The Obsessive Regressor of The Academy

43. The Nameless Village

The loss of memory.

A regression achieved at the cost of ‘Si-hyuk’, the one who lived a previous life, rather than the existence known as ‘Asel’ – his memories and soul offered as payment. Or perhaps it was some equivalent act of transcendence.

Who could have wrought such a miracle? One thing was certain: it wasn’t a simple feat that a swordsman unable to wield magic could accomplish. Not even with the use of hundreds, thousands of magical artifacts. To reverse time itself was beyond the power of anyone less than a transcendent being, possessed of true authority.

‘Then who, in heaven’s name?’

Asel gazed at the rapidly changing scenery outside the carriage window, lost in quiet thought.

There were no mages alive today who could manipulate temporal incantations. The very concept of time itself was a power forbidden to humanity. Even the most advanced magic only manifested as acceleration or deceleration.

The power to truly interfere with the world existed only in theoretical extreme magic, and even then, some of the records had been lost.

Even if the incantations were perfectly preserved, there was no way mortals could wield such magic. This wasn’t a matter of talent or ability.

It was a matter of ‘permission’. Fleeting manipulations of time, perhaps, but magic capable of influencing the very fabric of the world was not granted to mortals.

Then what of those transcendent beings who surpassed the limitations of their kind – beings like demons or gods? Were they capable of manipulating time at will?

“…”

Asel entertained that possibility for a moment before shaking his head.

If that were the case, the timeline would already be in utter chaos. Gods and demons would surely have tried to bend time to their own advantage. Even they must pay some price for wielding the concept of time.

And someone had taken the memory, the soul, of a single person as that price.

…Could it truly be so?

“…Asel.”

This was a miracle that reversed the entire world. To pay for it with the soul of one single person was absurd. The scales did not balance.

There was surely something more. Additional costs paid, or perhaps it was not a miracle involving time at all.

Either way, the answer eluded him. Asel sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

“Asel!”

Just then, someone called his name from across the way. Asel cracked open his eyes and glanced at the source of the voice.

Warren, with a spirit perched on his lap, was frowning at Asel.

“Are you even listening? You seem to be lost in thought.”

“…Just thinking about something. Sorry.”

“Something serious?”

“Personal matters. I’ll focus now.”

“Understood. Then I’ll continue the explanation.”

Warren said, and pulled a piece of paper from the small table installed in the center, and spread it.

Inside the carriage, headed for the village where the incident occurred for the first assignment. A high-quality wagon that the Saya’s merchant group uses.

With a gravity befitting its importance, the paper spread on the table remained still. Not a tremor, even as the carriage rattled along the rough stone path. The interior, including the seats themselves, possessed a strange tranquility in the midst of the journey.

But Asel’s vision wavered slightly, betraying his fatigue. Small wonder, considering their pre-dawn departure compounded by a night spent in conversation with Grace.

Though he’d ingested stimulants and suppressed the weariness with magic, the accumulated fatigue of several days threatened to overwhelm him. He rubbed at his drooping eyelids, and glared at the paper depicting a dark form.

“Did you draw this?”

Quill asked. Warren nodded, his face impassive.

“The visage of a doppelganger, untethered to the mimicry of any other creature.”

Asel hummed in acknowledgment, listening.

The drawing on the paper was dominated by black. Only the eyes glowed crimson. There was no nose, no ears.

Instead, a mouth was set in its belly. Red paint, thick and smeared, suggested blood around the opening, and a long, pointed tongue curled at the tip, like a hook.

“Ugh, how repulsive.”

Whether it was drawn that way deliberately or not, it certainly wasn’t a pleasing picture. He could understand Quill’s distaste.

Warren, unfazed by Quill’s reaction, continued. “I imagine you’ve all looked into the nature of doppelgangers, but for the sake of clarity, now that we’re assembled: doppelgangers possess all senses save sight and taste. Tactile sense too is absent. But they do feel pain.”

“……”

“Though the degree of pain is muted, they don’t exhibit drastic reactions. Their teeth are sharp, and the hooked tongue is used to ensnare and pull prey down. Their staple diet is living creatures, be they animal or human.”

