Chapter 41 - Eyelids (14)

Professor was very, very embarrassed. As a result of this embarrassment, he tossed the boulder that was next to him, ripped out a tree, and kicked it, turning it into some very nice kindling in the process.

And the grin the bandits had on their faces disappeared as they witnessed that.

When they saw Professor’s left leg gone after kicking the tree, their faces regained a bit of hope, but when they saw a new limb growing back from that leg, they all wet their pants and started praying to their god.

“H…… He is him…… the…. the talking mute…”

“O Great Ro-Haram, please protect me with your holy light. O Great Ro-Haram, please protect me with yo……”

“Ughh… sniffle… Wahhhh!”

Professor slowly approached the three individuals shaking in terror. Any thought of attacking was long gone.

Limp, limp.

Squelch, squelch.

“Agphgggg…..”

One of the bandits fainted as he saw the limping Professor progressively get back on his own two feet.

“Hey, look at me.”

“Mmmmm….”

“Y-Yes! W-W-W-W-What’s the matter sir….?”

They only realized how large this man was after Professor towered right over them. To think they mistook this thing for a human. To think they threatened this thing with a sickle!

Professor started talking, his face still a deep red.

“Didn’t you ever hear those stories before? Something about when mages get angry, they turn you into frogs or minced meat, or something like that?”

-Soygaybar: LOL. He’s still calling himself a mage.

-Highwaynachoman: Something in that sentence is a little weird.

-takealook: Well, technically, Prof is a mage now. Isn’t it normal now for him to be weird?

“P-P-Please spare me!!”

“Brbrrrgggg…”

When Professor took off the cloth over his eyes and leaned in, his expression still scrunched in a scowl, another one of the bandits fainted from his terrifying face.

The last one standing was the lanky guy who led the group. He was planning on just scaring him off, but what he just said bothered him a bit.

“Oy.”

“Y-Yessir! Please speak! Oh, great being!”

“I’ve been wondering, who is ‘him’? And what do you mean by ‘great being’?”

They were just some country bumpkins, but they should probably know more than me, who’s been stuck in a dingy basement of some lord’s castle. It wasn’t intentional, but he might as well use this opportunity to get some information.

As I showed interest, the bandit’s expression shifted to a submissive smile.

“Heh…… You don’t have to test me, Selector, sir. It was recent, but I am still part of the Savior’s Order. Hehehe….”

“Savior’s…. Order?”

‘This…… sounds fishy.’

Savior’s Order. I’ve never heard of that religion before. It’s common for cults to thrive during hard times, but…..

‘A talking mute. This is definitely about Edeorna. A religion that calls talking mutes [Selectors]…..’

This is definitely fishy, all right. This is going to be a big fishy snowball that’s gonna crush me in the future if I don’t do something about it.

For these situations…

“Hm. You do not disappoint, yet that is not enough to persuade me. I will now test you. What do you know about our group?”

It was smart to just go with the flow. He was scared out of his mind, so he didn’t need to worry about him lying.

The bandit nodded aggressively, still shivering in fear. He must have thought this was his only way of surviving since he started to explain everything he knew.

“Yes sir! The Savior’s Order follows the holy teachings of Prophet An Datuela, and we are waiting for the Great Selection by cleansing our body and soul for salvation! Hehehe.”

“Great Selection, you say…. Do you know what it is about?”

“Of course, sir! The Selector, ‘White Mute,’ defeated that armored b**** that protected those corrupt and dirty royals, Charlotte, I believe it was, hadn’t he? An Datuela had told us that soon, tens of thousands of mutants will spread throughout this corrupted land, and our job is to comply with their vision and also execute the ones that block our way!”

Ding!

[Information Update – Suspicious Cult: Collected information about the ‘Savior’s Order.’ / Keyword: Savior’s Order, Selector, Mute Worship, Sabotage]

“I see…. I see…”

“Heheheh…. Selector, sir. Now that I’ve proved my faithfulness, I should be able to gain power like you, right?”

“Hm….”

Professor was lost in thought.

‘The cult’s order itself seems simple. They’re using the hatred commoners and citizens have for the nobles and pretending they are some superior being that can solve all of their problems. It’s the most common form of cult you see in hard times. The problem is that they’re worshiping mutes……’

Looking at what that bandit guy said, it’s beyond just worship. They sound like they’ll destroy the world or something for the mutes’ sake. It’s simple, yet it’s that much riskier because of its simplicity.

‘Molludic Castle, Pelas, and Turan all fell into the hands of the mutes, and the tales about their power are spreading terror among the people. Rumors about Edeorna are spreading like some urban legend. But even then, a cult that worships mutes suddenly appeared? Where did the other steps in the middle go?’

It was very unusual. He’d seen a lot of different World 3 gameplays, but there hadn’t been an ominous event like this one so far.

