Chapter 17: The Thorned Charge (2/2)

The spikes on their backs were the interesting part.

Most of the magic in the boar’s body was concentrated in these spikes.

These very spikes had exploded, destroying my traps.

I extracted a spike and began to analyze the flow of magic within it.

I widened my eyes in shock.

The structure was completely unexpected.

The spike still appeared to be alive, circulating blood within it.

This was not a part of the boar’s body.

It was a parasite, a type of creature that had been living off the boar as a host.

It fed off the boar’s magic, sucking power from its corpse.

This was a type of biological bomb.

The parasite’s body was composed of magic, but at its core, it wasn’t magical in nature.

It created explosions through physical force.

Mana was like a tranquilizer that stabilized his body.

This was particularly interesting.

The idea of using mana to suppress a collapsing body.

And, if the body were to collapse, the mana that had been protecting it would explode with even greater force.

It was the exact opposite of the process I had known for explosion magic.

I had always assumed that explosion magic simply caused a breakdown of mana to create a blast.

But it seemed there was this fascinating method too.

I took out my little bug.

It was my personal tool with explosion magic embedded within it.

But during this experiment, I hadn’t had much use for it.

No matter how many bugs I gathered, it was hard to break through the magic that others used.

In situations like this, I hadn’t needed to bring it out.

‘But what if I applied the properties of these thorns to the bug?’

No, what if I made the thorn itself into a puppet? My hands itched for the first time in a long while.

There was a huge potential hidden within this seemingly useless, shabby creature.

From that moment, the pile of corpses didn’t just seem like trash anymore.

They were treasures that would enhance my magic and, further, make my adorable bugs even stronger.

I reached out to feel the flow of mana within the thorn.

The balance was delicate, so much so that it seemed like it would break apart any moment.

If the balance did break, it would surely trigger an explosion.

‘I wondered, should I trigger the explosion myself and see what happens?’ With that thought, I siphoned the mana from the thorn.

As the mana left, the thorn started to collapse quickly.

When a crack appeared, the exposed part, in contact with the air, burst apart in an instant.

The explosion was chain-like and happened in a moment.

I quickly cast my defensive magic.

The pieces of the exploded thorn flew in all directions, but they were blocked by my defense magic and slid harmlessly to the ground.

Seeing them, my heart felt warm.

I took out a scroll and quickly recorded the explosion.

There were many more corpses, and plenty of thorns.

I would continue to explore this further.

***

A long-forgotten memory came back to me.

When I first left the island, I used to develop my magic by battling monsters.

After many such trials, I was finally able to pass the rigorous professor’s test on explosion magic.

Explosion magic was my hobby.

Although it didn’t quite suit me, there was something irresistibly attractive about it, something that was embedded in the magic itself.

It had been the most helpful magic to me, and without the combination of explosion magic and the little bug, I wouldn’t have survived until now.

If I could fully grasp the structure of these thorns, my explosion magic would grow even more powerful.

I might even find a more effective way to deal with thorn boars.

So, there was no reason not to keep researching.

And so, I began to dissect the corpses one by one.

The tortoise continued to crush the monsters, and the pile of bodies grew higher, forming a mountain.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but my hands were stained with blood.

Then, I felt a deep mana presence behind me.

I quickly adjusted my posture and turned around.

***

“Oh, a thorn boar.”

Hong Ryeong was inspecting the pile of bodies.

When I checked the time, I realized it had been over ten hours already.

The boars had kept charging in during that time.

I couldn’t tell how many more would come.

I suspected they might keep coming until the end of this assignment, which would last for two more weeks.

“I didn’t realize you had arrived and showed you such a pitiful sight. Hahaha.”

I bowed my head in apology to Hong Ryeong.

He shook his head.

“No, I like thorn boars too. As you can see, the structure of their thorns is quite interesting. There was even a time when people thought they were some sort of synthetic creature someone had created.”

As Hong Ryeong spoke, he picked up a thorn.

It began to melt in his hands, but there was no explosion.

The structure of the thorn became visible as it was surrounded by mana.

Hong Ryeong carefully placed it onto the scroll I had spread out.

He handed the scroll to me.

I was touched and took the scroll with trembling hands.

Though I had studied the structure for a while, seeing a live specimen like this in front of me was a different experience.

As I examined the scroll, I noticed simple annotations that seemed to have been written by Hong Ryeong.

The contents were fascinating.

“Given the situation, I can’t offer you proper hospitality, and yet you give me such a rare gift. I’m truly sorry.”

“You’re the one who’s taking care of things for me. I should be the one offering hospitality. I hope this can be of some help to you, Evron.”

Hong Ryeong said as he plucked another thorn from the body and examined it.

“I came to check on the situation since this is the first ambush, but I didn’t expect you to handle it so easily.”

Hong Ryeong glanced at the maze, his eyes filled with curiosity about its interior.

I unfolded the modified maze structure in front of him.

The flow that started in a broad area gradually overlapped, converging at one final point.

At that final point, the tortoise was rotating intensely.

The rotation had reached a stable orbit, and with just a small amount of mana, it could be maintained indefinitely.

Unless someone could stop it with a force and mass greater than that of the tortoise, it would continue to crush monsters endlessly.

Hong Ryeong watched the tortoise closely.

“Is this the puppet we arrived with?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I enlarged the area with the tortoise.

It continued rotating, using its hard shell as a weapon.

The shell absorbed blood and continuously regenerated with the mana stored inside.

“Hmm, with this, I don’t think we need to worry until the end.”

Hong Ryeong smiled as he spoke.

“Now, let’s talk about the assignment.”

At his suggestion, I tensed up slightly.

I wasn’t sure what he was about to say, so I cautiously responded.

“The assignment?”

“At this point, I think you’ll be fine, and you’ll easily last the two weeks.”

Hong Ryeong started counting on his fingers.

“Now, there’s just one assignment left, right?”

I paused for a moment.

“Are you talking about the fifth assignment? I will do as promised.”

Hong Ryeong smiled and shook his head.

“Now that I think about it, I believe there’s something else to add. Apart from the first contributor, we need to select one more person, don’t we?”

He must have been talking about the fifth contributor.

It was an unexpected comment.

I hadn’t imagined he was aiming for someone in particular.

“As for me,” Hong Ryeong said with a light gesture of his chin, “I want to pick that person.”

I looked in the direction he indicated, and I was shocked.

I hadn’t expected this choice at all, but there was no need to know the reason.

I simply nodded silently.

Hong Ryeong seemed satisfied, and his smile deepened.

“Well then, I’ll be off now. I shouldn’t disturb your research any further.”

Hong Ryeong summoned a gust of wind and floated into the air.

I bowed my head politely as he left.

After he was gone, I thought deeply.

The chances of making the first and fifth contributors with just the two of us, Hong Ryeong and I, were high.

But if we had one more vote, everything could be decided.

I needed to think about how to get that vote.

There was no need for me to speculate on why Hong Ryeong made that choice or to question it.

As long as I wasn’t involved, it didn’t matter.

I refocused and continued my research on the structure of the thorn boar.

I had to fully enjoy the specimen that Hong Ryeong had given me.

Right now, what mattered most was improving both the maze and myself.

The corpses continued to pile up, and monsters kept charging forward.