Chương 91: The Basement Boy Had Too Many Spells

The group left the abandoned mine shortly after securing the bandits' documents and identifying the most valuable stolen goods inside the hideout. Mellia sealed the upper passage with one of her defensive plates. The construct would alert her if anyone entered the chamber before the authorities arrived. Sieghart guided the sand platform through the mine while the ten prisoners remained tied together across its surface. The raised edges prevented anyone from rolling off during the descent.

Several bandits tested Mellia's magical ropes along the way. Each attempt caused the restraints to tighten, forcing them to abandon the effort before reaching the main cavern. The worst injuries had already been stabilized. Sieghart closed the deepest wounds with First Aid, although he deliberately left the prisoners' broken bones untreated. They were no longer in danger of bleeding to death. They were also in no condition to escape or attack anyone during the journey.

The return through the mine took longer than their initial exploration. Sieghart needed to maneuver the broad platform around collapsed supports, narrow passages, and abandoned mining equipment. Kart's guardian constructs moved ahead and cleared smaller obstacles. Lucia's remaining scouts watched the ceiling, while Hernan kept his weapons prepared in case more bats attacked. None appeared. The surviving monsters had probably retreated deeper after losing several groups.

Their unusual behavior suggested that the control plates did not force them to fight without concern for survival. When the group reached the entrance, Kart's outside guardian remained beside the campsite. No one had approached while they explored the mine. Mellia collected only the supplies necessary for the trip into town. They left the tents and most equipment protected by Kart's constructs. Bellhaven stood three kilometers north of the mine.

A simple dirt road connected the town to the abandoned mining route, although years without traffic had allowed grass to cover much of it. Sieghart floated the prisoner platform beside the group. The spell attracted occasional complaints whenever the uneven road forced him to adjust its height abruptly. One bandit demanded to walk instead. Sieghart looked toward the man's broken leg.

"You would slow us down."

"This thing is making me sick."

"Try not to look over the edge."

"The edge is three fingers above the ground."

"Then falling shouldn't frighten you." The bandit stopped complaining after Hernan laughed. Bellhaven possessed stone walls tall enough to discourage ordinary animals but too low to stop flying monsters. Wooden spikes angled outward along the upper sections. Two guards watched the approaching group from above the northern gate. Their relaxed posture disappeared when they noticed ten prisoners floating beside five young mages. The gates opened before Mellia reached them.

A broad man wearing a dark-green coat and reinforced leather armor approached from the guardhouse. A silver badge identified him as Bellhaven's watch commander. His eyes moved between the bandits, magical restraints, and Sieghart's sand platform.

"What happened?" Mellia handed him the mission papers.

"We found these men inside the abandoned mine. They attacked us after destroying one of our scouting constructs." The commander examined the Lunar Arc seal before looking toward the prisoners again.

"You captured all of them?"

"Yes."

"Alive?"

"As you can see." The man's surprise made Hernan stand slightly straighter. Sieghart noticed and decided not to comment. Mellia explained the hideout, stolen goods, and control plates embedded inside the bats. She showed the commander one of the bloody metal fragments they had recovered. His expression became increasingly grim.

"We thought the bats were responsible for everything."

"They were involved," Mellia said.

"The bandits were using them, not controlling them directly, apparently." The commander ordered several guards to take custody of the prisoners. They approached with ordinary chains, but Mellia kept her magical ropes active until every bandit became properly secured. Sieghart lowered the sand platform afterward. It collapsed into loose earth once the last prisoner stepped away. The commander studied the captives more carefully. He recognized two faces immediately.

"These men have been seen around missing caravans."

"How many?" Mellia asked.

"Three merchants disappeared during the last six months. Each traveled alone or with only one assistant." The first victim had been a medicine trader who used the western road regularly. Searchers found his damaged wagon near an area frequented by the giant bats. His goods, body, and draft animal had vanished. Two months later, a traveling jeweler disappeared along the same route. Pieces of his cart were scattered across a field, but no blood or remains were recovered.

The third victim vanished only three weeks earlier. Several residents heard bats shrieking beyond the town walls, yet the search found nothing except wheel marks leading toward the mountain. Everyone assumed the monsters carried the victims away. The bandits had taken advantage of that assumption. They either attacked merchants already targeted by the bats or deliberately directed the creatures toward isolated travelers. Once the monsters removed the bodies, the bandits collected whatever valuables remained.

Their hidden base allowed them to store stolen goods without approaching established roads. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"No bodies meant we couldn't prove whether the attacks came from monsters or people," the commander said.

"Now we know it was both." Mellia showed him the merchant seals found inside the hideout. The markings matched several missing shipments. The commander ordered another group to prepare for retrieving the stolen property. He wanted Lunar Arc's team to guide them, but Mellia refused to return immediately.

"We still have to clear the nest. Sending guards into the mine before we understand its lower tunnels would create unnecessary risk." The commander considered the warning before agreeing. Bellhaven's guards possessed experience dealing with criminals, not underground monsters. He assigned six people to protect the mine entrance instead. They would wait outside until Mellia declared the route safe. The captured bandits carried existing bounties from several nearby settlements.

Bellhaven would hold the rewards until Lunar Arc confirmed how the payment should be divided. Sieghart ensured that Mellia recorded his contribution to transporting the prisoners. Hernan noticed.

"You really don't forget money." The commander provided a written receipt for every prisoner and evidence item. He also offered the group food, medical supplies, and rooms for the night. Mellia accepted the supplies but refused the rooms. Their equipment and Kart's constructs remained beside the mine, and leaving the entrance unobserved would be careless. By the time the group returned to camp, the sun had already started descending.

