novel
| ← Ch.061 | Ch.063 → |
'Never touch this staff. '
That was the last warning given by Ian before he fainted.
"Urgh.... ."
Ian woke up four days later.
With a little bit of moaning, he opened his eyes quickly.
An intolerable pain shook his head.
'This place...... ?'
After waking up, Ian quickly looked at his surroundings.
There was no luxurious decorations, but it was quite neat and clean.
'It seems I'm in the province castle. '
Ian acknowledged the area with haste. There would be no other place clean like this in the Pieric Province at the moment.
'It seems like I made it. '
When Ian arrived at the valley, He used up every single mana and health he had. He had literally 'fainted'. Did he faint because the King of Shamans had resisted roughly? No. He was an easy opponent. The problem was the staff. 'The staff of the Great Grass Field', which was scripted with formulas.
'I never expected it to cause hallucinations. '
The formula on the staff wasn't an incantation that controlled the monsters' minds. It was a 'hallucination' that caused a specific 'vision', which Ian also suffered from.
'It was the vision that the Great Grass Field was burnt by a great flame like hell. '
Precisely, it was the hallucination that a meteor devastated the Great Grass Field. The king of shaman kept his incantation, and those monsters attacked the border lines to run away from such disasters.
'Monsters are easily manipulated by hallucinations. '
Their survival instinct was great. It united every monster as one which hadn't occurred in history, but also formed order to plan plans to invade us.
'I better deal with the staff first...... '
The formula on the staff wasn't removed clearly, yet. He just had paused its power for a moment; he barely managed himself to run away from the monsters which had lost their vision.
"Sir Ian?"
Someone entered Ian's room.
It was the conducted mage, Mcgedie.
"You're awake!"
He, I mean, she ran into Ian.
She was holding a water bucket and towel.
"How long I have fainted for?"
"For four days straight."
"Four days...."
After hearing the answer, Ian looked up and down at Mcgedie. He had no idea why the conducted mage was nursing him, but he had another thing to take care of.
"Where is the staff?"
"Ah, the other mages concealed it for you. They said it is in a container which is similar to a mana prison. That......"
At the centre of the room, there was a container.
Mcgedie pointed.
"Nice treatment."
It was outstanding treatment.
It must've been done by the 3rd class mages.
As satisfied, Ian stood up.
"Y, you still need to take more....... . !"
"I am okay."
Then he approached to the container and opened its cover.
*Screeee.... . *
After opening the long container, a birch staff was there. As it got lightened, its surface was black, and the all of its body was filled with a tiny formula on its surface.
'I better deal with the hallucinations first. '
It was impossible to remove a formula once it was scripted. However, Ian could try to change it to another. It could be done by overwriting the script with another formula, or swapping it to a whole new formula.
'It's not an easy job. '
It wasn't an easy job at all. Not only did he need to deal with the original formula, but he also needed to choose the proper formula that synchronized with the artifact. If Ian chose a bad formula, then the artifact would lose its power and became a waste. A waste that had nothing special about it.
'That's sad, isn't it?'
Ian liked the staff in various points. Especially, it had a branch on its head which let Ian put a communication orb onto it. That was the important part of it.
'It is the only staff that may be able to fit the communication orb. '
(ED Note: Jeezus that moment when you realise he went all this trouble to get a mobile phone-stick so he can talk with his mum.... )
Ian possessed various artifact staffs in his former life.
And this was why he chose to find this artifact among those staff he once had.
'Let's start. '
When Ian raised his left index finger, and soon a tiny ice shard was formed. It was the perfect size for as an ice pick for scripting formulas.
*Scratch scratch.... . *
Sounds of scripting a formula on the birch staff filled the quiet room.
It seemed it would take a while.
Scratch, again and again...
'I better leave quietly like the dead. '
Ian was focusing on his job deeply. Thanks to that, Mcgedie missed the suitable time to leave the room, so she just watched Ian without interrupting. She even had to breathe quietly so as to not interrupt Ian.
'What is he doing anyway?'
His action stimulated Mcgedie's curiosity.
She had graduated only 1 year ago.
She couldn't dare to expect what Ian was doing.
'Hmm. '
She enhanced her eyes with mana.
Then, she started to investigate the staff, from its appearance, to the details of the formula on it.
'Nope. No idea. '
That was her evaluation.
Knowledge extends one's understanding.
She just saw Ian's face.
His focused face was quite impressive.
"......"
When she saw him during the academy course, he was a young boy. In addition, since he had titles with 'the youngest' or 'boy', he looked even younger to her.
'He is not a young boy at all. '
But now, he had grown up and become a young man.
Most of all, her first impression of Ian was when he came with the blizzard,
'He's not bad lookin...... '
"Sir Mcgedie."
"Ehk!"
(ED Note: eh? possible waifu?)
Mcgedie made a weird sound.
Ashamed, she turned her head.
"Please stand there."
"P, pardon?"
"Behind there, near to the window."
But Ian seemed to not care about her at all.
He just ordered her.
"Y, yes sir!"
Mcgedie quickly followed his order.
It was an order of an Archmage.
She moved near the window quickly.
"So what should I do now.... ."
"Just for a second."
Soon, a new formula was scripted on the Staff of the Great Grass Field. If it synchronizes well with the formula, it would oscillate with the mana. Otherwise, it would be no more than a useless wooden staff. Ian was about to test it.
'Just a little bit. '
As he injected mana into the staff, it started to glow dimly. Not a bloody dark aura of hallucinations, but a clean transparent grey light.
'Good. '
Firstly, the formula replacement was successful.
The grey light which he intended had occurred.
In addition, the staff didn't lose its power.
It could be proved since it oscillated with mana.
Now the next step was testing its effect.
And the proper target was there.
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