Chapter 36

"Wait, I didn't agree to this!"

Bianca said with a trembling voice, as if condemning someone.

"This is a Violent Black Mole. Its claws are its greatest weapon, so be careful."

Remigio shared the knowledge he had read in a book with Remigio and Bianca.

The Violent Black Mole noticed Ricardo and the others, left the corpse, and approached. Its fan-like flat hands had five long claws, each reflecting the lantern's light with a dull metallic sheen.

Remigio hastily took out his catalyst. The magic he chose was [Collapse Water Spear]. As he chanted the spell, a water blade in the form of a rotating spiral spear flew towards the Violent Black Mole.

The [Collapse Water Spear] was not particularly fast. The Violent Black Mole deflected the spiral with its long claws, changing its trajectory.

"Hey, it was deflected by the claws!"

"Before you complain, you should attack too. –– Ah, it's coming!"

The Violent Black Mole charged, swinging its vicious claws.

The three of them scattered to escape.

Ricardo took out his magic gun and aimed it at the Violent Black Mole, pulling the trigger. The shockwave that was fired rippled the black fur and damaged the muscles and blood vessels beneath. A groan of pain echoed through the underground passage.

However, it was far from a fatal wound and only angered the Violent Black Mole.

"Looks like the magic gun isn't effective."

Ricardo wasn't surprised that the magic gun was ineffective against a well-armored magical beast, but it was still a gain to know that it could inflict some damage.

The angry mole started chasing Ricardo. While running, Ricardo put away his magic gun and took out a catalyst.

Bianca saw this as an opportunity and cast [Explosion Flame Bullet]. The ball of flame flew and exploded on the mole's back.

The mole's fur burned and blood flowed, but the damage was not significant.

As Remigio tried to circle around to the mole's back, the Violent Black Mole quickly turned and pounced on him. Remigio managed to avoid the claw attack but was pushed away by the mole's massive body, flying through the air.

Ricardo, realizing that Remigio's life was in danger if he was pursued, quickly cast [Explosion Spear].

A huge stone spear hit the mole's side and exploded. The mole seemed to be in pain and started chasing Ricardo.

While Ricardo was distracting the Violent Black Mole, Bianca ran to Remigio to check on him. It seemed he had hit his head when he was pushed and suffered a concussion, but his life was not in danger.

On the other hand, Ricardo, who was being chased by the Violent Black Mole, was about to be caught. He took out his magic gun again and fired a shockwave into the mole's nose.

The mole disliked this attack and started thrashing around with its long claws.

Ricardo took out a high-grade [Fire] catalyst, a level three catalyst, which he had brought as his trump card.

He directed the magic rod at the mole's head, poured a large amount of magic power, and sprinkled the catalyst. The magic power began to glow a deep red.

"Fana Rapisevorn Sperogoma"

A ball of light, so hot that it felt like his skin was sizzling, was born and exploded. The ball of light hit the Violent Black Mole's head, burning it to ashes at ultra-high temperatures.

This magic was one that Ricardo had tried and failed to cast while staying at Alessandro's mansion. He had thought it was due to insufficient magic power, but later realized that both the magic power and the catalyst were insufficient.

The scorching ball of light, with a temperature of about 6000 degrees, similar to the surface of the sun, had the power to kill even a Violent Black Mole, which was on par with a Double-Horned Armored Bear, in one hit. However, the magic rod, which had been used to pour a large amount of magic power, was overheated and damaged.

Ricardo named this magic his trump card, [Sun Flame Bullet].

After the Violent Black Mole, which had lost its head, fell, Ricardo sat on the ground, feeling dizzy from the sudden consumption of a large amount of magic power.

As he meditated to recover his magic power, Bianca approached, worried.

"Are you okay... Did you get hurt?"

Ricardo took a deep breath, regained his composure, and stood up.

"Just ran out of magic power. How about Remigio?"

"He'll recover on his own. But you defeated that mole monster alone... What magic did you use?"

Bianca seemed interested in the [Sun Flame Bullet].

"It's my secret magic."

Secret magic refers to a high-level or higher magic that a magician has learned and kept secret as a trump card, or a completely new magic that a magician has developed and kept secret. Usually, it is the former.

Bianca seemed to think it was the former and was impressed.

