Chapter 111

Ian's plan was simple.

Seeing a gap between Ragnar and the shaman, he intended to exploit it and expand his influence.

After all, the tribe's people didn't know what mystery or magic was.

When Ian spoke, they could only respond with, "Ah, I see~," and move on.

In modern society, where smartphones are widespread and the internet is universal, it's difficult for information to be biased.

But the world has always been a place where information is uneven and biased.

Deceiving people's eyes and ears to turn situations to his advantage—that was the power a wizard possessed.

"I-Ian?!"

Takarian, who had been locked up in the cage, was shocked to see Ian.

The barbarians hadn't locked up Takarian in a beast's cage because they were cruel and brutal.

There simply wasn't any other place to confine him.

The Northerners didn't build prisons and would either exile or execute those who committed crimes.

But even putting aside such trivial facts, Takarian truly looked pitiful and miserable.

Seeing a person locked up in a beast's cage was enough to stir anyone's compassion.

"Hey, Takarian. You're alive."

"By the heavens! Why, why are you here...?!"

"For now, I've come to rescue you."

When Ian smiled broadly, Takarian covered his face with his palm, as big as a pot lid, and sobbed.

"Huh, huuhuhuhuhuh!"

Ian chuckled at the sight of Takarian.

Though his face had become gaunt from the hardships, his body was so stout that even in this state, he was still the size of an average person.

But losing weight had indeed made him look different.

"You look good after losing weight."

Takarian, who had been crying for a long time, spoke in a trembling voice.

"S-So, when can I return to the Empire?"

It was a roundabout way of saying, "Why didn't you come with the key?"

If Ian was going to rescue him, why couldn't he just dramatically appear with the key in hand?

Knowing how desperate and earnest Takarian was, Ian took it easy on him.

"Well, we'll have to see how things go..."

"See how things go...? You mean you can't just get me out of here?!"

"Don't worry. I'll do my best."

Ian smiled at Takarian.

"But, Takarian, you'll need to put in some effort too."

"E-Effort...?"

"You're a renowned monk. Honestly, I loved reading the Gospel of Saint Marcus. It's my number one pick in life. Congratulations, Takarian."

"What are you talking about...?"

Takarian was half-dazed, captivated by Ian's eloquence.

But even if he didn't understand what was happening, it was clear Ian was going to try to help him.

"For now, let's deal with that guy first."

A man with a menacing aura was approaching.

Ian took a deep breath.

Despite being a wizard by trade, Ian had become adept at incitement, fraud, pyramid schemes, and other minor crimes, and now he had to act like a wizard again.

However, Ian didn't entirely dislike these moments.

If he acted fairly and honestly, would anyone call him a wizard?

A wizard was a changeable and unpredictable being.

At some point, Ian had come to enjoy showing new sides of himself.

It was proof he was becoming a formidable wizard.

"Ragnarrr! What on earth is going on here!!!"

The man shouted at the top of his lungs.

Just by his voice, you'd believe he was once a traditional theater actor.

"Oh, Pyra. You've come?"

Ragnar half-heartedly raised his hand and immediately spoke to Ian.

"That's him, the shaman Pyra."

Ragnar's demeanor suggested he wanted something from Ian.

It wasn't hard to figure out.

The shaman Pyra.

As a shaman, he held a unique position in the tribe, so much so that even the tribe's leaders couldn't punish him easily.

Ragnar couldn't attack Pyra.

But... if it were Ian?

If it were another "shaman" (or not), there would be no issue in pointing out Pyra's incompetence.

Ultimately, Ragnar wanted to use Ian to undermine Pyra's authority.

An opportunity had practically fallen into Ian's lap.

If Pyra fell, Takarian's fate would be entirely in Ian's hands.

"I warned you! That Imperial will bring disaster! We must drive him out immediately!"

"Hmm, you've said that already."

Ragnar blatantly ignored Pyra's words.

Pyra was dumbfounded.

Was this man, who was supposed to be the next chieftain, really siding with a nobody from outside the tribe over their own shaman?!

'Damn stubborn fool!'

Ever since he failed to predict the failure of the Great Hunt, Pyra had sensed that Ragnar disliked him.

