The Ultimate Sage Who Faked Incompetence and Was Disinherited Just Wants to Enjoy His New Life! - Episode 49: The Forest's Disturbance
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- The Ultimate Sage Who Faked Incompetence and Was Disinherited Just Wants to Enjoy His New Life!
- Episode 49: The Forest's Disturbance
Episode 49: The Forest’s Disturbance
Adventurers wake up early. No—more accurately, Ardan wakes up early. By the time we got up, he had already started preparing breakfast.
“Good morning, Ardan. I’ll help.”
“Oh, morning, Fel, Lilia. Did you sleep well?”
“Of course.”
Ardan kept glancing at us, as if he was concerned about something. Maybe he was still thinking about how Lilia and I had shared the same sleeping bag last night. It’s nothing unusual, so there was no need for him to worry.
For breakfast, we had the leftover stew from yesterday. Since that alone wouldn’t be enough, we also had some bread. As I was slicing the bread, the other two finally woke up.
“Morning. You’re as early as ever.”
“So sleepy…”
“Morning. Go wash your face.”
“Morning, you two. I’ve got water ready for you.”
The two of them sluggishly headed outside. They clearly weren’t morning people. Ardan really had it rough—he was basically playing the mother role in their party.
“Having an unlimited water supply is great. Normally, we’d have to keep an eye on how much water we have left in our magic bags.”
There are magic tools that can produce water. But they’re quite expensive, and magic stones aren’t free either. If you have a magic bag, it’s usually cheaper to carry around a barrel of water.
“This spell is just a basic household magic. So Elise should be able to use it too.”
“You’re right. I’ll teach her later.”
“That would be really helpful.”
By the time breakfast was ready, the two returned looking refreshed.
“That cold water was amazing.”
“Oh? If you liked it that much, should I make it even colder next time?”
“I’m fine with normal. Just normal, please.”
Elise’s face twitched slightly. Maybe she had heard rumors about Lilia’s mischievous streak. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lilia prepared ice-cold, nerve-numbing water next time.
“Alright, everyone, listen up while we eat. Today’s plan is to climb that mountain and then return here. If we reach the rocky area near the summit, we should be able to see what’s on the other side.”
“So this is part of the investigation request for Geper Village, huh?”
“Exactly. It should help determine whether the village can be rebuilt.”
Elise nodded at Ardan’s explanation. If the Ogres we defeated yesterday were the only threat, then rebuilding the village here could be an option. The surrounding area had rolling hills and lush grasslands—ideal for livestock farming. Plus, being close to the royal capital was a significant advantage.
“It would be faster if we just flew up there. But then Ardan and the others wouldn’t be able to see for themselves. That would defeat the purpose, huh?”
“Wait, can’t we fly too?”
“No chance. Flying magic becomes unstable the heavier the load. If you want to crash into the ground, I can send you up.”
“I’ll pass.”
Jill immediately rejected Lilia’s offer. Even he knew that was a terrible idea. At least he didn’t insist on being flown up.
“I don’t mind climbing, but are there still Ogres on that mountain?”
“Not sure. There might be other monsters too. We shouldn’t let our guard down.”
“This is a good chance to practice Analyze. So it works out well, don’t you think?”
Elise gave me a half-lidded glare at my comment. Huh? Did I say something wrong?
“Listen, Fel, you and Lilia are probably the only ones who can continuously use a spell that consumes that much mana.”
“No way.”
“Yes, way.”
Weird. That wasn’t my intention at all. Ah, Lilia’s giving me a look that says, “You’re only realizing this now?” That hurts a little.
“The mountain isn’t too steep. So we should be fine with our current gear. But if it gets too difficult, we’ll turn back immediately. Keep that in mind.”
“Got it. I’ll occasionally fly up to scout the surrounding terrain.”
“I’m counting on you.”
—
As soon as we finished breakfast, we began our ascent. The sun had only just started to rise. But having plenty of time was always preferable. At worst, we might have to camp out in the mountains. But in that case, I planned to create an underground shelter for us to stay in.
It took us less than an hour to reach the mountain from Geper Village. The path leading here was covered in short grass. It suggested that livestock had once been grazed in this area. However, there was no proper road leading into the mountain. The villagers likely never had much reason to come here.
“No abnormalities so far.”
Analyze didn’t pick up anything—not even materials used in alchemy.
“I see. Let me know the moment something changes.”
“I don’t smell anything good either, so there’s no sign of food in this mountain.”
No good smells? Wait, does Jill have a strong sense of smell? I had always wondered how he assessed the surroundings when it was just the three of them. It turns out his nose had been picking up on potential dangers. That was an incredible ability in its own right.
“It really does seem like an empty mountain. Not even medicinal herbs are growing here.”
Elise, having used Analyze, shook her head.
“If no herbs are growing, then it makes sense that people wouldn’t come here.”
“A mountain with nothing, huh? Now that you mention it, the earth’s magical energy here is unusually low. Could the ley lines be blocked somewhere?”
Lilia tilted her head in thought. I didn’t even know ley lines could get clogged. As a Fairy with deep knowledge of magic and mana, she probably understood things like this better than we did.
“I read in a book that Fairies can see the flow of magical energy. So that’s how you can sense the mana in the soil, Lilia. That explains why there are no herbs growing here.”
“Huh? Are herbs and mana related?”
“Apparently. I once heard that medicinal herbs grow more abundantly in places with high mana concentrations in the soil.”
That was news to me. So, in lands rich in mana, you could find plenty of alchemy materials. This could be useful information for gathering ingredients in the future.
“Maybe that’s why no monsters are around. You often hear that monsters feed on mana, right? If there’s no mana here, then they wouldn’t be able to survive.”
“That does make sense. So the reason this mountain is devoid of monsters could be because of that.”
As we discussed these things, we continued our way up the mountain. Though there were no monsters or alchemy materials, I could sense the presence of small animals. Were they targeting Lilia? Maybe they mistook her for a giant insect. I probably shouldn’t say that out loud—she’d definitely get mad.
We made our way through the unmarked path. I occasionally flew up to check our location. Even when viewing the mountain from above, nothing seemed particularly unusual.
Eventually, we stopped for lunch. And after some time, we finally reached the rocky area near the summit.
“In the end, there was nothing here. Guess we’ll have to count on the magic forest next.”
“How far exactly are you planning to go, Jill?”
Elise let out a deep sigh. She looked exhausted—probably from using Analyze multiple times along the way.
“Hey, look at that!”
Ardan had been scouting ahead. He suddenly called out in a tense voice. Alarmed, we all rushed to see what he was looking at.
“What… is that…?”
“Wait a minute… where’s the magic forest?”
“The forest… is dead?”
The magic forest, which should have been there, was nowhere in sight. Instead, at the base of the mountain, a vast stretch of withered trees spread out before us. The reddish-brown soil was visible between them. Not even undergrowth remained.
Even without using Analyze, we could tell there was no life left in that place.
“So this is why the Ogres crossed the ’empty mountain’. The magic forest has disappeared…”
Everyone stood in stunned silence. They were staring at the desolate landscape.
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