The Slime Doesn't Die from Mana Transfer-Chapter 120 : Magic, Pretty Amazing Isn’t It

Russell patted Zig’s shoulder.
“Kid, you’ve got potential.”
“Eh?”
Zig blinked in confusion.
Russell took the sock from his hand and examined it carefully.
“The sock was dropped where laundry is usually done... and the girl vanished. That’s the clue. The problem is how to follow it further.”
Shira went to do laundry at dusk. At that time, there wouldn’t have been many people around, so finding a witness was unlikely. This world had no surveillance cameras either.
The only option was to follow the river downstream.
But that would be troublesome...
The river stretched long. Searching from start to finish would take too much time.
“Or should I just blow up the whole river from one end to the other?”
Not impossible.
But that might startle the target and drive them away.
Unless more manpower joined in.
For a moment, Russell thought of Fingus, whom he’d knocked out and left in the streets. As captain of Wells’ royal guard, he likely had plenty of people under him. If all were mobilized, they could comb this whole stretch.
But Russell quickly rejected the idea.
“That guy’s too damn irritating.”
Besides, Wells had clearly placed Fingus at Rozelite’s side as an informant—to spy on her.
Russell didn’t think it mattered much, but he wasn’t about to make things easy for Wells.
So instead, he turned to Aristine and ordered:
“You. Go drag the demon out and kill it!”
Aristine gave him a sidelong glance.
Just when Russell thought she was going to retort, Aristine stepped forward, taking the sock from Zig’s hands.
She cupped it in both palms, raised it close to her face.
“What, she’s going to sniff it too?”
Russell was just about to crack a joke about strange fetishes when suddenly—
Light bloomed. Not from her hands, but from the sock itself. The glow spilled over her palms, flowing outward like water overflowing from a full cup.
A slender white thread extended from the sock, drifting into the distance.
That’s...
Magic?
No, something more fundamental.
Russell raised a brow.
Aristine said softly.
“This is a technique similar to【Enchantment Magic】. By amplifying the【Fragments】remaining on an object with one’s own mana, you can make them clearer and even visible to the naked eye.”
“Fragments?”
It was the first time Russell had heard the word.
Aristine explained:
“【Fragments】are the essence of the world, the origin of all things, and the end of the cycle.”
“Mm-hm...”
Russell nodded along politely.
“What the hell is she even saying? Didn’t understand a single word. Sounds faker than the scribbles I wrote in my middle school notebooks. Why do these weird lore dumps keep popping up?”
“So, following this line will lead us to the sock’s owner?”
Russell asked.
“Yes.”
Aristine nodded.
“Ordinary people can’t perceive【Fragments】, which makes them easy to leave behind.”
Then she turned her head toward him.
“Magic. Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
“...Huh?”
Seeing Russell frozen, Aristine’s lips curved upward ever so slightly before smoothing again—like a child showing off their favorite toy.
…
The white thread floated lightly in the air, pointing downstream.
“Let’s follow it,” Russell said, taking the lead.
Aristine silently trailed behind, maintaining the spell to keep the guiding thread clear.
Chris hesitated for a moment before pulling Zig along to follow.
They walked the riverbank for quite some time.
The scenery grew barren.
The washing spot was already downstream, near the city wall. As they continued south, the riverside became rockier, tangled with sparse trees.
After about ten minutes, the white thread stopped extending. Instead, it vanished into the rocky cliffside as if absorbed.
“This is the place,” Aristine said, her voice still flat.
Russell jumped down to the river’s edge.
The rock wall was covered in green vines. He pushed them aside and felt the surface. Nothing unusual.
But through【Mana Perception】, he sensed otherwise. This was no ordinary riverside cliff. Strange magical traces clung to it, with faint, shadow-like runes etched across it—so dim they nearly blended with the darkness, imperceptible without focus.
Not his specialty.
He turned toward Aristine.
She stepped forward and studied it closely.
Soon, she gave her verdict: “It’s【Barrier Magic】.”
“Barrier Magic?”
Russell thought of the massive barrier beneath the Muscovy Mountains, but this didn’t feel the same.
“There are also traces of concealment and alarm spells. Not very sophisticated,” Aristine added.
“What happens if we force it open?”
“It’ll alert the caster.”
“...Can you crack it?”
“Yes. But it’ll take some time. About an hour.”
She looked at Russell, waiting for his command.
Russell rubbed his chin, staring at the entrance.
Then he suddenly stepped back, even pulling the vines back into place, restoring the original look as best he could.
“Alright. That’s enough.”
Russell announced.
“Chris, Aristine, and... uh...”
“Zig,”
Zig said darkly.
“Zigfried.”
“Right. Anyway, you’ve all helped plenty. The job’s over—you can go home.”
“...Huh?”
Zig blinked, dumbfounded.
“You mean... that’s it? We’re not going inside? Shira might be in there...”
“Cracking the barrier takes time. The target may be inside, or might return at any moment. Storming in is possible, sure—but that risks alerting them and turning a simple problem into a complicated one.”
Russell paused, then continued.
“Now we know their hideout. They don’t know we know. The initiative is ours. Instead of barging in, it’s better to wait here, let the rabbit come out of its hole. Wouldn’t that be smarter?”
“But...”
Hesitation flickered across Zig’s face.
Chris cut him off with a swift kick, dragging him away without further argument.
Their footsteps faded into the distance.
Soon, only Russell and Aristine remained by the riverbank.