Chapter 7

It hаd аlrеаdy beеn а dау sinсe they dерarted frоm Burun Villagе fоr Grоdеk.

Sinсе yestеrday, Кhаn had bееn lоst in thоught, nоt evеn talking tо Byutеk, lеt аlоne doing аnything еlse.

‘It will still take а fеw more days tо gеt there.’

The plасe where the ‘Hiddеn Skill’ Кhan was lоoking fоr wаs lосated.

He hаd heard it wаs in а smаll village аlоng thе road frоm Burun Villagе to Grodek.

Thаt villаge must alrеаdy bе in ruins, with not a singlе person living thеre.

‘I’m surе I hеard it was hidden inside somе housе in thаt ruinеd villagе.’

The rеаsоn that namеless villаgе bесаme а ruin wаs рrobаblу due to a monster attack, according to the setting of <Geo Arc>.

Well, that didn’t really matter.

‘I just need to get the skill.’

The skill there is similar to ‘Arrow’ and is a cheat-like skill that doesn’t consume Mana.

A skill that can protect Khan’s body.

That skill is absolutely necessary for the journey ahead.

‘Once we arrive in Grodek, a Quest will probably start immediately.’

Upon arriving in Grodek and going to meet the merchant there, a Quest will likely begin immediately.

‘I’m sure the second Quest was the one about protecting the merchant.’

Quests in <Geo Arc> differ by Class, and among them, the Mage Quests were particularly unique.

No, rather than unique, they had a much higher degree of freedom compared to other Classes.

For other Classes, Quests followed one after another immediately, but for Mages, it wasn’t like that.

Like Khan, it took a bit more time to move to other cities, and during a Quest, you could attend to other matters.

‘The clear condition for the second Quest is to kill all the assassins while protecting the merchant.’

The second Quest is to kill the assassins targeting the merchant who runs a large Trading Company in the city of Grodek.

Naturally, if the merchant dies, the Quest fails immediately, and if it fails, he will be trapped in this game forever.

Not a single mistake can be tolerated.

‘I must always be cautious.’

From now on, he must pay attention to every single action and make the best choices.

If not, he might not only fail to see <Geo Arc>’s ending but also become unable to escape.

Clatter. Clatter.

Clatter. Clatter.

The uneven ground made for a poor ride in the carriage.

Khan originally got motion sickness, but for some reason, he wasn’t feeling sick at all.

Could even this be thanks to the ‘Sage’s Heart’ skill?

Khan, who had been lost in his own thoughts, looked at Byutek sitting across from him when he spoke up.

“Um, I’m not sure if it’s okay to ask this suddenly….”

Byutek cautiously broached the subject, perhaps uncomfortable with the silence inside the carriage.

“Speak.”

“Where did Sir Khan learn Magic? Are you perhaps a Magic Tower Affiliate?”

“Self-taught.”

“Ah….”

The conversation ended there.

The Magic Tower in the worldview of <Geo Arc>.

The Magic Tower is not in the Territory of Sinsiniel where Khan currently is, but within the Empire.

Of course, there probably aren’t many proper Mages in the Magic Tower either.

Not Mages, but only those who mimic Magic are plentiful.

Besides the Empire’s Magic Tower, there are also several Magic Towers where Magic Apprentices who mimic Mages gather.

Those guys travel around the Continent calling themselves Mages.

‘Of course, I’m not a proper Mage right now either.’

Khan might even be weaker than those guys pretending to be Mages.

Although Khan had reached Level 3, the amount of Mana he possessed was still small.

Honestly, just raising his Level alone would never allow him to see <Geo Arc>’s ending.

There are various other methods to increase Mana besides Leveling Up.

‘I can acquire those gradually.’

Khan sank back into thought and opened his Status Window.

◈ LV.3

◈ Lee Huseong

◈ Mana: 120/120

◈ Talent: Magic

◈ Skills: (10★)Sage’s Heart, (8★)Growth Acceleration, (1★)Arrow

A Status Window that was too shabby compared to the Character he used to play.

‘Only Level 3 now.’

