The Book Eating Magician Chapter 340:

Chapter 340 - Unknown Land (1)

This was the southernmost part of the Central Continent, the border of the Soldun Kingdom .

Flash!

There was a flash of light, and the shadows of a few people appeared on the ground . It was Mass Teleport . The traces of spatial magic soon disappeared .  

From the capital of Meltor to the southern border of the Soldun Kingdom, Theodore and his group didn’t make a single stop as they jumped nearly half the continent . They couldn’t freely go back and forth like a space door, but one-time space movement was enough if Theodore used the auxiliary facilities of the magic towers .

It wasn’t impossible for him to move to the East Continent beyond the sea if he was willing .

‘I’ll have to work a bit harder when I get back, but . . . isn’t this much faster?’

Magic was truly convenient . A distance that would take a few months by foot or a month by carriage had been crossed in just a few minutes . In the Age of Mythology, space gates that connected the whole continent had existed . However, magicians who could use space movement like floating clouds in this era were rare .

Theodore stopped thinking about that matter and looked around . “ . . . What are the conditions of those two?” 

Magicians still hadn’t resolved the difficulties of space magic . The further the distance traveled with space movement, the stronger the symptoms of nausea and dizziness would be .

“Uup, uuuup!”

“How terrible . You gave us a warning, but… Ugh . ”

Randolph was still half nauseous as he shook his head, while Titania took deep breaths with a pale face . In particular, she had a high mana resistance as a high elf, so she couldn’t calm down .  Theodore saw her failing to get up and spoke like he understood everything, “Don’t overdo it and just sit . Space nausea isn’t something that can be recovered with magic or potions . ”

It was as he said . As such, Orta had even tried to apply it as part of his attack magic .  Unlike normal nausea which was caused by equilibrium confusion, spatial nausea was caused by the body’s sense of dimension . It was confusion caused by entering another dimension momentarily, inducing an ‘inexplicable sensation . ’

Although Theodore, the caster, had tried to ease the difficulty of the effects, this space nausea could distort even a master’s senses . Still, the recovery of the masters was quick .  After vomiting out a few gastric juices, Theodore, Randolph, and Titania recovered their balance . Theodore looked at the gaits of the two people and nodded, knowing that they had returned to their original conditions .

“Let’s check the equipment a final time and move south . There won’t be much time to rest after entering the swamp . ”

Randolph and Titania once again confirmed the goods they had received at the magic tower . There were several magic scrolls to deal with special situations, as well as detox potions for the poisonous swamp zones .

Randolph couldn’t help letting out a long whistle as he saw the artifacts worth thousands of gold . “Can’t I buy a mansion or city if I sell all the artifacts on my body?”

Theodore laughed at the joking words . “What if you combine two people? You can buy at least three territories on the outskirts . ”

“Yes, really . ”

It was meant as a joke, but it was half true . Randolph felt burdened by the value of all the artifacts he carried on his body . He might’ve become a noble, but at the core, he was still a mercenary who knew the weight of gold . Randolph automatically stiffened and changed the subject, “Cough . By the way, I didn’t think it would just be the three of us . I thought you would bring that older sister or the little girl . ”

“ . . . Then the power of Meltor would be reduced by more than half . ”

The yellow tower master, Paragranum, didn’t reveal her strength or identity . Therefore, Meltor’s defenses depended entirely on the other tower masters . It would be foolish to attack Meltor, that had a non-aggression treaty with the Andras Kingdom and was an ally of Elvenheim, but preparing for the worst was a magician’s instincts .

However, this wasn’t Randolph’s point .

“Hrmm, I thought that sister was going to follow you anyway . ”

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing . It would be awkward for anyone to interfere . You will realize it when the time comes . ”

“ . . . ?” Theodore stared at Randolph .

However, Randolph turned his head like he wouldn’t speak anymore .  All this while, Titania was listening to their conversation with a strange expression .  Then Theodore realized that time was being wasted .  “Let’s go to the swamp . There are no monsters around here, so it should take less than an hour . ”

“Okay, let’s go . ”

“I hope the stench of the swamp isn’t too bad . ”

All three people kicked off from the ground almost simultaneously . The three shadows moved toward the unknown swamp that no one had stepped in for a thousand years .

 

*     *     *

 

The party soon arrived . As Theodore had expected, they were able to arrive at the entrance to the swamp in 30 minutes . This was their first encounter with the notorious swamp .

‘Indeed, this place is worrisome . ’

In general, green was the color of life . However, no vitality could be felt from the green swamp .  If Theodore had to describe it, he would call it rotten . With rot and decay, this place had become a poisonous land . Normal creatures could never survive in this swamp . Poison was being emitted from each piece of grass and falling leaf . The only living creatures inside would be monsters .

“ . . . A-A terrible place like this actually exists!” Titania shuddered at the sight, despite being a high elf who should be friendly to nature .

