Shepherd Wizard Chapter 68

Translator: Pai_

Unlike wizards who originally acquire multiple spells, magical beasts could only use the innate power they were born with at the moment of their awakening.

Just like the shadow leopard or the rabbit that Turan had encountered in the past.

There were various hypotheses regarding the reason for this.

Some suggested that magical beasts had extremely poor intelligence and imagination, while others proposed that bloodlines specialized in close combat had difficulty extending magic beyond their bodies.

Thus, Turan consistently taught Bije the techniques and sensations needed to use magic.

If the inability of magical beasts to use magic was due to intelligence issues, Turan believed that Bije could sufficiently overcome this limitation.

Even if Bije could only use simple telekinesis or ignition magic, it would be incredibly convenient.

However, despite the passage of considerable time, there had been little progress, and Turan had half-given up at some point. But now, Bije suddenly displayed such an overwhelming wind spell, making it impossible not to be surprised.

‘How?’

For a brief moment, Turan was startled, but then he focused his consciousness, realizing that something was happening within himself.

Through the soul bond connecting him to Bije, he could sense something being transmitted to Bije from within him.

It was not something that consumed magic power or mental energy but was closer to pure information.

‘Could it be that my Storm Bloodline ability is being transferred?’

As if confirming his suspicion, the turbulence he had felt through the soul bond disappeared the moment Bije stopped the vortex.

Turan, calming himself, petted the descending Bije and analyzed the new ability his bird had gained.

"You suddenly managed to do it because your power got stronger?"

[Yes!]

"And what about what I taught you before?"

[That doesn't work! I can't start fires or move things!]

"Then, can you try concealing yourself so you are not visible?"

Bije attempted it for a moment but then tilted her head as if it was impossible.

This meant that among Turan’s powers, Bije could only borrow the Storm Bloodline’s ability, specifically the currently developed wind-related power.

'Was this why she said only Meisa and I were match for her?'

Perhaps Bije had a latent affinity for wind or the power of wind and lightning, which was why she only responded to nobles whose bloodlines were compatible with her.

If that were the case, then it was not surprising that "the perfect match" had not appeared for her until now.

It was only natural, after all, nobles of the Arabion Bloodline would have had no reason to go to the Enril Desert to buy a magical beast.

Further experiments showed that Bije's wind magic was closer to the innate magic unique to magical beasts.

Although her precision and control were inferior to that of human wizards, her raw power and efficiency were far superior.

Watching this unfold beside them, Solif clicked his tongue and spoke.

"Never release her into the wild later. If she ever develops a taste for human flesh, she’ll be impossible to catch unless the great houses form a hunting party."

Indeed, a golden eagle with high noble-level magic power and control over wind was nothing short of a walking disaster.

Flying at terrifying speeds and unleashing gusts capable of blowing away log cabins from a distance, how could anyone possibly chase and attack such a creature?

As Solif spoke, Bije suddenly hopped onto his head and started pecking at him.

"Ow! What the hell, that hurts! Hey, tell her to stop!"

[I don't eat humans! Because Turan told me not to!]

After pecking him several times, Bije landed on the ground, scribbled those words, and then huffed as she climbed onto the stick at Turan’s side.

As Turan chuckled at the utterly childish behavior, he turned to Solif, who was rubbing his head, and asked,

"Have you ever heard of a case like this? A magical beast awakening magic later in life?"

"Hmm, I have no idea..."

Even though Solif had received an elite education as the heir of a great house, he had no knowledge of such an occurrence, proving that it was certainly not common.

Come to think of it, there had been no mention of anything similar in the magical beast guide either.

If he ever met someone highly knowledgeable about magical beasts, it might be worth asking about in detail.

Or perhaps the librarian.

After finishing their analysis of the unexpected situation, they proceeded to clean up the battlefield.

First, Solif ignited a fire and burned all the corpses, while Bije used the wind to spread the flames around the fortress where the battle had taken place.

In a way, it was a cremation of an enormous scale.

Meanwhile, Turan used Tracking Magic to search for any valuable treasures within the burned-down fortress.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the fire, which had swept through the entire fortress, had also reached the treasury, melting and fusing the gold and silver coins, as well as various gemstone ornaments, into an unusable mess.

Since Turan’s Large-Capacity Pouch was already running low on space, the items were instead stored in Solif’s Large-Capacity Backpack.

Solif’s backpack was much larger than Turan’s pouch but had a lower compression ratio, meaning the total storage capacity was roughly the same. However, since the Varaha nobles had discarded all the junk inside, there was still plenty of available space.

Solif lamented the loss of his cherished sugarcane rum.

After collecting the spoils, he meticulously used Tracking Magic to remove any stray hairs, blood, or feathers left behind from their bodies.

If an experienced noble of House Zahar or someone with a Tracking Magic artifact got hold of such traces, they could potentially use them to track them down, so this was a necessary precaution.

By the time they had finished cleaning up everything, the sun was rising, marking the end of the long night.

