At Arfa’s words, Ludger felt a strange sense of unease and glanced toward where the little child had been.

‘Gone.’

The child who had been standing right in front of him just moments ago had vanished without a trace.

It was so cleanly done that it almost felt like he had been dreaming.

With a grave expression, Ludger straightened from his crouched position.

‘A ghost? Or a spirit? Could this be some kind of anomaly triggered by the dense concentration of mana in the Kasarr Basin?’

He couldn’t say that the existence of spirits or ghosts was impossible.

After all, there was even [Necromancy], a magical art that allowed mages to converse with lingering will fragments of the dead or borrow their power.

But in most cases, spirits summoned that way took on the form of a translucent human silhouette.

‘Yet the child I saw—anyone would think she was a living, breathing person.’

There was no way he had been mistaken.

He had been extremely alert, his senses pushed to the extreme the moment he realized someone was there.

And in that state, he couldn’t distinguish between a spirit’s lingering will and a living being?

Impossible.

“Leader?”

“...It seems I just saw something that wasn’t really there.”

Whether the child had been real or a ghost didn’t matter at the moment.

The words about “searching for something” lingered in his mind, but he decided to dismiss it as one of the usual spiritual phenomena occurring within the Kasarr Basin.

“So, have you finished scouting the area?”

“Yes. What will you do now, Leader?”

“Since we’ve come all this way, we can’t just sit inside the tent. Let’s take a walk, at least.”

“Yes! Sounds good!”

Apparently, Arfa had wanted to look around as well.

The moment Ludger finished speaking, Arfa beamed and quickly moved close to his side, showing his eagerness to follow wherever Ludger went.

“Arfa.”

“Yes, Leader?”

“On your way here, did you see anything strange?”

“Strange? What do you mean by strange?”

“Anything at all. Anything unusual, anything that doesn’t fit common sense.”

“Hmm. Even if you ask me, nothing really felt strange to me. This place is just full of new and wondrous things in general.”

That made sense.

For someone who knew little, chocolate and candy might be two entirely different things to a connoisseur, but to a child who knew nothing, both were just sweets.

“I see.”

“Leader, are you all right? You seem... off since a while ago.”

“I just saw something that wasn’t really there.”

Ludger hesitated for a moment about whether to explain, but decided there was no harm in telling Arfa.

“While you were away, a little child entered our tent.”

“A child?”

“Yes. About six or seven years old. At first, I thought she was just a kid who had lost her parents and wandered in here. But that wasn’t it.”

“A six or seven-year-old...”

Arfa murmured, his gaze turning vacant as he stared into the air.

But this wasn’t simple daydreaming.

Arfa was mentally revisiting every scene he had witnessed since entering the Kasarr Basin.

“I’ve confirmed it. From the time {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} we arrived in the city yesterday to when we entered the Kasarr Basin today, I haven’t seen a single child under the age of ten—only adults, even if they weren’t mages.”

“Hmm. If you say so, then it must be true.”

“However, I’m rechecking every scene I saw after entering the Kasarr Basin, and... something stands out.”

“What is it?”

Arfa described exactly what he saw.

“Beyond the tall tents, in the forest, between the trees—I saw something. A child, about seven years old, just like you said, Leader.”

“The same child I saw?”

“No. The child you saw was a girl, but this one’s a boy. But he’s definitely watching our tent from a distance.”

Normal mages wouldn’t have been able to see it at such a distance, but Arfa could mentally [zoom in] on any scene he had witnessed.

“Just as you said, Leader, there’s definitely a child. And he didn’t sneak in from outside—it feels like he was here all along.”

Then could the girl, who said she was looking for someone, have been talking about this boy?

Perhaps there was some kind of restriction keeping the two from meeting.

“What do you make of this?”

“Probably just another spiritual phenomenon of the Kasarr Basin. But at least now I’m certain I wasn’t hallucinating.”

“What will you do about it?”

“Nothing. I have no intention of getting involved with spirits here. That’s not why we came.”

“Ah, right. You’re looking for the Black Dawn’s First Order.”

“Yes. His name is Lesley. Based on what I know, he’s a middle-aged man, probably at least in his forties. A highly skilled mage. Can you narrow it down?”

Arfa shook his head.

“I cross-checked every mage present here, but there are over two hundred who fit that description. And while you said he’s highly skilled, I can’t gauge a mage’s level just by looking at them.”

“That’s true.”

And even now, more mages were entering through the open entrance.

Whether Lesley had already entered or was waiting for a later opportunity remained unknown.

‘What a mess.’

Ludger decided to take things step by step.

“For now, let’s go out and have a look around. We didn’t come all this way to sit idle.”

“Yes!”

Ludger stepped outside the tent with Arfa.

The streets were bustling with mages.

Some were selling curious magitech devices, others were showing off their magic, and many were fidgeting restlessly, desperate to leave the base and explore the mysteries of this land.

“It’s a bit dark, even though it’s morning.”

Though it was early morning, no sunlight reached this place.

The thick mana-saturated mist blocked out the sun.

Even during the day, this place remained shrouded in darkness, like an eternal polar night.