The blooming buds, leaves, and branches were filled with poison . This was a world where bees and butterflies couldn’t survive .  How could this swamp have existed for thousands of years? Theodore had doubts and called out, “Mitra, can you come out for a second?”

The girl sprang out from the ground as usual .  [Hoing! Today is Mitra!]

“Yes, yes, good job . ”

Mitra finished with a Y-shaped pose and looked up at him with an elated expression .  He didn’t know what it meant, but she was always like this . Theodore stroked Mitra’s head and pointed in the direction of the swamp . If they could open the way with her power, the swamp exploration would be much simpler than he thought .

“Mitra, can you control the plants in the swamp?”

[Eung? I’ll try,] Mitra said . Then she walked to the entrance of the swamp and called out, [Hooing? Hoing . Ohunghung . Hoit? Hoooooi?]

She spoke in unknown words and sign language before making a confused expression . It was an unusual expression on her innocent face .

[Theo! Them guys are kinda weird!]

“How?”

[It doesn’t make sense! I can’t understand what they are saying . It is like we are speaking different languages!]

Indeed, Theodore nodded . The southern swamp area was a place where this material world and other dimensional worlds overlapped, and there were several places where ominous energy remained . If mana overflowed from it, then that meant the vegetation was already not part of this material world .

It was understandable that Mitra’s power didn’t work . After all, she couldn’t intervene in the nature of another dimension .

“Thank you . Then I’ll see you later . ”

[Hoing!] Mitra returned to the ground .

Then Theodore spoke to the party, “It can’t be helped . Let’s go inside . ” 

It was impossible to investigate from outside, so the only way was to enter . If three masters couldn’t make it through this smelly and foggy space, it would be impossible for anyone else in this era . Titania’s response was a little late, but the party unanimously stepped into the swamp .

Squish… Squish… It was sticky .  

However, it was fine when Theodore hardened the surface with ice magic . Though, he would rather burn it with fire . If he were Veronica, he would’ve done it without hesitation .  Thinking of that, Theodore laughed and then looked around . The swamp was uncomfortable and sticky . It was a place that didn’t have anything pleasant at all .

‘Will monsters be present at the entrance of the swamp? Or . . . ’

The monsters living on the outskirts of the swamp might’ve been killed by Soldun . Theodore couldn’t be sure as he continued walking cautiously through the mysterious swamp .

One step, two steps, ten steps, one hundred steps . . .

After walking quite deeply into the swamp, Theodore suddenly stopped . So far, he hadn’t seen any monsters .

“Too strange,” Theodore said . The two people following him naturally stopped and listened as he continued to mutter, “There is no crying, no trace of monsters, no sense of resistance . Surely not all the monsters in this swamp have gone to Soldun…?”

“ . . . Theodore . ”

“Hmm?”

“I want to correct one thing . ”

Theodore looked back at Randolph and realized Randolph and Titania were soaked in sweat .

“Do you feel it? I’m enduring it somehow, but if I relax even a little bit, I will step back,” Randolph said .  

“What are you feeling?”

“It is a feeling that I shouldn’t approach . . . It is hard to describe in words . In any case, my feet won’t go forward . It’s similar for this girl . ”

Titania confirmed it with a tired face . “The elementals are about to leave me . It doesn’t have much effect on Geros, but the other elementals are afraid . ”

“ . . . I see . ” Theodore guessed the reason for their words . If this reluctance was due to Dragon Fear, then Theodore might be immune to that effect due to Aquilo’s blood inside him . Therefore, he didn’t feel the resistance .

‘I have to pay careful attention to their condition . ’

It wasn’t comparable to a direct attack, but the mental strength of the party would continue to suffer unless Dragon Fear was cut off . The consumption of mental power was a big variable on the battlefield . If Theodore made a reckless judgment when accompanied by Randolph and Titania, both of them could be significantly hurt or killed .

Above all, there was a bigger problem than their condition .

“From now on, pay attention . ”

“Hmm?”

“What does that mean?”

Randolph and Titania asked in uncomfortable tones .  Meanwhile, Theodore stared at the swamp hidden by a fog . “Maybe in the future, only monsters who can survive this rejection will remain . ”

The monsters who could resist Dragon Fear were real monsters in this swamp area .  There was no need for Theodore to explain any more as the shaking could be heard from far away .

Kung! Kung! The earth shook .  The three people noticed that the shaking was moving closer . If it was a monster that weighed this much, there wouldn’t be more than 10 types found in Theodore’s mental encyclopedia . Unsurprisingly, the monster appeared in a dignified manner .

“Cyclops! They shouldn’t be living in swamps!” The astonished Titania shouted .

Meanwhile, Theodore noticed something strange ahead of her . Unlike the usual cyclops, this one had bright skin and a blazing red eye . However, the red eye wasn’t due to strong emotions . Theodore sensed something and paused . “ . . . Magic eye?”

The moment he stopped moving . . .

Wiiiiiiing! The cyclops’ eye burned like lava as a ray of light shot out from it .