Chapter 11

Кhаn, hоlding thе ‘1,000-Year Тrее Stаff,’ а rare-gradе itеm in his hand.

Hе drew up mаnа whilе lооking аt the wolvеs.

Ooооng….

Thе bluе mаnа rising аround Кhan’s bоdy.

It was trеmеndоus grоwth comрarеd to beforе.

Рreviously, the mаnа was barely visible tо thе eye, but now a distinсt bluе mana сould bе fеlt еnvеloping Khan’s bоdy.

Grrrr…!!

Groооаr!!!

Four wolvеs арpeаring in the distanсe.

The crеаtures begаn running swiftlу towаrd Khan, drоoling.

‘Arrow.’

Аs Khаn inwаrdly called out thе skill, a tоtаl оf sevеn mana аrrоws fоrmed arоund him.

Arrоw wаs а bоttоm-tier 1st-grаdе skill, but Кhan hаd аcquired Arrow as a hidden skill.

Mana arrows that formed on their own even without mana.

Khan infused each of the seven mana arrows with his own mana.

Oooong…!!!

Then, the mana arrows thickened and grew larger.

Flick.

Khan extended his staff toward the wolves charging before him.

Sssssssssssssss!!

Sssssssssssssss!!

The mana arrows infused with his mana flew toward the wolves.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Whoooosh!!!!

The mana arrows pierced through the wolves’ bodies.

Blood spurted like a fountain from the creatures’ bodies as they collapsed on the spot.

Khan, only at Level 3, had overwhelmingly defeated Level 4 monsters, three of them at that, in an instant.

[Your level has increased.]

Simultaneously, a message appeared before Khan’s eyes.

“Not bad.”

Khan hadn’t expected to encounter monsters so soon in this northern forest.

Monsters did appear in Grodek’s northern forest, but that was only deeper inside, in the innermost parts.

‘This is the best start possible.’

When he first played <Geo Arc>, he hadn’t been able to raise such a strong character.

He hadn’t obtained any hidden skills either, and he had barely cleared quests after repeated failures.

Moreover, in <Geo Arc>, killing monsters of a higher level than oneself was, by common sense, an impossible story.

It was only possible because the 10th-grade skill ‘Sage’s Heart’ and the hidden skill combined to produce the best synergy.

‘Shall I head back now?’

There was still plenty of time, but he couldn’t let his guard down.

He didn’t know when the assassins might attack, and if Sharin died, the quest would simply end.

Having obtained an item and even leveled up, Khan immediately turned his steps back toward Grodek.

* * *

Late evening.

Boyl and a man came to Deilis’s mansion.

“Deilis, why don’t you stop being so stubborn now.”

“……Cowardly bastards.”

Deilis glared with eyes that seemed ready to kill on the spot.

Among the decorations displayed in his room was a sword, and he wanted to draw that sword right then and behead Boyl.

“Trading Company Master, why are you building up your power alone like this? Let’s prosper together, hmm? Isn’t this something for everyone’s mutual benefit?”

However, because of the man beside Boyl, Deilis couldn’t act on his thoughts.

Deilis believed this man was the one assisting Boyl.

A man of mid-180cm height with a sturdy build looked strong at a glance.

“Godrik, you have no business interfering in our conversation. You probably don’t even properly understand matters related to trading companies.”

“Ah, that’s not it. Since I’m currently Mr. Boyl’s supporter, shouldn’t I do my best to help with what I can?”

The man named Godrik spoke with a smile, slickly.

“Godrik, you should stop too. Anyway, Deilis. Haven’t we been competing in this Grodek for quite a long time? Both of us, no matter what anyone says, are running the top trading companies in Grodek.”

“……Then what more greed are you trying to satisfy? You should be content with running a trading company of that scale. Greed always brings disaster, Boyl.”

Deilis calmly responded to Boyl’s words.

“It’s not greed, but mutual assistance, isn’t it? I’m suggesting we exchange the shares I hold in my trading company with the shares in your trading company. What’s the problem with that?”

The land Boyl proposed exchanging with Deilis were the shops located on the outskirts of Grodek city.

That area originally had little foot traffic and wasn’t properly developed for shops.

In short, it was a proposal to exchange useless lands for the lands Deilis held in the bustling district.

“You son of a bitch…! You’re nothing but a thieving bastard…!!”

Deilis shouted, venting his anger.

But Boyl looked at Deilis with a very calm expression.

He brought his face close to Deilis’s and looked him straight in the eye.

“Hey, Deilis. Not long ago, your wife died in an accident, and I know several employees in your trading company died too. Why don’t you just accept the proposal?”

“…….”

Deilis looked into Boyl’s eyes and couldn’t say anything.

While the circumstantial evidence was clear, there was no definitive physical evidence to prove Boyl’s guilt.

The Baron of Grodek, who had taken money from Boyl, was turning a blind eye, and the Baron wasn’t particularly interested in trading companies to begin with.

He wanted to kill Boyl right then and there, the man who had killed his wife and colleagues who had worked with him for decades.