Traveling, reporting the capture, and speaking with the authorities consumed the remainder of the day. Exploring the cave again was no longer an option. The bats were most active at night, while the lower route extended much deeper than the section they had already searched. Entering shortly before darkness would surrender every advantage they possessed. Mellia reorganized the watch schedule and ordered everyone to prepare for dinner.

Kart repaired his damaged guardians, while Lucia worked on replacing the two scouts destroyed inside the mine. Hernan inspected the rings supporting his weapon constructs. Several had developed cracks after repeated collisions with shields and armor. Sieghart entered his tent and resumed reading Mira's Telekinesis book. The mission had delayed his training long enough. The next chapter explained how to spread mana around an object after reaching it.

The caster needed to sense the complete surface without allowing the projected thread to become visible. Sieghart placed a small stone beside his bedroll and attempted the exercise between paragraphs. His mana reached the target more consistently than before, but the connection still failed beneath it. The stone remained motionless. Sieghart continued reading as the others prepared dinner outside. The canvas walls did little to block their voices.

Lucia sat beside the fire while repairing the wing of one scout construct. She kept glancing toward Sieghart's tent.

"How many types of magic did he use today?" Hernan looked up from his damaged ring.

"Too many."

"He used Wind Magic to reverse the powder," Kart said.

"Earth Magic to create the platform."

"And a Mana Shield," Mellia added.

"That belongs to Summoning Magic." Lucia counted on her fingers.

"Mira said he was a healer too."

"First Aid," Mellia confirmed. Kart stopped working.

"That is four different branches."

"More," Lucia said.

"Elemental Magic isn't one branch. Wind and Earth require different affinities." Most mages spent their lives specializing in one kind of magic. Even elemental practitioners usually focused on a single element because every affinity required different emotions, visualizations, and control methods. A Fire Mage might learn several ways to create and shape flames. Learning Water Magic afterward required developing an entirely different mental foundation. People with two strong elemental affinities were uncommon.

Those capable of using four were rare enough to become subjects of academic study. Sieghart had shown Wind and Earth Magic directly. His support, healing, summoning, and illusion abilities expanded the list far beyond ordinary expectations. They did not even know about his Fire, Water, Ice, Lightning, Rune, Transmission, or Enchanting paths. Mellia stirred the cooking pot.

"He is probably an all-around type." Hernan frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"Someone with broad affinities who learns foundations instead of specializing early. They usually lack the power of a dedicated mage but possess more options." Hernan looked toward the mine. He had witnessed Breeze overwhelm the bandits' powder and Sieghart float ten adult men across several kilometers.

"He didn't look weak."

"I said usually." Lucia attached the repaired wing to her scout.

"He didn't get tired either." Sieghart had maintained Sand Control throughout the journey into Bellhaven, the conversation with the authorities, and most of their return. He never drank a mana potion or complained about exhaustion. The platform's stability remained unchanged even when every bandit moved simultaneously. Kart nodded.

"Most Earth Mages would need several breaks."

"He could have hidden the strain," Mellia suggested.

"For what reason?" Lucia asked. Nobody offered a convincing answer. Hernan resumed working on his ring.

"He hides everything else."

"That doesn't mean he lied about being tired," Kart said.

"He lived beneath the guild for years. Nobody knows who his family is, and Mira refuses to explain why she trained him privately." Lucia looked toward the tent again.

"What if he is related to Seraphina?" The group became quieter. Seraphina's descendants and the families of her students were known for producing unusually talented mages. Mira herself inherited several rare mental and remote-control abilities. Kart considered the possibility.

"That would explain the affinities."

"And why Mira protected him," Lucia said.

"Someone might target a child with that kind of potential." Mellia did not dismiss the theory. A hidden descendant of Seraphina would attract political attention throughout the human lands. Several factions would attempt to recruit, control, or eliminate such a person before their power developed. Keeping Sieghart beneath the Lunar Arc for years might have been protection rather than favoritism. His unusual education also made more sense.

Mira could have selected specialists from across the guild to teach him without revealing his existence publicly. Hernan glanced toward the closed tent.

"He doesn't look like Mira."

"He is definitely using Illusion Magic," Lucia reminded him.

"We don't know what he actually looks like." That observation made everyone reconsider the disguised boy they had been traveling with. Sieghart's dark-brown hair, gray eyes, and ordinary facial features might all be false. Even his clothing could contain enchantments designed to hide identifying details. Mellia lowered her voice.

"Whatever his family is, Mira wants it hidden. We shouldn't spread theories outside the group." Kart nodded. Lucia looked disappointed but accepted the order. Hernan remained unconvinced.

"Being talented doesn't make him less annoying." Lucia smiled. Inside the tent, Sieghart turned another page. He had not intended to listen, but ignoring a conversation about his identity from less than five meters away would have required an impressive amount of effort. Their theory landed uncomfortably close to Mira's suspicions. Sieghart might not be descended from Seraphina, but Infinite Mana and broad magical affinities connected them somehow.

The group had reached that conclusion after witnessing only a fraction of his abilities. He needed to become more careful. Sieghart looked toward the stubborn stone beside his bedroll and projected another nearly invisible mana thread. The energy reached the object, spread across most of its surface, and failed beneath it once again. Outside, Hernan continued explaining why Sieghart was irritating. Sieghart ignored him and resumed reading.

At least one part of their investigation had produced an accurate conclusion.