-professor: Hey, does anyone know about something called the Savior’s Order in World 3?

-Jokasss: Never heard of it. Wasn’t the gameplay for World 3 pretty simple in the first place? The World 3 videos from rankers show them slapping some noble peoples’ faces, then killing the warlock, then killing some mutes, and then it’s over.

-Speedwagon: There is a post on the Community saying that they saw the cult that guy’s talking about before, but no one’s ever found a group that worships mutes. You’re the first.

“The first. That isn’t very good news.”

Being the first does mean I’ll get more viewers, but it also means I don’t have any information I can reference in the Community. Considering the nature of underground organizations like these, it’s important to find the roots of the problem, but I do not have any information. This is a pain in the butt.

‘At least it looks like it’s in the early stages. I’ll need to kill the roots as much as possible…’

Professor wrote a quick note saying [Savior’s Order. Kill], then looked back at the guy who was staring at him expectantly.

“….Human. Say your name.”

“Yes sir! It’s Jekers! I have worked in the Nodar Village as a leatherworker….”

“Enough with the details. I have considered your faithfulness valuable, and I want to tell An… An Dante..?”

“Do you mean An Dantuela, sir?”

“Right! I want to tell An Dantuela about you, but I have been separated from my group because of some humans and was not notified of where to meet. Do you know something?”

“Ahh, unfortunately, I do not have a high rank within the Order, so I don’t really….”

Hmm… I guess there’s only so much I can learn from a random bandit. And rank. There seems to be a rank system within the group. That might mean this cult is bigger than I thought….

“Ah, ah! Selector, sir! I know one thing!”

Jekers, who seemed to think his status promotion was on the line, yelled out the last thing he knew.

“Horse! They called it the ‘Home of the Masterless Horses!’ That’s what the disciple next to the senior follower said when I was getting blessed in my village!”

Ding!

[Information Update – Savior’s Order : A suspicious mute worship cult. You have successfully interrogated a follower to find out one of the meeting locations! / From a senior follower’s disciple – Home of the Masterless Horses.]

‘Yes!’

When you find a lot of information about some event, GG sometimes organizes it into one nice paragraph. Of course, it didn’t do that for unimportant tasks like ‘Please find my cat for me.’ or ‘Please get 900 apples to feed my child.’ This meant these Savior’s Order people were pretty darn important.

‘I don’t think I’ll get much more information from this guy. Should I end it here?’

These operations needed proper resolutions to prevent problems in the future. Professor approached the bandit that was bowing down to him on the floor.

“Human Jekers. Raise your head.”

“Y-Yes, Selector, sir!”

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Jekers smiled widely when he raised his head, as if he were honored that his name was remembered.

“I have regarded your faithfulness highly and will now give you an important mission. If you complete it successfully, you will also one day become a Selector like me and break boulders with your bare hands!”

“Oh, woah!!!”

He might figure out that I’m a fake if he goes back and tells other followers about his ‘spiritual experience,’ so I need to send him somewhere far, far away.

‘And might as well make him useful for what I’m going to do next.’

“Jekers, go to the city.”

“City… exactly where do you mean? Should I go to Turan, where all of the mutes are?”

What’s this guy saying? Is he suicidal?

“No, you will go directly on this path to Tobrune. Leave your family to the two idiots here. Go hurry. Run as fast as you can to the city and spread a rumor. Spread it so everyone can hear about it.”

“Rumor? What rumor?”

As if he had a delightful idea, Professor’s face spread into a mischievous smile.

“Mages. To the mages. A talking mute. A crimson mute is seeking to meet you.”

It’s not a good idea to hold grudges in the Wasteland.

‘But it’s also foolish to just let it go.’

The best way to forget a grudge is to pay it back. Until all of the dark, angry emotions dissipated into satisfaction.

Professor’s eyes glinted with a dangerous color as he remembered Isaac’s cold smile.

Yaaawn.

After sending off Jekers like that, Professor flipped through the book while walking on the road.

“How to shorten chants….how to shorten chants….”

He didn’t want to give up on becoming a mage. He couldn’t just give up such an alluring power because he felt embarrassed.

-Soygaybar: Was it that embarrassing? Just think of it as part of your character development.

-takealook: A streamer is technically also an entertainer, no? You were hilarious back there. I’m telling you, you’re doing great!

“Shut up!”

Never again. Not like what just happened. There must be a way to shorten the chant.

‘The spell Isaac used to make me fall asleep and the magic Roman used to fight that mantis-looking mute. Both didn’t have long spell chants.’

Isaac used ‘Sleep,’ and Roman said ‘Dorman Baldanis’ Sweeping Wave.’ Both spells just used the trigger word without requiring lengthy preparation.

Looking at Roman’s trigger word, it wasn’t an origin spell either. There….there has to be a way to use magic without using that dumb chant!

