The Book Eating Magician Chapter 64:

Slavers Raiding Mission #1

As a result, the deal was successful .

Vince carried a disgruntled expression until the end, but he wrote down on the scroll that he would help Canis move and give him a new identity . When considering that the power of a Superior magician was equal to that of a superior noble, Canis had an unquestionably strong backer .

After each of them signed the contract, Canis got up with a satisfied expression . “Okay, wait here a bit . It will take some time, so I’ll probably be back when the sun goes down . ”

“Do you intend to start immediately?”

“Isn’t time running out? From now on, your work is my job . If I fail, then I won’t gain anything either . You can be confident that I will return after working diligently . ”

After telling them to wait, Canis ran out of the store . His movements were full of a vitality which couldn’t be seen until now . He must feel good that he had managed to save his life .  The two men left behind in the store without its owner were stunned for a moment, but they soon looked around .

Everything around them was an artifact .

“Take as much as you want . He made a mistake to say that . ” Vince laughed as he repeated Canis’ words .

Canis would never have thought that Theodore could take all the things in the store . There were so many things that they wouldn’t fit in his dimension pocket, but they were sufficient as meals for Gluttony .

The quality wasn’t high, but the amount of magic power which could be absorbed from this amount of artifacts was considerable .

First of all, Theo approached the shelf containing the defective goods and raised his left hand .

“Then I will start . ”

Unlike genuine products which might have a hidden value, a defective product was useless . Their own value was to be eaten and converted into magic power .  With a single command of ‘Eat,’ the tongue emerged from Theo’s left hand and started sweeping through the store .

Woorururu… With a blunt sound, the various objects disappeared into Gluttony’s mouth . Regardless of size, it swallowed everything into its mouth . The dozens of defective products disappeared, and the floor was quickly exposed .

Dozens of voices were heard until they were cut off after a few minutes .

 

[……]

[It will take approximately 31 minutes and 14 seconds to fully digest . ]

 

With the release of the 3rd seal, Gluttony’s abilities had improved . The previous digestion time which had been over an hour was now reduced to only 30 minutes . However, this meant it wasn’t difficult to absorb all the things piled up in the store .

Vince let out a cry of admiration as Theo stood before an empty shelf . “…It is amazing when I think about it . Converting the artifact into the user’s magic power is a really amazing feature . ”

“I don’t know what the principle behind it is . ”

“If you find out, then the magic prowess of humanity will advance a few steps . ”

It was as Vince said .  The grimoire was a foreign object to modern humans . How it worked and the reason why it existed was a mystery . This wasn’t a problem for the two of them to worry about .

Theodore walked past the empty shelf to another corner filled with objects . This was just the beginning of Gluttony’s meal time .

 

***

It was around four hours after Canis left the store when he returned . Like he’d said, he returned just as the sun was about to set .

As Canis entered with an exhausted expression, he was shocked to see that the interior of the store was different from how it had been just a few hours ago . To put it in a nicely, the store was tidy, but the bad thing was that it was bare .

Canis looked around the empty store several times before clicking his tongue . “Huh… I told you to take what you wanted, but I didn’t think you would sweep them all away . How terrible . ”

“I wasn’t allowed to?”

“No, you just followed my words . In any case, I can’t carry any of this with me when I leave Bergen . They aren’t my things, so consider this as a big advance payment . ”

Canis pretended to grumble, but Theo wasn’t deceived by his appearance . Theo had seen how clever Canis was through his exchange with Vince .

There were probably goods which Canis had concealed for the purpose of converting into cash . It was likely that he had already abandoned all the things left behind in the store . So, Theo didn’t feel any remorse about sweeping it all up .

As the two people stayed still, Canis shrugged and sat down on the chair . Then he took something out and laid it down on the table . It was a cloth much like a handkerchief, but there were strange pictures on the surface .

There were curved lines and straight lines, kind of like…

“A map?” Theo asked Canis, who smiled and nodded .

“I can’t read it, but you should be different . Now that you’ve looked at the picture, what do you think? Can you understand it?”

“Yes, this much is enough . ”

There was a slight feeling of roughness, but there was no problem in reading it . As Vince and Theo checked the condition of the map, Canis dipped a pen into a jar of red ink . Then he started to write something in the square marking on the map .

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t personally confirm the slaves . They are working with my organization, but the guys from Austen are thorough . The boss and some executives offered a few slaves, but they didn’t bite . ”

“You couldn’t dig deeper?”

“…I stroked their ego, so yes . The patrols are at a level that can be dismissed, but the guards are the real deal . I don’t see any gaps in their abilities and the security they set up . ”

Theodore’s and Vince’s expressions turned grim at Canis’ words .

Canis had been spotted quickly by the two people, but Vince and Theo were special cases . If they hadn’t been vigilant, they might not have noticed Canis following them as it was also hard to spot him .

