Chapter 74: Killing Business

Chapter 74. Killing Business

The Light Temple had made its move much sooner than I expected.

Apparently, I’d underestimated how badly yesterday had rattled them.

If they were already preparing their trap, then sitting around my estate waiting for them to tighten the noose would be stupid.

I needed to move first.

"Nia, I need you to do something for me."

Her fox ears immediately perked up. "What is it?"

"The accessories. Send another batch to me."

Nia frowned. The confusion came from the urgency.

"I will, but..." Her head tilted. "Why? Do we need that much money?"

"No."

"Then?"

"I need to level up my crafting skills."

Her expression went blank.

Right.

Normal people probably didn’t understand why crafting necklaces was somehow connected to becoming stronger.

Unfortunately, my brain had already sprinted three kilometers ahead.

The system had originally given me three fundamental abilities.

[Curse Conversion]

[Arcana Injection]

[Arcana Evolution]

Curse Conversion was straightforward. It converted the curse tearing apart Rey’s body into Forbidden Energy, transforming what had once been a death sentence into a usable resource.

Arcana Injection allowed me to inject that Forbidden Energy into existing magic.

I’d already used both Curse Conversion and Arcana Injection plenty of times, but I’d never managed to trigger Arcana Evolution for any of my spells. Which probably meant I needed to use my altered spells more often before they reached whatever requirement the system had set for evolution.

There was also my Arcana Evolution Progress, but I’d already checked that separately. That one was connected directly to my mana core rather than individual spells.

Which meant I effectively had two paths forward.

The normal progression path and the Evolution Path.

I could potentially climb through the ranks using both.

And I was an ambitious bastard who had once experienced losing the ability to properly preserve mana inside his own body.

Evan had spent years studying magic because he couldn’t become a normal magus.

Rey had once possessed an SSS-rank mana core before the curse ruined it.

Now I had both men’s experiences, an abnormal system, Forbidden Energy, and two possible progression paths sitting directly in front of me.

Of course I wanted both.

I wanted to know how far the normal path could go.

Then I wanted to know how far the Evolution Path could go.

Then I wanted to know what happened if I pushed both until the system itself started questioning my life choices.

Could an evolved core exceed ordinary SSS-rank limitations?

Could Arcana Evolution change mana density?

Capacity?

Recovery?

Could Forbidden Energy eventually coexist with normal mana without destabilizing the curse?

Could I—

"Uh... Rey?"

I blinked.

Nia was staring at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

She cringed. "Your grin looks like you’re planning to destroy the world."

Oh, right. Normal face. I needed a normal face.

I attempted to reduce my smile.

It didn’t work.

Damn it.

I was too excited.

This was better than discovering a new magical formation capable of blowing apart an entire building while consuming barely enough mana to warm bathwater.

That had been a fantastic week.

This might be better.

"Don’t worry," I said. "I won’t do anything weird."

Nia stared at me.

I stared back.

Neither of us believed that sentence.

I immediately returned to my food before she could interrogate me further.

Nia watched my sudden eating speed with increasing suspicion.

I finished the last bite, drained my cup, and wiped my mouth. "Oh, right. I have business to do."

Her ears snapped upright. "What business?"

"Killing business."

"What—"

I leaned over, kissed her cheek, and activated my magic before she could finish.

[Void Shift]

The dining room vanished.

So did Nia’s increasingly horrified expression.

I reappeared inside my chamber and changed immediately.

My casual clothes came off, replaced by proper adventuring equipment. Durable trousers, reinforced boots, layered shirt, protective leather pieces, gloves, and a thick traveling cloak with a deep hood.

Extra insulation too.

I intended to fly. High and fast.

The temperature difference at altitude was going to be unpleasant, and I’d rather not discover halfway through the journey that the terrifying Corrupted Magus could be defeated by wind chill.

I checked my Dimensional Ring.

Healing potions.

Mana potions.

Forbidden Mana Elixirs.

Antidotes.

Emergency recovery mixtures.

Formation materials.

Tools.

Knives.

Rope.

Several things I probably wouldn’t need but would deeply regret not carrying if I suddenly needed them.

Excellent.

Then I stopped.

Something was missing.

I took a piece of paper from the desk.