"Amazing. There should be few magicians in the association who can use high-level magic."

High-level magic is difficult to learn, and many magicians keep it as a secret magic.

"Ugh... It hurts."

It seemed Remigio had regained consciousness. He muttered something while checking his body, took out a catalyst, and activated [Healing]. After a while, he stood up and approached.

"Did you guys defeat it?"

"Bianca said, "Ricardo used secret magic. It was amazing."

"I can't even use high-level magic."

Ricardo, hearing this, was puzzled.

"Hey, didn't you use summoning magic during the exam? Isn't that high-level magic?"

Remigio frowned in response, seemingly remembering his mistake.

"That's a high-level summoning magic, [Summon Magical Beast]."

Later, he found out that summoning magic required valuable catalysts and was difficult to learn. Moreover, it was not even recorded in the 'Great Magic System' written by the sage Manuel, so it was a rare type of magic.

The three of them went to where the corpse was and examined it. It was a man in his late twenties, covered in wounds. He was wearing ordinary clothes, and when they searched him, they found a memo and three knives hidden on him.

"Who is he?"

Ricardo muttered, and Bianca responded.

"He's not a normal person. It's not normal to hide such knives."

The knives the corpse had were called dagger knives, known as weapons for killing people.

When they examined the memo, it seemed to be a record of someone's conversation.

The memo was written using many codes, which Ricardo and the others could not understand. However, the name of Prince Gaius appeared, suggesting that it was a conversation between people of high status.

"What do we do now?"

Bianca asked Remigio.

"We have no choice but to report back. Once a death has occurred, it's beyond the scope of the Magician's Association."

Ricardo and Bianca cooperated to remove the Violent Black Mole's claws and fur. Remigio just watched, perhaps because he had never done such a thing before.

After collecting the claws and fur, Ricardo and the others returned through the underground passage, climbed the stairs to the starting point, and arrived at the iron door.

They knocked on the door to get the soldiers outside to open it.

"Didn't you finish quickly?"

When Remigio explained the situation, a superior officer, likely a captain, was called, and they explained the situation again. At that time, they handed over the dagger knives and the memo found on the corpse.

After that, Clareta was called and they entered Vizel Castle together.

"This is troublesome."

Clareta sighed softly.

"We have no fault in this."

Remigio insisted.

"I know."

Afterward, they were questioned by the general of the royal guard and the head of the court magicians.

As the questioning was coming to an end, General Samuele Naspetti turned his gaze to Ricardo.

"What is that weapon on your waist?"

Ricardo, who had no intention of promoting the magic gun, gave a modest explanation.

"It's a magic gun. It's easy to use, but its power is weak, only able to defeat creatures like Masked Rats and Goblins."

Vittorio, the head of the court magicians, who was listening, snorted.

"Hmph, if it can only defeat Goblins, it's useless."

General Samuele thought that such a weapon might be necessary for magicians. Some court magicians used expensive catalysts to cast magic to defeat a single Goblin.

The general decided to find out where the magic gun was made and visit the workshop later.

After Ricardo and the others were released,

In a room in Vizel Castle, General Samuele had two of his subordinates analyze the memo. At the same time, he sent a few subordinates to the underground passage to confirm the corpse of the suspicious person and the corpse of the magical beast. The corpse of the suspicious person was brought to the castle for examination.

The analysts determined that the memo contained a conversation between high-ranking officials working in Vizel Castle and those in the Administrative Affairs Hall.

The Administrative Affairs Hall was where high-ranking officials responsible for the administration of the kingdom worked.

The general thought that the suspicious person had come through the underground passage to the bottom of Vizel Castle and dug a hole leading to somewhere in the castle. It was necessary to find and seal the hole as soon as possible. The next time, it might be an assassin sent in.

"We must inform the Prince."

General Samuele muttered.

"Shouldn't we inform the King first?"

Adviser Aleve, his adjutant, suggested.

"Of course, we will inform him. However, the King may not realize the seriousness of the situation."

King Alchibald was not foolish, but he had little interest in state affairs. In contrast, Prince Gaius was a wise and responsible royal.

Under normal circumstances, a good son would be loved and boasted about. However, King Alchibald disliked Prince Gaius.

The general thought that the nobles must have said something to the King.