Solif raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight and asked,

"Staying up all night has me dead tired... So, what’s the plan now, boss?"

Boss? That was a title Turan had never heard addressed to him before.

It felt especially strange coming from a great noble who was about forty years older than him.

Without reacting to the oddity of it, Turan pointed at Solif’s left arm.

"First, we need to fix that."

"Ah."

As if he had momentarily forgotten, Solif looked down at his severed left arm, cut off from the elbow.

The healing potion known as the "Spring of Life" could not reattach a severed limb, but a noble of the Healer Bloodline could regenerate a missing arm entirely.

While Telekinesis Magic would allow him to function in daily life, having an actual arm was obviously preferable.

"I know a place where we can get it treated anonymously. We earned enough money for the treatment, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Where is it?"

"Arabion."

At first, Turan had considered asking Rida of the Lavitas family for treatment. However, the problem was that he had no idea where she usually resided.

She surely was not always staying near the hot springs. If she was at the Lavitas estate, summoning her would require revealing his identity and attracting unnecessary attention.

Considering that the Siraf Wetlands near the South Sea were likely within House Varaha’s search range, exposing his movements in such a manner was too risky. Instead, it was a better option to head far away to the Takein Plains and discreetly use his connections with House Berg to locate a noble of the Healer Bloodline.

"Oh, the one in the northwest? That explains why you were flying through the sky. Are you an Arabion noble, then? And you stole Concealment Magic by killing a Zahar noble?"

"No, that’s my innate ability… I’m mixed blood, if I had to define it."

At the mention of mixed blood, Solif's face hardened.

Normally, the term simply meant someone born from two noble houses. However, Turan had already demonstrated the abilities of both bloodlines.

"Don't tell me… Bloodline Fusion?"

"That’s right."

Solif was at a loss for words for a moment before quietly asking,

"Three, then?"

Guessing that he was referring to the number of bloodline abilities, Turan nodded and answered,

"For now."

"What do you mean, 'for now'?"

"When you have four bloodlines, they unlock one by one as your magic power grows stronger. Right now, I’ve unlocked three. I still can’t use lightning yet."

Hearing Turan’s explanation, Solif gaped in shock before looking up at the sky and lamenting.

Four bloodline abilities? That was something unheard of, even in historical records, a true anomaly.

"This world is fucking unfair."

"Being born as the heir to a great noble house is already considered a blessed life by most people."

It was not a wrong statement, but hearing it from a freak with four bloodline abilities made it unbearably irritating.

Ignoring Solif’s growing frustration, Turan focused on his task.

He was building equipment that would allow him to ride Bije.

"This should be good enough, right?"

"Well, it looks a bit precarious, but it’s not like you’ll die if it breaks…"

What they had made was a kind of swing using ropes and wooden planks, a structure far too simple to guarantee the rider’s safety.

It was an object that would be difficult to ride unless one had considerable nerve, but since neither of them were the type to get injured from falling out of the sky, it did not really matter.

A moment later, as the two awkwardly perched themselves on the swing, Bije took off with the ropes tied to her legs.

With a creaking sound, the swing lifted off.

“Whoa….”

Solif, experiencing flight for the first time, let out an exclamation as the ground below shrank into a distant speck.

Come to think of it, Turan had felt something similar when he first took to the skies in the Enril Desert, so he had no reason to mock Solif.

Seated on the swing as they soared through the air, Turan looked back.

Binatu Island, where countless people had perished the night before, was now peaceful, as if nothing had ever happened.

Thanks to absorbing an immense amount of magic power, Bije flew even faster than before, despite carrying an additional passenger and a riding swing.

On top of that, by using wind magic to generate air currents, she could further increase her speed. However, if she went too fast, the swing could not withstand the wind resistance and let out alarming creaking sounds, so she had to control her pace.

Despite the inconvenience of the swing, it had its advantages, namely, freeing up both hands, allowing them to do various things.

For instance, eating a meal of hardtack and dried fish.

As they dined in midair, Turan fulfilled his promise to Solif and recounted the dead god he had witnessed.

“The North Sea….”

“Yeah. Perhaps the mirror, the one supposedly connecting the two seas, might be somewhere near there. Since they were divine beings, they could have emerged from the mirror and continued their battle for a while before meeting their end.”

When Turan added that the god had left behind the Mimic Relic, Solif’s expression grew rather complicated.

It was certainly not the face of someone delighted to have discovered the truth about something they had been searching for.

“I thought you’d be happy to know this.”

“Ah… how should I put it? It’s like… the mystery I was so curious about got solved too easily. It’s not that I’m not happy, but…”

Turan more or less understood what he meant.

After all, Solif had not been searching for this out of some grand ambition, he simply enjoyed the process of adventure itself.

And now, the answer had been handed to him on a silver platter. Instead of joy, he felt a sense of emptiness.