But to see him so openly trying to screw him over!

Pyra whispered urgently to Ragnar so that Ian couldn't hear.

It was an embarrassing topic for others to listen to.

"Ragnar, it's not too late. Drive out that Imperial! Immediately!"

"He's warrior Sigurd's guest. If we drive him out without reason, the warriors will rebel."

"Are you saying you don't want me to make medicine for the chieftain? Right now?"

When Pyra touched on a sensitive topic, Ragnar immediately growled back.

"If you wanted to make it, you should've done so long ago!"

"You stubborn fool...! Back then! I told you! The omens were bad!"

Ragnar could no longer hold back and raised his voice.

"Shut up! Incompetent shaman! If you thought I'd be at your mercy forever, you're gravely mistaken!"

"It wasn't manipulation, it was the omens...!"

Pyra understood what Ragnar was thinking.

He believed Pyra was using the omens as an excuse to manipulate Ragnar and the tribe!

In that regard, Pyra honestly had nothing to say.

There were a few times when he had interpreted the omens in his favor to pull off a scam.

After all, Pyra was human too.

If you had the skill to easily deceive others, could you really remain honest 365 days a year?

'He's not listening.'

Pyra turned his gaze to the black-haired Imperial.

In the end, he was the cause of all this.

Though it was awkward to say it himself, Pyra considered himself a competent shaman. Even other shamans acknowledged his skills.

'I'll just have to prove it with my abilities!'

Pyra decided to directly eliminate the impurity from the Empire with his own skills.

If he could showcase his abilities to everyone and prove that the Imperial was incompetent, the shaman's authority would naturally be restored.

Then Ragnar would follow Pyra's orders without complaint.

At the same time, Pyra sensed it.

That young man, calmly approaching him...

He was definitely thinking the same thing as Pyra... 100%!

"Are you the one spreading nonsense about making medicine from human hearts?"

When Ian, the black-haired Imperial wizard, spoke, all the surrounding barbarians were shocked.

What? Medicine made from hearts... is nonsense?

No way! That can't be! It's [common sense] that hearts are a great tonic, isn't it?!

The world of the barbarians was on the brink of collapse.

They desperately looked at the shaman Pyra.

The only hero who could protect the [Barbarian Universe] was the shaman Pyra!

"Ha! Ignoring the [Elixir of Life]? How utterly ignorant!"

"Ooooh!"

Bang!

Pyra struck the ground with his staff.

The northern mysteries responded to the shaman's will, surging and then vanishing.

Magic was the process of conveying one's will to the mystery.

People adept at handling magic had to be an experts in conveying their will.

When Pyra held firm in his beliefs, the surrounding barbarians seemed inspired by his conviction, their eyes shining resolutely.

"Listen up, you ignorant Imperial! The heart is the vessel of life, the symbol of life! The [Elixir of Life] is made from the life force stored in that vessel! How can you say it's ineffective?!"

"Indeed!"

"Bring an axe! Let's split open that sky-traveler's chest and pull out his heart!"

The Northerners, influenced by Pyra's will, made truly barbaric remarks.

Ian was slightly surprised as he watched Pyra.

Magic was a developed field of study, while shamanism was something in between faith and magic. This was evidenced by the monk Isilla.

Magic was easier to handle than shamanism. That was a fact.

Honestly, he hadn't thought much of shamans.

But the will he sensed from Pyra was formidable.

A formidable opponent.

But Ian, too, was a skilled conman, hardened by petty crimes.

Brazenly shameless, he was already at a professional level!

"Let me ask you one thing. Why do you think the heart is the vessel of life?"

"What? Is that even a question..."

"Ah, you don't know. Would you mind if I explained it for you?"

Provoked by Ian, Pyra quickly shouted.

His determination not to let Ian steal the tempo was evident.

"The heart is a sacred organ that produces blood! Of course, it's the vessel of life!"

"Hmm. Actually, blood is made in the bones, but..."

"???"

Pyra frowned for a moment.

Blood is made in the bones? What nonsense is this guy confidently spouting?

Isn't it common sense that the heart pumps blood?

Of course, blood is made in the heart!

