Secret Forbidden Spell – Part 03
Calling the Four Stars of the East his last glimmer of hope might be a bit of an exaggeration, but Duke Nightblaze ultimately turned to them for help, believing that there was no harm in trying. And as expected, it was in vain.
“Oh, Galeicrada…”
The red-eyed Duke gently brushed his motionless son’s hair. He had shed countless tears, consumed by thoughts of his child. His once resilient wife, too, had succumbed to despair and remained bedridden for about a month now.
Unlike most nobles in the kingdom, Duke Nightblaze had married only one woman and had continued to love her and her alone. As a result, he showered their beloved child with so much love, to the point that rumors began circulating that the couple had not had a second child because of his excessive affection.
They had their worries about having only Galeicrada as their child, but they believed that by coming together as a family and leveraging their political power, they could overcome any challenges. However, things didn’t turn out as they had hoped.
The Duke’s breathing grew labored, and his heart ached. When he considered his son’s even greater suffering, he felt compelled to curse the gods for inflicting him with such insignificant pain.
“Is there no one who can save Galeicrada?” He expected no response to his mutterings.
“Can I take a look at him?” A voice came from the corner of the room.
The Duke jumped and turned around. He wanted to shout that there was an intruder, but no words came out of his mouth. It could be due to his weakened state from the overwhelming stress, or perhaps it was because the person before him—likely a human—seemed so surreal, with their hooded cloak and strange silver mask.
“Either I’m seeing things, or you’re a demon. If you’re a reaper from hell, I will give my life to protect my son.” The Duke spread his arms and stood before Galeicrada.
The masked man let out an exaggerated sigh. “I asked if I could take a look at him. I might be able to cure him.”
“What nonsense. Even the Church gave up on him.”
“If you don’t want him to get better, then so be it.”
“…”
The masked figure’s voice sounded like it belonged to a young boy. He must have known that he was facing a Duke, yet he showed no signs of fear or hesitation.
“Can you cure him?”
The Duke’s voice was hoarse, faint, and difficult to perceive. And it was filled with utmost desperation.
But the masked man seemed oblivious to it.
“Just let me take a look at him. That okay?” He strode towards the bed.
As the mysterious figure approached, fear gripped the Duke, realizing his vulnerability without any weapons. However, the masked man paid no heed to him and stood beside the bed, gazing down at Galeicrada.
“My hunch was right. I sense mana in his heart.”
“Mana…?”
“It’s cleverly concealed. By synchronizing it with Galeicrada’s own mana, it becomes difficult to detect from the outside. But there’s no doubt. This is sorcery. The spell renders healing magic ineffective.”
“W-Wait a moment…”
The Duke’s mind couldn’t keep up with the surge of new information. Mana? Synchronize? Healing magic being ineffective? What was this person talking about?
“I’m a bit of an expert in examining mana. That’s how I know, but that’s all. So, you want to save your son, correct? Then time is of the essence.”
“I know that already! What should I do?!”
“This is sorcery, but in terms of its nature, it’s more like a curse. Sorcery, essentially, refers to the ability to produce phenomena without relying on magic spells. A ‘curse,’ on the other hand, refers to something that specifically targets individuals, causing them harm, often associated with Accursed magic.”
“What?”
“Ah, sorry for dumping all that when you’re already confused. If we can break the curse, we can save Galeicrada.”
“Wh-What…”
The duke slumped weakly where he stood. It was only natural. Just when he believed all hope was lost, a man resembling a reaper or a demon appeared and gave it to him.
“Ah… sorry, but I can’t guarantee a full recovery,” the man said. “Lifting a curse is quite complicated.”
“But… But if there’s still a chance, I’d even sell my soul to a demon like you.”
“…What?” For the first time, the masked man appeared flustered. “I-I’m not a demon, all right?!”
“Is that so?”
“Hell no! I’m Silver Face. A genuine human being.”
“Silver Face…? The name sounds familiar.”
“Well, forget about that. Listen, if we can uncover the identity of the curse’s caster, it would make things easier. I’m going to ask you a few questions, and I need answers.”
After that, the masked man spent the next thirty minutes asking questions.
Rocked by the carriage, Hikaru was staring at his Soul Board with a sigh. Yesterday, when he checked on Galeicrada, the Duke’s son, he sensed an anomaly in the boy’s mana with his Mana Detection. Hikaru had a level 3 Mana Detection, and he had never encountered anyone with a higher level than that, which could be why no one noticed it before.