“Anyway, I think you understood well. You’ll need time to think, so I’ll give you about three days. Give me your answer by then.”

“…….”

“Then I’ll be going too.”

Boyl and Godrik walked toward the door to leave the room, smiling.

Click.

But before the two reached the door, someone opened the door to Deilis’s room.

“K-Khan Gong….”

“You had guests earlier.”

“No, it’s fine. Please come in.”

At Deilis’s words, Khan looked at the two approaching him.

[LV.2 Boyl]

[LV.8 Skull Assassination Squad Leader Godrik]

Even without asking their names, Khan could see their levels and names.

‘Godrik….’

Both were people Khan knew.

After all, Khan had been killed by Godrik a few times while playing the game.

Level 8 was truly strong in the early stages of <Geo Arc>.

“What’s up, man. Why are you staring so hard? It’s embarrassing.”

As Khan stared at Godrik, he spoke provocatively.

Khan ignored him and walked past.

“How boring. Man, keep your eyes straight. If you don’t want to die.”

Godrik said that and left Deilis’s room completely with Boyl.

“I’m sorry, Khan Gong. Boyl has been hanging around with some thug-like guy lately, and that guy’s personality is a bit foul.”

“It’s fine. Was the guy next to him just now Boyl?”

“Yes. He just openly threatened me and left… He said to accept his proposal within three days. If I don’t accept this time either, he’ll try to kill my daughter.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Khan Gong….”

Deilis felt truly reassured by Khan.

The more he looked at Khan, an indescribably subtle aura emanated from him.

He seemed like an archmage who inspired trust, possessing some tremendous power.

Having lived his whole life in Grodek, Deilis was seeing for the first time a mage who could create seven magic arrows at once.

‘He’s truly a reliable person.’

This time, his daughter’s life was at stake, but with Khan here, it seemed nothing would happen.

Of course, Deilis also intended to make all preparations this time, everything he could do.

When his wife died not long ago, it felt like the world was collapsing.

If his daughter died too, there would be no reason left to live.

Deilis thought that if he couldn’t hire competent knights and mages this time, he would simply comply with Boyl’s demands.

“Deilis, I will definitely protect your daughter’s life.”

“Thank you, thank you…!”

Deilis bowed repeatedly with a moved expression, conveying his gratitude at Khan’s words.

Khan only conveyed that much to Deilis and left the room.

Khan had specifically come to the room to reassure Deilis.

‘He might suddenly cancel the commission, after all.’

If that happened, the quest would become more complicated.

In <Geo Arc>, there were multiple variables in quests.

And depending on how you cleared the quest, the subsequent story and rewards would change.

‘If you take the wrong route from the start, it’ll be a headache.’

It had already been over a week since he entered the game world.

He felt no sense of being unadapted or anxious.

However, the thought of wanting to return to reality had taken root in Khan’s mind.

‘My parents, and my brother must be worried too.’

His parents, who always cared for and looked after him, and his only older brother.

He wanted to return to his family’s side.

That alone fueled a strong desire to get out of this game.

Of course, he also wanted to see <Geo Arc>’s ending.

‘To perfectly see <Geo Arc>’s ending without a single failure.’

The usual him wouldn’t have been so confident.

If he had been left alone in this medieval era with nothing from the start, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything.

‘I have a 10th-grade skill that no one else obtained.’

With this one 10th-grade skill, and a bit of talent for the game, Khan had risen to rank 1 in <Geo Arc>.

He closed his eyes briefly and recalled the past.

About the <Geo Arc> he had played.

Flash.

Finishing his thoughts, Khan opened his eyes and immediately moved his steps to the library inside the mansion.

Deilis’s mansion was so large it had a separate library, and there was also a librarian.

To begin with, the servants in this mansion alone numbered over several dozen.

Arriving at the library, Khan’s eyes met those of a librarian inside.

“Sir Mage Khan, what brings you here?”

“There’s a book I’m looking for.”

“A book? What book are you referring to…?”

The librarian asked, slightly flustered at Khan’s mention of looking for a book.

“The magic tomes here. I want you to bring them all. No, if you tell me their location, I’ll get them myself.”

“Ah, magic tomes… there are a few in the corner, but… They’re so old they’re probably covered in dust. As you know, magic tomes are impossible for ordinary people to even understand, right? Haha… Please come this way first.”

Following the librarian’s guidance, Khan arrived at the place where the magic tomes were shelved.

“This is the place. There are only these five volumes, but they’re magic tomes from very long ago, so they’re probably things you can’t even obtain now.”

“You can go now. I’ll borrow these books for a while.”

“Understood!”

Khan took out and held all five magic tomes.

The reason he specifically came here to gather magic tomes.

It was to teach magic to Sharin.

If she continued like this, the mana within her body might explode and kill her.

‘I’m not in a position to teach anyone right now.’

Khan, who knew nothing about magic theory.

However, he thought his unique 10th-grade skill might help in understanding the books.

Holding the five magic tomes, Khan walked somewhere.