For Asel, who hadn’t been able to delve into the specifics of doppelgangers due to personal matters, Warren’s explanation was considerably enlightening.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, paying close attention to Warren’s voice.

“But all this concerns the base form. When transformed, they perfectly replicate the traits of the creature they imitate. Interestingly, if a doppelganger survives for over a century and assumes the form of a mage, it can even use magic.”

“…What?”

“There are documented cases. A hydromancer who fed on people. After her subjugation, records in Raymond’s Magic Tower revealed her to be a doppelganger.”

“…That’s hardly welcome news.”

Saya spoke, her brow furrowing slightly. Her gaze flicked towards Asel.

Asel understood her concern, and a wry smile touched his lips.

Even if a doppelganger could imitate an elementalist, it wouldn’t be able to replicate the art itself without a contracted spirit. A doppelganger taking Warren’s form wouldn’t pose much of a threat.

But Asel was different. If a doppelganger assumed Asel’s form and wielded magic, the situation would become more serious. Not insurmountable for the four of them, but undoubtedly troublesome. Saya was concerned about that very possibility.

Still, there was little cause for major alarm. Asel’s primary magic, his lightning formulae, were unlikely to be accessible to even the most skilled doppelganger.

Besides, Asel knew the weaknesses of his own magic inside and out. He would never be outmaneuvered by someone using the same spells.

“More to the point, where are we now?”

Asel asked, drawing the attention of the others. Saya glanced out the window and replied.

“Still two days’ ride away. It’s quite a remote region.”

“Beyond the Empire’s borders, then?”

“Not quite. More like the outskirts. A village without a name, it seemed.”

A village without a name. For no good reason, Asel recalled his own hometown and closed his eyes.

If the arrival was still far off, there was no need to force himself to stay awake, fighting the fatigue. Asel told the others he would catch some sleep, then cast a sleep spell upon himself.

Before long, his breathing became even.

*

Four days by carriage.

The party reached the foot of the mountain, as indicated on the request form. They dismounted, gathered their belongings, and Asel used telekinesis to lift the food and water into the air.

The coachman, after lodging the carriage in the closest town, would return when the time came. He gave the party a brief farewell before driving the carriage slowly away. Saya watched him go, then turned her head.

Despite it being midday, the mountain felt somehow dark as she gazed at it, her tail swaying from side to side.

The village was nestled somewhere within those slopes. The request form did contain some sort of symbol meant to represent the village, but it was indecipherable, leaving them with no choice but to find its location themselves.

Fortunately, with two mages among the party, the search wouldn’t prove too difficult.

Asel would cast a detection spell to pinpoint the village’s exact location, while Warren would use spirit arts to clear a path.

Warren took the lead. With spirits leading the way, he formed or carved away the earth, creating the most direct route towards the village. Asel walked directly behind him, observing the spirit arts Warren employed.

‘More potent than I expected.’

Spirit arts were renowned for requiring a minimal amount of magical power. Yet their force, unlike the mana expenditure, was remarkably strong. Considering that the spirit Warren commanded was a low-level entity, the results were rather impressive.

Imitating it… seemed possible. However, since it would be spirit arts used without a spirit, the caster would have to bear both the spirit’s and the sorcerer’s share of the mana, doubling the power required.

At that point, there was no point in using spirit arts at all. He would be better off using earth-based elemental magic.

It wasn’t that Asel had no interest in spiritism, but he had no immediate plans to contract with a spirit. He wouldn’t turn down an opportunity, but he had no intention of actively searching for one. He would be better off researching other types of magic during the allotted time.

“Hold.”

Lost in thought, Warren suddenly halted the party. Quill, walking at the back, craned his neck and asked.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Bandits gathered ahead.”

“Bandits? Are you certain?”

“A blood-tinged aura emanates from the ground they stand upon. And my spirit practically despises them. Considering spirits generally favour good people and abhor evil ones, it’s rather obvious. I am certain.”