The Kasarr Basin was the perfect embodiment of such a “polar night.”

The only difference was that the dense mana glowed faintly, so it wasn’t completely dark.

As they approached the center of the forward base, they saw many mages gathered.

Unlike the independent mages they had seen before, these ones clearly belonged to specific [organizations].

They were busy packing supplies and preparing equipment.

Porters lugged large bags on their backs.

Then someone shouted loudly.

“A new expedition heading to the Mysterious Mansion will depart soon! Anyone wishing to join, gather now!”

The voice was magically amplified, echoing throughout the forward base.

At that, the mages’ eyes gleamed as they began to gather.

“Leader, what’s this?”

“It seems no one wants to waste even a moment.”

“The Mysterious Mansion... is that the mysterious house in the Kasarr Basin?”

“Yes. No one knows who built it or when. The only clue is that its owner was a mage, and that inside lies magical knowledge unknown to us.”

“But I don’t see it from here.”

“It’s probably some distance away from the base.”

Arfa nodded in understanding.

“Since anything can happen in the Kasarr Basin, moving in large groups makes more sense than going in small teams.”

“In the past, small groups tried to rush ahead to claim knowledge for themselves. None of them ever returned. No one knows what happened.”

“Ah, I’ve heard that rumor. Those who split off in small teams were all reported missing.”

Ludger glanced back.

Beyond the main street of the forward base, he could see the still-open entrance to the Kasarr Basin.

Mana lamps lined the path from the entrance to the base, as if to say, You must only move along this path.

It must have taken considerable effort to set up.

“At least I can spot a few notable people in this expedition.”

Through his monocle artifact, Ludger scanned the mages gathered in the central plaza.

Their mana was refined, their presence distinct.

Unlike the swarm of amateurs at the entrance, these people were clearly professionals.

“The Old Tower and New Tower must have sent their best.”

“There are some senior members of the School Alliance as well. And various other organizations.”

“Verified experts, then. But there are also those with no clear affiliation, yet they radiate impressive presence.”

Ludger’s gaze shifted to one in particular.

While other mages’ mana flared like flames or shimmered like heat haze, this one kept his mana condensed and suppressed to the extreme—a clear sign of immense control.

Noticing where Ludger was looking, Arfa quickly recalled the man’s profile.

“That’s Derek Olsen. An unaffiliated free mage, said to be among the highest of 5th-Circle mages. He might even reach Lexuror level soon.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“From Hans. When I said I’d be following you to the Mystic Night, he told me to memorize a list of famous mages.”

“Hans has too much free time.”

Still, it was useful information.

Hans probably trusted Arfa’s perfect memory.

“Any others worth noting?”

“I’ll check.”

Arfa scanned the crowd and pointed at a tall mage with a lean, dark-skinned build and unusually long arms.

“That’s Amar Chubaka. He’s from a small southern jungle tribe. He combines magic with unique shamanistic rituals. His circle level isn’t high, but he’s known for bizarre magic and strange knowledge.”

“I see.”

Just as Arfa said, Amar Chubaka’s mana felt peculiar—thick and viscous, like high-density mud, unlike the flame-like mana of others.

“That elderly man with the staff covered in gold engravings—he’s Sage Rimle, leader of a one-man school and a Lexuror mage.”

“That stocky middle-aged man over there—Velkat Benmark from the Delica Kingdom. A war mage specializing in powerful lightning spells.”

“And that man who looks like a beggar—Sempas. Despite appearances, he’s a fearsome battle maniac. His level isn’t high, but he’s defeated many higher-ranked mages in actual combat through superior mana control.”

“That timid-looking mage crouching in the corner—Loina Pavlini. Despite her demeanor, she’s Lexuror level, with unmatched talent in magical analysis and research.”

Ludger raised an eyebrow at the familiar name.

“Loina Pavlini?”

“Yes, over there.”

Following Arfa’s gaze, Ludger saw her.

She stood with several mages—presumably colleagues—but looked uncomfortable, her expression sour.

Her hunched posture didn’t suit a 6th-Circle mage at all.

Rumors that she had traded away social skills and confidence for magical talent weren’t exaggerated.

‘She’s probably here for research. Nothing unusual about that.’

She didn’t seem to notice Ludger.

And since they weren’t close, there was no need to greet her.

As Arfa continued to describe other mages, Ludger felt the weight of several stares on him.

‘Is that Ludger Cherish? What’s he doing here?’

‘Why are you surprised? He’s just an academy instructor, isn’t he?’

‘Idiot. Haven’t you heard? He’s a Seorn instructor, but people say he’s beyond the level of an ordinary teacher. Rumor has it he earned a medal from the Imperial Family for his role in the recent terror incident.’

‘Seriously?’

‘And he can perfectly decipher ancient languages. That alone makes him a valuable addition to this expedition.’

The mages whispered among themselves.

Naturally, Arfa’s sharp hearing caught everything and relayed it to Ludger verbatim, as if playing back a recording.

“They’re saying that, Leader.”

“Ignore it.”

Apparently, his reputation here was higher than he expected.

“What, since when could just any academy teacher join the Mystic Night?”

Someone even went so far as to openly pick a fight.