He kept muttering and mumbling to himself. He seemed to be lying face down, or perhaps kneeling... There was no target for his words, and his eyes were completely vacant. Only occasionally, when he lifted his head, could the whites of his eyes be seen rolling. Even his pupils seemed faint, and as he spoke, he often covered his ears with his hands, his palms trembling as he slapped his own head... as if in great pain! But throughout the room, no one else was speaking except for his own muttering.
【Madness~】 This was another magical effect Sean had encountered that had no time limit.
How could this be? Was it because his level wasn’t high enough? Or were the mages who cast these spells simply too powerful, leaving him unable to discern their durations?
“What’s wrong with him?” Freya asked, frowning. “He was found outside the city by the garrison yesterday evening, still on horseback. It seems the horse ran over on its own, and by then, the man was already barely alive.” “Later, someone brought him here, but he’s been muttering like this ever since, unable to say anything coherent. It’s as if he’s completely lost his mind.” One of those present spoke up.
It was the man who had been following the prince, an Order level 11 individual. Sean had always suspected he might be the prince’s guard captain or something similar.
“Are you sure he came from the southeastern region?” Freya asked again. This time, it was Duke Haruman who answered. “The Empire has always divided its legions, and each region’s forces have specific markings. For example, the position of the black feathers on the Black Feather Knights indicates which legion they belong to... these details are quite obscure and known only to officers of marshal rank and above. The horse he rode when he arrived was equipped with the gear used by soldiers from the southeastern region.”
Sean took another look at the clothes of the man lying on the ground. It seemed prolonged exposure to rain had left the white shirt underneath so dirty it was unrecognizable. But upon closer inspection, it wasn’t hard to notice that his attire was indeed different from the soldiers Sean had seen in Koga City...
“So we contacted the southeastern region, but so far, there’s been no response. The situation doesn’t look good.” Duke Haruman glanced briefly in Sean’s direction.
There weren’t many status indicators, but Sean still felt that the duke had looked at him just now. In the Basharan Empire, since nobles managed their own territories, interactions between them were usually only noticeable in nearby cities... remote areas had fewer exchanges, much like Sean’s own Taylorian Town. Ordinarily, merchant caravans, mercenaries, and travelers would pass through. But with the rainy season, many caravans had halted, and remote places might go without news for long periods. Still, a complete lack of communication like this was rare...
Freya approached the man on the ground directly, silently casting a spell. 【Calm~】 Then followed by a 【Dispel Effect~】 spell. But instead of helping, the spells only angered him. He struggled, trying to lunge forward, only to be blocked by the 【Imprison~】 magic array.
“It’s useless. I and the other mentors tried using magic to wake him earlier, but it didn’t work. This magic is unusual—it doesn’t seem ordinary.” It was Aishu speaking from behind.
Indeed. Even behind the 【Imprison~】 spell, Sean could see the numbers 【12:40:30】. This spell could last twelve hours, but the 【Madness~】 effect on the man showed no duration at all...
Through days of practice, Sean felt he had entered the ranks of Order level 3. Many magical details were clearer now. Previously, he couldn’t see specifics like the duration of spells cast by mages, but now he could even see the durations of spells from Order level 11 wizards, indicating his abilities were improving. Yet this 【Madness~】 effect remained invisible... That was why he had just wondered if his level was still too low.
“Sean, what do you think we should do?” Suddenly, Freya turned to him, asking as if it were second nature.
Even Sean himself was taken aback. This was the prince’s residence... his status was among the lowest of the nobles here. Even within the Sky-Covering Wings, he was just an apprentice. If the leader couldn’t solve it, how could an apprentice have a solution?
The surrounding nobles all turned their gazes to Sean... Even Aishu, who knew him, curiously looked over.
A complex expression, along with a state of 【Wild Guesses!】 He had only joined the Sky-Covering Wings less than half a month ago, and as an apprentice at that... yet he had already become the Red Dragon Witch’s advisor? Or was there some other connection? All sorts of bizarre statuses kept appearing.
It was probably at this moment that Freya realized her slip, but the words were already out.
“Baron Weger, do you have knowledge of this condition?” Duke Haruman asked. A girl was always by his side, dressed like a noble lady. Whenever she looked at Sean, her status showed 【Confusion!】
Condition. Right. They couldn’t see the magical effects, so they would only attribute this to a condition, since no obvious magical effects were visible—just like with Count Hamilton back then.
“This is a madness spell. Freya, keep trying with dispel and calm spells...” Bluff! Since he had already spoken, he had to keep up the act.
“A spell? But I’ve never seen anything like this.” Aishu said, puzzled. “Hey, if you don’t know, don’t talk nonsense. There are so many mentors here who don’t know—how could you possibly know?” A sarcastic voice came from behind the prince, from a noble Sean hadn’t seen before.
Sean ignored him, continuing to watch Freya. “Keep going like last time until I say stop... Sohana, you come over too.” He couldn’t see the duration even after leveling up, meaning this spell was of a higher grade, so he needed someone like Sohana, a level 10, to help.
“Cast dispel magic?” “Yes. Just do it!”
No one around understood what Sean was doing, making the Sky-Covering Wings’ number one and two figures engage in such a seemingly foolish task.
“They will return... the boundary between the living and the dead is broken...” “...when the stars align in their proper positions... the truth of the world will be revealed...” The man kept muttering.
Freya and Sohana continued casting their spells, one after another.
“What are you doing?” Even Aishu couldn’t hold back this time. He respected the two witches before him, but what they were doing now was baffling. They had already said it was useless, yet he still made them try...
“Nothing in this world lasts forever, not even diseases. Over time, things either improve or worsen, depending on whether you treat them. Since you all admit you age, why refuse to believe that magic and diseases can also fade?”
Around the sixth time they cast, the data changed. 【Madness~】199:59:59 It indicated it would last another ten days!