Report
------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
------------------
Chapter 168: The Young Lord of the Bellusia Clan
The Bellusia clan members descended the stairs with expressionless faces.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd as they recognized the vassal clan. A middle-aged man, presumably a high-ranking official of the auction house, led the group with a bright smile, though his body was visibly tense despite the cheerful facade.
I, too, watched the man approaching at the head of the group.
'That's him.'
The man in yellow I had briefly encountered at the Alliance.
He still looked quite young.
The crowd surged as rumors of the vassal clan's arrival spread, but upon realizing it was the Bellusias, they kept a safe distance. If they happened to make eye contact, they quickly averted their gaze.
The atmosphere dampened my mood, and I turned to leave the auction house.
Thud—
A Bellusia guard, seemingly materialized from thin air, blocked my path at the entrance.
"Wait."
The low-ranking guard abruptly stopped me with a disrespectful tone.
When I stared at him in disbelief, his eyes flashed with anger.
"How dare you look at me directly? This is the Bellusia clan. Stay put until they leave."
"Sigh."
I just wanted to leave quickly to avoid unnecessary thoughts.
But the forced suppression of old memories began to unravel.
It seemed like these guys never changed.
Ignoring the guard, I reached for the door handle.
"I'm busy, so move aside. I'm leaving on my own."
"One more step and I'll consider you a threat."
He was adding fuel to the fire burning within me.
As I was about to respond in my own way, I suddenly made eye contact with a young child reflected in the glass of the main entrance.
My heart sank.
... Damn it.
I didn't know why I felt this way.
But somehow, I didn't want to see madness unfold haphazardly right now.
Click—
I twisted the doorknob. As I tried to squeeze through the opening, a hand grabbed my wrist tightly.
"I told you not to move, you deaf bastard."
The guard, gripping my wrist, swiftly drew something from his waist with his other hand.
Whizz—
A long whip, embedded with sharp barbs, was pulled out, drawing an arc in the air.
Just before the whip, accompanied by a sharp cracking sound, could wrap around my waist...
The guard felt a pain as if his hand was being crushed, and he lost his grip on the whip.
Simultaneously, the auction house's main entrance burst open.
Crash—
The low-ranking guard was flung outside.
"Ugh!"
The guard rolled on the ground, clutching his stomach.
The impact of the fist, laced with wind pressure, directly to his abdomen made it impossible for him to breathe properly.
I glanced down at the whip sprawled on the floor, then back at the guard.
Sigh.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
"Hey."
I ignored the voice behind me and kept walking, but a sudden wave of killing intent washed over me.
As I nodded, a controlled burst of energy zipped past my ear.
"When someone calls you, you should answer."
I immediately activated my Circle.
Winding wind blades around both hands, I simultaneously launched them towards the source of the voice.
Wheeew—
"Oh?"
Turning around, I saw Bellusia's guards at the front, deflecting my wind blades.
Through the gap, the man in yellow slowly walked out, looking back and forth between me and the low-ranking guard with an amused expression.
The crowd watched the unfolding scene with their mouths agape.
The man in yellow asked,
"Who are you?"
A typical Bellusia question.
I looked at the man in yellow and replied,
"It doesn't matter who I am. I'm on my way, so don't block me."
"What?"
Suddenly, one of the men next to the man in yellow shouted,
"How dare you speak like that! Do you have any idea who you're talking to?!"
I shook my head, looking at the man in yellow.
"I'm not in the mood today. I'm warning you once. Stop it."
The man in yellow slowly walked towards me.
A thick, suffocating killing intent emanated from him.
The faces of the crowd, exposed to his Qi, turned pale.
I also activated my Qi, and the man in yellow's eyes twitched.
"Ooh. Not bad."
Looking at the skull tattoo engraved on the forehead of the man in yellow up close, I immediately recognized his high rank within the clan.
"You look somewhat familiar. Who are you?"
I didn't answer and continued walking.
Behind me, I heard the voices of the Bellusia men and the laughter of the man in yellow.
"We'll bring him back, Young Lord."
"Leave him."
"Huh?"
"He's interesting. I have a feeling we'll meet again."
"Are you serious?"
"That aside, we can't just let him go after he dared to disrespect our clan."
Following that, the sound of a whip cracking and the screams of the low-ranking guard reached my ears.
***
The Yellow Snake, the Bellusia Clan.
One of the six vassal clans, located in the rarely-visited wild jungle at the southernmost tip of the continent.
This is how I remember them:
Unreadable.
Not normal.
Their very nature was far from the righteous path.
They were the kind of people who would capture all sorts of poisonous insects from the jungle, study them, and even experiment on humans without hesitation. I know this because they were doing the same within the expedition.
The only reason they were once part of the six vassal clan was that there was some twisted justification for the evil deeds they committed.
Even when they engaged in merciless killings, there was always some sort of twisted justification if you dug deep enough.
The weapons they used were also bizarre.
Poisons and hidden weapons were common, but some of the direct descendants used hand axes.
In addition, many used a variety of weapons such as whips, staffs, and maces.
I respected most of those who participated in the expedition.
I remember those pathetic eyes that had gone through that damn hell.
But I didn't respect everyone.
The Bellusias were those I never trusted my back to until the very end.
