Chapter 98

"How did it disappear?"

When Ricardo tilted his head, Monta, perched on his shoulder, also tilted his head slightly. Greta couldn't help but laugh at the cute gesture.

"What's so funny?"

Tania asked Greta.

"Ricardo-sama and Monta are doing the same thing."

Tania and Patrick also smiled at the sight of Ricardo and Monta.

Ricardo, unaware that he was the center of attention, continued to think.

(Teleportation, perhaps? If the magic beast has the catalyst of the Sky, it might be able to use such magic. ... How can I verify this?)

"Let's take a short break."

Tania suggested. Fortunately, there was a flat area near the river. Ricardo took out the container house and placed it on the flat ground.

Greta and Tania entered the container house and started preparing tea.

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Going back in time, right after Ricardo and his group descended into the Munaron Canyon.

The village chief, who had pulled up the rope ladder, hurriedly returned to the cave and went outside.

"Village chief, did it go well?"

Startled by the voice, the village chief looked in the direction it came from. A man who introduced himself as Paganin, an advisor to the Duke of Apra, stood in front of the cave.

"Yes, but was it really the right thing to do?"

Paganin, maintaining his expressionless face, nodded slightly.

"No problem. It's by the Duke of Apra's orders."

The village chief was trembling, knowing that the group he had guided included the daughter of the Duke of Boniperti. He was worried that if something happened, he or the village might be blamed.

"But, among that group, there's the daughter of the Duke of Boniperti..."

"So what? The only thing that will happen is that the group investigating the Munaron Canyon will go missing. We have no fault in it."

The village chief, still uneasy, said,

"However, I heard that Prince Gaius is also aware of this matter."

Hearing the name of the prince, Paganin's expression changed for the first time, revealing hatred.

"Hmph, what can a prince of a fallen royal family do?"

Paganin was born into a family of military men who served the royal family. He grew up receiving rigorous training to become a soldier. Just before he was about to become an adult, the current King Althibald had a whim and went to inspect the Yorgul territory, where an incident occurred. The king was attacked by the kobold tribe.

The king was unharmed, but his beloved horse died. The king mourned the death of his horse but said nothing about the responsibility. However, the military dismissed Paganin's father, who was in charge of the king's security, and expelled him from the capital. The incident was used in the power struggle within the military. If the king had said a word of gratitude for protecting him, Paganin's father would not have been expelled from the military.

The Paganin family, expelled from the capital, endured hardships and eventually reached the Apra territory. At that time, his mother and younger brother had died, leaving only Paganin and his father.

Paganin did not despise the royal family solely out of personal hatred. He knew that among the high officials supporting the royal family at Veyser Castle, there were several who were pawns of the Duke of Melbis and the Duke of Octavius.

They sold information about the royal family and obstructed policies that would strengthen the royal family. Knowing this, Paganin believed that the royal family had no future.

"What should we do three days from now?"

"Do nothing. Just report that they didn't return."

"Understood."

Paganin parted ways with the village chief and headed for the capital of the Apra territory, Brel. Upon arriving in Brel, Paganin entered Brel Castle, the residence of the Duke of Apra, and reported to the duke.

The Duke of Apra nodded in satisfaction.

"That's fine. Ricardo, that boy, is a pity, but if he sides with Boniperti, he will be a hindrance."

Paganin nodded in agreement.

"What if they survive in the western valley and return?"

The Duke of Apra frowned.

"Are you saying my plan will fail? The giant beast is in the western valley."

"There's a possibility they won't encounter it by chance."

"Hmph, in that case, just station soldiers in the village. You should be able to make that judgment."

"I apologize. I will arrange the soldiers."

Paganin finished his report and added,

"I will report to the Duke of Melbis."

The Duke of Apra narrowed his eyes slightly and looked displeased.

"No, don't tell him. The duke seems interested in that boy. I don't want any unnecessary interference."

The Duke of Melbis was trying to recruit the Duke of Apra, but it didn't seem like he had been completely taken in.

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Inside the container house, Ricardo and his group were drinking tea and discussing the magic of the shadow-chasing gecko.

Greta, unable to follow the discussion, watched Monta gnawing on a nut-like fruit on the table. When Monta noticed Greta watching him, he looked back and forth between the almond in his hand and Greta's face.

Greta was just admiring the cute and intelligent beast, but Monta seemed to misunderstand and thought Greta wanted the almond. He took one almond from the storage amethyst on his red collar, walked over to Greta, and handed it to her.

"Delicious."

"Thank you, Monta."

Greta stroked Monta and smiled happily.

Ricardo, casually watching Monta's actions, had a hypothesis form in his mind when he saw Monta take the fruit from the storage amethyst.

"Maybe the shadow-chasing gecko hides in a separate space created inside the storage amethyst?"

Tania objected to Ricardo's suggestion.

"But living things should die if they enter the storage amethyst."

"I think that's because there's no air in the separate space of the storage amethyst. What if the shadow-chasing gecko had put air in it beforehand?"

Patrick stroked his chin with his right hand.

"I see, so they died because they couldn't breathe?"

"Exactly. So, if we wait patiently in the place we found, it might appear."

Tania and Patrick pondered. Neither of them rejected Ricardo's hypothesis. However, it was just a hypothesis and not a fact. It needed to be verified to be considered true.

Raggi and Rondi, who were on guard outside the container house, informed them that it was getting dark.

Patrick suggested camping there, and Tania and Ricardo agreed.

Ricardo and Greta prepared dinner. Tania had no talent for cooking. In fact, she had a talent for destroying food. Even when Ricardo tried to teach her, her curiosity couldn't be stopped, and she would try to find her own seasoning, which often led to failure.

In contrast, Greta was more obedient. She followed Ricardo's instructions in cooking. However, since she had never learned cooking at home or school, her knife skills were clumsy, and the meat was cut unevenly.

