"What… what do you mean, backup magical power?"
Alpoi stammered, bewildered.
A 3rd-circle mage was generally considered on par with knights, often receiving even higher respect on the battlefield since they could take down dozens of regular soldiers in a single strike.
Being reduced to mere "backup magical power" was an insult that Alpoi had never experienced before.
"It's just what it is," Ghislain replied dismissively, looking at the luggage still in the carriage. He clicked his tongue.
"Carry your own luggage, or I'll break the carriage before you even use it."
With that, Ghislain turned his horse and headed for the garrison.
Vanessa, glancing nervously around, hurriedly followed behind him, clearly afraid of retaliation if she stayed with the mages.
The mercenaries, having sheathed their weapons, walked past the mages, throwing out sarcastic comments.
"What's with these gentle souls blocking the way?"
"Trying to be mercenaries with bodies like those?"
"I heard the captain mention something about magical power. Maybe they're mages?"
"Nah, why would mages come all the way out here? They're probably just some fancy types good with their heads."
Since neither Ghislain nor the mages had mentioned "magic tower," the mercenaries, overhearing their conversation, couldn't fully guess the mages' true identities.
Alpoi ground his teeth, glaring at the mercenaries.
"You filthy lowlifes…!"
But with no way to reveal their true identity, there was nothing he could do for the moment.
"Just wait and see… once I become the tower lord, I won't let this go."
The other mages wouldn't dare think of revenge against Ghislain, a nobleman, but Alpoi had no intention of forgetting today's humiliation.
With the help of the other mages, he healed his aching body. Fortunately, there were no broken bones, and a low-level healing spell quickly improved his condition.
While seething over Ghislain, Alpoi couldn't help but wonder.
"Damn it… how did he beat me so thoroughly without breaking anything?"
With only bruises, he couldn't even use injuries as an excuse to avoid unloading the baggage, so he and the other mages were left struggling to get it off the carriage.
"Ugh, why is this so heavy?"
Since they'd come to stay for a full year, they had packed quite a lot, assuming Vanessa would be doing all the heavy lifting.
It was bulky, heavy, and difficult for the mages, who'd never done physical labor in their lives, to carry.
They could use strength-enhancing spells, but their pride wouldn't allow them to use magic just to move luggage.
Looking around, Alpoi spotted Belinda and called out imperiously.
"Fetch some servants to carry these things immediately."
"The young master told you to carry them yourselves. You don't want the carriage breaking, do you? It looks expensive."
"You…!"
"There are six of you, and you can't even handle this? I saw Vanessa carrying it just fine by herself."
Belinda retorted slyly.
Alpoi's face turned red.
She was dressed like a mere servant, so what gave her the audacity to ignore his orders?
"This estate has no sane people! I've never done such menial tasks in my life! Aren't chores like these for lowborns like you?"
Yet no matter how much he fumed, Belinda didn't bat an eye.
"I'd rather not get scolded by the young master. He has a… pretty nasty temper."
"You just wait… I won't forget this insolence."
Grudgingly, Alpoi began gathering mana to cast a strength-enhancing spell.
At that moment, two figures emerged from the castle, followed by a group of servants: Elena and Gillian's daughter, Rachel.
"Belinda! You're back?"
"Oh, young lady! It's been a while. And how are you, Rachel?"
"I'm well, Lady Belinda. How have you been?"
Thanks to her steady medication, Rachel had grown healthier and now spent her time with Elena, becoming fast friends as they were close in age.
"What's all this commotion?" Elena asked.
"Just some guests struggling with their heavy luggage, is all," Belinda replied casually.
"Hmm, is that so? You could've called the servants if it's that heavy. Is it?"
Elena walked over, picking up some of the mages' luggage with ease.
"Huh? Not heavy at all," she remarked.
The mages looked on, shocked as Elena casually held two pieces of luggage, one in each hand.
Belinda clapped her hands and made a fuss.
"My, you've been working out! It doesn't feel heavy to you?"
"Oh, stop it. I don't exercise. It's not that heavy, really. Let's help carry it in since they're our guests, after all."
With Elena carrying the luggage, the servants quickly followed suit. Belinda pitched in as well, helping the rest of the servants.
With everyone pitching in, only a few pieces were left, and the mages, unable to refuse, gritted their teeth and picked up the remaining baggage.
But their delicate arms, unused to such hard labor, were already trembling even before they lifted anything.
Finally, the coachman, who'd been observing their pitiful struggle, climbed down from the carriage with a sigh.
"I'll help you for free. You all need to work out a bit more."
Being a long-term hire from the magic tower's city, the coachman wasn't particularly intimidated by the mages, having dealt with them daily.
"I swear, I want to kill every last one of them. All of this is that bastard's fault. I'll never forgive him," Alpoi muttered through gritted teeth, humiliated once again.
Meanwhile, Ghislain arrived at the garrison with the mercenaries.
The camp, which had only been in its foundational stages a month ago, was now beginning to take shape.
"Hoo… it's coming along quite nicely."
With a satisfied smile, Ghislain turned to the mercenaries.
"For now, stay vigilant at the perimeter of the Forest of Demonic Beasts. I'll give you your next orders as soon as things are ready."
"Yes, sir!" the mercenaries replied with a rousing shout.
These were men Ghislain had gathered from various estates across the north.
