I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents-Chapter 14: Siege Warfare (6)

I grabbed Yunes by the right hand and pulled him to stand beside me.

"Let’s go hunt the shaman."

"...I was ordered to follow Sir William."

Yunes stared at me with his blue eyes, as if trying to bore a hole through me.

"You saw it just now. He’s useless."

Yunes’ arms trembled as he looked at me.

"...If this is considered desertion and I get punished, will you take responsibility for it?"

Why would I?

Not exactly the best thing to say out loud, though.

"You only need to think about the results. As long as we take down the shaman, there’s no reason for you to be punished. I have a foolproof method."

Yunes’ eyes widened.

"Y-You really have a foolproof method?"

As if.

I was just trying to get him to come along, one way or another.

According to the Archmage, half of it depended on the mage’s own ability.

"Yes. It will definitely succeed."

"...Alright, then."

Oh.

It worked.

A lie spoken with conviction.

Rustle—

I opened my inventory and pulled out a potion bottle filled with the blood of the Orc Legion Commander, which I had collected yesterday.

After the Archmage told me about a way to track the Orc Shaman, the first thing I did was ask Resellin where they had placed the Legion Commander’s corpse.

To prove that I had actually killed him, the soldiers had gone so far as to haul the body into storage by cart, so I had been able to extract some of his blood.

Orc Legion Commander’s blood and flesh.

That was all I needed.

"H-Hik!"

Yunes let out a strange noise at the sight of the thick chunk of flesh and the blood-filled bottle.

"W-What are you planning to do with those...?"

His lips quivered.

"Do you know tracking magic?"

Yunes gave a hesitant nod.

"I suppose... I know some basics. Tracking magic that uses blood as a medium does exist. But at my level, the Third-Rank spell Sanguis Revelare can only track the specific individual whose blood it is. It can’t trace an entire species. That would require much higher-tier magic, at least Fifth- or Sixth-Rank."

That was exactly what the Archmage had told me.

"But this will work. At least for the Orc Shaman."

"What?"

"If you properly cast a magic that awakens the residual traces of the shaman’s spell imprinted ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) in the blood, you’ll be able to track the location of the shaman who cast it."

Yunes stared at me in a daze.

"I heard that only orcs retain traces of magic in their blood even after death. If it’s a Legion Commander, he must have had plenty of spells imprinted on him by the Orc Shaman."

It was a curious mix of disbelief and fascination.

"H-How is that possible? There’s no way only one species in existence could have such a trait...!"

Exactly the same reaction.

Just like what the Archmage had predicted in the gallery yesterday.

Archmage) They’ll start ranting that there’s no way such a specific magical exception exists."There’s no way magic has such an abnormal and specific exception!"

Archmage) But that’s exactly why it’s magic. It belongs to the realm of the unexplained. Declaring absolutes is just arrogance.ㄴ Wait, haven’t I read this somewhere before? Wasn’t this posted back when we were climbing the tower? I think it even got pinned as an official notice.

ㄴ Archmage) Yeah, when I hit Floor 30 and got access to the Climber Gallery, I gathered all the information normal people wouldn’t know and posted it. Tried to minimize pointless deaths.

Honestly, up to that point, the Archmage had seemed really cool.

Right until the next comment appeared.

ㄴ ???? Wait, YOU were that guy?

Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.

ㄴ So you’re ‘Unyielding Iron-Blooded Magical Girl Ophelia’? Damn, I was wondering where you disappeared to.

ㄴ LMAO, Unyielding Iron-Blooded WHAT? Dude rebranded himself, only to get exposed after decades of hiding. Hilarious.

ㄴ LOL, this is gold.

ㄴ From writing stuff like that to just ‘Archmage’? Guess you finally learned that simple is best. Major character growth, man. Too bad you just ratted yourself out.

ㄴ Pioneer) Hard Mode veterans probably figured it out ages ago but were just pretending not to notice. Why the sudden self-destruction?

ㄴ Dragon King) Beltui- also knewwww.

And with that, the Archmage didn’t post another word.

Neither confirming nor denying it, but his sudden silence was about as good as an admission.

"Instead of going on about how you don’t believe it, why don’t you just try it?"

Yunes still looked skeptical.

"...Alright."

Oh.

Seeing him immediately grab his magic staff was unexpected.

Because this was the exact opposite of what the Archmage had predicted.

