you’d tell me after this mission was over. Can I tell you now?”

The conditions I asked for when I offered to help Dionil as an advisor. I said I would tell him about them after the mission was over.

Dionil seemed to have a momentary expression of confusion as if he had intuitively sensed something in Enoch’s words. However, Enoch opened his mouth with a merciless look in his eyes.

“「Artifact Custom-Made Ticket」. Hand it over.”

“Ugh!”

Dionil’s eyes crumpled at those words. His reaction was perhaps natural.

Artifact customization tickets are very valuable items.

Unlike modern, mass-produced artifacts that are usually manufactured from the start.

It is a kind of free pass application ticket that allows you to obtain powerful magic items or artifacts through custom-made items tailored to each wizard.

And, as befitting such a weighty background, the “Artifact Custom-Made Ticket” appeared as a currency used in the most important place in the original game.

─Selection of confirmed equipment.

In the original game, when you played gacha, you could get a ‘choice’ through the ceiling system. And that choice was the “Custom-made Ticket”.

As the name suggests, in the original game you could freely choose one artifact of your choice.

“I heard there’s a company that sponsors you and your squad of followers.”

Enoch extended his hand with a blank expression.

“Give it to me.”

There are many major companies in the Magic Empire that produce artifacts, but there are not many companies that produce artifacts for tactical use.

And usually, in the case of famous companies among them, they sponsor famous battle magicians active throughout the empire for publicity.

Especially since squads of famous battle mages are almost like brands in their own right.

The equipment or artifacts used by such people, when exposed to the mass media, have a tremendous exposure effect.

From the company’s standpoint, I think that’s exactly what they’re aiming for.

I heard that successful squads even shoot advertisements on a large scale.

Enoch, who had quickly come to that point, smiled inwardly.

The gear and artifacts of the Dionil Squad members also had familiar manufacturer logos engraved on them.

And for that reason, we also give tickets to squads that support us to maintain and customize their guilds and artifacts.

This too. This is a story that appeared in the original work.

As expected, Dionil reluctantly nodded his head slowly, as if he could not break his promise.

“Okay, I get it. But I don’t have the ticket right now. At least go back and give it to them… .”

At that moment, Aspis took a step forward.

“Dionil, I have it with me. If you don’t mind, I’d like to give you mine.”

Aspis came towards Enoch.

Then he took the ticket out of his pocket and handed it over.

“There have been many mistakes in this operation, Enoch.”

He bowed his head politely again.

Enoch stared at him blankly for a moment.

In the first place, why would Aspis apologize for being rude or anything? They were just doing what they had to do.

In the end, there is only one thing that is most important to us.

Instead of answering, Enoch simply held the ticket up above his head, then unfolded it and held it up to the sunlight.

On the surface of the ticket exposed to sunlight, an elaborate hologram was visible on the attached silver seal, along with the manufacturer’s name, [SIEG].

Authentic tickets from the undisputed manufacturer.

When I confirmed that, a small, pleasant smile spread across my lips. It was a sense of accomplishment, as if all the accumulated fatigue had disappeared.

Goal achieved.

With this, we can say that the planned Rhodes farming plan has been completely achieved.

Meanwhile, Dionil was looking at me blankly with a dumbfounded expression and muttering.

“No… I checked in front of the person who gave me the truth…”

However, Enoch simply ignored it and nodded calmly to Aspis in front of him.

“That’s true. Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

“Oh, no. Not at all.”

He smiled awkwardly, a little embarrassed. Enoch stuffed it into the inside pocket of the black suit jacket he always wore.

With this in mind, you can then put your plans into action.

Now that the game has become reality, unlike in-game where you can do things like strengthening or gacha with a single click of a button, you can’t do that here.

There was no status window or anything to begin with. Even the vague messages only appear in the inner world.

It’s hard to hope for anything in this situation.

But then, if you go ‘directly’ to the place where this ticket is used and make it, the story is different.

In fact, it was something we could be sure of because there was information about things that could be produced with production tickets in the background.

Enoch had planned thoroughly so far and had moved accordingly with the utmost precision and agility.

As a result, we have finally reached the starting point where we can truly follow the original’s voice acting method.

The satisfaction of thoroughly acquiring the things you need one by one.

Before he knew it, Enoch had to admit to himself that he was quite excited by the pleasure.

In the current reality where survival is no different from risking one’s life, this sense of accomplishment was quite addictive.

Of course, not as much as the sword’s growth.

At that moment, other members of the Academy were seen approaching in a group. Among them were those whom Enoch had seen earlier in Rhodes.

It seemed like they had already finished talking with Dionil. They came straight towards Enoch.

“… … .”

I was so distracted by the minesweeper game earlier that I just saw it. Most of the Academia Exploration Team members were wearing school uniforms, as if they were students.

It’s a uniform made of materials that wouldn’t budge even when exploring such ruins. And the girl named Emma was like that. She looks like she has a strong sense of belonging, as if no one would think she’s a member of the Academy.

“Lord Enoch, we all survived thanks to you throwing yourself to our rescue. Thank you so much!”

“Hey, are you okay?”

Surprisingly, the Academia survivors were relieved to find that no one had died, so they recovered quickly. The fearful look they had shown earlier had disappeared.

“Thank you for saving my life! Thank you so much!!”

“I would definitely like to invite you to the festival held at Academia later!”