However, the security was at a level where Canis had been noticed? There was something strange .

“Now, it was roughly like this . ” Canis pointed to the map and explained, “There are two barracks installed on the outskirts of the camp, with guards around the prison barracks containing a total of four slaves . Their positions don’t change, and they don’t leave . As I said before, the four guards standing at the entrance to the barracks are at a higher level than the patrols . In particular, there are 10 people surrounding the large barracks . ”

“Do you know the interval and number of patrols?”

“I drew it on the map . The interval is one to one and a half hours, and they patrol in pairs, with an average of five patrols running at one time . ”

Vince looked at Canis with new eyes . He had thought Canis was just a rat, but with this level of information collecting ability, it was enough to work as an intelligence agent within the military . Maybe he was a human who had left such a world .

If all the information was correct, it was worth the price he’d paid in advance .

Vince asked his disciple who was closely gazing at the map, “Theo, what do you think?”

“…We should strike from two directions . If we don’t surround them, then they may escape with the slaves . So Master, I should save the four slaves on the outskirts first . ”

“That is true . Should we strike tonight?”

“Yes, I think so as well . ”

The information collected by Canis might change after today . The possibility of a fluctuation tomorrow was high, so it was better to chase the chickens tonight .  Since they’d received a breakthrough, they should strike at full speed . They had enough power, so breaking through the front was the most efficient method .

At that time, Canis, who had been listening to them talk, interrupted, “Wait a minute, my story still isn’t over yet . ”

“There is still more?” Vince looked at him with a strange expression .

The patrol route, guards, slave positions, and number of enemies… that was all they had asked Canis to find out . Vince hadn’t expected that a thief from the dark side of the world would do more than that .

However, Canis soaked his thumb in red ink and stamped a point on the cloth .

 

***

Hwiyuooong…

Night in the Nadun Mountain Ranges was as cold as ever, while strong winds blew in the densely populated city of Bergen . At first glance, it sounded like the wind was whistling above Theo’s head . He was hiding among bushes, so grass and twigs tickled his skin .

Rustle! He looked down at the cloth in his hand and recalled the decision he’d made after discussing it with Vince .

Theo would free the four slaves from the two barracks on the outskirts and leave with them . It was possible to enter quickly and discreetly . Meanwhile, Canis had been sent away with Veronica’s certificate to gather the lord’s army .

A strange feeling emerged in Theo’s settled heart . ‘Is this my first time killing a person?’

The boat might have already sailed as Theodore had cut down hundreds of monsters and undead before . However, he had never killed a living human . Therefore, this battle would involve his first murder .

Theodore didn’t have any exhilaration about such a thing . He looked down at his own hands and arms with a qualitative eye .

“…Murder . ”

His hands weren’t shaking at all . Rather, his fingers were wriggling toward the target . Alfred’s experiences and memories naturally sharpened his nerves .  Theo could shoot and kill at any time . It was no different from being a living weapon .

‘A person who killed one thousand people was considered a hero . ’ As the saying went, every hero was forced to become insensitive to murder or be accustomed to carrying the weight of the blood . Alfred was no exception, and Theo, who had received his experience instead of just knowledge, was no different .

Additionally, his opponents were trash who considered living beings as commodities, so they deserved to die . The fact that there was no hesitation in Theo’s fingers might be natural .

At that moment, a red light shone from far away . ‘The signal . ’

It was a magic light which only someone who was using View Mana Force could see, and it was the signal agreed on by Vince and Theodore .  Simultaneously, two men on patrol appeared near the bush where Theo was hiding .

“¥CGGÅC?”

“ÅÅ¥℃£!”

Their skin was dark, and they spoke a language which Theo couldn’t understand . At their waists, they carried strangely curved swords . These were swords which Vince had explained were shamshirs, which were used by warriors of Austen . The two men were the trash from [Shackler] .

Their balanced gait and firm arm muscles revealed underneath folded sleeves showed that they were warriors .  Then the moment they passed by Theo’s bush…

Piing-

Light emerged from his index finger pointing out from the bush .  Magic Bullet passed through the back of the warrior walking on the right and out of him without making a noise . A hole was formed in the flesh within seconds .

“¥…Ȼ£˚C . ”

The other warrior walked walked two steps ahead before realizing his colleague wasn’t following, but Theodore’s hand then moved in a flash and struck his neck .

Bakak .  The blow was as hard as granite due to Battle Song . The warrior’s trachea and neck bones were broken, and his body collapsed just like his colleague had done .

The two patrolling warriors were wiped out in an instant . Theo buried the two bodies roughly and looked at his hands .  They weren’t shaking at all .

‘…Go . ’

Theo ignored the fact that he didn’t feel anything and headed for the barracks without any hesitation .