Chapter 16

"Phew, phew...!"

"I really thought I was going to die."

"Is it because of the terrain of the snowy field? It's harder to deal with than usual."

"I think I understand why they request reinforcements from magicians on-site when deploying troops to places like this."

The passengers, after the fight with the yetis was all over, each sank to the ground, panting heavily.

Especially the robe knights, who had to move the most, were visibly exhausted.

Most of them possessed AuraChains, and even ordinary people had physical capabilities far beyond the norm.

Fighting in the unforgiving snowfield, burdened with altitude sickness, was by no means easy.

They were outnumbered, and their understanding of the terrain was not lacking either.

Finishing it off at this level was fortunate enough.

That's why the knights lamented the absence of magicians.

If there had been proper support from them, they could have dealt with the yetis much more smoothly.

'It was strange how suddenly they stopped fighting well and retreated.'

Of course, even if Knight Chen had fought to the end, he never entertained the thought that he and his comrades would fall to mere yetis.

'Still, even though we're this exhausted, wouldn't it be a big problem if they suddenly launched a surprise attack?'

It was worrying because of what might come next.

And then...

'Hmm...?'

Chen belatedly realized that his lady, who he was accompanying, was searching around for something.

"Is there something wrong, my lady?"

"One of our party members is missing."

"Missing? You mean..."

"He was someone who was alone without the rest of the party."

Unintentionally, Chen let out a sigh.

It was understandable that someone not feeling well would have such concerns for others.

Suppressing the urge to say, 'Wouldn't he have been caught by the yetis instead of trying to escape alone?' Chen forced a strained smile and reassured her.

"He probably managed to escape safely."

"He better have."

Although the lady replied like that, she continued to look around anxiously as if her worry hadn't disappeared.

The more he thought about it, the greater Chen's worry became.

* * *

Crash, boom, bang!

'However we can, Kieyak! We must save the village, Kieyak!'

Ondu, the yeti, relentlessly dashed out of the exploding village, running and running.

Even though his body was already covered in numerous cuts and burns.

All he could think about was how to escape from this place and request reinforcements.

'That human, Kieyak! He's a monster, Kieyak!'

Ondu recalled the human who had visited the tribal village just an hour ago.

He appeared to be an ordinary young man.

At first, Ondu thought he might be prey since he returned with the warriors who had gone hunting.

-Who among you knows the most about this mountain in this village?

When the human asked such a question in an inexplicable manner, the tribal members became extremely cautious.

They realized he was the most challenging individual among humans, a magician!

Even though he had almost forgotten his old abilities, to the yetis who lived with pride as demons, magicians were always formidable adversaries to be wary of.

Naturally, there was no reason to answer that question.

Above all else,

If any of their kind possessed such knowledge, it would only be the elders in the village. It wasn't their place to reveal respected figures.

That's why they fought, and the village quickly turned into ruins.

The young human was far more formidable than they had anticipated.

'Friends, Kieyak! He told me to bring all our families and relatives, Kieyak! On-du, Kieyak! Bring other tribes to defeat the humans, Kieyak!'

With that, Ondu embraced his mission and ran once more.

Unaware of the shadow secretly following behind him.

* * *

[There should be someone searching for him next.]

『Kyu, kyu kyu?』

Mephisto desperately wanted to tell that darned creature to cut out the annoying act, but he couldn't help feeling resentful of his own inability to do so.

But whether he liked it or not.

Elric was stealthily trailing behind the yeti who was hastily running away from the village that had just been destroyed.

He knew all too well that if things continued like this, other yeti villages would start popping up one by one.

Already, it was the fourth yeti village destroyed in the same manner.

'But seriously, are these guys lacking intelligence? How can they not even consider the possibility of being pursued? They don't even attempt to erase their tracks or mislead their pursuers in any way?'

The more Elric faced yetis, the more he seemed to understand why Mephisto refused to acknowledge them.

'Why can't they break out of this plateau despite having such a large population? And who in the world led these stubborn creatures to their prime? Anyway, who is that guy?'

But thanks to this, Elric was able to gain a plethora of practical experience.

In the process, he discovered many things he hadn't realized before through various experiments.

One of them being the limitations of telepathic magic.

- Firstly, the range of telepathy is not as extensive as one might think.

'Sure, the range of mental perception is wide. But it can't reach everything immediately.'

When Elric currently uses telepathy, he constructs a mana field by imbuing mana into selected nodes, a method of allocating mana.

Since the mana field represents the range of magic, ultimately it meant there was a limit to its expansion.

When he engulfed the yeti village in flames, it was difficult to spread it as widely as he had thought.

The range was at most about 20 meters.

That was already a considerable range, but anything beyond that was impossible.

No matter how much mana he poured into it, the firepower only intensified, and the outcome remained the same.

'It's probably because of the limit to the range of the image. It's more of a problem that it's being created infinitely.'

Perhaps it was fortunate that he had discovered the exact range now.