The road to reaching the Level of the Character he personally raised was still far too long.

Khan made plans for the future while waiting to arrive at the place with the Hidden Skill.

* * *

Three days had already passed since then.

Now, only a few days remained until Grodek.

Since yesterday, Khan had been frequently checking outside the carriage.

After all, he might accidentally pass by the ruined village.

Clatter. Clatter.

Clatter. Clatter.

The carriage ran at a steady speed over the uneven ground at a constant pace.

Khan stuck his head out again to check the surroundings.

‘Is that it?’

On the side of the road the carriage was passing, several houses made of stone were visible.

“Stop for a moment.”

“Ah, yes!”

Grol, who was sitting in the Coachman’s seat, stopped the carriage.

‘No people in sight.’

If there were several villages between Burun Village and Grodek, it might be confusing, but there’s only that one village between them.

According to <Geo Arc>’s setting, people lived there until a few years ago, but as mentioned before, it became a ruin due to a monster attack.

“Is the carriage perhaps uncomfortable?”

Byutek asked cautiously as Khan got off the carriage.

“No. Head to that village for a moment. I have something to check.”

“Ah, yes. Understood!”

Khan boarded the carriage again, and Grol immediately turned direction towards the village visible in the distance.

The three soon arrived.

“May I come along as well?”

“Do as you wish. One of you stay and guard the carriage.”

“Then I will guard the carriage!”

Khan got off the carriage and walked into the village with Byutek.

“By the way, may I ask what it is you wish to check?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Understood….”

Khan answered Byutek’s question dismissively, as if bothered to reply.

Byutek saw Khan’s reaction and looked somewhat sullen.

‘I should go inside the house alone.’

Obtaining the Hidden Skill is very simple.

The place with the Hidden Skill has gathered white light, and such white light is hidden all over the world.

The moment that white light touches a part of the body, the skill is automatically absorbed by that person.

‘That guy might end up getting the skill by accident.’

Normally, Hidden Skills are designed so that NPCs cannot obtain them.

In the game, NPCs originally had no reason to approach places with Hidden Skills.

But that’s the story when playing the <Geo Arc> game; the situation is a bit different now.

‘Being careful won’t hurt.’

If Byutek ended up getting the Hidden Skill here instead, he felt he would truly have the urge to kill.

‘First of all, it’s not even certain if the skill is here or not.’

He first needed to confirm if the skill was really here.

Moreover, this is a village that became a ruin due to a monster attack.

If he stayed too long and a monster attack came, it would be troublesome.

‘No, not just troublesome; he could even die if things go wrong.’

He didn’t know what level of Monster would appear, but at least they would be stronger than the Kid Stone he saw yesterday.

There were about thirty houses in the village.

“I don’t sense any presence at all.”

“Right, you stay here.”

“Understood!”

Khan had Byutek wait in front of the house and then entered the house visible ahead first.

‘Not here.’

There was nothing in the first house.

Nothing was visible except for a wooden shrine and chairs.

He went around to this house and that house, searching every nook and cranny, but still couldn’t find the ‘Hidden Skill’.

After about thirty minutes passed like that, Khan looked at the last remaining house.

‘This is the last one. If it’s not here, the difficulty of future Quests will increase.’

Frankly, he had come with some expectation, so if the Hidden Skill wasn’t here, it would be disappointing.

Originally, there were many guys in the Community who lied and boasted, so he didn’t think the information was certain.

But since Khan was also human, he came here holding onto some hope.

‘I really hope it’s here.’

The last house was the largest among the stone ones.

But the ceiling had completely collapsed.

Entering the house and looking up, he could see the blue sky and clouds.

‘What kind of attack did this place suffer to end up like this?’

Khan checked the area around the collapsed ceiling for a moment but soon lost interest.

Then he began searching every nook and cranny.

‘Not here either?’

He had searched almost everywhere, but as expected, the Hidden Skill was not visible.

Khan, now almost giving up, approached the jar in the corner of the living room.

A jar large enough for an adult man to crouch and fit inside.

He didn’t hold even a sliver of expectation that the Hidden Skill would be inside there, but just in case, he checked the jar as a last resort.