For the past few years, Prince Gaius had been handling the kingdom's problems in place of the King, who had little interest in state affairs.

The general respected and cooperated with Prince Gaius.

On the other hand, the nobles, centered around Duke Melvis in the east, were plotting to make Prince Aurelio, who had started to show talent in military affairs, the next king.

The general thought that Duke Melvis was involved in the recent incident.

After being released by the general and the head of the court magicians, Ricardo and the others returned to the Magician's Association and discussed with Clareta.

"We will continue this mission."

Ricardo was surprised by Clareta's words, as he thought the mission would be canceled.

"But won't the castle's soldiers seal off the underground passage?"

"The underground passage is extensive. I think only part of it will be sealed off."

Clareta explained that the mission was to survey the entire underground passage, so they needed to survey the unsealed areas to complete the mission.

The survey of the underground passage continued, and Ricardo and the others carried out the mission smoothly, encountering Masked Rats and discovering the hole that the Violent Black Mole seemed to have dug.

The exit of the hole was in a mixed forest near the Krem River. It was unusual for a Violent Black Mole to be there, so it might have been washed down from upstream, similar to the Demon Tree Damir.

As a temporary measure, they sealed the entrance of the hole with soil, but more substantial construction was needed.

They completed the survey of the areas not sealed off by the castle's soldiers.

They confirmed that there were many entrances to the underground passage, such as stairs, in various places, including the Magician's Association, the market, the port, and near the Second South Gate, where Ricardo often went.

They also found many small rooms whose purpose was unknown.

After completing the mission, Ricardo returned to his original task of writing reports.

In the morning, he finished his work and went to the Emilia workshop.

Bernardo was there.

"Oh, good. I was just about to call Ricardo."

"Is something wrong?"

"I asked a monster hunter to hunt the Demon Tree Tamir and obtained the Magic Power Vine, so I want you to make a magic gun."

Bernardo showed six Magic Power Vines, indicating that he had defeated two Demon Tree Tamirs.

"Mass production of magic guns is impossible, so I don't think it will be a profitable business."

Ricardo said, and Bernardo nodded.

"I understand. However, I think many people will be interested. I want to make and sell it to those who really want it."

Emilia tilted her head.

"Wouldn't such rich people buy a magic cannon?"

"Yes, some would. However, a magic cannon is large and cumbersome to carry. Also, since it requires changing the catalyst cartridge, many people would want a magic gun in case they encounter a pack of wolves."

Bernardo's business instincts told him that it would be a profitable venture.

His instincts were correct, as General Samuele ordered two magic guns, one to be presented to Prince Gaius.

Ricardo, Emilia, and Bernardo discussed and decided to make an inlaid version of the magic gun to be presented to Prince Gaius.

Inlaying involves carving patterns into the material and embedding gold or silver.

The completed magic gun for presentation was a masterpiece, like a work of art.

When Ricardo asked about the price, Bernardo said,

"No, no, since I added the inlay on my own, I can't accept money."

Bernardo received payment for the magic gun for the general but gave the presentation gun to the general for free, along with the hip holster.

The presented magic gun became Prince Gaius's favorite weapon. When the story of him using the magic gun to defeat a pack of Horn Wolves spread throughout the capital, many nobles wanted a magic gun.

Bernardo decided to sell them through an auction house, as the usual sales method would not work.

As a result, the sales were high, and the inventor, Ricardo, received a large sum of money, but that is a story for another time.

About three months after the underground passage mission, the experimental breeding ground was ready for the harvest of the Apricot Demon Tree.

Last month, they had successfully harvested the fruit of the Olive Demon Tree. When he told this to Serge and Pamela, they said they wanted to harvest it too, so this time the whole family came to the experimental breeding ground.

Serge and Pamela entered the first plot, shouting loudly.

"Look, look, something strange is running around."

Serge was excited by the Demon Tree Kumiri running around in the first plot. Pamela was the same. It was difficult to stop them from running towards the demon tree.

Monta also jumped out of the shoulder bag and ran around the fence, excited.

"Kuka, Kukyuke" (Rica, Kumiri has grown bigger)

The Demon Tree Kumiri in the first plot was being grown to collect seeds, and at this rate, they would be able to collect the seeds successfully.