The dish Ricardo and Greta prepared was made from the internal organs of the bicorn armored bear. The meat of a magic beast is almost odorless if the blood is properly drained.

"Hmm, it looks delicious."

Patrick took a bite of the stir-fried liver and vegetables. It was exquisite. The rich flavor of the liver, the sweetness of the vegetables, and the taste of the seasonings combined to create a dish that could rival court cuisine.

After taking one bite, Patrick started shoveling the food into his mouth with great enthusiasm. Suddenly, he stopped and began to choke.

"What's wrong?"

Greta, worried, called out. Ricardo, with a deadpan look, slapped Patrick's back.

"Choke!"

A larger piece of meat flew out of Patrick's mouth. He had choked on the meat.

"Disgusting!"

Tania said with a serious tone of disgust.

"Haa... I thought I was going to die."

Greta's worried gaze turned to one of disappointment. They continued eating, and Greta also tried the stir-fried liver and vegetables of the bicorn armored bear.

"I've never eaten the internal organs of a magic beast before. It's delicious."

Greta and the others also enjoyed it. The fresher the organs, the better they tasted, it seemed.

After dinner, the three magicians took turns keeping watch throughout the night.

The next morning, Ricardo and his group searched the forest along the river for the shadow-chasing gecko. Despite covering a considerable distance, they couldn't find it. Instead, they encountered and defeated other magic beasts like the tusked boar and the demon tree Damir.

"Huff..."

Greta was breathing heavily, looking tired from walking through the unfamiliar forest. Noticing her, Ricardo said,

"Let's take a break... hmm..."

Ricardo's magic detection sensed a reaction. On a large tree branch ahead, the shadow-chasing gecko was chewing on a fruit that looked like a pear. He thought it was a carnivore, but it seemed to be an omnivore. Ricardo took out his magic rod and released magic. The moment he did, the shadow-chasing gecko sensed the magic and disappeared, spewing black mist.

"The shadow-chasing gecko seems to be sensitive to magic."

Ricardo explained that the gecko had been on the large tree branch and decided to wait for it to reappear.

Ricardo and his group, along with Monta, kept watch on the large tree where the shadow-chasing gecko had been.

After about five minutes, Monta spoke up.

"The gecko smells."

Ricardo and the others searched the large tree and the surrounding area but found no sign of the shadow-chasing gecko.

"It's not here."

"But it smells."

Ricardo knew Monta's sense of smell was incredible. If Monta said it smelled, it must have been there.

"Maybe the shadow-chasing gecko replaced the air in the separate space where it was hiding."

Tania considered how much magic power the shadow-chasing gecko had. If it wasn't much, it might come out soon. She thought it would consume magic power to exchange the air.

As expected, the shadow-chasing gecko appeared from an empty space.

At that moment, Ricardo shot the gecko's back with an Earth magic rifle. The impact crushed its heart, and the shadow-chasing gecko fell from the large tree.

"We got it!"

Ricardo, unusually, let out a cry of joy.

Ricardo and his group performed an autopsy on the shadow-chasing gecko. The internal organs were normal, and the skin was also ordinary. Ricardo examined the inside of the mouth and discovered a black tube.

"This tube might be the catalyst."

Tania looked at the black tube.

"Is this the catalyst Ricardo wanted?"

"I think so, but we need to test it..."

Tania peered into the black tube.

"Is this an Earth catalyst?"

"I think this is a black catalyst."

"What!"

Tania was the only one surprised. Patrick and Greta didn't seem to know about the black catalyst. Ricardo explained about the black catalyst.

"Wow, there's a black lustrous dragon stone?"

Greta and Patrick still didn't seem to understand the importance of the black catalyst.

"The existence of a black catalyst means there's a system other than Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Life, and Summoning."

Tania's explanation left Greta and Patrick speechless with shock.

"If it's really a black catalyst, it's a great discovery."

Greta and Patrick examined the black tube closely.

"Wait, even if you have the catalyst, you can't activate magic without the system word."

Ricardo hesitated about whether to mention the system word for the Sky. He decided not to, thinking that if the Sky magic was powerful, someone would try to obtain its secret by any means.

It would be safer if they didn't know from the beginning.

"That's true, but if you write a paper about discovering the black catalyst, Ricardo should be given the title of 'Scholar.'"

The Magician's Association has a system of awarding titles to magicians who have made significant contributions. Those who publish two excellent magic papers are given the title of 'Scholar.'

Incidentally, in addition to 'Scholar,' there are titles such as 'Doctor' and 'Sage.' Only Sage Manuel has been awarded the title of 'Sage.'

After that, they captured three more shadow-chasing geckos and obtained the black tubes. The number of shadow-chasing geckos was more than they had expected. They had thought the number would be small because it was a rare magic beast, but it turned out to be different.

When night fell, they decided to camp in the same place. Inside the container house, Ricardo took out a catalyst grinding machine used by catalyst shops. This was a recent purchase. He ground the black tube into powder using the catalyst grinding machine, creating the black catalyst.

"The amount is too small. I need a lot for experiments."

Ricardo's disappointed voice prompted Tania to say,

"First, we need to verify if this is really a black catalyst."

"You're right."

Ricardo released magic from his right palm and sprinkled the catalyst made from the black tube onto the magic. The magic attribute was excited and turned black.

"Amazing, it really is a black catalyst."

"Wow, a great discovery."

"Ricardo-sama, that's wonderful."

While the magicians, including Greta, were overjoyed, Monta's fur on the back of his neck stood up, and his ears twitched. This was a warning sign unique to his species.

"Rica, something strange is coming."

At Monta's warning, the door of the container house opened, and Raggi and Rondi, who were on guard, rushed in.