"Well, let's assume it's roughly made in the heart. I guess that's how Northerners are made, huh?"

"It's not an assumption; that's the truth!"

"Pfft. Don't scratch the pride of a science student."

In his previous life, Ian had been a typical science student and had the nasty habit of wanting to refute illogical and unscientific facts whenever he saw them.

Ian wasn't a medical student but one of those math geeks aiming for a degree in mathematics.

Like other science students, he had an obsessive tendency to fixate on the word "scientific."

Ugh... electromagnetic wave-blocking stickers... are useless...

But after becoming a wizard in another world, he had let go of much of that obsession.

The fact that he didn't argue against the statement that [blood is made in the heart] was proof of that.

"You said eating the heart makes you healthier, right?"

"Correct!"

"Then eating eyes will improve your eyesight?"

"...?"

Pyra's mouth hung open.

Ian's logic was utterly childish!

"If you eat an arm, your arm gets stronger; if you eat a leg, your leg gets stronger..."

"What nonsense are you spouting now?"

Pyra dismissed Ian's logic as nonsense.

Eating eyes will improve eyesight.

This was pseudo-science in Korea too, known through the saying, "Fish eyes are good for eye health~."

Surprisingly, this originated from traditional Korean medicine, a principle called "like cures like."

Of course, the Northerners weren't familiar with Eastern medicine, so they approached it from the perspective of souls and mystery.

Scientifically, though, it's baseless nonsense.

No matter how many fish eyes you eat, it won't significantly improve your eyesight.

"You know it well. It's nonsense. Eating a heart makes your body healthier? If that's true, then why do we have hospitals and doctors? If you're sick, just open up the chest of the person next to you and have a piping hot bowl of heart."

"..."

"In the Empire, we call what you're doing a 'barbarian act.' Recklessly practicing unproven medicine and producing innocent victims!"

Oberon flew and perched on Ian's shoulder.

The Northerners were startled at the sight.

"A raven!"

"It's Hrundal's messenger!"

Ian didn't know this, but the Northerners considered ravens sacred birds.

Of course, it was just a belief, and they didn't actually have any divine powers. A fact easily proven by Oberon himself.

But ravens are intelligent and useful.

Even more so if they can speak human language.

"Caw! Nonsense! Nonsense!"

When Oberon cried out "nonsense" in human speech, the Northerners were even more startled.

Teaching a raven to speak human words...

This shaman must be skilled indeed!

Ian shouted.

"Look! Even a passing Imperial raven knows this is nonsense!"

"Caw! Nonsense!"

"... If a raven says so..."

"Is it possible that the heart has no effect?"

The Northerners began to take Ian's claims seriously.

At the same time, Pyra was thrown into a panic.

He was a shaman who communed with the mysteries through intuition and suggestion.

In this situation, the appearance of a raven, which symbolized Hrundal, seemed like a warning from the deity to stop fighting and retreat.

'…No. That can't be right.'

Pyra unconsciously ground his teeth.

There was no way that the northern gods would side with a young Imperial.

Pyra ignored his instincts as a shaman.

He had broken a taboo that those who handle the mysteries must never violate.

The mysteries always send signals to humans.

It's just that humans often fail to recognize them.

"A clueless Imperial dares to lecture me, Pyra, on the rights and wrongs of shamanism?!"

With a thunderous shout, Pyra drew an Arcana card.

It was the [Tower] card.

"Behold! You whelp! Hrundal desires your downfall!"

An indescribable mystery swirled around Pyra.

The Northerners instinctively knelt and looked up in awe as the shaman wielded a magical force.

"Ooooh!"

"Hrundal!"

At that very moment, Ian heard a bizarre and terrifying voice through the swirling mystery.

It was a cacophonous noise like a thousand hammers and anvils clashing.

[Who dares… summon me…?]

'Damn.'

A drop of blood trickled from Ian's nose.

He didn't know the exact nature of the entity Pyra had summoned with the Arcana card.

But one thing was certain…

It was definitely not a mystery friendly to humans!

"Shaman, send back the mystery you're summoning right now."

"What?"

Ian wiped the blood from his nose and spoke.

"We can't handle this mystery… Send it back immediately."