He'd re-signed contracts with his previous mercenaries who'd ventured into the Forest of Demonic Beasts, so integrating the new recruits was not difficult.
Each time new mercenaries joined, Gillian and Kaor handled the rebellious ones by "re-educating" them.
And with the loyalty of those who'd fought alongside him in the Forest of Demonic Beasts, no new recruits dared challenge Ghislain.
In fact, the loyalty of the veteran mercenaries had created an environment where even the new recruits began addressing him as their "Captain."
Before leaving, Ghislain offered a final word.
"Take good care of your equipment and horses. I won't forgive you if you waste them on gambling or some nonsense."
"Yes, captain!"
All the armor and horses had been provided by Ghislain from his own funds.
Normally, mercenaries bought gear within their means, so quality varied widely. But Ghislain had ensured everyone was properly outfitted.
Leaving the training and management of the mercenaries to Gillian and Kaor, Ghislain headed to the training ground.
"Why are you going to the training grounds, young master? You just got back; shouldn't you rest?" Gillian asked, puzzled.
"You two go rest. I need to check on Vanessa."
As soon as he entered the training grounds, Ghislain rolled up his sleeves and spoke.
"Sit down."
Vanessa, nervous and uncertain, quietly sat in the center of the training grounds.
"I hear you can't sense mana. Is that right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"How far did you get with your magic training?"
"In theory… up to the 5th circle."
Vanessa murmured, her voice full of uncertainty.
Ghislain was impressed.
'Just as I'd heard in my past life. She's exactly as I expected—brilliant.'
Magic formulas couldn't be learned simply by memorization. They required a level of understanding, insight, and determination.
Reaching the 5th circle level in her youth meant Vanessa possessed exceptional intelligence.
"Reaching the 5th circle at this age is impressive. You're quite sharp."
"N-no… I've never actually cast anything, so I can't even be sure I truly understood it."
"That's fine. We'll figure that out now."
"Huh? But… I can't sense mana…"
"I'm going to teach you the mana cultivation technique."
Vanessa's face grew tense.
"Don't you know what that is?"
She shook her head.
"My master acquired a basic mana cultivation method and taught it to me. But it didn't work."
"Hmm, I see. So you did try."
Ghislain nodded knowingly.
In his previous life, he'd heard that she'd tried cultivation, but without being able to sense mana, it wouldn't have worked. Without sensing mana, there's no way to absorb it and accumulate it in the body.
"Don't worry. I'll teach you in a slightly different way. First, you'll need to sense mana."
"Huh?"
Ghislain looked at her seriously.
"Do you still want to be a mage?"
Vanessa lowered her gaze, trying to hide the trembling in her eyes.
Of course, she did.
The only reason she'd been watching Ghislain closely was in the hope he'd allow her to continue learning magic.
Swallowing hard, she nodded.
"Yes, I want to keep studying."
"Good. Then grit your teeth and hold on. If things go wrong, you'll die, but I won't."
"What do you—"
"Starting now."
Without further explanation, Ghislain placed a hand on her back.
A soft hum echoed as mana flowed from Ghislain's hand into Vanessa's body.
Carefully, he guided the mana, letting it gather below her navel.
"This… what is this…?"
Experiencing this energy for the first time, Vanessa's eyes widened.
"Be quiet. This is my mana. Focus on feeling how it moves through you."
Realizing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Vanessa closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could, attuning herself to the foreign energy within her body.
Once her core stabilized, Ghislain sighed with relief internally.
'So far, so good.'
He'd formed a small, temporary mana core within her body.
Vanessa didn't realize it, but this technique required extremely precise mana control and an incredible amount of focus.
It was a method only someone at the "Top Seven" level on the continent could even attempt.
Normally, the proper way would be to guide someone in feeling mana, then have them learn to create their own core.
But there was no telling when Vanessa would succeed that way, so Ghislain prioritized helping her sense mana first.
Since he'd created it with his own mana, the core would eventually dissipate.
Before that happened, she needed to become capable of sensing and absorbing mana herself.
As the core pulsed, drawing mana from the air, Vanessa gritted her teeth against the pain, enduring it with all her strength.
This was the mana she had dreamed of for so long.
The sensation, though painful, was exhilarating.
'Just a little longer…'
Though she longed to keep feeling it, Ghislain was preparing to end the mana transfer.
Suddenly, Vanessa's mind flooded with the countless magic formulas she had studied.
Those spells, which had previously existed only in her mind, seemed to yearn to burst into reality now that they'd encountered this trace of mana.
Entranced by the overwhelming sensation of mana, Vanessa entered a trance-like state.
Zzzing—zzing—zzing—
Magic circles began to form around her.
Pent-up energy surged, and without realizing it, she began casting spells.
One after another, the circles appeared, soon surpassing five in number.
"You are already performing multi-casting?"
Startled, Ghislain quickly reduced the flow of mana he was sending into Vanessa.
The magic circles she had summoned were drawing on his mana, not her own small reserves, and were consuming it at an alarming rate. If he were to stop abruptly, it would be dangerous for her, so he carefully decreased the amount he was sending.
But another problem arose.
Pssss….
A soft, sizzling sound came as Vanessa's hair began to turn white at the ends, spreading further up with each second.
In the absence of enough mana, her body had started drawing on her life force.
"Damn it! Get a grip!"
Ghislain couldn't let her burn through her life force. He increased the flow of mana again, shouting to snap her out of it.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]