“Well, not everything has been revealed yet. There’s still the question of why that god fought alone instead of joining forces with the other members of the Preah God Tribe, and why there are no proper historical records of it. Most importantly, we don’t even know his name.”

“Hmm… yeah, I guess that’s worth looking into. I’d also like to visit the place where the remains are, can you guide me there?”

“If I have the time.”

After that, they chatted about various adventures Turan had experienced, but interestingly, Solif never once asked about his origins.

Though Turan claimed to be from the distant eastern lands of Varaha, Solif knew all too well how hostile Arabion and Zahar were toward each other. He could easily guess that the circumstances of Turan’s birth had not been peaceful.

Turan, for his part, also had an idea of the misunderstanding Solif might have had, but he did not bother to correct it.

After all, he himself did not yet know the full truth about his father’s identity.

Eventually, when he looked into it further, there would be opportunities to discuss it.

Still, he figured he should at least clarify his current situation and standing.

So, Turan explained that he was not particularly deeply connected to House Arabion, he was merely acquainted with Meisa, the next head of the house, and was a benefactor to House Berg, one of Arabion’s vassal families.

After chatting like this and flying northwest for several hours, land soon came into view.

Judging by the dense forests inland from the beach, this was definitely the western forest region where dark elves had once rampaged.

“Good, looks like we managed to skip over the Enril Desert.”

Based on the conversation during the last battle, it was likely that House Zahar and House Varaha had come to some kind of agreement regarding capturing Solif.

It was better to avoid contact with the Enril Desert area if possible.

As they landed to rest, Solif let out a sigh of exasperation.

“You really do have it easy when it comes to traveling.”

He couldn't help but say that, since they had instantly traversed a distance that would have taken at least one to two weeks by ship.

Turan answered while stroking Bije's head,

“I was walking and sailing everywhere until just recently. Besides, you could always get a companion like Bije yourself.”

“That’s easier said than done. If only someone hadn't stolen her from me.”

“I don’t think I was the one who had the first chance to be chosen.”

“Ugh.”

Flying-type magical beasts were common, but few were as conveniently small, easily tamed, and powerful as Bije.

Turan had been able to purchase her cheaply in the past only because she was extremely picky about her owner, otherwise, her original price would have been far higher.

After having dinner at the beach and sleeping through the night, they resumed their journey north the next day, once again riding the swing.

As they traveled, Turan spotted familiar routes, one leading west from Kalamaf and another that Turan had taken with Ashiz.

“We’re almost there.”

“For real? Finally, I was thinking this swing felt a bit precarious- aaaaah!"

Mid-sentence, the swing, unable to withstand the wind pressure, snapped, causing Solif to plummet. Fortunately, he only ended up with a minor ankle sprain.

Learning from their past mistake, they built a slightly sturdier swing and, after half a day of flying, finally spotted the Takein Plains.

“This time, we’ve really arrived.”

“Please, let’s land gently this time."

Unlike before, when golden wheat fields stretched endlessly, the plains were now covered in lush green spring barley.

Turan and Solif landed in a relatively unpopulated area, stored the saddle, and moved on foot.

“This place is completely different from the Enril Desert.”

"Well, that place is quite barren."

“Yeah. I heard that back in the day, crops from Arabion used to be brought there through this route…”

While land trade usually couldn't match maritime trade in terms of volume, for wizard houses, land trade was actually much more advantageous.

This was because they could use tamed giant magical beasts to haul massive carts.

There had even been a time when large trade caravans would travel between Arabion and Zahar every few years, using the roads of the Old Empire.

Now, after the brutal conflicts between the two noble houses, such things were nothing more than a distant dream.

Since he still remembered the path Ashiz had once guided him through, Turan managed to reach Zabilin City, the territory of House Berg, after half a day’s walk.

Coincidentally, the knight stationed in front of the city walls was someone familiar.

“Huh? Lord Turan?”

“It’s been a while, Bin. Is Ashiz doing well?”

“Of course! The young master will be thrilled to see you. And the person beside you?”

“A friend I made while traveling.”

Hearing that, the Berg knight, Bin, did not bother asking further about Solif’s identity and let them pass.

After all, Turan was not only Ashiz’s friend but also his benefactor, someone who had been treated as an honored guest for the past month.

As for the golden eagle by his side? That was probably just a pet.

Entering Zabilin City, Turan felt a strange sense of comfort as he took in its familiar scenery.

Passing by the restaurants and theaters where he had once enjoyed good food with Ashiz brought back memories of those enjoyable times.

When they finally reached the Berg family’s palace in the heart of the city, news of their arrival had already spread, and Ashiz came rushing out with open arms.

“Turan, my friend! Life outside isn’t easy, is it? I knew you’d be back before long!”

“Yeah, it really wasn’t easy.”

Imagining the expression Ashiz would make if he knew about all the adventures he had been through, Turan embraced his old friend.

Though he had only stayed here for about a month and had spent only a few months wandering outside, it felt as if he had returned home after a long journey.