"Going to the dungeon beyond the northern ridge. Should return before dinner. If I’m not back within three days, assume something went wrong."

I paused.

Added.

"Do not come after me alone."

There.

I left the note somewhere painfully obvious.

Because experience had taught Evan one extremely important lesson.

Shit happened.

Expeditions were especially talented at producing shit.

A three-hour expedition could become three days because someone triggered an ancient barrier.

A simple ruin survey could turn into an underground survival exercise because the entrance collapsed.

A routine excavation of an ancient magical ruin could somehow end with six researchers trapped behind a magical door arguing over whether eating an unidentified glowing mushroom was preferable to starvation.

The answer was no.

It had always been no.

Which reminded me.

Food.

[Void Shift]

I disappeared again.

The mansion kitchen erupted into chaos when I materialized directly in the middle of it.

One maid nearly dropped a bowl.

A cook jerked backward with his knife raised before recognizing me.

Someone inhaled sharply enough that I was reasonably certain a scream had started and been forcibly murdered inside their throat.

Everyone froze.

I looked around.

They looked at me.

"Pack me some bread, dried cooked meat, and drinkable water."

Nothing happened.

Apparently teleporting into the kitchen had temporarily destroyed everyone’s language-processing capabilities.

I deadpanned. "Now."

The kitchen exploded into movement.

"Yes, My Lord!"

"Bread!"

"Get the dried meat!"

"Water skins!"

I stood there while approximately seven people performed what looked suspiciously like an emergency military operation centered around making me lunch.

I didn’t need much.

Three days of food.

Three days of water.

One cook hesitantly offered dried fruit.

I accepted it.

Researcher expedition rule number one: never reject portable calories.

Everything went into my Dimensional Ring.

"Thank you."

Several servants looked startled.

Apparently saying thank you was still an unexpected character development.

Whatever.

[Void Shift]

The kitchen disappeared.

I reappeared on the highest section of the estate.

Wind immediately caught my cloak.

From here, I could see the surrounding lands stretching toward the horizon and roads cutting through fields and forests like pale veins.

I turned north.

There.

That direction.

The dungeon I wanted wasn’t particularly close.

By carriage, the journey would take days.

On horseback, still days.

Fortunately, I had absolutely no intention of respecting roads.

Forbidden Energy stirred through my body.

[Voidwind Manipulation]

Wind gathered beneath my boots.

Then I rose.

Higher.

I kept climbing until the estate shrank beneath me.

Fields became patches.

Roads became lines.

People disappeared completely.

Perfect.

Yesterday, I’d flown considerably lower because I was with my wives.

Today?

No need to pretend.

I leaned forward.

The wind exploded behind me.

My cloak snapped violently as I shot across the sky.

I grinned beneath my hood.

Cold air tore around me, but Voidwind diverted most of the resistance. The remaining chill explained exactly why I’d dressed heavily.

Below, the world blurred.

Forests rolled beneath me.

Rivers flashed silver beneath the afternoon sun.

I passed the outskirts of the capital without going anywhere near its airspace, maintaining enough altitude that anyone glancing upward would see, at most, a dark speck moving far too quickly to identify.

The capital vanished behind me.

Then villages.

Farmland.

More forest.

Mountain ridges gradually appeared ahead.

My Forbidden Energy consumption remained surprisingly manageable.

Another useful data point.

At maximum practical traveling speed, Voidwind Manipulation was absurdly efficient compared to repeatedly using Void Shift over long distances.

Less than an hour later, I began descending.

The temperature rose as the ground approached.

Trees became distinguishable again.

Then individual rocks.

A narrow mountain path appeared beneath me, winding between enormous stone formations toward a dark opening carved into the base of a cliff.

I slowed.

Voidwind dispersed around my boots.

My feet touched the ground.

Silence immediately replaced the roar of high-altitude wind.

I adjusted my cloak and looked ahead.

The dungeon entrance was enormous.

Black stone framed the opening, weathered carvings running along its surface. Several had been damaged beyond recognition, while others still carried traces of old mana.

Cold air breathed from the darkness.

I could smell damp stone.

Earth.

And monsters.

Lots of monsters.

My lips curved upward.

Now it was time to get to work.