He wondered if this anomaly could be the cause of Galeicrada’s condition. Tinkering with his Soul Board, he increased his Mana Detection to level 4. Sure enough, he could see it. The anomaly was within Galeicrada’s body.
After the Rulers’ Rumble tournament, Hikaru went around killing some monsters, earning himself 2 Skill Points. He spent one just now, leaving him with only 1 point. Thinking there was no point in holding back at this moment, he raised his Mana Detection to level 5.
【Soul Board】Hikaru
Age: 15 | Rank: 24 | 0
【Vitality】
【Magical Power】
【Strength】
【Muscle Strength】2
【Weapon Mastery】
【Projectile】2
【Agility】
【Power Burst】1
【Balance】1
【Stealth】
【Life Cloaking】4
【Mana Cloaking】4
【Imperceptibility】5 (MAX)
【Assassination】3
【Group Cloaking】3
【Instinct】
【Detection】
【Life Detection】1
【Mana Detection】5
【Expanded Detection】0
His Mana Detection was maxed out, but no new derivative skill appeared. However, a new Blessing emerged on his Soul Card—Mana Detection God: Child of Magicule. Strictly speaking, mana was a collection of magicules.
Hikaru selected the new Blessing and turned his gaze back on Galeicrada.
And then, he saw it, each particle of mana flowing through Galeicrada’s body, clear and distinct. And within him were obvious traces of sorcery.
Hikaru sighed. “I worked so hard to raise my Soul Rank.”
He was now back to having zero points. Acting in a group of three had made it more difficult to raise ranks lately.
Nonetheless, his Mana Detection had become even more precise, allowing him to detect the subtle flow of mana and expanding the detection range to a hundred meters. The constant influx of information was exhausting, so he only activated it when necessary.
“A Sage, huh?” Paula breathed.
Beside her was Lavia, reading a book as always. To combat the motion sickness, she received Healing magic from Paula occasionally.
“We’re meeting the Frontier Sage, to be more precise,” Hikaru said.
“The curse on Galeicrada is powerful, isn’t it? Would it be easy for the caster themselves to lift it?”
During Hikaru’s conversation with Duke Nightblaze, he managed to identify the person responsible for casting sorcery on Galeicrada. Although there was no solid proof, circumstantial evidence pointed to one individual.
When Galeicrada was nine years old, the Duke invited a person named Brunkvan, a leading expert in magical research, to teach his son magic. During that time, Brunkvan had Galeicrada wear magic items like bracelets and necklaces for three days and nights, claiming it was to assess the boy’s talent. Galeicrada’s health began deteriorating after that, suggesting Brunkvan as the likely culprit based on the timing.
As Brunkvan was a renowned researcher, Duke Nightblaze never suspected him. After teaching Galeicrada theory for several months, Brunkvan departed from the Duke’s household.
“Even the caster themselves might have trouble lifting the curse,” Hikaru said. “But they at least know how to lift it.”
“You mentioned that the person has already passed away.”
Afterward, Brunkvan became a court Sorcerer, but died from an illness three years later.
Hikaru’s understanding of sorcery was limited, primarily focused on the spell for crossing worlds. Therefore, he needed the help of an expert to lift the curse.
“That’s why we’re going to visit the Frontier Sage. Apparently, Brunkvan studied under them.”
“Hmm… I wonder if they have any interesting books there.”
Lavia closed her book. She had finished reading it.
In this world, books were transcribed by hand, making them incredibly expensive. Moreover, their bulky size made them impractical for travel, so it was common practice to sell books after reading them.
While it came with a lot of trouble, Hikaru had no intention of stopping Lavia from reading. He loved books himself, and reading was Lavia’s biggest hobby.
Reading was also a way for Lavia to discover new magic. In fact, she had learned new magic through reading. Atonement Flame, a combination of fire elemental magic and the holy attribute, that she used to exterminate the Undead during the Rulers’ Rumble tournament was a spell that she found in a book.
“Since they’re a Sage, they probably have books, but that is not our current objective,” Hikaru said.
“…”
“Understood?”
“…Yeah.”
Her hesitant response was somewhat worrisome. Hikaru wondered if she actually understood.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Rule Breaker (Light Novel)
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
Age: 15 | Rank: 22 | 0
The rank is wrong, it’s not 22 but 24