Flip.

[Quick Activation: Removing the Chant, Shortening, and Modulating]

“There it is!”

Thank you, Mr. Baldness! You’re not the master of water magic for nothing!

Professor began reading down the page quickly, as if he were being pursued.

[….and so, a chant strengthens the image’s power but has a very big impact on the casting speed. There is also the disadvantage that the opponent will know what type of spell you are casting. As a result, many ways to support these problems were developed.]

[However, if a rookie mage is reading this page because of outside gazes that seem to judge the spell chants, turn back this instant.]

“Eep!”

Is he watching me?

Professor looked around, a little guilty.

[A mage is one that moves the rules of the world according to their wants. If one doesn’t even have that much self-esteem, they are not worthy of walking the path of magic. Are you embarrassed by the chant? If there is one who mocks the chant of a spell, which is a condensed drop of one’s awakening, then shoot your strongest spell at the fool. It’s a legal action as a mage.]

“Mmm…. The world of mages is pretty hardcore.”

No wonder all mages were balls of self-esteem drenched in narcissism. There was always a reason something was that way.

“But I still need to shorten the chant.”

It was embarrassing, but when I thought about it, it was absolutely necessary if I wanted to use magic in battle.

I won’t be able to stop screaming my head off because I’ll be losing limbs left and right in battle. It will hurt. It will hurt like crazy, so I won’t have time to stand still and mutter something about water. I’ll be busy screaming. So I needed a short and simple chant that could cast the spell.

[….if you are not the foolish mage I mentioned of, I will now explain how to condense the spell chant.]

[The simplest method is to just use the spell a lot.]

“Huh?”

What. This isn’t what I was expecting. This…. feels like that. Like memorizing SAT vocabulary and definitions over and over.

[A tracing spell is essentially borrowing someone else’s image. If you continue using that spell and succeed in engraving that image into your own soul, then that spell basically becomes an origin spell and does not need a chant anymore. This not only helps reduce the spell but also means that one becomes closer to another awakening, so it’s always good to constantly use spell chants.]

Hm. This is the first method. It’s just hard work and effort. I know that already. I just want a quicker and easier method.

[The second method is to use hand motions. There are many different ways depending on the scholar, but I favor the method where each finger and joint is given a meaning, and through the combinations of those meanings, one small hand motion becomes a chant.]

‘This is it. Hand motions.’

He’d seen this in mage gameplays on the Community before. They used chants for larger-scale spells, but the smaller ones were cast using a trigger word. But now that he thought about it, they used some weird hand motions as well.

[It is better to have a detailed image when using magic, but when using familiar magic, it is possible to cast a spell even with major theme words. In the case of hand motions, there is a word applied to each finger and finger joint, modulating that to create the image.]

[Here’s an example.]

[Raise your index finger. What does it remind you of?]

Professor put up his hand and raised his index finger.

“Index finger? Hm…. Pointing?”

[Most people relate the index finger to something along the lines of ‘Order.’ If the finger represents a command, then folding it at different joints divides the steps. Completely extending the finger means order. If folded on the first joint, command. And if completely folded, contract. Like this, each finger represents an idea, and just by combining those ideas, an image is completed.]

“Oh, this is pretty cool.”

Of course, he didn’t know how to do it yet. It sounded like something about expressing the chant through the hand instead of words…..

[Only one can determine the significance of each finger. One might feel authority from the thumb, but another might feel fragility. The most important part of hand motions is to insert an image that fits each finger and joint.]

[There is only one way to do this. One just needs to continuously engrave that into their mind. After choosing images that one often uses, look at each finger tens of thousands of times per day and engrave that image into the finger.]

[If the one reading this is in a Tower of Mages, you must have seen a lot of Level 2 and Level 3 mages constantly muttering to themselves. All of them are going through this process.]

Slap!

Professor closed the book.

“So it’s basically coding.”

There was a lengthy explanation for it, but it essentially means that I must repeatedly visualize an image for each finger until I can do so naturally and then combine those images to cast a spell, right?

Professor stared at his fingers. He needed to literally engrave those terms into his mind, so he needed to carefully choose each word.

“So I still need to learn the spells I’m going to use before I do this….”

-takealook: The education system is set up in such a way that you must follow the order, you know.

“Well darn. Oh well. I guess I’ll take my time with the magic thing.”

After securing the book inside his bag, Professor raised his head up. There wasn’t any more time to study now. In front of him was a castle wall with all kinds of symbols written on it.

“Tobrune, the City of Mages.”

For the time being, Professor erased his thoughts about magic. Unfortunately, what he needed here wasn’t the power of magic.

He had already decided what he was going to do here.

If he recalls correctly, the Tower of Mages for the Reedflow scholars was located in the middle of this city.

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