Sccrrr.

The lid of the jar was heavier than expected, requiring him to put a lot of strength into his arm.

Thud.

Khan roughly threw the lid onto the floor and discovered light seeping out from inside the jar.

The white light that proved it was a Hidden Skill.

‘Is the Hidden Skill really hidden inside this jar…?’

Khan couldn’t believe it but put his hand into the jar anyway.

Whoooosh…!!!

The moment Khan’s hand touched the white light inside the jar, it was absorbed through his hand and into his entire body.

And a message appeared before Khan’s eyes.

[Skill: Barrier]

• Skill Rank: Rank 1

• Skill Description: Deploys a transparent shield that protects the user’s body.

• Cooldown: 1 minute

The moment Khan saw the name and description of the Hidden Skill he just obtained, he inwardly let out a sigh of admiration.

‘The post I saw in the Community wasn’t a lie.’

Then that means all the other Hidden Skills are also exactly as they were.

That is to say, if Khan gradually obtains the Hidden Skills one by one from now on, he could become even stronger than the Character he raised.

‘Not bad.’

Khan immediately used the Barrier he just obtained.

‘Barrier.’

As he recited the Incantation inwardly, a transparent shield of Mana covered Khan’s body.

But Khan’s Mana was not consumed at all.

‘This Barrier skill… can be used without consuming Mana… that’s unbelievable.’

Of course, even though it’s a Hidden Skill, since it’s Rank 1, the shield’s strength probably isn’t that solid.

Khan began moving the transparent shield on his body.

Exactly like moving Mana.

Then the transparent shield surrounding his body created a transparent wall before Khan’s eyes.

‘I can also transform it as I wish.’

If he used it a bit more, he seemed able to handle it more skillfully.

The usage methods would be endless.

Then now he needed to check the strength of this ‘Barrier’ skill.

Since it’s a Rank 1 skill, its defensive power probably isn’t that high.

‘Shall I go out now?’

He had obtained the desired Hidden Skill, so his business here was done.

As Khan was about to leave the house.

“Si, Sir Khan!!!”

Byutek, who had been waiting outside, ran up urgently.

“I’m sure I told you to wait outside.”

Khan showed an uncomfortable expression as Byutek ignored his words and arbitrarily entered the house.

“Sorry, sorry. Monsters have appeared now!”

“Monsters?”

“Yes, Goblin guys holding bows…!”

Byutek raised his hand and pointed at the Goblins approaching.

[LV.2 Goblin Archer]

Exactly three Goblins.

Checking the Level and name above their heads, they were nothing special.

“Perfect timing.”

“Huh?”

“You stay still.”

At Khan’s words, Byutek made an expression as if he didn’t understand.

The distance between Khan and the Goblin Archers was quite far, but they had taken out their bows and were drawing the bowstrings.

Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!

Sssshhhhwwwwww!!!!!!

The arrows fired by the three Goblin Archers flew towards Khan and Byutek at high speed.

“Yo, you must dodge!”

“I told you to stay still.”

Khan was annoyed by Byutek fussing unnecessarily beside him, but he used the skill first.

‘Barrier.’

Then he stretched out his hand towards where the arrows were flying.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

A transparent shield of Mana formed in front of Khan and Byutek.

The arrows fired by the Goblin Archers bounced off powerlessly upon touching the Barrier.

‘This seems quite usable.’

Byutek saw Khan’s Defensive Magic and was astonished, his mouth agape.

Khan, who could wield two types of Magic, truly deserved to be called a real Mage, not just in name.

‘He hadn’t shown all his power…?’

Byutek was genuinely admiring.

Just how strong was this Mage named Khan?

He seemed probably stronger than Byutek could even imagine.

“Let’s go now.”

“Huh? But the monsters are still….”

Khan told Byutek to go back and walked towards where the carriage was.

Byutek didn’t take a step because the monsters were still in front of him.

But that was only for a moment,

Sssshhhhwwwwww!

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Before he knew it, the Magic Arrows created by Khan had pierced the heads of the Goblin Archers.