The massive training ground was packed with soldiers and servants. The servants were gathered because the culprit might be among them. As servants of the castle, they were in positions where they could easily come into contact with many people. Soon, several ducks and crude wooden scales were hastily set up. While their weights were similar, there was no need for precision—just knowing would suffice. When Ghislain appeared in a hurry, the crowd started murmuring. “That’s the method the mage suggested.” “Really? You’re saying this is how we can catch the dark mage?” “Wow, that’s fascinating. The world of magic is truly amazing.” “No!” Ghislain cried out internally. The idea had come from something Maurice had once said, and he had only mentioned it jokingly. If they carried on seriously, he would become a complete charlatan of a mage. “Alright, hold on!” He tried to stop the proceedings, but it was too late. Young and impulsive Andrew was quick to act. “Come on, everyone, get on the scales! The mage said it, so there’s no problem!” The soldiers stepped onto the scales one by one. Naturally, no one had the same weight as the ducks. Moreover, each duck had a slightly different weight. Quack, quack, quack. The sound of ducks echoed all around. Still, the soldiers and servants stepped onto the scales with discipline. Though it was an odd command, no one seemed to complain. They were all unsure but curious if the mage’s method would really work. Julien, Deneb, and Kyle looked at Ghislain with expectant eyes. The pressure from their gazes was overwhelming. Ghislain quickly shook his head, flustered. “This is embarrassing, just like Maurice... now people are going to call me foolish.” Maurice, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Rutania Kingdom’s army, was ridiculed by many nobles for his superstitions. Now it seemed that Ghislain would be the one receiving the same criticism. “Ugh...” Even Ghislain, known for his sharp wit, had no way to stop everyone from acting so foolishly. If he forced them to stop now, it would only arouse more suspicion. In the end, every soldier and servant had stepped onto the scales. Still, no one had the same weight as the ducks. This was, of course, the expected result. Quack, quack, quack. The sound of ducks filled the air. An awkward silence filled the ground as everyone stared at Ghislain. With no culprit identified, the silence grew heavier. Ghislain took a deep breath, preparing to explain. But Andrew’s suspicion came faster. “Isn’t there still a servant who hasn’t stepped up? Bring the children too!” “...” Before Ghislain could explain, things moved quickly. Even the children helping with the chores were dragged out. “Hmm?” Ghislain noticed something strange about one of the children. Like the other kids, the child was very small, but their face looked extremely gaunt. “Hey, is this a child?” The child, with a prematurely aged face, emitted a very unsettling and gloomy aura. A strange smell seemed to emanate from them, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ and those nearby scrunched their noses and subtly moved away. Ghislain looked around, utterly baffled. “What’s going on? Doesn’t this look suspicious to you? Anyone can tell this kid is odd!” If anyone had to choose the most suspicious person in the crowd, it was this child. Kyle was also whispering to Dark. “Is that a kid? They look about the same age as the one who escaped from our father.” “There are many mysterious things in the world. We have a boy in our territory who looks like a girl.” “Really?” “Yeah, so you can’t judge people just by their appearances.” “Hmm, I see.” Kyle casually muttered, causing Ghislain, who had been preparing to act quickly, to stop and hesitate. If he spoke out now, saying ‘This kid is suspicious’, he’d be just like Dark, judging people only by appearances. The children took turns stepping onto the scales. Even though they were children, they were old enough to help with chores. So, it was clear they wouldn’t have the same weight as the ducks. All of them were heavier than the ducks. Eventually, Ghislain couldn’t stand the absurdity of it all and shouted. Even if people pointed fingers at him, he had to say something. “Wait! This is ridiculous! Isn’t this kid suspicious? Are they really a child?” Andrew sternly shouted. “Our territory does not accuse anyone without solid evidence! And judging people by their appearance? That’s narrow-minded!” ‘This guy thinks he’s being fair, but does he really think this method is right?’ In this world, Andrew was a rare type of noble. He was a young lord who seemed quite passionate. But even though he demanded solid proof, he was still weighing people based on their appearance with ducks. Ghislain was about to lose his mind from frustration. In the end, most of the children stepped onto the scales. The child with the unsettling appearance, who had been staying away from the smell, was the last to go. Ghislain, exasperated, shouted again. “Enough! Enough! I’ll investigate the suspicious ones myself, so stop this nonsense! This is just a superstition...” Creek... Ghislain stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening. The surroundings fell into complete silence. The scales with the strange child, the one with the unsettling appearance, and the duck... Were nearly level. Quack, quack. The only sound was the quacking of the duck. After a brief moment of silence, the unnerving child bit their lip and spoke. “Tch, I knew it. But I didn’t expect it to work like this! Who came up with this method? This is something we didn’t even know about!” ‘It really worked!’ Ghislain stared in shock, his mouth agape. Dark had the same stunned expression. A commotion soon erupted among the people. “Ahh! It’s the dark mage!” “I can’t believe the dark mage was hiding among us!” “They were really the dark mage!” The crowd screamed and backed away from the strange child. Andrew, drawing his sword, shouted. “You must be allied with the dark mage! No wonder you looked so suspicious!” The child, now revealed as Ziko, twisted their lips into a grin. “Yeah... I’m their disciple. But wow, it’s impressive. I thought I could stay hidden in this small territory with no mage... but I was found out like this.” Ziko glared at Ghislain. They had been responsible for cleaning the castle’s cesspits and trash. This gave them the ability to keep their distance from people. They never approached the knights and had used simple magic to conceal the stench of the corpses they carried. But to be found out by such an unexpected method... “Did you come up with this method? Truly, the laws of the world are mysterious. Who would have thought you could identify a dark mage with just ducks? I’ve learned something new today, thanks to you.” “...” Ghislain had no response. He, too, didn’t know why this method had worked. But the crowd’s response was enthusiastic. “As expected of the mage!” “To think it would be discovered so quickly and easily!” “This method must be spread far and wide!” People looked at Ghislain as though he were their savior. Even the young lord, Andrew, smiled with approval. The three companions, Julien, Deneb, and Kyle, also expressed their admiration. “Of course, it’s Ghislain.” “Really, Ghislain knows everything.” "What kind of experience has he lived through?" All three of them were sending Ghislain looks filled with admiration and envy. "......" Ghislain briefly looked up at the sky, feeling too lazy to think about it. At that moment, Andrew pointed his sword at Ziko again and shouted. "Search that bastard immediately! We need to find out what he’s been up to!" The knights and soldiers moved. But Ziko scoffed and stepped back. "He’s supposed to be a 5th-circle mage, right? Even if he's a 5th-circle mage, I can't take him on. I’ll leave now, so consider yourself lucky." Just as Ghislain had expected, Ziko was a 4th-circle dark mage. If he didn’t directly confront the knights, he was strong enough to cause great damage to the territory. However, with a 5th-circle mage in the area, even the knights couldn’t stand a chance. Ziko gathered all his mana and filled the surroundings with darkness. He was planning to escape quickly. Ghislain, still with a blank expression, pulled his staff back and threw it. "Magic Missile!" Vwooosh! The staff shot through the air at tremendous speed. Ghislain could now cast Magic Missile for real, but he didn’t want to. His mind was too jumbled at the moment. “Ha!” Ziko saw the staff coming and quickly deployed his shield. It was a shield made of all the dark magic he could muster. Boom! Boom! Boom! Despite Ziko’s full effort, the shield was shattered with ease. The staff pierced through Ziko’s body, leaving him to collapse. "Ugh! How could a mage have this kind of power?!" Surprisingly, Ziko didn’t die. A surge of black energy erupted from the wound in his abdomen, but he stood back up, unharmed. Feeling the overwhelming power of the mage, Ziko tried to escape once more. But Ghislain was already on the move. "Haist." Vwoosh! Ghislain’s body lightened and his speed increased. At the same time, he snapped his fingers. "Fireball." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚 Woosh! In an instant, ten fireballs surrounded Ziko. Ziko was horrified upon seeing it. “What, what is this? Multiple spell casting?” Multiple spell casting was a feat that only the most genius of mages could pull off. To cast ten spells at once meant an incredible level of calculation ability and sensory control. In reality, Ghislain wasn’t performing true multiple spell casting. He didn’t know how to do that. Instead, he had forcibly extracted and rearranged the mana he had collected. It was a unique technique that only Ghislain could pull off. Ghislain was already in front of Ziko, grabbing him by the neck. "Ugh!" Ziko’s body was easily lifted. It was then that Ghislain understood what was really going on. "You... were a Chimera." A Chimera was a creature created by forcibly combining the bodies of multiple animals or humans. Dark mages often conducted Chimera experiments because it was the most efficient way to handle and manage corpses. Sometimes, they even created Chimera versions of their own bodies to enhance their physical capabilities. Hellgate, the one Ghislain had fought in the past, had also created his body in such a way. Ziko, too, was half-dead, his body replaced with parts that didn’t belong to him. His internal organs were missing, or replaced with something else. That was why he appeared so small and had a weight similar to that of a duck. Ziko squirmed and asked, "Who... who are you?" How could someone like this have come to such a small barony? Moreover, why was he working as a mercenary? A mage with this level of talent should be enjoying a high status in a mage tower. But at that moment, Ghislain wasn’t listening to his words. He squeezed his eyes shut. ‘This is bad.’ The duck superstition had been widely known in Ghislain’s time. Intellectuals had always dismissed it as nonsense. Yet, the people of this time didn’t know about it at all. It was an ancient superstition, but why did no one know about it now? Ghislain suddenly realized an unpleasant truth. Dark, who had been standing beside him, spoke in a voice like a whisper. “That superstition... it seems like it spread because of you, master?” Ghislain swallowed hard. Just as Dark said, it seemed that the origin of the superstition had been himself. A series of coincidences had led to this ridiculous situation. Now, he wanted to correct it, but it was impossible to do so at this point. “Waaaaa!” “The mage is the best!” “We defeated the dark mage in one blow!” The crowd was excited, their cheers growing louder. "...I guess there's no helping it." After coming to a decision, Ghislain tightened his grip. Thud! With a powerful slam, Ghislain drove Ziko’s neck into the ground. “Ugh!” Ziko coughed up black blood from the intense shock to his neck and head. Looking down at him, Ghislain spoke with a solemn expression. “How dare you hide here in this territory and cause such evil? Did you think I wouldn’t find you? It only takes one duck to find scum like you.” “Waaaaa!” The crowd’s cheers grew even louder. Having come this far, Ghislain decided to continue pushing forward without hesitation.