I still remember the disheartened words the Bellusia clan head uttered as he died in the final stages of the expedition.
—Huh, to die with the Divine Clan just within reach.
I don't know what they were scheming within the expedition.
What's certain is that they were definitely hiding something.
If the demons weren't such a threat to humanity's existence, the Bellusias would have definitely betrayed the other clans within the expedition.
Walking along, I recalled the man in yellow I had just met.
'He is a direct descendant.'
The skull tattoo engraved on his forehead.
Unlike the others, the yellow snake pattern was engraved once more within the skull tattoo.
A direct descendant of the Bellusia clan.
And it was the tattoo of the one recognized as the next clan head.
I had a feeling that this encounter wouldn't be the end.
Because ill fate never ends with just one encounter.
Suddenly, I remembered the young child whose eyes I had met through the window.
I don't know why I felt reluctant. Anyway, the low-ranking guard who picked a fight with me lived as a result. Was this really a good thing?
I was confused because I had never experienced this in my previous life.
I couldn't organize my thoughts right away.
While walking and pondering these things, I left the section where the auction house was located and stopped by a famous apothecary to buy the elixir I had pre-ordered.
"Is what I ordered last time ready?"
"Fifteen pills of the Ascending Dragon Elixir. Is that correct?"
"That's right."
"It was hard to obtain. You paid half the price upfront, so you only need to pay the other half. How will you be paying?"
As soon as I handed over the bundle of ten-thousand gold bills, the apothecary nodded with a satisfied look.
"That's correct. Thank you, customer. This was the biggest deal I've had recently. Please feel free to stop by anytime you need anything else. I'll always give you a 10% discount."
The Ascending Dragon Elixir is an elixir that has an excellent effect on the circulation of the mana circle.
I had inquired about it a few times in Khaoto and Leon, but it was impossible to obtain. However, there was a place to get it in Keflan.
It was quite expensive, but I didn't regret it.
If it were a time like in the past when mana circles were mainstream, I would have had to pay several times more than now.
After returning to my temporary residence, I took two pills, put aside a few as a reserve, and distributed the rest to the Crazy Mage Squad members.
"Eat this."
"What is this, Commander?"
"Shut up and eat it. It's good for you."
"If you're not going to eat it, give it to me."
The fools took the Ascending Dragon Elixir and began meditating.
The consensus was that one pill of the Ascending Dragon Elixir was just the right amount.
I took two pills because I felt like it. After meditating intermittently for a few days, I was able to confirm one fact.
"Money wasted."
There was a reason why one pill was considered the right amount.
There was no difference between taking one pill and taking two.
My subordinates continued their training day and night, and I spent several more days wandering around the city center, gathering information here and there.
When I judged that the time was right, I headed to the headquarters of the Magic Tower Alliance.
***
[99th Place. Samael Clan's Crazy Mage Squad. 75,917 points]
The score displayed on the ranking board exceeded my expectations.
75,917 points?
It was definitely less than 5,000 contribution points before entering the Section 1's demon realm.
In the end, it meant that I earned over 70,000 contribution points at once...
It seemed that the achievement of catching a heaven rank monster played a significant role.
I was able to quickly grasp the structure of how contribution points were accumulated.
If it was like this, killing high-ranking monsters or mutated species would definitely be advantageous.
"Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad?"
When I turned to the right at someone's call, Urek, whom I had met in the demon realm, was greeting me with a happy face.
As I was about to nod in response...
Suddenly, a buzz of murmurs erupted from the surroundings.
"The Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad?"
"This person?"
Those who were looking at the ranking board surrounded me and greeted me as if they had promised to do so.
"Are you really the one who achieved a two-digit ranking at once?"
"I heard the rumors. You're amazing!"
Is this what it feels like to be a monkey in a zoo?
Urek, seeing my expression, approached me with an awkward cough.
"Ah, I didn't mean to cause this."
I looked Urek up and down.
"You seem to be doing well."
"It's all thanks to Ruin and the Samael members. I received good treatment. The injured have almost all recovered."
"That's a relief. What brings you here?"
"Haha, I have to prepare to enter the demon realm again."
Urek's expression as he spoke was serious without a hint of wavering.
This must be how he lives.
Nodding, I quickly slipped through the crowd. I continued to hear voices around me, but I didn't answer them.
For now, I had achieved my goal.
There was about a week left until the higher-level demon realm opened.
With my current contribution points, I would be able to enter without any problems.
As I was leaving the headquarters, I happened to look to the left.
A man, neatly dressed in a pure white robe, was approaching me.
"Hello. Are you, by any chance, the Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad?"
He seemed to have business with me.
"I am the Commander of the Crazy Mage Squad."
"I am Assistant Manager Peheln from the Alliance Administrative Office. Could you spare me a moment?"
I looked the man up and down once again.
A staff member from the White Magic Tower.
"What business do you have with me?"
"My superior would like to have an urgent conversation with you."
"Who is your superior?"
"Official Agouro from the Administrative Office's Policy Department. He is also in charge of managing the demon realms at the headquarters."
An official was the highest-ranking official among the staff at the Alliance headquarters.
I could roughly guess why he wanted to see me.
Meeting him wouldn't be bad.
"Let's go."
"I'll escort you to the 6th floor."
------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
------------------