He could explore possibilities for advancement accordingly.

- Secondly, telepathy is not perfect either.

'Telepathy certainly has excellent mana effects. Its destructive power, efficiency, everything is outstanding. But once again, if it exceeds its limits, the efficiency drops dramatically.'

It was for the same reason as the limit to the expansion of the mana field.

While there was a large amount of mana that could be drawn out, there was a limit to the efficiency that could be achieved with it.

In traditional academia, this was referred to as the 'Law of Diminishing Utility'.

'Of course, if mana were infinite, such efficiency would be completely disregarded, and all would be poured in to increase power. However…'

The next problem immediately presented itself.

-Thirdly, there is a limit to output.

'The physical body can't fully handle the output of mana.'

Even though his body underwent significant transformation with the acquisition of the catalyst.

The problem was, even with that level of transformation, his body couldn't handle the full force of the mana.

'It's a consolidation of the mana left behind by the Dragon King and Demon King, and if I could use it properly, that would be amazing. But for me right now, it's like casting pearls before swine... It's not worth much more than that.'

3%.

That was the maximum amount of mana Elric could draw from the magic amulet.

What if he exceeded this limit?

The mana core would overheat, and at around 4%, his physical body would begin to collapse.

'In the end, all the limitations of telepathic magic come down to raising the level of enlightenment and finding a way to fully digest the mana from the magic amulet.'

How could he increase the dissolution level of the magic amulet? As he pondered deeply on this question...

'Have we arrived?'

Elric had discovered a new village.

'I hope there's someone here who knows something this time.'

Ssshh...

A magic missile, filled with condensed vapor, formed in front of him.

* * *

"So, you think you know something, huh?"

『...For now, let's say we do. So please, leave us alone.』

"If you're just trying to avoid a crisis by deceiving us, it won't end well."

『...We're well aware of that.』

After a few more attempts.

Elric finally found a cooperative village.

The leader of the tribe, named the 'Blue Snowflake,' did his best to win Elric's favor.

"Seems like this guy is full of ambition, huh?"

『I suppose he sees this crisis as an opportunity. With many yetis weakened, he probably wants to unify them all.』

From Elric's perspective, it seemed like a stroke of luck.

After meeting only foolish individuals, he finally found someone he could have a meaningful conversation with.

Thanks to him, they could even identify a few suspicious locations.

- As for other tribes, I'm not sure, but we have several legends passed down through generations.

- What legends?

- Our tribe's ancestor's ancestor's ancestor was once a great king who leaped over mountains and claimed entire ranges!

- Cut to the chase.

- ...This king, who was the only one ever acknowledged as a 'friend' by our prideful yetis.

- A friend?

- Exactly, a friend! Our dignified yetis, who rarely befriend anyone, befriended this human for the first and last time!

Elric intuitively realized that the 'friend of the king' mentioned by the guy was likely one of his ancestors.

- The king would give land, food, and a home to this friend who visited him each time.

- In accordance with the king's will, we have continued to manage that house!

- Where is this house?

They wagered the safety of the tribe in exchange for revealing the location of the 'house'.

Elric readily agreed. After all, he had already fulfilled his practical purpose.

The moment the deal was struck, the leader of the 'Blue Snowflake' tribe offered to personally guide them.

Elric followed closely behind. His senses were on high alert, prepared for any potential traps.

『But listen...』

"...?"

『You can use translation magic, so why do you keep putting me in the middle of conversations?』

"It's more convenient this way."

『Damn it.』

To speak or not to speak. Mephistopheles sighed inwardly, resigning himself to another round of soothing. Yet, perhaps he should count himself lucky to have escaped the hell of cuteness while still serving as a translator.

'How did I end up like this, Mephistopheles wonders.'

Mephistopheles felt a pang of melancholy, but for now, there was no immediate solution.

In the meantime...

Keek!

『...It's down here, they say.』

Elric arrived at a certain location.

A crevasse nestled between snow-covered valleys and gorges.

The depth was so profound that the bottom was beyond sight.

Moreover, the cold wind blowing up from the cliff was incredibly strong and icy. It felt like one could easily be swept away by the currents if not careful.

It seemed almost impossible to maintain balance even through levitation.

However, it was visible in Elric's sight, augmented by magic, a structure perched on the edge of the opposite cliff.

Keeyak, keeyaek! Keeyak!

『…They say their kind barely manages to descend to that precipice once a year for cleaning and return. They mention that occasional updrafts occur high in the valley crevices, making it difficult to approach even with most magics unless it's their own technique. What's your plan?』

The yeti explained to Elric, using gestures and movements, that to descend there, one must do so on an autumn midnight, precisely at the break of dawn. Only then could they barely descend.

So Mephistopheles asked if they were willing to wait until then.

"Don't you see? This is a test from our ancestors, passed down to their descendants. It's to see if one has the skill, and if they do, the guts to match it."

Elric seemed to have no need for contemplation as he threw himself off the cliff without hesitation.