Chapter 884

“Collaboration...?”

Yuder gazed at the long and vast pit that started at the front gate of the branch and stretched beyond his sight. It was nearly the size of a moat dug in front of a fortress wall, only without water.

"Amazing, isn't it? The two of them realized that the monsters could only see straight ahead. They used this to block paths around Charloin, herding them towards this branch. Then, they fell into the trap set in this pre-dug pit."

"...What kind of trap?"

"I didn't know, but Mage Hellem was a great master of water-based magic. She swept up the hail that day, turned it into water, and added poison."

"Where did the poison come from?"

"That... Remember the creature we brought here? The poison was extracted from it, using a magic device brought by Alik..."

Hellem, a renowned monster researcher, quickly identified the weaknesses of the monsters. The monsters that appeared that day had very narrow vision, breathed through their skin, and once they started running at speed, it was difficult for them to stop.

Based on the weaknesses Hellem discovered, they devised a plan to lure the monsters into a trap. Alik utilized several prototypes of magic devices he had created, which proved incredibly useful for the task.

Most creatures that breathe through their skin are vulnerable to their skin crumpling or drying out. Since it was difficult to dry out their skin on a day with hail, they instead filled the pit with water mixed with poison extracted from the long-tailed monster, Penpen, which they had brought here. The front of the branch became a perfect trap.

Even for mages, who had a narrower range of abilities than Awakeners, digging pits, blocking paths, and mixing poison was relatively easy. However, deciding to carry out such actions in the middle of a city required extraordinary boldness.

The tremendous trap created by the two mages proved incredibly effective the moment the monsters fell into it.

The monsters poured out from all sides along the blocked path and leaped into the pit. Even those who sensed something was amiss and tried to stop were inevitably pushed into the pit by their kin charging from behind.

The terrifying chorus of screams from the monsters burning in the poisoned water. The strange smell.

While Alik, with a handkerchief over his nose and mouth, trembled in fear and teared up from the toxic fumes as he fished out the dead monsters with a magic device, Hellem, without blinking an eye, pulled out the corpses of the dead monsters with her gloved hands.

"The noise and smell were so horrendous that the nearby members came here. They were all speechless at the sight, thinking they had entered hell."

"..."

Just hearing Gakane's explanation vividly painted the horrific scene that must have unfolded at that pit.

"It was quite dreadful, but thanks to that trap, the burden on the candidates and members who went to guard around the branch was significantly reduced. Later, they all worked together to push the monsters into that trap."

The reason the pit had not yet been completely filled, even after two weeks, was simple. The place, filled with monster blood and poisoned water, needed to be purified.

"We started filling it slowly from the purified areas, and now only this much remains. The priests aiding in the purification said it might take about another month to fill it completely."

"Yes..."

Yuder recalled Hellem and Alik, whom he had encountered earlier in the infirmary. They were collaborators with the Cavalry but not members, and yet, it was surprising they had gone to such lengths despite having no obligation to defend this place.

Perhaps Alik, who seemed eager to speak to Yuder earlier, was proud of what he had accomplished.

Yuder, remembering the once timid Alik, murmured softly, "Impressive."

"Right? Everyone's talking about how amazing it is. It made me see the mages in a new light. Honestly, I had a bit of a... well, a small prejudice before."

Gakane smiled sheepishly.

"Even though I knew about Mage Hellem, I wondered why the Commander called Alik all the way from the capital... But after seeing the courage Alik showed on the Hail Night and his new magic devices, I wasn't the only one who changed his mind."

"New magic devices?"

Yuder, intrigued, thought these were magic devices only usable by mages, but it seemed there was more he wasn't aware of. Gakane grinned and explained.

"He created a lot of new magic devices, ones even Awakeners could use!"

"...What?"

"That's why people who were weakened or injured could still lure the monsters into the trap."

It was a known fact among a few in the Cavalry that Alik was both a mage and an Awakener. However, on the Hail Night, Alik candidly revealed his water-manipulating abilities to the Awakeners he encountered and shared the new magic devices he had created.

These were devices that operated not on magic but on the power of Awakeners. Their only function was to emit a slight invisible force to push enemies away, but it was effective enough to drive them into the trap.

Everyone who had come to the scene after hearing the tremendous noise from the pit, including Cyregina and other successful candidates from the Star of Nagran, benefited greatly from the new magic devices Alik had given them.

"Since the Hail Night, both have been receiving treatment for magic power depletion. They probably came to see the priest earlier for that reason..."

Gakane continued to speak, but Yuder was no longer listening. His mind was overwhelmed with astonishment at the new magic device that could produce entirely different effects based on an Awakener's power.

'Is it really possible... to create something like that?'

Yuder wasn't too surprised when Alik managed to control an Awakener's power, as such devices had existed in his previous life, and he had merely entrusted Alik to make them this time.

But he had no idea Alik had gone further than that.

Without having seen the device, it was hard to comment, but at least he was certain such a thing hadn't existed in his previous life. The thought that this device could be a turning point, potentially aligning Awakeners' powers more closely with those of mages, made his heart race.

He had never anticipated such a development. Whether it would lead to good or bad outcomes was still unknown, as it was an unprecedented event.

But for now, the important thing was that it had undeniably been a boon to their allies.

'I must delve deeper into this. Maybe I've been underestimating the mage Alik Pelgin all this time.'

Alik was a being whose name had not been prominent in his previous life. This was Yuder's first encounter with him in this life as well. Until now, Yuder's image of him was merely that of a pitiable disciple of Thais Yulman, and incidentally, the first mage to become an Awakener.

But now, Yuder began to think that Alik's true talent might have been hidden elsewhere.

'Having both magic power and the strength of an Awakener, he is someone who can understand both, thus comprehending the power of an Awakener in the way of a mage... If handled well, Alik could become someone who brings us completely new things never seen before.'

In his previous life, there were those who were both mages and Awakeners. However, they mostly chose to live as mages, not openly revealing their Awakener powers due to the deep rift between mages and Awakeners. No one dared to straddle both sides.

But this time was different. Now that Yuder knew about Alik's exceptional understanding of power and his talent for creating something based on it, he decided that he could not just let this opportunity pass by.

He was certain that Alik could be of help to future Awakeners.

It was a very strong conviction.

'It's been a while since I've felt this way... this feeling...'

"Good to see Yuder is also interested in it. Oh, there's Cyregina over there, shall we go and greet her?"

Seeing Yuder's brightened expression, Gakane also smiled broadly and raised his voice. Yuder, startled but not avoiding him, exchanged greetings with Cyregina, and went down to the entrance of the underground dungeon to receive a bouquet of get-well flowers made by Reneve herself.

The Southern Branch of the Cavalry was a mess compared to before, but at the same time, it was more lively than ever. Having endured the Hail Night, everything felt much more solid.

The people here were not merely relying on the Commander or Yuder. They took pride in overcoming adversity to get here and knew better than anyone what they needed to do.

"Yuder, it's alright here, you can rest more if you're tired!"

"Stay strong, Assistant to the Commander! Glad you're getting better!"

As proof, different words than before constantly followed Yuder.

Chewing over these unfamiliar words, Yuder parted ways with Gakane and returned to Kishiar's bedroom.