Archmage) Nine times out of ten, when you tell a mage to find traces of a spell, their first question will be, ‘What spell should I use?’But Yunes didn’t ask that.

Instead, as if he already knew, he bent down and examined the chunk of flesh and the blood sloshing in the potion bottle.

"You already know which spell to use?"

Yunes nodded slowly.

"Tracking magic is one of my specialties... At times like this, the spell to use is called Arcana Revelare."

It was the exact spell mentioned in ‘Unyielding Iron-Blooded Magical Girl Ophelia’s’ old gallery posts.

Turns out this guy was smarter than I thought.

Following my instructions, Yunes poured the blood over the flesh and began casting the spell.

His lips parted slowly.

"I shall reveal the hidden truth."

At the end of Yunes’ words, a dark crimson glow rose from the Orc Legion Commander’s flesh.

Yunes' expression gradually changed.

"...The traces of the shaman’s spell are really imprinted in the blood. I still can’t understand why only the orc species has this trait."

The doubt and disbelief were completely gone now.

"Normally, when someone who has received a magical blessing or shamanic spell dies, all traces of it vanish. But for orcs, it remains...?"

His current expression was filled with pure scholarly curiosity, the mark of a true mage.

"I’ve never tried tracking a shaman before, but if I approach it like tracking a mage, it should work."

The Third-Rank Knight sent for reinforcement was a dud, but at least the mage turned out to be useful.

Crackle!

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Another spell circle formed, and the moment it activated, a brief blue light flickered before Yunes’ eyes.

"...I see it. A blue line indicating the direction. But as expected, it seems only I can see it."

Just as he finished speaking, Yunes suddenly reverted to his previous, bewildered expression.

"H-Hik! That means I have to personally follow you around and guide you!"

I wasn’t the least bit surprised.

I had planned on bringing him along from the start.

"Lead the way."

"Hik!"

"I won’t let you die."

While I focused on reassuring and coaxing Yunes, Resellin leaned in from the side.

"I’m coming too. If we’re going after the Orc Shaman’s head."

I could leave Yunes’ safety to Resellin.

I was becoming more and more of a terrible person, but there was no helping it.

Resellin said she would gather potions and rations, and we would depart in twenty minutes.

"Ahem!"

Third-Rank Knight William, whose face was scrunched in humiliation, let out a loud cough. That was the extent of his protest.

"I still don’t fully trust what you’re saying, so I’ll focus on eliminating any visible orcs."

Was it because of the public humiliation? Or because he had taken a few hits?

Regardless, his choice wasn’t a bad one. It was perfectly reasonable.

Someone had to focus on defending the walls.

If those fell, my quest was as good as failed.

"That’s a great idea, Sir Knight."

At my words, William’s shoulders suddenly twitched.

What’s with him?

"Make sure you hold the line."

Then I set off, taking Yunes, Resellin, and one Second-Rank Lucerna mercenary with me.

We moved toward the front of the fortress.

‘At the very least, I need to take down the boss and reach the Third Floor’s waiting room by tomorrow to participate in the exchange event.’

Speed was key.

I resolved to take out the Orc Shaman as quickly as possible.

Kraaaaagh!

A deafening orcish scream rang out.

Seeing its crimson glowing eyes, there was no doubt—it had been enchanted by the Orc Shaman.

According to Resellin, these were frenzied orcs.

Near the forest’s entrance, there hadn’t been any orcs with these eyes.

We only started encountering them as we ventured deeper into the woods.

[Activating Skill – Mana Body Reinforcement Lv.2]

I felt mana surge through my heart.

With my black javelin—a dark spear—I struck down an orc charging in from the left, driving the weapon straight into its skull.

Two orcs rushed from the right.

With a single swing of my longsword, I beheaded them both.

Blood and flesh splattered onto my armor.

My level had risen from 8 to 9 since departing.

Unlike at the starting point of this stage, where killing six orcs was enough to level up, I had already slain over twenty, yet I hadn’t gained another level.

However, what had improved was my battle instinct.

Sword of Light had been right.

My training match with Golem Mk.II had been invaluable, but nothing accelerated growth like actual combat.

Just after cutting down two more frenzied orcs who charged without hesitation, a trembling voice spoke from beside me.

"We’re almost there. We’re getting close to what I suspect is the Orc Shaman."

Finally.