Seeing them coming in such a large group and making such a loud noise, Enoch started to wonder how he could get out.

“It would be rude to the person who just got back.”

At that moment, their crowd parted and the general manager came forward.

Then he pushed the others back and approached Enoch and opened his mouth.

“Thanks to the selfless sacrifice that Enoch has shown, all of the precious members of the Academy are alive. I would like to express my deepest gratitude once again.”

“I received your thanks.”

Enoch simply nodded, not really expecting any thanks.

I already got what I needed.

But the face of the CEO who had come so close looked a bit uneasy. He looked around for a moment and then asked quietly as if whispering.

“So, by the way. How about the Academia explosion-proof robe that you rented and used this time… .”

“Ah. That’s it.”

Enoch showed off what he had in his hand. The head of the Academia Exploration Team screamed when he saw it.

“Oh no, my robe is like this!!!”

The object in Enoch’s hand was a charred robe. He let out something similar to a scream when he saw it. Then he put his hand on his head and groaned.

“Ugh, the Dean of Academia is going to kill me! If I blow up even one more piece of equipment, what will he say…!”

“… … .”

Enoch stared blankly at it. Are the Academy filled with such impulsive eccentrics?

In the original, the image seemed relatively normal.

Next to him, Aspis was patting him on the back politely, saying, “But isn’t it better than the Academia Explorers really dying?”

Enoch glanced at it and chuckled.

In the end, it is the CEO’s own fault.

If only the Academy had checked in advance to see if the demons were in Rhodes, this wouldn’t have happened.

But is it really just a simple oversight?

Enoch’s eyes narrowed as he thought about that.

Honestly, if you look at the circumstances of the incident seriously, you might not be able to blame them alone.

‘Questions still remain.’

Enoch also had no choice but to admit it.

I got everything I wanted from Rhodes this time. However, there were definitely events along the way that I couldn’t understand with the knowledge I had.

Because there were more than one or two things that were bothering me.

First,

Why did the flare appear here?

Judging from her words earlier, it is highly likely that she moved under Vendetta’s orders.

However, it is not known exactly what orders she received or what her purpose in coming to Rhodes was.

However, judging from the events Enoch had experienced so far, there were some elements that could be guessed.

‘Is it related to the demons that appeared in Rhodes?’

Enoch covered his mouth as if it were a habit.

According to the Academia Exploration Team, demons that were not originally present in Rhodes have appeared.

Maybe the fact that Flare, who is part of Vendetta, came here had something to do with that phenomenon.

Of course, the demon beast experiment is related to human experimentation. This time, the Rhodes Truncatus is different in that it is a naturally occurring demon beast.

Vendetta’s annihilation hall. Since Tantalus had shown a strong obsession with demonic experiments, the appearance of Vendetta’s Flare and the hordes of demons that appeared in Rhodes seemed to have some kind of strange correlation.

‘And Flare’s last words are also hanging.’

There is no reason to avenge Tantalus?

As someone who belongs to the Vendetta, it would be strange for him not to react to the death of Tantalus, the Destroyer.

Enoch, who was trying to piece together the fragmented truths like a puzzle, soon shook his head.

‘At least it’s not an unacceptable situation.’

Anyway, there was no way to know if all these events were true in the original.

Because the details of Dionil’s mission in Rhodes five years ago were not described.

So, there is virtually no way to know whether the appearance of Flare or Demonic Beasts occurred in the original story but was simply not described.

However, now, in order to avoid Enoch’s death, Sirocco’s future has been changed, and her tribe, the Suin, have avoided the fate of destruction as planned.

If so, then it is already a future affair.

So, there is a possibility that the development we know here may have been distorted in some way.

Even if there is no direct correlation, if even the slightest change in the past changes the future of the relationship, like the butterfly effect, it could flow differently.

That was a fact I had kept in mind from the beginning.

In order to survive, or depending on the situation, there will continue to be developments that have no choice but to change.

That is, even if we try our best not to change the rest of the events, we cannot be certain where and how a fatal variable will occur.

‘Therefore, all senses must be sharpened.’

Use your imagination to predict the future.

We must never stop preparing.

One mistake or failure can lead directly to a disaster, such as losing your life or something precious.

I had been reminded of these facts many times until now, but it was confirmed anew when I unexpectedly met Flare in Rhodes.

Obviously, I have some knowledge of the original work.

However, since it was 5 years before the original, it would be impossible to use it exactly as is.

But there are always ways to apply at least some of that knowledge. In fact, some things may be more possible because they are real.

For now, just make the most of it and solve the tasks at hand one by one.

Enoch, who had thought about it up to that point, slowly turned his head. He had finished making a rough assessment of the situation. Then it was time to put the next plan into action.

‘Nothing gets solved by just sitting still.’

Five years before the original. Judging from the description, there is still some time left until the next incident that requires our intervention begins.

But even before that, there is no room for idleness.

Enoch glanced at the sword wrapped in what appeared to be a rolled-up bomb-proof robe in his hand.

A faint smile spread across his lips.

He even dived all the way to the bottom of the ruins filled with water to pull out the sword.

Even spec-up needs to be organized to make a profit.

Enoch clenched his fist around the sword. He could feel the longsword covered in cloth at his fingertips.

‘Was it a knight in silver armor?’

Perhaps the knight holding the sword was the swordsman himself.

A faint smile spread across Enoch’s lips.

I wonder how much more specs can I raise with the sword I just picked?