“Then let’s just bulldoze them, eh?”

Quill said, slinging his spear over his shoulder. Warren turned to face him, scowling.

“I know that much. But we should follow the party leader’s decision, so I stopped.”

“Oh my, how thoughtful of you. You were thinking of me?”

Saya didn’t particularly intend to assert her authority as leader, but she had no reason to pass up such an opportunity. She briefly left the group to stare quietly at the small band of bandits gathered together.

They weren’t few in number. But that didn’t mean they would lose if they fought. Even Saya alone could likely deal with this low-level bandit group in its entirety.

A swift strike would wipe them out in an instant. They hadn’t even noticed this side yet. A surprise attack wouldn’t take long.

‘It’s ridiculous to detour because of them, should we just blast through?’

As Saya pondered, Asel, who had been focusing magic into her eyes to observe the bandits, frowned slightly and spoke.

“They’re holding people captive inside.”

“Pardon? …Hmm, I don’t see anything?”

“Held deep inside the cave. Three women, two men. No visible injuries, but they’re weakened, probably haven’t eaten in days. Judging by the arms and legs in the cooking pot, maybe they’re cannibals.”

“Is that so?”

Saya couldn’t perceive the captivity. But since it was Asel speaking, there was little chance she was lying. After a moment of thought, she looked up at Asel and declared.

“We should save them, right?”

“If we hadn’t noticed, maybe we could have ignored it, but we can’t just pretend we didn’t see. Either way, to push through quickly, we’ll have to go straight through the front.”

“Alright. Decision made. Then Quill will take the vanguard—”

“No, I’ll handle it alone.”

Asel grinned. The group’s gazes turned to Asel simultaneously.

Asel knew very well what they were thinking.

There was no need for a mage to handle this alone. It wouldn’t hurt, but Asel was already using magic to transport all the food and water for the group. For a typical mage, in order to cast and manifest a new spell here, they would have to release the maintained spell and weave a new one.

In that case, it would be faster to have Quill lead the way, and for everyone to charge in together. There was no reason to accept Asel’s opinion.

That’s what Saya and Quill thought.

But Warren didn’t.

He watched Asel, who was drawing up magical power, with an intrigued gaze, and took a step back.

As a fellow mage, Warren understood Asel’s feelings.

“Is your body itching for it? I seem to recall reading a paper that combat mages sometimes experience withdrawal symptoms if they can’t use magic.”

“Withdrawal symptoms… seems about right.”

Asel chuckled and drew the spell structure in her mind.

It was true that she had been feeling frustrated for days without using proper magic. But the reason she was stepping up so unlike herself was different.

The fire magic she had been researching alongside ice magic. Through dissecting its nature and characteristics, she had an inspiration and wanted to test out a new magic she created.

Since the opportunity arose, there was no need to hesitate. Asel ignored Saya and Quill, who were opening their mouths to stop her, and manifested a new magic while maintaining the telekinetic magic.

Flames began to flicker in her grasp.

[Akagumo Ka’u (Crimson Cloud Fire Rain)]

*Whoosh!*

Asel gestured, and the flames birthed at his command coalesced into a cloud-like mass.

The enormous cloud, thus formed, surged toward the bandits, and even as they reeled, caught off guard by the sudden magic, a rain of fire began to fall from it.

*Sizzle! Crackle!*

The descending rain melted and incinerated the bandits’ skin, muscle, and even bone. The rapidly spreading inferno meticulously burned only where the bandits stood.

“Keeeeeaaagh!!”

“S-save me, damn it!!!”

“aaagh!! My leg, my leeeeg!!!”

The screams filled the mountain air.

If the opposition was the kind of bandit to kidnap and devour people, there was no need for moderation. Asel intensified the falling rain of fire, channeling his magic with explosive force.

Even Quill, who had witnessed a considerable amount of death during his time as a mercenary, winced at the gruesome sight. He stared at Asel as if looking at a monster, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

Before long, the screaming ceased abruptly.

Asel brushed away the lingering residue of magic from his hand and turned to his companions, saying,

“Let’s go.”